I’m seeing 12+ wins for this team...

[eball]

Time to put my money where my mouth is.  No excuses, this is the most complete Bills roster since the late 90s and they will prove it on the field.  No glaring holes at any position, and quality depth throughout.  Backup QB is a question mark, so the health of Josh Allen is key.  Provided he stays healthy, I see the Bills going 6-0 in the East, and of the remaining ten games there is only one — @SF — in which I think they will go in as an underdog.  The W5 matchup with KC is likely a pick’em, because I expect Buffalo to be 4-0 going into that one.  They’ll be favored in every other home game and the road games are not particularly daunting outside of Tennessee.  Arizona is a media darling but they are unproven and have a suspect defense.  Vegas is still, in my opinion, a mess.  Denver may be a bit better but I’m not sold on Fangio or Lock.

 

I’ll give them losses to KC, San Fran, and a couple we don’t expect — maybe Tennessee, Pittsburgh, or the roadie at NE***.

 

AFC East champs and the #2 seed in the playoffs.

 

There ya have it.

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

I too can see similar 

 

 

[first_and_ten]

6 minutes ago, eball said:

Time to put my money where my mouth is.  No excuses, this is the most complete Bills roster since the late 90s and they will prove it on the field.  No glaring holes at any position, and quality depth throughout.  Backup QB is a question mark, so the health of Josh Allen is key.  Provided he stays healthy, I see the Bills going 6-0 in the East, and of the remaining ten games there is only one — @SF — in which I think they will go in as an underdog.  The W5 matchup with KC is likely a pick’em, because I expect Buffalo to be 4-0 going into that one.  They’ll be favored in every other home game and the road games are not particularly daunting outside of Tennessee.  Arizona is a media darling but they are unproven and have a suspect defense.  Vegas is still, in my opinion, a mess.  Denver may be a bit better but I’m not sold on Fangio or Lock.

 

I’ll give them losses to KC, San Fran, and a couple we don’t expect — maybe Tennessee, Pittsburgh, or the roadie at NE***.

 

AFC East champs and the #2 seed in the playoffs.

 

There ya have it.

 

Love your optimism and I hope you're right but I feel you may be a bit overly optimistic

[Buffalo Boy]

   Chiefs, 49 ers, Seahawks and Steelers are the only games I won’t call a win right now.
   Providing the usual disclaimers about injury and the like 12-4 seems the correct call. Our schedule starts easy and I feel we are a “ Team” on both sides of the ball and between the FO and coaches. I think this legit leads us to some early season blowouts that make the  doubters wake up and take notice of us. 

    The game I’m “ Circling” is the 12/13 game against the Steelers. That may well be the game that gets us a Wildcard weekend bye or not. It remains to be seen how BRs elbow holds up and his throwing could be shot by then.
    I say 13-3 with the Titans, Seahawks and 49 ers our losses. 
  We make the AFC Championship game and....,

[Seasons1992]

Man I hope Covid doesn’t screw this up.

 

 

[PromoTheRobot]

I was thinking 10 due to the difficult schedule but now I think 12+ is likely. 

[Fr. Jerk]

[Long Suffering Fan]

eball, mega props on publicly calling your shot.

 

Going into the 1988 season, I did not see the Bills being so dominant.  I hoped they would be a playoff team.  They were improving, but they hadn't made the playoffs and I didn't see them jumping up as much as they did.  The fact is that some team seems to make that dramatic jump each year.  The Bills are an improving team, with a developing QB, a great defense, now a #1 WR, no more Frank Gore, .....there is real evidence that it could be us this year.  It is not just wishful thinking.

 

My heart agrees with you and says 12-4.

 

My head is working hard to agree with my heart and I am finding reasonable things to point to in that journey.

 

My Long Suffering Buffalo Fandom is a nagging voice in the back of my head that is a little like Gollum.

[Behindenemylines]

1 hour ago, eball said:

Time to put my money where my mouth is.  No excuses, this is the most complete Bills roster since the late 90s and they will prove it on the field.  No glaring holes at any position, and quality depth throughout.  Backup QB is a question mark, so the health of Josh Allen is key.  Provided he stays healthy, I see the Bills going 6-0 in the East, and of the remaining ten games there is only one — @SF — in which I think they will go in as an underdog.  The W5 matchup with KC is likely a pick’em, because I expect Buffalo to be 4-0 going into that one.  They’ll be favored in every other home game and the road games are not particularly daunting outside of Tennessee.  Arizona is a media darling but they are unproven and have a suspect defense.  Vegas is still, in my opinion, a mess.  Denver may be a bit better but I’m not sold on Fangio or Lock.

 

I’ll give them losses to KC, San Fran, and a couple we don’t expect — maybe Tennessee, Pittsburgh, or the roadie at NE***.

 

AFC East champs and the #2 seed in the playoffs.

 

There ya have it.

Exactly as I see it too with the exception of 5-1 (Hate to say it but Miami loss) in east but beating SF.  

[Brianmoorman4jesus]

I think we are pretty good but I think people are really underestimating how difficult the schedule is. Just do anything to win the division. I don’t care how many wins that takes

[RiotAct]

I’m going 10-6.  We’ll lose a couple that we should have won.

[Seasons1992]

26 minutes ago, Long Suffering Fan said:

My Long Suffering Buffalo Fandom is a nagging voice in the back of my head that is a little like Gollum.

 

*actual picture of @Virgil*

 

[eball]

33 minutes ago, Long Suffering Fan said:

My Long Suffering Buffalo Fandom is a nagging voice in the back of my head that is a little like Gollum

 

BBFS is difficult to overcome, but we can do it.

[Don Otreply]

I’m with you eball, AFCE is in the pocket! 

Go Bills!!!

[The Wiz]

2 minutes ago, eball said:

 

BBFS is difficult to overcome, but we can do it.

Just make sure you wear your bills helmet and stay 6ft away from visiting fans. 

[eball]

21 minutes ago, RiotAct said:

I’m going 10-6.  We’ll lose a couple that we should have won.

 

So far, McD has done a good job of not allowing that to happen.  I don’t think the Bills will lose a couple they “should have” won, I just think there will be a couple of hard fought games against good teams that may not go our way.

 

Tell me — as an opposing coach, what exactly do you look at when you have to play the Bills and think “oh good, we can really take advantage of that?”  The Bills are a beast for any team to handle.  You think other teams are just counting on a couple of errant Josh Allen throws?

 

Last year the Bills proved to themselves they belong in the conversation.  This year they take the next step.

[Mr. WEO]

10-6

[Brennan Huff]

Josh Allen will throw more TDs than Mahomes this year. Book it. Just kidding, but seriously we will have a top 10 offense and a top 5 defense. 13-3. A home playoff win with fans is in our future 

[SirAndrew]

We have the roster, but this season goes as far as Josh Allen takes us. I don’t like to oversimplify things, but it is that simple. That leaves me believing anything between 9-13 wins is possible. We truly get to find out who our QB is this season. 

[Ethan in Cleveland]

13 minutes ago, eball said:

 

So far, McD has done a good job of not allowing that to happen.  I don’t think the Bills will lose a couple they “should have” won, I just think there will be a couple of hard fought games against good teams that may not go our way.

 

Tell me — as an opposing coach, what exactly do you look at when you have to play the Bills and think “oh good, we can really take advantage of that?”  The Bills are a beast for any team to handle.  You think other teams are just counting on a couple of errant Josh Allen throws?

 

Last year the Bills proved to themselves they belong in the conversation.  This year they take the next step.

Well Browns and Texans games from last year come to mind.

10-6 and they win the division but do not get a bye

 

[Chandler#81]

16 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

10-6

Even with the most optimistic post of your tenure here, you’re a sourpuss ?‍♂️

[GunnerBill]

20 minutes ago, eball said:

 

So far, McD has done a good job of not allowing that to happen.  I don’t think the Bills will lose a couple they “should have” won, I just think there will be a couple of hard fought games against good teams that may not go our way.

 

Tell me — as an opposing coach, what exactly do you look at when you have to play the Bills and think “oh good, we can really take advantage of that?”  The Bills are a beast for any team to handle.  You think other teams are just counting on a couple of errant Josh Allen throws?

 

Last year the Bills proved to themselves they belong in the conversation.  This year they take the next step.

 

If I am gameplanning against the Bills it definitely involves a heavy dose of inside zone rushing on offense. When I need to throw I want to throw at the opposite side of the field to Tre White as much as possible. But I want to be 50/50 at worst and ideally 60/40 runs to passes. Three of the Bills defeats in 2019 came against teams who ran more than they passed against us. 

 

On defense I am playing a lot of cover 3 going man to man on Diggs with my best corner, shading safety help to John Brown's side and then I am getting exotic up front to confuse Josh not letting him see the same look twice (which tends to result in him holding the ball and missing guys being open) and running overloads on my left side to expose the weaker portion of the Bills offensive line. Basically I am willing for the most part to let him have Beasley and Knox and feel it is harder for the Bills to beat us if they are the guys catching a lot of balls. 

 

Not saying at all the Bills are an easy out. They won't be for anybody. But that is the formula I think if you are going to try and beat us. 

Edited August 30, 2020 by GunnerBill

[eball]

4 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

If I am gameplanning against the Bills it definitely involves a heavy dose of inside zone rushing on offense. When I need to throw I want to throw at the opposite side of the field to Tre White as much as possible. But I want to be 50/50 at worst and ideally 60/40 runs to passes. Three of the Bills defeats in 2019 came against teams who ran more than they passed against us. 

 

On defense I am playing a lot of cover 3 going man to man on Diggs with my best corner, shading safety help to John Brown's side and then I am getting exotic up front to confuse Josh not letting him see the same look twice (which tends to result in him holding the ball and missing guys being open) and running overloads on my left side to expose the weaker portion of the Bills offensive line. Basically I am willing for the most part to let him have Beasley and Knox and feel it is harder for the Bills to beat us if they are the guys catching a lot of balls. 

 

Not saying at all the Bills are an easy out. They won't be for anybody. But that is the formula I think if you are going to try and beat us. 

 

If this year’s D shows they are better against the run (which I expect) it’s an incredibly tough ask for opposing offenses.  As for Buffalo’s O, I use last year as the floor with the addition of Diggs, Moss, a healthy Kroft, and an additional year of growth/experience for Josh.  The running game should be better (Moss > Gore), the passing game should be better...yes, I know teams will have a plan but I like our chances.

[GunnerBill]

2 minutes ago, eball said:

 

If this year’s D shows they are better against the run (which I expect) it’s an incredibly tough ask for opposing offenses.  As for Buffalo’s O, I use last year as the floor with the addition of Diggs, Moss, a healthy Kroft, and an additional year of growth/experience for Josh.  The running game should be better (Moss > Gore), the passing game should be better...yes, I know teams will have a plan but I like our chances.

 

For sure the Bills are tough to gameplan against. But you asked a question - how do you do it? I answered it. No team in the NFL is impossible the gameplan against. Not even Kansas City. The better teams are though tougher than the rest. The Bills are in that tougher category. 

[eball]

1 minute ago, GunnerBill said:

 

For sure the Bills are tough to gameplan against. But you asked a question - how do you do it? I answered it. No team in the NFL is impossible the gameplan against. Not even Kansas City. The better teams are though tougher than the rest. The Bills are in that tougher category. 

 

Of course, I get it — my point is simply that there isn’t one glaring area you look at as a weakness.

[HappyDays]

2 hours ago, eball said:

I see the Bills going 6-0 in the East

 

The Patriots have only done this twice since 2001 and one of those was their perfect season. On paper we are a lot better than the rest of the division but divisional games are weird.

[eball]

26 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

 

The Patriots have only done this twice since 2001 and one of those was their perfect season. On paper we are a lot better than the rest of the division but divisional games are weird.

 

Yep, I get it...I wouldn’t be surprised if they drop one to the Pats***.

[HappyDays]

Just now, eball said:

 

Yep, I get it...I wouldn’t be surprised if they drop one to the Pats***.

 

The way I see our season shaking out, I think we will rest our starters week 17 against the Dolphins. I think we will have the division locked up by then but won't in contention for the #1 seed.

[Rc2catch]

I’d float with the 9-7 10-6 range. 
I never like to be too confident before a season even starts. 
I can’t confidently say this is a top tier team until I see Allen be able to takeover a game with his arm. He’s the key to this being a Super Bowl caliber team. 

[RalphWilson'sNewWar]

This team is such an enigma.  Loaded with talent on paper, but have been so little tested as a group. And for the tests they have faced...lost almost all of them.

 

Just don’t know what they will do against good teams/quarterbacks considering their track record.

 

still though...9-7 at least

[Logic]

1 hour ago, GunnerBill said:

 

If I am gameplanning against the Bills it definitely involves a heavy dose of inside zone rushing on offense. When I need to throw I want to throw at the opposite side of the field to Tre White as much as possible. But I want to be 50/50 at worst and ideally 60/40 runs to passes. Three of the Bills defeats in 2019 came against teams who ran more than they passed against us. 

 

On defense I am playing a lot of cover 3 going man to man on Diggs with my best corner, shading safety help to John Brown's side and then I am getting exotic up front to confuse Josh not letting him see the same look twice (which tends to result in him holding the ball and missing guys being open) and running overloads on my left side to expose the weaker portion of the Bills offensive line. Basically I am willing for the most part to let him have Beasley and Knox and feel it is harder for the Bills to beat us if they are the guys catching a lot of balls. 

 

Not saying at all the Bills are an easy out. They won't be for anybody. But that is the formula I think if you are going to try and beat us. 

Feels like the Bills should be suspending GunnerBill any minute now...

[BullBuchanan]

I see us losing:
Rams
Chiefs
Seahawks
Steelers
49ers
Patriots 2x

Finish 9-7.

We've been the beneficiaries of extremely favorable schedules the last several years. That likely shifts a bit this season.

Edited August 30, 2020 by BullBuchanan

[eball]

53 minutes ago, RalphWilson'sNewWar said:

And for the tests they have faced...lost almost all of them.

 

In 2019 the Bills had six “tests” — NE*** twice, Baltimore, Dallas, Pittsburgh, and Houston.  They won two and lost four, with a still incomplete roster.  More importantly (to me), every game was within their grasp.  Fear over not being tested should not be a concern; this team knows they belong.

[BarleyNY]

2 hours ago, eball said:

 

Of course, I get it — my point is simply that there isn’t one glaring area you look at as a weakness.

My biggest question mark is Allen against man coverage.  He lit up zones, but often struggled against man.  Growth in that area will be paramount if the Bills are to advance past the first round of playoffs this season. 

[NoHuddleKelly12]

5 hours ago, first_and_ten said:

 

Love your optimism and I hope you're right but I feel you may be a bit overly optimistic

But why? 
 

Our salary cap’s been cleaned up, our roster is competitively deep at almost each marquee position, our QB’s chemistry with the new ammo has the goods written all over it, and we have less opt outs than the Patsies. Just wondering why @eballshould be reined in? 

[2020 Our Year For Sure]

19 minutes ago, BarleyNY said:

My biggest question mark is Allen against man coverage.  He lit up zones, but often struggled against man.  Growth in that area will be paramount if the Bills are to advance past the first round of playoffs this season. 

The Bills were relatively weak at receiver last year so it makes sense they struggled against man.

[Victory Formation]

I think we’d get smooshed against the Chiefs if we meet in the playoffs...but I do think we could beat the Ravens or 49ers if we meet them in the playoffs.. I would say that 12 wins is a possibility.. not saying we’ll get 12 wins but I don’t think you’re crazy for implying it... not that far fetched at all.. should at least get 11 wins.. I think 10 wins would be underwhelming if that’s all we get.. hopefully 12+ wins! ?

[BarleyNY]

27 minutes ago, 2020 Our Year For Sure said:

The Bills were relatively weak at receiver last year so it makes sense they struggled against man.

It’s also how defenses often find success against QBs with accuracy issues.  For example, Cam Newton has been at the top of the league in percentage of man coverage versus zone during his career.  I’m hoping Allen has improved his mechanics this offseason and is better in that regard.  It’ll be huge if he has.  I’m really looking forward to seeing Diggs in a Bills uni too, but Allen’s development is what I’m most anxious about.

[Virgil]

4 hours ago, Seasons1992 said:

 

*actual picture of @Virgil*

 

Get out of my house!

[machine gun kelly]

4 hours ago, Seasons1992 said:

 

*actual picture of @Virgil*

 

Well isn’t that pic precious.  Lovin it Seasons.  I’m only halfway through the thread, but conservatively say 10-6, and aggressively 11-5.  Why?  Because another poster is right, we have one of the most difficult schedules in the NFL, but that changes as games are played.  You can’t discount KC, SF, Seattle, and TN almost went to the SB.  No one wants to take them seriously, but they were crushing it when they switched to Tannehill.  Not because he is a world beater before people shoot this down, but he managed the game, most teams didn’t have an answer for Henry, and a really strong defense.  Hence going 9-7, but beating NE in NE, and Baltimore in Baltimore.  They lost to KC when KC poured it on, but they were competitive in the beginning of the game.  TN rode the Henry bus, but after over 1500 yards in the regular season and two road playoff wins, he was tired in the KC game.

 

That game will be tough.  We’re going to lose 1 or 2 games we expect to win and the above teams we should beat some of them.

 

Good news is we will be so battle hardened at let’s say 11-5 and winning the East, we will be completely ready for the Chiefs, Ravens, guessing the Colts, and whoever wins the WC spots.  I’m with you eball.  I hope with all my heart I’m wrong, and you’re right.  I mean that.  12-4 would be freakin awesome, but knowing you one area we agree is who cares the record, if we go deep, hopefully very deep in the playoffs we’ll all be happy.

 

Go Bills!