transplantbillsfan Posted February 9, 2022 Share Posted February 9, 2022 This is about the entire team and I think it's reasonable to put heavier weight on the most critical aspects of the team, particularly Quarterback play and coaching. The arguments would seem to be: Step Back: Allen regressed, which is pretty obvious in his stats. The team lost 2 more games, including 1 to the worst team in the NFL. In 2021 Buffalo was 2-4 against playoff teams in the regular season. Buffalo swept the division in 2020 and was 3-2 against playoff teams in the regular season. Buffalo won fewer playoff games reaching only the divisional round after getting to the AFC Conference Championship the year before. Buffalo didn't win ANY one score games in 2021 and really seemed to lack resilience in close games after going 5-1 in one score games in 2020, with the only loss coming on a Hail Murray. Step Forward: QB is the absolute most important position and Allen may not have had the statistics, but he had better command of the offence and his statistics were largely hurt by factors out of his control like weather. He was also lights out and flawless in the playoffs against a Bill Belicheck coached defense and on the road against the Chiefs. The team came into the season on everybody else's hit list and still managed to win the AFC East and win 12 games. They proved they can beat Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City in Kansas City in the regular season. The Bills had the highest point differential in the NFL. Buffalo finally discovered a running game with Singletary and found a seemingly solid starting 5 on OL moving forward to protect Allen and make sure we aren't so one-dimensional. Add whatever else needs to be added for your argument. I realize I said nothing about coaching and defense... mainly I don't even know if I know what to make of those 2 things. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Draconator Posted February 9, 2022 Share Posted February 9, 2022 In two playoff performances by Josh, it's a step forward. Jacksonville game not with standing. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warcodered Posted February 9, 2022 Share Posted February 9, 2022 I mean performance wise it's pretty well even we became a SB contender last year and were one this year. Overall though I do feel like we became a better team this season, defenses found ways to get after Josh after his breakout year and he figured those defenses out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alphadawg7 Posted February 9, 2022 Share Posted February 9, 2022 (edited) Step forward. Not everything is in a vacuum, so comparing stats, w/l records etc lacks context. End of the day, you play for the post season. And the team that was in this post season was significantly better than last years team even with the loss of our best defensive player in White. It took a coaching blunder by our ST coordinator not telling Bass the squib kick call and a poor response by Frazier after to end our season. The better team lost in KC, and IMHO we are the best team between Rams, Bengals, Chiefs, and Bills right now. 6 minutes ago, Draconator said: In two playoff performances by Josh, it's a step forward. Jacksonville game not with standing. This is NOT directed at you, but since you mentioned Jax…people need to let this go. Upsets happen like this all the time to the best teams. Bengals lost to the Jets and are in the SB. It means absolutely nothing. It meant nothing in our post season either where our offense that had 6 points against Jags, was other world’s dominant against its two post season opponents. I assure everyone Bengals fans are not obsessing over the Jets loss right now. Again, not pointed at you. But there are still a bunch of people who need to read this. Edited February 9, 2022 by Alphadawg7 4 3 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Draconator Posted February 9, 2022 Share Posted February 9, 2022 4 minutes ago, Alphadawg7 said: This is NOT directed at you, but since you mentioned Jax…people need to let this go. Upsets happen like this all the time to the best teams. Bengals lost to the Jets and are in the SB. It means absolutely nothing. It meant nothing in our post season either where our offense that had 6 points against Jags, was other world’s dominant against its two post season opponents. I assure everyone Bengals fans are not obsessing over the Jets loss right now. Again, not pointed at you. But there are still a bunch of people who need to read this. No offense taken. All good. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethan in Cleveland Posted February 9, 2022 Share Posted February 9, 2022 Step back. Not sure how you see it any other way. Won less games, didn't even make Champioship game, and despite heavy investment in d-line the pass rush was no better. The o-line was worse for most of the year. Edmunds is still not playing well and he had no injury excuse. Best player on defense tore his ACL. McDermott and coaching staff despite showing more aggressive tendencies cost Buffalo a SB appearance. Beane did nothing during the season to make the team better. Not everyone took a step back. Oliver played well. Phillips improved. And Bates, Singletary, Davis, Dawkins, and Morse were all playing well at the end of the season. Also two rookies won starting jobs. None of the above matters. Allen proved again he was a superstar. The coaching staff proved to be a liability. None of that will change next year. Beane must fill some holes and be aggressive before Allen's contract kicks in. Trust in Allen 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBobs Posted February 9, 2022 Share Posted February 9, 2022 Step forward - after outperforming expectations two years ago the team held up to the pressure of being one of the best and proved that they belong in the conversation as a Superbowl contender. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg S Posted February 9, 2022 Share Posted February 9, 2022 Step forward. Allen proved to be a big time player in the playoffs. Two drives in the 4th quarter he led the Bills back to take the lead at Arrowhead. He is one of the best players in the game and he might be the best QB in the game today. This is a really good team and should be a Super Bowl contender next year as well. But their are areas of this team that need to be improved mostly on defense. Despite the #1 ranking we all saw what happened when they faced good QB's and offenses. Overall the future is bright. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
78thealltimegreat Posted February 9, 2022 Share Posted February 9, 2022 Forward Allen is a megastar now and not just a nice story about a guy who exceeded the likes of Mina Kimes or Nick Wrights expectations. What he did in the playoffs the man quite frankly is arguably the best player in football and I don’t think it’s particularly close. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBillyG Posted February 9, 2022 Share Posted February 9, 2022 Lateral movement. We lost in KC to end the season last year. We lost to the same team in the same place this year. I think losing a week earlier, yet deserving the win as opposed to getting embarrassed the years before is an offset. Some positives and some negatives. Next season I figure we will have a few upgrades in players. We are also going to see a lot of new faces on the coaching staff. How those new coaches fair will,, in my opinion either take us to that next level or flatline us if they are in over their head. #GoBills 3 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loveorhatembillsfan4life Posted February 9, 2022 Share Posted February 9, 2022 The Natural progression from AFC Chanpionship would be to the SuperBowl. From that standpoint we stepped back. Allen took the next step forward to Elite Greatness. I think we’re close but need a Superstar or game changer on D. Now maybe if Tre didn’t get hurt the Kc ending is a different story. Tre alters game plans. Maybe Oliver was our biggest disrupter but outside of him I don’t think we have two many Guys who raise the D to another level. That’s not bad, we are solid but can’t help feel that one more impact player would make a huge difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southern_Bills Posted February 9, 2022 Share Posted February 9, 2022 We were ousted sooner, lost some games we should have won. Though I do think it's a step forward, we know what we have in Allen without question and he has learned how to play controlled chaos in big spots. Didn't work out this year but it will pay dividends later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPS Posted February 9, 2022 Share Posted February 9, 2022 Step forward. Last year the Bills really weren't in the game with KC; this year it was won....with 13 left. They should be facing the Rams this weekend. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky Landing Posted February 9, 2022 Share Posted February 9, 2022 Just in the most general, and over-simplified terms, my explanation for the Bills' '21 season is that the Bills' mid-season slump, where we lost half of our games and looked like pretenders, was more or less due to the league figuring out how to defend our spread offense, and it taking the Bills two months to adjust to it. It was a question of scheme, and finally figuring out how to engineer a zone blocking O-line that, along with giving Allen adequate protection, could also block for a decent rushing attack. And that is huge. Once they had that dialed in, the Bills' offense became elite, and that is where they pick up next season. Had we won that coin toss to start in OT, it would have been Allen marching down the field against a gassed defense, and scoring a TD. Sure, we didn't advance to the AFCCG, but to this homer, I'm calling it a step forward. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Otreply Posted February 9, 2022 Share Posted February 9, 2022 (edited) It was going the wrong way until,(I’m guessing here) SM forced Dabol to install a functioning run game, then it really gave the offense the opportunity to really fire up the after burners, jmo. Go Bills!!! Edited February 9, 2022 by Don Otreply 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albwan Posted February 9, 2022 Share Posted February 9, 2022 I'm afraid the Bills and Allen may go the way of Rodgers and the Packers...minus the Super Bowl win. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Success Posted February 9, 2022 Share Posted February 9, 2022 Patriots fans hate us now. Step forward. 3 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuartjohn Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 3 hours ago, 78thealltimegreat said: Forward Allen is a megastar now and not just a nice story about a guy who exceeded the likes of Mina Kimes or Nick Wrights expectations. What he did in the playoffs the man quite frankly is arguably the best player in football and I don’t think it’s particularly close. God I agree 1000% percent what you just said! It was Criminal how “ Lesley Frazier & Heath Farwell” blew the Bills Super Bowl chances this year! So let’s see Harrell is gone hopefully Frazier follows! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RalphWilson'sNewWar Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 “Worse” has such icky label to it. Did the stats, record and length of season all get worse? Yes. But I don’t think their standing in the conference changed at all. 2nd or 3rd Best team in AFC. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireChans Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 4 hours ago, transplantbillsfan said: This is about the entire team and I think it's reasonable to put heavier weight on the most critical aspects of the team, particularly Quarterback play and coaching. The arguments would seem to be: Step Back: Allen regressed, which is pretty obvious in his stats. The team lost 2 more games, including 1 to the worst team in the NFL. In 2021 Buffalo was 2-4 against playoff teams in the regular season. Buffalo swept the division in 2020 and was 3-2 against playoff teams in the regular season. Buffalo won fewer playoff games reaching only the divisional round after getting to the AFC Conference Championship the year before. Buffalo didn't win ANY one score games in 2021 and really seemed to lack resilience in close games after going 5-1 in one score games in 2020, with the only loss coming on a Hail Murray. Step Forward: QB is the absolute most important position and Allen may not have had the statistics, but he had better command of the offence and his statistics were largely hurt by factors out of his control like weather. He was also lights out and flawless in the playoffs against a Bill Belicheck coached defense and on the road against the Chiefs. The team came into the season on everybody else's hit list and still managed to win the AFC East and win 12 games. They proved they can beat Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City in Kansas City in the regular season. The Bills had the highest point differential in the NFL. Buffalo finally discovered a running game with Singletary and found a seemingly solid starting 5 on OL moving forward to protect Allen and make sure we aren't so one-dimensional. Add whatever else needs to be added for your argument. I realize I said nothing about coaching and defense... mainly I don't even know if I know what to make of those 2 things. Other: We proved we weren't a one year wonder. We didn't go as far, but Josh still rules. Our defensive core is still pretty good. Our offense is really good. And when push comes to shove, in the biggest moments we can hang with or beat the best teams in the NFL. Now, if we don't win the AFCCG next year, I would argue that we still aren't "stepping back" or "stepping forward" but are stuck in neutral trying to get over the hump. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steptide Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 While that chiefs game hurt worse than anything this season, it was a huge step forward for Allen. He won that game and he will use that to win us a superbowl one day. 1 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LABILLBACKER Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 (edited) From an offensive standpoint I count it as a step forward. Other than a couple offensive letdowns against Pittsburgh & Jacksonville, Josh really blossomed. We saw another level of improvement in Knox & Davis. And the most exciting development was probably the last few games of the season where injecting Bates and featuring Motor helped our anemic run game. I think adding Dorsey, Brady & Kromer will only continue the advancement. Defensively we may have had some statistical #1 rankings but it never felt dominant. The young DE's just didn't pop like I was hoping. Edmunds ran around doing what Edmunds does which is pretty unremarkable. I liked the way Ed played but after him the front 4 was kinda meh. Our safeties may be getting older but are still the best 1-2 duo in the NFL. Losing Tre was brutal and I'm hoping if Levi leaves we draft his counterpart. I think the biggest step back was coaching. We always have that mid season lull where we lose focus. This year was no different with the Jags embarrassment. The coaching especially in-game HAS to improve. We can't EVER witness that 13 second meltdown again. We owe that much to Josh playing basically 2 straight perfect playoff games. Figure it out Sean. Edited February 10, 2022 by LABILLBACKER 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hemma Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 The most important player on the team finished the year being close to perfect. Made it easier to correctly identify various weakness’. I’d call that progress. 1 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pennstate10 Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 4 hours ago, Alphadawg7 said: Step forward. Not everything is in a vacuum, so comparing stats, w/l records etc lacks context. End of the day, you play for the post season. And the team that was in this post season was significantly better than last years team even with the loss of our best defensive player in White. It took a coaching blunder by our ST coordinator not telling Bass the squib kick call and a poor response by Frazier after to end our season. The better team lost in KC, and IMHO we are the best team between Rams, Bengals, Chiefs, and Bills right now. This is NOT directed at you, but since you mentioned Jax…people need to let this go. Upsets happen like this all the time to the best teams. Bengals lost to the Jets and are in the SB. It means absolutely nothing. It meant nothing in our post season either where our offense that had 6 points against Jags, was other world’s dominant against its two post season opponents. I assure everyone Bengals fans are not obsessing over the Jets loss right now. Again, not pointed at you. But there are still a bunch of people who need to read this. Its hard to agree that "the better team lost" in KC. Bills had to convert a 4th and 13, and make several other miracle plays with less than 2 minutes. If one of those passes is tipped or dropped, 13 sec means nothing to nobody. Mahomes and Chief were dialed in, playing their best game of the season. I'm a long time Bills fan, but KC and Bills, each at their best, hard to say which team is better. I just wish the Bills had the opportunity to play the team that played against Cincy the week after. Bills were head and shoulders better than that version of KC. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevewin Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 Josh huge step forward, 13 second defense huge step back Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transplantbillsfan Posted February 10, 2022 Author Share Posted February 10, 2022 4 hours ago, Albwan said: I'm afraid the Bills and Allen may go the way of Rodgers and the Packers...minus the Super Bowl win. Seriously? I feel pretty confident Allen will bring Buffalo more than one Lombardi. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nextmanup Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 I'll say step forward, though it came very late in the season. I'm talking about Josh's 2 playoff games, where he rose to yet a new level. I don't expect him to stay at that level all the time, but if he can come close.... Also, it's just a quirk of the seeding system that our game in KC came when it did; it could--and probably should--have been the AFC Championship game for the 2nd year in a row. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProcessAccepted Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 O-Line and Josh Allen play at the end of the season 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harryS Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 Clear step forward. Last year, we didn't have a chance to win the Super Bowl. This year we should've won it or at least should've been in the Super Bowl if not for massive unforgivable coaching incompetence. Most likely, next season won't give us as good a shot as we had this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teef Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 i'm going with a step forward. it's obviously hard to say that after not going as deep in the playoffs as we all would have liked, but i'm far more confident in allen and this team going into next year as i was this year. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoBills808 Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 Forward! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sierra Foothills Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 Step forward. 1) The NFL is like an arms race. Josh put tons of video out there and league DCs spent considerable time trying to game plan him and figure out how to crack the code... like "The Jordan Rules." In spite of this Josh still had a great season and played his best football when it counted. 2) The Bills needed the 1989 Bickering Bills season to launch them into the 4 straight Super Bowls. Sometimes a step back is actually a step forward in disguise. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBBills Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 Lol already proven Josh didn't regress. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In Summary Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 Allen - big steps forward. Team - small step back. Attribute mostly to OL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddaryl Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 seemed like a lateral move between the 2 years IMO. Improved in some areas regressed in other areas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freak-O Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 Step forward. They lost a few lacklustre games, and some players’ stats might have gone down, but when it mattered and everyone went 100% they were better than last year. The losses/stats I think might be down to underestimating their opponents in some games. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob in STL Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 The Bill took a step back as a team. 1 They lost a few more games overall 2 They failed to win a single game that was decided by one score - this is a concern 3 They did not get to the AFCCG 4 Cracks in some of McDermott’s process - game day calls, benching of players, overall readiness and use of time outs, coaches are leaving 5 Unfathomable communication issues in critical game situations 6 Regression of OL 7 Pass rush and DL line play in general is not producing in accordance with the investment 8 Special teams gaffes - Punter and Kick returners with negative plays, possible communication issues Josh Allen took another step forward. Bad weather is the reason his stats are slightly down, that and the lack of a running game for 3/4ths of a season. Josh was much improved in his decision making and is the main reason we were contenders. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FilthyBeast Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 I think it was a step back for several reasons: 1) Allen wasn't as consistent during the regular season as previous year but he certainly made up for it in the playoffs. 2) The main goal was to get homefield throughout and the #1 seed and that was there for the taking this year especially with such a weak schedule but this team failed to do that which is one of many reasons their season ended again in KC. 3) Piggybacking off the 2nd point, this team started 4-1 and finished 4-0 but was a very bad 3-5 in between. This was a combination of many things but I still blame coaching for this and you can't take half the season off and truly expect to be a championship contender. 4) I still don't buy the idea that this team in the early stages of some sort of infinite SB window just because they've solved the QB position. This is a strange league you simply don't know what's going to happen each year especially with injuries, regime changes, roster turnover, etc so 2021 was a wasted opportunity. In the end though before the season started I predicted 12-5 and losing in the division round and I was spot on for the most part just off one loss. But I still think it's very realistic that 2020 was the peak for this regime and we could be looking at a new HC and/or GM as soon as 2023 if this team doesn't deliver this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoMAn Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 The Bills' offense is built around the passing game. Has there ever been a season when practically every home game had weather conditions that were far from ideal for a passing offense. The Washington game may have been the best, and yet it was still windy enough that Bass needed a holder on kickoffs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coach Tuesday Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 (edited) The Bills should be playing on Sunday it's that simple. The Bengals, Chargers, Ravens, Chiefs, Broncos and other AFC teams will all look to improve this offseason and there's no guarantee the Bills will have such a golden opportunity to bring home a Lombardi staring them in the face again soon. You have to take advantage of the changes you're given. With Allen at QB this team can beat any team any week for the next decade (so long as he stays healthy of course), so there's ample reason to stay encouraged and hopeful - but we also shouldn't underestimate what a colossal disgrace of a coaching job we witnessed three weeks ago. "Oh well, we'll do better next time!" is nice to hear and all, but it reflects a lack of appreciation for just how rare this opportunity was. We are at a point right now where we can sit back and say we'll get 'em again next year, and hopefully that's true - but if things don't go that way, years from now we'll be sitting here debating just how big of a debacle "13 Seconds" really was. It might be the biggest coaching disaster in Buffalo sports' history. Edited February 10, 2022 by Coach Tuesday 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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