Well that was an absolute crap fest - PostGame thread

[UKBillFan]

1 minute ago, JayBaller10 said:

Pat Mahomes thought the Bengals were better than Buffalo too. And then they went out and proved it - at least in that one game. But I do think the Bills, Bengals, and Chiefs are targets for all other AFC teams. Maybe less so this year because the hype isn’t as strong as last year. 

 

The Chiefs, the Bengals and Josh are the targets in the AFC. I don't think the rest of the Bills roster (maybe Diggs and a fit Miller aside) is held in the same regard, mainly down to the performance against the Bengals last year.

[Nephilim17]

34 minutes ago, Dr. K said:

Positive outcomes:

 

1) Kyle Allen looked better.

2) Gabe Davis

3) Dalton Kincaid.

4) They can't commit that many penalties regularly, can they?

5) They've got a couple of weeks to work on things.

6) I got nothing else.

That Sherfield catch in traffic was nice too. But yes, only a handful of positives and wagonloads of crap.

[Brianmoorman4jesus]

The only things you really can take from it, make Allen the back up and put Barkley PS.

 

Dodson might not be good enough to even try here. The Oline got pushed around, the secondary looked bad, super slow at MLB, Murray way to slow to play RB….a few of the WRs looked good Davis looks like his old self. Just an embarrassment from the jump. You almost wanna see some starters next game now just to get this out of mind.

[NickelCity]

We have a full 6 months until the Superbowl. That's what I've got.

 

Trenches and Dorsey remain my biggest concerns. 

[BufBills83]

21 minutes ago, PatsFanNH said:

Umm no, that’s the Chiefs and Bengals, especially the Bengals for the Steelers.  People face KC they make it their SB. When they face the Bengals they are a measuring stick. Now teams don’t overlook the Bills by any means but outside of the AFCE no team IMO thinks of them as a measuring stick especially in preseason. 

You're wrong, the Bills are included in that group.

5 minutes ago, arcane said:

There is no player and no team out there saying "Eh, it's just Buffalo...next week on the other hand, oh boy, we play the Bengals"

The Bills have absolutely gotten teams' best swings the last 2 seasons. It's been a treat to watch, and there are soundbites from EVERY COACH WE FACE alluding to the phenomenon. You should hear Saleh talk during Bills week lol. You just wanted to say something unfalsifiable to knock a division rival down a peg. I don't blame you, it's been a long 3 years and will be another long 10. 

LOL true, he had his 20 years, take a back seat for a while.

[BigAl2526]

Spencer Brown took a couple bad penalties to be sure, but he was not the only one to play a sloppy and undisciplined game.  I'm not evaluating Brown's prospects for the 2023 season based on the first half of a preseason game.

 

In general, the Bills have to clean up their offensive line play a lot.  

In other observations, Barkley showed why Buffalo was looking for an upgrade.  He can look like a world beater in one drive or one week, and make awful decisions or display his noodle arm the next series or the next week.  Thankfully, Kyle Allen started to look like he's getting the Bills offense in the 4th quarter.  He hasn't proven he's the answer yet too the backup QB question, but he took a baby step in the right direction.  

We already know James Cook is capable of having explosive running plays, though he didn't show it yet.  We saw some decent to good play out of the rest of Buffalo's backs (Murray, Mims and Evans).  Damien Harris may find he's expendable before he ever steps on the field in a game for the Bills.  Trade bait?

There were few if any drops from Bills receivers tonight.  That was encouraging.

Kaiir Elam is still too "handsy."  Some CBs seem able to get away with it.  Obviously, officials are looking for it in Elam.  He's running out of time to win the competition to start.  

Buffalo is no closer to an answer at MLB.  Klien and Dodson both had some decent plays, but neither showed anything in pass coverage, which is something McDermott desperately wants in his middle linebacker.

A lot of the stuff that went wrong tonight seems as if it should be fixable.  The only question is, why did the Bills let it happen to begin with?

[dgrochester55]

I am not making excuses, Buffalo was undisciplined, but the refs were flag happy to a point that I haven't seen since Brady was on the Pats.    The worst to me was one play where Allen looked like he was going to escape a sack and make a throw and the ref threw a flag the second he broke free.  Allen was eventually sacked and Mysteriously there was no penalty.     It looked as if the ref was covering his bases in case the Bills got a first down and that there was an intent to keep Buffalo from driving.

 

Still, even of only half of those 13 penalties in the first two quarters were legit, 6-7 penalties in a half is still inexcusable.   Hopefully the Bills get it figured out by week 1.

Edited August 20, 2023 by dgrochester55

[90sBills]

23 minutes ago, Miyagi-Do Karate said:

Agreed. Seemed like Josh had happy feet back there to start the game. 

This was really disappointing for a qb his caliber. 

[Warriorspikes51]

1 minute ago, 90sBills said:

This was really disappointing for a qb his caliber. 

he probably had flashbacks to the last time both TJ Watt and Heyward played against him….

[buffblue]

2 minutes ago, 90sBills said:

This was really disappointing for a qb his caliber. 

Allen was fine. One of the only guys not to worry about 

[ChrisWatson#21]

Meh refs pretty much sabotaged the game.  On the flip side the Steelers fan base are now super pumped for the season😄

[Einstein]

50 minutes ago, JayBaller10 said:

Pat Mahomes thought the Bengals were better than Buffalo too. 

 

It’s funny - this forum didn’t talk much about that Mahomes comment.

 

So many posters here like to live under the delusion that we were simply unlucky or injured or emotionally depleted last year… but we have a HOF QB saying (paraphrasing) “the Bills just aren’t that good” and no one listened.

 

.

Edited August 20, 2023 by Einstein

[JoPoy88]

34 minutes ago, PatsFanNH said:

Trivia question for you.. who has been in the AFC Championship game the last 2 years?  Yup that’s right the Bengals and Chiefs.. right now everyone outside of Buffalo sees the Bills as the 3rd best team, maybe the 4th since so many love the dang Jets now..  I think it’s funny you point to stats when players just look at it as “these two teams are the best in the league”. 

lol. Still trying to adjust to that generation of mediocrity staring you in the face and  awaiting you huh? Spite is a bad look chief.

4 minutes ago, ChrisWatson#21 said:

Meh refs pretty much sabotaged the game.  On the flip side the Steelers fan base are now super pumped for the season😄

almost all of those flags in the 1st half were legit penalties. 

[90sBills]

2 minutes ago, Einstein said:

 

It’s funny - this forum didn’t talk much about that Mahomes comment.

 

So many posters here like to live under the delusion that we were simply unlucky or injured or emotionally depleted last year… but we have a HOF QB saying “the Bills just aren’t that good” and no one listened.

Did he said that though? Remember at the time of the comment the Bengals were 3-0 against the Chiefs. I’m sure that had something to do with his comment. 

[Chuck Schick]

2 minutes ago, Einstein said:

 

It’s funny - this forum didn’t talk much about that Mahomes comment.

 

So many posters here like to live under the delusion that we were simply unlucky or injured or emotionally depleted last year… but we have a HOF QB saying “the Bills just aren’t that good” and no one listened.

A bit revisionist.. I believe Mahomes’ comment was actually something like “the Bills are maybe a better matchup”, which could mean a bunch of things. Strengths and weaknesses that might seemingly fit better, etc. 

[Franco_92]

6 minutes ago, Einstein said:

 

It’s funny - this forum didn’t talk much about that Mahomes comment.

 

So many posters here like to live under the delusion that we were simply unlucky or injured or emotionally depleted last year… but we have a HOF QB saying “the Bills just aren’t that good” and no one listened.

The Bills had no safeties left and had probably practiced 3 times in the previous 4 weeks, and their QB had a UCL injury, and they hadn't looked good in weeks. Pat was correct, it's uncontroversial, and it isn't particularly worrying that that was true at the time

You talk like you have an inside bead on some uncomfortable truth, it's unbearable

Edited August 20, 2023 by arcane

[buffalonian]

5 minutes ago, Einstein said:

 

It’s funny - this forum didn’t talk much about that Mahomes comment.

 

So many posters here like to live under the delusion that we were simply unlucky or injured or emotionally depleted last year… but we have a HOF QB saying “the Bills just aren’t that good” and no one listened.

Not sure what Mahomes actually said, but “the Bills just aren’t that good” would be ridiculous. They were 13-3 during the regular season and beat Kansas City on the road. 

[90sBills]

14 minutes ago, buffblue said:

Allen was fine. One of the only guys not to worry about 

Not so much worried but definitely disappointed that he and the offense didn’t come out sharp like other top teams. Especially after the way things ended the last time he and the offense played. 

[947]

Dorsey's play calling with the starters was still idiotic. Our OTs are getting throttled by Pitt's edge rushers, and we're still featuring long-developing 20 yard routes with double moves. To the point that Josh had to move around the pocket & evade rushers while waiting for receivers to complete a route.

[90sBills]

4 minutes ago, buffalonian said:

Not sure what Mahomes actually said, but “the Bills just aren’t that good” would be ridiculous. They were 13-3 during the regular season and beat Kansas City on the road. 

Mahomes said ‘Bills are a better matchup for them’. This was in the Netflix series ‘Quarterback’. 

[Einstein]

15 minutes ago, Chuck Schick said:

A bit revisionist.. I believe Mahomes’ comment was actually something like “the Bills are maybe a better matchup”, which could mean a bunch of things. Strengths and weaknesses that might seemingly fit better, etc. 

 

Here is the exact quote. You can semantics it all you want but it is pretty clear:

 

“I think the Bengals are better, but I think with all those injuries on the o-line that the Bills have a chance” - Pat Mahomes

 

He felt the Bills needed a bunch of o-line injuries to the Bengals to simply have a CHANCE. Mahomes, at best, thought the Bills were third in the conference. Chiefs > Bengals > Bills.

 

He also did say the Chiefs match up better against the Bills. Which is a nice way to say the Bills just weren’t that doggone good at the time.

12 minutes ago, buffalonian said:

Not sure what Mahomes actually said, but “the Bills just aren’t that good” would be ridiculous. They were 13-3 during the regular season and beat Kansas City on the road. 

 

I was paraphrasing. It was the gist.

 

The Bills were 13-3 but we were a very flawed 13-3. The 11-6 Bills from the previous year would have wipped that 13-3 Bills ass.

Edited August 20, 2023 by Einstein

[mrags]

48 minutes ago, BeavercreekBillsFan said:

Dion has sucked for a long time now. Brown has just masked it because he’s even worse. But Dawkins sucks too. We don’t have 1 good tackle. Bills will never win a SB until they get serious about building a real OL. 

I’ve said it for years. Dawkins is a fat, sloppy, slob. Not in a good way. You look at good OTs in the league and that are mountains. Huge and muscular and stout. Dawkins is like an overfilled water balloon about to burst. He’s just not good. It’s a real problem and one of these days people will realize it. 

[Mike in Horseheads]

It's preseason FFS.  Orioles won tonight!

[Old Coot]

2 hours ago, Einstein said:

Poyer looks like he has lost a step. He looks slow

maybe but you can't see that from the 62 yd TD run. Poyer is pursuing laterally and he hesitates for a moment and that enables the RB to get by him on the outside. If he doesn't hesitate and contunues laterally the RB cuts back and takes it to the house behind Poyer.

[Boatdrinks]

4 minutes ago, Einstein said:

 

Here is the exact quote. You can semantics it all you want but it is pretty clear:

 

“I think the Bengals are better, but I think with all those injuries on the o-line that the Bills have a chance” - Pat Mahomes

 

Mahomes, at best, thought the Bills were third in the conference. Chiefs > Bengals > Bills.

 

He also did say the Chiefs match up better against the Bills. Which is a nice way to say the Bills just weren’t that doggone good at the time.

Pretty sure Mahomes has had less success vs Bengals Defense than the Bills. Of course saying the Bengals are better is the smart answer. Does it matter if he thinks the Bills are “ only” third best in the AFC ? No, it actually doesn’t mean squat in a game. 

[Old Coot]

They miss Edmunds. There was a lot of gree grass over the middle of the field.

[first_and_ten]

2 hours ago, Einstein said:

- Dion Dawkins was terrible

- Spencer Brown was also terrible

- Teams are going to exploit the middle without Edmunds

- Ed Oliver was pushed around 

- Poyer looks like he has lost a step. He looks slow

- I’m concerned about Cook in pass-pro. It was only one play but he got stood straight up and the only thing that saved him was the linemen next to him

 

- On the positive side of things, Kincaid is great at using leverage. 

- Torrence was alright 

- Shorter is going to make the roster

 

 I never worry about preseason performances but this game has really put that to the test. The Bills were just brutally bad. Refs were awful too, not to say that is why they lost, but they were bad

2 hours ago, Aussie Joe said:

No I wasn’t ….will venting here help?

 

Actually some may find that venting is cathartic.

[Einstein]

4 minutes ago, Old Coot said:

maybe but you can't see that from the 62 yd TD run. Poyer is pursuing laterally and he hesitates for a moment and that enables the RB to get by him on the outside. If he doesn't hesitate and contunues laterally the RB cuts back and takes it to the house behind Poyer.

I get what you’re saying, but 2020 Poyer makes that tackle.

 

This is called getting burned.

 

 

[MarkKelso'sHelmet]

16 minutes ago, 947 said:

Dorsey's play calling with the starters was still idiotic. Our OTs are getting throttled by Pitt's edge rushers, and we're still featuring long-developing 20 yard routes with double moves. To the point that Josh had to move around the pocket & evade rushers while waiting for receivers to complete a route.

 

This exactly. Dorsey does not adjust. He just does what he wants to do. Passing and shotgun 85% of the time unless they go up by four scores.

 

This was exactly like the Bengals game. Dominated on both sides of the ball, sloppy penalties, just getting pushed around like rag dolls.

 

It looked like men vs boys out there.  Obviously men are being coached by Coach Tomlin.

 

Fire the whole coaching staff and bring in an elite coach like Sean Payton. With this talent Bills should have multiple super bowls. McDermott is a falling star.

[Nostradumbass]

Poyer looked like he just didn't care enough to try and take the right angle and tackle him, and he problem shouldn't

 

On the second touchdown Milano and Tre looked like they were participating in a walk through

 

I'm not concerned at all

[Boatdrinks]

23 minutes ago, 947 said:

Dorsey's play calling with the starters was still idiotic. Our OTs are getting throttled by Pitt's edge rushers, and we're still featuring long-developing 20 yard routes with double moves. To the point that Josh had to move around the pocket & evade rushers while waiting for receivers to complete a route.

Didn’t like the performance at all, but are we really complaining about play calling in a preseason contest ? It’s vanilla Vs vanilla and I don’t want to see anything close to what they might do on Offense in the regular season. I want to see the OL win 1 on 1 matchups , WRs catch the ball crisply and cleanly and very few penalties on both sides of the ball. Unfortunately that’s not what we saw tonight. A preseason game is not about adjustments etc. 

[Airseven]

9 minutes ago, Einstein said:

I get what you’re saying, but 2020 Poyer makes that tackle.

 

This is called getting burned.

 

 

There’s a reason he generated little interest in free agency and circled back to this regime’s de$ire for familiarity. 

[BeavercreekBillsFan]

21 minutes ago, mrags said:

I’ve said it for years. Dawkins is a fat, sloppy, slob. Not in a good way. You look at good OTs in the league and that are mountains. Huge and muscular and stout. Dawkins is like an overfilled water balloon about to burst. He’s just not good. It’s a real problem and one of these days people will realize it. 

100%. We have our franchise qb FINALLY. And we give him Dawkins and brown. He deserves better. We deserve better. 
 

people overlook Dawkins poor play because he loves bills mafia and the “shnow “ comments but he’s a bum. Him and brown are going to get josh killed again and they completely limit what this team could be. 

[mrags]

3 minutes ago, BeavercreekBillsFan said:

100%. We have our franchise qb FINALLY. And we give him Dawkins and brown. He deserves better. We deserve better. 
 

people overlook Dawkins poor play because he loves bills mafia and the “shnow “ comments but he’s a bum. Him and brown are going to get josh killed again and they completely limit what this team could be. 

People are enamored with him and his personality. Maybe if he spent as much time worrying about his play and physical attributes he wouldn’t be that bad. 
 

I said it in one of the posts earlier during mini camp after seeing a pic of him. People jumped down my throat because it was “just mini camp”. Well, now it’s almost the regular season and he’s still as fat and doughy as he was then. Which is fatter and doughier than last year. Which was fatter and doughier than the year before that, etc, etc. 

[LABILLBACKER]

3 hours ago, Straight Hucklebuck said:

Glad we passed on Dewand Jones.

 

Bills might have to play jumbo set all the time.

 

No idea if there is a rule against that, but RT is laughably bad.

 

Picking through cuts to find a RT might have to be the route the Bills take honestly. 

Cool....6 straight years of settling for a 25th ranked OL...

[John from Riverside]

1 hour ago, PatsFanNH said:

Trivia question for you.. who has been in the AFC Championship game the last 2 years?  Yup that’s right the Bengals and Chiefs.. right now everyone outside of Buffalo sees the Bills as the 3rd best team, maybe the 4th since so many love the dang Jets now..  I think it’s funny you point to stats when players just look at it as “these two teams are the best in the league”. 

And you don’t  think that a third best team is not a measuring stick

 

 

I guarantee you that whenever your ***** team plays us how well they do against us will be considered a measuring stick

[1ManRaid]

2 hours ago, JayBaller10 said:

I mean, you can’t just take away their TDs. Would the Steelers have scored a 3rd if their starters remained in the game? Who knows, but they were clearly winning. You call it two fluke plays, I call it superior execution.

Oh yeah, not arguing against Dawkins and Brown, both were terrible. But there was one play in particular on the opening drive, the 3rd down I believe, where he did have time and decided to roll out to his right anyway, which brought the rush in his face and took away half the field. The result was a throw that landed nowhere really.

 

You call under 2 yards per rush on 30+ carries outside of that one long TD "superior execution"?  You call 144 total pass yards even including that 25 yard TD superior execution?

 

I call that proof of a 1st quarter fluke.

Edited August 20, 2023 by 1ManRaid

[Skyline Chili]

53 minutes ago, MarkKelso'sHelmet said:

 

This exactly. Dorsey does not adjust. He just does what he wants to do. Passing and shotgun 85% of the time unless they go up by four scores.

 

This was exactly like the Bengals game. Dominated on both sides of the ball, sloppy penalties, just getting pushed around like rag dolls.

 

It looked like men vs boys out there.  Obviously men are being coached by Coach Tomlin.

 

Fire the whole coaching staff and bring in an elite coach like Sean Payton. With this talent Bills should have multiple super bowls. McDermott is a falling star.

Curious to see how Payton does this year...

[Ethan in Cleveland]

3 hours ago, Einstein said:

 

Were you… happy… with tonight’s performance?

Its preseason. Who cares? 

[Norcalbillsfan]

3 hours ago, Roundybout said:

I feel sad but then I see Kincaid’s highlights and I feel better 

I've been really good about keeping  expectations low to medium for Kincaid, but after today..  I might be all aboard the hype train.

There's always those athletes that just blow my mind on how they get open and make it look easy. (Not comparing) but kelce has always been that guy to me, he makes one cut and he's magically wide open and I'm screaming at my tv wondering how the hell hes still getting open. Tonight I felt like Kincaid did that, his leverage on defenders was impressive and they seemed to not have an answer for him. Can't wait for week 1.