Conor Orr (from Si.com) and his prediction: Bills at 9-8 🤔

[PatsFanNH]

1 hour ago, NewEra said:

So let’s get this straight:  are you predicting a death during a Miami game?  😢 

I’m predicting Tua will be hurt early in the year. IMO he shouldn’t be allowed to play for 1 year after having 3 concussions so close together. I think sadly he is going get another major concussion early. 

[NewEra]

7 minutes ago, PatsFanNH said:

I’m predicting Tua will be hurt early in the year. IMO he shouldn’t be allowed to play for 1 year after having 3 concussions so close together. I think sadly he is going get another major concussion early. 

But why only 16 games 😉 

[PBF81]

51 minutes ago, BuffaloBillyG said:

The thing about the Patriots is they have a solid defense which can keep them in games. Then, they added Bill O'Brien as an actual OC...and that really will make a huge difference in their offense. BOB is a horrible GM but he can call an offense well. That will be a huge step up from Matt Patricia. Mac doesn't have to be fantastic to win games. 

 

That said I still see them as having the least talented roster top to bottom in the division. I think they are good enough to maybe steal a game or two from the Jets and or Dolphins...and if they catch the Bills off guard could even sneak a game from Buffalo. 

 

All in all I have them in 3rd in the division, challenging the Dolphins for 2nd.

 

It's definitely going to be an interesting season from the perspective of the division.  This is the first time in a couple of decades that there's been some relatively stiff competition among the four teams.  It's exciting, and whoever comes out on top will be more prepared for the playoffs.  

 

I can see all four teams finishing with winning records and within 3 games of one another.  

 

It's gonna be a cool season.  

 

 

[Jauronimo]

3 hours ago, oldmanfan said:

Not to defend the author because I disagree with his take, but to say Sports Illustrated is a fledgling company is pretty silly.  I have been reading SI for over 50 years.

Floundering is a better term.  SI is to sports what Ames is to shopping.  Totally irrelevant.  CNN replaced SI with Bleacher Report.  I doubt anyone under the age of 25 has even heard of SI.  SI is basically just a memory of time spent sitting in @teef's waiting room before a root canal.

 

Do they even do a swimsuit edition anymore?     

Edited August 25, 2023 by Jauronimo

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

1 hour ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

If what we saw against the Steelers is who we are, we are playing for the first pick. That's the worst case. I won't lie, I was shocked at how disorganized they were. I know it's preseason, but you play those games to tune up, not throw up on yourselves. I need to see them play better vs Chicago.

 

I don't care HOW bad this team looked. It's not playing for the first pick. People need to get a grip on themselves. Teams ACTUALLY playing for the first pick include:

 

Arizona

Houston

Indianapolis

Las Vegas

 

 

[BuffaloMatt]

7 hours ago, MJS said:

What do people see in the Patriots? They clearly have the least talented roster in the division.

ZeKe!🤮

[Florida Bills Fanatic]

SI does not have the quality of writers that they once had.  They are desperate to generate a following and crazy takes like this seems to be their approach to accomplish that.  Consider the source and look at it for what it is, merely click bait.

[Gregg]

8 hours ago, MJS said:

What do people see in the Patriots? They clearly have the least talented roster in the division.

 

They do have the best HC in the division. They have a decent D and now a real OC. I still have them 4th in the division. 

[teef]

33 minutes ago, Jauronimo said:

Floundering is a better term.  SI is to sports what Ames is to shopping.  Totally irrelevant.  CNN replaced SI with Bleacher Report.  I doubt anyone under the age of 25 has even heard of SI.  SI is basically just a memory of time spent sitting in @teef's waiting room before a root canal.

 

Do they even do a swimsuit edition anymore?     

i just enjoy that i was mentioned in the same post as ames.  

[thenorthremembers]

My Lord! Can the real football please start soon.  Speaks to how sickly obsessed we are with the NFL when a guy looking at schedule and making guesses on win totals based on a roster is news.   That said, split with Dolphins and Jets, beat the Pats twice, 11-6/12-5.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Royale with Cheese]

Has anyone ever met a cool Conor?

[gonzo1105]

3 hours ago, oldmanfan said:

Not to defend the author because I disagree with his take, but to say Sports Illustrated is a fledgling company is pretty silly.  I have been reading SI for over 50 years.

 

Yea its not longer the prominent reading material. Very few people go to SI anymore for sports information. Its lost a lot of its great writers. 50 years ago sure, 30 years ago spot on but in 2023 Sports Illustrated is going downhill and will probably be out of business in another 10 years. It had a good run. 

[BuffaloBillyG]

1 hour ago, PBF81 said:

 

It's definitely going to be an interesting season from the perspective of the division.  This is the first time in a couple of decades that there's been some relatively stiff competition among the four teams.  It's exciting, and whoever comes out on top will be more prepared for the playoffs.  

 

I can see all four teams finishing with winning records and within 3 games of one another.  

 

It's gonna be a cool season.  

 

 

And that's the thing a lot of people in the media can't get past. It seems all 4 teams will be competitive. The outlooks is always the same..."The Bills are in trouble.". It's like only the Bills have to play 2 against the Pats, Jets and Fins. But they all play each other twitch and at some point of the season attrition will likely set in. One or two of the teams will possibly pull away from the others in head to head. The most likely scenario I see is the Jets giving Miami fits. That secondary may be a poor matchup for Miami. I see the Pats taking a game from each of the Jets and Fins. 

 

If Buffalo can manage 4-2 in the division I see that as a huge benefit. 

[FilthyBeast]

This is in line with what I expect and what a lot of other pundits and experts are predicting.

 

Regarding the Bills specifically, I'm still holding off on my official prediction but right now I see anywhere from 6 - 10 wins as the magic number with a WC spot as ceiling.

 

Picking the Patriots is bold move but I can certainly see them sneaking up out of nowhere this year but still see the Dolphins as the favorites because they have one of the best overall rosters in NFL, top 5 QB (when healthy of course) and rising young head coach.

 

 

[Toyo321]

I can see that record as possible.  I really think you are going to see our defensive run all over this year.  Milano is the only talent back there that I am 100% confident with, and playing at a elite level.  Every other LB we have is a huge ???  Klein, Dodson and Bernard, Williams.  Who knows what it is going to look like in the middle of the field this year.   All I know I see us taking a step back and even though Power & Hyde are back I don't know how well they are going to play.  The speed at WR on the Jet's, Miami and other teams we have on our schedule are going to be a problem for Poyer and Hyde.  They looked extremely slow in training camp and I just don't know what we will see from them on the field this year.

Edited August 25, 2023 by Toyo321

[Gregg]

7 minutes ago, FilthyBeast said:

This is in line with what I expect and what a lot of other pundits and experts are predicting.

 

Regarding the Bills specifically, I'm still holding off on my official prediction but right now I see anywhere from 6 - 10 wins as the magic number with a WC spot as ceiling.

 

Picking the Patriots is bold move but I can certainly see them sneaking up out of nowhere this year but still see the Dolphins as the favorites because they have one of the best overall rosters in NFL, top 5 QB (when healthy of course) and rising young head coach.

 

 

 

6 wins for the Bills? If that happens then say good-bye to Beane and McDermott. 

[FilthyBeast]

8 hours ago, MJS said:

What do people see in the Patriots? They clearly have the least talented roster in the division.

 

Best HC in NFL history for starters.

 

Also the roster on defense is one of the best in the NFL and they got a real steal with their 1st round pick who IMO should have been a top 5 - 10 pick, offensively they probably still missing a few pieces but if Mac Jones can revert back to his rookie form or close to it they are going to be one of those grimy type of teams that rack up a lot of wins and Hoodie knows how to tame division foes in recent years.

[Nelius]

Picking the Pats is something. Not sure if that something is pure laziness or a contrarian take of almost the trolling variety. I can swallow the argument that the AFC East is more competitive and that the Bills may not come out on top, but the Pats lol? MacDonkle isn't surving two rounds each of the Bills, Fish, and Jets, c'mon now.

1 minute ago, FilthyBeast said:

 

Best HC in NFL history for starters.

 

Also the roster on defense is one of the best in the NFL and they got a real steal with their 1st round pick who IMO should have been a top 5 - 10 pick, offensively they probably still missing a few pieces but if Mac Jones can revert back to his rookie form or close to it they are going to be one of those grimy type of teams that rack up a lot of wins and Hoodie knows how to tame division foes in recent years.

 

You've truly twisted yourself in a pretzel at this point. You have no foundation anymore. "Offensively they're probably still missing a few pieces..." uh you think?! Bro they're missing just about every single piece.

 

You trolls always get way too greedy. Shouts to SaviorEdwards who at least attempted to maintain the art of subtlety.

[PromoTheRobot]

1 hour ago, Pine Barrens Mafia said:

 

I don't care HOW bad this team looked. It's not playing for the first pick. People need to get a grip on themselves. Teams ACTUALLY playing for the first pick include:

 

Arizona

Houston

Indianapolis

Las Vegas

 

 

 

I didn't say that would happen. Only that performance we saw, if that was what the Bills were week in and week out, would be.

[teef]

17 minutes ago, Nelius said:

Picking the Pats is something. Not sure if that something is pure laziness or a contrarian take of almost the trolling variety. I can swallow the argument that the AFC East is more competitive and that the Bills may not come out on top, but the Pats lol? MacDonkle isn't surving two rounds each of the Bills, Fish, and Jets, c'mon now.

 

You've truly twisted yourself in a pretzel at this point. You have no foundation anymore. "Offensively they're probably still missing a few pieces..." uh you think?! Bro they're missing just about every single piece.

 

You trolls always get way too greedy. Shouts to SaviorEdwards who at least attempted to maintain the art of subtlety.

He was savior edwards.  And highfootballiq 

[Nelius]

Just now, teef said:

He was savior edwards.  And highfootballiq 

No way. Not surprising in a sense but good lord the quality plummeted.

[teef]

4 minutes ago, Nelius said:

No way. Not surprising in a sense but good lord the quality plummeted.

It really did.  The posting will get more manic as the year goes on, and the season will end by him being completely wrong again. 

 

edit:  there will also be more Miami hype at some point. 

Edited August 25, 2023 by teef

[PatsFanNH]

2 hours ago, NewEra said:

But why only 16 games 😉 

Lmao force of habit still am not use to 17 games.. not a real fan of odd numbers.

[Sestak4ever]

Just have to play out the season and see where it all ends up. I would be disappointed if we lost more than 5 games. The backend stretch is brutal.

[hondo in seattle]

9 hours ago, Italian Bills said:

Ok, everything in sport is possible, but com’on, calling the Bills at a 9-8 season it seem a little exaggerated to me. 
 

And plus the Pats winning the Division. 
 

I leave the link for you to see. 
 

Comments (honest) ?

 

https://www.si.com/nfl/2023/08/24/nfl-season-preview-predicting-every-game-daily-cover

 

 

 

It's a curious take and he knows it.  Of course, opinions are like anuses, and everyone has one.  

 

I think he's swinging for fences with his argument that Bill O' Brien will revitalize the offense and propel the Pats into first place of the AFCE.  No one will give you credit for picking the Bills.  We've owned the AFCE for a few years now.  Picking the Fins or Jets may be a sexy option because of the improvements to their rosters.  But if Orr is right about the Pats, he can lay claim to being the NFL's new Nostradamus.  

[dave mcbride]

2 hours ago, Jauronimo said:

Floundering is a better term.  SI is to sports what Ames is to shopping.  Totally irrelevant.  CNN replaced SI with Bleacher Report.  I doubt anyone under the age of 25 has even heard of SI.  SI is basically just a memory of time spent sitting in @teef's waiting room before a root canal.

 

Do they even do a swimsuit edition anymore?     

Yes, and Martha Stewart is literally one of the models this year. Tracks with their demographic! https://swimsuit.si.com/model-years/2023

[akcash]

"Its a tough game for tough people."

[hondo in seattle]

I don't think we were a 13-3 team last year.  Contrary to the opinion of some others, I think McD performed well to attain that record.  I think the cumulative impact of injuries and detrimental events would have resulted in fewer regular season wins if we had an average HC.

 

But to predict the Bills falling to 9-8 is a bit much, even given our tougher schedule and roster holes.    

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

3 hours ago, Solomon Grundy said:

Why are they paying Ed Oliver??? 

Indentured servitude is frowned upon.

[Jauronimo]

16 minutes ago, dave mcbride said:

Yes, and Martha Stewart is literally one of the models this year. Tracks with their demographic! https://swimsuit.si.com/model-years/2023

I thought you were joking until I clicked on the link.  Holy *****!

[dave mcbride]

9 minutes ago, Jauronimo said:

I thought you were joking until I clicked on the link.  Holy *****!

To be fair to SI, the gimmick generated major mainstream media coverage! https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/15/style/martha-stewart-sports-illustrated-cover.html and https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2023/05/16/martha-stewart-sports-illustrated-swimsuit/

[BillsDad51]

3 hours ago, Solomon Grundy said:

Why are they paying Ed Oliver??? 

Good point.

[Bill from NYC]

The only way I can see the Bills at 9-8 is if Josh misses multiple games. If Josh plays the season there is NO WAY he loses 8 games. He is just too good. Josh will have to carry the team this season but this is not so unusual in the NFL these days. My fear is whether or not he is protected by his OL.

 

But hey, we do have some first round corners and even traded up for one of them, so things are looking up. 

[dave mcbride]

2 minutes ago, Bill from NYC said:

The only way I can see the Bills at 9-8 is if Josh misses multiple games. If Josh plays the season there is NO WAY he loses 8 games. He is just too good. Josh will have to carry the team this season but this is not so unusual in the NFL these days. My fear is whether or not he is protected by his OL.

 

But hey, we do have some first round corners and even traded up for one of them, so things are looking up. 

I see your point, but if you look at the long arc of teams led by great quarterbacks for long periods of time, there are almost always some down seasons: 7-9 a couple of times for Brees, 6-9-1  and 8-7-1 for Rogers, 8-8 for Roethlisberger in his prime, 9-7 for Brady after winning a SB, 9-7 for Russell Wilson while in his prime, etc., 8-8 (with Shanahan) and 7-9 for Elway, 8-8 for Favre in his prime in GB, etc. 

 

I'm not saying that the Bills will suffer a dip this season, but they most likely WILL suffer one at some point during Allen's prime. This year makes a certain amount of sense given the schedule, the division, and the cap situation (which prevented them from signing higher-level FAs). But they have the potential to win 13 games again too.  

[Generic_Bills_Fan]

10 hours ago, MJS said:

What do people see in the Patriots? They clearly have the least talented roster in the division.

 By a mile too…the bills at 9-8 I certainly disagree with but I could see the rationale behind it.  The pats winning the division is an absurd prediction 

 

jets are a bit of an unknown, could be great could be pretty good.  I think the league caught up pretty quickly with what the dolphins offense likes to do and analysts are assuming they’ll return to early last season form which I just don’t see.   I’m having trouble finding 8 losses for the bills unless we’re solely basing off of the starters only preseason action lol

Edited August 25, 2023 by Generic_Bills_Fan

[without a drought]

1 hour ago, FilthyBeast said:

 

Best HC in NFL history for starters.

 

Also the roster on defense is one of the best in the NFL and they got a real steal with their 1st round pick who IMO should have been a top 5 - 10 pick, offensively they probably still missing a few pieces but if Mac Jones can revert back to his rookie form or close to it they are going to be one of those grimy type of teams that rack up a lot of wins and Hoodie knows how to tame division foes in recent years.

Here was the "perfect" offensive game by the Bills:

Scored a touchdown on all seven offensive drives (excluding kneeldowns)

Averaged 12.3 yards per pass

Averaged 6.0 yards per rush

Did not take a sack

Went 6-for-7 on 3rd down and the only 3rd down they did not convert was the final kneeldown of the game

Had more touchdown passes (five) than incompletions (four)

Gained yards on 49 of 51 plays (excluding kneeldowns)

Only negative yardage plays were two kneeldowns at the end of the game

 

This must be the reverse psychology part.

 

Finally tamed into a mercy kneel.

[Bill from NYC]

Just now, dave mcbride said:

I see your point, but if you look at the long arc of teams led by great quarterbacks for long periods of time, there are almost always some down seasons: 7-9 a couple of times for Brees, 6-9-1  and 8-7-1 for Rogers, 8-8 for Roethlisberger in his prime, 9-7 for Brady after winning a SB, 9-7 for Russell Wilson while in his prime, etc., 8-8 (with Shanahan) and 7-9 for Elway, 8-8 for Favre in his prime in GB, etc. 

 

I'm not saying that the Bills will suffer a dip this season, but they most likely WILL suffer one at some point during Allen's prime. This year makes a certain amount of sense given the schedule, the division, and the cap situation (which prevented them from signing higher-level FAs). But they have the potential to win 13 games again too.  

And you too raise good points. The thing is, some of the guys you mentioned were there before the rule changes. The QB position is even more vital than it was back in the day.

The salary structure it quite telling imo. QBs like Jones, Cousins, etc. are making 40-50 million per season. Owners seem to feel that without these guys their teams would barely win any games. I don't know; maybe they are right.

If Josh had better blocking and receivers I think that they would win the Super Bowl. That said, I still put a very small bet on them to do so when I was at at Mohegan Sun for a concert.  

[FLFan]

1 hour ago, FilthyBeast said:

This is in line with what I expect and what a lot of other pundits and experts are predicting.

 

Regarding the Bills specifically, I'm still holding off on my official prediction but right now I see anywhere from 6 - 10 wins as the magic number with a WC spot as ceiling.

 

Picking the Patriots is bold move but I can certainly see them sneaking up out of nowhere this year but still see the Dolphins as the favorites because they have one of the best overall rosters in NFL, top 5 QB (when healthy of course) and rising young head coach.

 

 

Don’t bother with your “official prediction.”  Literally no one cares.  

[TC in St. Louis]

We're a better team than last year's squad.  This guy is crazy.

4 minutes ago, FLFan said:

Don’t bother with your “official prediction.”  Literally no one cares.  

Why be mean?  Why?  We come here to share thoughts and opinions.  If nobody cares, why do we do this?  

[Straight Hucklebuck]

I don't think that's insane. 

 

The Bills offensive line is not good. 

 

Their defense is aging, and has a lot of JAGs. 

 

2023 schedule is difficult as well. 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 25, 2023 by Straight Hucklebuck