1st month of the season is done. What are your impressions so far on the season?

[Royale with Cheese]

- QB roughing the passer calls are still terrible at times.

 

- The Jags are not good.  Trevor Lawrence doesn't look like he's supposed to after last year.  Maybe Kyle Brandt was right?

 

- I think the 49ers are the best team in the NFL right now.

 

- The AFC North seems up for grabs.  Ravens might be the unluckiest team.

 

- Have no clue how good the Chiefs actually are.

 

- The NFC North looks like it could overtake as the worst division in football just because the Bears are historically bad.  It's between them and the AFC South.

 

[BillsUberAlles]

Jags are frauds. 

Giants are a big disappointment considering how they came on last year.

Ravens are over hyped.

Browns might actually be really good.

 

Chiefs, Eagles, 49ers, Bills and Dolphins? appear to still be the best teams. Perhaps Cowboys although they laid an egg in the desert yesterday.

Edited September 25, 2023 by BillsUberAlles

[nucci]

 

 

[GoBills808]

I think the Dolphins are the best team rn

 

They put a college score line on an NFL team, they should be #1 and Niners #2

[78thealltimegreat]

CJ Stroud best QB in the draft 

If Brock Purdy stays healthy 49ers won’t lose more then 4 games this year

Eagles are overrated 

It’s time for Dallas to turn the age on Dak Prescott

Sean Payton may just be the most overrated coach of the last 20 years 

The Chargers do Charger things

Justin Fields simply can’t play in the NFL

The Bengals aren’t making the playoffs 

Edited September 25, 2023 by 78thealltimegreat

[Ramza86]

Is it me or is the quality of football not good these 1st 3 weeks?

[NickelCity]

Three weeks in is still a really hard moment to draw durable conclusions. But I do think the 9ers look excellent. The dolphins are high flying but I'll be curious what they look like in week 12 etc. 

[NewEra]

7 minutes ago, GoBills808 said:

I think the Dolphins are the best team rn

 

They put a college score line on an NFL team, they should be #1 and Niners #2

I think Miami has the best offense for sure. I’m just not sure if their defensive talents fit Fangios scheme.  I think we should be able to move the ball on their O without much of an issue.  I can’t say the same about the niner d.  Bosa, Armstead, Hargrave, Jackson is a big problem.  
 

In order, I think SF, Miami and KC are the best to date, but I have a lot more confidence in the SF and KC defenses to create problems for their opposition.  

That said, Miami definitely may be the #1 team.  Doesn’t seem as if any 3 of those teams have played much in terms of tough competition to date.

[MJS]

Hey, I tried warning everyone about the Jags, but I got told over and over that they were going to win the conference.

 

Going from a 3/4 win team to an 8/9 win team like the Jags did last year is good, but the difference is HUGE compared to going from an 8/9 win team to a 12/13 win team. It is a monumental task climbing those last few rungs on the ladder. It is an exponential curve of difficulty.

[GoBills808]

1 minute ago, NewEra said:

I think Miami has the best offense for sure. I’m just not sure if their defensive talents fit Fangios scheme.  I think we should be able to move the ball on their O without much of an issue.  I can’t say the same about the niner d.  Bosa, Armstead, Hargrave, Jackson is a big problem.  
 

In order, I think SF, Miami and KC are the best to date, but I have a lot more confidence in the SF and KC defenses to create problems for their opposition.  

That said, Miami definitely may be the #1 team.  Doesn’t seem as if any 3 of those teams have played much in terms of tough competition to date.

I expect the Niners to be at or near the top at the end of the season no doubt

 

Just right now, wk4, Dolphins have to be at the top for me. 70pts on offense gets you the 1spot in my book

[SoonerBillsFan]

I gotta say the Vikings being 0-3 is a shocker.

[Sammy Watkins' Rib]

4 minutes ago, NewEra said:

I think Miami has the best offense for sure. I’m just not sure if their defensive talents fit Fangios scheme.  I think we should be able to move the ball on their O without much of an issue.  I can’t say the same about the niner d.  Bosa, Armstead, Hargrave, Jackson is a big problem.  
 

In order, I think SF, Miami and KC are the best to date, but I have a lot more confidence in the SF and KC defenses to create problems for their opposition.  

That said, Miami definitely may be the #1 team.  Doesn’t seem as if any 3 of those teams have played much in terms of tough competition to date.

good assessment. I think what  also clear is that whoever wins the game this Sunday in Orchard Park will be the clear number one team in the league.

[NewEra]

2 minutes ago, GoBills808 said:

I expect the Niners to be at or near the top at the end of the season no doubt

 

Just right now, wk4, Dolphins have to be at the top for me. 70pts on offense gets you the 1spot in my book

70 points with 8 minutes left with the ball… insane for sure.  
 

I just don’t consider Denver to be a true nfl team atm.  especially without their only stud defensive player (Simmons was out).  I don’t think a team has ever been ruined by a player like denver has been ruined by RW.  I think the locker room is toast and they all hate that schmuck.  Nothing will change until he’s gone.   Unless Payton wants to draft Caleb Williams next year, they should go to stidham asap.  Jmo

[Jauronimo]

23 minutes ago, GoBills808 said:

I think the Dolphins are the best team rn

 

They put a college score line on an NFL team, they should be #1 and Niners #2

Back to back week 3 champions.  Time to hang another banner.

[NewEra]

4 minutes ago, Sammy Watkins' Rib said:

good assessment. I think what  also clear is that whoever wins the game this Sunday in Orchard Park will be the clear number one team in the league.

No doubt about it.  The winner should be a top the power rankings 

[eball]

I’m not ranking teams at this point because they’ve only played three games and the level of competition is not equal.

 

There is a “tier” of 5-6 teams I think will be competing for the Super Bowl, and the biggest difference from what I thought during preseason is that I have dropped Cinci out of that tier.  Otherwise, it is KC, Buffalo, Miami (in the AFC) and SF and Philly in the NFC.

 

Next tier down is Cinci, Cleveland, Baltimore, Jacksonville in the AFC and Dallas, Detroit, and maybe the Packers and Rams in the NFC.  I don’t trust any NFC South teams.

 

[BillsFanSD]

21 minutes ago, Ramza86 said:

Is it me or is the quality of football not good these 1st 3 weeks?

It's not just you -- it's worse this year than it has been in years past IMO.  I'm inclined to agree that the rustiness we've seen out of the gate this year is mainly due to teams blowing off the preseason.  

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

22 minutes ago, Ramza86 said:

Is it me or is the quality of football not good these 1st 3 weeks?

It's not you.

 

[Taro Nimbus]

That same dolphins team struggled to beat a tough defense in New England and boat raced two bad defenses.  We’ll see if they can do the same against Buffalo.   Chicago was all hype and Fields was supposed to be great this year……🤷🏻‍♂️

[uninja]

My impression is the same as it is every year, September is a liar.

 

The power rankings will be accurate come November.

[Straight Hucklebuck]

Tyreek Hill is faster than he ever has been. 

 

Running backs are going the way of Tight End. There are a few guys that carry the load, but the run game is increasingly being phased out, and it's all committee now. 

 

The Chiefs have "guys" at WR, their best is Rashee Rice. But their version of the dink and dunk will work again anyways. 

 

I don't know how you can stop the 49ers offense. Behind that line, Purdy throws short to elite weapons and he's good on top of that. 

 

We're in for a long year watching the Bears, Jets, Steelers on prime time constantly. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[boyst]

29 minutes ago, GoBills808 said:

I think the Dolphins are the best team rn

 

They put a college score line on an NFL team, they should be #1 and Niners #2

What will it take you to believe Buffalo is legitimately better than Miami this Sunday?

 

If the game finishes Buffalo win @21-17 I may not say the Bills are better overall and just played better. 

[BillsFanSD]

27 minutes ago, GoBills808 said:

I think the Dolphins are the best team rn

 

They put a college score line on an NFL team, they should be #1 and Niners #2

I think the Dolphins are a legitimately good team that can make a very deep playoff run.  Two years ago we were saying they were a couple of years away.  Last year we were saying that they were still a year off.  This year they have arrived and they have about as good a chance of winning the AFCE as we do.

 

That said, they struggled to put away the Chargers and Patriots.  Sure, they ran up the score on an awful Denver team, but we already knew they had a good offense.  And they're still benefiting from the early-season "Make our opponents die of heat exhaustion while we relax in the shade" HFA, which won't last.  They're very good and they might win the SB this year, but I don't think we need to crown them in Week 3 quite yet.

[GoBills808]

8 minutes ago, boyst said:

What will it take you to believe Buffalo is legitimately better than Miami this Sunday?

 

If the game finishes Buffalo win @21-17 I may not say the Bills are better overall and just played better. 

Good question

 

Defense will have to look competent vs the run and keep score under say 25ish, and only one of Hill/Waddle can go off. Not both

 

Offense will need to be able to generate first downs at like a 65% clip, pass pro will need to be as good as it was vs Commanders, and yardage in the 300passing 75rushing range...honestly, I would probably need all of these things to happen plus a win to justify saying we are confidently better. But that's largely because of how explosive Dolphins have looked last few weeks

[Lost]

39 minutes ago, Ramza86 said:

Is it me or is the quality of football not good these 1st 3 weeks?

 

They just picked the wrong games to put on prime time early in the season.

[GoBills808]

12 minutes ago, BillsFanSD said:

I think the Dolphins are a legitimately good team that can make a very deep playoff run.  Two years ago we were saying they were a couple of years away.  Last year we were saying that they were still a year off.  This year they have arrived and they have about as good a chance of winning the AFCE as we do.

 

That said, they struggled to put away the Chargers and Patriots.  Sure, they ran up the score on an awful Denver team, but we already knew they had a good offense.  And they're still benefiting from the early-season "Make our opponents die of heat exhaustion while we relax in the shade" HFA, which won't last.  They're very good and they might win the SB this year, but I don't think we need to crown them in Week 3 quite yet.

I'm not

 

the OP says what are your impressions of the season thus far

 

Thus far Miami has been the most impressive

[TheBrownBear]

9 minutes ago, BillsFanSD said:

I think the Dolphins are a legitimately good team that can make a very deep playoff run.  Two years ago we were saying they were a couple of years away.  Last year we were saying that they were still a year off.  This year they have arrived and they have about as good a chance of winning the AFCE as we do.

 

That said, they struggled to put away the Chargers and Patriots.  Sure, they ran up the score on an awful Denver team, but we already knew they had a good offense.  And they're still benefiting from the early-season "Make our opponents die of heat exhaustion while we relax in the shade" HFA, which won't last.  They're very good and they might win the SB this year, but I don't think we need to crown them in Week 3 quite yet.

I agree.  The Dolphins are good, and they were really good last year as well when Tua was fully healthy.  They deserve our respect.  Having said that, they played two relatively close games against middle-of-the-pack 7-to-9 win type teams in the Pats and Chargers before going nuclear against one the bottom 3 teams in the league.  You look up and see 70 points and it's easy to think this is the most dominant team in 20 years or something, but I'd like to note that the Bills' point differential over the past two weeks has actually been greater than Miami's (62 to 57).  Throw out week one, and you've got the two most dominant teams at the moment going head-to-head this weekend.  The Bills present their first truly elite test and I expect a good game. 

 

 

[Allen2Moulds]

I'm going to keep this to 4 teams.

 

1. Dolphins- through 3 weeks and what he showed last year, McDaniels might be the best offensive mind in the game. Serious threat to the entire conference. It'll come down to, can they continue to protect Tua?

 

2. Cincy is in real trouble this year. 0-2, with a gimpy Burrow. Rest him tonight and start 0-3, or play him and risk further injury.

 

3. Chiefs- they got worst at the tackle position, and seem to be missing Juju out of all people. On the flip side, they look a lot better on D. If they stay healthy, they'll remain the top threat.

 

4. Bills- McD and Bernard makes it look like a new defense. Faster, more physical, with some edge. Kind of like McD. Frasier by all accounts was a great great human being, who was loved by all, but probably too much of a nice guy. That's what we had with Frazier, a nice defense that would get pushed around.

Our interior OL is the best it's been. That has lead to an improved running game. 

 

The bad- Dorsey really struggles with play calling duties. I believe we continue to run the same offense as when Dabs was here, but it looks and feels very mechanical. Our offense only seems to work if Josh Allen is amazing. Guys rarely have any space to operate. All these new weapons and improved oline, Dorsey just doesn't know how to use them. This is the number 1 problem right now, and what could hold us back.

[billsfan89]

My impressions are thus far 

 

1. Weeks 1-3ish are kind of an extended pre-season. With less OTA's and one less pre-season week teams are figuring out more and more during the early weeks of the season. This is similar to college football where there is no preseason so teams schedule 2-3 weak teams early to help break the season in. But in the NFL these games aren't against unranked teams they are against NFL competition. But after 3 weeks I think we will settle in more. 

 

2. The Bills are contenders. The additions of Torrence and McGovern along with improved play from Brown (who may still not be good but is better than he was last year) and Dawkins (Dawkins was average to above average last year this year he has been very good) have completely changed the complexion of the offensive line which will change the prospects of the offense long term. The defense is good but nastier on the defensive line thanks to the break out of Oliver and the addition of Flyod and the continued development of Groot and AJ. ST unit is also solid. Overall the Bills will be in contention if they stay healthy. 

 

3. KC is the team to beat in the AFC. Much like the Patriots when Brady was there KC is the team to beat and KC is treating the first 2.5 months of the regular season like a tune up for the playoffs. The KC offense will be up and down until about mid-November. KC's biggest issue is their offensive line and WR's. They are going to baptize their WR's and offensive line by fire and tune them up over the next 8 games so that by late November Mahomes and Reid have gotten them into gear for the playoff run. With a defense that has Chris Jones, 3 first round picks invested in the past two seasons and some other nice pieces KC just needs to tune up their offense and they will be great as usual. Their division also is garbage which helps. 

 

4. The AFC is not the slaughter house we thought but it is no cake walk either. The AFCW teams outside of KC are not that much to write home about, maybe the Chargers can get to 9 wins and sneak a playoff birth. The AFC South is mediocre no threat from any team out there. The AFCE is more of a two team race between the Bills and Fins as Rodgers loss has tanked the Jets season and while the Pats are a tough team (great defense fairly well coached) they aren't contending for anything more than a wildcard. The AFCN is about as tough as we thought it would be. The Ravens have looked mostly good outside of a bizzare loss to Indy in OT, the Bengals are stumbling but we will see how that all shakes out, the Steelers look like a quality professional football team and the Browns have a great defense and Watson will only improve as the season goes on. 

 

5. The NFC is the 49ers to lose. Purdy is Jimmy G but on a much cheaper deal with a slightly better feel for the offense. That's all they really need to do to win. They have a great defense, solid ST unit and a great offensive supporting cast. Competent QB play will take them to the SB. The Eagles are a tough out but that's the only other team that is in the NFC that I think has a shot at knocking them off. The NFC South is a joke, the NFCN has some tough teams but no real contenders and the NFCW has some tough teams but no one on the 49ers level and we just saw the Cowboys while a good team aren't contenders. 

 

My guess to project the AFC playoffs after a just under three-week temperature check. 

 

Division Winners: Bills, KC, Houston and Ravens

Wild Cards: Miami, Bengals and Steelers 

Wild Card Bubble: Browns, Patriots and Chargers 

 

NFC 

Division Winners: 49ers, Eagles, Falcons and Packers

Wild Card: Cowboys, Lions and Seahawks

Wild Card Bubble: Rams and Saints

[RoyBatty is alive]

NFL parity is for real.

 

Any team can lose to any other team, just ask Dallas and Jax from yesterday and the Bills from opening week.  I think Josh would have benefitted from more work in pre-season.

 

I learned almost nothing from the Jets game (Josh collapse) or yesterdays Washington bombardment, neither game "told me" anything about the Bills, all were statistical flukes.

[billsfan89]

17 minutes ago, TheBrownBear said:

I agree.  The Dolphins are good, and they were really good last year as well when Tua was fully healthy.  They deserve our respect.  Having said that, they played two relatively close games against middle-of-the-pack 7-to-9 win type teams in the Pats and Chargers before going nuclear against one the bottom 3 teams in the league.  You look up and see 70 points and it's easy to think this is the most dominant team in 20 years or something, but I'd like to note that the Bills' point differential over the past two weeks has actually been greater than Miami's (62 to 57).  Throw out week one, and you've got the two most dominant teams at the moment going head-to-head this weekend.  The Bills present their first truly elite test and I expect a good game. 

 

 

 

Week 4 is going to be the measuring stick of how good the Fins are. They won a close shootout against a middle-of-the-pack Chargers team and then a one-score game away against a middle-of-the-pack Patriots team. They then had an epic blowout of one of the worst teams in the league in Denver at home. That's a pretty good three game stretch but I'm also not ready to crown this offense the 2007 Patriots either. The way some are talking about the Fins is similar to how some talked about the Pats after 3 games in 2007. 

 

The Patriots in 2007 scored 38 points exactly in each of their first 3 games while their opponents only scored 14, 14 and 7. And one of their opponents was a Chargers team that was coming off a 14-2 season who would go onto win 11 games that year. Miami is good and certainly deserves their respect but I am also not ready to call them the SB favorites or the best team in the league or conference until I see them beat the Bills in Buffalo this Sunday. 

 

I think people are letting that 70-point number get them carried away. The one time they faced a quality defense with good coaching they scored 24 points. Lets seem how they fare against the Bills nasty defense. 

[RoyBatty is alive]

1 hour ago, GoBills808 said:

I think the Dolphins are the best team rn

 

They put a college score line on an NFL team, they should be #1 and Niners #2

This aint college and in the NFL you have to play defense and competent special tams.  Look at Miami versus San Diego, a coin flip on which team was going to score last.  Hard to say Miami is the best NFL team when their defense is highly suspect.

[Chandler#81]

1 hour ago, GoBills808 said:

I think the Dolphins are the best team rn

 

They put a college score line on an NFL team, they should be #1 and Niners #2

They’ve scored just 1 more point than us through 3 games. I’m confident we’ll beat them twice this year. Their coach is a weird alien and I’ve hated their franchise since the 70’s. Knock Tua on his ass and he’ll be on IR for at least a month.

[ColoradoBills]

Impressions, opinions, predictions, statistics, rankings, odds are all a 50/50 guess at best.

I'll just look forward to every week of football.

 

Miami looks unbeatable, will that be true in December?

Bengals in an early hole, will they dig out like before?

What team starts to make a move in October, and will it last?

Will the Bills build a new foundation brick by brick and carry it over to the playoffs?

Will Sean Payton be mocked by Nate Hackett because his team won more games than Denver?

What will Travis's game be like when Taylor dumps him like all the others?

Who killed Peter Campbell?

 

These questions...and many others...we be answered on the next episode of.................

[Success]

I said in the offseason that this is the best Bills team we've had w/ Allen - and I think that's looking good so far.

 

In general, the AFC doesn't look as tough as most thought it would be.  No team looks unstoppable or anything.  I thought the Jags & Bengals might be our biggest competition; it's early, but both teams look like they could struggle to even make the playoffs. Obviously, the Jets fell off the map.  KC looked great yesterday, but I don't think the Broncos qualify as an NFL team - I'd put KC 4th in my AFC rankings at the moment.

 

The Dolphins look much better than I thought they would be.  Really balanced, and an offense that could be historically elite.  This weekend will tell us a lot about where we stand - but I think it's us, Miami & then everyone else in the AFC.

 

[GoBills808]

5 minutes ago, RoyBatty is alive said:

This aint college and in the NFL you have to play defense and competent special tams.  Look at Miami versus San Diego, a coin flip on which team was going to score last.  Hard to say Miami is the best NFL team when their defense is highly suspect.

if you're not impressed w Miami and their offense I don't know what to tell you

[RoyBatty is alive]

10 minutes ago, Chandler#81 said:

They’ve scored just 1 more point than us through 3 games. I’m confident we’ll beat them twice this year. Their coach is a weird alien and I’ve hated their franchise since the 70’s. Knock Tua on his ass and he’ll be on IR for at least a month.

When I first heard McDaniels talk, I almost started  to laugh, never thought he would command respect from NFL players twice his size.  So far, I hate to admit it but I am wrong, especially with the dysfunctional Miami ownership, have to give the weird alien credit.

4 minutes ago, GoBills808 said:

if you're not impressed w Miami and their offense I don't know what to tell you

DId I say i wasn't impressed with their offense, no I did not.  Although it wasnt impressive versus the Pats.

 

Re-read what I wrote, you have to play defense and special teams and thus far their defense is suspect.  The most over-sued current expression is, you have to play "complimentary football".

[NewEra]

1 hour ago, Straight Hucklebuck said:

Tyreek Hill is faster than he ever has been. 

 

Running backs are going the way of Tight End. There are a few guys that carry the load, but the run game is increasingly being phased out, and it's all committee now. 

 

The Chiefs have "guys" at WR, their best is Rashee Rice. But their version of the dink and dunk will work again anyways. 

 

I don't know how you can stop the 49ers offense. Behind that line, Purdy throws short to elite weapons and he's good on top of that. 

 

We're in for a long year watching the Bears, Jets, Steelers on prime time constantly. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The line has been pretty bad.  Shanahans offense masks a lot of deficiencies.  Mcdaniels does the same things. 

 

Other than Trent Williams they have Aaron Banks, Jake Brendel, Spencer Burford and Colton Mckivitz.  Not one of which I would consider good or are even playing good temporarily.  They’ve all been pretty bad tbh.  The scheme makes up for bad OL play 

[GoBills808]

9 minutes ago, RoyBatty is alive said:

When I first heard McDaniels talk, I almost started  to laugh, never thought he would command respect from NFL players twice his size.  So far, I hate to admit it but I am wrong, especially with the dysfunctional Miami ownership, have to give the weird alien credit.

DId I say i wasn't impressed with their offense, no I did not.  Although it wasnt impressive versus the Pats.

 

Re-read what I wrote, you have to play defense and special teams and thus far their defense is suspect.  The most over-sued current expression is, you have to play "complimentary football".

I read it

 

I kind of stopped when I hit the part about how much you think defense and special teams matters tho

[LABILLBACKER]

McDaniel has 2 of the fastest and talented wrs in the NFL. Mostert & Achane are a problem. Until someone brings them back to earth (Bills) they are #1.  The Eagles, Chiefs, Bills and 49ers round out my top 5.

 

Lawrence & Herbert just don't have the "it" factor. Jets w/o Rodgers will eventually panic and pu Cousins to no avail.  Bills defense is flat out fun to watch.  Kudos to Sean for finally taking over.  Hopefully bad weather and injuries stay away from us this season.