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

[DuckyBoys]

lot of very very questionable coaching  Analytics seems to driving bad decision making

[corta765]

My thoughts:

Surprises

-Houston and Arizona have some real fight with Stroud looking quiet good and the sum of parts playing being the means in the desert

-I thought Miami would be good to quite good this year but the level they are pacing is truly impressive

-I had the Jags as a top seed and they look like a work in progress again. Plenty of time, but the longer they don't string some wins together the more open they leave the division to someone else

-Overall level of play is very much towards defenses to start the year and there has been some very sloppy football.

-Green Bay has already played better then I thought and maybe a wildcard is possible

-Injuries. I can't remember a season so early on with the level of just awful injuries to start and to such high profile players. Rodgers Chubb & now Mike Williams (still a shock regardless of past) plus Burrow still being down has certainly been a lot.

-LA Rams, very early and things can change but they look like maybe a wild card race could happen

 

Expected

-Never bought the Bears hype although this implosion is bordering on cleaning the coaching staff and starting fresh. They are approaching really rudderless in terms of direction. This team badly needs an outside football guy to step in as president of operations with a true plan to right the ship.

-Regressing to the mean sucks for teams and the Vikings and Giants are learning the hard way. I had MIN as a playoff team but the 7th seed WC and for the reason they are showing. Not sure at 0-3 if they can dig out. The Giants I think over achieved big time last year like the Bills in 2017 and now life is hard when your talent isn't as high as you thought. Long term still buy in for Daboll and crew but I can easily see 6-11 on the horizon.

-The Ravens look good even if they are never allowed players to avoid catastrophic injuries, still think they finish like 12-5 

-49ers with a competent QB is really interesting. Cannot wait to see them take on PHI healthy this year

-One month in and the Lions are slowly climbing the ladder like we all thought for their first division crown. Thursday isn't a must win but they can send a solid message to the rest of the division.

[Alphadawg7]

3 hours ago, Royale with Cheese said:

 

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

 

 

While Trevor is admittedly a promising young QB, he is also maybe the most over rated QB in the NFL right now in terms of how people rate him vs his actual level of play.  He is consistently just given a top 10 designation that is undeserved IMHO, and even some people foolishly listing him in the top 5 coming into this season (or even better than Allen if you are that troll Nick "never" Wright)

 

Honestly, I can't even list him in the top 10 QB's in the NFL this season:

 

Top 5 - In Order

Mahomes, Allen, Burrow, Hurts, Herbert

 

Next 5 - In NO particular order

Tua, Cousins, Purdy, Stafford, Lamar

 

Yup, I have Purdy in the top 10, and he is playing better than most QB's even several listed in the top 10 with him.  He is the 4th highest rated QB in the NFL and has the 2nd highest avg per pass.  Some may call him a product of the system, but I don't care because he plays in that system...and he is playing at a top 10 QB level right now in SF and is a big reason why they are the SB favorites right now.  I have watched every game he has played as my wife is as big a Niner fan as I am a Bills fan...and he just keeps impressing me and its time to start realizing he is for real.  

 

For me, Trevor falls in that next tier of 11-15 type of QB's.  This is the tier where you would be picking 5 guys out of say the following QB's depending on how you view each of these guys:

 

Trevor, Dak, Stroud, Goff, Geno, Carr, Love, Jones, Wilson

 

I don't have an issue if someone wants to list him first in this group as the 11th best guy here using his potential as the deciding factor.  But even most of these guys are playing better this year so far than him. 

 

 

 

[Royale with Cheese]

17 minutes ago, Alphadawg7 said:

 

While Trevor is admittedly a promising young QB, he is also maybe the most over rated QB in the NFL right now in terms of how people rate him vs his actual level of play.  He is consistently just given a top 10 designation that is undeserved IMHO, and even some people foolishly listing him in the top 5 coming into this season (or even better than Allen if you are that troll Nick "never" Wright)

 

Honestly, I can't even list him in the top 10 QB's in the NFL this season:

 

Top 5 - In Order

Mahomes, Allen, Burrow, Hurts, Herbert

 

Next 5 - In NO particular order

Tua, Cousins, Purdy, Stafford, Lamar

 

Yup, I have Purdy in the top 10, and he is playing better than most QB's even several listed in the top 10 with him.  He is the 4th highest rated QB in the NFL and has the 2nd highest avg per pass.  Some may call him a product of the system, but I don't care because he plays in that system...and he is playing at a top 10 QB level right now in SF and is a big reason why they are the SB favorites right now.  I have watched every game he has played as my wife is as big a Niner fan as I am a Bills fan...and he just keeps impressing me and its time to start realizing he is for real.  

 

For me, Trevor falls in that next tier of 11-15 type of QB's.  This is the tier where you would be picking 5 guys out of say the following QB's depending on how you view each of these guys:

 

Trevor, Dak, Stroud, Goff, Geno, Carr, Love, Jones, Wilson

 

I don't have an issue if someone wants to list him first in this group as the 11th best guy here using his potential as the deciding factor.  But even most of these guys are playing better this year so far than him. 

 

 

 

 

I would have Purdy top 10 as well.  I think he's absolutely for real.

 

I think you have Trevor correct.  I wouldn't have Love in there yet...I think he's around 20.  I probably would have Dak over Cousins.

[Ethan in Cleveland]

I know inflation is an issue but when did 3 weeks equal a month???

[rusty shackleford]

3 weeks in is still a bit early to tell, but I’m really interested to see what team will have the biggest organizational meltdown. Seems to be pretty tight between the Jets/Broncos/Bears right now. 

[Royale with Cheese]

5 minutes ago, Ethan in Cleveland said:

I know inflation is an issue but when did 3 weeks equal a month???

 

Our next game is October 1st.  

[Nihilarian]

What stinks is every offseason we look at the AFC West and think... ok this year the Broncos, Chargers, and Raiders will give the Chiefs a run. What we see so far is that the Chiefs have no competition for their division title. Not only that it should be a breeze to sweep them all for a top overall record.

 

The Broncos are a joke and Sean Payton might actually be worse than Nathaniel Hackett. 

If the Chargers had lost to Minnesota I think that they would have started to think about firing HC Brandon Staley. 

The Raiders are now gutless under HC Josh McDaniels. They should have gone for it on fourth down.

Lots of change coming in this division...again. 

 

I know it's early...this showdown with Miami might just be for the Division as the only really difficult teams they face are the Eagles, and Chiefs. Man, if only Von were playing in this game. Miami looks like the hottest team in the AFC right now. 

 

The Colts lead the AFC South at 2-1.

 

The Cowboys were just beaten by Arizona. 🤣

 

The 49ers look like they may take the NFC this year. 

 

 

[Dan in Owego]

4 hours ago, Ramza86 said:

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

For a league that wants parity there are some really really bad teams this year.

[ndirish1978]

Our Defensive front 7 looks a LOT better than I thought they were. Our CBs look decent to average. Our offense is not great. I thought Josh was going to be off to the races but he seems to have regressed in his processing.  

[Billl]

The AFC is Kansas City, Miami, and Buffalo in that order right now.  This looks like the best Chiefs team I’ve ever seen despite a week 1 fluke without Travis Kelce and Chris Jones.  They’ve put together a top 5 defense, and it’s the youngest defense in the NFL.  Miami looks incredible when they’re clicking, but the Patriots played them very close, and the Broncos quit.  They’re incredibly scary and nobody will want to play them if Tua stays healthy.  Buffalo is exactly what I thought they would be so far.  They’re a veteran team that was a finished product from day 1.  Their biggest challenge will be staying healthy and fresh given that they’re the oldest team in the league.

 

The NFC is Philadelphia and SF.  Philly has no weakness.  They haven’t been blowing anyone out, but they’re 3-0 and similar to Kansas City, they look like a team that has another gear that they’re not planning on using until the games really matter.  San Fran plays beautiful football.  Purdy looks like a really good QB, but we’ll see if he’s a guy who can go win a game when rather than just be a really good game manager.

 

Unless Cincinnati figures it out, I just don’t see anyone else who is capable of winning it all.  That said, it’s a LONG season and teams look vastly different in December than they do in September.

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

11 minutes ago, ndirish1978 said:

Our Defensive front 7 looks a LOT better than I thought they were. Our CBs look decent to average. Our offense is not great. I thought Josh was going to be off to the races but he seems to have regressed in his processing.  

Hoo boy 

[John from Riverside]

My first impressions
 

We can actually run the ball when we want to

 

Our lines are better, and have more depth
 

When we take what the defense gives we win

 

We had players on this team that we were extremely worried about. They are turning out to be assets.

[Thurman#1]

8 hours 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 looked very good but that score was just as much about Denver looking really really bad.

 

I mean, two of those TDs came on one drive that went three yards total and one that went eight yards total. Take those away and it's 56 points, which is still fantastic but not epochal.

 

And the Broncos looked unable to make tackles. I'd put the Fins as top five, but not #1. They still have a lot more to prove.

 

This is an interesting thread. Thanks, everyone.

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

Good Josh wins… by a lot especially against marginal teams.
 

Bad Josh loses, but it’s close. 

 

Defense plays with more of an edge as promised. 
 

safety sized linebackers can be effective if you get a big lead and your front four plays incredibly 

[chongli]

My thoughts? If the Cowboys, Giants, Chargers, Bengals, Jaguars, and Jets keep playing as they have, we're going to have an easier schedule than initially thought. And I might be getting ahead of myself, but I hope that fluke loss to the Jets does not come back to bite us.

Edited September 26, 2023 by chongli

[Thurman#1]

7 hours ago, GoBills808 said:

I read it

 

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

 

 

He's right, of course. Defense and STs absolutely do make a huge difference, whether negative or positive. Over the course of a season, those will cause wins and losses.

 

 

Edited September 26, 2023 by Thurman#1

[Punching Bag]

Short month.

[SoCal Deek]

How in the world is this a month? I mean really now! 

[AlfaBill]

9 hours ago, NewEra said:

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

Doubt it. If the fish win yes they’ll be no1. I’d the Bills win they’ll be top5 but that’s it. 

[Reks Ryan]

Kind of amazed how much praise the fish are getting in this thread.  And also surprised how so many are writing off the Bengals after only 2 losses.

 

From a Bills fan perspective, I would rather play Miami than Cinci in the playoffs, assuming teams are healthy. The Cinci D has been able to control the Chiefs, Dolphins, and Bills.

[Dopey]

My impression is that even after the 💩 show Allen pulled vs the Jets, we’re still 2nd in the league in points per game. Good job,Dorsey!  Who was 2nd in the league last season in points per game? Yep, Dorsey’s offense. Not Allen’s, Dorsey’s. 

[NewEra]

17 minutes ago, AlfaBill said:

Doubt it. If the fish win yes they’ll be no1. I’d the Bills win they’ll be top5 but that’s it. 

Yeah, the niners would still deserve it if they can beat Az.  Chefs play the jets and Philly plays Washington.  We should be top 4 for sure, but possibly worthy of 2nd.  
 

 

 

[Generic_Bills_Fan]

9 hours ago, NewEra said:

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

They also clearly quit just before halftime too…they were down 21-10 with 5 minutes to go in the half with the ball on the Miami 35 and went backwards 7 yards and punted and everyone just quit lol. It’s like things were finally looking up and they shot themselves in the foot and gave up.  Miami scored 14 points before halftime somehow in that situation 😂

22 minutes ago, Reks Ryan said:

Kind of amazed how much praise the fish are getting in this thread.  And also surprised how so many are writing off the Bengals after only 2 losses.

 

From a Bills fan perspective, I would rather play Miami than Cinci in the playoffs, assuming teams are healthy. The Cinci D has been able to control the Chiefs, Dolphins, and Bills.

Hard to say this early but they haven’t looked as good without Jesse bates to me 

Edited September 26, 2023 by Generic_Bills_Fan

[Big Blitz]

The Broncos are tanking - Payton never went there to coach Wilson. 
 

I expect it to be totally blown up soon. 
 

 

I think the Jets are going to do the same thing.   

[Royale with Cheese]

3 minutes ago, Big Blitz said:

The Broncos are tanking - Payton never went there to coach Wilson. 
 

I expect it to be totally blown up soon. 
 

 

I think the Jets are going to do the same thing.   

We need to see the Jets get to at least 18 to pass our playoff-less streak.  

[Big Blitz]

Just now, Royale with Cheese said:

We need to see the Jets get to at least 18 to pass our playoff-less streak.  

 

It’s disappointing because we really needed them to beat Miami at least once.  

 

To win the division we’re probably going to have to sweep Miami and still get help.  

[Beck Water]

10 hours ago, Royale with Cheese said:

- 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.

 

 

Educate me.  What did Kyle Brandt say about Trevor Lawrence?

 

I think you can make a good argument for SF as the best team right now, though it’s early days.  We just finished Week 3 of 18 so we really haven’t had a month yet.

9 hours ago, Taro Nimbus said:

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……🤷🏻‍♂️

 

Dolphins didn’t exactly “boat race” the Chargers since they won by 2 points.  

[Cray51]

7 minutes ago, Big Blitz said:

The Broncos are tanking - Payton never went there to coach Wilson. 
 

I expect it to be totally blown up soon. 
 

 

I think the Jets are going to do the same thing.   

See, I think the Jets will have too much pride to tank.  They were being called contenders a month ago, to shift from that mentality to tanking is a huge change.

 

my takeaways, there are more teams at the “top” of the league this year.  Chiefs, Dolphins, Bills, 49ers, Eagles are all Super Bowl caliber.  Then you have another 8-10 “good” teams that can win any given week if it all goes right.

 

Several teams are at “hard decision” points this season.  Vikings at 0-3 with some very up and down play.  Chargers with some terrible coaching and injuries.  Bengals with a lucky win tonight but 1-2 in a physical and competitive division.  Saints, raiders, jets, etc. all are teams with no real future.  These teams need to figure out what their next 2-3 years look like.

 

Bills continue to look to be at minimum a good team for the next 2-3 years.  I’d be shocked if they aren’t a playoff team every year for the next 3.

[Airseven]

1. 49ers
2. Dolphins
3. Eagles
4. Chiefs
5. Bills
6. Lions
7. Ravens
8. Seahawks
9. Cowboys
10. Packers
11. Browns
12. Chargers
13. Bengals
14. Steelers
15. Colts
16. Falcons
17. Bucs
18. Patriots
19. Saints
20. Rams
21. Jaguars
22. Cardinals
23. Texans
24. Commanders
25. Jets
26. Vikings
27. Titans
28. Giants
29. Raiders
30. Panthers
31. Broncos
32. Bears

[NewEra]

1 hour ago, Generic_Bills_Fan said:

They also clearly quit just before halftime too…they were down 21-10 with 5 minutes to go in the half with the ball on the Miami 35 and went backwards 7 yards and punted and everyone just quit lol. It’s like things were finally looking up and they shot themselves in the foot and gave up.  Miami scored 14 points before halftime somehow in that situation 😂

Hard to say this early but they haven’t looked as good without Jesse bates to me 

Hundreds of games have ended with one team quitting before halftime.  Rarely ever does the opposition score 70.  It’s impressive imo.  They have big play, quick hitting TD machines.  

but they can be kept in check by a good game plan.  Your time shine McD!!!  I believe this game will be decided by the mcdermott or mcdaniel.

[Aussie Joe]

1 hour ago, Big Blitz said:

 

It’s disappointing because we really needed them to beat Miami at least once.  

 

To win the division we’re probably going to have to sweep Miami and still get help.  

Let’s see if Tua can last a season… He will be getting hammered next week 

[GunnerBill]

11 hours ago, Ramza86 said:

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

 

It has been really spotty. This has been a theme the last couple of years IMO. Maybe it has always been so but I feel like the last couple of years it has been really noticeable. 

 

 

 

[iccrewman112]

11 hours ago, NewEra said:

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

I wonder if Payton has lost the locker room already. He has made so many negative comments about “last year” beyond just the Hackett statements. 70% of the roster was there last year, so they may be pissed off with him. 
 

Also I think every coach in the NFL wants to bury Payton for his unnecessary comments about Hackett, even if true. This break the “coaches code”.

[Reks Ryan]

13 hours 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.

They’ve scored 130 and Bills have scored 91.

[78thealltimegreat]

6 hours ago, Reks Ryan said:

Kind of amazed how much praise the fish are getting in this thread.  And also surprised how so many are writing off the Bengals after only 2 losses.

 

From a Bills fan perspective, I would rather play Miami than Cinci in the playoffs, assuming teams are healthy. The Cinci D has been able to control the Chiefs, Dolphins, and Bills.

What do those three teams have in common? All three pass more then they run which is what the Bengals excel at…their kryptonite is the Cleveland Browns who physically just beat them down at the line of scrimmage. If you can establish the run you can beat the Bengals. 

[eball]

15 hours ago, Allen2Moulds said:

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.

 

Very rarely do I see a post with which I disagree about every point made.

 

Fans hating their OCs…about as predictable as the sun rising and setting…

 

[GunnerBill]

11 minutes ago, 78thealltimegreat said:

What do those three teams have in common? All three pass more then they run which is what the Bengals excel at…their kryptonite is the Cleveland Browns who physically just beat them down at the line of scrimmage. If you can establish the run you can beat the Bengals. 

 

Which was the big difference between the aborted Hamlin game and the playoff game. The one Bills drive in the Hamlin game we drove right down the field on them mainly with the run game. Okay we didn't punch it in, but we ran the ball with relative ease. In the playoff game our run game was AWOL. 

 

I do, however, think they are a bit weaker against the pass this year with both safeties gone. 

[GoBills808]

15 hours 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.

Dolphins have scored 130 points

Bills have scored 91

[Doc Brown]

I have so many takes about the Bills through three weeks but the Dolphins game will tell me a lot more if those takes are accurate.  Here's the biggest takeaways with the rest of the league so far.

-The Cardinals and Texans have performed admirably and credit goes to their head coaches.

-The Bears, Raiders, and Broncos have performed terribly and credit goes to their head coaches.

-I wish Aaron Rodgers didn't get hurt so my preseason prediction they'd finish last in the division was actually bold.

-Mike McDaniel is a hell of a head coach and the Dolphins should be a great rivalry for a long time.

-Every reason you don't give running backs big second contracts has only been validated so far this year.

-I don't know what scares me more.  The Chiefs defense or the Dolphins offense.

 

Edited September 26, 2023 by Doc Brown