Bad Preseason Takes

[Since1981]

LB (Never loved Edmunds $$ but unknown guys behind; Beane nailed it)

 

WR (pre season, I expected better)

 

RB (preseason, I gave up yrs ago

 

Dorsey — pre season, didn’t like him but I had no idea it made this huge impact. Cook specifically calls him out

Edited December 21, 2023 by Since1981

[D. L. Hot-Flamethrower]

18 hours ago, hondo in seattle said:

I was thinking today about how wrong I was about this season.   While I thought our regular season record might be worse than last year's because of the tougher schedule, I was confident we had a better team for a bunch of reasons...

 

Defense

*  Floyd would make our pass rush better.

*  Poona would make our run D better.

*  There was no way we'd suffer as many injuries to key players as we did in 2022.

*  McD would be a more aggressive play-caller.  

*  We'd miss Edmunds though teamwork and scheme would compensate for his loss.  

 

Offense

*  Sherfield, Harty, and Shakir would provide strong depth behind Gabe and Diggs.

*  Gabe's ankle was bothering him in '22; maybe he'd be better in '23.

*  Dorsey was a rookie OC in '22; maybe he'd learn and grow.

*  The OL would be better and might even transition all the way from bad to merely mediocre.  

*  Harris would be an upgrade over Motor: bigger, stronger, faster.  

*  If Dorsey would use him correctly, Cook could be a good safety valve for Josh.  But he would never be an every-down back.

*  Kincaid could add a wrinkle to the offense.

 

Clearly, I was wrong more than I was right.  

 

What do you got?  

I admire the humility, we could use more of that. You're wrong, I'm wrong and everyone is wrong......alot! And, then there are a couple guys who think they're NEVER wrong. Enjoy the holidays.

[Your Brown Eye]

2 hours ago, Dan Darragh said:

I drafted Gabe Davis on my fantasy team

 

Boss I drafted him in the 4th round of a dynasty league last season, because I was so sure that what we saw after the Chiefs playoff game was going to be his coming out party and would be a Brandon Marshall-esque type player. The players I passed over when I drafted Davis...ugh makes me sick

 

 

As for this thread:

 

Wrong:

 

WR Davis is "finally" breaking out for good and becoming a legit #2

WR Sherfield, I was expecting a lot more production, a solid 700-800 yard 5-8 td slot guy

CB Elam, ooooooof, no comment

DT Ford, I guess I got caught up in all the hype people here were saying about the guy

LB Bernard, I did not expect his production at all

OC Dorsey, I thought he would really open up the offense and take it to the next level, all we ever heard about was how much time he put into his job and how smart he is

 

Right

RB Cook, I thought he would have a break-out year, not to this extent though

TE Kincaid, he was my guy leading up to the draft, I did not think we had a shot at any of the top WRs, I thought he could be just as productive and had better hands than Knox

OG Torrence, so he's not having a Quentin Nelson or Zach Martin type rookie impact and OG like they did, but the guy has solidified that position. 

P Araiza, I thought something was very off with the "victim's" story all along since day one, it's a terrible shame we are living in a guilty until proven-innocent society

 

[GunnerBill]

Definitely linebacker. Count me among those who said with either Bernard OR Dodson we'd have a huge flashing liability on the field that teams would go after again and again. To have ended up with that duo as our starting linebacker combination for the majority of the season and for linebacker play to have been almost last on the list in terms of issues is quite remarkable. Bernard isn't just serviceable, he is legit good and Dodson while still limited athletically has been really good at just playing his assignment, getting to his landmarks and doing the basics. 

 

The second one would be the depth receivers. While I was frustrated we hadn't raised the ceiling in that room over the offseason I was confident that Sherfield, Harty and a second year of Shakir would be a raised floor from Kumerow, rookie Shakir and the corpses of John Brown and Beasley's careers. They probably have been an upgrade, but only a very slight one. 

 

 

[HappyDays]

Most of my takes were right. I really liked the Kincaid pick and thought he would become the #2 pass target before long. That has already happened. I really liked the Floyd signing. I thought bringing back Jordan Phillips for any amount of money was a waste. I thought the WRs behind Diggs were still a huge weakness and would be the biggest factor in us having difficulties this year. I have never thought Davis is a #2 and somehow he has fallen below my already low expectations for him.

 

As for things I got wrong, 3 major ones that I can think of:

1) I was pessimistic about Dawkins this year. Didn't think his conditioning was good enough. Instead he has turned in the best season of his career.

2) Like most people I did not think our MLB room had even a starting caliber player. At one point I said that if the Bills got even replacement level play out of the position it would exceed my expectations. Instead they have had if anything above average play. Well done to Bernard proving everyone wrong.

3) At one point I thought Isabella had a firmer claim to a roster spot than Shakir. Shakir has not been great by any means but he has proven to be rosterable as a depth WR at least.

[Orlando Tim]

Reading this thread I have a different question- did anyone think Bernard would be good? I was praying for mediocre and he is in the pro bowl discussion. I also am pleasantly surprised by Spencer Brown, who I thought could be this good but did not have faith in it. 

[hondo in seattle]

When I was young, there used to be psychics in the tabloids who would boast about accurately predicting the JKF's assassination, or whatever.  They didn't brag about the other 99 predictions they got completely wrong.   

 

I guess I could have bragged about the few things I got right.  But even a broken clock is right twice a day.  For me this has been a surprising, and not always pleasant, season.  Some of the losses surprised me.  Josh's long funk surprised me.  And so on.

 

But on a positive note, the play of Cook, Bernard, and Spencer Brown have all been pleasant surprises.  So has Joe Brady.   

 

[The Jokeman]

On 12/21/2023 at 4:18 PM, Orlando Tim said:

Reading this thread I have a different question- did anyone think Bernard would be good? I was praying for mediocre and he is in the pro bowl discussion. I also am pleasantly surprised by Spencer Brown, who I thought could be this good but did not have faith in it. 

I had concerns about his speed as he showed that he was good in diagnosing plays in the preseason last year. 

[Beast]

Two that I have as dead wrong….,

 

Gabe Davis would light it up.

 

The defense would miss Edmunds.

[BADOLBILZ]

Very right about:

 

- MLB being an easy fill.......never worried about it.

- WR position being a big weakness (and Sharty and Sherfield not being impactful after worse careers than Crowder and McKenzie whom they replaced)

- Kincaid being good for a rookie but also not real impactful

- Offensive line being much better than expected

 

Very wrong about:

 

- Ed Oliver stepping up his game significantly........I doubted it

- The opinion that Von Miller would be ready early in the season and play well this year.   He had a setback in August but even if he came back on the early timeline he'd have sucked for the first 3 months based on how unimpactful he's been.

- I was specifically quite confident that Allen wouldn't repeat his mistake prone 2022 performance in the Meadowlands..........but he did and then some.

 

 

 

[nuiwek]

On 12/20/2023 at 2:55 PM, LABILLBACKER said:

See I don't buy that. You don't waste 9M on a player to unleash his abilities on week 17.  He's unfortunately been underwhelming and will be released in the off season.  I was 150% on board in going after Floyd. When the news broke I was ecstatic. Gabe's been a bust for awhile. 

 

I was 100% wrong on believing the OL would remain mediocre or regress. They've been a pleasant surprise along with Cook.  Shakir's role will be expanded next year but Sherfield is gone too.

No, you wait til week 18

[frostbitmic]

I have 2 that could end up on the bad preseason takes list and hope they do.

 

1. A 9-8 record

2. The Bills miss the playoffs and the AFCE title by 1 game ... That game in my opinion being the home game giveaway to the Jaguars in London, which I know the Bills would've won in Orchard Park.

 

It'll really suck if the Jaguars beat the Bills out for a wildcard because they beat the Bills head to head.

 

Make me wrong Bills

[CSBill]

My bads . . .

 

• Poona Ford was a great signing.
• Harty would produce more than McKenzie did.
• Sherfield was going to be the surprise signing of the year.
• Elam would become the top DB, at least become a starter.
• Bates would be a starting guard or RT.
• Gabe would finally break out--or at least become a top #2.

 

[NewEra]

I predicted 10-7 with a WC birth.  I hope I’m wrong!  Let’s get that division.

 

I thought Cook and Kincaid would transform our offense into something we haven’t see before.  I’m kind of right.  We haven’t seen an offense like this before…. Now we just need the staff to better implement Kincaid into the offense.  Cook = 🔥 

 

I thought leonard Floyd would be a massive addition.  I was right!  Our DL has been the pulse of our team imo.  They’ve invested heavily on the DL over the years and I think that we’ve finally hit pay dirt.  I feel they’ll only get better as this season goes on.  McD has schemed very well when he’s refrained from zero blitzes. 
 

I thought Harty and Sherfield would make 7-10 big plays combined throughout the season, some in clutch moments.  Harty had one vs KC and another big 3rd or 4th down conversion earlier in the season.  Sherfield has been a small factor in the run game.  Both are Jags-  I was wrong.  
 

If we didn’t win the Super Bowl, I thought it would be because our OL, more specifically Spencer Brown, would get Josh killed.  I was wrong. He still gets beat often, but Josh often sees it immediately and turns a negative into a positive.  Brown has been a force in the run game and, overall, has been a good RT.  Not average or just ok.  I think he’s been good. Big props to Spencer Brown.  I was wrong.  

I thought the opposing Ocs would put TB43 under a microscope and continuously pick on him, especially in 3rd downs.  When Milano went out, I was hoping we’d play Dorian Williams all season and let him take his lumps.  I called Tyrel Dodson, Tyrel Dobson because I thought he was a bum.  BOY WAS I WRONG!!  Credit to McD, Babich and the entire LB room for digging deep and turning a potential gaping hole into a strength.  I think our LB unit has been better than good all season.  Very impressed and couldn’t be happier.  I don’t think I will never call him Dobson again.  Our LB unit is in good hands for the time being.  
 

the second we traded for Rasul Douglas, I knew our fortunes were about to change. Love this guy.  He’s been just what this team needed.  I look forward to him being our CB1 the next couple years+

 

I thought Cam Lewis was awful and didn’t want to see him on the field.  Wrong again.  He could be a starter for us next season.