Isn't This Game the Ultimate Referendum on Beane?

[Rich Stadium Original]

It was obvious a number of years ago Mahommes and the Chiefs were going to be the team to beat in the AFC for years to come.

Beane set out to mold his team as the one that could beat the big Boogeyman Mahommes through an effective pass rush.

 Yes Beane has picked up some great position players along the way, but its obvious with Rousseau, Epenesa, Basham (now departed), Von (I'm back to 100%) Miller, Floyd (and others) where he placed his personnel concentration. 

  Now he has a home game, with all these guys relatively healthy going up against some fairly average offensive tackles. 

  Yes, the secondary and linebacking corps is fairly beat up...but if Beane did his due diligence,  it shouldn't make a difference if they can dominate.

 We will know by midnight on Sunday.

[Success]

I don't think so.  I said before the season that this is the best roster Beane has put together - and I still think that's true.

 

But we've been hit harder than most with injuries this year, and certainly much harder than our opponent Sunday.

 

People can call that an "excuse" if we lose and it's brought up.  It's just reality. How can we judge someone for the roster construction when at least a third of the starting roster is out?

[Augie]

2 minutes ago, Rich Stadium Original said:

It was obvious a number of years ago Mahommes and the Chiefs were going to be the team to beat in the AFC for years to come.

Beane set out to mold his team as the one that could beat the big Boogeyman Mahommes through an effective pass rush.

 Yes Beane has picked up some great position players along the way, but its obvious with Rousseau, Epenesa, Basham (now departed), Von (I'm back to 100%) Miller, Floyd (and others) where he placed his personnel concentration. 

  Now he has a home game, with all these guys relatively healthy going up against some fairly average offensive tackles. 

  Yes, the secondary and linebacking corps is fairly beat up...but if Beane did his due diligence,  it shouldn't make a difference if they can dominate.

 We will know by midnight on Sunday.

 

One game is just that, one game. It’s not the ultimate referendum on anything. It’s one more piece of the puzzle. I prefer a bigger picture view. Saying the DL is relatively healthy does not paint the entire picture. I’m very concerned about LB and DB. 

 

But time will tell.  🤞 

[LABILLBACKER]

Beane has done fine finding good supplemental back ups. I'm not expecting much from Von but anything will help.  We'll need a great game out of Floyd, Rousseau and Epenesa.  They have to force Patrick up the middle around Ed & Daquan.  We'll also need an occasional spy. I know this leaves us vulnerable in man coverage. You cannot let Patrick be comfortable in the pocket nor can you allow him to scramble for 15-20 up the middle. 

Edited January 19 by LABILLBACKER

[Logic]

Respectfully, I would suggest that this whole season has been a referendum on Brandon Beane.

The Bills likely don't get to the playoffs without the contributions of Cook (drafted), Torrence (drafted), McGovern (FA), Brown (drafted), Kincaid (drafted), Shakir (drafted), Bernard (drafted), Oliver (drafted, re-signed), Floyd (FA), Douglas (trade), etc. 

Add in the "next man up" contributions of guys like Dane Jackson and AJ Klein and Baylon Spector and Deonte Harty and Trent Sherfield in recent weeks, and it equals an impressive roster with impressive depth, built by Branodn Beane.

I get what you're saying. Playoff games against the Chiefs will always be measuring stick games. But the fact that the Bills are even IN this position is a testament to the roster-building of Brandon Beane.

[NoHuddleKelly12]

Am pinning a lot of expectations on Floyd (especially), AJ, Rousseau and Ed to be difference makers out there for us. Hopefully a lot of batted balls too, as Mahomie will be eyeballing Kelce over the middle all day I'm sure. Anything we can do to keep the heat off of our depleted back 7...

[MJS]

The Bills can and have beaten the Chiefs multiple times over the past couple of years. They just need to do it in the playoffs.

 

Both the Bills and the Chiefs are great NFL teams. Either can beat the other. Either can win the Super Bowl. It has been that way for a few years now. The Bills just need to go beat them when it counts.

[Success]

4 minutes ago, NoHuddleKelly12 said:

Am pinning a lot of expectations on Floyd (especially), AJ, Rousseau and Ed to be difference makers out there for us. Hopefully a lot of batted balls too, as Mahomie will be eyeballing Kelce over the middle all day I'm sure. Anything we can do to keep the heat off of our depleted back 7...

 

This needs to be a great game for the line.  And when they get to Mahomes, they have to contain - without big passing plays, that offense is only really dangerous when he is able to break free of that 1st line of defense and rack up big yards.

 

 

[Rubes]

They're a 13-second collapse away from being 4-2 against the Chiefs the past few seasons, with 5 of those 6 games in KC.

 

He's put together a roster that is proven to be competitive with KC, just not as much when playoff time comes, but with the odds against them given almost all of the games were on the road in a hostile environment.

 

[HOUSE]

Ok Rex

[RoyBatty is alive]

No it is not.

[NoHuddleKelly12]

9 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

They haven’t been hit harder with most with injuries… they lost Milano/Jones/White early. Replaced White with Douglas, Jones is back and only Milano is out for the year…. They are certainly banged up going into Sunday but more than most? No way…. This is the roster McBeane put together. A loss Sunday is still a failure season despite them coming back from the dead IMO. 

The goal was and has been SB though. It was never about making the playoffs. Coming up short again is a failure… losing out in the divisional game again is just another blown opportunity(as yet another AFC team possibly emerges better than Buffalo in Houston).

Admit it, you're the one who came up with the Air Force's catchy slogan of "Aim High," amirite?

 

 

 

In all seriousness, of course the goal was and always should be Super Bowl or bust. That said, with the team left for dead at 6-6 and the firing of the OC, Dunne article etc., what they've accomplished since that time deserves its own special bouquet of flowers imo, regardless of the outcome this week. 

[Warcodered]

19 minutes ago, Rich Stadium Original said:

Yes, the secondary and linebacking corps is fairly beat up...but if Beane did his due diligence,  it shouldn't make a difference

Um yeah that absolutely makes a difference, good coverage forces the QB to hang on to the ball and gives the pass rush time to effect the passer. They both work together.

[C.Biscuit97]

Making giant generalizations off one game is wild. 

[HomeskillitMoorman]

It's much more of a referendum on McD...that's the guy that choked away the big win vs KC that we would have had

[DrDawkinstein]

Building a team to beat another team is one of the dumbest moves a GM can make. By the time you are built, that team and the game in general, has already shifted to something else and you are left behind.

 

Just build the best F$#&in team of a$$-kicking football players and be the team everyone else needs to build to beat.

 

Beane has already done his job and put together a talented roster. Now lets see what the coach does when the going gets tough.

 

 

Edited January 19 by DrDawkinstein

[Brian Higgins hair]

Absolutely not.

injuries, hits..misses..all part of life. He’s done a great job. 

[VaMilBill]

28 minutes ago, NoHuddleKelly12 said:

Am pinning a lot of expectations on Floyd (especially), AJ, Rousseau and Ed to be difference makers out there for us. Hopefully a lot of batted balls too, as Mahomie will be eyeballing Kelce over the middle all day I'm sure. Anything we can do to keep the heat off of our depleted back 7...

I actually think we may see a sack from Von this game. I’m gonna go on a limb and say he has one sack and a few pressures. I’ll also say he gets run at by Pacheco and gives up some big runs

[Augie]

28 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

They haven’t been hit harder with most with injuries… they lost Milano/Jones/White early. Replaced White with Douglas, Jones is back and only Milano is out for the year…. They are certainly banged up going into Sunday but more than most? No way…. This is the roster McBeane put together. A loss Sunday is still a failure season despite them coming back from the dead IMO. 

 

The goal was and has been SB though. It was never about making the playoffs. Coming up short again is a failure… losing out in the divisional game again is just another blown opportunity(as yet another AFC team possibly emerges better than Buffalo in Houston).

 

 

If you put our injury list next to the Chief’s injury list, you might notice some differences. 

[Success]

I mean, really - what other GM would anyone want?

 

What he did after we lost White, Milano and Jones, he was fantastic.  And now we see a lot of draft picks really pan out - Bernard, Epenesa, Cook, Shakir, Kincaid, even Oliver is exceeding expectations.

 

He's doing as good a job as anyone.

 

Edited January 19 by Success

[Logic]

33 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

 

The goal was and has been SB though. It was never about making the playoffs. Coming up short again is a failure… losing out in the divisional game again is just another blown opportunity(as yet another AFC team possibly emerges better than Buffalo in Houston).

If the only measure of a GM's success is winning the Super Bowl, then 99% of the NFL GMs who have ever held that title are failures.

 

[Generic_Bills_Fan]

I think beating a playoff team last week with 3rd/4th stringers all over the defense has bought beane a ton of time.  The depth this year has been impressive to say the least 

beane might be one of the best gms in the league tbh all these picks we were initially very sour on have blossomed into good players that have meaningfully contributed 

Edited January 19 by Generic_Bills_Fan

[GunnerBill]

This game is not a one game referendum on anyone. 

[Don Otreply]

47 minutes ago, Rich Stadium Original said:

It was obvious a number of years ago Mahommes and the Chiefs were going to be the team to beat in the AFC for years to come.

Beane set out to mold his team as the one that could beat the big Boogeyman Mahommes through an effective pass rush.

 Yes Beane has picked up some great position players along the way, but its obvious with Rousseau, Epenesa, Basham (now departed), Von (I'm back to 100%) Miller, Floyd (and others) where he placed his personnel concentration. 

  Now he has a home game, with all these guys relatively healthy going up against some fairly average offensive tackles. 

  Yes, the secondary and linebacking corps is fairly beat up...but if Beane did his due diligence,  it shouldn't make a difference if they can dominate.

 We will know by midnight on Sunday.

No, no it’s not, 

[Coach Tuesday]

“ultimate”?  “referendum”?

[theRalph]

No...it's the AFC Divisional Playoff. Beane has already proven himself.

[Augie]

3 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

Yea… and if you did the same during the 2021 divisional round game in which the Chiefs secondary was dropping like flies you’d notice some difference too… No excuses just get the win. 

 

Okay, we’ll just put our heads in the sand and ignore the current facts for you. It’s not an excuse, it just is what it is. I’m not upset or whining, but I just like to pay attention to what’s going on. I wish it was different, but it’s something I have no control over. 

[Mark80]

53 minutes ago, Rich Stadium Original said:

It was obvious a number of years ago Mahommes and the Chiefs were going to be the team to beat in the AFC for years to come.

Beane set out to mold his team as the one that could beat the big Boogeyman Mahommes through an effective pass rush.

 Yes Beane has picked up some great position players along the way, but its obvious with Rousseau, Epenesa, Basham (now departed), Von (I'm back to 100%) Miller, Floyd (and others) where he placed his personnel concentration. 

  Now he has a home game, with all these guys relatively healthy going up against some fairly average offensive tackles. 

  Yes, the secondary and linebacking corps is fairly beat up...but if Beane did his due diligence,  it shouldn't make a difference if they can dominate.

 We will know by midnight on Sunday.

Nah.  It's one game.  Realistically we have a 60% chance to win at most.  I'm not going to judge a guys work based on something that is basically a 50/50 winning event.  It's going to come down to who makes a few big plays, a few big penalties, and some luck.  Not on our roster construction.  It's as simple as that.

[Logic]

2 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

Sure… like I said if the Bills lose this game it becomes one AFC championship blow out loss showing in four years of elite QB play… while other teams have emerged better/more successful in that span(Bengals, possibly Houston). At some point you have to question the direction no?….or just remain complacent with the making the playoffs and out norm? 
 

Have a hard time seeing this regime ever beating the Mahomes led Chiefs in the playoffs if they can’t do it Sunday going forward.

It comes back to the "glass half full" vs "glass half empty" outlook that has always been the reason that you and I don't see eye to eye, Scott.

You could look at multiple years in a row of going to the playoffs but not reaching the Super Bowl as a failure, and an indictment on the GM. Or you could look at it as the mark of a roster that is built well enough that it consistently wins division titles and makes the playoffs at a higher rate than almost any team in the league.

Likewise, you could look at this team with its four years of elite QB play and no Lombardi to show for it and see only the teams that have emerged "better/more successful" like the Bengals, or you could notice the teams that have great QB play and HAVEN'T had the success the Bills have had -- the Chargers and Cowboys, for instance.

Personally, I view the fact that the Bills are a consistent double digit win team, a consistent playoff contender, and are perennially mentioned among the realistic Super Bowl contenders as a sign that their GM has built a sustainably good roster. If you will only view said GM as a success once he's won a Super Bowl title, then so be it. 

Another situation where we can agree to disagree.

[Buffalo03]

55 minutes ago, Rich Stadium Original said:

It was obvious a number of years ago Mahommes and the Chiefs were going to be the team to beat in the AFC for years to come.

Beane set out to mold his team as the one that could beat the big Boogeyman Mahommes through an effective pass rush.

 Yes Beane has picked up some great position players along the way, but its obvious with Rousseau, Epenesa, Basham (now departed), Von (I'm back to 100%) Miller, Floyd (and others) where he placed his personnel concentration. 

  Now he has a home game, with all these guys relatively healthy going up against some fairly average offensive tackles. 

  Yes, the secondary and linebacking corps is fairly beat up...but if Beane did his due diligence,  it shouldn't make a difference if they can dominate.

 We will know by midnight on Sunday.

And when Benford, possibly Bernard and a few other players aren't out there, we can still this?

[FilthyBeast]

I guess, but I would say it's more on JA17 and McD.

 

Because again, if you can't beat a Chiefs team having a 'down year' at home with all the momentum the Bills have built the last few months....when are you ever going to do it?

 

We all know that the Chiefs are going to fix what's wrong, even if they get to the Superbowl because that why they are hands down the best organization in pro football.

 

I think when you look at the AFC it's going to stay stacked for years to come....Lamar/Ravens, Bengals with a healthy Joe Burrow, another absurdly talented franchise QB in Stroud, Dolphins with Tua, Chargers and Herbert will be right there if they make the right HC hire, etc etc.

[Generic_Bills_Fan]

27 minutes ago, FilthyBeast said:

I guess, but I would say it's more on JA17 and McD.

 

Because again, if you can't beat a Chiefs team having a 'down year' at home with all the momentum the Bills have built the last few months....when are you ever going to do it?

 

We all know that the Chiefs are going to fix what's wrong, even if they get to the Superbowl because that why they are hands down the best organization in pro football.

 

I think when you look at the AFC it's going to stay stacked for years to come....Lamar/Ravens, Bengals with a healthy Joe Burrow, another absurdly talented franchise QB in Stroud, Dolphins with Tua, Chargers and Herbert will be right there if they make the right HC hire, etc etc.

Big part of their issue is the decline of Kelce so without a Time Machine idk how easy to fix their problems are.  In fact they seem headed down the recent NE path of skill position players drying up and whiffing on attempts in the draft to replace them making things really hard on their generational talent qb.  Obviously mahomes will keep them relevant but this narrative that all their problems are just gonna go away is pretty laughable. They’re also in this mess because they whiffed on some OL additions so why are we so sure the team that got themselves into this mess willingly will get themselves out? Lol. That’s pretty illogical
 

mcdaniel is out in a couple years and tua won’t be far behind, he has to be the most overrated head coach in nfl history.  They were all in this season and did nothing but absolutely implode.  Tyreek will start to regress, Xavien Howard will be a cap casualty, armstead will retire, they’re in a huge cap hole and are kind of forced to extend tua who absolutely will not be worth the money they pay him with a back loaded contract just to field a team next year. 
 

chargers being good hurts the chiefs a heck of a lot more than it hurts us and they have a bunch of impact players leaving in free agency 

ravens will be good for awhile, Texans look good, bengals I really just can’t tell.  That anamuro magic is starting to wear off and I think they’re gonna lose one of their big three receivers which is really gonna hurt the offense 

Afc east is lookin very winnable and dominating your division is the best path through the playoffs.  If anything no matter what happens this weekend, this season has showed me everyone in the AFC playoffs is gonna be beatable for the foreseeable future 

 

Edited January 19 by Generic_Bills_Fan

[skibum]

You really couldn't ask for a better GM, regardless of what happens on Sunday.

 

Bottom line: he has built a perennial contender around a superstar QB. There are a lot of great teams trying to win the Super Bowl every year - there's no guarantee we'll ever win one, but Beane's Bills are always in the mix. And they're a blast to watch. It's a great time to be a Bills fan.

 

I ride or die with Beane, unconditionally. 

[Doc Brown]

My only criticism of Beane this year was not upgrading at WR2 from Davis.  He’s done a phenomenal job with this roster other than that.  One game isn’t going to change that.

[Drew21PA]

This roster is really excellent actually so beans did his job

 

that and made some HUGE moves at the deadline to get the talent needed for this run!

 

found Ty johnson

found Rasul Douglas

 

unreal job!!!

[nedboy7]

No more excuses!!  = I have no clue what it takes to build a team and win the SB. 

 

Do people really think the other 7 teams don't feel there are no more excuses?  Are there excuses for Baltimore or SF to not win it all this year?  It's playoff football.  Stop your whining and enjoy. 

Edited January 19 by nedboy7

[Since1981]

Beane has done a fine job.

 

McD was on the edge at 6-6. Moved to BRADY, then, McD has used every trick possible on D after losing key D players. For god sake, a dude packing his RV was a tackle leader in a playoff game. That's an impressive fact for both Beane and McD.

 

I can not criticize these guys until Sept.

They are in the "medal round" of the Olympics, again. Getting Gold vs. Bronze is about luck (read: INJURY) as much as anything now.

[mjt328]

Fair or not, the way history views this iteration of the Buffalo Bills may ultimately depend on this game (and if we can win the Super Bowl).

Was the Brandon Beane/Sean McDermott legacy successful or a disappointment?  Was Josh Allen among the greatest QBs ever?

 

I agree with those who say it's just one game.  But it's games like this that write the story.

 

Despite being a Hall of Fame QB, Jim Kelly's legacy will always have 4 Super Bowl losses hanging over his head.  John Elway was viewed in the same light until two years before retiring, when he finally broke through and won the big one.  It took one championship for Steve Young to emerge from Joe Montana's shadow.  Peyton Manning was considered a postseason choker, unable to get past Tom Brady.  Then the Colts knocked off the Patriots, took the Lombardi and he never had that label again.

 

The truth is that Beane's roster has now beaten the Kansas City Chiefs three times in their last four matchups, with the only loss coming in the 13 seconds debacle.  But if they lose Sunday, history will say the Buffalo Bills and Josh Allen just couldn't break through the hurdle of defeating Patrick Mahomes in the playoffs.  And everything the front office has done will be questioned.

 

 

[HomeskillitMoorman]

1 hour ago, Augie said:

 

Okay, we’ll just put our heads in the sand and ignore the current facts for you. It’s not an excuse, it just is what it is. I’m not upset or whining, but I just like to pay attention to what’s going on. I wish it was different, but it’s something I have no control over. 

I think what they’re saying is if you’re looking at it as we’re going up against them at a disadvantage because of injuries, then wouldn’t you also say we lost to them when we had that advantage 2 years ago? 
 

I think being able to win under circumstances like that, especially in the playoffs, is what separates good from great. 

[Augie]

1 hour ago, HomeskillitMoorman said:

I think what they’re saying is if you’re looking at it as we’re going up against them at a disadvantage because of injuries, then wouldn’t you also say we lost to them when we had that advantage 2 years ago? 
 

I think being able to win under circumstances like that, especially in the playoffs, is what separates good from great. 

 

I don’t remember the injury details from a game two years ago. I’ll take your word for it. It was what it was is my point.  I know I had a good time watching, for a while anyway. 🤷‍♂️

 

I enjoyed the HELL out of many games this year, and certainly the playoff win over the Steelers. The fans were damn near heroic in those conditions. One for the ages!  I’m here to be entertained and have a good time. Yes, I want a Super Bowl as much as the next guy, but not winning a SB does not eliminate all the good times I had along the ride. 

 

 

.

Edited January 19 by Augie