Are we looking at it all wrong, esp. With Josh Allen?

[SoonerBillsFan]

This has been on my mind a lot since my grandson forced me to watch the "Pro Bowl" competitions. My wife was there and said "Payton Manning is my favorite QB of all time, next to Jim Kelly" and I can dig that, I LOVED watching Manning play.  But it got me to realize how much I miss watching him play.  Along with guys like Kelly, Elway, Marino, Moon, Young, Montana, etc.  

 

Many of us have been a Bills fan for a long time and we desperately want a Superbowl win, but are we cheating ourselves when it comes to Josh?  I say this because I sat back and thought about how much I missed watching those guys play and it hit me, Josh just finished year 6, how many more do we have him?  6-8 More years is my guess so he might be halfway through his career already, and all we can do is talk Superbowl.  

 

Maybe we are missing it?  We have THE best QB (A pure generational QB) in the NFL and I think we want a Super bowl for us and him, so bad that we aren't just sitting back and enjoying watching him play, enjoying what we have.  I plan on trying to just sit back each game and enjoy with my grandson watching Josh just sling the damn ball around the field, and hopefully, we get a title in the process.

 

 

 

 

[Bills!Win!]

Our superbowl will come. If there was an NFL QB Mount Rushmore it would be 

 

Tom Brady

Peyton Manning

Patrick Mahomes

Josh Allen 

 

In no particular order. Enjoy it. Through our years of suffering we finally landed our generational talent. We just need to stop screwing it up and get him receivers to throw to. 

[loveorhatembillsfan4life]

I can’t believe it has been Six Years already! Honestly I’ve loved every minute of watching of him play since Day 1. It was so refreshing to see a player take chances , and just do crazy stuff at the position. I loved it. I never knew much about Josh coming into the league but what surprised me was his ability to escape the pocket.

 

Also when you watch other Qbs play not named Josh,  Mahomes and Burrow.. the Qb play can be quite the contrast and boring for me at least. 

 

But it would be such a shame and waste if the organization  can’t help put a team with a generational  Qb over the hump. 

 

Its also crazy to think that one day there will be another young leader taking the reigns of this club after Josh. 

Edited February 22 by loveorhatembillsfan4life

[BBFL]

Josh has had some head scratching moments but he’s not the reason we’ve stumbled and fallen short in the postseason… It takes a team to win in the playoffs. 
 

Whilst a SuperBowl is the ultimate goal, it’s refreshing to be a team people other than our fellow fans enjoy watching and rooting for. That pretty much begins and ends with Josh. Especially in todays game. The be-all end-all is the QB. Josh is the franchise and I’ll be forever grateful for him casting an absolute dark shadow on those drought years. 
 

Enjoy it. Especially with the next generations taking the fandom mantle. 

 

Edited February 22 by BBFL

[FireChans]

I enjoy watching Josh every weekend, and I’m very grateful that we have the second best QB in the league. The potential for hope and heartbreak is what makes sports so special. Josh will get one. 
 

Bills football hasn’t been this entertaining since 1993, and our chances of winning a title have never been higher. This is the run you will remember forever and you should enjoy it while we have it.

[julian]

I’ve been enjoying 17 since he was thrust into the lineup, just so lucky to be able to root for him in a Bills uniform, I would have been a fan even if he wasn’t a Bill because he’s the most entertaining player in the league.

[Trev]

I don’t think so. He hasn’t accomplished squat. He’s at the midlife of his career and do we know what we have in Josh? Is he good enough to take us to the Super Bowl? Does he have the leadership skills for his offense to perform when the chips are down? 
 

if yes, when will he take the next step, get over the hump. 

 

if no, enjoy his time here. 

Edited February 22 by Trev

[freddyjj]

Manning won his 1st SB in his 9th season and 2nd in his last and 18th season.  Elway's 2 SBs also came very late.  So there is time for Josh still.  

 

And Marino, Moon and Kelly never won one.  Why do folks forget Joe Montana and his 4 SB wins? Dude was clutch.  

[WhoTom]

There are two kinds of fans: those who watch for entertainment and those whose identities are so wrapped up in the success of their local sports team(s) that they can't simply enjoy the ride.

 

I'm the former, but that doesn't mean I don't care about a SB or that I'm not thoroughly bummed when they lose - especially in the playoffs. It just means that I can't control those things. Win or lose, my contribution was sitting on the couch watching the game, so I don't let the outcome affect my life or my self-esteem.

 

 

[Doc Brown]

He could be remembered as the best QB to never make a Super Bowl.  His competition would be Fouts, Rivers, and Moon.  Romo's disqualified because he's too annoying of an announcer.

[MJS]

This isn't a "we" thing. Some fans are miserable and not enjoying this iteration of the Bills. Some fans are.

 

I've waited a long time for a good Bills team, and I'm enjoying every minute of it. Yes, I want a superbowl, but I'm not going to allow that desire to override all enjoyment of football for me.

[Ethan in Cleveland]

You can and I do enjoy watching him play.

Part of the entertainment of the NFL is we can all be Monday morning GMs and HCs. We know enough and watch enough to have good entertaining discussions about the team personnel and the game strategy not just the performance. That isn't the same for MLB, NHL, or NBA. 

I hope people can enjoy this teams talent and level of success while also yearning for more.

 

Honestly what hurts me more is not the playoff losses, but the season killing injuries to some of our best and favorite players. That has been far harder for me at least than the eventual playoff loss with McDermott. 

[Turk71]

1 hour ago, Bills!Win! said:

Our superbowl will come. If there was an NFL QB Mount Rushmore it would be 

 

Tom Brady

Peyton Manning

Patrick Mahomes

Josh Allen 

 

In no particular order. Enjoy it. Through our years of suffering we finally landed our generational talent. We just need to stop screwing it up and get him receivers to throw to. 

I agree they need to get him receivers but your Mt Rushmore (in no particular order) is laughable.

 I'd wait til he actually wins something to advocate that lineup.

[LeGOATski]

Speak for yourself. This is the most fun I've had being a Bills fan. I've enjoyed every minute. 

 

It's not "our" Super Bowl. It's theirs. 

 

OP is dead on. If you're actively finding reasons to complain and calling for people to be fired in this era, you're doing it wrong.

[Brand J]

1 hour ago, Bills!Win! said:

Our superbowl will come. If there was an NFL QB Mount Rushmore it would be 

 

Tom Brady

Peyton Manning

Patrick Mahomes

Josh Allen 

 

In no particular order. Enjoy it. Through our years of suffering we finally landed our generational talent. We just need to stop screwing it up and get him receivers to throw to. 

Manning 

Brady

Mahomes

Montana

 

Allen is still behind a number of QB legends.

[Fleezoid]

Blah, Blah, Blah ......... I want a dang Super Bowl win!!

 

[transplantbillsfan]

2 hours ago, SoonerBillsFan said:

This has been on my mind a lot since my grandson forced me to watch the "Pro Bowl" competitions. My wife was there and said "Payton Manning is my favorite QB of all time, next to Jim Kelly" and I can dig that, I LOVED watching Manning play.  But it got me to realize how much I miss watching him play.  Along with guys like Kelly, Elway, Marino, Moon, Young, Montana, etc.  

 

Many of us have been a Bills fan for a long time and we desperately want a Superbowl win, but are we cheating ourselves when it comes to Josh?  I say this because I sat back and thought about how much I missed watching those guys play and it hit me, Josh just finished year 6, how many more do we have him?  6-8 More years is my guess so he might be halfway through his career already, and all we can do is talk Superbowl.  

 

Maybe we are missing it?  We have THE best QB (A pure generational QB) in the NFL and I think we want a Super bowl for us and him, so bad that we aren't just sitting back and enjoying watching him play, enjoying what we have.  I plan on trying to just sit back each game and enjoy with my grandson watching Josh just sling the damn ball around the field, and hopefully, we get a title in the process.

 

 

 

 

 

Yes... all of this is true.

 

The problem is that even though I think Josh will be in the HOF, it's still always going to boil down to Super Bowls when the discussion boils down to "greatest of all time."  Dan Marino was a generational QB, but because he never won a Lombardi, he's just another QB in the HOF.  Same goes for Jim Kelly. 

 

I would like for Josh to at least be in the realm of that discussion. 

 

Peyton Manning is part of that discussion even though he was a shell of himself for one of his 2 Super Bowls.

 

Josh needs to get one.  And I still firmly believe he'll get not just one, but at least 2.

 

As to your larger points, I think most of us actually understand what we're watching with Josh, but that's what makes the lack of Super Bowls hurt that much more.  We understand how incredible he is, but he's not going to truly get the national recognition he deserves until he wins the Super Bowl or even gets to one.  And yes, I think that national recognition matters just because of how special he clearly is.

[Fan in Chicago]

Why can't we enjoy watching Josh Allen and win a Superbowl?

We all want to win it all, at least once in our lifetimes. That is irrespective of enjoying an Allen led offense 

[Your Brown Eye]

2 hours ago, Bills!Win! said:

Our superbowl will come. If there was an NFL QB Mount Rushmore it would be 

 

Tom Brady

Peyton Manning

Patrick Mahomes

Josh Allen 

 

In no particular order. Enjoy it. Through our years of suffering we finally landed our generational talent. We just need to stop screwing it up and get him receivers to throw to. 

 

No sane person is putting Josh Allen in the Mount Rushmore of QB's anytime soon. I love Josh Allen but the man needs a SB trophy or three before bumping off the likes of Joe Montana.

[SoCal Deek]

It’s been a lot more fun than the drought years but I have literally zero expectations of them making a Super Bowl (let alone winning one) under the current leadership group. So I’m just enjoying the Regular Season success. 

[Dick_Cheney]

2 hours ago, Bills!Win! said:

Our superbowl will come. If there was an NFL QB Mount Rushmore it would be 

 

Tom Brady

Peyton Manning

Patrick Mahomes

Josh Allen 

 

In no particular order. Enjoy it. Through our years of suffering we finally landed our generational talent. We just need to stop screwing it up and get him receivers to throw to. 

Nah. Not yet at least.

 

Allen doesn't even come close to being on an NFL Mount Rushmore until he at least appears in a Super Bowl. Probably still wouldn't be accurate to include him unless he wins one.

[Mikie2times]

Each era has gad something to offer if you love this team. It was fun in the drought years hoping things would be different. Following the draft and coaching changes and hoping we got our guy. You learn to enjoy different elements of the game and the team when you aren't as competitive. It was similar to how it felt post Kelly when we fought to be relevant again.  Both those eras led to a lot of frustrations but so does losing every year in the divisional round. I struggle to rank my frustration to be honest and never felt like I should be "thankful" for this or that. I love the Bills, I enjoy the team regardless. It's always entertaining and I suppose anything short of a Super Bowl will end up being frustrating (for different reasons depending on how close you get). 

Edited February 23 by Mikie2times

[BillsPride12]

You can enjoy and appreciate every minute of Josh Allen's career and also really want the Bills to win a damn Super Bowl lol.  They don't have to be mutually exclusive thoughts.

 

For me I will say this, when I start getting super frustrated about our lack of playoff success and some of the shortcomings I think about the Sabres and what the alternative could be.  Puts things in perspective real quick.  This is definitely a very good era for Bills football. 

[Success]

2 minutes ago, Mikie2times said:

Each era has gad something to offer if you love this team. It was fun in the drought years hoping things would be different. Following the draft and coaching changes and hoping we got our guy. You learn to enjoy different elements of the game and the team when you aren't as competitive. It was similar to how it felt post Kelly when we fought to be relevant again.  Both those eras led to a lot of frustrations but so does losing every year in the divisional round. I struggle to rank my frustration to be honest and never felt like I should be "thankful" for this or that. I love the Bills, I enjoy the team regardless. It's always entertaining and I suppose anything short of a Super Bowl will end up being frustrating. For different reasons depending on how close you get. 

 

I do agree w/ this general sentiment.

 

But the drought was brutal.  I definitely got my hopes up every season, but it was only the homer in me.  That was such a tough time, and something I NEVER would have imagined when I started life as a sports fan.  To go through 2 decades of sharing a division w/ the greatest, most enduring dynasty of all time.  

 

Crazy.

 

But, it makes me appreciate these days more.

 

[FireChans]

1 minute ago, BillsPride12 said:

You can enjoy and appreciate every minute of Josh Allen's career and also really want the Bills to win a damn Super Bowl lol.  They don't have to be mutually exclusive thoughts.

 

For me I will say this, when I start getting super frustrated about our lack of playoff success and some of the shortcomings I think about the Sabres and what the alternative could be.  Puts things in perspective real quick.  This is definitely a very good era for Bills football. 

People will call this “low expectations,” but the Sabres are literally unwatchable. Some dark day Bills games in December were unwatchable. 
 

We have a primetime fun great team. There’s about 28 or 29 fan bases of teams that would kill to be us.

[Mikie2times]

8 minutes ago, Success said:

 

I do agree w/ this general sentiment.

 

But the drought was brutal.  I definitely got my hopes up every season, but it was only the homer in me.  That was such a tough time, and something I NEVER would have imagined when I started life as a sports fan.  To go through 2 decades of sharing a division w/ the greatest, most enduring dynasty of all time.  

 

Crazy.

 

But, it makes me appreciate these days more.

 

I agree. But being a Detroit native, I can't help but look at how those fans acted this year, especially the NFC championship. It was "thank you for the memories Lions" We love you Detroit" All this touchy feely. Sort of like "See you at the Air Port Buffalo". It just made me think how good they have it right now, just like we did. All that hope. How the climb up the mountain is likely more enjoyable than just about anything else but the summit. Certainly more enjoyable than being stuck at base camp for what feels like all of eternity. Can anything be worse than knowing you're ten or twenty feet away from the peak and you can never get there? I feel like I have a horrendous case of blue footballs.  

Edited February 23 by Mikie2times

[KDIGGZ]

2 hours ago, Bills!Win! said:

Our superbowl will come. If there was an NFL QB Mount Rushmore it would be 

 

Tom Brady

Peyton Manning

Patrick Mahomes

Josh Allen 

 

In no particular order. Enjoy it. Through our years of suffering we finally landed our generational talent. We just need to stop screwing it up and get him receivers to throw to. 

Josh Allen isn't even the 4th best QB currently playing let alone 4th best all time. Yikes

[transient]

Watching Allen play QB makes it hard to watch other QBs play QB... everyone else looks like Nate Peterman trying to throw an out to the far sideline now.

[boater]

This thread turned out well. I thought it was going to degrade into a "our coach is wasting the best QB of all-time" thread. There's a template for McD bashing somewhere around here--people use it all the time.

 

But the thread turned into stopping and realizing how nice we have it as it is.

 

Yeah, I want to complete the journey and win a Super Bowl. On the other hand, I'm enjoying the journey itself of winning seasons.

 

Quote

“Its the not the Destination, It's the journey.”

--Ralph Waldo Emerson

--Clark Griswold

 

[HappyDays]

I love watching Josh Allen and look forward to it every year. At the same time, I sometimes really hate watching the individuals around him continue to hold him back from hitting his ceiling. I for one am not taking these years for granted after so many years of being lost in QB purgatory. But I also feel the sands of his career slipping away, and I won't lie that is sometimes even more frustrating than watching the team look like crap during the drought years.

[78thealltimegreat]

Winning a Super Bowl takes such incredible luck in addition to all the other things that happens.
The Chiefs were healthy the Bills weren’t particularly in an area like LB and them having Travis Kelce was a nightmare scenario to begin with. 
As for Josh I think Jeremy White said it best watching him play QB at the level he does when he hangs it up I might just quit watching the NFL cause the dropoff between him and about 25 other guys is the size of the Grand Canyon.  

[DCofNC]

15 hours ago, WhoTom said:

There are two kinds of fans: those who watch for entertainment and those whose identities are so wrapped up in the success of their local sports team(s) that they can't simply enjoy the ride.

 

I'm the former, but that doesn't mean I don't care about a SB or that I'm not thoroughly bummed when they lose - especially in the playoffs. It just means that I can't control those things. Win or lose, my contribution was sitting on the couch watching the game, so I don't let the outcome affect my life or my self-esteem.

 

 

Well said. I hate when the Bills lose, but it’s not life impacting.  

[T master]

16 hours ago, Bills!Win! said:

Our superbowl will come. If there was an NFL QB Mount Rushmore it would be 

 

Tom Brady

Peyton Manning

Patrick Mahomes

Josh Allen 

 

In no particular order. Enjoy it. Through our years of suffering we finally landed our generational talent. We just need to stop screwing it up and get him receivers to throw to. 

 

If there was a Mt. Rushmore for QB's what about Montana, Elway ? Mine would be - Brady 7, Montana 4, Bradshaw 4, & if Mahomes 3, wins another he will pass Aikman which i do not want up there with 3 .

 

There are other HOF QB's that have much larger accomplishments in their careers than being the Bills all time favorite .  

 

I like you think Josh will be there 1 day but for now i think he can't be on that list . Even the Bills own Kelly has been to 4 SB appearances  - just saying .

[GunnerBill]

If you can't enjoy watching this Bills team play I don't know what to tell you. 

[Gregg]

My Mt. Rushmore of QB's would be Brady, Montana, Manning, Elway. Honorable mention to Marino. I am not including players who are still playing just retired players. When Mahomes is done he will be on it.

[Man with No Name]

14 hours ago, transient said:

Watching Allen play QB makes it hard to watch other QBs play QB... everyone else looks like Nate Peterman trying to throw an out to the far sideline now.

if we go back to those days when allen is gone, i will probably start watching a team that is something like Joe Burrow's bengals. 

 

Like how I followed 10 years of Peyton Manning during our drought. And I'll be honest, that brought me a lot of heartache as well. No matter how good it is, you always want it to be better. The only thing that feels good enough is if you're guy is the best of his era. 

 

I so badly wanted manning to pass brady, and now it's wanting allen to pass mahomes. Getting just one won't be good enough for us. We will be right back to miserable when they get bounced in rd. 2 the next year. 

[Gregg]

1 minute ago, Man with No Name said:

if we go back to those days when allen is gone, i will probably start watching a team that is something like Joe Burrow's bengals. 

 

Like how I followed 10 years of Peyton Manning during our drought. And I'll be honest, that brought me a lot of heartache as well. No matter how good it is, you always want it to be better. The only thing that feels good enough is if you're guy is the best of his era. 

 

I so badly wanted manning to pass brady, and now it's wanting allen to pass mahomes. Getting just one won't be good enough for us. We will be right back to miserable when they get bounced in rd. 2 the next year. 

 

Disagree on the bold. For championship starved Buffalo getting one Super Bowl win would set off of an epic celebration. We all want the Bills to win more than one but if they only win one, it will still satisfy the fanbase as we got to experience a championship season.

[mjt328]

I've been watching this team since the late 1980s.  Now my kids are the same age I was during the Super Bowl years.

My grandfather passed away without seeing the Bills win the Super Bowl.  Now my father is over 70.

 

Yeah, it's nice to have a player like Josh Allen under center.  But I've experienced having great players before.  Even the drought teams had some fantastic individual talents that I enjoyed watching like LeSean McCoy, Kyle Williams, etc.

 

What I've never experienced is seeing my team a top the football world... not even just ONE time.  When I sit back and consider that Brady and Mahomes have enough rings to fill up two hands, while my own family is on the 4th generation of fandom and still has nothing to show for it.  That's why my full focus is on the Lombardi.

 

[Sweats]

Just imagine if JA was wearing a different uniform and we had to play him every year?.....now, imagine he was in our division and we had to play him twice a year?

JA gets a lot of criticism from the media, however, it is also his sporadic, unorthodox playing style that people from all over the nation fell in love with. People tuning in every Sunday just to see what JA is going to do next. What feat can superman pull off next?

We can all agree that we have something special in this kid and we are lucky that our FO saw the potential and drafted him.....the juice was definitely worth the squeeze.

 

Yeah, i get pissed that we aren't winning a SB (maybe not even any time soon) but, watching JA play every week is pretty good compensation.

[Augie]

I don’t get it. What am I doing wrong???  🤷‍♂️