We have not taken a step back.

[SoonerBillsFan]

I read many posts saying this team has taken a step back and truth is we have not. Lets break it down.

Offense:

QB = Same

RB =  Same

WR = Improved. Samuel IS an  upgrade over Davis

OL =  Same/ slightly improved  Morse was old, and light in the butt. McGovern is younger and has played center and been prepping for this moment

TE =  Improved. Kincaid now has a year of experience and will hit the weight room

OC =  improved. I cant wait to see his own system implemented

 

So the offense is slightly improved.

 

Defense:

DL = Same to slightly improved. We are all praying Von improves, and so far I feel we have improved our depth. We need to increase pass rush through the draft.

LB =  Improved. We will get Milano back and our other LB's greatly stepped up

CB: = Slightly Improved. Douglas now has time in our system and a full offseason to get it down. Benford has another year and hopefully the new DB coach can help Elam

Safety: = Slightly improved. This is the one position I expect hysterical wailing and gnashing of teeth on, but Hyde and Poyer were showing their age badly last year. I say the two new starters just have to be smart (keep your damn head and eyes up Rapp!) and be in the right position at the right time and tackle. 

 

Defense = Same to slightly improved

 

Do we still need WR, esp. Diggs replacement and an upgrade, yes. Do we still need to use draft picks on the Defense, Absolutely.  We are always looking to improve, but we are no where near as bad off as some fans, and media, want to make it out to be. 

Edited March 24 by SoonerBillsFan

[NI Bills Fan]

I agree to an extent and like the positivity, but find it hard to agree on the D Line and safety positions, we need a pass rush threat at DE (to replace Floyd) and a bit more at safety before I could say we've actually improved there.

[Your Brown Eye]

I agree, nothing was coming out of some of those teets last year. We needed to get a herd of new cattle in to help our Alpha Male QB1

[RobbRiddick]

To me the defense is what it is. Even with all the injuries last season it played well and helped us secure a playoff spot. I'll be honest, after all those injuries early in the season I thought we were dead, but McD always seems to get the best out of them, until we play KC that is, but adding loads of pieces on D wouldn't help too much in that regard imo. 

 

That's why I'm all for adding as many pieces as possible to the offense in the draft, WR round one and then take a flyer on another in the later rounds, more o line depth, another RB, maybe a specialist who is a speedy threat catching screens on 3rd down. Just give Josh as many weapons as possible.

 

Even if the D takes a slight step back we can just blow teams off the field so they'll have to score a tonne to beat us.

[That's No Moon]

That certainly is the optimistic way of looking at it.

[Mat68]

I think being  realistic you would have to down grade Oline, Edge, and saftey

[BeastMaster]

I'll say this...Gabe Davis was made by Josh Allen, and I don't think he will be missed at all. Samuel, Hollins, and whoever else we draft is a massive improvement to our receiving group.

 

The defense will mostly depend on if Von can be a force rushing the QB. The safety position will likely get at least one guy in the draft to compete with the current group...so while I do have concerns about the safeties and the lack of speed in our secondary, I think they should be about the same as last season.

 

We need to get a WR and Safety that can play in this draft, and we need OL and DL prospects to groom for the future 

[Toyo321]

I think we are worse at S, DL and WR.  I hate to bring in a sore subject but our kicking game is going to tank this year.  Bass is going be a liability this year.

Special teams we will have to wait and see.  We don't have anyone as a threat to return kicks this year they are all gone. Hines was the only guy that could have returned to fix that issue and he is gone now.   Have to wait until after OTA's and training camp is over to see where we are.

Edited March 24 by Toyo321

[Chaos]

Well we finished top 8 again last year.  Most any roster with Josh Allen at QB, is a top 8 roster.  I think the real question is "Have we taken a step forward?"

[Doc]

4 minutes ago, Mat68 said:

I think being  realistic you would have to down grade Oline, Edge, and saftey

 

Depends entirely on McGovern.  The rest are the same or better (rookie year behind Torrence).

 

As for safety, I think they'll ultimately field a better tandem than last year.  Edge likely takes a hit though.

 

 

[hondo in seattle]

12 minutes ago, Chaos said:

Well we finished top 8 again last year.  Most any roster with Josh Allen at QB, is a top 8 roster.  I think the real question is "Have we taken a step forward?"

 

That's the right question.  

 

Offense.  

 

WR - maybe a slight step forward.

 

OL - I'm not sure how shedding Morse and picking up the Clapp makes the OL better.

 

OC - I don't know if Brady will be better this year than last year.  I hope so.  But saying so is just hope and speculation. 

 

Overall, the O seems about the same.

 

Defense.  

 

We lost some good starters and gained some low-end starters and back-ups.  The secondary, in particular, doesn't look as stout as it did back when Poyer, Hyde, and Tre were all in their primes.  I'm not seeing a better roster.  

 

But health is a factor here.  If Milano and the D stays healthier this season than it has in past years, and if Von returns to form, we could perform better defensively than last year.

 

The offseason isn't over yet but - other than Mafia Optimism - I see no reason to believe the roster is better than another top eight finish.  

 

 

 

Edited March 24 by hondo in seattle

[davefan66]

Morse is a bigger than loss people think. Great repport with Josh and smart guy to call the line.

 

As said above, are we treading water or making a step forward?

I don’t see us as better with the moves so far as much as stayed the same.

[Taro Nimbus]

According to all the talking heads in the media, the Bills window has closed and we have took a huge step back after letting go a bunch of aging vets and an injury plagued corner.   

[Doc]

2 minutes ago, hondo in seattle said:

That's the right question.  

 

Offense.  

 

WR - maybe a slight step forward.

 

OL - I'm not sure how shedding Morse and picking up the Clap makes the OL better.

 

OC - I don't know if Brady will be better this year than last year.  I hope so.  But saying so is just hope and speculation. 

 

Overall, the O seems about the same.

 

Defense.  

 

We lost some good starters and gained some low-end starters and back-ups.  The secondary, in particular, doesn't look as stout as it did back when Poyer, Hyde, and Tre were all in their primes.  I'm not seeing a better roster.  

 

But health is a factor here.  If Milano and the D stays healthier this season than it has in past years, and if Von returns to form, we could perform better defensively than last year.

 

The offseason isn't over yet but - other than Mafia Optimism - I see no reason to believe the roster is better than another top eight finish. 

 

McGovern is the putative starter.  Clapp is the backup.

 

As for the secondary, Poyer was washed and Tre missed almost the entire season.  And I think at worst they could get Hyde to come back given the soft safety market.  Linebacker will be set.  The issue is replacing Floyd.  Hopefully that's done by Von.

[Special K]

25 minutes ago, BeastMaster said:

We need to get a WR and Safety that can play in this draft, and we need OL and DL prospects to groom for the future 

 

This should be the plan heading into the draft, IMO.

[NoSaint]

I don’t think we took one back but I didn’t think we took much of one forward last year either. 
 

snag a WR, safety, and DE between rd1-2, and a last vet free agent and we may even be a step forward of last year. 
 

the problem being I think the bengals, chargers, possibly jets, and even if Wilson is passable the Steelers… could all be massive steps forward from last year. And that is not good for us. 
 

Last year I was saying we could be anywhere from 2-6 in the conference and I’m nervous that not as many breaks will land in our favor. We will see. 

[GunnerBill]

There is about a 1% chance that Rapp and Edwards are an upgrade even on 33 year old Hyde and Poyer. 

 

Poyer was still really good last year after the first couple of weeks where he was knocking some rust off. Hyde did struggle a bit more (in fairness in centre field your legs going shows up a bit more) but he was still a serviceable starter. That is like the ceiling of what Mike Edwards has been in his NFL career and probably a tick ahead of what Rapp has been.

[Heavy Kevi]

Which direction are we stepping then?

 

Certainly not stepping forward with McD still at the helm.

 

This is a cap correction year while we wait for real leadership from a new HC.

 

How much longer do we waste josh with this regime?

 

 

 

 

And now Harbaugh is in LA so they will be in a SB or 2 in the coming years. The chargers getting better is just another obstacle. Plus the obstacle of Cincy which we apparently just can't play well against has their QB back.

 

 

 

This is the "box step" at best.

[sven233]

DE/Pass Rush, DT, S, WR, LG still need upgrades in my opinion.  There are some other spots that could use work, but are passable with the starters.  I realize you can't have all pros at every position, but you still need solid play.  

 

While I do think Von will be better this season than he was last, it's still hard to project him being a double digit sack guy like he was before the injury.  AJ was nice to keep for depth, but he runs so hot and cold, you never know what you are going to get week to week.  I like Groot, though, and think he will improve once again this season.  But, there is no doubt we could use some extra pop off the edge.  In terms of DT, Oliver is is stud.  Jones is really good too if he can stay healthy.  But, we could use another 3 tech with some real pass rush ability.  I don't want to have to see Ed out there for 75% of the snaps.  Hard to keep him fresh for the playoffs with that load.  Safety is tough.  We are so used to having Hyde and Poyer back there holding things down, but it became very obvious to those that have watched those guys closely over the years that they just couldn't run anymore.  They played hard and with the vet instincts they had, but they were not the same players last year.  Did we upgrade there, though?  Maybe athletically, but I am not sure we can expect them to be better than Hyde and Poyer were even last year.  We could use another playmaker back there for sure.  WR is still an obvious need.  While Samuel is an upgrade over the room we had last year, I'd rather him be featured in the slot and not outside.  Over 70% of his snaps have come in the slot the last few years and I want him and Shakir to share the load there.  I look at Samuel/Shakir as an upgrade to Sherfield and Harty.  I still want another beast on the outside at WR2.   Finally, the Edwards/McGovern switch.  I thought McGovern was pretty solid overall last season.  Wasn't perfect or flashy, but he was solid for the most part.  Can he make the move to C?  I don't know.  Maybe.  But to say he will be better than Morse was is a bit of a reach.  He was still playing very good football for us last season.  Hopefully McGovern can make the switch and holds it down for us for the next several years, but I am not ready to call him an upgrade at C yet.  Edwards.....to me is a backup.  He was great in his role last year, but to me, there is no way he is going to be better for us than McGovern was for us at LG last year.  I think we could use another home run Guard pick like Torrence was last year to compete for that spot. 

 

Regardless, I do think our demise that the talking heads are proclaiming is being severely overblown to nobody's surprise.  Are we better?  I am not ready to say that yet.  If we can hit one 2 year one starters at key positions in the draft (ie. WR, S, and maybe even a G), then I will say the same thing I have been saying over the last several year......anything is possible because we have Josh Allen.  But we still need to get him some more help and hit on some studs in this draft.

[GunnerBill]

43 minutes ago, Chaos said:

Well we finished top 8 again last year.  Most any roster with Josh Allen at QB, is a top 8 roster.  I think the real question is "Have we taken a step forward?"

 

I think this is right around 8th.... as I said yesterday I think probably 5th or 6th best in the AFC and then there is San Fran, Detroit and possibly still Philly in the NFC. It is definitely a step back on where the roster has been. But there is still a chance to change that if they can crush the draft. But they need like a 2017 Saints type draft and they don't have the 6 picks in the first 103 that the Saints had and nailed that year.