Celebrating the Bills

[Shaw66]

There's nothing to talk about. We've had all of the conversations about receivers, about Cook, about the defense, about not winning the Super Bowl, about just about everything.

 

Since there's nothing left to talk about, I find myself thinking about how amazingly good this football team has gotten.  I say it often; when McDermott and Beane got here, they said they were going to build a team that keeps getting better and better, and that is what they've done. 

 

I've been thinking since I saw the thread about the Bills being the favorite, at least clearly in the top three, to make it to the Super Bowl. We can argue about whether we agree or not, but the reality is that among the bookmakers and bettors, there is a clear consensus that the Bills are at the very top of the league. And it's a bigger consensus than it was a year ago and two years ago.  Granted, everyone thought the Bills would have a down season last year, but their success last season has convinced many people outside of western New York that the Bills were genuinely good last season and only got better in the off-season. 

 

And it's not simply because the Bills have Allen and because he's just that good. Put aside that Beane did a masterful job identifying Allen as the talent he is and then managing the draft to be able to get him; people around the country are recognizing that the other 21 starters, and the bench, make this a seriously good football team. 

 

And the Bills are set up to get better in the 2026 season, with the QB under contract, the salary cap getting back in order, and the opportunity to add more young talent in the draft. 

 

Everyone is looking at the Bills as a model franchise. Everyone thinks it's when, not if, the Bills win the Lombardi.

 

Hats off to McDermott and Beane. Now, '25, '26  '27, is the time complete the climb to the top. 

[HOUSE]

This board is slower than Keon Coleman ..

[Blainorama5]

I like where your head is at!  Enjoy the show folks.  We're so lucky to be able to watch a good team year in and year out.

 

Waaaaaaay better than the drought years.  duh!

[Bad Things]

So, last week Mrs. Things and I flew up to Auckland and were a part of a live audience for a TV comedy show.  Front row centre.

A "panel" show with 2 teams of comedians.

 

The staff in charge of the audience encouraged us to be as loud possible, and to hoot and holler.

 

So... at 4-5 points in the show, I yelled out "Let's Go Buffalo!!!" as everyone else was applauding.  (Going into and out of commercial breaks.)

We watched the edited version of the show on TV a couple nights ago, and you can hear me as clear as a bell.

 

"Let's Go Buffalo!!!"

😁

[Shaw66]

13 minutes ago, Bad Things said:

So, last week Mrs. Things and I flew up to Auckland and were a part of a live audience for a TV comedy show.  Front row centre.

A "panel" show with 2 teams of comedians.

 

The staff in charge of the audience encouraged us to be as loud possible, and to hoot and holler.

 

So... at 4-5 points in the show, I yelled out "Let's Go Buffalo!!!" as everyone else was applauding.  (Going into and out of commercial breaks.)

We watched the edited version of the show on TV a couple nights ago, and you can hear me as clear as a bell.

 

"Let's Go Buffalo!!!"

😁

Fans are the best!

[hondo in seattle]

16 hours ago, Shaw66 said:

There's nothing to talk about. We've had all of the conversations about receivers, about Cook, about the defense, about not winning the Super Bowl, about just about everything.

 

Since there's nothing left to talk about, I find myself thinking about how amazingly good this football team has gotten.  I say it often; when McDermott and Beane got here, they said they were going to build a team that keeps getting better and better, and that is what they've done. 

 

I've been thinking since I saw the thread about the Bills being the favorite, at least clearly in the top three, to make it to the Super Bowl. We can argue about whether we agree or not, but the reality is that among the bookmakers and bettors, there is a clear consensus that the Bills are at the very top of the league. And it's a bigger consensus than it was a year ago and two years ago.  Granted, everyone thought the Bills would have a down season last year, but their success last season has convinced many people outside of western New York that the Bills were genuinely good last season and only got better in the off-season. 

 

And it's not simply because the Bills have Allen and because he's just that good. Put aside that Beane did a masterful job identifying Allen as the talent he is and then managing the draft to be able to get him; people around the country are recognizing that the other 21 starters, and the bench, make this a seriously good football team. 

 

And the Bills are set up to get better in the 2026 season, with the QB under contract, the salary cap getting back in order, and the opportunity to add more young talent in the draft. 

 

Everyone is looking at the Bills as a model franchise. Everyone thinks it's when, not if, the Bills win the Lombardi.

 

Hats off to McDermott and Beane. Now, '25, '26  '27, is the time complete the climb to the top. 

 

I agree with every word of this and I'm grateful for Beane and McD.  And yet, we still don't have a Lombardi.  

 

As Shaw66 says, this is a seriously good football team.  And that's both a joy and a problem.  Good is the enemy of great, as they say, and we're not great.  We've never begun a season as the best team in the NFL, or even the AFC.  There are always concerning injuries and/or roster holes, not to mention some questions about the coaching staff. 

So what do you do with a GM/HC who win lots of games but no trophies?  Say thank you and hope for next year?  Replace them with guys who - odds are - wouldn't be as good?  It's a conundrum.  

 

I'll say this... Every year with Beane and McD, we have a legit chance.  For 17 prior years, we had no chance at all.  I like having a chance, so I'll roll with them.  But I do wish each of them was just a little bit better. 

[Rubes]

16 hours ago, Shaw66 said:

I've been thinking since I saw the thread about the Bills being the favorite, at least clearly in the top three, to make it to the Super Bowl. We can argue about whether we agree or not, but the reality is that among the bookmakers and bettors, there is a clear consensus that the Bills are at the very top of the league. And it's a bigger consensus than it was a year ago and two years ago.  Granted, everyone thought the Bills would have a down season last year, but their success last season has convinced many people outside of western New York that the Bills were genuinely good last season and only got better in the off-season.

 

Apparently not those living in Philadelphia...

 

15 hours ago, Bad Things said:

So, last week Mrs. Things and I flew up to Auckland and were a part of a live audience for a TV comedy show.  Front row centre.

A "panel" show with 2 teams of comedians.

 

UP to Auckland? Where were you, Antarctica?

 

🙃

[ColoradoBills]

16 hours ago, Shaw66 said:

Hats off to McDermott and Beane. Now, '25, '26  '27, is the time complete the climb to the top. 

 

[ChevyVanMiller]

16 hours ago, HOUSE said:

This board is slower than Keon Coleman ..

in quicksand...

 

[JP51]

17 hours ago, Shaw66 said:

There's nothing to talk about. We've had all of the conversations about receivers, about Cook, about the defense, about not winning the Super Bowl, about just about everything.

 

Since there's nothing left to talk about, I find myself thinking about how amazingly good this football team has gotten.  I say it often; when McDermott and Beane got here, they said they were going to build a team that keeps getting better and better, and that is what they've done. 

 

I've been thinking since I saw the thread about the Bills being the favorite, at least clearly in the top three, to make it to the Super Bowl. We can argue about whether we agree or not, but the reality is that among the bookmakers and bettors, there is a clear consensus that the Bills are at the very top of the league. And it's a bigger consensus than it was a year ago and two years ago.  Granted, everyone thought the Bills would have a down season last year, but their success last season has convinced many people outside of western New York that the Bills were genuinely good last season and only got better in the off-season. 

 

And it's not simply because the Bills have Allen and because he's just that good. Put aside that Beane did a masterful job identifying Allen as the talent he is and then managing the draft to be able to get him; people around the country are recognizing that the other 21 starters, and the bench, make this a seriously good football team. 

 

And the Bills are set up to get better in the 2026 season, with the QB under contract, the salary cap getting back in order, and the opportunity to add more young talent in the draft. 

 

Everyone is looking at the Bills as a model franchise. Everyone thinks it's when, not if, the Bills win the Lombardi.

 

Hats off to McDermott and Beane. Now, '25, '26  '27, is the time complete the climb to the top. 

This is where I am at... we can win it this year... I do think they have transitioned nicely for the future... now we have to have some defensive picks hit and not just as serviceable starters... but the ones that wreck games .... but in the end... lets see but I like the future for this group. 

[K D]

Is this one of those moral victory threads? We never win it all but enjoy the slightly better than average results.

 

We are in the same position as the 31 other teams. Let's see how they do first before we congratulate anyone.

[Shaw66]

1 hour ago, hondo in seattle said:

 

Good is the enemy of great, as they say, and we're not great.   

I've always heard that phrase the other way around - perfect is the enemy of good, meaning at some point the right thing to do is accept the good and move on.  

 

But it's also used the way you've used it. 

 

I wasn't suggesting that anyone should settle for as much as the Bills have accomplished and no more.  I really was commenting on the fact that the Bills have an outstanding football team - it isn't easy to build a consensus top-three team, and that's what the Bills have done. 

 

And now, let's close the deal. 

[Fleezoid]

2 hours ago, ColoradoBills said:

 

 

....At the bar, the start of the regular season. 

[hondo in seattle]

1 hour ago, Shaw66 said:

I've always heard that phrase the other way around - perfect is the enemy of good, meaning at some point the right thing to do is accept the good and move on.  

 

But it's also used the way you've used it. 

 

I wasn't suggesting that anyone should settle for as much as the Bills have accomplished and no more.  I really was commenting on the fact that the Bills have an outstanding football team - it isn't easy to build a consensus top-three team, and that's what the Bills have done. 

 

And now, let's close the deal. 

 

I agree, Shaw.  The Bills have built something that's difficult to do: a team that's in the hunt perennially.  I appreciate that.  

 

Still, when I'm lying on my deathbed many years from now (or maybe tomorrow, who knows?), I don't want to think of the 1990s and 2020s as the two periods in my long fandom that we had a good team that was never quite good enough.  

 

But with Beane, McD, and Josh, I think we'll be contenders for years to come so I still light incense to the Gods of the Gridiron in a hopeful spirit.  Maybe this is finally the year...

[Gregg]

2 minutes ago, hondo in seattle said:

 

I agree, Shaw.  The Bills have built something that's difficult to do: a team that's in the hunt perennially.  I appreciate that.  

 

Still, when I'm lying on my deathbed many years from now (or maybe tomorrow, who knows?), I don't want to think of the 1990s and 2020s as the two periods in my long fandom that we had a good team that was never quite good enough.  

 

But with Beane, McD, and Josh, I think we'll be contenders for years to come so I still light incense to the Gods of the Gridiron in a hopeful spirit.  Maybe this is finally the year...

 

At the end of the day if they don't win a Super Bowl then the Beane/McDermott era will be considered a failure. Regular season wins are nice and fun to watch. Winning the division is great. Playoff wins are also great. They still need to win a Lombardi especially with a QB as good as #17. If there was ever a fanbase that deserves to see their team win a championship its Bills fans.

[Bad Things]

4 hours ago, Rubes said:

 

Apparently not those living in Philadelphia...

 

 

UP to Auckland? Where were you, Antarctica?

 

🙃

South Island of New Zealand 

[eball]

3 hours ago, K D said:

We never win it all but enjoy the slightly better than average results.

If you think what the Bills have done over the past five seasons is “slightly better than average” I really don’t know what to say. 
 

As for the premise of the thread…any fan who doesn’t appreciate what we have now and only measures success by one trophy is, in my opinion, delusional. 
 

[Shaw66]

1 hour ago, Gregg said:

 

At the end of the day if they don't win a Super Bowl then the Beane/McDermott era will be considered a failure. 

You can feel that way if you want, but I think you're wrong. 

 

Are Tom Cruise, Johnny Depp, Ed Norton, and Bradley Cooper failures because they never won an Oscar?

 

McDermott has coached 8 seasons. If he goes 16 more seasons on the same pace as he's on now, and never wins a Super Bowl, he'll be fifth on the all-time win list. That's failure? 

 

Dan Marino was a failure?  

 

 

[Doc Brown]

Ricky Bobby: Wait, Dad. Don’t you remember the time you told me “If you ain’t first, you’re last”?
Reese Bobby: Huh? What are you talking about, Son?
Ricky Bobby: That day at school.
Reese Bobby: Oh ----, Son, I was high that day. That doesn’t make any sense at all, you can be second, third, fourth… ---- you can even be fifth.

[Gregg]

1 minute ago, Shaw66 said:

You can feel that way if you want, but I think you're wrong. 

 

Are Tom Cruise, Johnny Depp, Ed Norton, and Bradley Cooper failures because they never won an Oscar?

 

McDermott has coached 8 seasons. If he goes 16 more seasons on the same pace as he's on now, and never wins a Super Bowl, he'll be fifth on the all-time win list. That's failure? 

 

Dan Marino was a failure?  

 

 

 

Without a championship yes it will be. Marino wasn't a failure, but the Dolphins were for not giving him a running game and a better defense. Similar to Allen not having a better defense here with the Bills. Hopefully the moves Beane made to improve the defense this offseason will pay off.