Reasons for optimism, has needle moved at an improved roster this year?

[billsfan714]

Optimism:

Harrison comes back is the real deal at corner, giving us 3 good corners

Bosa/Hoecht improve what they are replacing, Miller, etc

Josh/Offense should be good to go, can hang with about anyone

Bishop improves, greatly.

Coleman improves

 

Pessimism:

McD and the D, never go to a championship level

Injuries, especially on D.  

Safeties Ok, not great

Not sure rookie class going to add much. 

 

 

 

 

[reddogblitz]

1 hour ago, ganesh said:

Will Johnson come back from a poor season 

 

 

Which Johnson?

 

You doesn't have to call me Johnson .

[Kaenon]

4 hours ago, Jistafan said:

Other than a heavy defensive draft, and no eye popping free agent’s acquired. What’s changed to make you hopeful for up coming season?

Joey Bosa

Josh Palmer 

Shaq Thompson 

 

It wasn't nothing.

[PauleeeWalnuts]

4 hours ago, Jistafan said:

Other than a heavy defensive draft, and no eye popping free agent’s acquired. What’s changed to make you hopeful for up coming season?

Nothing really, the secondary is still a major concern and the offense is pretty much the same. It’s basically the same team from last season that can’t beat the Chiefs. 

 

Two FA signed only to start off serving 6 game suspensions. Bringing back Phillips and Poyer feels like panic moves even if it’s just PS signings. Bosa is a huge question mark because of his injury history. 
 

They’re going to have to score 30 + per game because teams will be scoring at will more than likely. 

Edited August 28 by PauleeeWalnuts

[NeverOutNick]

4 hours ago, LEBills said:

I think Torber is going to be a much improved special teams coach. I think our turnover differential will go down from the +24 from last year. But if we can improve the starting field position we gave up (average of the 31 which was bottom 5 in the league), we should be to increase the amount of drives opponents have that end in no points due to downs.

Good point about Torber. Almost forgot about how terrible Smiley was so arrow is definitely up. I hope Joe Brady becomes more consistent with his creativity this year and our offense carries us to our first SB championship 

Edited August 28 by NeverOutNick

[Dick_Cheney]

17 minutes ago, PauleeeWalnuts said:

Nothing really, the secondary is still a major concern and the offense is pretty much the same. It’s basically the same team from last season that can’t beat the Chiefs. 

 

Two FA signed only to start off serving 6 game suspensions. Bringing back Phillips and Poyer feels like panic moves even if it’s just PS signings. Bosa is a huge question mark because of his injury history. 
 

They’re going to have to score 30 + per game because teams will be scoring at will more than likely. 

I honestly think there’s a fair chance the Ravens absolutely smoke us. 

 

And even if that happens, I’m still not sure if Beane would make a trade to fix things. I really hope the defense overachieves but I’m not exactly confident at the moment. 

[The Firebaugh Kid]

Bosa when healthy is eye popping. He and a healthy Matt Milano as well as a very promising draft class are reason for me to be extremely optimistic that the defense is going to improve quite a bit.

Edited August 28 by The Firebaugh Kid

[Sierra Foothills]

16 hours ago, Lost said:

It's essentially the same team as last year.

 

Below is a rough breakdown of the initial 53 man rosters from the last two years. It doesn't include Maxwell Hairston and Michael Hoecht who should both contribute significantly and are inarguably big talent upgrades to the roster.

 

Bills Season Opening 53 Man Roster Changes

2024	2025
Mack Hollins	Joshua Palmer
M Valdes-Scantling	Elijah Moore
	Tyrell Shavers
Quintin Morris	Jackson Hawes
Von Miller	Joey Bosa
Casey Toohill	Landon Jackson
Dawuane Smoot	TJ Sanders
Austin Johnson	Deone Walker
Edefuan Ulofoshio	Shaq Thompson
Nicholas Morrow
Baylon Spector
Rasul Douglas	Tre’Davious White
Kaiir Elam	Dorian Strong
Mike Edwards	Jordan Hancock
Sam Martin	Brad Robbins

 

It looks to me like over the course of the season:

• WR: Even without the presumed improvement of Keon Coleman that the Bills WRs will be improved
• TE: Kincaid can only be better than last year and Hawes is an upgrade over Q. Morris
• D-line: Will be better than last year's, especially with Michael Hoecht returning
• LB: Will depend on the health of Milano and Bernard, Thompson can't be worse than Spector, et al
• CB: Should be better... Douglas and Elam were terrible last year.
• Safety: Should be better because Bishop can't be worse than Hamlin and has a good ceiling. I have high hopes for Hancock

The Bills invested heavily in defense with 6 draft picks, 3 significant free agent signings, and the hiring of Senior Defensive Assistant Ryan Nielsen and Co-DL Coach Jason Rebrovich. Based solely on the roster and coaching staff (not factoring in injuries, strength of schedule and improvement of opponents) I'm certainly expecting improvement this year... especially defensively.

 

Also with the presumed upgrade at Special Teams Coordinator (Chris Tabor over Matthew Smiley), I expect last year's 28th ranked special teams unit (Rick Gosselin Ranking) to be improved.

 

Edited August 28 by Sierra Foothills

[TheBrownBear]

I think we've upgraded the defense and receiver room and should be better (though record may be worse). I think we're the second best team in the conference, but I have this nagging feeling that it is going to be the Ravens' year.  I just think they are clearly the best team in the conference.

[VW82]

We're -45M in dead cap year-over-year.

 

All our young vets have been extended. 

 

Most of our roster is young and still improving.

 

Everyone of consequence from last year is back, and we have some new defensive signings and a decent looking rookie class.  

 

Our new faces suggest more blitzing and covering one-on-one which might mean McD is finally planning on trying something new vs. Chiefs.

Edited August 28 by VW82

[Royale with Cheese]

5 hours ago, Lost said:

It's essentially the same team as last year.   If they can perform at the same level then theoretically they should get back to the AFCCG

 

Reasons for optimism.   

-Keon looks like he might make a second year leap after his great camp.

-Matt Milano is healthy to start the season and is playing well.

 

Reasons for concern

-Rookies unlikely to make much of an impact this year allowing other teams to gain ground.  

-Cole Bishop is still a big question mark going into the season.  

-It's still the same team that hasn't beaten the Chiefs in the playoffs.  

 

I don’t think its the same team.

Sanders, healthy Milano, Bosa, Walker, Hoecht and Ogun make a very different front 7.

Then in the secondary, 2 of the 4 starters are new.

[gobills404]

There’s dozens of specific reasons we could be better and dozens why we could be worse than last year. Too many for me to want to list all of them. The general factors will be:

 

- How much our young players develop throughout the course of the season 

- If we’re healthier on defense and/or less healthy on offense compared to last year

- How well our free agent signings gel (or don’t gel) in a new system 

- Unforeseen regressions from players that were on the team last year (e.g. Kincaid, Oliver, Rasul last year)

- An underrated one is how much Babich and Brady improve after their first full seasons as coordinators 

 

Im trending more towards us being better than last year, but I’ve also told myself that before 4 of the last 5 seasons. And the one season I thought we would be worse was last year and it ended up being our best season of the McBeane/Allen era. The truth is we really won’t have a good idea until a few months into the season at least.

[Thrivefourfive]

Was watching/listening to a podcast on the YouTube where a guy that was totally committed to his take that the Bills and the Chiefs are at exactly the same spot as last year, all things considered. Basically, nothing’s changed. Until they beat them in the playoffs it does not matter…

 

….if we brought in Garrett AND Parsons. It would only matter AFTER they beat the Chiefs in the playoffs.

 

Ya wanna know what I’m really disgusted by…

is that bad thought creeping’ into my head that this is all a dream and McDermott and ALL the Bills coaches, and front office staff, and almost the whole roster is just simply average. Middle of the pack. And that it’s Josh Allen who is the whole f’ing show. Like for reals. That frightens me to hell. 

[Thurman#1]

7 hours ago, Jistafan said:

Other than a heavy defensive draft, and no eye popping free agent’s acquired. What’s changed to make you hopeful for up coming season?

 

 

Why "other than a heavy defensive draft"? Why leave that out, and the same with "no eye popping free agents"?

 

If Joey Bosa isn't an eye-popping free agent, your definition is arguably too narrow. Bosa - if healthy, a legitimate concern - shows every sign of making a serious difference. Same with Hoecht although I hadn't expected him to be as good as he has seemed to be in camp. 

 

And our two rookie DTs are making plays, Sanders here and there and Walker fairly often. They'll show a lot of inexperience, particularly early in the year but around halfway though they're reasonably likely to start making a visible difference, IMO.

 

There's also the chances of real second-year improvement from guys like Cole Bishop, Coleman, Van Pran-Granger and Ray Davis. I'm a bit less hopeful about Solomon, but if we're lucky.

 

There's reasons for concern as well. The injuries in the d-backfield sure haven't helped.

 

But I think there's very reasonable likelihood for last year's terrific offense to play in the same neighborhood and for the defense to take some real steps forward, particularly in terms of the pass rush.

 

On a team that came very close to the Super Bowl last year, that's a hopeful outlook.

 

The rubber's got to meet the road. Still a lot to prove, but the same is true for every team every year, really.

 

 

[ganesh]

4 hours ago, billsfan714 said:

Optimism:

Harrison comes back is the real deal at corner, giving us 3 good corners

Bosa/Hoecht improve what they are replacing, Miller, etc

Josh/Offense should be good to go, can hang with about anyone

Bishop improves, greatly.

Coleman improves

 

Pessimism:

McD and the D, never go to a championship level

Injuries, especially on D.  

Safeties Ok, not great

Not sure rookie class going to add much. 

 

 

 

 

Have high hopes for Deone Walker. He stood out in TC and the Preseason.  He has the ability to replace Jones in the 2nd half of the season and the playoffs.   He appears to be a difference maker. Go Bills !!!

[RobbRiddick]

WGR was talking about Coleman yesterday, how if he can become a WR that has to be doubled regularly that will free up so much more the offense can do. An obvious point but very true. A lot hinges on his second year leap.

 

Bosa has been downplayed by us fans because of his injury history. The main thing is getting into the playoffs with him healthy. If he has a nagging injury in mid season and misses a few games, while not ideal, isn't the deal breaker. Having him healthy in the playoffs is key. Because we need him to cause mayhem in the standard Chiefs rematch.

 

Same with Hairston. It sucks that he's missed so much time and who knows if he'll crack the starting lineup this season, but if he's healthy at season's end he will get playing time in the playoffs and that is where he could be hitting his stride as a rookie. His speed could really make a difference against someone like Worthy in the playoffs. 

 

Also, the additions to the defensive line could take the team up a notch, if they're able to get pressure without blitzing it'll mean a lot less of those annoying 3rd down conversions that drive me crazy every year. 

 

It's all what ifs but potentially could be well above last season. At the least I think they'll probably be pretty much the same

[oldmanfan]

Bills fans at times have a reflexive protection mechanism manifested by pessimism.  Some here have claimed nothing has been done to improve the team over last year.  I beg to differ:

 

1.  They have added a lot to the D line.  Bosa provides more pass rush, so does Hoechst when he returns.  And they drafted two DTs that will help stabilize the interior if pre-season means anything.

2.  They added to the back end of the D by bringing back a healthy Tre, drafting Hairston and several other DBs.  Now, it sucks that Tre and Max are hurt, but that does not mean that the Bills did nothing to upgrade; what we have at CB is better than last year with Douglas and Elam.  
3.  Safety I grant is the weakest spot, but that doesn’t mean it’s awful.  Rapp is good, and Bushop must improve.  I expect Poyer will be at his side at every film session and practice.

 

So overall they added more to the D.  What about the offense?

 

1. Palmer gives them improvement at the WR position, a guy that can get separation which is what people demanded.  Coleman from all accounts had a great camp.  
2.  Everything else is status quo, with players that gave one of the best offenses in the league last year.

3.  We have the reigning MVP running the show.  
 

So I don’t know about you, but I am excited for this season to begin, just as I have been for the past 65 years.  Go Bills!

[Billzgobowlin]

11 hours ago, Jistafan said:

Other than a heavy defensive draft, and no eye popping free agent’s acquired. What’s changed to make you hopeful for up coming season?

I argue Bosa is eye popping.

[H2o]

Any time you have JA17, you have a reason for optimism. 

 

QB - MVP (should be at least 2 times by now, but still that dude) 

RB - Same group that complemented each other well last year. Cook is explosive and Ty is one of the best 3rd down backs in the NFL.

WR - I see the sum of these parts being greater than the sum of the parts from last year. We need a healthy Shakir though.

TE - Hopefully Kincaid is fully healthy and finally makes that leap. Knox is ole reliable at this point. Hawes, well, who knows, but I heard he can block. 

OL - Same top end group, and Josh still makes an OL look even better than they are. 

DE - Bosa is a clear upgrade over Von. Not sold on Lattimer, but we'll see when he returns from suspension. Jackson is another mammoth human in the fold. I think we're better overall. 

DT - The additions of Sanders and Walker upgrade this group. A healthy DaQuan should help too. We're better. 

LB - A healthy Milano focused and flying all over the place again is a massive upgrade. Hopefully Williams takes a step forward. Andreesen is about the same as Spector, just healthy. As long as Milano is that dude and healthy, we'll be better. 

CB - We have Benford, a true lock down type of CB. Then, we have question marks. Hopefully White can make it back and be somewhat effective. I'm not expecting much out of Hairston with the injury and IR thing. He's missed too much time. McD won't trust him with big minutes, if he comes back this year at all. That being said, I really like the prospects of Dorian Stong in this scheme. I just think he fits what we do and will grow as the year progresses. Still, big question marks at CB2 right now and the Chiefs are getting their felon back this year.

S - Rapp is injury prone and gambles too much. Can Bishop put if together? I can hear an Eminem song in the background. Hamlin will be out there taking bad angles, blowing coverages, and missing tackles. We have Cam Lewis, a McD favorite. I REALLY like the prospects of Hancock on this team. It will just take time and reps to get him acclimated. Another question mark group. 

 

Our Secondary outside of Benford is the weakest link on this team. Hopefully the DL can pressure the QB this year so the opposing teams can't pick us apart. 

 

P - Seemingly improved 

K - Bass. Will we get Bass-O- Matic or Run-His-Bass-Out-Of-Town? Same. 

[nucci]

it's all about the defense and will we have a pass rush.