Seems like a bit too much panic right now

[NoSaint]

49 minutes ago, Low Positive said:

There is some truth to that, but we all also suffer from BBFS. And part of that is undervaluing our own players and overvaluing other teams players. Take a player like Ed Oliver. If the Bills had never drafted him and he was a Raven, half this board would get a warning from @simon in a non-Bills game thread for asking "why can't the Bills have a player like that?" every time he made a play. But put a Bills helmet on him, and everyone thinks he is average at best. All of those feelings used to be valid because for almost 20 years, this franchise felt like a joke. We hired guys like Buddy Nix, and we go fed "cash to the cap," and had guys retire at halftime. We had a coach quit! Not retire, but outright quit!. That never happens. Guys like Drew Bledsoe, Marshawn Lynch, and Stephon Gilmore couldn't wait to get out of this backwater on the fringes of the league.  Now, this is a well-run NFL franchise that players want to play for. But that perception of ineptness is set in stone for most of us. It's hard to get past. Sorry for all the philosophizing, but I have been thinking about this lately when I realize that my non-Bills fan friends have a much better opinion of Beane and McDermott than I do. 

 

BTW, the Bengals fans I know would trade their all-world WRs for our OL in a second. Sometimes we lose sight of the fact that the team is pretty good in the trenches, and that goes a long way in determining games. 

alongside that I think plenty of folks see a highlight reel and catch weird comments

 

theres a world where a Carolina fan woke up to see Coleman stats post-Baltimore, heard him referred to effusively early in the Miami game as a stud game changing weapon and then saw he scored a TD this week and probably thinks he’s much better than he is 

 

watching a single team for 60 mins every week gives a whole different view than casually keeping up from afar

 

that said though many of us do follow our in market teams pretty closely and get more of those perspectives 

[Dick_Cheney]

I disagree. There should be more panic, and we should have already made a trade. 

 

After we lose to the Falcons, this will be even more evident. 

[Alphadawg7]

1 hour ago, GoBills808 said:

Not panic personally 

 

More just justifiable frustration after voicing legitimate concerns, being met w 'fOuR aNd oH', them immediately seeing those concerns manifest in a loss

 

We only lost because of careless turnovers to the tune of 3-1.  So, no disrespect, but unless your justifiable frustration was over turning the ball over too much, not sure what justifiable frustrations manifested in this loss.  

[Simon]

It's really made me realize how many folks there are here that I would kick out of a foxhole.

[folz]

1 hour ago, NoSaint said:

I think there’s a, not totally undeserved, feeling that we have a qb that makes us a contender annually but the rest doesn’t always measure up. 
 

while the Trent and fitz teams that started hot were fools gold for wild card contention, this one feels a bit like that for the Super Bowl. 
 

in a league where you pass and stop the passer we are missing a secondary and a pass rush, as well as pass catchers. 
 

I’ll admit I think we overachieved last year a bit and outside of bosa we didn’t add a lot of new to the cupboard. Bosa might really help one of those 3 phases- maybe even 2 by taking stress off the secondary

 

none of that to say we are some 6 win fraud… but that I’m also not buying the if we beat New England we are the last undefeated and those question marks disappear. 

 

I think you have things a bit backwards or are thinking back too much to last year. 

 

The Bills are currently 10th in receiving yards and tied for 6th in receiving TDs. They are 3rd in 20+-yard passing plays. It's not as bad as some of you guys think. Our offense has been very good except for the 2nd quarter of the Saints game and the first half vs. the Pats.

 

The Bills defense is currently 2nd in the league against the pass (yes, some of that has to do with our poor rush defense, but I don't think you can totally discount a 2nd-place ranking). The Bills are 9th in the league in yards allowed/14th in points allowed. The problem thus far has been the run defense, not the pass defense. 

 

And as far as the pass rush, the Bills are tied for 5th in sacks (though there are ties in front of us as well, basically, 8 teams have more sacks than the Bills). The Bills are currently 2nd in QB hurries, 3rd in QB pressures, and 2nd in QB pressure percentage. So, I'm not sure what games you are watching if you think our pass rush has been "missing".

 

And yes, the secondary is still a bit rough. But Cole is improving each week and Hairston will be back (and hopefully ready to take over). Benford and Johnson are both very good players, and Rapp is at least solid. As far as fixing the run defense, we have Oliver, Hoect, and Ogunjobi coming back and the young guys should get at least marginally better as the year progresses (Walker, Sanders, Jackson). 

 

 

And let Kraft, Diggs, and the Pats fans gloat. They won the battle, but they will lose the war. The season is a marathon, not a sprint. We have loftier goals than beating a division rival in week 5.

 

[harryS]

It really just depends on how we respond on Monday night.  If we win, then 5-1 is a perfectly reasonable and good record for the first 6 games, keeping in mind we played a healthy Ravens team and New England is, outside of QB, as talented as the Bills and even enjoys clear advantages at certain key positions like CB1, CB2, and WR1.

 

Lose again to fall to 4-2, and it'll feel like we're squandering the massive gifts the football gods have handed us with Burrow's injury, the Raven's multiple injuries to Pro Bowlers, and KC losing close games finally.

[Big Blitz]

1 hour ago, Success said:

We played our worst game of the season, turned the ball over 3x, and faced some....what shall we call it...."overactive officiating?"

 

One less turnover, or a different ref crew - and it's a good bet we're the last undefeated team in the league.

 

I feel like we need an AR "R-E-L-A-X" or something.  We have some needs for sure, but we also have some guys coming back, and 2 guys coming who haven't even seen the field yet.  I'd agree that the secondary is a concern right NOW, but either Hairston or Strong back will help quite a bit.

 

And I expect a move or 2 by the deadline.  But it's not like we're in a dire situation here.  Remember KC's season last year?  They won something like 11 games by a play or 2.  There was a ton of hand-wringing there, and they still made it to the SB.

 

I still think this is the best team in the AFC, by a somewhat comfortable margin.

 

 

 

New England might win 11 or 12 games because that schedule is a joke.  
 

Yes, you can panic.  

[NoSaint]

18 minutes ago, folz said:

 

I think you have things a bit backwards or are thinking back too much to last year. 

 

The Bills are currently 10th in receiving yards and tied for 6th in receiving TDs. They are 3rd in 20+-yard passing plays. It's not as bad as some of you guys think. Our offense has been very good except for the 2nd quarter of the Saints game and the first half vs. the Pats.

 

The Bills defense is currently 2nd in the league against the pass (yes, some of that has to do with our poor rush defense, but I don't think you can totally discount a 2nd-place ranking). The Bills are 9th in the league in yards allowed/14th in points allowed. The problem thus far has been the run defense, not the pass defense. 

 

And as far as the pass rush, the Bills are tied for 5th in sacks (though there are ties in front of us as well, basically, 8 teams have more sacks than the Bills). The Bills are currently 2nd in QB hurries, 3rd in QB pressures, and 2nd in QB pressure percentage. So, I'm not sure what games you are watching if you think our pass rush has been "missing".

 

And yes, the secondary is still a bit rough. But Cole is improving each week and Hairston will be back (and hopefully ready to take over). Benford and Johnson are both very good players, and Rapp is at least solid. As far as fixing the run defense, we have Oliver, Hoect, and Ogunjobi coming back and the young guys should get at least marginally better as the year progresses (Walker, Sanders, Jackson). 

 

 

And let Kraft, Diggs, and the Pats fans gloat. They won the battle, but they will lose the war. The season is a marathon, not a sprint. We have loftier goals than beating a division rival in week 5.

 

counter: the teams we beat are a combined 3-17 right now and we have had tough stretches against several

 

our pass defense has baked in games against rattler and fields 

 

again, I don’t think we are a train wreck but I am nervous about Rousseau or Coleman needing to make one big play. I do like the addition of bosa which I praise early and often… but it’s risky.

Edited 2 hours ago by NoSaint

[ALLinALLEN]

Couldnt be concerned in the slightest. It's 1 game and we played our C game at best. 3 turnovers, 1 in our red zone and one in theirs. The Pats played their A game and got some lucky plays (Maye first pass of last drive). All that considered we lost by a last second 52 yard FG.

 

Chiefs are staring down 2-4, Ravens are out of it pretty much, and its the Colts in the top seed currently....

 

Deep breaths ppl.

[Mikie2times]

1 hour ago, NoSaint said:

I think there’s a, not totally undeserved, feeling that we have a qb that makes us a contender annually but the rest doesn’t always measure up. 
 

while the Trent and fitz teams that started hot were fools gold for wild card contention, this one feels a bit like that for the Super Bowl. 
 

This is about the best analogy I have heard to describe this team. 
 

If I had to say what is the bigger overreaction, this week, or thinking this team fundamentally changed, I would say the latter. 
 

We are still a team that will win a lot of games. We are still a team that has no business being a Super Bowl favorite. The games prior to New England showed the same things, we just happened to win. So people weren’t willing to discuss it. But that’s what it was prior to the New England game and that’s what it is now. 
 

As I have said for years, I will reserve my right to change my opinion. But as I said, been saying it for years and it’s still the same opinion. 

Edited 2 hours ago by Mikie2times

[Boatdrinks]

26 minutes ago, Big Blitz said:

 

New England might win 11 or 12 games because that schedule is a joke.  
 

Yes, you can panic.  

They’re a game above .500. Hardly time to hit the panic button. 

[Big Blitz]

12 minutes ago, Boatdrinks said:

They’re a game above .500. Hardly time to hit the panic button. 

 

Saints

Titans

Browns

Falcons

Bucs

Jets

Bengals

Giants

Bills

Ravens

Jets

Dolphins

 

 

 

Assuming we win there - which has now become a must win so nice job Bills - where are there 2 other losses on that list?  If we lose to them they will need to be 11-6 for us to have a great shot.  
 

It’s very real we only go 11-6 or 12-5.  
 

We just laid that egg to them but we won’t lose 3 or 4 more games?  

[Ethan in Cleveland]

No reason to panic.  The defense always rises to the occasion in the playoffs and in the playoffs you are not allowed to throw passes beyond 15 yards.  

[Success]

3 minutes ago, Big Blitz said:

 

Saints

Titans

Browns

Falcons

Bucs

Jets

Bengals

Giants

Bills

Ravens

Jets

Dolphins

 

 

 

Assuming we win there - which has now become a must win so nice job Bills - where are there 2 other losses on that list?  If we lose to them they will need to be 11-6 for us to have a great shot.  
 

It’s very real we only go 11-6 or 12-5.  
 

We just laid that egg to them but we won’t lose 3 or 4 more games?  

 

I think a lot of people forget what it's like to be a team at the point in their trajectory that NE is. 

 

They could literally lose ANY of those games.  I think they'll probably have a tough time w/ the Saints this weekend.  They could struggle in any division game at this point (would have likely lost to Miami if the receiver doesn't step out of bounds by about 2 inches).  Browns, Falcons, Bucs, Bengals, Giants & Ravens could all give them a tough game.

 

The Pats weakness is their depth.  I was bummed for Gibson, but they'll already start to see that at the RB position.  As the season wears on, that could be a pretty major factor.

 

 

[Big Blitz]

1 minute ago, Success said:

 

I think a lot of people forget what it's like to be a team at the point in their trajectory that NE is. 

 

They could literally lose ANY of those games.  I think they'll probably have a tough time w/ the Saints this weekend.  They could struggle in any division game at this point (would have likely lost to Miami if the receiver doesn't step out of bounds by about 2 inches).  Browns, Falcons, Bucs, Bengals, Giants & Ravens could all give them a tough game.

 

The Pats weakness is their depth.  I was bummed for Gibson, but they'll already start to see that at the RB position.  As the season wears on, that could be a pretty major factor.

 

 

 

Our depth on defense is a disaster.   
 

Oline is about our only good position of depth.  
 

LBs - quickly collapsed. 
CB - Strong and Hairston - done and out could be a red shirt season 

DT - rookies 

DE - Bosa and Groot and PED Hoecht 

[Success]

1 minute ago, Big Blitz said:

 

Our depth on defense is a disaster.   
 

Oline is about our only good position of depth.  
 

LBs - quickly collapsed. 
CB - Strong and Hairston - done and out could be a red shirt season 

DT - rookies 

DE - Bosa and Groot and PED Hoecht 

 

I don't think it's comparable to the Pats, or that WE are comparable to the Pats in terms of where we are.  We're still top 3 in most power rankings. The Pats are in the late 'teens in most.

 

I'm not saying they can't win the division, but it's unlikely they get a sweep this season.  If we beat them in the rematch, that's 2 games they have to make up - and their losses so far are conference losses.

 

[Boatdrinks]

16 minutes ago, Big Blitz said:

 

Saints

Titans

Browns

Falcons

Bucs

Jets

Bengals

Giants

Bills

Ravens

Jets

Dolphins

 

 

 

Assuming we win there - which has now become a must win so nice job Bills - where are there 2 other losses on that list?  If we lose to them they will need to be 11-6 for us to have a great shot.  
 

It’s very real we only go 11-6 or 12-5.  
 

We just laid that egg to them but we won’t lose 3 or 4 more games?  

Pretty sure they lost to the Raiders. The Bills will lose games, they weren’t going unbeaten. The Patriots will lose games too. They were 2-2 after 4. 

[Sierra Foothills]

1 hour ago, Simon said:

It's really made me realize how many folks there are here that I would kick out of a foxhole.

 

I agree.

 

I see the constant negativity and/or bipolar overreactions exhibited by many posters here and it doesn't make me question their football knowledge.

 

More than anything it makes me wonder what kind of people they are and how well-adjusted they are (or aren't)... how they react to adversity in their own lives, how successful they are as human beings... how happy they are (or aren't) in their lives... whether they're hypocritical in holding others to higher standards than they hold themselves... whether they live vicariously through the team because they're frustrated in life... whether they're too invested in the Bills to an unhealthy degree... those are the sort of questions that come to mind when I read a lot of the posts here.

 

Edited 1 hour ago by Sierra Foothills

[Big Blitz]

I just want to operate with a higher sense of urgency ….. no particular reason comes to mind.  
 

 

 

[Dr.Sack]

Upgrading Tre #1.

Upgrading Rapp #2 

Nothing wrong with these guys being in sup packages like 3S Dime or CB4 Dime/Quarters.