Seems like a bit too much panic right now

[Low Positive]

2 minutes ago, The Frankish Reich said:

Too much panic?

There's never "too much panic!"

 

I panic when the Jets or now Steelers sign Aaron Rodgers. I panic when we trade away the rights to Xavier Worthy. I even panic when Von Miller is let go, or when Reid Ferguson jams his right index finger.

[DeepPass]

17 hours ago, Shaw66 said:

I haven't read much of this thread, but it relates to something I've been thinking about. 

 

I agree there's too much panic. Of course, we'd like the Bills to be dominating every game instead of looking so suspect, but that isn't reasonable. Teams rarely do that. 

 

I agree with starry, that it's all about making the playoffs and playing well then. Ideally, you win the home field throughout, but homefield isn't as important as playing well when you get to the playoffs. 

 

I wrote last week about how the preseason is coming to an end.  Many people got on my case, saying that's ridiculous, but this past week has me even more convinced.  Who are the favorites to get to the Super Bowl?  Bills and Eagles, and that was AFTER both teams lost on Sunday.  Nobody thinks the Bills and Eagles are playing like big winners - they both are struggling.  But the question is who's most likely to put it together, and based on the bones of each team, the experience, the QB, most everyone still thinks those are the two leaders. 

 

I was watching the Eagles struggle against the Giants last night and could help but think two things:  Right now, the two teams looked similar, bumbling around the field, too many penalties, certainly not firing on all cylinders, leaky defense. Very similar.

 

The other thing I thought is that the Bills played a tough team on Sunday, a team that looked like it was coming together, got smacked around a bit, and lost by a field goal on the last play. The Eagles completely fell apa, rt against a team that had shown very little except a wish about their rookie QB. Eagles took a much worse beating. 

 

If the Eagles still are the team to beat in the NFC, then the Bills are struggling less. The offense clearly hasn't come together yet, but all the pieces are there. The passing game will be fine, especially when the oline tightens up the pass pro. Cook is doing fine. The defense hasn't found itself, but I think it's by design. I think, for example, that when we get to December we'll see the Bills' zone tighten, and they'll be tough against that underneath stuff that's killing them now. And the d line will get reinforcements and will be battle tested. 

 

Can I prove that we saw last week will fade as the team gets sharp in December?  No, but it looks to me as though the Bills are doing this consciously.  They will be cranking things up beginning after the bye, being 4-1 at this point will have been certainly good enough. 

"the defense hasn't found itself - by design" ???  They don't have enough talent on defense regardless of schemes or design.  At least 4 of our starters on Defense would be hard-pressed to be back-ups on other NFL teams.

[JohninMinn.]

What are we going to do without our feelgood Damar Hamlin story?

[DeepPass]

22 minutes ago, JohninMinn. said:

What are we going to do without our feelgood Damar Hamlin story?

He's definitely a weak link defensively.  But, he's in the "Bills Christmas" movie and they can't cut him!  If they can't replace him next season that tells a story about our talent levels.

[Billsfanatic8989]

The Eagles and Bills are both struggling. I've seen the comparison. Very true. Who knows what will happen.

 

But one team has won 2/3 SB's in seven years. An owner who quickly moves off of coaches not getting the job done. A defense that has elite players. Experience. Great drafting.

 

The other has a talent deficiency on defense. Hasn't sniffed a SB. Defense gets shredded consistently in postseason losses. Not so great drafting. 

 

If you were forced to choose, which team would you have more faith in to turn it around?

1 hour ago, DeepPass said:

He's definitely a weak link defensively.  But, he's in the "Bills Christmas" movie and they can't cut him!  If they can't replace him next season that tells a story about our talent levels.

It's been nearly three years since the incident. Everyone loves the story. But the team needs to start looking at performance on the field. 

Edited 1 hour ago by Billsfanatic8989

[JazzyNBlue]

17 hours ago, Richard Noggin said:

Seems like each year under McDermott, with one or two exceptions, the team's weaknesses get exposed over a multiple-game stretch, inviting criticism internally and externally. Luckily, the Bills have also shown a tendency to then rally and redefine themselves down the stretch. 

 

I hate the nagging sense that the Bills aren't at the cutting edge of opponent-specific gameplans or in-game play-calling. Margins are super fine in this league, and getting outcoached or doing less to actively attack and disrupt each specific opponent puts too much pressure on players to win in less-than-advantageous circumstances. My favorite coaches do specific things each week to give specific players advantages. I don't see that from the Bills (with success) as often as I'd like. Coaching staffs don't count against the cap and therefore should be mercilessly critiqued and improved upon as needed. 

 

Every roster has weaknesses. Which coaches do the best job of maximizing their personnel with what they're given? 

I agree 110 percent with this. McDermott is too conservative to have cutting edge game plans. Cutting edge plays, are an unknown result, he wants to stay with the higher probability known results, thus why most of the NFL teams never talk about not being surprised by the scheme of the Bills. Unlike the example of our last offensive play vs the Chiefs last year in the playoffs, where we were completely caught off guard. 
 

We need a mix of high probability, sprinkle in a dose of cutting edge to help keep other teams honest. 
 

Hopefully we are saving this for the playoffs.