2025 Feels How 2024 Expected To Feel

[corta765]

Expectations are a b*tch and I posted recently that it impacts how you view a season and the team itself. Unfortunately I believe the most important people running the team were jaded by what we saw last year and some things statistically that caused them on offense specifically to not make the needed changes to the WR corp. But more importantly last year felt like a year the defense would be adjusting, the offense would be decent but have issues, and not winning the division was a real possibility given the roster. Instead it was a dream season until the AFC title and every break you could ask for fell Buffalo's way. Now this year I feel like we are back to what many of us thought last year was. Who is going to catch the ball? Do they have enough at WR? Does the defense have enough impact players? Who are the starting safeties?

 

In fairness to our defense they have been ravaged by injuries past the normal point and it borders on comical (in a dark way) every time a guy goes down given how frequent and bad it has been. There is a different universe we would have got to see Oliver, Walker, Hoect, Larry O, Groot, Bosa, Benford, Bishop, Hariston, etc.. all play together and it probably would have been a decent to good unit. Instead your just hoping no one else goes out and they can heal to a point they can make enough stops. No amount of drafting or moves can save a defense that loses this many starters on such a weekly basis. Yesterday they still got 2 turnovers and it felt like despite everything the Bills still might do it until Allen fumbled. At that point you could see the entire roster was spent and the defense which had managed to hang in there was done.

The offense though really has no excuses at this point as they only have a few ways they can win and all of them require the rushing attack to be at its best. Last year when the Bills entered the season we figured it was going to be a heavy rushing attack as the focal point of the team. Brady was a step ahead of most teams mixing in a lot of play action and they exploited teams on screens/misdirection. Fast forward to this year and the offense just feels stale and when they have success its because of talent running the ball and playing a head or on script. The moment they get behind or they get off script it just doesn't work. Teams have caught up to the screens that Brady loves, they have figured out the play action far more, and they know Buffalo has no one that can beat them deep so the safeties are all coming down which is eliminating any mid level passing game since you do not have to worry about being beat over the top. Probably the most maddening thing which every fan and most media said for two years was who was going to  emerge in the passing game. Shakir is a superb slot guy and Kincaid when healthy is a really good TE... then what? It is beyond insane that a team which after 2018 said "hey we gotta help Josh get some weapons" and proceed to add Brown, Beasley, Diggs, Davis, & Knox within two years of that now has said "everyone eats and Josh has to elevate them". I think there is nothing wrong with asking your QB to elevate guys, BUT there is a fine line for how much you can ask for any QB which makes the approach to the WR corp for years even more frustrating. Green Bay is a wonderful example of addressing the position even in a place of strength while still being able to build out the rest of the roster. In 2024 they knew that they needed WR help... and they drafted just one WR. Why not in 23 & 24 or 24 & 25 double dip both years or even draft 3 WRs. As much as we want to act like the draft is a perfect science, the truth is a lot of times it is more like the lottery and sometimes you scratch off a big prize because you gave yourself more attempts. If organizationally you do not want a Diggs, fine but you can still have a quality WR corp that can still do many things. Instead they gambled for another year they could basically run it back swapping Palmer in for Hollis/Cooper and hope that was enough, but regression in sacks/turnovers/penalties has been real as has the scheme which teams have caught on to. Josh does not escape criticism as he has been jittery as heck in both the ATL/MIA losses trying to do too much (not surprised given what he has) and not trusting himself enough either. 

 

The most frustrating piece of all of this is that an overhaul of the offense both scheme and talent wise is now impossible to the extent truly needed until the offseason. We are now wasting a year of Josh's prime where we have not maximized it the best extent possible which is an absolute killer given how many opportunities you get. If you want to believe hey they can get it back together and make a run, OK fine go for it. Yes once a decade a QB gets hot on a wildcard team, fortune smiles and they get a ring in a very unlikely way. That would be far easier to believe with a defense fully healthy not out their best DT until the playoffs and an offense that had a better pass catching group. They also went from having a division that you could have a few falls and still take it to one that has a team in NE playing great football with a great young QB. So even with the playoffs your probably on the road losing your great home advantage. It all just feels stale, sour, and off compared to any year prior which is typically the sign of a team that needs a true overhaul or shake up. 

 

My final thought is after all of this do you really trust Beane and/or McD to get another crack revamping this thing? The team just laid a massive egg and then afterward said we couldn't match the energy of a 2-7 football team. Yikes. The GM who had the hubris to call out those criticizing his decision making at WR in April, now is found running to correct his folly when it is too late. Again Yikes. They have been here 9 years now and the success and elevation of this franchise has been superb. But at some point you break through or you don't. A decade is a long time to be calling the shots and be one message, it feels like the time has come to revamp with a new voice before Josh is done in his prime.