Can the Bills win out?

[SCBills]

29 minutes ago, Paup 1995MVP said:

That's a very intriguing idea SC.  Do you really think we could get a 2nd for Dawkins at this point in his career?  If so, I would do it in a heartbeat.  Resign Van De Mark and maybe bring in someone (a rookie or lower price vet) to compete with him for the starters job.  I think Kromer is our best coach on the roster hands down.  He really gets the most out of each of our O linemen.  Starters or backups.

Dawkins is considered a top tier LT in this league.  Not elite, but in that next group.  Tackles typically play well in their mid 30’s and Dion is 31. 
 

Teams are desperate for OL help and high picks bust all the time.  
 

With Aaron Kromer here and drafting/developing OL being, perhaps, the biggest strength of this FO, I’d be willing to hear offers and I think a 2nd for a top tier LT on the backend of his prime sounds right. 
 

We’d never do it though.  Hes a Bill for life. 

[st pete gogolak]

I’d be shocked if we got a #2 for Dawkins.  31 year old very good but not great LT?  A fourth? Maybe a third?

[MDH]

In a weird sort of way I don't want them to win out. Yeah, sure, if they win the division I'd love it. But the last thing I want is a "chance" to win the division (and maybe the 1 seed) and have to play all the starters in week 18 only for NE to beat Miami and it doesn't matter, the Bills are still the 5 seed. I'd rather know they're locked into a WC slot and just use week 18 as a bye week for most of the starters.

[Alphadawg7]

Can we?  Yes of course, and we have done it multiple times before.  Did Sunday's game boost my confidence in them doing that this year, no it did not. 

 

The team I watched on Sunday did not look like a team that I would be comfortable wagering on to win out.  The offense was atrocious first half and then found some life only because we kept running the same running play over and over again with success, TJ Watt literally said he never seen anything like that before.  Outside the same running plays over and over again, the rest of the offense did not look good again.  And while the defense was dominant, beating up on a bad Steeler offense doesn't suddenly make me forget all the issues the defense has had all year to where I think this is what we can expect week to week.  

 

To again answer the title of this thread - Yes, the Bills certainly can, and have done it before.  But - my confidence in them being able to do it isn't as high as its been in the past when facing this potential.  The team has been so Jeckyl and Hyde this season that its hard to know what we can expect week to week. 

 

Four things concern me still right now:

1. Brady's predictability
2. Too many turnovers
3. Undisciplined mistakes
4. Defensive consistency

I hope they use this game to go on a run, and Bengals will certainly immediately test that.  But, I would be lying if I said I was highly confident in us doing it this year.  

[extrahammer]

In past years, usually by the middle of the season we usually get a good indicator of what this team is. It's week 13 and I still have no clue who this team, probably bc they've been so inconsistent and weaker than previous years. I say this to only say it makes my stress levels go up significantly.