A Few Offseason Thoughts - Definitely in no particular order

[Virgil]

This might be more for me than any of you, as I feel like this might be the most checked out I've been in a Bills offseason.  I know I needed a break after the Denver loss because to me, out of all our playoff losses, I really felt like we were the better team and it started to feel like this team just can't get out of their own way.  Seeing Josh so distraught hit me in the feels, and the firing of McD left me very torn.  I found it tough to process anything about football for a while and I really didn't pay attention to much NFL talk until FA and the Draft.  Going to Buffalo last weekend for the "scrimmage" got my mind going and I've been binging podcasts for the past few weeks.  With that being said, consider this me shaking off the rust....

 

1 - Podcasts - I typically stream by Bills content via WGR through the Audacy app, but I've found their Bills coverage to be lacking recently.  I don't know if it's more to do with the Sabres being relevant again or if they are unhappy the Bills are trying to direct people to their own site, but it's just not the same to me.  I recently discovered the Buffalo Plus and SHOUT! and would recommend them to anyone on here.  Buffalo Plus updates about twice a week, recently added Micah Hyde as a weekly co-host, and I find them talking about a lot of the topics that I find interesting. They have a good rapport and keep it under 45 minutes usually.  SHOUT! is almost every other day, covered every day of training camp, and is a bit more analytical.  One of the hosts can be a bit hard to hear at times, but it's still pretty good content.

 

2 - The Stadium Transfer - I'm hesitant to talk about this so early, so please give me some grace.  Everything I'm about to say is just my own speculative curiosity.  Let me get this out of the way first.  I didn't love the new stadium.  However, as I pulled up to area and saw the old stadium in a pile of rubble, it hit me harder than I expected.  All the memories and nostalgia just hit me all at once.  I think in comparison to that, I wasn't going to like any new stadium and just wanted the Ralph back.  The new stadium felt like I was at an away game and overall felt sterile.  While they did a lot of things to represent the Bills in the concourses, it still felt impersonal to me.  Maybe it's because it was painted all black, who knows?  It was frustrating to have the escalators not working when we needed them and certain food vendors to not be fully stocked.  I walked the entire stadium and every section.  The upper decks are no joke.  Those steps are super steep and for someone who doesn't like heights, I'm glad my seats aren't up there.  But there's no denying that every seat is much closer to the field, albeit higher up.  One thing that really annoyed me was the lack of televisions around the concourse.  In the old stadium, I could walk around the concourse and never miss a moment of the game because I could always see a TV.  Now, they have larger flat screens more spread out.  When it rained, people were scrambling to find a TV to watch on, but I actually got told multiple times that we weren't allowed to stand and block the area.  That's a miss to me.  Last complaint was the sound system and scoreboard.  While the sound system was louder, it got worse as the game went on.  The bass was terrible and I couldn't make out what they were saying in the post-game sideline interviews.  I'm hoping these are settings they can tweak.  The scoreboards are fine, but they do not reflect a new stadium to me.  I don't want anything crazy like at Citi-Field or in New England, but I think it's bizarre they are smaller than the old stadium.  Oh yeah, seeing people having to run to the concourses due to weather in the very first fan event was beautifully ironic.

 

Now, with that being said, the memories and familiarity will come.  They will make tweaks as the preseason goes one and I'm sure people will learn to love it.  I overall find the entire discussion about the stadium to be fascinating.  There seems to be the complainers (throw me in there) and the grateful.  To me, the Bills brought this on themselves when they set the PSL prices, ticket prices, and talked about there not being a bad seat in the house.  I understand that the new stadium is a more accurate reflection of pricing in the current NFL.  However, our fans aren't used to that.  So when you ask for huge PSL deposits, ticket prices jumping up 30% or more, and are now the hottest ticket in town, you have to accept that people are going to be more critical because they paid for the right to be.  I think everyone wants to love the new stadium, besides the internet trolls, because I know I did.  I'm hoping my opinions will change at the opener, but those are my thoughts.

 

3 - Texans Opener - When I first saw the schedule, I wasn't thrilled that we were opening in Houston.  As time went on, I think that is the absolute best possible opener we could have.  After the Denver loss, you could see it on the players faces that something needed to change because they were starting to believe they couldn't get it done.  A belief that you will find a way to win or lose is just as important as what you do on the field.  Pegula handled the major shake-up part by firing McD, which I think will bring a natural change.  The next step is to get another monkey off our back.  Josh has not had good success in Houston by any means.  If we can go in and handle business, I think that kind of win will go a long way in changing the player mentality that things might finally start being different.  

 

4 - Base Defense - I'm still learning about the 3-4 defense and how we will implement it but let me just say that I've never been more excited to watch a pre-season game and watch a vanilla defense.  At the scrimmage, I saw 5 guys on the line who should all command single blocks.  Chubb, Sanders, Walker, Oliver, Groot.  Without any exotic blitzes or coverages, I cannot wait to see what those guys do to opposing offensive lines.  If they can't get it done as is, then we have much bigger problems on our hands.  

 

5 - Beane - Leonard had a quote in an interview a few months back where he discussed not having all the pieces he wanted on defense and it will probably take a year or two to get there.  When I think about the recent draft and us drafting back-ups with our first two picks, it makes me wonder why that was the priority over pieces that Leonard needs for his defense.  I don't disagree that we needed DB depth and another pass rusher, but with our first two picks?  Granted, I don't know what the Bills board looked like and if there was even anyone available that Leonard would consider a starter for his scheme, but I would think there were better options.  Also, I can't say that I've heard a great report about Davison Igbinosun so far in training camp so I hope we get value for that pick at some point.  I still think Beane does a great job with contracts and can evaluate talent in certain spots, but if this defensive line doesn't produce after all the money and draft capital we put into it or the receivers fail to produce again, then I really hope he's on a short leash.  

 

6 - Scrimmage Thoughts - I hesitate to call what I witnessed on Saturday a scrimmage as they maybe did 11 on 11 for 20 minutes total.  It is frustrating that Brady course corrected this to be a practice when even the tickets said it would be a scrimmage.   Either way, from what I did see, Palmer did not have a great day and I don't feel like any of the receivers outside of Moore, Shakir, and Kincaid did themselves any favors.  One thing that became abundantly clear is that we will be throwing the to RB's a lot more, in both actual RB screens and wheel routes.  I think this will be great new option for Josh.  Additionally, we seem to be practicing the deep ball more and Shakir is part of that.  I think we are going to see a different offense that prioritizes stretching the field and getting everyone involved.  As for the defense, I do think some of those deep balls would have been sacks if the defenders didn't have to pull up short of Josh.  Benford seemed to get worked by Moore quite a few times and Chubb is absolutely massive. I don't think I realized how big that guy is.  He also was great after the practice by walking around the stadium and signing mini-foam footballs for the fans.

 

7 - WR 4 - With all this talk about who will be WR 3 and 4, I feel pretty confident in saying that they won't be receivers.  Moore and Shakir are 1 and 2.  3 and 4, to me, is going to be a combination of Kincaid or Cook.  From everything I've seen, this seems to be the focus of the offense and they will allow Palmer, Coleman (so sick of talking about him btw), and Bell to compete for the remaining targets. 

 

8 - Elarms-Orr - I want to keep my expectations in check, but man do I think Elarms-Orr is going to be a monster for us.  He covered Cook at full speed on a seam route.  He is incredibly fast to the ball and wants to hurt people.  I see a personal foul in his immediate future if not an arrest warrant for homicide.  Nothing against Bernard and Williams, but I want to see KEO out there so I can get his jersey.

 

9 - Grace for new coaches - While we had rookie HC's in Seattle and Jacksonville show immediate success last season, and the Bills are in their Championship window, I do think there needs to be some grace for the new coaches.  With Brady, I expect him to lose us at least one game due to rookie coach decisions, whether it be poor clock management, a bad challenge, or something basic.  For Brady, I just want to see the players show up for every game (No Miami letdowns) and I want to see some easy throws on 3rd and 4th down for Josh, where he doesn't have to put on his cape and figure it out.  I have more grace for Leonard, because it's an entirely new system with a lot of new players on the team.  Also, as we've seen with aggressive 3-4 defenses, the big plays go both ways.  While I expect to see sacks and turnovers go up, I also expect to see us give up more big plays.

 

10 - Josh - First off, congrats on the daughter.  It's been so great to see Josh talk about being a dad, how his priorities have shifted, and his overall apparent refreshed status.  You can tell the Denver game is in the past.  His deep ball looks great.  His energy seems great.  I think he's in for a monster season.  I also appreciate the way he's been handling all the media criticism about the stadium, uniforms (bleh), and Bills lack of success. We need Josh to be at the top of his game because this schedule is no joke and we have competition in the East. I see at least 4k yards this season, a little less running, and less turnovers this season.  I expect Josh to hit the ground running, handle the Texans, and have a different level of swagger this season. 

 

 

I may have rambled a bit, but it's good to get writing again.  For those of you who hung in there the whole post, I appreciate you.  I can honestly say I'm looking forward to writing game recaps again as there is so many new things to pay attention to.  The last few years felt like the same recap over and over again.  So here's to something new.

Edited August 13 by Virgil

[Dr. K]

21 minutes ago, Virgil said:

This might be more for me than any of you, as I feel like this might be the most checked out I've been in a Bills offseason.  I know I needed a break after the Denver loss because to me, out of all our playoff losses, I really felt like we were the better team and it started to feel like this team just can't get out of their own way.  Seeing Josh so distraught hit me in the feels, and the firing of McD left me very torn.  I found it tough to process anything about football for a while and I really didn't pay attention to much NFL talk until FA and the Draft.  Going to Buffalo last weekend for the "scrimmage" got my mind going and I've been binging podcasts for the past few weeks.  With that being said, consider this me shaking off the rust....

 

1 - Podcasts - I typically stream by Bills content via WGR through the Audacy app, but I've found their Bills coverage to be lacking recently.  I don't know if it's more to do with the Sabres being relevant again or if they are unhappy the Bills are trying to direct people to their own site, but it's just not the same to me.  I recently discovered the Buffalo Plus and SHOUT! and would recommend them to anyone on here.  Buffalo Plus updates about twice a week, recently added Micah Hyde as a weekly co-host, and I find them talking about a lot of the topics that I find interesting. They have a good rapport and keep it under 45 minutes usually.  SHOUT! is almost every other day, covered every day of training camp, and is a bit more analytical.  One of the hosts can be a bit hard to hear at times, but it's still pretty good content.

 

2 - The Stadium Transfer - I'm hesitant to talk about this so early in this, but please give me some grace.  Everything I'm about to say is just my own speculative curiosity.  Let me get this out of the way first.  I didn't love the new stadium.  However, as I pulled up to area and saw the old stadium in a pile of rubble, it hit me harder than I expected.  All the memories and nostalgia just hit me all at once.  I think in comparison to that, I wasn't going to like any new stadium and just wanted the Ralph back.  The new stadium felt like I was at an away game and overall felt sterile.  While they did a lot of things to represent the Bills in the concourses, it still felt impersonal to me.  Maybe it's because it was painted all black, who knows.  It was frustrating to have the escalators not working when we needed them and certain food vendors to not be fully stocked.  I walked the entire stadium and every section.  The upper decks are no joke.  Those steps are super steep and for someone who doesn't like heights, I'm glad my seats aren't up there.  But there's no denying that every seat is much closer to the field, albeit higher up.  One thing that really annoyed me was the lack of televisions around the concourse.  In the old stadium, I could walk around the concourse and never miss a moment of the game because I could always see a TV.  Now, they have larger flat screens more spread out.  When it rained, people were scrambling to find a TV to watch on, but I actually got told multiple times that we weren't allowed to stand and block the area.  That's a miss to me.  Last complaint was the sound system and scoreboard.  While the sound system was louder, it got worse as the game went on.  The bass was terrible and I couldn't make out what they were saying in the post-game sideline interviews.  I'm hoping these are settings they can tweak.  The scoreboards are fine, but they do not reflect a new stadium to me.  I don't want anything crazy like at Citi-Field or in New England, but I think it's bizarre they are smaller than the old stadium.  Lastly, the irony of people having to run to the concourses due to weather was beautifully ironic.

 

Now, with that being said, the memories and familiarity will come.  They will make tweaks as the preseason goes one and I'm sure people will learn to love it.  I overall find the entire discussion about the stadium to be fascinating.  There seems to be the complainers (throw me in there) and the grateful.  To me, the Bills brought this on themselves when they set the PSL prices, ticket prices, and talked about there not being a bad seat in the house.  I understand that the new stadium is a more accurate reflection of pricing in the current NFL.  However, our fans aren't used to that.  So when you ask for huge PSL deposits, ticket prices jumping up 30% or more, and are now the hottest ticket in town, you have to accept that people are going to be more critical because they paid for the right to be.  I think everyone wants to love the new stadium, besides the internet trolls, because I know I did.  I'm hoping my opinions will change at the opener, but those are my thoughts.

 

3 - Texans Opener - When I first saw the schedule, I wasn't thrilled that we were opening in Houston.  As time went on, I think that is the absolute best possible opener we could have.  After the Denver loss, you could see it on the players faces that something needed to change because they were starting to believe they couldn't get it done.  A belief that you will find a way to win or lose is just as important as what you do on the field.  Pegula handled the major shake-up part by firing McD, which I think will bring a natural change.  The next step is to get another monkey off our back.  Josh has not had good success in Houston by any means.  If we can go in and handle business, I think that kind of win will go a long way in changing the player mentality that things might finally start being different.  

 

4 - Base Defense - I'm still learning about the 3-4 defense and how we will implement it but let me just say that I've never been more excited to watch a pre-season game and watch a vanilla defense.  At the scrimmage, I saw 5 guys on the line who should all command single blocks.  Chubb, Sanders, Walker, Oliver, Groot.  Without any exotic blitzes or coverages, I cannot wait to see what those guys do to opposing offensive lines.  If they can't get it done as is, then we have much bigger problems on our hands.  

 

5 - Beane - Leonard had a quote in an interview a few months back where he discussed not having all the pieces he wanted on defense and it will probably take a year or two to get there.  When I think about the recent draft and us drafting back-ups with our first two picks, it makes me wonder why that was the priority over pieces that Leonard needs for his defense.  I don't disagree that we needed DB depth and another pass rusher, but with our first two picks?  Granted, I don't know what the Bills board looked like and if there was even anyone available that Leonard would consider a starter for his scheme, but I would think there were better options.  Also, I can't say that I've heard a great report about Davison Igbinosun so far in training camp so I hope we get value for that pick at some point.  I still think Beane does a great job with contracts and can evaluate talent in certain spots, but if this defensive line doesn't produce after all the money and draft capital we put into it or the receivers fail to produce again, then I really hope he's on a short leash.  

 

6 - Scrimmage Thoughts - I hesitate to call what I witnessed on Saturday a scrimmage as they maybe did 11 on 11 for 20 minutes total.  It is frustrating that Brady course corrected this to be a practice when even the tickets said it would be a scrimmage.   Either way, from what I did see, Palmer did not have a great day and I don't feel like any of the receivers outside of Moore, Shakir, and Kincaid did themselves any favors.  One thing that became abundantly clear is that we will be throwing the to RB's a lot more, in both actual RB screens and wheel routes.  I think this will be great new option for Josh.  Additionally, we seem to be practicing the deep ball more and Shakir is part of that.  I think we are going to see a different offense that prioritizes stretching the field and getting everyone involved.  As for the defense, I do think some of those deep balls would have been sacks if the defenders didn't have to pull up short of Josh.  Benford seemed to get worked by Moore quite a few times and Chubb is absolutely massive. I don't think I realized how big that guy is.  He also was great after the practice by walking around the stadium and signing mini-foam footballs for the fans.

 

7 - WR 4 - With all this talk about who will be WR 3 and 4, I feel pretty confident in saying that they won't be receivers.  Moore and Shakir are 1 and 2.  3 and 4, to me, is going to be a combination of Kincaid or Cook.  From everything I've seen, this seems to be the focus of the offense and they will allow Palmer, Coleman (so sick of talking about him btw), and Bell to compete for the remaining targets. 

 

8 - Elarms-Orr - I want to keep my expectations in check, but man do I think Elarms-Orr is going to be a monster for us.  He covered Cook at full speed on a seam route.  He is incredibly fast to the ball and wants to hurt people.  I see a personal foul in his immediate future if not an arrest warrant for homicide.  Nothing against Bernard and Williams, but I want to see KEO out there so I can get his jersey.

 

9 - Grace for new coaches - While we had rookie HC's in Seattle and Jacksonville show immediate success last season, and the Bills are in their Championship window, I do think there needs to be some grace for the new coaches.  With Brady, I expect him to lose us at least one game due to rookie coach decisions, whether it be poor clock management, a bad challenge, or something basic.  For Brady, I just want to see the players show up for every game (No Miami letdowns) and I want to see some easy throws on 3rd and 4th down for Josh, where he doesn't have to put on his cape and figure it out.  I have more grace for Leonard, because it's an entirely new system with a lot of new players on the team.  Also, as we've seen with aggressive 3-4 defenses, the big plays go both ways.  While I expect to see sacks and turnovers go up, I also expect to see us give up more big plays.

 

10 - Josh - First off, congrats on the daughter.  It's been so great to see Josh talk about being a dad, how his priorities have shifted, and his overall apparent refreshed status.  You can tell the Denver game is in the past.  His deep ball looks great.  His energy seems great.  I think he's in for a monster season.  I also appreciate the way he's been handling all the media criticism about the stadium, uniforms (bleh), and Bills lack of success. We need Josh to be at the top of his game because this schedule is no joke and we have competition in the East. I see at least 4k yards this season, a little less running, and less turnovers this season.  I expect Josh to hit the ground running, handle the Texans, and have a different level of swagger this season. 

 

 

I may have rambled a bit, but it's good to get writing again.  For those of you who hung in there the whole post, I appreciate you.  I can honestly say I'm looking forward to writing game recaps again as there is so many new things to pay attention to.  The last few years felt like the same recap over and over again.  So here's to something new.

I taught writing in a university for forty years. You are a good writer. 

[HappyDays]

21 minutes ago, Virgil said:

3 - Texans Opener - When I first saw the schedule, I wasn't thrilled that we were opening in Houston.  As time went on, I think that is the absolute best possible opener we could have. 

 

Agree completely with this. I'm feeling pretty confident about that game. For a couple of reasons.

 

First, it gets lost to history now but after last year's loss many fans were afraid of us facing Pittsburgh the following week, down both starting OTs. How could we handle Watt and Herbig/Highsmith after getting abused by Anderson and Hunter, with two backups on the line? Well Brady learned from his poor gameplan against Houston and we proceeded to run all over Pittsburgh and Allen barely got touched at all. I'm not saying we'll put up 250 rushing yards against Houston like we did that day but I do think Brady will be much more prepared this time around and our offense will be at least functional.

 

Second, I expect our defense to perform better. Houston didn't lose shootouts last year, they lost when their offense was so bad that it made their defense's performance moot. In our game we scored a kickoff return TD and then immediately gave up a time consuming TD drive to end the 1st half. Can't have it. Stroud is easily confused and we have the advantage of a new defense that nobody has film on yet. I don't expect to beat them 40-0 but I think something like 27-17 is entirely realistic.

 

The goal is to survive on offense, make conservative 4th down decisions and take points whenever possible, and make their offense look hapless. I think with the right gameplan we have the personnel to execute that formula.

[juno999]

I had the same feelings this offseason. I needed a break as a fan. I tracked who they signed in FA and who they drafted but went long periods not reading or listening to any Bills stuff. I started back up with training camp. 
 

Looking forward to watch KEO develop. Probably on a short curve to becoming a starter. Maybe similar to Milano who became a starter about halfway through the season. 

[PonyBoy]

Great to read you again & have you back Virgil!

 

We would love you to get back in the saddle again after games with your thoughts. Especially with a new building era & HC.

 

No pressure, just a thought. 

[Solomon Grundy]

Why haven't we heard much of anything about TJ Parker?

[buffblue]

1 hour ago, HappyDays said:

 

Agree completely with this. I'm feeling pretty confident about that game. For a couple of reasons.

 

First, it gets lost to history now but after last year's loss many fans were afraid of us facing Pittsburgh the following week, down both starting OTs. How could we handle Watt and Herbig/Highsmith after getting abused by Anderson and Hunter, with two backups on the line? Well Brady learned from his poor gameplan against Houston and we proceeded to run all over Pittsburgh and Allen barely got touched at all. I'm not saying we'll put up 250 rushing yards against Houston like we did that day but I do think Brady will be much more prepared this time around and our offense will be at least functional.

 

Second, I expect our defense to perform better. Houston didn't lose shootouts last year, they lost when their offense was so bad that it made their defense's performance moot. In our game we scored a kickoff return TD and then immediately gave up a time consuming TD drive to end the 1st half. Can't have it. Stroud is easily confused and we have the advantage of a new defense that nobody has film on yet. I don't expect to beat them 40-0 but I think something like 27-17 is entirely realistic.

 

The goal is to survive on offense, make conservative 4th down decisions and take points whenever possible, and make their offense look hapless. I think with the right gameplan we have the personnel to execute that formula.

Texans should have an improved offensive line (in theory, and that's not saying much) and Nico Collins. I agree that catching them early is better than late. I believe it will fall on the Bills offense to convert 3rd downs, extend drives, and not turn the ball over. In spite of Houston's offensive ineptitude, I'm wary of our defense being ready to perform out of the gate.

[Virgil]

13 minutes ago, Solomon Grundy said:

Why haven't we heard much of anything about TJ Parker?

I heard his name prior to camp regarding him shadowing Chubb and other vets.  I heard one camp review calling out his speed, but that’s about it. 

[qwksilver]

It was a tough loss/offseason Virgil. The good thing we start 0-0 and the real games start soon. Always love your takes.

[Chris from Rochester]

@Virgil I always look forward to these takes every week and couldn't agree more about this offseason.

 

I was a big McDermott fan and hated seeing him go, even if I got why it had to happen, but I still don't get how Beane kept his job and got a promotion to boot. Hiring Brady as head coach feels uninspiring. I’ve never really been sold on him, though I’ll gladly eat my words if he wins.

 

Not having a first-round pick took a lot of the usual hype out of camp. I’m glad we got DJ Moore, but he wasn't the monster splash I was hoping for (I had this weird gut feeling we were somehow pulling off Justin Jefferson). On top of that, listening to WGR feels off with all the Sabres talk, the new uniforms missed the mark (we just wanted the '90s throwbacks!) and the early stadium reviews haven't been great either.

 

Still, none of that changes a thing. I’ll be watching every snap, riding every high and low right there with you all. Just need the season to start already. GO BILLS!

[Mikie2times]

On 3 and 8.

 

Agree with Houston as far as timing. I will take the extra time to prepare, with more volatility, and fresh body’s. That is a worse match up for us later in the year where short weeks, injuries, and other things can play more of a role. 
 

I almost started a thread today about Elams-Orr. He is going to be an outright steal. Massive athleticism. Sub 4.5 40, not just fast, he has functional speed. To finish it off just a massive uphill trajectory. Going from barely getting on the field to leading the Big 12 in tackles. We got a complete stud here and I think he will be starting pretty early. 

Edited August 13 by Mikie2times

[cwater10]

I remember in the late 80's and early 90's reading the late Larry Felser of The Buffalo News.  On more that one occasion, he would remind his readers of an easily over looked reality.  He wrote something along the lines of "These ARE the golden years for Buffalo Bills fans.  Do yourselves a favor and remember to take a pause and appreciate them."  I miss Larry's style.  He left a void.  His voice would be a welcome refresh this morning.

[eball]

Good lord, man. Please get some therapy. (only partially kidding)

 

I’m not going to address everything you wrote, but I think everybody is failing to realize that Saturday night was, in effect, a “soft opening” of the new stadium. The sound system stuff has been addressed; the Bills brought speakers on the field as they do for every practice, so the two systems were “competing” and the experience is not what it will be for games. Same for the food shortages and whatnot — it was quite literally the first run for anyone in that building. I continue to be amazed by anyone “complaining” about the video boards — particularly since this was NOT A GAME and they are still figuring out how they will utilize the board space.

 

I can’t really speak to your obvious emotional attachment to the old stadium other than to say I feel quite the opposite. I remember the games in the stadium, not the building itself. Those are my memories; I don’t sit around reminiscing over my seats or anything else about that place. I’ve gone to a lot of road games over the past 10 years and constantly found myself envious of those other environments. Bills fans will make this place home very quickly.

 

[machine gun kelly]

10 hours ago, Virgil said:

This might be more for me than any of you, as I feel like this might be the most checked out I've been in a Bills offseason.  I know I needed a break after the Denver loss because to me, out of all our playoff losses, I really felt like we were the better team and it started to feel like this team just can't get out of their own way.  Seeing Josh so distraught hit me in the feels, and the firing of McD left me very torn.  I found it tough to process anything about football for a while and I really didn't pay attention to much NFL talk until FA and the Draft.  Going to Buffalo last weekend for the "scrimmage" got my mind going and I've been binging podcasts for the past few weeks.  With that being said, consider this me shaking off the rust....

 

1 - Podcasts - I typically stream by Bills content via WGR through the Audacy app, but I've found their Bills coverage to be lacking recently.  I don't know if it's more to do with the Sabres being relevant again or if they are unhappy the Bills are trying to direct people to their own site, but it's just not the same to me.  I recently discovered the Buffalo Plus and SHOUT! and would recommend them to anyone on here.  Buffalo Plus updates about twice a week, recently added Micah Hyde as a weekly co-host, and I find them talking about a lot of the topics that I find interesting. They have a good rapport and keep it under 45 minutes usually.  SHOUT! is almost every other day, covered every day of training camp, and is a bit more analytical.  One of the hosts can be a bit hard to hear at times, but it's still pretty good content.

 

2 - The Stadium Transfer - I'm hesitant to talk about this so early, so please give me some grace.  Everything I'm about to say is just my own speculative curiosity.  Let me get this out of the way first.  I didn't love the new stadium.  However, as I pulled up to area and saw the old stadium in a pile of rubble, it hit me harder than I expected.  All the memories and nostalgia just hit me all at once.  I think in comparison to that, I wasn't going to like any new stadium and just wanted the Ralph back.  The new stadium felt like I was at an away game and overall felt sterile.  While they did a lot of things to represent the Bills in the concourses, it still felt impersonal to me.  Maybe it's because it was painted all black, who knows?  It was frustrating to have the escalators not working when we needed them and certain food vendors to not be fully stocked.  I walked the entire stadium and every section.  The upper decks are no joke.  Those steps are super steep and for someone who doesn't like heights, I'm glad my seats aren't up there.  But there's no denying that every seat is much closer to the field, albeit higher up.  One thing that really annoyed me was the lack of televisions around the concourse.  In the old stadium, I could walk around the concourse and never miss a moment of the game because I could always see a TV.  Now, they have larger flat screens more spread out.  When it rained, people were scrambling to find a TV to watch on, but I actually got told multiple times that we weren't allowed to stand and block the area.  That's a miss to me.  Last complaint was the sound system and scoreboard.  While the sound system was louder, it got worse as the game went on.  The bass was terrible and I couldn't make out what they were saying in the post-game sideline interviews.  I'm hoping these are settings they can tweak.  The scoreboards are fine, but they do not reflect a new stadium to me.  I don't want anything crazy like at Citi-Field or in New England, but I think it's bizarre they are smaller than the old stadium.  Oh yeah, seeing people having to run to the concourses due to weather in the very first fan event was beautifully ironic.

 

Now, with that being said, the memories and familiarity will come.  They will make tweaks as the preseason goes one and I'm sure people will learn to love it.  I overall find the entire discussion about the stadium to be fascinating.  There seems to be the complainers (throw me in there) and the grateful.  To me, the Bills brought this on themselves when they set the PSL prices, ticket prices, and talked about there not being a bad seat in the house.  I understand that the new stadium is a more accurate reflection of pricing in the current NFL.  However, our fans aren't used to that.  So when you ask for huge PSL deposits, ticket prices jumping up 30% or more, and are now the hottest ticket in town, you have to accept that people are going to be more critical because they paid for the right to be.  I think everyone wants to love the new stadium, besides the internet trolls, because I know I did.  I'm hoping my opinions will change at the opener, but those are my thoughts.

 

3 - Texans Opener - When I first saw the schedule, I wasn't thrilled that we were opening in Houston.  As time went on, I think that is the absolute best possible opener we could have.  After the Denver loss, you could see it on the players faces that something needed to change because they were starting to believe they couldn't get it done.  A belief that you will find a way to win or lose is just as important as what you do on the field.  Pegula handled the major shake-up part by firing McD, which I think will bring a natural change.  The next step is to get another monkey off our back.  Josh has not had good success in Houston by any means.  If we can go in and handle business, I think that kind of win will go a long way in changing the player mentality that things might finally start being different.  

 

4 - Base Defense - I'm still learning about the 3-4 defense and how we will implement it but let me just say that I've never been more excited to watch a pre-season game and watch a vanilla defense.  At the scrimmage, I saw 5 guys on the line who should all command single blocks.  Chubb, Sanders, Walker, Oliver, Groot.  Without any exotic blitzes or coverages, I cannot wait to see what those guys do to opposing offensive lines.  If they can't get it done as is, then we have much bigger problems on our hands.  

 

5 - Beane - Leonard had a quote in an interview a few months back where he discussed not having all the pieces he wanted on defense and it will probably take a year or two to get there.  When I think about the recent draft and us drafting back-ups with our first two picks, it makes me wonder why that was the priority over pieces that Leonard needs for his defense.  I don't disagree that we needed DB depth and another pass rusher, but with our first two picks?  Granted, I don't know what the Bills board looked like and if there was even anyone available that Leonard would consider a starter for his scheme, but I would think there were better options.  Also, I can't say that I've heard a great report about Davison Igbinosun so far in training camp so I hope we get value for that pick at some point.  I still think Beane does a great job with contracts and can evaluate talent in certain spots, but if this defensive line doesn't produce after all the money and draft capital we put into it or the receivers fail to produce again, then I really hope he's on a short leash.  

 

6 - Scrimmage Thoughts - I hesitate to call what I witnessed on Saturday a scrimmage as they maybe did 11 on 11 for 20 minutes total.  It is frustrating that Brady course corrected this to be a practice when even the tickets said it would be a scrimmage.   Either way, from what I did see, Palmer did not have a great day and I don't feel like any of the receivers outside of Moore, Shakir, and Kincaid did themselves any favors.  One thing that became abundantly clear is that we will be throwing the to RB's a lot more, in both actual RB screens and wheel routes.  I think this will be great new option for Josh.  Additionally, we seem to be practicing the deep ball more and Shakir is part of that.  I think we are going to see a different offense that prioritizes stretching the field and getting everyone involved.  As for the defense, I do think some of those deep balls would have been sacks if the defenders didn't have to pull up short of Josh.  Benford seemed to get worked by Moore quite a few times and Chubb is absolutely massive. I don't think I realized how big that guy is.  He also was great after the practice by walking around the stadium and signing mini-foam footballs for the fans.

 

7 - WR 4 - With all this talk about who will be WR 3 and 4, I feel pretty confident in saying that they won't be receivers.  Moore and Shakir are 1 and 2.  3 and 4, to me, is going to be a combination of Kincaid or Cook.  From everything I've seen, this seems to be the focus of the offense and they will allow Palmer, Coleman (so sick of talking about him btw), and Bell to compete for the remaining targets. 

 

8 - Elarms-Orr - I want to keep my expectations in check, but man do I think Elarms-Orr is going to be a monster for us.  He covered Cook at full speed on a seam route.  He is incredibly fast to the ball and wants to hurt people.  I see a personal foul in his immediate future if not an arrest warrant for homicide.  Nothing against Bernard and Williams, but I want to see KEO out there so I can get his jersey.

 

9 - Grace for new coaches - While we had rookie HC's in Seattle and Jacksonville show immediate success last season, and the Bills are in their Championship window, I do think there needs to be some grace for the new coaches.  With Brady, I expect him to lose us at least one game due to rookie coach decisions, whether it be poor clock management, a bad challenge, or something basic.  For Brady, I just want to see the players show up for every game (No Miami letdowns) and I want to see some easy throws on 3rd and 4th down for Josh, where he doesn't have to put on his cape and figure it out.  I have more grace for Leonard, because it's an entirely new system with a lot of new players on the team.  Also, as we've seen with aggressive 3-4 defenses, the big plays go both ways.  While I expect to see sacks and turnovers go up, I also expect to see us give up more big plays.

 

10 - Josh - First off, congrats on the daughter.  It's been so great to see Josh talk about being a dad, how his priorities have shifted, and his overall apparent refreshed status.  You can tell the Denver game is in the past.  His deep ball looks great.  His energy seems great.  I think he's in for a monster season.  I also appreciate the way he's been handling all the media criticism about the stadium, uniforms (bleh), and Bills lack of success. We need Josh to be at the top of his game because this schedule is no joke and we have competition in the East. I see at least 4k yards this season, a little less running, and less turnovers this season.  I expect Josh to hit the ground running, handle the Texans, and have a different level of swagger this season. 

 

 

I may have rambled a bit, but it's good to get writing again.  For those of you who hung in there the whole post, I appreciate you.  I can honestly say I'm looking forward to writing game recaps again as there is so many new things to pay attention to.  The last few years felt like the same recap over and over again.  So here's to something new.

Glad to have you back brother.  I truly understand. Wanting to check out.  For me it’s a morning ritual at 5 am.  Get up, grab a juice or water, and open TBD for a few while I wake up, head to the gym and work.  I honestly never look at it all day after.  It’s why my replies are always early in the morning.

 

You’re a staple Virg, so keep the wrap ups coming.  Between you and Shaw with the Rockpile Review is a weekly thing we all look forward to on a Mondayor Tuesday.

[stevewin]

11 hours ago, Virgil said:

This might be more for me than any of you, as I feel like this might be the most checked out I've been in a Bills offseason.  I know I needed a break after the Denver loss because to me, out of all our playoff losses, I really felt like we were the better team and it started to feel like this team just can't get out of their own way.  Seeing Josh so distraught hit me in the feels, and the firing of McD left me very torn.  I found it tough to process anything about football for a while and I really didn't pay attention to much NFL talk until FA and the Draft.  Going to Buffalo last weekend for the "scrimmage" got my mind going and I've been binging podcasts for the past few weeks.  With that being said, consider this me shaking off the rust....

 

1 - Podcasts - I typically stream by Bills content via WGR through the Audacy app, but I've found their Bills coverage to be lacking recently.  I don't know if it's more to do with the Sabres being relevant again or if they are unhappy the Bills are trying to direct people to their own site, but it's just not the same to me.  I recently discovered the Buffalo Plus and SHOUT! and would recommend them to anyone on here.  Buffalo Plus updates about twice a week, recently added Micah Hyde as a weekly co-host, and I find them talking about a lot of the topics that I find interesting. They have a good rapport and keep it under 45 minutes usually.  SHOUT! is almost every other day, covered every day of training camp, and is a bit more analytical.  One of the hosts can be a bit hard to hear at times, but it's still pretty good content.

 

2 - The Stadium Transfer - I'm hesitant to talk about this so early, so please give me some grace.  Everything I'm about to say is just my own speculative curiosity.  Let me get this out of the way first.  I didn't love the new stadium.  However, as I pulled up to area and saw the old stadium in a pile of rubble, it hit me harder than I expected.  All the memories and nostalgia just hit me all at once.  I think in comparison to that, I wasn't going to like any new stadium and just wanted the Ralph back.  The new stadium felt like I was at an away game and overall felt sterile.  While they did a lot of things to represent the Bills in the concourses, it still felt impersonal to me.  Maybe it's because it was painted all black, who knows?  It was frustrating to have the escalators not working when we needed them and certain food vendors to not be fully stocked.  I walked the entire stadium and every section.  The upper decks are no joke.  Those steps are super steep and for someone who doesn't like heights, I'm glad my seats aren't up there.  But there's no denying that every seat is much closer to the field, albeit higher up.  One thing that really annoyed me was the lack of televisions around the concourse.  In the old stadium, I could walk around the concourse and never miss a moment of the game because I could always see a TV.  Now, they have larger flat screens more spread out.  When it rained, people were scrambling to find a TV to watch on, but I actually got told multiple times that we weren't allowed to stand and block the area.  That's a miss to me.  Last complaint was the sound system and scoreboard.  While the sound system was louder, it got worse as the game went on.  The bass was terrible and I couldn't make out what they were saying in the post-game sideline interviews.  I'm hoping these are settings they can tweak.  The scoreboards are fine, but they do not reflect a new stadium to me.  I don't want anything crazy like at Citi-Field or in New England, but I think it's bizarre they are smaller than the old stadium.  Oh yeah, seeing people having to run to the concourses due to weather in the very first fan event was beautifully ironic.

 

Now, with that being said, the memories and familiarity will come.  They will make tweaks as the preseason goes one and I'm sure people will learn to love it.  I overall find the entire discussion about the stadium to be fascinating.  There seems to be the complainers (throw me in there) and the grateful.  To me, the Bills brought this on themselves when they set the PSL prices, ticket prices, and talked about there not being a bad seat in the house.  I understand that the new stadium is a more accurate reflection of pricing in the current NFL.  However, our fans aren't used to that.  So when you ask for huge PSL deposits, ticket prices jumping up 30% or more, and are now the hottest ticket in town, you have to accept that people are going to be more critical because they paid for the right to be.  I think everyone wants to love the new stadium, besides the internet trolls, because I know I did.  I'm hoping my opinions will change at the opener, but those are my thoughts.

 

3 - Texans Opener - When I first saw the schedule, I wasn't thrilled that we were opening in Houston.  As time went on, I think that is the absolute best possible opener we could have.  After the Denver loss, you could see it on the players faces that something needed to change because they were starting to believe they couldn't get it done.  A belief that you will find a way to win or lose is just as important as what you do on the field.  Pegula handled the major shake-up part by firing McD, which I think will bring a natural change.  The next step is to get another monkey off our back.  Josh has not had good success in Houston by any means.  If we can go in and handle business, I think that kind of win will go a long way in changing the player mentality that things might finally start being different.  

 

4 - Base Defense - I'm still learning about the 3-4 defense and how we will implement it but let me just say that I've never been more excited to watch a pre-season game and watch a vanilla defense.  At the scrimmage, I saw 5 guys on the line who should all command single blocks.  Chubb, Sanders, Walker, Oliver, Groot.  Without any exotic blitzes or coverages, I cannot wait to see what those guys do to opposing offensive lines.  If they can't get it done as is, then we have much bigger problems on our hands.  

 

5 - Beane - Leonard had a quote in an interview a few months back where he discussed not having all the pieces he wanted on defense and it will probably take a year or two to get there.  When I think about the recent draft and us drafting back-ups with our first two picks, it makes me wonder why that was the priority over pieces that Leonard needs for his defense.  I don't disagree that we needed DB depth and another pass rusher, but with our first two picks?  Granted, I don't know what the Bills board looked like and if there was even anyone available that Leonard would consider a starter for his scheme, but I would think there were better options.  Also, I can't say that I've heard a great report about Davison Igbinosun so far in training camp so I hope we get value for that pick at some point.  I still think Beane does a great job with contracts and can evaluate talent in certain spots, but if this defensive line doesn't produce after all the money and draft capital we put into it or the receivers fail to produce again, then I really hope he's on a short leash.  

 

6 - Scrimmage Thoughts - I hesitate to call what I witnessed on Saturday a scrimmage as they maybe did 11 on 11 for 20 minutes total.  It is frustrating that Brady course corrected this to be a practice when even the tickets said it would be a scrimmage.   Either way, from what I did see, Palmer did not have a great day and I don't feel like any of the receivers outside of Moore, Shakir, and Kincaid did themselves any favors.  One thing that became abundantly clear is that we will be throwing the to RB's a lot more, in both actual RB screens and wheel routes.  I think this will be great new option for Josh.  Additionally, we seem to be practicing the deep ball more and Shakir is part of that.  I think we are going to see a different offense that prioritizes stretching the field and getting everyone involved.  As for the defense, I do think some of those deep balls would have been sacks if the defenders didn't have to pull up short of Josh.  Benford seemed to get worked by Moore quite a few times and Chubb is absolutely massive. I don't think I realized how big that guy is.  He also was great after the practice by walking around the stadium and signing mini-foam footballs for the fans.

 

7 - WR 4 - With all this talk about who will be WR 3 and 4, I feel pretty confident in saying that they won't be receivers.  Moore and Shakir are 1 and 2.  3 and 4, to me, is going to be a combination of Kincaid or Cook.  From everything I've seen, this seems to be the focus of the offense and they will allow Palmer, Coleman (so sick of talking about him btw), and Bell to compete for the remaining targets. 

 

8 - Elarms-Orr - I want to keep my expectations in check, but man do I think Elarms-Orr is going to be a monster for us.  He covered Cook at full speed on a seam route.  He is incredibly fast to the ball and wants to hurt people.  I see a personal foul in his immediate future if not an arrest warrant for homicide.  Nothing against Bernard and Williams, but I want to see KEO out there so I can get his jersey.

 

9 - Grace for new coaches - While we had rookie HC's in Seattle and Jacksonville show immediate success last season, and the Bills are in their Championship window, I do think there needs to be some grace for the new coaches.  With Brady, I expect him to lose us at least one game due to rookie coach decisions, whether it be poor clock management, a bad challenge, or something basic.  For Brady, I just want to see the players show up for every game (No Miami letdowns) and I want to see some easy throws on 3rd and 4th down for Josh, where he doesn't have to put on his cape and figure it out.  I have more grace for Leonard, because it's an entirely new system with a lot of new players on the team.  Also, as we've seen with aggressive 3-4 defenses, the big plays go both ways.  While I expect to see sacks and turnovers go up, I also expect to see us give up more big plays.

 

10 - Josh - First off, congrats on the daughter.  It's been so great to see Josh talk about being a dad, how his priorities have shifted, and his overall apparent refreshed status.  You can tell the Denver game is in the past.  His deep ball looks great.  His energy seems great.  I think he's in for a monster season.  I also appreciate the way he's been handling all the media criticism about the stadium, uniforms (bleh), and Bills lack of success. We need Josh to be at the top of his game because this schedule is no joke and we have competition in the East. I see at least 4k yards this season, a little less running, and less turnovers this season.  I expect Josh to hit the ground running, handle the Texans, and have a different level of swagger this season. 

 

 

I may have rambled a bit, but it's good to get writing again.  For those of you who hung in there the whole post, I appreciate you.  I can honestly say I'm looking forward to writing game recaps again as there is so many new things to pay attention to.  The last few years felt like the same recap over and over again.  So here's to something new.

- What personal touches do you think the old stadium had that didn't make it feel 'impersonal'?  I feel like you are confusing familiarity with personality

 

- The Red and Blue event has been loosely labeled a 'scrimmage' in it's history and has always just been a regular practice (I attended every previous one).  In the original marketing for the first one(s) I think they threw the term scrimmage around but not anymore- the official Bills release for this year called it "Return of the Blue & Red practice"

[Charles Romes]

The part about people being told they could not congregate in the concourse was depressing. 

[Toledo Bill]

I always enjoy your comments. Sadly, I even have an emotional tie to War Memorial Stadium. 

[GunnerBill]

11 hours ago, HappyDays said:

 

Agree completely with this. I'm feeling pretty confident about that game. For a couple of reasons.

 

First, it gets lost to history now but after last year's loss many fans were afraid of us facing Pittsburgh the following week, down both starting OTs. How could we handle Watt and Herbig/Highsmith after getting abused by Anderson and Hunter, with two backups on the line? Well Brady learned from his poor gameplan against Houston and we proceeded to run all over Pittsburgh and Allen barely got touched at all. I'm not saying we'll put up 250 rushing yards against Houston like we did that day but I do think Brady will be much more prepared this time around and our offense will be at least functional.

 

Second, I expect our defense to perform better. Houston didn't lose shootouts last year, they lost when their offense was so bad that it made their defense's performance moot. In our game we scored a kickoff return TD and then immediately gave up a time consuming TD drive to end the 1st half. Can't have it. Stroud is easily confused and we have the advantage of a new defense that nobody has film on yet. I don't expect to beat them 40-0 but I think something like 27-17 is entirely realistic.

 

The goal is to survive on offense, make conservative 4th down decisions and take points whenever possible, and make their offense look hapless. I think with the right gameplan we have the personnel to execute that formula.

 

 

The Houston loss last year was bad offensive plan and awful defensive execution. The number of tackles we missed in that game was ridiculous. The year before was bad defensive execution (that was the botch touchdowns on Cole Bishop game) and poor coaching decisions - McDermott went for 4th downs that he should have kicked the points on. 

 

Avoid those mistakes and we can win. The only thing I'd say is I have a sneaky suspicion Stroud is going to have a bit of a bounce back this year. Hopefully it doesn't start week 1. 

[4th&long]

I have the same train of thought about Beane. Frankly I think he needs to go. He just drafts lots of mediocre players on D. (And not much better on O). 

They need there Josh Allen on the D side of the ball. Package a few picks and move up in the draft and get an impactful player. It worked with Josh, why he won’t do it again for the other side of the ball is mind numbing!

[wjag]

I have only seen the new digs from the outside, so I have no perspective to offer regarding the inside.  But soon it will be full of Bills fans and it will be home.  I was grateful for the Sabres season as it allowed me to focus on that instead of the way the Bills season ended.  The turn over to end the first half was THE MOST EGREGIOUS, STUPID, IDIOTIC play of the whole season.  In the end, it doomed the Bills giving away those freebie points.  I was never onboard with sacking the coach, but the coach should have understood the risk/reward of those final few seconds and regrouped in the locker room.

 

As we always say in Buffalo fandom, hope springs eternal and there is always next year.