IronyAbounds

As a Bills' fan I simply didn't care about the call or particularly about the outcome, although I am marginally happy the Chiefs won only because they're AFC. I was also very unimpressed with Fox's announcers. They weren't annoying to me, just very "meh". Every year that goes by without the Bills returning to the Super Bowl makes me care that much less about the game. About all I can say for this year is it afforded us the opportunity to have daughter, son-in-law and grandkids over to watch the game.

This. I won't judge someone in setting their priorities when it comes to spending money, but there isn't an sporting/entertainment event of any sort that in my mind is worth $1,000 let alone $6,500. I went to one of Arizona's Final Four appearances, but because of connections for the ticket (only had to pay face value) I was able to get by well under $1,000 including ticket, hotel and airfare. These days it would be at least $2,500 and I'd have to say no. But that's just me. If someone gets $6,500 worth of happiness out of going to a football game, more power to them.

Reed disappeared? Really? He caught a total of 27 passes for 323 yards in the 4 SB games (8-62 in 90, 5-34 in 91, 8-152 in 92 and 6-75 in 93). Could he have done better, I suppose, but those aren't disappearance numbers by any measure and they came against Super Bowl caliber teams. Meanwhile Diggs is 0 for 0 yards in SB appearances, and as a Bill his stats in 7 playoff games against only one team that made a Super Bowl are 37 receptions for 527. Diggs has a couple more yards per catch but otherwise he has fewer receptions and yards per game. I think Andre did just fine in Super Bowls.

It's very curious, but many of those disparaging Singletary are also severe critics of the OL. Seems to me that someone who puts up the numbers DS did behind an atrocious OL might actually be pretty good, and conversely, backs that put up better numbers on other teams probably would put up much worse numbers if they had to play in Buffalo with its offensive schemes and lousy OL. I like DS and if the number is right I'd resign him.

Road schedule is very tough. 4-4 is a very real possibility and may a tad optimistic (almost certainly worse if the Jets and/or Dolphins actually get a legit QB). 8-1 at home would be doable if a bit optimistic. 12-5 gets them maybe the 3 seed, which almost certainly means only one home playoff game. If Allen gets hurt all goes out the window, if OL and DL aren't much improved team could seriously regress. Even with its win streak at the end of the regular season the team looks less than stellar so significant improvement is needed to get the AFC Championship or SB.

Screw the flag football game. Why bother. My suggestion: https://tudorgames.com/buffalo-bills-nfl-deluxe-electric-football.html Just have the pro bowl squads line up the players on this field.

"The Bills clearly were not ready for the snow on either side of the ball. While Joe Burrow averaged a lightning-quick 2.5 seconds to throw, Josh Allen held the ball for 3.2 seconds on average and had the most deep throws of the eight quarterbacks last weekend (average 10.3 air yards)." Was this bad playcalling? Josh's inclination to go vertical rather than checking off, or simply the Bengals defense? Could be a combination of all three, but it does show how a team can try and thwart pressure. KC found a way to get to Burrow, so trying to throw quick doesn't always work, but it seems Josh did hold the ball too long against the Bengals. "The Bills’ run defense was consistently blown off the line of scrimmage. In the regular season, the Bills allowed the fewest yards before contact (0.8 yards per carry). On Sunday, Joe Mixon averaged 2.6 rush yards before contact, his most in three years. The Bills also allowed a season-high 85 rushing yards before contact. Perhaps they needed to wear different cleats." Bad D-Line and perhaps lack of preparation for the conditions. "'They right now are on the advantage of a rookie quarterback contract,” GM Brandon Beane said of the Bengals. “Without getting too much into their build, I don’t want to suck bad enough to have to get Ja’Marr Chase. I would love to have him, but you’ve got to go through some lean years to do that.” Beane will probably regret making those remarks. It’s bad form to call out another team, and you don’t need a top-five pick to find an elite receiver, as proven by Justin Jefferson, Tyreek Hill, Davante Adams, A.J. Brown, Diggs, Deebo Samuel, D.K. Metcalf, and many others not drafted in the top of the first round. Beane made a big trade for Diggs three years ago but hasn’t taken a receiver higher than the fourth round in any of the last five drafts, so his complaint rings hollow.'" This strikes me as simply making excuses. You don't have to such badly to achieve a good draft and Beane's drafts recent years have been mediocre at best. KC isn't on the advantage of a rookie QB contract, and yet they continue to advance further than the Bills year after year.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/does-paying-big-money-to-an-nfl-quarterback-do-more-harm-than-good/ar-AA16Q7yI It doesn't diss Allen, but Beane looks bad.

Exactly. Unfortunately, while past performance doesn't guarantee future results applies to investments, it is a pretty good indication of a sport franchise's front office, and the Bills' recent draft history doesn't give me warm and fuzzies.

What I learned from this game: Bills DL w/o a healthy Miller is terrible. Bills coaching staff is mediocre I was wrong about the Bengals' receivers, they are much better than the Bills' receivers KC front office is miles ahead of the Bills'

Yep, the standing buffalo has brought the Bills their only championships. I'm an old school guy anyhow, so I like all the old AFL helmets. It pisses me off the Titans got to keep the Oilers legacy. The oil derrick helmet was fantastic. It should have been a Cleveland situation so that the new Houston team could reclaim the Oilers. The Pats old helmets are much better too. Now get off my lawn.

Taking a break from worrying about next year, it's amusing to see how times and the game have changed in the NFL: Stats for a well known QB in a season long ago (in a 14 game season): Completions: 179 Attempts: 391 % Completion: 45.8 Yards: 2368 TDs:10 Int: 18 Rating: 54.8 In today's game that QB wouldn't even be able to make a team's practice squad. In 1965 it got Jack Kemp Player of the Year award.

Let's review. 2019, Bills lose WC Round in tight contest with Texans. 2020, Bills reach Conference Championship, losing in a not that close game after two wins in the prior rounds, including a fairly dominating win over Ravens. 2021, Bills destroy Pats in WC Round and lose heartbreaker to Chiefs in Divisional Round due to coaching staff brain farts. 2022. Barely escape WC Round over Dolphins who have rookie QB, then get dominated in Divisional Round vs. Bengals. 2019 better than 2018, 2020 better than 2019, 2021 probably about the same as 2020 (loss in earlier round, but played Chiefs tougher), and then a distinct drop off in 2022 (regular season record not as important as showing in playoffs). In 2019 and 2020 the Bills definitely had talent that was reasonably young and improving, and I think that improvement showed up in 2021. Not so sure that the carry over talent from 2022 is improving, and not so sure that there are more young and improving guys vs. older and declining guys. Even given the injuries in 2022, I doubt standing pat or making relatively minor changes are going to cut it, and there are more limited options for improving the team in 2023 than existed in earlier years. Doesn't mean the Bills won't get there since the playoffs are sometimes a crap shoot that depends on match-ups. But I'm a bit skeptical that they are really that close to a Super Bowl.

If that's the schedule, that's a very difficult schedule. The road schedule is a monster. Why are we always getting KC at KC? I know we've beaten them 2 in a row during the regular season, but that actually makes me less optimistic. We get the AFC West duds at home and face the two playoff teams on the road. Eagles and Bengals (again) on the road. Sweeping Miami? They barely beat them in 2 home games this year, and the last one without Tua. No way they go 14-3 with that schedule. 12-5 would be quite the accomplishment. I think the over/under will be 10.5 or 11.5.

Have to laugh about asking for patience. Bills have had 4 good shots and come up short each time, with this year being worse than last, and last year more disappointing than the year before. They haven't even made the Conference Championship the last two years. They could easily have blown their window of opportunity. Hopefully Allen keeps them in the picture for several years to come, but asking for patience is a bit much.

They looked to be heading for a beat down in Cincy before Hamlin dropped, so I'm not quite buying it.

I look forward to seeing how you believe they will have the resources to do the things you think they need to do.

Most folks here are pointing to areas where the Bills need improvement: the OL (absolutely), the WR crew (quite possibly), the secondary (quite possibly), the DL (seems likely after yesterday, but it may depend on whether Miller returns at a high level), RB (I'm not as concerned here). One little problem - exactly where do the Bills find the resources to bring in upgrades to those positions. Free Agency? Given the money to keep Allen and bring in Miller, there simply isn't the money to bring in quality FAs. Draft picks? The Bills have six. Fortunately they didn't get rid of any picks in the first 5 rounds (and actually have two in the 5th round). But as we have seen, Beane hasn't exactly been the most astute GM when it comes to drafting, and in any event, rookies always have a learning curve. Injuries indisputably took a huge toll this year, but it isn't like all those injured guys will simply be plugged back into their positions for next year. The defense was hit the hardest, but who knows how well Miller or Hyde will bounce back, plus they'll be a year older (Miller will be 34 and Hyde 33, not exactly spring chickens in the NFL). White certainly didn't seem like his old self this year. Hamlin (bless his soul) almost certainly won't be back, Poyer is likely gone and the rest of the secondary is meh at best. The offense wasn't hurt all that much by injuries, certainly not any more than is typical to an NFL team, so it's not as though they will be getting a difference maker back on offense. Most people seem to think the WR position is in need of upgrade, but if you spend resources in that area, how do you address the other positions that seem far more in need (OL and secondary). Same thought with the running backs. The OL is in need of a major overhaul, but again, the Bills really won't be able to spend much on any OL free agent. Will there be a quality lineman early in the draft? I hope so, but then what about the DL, the secondary, the wide receivers and running backs? Is it reasonable to expect Beane to suddenly become a master draftsman and be able to plug all the gaps with 6 draft picks? Past history suggests otherwise. The Bills have had a remarkable run the past four years becoming one of the top teams in the league. For that I'm grateful. It's just difficult to see how they get over the hump given the current situation with the existing talent and somewhat crimped resources. I'll admit, when it comes to the Bills, my pessimism springs eternal. Hopefully I'm overstating the problems and minimizing the avenues that exist to improve the team.

Out of curiosity, how is the salary cap situation looking for next year? Seems to be a pretty important element in assessing whether this team can improve.

Actually last year was our year and we frigging blew it. Not a doubt in my mind they beat Cincy and go on to win the Super Bowl last year. Except they blew it in the last 12 seconds of the KC game. You don't get many chances like that and when they are frittered away, they likely never come again. Many people comforted themselves after last year that the Bills would only get better, yet they lost again in the Divisional Round looking far worse than last year. Maybe all the bad luck this year will turn around into nothing but good luck next year, but I can't help but think the Bills lost their best shot last year.

Have to disagree. Perhaps it was his injury, but after the first three games his throws were wildly inconsistent. Every amazing only Josh can make that throw pass was followed by two or three off target ones. I don't think Cincy's receiving crew is any better and may be inferior to the Bills'. The OL clearly needs work, but Burrow and Mahomes have a calm and confidence that translates into making consistent plays.

As mediocre as the OL is, Josh has to bear a degree of the blame. He didn't look at all sharp. Lots of his completions weren't right on target and he was off on many throws. He may love Buffalo, and Buffalo may love him, but I think he'd be much better off on a warm climate team. I don't think he handles bad weather all that well.

Unfortunately I did, but only wasted an hour instead of an entire afternoon. Really is inexcusable for the Bills at home to never be competitive in the game. They were completely flat.

Had to record the game, but I'm glad I didn't waste a full three hours watching that crap. Bills' window of opportunity was last year. Don't see a Super Bowl anytime soon. As good as Allen is, he isn't as good as Burrow or Mahomes, and that isn't going to change anytime in the next several years. Biggest factor though is OL and next the DL. Without a better OL the team will never scale the mountain.

Another thing about both running backs - people here love to criticize the OL when it comes to protecting Allen, but don't seem to give the RBs much credit for both have better than 4.5 YPC despite having to run behind the same OL.