Rocky Landing

Just my opinion On Offense: I think on offense we need one, speedy boundary receiver who can consistently get separation.. and that's it. The Bills have an opportunity to enter the '25 season with almost the same offense they finished with, and that's not a bad thing. The familiarity, consistency, and culture on that side of the ball shouldn't be underestimated. Maybe Cooper can be that boundary WR? But, we sure didn't see it this season. But, I wouldn't be surprised if they re-signed him (although, I suspect most would disagree with that...). But certainly, our O-line, RB, and TE, and QB rooms should, as much as possible, stay the same. Maybe Zack Davidson for Q Morris. Maybe sneak Tyrell Shavers on there-- minor tweaks. On Defense: Quite the opposite. The only players I would feel strongly about holding onto are, Groot, Oliver, Benford, Bernard, Milano, Taron Johnson, Rapp (that's right, I said it), and maybe Epenesa, and Dorian Williams. I would imagine we hold onto Cam Lewis (who is important for depth, and ST), Carter, Solomon... keep kicking the tires on Cole Bishop, I suppose... Maybe not a complete overhaul, but a minimum of four new starters, and a lot more depth.

That ignores a lot of factors, including the concept that McDermott can improve as a coach from season to season. I think we probably both agree that the defensive roster in '22 was far better than in '24.

I don't have to look forward, no. I choose to.

I'm probably in the minority on this, but I am looking forward to what McDermott, Brady, and Babich can achieve with a significantly upgraded roster, especially on defense, which I fully expect the Bills to have next season.

I've been watching this scenario oddly taking place on high-speed here in LA (where I've lived since '91). When the Rams first moved back here, I went to the first Bills game they hosted in 2016, and sat in the third row, at the 20yl for a couple hundred bucks a ticket. There were plenty of empty seats, and it sounded like a Bills home game. There really weren't any Rams fans to speak of, in the way we define fandom in Western NY. Just some folks going to a football game and rootin' for their team. It had more in common with Medieval Times dinner theatre and they were sat in the Blue and Gold section, so that's who they cheered for. But in '22, when they won their Super Bowl, you would have thought these "Rams fans" had been bleeding blue and gold their whole lives. Since then? Rams fans have been peeling away like old paint in the sun.

IMO, there is one WR missing from this team.

I remember at draft time last season, numerous posters (some of whose opinions I actually respect) say things like, “ every pick should go towards offense…” or, “the first two picks, at least, should be for a WR…” But anyone going into this season not understanding how thin this defense was, simply wasn’t paying attention. I recall Beane at a press conference in the offseason defending the roster by saying, “we’re not giving up on the season. We still intend to win games.” And win we did. We were one score away from the Super Bowl, and if Kincaid had caught that pass, we would have been in a position to take the lead. I have no doubt the defense will be overhauled this offseason. I believe that was always the plan.

Just what do people think the NFL actually is??? it’s not some cabal, or secret society. It’s not even a corporation. It’s a trade association run by 31 billionaire owners, and Green Bay Packer inc. I haven’t read its charter, but I would have a hard time believing that it doesn’t prohibit giving one team a competitive advantage over another, and I have an even harder time believing that 30 billionaire owners would all agree to give up their chances at a Super Bowl. And if their hired representative, Roger Goodell, decided to secretly hatch a plan to promote one team over all others, it would be a far-ranging criminal undertaking, that would include fraud, conspiracy, antitrust violations, and interstate commerce laws. And to what end? To promote some feel-good narrative? To pull in Swifty viewership? As much as fans want to believe that the cards are stacked against them (ALL fanbases feel this way— even Chiefs fans), at its core, it just doesn’t make sense.

Or maybe some really bad s-h-I-t? I don’t smoke very often, but when I do, it has to be pure Sativa. Any hint of Indica, and I turn into a depressed, paranoid, miserable mess — kinda like the OP here…

It has already started.

I appreciate this thread, especially in contrast to several other threads that are advocating for the Pegula's to blow the whole thing up. It is in this light that I'm going to add to the list of outstanding performances the coaching staff that during a "soft-rebuild" year, that was flushing over $60M in dead cap, and started the season with the thinnest roster of the McDermott era (with the obvious exception of JA17), managed to bring us to within one score of the Super Bowl. Anyone who doesn't think this team far exceeded expectations is wearing some heavy blinders.

At the beginning of the season, a majority of media analysts didn't believe the Bills would win the AFCE. There's a 170 page thread (and multiple others) on this site debating how bad the WR room was, with the departure of Diggs, Davis, and every other WR other than Shakir. We lost multiple defensive players, and started the season with the thinnest defense of the McDermott era. With limited draft picks, and over $60M in dead cap (half of that from Diggs alone), Beane had very few resources to field a competitive team. And yet they made it to the AFCCG, and one score away from the Super Bowl. Sean McDermott, and Brandon Beane's jobs are safe.

It was a helluva fun season-- one that most people did not expect. What I don't expect many people to acknowledge is that just getting to this game in the first place far exceeded the expectations of the vast majority of analysts, and exceeded the expectations of most of the Bills fans who post on this forum. Beane and company have a lot to work with in the offseason, and it's reasonable to expect that the Bills will field a deeper, and more complete team (especially on defense) in the '25/26 season.

Rapp being injured is a problem. He is our best safety. I'll have to re-watch the game, and really key onto Bishop, but my initial impression was that he wasn't bad, but still pretty unpolished. Had at least one decent tackle, and was in on some others. It makes me wish they has given him more playing time during the regular season. The notion of Hamlin/Bishop as our starting safeties vs. KC is concerning.

If two point conversions were easy, teams would do it every time.

Babich 👏

Taylor's going to drop Travis like a bad habit as soon as he retires from football. Hailee can't talk right now...

It's infuriating to watch a game that is so profoundly affected by a couple bad calls by the refs. That being said, Stroud's receivers didn't do much for him when the play would break down. Several times I watched as Stroud would escape the pocket, and have nowhere to throw as his receivers had finished their routes, and were doing little to extend the play, and get themselves open. I know that they're missing their top receivers from the season, but every receiver on the Bills will play until the whistle, including rookie Coleman. The Texan's offense just didn't look like they wanted it as badly as their defense, who were stellar.

I’ve noticed you didn’t include Tyler Rapp? Perhaps I’m not remembering things accurately, but I seem to remember you being especially sour on him in the offseason/training camp? Certainly, you were critical of the safety position in as a whole. Personally, I’ve considered Rapp one of the most underrated players since last season, and I think he still is. I have to believe he’s exceeded your expectations, no?

IMO, this is indicative of how Mike McDaniel viewed Tua's (and their porous O-line's) weaknesses, and how he tried to cover them up. Quick, precision-timing routes. Get the ball out of Tua's hands as fast as possible. It was the basis of their passing offense, and why they needed fast receivers like Hill, Waddle, and Achane. It's also what the league figured out about them, and why they've been mediocre since '23-- bump them off their timing routes, and their offense collapses.

I think because it really wasn't close, and he wanted to keep the game interesting. If you weren't a Bills fan (and presumably, most people watching weren't), a blowout isn't very enjoyable to watch.

Don't get anyone hurt, Mitch...

Broncos are going to score. McD will play soft-- and he should. Don't let anyone else get hurt is paramount right now.

GO BILLS!!!

Curious that, given our situation at safety, we didn't see anything from him. Only activated for the last, meaningless game in which I don't think he had a single snap on defense. (I think he might have been out there on special teams). Seemed like someone with some potential when we signed him.