GunnerBill

Yea the offensive production earlier in the year was not acceptable. Because at OL, at TE and at RB they have upgraded / developed.

Yea Bates is a fine backup who you can definitely get by for a game or two with. But as we saw last season when teams gameplanning against you get to really break down his film they can identify and expose his weaknesses and while he doesn't become a liability he definitely gets shown as below average. I think it was the same with pre-injury Ike Boettger. I am fine with Bates being their kind of "baseline" at center if Morse moves on but I'd like them to make an attempt at an upgrade on him - whether that is a vet or a draft pick. Ideally I think you pick a young mid round center and if Bates starts the first 5 or 6 weeks but then gives way to the new guy fair enough.

He signed for "top 5" money but he was only in the top 5 for a year and the market exploded after a year after he signed. He is now the 25th best paid tackle by AAV. Value wise Dawkins contract is one of Beane's best IMO. I share the concerns about extending again with bigger cap hits down the road, for a guy that is at his age and has his weight issues. It is certainly risky. But I agree they will do it because it is one of the easier cap moves available to them and they love him as a person and a leader.

I don't love pushing money down the road with Dion because of the weight issues and some of the inconsistencies. But we are kinda damned if we do and damned if we don't. What I will say is he signed for "top 5" money at the time he signed this deal and he has outplayed that contract value IMO with inflated salaries since.

He reminds me of a slightly slower CJ2K. It is his vision and his feet I think.

I am somewhere between. He isn't "very good" or at least he isn't consistently. His best is very good but he is inconsistent. However, I don't think he is easily replaceable. There are at least 12-15 LTs starting in the league I wouldn't even consider over Dion. I am not completely opposed to upgrading him, but if you are doing that it is with an early draft pick IMO. I have always thought the answer was draft a kid and slide Dawkins into left guard. I think you could still do that and kick McGovern into center to replace Morse but not sure I wanna mess with the guards after the year they have had.

I am NOT insisting that. You are willfully misunderstanding the point. I am done here.

I will not be content. This thread is not about contentment. Why is this so hard for you to grasp?

IT IS NOT ABOUT SATISFACTION WITH RESULTS!!!!! FFS this should not be that ***** difficult. It is about appreciation. The concept is different.

They will disagree that we shouldn't appreciate what we have? Will they? I don't think they will. Not anyone sensible. They might be disappointed and think we underachieved this season but one concept is big picture the other is immediate. They are not the same. Oh don't pretend there aren't dozens of threads on this board where we can and do discuss and critique the team's performance game to game and season to season. This thread isn't about that. It's about zooming out and looking big picture.

Nah the two concepts are different.

This thread is not about expectations. There are tons of other threads where that gets discussed. This was a thread about appreciating what we have. It wasn't to suggest everything was perfect. I can't understand why people can't see that distinction.

But this is not the thread for that. That is the point. Make your other points elsewhere. They are not for here. This thread is about appreciating what we have.

This thread isn't about whether the Bills have overachieved or underachieved though. That isn't the point of this discussion. This thread is about appreciating what we have. What we have is a team that comes out every week and plays hard and is in every football game and a Quarterback who is always exciting to watch. Sport is entertainment, if you can only enjoy and appreciate it when they win a Lombardi you are setting yourself up for a lot of sadness. Bills fans should appreciate having the team they have, even through frustrating losses and underachieving seasons. And anyone who can't do that should consider whether being a sports fan is good for their mental health. EDIT: none of which is to say fans shouldn't criticise or question things that could have been done better, or individuals who could have done them better. But they shouldn't lose sight of the big picture in doing so. The past five years have been a lot of fun for Bills fans and you have to enjoy the good times.

He couldn't have used DAZN in the UK last night because the Bills were the Sky game and so blacked out.

I think Gilmore got his arm in there. It was certainly catchable but I call that a pass break up not a drop.

On both sides the refs were not super hot on holding. Which makes for a better game IMO. Only call the egregious ones.

Worth saying we are 12th in total defense and 4th in points allowed. Which given the three key pieces we have been without for practically the entire year, including two first team all pros, is really impressive. I think some of the gameplans and late game playcalling have been bad at times, but equally those overall numbers given the injuries are pretty strong.

The problem last year was even against a light box we couldn't run it because our guard play was pathetic. The two guards have been huge upgrades.

Yea he is undisciplined. That said, he is an upgrade at backup safety on what we had last year. But a backup is what he is.

You know what they say.... practice makes perfect!

And in all but the 2021 game the offense crapped the bed in those games too.

1 good game every 10 followed by an injury? I can confirm that is Jordan Phillips.

I appreciate having a team that is in every game, every week. It is over 2 years since this team lost a regular season game by more than a score. That means as a fan you are watching your team at least have a chance late every week. Sure we have lost some gut wrenchers, but we are always a competitive football team.

I have been critical of some of the DC work Sean has put out there this year... but the past 2 weeks he has done a really nice job, both in terms of scheme and playcalling.