Tolstoy

Maybe this will provide Josh, Diggs, and the D-line some extra incentive this Sunday...

People, it takes a while to recover from ACL surgery, especially at this elite level. He will be better. Give him time.

My two cents: It takes at least a full year for most athletes to return from ACL reconstruction to preinjury level. He needs more time. Injury or no injury, Von Miller will have declined with age, but he has developed his craft over a career, and will still be effective. He studies his opponents' tendencies, deploys a wide range of pass rushing moves, and uses strategy to work his opposing offensive linemen. Assuming his mental game hasn't declined, he just needs his body to fully recover from injury. All of us should give players a bit more time before we anoint them and condemn them. We are too quick to judge.

I am honestly puzzled about the ass-kicking we got tonight. Did we get manhandled? Yes. Was it because our players are not good enough? Maybe. Was it because our O and D coordinators didn't do a good enough job? Maybe. Was it because our Head Coach didn't have the team prepared? Apparently. It could also be that Cinci was just one hell of a good team. I think it sucks, and it hurts like hell, but let's not leap to conclusions. The team needs some major changes, but what they are is not clear. I do know we have some great talent--Josh Allen, Diggs, Knox, etc. etc. There is hope. Beane or someone just needs to make some tough decisions.

This is the bigger worry to me, more than the secondary, the pass rush, the receivers (other than Diggs), etc. The offense just seems to lack creativity. Is this because our coordinator is new to this, or maybe just doesn't have a creative offensive mind? If the offense doesn't improve, and it hurts us in the playoffs, I wonder if there wouldn't be pressure to replace our OC.

Is there any chance Crowder could be back?

I agree with this. I don't think we are as creative in getting receivers open this year.

It bothered me too, since they get an extra week of rest of they win next week, but then I realized that because the Monday night game was cancelled, the Bills and Bengals virtually had a rest week this past week (1st quarter injuries to Taron J. and Allen notwithstanding). So in a sense, we had almost a bye week in the second last week of the season. So we should be in relatively healthy shape for the next slate of games. There is no perfect solution, but the one that they settled on seems the fairest to me.

As we wait for the Cincinnati game, I was thinking about the Bills roster, and which positions could use some help in the offseason. My initial assumption was that a 12-3 team would have a super talented roster and very few needs, but as I started to review each position, it became clear to me that the opposite is the case--there are very few roster positions on this team that don't need some form of upgrade. Tell me what you think about this: QB: all set (assuming Keenum and Barkely are back) RB: I suspect they will let Singletary walk, so they will probably need a talented back to complement Cook. Even if they keep Singletary, the Bills arguably need a back who can break tackles and gain tough yards. WR: At the moment, the Bills look a bit weak here at all positions behind Diggs. Maybe that will change with the emergence of Shakir, or Davis playing a bit better, but one could wish for two dangerous receivers (ala Miami or Cincinnati). TE: Seems like we need another pass-catching TE behind Knox. OL: Definitely need to invest in interior o-line. Right? DL: I guess we are all set here (assuming we keep who we have), but the Vonn injury leaves a bit of a hole. LB: we may be all set here, but if they let Edmunds walk, they will need a LB DB: we are ok at corner, but we have to hope Benford or Elam can become a full-time starter. That said, our starting safeties are aging, and I suspect we would want an upgrade over Hamlin and/or Johnson. Kicking team: seems ok So, all in all, QB, DL, and kicking team seem like the only areas we would not be seeking an infusion of talent. This seems a bit odd, since the Bills are evidently very talented, and apparently have a "deep" roster (or so I have heard). Curious to hear what others think.

Spot on. I suspect Beane knows this too.

I guess this is why a good draft will be more than ever important this year, as it replaces expensive players with cheap talent. I think we are slated to have seven picks, which could make a huge difference in this calculation. This will be an interesting off-season. One thing I do wonder is this: if most teams are in the same position as the Bills, there will be a lot of free agent talent and an insufficient number of teams with $ to sign the talent. That could mean that free-agent players will need to take pay cuts just to work. We might also see teams renegotiating contracts at a lower rate, on the understanding that the player will otherwise get cut (and have a difficult time finding a new team). Just speculating.

Great post and great attitude. I agree. Folks, we were one of the top 4 teams in the entire NFL in a season that could have been lost (covid-19). We never expected the Bills to be this good. We have an excellent QB, excellent talent on the team, an excellent front office, and (I think) excellent coaching. Let's give them a chance to build on what we have here.

This was a great season by the Bills--they finished top 4. That is better than anyone expected. What killed them, in my opinion (and as others have remarked), were three things: 1. A lack of a dominant pass rush 2. An absent running game 3. An absence of a dominant "underneath game" of tight ends and running backs catching the ball (we did some of that late, but not nearly enough all season) I think Daboll did great because he developed Allen, but now he needs to step up and develop a running game.

This. Coverage of some plays was horrible--e.g. the Roberts long kick-off return.

love this answer