Optimism Anyone?

[Mark Vader]

I'm always optimistic about the Bills, no matter the situation.

 

I selected mildly optimistic. The schedule is very tough which is why I think it will be difficult to make the playoffs.

 

Still, I think that there is enough talent on this team to have us in contention for a wild card in the month of December.

 

I do have concerns for a couple of positions, but I am expecting the defense to be a lot better than last year.

 

This is the last chance for Tyrod to show that he can be a successful starter in the league.

 

I'm intrigued by Sean McDermott's approach and look forward to seeing what he brings as a head coach.

 

Let's see how it all comes together. GO BILLS!!!

[Buffalo86]

I was trying NOT to bring the rest of the post into it, because I have ZERO idea how you brought racism into it? What the hell was that about?

What could I do? I had to up the ante once you brought blindly hateful into the mix.

[CommonCents]

Last year I said 6-10, this year I'm going to 6-10 as well. More disciplined, less talented at key spots, younger, new schemes and some misfits. They will look better late than they do early. I don't like how the schedule fell, I would like the Bills to be playing a different group of teams the last month of the season.

 

Biggest hope for the season...a Bills team on the rise has a late season victory over Tom Brady and ends his last chance at an undefeated season.

Edited May 15, 2017 by Commonsense

[Augie]

What could I do? I had to up the ante once you brought blindly hateful into the mix.

 

Really? So you went to racism? Wow. You could argue a lot of reasonable things before going there. But do you not see a lot of people here who just seem to hate EVERYTHING? They would be mad that we won the Super Bowl, BUT didn't cover the spread! Sick of it..... Edited May 15, 2017 by Augie

[JM2009]

Really? So you went to racism? Wow. You could argue a lot of reasonable things before going there. But do you not see a lot of people here who just seem to hate EVERYTHING? They would be mad that we won the Super Bowl, BUT cover the spread! Sick of it.....

I like McD and Beane, and I have been a supporter of Taylor the whole time. The Pegulas are 24-24 as owners, which isn't terrible.

[Augie]

I like McD and Beane, and I have been a supporter of Taylor the whole time. The Pegulas are 24-24 as owners, which isn't terrible.

I'm basically in the same boat. Is everything perfect? Not in my eyes, but what do I know? I like the direction. Rex was a mistake, obviously. That will happen, but they are working to correct that. TT is fine, but I hope we can find exceptional, as it's critical to go all the way to the top.

[JM2009]

I'm basically in the same boat. Is everything perfect? Not in my eyes, but what do I know? I like the direction. Rex was a mistake, obviously. That will happen, but they are working to correct that. TT is fine, but I hope we can find exceptional, as it's critical to go all the way to the top.

I think the only disagreement I have with you and some others is the FO and who is still there. Kind of agree on other topics.

[Augie]

I think the only disagreement I have with you and some others is the FO and who is still there. Kind of agree on other topics.

I'm fine with Russ, as I think he's very good at what he does (and we have football people now). I don't know that much about Overdorf, but I can't say I love our cap management. Reports are change is not done, and I can live with it either way. Let things play out.... As I mentioned earlier, I've been through a lot of similar situations, and sometimes the old vs new mix does not play out well. (Though I KNOW we are losing some good scouting people.)

[Buffalo86]

Really? So you went to racism? Wow. You could argue a lot of reasonable things before going there. But do you not see a lot of people here who just seem to hate EVERYTHING? They would be mad that we won the Super Bowl, BUT didn't cover the spread! Sick of it.....

I thought you were being a bit over the top with the blind hate label. I was trying to illustrate that, but clearly missed the mark. My bad.

[biggerdaddynj]

why do that. seems dirt throwing from both sides is real heavy now as it is. no, I have been really turned off by this board the last couple days and as much as I don't want it to look like I've been run off, I'm stepping away for a while. no need to be subject to the negativity that lingers heavy around here. I thought off seasons were bad enough on past boards but this place is no different.

 

enjoy the off season

It is sad, I used to come here for educated opinions and mature debates on differing opinions--now it's angry personal attacks. As much as I used to enjoy the off-season and TBD, baseball season has me now (poor Mets but look at those Yanks!).

[Augie]

I thought you were being a bit over the top with the blind hate label. I was trying to illustrate that, but clearly missed the mark. My bad.

No problem, I'm just sick of the people who live to hate their "favorite team". It gets very old. Both the old timers and the new folks. Rational discussions about things that are less than optimum are great. People who just want to B word about everything should just go away!

[Rico]

No problem, I'm just sick of the people who live to hate their "favorite team". It gets very old. Both the old timers and the new folks. Rational discussions about things that are less than optimum are great. People who just want to B word about everything should just go away!

Congrats on 10K posts!

[Meathead]

optimism is the medical branch related to eye health, right?

[Augie]

Congrats on 10K posts!

Thanks, I bet there are a half dozen good ones in there somewhere!

 

Congrats on 10K posts!

I'm also pleased it came with one of my favorite points. It's OK to discuss the good and the bad, but the people who just focus in the negative, with every friggin' post.....why are they here? If you hate it so much, go away! Come back when you are in a better mood. Discussion is great, crusading sucks. Edited May 15, 2017 by Augie

[Rico]

Thanks, I bet there are a half dozen good ones in there somewhere!

 

I'm also pleased it came with one of my favorite points. It's OK to discuss the good and the bad, but the people who just focus in the negative, with every friggin' post.....why are they here? If you hate it so much, go away! Come back when you are in a better mood. Discussion is great, crusading sucks.

Yes, it was vintage Augie.

[Augie]

Yes, it was vintage Augie.

For better or for worse.....

[Dragonborn10]

OK so talent wise I honestly think we're even on offense (Zay=Woods) lost TD Mike which will hurt but getting Sammy back which will help.

 

We scored 25 points per game, only 9 teams better than that last year. Certainly enough to get us a playoff shot.

 

Defense we should see a slight upgrade in talent with Ragland, Shaq, Hyde, and I think the rookie CB White can't be any worse than Gilmore's pathetic 2016 performance.

 

So the question is, can McDermott, with maybe 10% better talent, improve this defense enough to stop guys like LeVeon, Ajayi and Brady from destroying us like they did last year? We gave up almost 24 points per game which was in the middle of the pack but man we had some seriously embarrassing outings . I'm a firm believer in the value of defensive systems being overrated, that there really aren't many surprises the NFL OC's and quarterbacks don't expect and plan for. In the end you need aggressive, hungry, badass players that are getting off blocks and flying to the ball. It's nothing Rex didn't preach, or every other guy that's running a defense.

 

I think we are still slow at LB, and still surprised we didn't draft a true SS. The more I think about it, whether or not Ragland can play fast enough might be the make or break to this year. They say he can stay on the field and cover well enough, that's could be huge for us. With that in mind, here you go.......

 

Great post. Ryan destroyed this team and the defense got worse as the season went on even with Lawson and Dareus back. An average defense gets them a win over Miami at home, Seattle and Oakland on the road. That was enough to make the playoffs.

[Peace Frog]

I feel like one of the castaways on Gilligan's Island. Every time someone lands on the island and promises we'll be rescued, something falls through and they leave without us. It's almost as if next season is like next week's episode.

[BillsFan4]

If Russ Brandon gets fired and we conduct a real GM and coaching search I will have hope again. Right now I see an aging and deteriorating roster. The defense peaked in 2014 and the offense peaked in 2015 and the talent for both has declined steadily since those peak years.

 

We hired a defensive coach from the Ron Rivera/Leslie Frazier Tree. That coach ran the last draft from a board created by scouts that were then fired. The GM search ended with Sean's wrestling buddy from Carolina who doesn't have a scouting background but is more of an admin guy. They say they share a vision but that vision looks like getting players for the next year to help out the coach. The future has been not attended to again

 

And how will Sean the Wrestler and Brandon Beane settle disputes? Let's say Brandon wants a QB and Sean wants a LB next year in the first round. Sean McDermott, "We'll probably get that wrestling mat out." (9 minutes into video)

 

http://www.buffalobills.com/video/videos/McDermott-on-Beane-First-Rookie-Minicamp/7b10fe63-9217-4da9-baa7-102207d2fd24

How could he come from the Lealie Frazier coaching tree?

 

McDermott never even worked under Frazier, so I don't see how he can come from his tree (unless I am just misunderstanding what you are saying here). Usually when someone says a coach comes from another coach's tree it means that he was an assistant coach who was brought up and mentored by that head coach (which is one reason why everyone always says McDermott is from Andy Reid's coaching tree).

 

LF was a defensive backs coach in Philly from '99 to '02.

Sean McDermott was hired as a scout in '99. He was promoted to Andy Reid's assistant in 2000. He didn't even start working on the defensive side of the ball until '02 (the same year Frazier left). Then McDermott worked under Jim Johnson from '02 until '09 when JJ passed away. He then took over the defense and ran that same aggressive 4-3 under zone JJ defense in Philly, and took basically that same (aggressive) system with him to Carolina (although with less zone blitzes (from what I read Rivera limited the blitzing)).

 

Even the Rivera influence I'm not sure about. I've already went into detail on why I see Andy Reid's influence all over this team already, so I won't get into that again.

But as far as McD's defense in Carolina, I still see more of Jim Johnson/Sean McDermott Philly defense than I do Ron Rivera's. But Rivera hasn't coached a 4-3 defensive scheme since '05-'06, so it's been a while since I seen his scheme (and it was married with Lovie Smith's D scheme at the time). Rivera had switched to a 3-4 defense in his time as a DC since his days in Chicago, and obviously that scheme was much different than what was run in Carolina.

[GunnerBill]

If it is supposed to be a test of my optimism for 2017 then I'd say only slightly optimistic. If it is supposed to be a test of my overall optimism at where we are headed then I say extremely optimistic. I think McDermott was a very good hire and they backed it up with Beane and have a GM and Head Coach in lock step.