Negativity v Reality

[Talley56]

Negativity

* The Bills have a terrible roster (legacy of Whaley et al) and will win 3-4 games.

* The Bills don't have a NFL quarterback.

* Now that Beane and McD are Bills, they're losers until proven otherwise

* All the players who were injured in the past (Sammy, etc) are likely to get injured again this year

 

Reality

* The Bills roster has a number of strengths and weaknesses - akin to the average NFL team.

* Tyrod has good legs but lacks elite passing skills

* The coaching staff seems strong enough on paper but remains an unknown until games are played.

* The new personnel staff seems to be well-qualified but hasn't done much yet and it's way too early to rate them

* This season - like any NFL season - will depend to a large extent on injuries and none of us knows who will get hurt this year or for how long.

Agree with all of your points except for this one. Not ready to call our new coaches losers before they have coached a game just because our organization has been down for a while. I would put them as unknowns under reality.

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

 

I am actually one of the more optimistic Bills fans out there and what I wrote is most likely going to happen. IF Tyrod does not have a good season, how will this team look when the Vets make an exodus? There is nothing negative about what I wrote and the only thing that will change it will be if Tyrod turns into that elusive franchise QB.

 

And for the record, 8-8 or 9-7 record is the absolute last scenario I would want to see again.....ever

first let me say I was lightheartedly joking earlier with the bummer remark.

 

If TT fails miserably (which I doubt), sure the FA's may run away in droves.

 

That will depend on -

When the wheels fall off week 8 or week 12,

How the replacement plays

Who the Bills draft in 2018.

 

If the doesn't well, then this is a moot conversation

[mead107]

Owners have had the team17 years and done nothing.

Most of you talk like that.

[OldTimeAFLGuy]

nice post my friend

 

....ahhh 'Fig, I remain cautiously optimistic in my waning years that we now MAY have it right....hope so because I'm headed to "Hell's Kitchen" and the reception sucks as well as Dell's & IPhones NOT being heat resistant....this top to bottom assembly of bonafide young gun 40+ talent tells me Pegula's checkbook is wide open for THE best......he didn't pony up $1.4 BILLION in CASH because he was infatuated with mediocrity......sure cautious optimistic, BUT better days are on the horizon IMO.....

[JM2009]

We will be in a lot of close games this year. I believe turnovers will be the deciding factor. Defense has to start producing turnovers and offense has to keep protecting the ball as well as it has. Do that and I think a wildcard playoff spot is very possible.

and limit the injuries. Can the Bills finally get a break with that.

[Figster]

and limit the injuries. Can the Bills finally get a break with that.

I've always thought players playing out of position and players trying to do to much is a contributing factor and why some of the better coached teams like the Pats stay healthier.

 

B B coached team man for man knows where to be and what to do at all times.

[JM2009]

I've always thought players playing out of position and players trying to do to much is a contributing factor and why some of the better coached teams like the Pats stay healthier.

 

B B coached team man for man knows where to be and what to do at all times.

Good point.

[BaaadThingsMan]

I think the team can win this year, I'm glad they are under the radar. I'm counting on McDs attention to detail to help them win games they might otherwise lose.

 

I think the media is sleeping on McD and the impact he can have, it's up to the players to buy in and provide the heart needed to succeed, the talent is there.

[hondo in seattle]

Agree with all of your points except for this one. Not ready to call our new coaches losers before they have coached a game just because our organization has been down for a while. I would put them as unknowns under reality.

I hear you.

 

But the pessimists out there seem to believe that McD has a lesser chance of succeeding than than the other new head coaches, just because he's with the Bills now.

 

In my mind, we have newer owners who are still learning on the job, a brand new GM, and a brand new HC. I honestly don't know what to expect from that trio but I know they're not victims of Bills history and will chart their own course. Hopefully it's a good one.

There will always be a vocal group of supporters who take the "until they prove otherwise..." approach. It's hard to blame them -- they're suffering from BBFS and it has been 17 years. I'd almost call that realism, but where it crosses the line into negativity is when each and every decision made by the organization is met with disdain and disgust -- often with no suggestion of what the critic would have done instead.

 

Put me in the group who believes this roster is capable of contending for the playoffs because of the following:

 

-- addition by subtraction (Rex and Rob)

-- competent, professional coaching by veteran assistant coaches (compare/contrast Marrone giving OC job to Hackett)

-- overall talent that likely falls right around the median in the NFL (meaning coaching and a few breaks can get them over the hump)

-- superstar player motivated to earn his next contract (Sammy)

-- a culture of accountability that will hopefully have an impact on players like Dareus

 

I'm sure over the past 17 seasons I've listed numerous reasons why I thought those Bills would also contend. Just because I was wrong then doesn't mean I'm wrong now.

 

eball, I so hope you are right. You back up your optimism with some valid points.

 

Then again, like you, I've spent the past 17 offseasons finding reasons to be optimistic only to be disappointed. I'm trying to go into this season with no expectations so my Bills heart doesn't get broken again.

[3rdand12]

I hear you.

 

But the pessimists out there seem to believe that McD has a lesser chance of succeeding than than the other new head coaches, just because he's with the Bills now.

 

In my mind, we have newer owners who are still learning on the job, a brand new GM, and a brand new HC. I honestly don't know what to expect from that trio but I know they're not victims of Bills history and will chart their own course. Hopefully it's a good one.

 

eball, I so hope you are right. You back up your optimism with some valid points.

 

Then again, like you, I've spent the past 17 offseasons finding reasons to be optimistic only to be disappointed. I'm trying to go into this season with no expectations so my Bills heart doesn't get broken again.

going in neutralish is a safe play.

I recommend it actually !

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

I've always thought players playing out of position and players trying to do to much is a contributing factor and why some of the better coached teams like the Pats stay healthier.

 

B B coached team man for man knows where to be and what to do at all times.

Totally sold in this ... remember Dick J's undersized bend but dont break defense with like 20 on IR?

[Figster]

Totally sold in this ... remember Dick J's undersized bend but dont break defense with like 20 on IR?

I remember,

 

and the slippery beast Buffalo called an O didn't help,

[Scott7975]

Injuries always happen. Next Man Up.

 

where have we seen that over and over

Next man up for the greatest team in sports not for a mediocre team that gets killed all in the same already weak area.

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

Next man up for the greatest team in sports not for a mediocre team that gets killed all in the same already weak area.

Done correctly Next Man Up works. The Pats* are not the only team that can acquire the proper depth.

 

Can it happen? Sure it can. Will it happen ????

[SoTier]

Totally sold in this ... remember Dick J's undersized bend but dont break defense with like 20 on IR?

 

 

That was primarily because Jauron wanted his small, undersized defenders to play like missiles, throwing themselves at bigger offensive players to stop them. It's simple physics. If a smaller body slams keeps slamming into larger bodies enough times, eventually the smaller body is going to break. Most of Jauron's LBs and some of his DLers weren't as big as the RBs they were supposed to stop, which was why a gang of Bills defenders would be dragged five yards downfield after the original tackle. Add to that the fact that Jauron was a true believer that work ethic trumped talent, and you have the recipe for an injury epidemic.

 

Godamighty but I hated Jauron. Incompetence and stupidity have been the hallmark of many Bills HCs over the years, but you can forgive those failings. Jauron wasn't stupid, just rigidly wedded to a belief in the superiority of his own coaching philosophy despite years of evidence to the contrary.

Edited June 27, 2017 by SoTier

[BarleyNY]

 

Godamighty but I hated Jauron. Incompetence and stupidity have been the hallmark of many Bills HCs over the years, but you can forgive those failings. Jauron wasn't stupid, just rigidly wedded to a belief in the superiority of his own coaching philosophy despite years of evidence to the contrary.

Just like the Wrex brothers.

[Marty McFly]

A better defense and I dont think we lose either of the miami games.....who was the team that eeked into the playoffs instead of us

Its important to note that the zone D McD employs does not require shut down corners.....

 

I actually feel that while we dont have pro bowlers at corner we do have good corners and quite a few of them

 

Right. im excited to see Darby in a zone scheme and Tre White after all the buzz surrounding him at OTAs

[Homey D. Clown]

That's why they play the games, there is no possibility of negativity Vs. Reality at this point. The reality is they are 0-0 so far. all you have right now is negativity Vs. Projected outcome analysis.

 

So with that premise, I'll say that in my opinion, all personnel moves have been at worst a push, and at best an unknown improvement. That's the reality. The team lost a bunch of players that never contributed to a winning season regardless of what their perceived talent is/was. From a coaching standpoint, there has been a massive improvement over the ass-clown, circus-show buffoon brothers that were here previously. I'm not drinking the cool-aid on the new coaches, relax your mouse clicking finger, I'm contending that you could replace those two with anyone on the planet that has a pulse, and the team would have fared better. so in the end, you have to look at the team's status in a better position than a year ago. How many wins better? Can't say, but I can tell you they will play better, more disciplined football, more entertaining to watch, and where the talent levels are thin, they will continue to frustrate us as fans.

 

all this coming from me, a generally "glass half empty" kind of guy when discussing the Bills.... hell I'd even contended at times that there is no glass...

 

My .02

[Figster]

 

That was primarily because Jauron wanted his small, undersized defenders to play like missiles, throwing themselves at bigger offensive players to stop them. It's simple physics. If a smaller body slams keeps slamming into larger bodies enough times, eventually the smaller body is going to break. Most of Jauron's LBs and some of his DLers weren't as big as the RBs they were supposed to stop, which was why a gang of Bills defenders would be dragged five yards downfield after the original tackle. Add to that the fact that Jauron was a true believer that work ethic trumped talent, and you have the recipe for an injury epidemic.

 

Godamighty but I hated Jauron. Incompetence and stupidity have been the hallmark of many Bills HCs over the years, but you can forgive those failings. Jauron wasn't stupid, just rigidly wedded to a belief in the superiority of his own coaching philosophy despite years of evidence to the contrary.

Most NFL players are willing and fully capable of doing what their coach asks them to do or die trying.

 

Modern day gladiators watched by millions...

[Scott7975]

Done correctly Next Man Up works. The Pats* are not the only team that can acquire the proper depth.

 

Can it happen? Sure it can. Will it happen ????

Well that's what I mean proper depth. Some positions we couldn't even field true starters.