Deranged Rhino Posted January 7, 2018 Posted January 7, 2018 The Bills let a winnable game slip away in Jacksonville today, missing out on a big opportunity. There's plenty of time to point fingers (cough Rico, Taylor). But I'd rather focus, for now, on the positives of the most recent season. Lots of ghosts were slain this season, which clears the path for this franchise to take TRUE steps forward. They are loaded with draft capital, and cap room, to bolster a roster that needs help. It's clear, I hope, where the holes lie and I'm optimistic about this scouting staffs' ability to plug them. Getting to the playoffs, ending the drought, is a weight off not just the fans - but the players and coaches as well. It's one less line of negative questioning they have to face week in and week out during the off season and season. Success breeds success. And this season, by any metric, was a success for the Bills. The first successful season in almost two decades. That matters. That carries weight - or removes weight in this case. And that gets me excited to see how it energizes the young talent on this team through next season. Even losing today, as ****ty as it is, isn't the end of the world. Losing in the manner they did, by leaving opportunities on the field, hopefully will leave an unfinished business taste in the returning players' mouths. That can be a powerful motivator and is sure something McD will be hammering throughout the off season programs. Finally, it was AWESOME to see so many Bills fans in the stands today. I love this fan base so much, the future is bright. I'm excited to see how big of a step this team can make next year. This off season will be fun. Cheers to you all, and GO BILLS! 9 3
njbuff Posted January 7, 2018 Posted January 7, 2018 I am actually not that upset at all. To me, the silver lining is that a new QB will be here and maybe a new backup too. 5
vorpma Posted January 7, 2018 Posted January 7, 2018 I honestly expected a 6 and 10 season; the 2018 Draft will tell the story!
BuffaloBillsGospel Posted January 7, 2018 Posted January 7, 2018 1 minute ago, Deranged Rhino said: The Bills let a winnable game slip away in Jacksonville today, missing out on a big opportunity. There's plenty of time to point fingers (cough Rico, Taylor). But I'd rather focus, for now, on the positives of the most recent season. Lots of ghosts were slain this season, which clears the path for this franchise to take TRUE steps forward. They are loaded with draft capital, and cap room, to bolster a roster that needs help. It's clear, I hope, where the holes lie and I'm optimistic about this scouting staffs' ability to plug them. Getting to the playoffs, ending the drought, is a weight off not just the fans - but the players and coaches as well. It's one less line of negative questioning they have to face week in and week out during the off season and season. Success breeds success. And this season, by any metric, was a success for the Bills. The first successful season in almost two decades. That matters. That carries weight - or removes weight in this case. And that gets me excited to see how it energizes the young talent on this team through next season. Even losing today, as ****ty as it is, isn't the end of the world. Losing in the manner they did, by leaving opportunities on the field, hopefully will leave an unfinished business taste in the returning players' mouths. That can be a powerful motivator and is sure something McD will be hammering throughout the off season programs. Finally, it was AWESOME to see so many Bills fans in the stands today. I love this fan base so much, the future is bright. I'm excited to see how big of a step this team can make next year. This off season will be fun. Cheers to you all, and GO BILLS! Totally agree, I know fans are crushed and looking to blame but the monkey is finally off our backs, now where do we go from here to progress and the draft will be huge. We need an overhaul at LB, every single LB on our roster could be upgraded, we need a speed WR to take the tops off defenses, a run stuffing DT, another CB if Gaines doesn't resign and another even if he does, OL upgrades, especially at RG/C and the most important is the franchise QB. I think we finally found our HC/GM that gets how to win and knows what it takes. 1
CommonCents Posted January 7, 2018 Posted January 7, 2018 (edited) Good stuff, honarable mention to Lorax playing his best when the stage was the biggest. Shout out to Jerry Hughes for being slower than Blake Bortles. Great season. Fans should be proud. Kyle got a taste and so did we. Come back for one last dance Kyle, we aren't ready to go home yet. Cheers. Edited January 7, 2018 by Commonsense 1
Deranged Rhino Posted January 7, 2018 Author Posted January 7, 2018 1 minute ago, njbuff said: I am actually not that upset at all. To me, the silver lining is that a new QB will be here and maybe a new backup too. Just now, vorpma said: I honestly expected a 6 and 10 season; the 2018 Draft will tell the story! That's about where I was after the Watkins trade. I watched this season with a detachment knowing that transitional years can be wonky and unpredictable. I knew I wasn't going to really have a sense of this new staff and front office until we saw how the 2018 draft unfolded. I hoped the drought would end, but didn't expect it. So this was gravy today for me.
Real McClappy Posted January 7, 2018 Posted January 7, 2018 2 minutes ago, BuffaloBillsGospel said: Totally agree, I know fans are crushed and looking to blame but the monkey is finally off our backs, now where do we go from here to progress and the draft will be huge. We need an overhaul at LB, every single LB on our roster could be upgraded, we need a speed WR to take the tops off defenses, a run stuffing DT, another CB if Gaines doesn't resign and another even if he does, OL upgrades, especially at RG/C and the most important is the franchise QB. I think we finally found our HC/GM that gets how to win and knows what it takes.
Deranged Rhino Posted January 7, 2018 Author Posted January 7, 2018 1 minute ago, Commonsense said: Good stuff, honarable mention to Lorax playing his best when the stage was the biggest. Shout out to Jerry Hughes for being slower than Blake Bortles. Great season. Fans should be proud. Kyle got a taste and so did we. Come back for one last dance Kyle, we aren't ready to go home yet. Cheers. the bolded cracked me up. Agree on the rest!
Peter Posted January 7, 2018 Posted January 7, 2018 (edited) Caveat: I wish we won the game. Yet, one of the silver linings is that this game illustrated that we still have a long way to go. It was fun to watch and be in the playoffs, but the regular season metrics showed we have a long way to go. This game showed that getting to the playoffs - especially the way we did - should not fool anyone into thinking that we are there or anywhere close right now. The "process" has a long way to go. l hope we can get there quickly. We still have a lot of holes to fill - especially given that we have players in key positions with expiring contracts. This draft and the off season are going to be crucial. Edited January 7, 2018 by Peter
JerseyBills Posted January 7, 2018 Posted January 7, 2018 Team has a ton of potential. Could be a legit powerhouse next year. Defense is immaculate at their communication and discipline. Maybe best overall secondary. I'm on the Cousins train or Alex Smith with some hesitation. Taylor is not the answer
SlimShady'sSpaceForce Posted January 7, 2018 Posted January 7, 2018 Tyrod Taylor threw the game away. Romo said it. There’s a touchdown!!! wide openg guy down the far (left) sideline!!! farewell Taylor I won’t miss you.
Deranged Rhino Posted January 7, 2018 Author Posted January 7, 2018 28 minutes ago, Peter said: Caveat: I wish we won the game. Yet, one of the silver linings is that this game illustrated that we still have a long way to go. It was fun to watch and be in the playoffs, but the regular season metrics showed we have a long way to go. This game showed that getting to the playoffs - especially the way we did - should not fool anyone into thinking that we are there or anywhere close right now. The "process" has a long way to go. l hope we can get there quickly. We still have a lot of holes to fill - especially given that we have players in key positions with expiring contracts. This draft and the off season are going to be crucial.
Matt_In_NH Posted January 7, 2018 Posted January 7, 2018 I would have loved to have seen a playoff win but I did not have any expectations after this week and am still very relieved the drought is over. This game kind of went as I thought, punt fest with the team making mistakes losing.
The Frankish Reich Posted January 7, 2018 Posted January 7, 2018 38 minutes ago, Commonsense said: Good stuff, honarable mention to Lorax playing his best when the stage was the biggest. Shout out to Jerry Hughes for being slower than Blake Bortles. Great season. Fans should be proud. Kyle got a taste and so did we. Come back for one last dance Kyle, we aren't ready to go home yet. Cheers.
Slack_in_MA Posted January 7, 2018 Posted January 7, 2018 With a new coach, new coordinators, TT at QB... I had 6-10, so they exceeded my expectations.
dezertbill Posted January 7, 2018 Posted January 7, 2018 43 minutes ago, njbuff said: I am actually not that upset at all. To me, the silver lining is that a new QB will be here and maybe a new backup too. I'm not all that bummed either. I don't think anyone came into this thinking the Bills were a lock. We didn't get blown out. We lost due to deficiencies in obvious areas (one being QB) that will be fixed next year. I like Peterman, and I was actually excited when he came into the game late. I really feel Peterman can make throws TT won't. I think he's a good back up and with a year under his belt he'll be better for it.
ghostwriter Posted January 7, 2018 Posted January 7, 2018 47 minutes ago, njbuff said: I am actually not that upset at all. To me, the silver lining is that a new QB will be here and maybe a new backup too. Hopefully. I will say this about the 2017-2018 season, the Bills completely surpassed any expectations I had. McD is a really good coach, look what he did with this porous roster, holes everywhere, a roster full of nobodies. How can I be upset? We made the playoffs when I expected 4 wins max. It's all good, I trust the process. Would love to see a complete overhaul of the QB position, preferably Alex Smith and our 1st on QB, wave goodbye to Taylor and Peterman goes to the practice squad.
GunnerBill Posted January 7, 2018 Posted January 7, 2018 51 minutes ago, Commonsense said: Good stuff, honarable mention to Lorax playing his best when the stage was the biggest. He still has value in a game like that. It is against the teams who are going to run a base offense that involves a lot of throwing that he is exposed.
jimmy10 Posted January 7, 2018 Posted January 7, 2018 I’m disappointed we lost today, but overall I’m OK with things. This year was a happy accident. In my heart I knew just ending the damn drought and losing in the first round was ok because then the off-season conversation could be about getting back, not ending an 18 year drought. 1
TigerJ Posted January 7, 2018 Posted January 7, 2018 I think whatever a team accomplishes, short of a Superbowl win, is going to leave fans wanting more, but it feels good to be able to think the team has made real progress. Moreover, it looks like the Bills can build on the foundation that was laid this season.
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