Which Narratives From The Bills Fanbase Do You NOT Subscribe To?

[BuffaloRush]

Buffalo Bills fans are probably the most loyal fanbase - perhaps in all of professional sports.  With that being said, like most fanbases (or most families) it doesn't mean that everyone always agrees.  There are several narratives floating around this message board, and conflicting opinions which arise in conversation when talking Bills.  I am curious to know, which narratives that are out there, do you not buy. There are several that I can think of off the top of my head, and I'm sure I'll be able to add more.  Here's a few:

 

Doug Whaley was a good GM

Sorry but it's hard to make this argument.  You can say that Doug was good at finding free agent talent and that he did have some circumstances which made his job tough, but at the end of the day he didn't draft well, never knew how to build a team, and left the Bills in salary cap hell.

 

The 2017-2018 Bills "backed into the playoffs" and were lucky to get in. 

Many teams have gotten into the playoffs and even won the Super Bowls thank to fortunate situations.  No one goes back and says "yeah the Patriots won the Super Bowl in 2001 but they were lucky because of the tuck rule."  I could rattle off countless scenarios.  Could have. Should Have. Would Have.  Get over it.  

 

Bill Polian Was Overrated as a GM

I was quick to point out how often Polian missed in the draft, but that doesn't mean he was a bad GM.  He probably is one of the biggest factors in turning around the Bills in the 80's and is well deserving of a Hall of Fame selection.

 

John Butler Rode Bill Polian's Coat Tails

Again, completely untrue.  Butler was a great GM who often draft well (sans 2000) and made some excellent free agent acquisitions.  The Bills team in 1999 was extremely talented and was perhaps on Special Teams play from making a serious run at the Super Bowl.

 

The Bills Never Should Have Traded Sammy Watkins

ln hindsight, this was the right move for the team as it is clear they probably never would have resigned Sammy for the $16M a year he received on the open market.   By trading him, they received a 2nd round pick, a competent start for one season, and they still made the playoffs.

 

Those are a few - I'd love to hear yours

 

[stevewin]

New stadium (or parking garage) is east of Buffalo

[slaphappy]

Doug Flutie was a good Quarterback. 

[BuffaloRush]

Just now, slaphappy said:

Doug Flutie was a good Quarterback. 

Interesting choice...explain

[Bills of Boston]

Too many holes to trade up for a franchise qb 

 

follow the money

[gobills1212]

6 minutes ago, BuffaloRush said:

Buffalo Bills fans are probably the most loyal fanbase - perhaps in all of professional sports.  With that being said, like most fanbases (or most families) it doesn't mean that everyone always agrees.  There are several narratives floating around this message board, and conflicting opinions which arise in conversation when talking Bills.  I am curious to know, which narratives that are out there, do you not buy. There are several that I can think of off the top of my head, and I'm sure I'll be able to add more.  Here's a few:

 

Doug Whaley was a good GM

Sorry but it's hard to make this argument.  You can say that Doug was good at finding free agent talent and that he did have some circumstances which made his job tough, but at the end of the day he didn't draft well, never knew how to build a team, and left the Bills in salary cap hell.

 

The 2017-2018 Bills "backed into the playoffs" and were lucky to get in. 

Many teams have gotten into the playoffs and even won the Super Bowls thank to fortunate situations.  No one goes back and says "yeah the Patriots won the Super Bowl in 2001 but they were lucky because of the tuck rule."  I could rattle off countless scenarios.  Could have. Should Have. Would Have.  Get over it.  

 

Bill Polian Was Overrated as a GM

I was quick to point out how often Polian missed in the draft, but that doesn't mean he was a bad GM.  He probably is one of the biggest factors in turning around the Bills in the 80's and is well deserving of a Hall of Fame selection.

 

John Butler Rode Bill Polian's Coat Tails

Again, completely untrue.  Butler was a great GM who often draft well (sans 2000) and made some excellent free agent acquisitions.  The Bills team in 1999 was extremely talented and was perhaps on Special Teams play from making a serious run at the Super Bowl.

 

The Bills Never Should Have Traded Sammy Watkins

ln hindsight, this was the right move for the team as it is clear they probably never would have resigned Sammy for the $16M a year he received on the open market.   By trading him, they received a 2nd round pick, a competent start for one season, and they still made the playoffs.

 

Those are a few - I'd love to hear yours

 

I guess #2...

Upon reading this the 1st thing I thought was EVERYONE thinks that Pats team got lucky bc of the Tuck Rule. Hell, even the Bledose hit.

 

That said, I'm not sure how backing in w a crazy play at the last conceivable play makes the 17 Bills a contender. Them getting in as they did would have been the narrative all post season long..

 

Bringing us full circle to #2 I guess?

 

Now that I've figured it out... Now what? And what does it mean?

Edited March 24, 2018 by gobills1212

[CommonCents]

The Bills should have closed down BBMB.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you're going to throw me an alley oop I'm going to dunk it.

[26CornerBlitz]

Hindsight is 20/20.  It actually gives you a blind eye toward the future. 

[zonabb]

That TB12 and BB are not the greatest QB and HC ever. They are.

[BuffaloRush]

1 minute ago, gobills1212 said:

I guess #2...

Upon reading this the 1st thing I thought was EVERYONE thinks that Pats team got lucky bc of the Tuck Rule. Hell, even the Bledose hit.

 

That said, I'm not sure how backing in w a crazy play at the last conceivable play makes the 17 Bills a contender. Them getting in as they did would have been the narrative all post season long..

 

OK my point is, it seems like when every some fans talk about the Bills season this year they put as asterisk next to it and preface by says "they only got in because of Andy Dalton."  You can find asterisks in nearly every NFL season, but most people don't because it's irrelevant

[NoSaint]

If you are going to start a thread for every random idea that pops in your head, I appreciate that you consolidated all of today’s into a single post 

[BuffaloRush]

1 minute ago, zonabb said:

That TB12 and BB are not the greatest QB and HC ever. They are.

 

I'll +1 this.....  The fact that Tom Brady was not better than Joe Montana because he lost 3 Super Bowls When Joe was 4-0

Just now, NoSaint said:

If you are going to start a thread for every random idea that pops in your head, I appreciate that you consolidated all of today’s into a single post 

 

Here's another one - The fact that fans should not start threads on a message boards. I  mean - THE AUDACITY!!!!

[Eric Moulds on my A**]

That Bills fans are stupid fans because they root for a bad team. 17 years was a long time. Not to mention many people are born into their fandom or atleast inspired by close friends, family or where ya live. I'd be willing to bet Bills fans have the highest football IQ and are more aware fans overall. The information we have sifted through trying to figure out how to end this drought. Accruing knowledge is what happens when you cross off every possibility imaginable when trying to stop the bleeding.

 

The heavy activity on this message board atleast shows our interest is heavier than most teams.

[slaphappy]

15 minutes ago, BuffaloRush said:

Interesting choice...explain

He was basically Tyrod Taylor  only major differences were 3 times as many INT's and balls batted down...career completion % in the low 50's and his own cereal 

[BuffaloRush]

4 minutes ago, slaphappy said:

He was basically Tyrod Taylor  only major differences were 3 times as many INT's and balls batted down...career completion % in the low 50's and his own cereal 

 

The similarities are there.  I think Tyrod was a bette athlete and Doug might have been a little better as a passer, but you might be into something.

 

Doug’s team had a much better defense which might account for why he had a better W-L than Tyrod

[T&C]

Bills "mafia" is the dumbest thing I've heard lately... I'll just stick to being a Bills fan. Mafia? lol... 

[slaphappy]

3 minutes ago, BuffaloRush said:

 

The similarities are there.  I think Tyrod was a bette athlete and Doug might have been a little better as a passer, but you might be into something.

 

Doug’s team had a much better defense which might account for why he had a better W-L than Tyrod

He was the best QB on that team. Not saying he was horrible.. 

[Stank_Nasty]

Can’t stand the whole “backed into” the postseason narrative. Going 4-2 to end a season is the opposite of backing into the post season. Bottom line is bills did what they needed over 16 games and the ravens didn’t. 

 

All the tanking talks make me sick too. Bills made the friggin playoffs all while overhauling the roster, aquiring draft picks to STILL be have a shot a “franchise qb”,  and opening up cap space. That’s called having your cake and eating it too. A certain few can take those tanking remarks and shove them where the sun don’t shine. Sickening 

Edited March 24, 2018 by Stank_Nasty

[reddogblitz]

You have to tank in order to get a good QB. Its the only way.

 

6 minutes ago, Stank_Nasty said:

Can’t stand the whole “backed into” the postseason narrative. Going 4-2 to end a season is the opposite of backing into the post season. Bottom line is bills did what they needed over 16 games and the ravens didn’t. 

 

All the tanking talks make me sick too. Bills made the friggin playoffs all while overhauling the roster, aquiring draft capitol, and opening up cap space. That’s called having your cake and eating it too. A certain few can take those tanking remarks and shove them where the sun don’t shine. Sickening 

 

This **** drives me nuts too.  Just plain dumb. Dumb as (Defend Our) Dirt.

Edited March 24, 2018 by reddogblitz

[Steptide]

I'll say the whole "bills fans are the craziest in the NFL" thing. Yes, we definitely have a passionate fan base. However, every teams fan base is rowdy and drinks too much at games and does dumb things. Especially the smaller market teams.