"Slow down, it's only preseason"

[Ol Dirty B]

1 minute ago, Ralonzo said:

 

Now something about the importance of pre-season, that's fine. That's an argument. But you dismissed OP's argument pretty much out of hand, without a real reason other than "harrr I'm old guy i seen it all." The original point was the team's execution and I augmented. And neither of us agree with John McKay, but it sounds like you do... do you? Why?

 

I'm sorry but what are you on? John McKay? Old guy? I'm 29. 

 

You ***** up bra?

[Nextmanup]

So, we played a fun pre-season football game and looked good doing it!

 

Doesn't stop folks here from degenerating into some random argument about God knows what!

 

This place is toxic.

 

[Ralonzo]

3 minutes ago, Ol Dirty B said:

 

I said it through two posts. Look at the teams that are the most penalized. They are usually winning teams. The discipline stuff is overdone.

 

I can't spell it out for you anymore. Maybe I can get it done in braille 

 

That's an argument you may wish to make. I happen to believe 15-yard penalties for no good reason don't normally help the team toward victory. You can cite your stats and I can cite my reason and we can agree to disagree about it.

[Doc Brown]

I guess they have more depth at most positions which is a good thing but we knew that going into the preseason.  Even if the Colts and Panthers played all their best players it's still a vanilla scheme vs. a vanilla scheme.  The real test doesn't start until opening day so I'll say it....slow down. It's only preseason.  Just be happy nobody noteworthy was injured.

[Ol Dirty B]

3 minutes ago, Ralonzo said:

 

That's an argument you may wish to make. I happen to believe 15-yard penalties for no good reason don't normally help the team toward victory. You can cite your stats and I can cite my reason and we can agree to disagree about it.

 

Or... i can just say this is the last post I'll ever have in regards to you.

 

You with your Fredo *****. You're a clown. John Mckay. Wtf?

[BillsVet]

13 minutes ago, Logic said:

That's weird. I don't seem to remember the Bills playing Lorenzo Alexander or Micah Hyde on defense last week, yet they shut down the Colts offense pretty convincingly. 

I don't seem to remember Mitch Morse, Ty Nsekhe, or John Brown suiting up for Buffalo tonight. The Bills offense still took it to the Panthers defense.

Look: You can only play the people on the field. If the opposition is without key players, it means you'd better DOMINATE them. And the Bills did -- even though they, too, were missing key players. Like I said, the alternative -- and this is happening across the league to teams who are playing against opposition that are resting star players -- is to come out and look bad and fail to execute EVEN THOUGH the opposition is not at full strength. What would you say then?

If you want to be a pessimist about it and refuse to take even a modicum of cautious optimism from the fact that the Bills have looked better than their opponents two weeks in a row, then so be it. Fandom must be a real drag for you with that type of outlook. Me? I'll roll with cautious optimism, because life is short and sports are supposed to be fun.

 

Take a top 5 QB from the starting roster and the skill positions look a whole lot different.  Are you honestly comparing a LB, S, C, OT, and WR with someone like Andrew Luck or Cam Newton?  That somehow those positions have the value one of those QBs has to their team?  

 

I know you're looking for any excuse to show that 2019 is surely different, but we don't know yet.  It's okay to wait and see before declaring the team on the glide path to the playoffs.  

 

For the record, here's Buffalo's results from the last 5 pre-seasons:

 

2018 2-2 83 PF 88 PA (final season record 6-10)

2017 1-3 62 PF 67 PA (final record 9-7)

2016 1-3 55 PF 71 PA (final record 7-9)

2015 2-2 88 PF 71 PA (final record 8-8)

2014 1-4 63 PF 104 PA (final record 9-7)

[Ralonzo]

Just now, Ol Dirty B said:

 

Or... i can just say this is the last post I'll ever have in regards to you.

 

 

[ColoradoBills]

7 minutes ago, Nextmanup said:

So, we played a fun pre-season football game and looked good doing it!

 

Doesn't stop folks here from degenerating into some random argument about God knows what!

 

This place is toxic.

 

 

Good word!

[Ralonzo]

6 minutes ago, BillsVet said:

 

Take a top 5 QB from the starting roster and the skill positions look a whole lot different.  Are you honestly comparing a LB, S, C, OT, and WR with someone like Andrew Luck or Cam Newton?  That somehow those positions have the value one of those QBs has to their team?  

 

I know you're looking for any excuse to show that 2019 is surely different, but we don't know yet.  It's okay to wait and see before declaring the team on the glide path to the playoffs.  

 

For the record, here's Buffalo's results from the last 5 pre-seasons:

 

2018 2-2 83 PF 88 PA (final season record 6-10)

2017 1-3 62 PF 67 PA (final record 9-7)

2016 1-3 55 PF 71 PA (final record 7-9)

2015 2-2 88 PF 71 PA (final record 8-8)

2014 1-4 63 PF 104 PA (final record 9-7)

 

I'm didn't step in with the intention to take up OP's part here but didn't OP specifically say something about looking at execution only? Not just numbers? That is to say, watching the game, looking at the execution in the individual matchups?

 

53 minutes ago, Logic said:

Score and schemes may not matter in preseason, but EXECUTION MATTERS. 

 

Something like that. So he says "scores and schemes may not matter," and the response is... scores? Why are we trying to bring the last 5 year stats into this?

Edited August 17, 2019 by Ralonzo

[CaptnCoke11]

If we play bad it’s just preseason..  If we play good, It’s super bowl time.  You should know this by now. 

[LSHMEAB]

56 minutes ago, Ralonzo said:

 

You know what it is, Fredo

I don't think it would be a good idea to mess with the Fredo you're referencing. Guy's built like a linebacker.

[Not at the table Karlos]

2 hours ago, Logic said:

This year, like many years in the past two decades, there are a lot of Bills fans saying "Slow down, it's only preseason. It doesn't mean anything yet".

There's one key difference, though: Most years, we're saying it because the Bills look sloppy, disjointed, and ineffective. We're saying it to calm our anxieties and talk ourselves off the ledge, because the Bills look like a 5-win football team. This year? Well...this year we're saying it because the Bills look better than their opponents on both offense and defense. In the past, we've been trying to talk ourselves into more than 5 wins. "It's only preseason, they'll figure it out". This year, we're trying to talk ourselves out of a breakout, 10-win type season. "It's only preseason, it's all vanilla schemes, it doesn't matter".

See, here's the thing about that constantly uttered preseason phrase "it's only preseason, it doesn't matter": If we're talking about the SCOREBOARD, that's true. If we're talking about EXECUTION, it's a filthy lie. Sure, the opposing defense is running vanilla plays out of a limited playbook. All the more reason you want your offense to easily be able to march it down field against them. Sure, the opposing offense is trying not to tip their hand and is calling a limited script of plays. All the more reason you want your defense to easily shut them down and keep points off the board.

Score and schemes may not matter in preseason, but EXECUTION MATTERS. If your offensive linemen hold their blocks, it matters. If your receivers beat the men across from them, get open, and catch the ball, it matters. If your defense plays as a unit, shoots gaps, and keeps the score low, it matters. All things being equal, you have to look SOME SORT OF WAY in preseason, right? So wouldn't you rather that your team dominate the opponent? Put a different way: How would you all feel right now if Allen and the Bills stunk up the joint the past few weeks? Well, you'd still be saying "It's only preseason", but you'd be saying it for a very different reason. 

Look, we all know: it is a good idea to temper expectations in the preseason for the aforementioned reasons. Nevertheless: the Bills are executing their assignments more effectively than their opponents, their rookie quarterback looks vastly improved, and their defense looks absolutely stifling. When I flash back to all of the preseason ineffectiveness of recent years, I notice that it almost always carried over into the regular season. If you can't execute against vanilla schemes, you DAMN sure can't execute when the lights come on for real. So maybe, just maybe, the Bills preseason effectiveness this year will carry into the regular season. Maybe they'll keep out-executing opponents. The score and schemes may not matter, but execution matters.

Two more weeks and then we all get to see the Bills in real, important NFL regular season action. Until then, I'll keep trying to remind myself: "Slow down, it's only preseason".

We haven’t faced a starting QB yet. Colts sat their TEs, a few WRs and starting C.  Panthers sat their Elite RB and MLB.  It’s a lot easier to out execute your opponent when they have backups in for elite players. Calm down it’s only preseason

Edited August 17, 2019 by Not at the table Karlos

[Patrick Duffy]

1 hour ago, Ol Dirty B said:

 

I mean, I don't really care about preseason. My point was don't take much away from it. They haven't faced anyone. I hope they play this good in the regular season, my point was the competition hasn't been much.

 

Some people are sensitive.

 

Well if that isn't the pot calling the kettle black

[OldTimeAFLGuy]

5 hours ago, Ol Dirty B said:

Of course someone who would come up with the username logic would write that.

 

 

I'll just tell you what you want to hear, you're correct. This is clearly no thread for logic.

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

4 hours ago, Ralonzo said:

 

I'm didn't step in with the intention to take up OP's part here but didn't OP specifically say something about looking at execution only? Not just numbers? That is to say, watching the game, looking at the execution in the individual matchups?

 

 

Something like that. So he says "scores and schemes may not matter," and the response is... scores? Why are we trying to bring the last 5 year stats into this?

 

Because billsvet isn't happy unless he's miserable.

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

Great point op. Need to temper optimism instead of concern.

 

btw- I’m calling it now. Josh Allen is making this team. 

[Cripple Creek]

5 hours ago, Ol Dirty B said:

 

Well for starters, neither team has played their starting QB or RB. Indy didn't play TY Hilton. Carolina didn't play Kuechly on defense. You can't take anything away from the games.

 

Consider yourself enlightened. 

O, ODB...UBD

 

There is much to be taken from preseason games. I’m sure you realize this, but your hyperbolic take won’t allow you to admit it.  Perhaps after a good nights sleep you’ll feel differently.

3 hours ago, Not at the table Karlos said:

We haven’t faced a starting QB yet. Colts sat their TEs, a few WRs and starting C.  Panthers sat their Elite RB and MLB.  It’s a lot easier to out execute your opponent when they have backups in for elite players. Calm down it’s only preseason

Phew, thank god we have you here to keep us grounded Karlos. Phew.

4 hours ago, BillsVet said:

 

For the record, here's Buffalo's results from the last 5 pre-seasons:

 

2018 2-2 83 PF 88 PA (final season record 6-10)

2017 1-3 62 PF 67 PA (final record 9-7)

2016 1-3 55 PF 71 PA (final record 7-9)

2015 2-2 88 PF 71 PA (final record 8-8)

2014 1-4 63 PF 104 PA (final record 9-7)

What’s your point?

[Cripple Creek]

5 hours ago, Ol Dirty B said:

 

I'm not italian nor a liberal. Again, I try not to talk politics with uneducated people.

 

You ***** know I'd be banned for that post I quoted lol.

You don’t have to be Italian to be a Fredo. They come in all shapes, sizes and colors. ?

[oldmanfan]

I tend to watch individuals in preseason rather than the whole.  Allen for example is going through his progressions better and using the short pass more.  I like seeing that.

[Royale with Cheese]

5 hours ago, Ol Dirty B said:

Where you at? 

 

LOL!  Got love the internet trash talk!