Interesting article as to where the Bills fit in power rankings

[NickelCity]

It is so frustrating that we're going to have a non-normal season (if at all) when we're finally good.

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

Yaaaaay, good on paper..?

15 minutes ago, NickelCity said:

It is so frustrating that we're going to have a non-normal season (if at all) when we're finally good.

I’m actually thinking not playing in front of crowds would hurt our QB.  He feeds off of it. 

[Saxum]

Well it could be an advantage.  Too often you see Bills fans making a lot of noise when they are in huddle or lining up.

[JaCrispy]

2 hours ago, Over 29 years of fanhood said:

Yaaaaay, good on paper..?

I’m actually thinking not playing in front of crowds would hurt our QB.  He feeds off of it. 

I almost think Josh gets too amped up in front of home crowds...wouldn’t be surprised if he actually plays better with no fans...

6 hours ago, BillsVet said:

I think the concern with Buffalo is they lack elite talent outside of Tre White and perhaps Stefon Diggs.  You'd hope that younger players like Oliver, Edmunds, Allen, Singletary, and others might distinguish themselves because the NFL is about creating matchup disadvantages.  

 

Heading into the season, Buffalo is strong across several position groups, but their lack of top end talent is something to be aware of.  That said, Buffalo isn't going to sneak up on teams the way they might have in 2019 coming off a poor 2018 season.  

 

Hopefully, we'll see higher picks ascend into being top performers.  They almost need to given the challenge of playing the AFCW and NFCW this season.  

Agreed, our top picks will need to play like elite players now...

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

Got a few good laughs in a USA Today ranking .....  then with an after thought I said this is totally F'd up and worthless. 

I had to check to see if this was a parody. 

 

Post Draft rankings 

 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/columnist/nate-davis/2020/04/29/nfl-power-rankings-draft-teams-chiefs-packers-ravens-steelers/3044799001/

 

8. Titans (5): Has first team to ever finish 9-7 in four consecutive seasons done enough to take a Super Bowl step? Doubtful. Or even reach 10 wins? Maybe.

--- WTF have the Titans done to warrent 3 spote above the Playoff Buffalo Bills?

9. Steelers (10): Their draft, which brought S Minkah Fitzpatrick last season, added several players who could immediately take snaps from prominent vets.

--- The Steelers with a healthy Ben I can see.

 

11. Bills (11): Third-round RB Zack Moss should provide a lot more juice than Frank Gore did in 2019 and might even be an offensive rookie of the year dark horse.

--- No change?  My ass.  

 

Now the funny parts 

19. Patriots (18): Unless one of their rookie tight ends pop, QB Jarrett Stidham will be operating same weapon-deficient offense that hindered Brady in 2019.

23. Dolphins (22): Patriots may be descending, but Miami's draft suggests Fins probably won't be ready to compete for playoff spot until at least 2022.

24. Jets (23): Roster for a franchise that went 6-2 in second half of 2019 appears improved ... though NYJ rarely respond to elevated expectations.

26. Browns (27): New GM Andrew Berry, 33, followed strong showing in free agency with sneaky good draft. Question now is how long will it take rookie coach Kevin Stefanski to implement his playbook and a new locker room vibe for a team that likely won't convene for months?

Edited April 30, 2020 by SlimShady'sSpaceForce

[Drunken Pygmy Goat]

9 hours ago, 78thealltimegreat said:

Oh I’ll take them getting to 10 the defense is elite and now with a legit number 1 receiver I can count on wins 4-5 in the AFC East winnable games against the Chargers,Broncos, Raiders,  Cardinals, and Rams add to the fact they host Seattle which has to travel cross country and isn’t that good on the road to begin with and who knows maybe they surprise the Chiefs since it’s in Buffalo..double digits easy 

Over easy money 

Broncos, Raiders, Cards should be better this year, and all road games. It wouldn’t shock me if the Bills lose 2-3 of those games. Not saying blowout or anything, but they should be competitive. Heck, I expect the Dolphins to finish somewhat close to the Bills in win total. Several games could go either way this year, including games against LA, Seattle, Tennessee, NE, Pittsburgh. It’s possible the Bills win only 8 or 9 this year.

[Billzfan37]

8 hours ago, 78thealltimegreat said:

Yeh but anyone could do what the Dolphins did dump your good players and get picks if you have that many picks and cap space your going to look amazing in the off season those loaded Browns you talk about had how many high picks the last few years? It’s the organization, stability, and structure that the Bills have as an advantage on many teams now 

Yeah but wouldn't the Dolphins still be better with Minka Fitztpatrick and Laremy Tunsil?  Remember, addition by subtraction is still pretty garbage.

[Paup 1995MVP]

Its going to be a manly schedule to say the least, if there is a season.  Bills should definitely be a top 10 team this year.  But where in the top 10 will be the question.  They have a lot of talent on both sides of the ball.  Love our secondary and D Line.  (no weak links there)  Edmunds and Milano need to take the next step and dominate especially in the run game.  (I don't want to hear that Edmunds is still young.  Its his 3rd year w the same coaches.  Time to be the man on defense.  Would like to see Milano bulk up a bit.  It is not illegal to be close to 240 at LB) 

 

On offense, still a lot of questions that won't be answered until we are playing.  O line maybe the biggest.  They all need to get better.  Noone was close to great or even very good last year.  I was expecting Morse to be close to great from the contract we signed him to and watching his hilites in KC.  Dawkins needs to be very good.  (Otherwise no pt in paying him big money imho)  And for the other 3 spots, both G's and RT, whoever wins the jobs need to be good.  That should not be that hard.  We have a lot of guys who don't suck.  But can they be good is the question.  (Long Spain Feliciano Ford Boehm Nseke Williams Bates Boettger Adams-guy from UW-thought that was his last name) We need 5 at least good O lineman.  Sick of mediocre to poor.  Coaching needs to get it done.

 

RB's will be strong.  Moss is a beast from his film.  Tough dude.  Singletary is shifty.  And Yeldon has game-more then many of you think.  Our receivers are dramatically improved with Diggs, and hopefully Hodgins and Davis.  Competition should make everyone better.  Williams and Foster had better step up game quickly.  And I believe there is always room for a guy like McKenzie on the roster.  He is more valuable then Roberts, who is slow at this point, and can be replaced by McKenzie and Taiwan Jones.  TE is somewhat of a ?, but I think we see some big improvement from Knox and Sweeney.  And Kroft if healthy.  And don't forget about Jason Croom.  Guy is somewhat athletic and if healthy could be a downfield weapon.  (no place for a Lee Smith in today's NFL)

 

Finally QB.  This is Josh's 3rd year.  Time to take the training wheels off and let him rip it.  Don't be worried about making mistakes.  Let his athletic ability as a thrower of the football come out.  I don't care about some pics if he is making plays and throwing TD's   No reason he should not have 32-35 TD's.  And if he throws 14-16 picks, I can live with it.   Because he is also going to get us 7-10 rushing scores per year.  He can be that good, but he has to process and read the field quicker.  And be more accurate.  If he does that, he can be very good to great.  Fingers crossed.  And don't count out Jake Fromm at some point in the next few years.  Guy is a winner.  Has that swag, and is a cocky MF.  Dude is also real smart.  He will pick it up quickly.  I was not a huge Dawgs fan.  But watched a lot of their games living in Atl.  And Fromm was tough well liked and respected by most.  He will play in the league and be good at some point.  He is not a Rex Grossman or Brett Hundley.  Don't forget Brady was a 6th round pick in 2000.  And afterthought by most after a good but not distinguished college career.  I think Fromm was better in college.  And don't forget Special teams.  Bass will be much better then Hauschka was the past couple years.  Need your kicker to be good once you cross the opponents 40 on most kicks.  Gives the team a certain confidence.  Hauschka did not do that.    

 

Finally, the one thing noone talks enuf about is coaching.  Will it be good enuf to compete with the top teams.  (NO, SF, GB, Seattle, KC, Balt)  I think I GM is as good as any in football.  I don't know if McDermott is there yet or will ever get there.  That remains to be seen.  He has our team ready to compete pretty much every week.  But his game management is sometimes questionable.  And his roster selections on offense don't make a lot of sense at times.  Benching Yeldon Sweeney and Duke for most of the season, when offense was struggling, and instead playing the likes of Lee Smith, Dimarco ,  Gore , Sinorise Perry and Andre Roberts when none brought anything to the offense was criminal IMHO.  It is nice to have veterans on the roster if they are good solid players.  Otherwise they mean nothing.  None of these guys (including Gore in the second half of the season ) brought  any juice.  McDermott has to do better in constructing the game day roster.   Its an offensive league.  Those guys were offensive.  

 

If things fall strongly into place and Josh gets on a roll, no reason this team can not get to 12-4.  But a lot has to happen.  More realistic is a strong 10 or 11 win season with strong play every week, instead of that feeling of last year where we beat a lot of trash teams. (And not very well mind you.)  And as the playoffs come around we are peaking where we all feel like the team is ready to contend for a championship this season.  (I apologize if I got too wordy)  

[Captain Hindsight]

6 hours ago, Over 29 years of fanhood said:

Yaaaaay, good on paper..?

I’m actually thinking not playing in front of crowds would hurt our QB.  He feeds off of it. 

Big crowds at Wyoming? 

 

Josh would probably run through a brick wall in an underground bunker if he thought it would help his team win. I think he plays more for his teammates than the crowd. JMO

[SoTier]

10 hours ago, arcane said:

People are still enamored with the names of the old guard (Cam, Rivers, Ben) and haven't yet internalized the fact that all three are horrible compared to their peaks now.

 

Last season, with a healthy Andrew Luck and Ben Roethlisberger,  both the Colts and Steelers would have been playoff teams -- they were that good last season.   Peyton Manning won a Super Bowl with the Broncos when he could barely throw because the team around him, especially the defense, was so good  Don't assume that Rivers and Roethlisberger couldn't at least get their teams to the playoffs.

 

10 hours ago, BillsVet said:

I think the concern with Buffalo is they lack elite talent outside of Tre White and perhaps Stefon Diggs.  You'd hope that younger players like Oliver, Edmunds, Allen, Singletary, and others might distinguish themselves because the NFL is about creating matchup disadvantages.  

 

Heading into the season, Buffalo is strong across several position groups, but their lack of top end talent is something to be aware of.  That said, Buffalo isn't going to sneak up on teams the way they might have in 2019 coming off a poor 2018 season.  

 

Hopefully, we'll see higher picks ascend into being top performers.  They almost need to given the challenge of playing the AFCW and NFCW this season.  

 

I totally agree.  The Bills won 1 game against a team with a winning record last season: their 14-7 win against the pre-Tannehill Titans.  Of their 10 wins,  4 were by a TD or less.   Of their 6 losses, 5 were by a TD or less with their single drubbing coming from the NFCE champion Eagles.    If you look back at some of the previous Bills teams, they frequently managed to lose close games to better teams.

 

They are certainly capable of winning 9-10 games a year and even winning the AFCE if the Pats dynasty is truly done.   I'm not sure that they're good enough to win many playoff games.  It seems to me that they are only incrementally better than some of the teams fielded by previous Bills regimes because they simply don't have enough game changing playmakers, especially on offense.   Allen really needs to make a big step up this season.

 

Edited April 30, 2020 by SoTier

[Mango]

12 hours ago, boater said:

Forget about it.

 

Tough schedule = 9-7.

 

Not the worst prediction. Bills were pretty close to 8-8 last year. 2 of the below 3 could have easily flipped. If I had to put my house on the line I would guess 9 or 10 wins this year. If I am playing with fake internet points 11 seems fair. 

 

TN- Called back TD (actually two- they were on the same drive) and 4 missed field goals. Win by 1. People always forget about this game. It could have been ugly adding 19 point swing.

Pitt- 3rd string QB, Duck Hodges threw 4 INTs. Won by 7. A healthy Big Ben and it probably goes the other way. 

NYJ 1- Darnold plays with mono. Wins by 1. 

Edited April 30, 2020 by Mango

[BillsVet]

41 minutes ago, SoTier said:

I totally agree.  The Bills won 1 game against a team with a winning record last season: their 14-7 win against the pre-Tannehill Titans.  Of their 10 wins,  4 were by a TD or less.   Of their 6 losses, 5 were by a TD or less with their single drubbing coming from the NFCE champion Eagles.    If you look back at some of the previous Bills teams, they frequently managed to lose close games to better teams.

 

They are certainly capable of winning 9-10 games a year and even winning the AFCE if the Pats dynasty is truly done.   I'm not sure that they're good enough to win many playoff games.  It seems to me that they are only incrementally better than some of the teams fielded by previous Bills regimes because they simply don't have enough game changing playmakers, especially on offense.   Allen really needs to make a big step up this season.

 

Looking at McD's tenure as HC, he's 3-17 against playoff teams or in the playoffs combined.  If we throw out '17 and '18, they were 1-5 last season against those caliber of teams.  They kept games close with defense, but struggled on offense, never scoring more than 19 points against any of those teams (NE 2x, TEN, PHI, BAL, at HOU).  

 

 

 

[Mango]

2 hours ago, SlimShady'sSpaceForce said:

Got a few good laughs in a USA Today ranking .....  then with an after thought I said this is totally F'd up and worthless. 

I had to check to see if this was a parody. 

 

Post Draft rankings 

 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/columnist/nate-davis/2020/04/29/nfl-power-rankings-draft-teams-chiefs-packers-ravens-steelers/3044799001/

 

8. Titans (5): Has first team to ever finish 9-7 in four consecutive seasons done enough to take a Super Bowl step? Doubtful. Or even reach 10 wins? Maybe.

--- WTF have the Titans done to warrent 3 spote above the Playoff Buffalo Bills?

9. Steelers (10): Their draft, which brought S Minkah Fitzpatrick last season, added several players who could immediately take snaps from prominent vets.

--- The Steelers with a healthy Ben I can see.

 

11. Bills (11): Third-round RB Zack Moss should provide a lot more juice than Frank Gore did in 2019 and might even be an offensive rookie of the year dark horse.

--- No change?  My ass.  

Now the funny parts 

19. Patriots (18): Unless one of their rookie tight ends pop, QB Jarrett Stidham will be operating same weapon-deficient offense that hindered Brady in 2019.

23. Dolphins (22): Patriots may be descending, but Miami's draft suggests Fins probably won't be ready to compete for playoff spot until at least 2022.

24. Jets (23): Roster for a franchise that went 6-2 in second half of 2019 appears improved ... though NYJ rarely respond to elevated expectations.

26. Browns (27): New GM Andrew Berry, 33, followed strong showing in free agency with sneaky good draft. Question now is how long will it take rookie coach Kevin Stefanski to implement his playbook and a new locker room vibe for a team that likely won't convene for months?

 

For starters they made it to the AFC Championship game?

 

The Bills are still listed as the 6 seed. They are banking on Rivers taking Indy to the next level. We shall see, they might be wrong, but it isn't a crazy idea. Pitt returns their POS HoF QB. Then there are the Chiefs and Ravens, who until they prove otherwise, should be ranked about the Bills. I think 4, 5, and 6 could be interchangeable. If Rivers has some gas left in the tank, they will probably be closer the the Chiefs/Ravens class than the Pitt, Buffalo, Tenn, class in the AFC. 

1 hour ago, Captain Hindsight said:

Big crowds at Wyoming? 

 

Josh would probably run through a brick wall in an underground bunker if he thought it would help his team win. I think he plays more for his teammates than the crowd. JMO

 

I mean, they averaged about 25k per game which isn't too bad when you realize the ENTIRE state of Wyoming has about 570k people in it. They draw like 5% of everybody who lives there which is kind of wild. 

[LabattBlue]

I’m guessing they fit somewhere between 1 and 32.  
 

 

[Putin]

11 hours ago, Kirby Jackson said:

I’m not sure what the Bills record will be with their schedule but I think that the Bills, Chiefs and Ravens are the 3 best teams in the AFC.

I believe that as well , we have a tough schedule this year but at the same time beating GOOD teams like Seattle , SF , KC is what going to put us a map !!!

21 minutes ago, LabattBlue said:

I’m guessing they fit somewhere between 1 and 32.  
 

 

Go Bills !!!

Edited April 30, 2020 by Putin

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

1 hour ago, Captain Hindsight said:

Big crowds at Wyoming? 

 

Josh would probably run through a brick wall in an underground bunker if he thought it would help his team win. I think he plays more for his teammates than the crowd. JMO

I agree with what you’re saying too, I’m not saying he’s an attention junkie or anything but I think the big stage and crowd energy amp him up and he is a super emotional player. 

Edited April 30, 2020 by Over 29 years of fanhood

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

1 hour ago, Mango said:

 

For starters they made it to the AFC Championship game?

 

The Bills are still listed as the 6 seed. They are banking on Rivers taking Indy to the next level. We shall see, they might be wrong, but it isn't a crazy idea. Pitt returns their POS HoF QB. Then there are the Chiefs and Ravens, who until they prove otherwise, should be ranked about the Bills. I think 4, 5, and 6 could be interchangeable. If Rivers has some gas left in the tank, they will probably be closer the the Chiefs/Ravens class than the Pitt, Buffalo, Tenn, class in the AFC. 

 

 

I discounted the Titans because they struggled just to make the playoffs where the Bill had a LOCK on the 5th seed of the WC practically one month in advance 

 

I have said I like Tannehill as a decent QB.  But I'll take the Bills heads up 9 out of 10 times 

 

 

Edited April 30, 2020 by SlimShady'sSpaceForce

[Mango]

1 hour ago, SlimShady'sSpaceForce said:

 

I discounted the Titans because they struggled just to make the playoffs where the Bill had a LOCK on the 5th seed of the WC practically one month in advance 

 

I have said I like Tannehill as a decent QB.  But I'll take the Bills heads up 9 out of 10 times 

 

 

 

Not that Tannehill is some elite QB, but part of that is because of Mariota. Tannehil went 7-3 once he took over as the starter. 

 

Even against the MM led Titans, the Bills won 7-14 after a called back TEN TD (Actually 2 called back, but it was on the same drive) and 4 missed FGs. Most teams don't miss putting up 19 points like that. Sure the occasional missed field goal or called back TD, but 19 points is a ton.  If we flip that game (which isn't crazy) we are talking about the "barely made the playoffs Bills" and the "clinched the playoffs with a month to go Titans". The teams are not that different from each other. Titans are coming off the hot hand so they get the edge in a tightly grouped pack in the 3-6 range in the AFC. 

Part of the reason the Titans could not clinch earlier was 2 games in the final 3 weeks against what turned out to be the 10-6, division winning, Houston Texans. A lot of theirs and Houston's and standings depended on those games. Additionally 4 of 6 were against their division, where any combination of Indy, Houston, and Tennessee could have made the playoffs. 

Edited April 30, 2020 by Mango

[eball]

15 hours ago, JaCrispy said:

It really is hard to see them doing better than that...

 

Unless you open your eyes and mind.

[SoTier]

9 minutes ago, Mango said:

 

Not that Tannehill is some elite QB, but part of that is because of Mariota. Tannehil went 7-3 once he took over as the starter. 

 

Even against the MM led Titans, the Bills won 7-14 after a called back TEN TD (Actually 2 called back, but it was on the same drive) and 4 missed TD's. Most teams don't miss putting up 19 points like that. Sure the occasional missed field goal or called back TD, but 19 points is a ton.  If we flip that game (which isn't crazy) we are talking about the "barely made the playoffs Bills" and the "clinched the playoffs with a month to go Titans". The teams are not that different from each other. Titans are coming off the hot hand so they get the edge in a tightly grouped pack in the 3-6 range in the AFC. 

 

The Bills simply weren't good enough on offense last season.  They've taken steps to address that for 2020 but the only proven play maker they added was Diggs.  Their new rookies are going to have a learning curve made steeper by the the lack of off season mini camps and practices, so they may not contribute as much as they might have in previous seasons.  

 

The real determinant of the 2020 Bills' success rests on how much Josh Allen improves.  Beane went out and got him some additional OLers, RBs, and WRs, so he's surrounded with significantly more talent -- and depth -- than any Bills QB in this century.  Now, he has to do his part if he can.