Are we still a 9-7 team?

[H2o]

@ NY Jets - W (5-2)

NE Patriots - W (6-2)

Seattle Seahawks - L (6-3)
@ Arizona Cardinals - W (7-3)

LA Chargers - W (8-3)

@ SF 49ers - W (9-3)

Pittsburgh - L (9-4)

@ Denver Broncos - W (10-4)

@ NE Patriots - L (10-5)

Miami - W (11-5)

 

We win the AFC East, get to host a playoff game, and get a W there in for the first time in 25 years. 

 

 

[njbuff]

6-10, 7-9, 5-11

 

A complete fraud of a team with gutless leadership.

 

End of story.

30 minutes ago, TwistofFate said:

Lol, we aren't getting swept by the Pats, nor are we dropping 3 straight. 

 

We are coming off of two losses against the top two teams in the AFC, including the SB Champions.

 

Im disappointed, but no where near in the panic mode, or the "reality" you are in. 

 

I'll panic if we get beat by Gase and the winless Jets. 

 

Keep telling yourself this is a good team. It's not.

 

What exactly do they do well when the last two opponents have EASILY taken away the deep passing game?

[RyanC883]

this team is the Marvin Lewis Bengals.   

[prissythecat]

6 minutes ago, RyanC883 said:

this team is the Marvin Lewis Bengals.   

 

Those Bengals had talent on the lines and in skill positions.  We are substantially lacking talent on the lines.

[dave mcbride]

On 10/1/2020 at 10:05 AM, DrDawkinstein said:

Most preseason predictions, along with Las Vegas, had us as a 9-win team. A fair and reasonable prediction given our schedule and the questions at QB. While it seems the QB questions have been answered, I'd say that Josh's development has been "balanced" by some Defensive regression to keep us about equal to where we were starting. With that said...

 

We are currently 3-0.

 

That means, if you believe 9-7 is still a likely outcome with this schedule, we are looking at going 6-7 the rest of the way (yikes).

 

I see 2 more wins coming from the Dolphins and Jets, and expect to split with the Pats. So that leaves 3 other wins.

 

Broncos and Chargers are probably the rest of the "obvious" wins. Leaving only 1 more win out of Raiders, Titans, Chiefs, Seahawks, Cardinals, 49ers, and Steelers.

 

I'd have to think we can get a win from one of those better teams*. But could also see us dropping a stinker against the Broncos or something (sorry, BBFS).

 

So sitting at 3-0, and getting a head start on our record, how do YOU see the rest of the season playing out? Can we get to 10-6? Are we mentally prepared to go 6-7 the rest of the way?

 

 

 

edit to clarify: When I say "those better teams", I mean that as "the better teams on our schedule", not "teams that are better than us". I also believe we can certainly beat more than 1 of them.

 

Just crazy to think that with this good start, we could be looking at 10-11 wins even with a tough schedule. Also steeling myself to understand that even if we do go 6-7 the rest of the way, we still have a good shot at the division since I dont see the Pats being much better.

Good thread that I was just about to start myself before seeing this. Here's my view:

 

3 easy wins: Chargers at home coming off a bye, the Jets, and Miami at home in early January. 

 

1 probable win (but you never know): at Denver. I just don't think they can score. 

 

1 curb stomping: Seattle at home. 

 

1 probable curb stomping although maybe the weather gods intervene enough to make things unpredictable given the game is in mid-December: a Sunday night home game vs. Pitt.

 

That gets the Bills to 8-4. 

 

NEx2: I think they'll probably split. Allen will have a bad game in one of those affairs because the NE secondary is still excellent and Belichick is a better coach. But the Bills are more talented. That gets the Bills to 9-5.

 

Finally, 2 road games vs. AZ and SF. I hope the Bills manage a split here, but I worry that the AZ will put up 40 on them and SF will run the ball down the Bills throat for 40+ minutes. You just hope that Allen has a big enough game in one of these two to get to 10-6, which I think wins the division. 

NE has three losses, and let's assume a 4th loss vs. the Bills. They still have the Niners, the Ravens at home, and the Rams on the road left. The Niners are getting healthy and NE is not going to be healthy this week. It's also a big game for Shanahan/Garrapalo too. They also have to play Miami in Miami, where they always struggle, and TX in TX (Deshaun Watson has shredded them in the past and they're not a good shootout team at this point).  They have the Chargers on the road (a game I think they'll win with ease given BB's historical record against rookie qbs) and the Jets twice, so they're at least going to win 5. That Denver loss at home was HUGE.

[thenorthremembers]

Still think they are a 10-12 win football team.  

[dave mcbride]

Just now, thenorthremembers said:

Still think they are a 10-12 win football team.  

Not sure how you're getting to 12 given the remaining schedule. 10 is doable. 

46 minutes ago, H2o said:

@ NY Jets - W (5-2)

NE Patriots - W (6-2)

Seattle Seahawks - L (6-3)
@ Arizona Cardinals - W (7-3)

LA Chargers - W (8-3)

@ SF 49ers - W (9-3)

Pittsburgh - L (9-4)

@ Denver Broncos - W (10-4)

@ NE Patriots - L (10-5)

Miami - W (11-5)

 

We win the AFC East, get to host a playoff game, and get a W there in for the first time in 25 years. 

 

 

you have us winning two west coast games? That's pretty bold. I think those games are bad matchups for the Bills, esp SF. SF plays like TN. 

[dorquemada]

 

1 hour ago, Cheektowaga Chad said:

Y'all realize that the game plan versus the chiefs will not be the game plan for every game?

 

 

 

I mean, our gameplan wont be but every coach in the league has watched the Bills run D collapse before our eyes and they're going to run the ball.  we can stack 8 in the box, hell we could put 14 in the box but i dont think there are 14 plays on this team that can stop a determined running attack, and that secret is out.

 

Maybe the key is to try to score points rather than 'play a close game' open it up on O, let Josh be Josh and stop with the slow developing runs with singletary.  they arent working, and moss isnt an NFL RB yet

[H2o]

15 minutes ago, dave mcbride said:

you have us winning two west coast games? That's pretty bold. I think those games are bad matchups for the Bills, esp SF. SF plays like TN. 

Are we not allowed to win West coast games? Do we not have a team capable of winning West coast games? I know the 49ers just beat the Rams, but they lost to the Eagles, Dolphins, and Cardinals. If we get key players back at full strength like Brown, Milano, Wallace, and Josh's shoulder gets back to 100% then I think we could beat both of those teams handedly. I also don't buy into the Kyler Murray hype. He's decent, but not elite by any means. Hell, he was 9 for 24 last night against the Cowboys struggling defense. SF is also a shell of the team they had last year with all of the injuries and the loss of Deforest Buckner to the Colts. Kittle is a bad match up for everyone and Deebo is a special player, but who else really stands out? Janeane Garofalo? Yeah, not scared of him either. At worst I think we are a 10-6 team this year that still wins the division. At best we are 12-4. This schedule is not a cakewalk like last year's and I'm still confident in saying that. 

[dave mcbride]

5 minutes ago, H2o said:

Are we not allowed to win West coast games? Do we not have a team capable of winning West coast games? I know the 49ers just beat the Rams, but they lost to the Eagles, Dolphins, and Cardinals. If we get key players back at full strength like Brown, Milano, Wallace, and Josh's shoulder gets back to 100% then I think we could beat both of those teams handedly. I also don't buy into the Kyler Murray hype. He's decent, but not elite by any means. Hell, he was 9 for 24 last night against the Cowboys struggling defense. SF is also a shell of the team they had last year with all of the injuries and the loss of Deforest Buckner to the Colts. Kittle is a bad match up for everyone and Deebo is a special player, but who else really stands out? Janeane Garofalo? Yeah, not scared of him either. At worst I think we are a 10-6 team this year that still wins the division. At best we are 12-4. This schedule is not a cakewalk like last year's and I'm still confident in saying that. 

I think we can, but SF is getting healthy on offense and I think they are a really bad matchup for us. Moreover, the last two times a Shanahan-coordinated offense faced a McDermott D (2016), it was a blowout (48 and 33 points over two games). He's a really great offensive mind. Also, Aiyuk is gonna be good. 

 

I worry that the Bills can't handle mobile QBs anymore, which is my concern with Murray. That's the more winnable of the two, especially with Chandler Jones out for the season. 

Edited October 20, 2020 by dave mcbride

[DrDawkinstein]

3 hours ago, High Football IQ said:

I've been pondering the upcoming schedule a while now...

 

Whichever Mod merged this garbage into my thread is getting 1 official DrDawkinstein Warning Point.

 

@Hapless Bills Fan, @Chandler#81, I got my eye on yous!

Edited October 20, 2020 by DrDawkinstein

[ColoradoBills]

LOL, a couple of weeks ago fans were talking #1 seed for the Bills which was unrealistic.

Now after losing 2 games ( to last years AFCCG teams ) people are saying they won't win 8 games which is equally unrealistic.

 

This was a 10-6 type team going into the season and they still are.

There is a very good chance Beane will have to pursue a player or two at the deadline (Nov 3rd) to make sure they get to at least 10.

 

Let's watch to see what happens.

2 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

Whichever Mod merged this garbage into my thread is getting 1 official DrDawkinstein Warning Point.

 

LOL.  I would be pissed too.

[DrDawkinstein]

53 minutes ago, dave mcbride said:

Good thread that I was just about to start myself before seeing this. Here's my view:

 

3 easy wins: Chargers at home coming off a bye, the Jets, and Miami at home in early January. 

 

1 probable win (but you never know): at Denver. I just don't think they can score. 

 

1 curb stomping: Seattle at home. 

 

1 probable curb stomping although maybe the weather gods intervene enough to make things unpredictable given the game is in mid-December: a Sunday night home game vs. Pitt.

 

That gets the Bills to 8-4. 

 

NEx2: I think they'll probably split. Allen will have a bad game in one of those affairs because the NE secondary is still excellent and Belichick is a better coach. But the Bills are more talented. That gets the Bills to 9-5.

 

Finally, 2 road games vs. AZ and SF. I hope the Bills manage a split here, but I worry that the AZ will put up 40 on them and SF will run the ball down the Bills throat for 40+ minutes. You just hope that Allen has a big enough game in one of these two to get to 10-6, which I think wins the division. 

NE has three losses, and let's assume a 4th loss vs. the Bills. They still have the Niners, the Ravens at home, and the Rams on the road left. The Niners are getting healthy and NE is not going to be healthy this week. It's also a big game for Shanahan/Garrapalo too. They also have to play Miami in Miami, where they always struggle, and TX in TX (Deshaun Watson has shredded them in the past and they're not a good shootout team at this point).  They have the Chargers on the road (a game I think they'll win with ease given BB's historical record against rookie qbs) and the Jets twice, so they're at least going to win 5. That Denver loss at home was HUGE.

 

Yep, I still think we can pull out 10-6, maybe even 11-5 if we get some guys off injury and stay healthy.

 

The division is still ours for the taking, and really ours to lose. Need to get back on track the next two weeks.

[H2o]

2 minutes ago, dave mcbride said:

I think we can, but SF is getting healthy on offense and I think they are a really bad matchup for us. Moreover, the last two times a Shanahan-coordinated offense faced a McDermott D (2016), it was a blowout (48 and 33 points over two games). He's a really great offensive mind. Also, Aiyuk is gonna be good. 

 

I worry that the Bills can't handle mobile QBs anymore, which is my concern with Murray. That's the more winnable of the two, especially with Chandler Jones out for the season. 

Nice nugget there on Shanny facing a McD defense, Dave.  Did not know that. I think both games should be W's at this point. I think the last 2 weeks have been an aberration for the offense. We faced both teams who were in the AFC Championship, one the SB Champs, in back to back confusing weeks of football. From a Tuesday night game where we had been working on two game plans while missing a lot of key players and having some key miscues, followed up by a game against the defending champs on a Monday at 5:00pm coming off of a bad loss. I think the Jets fit right into our schedule at a good time where even if a guy like Milano has to be rested again to be ready for NE, or even Tre and John Brown are out again for that matter, it gives us a chance to get back on track. Health will be key in our run to the division crown, but this isn't 2018 Josh despite what all of the haters popping up out of the woodworks want you to believe. 

[LABILLBACKER]

We'll be 5-2 after this weekend. I still think we need 10 wins to win the afce. Beating Mia. and NE once will be imperative. I think the final 3 wins will have to come from Chargers, Broncos & Cardinals. And those 3 games won't be easy. This has been a season filled with injuries for all teams. Keep Josh healthy and maybe some of our late season opponents lose a qb?

[uticaclub]

2 hours ago, TwistofFate said:

Lol, we aren't getting swept by the Pats, nor are we dropping 3 straight. 

 

We are coming off of two losses against the top two teams in the AFC, including the SB Champions.

 

Im disappointed, but no where near in the panic mode, or the "reality" you are in. 

 

I'll panic if we get beat by Gase and the winless Jets. 

We aren’t getting swept by the Pats? Have you seen any game Bill Belichick has coached or any game Sean McDermott has coached. I thought we wouls have a chance of winning one against them this year if the talent gap was wide enough, but that doesn’t look like the case. There is no way in hell Belichick doesn’t shred what we call a defense

Edited October 20, 2020 by uticaclub

[Bills fan since 87]

15 minutes ago, uticaclub said:

We aren’t getting swept by the Pats? Have you seen any game Bill Belichick has coached or any game Sean McDermott has coached. I thought we wouls have a chance of winning one against them this year if the talent gap was wide enough, but that doesn’t look like the case. There is no way in hell Belichick doesn’t shred what we call a defense

 

Have you seen the Pats this year?

[Nextmanup]

51 minutes ago, ColoradoBills said:

LOL, a couple of weeks ago fans were talking #1 seed for the Bills which was unrealistic.

Now after losing 2 games ( to last years AFCCG teams ) people are saying they won't win 8 games which is equally unrealistic.

 

This was a 10-6 type team going into the season and they still are.

There is a very good chance Beane will have to pursue a player or two at the deadline (Nov 3rd) to make sure they get to at least 10.

 

Let's watch to see what happens.

 

LOL.  I would be pissed too.

I think 9 or 10 wins is where we end up.

 

 

[XXI~PsychedelicBillsfan~]

I can see them finishing 8-8 or 9-7, man. as a long time fan, like many here, we have seen these fast starts before and the end result always seemed to be the same. start hot, finish flat. this team seemed to be different with making the playoffs twice and having finished 10-6 last season and making the postseason, giving hope that they were actually on the rise. looking back, they really did not beat but only one top tier team to reach that 10-6 record, tenn finished 9-7 and made the post season. not a top tier really at the time but a team no doubt on the rise in nashville. the cowboys game, although at the time was a hell of a game, dallas finished at 8-8, missing the postseason. the steelers win came w/o big ben and they too finished, 8-8. so they have yet, going in to this season, found a way to hang with the big dogs. so at this point, they may still be a 9-7 team, or possibly worse with the remainder of the schedule looking to be pretty tough.

 

I want to add, not really giving them excuses but the reality is, this season has been a mess with this pandemic, man. how do you get motivated for a big game, monday night game no less, when the stadium is empty with crappy crowd noise piped in? imagine if you will, the stadium full of 70,000+ fans under the lights on monday night?

 

not that the 12th man necessarily guarantees they play better, but it certainly would give them more motivation then playing in an empty stadium, in the rain, on monday afternoon. it has to be a drag, as a player to play under those conditions it would seem to me, man.

 

 

Edited October 20, 2020 by XXI~PsychedelicBillsfan~

[Chandler#81]

1 hour ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

Whichever Mod merged this garbage into my thread is getting 1 official DrDawkinstein Warning Point.

 

@Hapless Bills Fan, @Chandler#81, I got my eye on yous!

T’wasnt moi, but you Do have a High football IQ..