Not Sure We Will Repeat as AFCE Champs

[BringBackFlutie]

29 minutes ago, transplantbillsfan said:

Stood still at best and probably stepped back????

 

Allen's a year older with a year's more experience.

 

Allen and Diggs will have a full off-season to further build their chemistry.

 

We didn't lose ANY starters really other than John Brown who many would say we upgraded from with Sanders.

 

Mongo and Ford manning G in an OL now essentially together for 3 years... and continuity is a critical component to good OL play.

 

Everyone is back on D. 

 

Continuity of system and coaches.

 

Plus Beane has proven to be a good drafter so we'll get 1 or 2 impact players in the draft.

 

You're nuts if you think we stepped back.

This. 

 

Fact is, it's nearly impossible to keep a great young team together in the NFL.  Those who do, are already ahead. 

[PrimeTime101]

 

[Nelius]

Honestly outside of Josh the AFC East might be in the running for the worst division of QBs. You know Fitz is going to elevate WFT and the NFC East no longer looks like the NFL's worst group in comparison. Darnold, Tua, and Cam are a pretty lame bunch, I think we've got it pretty nice.

Edited March 24, 2021 by Nelius

[DrPJax]

12 hours ago, Mat68 said:

Who has the best coaching staff and Qb...  thats your division winners.  Tua no shot.  Darnold no shot.  Cam no shot. 

Just an interesting thought; was watching Chris Sims regarding his qb draft evaluations and he put Zack Wilson above Trevor, and said he was on a tier by himself. Said he is a superstar who places the ball where it should be consistently with about the same arm velocity as Josh ( close w Josh still slightly better). Sims said he can make all same throws as mahomes , off platform, sidearm, overhead, etc , but unlike Trevor who “ can be all over the place at times, with some balls coming out funny ,and needs some mechanical tweaks” ,Wilson is “ a throwing machine” and Sims had nothing but effusive praise for him. Remember, Cris has always been a Josh backer , and I think he was one of very few who had Josh as the best Qb in that draft. Guy does his work, film study, and said he would take Wilson before lawerence easily. He stated if the Jags stick with Trevor , the Jets will run to the podium and take Wilson.  Jets will PROBABLY still take Trevor if Wilson goes to the jags first , but he wasn’t as certain as he was about them doing that as he was them taking Wilson. 
 

So with a new staff, possibly the best qb in the draft who Sims sees like Rodgers, Mahomes, there may not be a huge gap between the Bills and jests about play, esp as time goes on. So that leaves Darnold going elsewhere , and who knows, maybe with all the draft capital the pats have, it might be a place for Darnold to actually compete for a starting job. Hopefully, the Jets wouldn’t trade within the division, but if the price is right, who knows?  Sims does feel like the pats will take a qb at some point and he mentioned the BAMA qb as a great fit for someone like the Pats ( btw he had that qb as his 3 rd best , Fields was 5 th , and I forget who had had 4 th). Sims just did his qb draft review last week on YouTube so it’s current. 
 

I disagree with the OP s point that the Bills stood still. We signed quality guys, they were just our own and we improved at th #2 wr with Sanders over Brown, and I like Hollister who replaces lee smith and this guy is quick and has prior chemistry with Josh. We can improve the run game thru the draft ( kiper has us on Harris at 30) , and there will be lots of unexpected releases after the draft that may allow us some improvement in our pass rush , or even a better option at cb2.   I think we will repeat but I think the pats will be right there , and it’s not 100% Cam will be the Qb.  I think Darnold would flourish in that system, so let’s see what happens. If Wilson is the pending superstar Sims thinks he is, and the Jets land him,,,,things in the East will be a tight race. 

[mannc]

The Dolphins are the biggest threat this year.  They were 10-6 last year, Flores can coach, and they have a ton of high draft picks again this year (thanks O’Brien). On the other hand, they are apparently going to roll with Tua, and Josh has their number.

Patriots are apparently going to try to be a ground and pound team this year, and it’s going to be awful to watch.

 

Jets will win a lot more games this year, but they are a year or so away from being a real threat.  If they draft Wilson and he is as advertised, they could be the long-term problem in the AFCE.

Edited March 24, 2021 by mannc

[The Senator]

 .

We will win it all.  We are better.

[Nihilarian]

I get the optimism for the Buffalo Bills in 2021.

 

Josh Allen took an huge leap in being in the running for MVP conversation. The Bills had for the first time in franchise history the leagues leading receiver. The 2020 Buffalo Bills were 13-3 and if not for a miracle Hail-Mary play by the Arizona Cardinals with 11 seconds left, the Bills go 14-2. The #2 overall offense in the NFL in 2020.

 

There were only four other NFL teams with a better point differential @126, Ravens 165, Packers 140, Saints 145, Bucs 137. 

 

Yes, Buffalo has the better QB in the division for 100% certainty! Even the backup in Trubisky looks to be better than Newton, Tua or Darnold. That is "IF" all those QB's remain the starters. 

 

The NY Jets with the #2 overall pick could get Justin Fields or Zach Wilson.

 

The Dolphins, if not entirely sold on Tua have the 3rd overall pick have choices of who is still on the board at QB. Zach Wilson-Justin Fields-Trey Lance-Mac Jones. 

 

The Patriots will also be able to pick up one of those QB's mentioned,  especially if they trade up for one. 

 

What Bills fans fail to realize is that last year no NFL team had a productive preseason or training camp to be able to get new players up to speed.

 

Dolphins QB Tua was a rookie... who had no training camp, no preseason and was thrown into the fire midway thru the season. Still. he went 6-3 with the 10-6 Dolphins. The Phins also fielded a top 10 defense.  

 

The Dolphins have two first rounders, two second rounders and one third in this years draft.

Face reality, they should be improved. 

 

The NY Jets finally fired "crazy eyes" Gase and hired ex 49er DC Robert Saleh who should be an improvement. He also brought with him OC Mike LaFleur. The Jets also have four picks in the first three rounds and two firsts. They improved in free agency. Carl Lawson, Cory Davis. They should be better than 2-14 even with a rookie QB. 

 

 

Yes, Cam Newton looked horrid for the Patriots in 2020. Still, as bad as he was, if not for a last min fumble by Newton perhaps the Bills lose that game. 

This year he will get a full offseason with the team, training camp, preseason. I kinda doubt he will remain the starting QB all season as the Patriots could add a QB in the draft. Mac Jones?

 

In 2019 the Patriots fielded the #1 defense in the league and in 2020, 8 players opted to sit out the season. NE finished 7-9 and fielded the #7 defense in points allowed. No question in my view that they will field a formidable defense in 2021. They get Hightower back this season and signed Ravens LB Matt Judon. 

 

Let's not forget, that as much as we hate Bill Belichick, he is a master at setting up a defense and figuring out how to beat/shut down an offense. 

 

2021 Not gonna be a cakewalk like so many think it might be. The AFC East should be a much improved division.

 

The Buffalo Bills still need to figure out how to beat the Kansas City Chiefs! Who they play in 2021, along with the Bucs!

 

 

 

 

[RyanC883]

19 hours ago, junior12thman92 said:

• Haack is better at pinning the ball than Bojo is. Bojo has a stronger leg. 
• Roberts is a big loss in the return game - hopefully McKenzie can fill in nicely.
• Hollister > Smith, Kroft.
• Sanders is as good, if not better than Brown

 

Given all that (and the fact that we're going to add in the draft), I don't think we took a step back. When it comes to NE, MIA, and NYJ, everyone knew they would improve considering they were all in the top 5 in cap space. 

 

great points.  we didn’t go back.  we didn’t improve as much as some were hoping (impact edge or OG or RB) but we can fill some of those holes in the draft.  I don’t think the other teams did enough to close the gap, but they clearly came closer.  

5 hours ago, DrPJax said:

Just an interesting thought; was watching Chris Sims regarding his qb draft evaluations and he put Zack Wilson above Trevor, and said he was on a tier by himself. Said he is a superstar who places the ball where it should be consistently with about the same arm velocity as Josh ( close w Josh still slightly better). Sims said he can make all same throws as mahomes , off platform, sidearm, overhead, etc , but unlike Trevor who “ can be all over the place at times, with some balls coming out funny ,and needs some mechanical tweaks” ,Wilson is “ a throwing machine” and Sims had nothing but effusive praise for him. Remember, Cris has always been a Josh backer , and I think he was one of very few who had Josh as the best Qb in that draft. Guy does his work, film study, and said he would take Wilson before lawerence easily. He stated if the Jags stick with Trevor , the Jets will run to the podium and take Wilson.  Jets will PROBABLY still take Trevor if Wilson goes to the jags first , but he wasn’t as certain as he was about them doing that as he was them taking Wilson. 
 

So with a new staff, possibly the best qb in the draft who Sims sees like Rodgers, Mahomes, there may not be a huge gap between the Bills and jests about play, esp as time goes on. So that leaves Darnold going elsewhere , and who knows, maybe with all the draft capital the pats have, it might be a place for Darnold to actually compete for a starting job. Hopefully, the Jets wouldn’t trade within the division, but if the price is right, who knows?  Sims does feel like the pats will take a qb at some point and he mentioned the BAMA qb as a great fit for someone like the Pats ( btw he had that qb as his 3 rd best , Fields was 5 th , and I forget who had had 4 th). Sims just did his qb draft review last week on YouTube so it’s current. 
 

I disagree with the OP s point that the Bills stood still. We signed quality guys, they were just our own and we improved at th #2 wr with Sanders over Brown, and I like Hollister who replaces lee smith and this guy is quick and has prior chemistry with Josh. We can improve the run game thru the draft ( kiper has us on Harris at 30) , and there will be lots of unexpected releases after the draft that may allow us some improvement in our pass rush , or even a better option at cb2.   I think we will repeat but I think the pats will be right there , and it’s not 100% Cam will be the Qb.  I think Darnold would flourish in that system, so let’s see what happens. If Wilson is the pending superstar Sims thinks he is, and the Jets land him,,,,things in the East will be a tight race. 

 

i think Simms is wrong.  

[Big Turk]

Of course there are no guarantees but if Allen and Diggs remain healthy for most of the year the Bills win the division by multiple games. Let's be real OP...without an elite level QB the other teams have pretty close to 0 chance regardless of what else they have or haven't upgraded. The Patriots spent a lot of money on a lot of relatively marginal players. 

[Figster]

5 hours ago, Big Turk said:

Of course there are no guarantees but if Allen and Diggs remain healthy for most of the year the Bills win the division by multiple games. Let's be real OP...without an elite level QB the other teams have pretty close to 0 chance regardless of what else they have or haven't upgraded. The Patriots spent a lot of money on a lot of relatively marginal players. 

I feel like the biggest question mark for Buffalo repeating as AFC East champs is how well Buffalo would do in the event of an injury to Josh Allen. Trubisky solved that problem IMO.  

 

Of course anything can happen...

9 hours ago, The Senator said:

 .

We will win it all.  We are better.

I like the way you think Senator,

 

and this is before the draft...

[Boxcar]

I'm not sure either. I'm not sure if we can maintain health, I'm not sure if JA will repeat his amazing season, I'm not sure the players we need to step up actually do. That's why we watch the games and cheer as fans. You can't be sure about anything.

[Mat68]

11 hours ago, DrPJax said:

Just an interesting thought; was watching Chris Sims regarding his qb draft evaluations and he put Zack Wilson above Trevor, and said he was on a tier by himself. Said he is a superstar who places the ball where it should be consistently with about the same arm velocity as Josh ( close w Josh still slightly better). Sims said he can make all same throws as mahomes , off platform, sidearm, overhead, etc , but unlike Trevor who “ can be all over the place at times, with some balls coming out funny ,and needs some mechanical tweaks” ,Wilson is “ a throwing machine” and Sims had nothing but effusive praise for him. Remember, Cris has always been a Josh backer , and I think he was one of very few who had Josh as the best Qb in that draft. Guy does his work, film study, and said he would take Wilson before lawerence easily. He stated if the Jags stick with Trevor , the Jets will run to the podium and take Wilson.  Jets will PROBABLY still take Trevor if Wilson goes to the jags first , but he wasn’t as certain as he was about them doing that as he was them taking Wilson. 
 

So with a new staff, possibly the best qb in the draft who Sims sees like Rodgers, Mahomes, there may not be a huge gap between the Bills and jests about play, esp as time goes on. So that leaves Darnold going elsewhere , and who knows, maybe with all the draft capital the pats have, it might be a place for Darnold to actually compete for a starting job. Hopefully, the Jets wouldn’t trade within the division, but if the price is right, who knows?  Sims does feel like the pats will take a qb at some point and he mentioned the BAMA qb as a great fit for someone like the Pats ( btw he had that qb as his 3 rd best , Fields was 5 th , and I forget who had had 4 th). Sims just did his qb draft review last week on YouTube so it’s current. 
 

I disagree with the OP s point that the Bills stood still. We signed quality guys, they were just our own and we improved at th #2 wr with Sanders over Brown, and I like Hollister who replaces lee smith and this guy is quick and has prior chemistry with Josh. We can improve the run game thru the draft ( kiper has us on Harris at 30) , and there will be lots of unexpected releases after the draft that may allow us some improvement in our pass rush , or even a better option at cb2.   I think we will repeat but I think the pats will be right there , and it’s not 100% Cam will be the Qb.  I think Darnold would flourish in that system, so let’s see what happens. If Wilson is the pending superstar Sims thinks he is, and the Jets land him,,,,things in the East will be a tight race. 

Lets see what the Jets do.  Because, a Qb is available in the draft im inclined not believe they make the right decision.

[mannc]

11 hours ago, DrPJax said:

Just an interesting thought; was watching Chris Sims regarding his qb draft evaluations and he put Zack Wilson above Trevor, and said he was on a tier by himself. Said he is a superstar who places the ball where it should be consistently with about the same arm velocity as Josh ( close w Josh still slightly better). Sims said he can make all same throws as mahomes , off platform, sidearm, overhead, etc , but unlike Trevor who “ can be all over the place at times, with some balls coming out funny ,and needs some mechanical tweaks” ,Wilson is “ a throwing machine” and Sims had nothing but effusive praise for him. Remember, Cris has always been a Josh backer , and I think he was one of very few who had Josh as the best Qb in that draft. Guy does his work, film study, and said he would take Wilson before lawerence easily. He stated if the Jags stick with Trevor , the Jets will run to the podium and take Wilson.  Jets will PROBABLY still take Trevor if Wilson goes to the jags first , but he wasn’t as certain as he was about them doing that as he was them taking Wilson. 
 

So with a new staff, possibly the best qb in the draft who Sims sees like Rodgers, Mahomes, there may not be a huge gap between the Bills and jests about play, esp as time goes on. So that leaves Darnold going elsewhere , and who knows, maybe with all the draft capital the pats have, it might be a place for Darnold to actually compete for a starting job. Hopefully, the Jets wouldn’t trade within the division, but if the price is right, who knows?  Sims does feel like the pats will take a qb at some point and he mentioned the BAMA qb as a great fit for someone like the Pats ( btw he had that qb as his 3 rd best , Fields was 5 th , and I forget who had had 4 th). Sims just did his qb draft review last week on YouTube so it’s current. 
 

I disagree with the OP s point that the Bills stood still. We signed quality guys, they were just our own and we improved at th #2 wr with Sanders over Brown, and I like Hollister who replaces lee smith and this guy is quick and has prior chemistry with Josh. We can improve the run game thru the draft ( kiper has us on Harris at 30) , and there will be lots of unexpected releases after the draft that may allow us some improvement in our pass rush , or even a better option at cb2.   I think we will repeat but I think the pats will be right there , and it’s not 100% Cam will be the Qb.  I think Darnold would flourish in that system, so let’s see what happens. If Wilson is the pending superstar Sims thinks he is, and the Jets land him,,,,things in the East will be a tight race. 

Simms, not Sims.

[Success]

That Pats made some decent moves - but really, if you look at it, they only significantly improved at the TE position. And they had a BAD team last year; not even average.

 

I saw some graphic that showed the last 7 or 8 teams that "won" the offseason by having the biggest spending spree.  Most missed the playoffs, and the remaining 2 lost in the WC round. It's actually kind of funny that for the 1st time in 2 decades, the Pats HAD to be one of those teams.

 

I'm more worried about the Phins, but they're not really ready to challenge for the division.  They'd need some breaks.

 

 

[Perry Turtle]

21 minutes ago, Figster said:

I feel like the biggest question mark for Buffalo repeating as AFC East champs is how well Buffalo would do in the event of an injury to Josh Allen. Trubisky solved that problem IMO.  

 

Of course anything can happen...

I like the way you think Senator,

 

and this is before the draft...

Health is the key to the Bills repeating.  If healthy, though, the Dolphins have to prove that they can stop Allen, because he's owned them the last two seasons.

 

[Figster]

5 minutes ago, Perry Turtle said:

Health is the key to the Bills repeating.  If healthy, though, the Dolphins have to prove that they can stop Allen, because he's owned them the last two seasons.

 

Allen is only going to get better IMO.  : )

[hondo in seattle]

18 hours ago, thurst44 said:

There's a very good chance that our defense last year was a fluke--that we were hit harder by the inability to play together. Star will likely help, but we also have a bunch of players on the ascent, and will likely not have two star linebackers playing with one arm most of the season. In any case, I suspect we'll be closer to the 3rd of 2017 and 2018 than the 16th of 2019, and have many reasons to feel that way.

 

Yeah, this is something I think about.   I'm believe maybe things went down like this in 2020...

 

The lack of preseason/offseason preparation hurt NFL defenses more than offenses.  But not all defenses were hurt equally.  The NFL became somewhat like sandlot football.  The team with the best athletes - not the best playbook or the best discipline - won.  

 

in 2017 and 2018, the things that made our defense exceptional were teamwork and execution.  Without a full training camp, both of those took a big hit.   The Bills D was hurt more by the training camp restrictions than other Ds.  

 

If this theory is right, our 2021 defense should more resemble the 2017 and 2018 editions as you say.  With a better offseason, McD and Frasier should hopefully get teamwork and execution up to their prior levels.  

 

I'm not entirely pessimistic.  "Conflicted" would be the right word.  I see reasons for hope as well as reasons for concern.   

[mjt328]

The Dolphins were the only real threat last year.  And they lost their (true) starting QB to free agency.

They have a legitimately good roster overall - especially on defense, but I don't see any reason for Miami fans to be optimistic about Tua at this point.  He was below average as a rookie, and didn't seem to get better as the season progressed.  Without the luxury of Ryan Fitzpatrick come in to save the day, it's unlikely they would have won 10 games.  With their playoff hopes on the line and them forced to play Tua the whole 4 quarters, our backups beat them 56-26.

 

Fears about the Patriots are more related to PTSD (from two decades of abuse) than a legitimate concern about their roster.

Yes, they added a ton of guys in free agency.  And yes, they are getting some defensive starters back from opting out.  But for every decent signing (Matthew Judon, Jonnu Smith, Hunter Henry), they also added a guys who I can't see making much impact (Jalen Mills, Kendrick Bourne, Nelson Agholor).

Consider they finished SIX games behind Buffalo in the standings last year (we only finished two games behind them in 2019).  That accounts for over 37% of the season.  That's a tough number to catch.

 

The Jets were probably the NFL's worst team last year, so they are at least 2-3 seasons away from making any noise in the division.  It's hard not to picture them being better than 2020.  But barring them adding Deshaun Watson, this is clearly the start of another rebuild.

 

Edited March 24, 2021 by mjt328

[Figster]

13 minutes ago, mjt328 said:

The Dolphins were the only real threat last year.  And they lost their (true) starting QB to free agency.

They have a legitimately good roster overall - especially on defense, but I don't see any reason for Miami fans to be optimistic about Tua at this point.  He was below average as a rookie, and didn't seem to get better as the season progressed.  Without the luxury of Ryan Fitzpatrick come in to save the day, it's unlikely they would have won 10 games.  With their playoff hopes on the line and them forced to play Tua the whole 4 quarters, our backups beat them 56-26.

 

Fears about the Patriots are more related to PTSD (from two decades of abuse) than a legitimate concern about their roster.

Yes, they added a ton of guys in free agency.  And yes, they are getting some defensive starters back from opting out.  But for every decent signing (Matthew Judon, Jonnu Smith, Hunter Henry), they also added a guys who I can't see making much impact (Jalen Mills, Kendrick Bourne, Nelson Agholor).

Consider they finished SIX games behind Buffalo in the standings last year (we only finished two games behind them in 2019).  That accounts for over 37% of the season.  That's a tough number to catch.

 

The Jets were probably the NFL's worst team last year, so they are at least 2-3 seasons away from making any noise in the division.  It's hard not to picture them being better than 2020.  But barring them adding Deshaun Watson, this is clearly the start of another rebuild.

 

 Depends on the Tua we see. Is he able to adjust from the hip surgery. Or is the natural pin point accuracy gone forever.

 

I think this season makes or breaks Tua as a bonafide starter in the NFL IMO. 

Edited March 24, 2021 by Figster

[Srw1525]

Bills didn’t get worse at all! They retained their own and signed key pieces for rotation and backups. They will be right back at it again next season!