The Topics We're Talking about Show How Strong the Roster Is

[Shaw66]

Has anyone else noticed how little Bills football actually is being discussed on this forum, several days into the opening of training camp?

 

Look at the topics: financing the stadium, Stidham injury, charges dropped against Kraft, the Patriots QB's, Sunday ticket.   Even the threads actually about players and the team are about roster bubble players, like Kumerow.   There's a little free agent or trade talk - Ertz has been hammered to death, and there was something about Corey Peters.  Why is no one talking about the team, the heart of the team, the challenges the team faces?

 

Why is no one talking about it?   Because there's nothing much to say.   The starters are solid (TE is really the only position where it's possible the Bills won't be solid).  If the Bills have one or two or three young guys unexpectedly pop into the starting lineup, it will mean that a good player got beaten out by a better one.   No one is even talking about the perennially favorite topic - what backup QB can the Bills pick up when final cuts happen?  Got that covered.  Kicker?  Covered.  

 

The only question is whether they, 65 or so players and the coaches, collectively, can make themselves as good as they know they can be.  

 

Bills fans haven't been so calm for training camp since the Super Bowl years.  It's a strange feeling. 

[Jauronimo]

3 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

Has anyone else noticed how little Bills football actually is being discussed on this forum, several days into the opening of training camp?

 

Look at the topics: financing the stadium, Stidham injury, charges dropped against Kraft, the Patriots QB's, Sunday ticket.   Even the threads actually about players and the team are about roster bubble players, like Kumerow.   There's a little free agent or trade talk - Ertz has been hammered to death, and there was something about Corey Peters.  Why is no one talking about the team, the heart of the team, the challenges the team faces?

 

Why is no one talking about it?   Because there's nothing much to say.   The starters are solid (TE is really the only position where it's possible the Bills won't be solid).  If the Bills have one or two or three young guys unexpectedly pop into the starting lineup, it will mean that a good player got beaten out by a better one.   No one is even talking about the perennially favorite topic - what backup QB can the Bills pick up when final cuts happen?  Got that covered.  Kicker?  Covered.  

 

The only question is whether they, 65 or so players and the coaches, collectively, can make themselves as good as they know they can be.  

 

Bills fans haven't been so calm for training camp since the Super Bowl years.  It's a strange feeling. 

Makes me kind of miss the days where we'd be getting fired up because our QB was completing passes OVER THE MIDDLE.  Or the great debates about Da'Rick vs. Hogan.  

[White Linen]

This is what it feels like to finally find your QB.  

[SCBills]

I largely agree, but would counter with the “high end talent” vs “deep roster” argument.  
 

To me, that is the only real debate.  Do we have enough difference makers to beat the Chiefs?    
 

Certainly there’s a bunch of guys who could join the ranks of Allen, Diggs and White on this team. 

 

We won’t know that until the season starts to play out though. 
 

[Captain_Quint]

It's definately a different feel than the last 25 years. The team seems completely centered and focused, and the big stage doesn't seem too big for them this year. Maybe it's the cynic in me, but I still feel like there will be hurdles that we aren't seeing yet. But it also seems like whatever gets thrown our way, we have a good shot at getting past it. 

[H2o]

Yeah, so much for the days hoping guys like Keith Ellison and CJ Ah You pan out. 

[ColoradoBills]

1 minute ago, SCBills said:

I largely agree, but would counter with the “high end talent” vs “deep roster” argument.  
 

To me, that is the only real debate.  Do we have enough difference makers to beat the Chiefs?    
 

Certainly there’s a bunch of guys who could join the ranks of Allen, Diggs and White on this team. 

 

We won’t know that until the season starts to play out though. 
 

 

It is a good question and the way I see it the 90 or so guys competing is what Beane is bringing in.

He is pretty smart and paid to worry about it.  I'm going to wait until cutdown to see the team they assembled.

[eball]

38 minutes ago, Jauronimo said:

Makes me kind of miss the days where we'd be getting fired up because our QB was completing passes OVER THE MIDDLE.  Or the great debates about Da'Rick vs. Hogan.  

 

Miss them?  Nah.  I sure enjoy laughing about them now though.

[Allen2D̶i̶g̶g̶s̶TBD]

I remember in the dark ages following training camp hoping that guys like Gibran Hamdan or Matt Flynn would magically develop into star quarterbacks. Having a franchise quarterback masks many other weaknesses and attracts better free agents. We no longer have glaring holes in the roster, just a lack of stars at certain positions.

Edited August 2, 2021 by Allen2Diggs

[Rc2catch]

All I can say is we are gonna have a blast fighting over which defensive ends make the team. Gotta be the funnest battle on the team and sooooo much talent 

[Dablitzkrieg]

As previously stated, this is because we have Allen and how good he is

Edited August 2, 2021 by Dablitzkrieg

[delirious]

I agree. I'd like to also say the lack of media coverage due to team restrictions is a big contributor.  There's no fan notes like from Astro or Cover1. Media access is limited and so is what they can report on. 

 

Ive been very frustrated with Bills limiting media access. Last year I understood because there was no preseason and covid, but now it just seems over the top hyperfocus on getting any competitive advantage possible. 

 

Oh well

Edited August 2, 2021 by delirious

[LeGOATski]

Yeah....it's boring. You really have to get interested in the 2nd and 3rd string battles at this point.

[Saxum]

I special teams are the biggest place we will see action where one player will bump out another player.

[NickelCity]

Excited for the pads to come on, at least!

[TroutDog]

I really appreciated this article from Sal today:

 

https://www.audacy.com/wgr550/sports/bills/capaccio-one-thought-on-every-position

 

He writes about Knox being improved and Breda looking good in camp thus far. Also touches on the D, both line and backers…well, he touches on every position but those were the ones that intrigued me. 

Edited August 3, 2021 by TroutDog

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

2 hours ago, H2o said:

Yeah, so much for the days hoping guys like Keith Ellison and CJ Ah You pan out. 

don’t forget Leif Larson! 

[fergie's ire]

The pre-season discussion used to be about what marginal talent would make the team (like those listed above), but now it is about what quality players aren't going to make it.

[Ethan in Cleveland]

If you have the QB then you can win.  Allen's development covers up some holes. This is not a critique of Beane or McD and please don't take it negatively. Every team has question marks somewhere and the Bills do as well. 

The Bills interior o-line is at best a work in progress and is one concussion away from a disaster. Edmunds could be a top 5 LB or out of a job by season end.  As you said TE is a concern though I am still a big fan of Knox. CB#2 is a nice position battle. There is no star at RB but there should be enough talent at RB to have a bit more balance this year.. Kicker looks good but still only a year sample size. 

 

So I agree with the OP. The roster us solid which makes for some nice threads for some of the roster spots.

 

[Eastport bills]

Naturally the challenges we face won't even be recognized until after the 2nd preseason game and even then optimism reigns supreme. This team will be among the top 4 or 5 teams in football, but getting further than last year will require big time improvement from RBs, TEs, and D-line. Assuming the LBs are improving every year, this could make our defense better and the rookie edge guys with an Epenesa on the upswing will also help. The Bills will not sneak up on any team and we will have to come out of the gates firing. When Josh is your QB and the receiving corp is stacked, scoring shouldn't be a problem.