Overreaction.com

[TC in St. Louis]

Based on last Sunday's sad performance vs. the Bengals, plenty of people are ready to write off this team as a contender.  Including me.  We've been spoiled by all the winning.  Our expectations are justifiably high for this group.  For our guys to play such an apparently passionless game hurt us.  We probably feel we have more passion than the team showed last week.  

 

Right after we lost, I put something on Facebook saying "No excuses. Cinci outplayed my team and deserved the win. We went 14-4 and I think maybe we ran out of gas."  This was before I read that several people said we "ran out of gas."  That's what it looked like to me.  Since the players stood on the field and watched Damar nearly die right in front of them; some of them openly weeping, most of them just stunned, they have not been the same.  They did not play very well in victories against the Pats and the Fins.  Yet, they won.  Pretty resilient.  

 

But you could tell their hearts weren't yet healed.  Our team normally would've trounced both those teams.  

 

I cannot blame them for a "half-hearted" effort....that's probably all they had left.  But that wasn't enough to beat a really good team.  This isn't an excuse; it's a reality.  These are human beings who suffered through many crazy situations.  Hell, Thurman's mom died the night before the game.  Even that may have cast a pall on the organization.  Murph had a stroke.  This was a heart-damaging year for the boys. 

 

I think that the time off will help them heal.  

 

I refuse to consider that this team is in trouble.  I think they'll be back, stronger than ever, and they will return to form.  

 

[BuffaloBillsGospel2014]

47 minutes ago, TC in St. Louis said:

Based on last Sunday's sad performance vs. the Bengals, plenty of people are ready to write off this team as a contender.  Including me.  We've been spoiled by all the winning.  Our expectations are justifiably high for this group.  For our guys to play such an apparently passionless game hurt us.  We probably feel we have more passion than the team showed last week.  

 

Right after we lost, I put something on Facebook saying "No excuses. Cinci outplayed my team and deserved the win. We went 14-4 and I think maybe we ran out of gas."  This was before I read that several people said we "ran out of gas."  That's what it looked like to me.  Since the players stood on the field and watched Damar nearly die right in front of them; some of them openly weeping, most of them just stunned, they have not been the same.  They did not play very well in victories against the Pats and the Fins.  Yet, they won.  Pretty resilient.  

 

But you could tell their hearts weren't yet healed.  Our team normally would've trounced both those teams.  

 

I cannot blame them for a "half-hearted" effort....that's probably all they had left.  But that wasn't enough to beat a really good team.  This isn't an excuse; it's a reality.  These are human beings who suffered through many crazy situations.  Hell, Thurman's mom died the night before the game.  Even that may have cast a pall on the organization.  Murph had a stroke.  This was a heart-damaging year for the boys. 

 

I think that the time off will help them heal.  

 

I refuse to consider that this team is in trouble.  I think they'll be back, stronger than ever, and they will return to form.  

 

 

I don't know about this, they did have a bunch of things happen throughout the season, all terrible but they could have let up in the NE game or Miami in the playoffs. We got dominated in the trenches on both sides of the ball, clear as day....Dominated! And when Josh Allen couldn't get it done we had no chance, I just heard that our best DL for the season was 43rd in the NFL in win rate since Von Miller wen down. So now we only have 1 guy on offense doing everything and 1 guy on defense doing everything and when they don't do everything we have a game like we saw against the Bengals. I can't get the 3 man rush the Bengals had on a play and hurried Josh Allen with a 3 man rush. We have 2-1st round and 2-2nd round DL and our best player is 43rd in win rate. We have alot of work to do in the offseason that's for sure.

[Fetou]

I don't think it's anything other than talent in the trenches and at skill positions. We aren't competitive with the top of the league in either. Josh could probably overcome the deficit at the skill positions with a clean pocket, but we aren't going anywhere with these lines regardless of anything else. 

 

At some point, drafting a star QB is going to be too far in the rear view mirror to keep justifying the glaring problems with the roster construction. Beane should be on the hot seat right now, let alone McDermott

Edited January 27, 2023 by Fetou

[Beast]

They were having issues beating teams in general before Hamlin went down. After Hamlin, yeah, I believe they lost some passion which is understandable.

[ngbills]

It’s writing them off as Super Bowl favorite which they were most of the season. They clearly have a lot of work to do. 

[US Egg]

The finishing touch of the Bills roller coaster season was a putrid playoff performance the NFL world witnessed.

That it was the ‘22 SB finalist made the beat down more glaring because the Bengals were considered an equal.

The Bills are a very good team, the Bengals are better. Lots of teams got their work cut out to tame those Tigers.

[PrimeTime101]

1 hour ago, TC in St. Louis said:

Based on last Sunday's sad performance vs. the Bengals, plenty of people are ready to write off this team as a contender.  Including me.  We've been spoiled by all the winning.  Our expectations are justifiably high for this group.  For our guys to play such an apparently passionless game hurt us.  We probably feel we have more passion than the team showed last week.  

 

Right after we lost, I put something on Facebook saying "No excuses. Cinci outplayed my team and deserved the win. We went 14-4 and I think maybe we ran out of gas."  This was before I read that several people said we "ran out of gas."  That's what it looked like to me.  Since the players stood on the field and watched Damar nearly die right in front of them; some of them openly weeping, most of them just stunned, they have not been the same.  They did not play very well in victories against the Pats and the Fins.  Yet, they won.  Pretty resilient.  

 

But you could tell their hearts weren't yet healed.  Our team normally would've trounced both those teams.  

 

I cannot blame them for a "half-hearted" effort....that's probably all they had left.  But that wasn't enough to beat a really good team.  This isn't an excuse; it's a reality.  These are human beings who suffered through many crazy situations.  Hell, Thurman's mom died the night before the game.  Even that may have cast a pall on the organization.  Murph had a stroke.  This was a heart-damaging year for the boys. 

 

I think that the time off will help them heal.  

 

I refuse to consider that this team is in trouble.  I think they'll be back, stronger than ever, and they will return to form.  

 

there's another topic on this exact same topic.. I agree to a point... But it's the coach's job to keep the players' minds in the RIGHT PLACE... and if that is why they failed then the STAFF FAILED

[Mango]

I am less concerned with the X's and O's of it all at the moment. The team was 13-3, a tough record to make major changes at coordinator or FO. 

But I am concerned that this roster is at a tipping point with the staff and if we don't make a change McD could lose the team. At which point you have to start the whole thing over. 

 

Most of it stems from Diggs. He isn't just a guy reacting on his own. By his own announcement and by vote of his peers, he is a captain and leader on the team. The fact that he caused a scene publicly, left the facility, and doubled down on his actions via twitter are a big deal. Because he is a leader, the more malcontent he becomes, and the more struggle this team has, the more that will fall in line behind him. 

I really wish he cam back to the facility to meet with the media and team on locker clean out day. 

[BarleyNY]

59 minutes ago, BuffaloBillsGospel2014 said:

 

I don't know about this, they did have a bunch of things happen throughout the season, all terrible but they could have let up in the NE game or Miami in the playoffs. We got dominated in the trenches on both sides of the ball, clear as day....Dominated! And when Josh Allen couldn't get it done we had no chance, I just heard that our best DL for the season was 43rd in the NFL in win rate since Von Miller wen down. So now we only have 1 guy on offense doing everything and 1 guy on defense doing everything and when they don't do everything we have a game like we saw against the Bengals. I can't get the 3 man rush the Bengals had on a play and hurried Josh Allen with a 3 man rush. We have 2-1st round and 2-2nd round DL and our best player is 43rd in win rate. We have alot of work to do in the offseason that's for sure.

I’m with you. I watched the All 22 and we seemed to be in it mentally and physically until the Bengals scored the TD at the very end of the 3rd quarter. We were down 24-10 at that point. Even then, it wasn’t an immediate collapse. We had the long FG drive. The collision between White and Poyer along with the Bengals FG seemed to do it though. It was over, but that looked to be more a function of the game, not the season. 

[UKBillFan]

56 minutes ago, Beast said:

They were having issues beating teams in general before Hamlin went down. After Hamlin, yeah, I believe they lost some passion which is understandable.

 

This. The Bills looked out of sorts since the bye. Hamlin alone is just an excuse but I can accept the argument that he was the final straw after a season of setbacks. But if Hamlin hadn't collapsed, I think the Bills would have lost to the Bengals in the regular season and possibly to the Ravens in the wildcard round.

[John from Riverside]

I think they had a bad day
 

But it also brought to boil some weaknesses that we knew that were there

[Billz4ever]

Disagree.  If you can't get up for a game 2 removed from the Super Bowl, then you're just there collecting a paycheck.

 

They "ran out of gas" because Cincy marched right down the field on their first 2 drives and scored a TD, while we went 3 and out on our first two.  That let all the wind out of their sails.

 

It was clearly evident from the first play, Frazier changed nothing from the Monday night game that started the same way.

 

Cincy decided they were going to take Diggs out of the game and make someone else beat us, and combined with the pressure they were able to get on Josh with a 4 and even a 3-man rush, it was clear pretty quickly we weren't winning that game.

 

Without improvements to the O-Line, giving Josh a true WR2, and getting more physical up front on the D-Line, this team is in trouble.

Edited January 27, 2023 by Billz4ever

[Bills Fan in MD]

I'm not willing to write them off as a contender, but it was a terrible and revealing loss that makes clear that they're also not as close as I thought they were.

 

The offensive line is comically bad and  needs some upgrades (and potential reshuffling).  They also need a competent #2 WR to take the pressure off Josh and Steph.  I don't think any of that is debatable.

 

The defense also has issues, but they may not be as urgent if Miller, Hyde, and Jones come back strong and if Tre continues to recover from his ACL issues. That said, there's still work to be done and they need to rethink their schemes, especially against top tier QBs and WRs.

 

I haven't written them off in the slightest, but they can't just stand pat this off-season.

Edited January 27, 2023 by Bills Fan in MD

[Riverboat Ritchie]

At a crossroads roster, draft, and cap wise.  Listening to radio and hearing about other teams out there stockpile draft picks and money makes me very nervous over next few years. If we can resign Edmonds, shore up line some and strike a legit 2 WR we have a shot but if we take a step back, I don’t think we can recover for 2-3 years. Next year schedule looks awful too. Go Bills. 

[Don Otreply]

Is it overreacting when in the post season the defense/ DC fails yet again? Is it overreacting when the offense / OC fails to have a game plan that even had a chance to work? Is it overreacting when neither makes adjustments in game that have any effect on the outcome? 
 
Imo we have a good team, but we have evidently stalled in our progress to beat the real contenders in the post season, and that is not debatable.
 

 The  question going forward is, will BB & SM learn from there lack of success, and make the correct changes, or will they continue down the same path? 

[K D]

Bills were defeated before they ever stepped on the field. They gave them the gameplan for defense and after what they did to them in week 17 they were like uhhh so we are doing the same exact thing? The same thing that got us beat by the Chiefs with 13 seconds left? They lacked confidence and it showed. That's on the coaches to get them ready to play

[msw2112]

I (respectfully) disagree with the premise of the OP.  I don't think the Bills played uninspired, passionless football or that they were out of gas.  I think that the Bengals were the better team.  They had better gameplans on both sides of the ball that played to their strenghts and the Bills' weaknesses.  The Bills seemed to just do what they always do, and didn't tailor the gameplan to the Bengals' weaknesses.  Or perhaps, the Bengals were so strong that the Bills staff were not able to find any weaknesses to exploit....In any case, doing what they always do is good enough to beat the Jets, Patriots, Browns, Lions, and Dolphins (although not by large margins), but is not good enough to beat a team as good as Cincinnati.  

 

I don't think the Bills roster is as bad as some on this board are making it out to be this week.  Yes, they need to improve some areas, but there's no reason they can't be a contender next year (a top-10 or top-5 team) with this roster and a few tweaks.  I do believe that the coaching needs to be better if they want to get to, and win, the Super Bowl (a top-2 or top-1 team).  Whether that means staff changes or the existing staff taking a long, hard look at what they are doing, I'm not sure.  I'd probably lean towards bringing in some fresh ideas from the outside.

Edited January 27, 2023 by msw2112

[Mr. WEO]

I think I read this thread previously at redundantthread.com

 

 

let it go....

 

 

[RyanC883]

3 hours ago, Mango said:

I am less concerned with the X's and O's of it all at the moment. The team was 13-3, a tough record to make major changes at coordinator or FO. 

But I am concerned that this roster is at a tipping point with the staff and if we don't make a change McD could lose the team. At which point you have to start the whole thing over. 

 

Most of it stems from Diggs. He isn't just a guy reacting on his own. By his own announcement and by vote of his peers, he is a captain and leader on the team. The fact that he caused a scene publicly, left the facility, and doubled down on his actions via twitter are a big deal. Because he is a leader, the more malcontent he becomes, and the more struggle this team has, the more that will fall in line behind him. 

I really wish he cam back to the facility to meet with the media and team on locker clean out day. 

 

I'm glad Diggs is brining attention to this issues this team has.  Give me 10 more guys like him.  Bean seems to love his fire.  

Edited January 27, 2023 by RyanC883

[Mango]

19 minutes ago, RyanC883 said:

 

I'm glad Diggs is brining attention to this issues this team has.  Give me 10 more guys like him.  Bean seems to love his fire.  

 

 

10 more guys acting the way Diggs behaved on Sunday night and Monday would be a total disaster. There isn't a successful team on the planet that has consistently won at any professional sport with a roster full of that behavior. You might get one good season, but inevitably it would crumble.