Have we bridged the playoff gap?

[Drew21PA]

5 minutes ago, SCBills said:

Yup … at the end of the day, we didn’t get the 1 seed.    
 

Some posters want to pretend like that doesn’t matter … except KC keeps finding ways to get that 1 seed, or at the very least, put themselves in position to be the pseudo-one seed.  
 

Mahomes has literally never played an away playoff game and KC has had multiple BYE weeks over the course of Mahomes tenure. 
 

Not coincidentally, they’ve won the last two AFC Super Bowls. 
 

 

That stat of NEVER playing a road game is insane 

Sorry because of that I still have Brady head and shoulders greatest of all time over Mahomes 

 

 

[90sBills]

1 hour ago, SCBills said:

I’ll tell you this … even with how mentally and physically beat up we were last year … give us KC’s road to the Super Bowl, which for us would be been BYE, JAX (home), KC (home) and I’m not so sure we don’t make the Super Bowl….

 

Hyde was set to come back for the AFC CG and that BYE week would’ve been monumental for that team. 

I agree! Bills might have made it with the road KC had. But here’s the thing…that road is not given. It has to be earned and this team has not earned it. We can all agree with this right?

1 hour ago, NewEra said:

You can infer whatever you like.  The context of this thread is a gap.  From the start my premise was- there ain’t a gap and I listed why I think that way. 
 

and your last paragraph is super cringe.  Deducing from my words, bad posters put words into other peoples mouths. 

 

Calling a clear day overcast and when gets called out on it says ‘don’t put words in my mouth’. Lol. Alright you be you, chief. 

[90sBills]

1 hour ago, Drew21PA said:

That stat of NEVER playing a road game is insane 

Sorry because of that I still have Brady head and shoulders greatest of all time over Mahomes 

 

 

Not debating who’s better here because neither are Bills qb so it’s inconsequential. But  doesn’t that stat mean Mahomes has gotten it done during the regular season? The right to play home games is earned during the regular season. It’s a reward for being great. Having the easiest path to the Superbowl is earned. Hopefully Bills can get on this track next season. 

[Einstein]

9 hours ago, dave mcbride said:

 

Detroit was one of the best teams in the NFL in the second half of the season.

 

Their final 4 games were against non-playoff teams like Chicago, Carolina, Jets, Packers. That helps.

[Billl]

3 hours ago, 90sBills said:

Yeah we beat them. They beat us. Just a coincidence that they beat us when it mattered most…twice. ‘The majority of the world considered us the best team in the league…’ If only they give trophies for being media darlings. All that hype just to crumble under the pressure. I prefer the team to fly under the radar and prove it where it matters…on the field in the playoffs.

This is the part that some here seem to struggle with.  The Bills WERE the best team in the league the first half of the season.  They were a plug and play team of veteran players.  Early in the season, that’s a huge advantage over teams like Cincinnati and Kansas City who have young rosters full of talented players who are still acclimating to the NFL.  The downside is that those veteran teams don’t get better as the season progresses.  They don’t have to gel because they already know their roles and responsibilities.  Instead, they tend to wear down as the season progresses, and they don’t bounce back quite as well as they used to.

 

The young teams do tend to get better, particularly when they’re coached well.  The game slows down for them, and the coaching staffs can install more of their game plans as the season progresses.  The younger athletes can shake off some of the bumps and bruises that their veteran counterparts can’t.  

 

This is why pointing at a week 6 game where the Bills trailed until the last minute of the game is pointless.  The Chiefs won 13 of 14 from that point on while the Bills tapered off as their players wore down.  They still went 8-3 which is very good, but the eye test told you that they weren’t the dominant team they were before the bye.  

 

I’ve got a feeling that 2023 is going to look similar in a lot of ways.  The Bills will likely look very crisp coming out of the gate, as most of the team already knows the system having played in it for several years.  The question will be how will they look 20 weeks into the season.

[hondo in seattle]

Prior to last season, I guessed we had a 10% chance of going on to win the Super Bowl.  Considering there are 32 teams, this is about 3x better than the average odds.

 

I'd say this season we again have a 10% chance.   We'll be one of several teams in the hunt.  

 

I believe we got nominally better at OL, WR, RB, and safety.

I worry about the health of White, Miller, Poyer, and Hyde.  I also worry about the loss of Edmunds.  

 

I'm curious how the D will be without Frazier.  To say he brought no value, I believe, is wrong.  But McD might be more creative this season with the roster he has, and may prove to be the better play-caller.  

 

I'm really curious about Dorsey.  The OL isn't great but it does seem improved.  And he's got more weapons to work with.  Will he put it all together?

[Einstein]

3 hours ago, Drew21PA said:

That stat of NEVER playing a road game is insane 

Sorry because of that I still have Brady head and shoulders greatest of all time over Mahomes 

 

 

 

Is this even a discussion? Brady is wayyyy ahead of Mahomes.

[Drew21PA]

2 minutes ago, Einstein said:

 

Is this even a discussion? Brady is wayyyy ahead of Mahomes.

I think so too but folks are saying Mahomes is now the goat given his early start 

 

have to disagree 

2 hours ago, 90sBills said:

Not debating who’s better here because neither are Bills qb so it’s inconsequential. But  doesn’t that stat mean Mahomes has gotten it done during the regular season? The right to play home games is earned during the regular season. It’s a reward for being great. Having the easiest path to the Superbowl is earned. Hopefully Bills can get on this track next season. 

I’m going to get flamed for this becsusr I know what folks will say - BUT I have to say the entire second half of the chiefs season was lackluster competition and they struggled 

 

yeah got it done yadda yadda yadda but sheesh it was, as we use to say, a cakewalk 

[balln]

The answer to this question is entirely if beane has found some absolute difference makers in this draft  And if his low key FA signings are breakout gems. 
 

so. Is Kincaid a kelce / mark andrews ?

 

can harty make some tyreke hill type big plays (I know he’s not even close to him) 

 

i firmly believe the OL squarely rests on Spencer brown developing: health. He needs to be a beast. 
 

can James Cook become a real threat as a pass catcher 

 

 

and lastly. Josh Allen has to be an mvp. He’s got to be 2021 playoff Josh. 
 

oh and coaches need better game plans. If Daboll can take that chicken shite giants roster and get them to win a playoff game. Our Super Bowl winning coaches ( we hope) should be able to get this roster to the ***** big game at a minimum 

Edited May 2, 2023 by balln

[Boatdrinks]

4 hours ago, SCBills said:

Yup … at the end of the day, we didn’t get the 1 seed.    
 

Some posters want to pretend like that doesn’t matter … except KC keeps finding ways to get that 1 seed, or at the very least, put themselves in position to be the pseudo-one seed.  
 

Mahomes has literally never played an away playoff game and KC has had multiple BYE weeks over the course of Mahomes tenure. 
 

Not coincidentally, they’ve won the last two AFC Super Bowls. 
 

 

It matters, but not the be all end all. You’ve got to find a way to win. They’d better , because I don’t think the Bills will get the number one seed. The East going forward doesn’t look conducive to it. Conversely, the AFC West doesn’t seem to have a team that can give KC a battle. It appears the NFL will be going to a neutral site championship game system soon; that will help. 

[Billl]

48 minutes ago, Drew21PA said:

I’m going to get flamed for this becsusr I know what folks will say - BUT I have to say the entire second half of the chiefs season was lackluster competition and they struggled 

 

yeah got it done yadda yadda yadda but sheesh it was, as we use to say, a cakewalk

It wasn’t murderer’s row or anything, but they went 5-0 against non playoff teams and 3-1 against playoff teams during the second half of the season.  For comparison, the Bills went 6-1 against non playoff teams and 1-1 against playoff teams during that same stretch.  

[90sBills]

1 hour ago, Drew21PA said:

I think so too but folks are saying Mahomes is now the goat given his early start 

 

have to disagree 

I’m going to get flamed for this becsusr I know what folks will say - BUT I have to say the entire second half of the chiefs season was lackluster competition and they struggled 

 

yeah got it done yadda yadda yadda but sheesh it was, as we use to say, a cakewalk 

You get the sense watching regular season games that KC just does enough to accomplish their goals of winning the division and securing home field. Then they turn it on in the playoffs. More aggressive play calling on both sides of the ball. At least that’s what I see. Whatever it is it’s working. 

[HappyDays]

3 hours ago, Einstein said:

 

Their final 4 games were against non-playoff teams like Chicago, Carolina, Jets, Packers. That helps.

 

Oh the Packers were a non-playoff team? And why was that? Did something happen in week 18?

[Einstein]

1 minute ago, HappyDays said:

 

Oh the Packers were a non-playoff team? And why was that? Did something happen in week 18?

Are we really going to pretend that the 8-9 Packers were a good team?

[HappyDays]

Just now, Einstein said:

Are we really going to pretend that the 8-9 Packers were a good team?

 

Classic motte and bailey. Thanks Einstein. I knew exactly what your response would be. Moving on.

[90sBills]

2 hours ago, Billl said:

This is the part that some here seem to struggle with.  The Bills WERE the best team in the league the first half of the season.  They were a plug and play team of veteran players.  Early in the season, that’s a huge advantage over teams like Cincinnati and Kansas City who have young rosters full of talented players who are still acclimating to the NFL.  The downside is that those veteran teams don’t get better as the season progresses.  They don’t have to gel because they already know their roles and responsibilities.  Instead, they tend to wear down as the season progresses, and they don’t bounce back quite as well as they used to.

 

The young teams do tend to get better, particularly when they’re coached well.  The game slows down for them, and the coaching staffs can install more of their game plans as the season progresses.  The younger athletes can shake off some of the bumps and bruises that their veteran counterparts can’t.  

 

This is why pointing at a week 6 game where the Bills trailed until the last minute of the game is pointless.  The Chiefs won 13 of 14 from that point on while the Bills tapered off as their players wore down.  They still went 8-3 which is very good, but the eye test told you that they weren’t the dominant team they were before the bye.  

 

I’ve got a feeling that 2023 is going to look similar in a lot of ways.  The Bills will likely look very crisp coming out of the gate, as most of the team already knows the system having played in it for several years.  The question will be how will they look 20 weeks into the season.

Certainly roster age is a factor. Is it THE factor? I’m not so sure. Rams won the year before with a not so young squad. You’re right that it’s a long season. Bills dealt with a lot of issues down the stretch. Ultimately it was just too much.

[Billl]

41 minutes ago, Boatdrinks said:

It matters, but not the be all end all. You’ve got to find a way to win. They’d better , because I don’t think the Bills will get the number one seed. The East going forward doesn’t look conducive to it. Conversely, the AFC West doesn’t seem to have a team that can give KC a battle. It appears the NFL will be going to a neutral site championship game system soon; that will help. 

That would screw small market teams so bad.  They already can’t host Super Bowls, and then they wouldn’t be able to host championship games?  I just can’t see that happening.  Too much revenue lost for the smaller teams.

[AuntieEm]

On 4/30/2023 at 1:53 PM, DaggersEOD said:

Honestly, the big drop off in both Gabe’s performance and the performance of the O overall was the inability for us to execute the over/under combo route that Beas/Davis killed teams with. 
 

It was nearly unstoppable. So much so that IMO, we overused it in 2020 (Beas ends up w/a broken leg, team obviously worn out)

 

In 2021, we tried to save it for the playoffs and only broken it out when needed (you could always tell because the drive would start w/a pass to Beas…almost always resulted in a scoring drive). That season resulted in the 13 second game but also Gabe’s elite performance. 
 

2022, we tried to live without it, eventually bringing a broken down Beas at the end of the season, without much success 

 

Now if Kincade is capable of executing the over/under combo route effectively w/Gabe, I think we may be in for a wild ride. 

  

   Yea I won't worry bout the defense, I really think that McD will tweak it as needed in any given game.  And a big part of the defense will be Josh Allen being protected and having the time to see which of his weapons is the best play, don't need the big plays if your ahead and want to burn time to give your defense the freedom to gamble when needed.  

 

   I think Josh's injury was indeed a big reason last year ended with such a flat game.  The league also has a big interest in keeping top talent like Josh healthy.   As they do with Mahomes, Burrow, Tua, Hurts etc.

 

  I'll take Josh Allen in a shootout against any teams especially if he can do the damage with his passing and let his new TE Kincaid take over the hurdling duties for the Bills.  And with the holes I expect from Cybo when we are looking to eat up clock, well think we will see other teams pressing all season long as they won't have answers for a balanced Allen attack.  

  

   I

   

 

   

 

   

[Boatdrinks]

7 hours ago, Billl said:

That would screw small market teams so bad.  They already can’t host Super Bowls, and then they wouldn’t be able to host championship games?  I just can’t see that happening.  Too much revenue lost for the smaller teams.

League officials indicated that it’s going to happen. This was around the time that they were making arrangements for the neutral site AFCC game if the Bills and Chiefs were to advance. First I had heard of it but apparently that’s what the league wants. 

[L Ron Burgundy]

On 4/30/2023 at 6:47 PM, No_Matter_What said:

There was no gap in the first place.

 

Yes we lost in PO 3 years in a row. Every team except SB winner does. 2020 we were weaker than Chiefs, 2021 we lost historic battle due to 13-second blunder and coinflip, a 2022 we lost because somehow everything went wrong (on field and mostly off-field).

 

People are making it bigger than it was. We were as good as Chiefs or Bengals overall but stars were not aligned our way. 

 

And yes I do think we are better on paper right now than we were last year. So again, we will be top 3 or top 5 favorites to win it all.

I hope you are right.  Like the op said though it wasn't just the Bengals game.  We barely beat the Dolphins 3rd string qb.  We seemed like we couldn't catch our normal rhythm or something.