Are we more deserving of the SB hype this year than last?

[NoSaint]

5 hours ago, Success said:

And I say this realizing that we will NOT be hyped this year, which I think is a good thing.

 

But it's clear what our deficiencies were last year - and they became even more glaring in the playoffs. We were speed & finesse, and so top heavy - mainly Allen, Diggs and Miller.

 

It's like Beane looked at the Cincy game, and addressed everything we were missing. A deeper & more powerful run game? Check.  Physical receivers who have better hands and get YAC?  Check.  A stronger O-line that can both protect JA and open holes for the RB's?  Check.

 

This team is now built more for Buffalo weather - and more for overpowering opponents.  For months now on the general boards, both "Buffalo will take a step back in '23" and "The Bills window is closing" have become like mantras.  But our 2023 team is our best & most balanced yet, imo.  It feels like this team is the one that should get the big hype. And again, I'm glad they aren't.

 

and now we don’t have a pass rush, and we remain dangerously thin at WR (can you imagine if diggs goes down?) and have no mlb

 

so we added some concerns too. 

[NoSaint]

50 minutes ago, DapperCam said:

Idk how they measure impact of injuries, but:

- Allen’s season fell off a cliff statistically after his partial UCL tear.

- Von Miller was a huge loss. We really missed him in the playoffs.

- Hyde and Poyer were both All Pros the prior season. Hyde missed the whole year, and Poyer was gimpy and probably just playing because he had to by the end of the season.

- Tre White was an All Pro corner and taking up cap space, but never really returned to his former glory

- D. Jones made our run D respectable and he was sorely missed in the Bengals playoff game.

 

And there are many more…our entire secondary was backups for the first Miami game, and we ran out of starters on the O-line by the end of the game.

 

It was a bad injury season from my perspective. The prior season was much luckier.

 

 

I will say last year was a rough one 

 

unfortunately we kick off this year down Miller and still a big question mark with tre. 
 

poyer and Hyde coming off injury at their age will be question marks. Likely good but shy of their peak form.

 

morse is a love tap from being out long term 

 

we have a good team but I think it’s safe to say it’s second tier (ie have a shot but not a favorite) unless/until several guys show they are healthy- and others step up (Davis, Kincaid, any guards, Rousseau, any mlb)

[CSBill]

6 hours ago, Success said:

And I say this realizing that we will NOT be hyped this year, which I think is a good thing.

 

But it's clear what our deficiencies were last year - and they became even more glaring in the playoffs. We were speed & finesse, and so top heavy - mainly Allen, Diggs and Miller.

 

It's like Beane looked at the Cincy game, and addressed everything we were missing. A deeper & more powerful run game? Check.  Physical receivers who have better hands and get YAC?  Check.  A stronger O-line that can both protect JA and open holes for the RB's?  Check.

 

This team is now built more for Buffalo weather - and more for overpowering opponents.  For months now on the general boards, both "Buffalo will take a step back in '23" and "The Bills window is closing" have become like mantras.  But our 2023 team is our best & most balanced yet, imo.  It feels like this team is the one that should get the big hype. And again, I'm glad they aren't.

 

 

And yet, somehow, last year, we won 13 games. Yeah, let the media hype everyone else. Just go win, baby.

[Dablitzkrieg]

Absolutely not.  Until proven otherwise, the team physically soft

[ganesh]

5 hours ago, sherpa said:

No. We will not be as hyped, and that's a good thing.

I got really tired of it after the LA Rams and Titans games.

 

Let the media talk about the Jets and Dolphins.

We should operate in the shadows.

only for people to chime that the Bills don't get any respect!!!

[pennstate10]

4 hours ago, MJS said:

I don't think we were the best team in the NFL last year. That hype was not warranted. Did the Bills have a chance to make it to the superbowl and win it? They did. They were among those teams who should always be in that conversation.

 

That said, the biggest deficiency was injuries. The Bills got decimated by key injuries on the defense, plus the Josh Allen elbow injury that hampered him. If we are healthier this year, that's one major deficiency that is easily overcome by default.

 

I don't think the Bills necessarily deserve more or less hype this year, but I do think the team, mostly on offense, seems more complete and more talented. But still, there is some projecting there.

 

The Bills are still an elite team and they have a good shot at getting to and winning the Super Bowl, just like last year. They have to perform a little better in those big games, players have to make those key plays in those key moments, and we have to be healthier. With McDermott calling the defense and Dorsey in year two, I think we should all feel confident in our chances.

The pendulum swung the other way. People were too optimistic last year, and too pessimistic this year regarding Dorsey. The Bills still had a good offense last year. There's no reason to believe that the offense can't succeed or get better this year.

I dont know.  I certainly thought Bills were the best team up until the reg season cincy game.  They were 12-3, 3 losses by total of 8 points, 2 in games they easily should have won.  they had beaten the cream of the AFC (KC and Tenn).  They had the best point differential in the AFC.

 

But then came Cincy game.  Even before Hamlin went out, Bills D was being pushed around.  And post -game, Bills collective heads werent in the game.  Yeah, they won a couple more, but they were sleep-walking.

 

Today, by all the pundits scoring, Bills are a top 4 team.  Bills, KC, Eagles, Cincy. 

 

Personally, I like this team better.  DL is improved (provided Miller returns to form).  Secondary vastly improved (from the mid year no Tre no Hyde version).

Offense is much improved on paper.  Better RBs.  Better flex TE.  Better OL.  Spencer Brown with a full off-season to improve.

 

And yes, there are a bunch of ifs above.  And until Bills prove otherwise, they dont belong on the field with Cincy.  But I'm pretty optimistic. 

[Georgia Bill]

I feel pretty sure about what we won't be.  We won't be spending a bunch of time worrying about being the number 1 seed (thank god).  I just want us playing well going into the playoffs.  

[balln]

7 minutes ago, pennstate10 said:

I dont know.  I certainly thought Bills were the best team up until the reg season cincy game.  They were 12-3, 3 losses by total of 8 points, 2 in games they easily should have won.  they had beaten the cream of the AFC (KC and Tenn).  They had the best point differential in the AFC.

 

But then came Cincy game.  Even before Hamlin went out, Bills D was being pushed around.  And post -game, Bills collective heads werent in the game.  Yeah, they won a couple more, but they were sleep-walking.

 

Today, by all the pundits scoring, Bills are a top 4 team.  Bills, KC, Eagles, Cincy. 

 

Personally, I like this team better.  DL is improved (provided Miller returns to form).  Secondary vastly improved (from the mid year no Tre no Hyde version).

Offense is much improved on paper.  Better RBs.  Better flex TE.  Better OL.  Spencer Brown with a full off-season to improve.

 

And yes, there are a bunch of ifs above.  And until Bills prove otherwise, they dont belong on the field with Cincy.  But I'm pretty optimistic. 

I felt that way until the first jets game. They let Zach Wilson beat them. Zach. Wilson. Dudes about to be selling pre owned Kia s in Utah 

 

then as soon as Von went down. There was no chance. Sad thing is. Even w Von healthy. They’d still get stomped by cincy. 

[BuffaloBillsGospel2014]

45 minutes ago, Andy1 said:

Well Cowherd has Bills ranked 4th in AFC behind Chiefs, Bengals and Chargers.

 

he's still in radio? 

[Alphadawg7]

2 hours ago, Chaos said:

This is literally true for every single team other than the Chiefs. 

No it’s not, but ok.  

[Thurman#1]

7 hours ago, Success said:

And I say this realizing that we will NOT be hyped this year, which I think is a good thing.

 

But it's clear what our deficiencies were last year - and they became even more glaring in the playoffs. We were speed & finesse, and so top heavy - mainly Allen, Diggs and Miller.

 

It's like Beane looked at the Cincy game, and addressed everything we were missing. A deeper & more powerful run game? Check.  Physical receivers who have better hands and get YAC?  Check.  A stronger O-line that can both protect JA and open holes for the RB's?  Check.

 

This team is now built more for Buffalo weather - and more for overpowering opponents.  For months now on the general boards, both "Buffalo will take a step back in '23" and "The Bills window is closing" have become like mantras.  But our 2023 team is our best & most balanced yet, imo.  It feels like this team is the one that should get the big hype. And again, I'm glad they aren't.

 

 

 

We had some deficiencies last year. Every team does. 

 

But until the rash of injuries and Josh's elbow injury we looked like the best team in the league.

 

The best team in the league going through an unprecedentedly harrowing season.

 

This year we look about the same, a bit worse in total, IMO, but not much worse. Losing Singletary hurt, but we've replaced him successfully. Kyle Allen is a downgrade from Keenum. The OL is better. Poona Ford is an upgrade. And our first two picks have the potential to improve us.

 

Everyone's a year older, some for good (Shakir, Elam and hopefully Rousseau, for instance) and some just got older (Morse comes to mind but there are others who could start to get worse, such as the two safeties and Latavius Murray).

 

Bottom line is that a huge amount of this comes down to a few players. Will Von Miller be better this year than he looked to be at the start of last year. Unfortunately, it seems unlikely, and it's a key piece. Will Tre White be what he was, or has he reached his post-injury ceiling?

 

RT looked better at the start of the year last year. But things went downhill. This year is a guess. Was it down to injury? That will play a major role.

 

We're likely to bring on another FA DE. Who? How old?

 

Having lost Edmunds was a major blow, and not having much FA money to replace him hurt greatly. Last year we had no obvious holes to attack at the beginning of the season, though Saffold turned out to be one. This year we appear to have an obvious hole. NFL teams will not overlook that. If Miller and Tre White become their old selves, we'll be as good or probably better. If not, a bit worse.

 

Oh, and we'll be hyped. It's just that hype season hasn't started for real yet.

 

 

Edited May 4, 2023 by Thurman#1

[Bad Things]

I'd much rather have the attitude that we're the underdogs and not the chosen ones.

[LABILLBACKER]

1 hour ago, Andy1 said:

Well Cowherd has Bills ranked 4th in AFC behind Chiefs, Bengals and Chargers.

Wake me up when Herbert wins a playoff game. Bills are 3.

[LABILLBACKER]

3 hours ago, DCofNC said:

McD is going to have to let rookies play if we are winning that many.   If you subtract Kindcaid and O’Torrence, the offense didn’t gain a lot.  Hopefully, the D will be better, but pass rush and MLB are a major concern/unknown.  Dorsey is also going to have to evolve.  There’s a lot of factors at play.  If the rookies are hits, the team looks pretty good.  If even 1 of the first 3 rounds struggles and doesn’t win a major role, I have sincere concerns this team could finish 3rd in the division and out of the playoffs.  

Completely agree. No more sitting or coddling rookies.  Sink or Swim.  On offense we gained alot on OL and weapons. Besides Kincaid and Torrence you can add McGovern,  Harty, Sherfield, Harris. Maybe Hines, Shorter, Murray contribute?  The real concerns I have is Dorsey & the schedule. Ken has to use 12 personnel to make K&K shine. Cook & Harris must expand the run game. And finally JA needs to appreciate the value of dump-offs and checkdowns.

[HappyDays]

I'd feel a lot better about our Super Bowl chances if DeAndre Hopkins was here. I still can't shake that feeling. You could say that if everything goes right we're the team to beat, but not everything is going to go right. Hopkins would give us a much larger margin for error at other areas of the roster.

 

But hey if Allen and Dorsey figure out how to run a more balanced offense that isn't so boom or bust, and Kincaid immediately becomes a major weapon, and guys like Rousseau and Brown take a step, and Miller and White both look recovered from their ACL tears, and McDermott calls a less predictable defense, and above all else we stay relatively healthy then sure we have every reason to be hyped. And if all of that happens then it's up to McDermott and Dorsey to not flop in the playoffs again.

[MJS]

2 hours ago, Andy1 said:

Well Cowherd has Bills ranked 4th in AFC behind Chiefs, Bengals and Chargers.

Not sure what the Chargers have ever done but get overhyped and choke.

[QLBillsFan]

51 minutes ago, LABILLBACKER said:

Wake me up when Herbert wins a playoff game. Bills are 3.

Ha so true. CC is an LA guy and has friends in the Bolts front office. Herbert is great but is he ? Lamar and Tua take a lot of heat somewhat deserved. But Herbert needs to make an impact this year. KC sure seems to be the team to beat but the Bengals lost both S’s but bolstered other areas. I’m fine at 4, takes the pressure off. I expect a 12-5 season and if healthy we certainly can win it all. 

[transplantbillsfan]

Yes.

 

On paper we're a better team at every single position on the field other than MLB.

 

Add in the year's worth of experience for Dorsey and McDermott calling the defense, we have reason to have higher expectations this year.

 

Everyone just needs to say a prayer every night for God not to make the Bills the Job of NFL teams.

[Dr.Sack]

Last year the nucleus of our team broke down. We need luck to stay healthy. 

[newcam2012]

15 minutes ago, MJS said:

Not sure what the Chargers have ever done but get overhyped and choke.

I'm sure KC and Cinci fans are saying similar things about Buffalo. 

 

13 seconds was the ultimate choke job in NFL history. 

 

It cuts both ways...

3 hours ago, Andy1 said:

Well Cowherd has Bills ranked 4th in AFC behind Chiefs, Bengals and Chargers.

It's reasonable. Not sure about the Chargers but it's not outrageous either.