Hangover?

[Brian Higgins hair]

The last game showed a lot of players not engaged at all. So many penalties and so little concentration on the basics.

I think McBeane’s most challenging issue isn’t offensive line or MLB..

It’s waking those guys up from the sleepwalk they showed at the end of last season. 

[Buffalo_Stampede]

Well now Stephen A Smith is saying his sources say Diggs wants out of Buffalo.

 

So when the Bills play bad this is going to happen all year. The media is ready to breakup the Bills. 
 

This is going to be a tough season. Hopefully they start fast. They look like an NHL team in need of a coaching change. Mentally they might be checked out.
 

 

Edited August 21, 2023 by Buffalo_Stampede

[FilthyBeast]

If this carries over into the regular season and the team gets off to a bad start even the most ardent homers will start to turn on this regime especially if the players quit on the coaches and it ends up being a lost season (which sadly my gut feeling tells me is coming anyway).

[HOUSE]

Preseason games have become a joke to most veteran NFL players.

It's nothing more than an annoying game required by NFL owners.

I see your point about the Cincinnati game though, it's still a mystery 

[Augie]

3 minutes ago, FilthyBeast said:

If this carries over into the regular season and the team gets off to a bad start even the most ardent homers will start to turn on this regime especially if the players quit on the coaches and it ends up being a lost season (which sadly my gut feeling tells me is coming anyway).

 

This does not shock anyone.  😋

[ngbills]

Easy to read into to stuff when things like this are happening. But it did seem much of last year there was not a ton of energy with the team. A lot of going through the motions. Who knows, maybe they never recovered from 13 seconds? Maybe there are internal issues around what guys are getting rehired, extended, etc? Or maybe there is nothing. The people in the room are the only ones that really know. 

[Gregg]

Just now, HOUSE said:

Preseason games have become a joke to most veteran NFL players.

It's nothing more than an annoying game required by NFL owners.

I see your point about the Cincinnati game though, it's still a mystery 

 

I remember when LT was playing. He would always suffer a "serious injury" in TC and would never play in the preseason games. The media would be running stories how the Giants will be without #56 for the opener. Then right before the season started LT would be 100% healthy. He would play in the opener and dominate with a game like 9 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and a forced fumble or something like that.

[FilthyBeast]

Just now, ngbills said:

Easy to read into to stuff when things like this are happening. But it did seem much of last year there was not a ton of energy with the team. A lot of going through the motions. Who knows, maybe they never recovered from 13 seconds? Maybe there are internal issues around what guys are getting rehired, extended, etc? Or maybe there is nothing. The people in the room are the only ones that really know. 

 

I don't think you can ever come back from that which is why that was point in time when most knew this regime is most likely never going to take this team to SB and championship.

 

But you make a good point about this team just looking like they just 'showed up' most weeks without any serious intensity or energy, if anything because they continued to read their own press clippings and bought the media hype about them being the consensus media SB favorite. Also why they were lucky to barely beat an injury ravaged Dolphins team down to a rookie 3rd string QB and then getting thoroughly embarrassed by one of the league's elite teams and QB's on their home field.

 

Clock is ticking and this team MUST avoid a slow start this year or ravenous vultures will be circling quickly in Orchard Park....

[Buffalo_Stampede]

3 minutes ago, Gregg said:

 

I remember when LT was playing. He would always suffer a "serious injury" in TC and would never play in the preseason games. The media would be running stories how the Giants will be without #56 for the opener. Then right before the season started LT would be 100% healthy. He would play in the opener and dominate with a game like 9 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and a forced fumble or something like that.

LT? The Kelly Bills never took preseason seriously. But right now there is a cloud hanging over the Bills. Media and fans are ready to destroy them.

[TheBrownBear]

6 minutes ago, ngbills said:

Easy to read into to stuff when things like this are happening. But it did seem much of last year there was not a ton of energy with the team. A lot of going through the motions. Who knows, maybe they never recovered from 13 seconds? Maybe there are internal issues around what guys are getting rehired, extended, etc? Or maybe there is nothing. The people in the room are the only ones that really know. 

Outside of the loss in Miami, which had some extenuating circumstances, we started out pretty hot last year, and then went into KC and avenged the 13 seconds loss, so I don't think it was a hangover from the prior year.  In fact, I think that was a huge motivator stoking the early energy of last year's team.  If you recall, after we beat KC, we were basically anointed by the media as the eventual Super Bowl champs, Josh had surpassed Mahomes, yadda yadda yadda.  Then we came out against GB and kicked the crap out of them for 30 minutes and then just sort of shut it down from an emotional/energy perspective and could never quite turn that light on again for whatever reason.  

[MPL]

Life in the NFL comes at a team fast. For most of the summer, I felt really good about the offseason additions. Saturday was concerning. I think the Bills will still be good this year and be a playoff team. And if you're in the playoffs, you've got a shot. But, man, there's a part of me that feels like maybe the wiser move would have been to take an intentional step back this year to get younger and free up cap space for the next couple of years. 

[HOUSE]

27 minutes ago, Brian Higgins hair said:

The last game showed a lot of players not engaged at all. So many penalties and so little concentration on the basics.

I think McBeane’s most challenging issue isn’t offensive line or MLB..

It’s waking those guys up from the sleepwalk they showed at the end of last season. 

What you are referring to is Mental toughness and it is a problem.

[The Frankish Reich]

I don't care about preseason football. Never watch it. Not even a minute of it. I do read the great summaries here of the posters who watch it closely to evaluate new players, etc. It's a great value, saving me hours of boredom actually watching meaningless games.

 

So far, here's what I've gleaned from those summaries: 

- the O line, particularly RT, remains a problem

- MLB is a big problem

- our backup QB situation leads me to believe we're eff'd if Allen misses more than a couple games

- some offensive skill players have made nice plays, some have dropped easy catches, Shakir or Isabella, basically a coin flip

- a couple young guys or waiver pickups have shown up nicely and may get some snaps

- Poyer looks like a guy coming off an injury, Elam looks like the disappointment he looked like last year

 

In other words, exactly what I knew before the preseason started. So I'd chalk this preseason up to "of no consequence whatsoever."

Right now the only thing that matters: no important players suffering significant injuries.

 

Let's move on to the regular season.

 

[boyst]

Don't worry. And someone please bookmark this.

 

At the end of the year someone will say 13-4 is good enough with a playoff win. It's not. McDermott should have been dropped for daboll.

[TheBrownBear]

4 minutes ago, MPL said:

Life in the NFL comes at a team fast. For most of the summer, I felt really good about the offseason additions. Saturday was concerning. I think the Bills will still be good this year and be a playoff team. And if you're in the playoffs, you've got a shot. But, man, there's a part of me that feels like maybe the wiser move would have been to take an intentional step back this year to get younger and free up cap space for the next couple of years. 

I agree this sounds like a decent approach in theory, but where were there cuts that could be made to accomplish this?  The only think I can think of is maybe passing on re-signing Poyer?  Unless you wanted to consider cutting a guy like Von already and taking a huge cap hit?  I don't follow the dollars and cents side of the team, so I have no clue how that kind of approach would play out.  Anyone up for presenting what a minor rebuild this past season might have looked like?

[Buffalo_Stampede]

2 minutes ago, boyst said:

Don't worry. And someone please bookmark this.

 

At the end of the year someone will say 13-4 is good enough with a playoff win. It's not. McDermott should have been dropped for daboll.

Good enough for what? If you’re winning divisions and a playoff game every year then yes that’s good enough to keep your job. It’s not the goal but you don’t reach your goal by destroying the team when you’re that close.

 

The question is what’s to come if they can’t shake the dark cloud hanging over the franchise right now. 
 

They aren’t going 13-4. More likely 10-7. Again, if they do that and win a playoff game or more McDermott isn’t going anywhere.

 

But it’s possible they do worse than that. 

[BBFL]

28 minutes ago, FilthyBeast said:

If this carries over into the regular season and the team gets off to a bad start even the most ardent homers will start to turn on this regime especially if the players quit on the coaches and it ends up being a lost season (which sadly my gut feeling tells me is coming anyway).

Listen, I appreciate and like McD. I really do but the window is small and who knows how long our boy is going to be carrying the franchise before the possibility of QB purgatory comes back to Buffalo…

 

If he has another failed and horrible exit from the playoffs or even misses it entirely, then you have to consider cutting ways with him. I’m not saying you do by any way shape or form just that you at least have to consider it. 
 

This IS a SB quality team with Josh at the helm. All possibilities must be examined before the team does in fact quit all together on not just the coach but one another. 

[MPL]

4 minutes ago, TheBrownBear said:

12 minutes ago, MPL said:

Life in the NFL comes at a team fast. For most of the summer, I felt really good about the offseason additions. Saturday was concerning. I think the Bills will still be good this year and be a playoff team. And if you're in the playoffs, you've got a shot. But, man, there's a part of me that feels like maybe the wiser move would have been to take an intentional step back this year to get younger and free up cap space for the next couple of years. 

I agree this sounds like a decent approach in theory, but where were there cuts that could be made to accomplish this?  The only think I can think of is maybe passing on re-signing Poyer?  Unless you wanted to consider cutting a guy like Von already and taking a huge cap hit?  I don't follow the dollars and cents side of the team, so I have no clue how that kind of approach would play out.  Anyone up for presenting what a minor rebuild this past season might have looked like?

100%

I have no idea how they could have accomplished that, which is why I'm not an NFL GM and give no illusion that I know the first thing about building a long-term competitive team. 

[FilthyBeast]

Just now, BBFL said:

Listen, I appreciate and like McD. I really do but the window is small and who knows how long our boy is going to be carrying the franchise before the possibility of QB purgatory comes back to Buffalo…

 

If he has another failed and horrible exit from the playoffs or even misses it entirely, then you have to consider cutting ways with him. I’m not saying you do by any way shape or form just that you at least have to consider it. 
 

This IS a SB quality team with Josh at the helm. All possibilities must be examined before the team does in fact quit all together on not just the coach but one another. 

 

I've said all along, that it's perfectly fine to appreciate what this regime has done in turning things around but at the same time accepting and understanding they aren't good enough to take this team any further then the current divisional round ceiling the last few years.

 

But your point is just that....the reason is that McD is even in this position to begin with is because he has a franchise QB who many believe is top 5 in the league. Which is why I believe Doug Marrone, Rex Ryan, etc would all have posted similar results here considering they both also reached AFFCG's with other teams (who didn't have QB's anywhere close to the caliber of JA17). And no still don't care about 2017 because that was 1) pure luck/parity and 2) a roster that was mostly made of previous regimes players.

 

So at least for me I'm beyond the point of just considering it and believe that should this team miss the playoffs altogether (still more likely that some want to admit), or have enough enough early exit should they get there then it's time to say thanks to the current regime and then graciously move on.

[Success]

The hot takes here & nationally if we lose to the Jets are going to be off the charts.