Reasons why I'm still (barely) optimistic

[JerseyBills]

33 minutes ago, MJS said:

The Bills are high variance. It is a week to week league. They have the ability to get on a hot streak (and have in the past). So yeah, the season isn't lost by any stretch of the imagination. Also, sorry to say it, but teams have down years sometimes. The Bills are no exception.

 

That being said, I don't think this is the right type of offense for Allen. Allen is only average when it comes to the mental side of the game. He needs a simpler scheme with easy reads, presnap motion, spreading things out, and maximizing his elite physical abilities. Have him roll out and only have half field reads. Predetermine things for him. Whatever you can do to get him to think less and play ball.

 

So, I think Dorsey needs to revamp the offense completely next year, or they need to move on from him and bring in someone who will. For one thing, he is putrid at calling and scheming in the run game.

I completely agree. I've been complaining about the O. 

Hopefully he can revamp it this year. We still have a bye coming up,  we just need these next 2 vs den n NY at home. Even a loss to Philly wont kill us but still feel we'll have a great chance

 

Get to the bye and figure the O out! But must win the next 2

[harmonkillebrew]

Reason for optimism: Bills were at least competitive against the Bengals, away from home. We looked better than the 49ers for sure. If not for that Kincaid fumble, we were trending toward a win. 

 

But that Patriots loss hurts, in particular. 

 

I'm hoping we can continue to find the right combos, with Kincaid and Shakir improving. Maybe playoff Lenny will get our run game and championship leadership in place on O....

 

[MJS]

33 minutes ago, JerseyBills said:

I completely agree. I've been complaining about the O. 

Hopefully he can revamp it this year. We still have a bye coming up,  we just need these next 2 vs den n NY at home. Even a loss to Philly wont kill us but still feel we'll have a great chance

 

Get to the bye and figure the O out! But must win the next 2

I don't think it is possible to revamp the offense during the season, but hopefully they can simplify some things, add some wrinkles, and find 3 to 5 plays that are "easy buttons" that they can go to when things aren't working.

 

And the big thing, take out the plays that aren't working and burn them in the trash can, such as the horrible runs from shotgun that they are so fond of that never work. I have hated the shotgun runs for years. Daboll did it a lot too.

33 minutes ago, harmonkillebrew said:

Reason for optimism: Bills were at least competitive against the Bengals, away from home. We looked better than the 49ers for sure. If not for that Kincaid fumble, we were trending toward a win. 

 

But that Patriots loss hurts, in particular. 

 

I'm hoping we can continue to find the right combos, with Kincaid and Shakir improving. Maybe playoff Lenny will get our run game and championship leadership in place on O....

 

The Bills were competitive on defense, not on offense.

 

The defense gave up 3 points in the 2nd half. Given their injuries, they played admirably. They kept giving the ball back to the offense and they did nothing with it. Even after the interception, the defense gave them the ball back without giving up any points. Even after losing more starters, they still found a way to be competitive.

 

And the completely healthy offense can't get out of their own way. Really frustrating. And it isn't just one thing, it is everything. They can drive it, but then turn it over. The mental mistakes and execution blunders are what is killing the offense. Probably Dorsey is an issue too. I know he seems really bad at scheming the run game, at least. But the offense isn't mentally tough or fundamentally sound, and the coaches have to take ownership over that.

[harmonkillebrew]

7 minutes ago, MJS said:

I don't think it is possible to revamp the offense during the season, but hopefully they can simplify some things, add some wrinkles, and find 3 to 5 plays that are "easy buttons" that they can go to when things aren't working.

 

And the big thing, take out the plays that aren't working and burn them in the trash can, such as the horrible runs from shotgun that they are so fond of that never work. I have hated the shotgun runs for years. Daboll did it a lot too.

The Bills were competitive on defense, not on offense.

 

The defense gave up 3 points in the 2nd half. Given their injuries, they played admirably. They kept giving the ball back to the offense and they did nothing with it. Even after the interception, the defense gave them the ball back without giving up any points. Even after losing more starters, they still found a way to be competitive.

 

And the completely healthy offense can't get out of their own way. Really frustrating. And it isn't just one thing, it is everything. They can drive it, but then turn it over. The mental mistakes and execution blunders are what is killing the offense. Probably Dorsey is an issue too. I know he seems really bad at scheming the run game, at least. But the offense isn't mentally tough or fundamentally sound, and the coaches have to take ownership over that.

Agreed on D. Despite all the injuries and easy excuses they keep fighting.

The Offense was great first drive and then again late. Was horrible for the entire middle 75% of the game.  I'm slightly optimistic that Allen will figure it out and that more trust in Kincaid and Shakir will open things up. Then again, Dorsey is still the OC....

[Dillenger4]

PLAYOFFS???!!!???? HA HA HA,... who cares. We will be 1-and-done even if we were to make it.

[corta765]

3 hours ago, BuffaloBillyG said:

I am so tired of hearing the narrative..."But in 2021....".

 

IF and IF you are willing to be glass half full you could say in 2017, 2019, & 2021 as all three times the team was 5-4 or 7-6 or 4-3 etc.. The difference this time feels the defense isn't the strength it was and the offense doesn't seem to be righting itself AND the schedule doesn't exactly bold favorable with opponents.

[theRalph]

The Bills previous three seasons were all highly successful campaigns that ended with smackdown playoff losses...with the possible exception of 13 secs. That same 2021 season saw the Bills get to 7-6. And let's be honest, some of those 6 losses were far worse than we've seen this season. But, if we're really being honest, that 2021 team has to rank as the best under McDermott—the team that went 7-6 and won-out. Of course this 2023 schedule has tougher games ahead.

 

Ya, there's a point here: Maybe the Bills path to a championship is similar to the 2007 Giants or 2017 Eagles (4-6 at one point). 

[dgrochester55]

I understand some of your logic, but while every team has had a bad game, Buffalo has had a bad half season.

 

My best hope is that Josh Allen plays like the elite QB that he is capable of being and somehow carries the team on his shoulders to 9 or 10 wins and get in the playoffs, then be hot at the right time.

 

Right now I am not seeing it.   There are too many holes and the coaches seem to have lost the players.   I see 7 or 8 wins.

 

If they can get by Denver and the Jets and get up to 7-4, maybe I'll feel a little hope again, but right now as it stands, no remaining game is a lock.

[colin]

while i find what you say initially offputting and pollyanna, as a fellow NJ bills fan, i must consider it.

 

you are, mathematically, correct.  as bad as we ahve looked, these are all one score losses where we left a ton on the table.  if allen, for example, just pulls his head out and throws to the under guy instead of the guaranteed pick guy, we have a strong chance of winning this game.

 

i doubt we get there, but boy would it be great to have a 2021 phoenix like rise form where we are

[JerseyBills]

3 hours ago, Dillenger4 said:

PLAYOFFS???!!!???? HA HA HA,... who cares. We will be 1-and-done even if we were to make it.

Lot can change in 2 months in the nfl

2 hours ago, dgrochester55 said:

I understand some of your logic, but while every team has had a bad game, Buffalo has had a bad half season.

 

My best hope is that Josh Allen plays like the elite QB that he is capable of being and somehow carries the team on his shoulders to 9 or 10 wins and get in the playoffs, then be hot at the right time.

 

Right now I am not seeing it.   There are too many holes and the coaches seem to have lost the players.   I see 7 or 8 wins.

 

If they can get by Denver and the Jets and get up to 7-4, maybe I'll feel a little hope again, but right now as it stands, no remaining game is a lock.

I agree. no locks, but if we beat Den and Jests , we'll be sitting pretty. 

 

I don't see any game that I'd call a loss, we play some elite teams but we're an elite team as well.

 

Just think we need to cool down with the no playoffs hyperbole 

[PBF81]

7 hours ago, JerseyBills said:

A. There's no team that looks like SB material, Ravens are the closest. Point being, it's a week to week league. SF looked like a legit SB team and lose 3 straight, in all our losses, we had a chance, even with a tough schedule,  if we can just figure things out on O, any team is beatable. Turnovers are killing us but that's a fixable issue.

We were a turnover and blatant missed calls away from potentially winning last night. We can hang with anyone. 

 

I've heard a bunch of people say that, but we were also pretty close to losing to both the Giants and Bucs.  Imagine being on an 0-5 streak right now.  

 

 

7 hours ago, JerseyBills said:

B. We been here before,  in 21 we were 7-6. With some ugly losses including a 6 point game vs a terrible Jags team. They bounced back and should have made it to the Title gm if not for 13 seconds. 

 

The only difference is that in '21 at that point we had a 4-13, 5-12, and 7-10 team left to play, and the Pats who ended up being 10-7.  

This season we have two teams that have already beaten us remaining, three other current division leaders, and the Cowboys which are in 2nd in their devision behind Philly, one of the division leaders on the team. 

 

Arguably the easiest remaining game is next MNF vs. Denver.  

 

We have had the second easiest schedule to date this season.  

 

 

7 hours ago, JerseyBills said:

D. We still control our own destiny in the division.  We have a very doable opportunity to win the division.  We're half a game back and have back to back home games vs Den and a big 1 vs the Jests. 2 inferior talented teams, that are must wins. We'll be feeling much better at 7-4 if we pull it off. We'll be heavy favorites in both. 

 

If we're going to win the division, it's quite likely that we'll need to beat @Miami and NE and the Jets at home.  That seems like a tall order at this point in time.  

 

Of the 8 games remaining, thinking that 4-4 would be good given how we're playing.  That would put us at 9-8 without many tiebreakers.  

 

 

[RunTheBall]

2 hours ago, JerseyBills said:

Lot can change in 2 months in the nfl

I agree. no locks, but if we beat Den and Jests , we'll be sitting pretty. 

 

I don't see any game that I'd call a loss, we play some elite teams but we're an elite team as well.

 

Just think we need to cool down with the no playoffs hyperbole 

In no world are we an elite team. This is just pure coping mechanism after another brutal loss.

 

Missing the playoffs is a real possibility, and I’d say likely given how this team has looked recently.

 

After 9 games, teams show you who they are. What is the Bills identity? I have no idea.

 

Josh isn’t playing elite this year, I don’t care what the stats say. He’s not reading the field nearly as well as he did the last couple years and he was never on the level of Mahomes or Burrow when it came to pre and post snap reads. He made up for it with his athlelticism, which has been neutered by McD and Dorsey, and his competitive drive which seems to be a shell of it’s former self. What we are seeing is just how much garbage on this team he’s covered up over the years with his previously consistently elite play.

 

I hope Josh catches on fire and we go on a winning streak but that’s all we’ve got, hope. We are hanging our hopes on 3 out of 9 games where the offense put it together and looked playoff worthy. That’s not good enough.

 

 

 

[Billznut]

Another negative to missing the playoffs this year is then we would be eligible for Hard Knocks next summer and wouldn’t be able to decline. And I could see the Bills being very likely choices for that show. 

[PauleeeWalnuts]

They lost to the Jets and  Patriots, should have lost to the Giants and could have lost to the Bucs. The coach said today he went away from the uptempo offense because he wanted to try other offenses. I have zero optimism left in this team or those who coach it. 

[BuffaloBillsGospel2014]

9 hours ago, JerseyBills said:

A. There's no team that looks like SB material, Ravens are the closest. Point being, it's a week to week league. SF looked like a legit SB team and lose 3 straight, in all our losses, we had a chance, even with a tough schedule,  if we can just figure things out on O, any team is beatable. Turnovers are killing us but that's a fixable issue.

We were a turnover and blatant missed calls away from potentially winning last night. We can hang with anyone. 

 

B. We been here before,  in 21 we were 7-6. With some ugly losses including a 6 point game vs a terrible Jags team. They bounced back and should have made it to the Title gm if not for 13 seconds. 

 

C. Piggy backing off 21, as they say, pressure bust pipes but also creates diamonds. I still have faith that the pressure we now face will do the latter. Why? Because the only evidence I see is 21, we have most of the same players, and upgrades. The alarm bells are going off and I trust our core guys and coaches to right the ship. 

 

D. We still control our own destiny in the division.  We have a very doable opportunity to win the division.  We're half a game back and have back to back home games vs Den and a big 1 vs the Jests. 2 inferior talented teams, that are must wins. We'll be feeling much better at 7-4 if we pull it off. We'll be heavy favorites in both. 

 

E. Next week we'll add 3 upgrades in Douglas, Joseph, Lenny. So a little reinforcement is coming. I know Douglas played a bit but only after 2 practices. 

 

E. I understand things look bleak right now, alot to complain about and I have but sometimes this adversity brings out the best in teams. 10 wins will def get in as a WC in the AFC. And the parity is at an all time high in this league. KC,Cin,SF,Phi,Dal etc are all beatable in any given week. I'm keeping the faith that we can absolutely turn this around but it's a short leash. A loss next week and im ringing the alarm though. Den and Jets at home are must wins

 

I like the positivity man, the doom and gloom after each loss is unbearable at times but understandable all in one lol I feel the same way as most of what you wrote but my main reason for optimism is just get into the playoffs and anything can happen. Regular season means absolutely nothing. I figure by the time we make playoffs Rasul Douglas will be our Stephone Gilmore type of shutdown corner and Linval Joseph will be body slamming QB's on a regular basis, even Von Miller getting that brace off will be huge as well. Just get in the playoffs and run on all cylinders and conrol our own destiny, we still have enough pieces to win it all if we get our heads out of our asses imo. I like the post though and glad to see a little positivity sprinkled in with all the hate lol

[Governor]

I think we’ve got 2 more wins in us. I think we lose to both the Broncos and Jets but maybe beat the Cowboys and Pats.

 

Swept by the NY Jets.

 

 

[Dillenger4]

16 hours ago, JerseyBills said:

Lot can change in 2 months in the nfl

I agree. no locks, but if we beat Den and Jests , we'll be sitting pretty. 

 

I don't see any game that I'd call a loss, we play some elite teams but we're an elite team as well.

 

Just think we need to cool down with the no playoffs hyperbole 

How are we an elite team??? Seriously? We have not shown this at all. We look one dimensional. I sure hope it changes as you elude to but I just don't see it. If we are "hoping", which we are, then we are in trouble.

[TheBrownBear]

2 hours ago, Dillenger4 said:

How are we an elite team??? Seriously? We have not shown this at all. We look one dimensional. I sure hope it changes as you elude to but I just don't see it. If we are "hoping", which we are, then we are in trouble.

We look mediocre-to-bad over the last five weeks, no doubt, and I do think that's where we are trending for the rest of the season.  However, we were clearly "elite" and maybe the best team in the entire league from weeks 2-4.  The defensive injuries are deeply concerning and will keep us from making the playoffs IMO, but the offense still has the potential to play at the level we saw against the Raiders, Dolphins and for one half against the Bucs.  My faith meter is probably around 25% right now, but I was hovering in that range in '21, so I'm not ready pack it in just yet.