Everyone take a minute and appreciate what we have in this team

[newcam2012]

4 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

I appreciate having a team that is in every game, every week. It is over 2 years since this team lost a regular season game by more than a score. That means as a fan you are watching your team at least have a chance late every week. Sure we have lost some gut wrenchers, but we are always a competitive football team. 

While this rings true it's certainly not the bar. Look further and you can only conclude the team has fallen short time after time year after year. While competitive, it's frustrating as a fan. Now, the Bills find themselves  battling for a playoff spot which is obviously under performing. Being competitive just isn't enough when you have Allen. Your theme is correct but taken into context Bills fans shouldn't be satisfied with being competitive. Not implying you are but reading your post doesn't paint the whole picture here. 

[GunnerBill]

24 minutes ago, newcam2012 said:

While this rings true it's certainly not the bar. Look further and you can only conclude the team has fallen short time after time year after year. While competitive, it's frustrating as a fan. Now, the Bills find themselves  battling for a playoff spot which is obviously under performing. Being competitive just isn't enough when you have Allen. Your theme is correct but taken into context Bills fans shouldn't be satisfied with being competitive. Not implying you are but reading your post doesn't paint the whole picture here. 

 

This thread isn't about whether the Bills have overachieved or underachieved though. That isn't the point of this discussion. This thread is about appreciating what we have. What we have is a team that comes out every week and plays hard and is in every football game and a Quarterback who is always exciting to watch. Sport is entertainment, if you can only enjoy and appreciate it when they win a Lombardi you are setting yourself up for a lot of sadness. Bills fans should appreciate having the team they have, even through frustrating losses and underachieving seasons. And anyone who can't do that should consider whether being a sports fan is good for their mental health. 

 

EDIT: none of which is to say fans shouldn't criticise or question things that could have been done better, or individuals who could have done them better. But they shouldn't lose sight of the big picture in doing so. The past five years have been a lot of fun for Bills fans and you have to enjoy the good times. 

Edited December 18, 2023 by GunnerBill

[HOUSE]

Dont forget the Sabres, they try hard too....

[Billsatlastin2018]

This was a fabulous W, with a fabulous game plan- FINALLY, led by a HOF QB and an unleashed new weapon to compliment him!

 

Because of all the horrific coaching/ managing/ coordinating idiocy of 4- 5 absurd Losses, there is simply no room, other than battering full steam ahead until next September!

 

Any L now, has End of Season written all over it. There is virtually no other way in, than capturing the Division crown. Far too many teams have the Tie advantage!

 

There can be NO letdown for the next two stiffs, followed by a Mammal Feast! 

[ProcessTruster]

8 hours ago, McBean said:

And I’ll shut up about mclap too.

 

we win one this year, he can stay here and get carried off the field in a pine board box for all I care.

 

i just want 1B4IDIE

wow it took just 4 posts for the McBeane haters to come back out.  such a sad bunch this board is in large part.   just blasted the so called best team in the league on 100% coverage national TV and people just can't wait to trash something. 

 

 I'm with PTR,  still just soaking this all in after 20 years of suck.   McBeanes are killing it.  Trust the Process.  They will get you sad people your $15 SB tee shirt eventually.  

[newcam2012]

 

 

1 hour ago, GunnerBill said:

 

This thread isn't about whether the Bills have overachieved or underachieved though. That isn't the point of this discussion. This thread is about appreciating what we have. What we have is a team that comes out every week and plays hard and is in every football game and a Quarterback who is always exciting to watch. Sport is entertainment, if you can only enjoy and appreciate it when they win a Lombardi you are setting yourself up for a lot of sadness. Bills fans should appreciate having the team they have, even through frustrating losses and underachieving seasons. And anyone who can't do that should consider whether being a sports fan is good for their mental health. 

 

EDIT: none of which is to say fans shouldn't criticise or question things that could have been done better, or individuals who could have done them better. But they shouldn't lose sight of the big picture in doing so. The past five years have been a lot of fun for Bills fans and you have to enjoy the good times. 

I do enjoy and appreciate the Bills. Yesterday was a great example of this. The Philly and KC games were fun to watch as well. 

 

To imply one can only enjoy football if your team wins a Lombardi is really disingenuous. I've enjoyed the Bills regular season wins, division titles, consecutive playoff appearances, and playoff wins. I appreciate all of those accomplishments.

 

Yes football has certainly been fun to watch as a Bills fan for several years now. Not sure how any fan wouldn't concede that. However, I want more! I think the Bills are capable of more!

 

There comes a point where team expectations change. Fans expectations change. Goals change. Take for example the LA Dodgers or NY Yankees. 

 

I for one am completely capable of enjoying and appreciating Bills football while still being disappointed and critical. It's not an either or here. The human emotions here aren't mutually exclusive. They can and are intertwined. 

 

Gunner, the realistic goal of the Bills for a few years here is a super bowl appearance and winning it all. Pick your reasons why that hasn't happened. The fact remains many of us Bills fan are disappointed the Bills haven't reached their realistic goal. 

 

The last three games of Bills football has been really enjoyable, fun, and intense. The pre game anticipation is almost drug like. The next game will be another enjoyable high for me. 

 

Win or lose, I will enjoy Bills football and give praises and criticism where I see fit. Isn't that what fans do?

 

Of course, football is entertainment. However, look at the Bills Mafia for example. Look how the community rallies around the Bills. It's entertainment but so much more too. Not sure how you can't concede that. 

 

We Bills fans have been yearning for a Lombardi Trophy. One before I die is more and more the  sentiment that many Bills fans have. With "superman Allen" leading the way for years the Bills have fallen short. Bills fans deserve better...

 

 

 

27 minutes ago, ProcessTruster said:

wow it took just 4 posts for the McBeane haters to come back out.  such a sad bunch this board is in large part.   just blasted the so called best team in the league on 100% coverage national TV and people just can't wait to trash something. 

 

 I'm with PTR,  still just soaking this all in after 20 years of suck.   McBeanes are killing it.  Trust the Process.  They will get you sad people your $15 SB tee shirt eventually.  

What's sad is that you can't appreciate the validity of construction criticism. 

 

Of note, being critical doesn't make you lesser of a fan. 

Edited December 18, 2023 by newcam2012

[Teddy KGB]

Still gotta make the playoffs 

 

gotta overcome the Dorsey/Mcclappy ridiculous losses 

[PromoTheRobot]

7 hours ago, Punch said:

I'm 100% certain the Bills can beat 30 NFL teams--- the only team that I'm not certain of is the 49ers, which happens to be Josh Allen's favorite team when growing up in Northern California.

 

There's simply no way Josh Allen loses to his boyhood team.

 

Go Bills.

 

I have a theory about San Fran and the Bills. We were supposed to play them in SB25 but the Giants caused a rift in the spacetime continuum. That rift will only heal once we face the Niners in a Super Bowl.

[ddaryl]

Its a lot easier to appreciate this team after they fired Dorsey. The offense has become Mr Hyde with Bradey calling the shots. I love what I'm seeing from the offense.

 

James Cook looked like Thurman Thomas in his prime, and they even made a comment about that most yards from Scrimmage for a RB since 1991 and Thurman Thomas last night. Thats what Josh need to take pressure off of him. Hopefully this is just the beginning 

I not sure what is changing on the D side of the ball. I noticed Von Miller starting to make some noise on the DL and his return to form is much appreciated, but not unexpected. Acquiring Rapp is starting to look like a real solid move, Douglas was a great trade... 

Overall for such a 2/3 of a ***** season they definitely have made some significant changes that appear to be making a difference and if you're gonna peak nows the time to start ramping that up. Still have to win out ! but after yesterdays game I feel for 1st time since early September that this team is playing the kind of football most of expected to see all season.

[PromoTheRobot]

1 hour ago, Bogie_Klinkhammer said:

Dont forget the Sabres, they try hard too....

 

They will get there. You watch.

[Gregg]

1 hour ago, Bogie_Klinkhammer said:

Dont forget the Sabres, they try hard too....

 

Right now, they might be the most disappointing team in the NHL with what was expected this season.

[PromoTheRobot]

7 minutes ago, Gregg said:

 

Right now, they might be the most disappointing team in the NHL with what was expected this season.

 

Hockey isn't like football. It takes longer to develop players and often they regress some along the way. I used to scream at the TV when Dahlin would eff up, not knowing what people saw in him. But now you can see his star emerge. Now we're seeing the same thing with Owen Power. He's been awful at times, but he's also just 21. He just has to learn.

 

Patience, young grasshopper. The Sabres are still the youngest roster in the NHL.

Edited December 18, 2023 by PromoTheRobot

[Punch]

24 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

I have a theory about San Fran and the Bills. We were supposed to play them in SB25 but the Giants caused a rift in the spacetime continuum. That rift will only heal once we face the Niners in a Super Bowl.

I love it. I'm all in.

[McBean]

1 hour ago, ProcessTruster said:

wow it took just 4 posts for the McBeane haters to come back out.  such a sad bunch this board is in large part.   just blasted the so called best team in the league on 100% coverage national TV and people just can't wait to trash something. 

 

 I'm with PTR,  still just soaking this all in after 20 years of suck.   McBeanes are killing it.  Trust the Process.  They will get you sad people your $15 SB tee shirt eventually.  

Uh, what are you talking about?

 

What did I say to indicate I was hating on the FO and staff post game?

 

I made a post saying Sean and his defense did an excellent job against the boys. 
 

No where did I bash anything yesterday postgame.

[Royale with Cheese]

1 hour ago, newcam2012 said:

 

 

I do enjoy and appreciate the Bills. Yesterday was a great example of this. The Philly and KC games were fun to watch as well. 

 

To imply one can only enjoy football if your team wins a Lombardi is really disingenuous. I've enjoyed the Bills regular season wins, division titles, consecutive playoff appearances, and playoff wins. I appreciate all of those accomplishments.

 

Yes football has certainly been fun to watch as a Bills fan for several years now. Not sure how any fan wouldn't concede that. However, I want more! I think the Bills are capable of more!

 

There comes a point where team expectations change. Fans expectations change. Goals change. Take for example the LA Dodgers or NY Yankees. 

 

I for one am completely capable of enjoying and appreciating Bills football while still being disappointed and critical. It's not an either or here. The human emotions here aren't mutually exclusive. They can and are intertwined. 

 

Gunner, the realistic goal of the Bills for a few years here is a super bowl appearance and winning it all. Pick your reasons why that hasn't happened. The fact remains many of us Bills fan are disappointed the Bills haven't reached their realistic goal. 

 

The last three games of Bills football has been really enjoyable, fun, and intense. The pre game anticipation is almost drug like. The next game will be another enjoyable high for me. 

 

Win or lose, I will enjoy Bills football and give praises and criticism where I see fit. Isn't that what fans do?

 

Of course, football is entertainment. However, look at the Bills Mafia for example. Look how the community rallies around the Bills. It's entertainment but so much more too. Not sure how you can't concede that. 

 

We Bills fans have been yearning for a Lombardi Trophy. One before I die is more and more the  sentiment that many Bills fans have. With "superman Allen" leading the way for years the Bills have fallen short. Bills fans deserve better...

 

 

 

What's sad is that you can't appreciate the validity of construction criticism. 

 

Of note, being critical doesn't make you lesser of a fan. 

 

When Newcam2012 is mad at the Bills and anything positive is written by them:

 

[GunnerBill]

1 hour ago, newcam2012 said:

 

 

I for one am completely capable of enjoying and appreciating Bills football while still being disappointed and critical. It's not an either or here. The human emotions here aren't mutually exclusive. They can and are intertwined. 

 

 

 

But this is not the thread for that. That is the point. Make your other points elsewhere. They are not for here. This thread is about appreciating what we have. 

 

[Shaw66]

9 hours ago, Ethan in Cleveland said:

Josh is already better than Kelly and it's not even close anymore.

Bruce, OJ, and Allen are the three most physically gifted players in franchise history. Put them in any order you want but they are my top 3 now.

Thomas, Kelly, and Diggs are probably next three.

Reed, DeLamielleure, Gilchrist, and Shaw round out my top 10

 

Honorable mention to Jason Peters who will be first ballot HOF player 

Ethan -

 

That's a great list.  Top three absolutely are all-time greats.  And Allen isn't half way through his career yet. 

[PBF81]

2 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

What we have is a team that comes out every week and plays hard and is in every football game and a Quarterback who is always exciting to watch. Sport is entertainment, if you can only enjoy and appreciate it when they win a Lombardi you are setting yourself up for a lot of sadness. Bills fans should appreciate having the team they have, even through frustrating losses and underachieving seasons. And anyone who can't do that should consider whether being a sports fan is good for their mental health. 

 

EDIT: none of which is to say fans shouldn't criticise or question things that could have been done better, or individuals who could have done them better. But they shouldn't lose sight of the big picture in doing so. The past five years have been a lot of fun for Bills fans and you have to enjoy the good times. 

 

That makes sense Gunner!  But I would also add that the players themselves get sad when the season ends prematurely, aka no Championship.  Their expectations are for nothing less than a Championship, so why shouldn't ours be.  

 

We do need to appreciate what we have, but consider, we have Allen.  I told the guy sitting next to me at the Bills Backer bar yesterday that I sometimes still can't believe that we have Allen, the most exciting, if perhaps not the fan/media-favorite "best" (Mahomes), QB in the league, quite possibly in league history.  If we could build a QB in a lab made for Buffalo, Allen is that QB.  

 

Having said that, the bar is a little bit higher, particularly for those of us fans that actively went through the four-year string of Super Bowl losses.  When you have Allen, the QB leading the charge in the topic of this thread, it's almost tragic to not win a Lombardi, or even multiple ones.  It's certainly not beyond the realm of reason to question why that did not occur and then to hope for the requisite changes.  

 

Not too many people after losses to New England, the Jets, Jax, Denver, and near losses to the Giants and Bucs, were too happy afterwards.  It was pretty dismal here in fact.  LOL  

 

What bothers many is how we did what we did yesterday, but then lost all of those aforementioned games.  Frankly, we should be 11-3 or 12-2 right now, shaking hands with the #1 Seed and homefield advantage.  Instead, we're hoping to squeeze in as a Wild-Card with help from other teams, again, as we did in 2017, McD's inaugural season with Taylor.  

Having said that, you know that I posted prior to and earlier in the season, that I'd rather get that 7th Seed, sneak in unassumingly, and win the whole damn enchilada.  But consider, right now the pattern from the season is that we might be able to beat Baltimore, KC, or Miami in the playoffs, but that getting past Jax, Cleveland, Cincy, Indy or Houston might be a problem.  ... purely for the sake of discussion that is.  

 

Yesterday was phenominal, and what has been expected all season by many of us, but where has that team been?  Was yesterday just another emotional blip in home-team energy against a team that spent itself last week in a more important game, or are we on a roll and peaking?  That's anyone's guess.  Let's hope it's the latter.  

 

Anyway, the point to your post was that winning a Championship has to figure in there somewhere given that we do in fact have Allen.  If our QB were Taylor, Fitzpatrick, or any of the others we've had since Kelly, then yeah, just getting to the playoffs would be satisfactory and watching the games without those expectations would be reasonable.  But when you do in fact have Allen, and when it's considered that other coaches would have done more with Allen, then it hurts and probably should, and the bar is much much higher.  

 

Not trying to stir things up, but also not sure it's fair to yank a Championship/Lombardi out of the mix for fan contentment, when even the players and coaches aren't content with that.  Fully agree with you on those that take their lamentations into the week and let it affect their personal lives however.  

 

It would be a whole lot easier to handle had we actually won one or two of those Super Bowls, as we should have then as well.  But as Bills fans, or any fans, by default we set ourselves up for sadness by being fans, when our teams do not play to the level of their talent.  That's simply natural.  

 

 

[Ethan in Cleveland]

10 hours ago, Mikie2times said:

If Josh isn’t where you put him on the list, it can only be because people value the the Super Bowls of the 90’s. That said, he just wins one and he probably jumps Bruce. Which is saying an awful lot. Bruce, unlike Kelly, Thurman, Andre was not just a great player. He was a physical specimen for his time and an all time great. Unequivocally top 3 in his position. No doubt, Josh has a chance to be at the top of Mount Rushmore. Hope we see him get one. 

Agreed Bruce and OJ are still in the conversation for best of all time at their position. Bruce certainly top 2 still. 

SuperBowls matter though and if Josh gets one or two he jumps to no lower than Bruce and probably past Bruce.  

[K-9]

11 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

We are watching a future hall of fame QB in Josh Allen. That's our guy. Years from now you'll be telling people you watched a legend at work. Soak that in.

Not to toot my own horn, but I predicted his HOF career early in his rookie year. I was dead serious and took some ribbing as a result. 
 

And yeah, these are the are the good old days so soak it in indeed.