What is your unpopular Bills opinion?

[boyst]

1 hour ago, GunnerBill said:

 

The 2022 playoff game here I totally throw out. I don't think he schooled McDermott. I just think the Bills did not turn up at all. I don't think Vince Lombardi as Head Coach with Belichick as DC and Walsh as OC would have won that game for the Bills that day. The players just looked done to my eye. They played with zero energy the whole game and Josh Allen looked like a zombie. I throw that out. It wasn't a coaching loss. It was a total team loss. It was over from the first drives on each side. It is the only game the Bills have lost by more than a single score since November 2021. 

 

Sure Taylor had a great win in KC in a playoff game. I don't take that away from him at all. But that was a game that went to overtime that came down to a play here and a play there and went the Bengals way. I see Taylor coach poorly way too often in regular season games. Their own fans will tell you he isn't that much cop as a playcaller and basically gets bailed out by having Joe Burrow, Ja'marr Chase and Tee Higgins. I don't think the Bills are incapable of beating the Chiefs in the playoffs. We have beaten the Chiefs twice in the last two years where it has been a play here or a play there that has gone our way. In the post-season those plays have gone their way. I don't think that is a reflection of coaching (with the 13 second exception). The Bills this year were right were they needed to be in that game despite all their injuries on defense and just couldn't finish. 

 

If people want to take the "he should have been fired after 13 seconds" position I understand it, don't agree, but understand. If he'd have missed the playoffs this season I'd have fired him - that is fireable in my book when you have Josh Allen. But losing by a field goal to Mahomes and Reid in the playoffs isn't fireable and certainly isn't a reflection on who he is as a coach. If he starts losing playoff games where he has a clear Quarterback advantage I'll start calling for him to be fired, I assure you. If he starts missing the playoffs, likewise. Equally if it gets back to "actually we are getting blown out by Mahomes" then fine, move on. But losing a game that could have gone either way and where we were right there... no. That doesn't tell me we have the wrong coach. 

i don't think anyone expected the Bills to beat the Bengals that day. I also think the Chiefs were so beaten by us that they had no chance to be the hyped up and dialed in Bengals.

 

I am at the point where the more I think about what do to I get caught up and trip do not want to think anymore on it.

[Kirby Jackson]

1 hour ago, GunnerBill said:

 

The 2022 playoff game here I totally throw out. I don't think he schooled McDermott. I just think the Bills did not turn up at all. I don't think Vince Lombardi as Head Coach with Belichick as DC and Walsh as OC would have won that game for the Bills that day. The players just looked done to my eye. They played with zero energy the whole game and Josh Allen looked like a zombie. I throw that out. It wasn't a coaching loss. It was a total team loss. It was over from the first drives on each side. It is the only game the Bills have lost by more than a single score since November 2021. 

 

Sure Taylor had a great win in KC in a playoff game. I don't take that away from him at all. But that was a game that went to overtime that came down to a play here and a play there and went the Bengals way. I see Taylor coach poorly way too often in regular season games. Their own fans will tell you he isn't that much cop as a playcaller and basically gets bailed out by having Joe Burrow, Ja'marr Chase and Tee Higgins. I don't think the Bills are incapable of beating the Chiefs in the playoffs. We have beaten the Chiefs twice in the last two years where it has been a play here or a play there that has gone our way. In the post-season those plays have gone their way. I don't think that is a reflection of coaching (with the 13 second exception). The Bills this year were right were they needed to be in that game despite all their injuries on defense and just couldn't finish. 

 

If people want to take the "he should have been fired after 13 seconds" position I understand it, don't agree, but understand. If he'd have missed the playoffs this season I'd have fired him - that is fireable in my book when you have Josh Allen. But losing by a field goal to Mahomes and Reid in the playoffs isn't fireable and certainly isn't a reflection on who he is as a coach. If he starts losing playoff games where he has a clear Quarterback advantage I'll start calling for him to be fired, I assure you. If he starts missing the playoffs, likewise. Equally if it gets back to "actually we are getting blown out by Mahomes" then fine, move on. But losing a game that could have gone either way and where we were right there... no. That doesn't tell me we have the wrong coach. 

I think that Campbell is fair. That really is personal preference. They both took bad programs and made them relevant. Neither has gotten over the hump. I prefer Campbell’s fiery nature but you could certainly make a case, at this point, for McDermott over Campbell.

 

I don’t see it with Taylor. We can’t just disqualify his win, in Buffalo, over McDermott, in the playoffs, because the Bills were worn out. We can’t downplay, his win, in Arrowhead, over Reid. Those things HAPPENED. He has succeeded in the moments that McDermott has failed. I don’t believe that it is reasonable to have McDermott over Taylor. He has gotten closer to the goal while overcoming McDermott and Reid. 
 

Maybe there is a cultural difference as well. The US is a ring-counting culture. Lebron’s numbers, longevity and sustained success will never be touched. Jordan is still generally considered the GOAT. He has 6 titles in 6 tries. LeBron has 3.5 titles in 9.5 finals appearances.
 

The Bills have been good since McDermott got here. They have never reached their ceiling with him. Both of those things are ABSOLUTELY true. There are somewhere between 3-5 years, in his tenure, where the Bills ceiling was a Super Bowl Title. He has 0 Super Bowl Appearances. That’s not acceptable. Just because you can win 12 games, and a playoff game every year, with Josh Allen, doesn’t mean you’re doing a good job. That team, with that QB, SHOULD be doing that every year. I strongly believe that many others could have gotten this team further.

The goal, every year is the Super Bowl. You don’t have the talent to do it every year but that’s the goal. In McDermott’s tenure, he has had that talent. He shouldn’t be judged against Rex or Jauron or Marrone. He should be judged against high end rosters with ELITE QBs. He has failed when you do that.

Edited February 15 by Kirby Jackson

[boyst]

6 minutes ago, Kirby Jackson said:

I think that Campbell is fair. That really is personal preference. They both took bad programs and made them relevant. Neither has gotten over the hump. I prefer Campbell’s furry nature but you could certainly make a case, at this point, for McDermott over Campbell.

 

I don’t see it with Taylor. We can’t just disqualify his win, in Buffalo, over McDermott, in the playoffs, because the Bills were worn out. We can’t downplay, his win, in Arrowhead, over Reid. Those things HAPPENED. He has succeeded in the moments that McDermott has failed. I don’t believe that it is reasonable to have McDermott over Taylor. He has gotten closer to the goal while overcoming McDermott and Reid. 
 

Maybe there is a cultural difference as well. The US is a ring-counting culture. Lebron’s numbers, longevity and sustained success will never be touched. Jordan is still generally concerned the GOAT. He has 6 titles in 6 tries. LeBron has 3.5 titles in 9.5 finals appearances.
 

The Bills have been good since McDermott got here. They have never reached their ceiling with him. Both of those things are ABSOLUTELY true. There are somewhere between 3-5 years, in his tenure, where the Bills ceiling was a Super Bowl Title. He has 0 Super Bowl Appearances. That’s not acceptable. Just because you can win 12 games, and a playoff game every year, with Josh Allen, doesn’t mean you’re doing a good job. That team, with that QB, SHOULD be doing that every year. I strongly believe that many others could have gotten this team further.

The goal, every year is the Super Bowl. You don’t have the talent to do it every year but that’s the goal. In McDermott’s tenure, he has had that talent. He shouldn’t be judged against Rex or Jauron or Marrone. He should be judged against high end rosters with ELITE QBs. He has failed when you do that.

mcdermott took a young roster and had it grow. a bunch of lesser known talents, unknowns, and a raw prospects develop - Poyer, Hyde, several OL, Milano, Wallace/Jackson/others. Allen panned out, Knox had a few solid years.

 

Campbell took many blue chip players and really struck gold after decades of missing with that franchise.

 

I think that is something to include in the conversation but just not sure where it fits.

Edited February 15 by boyst

[Kirby Jackson]

14 minutes ago, boyst said:

mcdermott took a young roster and had it grow. a bunch of lesser known talents, unknowns, and a raw prospects develop - Poyer, Hyde, several OL, Milano, Wallace/Jackson/others. Allen panned out, Knox had a few solid years.

 

Campbell took many blue chip players and really struck gold after decades of missing with that franchise.

 

I think that is something to include in the conversation but just not sure where it fits.

That’s totally fair. The road to relevance was certainly a more difficult path for McDermott than MANY of the people that I listed. McDermott would be a GREAT hire in Carolina or Washington or Chicago. He can take bad and make them good. I don’t believe that he can take good (what he has now) and turn that into a championship. 

[BarleyNY]

16 hours ago, Buffalo_Stampede said:

Unpopular- this is the year to move on from Diggs.

Agreed. It’s to a point that it’s obvious he’s undermining the team. The plan was always to move on from him next off-season, but things have changed. It’s gonna hurt if it happens, but it’s time. 

 

Additional unpopular opinion: if the Bills trade Diggs this off-season, they won’t get nearly what most fans think they will. 

Edited February 15 by BarleyNY

[FireChans]

1 hour ago, Kirby Jackson said:

I think that Campbell is fair. That really is personal preference. They both took bad programs and made them relevant. Neither has gotten over the hump. I prefer Campbell’s fiery nature but you could certainly make a case, at this point, for McDermott over Campbell.

 

I don’t see it with Taylor. We can’t just disqualify his win, in Buffalo, over McDermott, in the playoffs, because the Bills were worn out. We can’t downplay, his win, in Arrowhead, over Reid. Those things HAPPENED. He has succeeded in the moments that McDermott has failed. I don’t believe that it is reasonable to have McDermott over Taylor. He has gotten closer to the goal while overcoming McDermott and Reid. 
 

Maybe there is a cultural difference as well. The US is a ring-counting culture. Lebron’s numbers, longevity and sustained success will never be touched. Jordan is still generally considered the GOAT. He has 6 titles in 6 tries. LeBron has 3.5 titles in 9.5 finals appearances.
 

The Bills have been good since McDermott got here. They have never reached their ceiling with him. Both of those things are ABSOLUTELY true. There are somewhere between 3-5 years, in his tenure, where the Bills ceiling was a Super Bowl Title. He has 0 Super Bowl Appearances. That’s not acceptable. Just because you can win 12 games, and a playoff game every year, with Josh Allen, doesn’t mean you’re doing a good job. That team, with that QB, SHOULD be doing that every year. I strongly believe that many others could have gotten this team further.

The goal, every year is the Super Bowl. You don’t have the talent to do it every year but that’s the goal. In McDermott’s tenure, he has had that talent. He shouldn’t be judged against Rex or Jauron or Marrone. He should be judged against high end rosters with ELITE QBs. He has failed when you do that.

I think you have a fundamental different take on what coaches can do, and what kind of coaches exist in the NFL.

 

Me personally, I rank coaches in terms of elite, good, bad. 
 

my elite coaches would be guys like Reid, Shanny, McVay. These are guys that raise a team’s ceiling (although Shanny’s penchant for choking may make me readjust). 

 

My good coaches are guys like Tomlin, McD, John Harbaugh. These guys are floor raisers. They are not necessarily going to outcoach or outscheme the class above them in every matchup, but they can and will take a team that should win 8 games and win 10. Or a team that should win 5 games and win 8.

 

And then there are the bad coaches. The coaches that COST their team. Sirianni is the perfect example. Who knows what happened behind closed doors but a team that talented collapsing like that is a surefire sign of bad coaching. 
 

Now you may say, “Tomlin and Harbaugh have rings, they can’t be the same tier as McD.” But I don’t agree with that. Tomlin and Harbaugh have had enough talent between their last SB appearance and today to make ONE SB run. Neither have. They aren’t coaching differently from their original SB’s They aren’t scheme guys really anyway. So really, what are we talking about in regards to their ability to win? They have a coaching ability to win a Super Bowl one time with a perfect set of circumstances and a great team? That sounds suspiciously like “luck,” as opposed to some super secret championship DNA.  And as long as McD is coaching the Bills, and we keep making the playoffs, we are gonna get the chance for luck to strike for us as well. 

[GunnerBill]

1 hour ago, Kirby Jackson said:

because you can win 12 games, and a playoff game every year, with Josh Allen, doesn’t mean you’re doing a good job. That team, with that QB, SHOULD be doing that every year. I strongly believe that many others could have gotten this team further.

The goal, every year is the Super Bowl. You don’t have the talent to do it every year but that’s the goal. In McDermott’s tenure, he has had that talent. He shouldn’t be judged against Rex or Jauron or Marrone. He should be judged against high end rosters with ELITE QBs. He has failed when you do that.

 

Rest assured I am not judging him against those other guys in terms of success in the elite Allen era - so 2020 onwards. I think 2017-2019 the comparison for the Bills was against what had gone before but since Allen's 3rd year when he blossomed into a top tier guy that is not the bar. The bar is much higher. I just don't think - with the one notable exception in 2021 that Sean McDermott is the reason the Bills haven't reached that bar. 

[26TrapDraw]

If Josh spent more time watching film and preparing his mental approach to games leading to better decisions on the field instead of worrying about his golf game and all the rest of his bullshyt he’d have a superbowl ring by now.

it’s obviously not as important to him as it is to us.

[DapperCam]

2 hours ago, BarleyNY said:

Agreed. It’s to a point that it’s obvious he’s undermining the team. The plan was always to move on from him next off-season, but things have changed. It’s gonna hurt if it happens, but it’s time. 

 

Additional unpopular opinion: if the Bills trade Diggs this off-season, they won’t get nearly what most fans think they will. 

Does anybody really think we’ll get a haul for Diggs? He has a big cap hit, and he played more like an inconsistent WR2 the last 10 games of the season. It’s a lot of risk for the acquiring team. What if he continues to decline further next season?

 

Of course there is the upside he is back to his regular top-5 self, but it’s a risk.

[BarleyNY]

1 hour ago, DapperCam said:

Does anybody really think we’ll get a haul for Diggs? He has a big cap hit, and he played more like an inconsistent WR2 the last 10 games of the season. It’s a lot of risk for the acquiring team. What if he continues to decline further next season?

 

Of course there is the upside he is back to his regular top-5 self, but it’s a risk.

 

I think that it’s been more callers on 550, but I’ve seen a few here as well. He still has value, but more as a higher end #2 or even lower end #1 for another season or two. His salaries the next couple seasons are reasonable for that. It’s the cap hit from signing and restructuring bonuses that’s killing the Bills. That all said, he’s not getting us back a 1 or probably even a 2. It’s easy to look at the Chase Claypool trade and salivate, but that’s an outlier and his salary was negligible. A couple seasons ago Amari Cooper netted a 5th and swap of 6ths - and he was playing a lot better than Diggs is now. That was a steal though. Diggs would net something in between. A third or 4th plus is my best guess. 

Edited February 15 by BarleyNY

[BuffaL0L0k0]

On 2/12/2024 at 11:46 PM, BobBelcher said:

That this year’s playoff loss was worse than 13 seconds because it was a better opportunity to make the Super Bowl.

 

and what also made it worse is after 13 seconds we were itching to get another shot at KC in the playoffs and redeem ourselves (not shoot ourselves in the foot again).

 

We get that chance - at home - only 2 years later, with the Bengals out of the playoffs, and we shoot ourselves in the foot, again… after all of that. 
 

This team does not learn. 

...I'd like to build on top of your post, if I may, and say that to add insult to injury, while doing so, we did miss the opportunity of taking advantage of a new OT rule (one possession to each team at least, even after TD), which, btw, was created by the League responding to our collective misery after ...again....13 secs...

[Don Otreply]

1 hour ago, DapperCam said:

Does anybody really think we’ll get a haul for Diggs? He has a big cap hit, and he played more like an inconsistent WR2 the last 10 games of the season. It’s a lot of risk for the acquiring team. What if he continues to decline further next season?

 

Of course there is the upside he is back to his regular top-5 self, but it’s a risk.

Diggs will be a Bill this upcoming season, and depending on his play, another year after that, his role of course will change, imo he has a couple more productive season left in him, 

[Repulsif]

On 2/13/2024 at 6:52 PM, Bruffalo said:

The Bills are and have been the closest team to the Chiefs level in the entire NFL since 2021, and if the Bills or Chiefs were in the NFC it would be a Bills v Chiefs Superbowl since 2020-21.

Are you nuts ?

Another four losses in a row ?

[Rocky Landing]

In my (I assume) unpopular opinion:

We have a decent roster that is deep with really good players, but other than Josh Allen, we do not have a single elite player on the team. Not one.

 

Diggs has been elite, but he certainly wasn't this last season. Von Miller? Formerly elite. Even if he bounces back, only a fool would think that his best days aren't far behind him. Similarly, Tre White used to be elite. But it's hard to imagine him returning to anywhere near his top form after the last injury. Could Kincaid develop into an elite TE? He could. But he sure ain't there yet. James Cook is a damned good RB-- not elite.

 

There's a bunch of players that we thought had the potential to be elite when we acquired them, and most of them have turned out to be pretty good. But we need one, or two real playmakers, other than our quarterback. 

 

 

[BullBuchanan]

The Bills have been moving further away from being legitimate Super Bowl contenders since 2020 and will continue that downward trend in 2024 barring a miracle where we draft 2 ROY caliber players.

[MikeSpeed]

Groot is highly overrated.

Tre will be fine but still should move to safety.

Coaching is not the problem personnel is. Bean can find late round starters, but he doesn't hit enough elite talent at the top of the draft.

[BananaB]

9 hours ago, boyst said:

mcdermott took a young roster and had it grow. a bunch of lesser known talents, unknowns, and a raw prospects develop - Poyer, Hyde, several OL, Milano, Wallace/Jackson/others. Allen panned out, Knox had a few solid years.

 

Campbell took many blue chip players and really struck gold after decades of missing with that franchise.

 

I think that is something to include in the conversation but just not sure where it fits.

This is what I find weird. A lot of those players that were forced to play early developed into the backbone of this team. Now it’s like a lot of young players are taken from the field the minute they make a mistake. Look at the dline, they draft guys then sign vets to do the job. Continue bringing back guys that no other team wants because they are familiar with the system.  Let them play early and learn from their mistakes like when McD was hired. Late in the season you’ll have a good idea who they are. Look at Williams, they went to Kline who had no chance in hell on doing a solid job because of what’s between the ears. 

[Another Fan]

For me personally the 2012 season was the year the team came furthest away from matching my preseason expectations.  And not in a good way! 

[Meatloaf63]

On 2/13/2024 at 6:49 AM, ren1701 said:

Here's one - Terry Pegula split up One Sports becasue he is preparing to sell the Bills... 

Or Sabres

[Gunsgoodtime]

My unpopular opinion is that the Bills will struggle to make a Wildcard next year due to our terrible cap situation.  It is indeed not a myth. (2nd worst in league)