Will we be in Super Bowl contention this year?

[colin]

in 2021 we lost at kc in the 13 second game.  tre was out and our d couldn't stop a thing, and it still took a comedy of errors for us to lose that freaking game.

 

in 2022 we lost 3 games all season (by a total of 8 points!!) but the team was mentally shot and damar got hurt and the performances after that (even the wins over the pats to end the year and hosting miami) were cheeks.  we were the odds on fav to win the superbowl through most of that season yet we lost our only pass rusher (von) tre came back and was worthless (an analyst said throw to whoever tre is covering, because that person is open) and we brought beez and brown out of flipping retirement (with shakir not getting burn, obv he shoulda) as meaningful contributors to the O.  got spanked by cincy as a demoralized team could not run or stop the run for long enough to get into a 14 point hole, saffold barely even bothering to lick the stamp on his mailed in performance.  diggs had his annual disappearing act in the second half and zero in the post season

 

in 2023 we were cheeks at what, 6-5?  milano down, daquan down, tre white (who didn't suck as much at first) down, knox was banged up, miller was out to start and a literal zero after that.  we fired the clueless OC, 911 gate came out and then we went on a miracle win streak.  in the second half of the season, diggs went to trash and was a total zero in the post season, but we won games w our new rookie oc and running and spreading the ball around.  vs kc at home, we had two too hurt to play well corners, old slow and broken safeties, a barely jag lb in dodson and a literal zero off the couch aj klien.  d got shredded.  williams came in late as a rookie (see a pattern?) and we had our first and only stop of the entire night, but we missed a couple plays and a FG late to lose by 3.

 

the pattern of this team is pretty clear.  we have a bunch of guys either hurt, or just so old or slow they are a huge target for the other team on D, or just don't produce at all on O.  our WR room looks worse today than it did last year for sure, but diggs and davis (altho davis was magic vs kc in 2021) were zeroes in the playoffs, davis was out last year and diggs was hot trash.  to win a super bowl we need our d to be able to make like 4 or 5 stops in a playoff game, and our o not to just stink.  given how bad the "star" guys have been on O and D the past 3 playoffs, we aren't losing much just replacing them w JAGs, and any WR who can show up and play above average in the playoffs is an upgrade to davis and diggs over the past two seasons.  

 

i think we are as close as we have been, we need luck and health, but blowing out underperforming losers isn't going to hurt the team.

 

[damj]

On 4/20/2024 at 9:19 AM, DJB said:

No the season is over. Come back after next year

Thanks for letting me know. Anyone want my tickets?

[SoTier]

6 hours ago, BullBuchanan said:

Obvious? My man, we were NOT EVEN CLOSE to being anywhere near a Super Bowl contender last year. Those top 4 teams were playing a different sport than the Bills.

 

I'm not sure what criteria you use to determine whether a team is a Super Bowl contender, but whatever it is, I doubt that it's based on anything except emotion.  The Bills won the AFCE with a 5 game win streak at the end of the season that included wins over the Chiefs, the Cowboys and the Dolphins.   In fact, the Bills swept their main AFCE rival, the Fins.  They earned the #2 seed in the AFC.  They manhandled the Stillers in the wild card round.   FTR, the Bills whom you claim were "NOT EVEN CLOSE to being anywhere near a Super Bowl contender" was the only AFC team to play the Chiefs tough down to the closing minutes in the playoffs -- and that with the defense being decimated with injuries so badly that they only started 4 LBs against KC and were missing key DBs as well.  

 

 

 

[BullBuchanan]

1 hour ago, SoTier said:

 

I'm not sure what criteria you use to determine whether a team is a Super Bowl contender, but whatever it is, I doubt that it's based on anything except emotion.  The Bills won the AFCE with a 5 game win streak at the end of the season that included wins over the Chiefs, the Cowboys and the Dolphins.   In fact, the Bills swept their main AFCE rival, the Fins.  They earned the #2 seed in the AFC.  They manhandled the Stillers in the wild card round.   FTR, the Bills whom you claim were "NOT EVEN CLOSE to being anywhere near a Super Bowl contender" was the only AFC team to play the Chiefs tough down to the closing minutes in the playoffs -- and that with the defense being decimated with injuries so badly that they only started 4 LBs against KC and were missing key DBs as well.  

 

 

 

Never emotion, sadly. That would make life a lot easier. Just talent and coaching.

[SaulGoodman]

 

On 4/22/2024 at 9:30 AM, SoTier said:

 

Did you watch the Bills last season -- I mean really watch them by paying attention to what was going in the game not just kibbutzing with pals, especially in the last half of the season when they made their big run?   They were playing championship caliber defense with an injury depleted unit.  Matt Milano and Tre White were out for the season in the fifth game of the season, and they looked doomed but they regained their momentum and played tough the rest of the way.  At the very end of the season and in the playoff win against Pittsburgh, they had more injuries to the DBs and the LBs.   They only started 4 LBs -- including AJ Klein who came out of retirement to play --  against the Chiefs and were missing at least one DB and had another playing limited snaps IIRC, too.  It wasn't the defense that let them down against KC, it was the offense that missed a couple of plays that would have won the game.

 

Poyer and Hyde were shadows of their previous selves last season.  Injuries did in Hyde, and both had slowed down.  White was showing signs of coming back but then he suffered another devastating injury and missed the last 12 games.  Miller did next to nothing last season when he did come back, so if he gets back to even a shadow of himself in 2024, it will be a plus.  Milano broke his leg rather than suffering a ligament injury so it's likely that he can come back strong this season.  The Bills will miss Leonard Floyd on the DL but they're bringing back Ed Oliver who blossomed last season and AJ Epenesa who showed real progress.  Tyrel Dodson at LB is gone but Terrel Bernard was outstanding as a 2nd year pro and should be better this year, especially paired with Milano.   The 3 starting CBs from last season, Douglas, Benford, and Johnson are all coming back.   Edwards and Rapp are the new safeties, which is somewhat worrisome but remember that Poyer and Hyde were largely unknowns when they were signed in 2017.  

 

The Bills defense is a work in progress but there's still the draft and post-June 1 FA signings (when they get some extra cap space).  They definitely need a pass rusher and probably another safety, and their depth on defense is shaky.   McDermott runs a defense that seems to enable the Bills to plug-in players fairly easily as needed.  IMO, the Bills D will likely be about as good as last season.  If they can avoid devastating injuries to their best players, they have a chance to be better than last season.

 

I’m not sure how you can put more blame  on the offense than the defense in the KC game. The offense moved the ball pretty consistently against arguably the best defense in the league. Missed FG away from 27 pts. 
 

Meanwhile, the defense forced one punt and was a goal line fumble away from allowing 34 pts in a low possession game. The defense was not successful at all. That was by far the weakest KC offense in the Mahomes era but they looked like one of the best that day. 

[SoTier]

2 hours ago, SaulGoodman said:

 

 

I’m not sure how you can put more blame  on the offense than the defense in the KC game. The offense moved the ball pretty consistently against arguably the best defense in the league. Missed FG away from 27 pts. 
 

Meanwhile, the defense forced one punt and was a goal line fumble away from allowing 34 pts in a low possession game. The defense was not successful at all. That was by far the weakest KC offense in the Mahomes era but they looked like one of the best that day. 

 

My point was that despite being crippled by late season injuries to key players, the Bills defense managed to keep the game close while the offense, which was far healthier, had opportunities they missed.  I don't really "blame" offense or defense for the KC loss; they rolled snake eyes again against the Chiefs as in 2021. 

[NewEra]

On 4/20/2024 at 1:14 PM, BullBuchanan said:

We'll be fortunate to be in playoff contention as the roster currently stands, imo. We would need a series of miracles to get into the super bowl conversation that involves season ending injuries to Mahomes and Burrow, drafting OROY and DROYs like Houston did, staying healthy and having all of our top players play great, and then having probably 2 current players on the roster take monumental leaps up to all-pro status (Kincaid, Epenesa?)

At the end of all that, would it be enough to top the best of the NFC?

 

Doubt it.

Fortunate to be in playoff contention.  Not just Super Bowl contention.  But playoff contention. 🤣 

 

to be in SB contentions we’d need season ending injuries to Mahomes AND burrow AND we’d have to draft the OROY AND DROY.  Your pessimism is pathetic, so much so, that it makes me wonder if you’re even a Bills fans.  Feels like an AFCE troll.  
 

hope you’re enjoying this season

[Low Positive]

5 minutes ago, NewEra said:

Fortunate to be in playoff contention.  Not just Super Bowl contention.  But playoff contention. 🤣 

 

to be in SB contentions we’d need season ending injuries to Mahomes AND burrow AND we’d have to draft the OROY AND DROY.  Your pessimism is pathetic, so much so, that it makes me wonder if you’re even a Bills fans.  Feels like an AFCE troll.  
 

hope you’re enjoying this season

We have lost a few posters since the KC win. I wonder why?

[SoTier]

On 4/23/2024 at 8:50 AM, colin said:

in 2021 we lost at kc in the 13 second game.  tre was out and our d couldn't stop a thing, and it still took a comedy of errors for us to lose that freaking game.

 

in 2022 we lost 3 games all season (by a total of 8 points!!) but the team was mentally shot and damar got hurt and the performances after that (even the wins over the pats to end the year and hosting miami) were cheeks.  we were the odds on fav to win the superbowl through most of that season yet we lost our only pass rusher (von) tre came back and was worthless (an analyst said throw to whoever tre is covering, because that person is open) and we brought beez and brown out of flipping retirement (with shakir not getting burn, obv he shoulda) as meaningful contributors to the O.  got spanked by cincy as a demoralized team could not run or stop the run for long enough to get into a 14 point hole, saffold barely even bothering to lick the stamp on his mailed in performance.  diggs had his annual disappearing act in the second half and zero in the post season

 

in 2023 we were cheeks at what, 6-5?  milano down, daquan down, tre white (who didn't suck as much at first) down, knox was banged up, miller was out to start and a literal zero after that.  we fired the clueless OC, 911 gate came out and then we went on a miracle win streak.  in the second half of the season, diggs went to trash and was a total zero in the post season, but we won games w our new rookie oc and running and spreading the ball around.  vs kc at home, we had two too hurt to play well corners, old slow and broken safeties, a barely jag lb in dodson and a literal zero off the couch aj klien.  d got shredded.  williams came in late as a rookie (see a pattern?) and we had our first and only stop of the entire night, but we missed a couple plays and a FG late to lose by 3.

 

the pattern of this team is pretty clear.  we have a bunch of guys either hurt, or just so old or slow they are a huge target for the other team on D, or just don't produce at all on O.  our WR room looks worse today than it did last year for sure, but diggs and davis (altho davis was magic vs kc in 2021) were zeroes in the playoffs, davis was out last year and diggs was hot trash.  to win a super bowl we need our d to be able to make like 4 or 5 stops in a playoff game, and our o not to just stink.  given how bad the "star" guys have been on O and D the past 3 playoffs, we aren't losing much just replacing them w JAGs, and any WR who can show up and play above average in the playoffs is an upgrade to davis and diggs over the past two seasons.  

 

i think we are as close as we have been, we need luck and health, but blowing out underperforming losers isn't going to hurt the team.

 

 

To be fair to early 2024 predictors, not everyone was doom and gloom.  I liked this post back in April, and it's aged much better than all the doom and gloom predictions. 

[colin]

1 hour ago, SoTier said:

 

To be fair to early 2024 predictors, not everyone was doom and gloom.  I liked this post back in April, and it's aged much better than all the doom and gloom predictions. 

 

lol, thanks!

 

TBH, when being analytical I think i have a reasonable take on the team, but I black pill like a psycho during games when we make the same errors we've made before.

 

and I think i wrote that post mainly to type "barely licked the stamp on his mailed in performance" about saffold.  I have honestly never seen a top NFL field an OG who played with less effort than he did in my life.

[BillsPride12]

On 4/22/2024 at 7:41 PM, mannc said:

So you really think we'll miss Gabe Davis, Dane Jackson and Tim Settle???? You must be the only one on this board who thinks so.  Dooooomed!  Mitch Morse was a good center but he was getting old, and with most teams not using a nose tackle, center is probably the most de-valued position there is, maybe even more than running back.  There no reason Connor McGovern can't be a perfectly fine replacement. 

 

I'm not sure who the #2 RB is that you're referring to...oh wait, Latavius Murray?????  How will we ever survive without him???? 😃

 

Please tell me you're not "concerned" about safety...Hyde and Poyer's play fell off considerably last year and there are still a number of NFL starting safeties from last year available as free agents.  And of course at least two of our 10 draft picks are sure to be safeties...

 

These types of departures are typical of every NFL team every year...The Chiefs this year had a grand total of three starters left from the 2020 Super Bowl championship team.  Your level of "sky is falling" hysteria about losing a bunch of JAGs is absolutely hilarious. 

 

And to answer your last absurd comment, the Patriots never had a "re-build" in the Brady era.  They won the AFCE 18 out of 20 years and made the playoffs every year except when Brady tore his ACL. They were Super Bowl contenders every year, while turning over their roster at almost the same rate as the Chiefs...     

 

On 4/22/2024 at 7:45 PM, BullBuchanan said:

Yes, no cap. You might be one of the only people that don't get this. Those are important roles being played on the team that you can't just fill with day 3 picks or veteran minim FA deals. This isn't Madden.

This is a another great one.  We have really been doomed with no Gabe Davis, Dane Jackson, and Tim Settle 😂

[mannc]

Wow, this tread is packed with horrible takes, saying that this is a much needed “rebuilding year” after losing Diggs, Poyer, Morse, Davis…with BullBuchanan leading the way

[Savage]

On 4/20/2024 at 8:42 AM, bills6969 said:

I have concerns on the defensive side of the ball.  Specifically, with replacing Poyer/Hyde. Replacing their production/leadership will not be easy. Need some leaders to step up on D.

 

As long as we have JA17, a Super Bowl should always be the goal.  There are alot of shoes to fill going into this season.  I do like that we aren’t really coming up in conversation for Super Bowl contenders.  I think we get a bit overlooked this year, which I think will be good for this team.

Concerns on the defensive side of the ball are still there.

 

Winning the SuperBowl should always be the goal, regardless of QB.

 

you hear so many coaches and GMs before the season starts, that their goal is to make the playoffs, and see where it goes after that.

 

that is a loser’s mentality.

 

 

 

[BADOLBILZ]

13 hours ago, NewEra said:

Fortunate to be in playoff contention.  Not just Super Bowl contention.  But playoff contention. 🤣 

 

to be in SB contentions we’d need season ending injuries to Mahomes AND burrow AND we’d have to draft the OROY AND DROY.  Your pessimism is pathetic, so much so, that it makes me wonder if you’re even a Bills fans.  Feels like an AFCE troll.  
 

hope you’re enjoying this season

 

 

Wow you must really hate that dude to go so far out of your way to insult him so hard.   When you take into account the degree of pettiness needed to dig up this thread that's a high quality hit job.   Are you going to stop at Starbucks before you hop that e-bike to Central Park?

[JP51]

Yeah, I am not into revisionist history... I remember my postings said the bills can go to the Super Bowl this year and win it "IF" and then I listed like 10 ifs.. Like IF Josh Stays healthy, IF we find a solid 1 WR, IF Rapp (and the edwards now Hamlin) prove that Poyer and Hyde we diminishing, IF Von Comes back and plays at least at a solid 6 sack level,  IF McGovern moving from guard to center works, IF cook takes the next step.... et al... hell... I didnt know all those ifs would actually pan out at least to this point... but in the end... not spiking that ball... lets just beat the Rams. 

[hondo in seattle]

On 4/22/2024 at 5:13 AM, hondo in seattle said:

I don’t think our opening day roster will be as good as last season’s.   But I think McD is a solid coach and Josh is an exceptional QB.  Brady is my biggest worry.   But if we’re healthy at the end of the season, we can make a run.

 

I'm happy to find I'm not embarrassed by my previously posted opinion.  That's not always the case!  

[Joe Mama]

On 4/20/2024 at 9:22 AM, ddaryl said:

It will be a test of McDermott. Great coaches do more with less

 

On 4/20/2024 at 10:09 AM, Beast said:

You mean like taking over a team, trading away and cutting players, and making the playoffs for the first time in 2 decades with Tyrod Taylor as your QB?

This was the best take from back in April

[NewEra]

6 hours ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

Wow you must really hate that dude to go so far out of your way to insult him so hard.   When you take into account the degree of pettiness needed to dig up this thread that's a high quality hit job.   Are you going to stop at Starbucks before you hop that e-bike to Central Park?

I don’t hate anyone here.  I just take receipts when people make dumb posts.  There’s no digging up anything-  just bookmarking them occasionally with plans to revisit.  He makes a lot of outlandish posts- then disappears 

[SinceThe70s]

On 4/21/2024 at 11:02 PM, Aussie Joe said:

They won’t have to “acknowledge “ anything … the standings will tell the story 

 

Indeed.

 

I like the story so far.

[dma0034]

Original Post didn't even mention that Josh lost a step.

 

 

I thought the Biils would be a great team and have success. In my opinion this is the best Defense Allen has had since his second year even if they aren't rated higher.