This Will Be The Make Or Break Year For This Regime

[SoonerBillsFan]

11 minutes ago, May Day 10 said:

It is not.  

 

The expectation is to take a step back.  Hopefully contend for the division or the wild card.

 

Everything is setting up for another 4-5 year window starting in 2025.  

 

They needed to purge salary and age a bit.  This past build failed to get a superbowl.  I blame a few bad contracts, mainly Von Miller, as well as the inability to get a WR 1B or WR 2 for the past 2 seasons.  Diggs' act also hurt.

This is it exactly. We tried 1 era and we got close. now they are building for Era 2 and our approach will be different.

[Nihilarian]

No, it won't!

 

This team has gotten close to an SB but no cigar mostly because the aged veterans fell off the truck at the end of the season. Diggs in particular because he saw the same amount of targets and did much less with them than he has done in the past. In the playoffs, the guy has gone invisible for the last few years. 

 

Against the Chiefs Diggs, had 8 targets with 3 receptions for 21 yards. Does that look like #1 WR numbers with an average salary of 24 mill per? Gabe Davis was the 49th-best WR in the NFL in 2023. 17 games and he didn't look like a solid #2 WR. Buffalo needed new younger blood in a lot of areas.

 

The Buffalo defensive line was supposed to be a solid force at the end of the season and yet didn't do anything against the Chiefs 0 sacks and only 2 QB hits, Groot and Lawson.

 

This team needed some younger, less expensive players and the Bills found some in this year's draft. Keon Colman should be a huge upgrade over Gabe Davis and might even look more like that #1 as time goes on. 

 

My take is this team takes the division again this season and most of you Bills fans might be surprised at how some of these new players look like. 

[TheFunPolice]

There is literally nothing that could realistically happen to cause McDermott and Beane to be let go. It just is never going to happen as long as Josh Allen is QB. We need to hope that Joe Brady is great but not so great that he gets a HC gig right away. 

 

With Allen they will win a lot of regular season games, and "you can't fire a winning coach!" Soon McD will be around long enough to be one of (if not THE) winningest Bills coach of all time.

 

You can hear the arguments now: "you could do a lot worse than the winningest HC in franchise history!" 

 

I'm skeptical that this coach will ever get it done (winning a SB), because we have a defensive minded HC whose defense never comes up big in the playoffs for us. Our QB plays like superman almost every time and it goes to waste. 

 

That said, Allen will keep McDermott employed for the entirety of his career. And eventually the defense has to make the big 3rd down stop in a playoff game, even if just by chance. A bad throw, a drop, a great pass breakup at the right time.

 

Or perhaps even a SACK when it matters from all that investment in the DL!

 

Give McDermott enough kicks at the can and hopefully he'll lead the team all the way. That's kind of where we are. 

 

McDermott will never, under any circumstances, be fired as long as Josh Allen is QB and Terry Pegula owns the team. 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 29 by TheFunPolice

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

5 minutes ago, SoonerBillsFan said:

This is it exactly. We tried 1 era and we got close. now they are building for Era 2 and our approach will be different.

 

Did we really get close, though?

 

Made it to the CG 1 time, got the doors blown off. Choked in one divisional round game, Smoked in another, just vomited all over ourselves a third.

 

 

[Ga boy]

14 minutes ago, May Day 10 said:

It is not.  

 

The expectation is to take a step back.  Hopefully contend for the division or the wild card.

 

Everything is setting up for another 4-5 year window starting in 2025.  

 

They needed to purge salary and age a bit.  This past build failed to get a superbowl.  I blame a few bad contracts, mainly Von Miller, as well as the inability to get a WR 1B or WR 2 for the past 2 seasons.  Diggs' act also hurt.

Not making playoffs is only scenario where there’s a cleaning house.  The key is Von.  I think this draft will make our D better, and IF Von returns to form, then we are in the drivers seat.

[May Day 10]

18 minutes ago, Ga boy said:

Not making playoffs is only scenario where there’s a cleaning house.  The key is Von.  I think this draft will make our D better, and IF Von returns to form, then we are in the drivers seat.

 

Things could click for sure and they could contend, which would be terrific.  

 

I do believe though that behind closed doors, they are prepared for a lean(er) season.  It could be difficult to make the playoffs with a pretty loaded AFC:  Chiefs, Texans, Baltimore, Cincy, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Jets, Dolphins, Jags... along with whoever else may join the party.  IMO it is possible for them to miss and I suspect that management/ownership realizes that they are more vulnerable in 2024 than the past 4 seasons or so.  Even with that said, Vegas odds still have them at #4-#7 to win the super bowl.

 

No playoffs will not result in a house cleaning.  The only way would be if the bottom fell out and some pretty embarrassing lockerroom/off field issues came to light.  

 

2025 is the make-or-break year to get back to a top-4 NFL contender again.  If the Bills stumble 2025 I could see pegula consider major changes to complement the back half of Allen's career.  

IMO management has done a terrific job of this 1-year rebuild.  Made a lot of difficult cold-hearted decisions.  Showed a lot of discipline.  They are going to reap the rewards next offseason, flush with cap space (and even more flexibility) along with some good draft assets.  This draft gave the football team a lot of depth, and we will see who emerges as contributors.  Hopefully they enjoy a decent hit-rate.  

Edited April 29 by May Day 10

[Buffalo_Stampede]

This regime can probably missed the playoffs 1-2 years. Depends how it goes. But they do have some leeway, they’ve earned it.

 

[GoBills808]

9 minutes ago, Buffalo_Stampede said:

This regime can probably missed the playoffs 1-2 years. Depends how it goes. But they do have some leeway, they’ve earned it.

 

you think they've earned consecutive seasons out of the playoffs? in the AFCE w Allen at QB? that is generous

[Don Otreply]

No it won’t, 

[TH3]

54 minutes ago, May Day 10 said:

It is not.  

 

The expectation is to take a step back.  Hopefully contend for the division or the wild card.

 

Everything is setting up for another 4-5 year window starting in 2025.  

 

They needed to purge salary and age a bit.  This past build failed to get a superbowl.  I blame a few bad contracts, mainly Von Miller, as well as the inability to get a WR 1B or WR 2 for the past 2 seasons.  Diggs' act also hurt.

Defensive injuries

[Starr Almighty]

I get the feeling Terry doesn't know what a good coach looks like and he got a good one in Sean altho not good enough to win it all thus far. So he will never get rid of him especially after his Rex disaster. Basically he rather stay with what he knows vs being scared of the unknown 

[Buffalo_Stampede]

31 minutes ago, GoBills808 said:

you think they've earned consecutive seasons out of the playoffs? in the AFCE w Allen at QB? that is generous

Yes. They built it. They deserve it. 

[Freddie's Dead]

Unless the Bills go 6-11 or worse, McBeane ain't going anywhere.  More's the pity, because neither are the Bills.

Edited April 29 by Freddie's Dead

[Donuts and Doritos]

Nope. It's a 2 year reload. Step back this year in expectation of a leap forward next year. Terry's keeping them to make this transition.

[Buffalo Boy]

1 hour ago, TheFunPolice said:

"you can't fire a winning coach!"

13-3 Marty Schottenheimer says 🙋 

[Logic]

As someone who -- as I have stated several times in several threads -- didn't love this draft class and feel that the front office seems to have failed what I viewed as its biggest mission this offseason...

I have to say that I don't think this year can "break" McDermott and Beane, in terms of their being fired or on the hot seat or whatever. After jettisoning all the veterans they did and admitting publicly it's a "transition" year, I think that even a regression and even -- though I don't think it'll happen -- missing the playoffs wouldn't result in Beane or McDermott being ousted. I think they're viewing 2025 as the year to complete this re-tooling and TRULY compete for a championship again. The cap space that's opened up, the plethora of draft picks. 

If the Bills don't make a serious run at a title in 2025, THEN I think whispers about their job security will get very loud.

[Buffalo4Life01]

2 hours ago, TH3 said:

If trolling is pointing out reality…then yes

Dreams are free

 

 

What is your favorite pizza topping?

[ngbills]

Well they inherited a disaster and had to rebuild an aging and overpaid roster that was in salary cap hell and then created in just a few years what many are calling an aging, overpaid roster that is in salary cap hell. All the while blew a few playoff games and have only been to the AFC champ game once with Allen at QB. Remember all these past years when the Bills did not sign available free agents because we dont want to be like the Rams etc and be in salary cap hell? How did that work out? Instead we created a bad cap situation with a bunch of overpaid aging players. 

Edited April 29 by ngbills

[starrymessenger]

I think the Bills are one player away from being strong championship contenders. That player is B. Aiyuk imo. If the Chiefs or Philly thought that they were one player away and the guy was out there I think they would aggressively pursue him. 
The Bills need a proven veteran WR. Where are they going to get him? It won't be in the draft. So it's got to be a FA. Why wait until next year.

Do it now if you can make it work after Tre's number comes off.. It would be very expensive both contractually and in next year's draft pick(s) but it won't be cheaper next year.

Of course maybe the Bills don't feel that they are one player away given the number of changes on both sides of the ball. That would perhaps explain why they would rather look to give new players time to settle into the system and their roles in it. But even then a guy like Aiyuk would be better in 2025 having already played a year in the O. 
Maybe SF is really not interested in moving Aiyuk, regardless of the offer. They may want another year with him as their WR draft picks settle in. If he is available though I wouldn't be surprised if Beane made a move for him. I think Beane's got it in him to do that.

[KentuckyBillsFan]

16 minutes ago, ngbills said:

Well they inherited a disaster and had to rebuild an aging and overpaid roster that was in salary cap hell and then created in just a few years what many are calling an aging, overpaid roster that is in salary cap hell. All the while blew a few playoff games and have only been to the AFC champ game once with Allen at QB. Remember all these past years when the Bills did not sign available free agents because we dont want to be like the Rams etc and be in salary cap hell? How did that work out? Instead we created a bad cap situation with a bunch of overpaid aging players. 

Don't worry. This rebuild will produce a totally different result.