Realistic "Transition Year" Expectations

[TheyCallMeAndy]

I think everyone is totally misinterpreting the term transition. 
 

The team is evolving, which is what good teams do. Their offense will look different and their defense will look different. 
 

This team can evolve and still be a juggernaut, and that’s what I expect. 

[julian]

31 minutes ago, NeverOutNick said:

My expectations are win the Super Bowl. I don’t hear the “transition” nonsense. Beane and McD don’t get a transition year after multiple years of falling short. Josh Allen is our QB. Hopefully you got him enough offensively to make a deep playoff run or it’s on Beane and McD. 7 years with the most talented QB in NFL history is long enough. Every year is Super Bowl or bust 

Yeah I’m not giving them a pass this year because the GM threw out “transition” in an interview. I fully expect a 5th straight division title a home playoff win and to compete after that.

[The Jokeman]

55 minutes ago, Wizard said:

When Beane said the team is "in transition" what does that look like for you in 2024-2025.

 

For me, it means four (4 things).

 

1. Bills will be 10-7 and get a Wildcard

 

2. Bills will offload Miller and Knox and will have more cap space heading into 25-26 season

 

3. Bills will focus on finding a new punter, kicker, and a #1 DE and #1 WR with their top 3 2025-2026 draft picks.

 

4. With Bills having more cap space and and younger platers, Bills will extend Allen by 3 years.

 

5. 

 

I'm just curious what team in the division has improved enough to beat us out? I can guess the Jets as assume Rodgers won't miss the whole season again but we never did see what he could really do with their offense. 

[julian]

27 minutes ago, uticaclub said:

The expectation for the Bills should be a championship, but the realistic expectation is a division championship and a second-round exit, as it has been in previous years. I believe it is more likely that Josh Allen will force a trade after 2025 instead of accepting a contract extension here. Even though he claims to love Buffalo, his ultimate goal is to win a championship. There is a reason why Allen did not take the full restructure, so that too much money wasn't pushed to the future, and he could potentially leave before his contract is up.

I agree that is a possibility if he feels management continues to fall short, it’s not happening after this season.

[harmonkillebrew]

Young guys over vets, challenge them to grow and succeed, but they very well may fail.

 

2 scenarios:

A.

11-6: win the division again (not sure Miami got much better)

make the AFC Champ but lose to the Bengals

Von is back in form, Keon is productive, team struggles to adapt at first to new faces but then goes on a run

 

B.

8-9: miss the playoffs

Bills struggle out the gate. Hangover in leadership void. Returning guys like Milano are still getting up to speed. DB play lacking. Injuries.

Offense has no rhythm. Team is predictable and DCs flood the box.

3-6 and call for McD's head, but team comes together and goes on a mini-winning streak to give hope for future and save McD's job

 

 

[transient]

I'm still expecting a double digit win season, but I expect it to look ugly, especially early on, and I expect a lot of bitching about it in the process.

[thenorthremembers]

Transition year just means they are moving on from older players and trying to get younger and cheaper.    The expectation with Josh Allen at QB is to compete for a championship.  Fans are making way too big of a deal of Beane saying the word "transition."     Transition doesnt mean rebuild.   

[Bruffalo]

- Bills go 12-5, Allen gets a MVP because the narrative is that they took away his weapons and they still were very successful. 

 

- Aaron Rodgers breaks down (physically, but probably mentally too), Jets win 7 games.

 

- The Patriots get a Wildcard spot

 

- Miami falls apart as the offense is found out, but they continue to beat up on bad teams. Tua is still signed to a 45+ Million a year contract.

 

- Bills get to the AFC championship, beating the Chiefs in the divisional round.

[Logic]

Has anyone checked on the OP? 

His post stopped midway through.



 

1 hour ago, Nihilarian said:

WR Michael Thomas is still out there as a FA and I wonder what it would take to get him to Buffalo or if he is healthy enough to last a season.

 

If he can stay healthy he could make the whole offense more explosive.

Respectfully, I think Michael Thomas is alllll the way cooked.

I read an article last year about how the Saints were just doing absolutely everything to help him return to form. They were patient with him, they had him on a very specific and detailed recovery regimen, gave him opportunity after opportunity, etc...and he just...can't move any more. He can't play.

He hasn't posted more than 500 yards receiving since 2019.

I know he was dynamic in his heyday, and I know the "name" of Michael Thomas is appealing. But...the actual player that's attached to that name is all the way done, I think. 

I won't be surprised if he never plays another down in the NFL.

 

Edited May 1 by Logic

[ngbills]

What talent have they lost?

 

White has not contributed for a long time

Hyde and Poyer both lost a few steps

Diggs supposedly quit and is not the player he used to be

Davis can’t catch and disappears all the time

McG upgrades an aging Morse

The handful of ST guys like Neal, Mata, etc can be replaced. 
 

 

[78thealltimegreat]

  It’s very hard to know what to expect cause the bills just took a blow torch to their roster and are now replacing it with young cheaper talent. It had to be done at some point but geez.  

  I will say this if Josh has a similar year to last year without a number 1 receiver he’ll get his MVP. The stigma that Diggs made Josh will finally be gone from of these national media holdovers like Kay Adams and Steven A. Smith. So that’s good.

  Teamwise I think Beane and McDermott will hang their hat on Allen being Superman again and they’ll win 11 or 12 games…playoff run though is uncertain. 

 

[Ethan in Cleveland]

I put the over/under at 50 for the number of times during the season we hear McDermott say we have a young team while playing week 17 in the hope they make the WC. 

If Rodgers stays healthy the Jets are winning the division.  They will have a favorable schedule and added OL pieces to help protect Rodgers.  Their defense is formidable.  Patriots suck and Dolphins will unravel this year. 

 

[JGMcD2]

1 hour ago, uticaclub said:

The expectation for the Bills should be a championship, but the realistic expectation is a division championship and a second-round exit, as it has been in previous years. I believe it is more likely that Josh Allen will force a trade after 2025 instead of accepting a contract extension here. Even though he claims to love Buffalo, his ultimate goal is to win a championship. There is a reason why Allen did not take the full restructure, so that too much money wasn't pushed to the future, and he could potentially leave before his contract is up.

It's funny that you're commenting on things with such a negative slant while you have apparently zero idea as to how anything actually works. 

 

"Allen did not take the full restructure." Sir, Josh Allen doesn't have to agree to anything when it comes to a restructure. A restructure is taking the player's base salary and converting it to a signing bonus. It doesn't push any money down the road for Josh. He actually gets the money upfront in the form of a signing bonus, but the cap hit is spread evenly over the remainder of his contract. 

 

It's a lever that Brandon Beane pulls... not Josh Allen. He only restructured for what he needed, in order to avoid running up the cap hit in future seasons. 

Edited May 1 by JGMcD2

[Buffalo Boy]

   Best GUESS is two games on either side of .500……7 to 10 wins.

   Th AFCE being weak means we should win it but this team has consistently shown us the ability to not only play down to their bad opponent’s level but below it with shocking regularity. IF Rogers stays healthy, the Jets could be a solid team. 
    We also lost a tremendous amount of vet leadership in the D backfield which counts for something, both on the field and in the film room.

    If we make the playoffs I don’t see more than one win, if we miss the playoffs, I won’t be surprised.

[Einstein's Dog]

Transition could have meant moving on from the aging veterans to the younger set.  But it appears management is purposefully pushing it into the area of rebuild, especially in the WR room.  This may just be trying to set expectations low or it could be a trial balloon to see how the fan base will take to it.

 

Right now I do not like it.  One because of the rebuild look.  Secondly because the personnel is conducive to a dink and dunk offense.

 

I am still hoping for a move for an established WR, then I can think the Bills are contenders.

[BCAS Baritone]

1 hour ago, uticaclub said:

The expectation for the Bills should be a championship, but the realistic expectation is a division championship and a second-round exit, as it has been in previous years. I believe it is more likely that Josh Allen will force a trade after 2025 instead of accepting a contract extension here. Even though he claims to love Buffalo, his ultimate goal is to win a championship. There is a reason why Allen did not take the full restructure, so that too much money wasn't pushed to the future, and he could potentially leave before his contract is up.

Well, if he can force a trade to KC to take Mahomes spot, then that would increase his chances of winning a Super Bowl. Other than that his chances are as good here as any place else.  Maybe SF if they can keep that entire core together until then and beyond - but keeping that core together is extremely unlikely.  Even with a cheap QB contract on the books.

[Buffalo Boy]

1 hour ago, TheyCallMeAndy said:

I think everyone is totally misinterpreting the term transition. 
 

The team is evolving, which is what good teams do. Their offense will look different and their defense will look different. 
 

This team can evolve and still be a juggernaut, and that’s what I expect. 

Juggernaut????

Like last year?

The year before?

🤔

[BigDingus]

"In transition" implies that talent level has decreased, and they're retooling the roster to better compete in the future. 

[NastyNateSoldiers]

1 hour ago, Wizard said:

When Beane said the team is "in transition" what does that look like for you in 2024-2025.

 

For me, it means four (4 things).

 

1. Bills will be 10-7 and get a Wildcard

 

2. Bills will offload Miller and Knox and will have more cap space heading into 25-26 season

 

3. Bills will focus on finding a new punter, kicker, and a #1 DE and #1 WR with their top 3 2025-2026 draft picks.

 

4. With Bills having more cap space and and younger platers, Bills will extend Allen by 3 years.

 

5. 

 

Sounds like 2 yrs of transition.

[JohnBonhamRocks]

Hot take: My expectation going into every year with JA17 as QB is to win the Super Bowl.