Realistic "Transition Year" Expectations

[Meatloaf63]

9 hours ago, Ethan in Cleveland said:

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. 

 

Rodgers wasn’t that great two years ago, not that worried he’s gonna be a giant savior . Defense didn’t play well down the stretch either if i remember correctly. The only thing they got going for third place schedule.

[Meatloaf63]

8 hours ago, Buffalo Boy said:

  Somehow, the work Rookie seems to have lost its meaning. 
   I think Coleman is the one rook who could be used effectively fairly quickly in certain specific packages but he’s not going out there and starting.

   The DBs in general are potentially going to be sorely lacking in cohesiveness, especially at the start of the season. We could be trying to play catch up in a lot of games which our O doesn’t seem it will be  built for.

   

The DB’s are pretty much the same as las year except losing two old has beens. The speed of Cole will make up for his inexperience. More worried about the d line than the d backs.

[Bills Bud]

And then Allen will be in his 30s. The way he plays he will not have as long a career as most QBs. It should be go time now

[Pete]

5. Josh leads Buffalo to our first SuperBowl Victory!  This begins a run of championships, breaking NE and Chefs record

[gonzo1105]

The playoffs and see what happens. Transition doesn’t mean they have plans of losing more games. I don’t know why this is even a thing to discuss. We are only rebuilding in the sense of going from veterans to young . The goal is still the SB 

[Billznut]

For the past 4-5 seasons, the Bills have had 3-5 blowout wins per season, occasionally more. I think considering the schedule and the 2024 roster compared to past years, I don’t see the Bills with a lot of blowout wins. Expect alot more close games this year and hope we can win more than we lose. Like others, I’m expecting somewhere between 8-11 wins, and we need to be extremely healthy to achieve 10-11 wins, which we have not been fortunate in that regard the past few seasons. 

Edited May 2 by Billznut

[ProcessTruster]

11 wins.  Playoff progress depends on how healthy the roster is when they roll around.   Pretty much that simple.  

[MasterStrategist]

If anyone even listened to the Beane presswr, the word "transition" came up as a response to filling leadership roles/parting ways with vets.  Every year is a new roster/new dynamic.

 

Now, too many are using that to put words in Beanes mouth (ie: don't get expectations high, 2024 is a rebuild/2025 is the focus, etc).

 

To pull out a 'Tomlinism', "the standard is the standard".  It's playing "playoff caliber" ball all season, reaching the dance and trying to make a run at a SB.

 

Anything beyond that is pure speculation/reflection of what posters think this team is capable of.

[ControllerOfPlanetX]

Several missed extra points and field goals fading to the right that will have us holding our breath with every kick.

[27yankees]

I'll let you know after week 19.

[strive_for_five_guy]

13 hours ago, boyst said:

19-0

Bills going to pass on playing in the actual Super Bowl and chance at perfection?

[Big Blitz]

You can make the case last year was the transition year on the field.  
 

New guys on D.  
 

No Maine.  Poyer and Hyde old.  No White.  No Milano.  No Von.  
 

No Diggs.  Lol lol.  
 

Fired the OC mid season.  
 

Kincaid.  Torrence.  Cook.  More running.  Elite Oline.  

The reboot happened.  
 

 

The only transition is leadership.  Because as always, if healthy this team is better then last years team.

[boyst]

7 hours ago, strive_for_five_guy said:

Bills going to pass on playing in the actual Super Bowl and chance at perfection?

Yes.

[GunnerBill]

16 hours ago, Pine Barrens Mafia said:

10 is the absolute best case scenario

 

9 or less is more likely. If Rodgers stays healthy, that team wins the division, and the Bills are on the outside looking in

 

 

I just don't trust Aaron Rodgers' motivation. I do think the Jets are the threat to the Bills in the division but I think Aaron is already retired in his head. If the Jets get off to a hot start they are a threat. But when adversity hits I think he will check out very quickly. 

 

I have the Bills winning 10 or 11. That could be enough for the division. It will likely be enough for the playoffs. I think the Jets could be a playoff team. I don't think Miami will be because I think their defense is gonna suck and while they will put up points against bad teams they will stall against good teams as per usual. 

[SoTier]

10 hours ago, MasterStrategist said:

If anyone even listened to the Beane presswr, the word "transition" came up as a response to filling leadership roles/parting ways with vets.  Every year is a new roster/new dynamic.

 

Now, too many are using that to put words in Beanes mouth (ie: don't get expectations high, 2024 is a rebuild/2025 is the focus, etc).

 

To pull out a 'Tomlinism', "the standard is the standard".  It's playing "playoff caliber" ball all season, reaching the dance and trying to make a run at a SB.

 

Anything beyond that is pure speculation/reflection of what posters think this team is capable of.

 

This was my take, too.   Moreover, "transition" means changing or morphing into something else.    The Bills didn't tear down the team they had from last year but shed mostly players who underperformed compared to their past play, especially in the playoffs.  My guess is that without cap issues, it still would be unlikely that White, Hyde, Poyer, and even Davis would be starters on the 2024 team.  Diggs would definitely not be a Bill in 2024.   Only Floyd and Morse would be starters.

 

 

1 hour ago, GunnerBill said:

 

I just don't trust Aaron Rodgers' motivation. I do think the Jets are the threat to the Bills in the division but I think Aaron is already retired in his head. If the Jets get off to a hot start they are a threat. But when adversity hits I think he will check out very quickly. 

 

I have the Bills winning 10 or 11. That could be enough for the division. It will likely be enough for the playoffs. I think the Jets could be a playoff team. I don't think Miami will be because I think their defense is gonna suck and while they will put up points against bad teams they will stall against good teams as per usual. 

 

I agree. 

 

As a retiree, I can attest to how actually making the decision to retire impacts your attitude even if that retirement date is a year or two in the future.  If you've got all your retirement ducks in a row, especially financially and the date set, the urge to just say "take this job and shove it" and walk out the door when things go south is like a siren-song ... even if you've loved your career and job and have always been a "team player". 

 

Personally, I don't think Rodgers has been a "team player" for a long time if ever.  His flirtation with politics this past winter demonstrates that he's already planning his next chapter.

[mjt328]

The Chiefs have now won the AFC West 8 years in a row, and won double-digit games 9 years in a row.  During that span, they have 3 Super Bowl wins and 4 appearances.  Nobody is expecting less this year.

 

Before them, the Patriots had 17 straight seasons with double-digit wins.  They won the AFC East 16 of those years.  The only year they didn't was when Tom Brady tore his ACL in Week 1, and they still somehow finished with an 11-5 record.

 

Around the same time, the Colts had 9 straight seasons with double-digit wins.  Won the AFC South in all but one of those years (12-4 and still ended in second place).  Then Peyton Manning missed an entire year with a neck injury and was released.  After that down year, they did it 3 more years in a row with Andrew Luck.

 

Even the Steelers now have 20 straight years finishing .500 or above.  They haven't had a losing season since Tommy Maddox was the starting quarterback.

 

 

Bottom line... there are no legitimate excuses for not winning 10-11 plus games and at least making the playoffs.  The idea that we "must go through a down year" to re-set the roster and fix the salary cap is complete nonsense.  If we can't go 3-4 seasons without needing to rebuild and reboot everything, then Brandon Beane isn't good enough as a General Manager, and he wasn't doing a proper job of preparing for the future.

 

Now whether that expectation is reality, I don't know.  Beane's actions appear (at least from the outside) to be a guy fully expecting a rebuild season, and then reloading a year from now.  Hoping that I'm wrong.

 

[DapperCam]

My expectations in a reset year, considering we still have a top-3 QB in the league.

 

Floor: Wild Card

Good outcome: Win the Division

Probably unrealistic: 1st round bye
 

Once we get in the playoffs, anything can happen.

[strive_for_five_guy]

15 minutes ago, DapperCam said:

My expectations in a reset year, considering we still have a top-3 QB in the league.

 

Floor: Wild Card

Good outcome: Win the Division

Probably unrealistic: 1st round bye
 

Once we get in the playoffs, anything can happen.

I think Josh is going to be laser-focused this season, wanting to show that Diggs was not the reason for this success.  Also think he learned during last part of last season how to win without making the superhuman pass.  And then he’s got a full offseason with Hailee to help keep his head on straight too.  MVP-caliber season for Josh, coming up.

[uticaclub]

13 hours ago, Billznut said:

For the past 4-5 seasons, the Bills have had 3-5 blowout wins per season, occasionally more. I think considering the schedule and the 2024 roster compared to past years, I don’t see the Bills with a lot of blowout wins. Expect alot more close games this year and hope we can win more than we lose. Like others, I’m expecting somewhere between 8-11 wins, and we need to be extremely healthy to achieve 10-11 wins, which we have not been fortunate in that regard the past few seasons. 

We still play the Dolphins, Jets & Pats twice. We will blow them out once and play the other the one close.

[LABILLBACKER]

13 hours ago, Meatloaf63 said:

The DB’s are pretty much the same as las year except losing two old has beens. The speed of Cole will make up for his inexperience. More worried about the d line than the d backs.

Our biggest problem on defense is we don't have any dynamic pass rushers. I don't see Miller, Rousseau or Epenesa reaching 10 sacks. Our Lb's will have to play out of their minds.