Why is this board so negative?

[LABILLBACKER]

3 hours ago, Einstein said:

 

I think this is accurate.

 

In 2019 the thought was: “this is fun! but even if we don’t win the Super Bowl, the future is really bright”

 

And then in 2021, it was: “we should have been in the Super Bowl, if not for a fluky 13 seconds. Future is bright”.

 

And then by 2023 it was: “uh, it’s now or never. The roster is aging and we have wasted the past 4 years.

 

In 2024, the future doesn’t look quite as bright. 

Yup, that's a pretty accurate timeline.

[Goin Breakdown]

Mostly because it's the internet.

[Buftex]

3 hours ago, Doc Brown said:

I agree.  "My best guess" or "imo" would pry be better than "pry."

After spending way too much time on this board for years, and now being an occaisional lurker, it is amazing...the people who were a-holes are still complete a-holes (see PPP), but the handful of good posters are still great!  That is you Doc Brown!

[QBorBust2018]

No dome 

[BobbyC81]

Anybody else see Kyle Brandt on GMFB on Monday going off on negative people?  It was awesome!

[sven233]

Maybe it's because the 3 highest cap hits for this team this season are Diggs, Milano, and Miller.  One isn't on the team, one is probably out for the year, and nobody knows if the other one who is 34 years old coming off a major injury will be able to even be a fraction of what he once was......

 

Maybe it's because out WR room is nothing but a big question mark with injuries mounting by the day.

 

Maybe it's because the safety position which has never been in question for the last 7-8 years suddenly is completely turned over and the guys we were relying on to try to hold it down with have had more injury time than practice time.

 

Maybe it's because we have the most physically gifted QB of all time who does everything in his power to throw this team on his back week in and week out doesn't get the proper help he deserves.

 

Maybe it's because our head coach has yet to prove that he is ready for "the moment" and has made some of the worst coaching decisions of all time in the biggest games at the most critical times.

 

Look......  I get it.  It's frustrating to see the negativity around here.  But, the fact is, a lot of it is warranted.  We as a fan base want to win a Super Bowl so badly that it tends to consume us at times.  Going into the last 3 seasons or so, we knew that we were good enough to win the thing and whether it be because of bad coaching, unfortunate injuries, or several other factors, we didn't get the job done even though I truly believe we were the best team in probably 2 of those seasons.  I think the other part of the frustration is, while we will always have a chance to win the Super Bowl as long as 17 is healthy and playing for us, that this season just doesn't feel anywhere near as certain that we can compete as we have the last few years. 

 

Who knows.....maybe everything turns out OK and come January we will all in on this team.  Maybe we somehow turn the injury luck around and go into the biggest games of the season fully healthy.  Maybe this WR room by committee actually works and Allen has the best year of his career because defenses can't shift their focus to stopping one particular player or concept we're running.  Maybe McDermott finally learns from his mistakes and coaches with common sense in the big moments.  And maybe in the first season in a long time we have more questions and concerns than answers and belief, turns out to be the one where we achieve our ultimate goal.  But, right now, I think it is understandable if everyone has a bit of negativity when it comes to our injuries and lack of true star power to help our unicorn QB win the last NFL game of the season.  Hopefully, though, in about 18 days, we come out firing on all cylinders and turn some of these negative thoughts into optimism for the rest of the season.

[Freak-O]

Because the loudest people on the internet in general are idiots. The match day threads are a cesspool as soon the Bills play anything but perfectly. 

[Dr. Who]

28 minutes ago, sven233 said:

Maybe it's because the 3 highest cap hits for this team this season are Diggs, Milano, and Miller.  One isn't on the team, one is probably out for the year, and nobody knows if the other one who is 34 years old coming off a major injury will be able to even be a fraction of what he once was......

 

Maybe it's because out WR room is nothing but a big question mark with injuries mounting by the day.

 

Maybe it's because the safety position which has never been in question for the last 7-8 years suddenly is completely turned over and the guys we were relying on to try to hold it down with have had more injury time than practice time.

 

Maybe it's because we have the most physically gifted QB of all time who does everything in his power to throw this team on his back week in and week out doesn't get the proper help he deserves.

 

Maybe it's because our head coach has yet to prove that he is ready for "the moment" and has made some of the worst coaching decisions of all time in the biggest games at the most critical times.

 

Look......  I get it.  It's frustrating to see the negativity around here.  But, the fact is, a lot of it is warranted.  We as a fan base want to win a Super Bowl so badly that it tends to consume us at times.  Going into the last 3 seasons or so, we knew that we were good enough to win the thing and whether it be because of bad coaching, unfortunate injuries, or several other factors, we didn't get the job done even though I truly believe we were the best team in probably 2 of those seasons.  I think the other part of the frustration is, while we will always have a chance to win the Super Bowl as long as 17 is healthy and playing for us, that this season just doesn't feel anywhere near as certain that we can compete as we have the last few years. 

 

Who knows.....maybe everything turns out OK and come January we will all in on this team.  Maybe we somehow turn the injury luck around and go into the biggest games of the season fully healthy.  Maybe this WR room by committee actually works and Allen has the best year of his career because defenses can't shift their focus to stopping one particular player or concept we're running.  Maybe McDermott finally learns from his mistakes and coaches with common sense in the big moments.  And maybe in the first season in a long time we have more questions and concerns than answers and belief, turns out to be the one where we achieve our ultimate goal.  But, right now, I think it is understandable if everyone has a bit of negativity when it comes to our injuries and lack of true star power to help our unicorn QB win the last NFL game of the season.  Hopefully, though, in about 18 days, we come out firing on all cylinders and turn some of these negative thoughts into optimism for the rest of the season.

Nice summation. It ought not to be that hard to see. 

[nucci]

8 hours ago, BufBills83 said:

Asking for a friend.

who's your friend?

[GunnerBill]

I think we need to disaggregate "critical" from "negative." I am not negative about the Bills. There are always elements of the decision making - around coaching, ownership, roster building, player performance that can be criticised. Some of those criticisms will be justified, some won't and some will be disputed either way. 

 

I agree there are some people who are inherently negative and just see everything as an example of a hopeless franchise that will never get out of its own way. The BBFS remains strong in some. But most people are just trying to critique where we stand at any one point and right now going into the season the two areas that the majority of us were concerned about - safety and wide receiver - remain big question marks. 

4 hours ago, Freak-O said:

Because the loudest people on the internet in general are idiots. The match day threads are a cesspool as soon the Bills play anything but perfectly. 

 

the gameday thread is fun it isn't supposed to be taken in any way seriously. It's a stream of consciousness not a genuine discussion.

[Buffalo Boy]

7 hours ago, <bills4life> said:

So are people who choose to ignore the bills shortcomings ignorant?

Nope.

Ignorance is through no fault of the person harboring it….. they just don’t know.

You're describing willful ignorance. Choosing to ignore reality because you don’t like it. That’s just a polite way of saying stupid.

[Bill from NYC]

7 hours ago, MJS said:

The only ones who call themselves realists are pessimists. Just a fact.

Perhaps, but don't you also see the low expectations of some posters as a defense mechanism? I mean really.

 

And it isn't a matter of not supporting the team. I went to a game in which Alex Van Pelt was the starter. Do you think that we had a decent chance to win? All of us have a large list of the huge bad breaks we have witnessed as fans. There is no need for me to itemize them. I have lived through some of the worst coaching and general managing possible. I've suffered through draft choices which were unthinkablly stupid, yet I have spent thousands of dollars to attend games and support the team. Things are not quite as bad as they used to be. There is no doubt about this but some mistakes are still evident and scars do remain for many. 

 

I suppose I should be classified as one of the "pessimists" wrt the Bills. My life experiences have taught me to hope for the best, but to also be realistic. With Josh Allen, we have a chance to win a Super Bowl. Perhaps even a very good chance. I for one hope that this opportunity isn't wasted by poor management.  Bills Fans really do deserve a winner.

 

GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[GunnerBill]

2 minutes ago, Bill from NYC said:

Perhaps, but don't you also see the low expectations of some posters as a defense mechanism? I mean really.

 

And it isn't a matter of not supporting the team. I went to a game in which Alex Van Pelt was the starter. Do you think that we had a decent chance to win? All of us have a large list of the huge bad breaks we have witnessed as fans. There is no need for me to itemize them. I have lived through some of the worst coaching and general managing possible. I've suffered through draft choices which were unthinkablly stupid, yet I have spent thousands of dollars to attend games and support the team. Things are not quite as bad as they used to be. There is no doubt about this but some mistakes are still evident and scars do remain for many. 

 

I suppose I should be classified as one of the "pessimists" wrt the Bills. My life experiences have taught me to hope for the best, but to also be realistic. With Josh Allen, we have a chance to win a Super Bowl. Perhaps even a very good chance. I for one hope that this opportunity isn't wasted by poor management.  Bills Fans really do deserve a winner.

 

GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

That is a pretty big understatement. Things are massively better than they used to be. At all levels of the organisation from ownership down. Does that mean people should only want to be positive or wave pom poms? No definitely not. Does it mean any of the main protagonists in the organisation now should be beyond scrutiny?  No way. But things are a hell of a lot better than they were for the majority of my fandom. 

[Malazan]

9 hours ago, Bill from NYC said:

One great thing about this board is the intellectual discussion between people with varying opinions of the Bills and how the organization is managed. This I find to be far more interesting and often educational than reading a board full of posts from people who only see the bright side and will be pom pom wavers for anything and everything the Bills do.

 

There is plenty of room on TSW for optimists and pessimists alike.

 

GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

The issue isn't different takes. It's that, much like the rest of society, is that extremes on both sides dominate and drive the discussion making it difficult to have a real conversation. Some people seem more interested in their extreme interpretation of events being accepted as reality and it alienates every single discussion that takes place.

 

It's not unique to this forum. Go to the patriots board and you'll see that they have a roiling discussion that Bill Belichick was one of the worst coaches in the league in place of the feelings on McDermott here.

[Buffalo Boy]

6 hours ago, Avisan said:

Except those "hard truths" are always something like "Beane is a bad GM," "McDermott is a failure of a coach wasting Josh Allen's career," "The Bills are going to struggle to move the ball at all," "The Bills will go 7-10 and miss the playoffs," etc.

 

And the kicker is that the objective data we have available to try to evaluate the potential truth of these subjective statements is, without fail, mixed or antithetical to those "hard truths" being doomed around the board.

 

The ACTUAL hard truth is that the Bills are by all reasonable estimations a well-run football organization and one of the most objectively successful teams not named the Chiefs for the past five years, and that winning a Superbowl is really, really hard when you have to go through a dynasty in your conference to even get to the big game in the first place.

 

 

Another way of looking at it:

   Historically, HCs don’t last long. They have a typical shelf life and then they start to get stale. This is based on two things. The message getting old and/or lack of results. I am not the first to state it is a results driven league. One last factor in this ownership and their predilections.

    GMs also have a shelf life which is usually longer and is based on bringing in good players consistently and doing so within the constraints of the cap.

    McBeane have been doing this for a considerable length of time with relative impunity. Impunity that includes not having to explain multiple inexplicable gaffs which we call “13 seconds” or  acceptance of playoff D implosions as the norm.GM Impunity that includes large amounts of inexplicable draft picks at certain positions that amount to JAGdom. This has left us with a woefully mediocre talent level after having spent ridiculous amount of time and capital ( draft and $). Impunity that includes accepting a bargain basement free agent acquisition MO with the large splashes being 50/50. ( Diggs/Miller)

Also, defensive acquisition leaning that doesn’t put our only Superstar player in an enviable position but requires him to make magic happen single handedly.
    Now, we are asked to allow them to restock and try again.

    The clock that ticks is Josh Allen’s prime. A QB who take a level of physical punishment markedly higher that the “ Average NFL QB” by nature ( unavoidable) but also by scheme design due to his use as a Get out of Jail Free card by OCs ( chosen by McBeane) who are possibly in over their heads.

    My chiropractor is an avid Steelers fan. Pics of Bradshaw and such adorn the walls of his office. He hates Tomlin. Why? Many of the same reasons us “ Pessimists “ have seen enough with McD. He’s a defensive coach who’s had a long enough leash to win with a team of his own building and will constantly keep them in purgatory territory but never win the big one ( with his guys) 

   McD threw a gift wrapped invite to the SB right out the window. Some feel it was an unfortunate but reasonable thing and just part of his learning process. Some don’t. 
   Those of us who feel this way want to win the SB as much as anyone. We have enjoyed watching Josh ball out. We have enjoyed winning games. But, we also have enough foresight to see it is most likely going nowhere under this current regime and want to capitalize on Josh’s remaining prime( which might be considerably shorter than many assume/ see Cam Newton)

[Bill from NYC]

40 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

That is a pretty big understatement. Things are massively better than they used to be. At all levels of the organisation from ownership down. Does that mean people should only want to be positive or wave pom poms? No definitely not. Does it mean any of the main protagonists in the organisation now should be beyond scrutiny?  No way. But things are a hell of a lot better than they were for the majority of my fandom. 

Yeah, I suppose I could have left out the word "quite."

 

That said, I am far less enchanted by McDermott than you are.

[BarleyNY]

9 hours ago, MJS said:

The only ones who call themselves realists are pessimists. Just a fact.

Horsesh*t. You know how you can tell the difference? When things are good the irrational, emotional people are way too high. Everything is perfect for them and they get upset when the realists point out what they think is not. That’s when the realists get called pessimists. But when things go wrong those same irrational and emotional people crash. Suddenly everyone sucks and the team is garbage. I’ve never seen a realist come down on the team like they do. In fact, those same realists keep their even keel and are the ones to tell everyone that things aren’t that bad. They point out that changes need to be made - often the same changes they advocated for when things looked good to many - but that there’s still a lot of good. They are the ones who can see the path forward from bad times. 

[mjd1001]

1.)  many people are more likely to express negative sentiments than positive ones on a lot of topics.  If people are happy, they often times just be happy and go about their own business. But when someone doesn't like something, they want to complain and be heard. Not everyone, not all the time, but it seems this way more than not.

 

2.)  self defense mechanism. I have one relative that is this way a lot....ALWAYS complain about something...be negative, tell everyone you are negative, and then IF things go your way, its a bonus. Kinda like buying insurance. If the team does well, few care you were negative because everyone is happy in the end. BUT, if things go wrong, you can take pride in being the one that said "I told you so!!"

 

3.)  The curse of high expectations.  I have thought something like this for a while....there are only 2 ways MOST fans will be happy.  First, you win the championship. Second, you exceed expectations.  When the "expectation" is that you WIN the championship and nothing else, then anything OTHER than that is a failure....thus something to be negative about.  Think about it, when the Bills were bad a few years ago and Josh took over and had those first few games, no one expected them to win the Super Bowl right away but the board was a lot more positive as they got better with him. Why? Lower expectations. Not the case anymore.

12 hours ago, MJS said:

The only ones who call themselves realists are pessimists. Just a fact.

Hard disagree on that one.

 

Usually bright eyed optimists, people who's expectations are not even close to grounded in any kind of reality...those people often can't take the idea that someone disagrees with their sky high expectations....so when that person does disagree with them, they say a statement like you just did.

 

Its not a fact. You saying its a fact in itself is a defense mechanism you are putting out there to try to prevent people from disagreeing with you because you so BADLY don't want people to disagree with you.

 

Someone who calls themself a realist MAY be a pessimist...but they may also be someone who like to position their opinion in a way where they take into consideration both positive and negative possible outcomes equally.

Edited August 21 by mjd1001

[teef]

i came into this thread expecting it to be far more spicy.  i'm disappointed in all of you.  

[Gregg]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/new-york-jets-head-coach-robert-saleh-sounds-like-a-buffalo-bill-iever/ar-AA1pb1DK?ocid=entnewsntp&pc=DCTS&cvid=6f8fe89fe6414c3aa729edda2bfe485a&ei=13