After A Season of Silence - My Final Thoughts

[Billsfan4588]

Daily, multiple times per day, this message board is where I would get my Bills addiction fix. Just prior to the Bengals playoff slaughter, my son was born. I actually accidentally fell asleep 5 minutes before the kick off of that game and woke up to the game pretty much out of hand already (thanks newborn sleepless nights). You knew something was off, that was not the effort you expect from a home team in the playoffs.

 

Follow that up a year later with the Diggs rumors swirling. Eventually leading to the firing of Ken Dorsey, the birth of a new more efficient offense, and the phasing out of Diggs. We all remember how that season ended.

 

This preseason reminded much of the one where McDermott, and eventually Beane had initally arrived. I remember getting off my flight on my way to a resort in the Dominican Republic, turning my phone off airplane mode, and seeing that Sammy Watkins had been traded. This preseason, for a different reason, was another necessary cleansing. It brought a new energy, and shifted accountability to other players.

 

The team got a little younger, but leaders like Josh and Bernard matured. Change isn't always fun, in fact it rarely ever is, but it's necessary in order to grow. McDermott, to his credit, has fought against many of his own previous conceptions of how to handle certain situations. Going for it more often on 4th, not being afraid to blitz to end a game, playing a different base defense for portions of the game vs the Ravens. It's slow and frustrating but strides are being made.

 

Last night was rough, Josh starting out slow (probably jittery and too hyped up). What felt like every single crucial call going in the Chiefs favor. And in the end, with ~3 minutes left, down 3. We had the ball, we had a chance. So what happened? Easy answer is "execution" or just "coaching". In honesty, it was both, though I'm more on the "coaching" side. Whether Chiefs are on offense or on defense, in those end of game situations, need to have it first down or need to stop them 4th downs, they had a unique play ready to go in every situation thatvwas run to perfection. The most frustrating part of the final offensive play of the year for the Bills wasn't just the outcome, but rather, that they never even had a chance. During the commercial break, as I sat next to my brothers and a friend in my man cave, I said, "the Chiefs are going to blitz. And it's going to be a blitz different from any they ran tonight. And there will be a free runner directly at Josh who gets there so fast , he won't have a lane to run to, or time for anyone to really get open. Unfortunately, I have no idea where that blitz will come from." Fast forward to the play. Initially I wanted to blame Joe Brady for not have a blitz counter scripted in the play, but after watching replays seeing that he in fact did have Shakir in position, but that couldn't be taken advantage of from the direction the blitz came, and how fast they got there. I can't blame Joe Brady for being out witted by a DC with multiple superbowls who has 3 times the NFL experience Brady has. 

 

I was honestly exhausted when the game was over, pained mostly by how much Josh was showing it on his face, because as simple and silly as it sounds, he really cares. I was numbed to it and bummed that we got the ugliest SB match up imaginable. But, where do we go from here? It's obvious the coaching has to improve, but I believe it's mostly on Brady to grow this offseason, through no fault of his own, he's only 35 years old, and with a defensive head coach , who does have to lean on? If he does take a step forward, we're that more dangerous. Nothing is more frustrating than watching Josh have to complete td passes to wrs with 0.5 yds of separation named Mack Hollins (GOAT!) while Mahomes simply needs to flick 3 yd tosses to wide open RBs in the flat to further solidify his legacy. I hope to one day see Kincaid catch a slant wide open and take off to the endzone so many times as we've seen his draft class mate Sam Laporta do.

 

A couple of days ago, my 2 year old son had whats known as a febrile seizure or "fever seizure", unfortunately my wife and I had no idea what it was or that it's apparently very common. But one second he's eating dinner, the next he's limp, choking on air, eyes rolled in the back of his head and having a seizure on our kitchen floor for about 6 minutes until the ambulance arrives. He's doing great now, but it leads to my next point. As annoying as it sounds, I think we're right there, but there's another person who needs to grow and have a shift in his philosophy, and that's Brandon Beane. Sure, his draft picks haven't all been hits, but he's still fielded a pretty solid team. But after thinking my son was going to die, the old cliche of not waiting for tomorrow pops into my head. Do you really want to keep being conscious of the future for the sake of being decent for a prolonged period of time, or do you just want to win that 1 damn super bowl! My newest fear is dying and never seeing this team just reach the superbowl (I'm currently 34, only started watching football seriously in 2009 when I became a freshman at UB and had to be a Bills fan, my first draft comment ever was "who the hell is EJ Manuel??). I think it's time to sell out, be 49ers, be the Eagles, you can even be the 1 and done Rams, but just get it done, just once so your fan base can say they really went for it one time before they die.

 

The last person who needs to grow is me. The Chiefs are back to back champions, they went 15-1 with their starters this year, they did not take a singular game this season for granted. The Bills lost last night as one of the final 4 teams of professional millionaires all gunning for the same goal. I need to appreciate every one of their victories more often instead of always just appreciating the macro. 

 

Sorry for my novel, but I had to cram a years worth of posts here! Until next year, I really think this might be the season where Beane finally does something against how he's fundamentally run the team and go for some big splashes (Garret, Crosby, bring Khalil Mack back home, why not 2 of the 3?) Yes I remember the Von Miller signing, but I'm thinking more extreme, you have Josh Allen, you can attract all kinds of talent, let's hear other fan bases say "how in the hell does that fit in their cap space!" For once.

 

Let's go Buffalo!

[colin]

Good post dude.

 

Personally, I'd have been more negative and rip the coaches more, and post frequently and get in constant arguments, but that would prolly defeat the purpose of a long time coming heartfelt poast.

 

I like your idea of gunning for talent like the rams

[jkeerie]

Glad your son is doing okay!

[Billsfan4588]

34 minutes ago, jkeerie said:

Glad your son is doing okay!

Thank you!

[GaryPinC]

19 hours ago, Billsfan4588 said:

Daily, multiple times per day, this message board is where I would get my Bills addiction fix. Just prior to the Bengals playoff slaughter, my son was born. I actually accidentally fell asleep 5 minutes before the kick off of that game and woke up to the game pretty much out of hand already (thanks newborn sleepless nights). You knew something was off, that was not the effort you expect from a home team in the playoffs.

 

Follow that up a year later with the Diggs rumors swirling. Eventually leading to the firing of Ken Dorsey, the birth of a new more efficient offense, and the phasing out of Diggs. We all remember how that season ended.

 

This preseason reminded much of the one where McDermott, and eventually Beane had initally arrived. I remember getting off my flight on my way to a resort in the Dominican Republic, turning my phone off airplane mode, and seeing that Sammy Watkins had been traded. This preseason, for a different reason, was another necessary cleansing. It brought a new energy, and shifted accountability to other players.

 

The team got a little younger, but leaders like Josh and Bernard matured. Change isn't always fun, in fact it rarely ever is, but it's necessary in order to grow. McDermott, to his credit, has fought against many of his own previous conceptions of how to handle certain situations. Going for it more often on 4th, not being afraid to blitz to end a game, playing a different base defense for portions of the game vs the Ravens. It's slow and frustrating but strides are being made.

 

Last night was rough, Josh starting out slow (probably jittery and too hyped up). What felt like every single crucial call going in the Chiefs favor. And in the end, with ~3 minutes left, down 3. We had the ball, we had a chance. So what happened? Easy answer is "execution" or just "coaching". In honesty, it was both, though I'm more on the "coaching" side. Whether Chiefs are on offense or on defense, in those end of game situations, need to have it first down or need to stop them 4th downs, they had a unique play ready to go in every situation thatvwas run to perfection. The most frustrating part of the final offensive play of the year for the Bills wasn't just the outcome, but rather, that they never even had a chance. During the commercial break, as I sat next to my brothers and a friend in my man cave, I said, "the Chiefs are going to blitz. And it's going to be a blitz different from any they ran tonight. And there will be a free runner directly at Josh who gets there so fast , he won't have a lane to run to, or time for anyone to really get open. Unfortunately, I have no idea where that blitz will come from." Fast forward to the play. Initially I wanted to blame Joe Brady for not have a blitz counter scripted in the play, but after watching replays seeing that he in fact did have Shakir in position, but that couldn't be taken advantage of from the direction the blitz came, and how fast they got there. I can't blame Joe Brady for being out witted by a DC with multiple superbowls who has 3 times the NFL experience Brady has. 

 

I was honestly exhausted when the game was over, pained mostly by how much Josh was showing it on his face, because as simple and silly as it sounds, he really cares. I was numbed to it and bummed that we got the ugliest SB match up imaginable. But, where do we go from here? It's obvious the coaching has to improve, but I believe it's mostly on Brady to grow this offseason, through no fault of his own, he's only 35 years old, and with a defensive head coach , who does have to lean on? If he does take a step forward, we're that more dangerous. Nothing is more frustrating than watching Josh have to complete td passes to wrs with 0.5 yds of separation named Mack Hollins (GOAT!) while Mahomes simply needs to flick 3 yd tosses to wide open RBs in the flat to further solidify his legacy. I hope to one day see Kincaid catch a slant wide open and take off to the endzone so many times as we've seen his draft class mate Sam Laporta do.

 

A couple of days ago, my 2 year old son had whats known as a febrile seizure or "fever seizure", unfortunately my wife and I had no idea what it was or that it's apparently very common. But one second he's eating dinner, the next he's limp, choking on air, eyes rolled in the back of his head and having a seizure on our kitchen floor for about 6 minutes until the ambulance arrives. He's doing great now, but it leads to my next point. As annoying as it sounds, I think we're right there, but there's another person who needs to grow and have a shift in his philosophy, and that's Brandon Beane. Sure, his draft picks haven't all been hits, but he's still fielded a pretty solid team. But after thinking my son was going to die, the old cliche of not waiting for tomorrow pops into my head. Do you really want to keep being conscious of the future for the sake of being decent for a prolonged period of time, or do you just want to win that 1 damn super bowl! My newest fear is dying and never seeing this team just reach the superbowl (I'm currently 34, only started watching football seriously in 2009 when I became a freshman at UB and had to be a Bills fan, my first draft comment ever was "who the hell is EJ Manuel??). I think it's time to sell out, be 49ers, be the Eagles, you can even be the 1 and done Rams, but just get it done, just once so your fan base can say they really went for it one time before they die.

 

The last person who needs to grow is me. The Chiefs are back to back champions, they went 15-1 with their starters this year, they did not take a singular game this season for granted. The Bills lost last night as one of the final 4 teams of professional millionaires all gunning for the same goal. I need to appreciate every one of their victories more often instead of always just appreciating the macro. 

 

Sorry for my novel, but I had to cram a years worth of posts here! Until next year, I really think this might be the season where Beane finally does something against how he's fundamentally run the team and go for some big splashes (Garret, Crosby, bring Khalil Mack back home, why not 2 of the 3?) Yes I remember the Von Miller signing, but I'm thinking more extreme, you have Josh Allen, you can attract all kinds of talent, let's hear other fan bases say "how in the hell does that fit in their cap space!" For once.

 

Let's go Buffalo!

So glad your son is ok too.  As a parent, that is truly frightening.  Especially that dark chasm of helplessness waiting for the ambulance.  My daughter (who's in her 20's now) was about that age when she fell off the bed hitting her head on the slab floor.  Passed out and turned a little blue until she woke up like 3 seconds later.  Luckily she was fine, but ugh.  I'll never forget that frantic moment holding her praying she would wake up.  Then the 5-10 minutes for the ambulance to make sure she's ok.

 

Great post and right on about seizing these moments for Beane and the coaches!

[uticaclub]

Glad your son is doing ok, but a Tiger doesn’t change its stripes. We are stuck with Beane & McDermott until Josh says he wants out

[mannc]

18 hours ago, colin said:

 

 

I like your idea of gunning for talent like the rams

Except that every time Bills have done it, they’ve been burned.

[colin]

9 minutes ago, mannc said:

Except that every time Bills have done it, they’ve been burned.

True, but we gotta go for it.  We have way too many ok guys and non athletes.  We need to get physical match up problems and one or two proven high quality players.

 

If we can trade for Metcalf and Crosby, or whatever, guys like that change what we can do on high leverage downs and can put us over the top in the playoffs.

[Don Otreply]

13 minutes ago, mannc said:

Except that every time Bills have done it, they’ve been burned.

Decision makers that listen to their scouts? Might help…, that and stop signing 31 year old formerly good players, especially for big money, and multiple years, 

 

gotta get these guys as they come into their prime, not as they are leaving it,

[mannc]

3 minutes ago, Don Otreply said:

Decision makers that listen to their scouts? Might help…, that and stop signing 31 year old formerly good players, especially for big money, and multiple years, 

 

gotta get these guys as they come into their prime, not as they are leaving it,

Draft them, maybe?

[Don Otreply]

6 minutes ago, mannc said:

Draft them, maybe?

One would think so, but D - line and WRs are not this tandem’s forte in the draft, to much of guys that are a bit to small, and  or “have great potential” , because they can play in multiple spots, just draft big nasty SOBs that can collapse the pocket with regularity, and two WRs that are  fast can separate and catch the damn ball, it can’t be that hard, lol