How much do we need to change to get to the SuperBowl? Not that much actually.

[Sojourner]

1 hour ago, The Firebaugh Kid said:

Any idea who might be able to fill the defensive tackle role? I haven’t done much college scouting this year

The ones that are going to be available when we pick? Right now there’s a few but it depends on their combine/pro days. 

People that are getting all the talk so far around the end of the first through early second from what I see are: 

 

• Walter Nolen, Ole Miss
• Tyliek Williams, OSU
• Derrick Harmon, Oregon
• TJ Sanders, USC 

 

They all all have question marks but Harmon and Sanders are my favorite out of that group. They’re both pretty solid at stacking and shedding against the run. Something we sorely lack, both however can rush the passer as well. Motor is the big thing for me. A guy who’s constantly trying to bring it on every play. Both can do that but I’d take Harmon personally. He’s got production against quality team over his career whilst Sanders, in terms of potential might edge Harmon for some, lacks top end experience. 
 

If we are going on raw ability and measurables then I think Kentucky’s Deon Walker and Texas’ Alfred Collins are guys to watch who could test well and improve their draft stock during the coming months. 
 

Still a lot of coaching needed but both are solid against the run. Walker anchors well and plays with great effort but sometimes that’s his downfall as he gets caught out by his technique with leverage and hands. Something at his size effectively wipes him out of the play. Definite refinement needed in that department. Alfred Collins, Texas is in the same area for me. Personally, those two are my favorites after the Michigan duo of Graham and Grant but we realistically aren’t getting a crack at them without trading up in the draft unless something goes horribly wrong for them both. 

Edited Friday at 03:59 PM by Sojourner

[Cheektowaga Chad]

1 hour ago, nosejob said:

We should bring in Wink Martindale as a Defensive consultant.

Who has babich coaches with previously? Or his father as well?

 

Completely judging the guy based off how he presents himself, he doesn't look like a guy that wants to play a bland bend but don't break style 

 

Hoping he can put more of his spin on the defense as the team gets more talent 

[jaybeezee]

18 minutes ago, mbowman14 said:

I think Rousseau is better relative to Edmunds, but only a step up from JAG and never going to be over-the-top impactful against elite competition.  He also picked a very bad time for his worst game of the season.  His edge contain starting with the 4th down-play in KC's own territory, that was an obvious Mahomes keeper, was brutal all night.  He will be a very tough call because I think his price (similar to Edmunds) will ultimately leave the buyer remorseful.  The issue is he is clearly the best the Bills have, and they still need another more impactful DE as well.

I dont disagree with you on this! Everyone knew he was a project before he was drafted, with many of the draft scouts stating that he was a mid-to late second rounder for sure. My beef is we draft him when we needed more of a sure thing if we are gonna draft a DE. If there were none better than him when we picked, then draft BPA at another position of need, and trust me we had many!

[jaybeezee]

To me there have been way too many reaches with our 1st and second round picks and that is on Beane, who BTW I dont think really runs our draft in the early rounds. 

 

No matter how much so of his apologist on this board try and defend him.... he has sucked at getting us top end talent, especially on offense. I can name one outside of Josh Allen, who was drafted 7 years ago btw and his name is James Cook!

Edited Friday at 04:11 PM by jaybeezee

[jaybeezee]

1 hour ago, gjv said:

As someone who has watched every Bills snap this season, but by no means is qualified to build an NFL roster, I would say to get the Bills over the hump would require a 15% improvement to our offense and an 85% improvement to our defense. The improvement to our offense has more to do with improving play execution and improved mental toughness to make clutch plays under stress. However, on the defense, I think the focus is the same as the Offense, but also a need for better talent on the Dline and at Safety. 

I would agree to an extent, but we had a top flight defense several years ago, coupled with Diggs, Beasley, Davis, Sanders and still lost because we our defense couldnt stop them.

 

IMO we could have allstars on our defense and still lose to KC. The biggest problem we have is Scheme, which is on the Coach(s).

[Beast]

I’d like to see 3 pieces added that I believe can put us over the top. Of course, getting these pieces could be a challenge.

 

1- A defensive lineman that can get to the QB during the playoffs.

 

2-  A quick twitch wide receiver that can create early separation and can be a deep threat.

 

3- Another stud CB to line up opposite Benford.

[Kelly to Allen]

The saddest part of this run is Tre white and Von getting hurt. 

 

It's so unbelievably frustrating and ridiculous 

[ToGoGo]

1 hour ago, T master said:

 

And we can in some games say - Thank you refs ! 

 

If you look at the D we lose a player in Edmunds that is suppose to be this STUD but has no real relevant contributions, his replacement is MUCH better and is noticed in the first season, then the 2 best safety's in the league get older and need to be replaced, they get Von he shows real good then gets hurt and isn't the same which happens to a lot of younger players too when hurt in the same way , Millano one of our best players gets hurt it happens and takes time for him to come back , then we lose 2 seasons of one of the best CB's in the league in Tre da and have to put a band aid on that position for 2 seasons . 

 

So just maybe it's circumstance ??? But no one here seems to take ANY of that into consideration, Oh it's the Coach, it's the scheme, it's this, it's that, if all of the stars align and none of this type of thing happens where do you think the Bills are then ?

 

Every body says and it's true,  it happens to every team and you need really good depth players which is true, but replacing all pro's, and pro bowl players then those being 3 & 4 at a time being taken away due to injury is in some respects hard for any coach or team to over come yet McD always seems to over come them and gets the Bills in the play offs .

 

But he sucks Fire him ... 

 

The truth is McD has maxed out the team's performance every year since 2017. 

[Magox]

Of course we are not far off, which is why usually all these hot takes right after the game are usually silly.

 

Beane said as much, there isn't much to change and that if they had the opportunity with 3 minutes left down 3 with the ball in Josh's hands that he'd sign right up for that.

 

We had our chances and we could have won that game.   

 

With that said that doesn't mean there aren't things to improve and for me, first and foremost is changing up the defense to play more man to man and to disguise your looks.   Mahomes/Andy Reid killed us with their first options.  Mahomes was throwing to his first option most of the time, which means no matter who you had rushing the passer it wouldn't have made a flip of a difference on those passes.  Mahomes averaged 2.29 seconds per pass, that is indicative of a defensive scheme issue more so than a player personnel one.

 

Secondly, we will need to replace Elam/Douglas and my first option is that we go into FA and the splash signing should be DJ Reed.  He is a man to man specialist, knows the division very well and has a fierce competitive edge to him.  He's quick and should be able to match up against KC's quicker receivers.  He and Benford both manning the outside should allow a lot of flexibility for the defense to run more blitzes.

 

Third, go after a guy like Calais Campbell who is an ageless wonder, still very powerful against the run and he's got that dawg in him.   Not sure if you guys have seen his defensive speeches right before games but he's a natural leader and would add juice to the defensive line to shore up the run.   

 

In the draft with your three premium picks get an Edge rusher, Run stuffing DT and a WR.        Get more help at safety and CB with some other draft picks and need to see Javon Soloman, Cole Bishop, Keon Coleman and Dalton Kincaid take up their games another notch.

 

The offense is going to be really good again, that's pretty much set unless injuries plague them.   The defense for me is what needs most of the revamping and honestly I think it's more schematic than anything else.

[gjv]

48 minutes ago, jaybeezee said:

I would agree to an extent, but we had a top flight defense several years ago, coupled with Diggs, Beasley, Davis, Sanders and still lost because we our defense couldnt stop them.

 

IMO we could have allstars on our defense and still lose to KC. The biggest problem we have is Scheme, which is on the Coach(s).

I'm no expert. But judging by player rankings, we might have one, maybe two players on our defense that could start for either KC or Baltimore. I think it has been the scheme that has provided any success we have had.

[Big Turk]

We are talking a play or two that goes differently in 3 games and the outcome is different.

 

I'm not sure you couldn't just chalk that up to small sample size.

[BarleyNY]

3 hours ago, Thurman#1 said:

 

 

No, it absolutely isn't.

 

Or at least unless you can point out where McDermott said that at least one of those difference makers must be at WR. And he didn't.

 

It absolutely isn't mutually exclusive.

 

Fair enough on your second paragraph. I would agree with that, with a few provisos, like that absolutely nobody on the team had any juice in that Bengals game. The players simply weren't good enough on that day. And probably the 2020 team wasn't quite there yet either.

 

I point out the use of - and inconsistency between - narratives pushed by the Bills to highlight their true nature. They are simply a means to distract and placate the fans.

[Dan]

Figured it may be a bit cathartic to post my thoughts, just wasn’t sure this was the best place as there’s so many threads on what the Bills need to do next year to get over the hump.  Well… here’s my thoughts to add to the heap of comments that no one will care enough about to actually implement:

 

Offense - 

Honestly, I don't think they need to do much.  The Offense was really only responsible for 1 loss this year.  With that being said, I think there’s 2 things to do.  (1) Boundary/speed WR.  This position depends a bit on Cooper AND the role of a speed WR in Brady’s offense.  Was Cooper used so little because Brady doesn’t gameplan for one?  Or was it because Cooper just isn’t that guy?  So.. keep Cooper or replace him with a younger, faster version.  ?? Probably need to do one or the other.

 

(2) Brady needs to design about 6 “easy button” plays.  And practice them every single practice, beginning in July.  About 3 of them are only to be used in the playoffs when we face KC!   But, these are simple plays, run from an existing formation, that are practiced daily and will practically guaranteed about 5yds.  KC has them, most good teams have them.  You don’t use these plays until its absolutely necessary… like say its 4th and 5 and you’re down by 3pts in the Championship game and you know they’re going to be blitzing with a new look!  Design these plays, practice these plays, perfect the execution of these plays, and ONLY use them against KC in the playoffs.  We need something to throw at them that they haven’t seen.

 

(I could add a 3 here… extend Cook and run him till he pukes.)

 

Defense - 

This is where the real work needs to be done.   First, I say hire new FO/scouting staff for the defense.  Because whoever is selecting the defensive players is really good at identifying average players.. but sucks at bringing in true playmakers.   So, I’d do that first.   Change up the scouting so we actually draft someone that is a game wrecker.  

 

Von is washed.  He needs to go and be replaced.  Then, unfortunately, we need to look at each position group and find upgrades.   Safety?  CB?  LB? DT?  We have decent players across the board, but none of them are impact players.  We need people that actually get sacks when they blitz.  That actually make the tackle and don’t just slow the guy down.  And so on.  

 

The defense has been surviving on scheme.  It works. They do pretty well.  But, against the big teams in the big games, they always come up a little small because no one actually makes the big plays enough.  When you consistently let KC have their best offensive game of the year in the playoffs… you absolutely have to make some changes.  Its overdue.    Change up the FO defensive staff and bring in some play makers.    We’ve given everyone outside of maybe this year’s rookies enough time to develop.. and none of them are consistent playmakers.  They need to admit that and move on.  

[Augie]

Change a couple plays or a couple calls, and we’d be in THIS Super Bowl. 

[ShakAttack]

I have an easy answer to this.

 

The curse has to be lifted for us to get past KC and into the Super Bowl.  That is all.  

 

Trust me.  If it is not one thing, it will always be another.  Sure, there is a common denominator of bad defense in these past 3 playoff losses, but the way in which we ultimately lost each game was very different each time.  

 

If we have an improved defense next season, the offense will take a step back, or maybe we will have key injuries like 2023 instead.  Remember, even though it may not seem that way when the season ended, we were relatively fortunate injury wise this season.  The issue is that we are comparing ourselves to KC, the luckiest team in NFL history.

 

I know I sound insane and I believe that I'm probably wrong because everything in my gut is telling me that what I'm saying right now is nonsense, BUT this is what 30+ years of rooting for the Bills will do to you.

And on a side note, I was REALLY hoping that X-Files actor successfully lifted his own curse on the Bills this season, and I was hoping that Allen would follow the MJ vs. Pistons pattern.  I had a bit of faith when I became aware of these things in the week prior to the game... just to be let down yet again

2 minutes ago, Augie said:

Change a couple plays or a couple calls, and we’d be in THIS Super Bowl. 

 

Same thing every year unfortunately.  Since 2020 the only time that we were legitimately beat was against Bengals.  The one team not named KC to eliminate us.

[Thurman#1]

7 hours ago, BarleyNY said:

 

I point out the use of - and inconsistency between - narratives pushed by the Bills to highlight their true nature. They are simply a means to distract and placate the fans.

 

 

Um, OK.

 

I don't see anyone placated. Or distracted. Nor, as I pointed out, is there any inconsistency between the two strategies of having two or three top flight talents on each side of the ball and not having any top flight wide receivers.

 

But, um, OK, I suppose.

 

You're an excellent poster. Let's agree to disagree on this one, I guess. See you around the boards.

 

 

Edited Saturday at 02:36 AM by Thurman#1

[BarleyNY]

2 hours ago, Thurman#1 said:

 

 

Um, OK.

 

I don't see anyone placated. Or distracted. Nor, as I pointed out, is there any inconsistency between the two strategies of having two or three top flight talents on each side of the ball and not having any top flight wide receivers.

 

But, um, OK, I suppose.

 

You're an excellent poster. Let's agree to disagree on this one, I guess. See you around the boards.

 

 

Thank you, I appreciate that. And I appreciate your well thought out posts too. 

[Ethan in Cleveland]

They need a legit ProBowl level player somewhere on the DL and the need a top 20 WR to go with all the guys they are bringing back.

A solid edge rookie to replace Epenesa a d compete with Solomon.

Then they will need a CB and S but they can be solid not superstar guys.

Bring back Johnson and let Morris and Davidson compete for TE#3. I'd let Trubisky go, bring back White and draft a late round prospect QB.

 

My perfect off season would be:

 

Cut Miller, Epenesa, and Trubis then let Hamlin and Douglas walk.

Get Milano to take a pay cut like they did with Miller.

 

Bring back Johnson.

 

Garrett for #1 in 2025 and 2026 and swap Minn 2nd for Cleveland 's 3rd. That should be enough to get it done

 

Sign Cooper to 3 yr deal.

 

Sign middle of the road veteran DT, CB, and S all to no more than 2 year deals.

 

Extend Josh.

 

Draft DT or CB in second round. Add another edge, a punter, another CB and a late round QB.

 

Last move if you can, extend Shakir.

 

Make Rousseau and Bernard play out their contracts. No extensions for either.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited Saturday at 06:26 AM by Ethan in Cleveland

[LABILLBACKER]

Our top priority is pass rusher. All resources must be spent here. I don't trust Beane drafting an elite DE, so we better be prepared to offer a trade with the Raiders for Maxx. He's still young and a proven commodity.

 

Our 2nd priority is a monster DT in the 320-340 range. Maybe a diamond that turns into a Chris Jones or at least Kyle Williams.

 

The 3rd priority is a speed WR who can stretch the field.  I'm not sure we're keeping Cooper?  I'm not sure Coleman will ever separate?  

 

These are the top 3 priorities. I wouldn't be upset if we drafted 2 from each position.  Once the DL is improved,  you won't be as dependent on pro bowl dbs. 

 

4th & 5th priority is CB then Safety. If we shore up these 5 critical positions,  we'll be on track to attack KC again.

[LABILLBACKER]

20 minutes ago, Ethan in Cleveland said:

They need a legit ProBowl level player somewhere on the DL and the need a top 20 WR to go with all the guys they are bringing back.

A solid edge rookie to replace Epenesa a d compete with Solomon.

Then they will need a CB and S but they can be solid not superstar guys.

Bring back Johnson and let Morris and Davidson compete for TE#3. I'd let Trubisky go, bring back White and draft a late round prospect QB.

 

My perfect off season would be:

 

Cut Miller, Epenesa, and Trubis then let Hamlin and Douglas walk.

Get Milano to take a pay cut like they did with Miller.

 

Bring back Johnson.

 

Garrett for #1 in 2025 and 2026 and swap Minn 2nd for Cleveland 's 3rd. That should be enough to get it done

 

Sign Cooper to 3 yr deal.

 

Sign middle of the road veteran DT, CB, and S all to no more than 2 year deals.

 

Extend Josh.

 

Draft DT or CB in second round. Add another edge, a punter, another CB and a late round QB.

 

Last move if you can, extend Shakir.

 

Make Rousseau and Bernard play out their contracts. No extensions for either.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Absolutely love all these ideas except Cooper @ 3yrs.  I'm not paying him to be a decoy which is basically what he was. I'm letting Rousseau & AJE walk after next season.

 

Extend Josh, Cook & Shakir. If Myles becomes too expensive (pick wise), call the Raiders for Mad Maxx.  And pray we hit on DE/ DT this April.