Buffalo Bills 2023 Thread

[mjd1001]

I'm not all that upset today about the Bills game because, as I have stated many times, I'm not sure why but I'm not connected to the Bills/NFL as I used to be, especially in the last few years.

However, seeing this is a forum I have a few opinions.

-They don't have the best coach, they don't have the best WR's.  Bass had a bad year. A lot of issues, but NO team has the best of everything. You just can't.  Luck had a lot to do with them losing.  For me, that is primarily injury luck.  It was just too much of a lift to keep playing with the defensive devasted they way they are, and they still held the game close.

-WR is an issue but not un-fixable.  Diggs is done as a game changing WR. I wish the Bills could get out of his deal but they can't.  Now, could he have a bounce-back year and put up 100 catches next year? maybe, but it would be more because he is still 'decent-to-good' and Allen decides to just feed him the ball rather than he is great anymore.

-Von Miller. Wow, do I wish they could get out of his deal. I'm just hoping he will have an offseason and maybe come back a bit better next year, but I think the days of him being worth what you are paying him are LONG, LONG gone.

-Tre White.  When will he be back? When/if he comes back how good will he be? Can you move on from him if you must for cap reasons?

From what I heard, those 3 guys combine for almost $70 million in cap hit next year, and not much you can do about it.  Miller you can't even cut.  Digg and White...there might be some longer term savings (short term hit) if you cut them post June 1.  I'd consider it with those 2.

With that said, I hope the Bills don't do a bunch of restructures to push the cap problems farther to the future. You probably have to run Diggs and Miller back out there as they are not movable, but take next year to take that half-step back, evaluate, load up on some younger guys.  Basically, don't go 'all in', try to set yourself up for the next few years after.  It won't be a wasted year, this team Still has Allen, likely the entire OL, Kincade, Shakir, Cook, hopefully a higher draft pick WR....the offense will still be fine. As far as the Defense goes?  Some players not returning there, but honestly, even if you don't bring back the vets and cut some dollars there, is the 'healthy, scaled back Defense' you start the year with next year going to be worse than what you ended up playing with at the end of the year?

Make some tough choices to get rid of higher priced pieces where you must, but even with that you can still be 'good enough' to contend for the playoffs. Roll the dice with the young guys next year and set things up for time after that.

Edited January 22 by mjd1001

[Pimlach]

3 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

I said before this game that the Bills WR group needs an overhaul.  Harty and Sherfield need to go.  Beane needs to draft two WRs early in the draft to replace Davis and eventually Diggs.

We need better speed, better hands and better size at the position.  Getting another real threat the teams have to respect will help open up Diggs and make Josh much more effective in the passing game.

Diggs is an odd ball.  Not sure what to think of him.  I guess contract wise they need to keep him another year but we should draft a WR#1 and groom him next year.  
 

CB and WR and Saftey are the biggest needs.  We can finally be ok with the OL and DL going into the draft.  
 

Kicker and Punter both need upgrades.  

[GASabresIUFAN]

1 hour ago, Pimlach said:

Diggs is an odd ball.  Not sure what to think of him.  I guess contract wise they need to keep him another year but we should draft a WR#1 and groom him next year.  
 

CB and WR and Saftey are the biggest needs.  We can finally be ok with the OL and DL going into the draft.  
 

Kicker and Punter both need upgrades.  

Bass has a dead cap higher than his salary so I suspect he'll return.  We do get cap savings moving on from Martin, but was he really an issue? His injury was the cause of the issues yesterday.  

I definitely want at least 2 WRs in the draft both pretty early.  

Safety is a must in the draft.  Having additional depth at CB may or may not be a must depending on how management feels about Elam and Dane Jackson.  

[Claude Balls]

I finally got suspended from TBD for telling the truth. Simon is the biggest pos moderator on the planet. And i don't give 2 shits if I get banned from here.  

[Pimlach]

29 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Bass has a dead cap higher than his salary so I suspect he'll return.  We do get cap savings moving on from Martin, but was he really an issue? His injury was the cause of the issues yesterday.  

I definitely want at least 2 WRs in the draft both pretty early.  

Safety is a must in the draft.  Having additional depth at CB may or may not be a must depending on how management feels about Elam and Dane Jackson.  

I think they like Dane as a solid backup.  If Elam can break out it would help.  

[steveoat87]

Hard for me to fathom how Pegula sees the devotion and love of Bills fans, but totally neglects the Sabres.  Say what you want about McDermott (he does have faults) but he and the GM have set a tradition of winning.  This is the polar opposite of the Sabres.  As they the say, the definition of insane is repeating the same things over and over again when they clearly don't work.  How can someone as successful as Pegula not see this!!  Hire a competent managerial structure (which he can certainly afford given that the Bills just hosted 2 playoff games) and make the Sabres a team that he can be proud of.  How can he be proud of this team!!

[Crusader1969]

3 hours ago, Sabres Fan in NS said:

The quote tells the story.

It was a gutsy call by McD.  A good call.

Can't blame the coach if the players did not execute the play properly.

He had Josh Allen and he chose to put the ball into Hamlin's hands?? 

3 hours ago, Sabres Fan in NS said:

A college coach should not come into the Bills at this point.

If a change is made (I don't think one will be nor needs to be) it will be for a proven NFL coach.

I think the only one available is Bill B.

You mean the college coach who just won a national championship? The one who won coach of the year  in the NFL in 2011 and took the 49ers with Kap to the Super Bowl?   Pretty sure that would be considered an upgrade over McDermott 

[Sabres Fan in NS]

4 minutes ago, Crusader1969 said:

He had Josh Allen and he chose to put the ball into Hamlin's hands?? 

You mean the college coach who just won a national championship? The one who won coach of the year  in the NFL in 2011 and took the 49ers with Kap to the Super Bowl?   Pretty sure that would be considered an upgrade over McDermott 

Hamlin has good hands and can move.  That was not where the play went south.

Yup.  That's the college coach I am talking about.  What did he do after 2011 in the NFL?  Serious question.  All I know is that at some point he went to Michigan.

I also seem to remember some questions as to his character.

[Flashsabre]

We are all going to be that Detroit Lions fan that has been a season ticket holder for 66 years and has sat through misery for decades.

[Flashsabre]

From Reddit: 

[That Aud Smell]

30 minutes ago, Crusader1969 said:

He had Josh Allen and he chose to put the ball into Hamlin's hands?? 

Did you hear his post-game press conference?

He was counting on the element of surprise.

(Apparently he's still on his 9/11 sh1t.)

*flees room*

[ska-T Chitown]

Too many upthread comments to read, but I am probably not the first person to express a level of admiration for what the Bills defense was able to do after being decimated with injuries. That gives me hope that this team will remain a competitive force in the AFC East, eventually giving rise to the anti-Buffalo luck where all the stars align and we Chicago White Sox our way to a Super Bowl Championship.

[That Aud Smell]

11 minutes ago, ska-T Chitown said:

Too many upthread comments to read, but I am probably not the first person to express a level of admiration for what the Bills defense was able to do after being decimated with injuries. That gives me hope that this team will remain a competitive force in the AFC East, eventually giving rise to the anti-Buffalo luck where all the stars align and we Chicago White Sox our way to a Super Bowl Championship.

Maybe not the first -- but certainly right at the front of the line.

I appreciate the positive take and statement of hope.

[Crusader1969]

26 minutes ago, Flashsabre said:

We are all going to be that Detroit Lions fan that has been a season ticket holder for 66 years and has sat through misery for decades.

We can only hope at this point !

[Crusader1969]

43 minutes ago, Sabres Fan in NS said:

Hamlin has good hands and can move.  That was not where the play went south.

Yup.  That's the college coach I am talking about.  What did he do after 2011 in the NFL?  Serious question.  All I know is that at some point he went to Michigan.

I also seem to remember some questions as to his character.

He was coach of the year in 2011 and then took a team with Kap as his qb to the Super Bowl in 2013. 
 

how is that not better than what McDermott has done in his 7 seasons with the Bills? 
 

 

[Buffalonill]

I know it's all doom and gloom right now for you guys.

 But you will be easily the super bowl favourites next year all the injuries you have overcome Makes it a remarkable season in my opinion

And I predict Dalton Kincaid We'll be the number one TE in the league next year

 

Edited January 22 by Buffalonill

[Scottysabres]

18 minutes ago, Buffalonill said:

I know it's all doom and gloom right now for you guys.

 But you will be easily the super bowl favourites next year all the injuries you have overcome Makes it a remarkable season in my opinion

And I predict Dalton Kincaid We'll be the number one TE in the league next year

 

It's doom and gloom every year for us lol. Welcome to 50+ years of never seeing an NHL or NFL Trophy won by your hometown professional sports teams. Oh, and let's not forget, they haven't only never won it all, but they often get jettisoned out in spectacularly bad fashion.

This the life of a Buffalo sports fan. Unique from any other fan base in the world.

[Claude Balls]

3 hours ago, Pimlach said:

I think they like Dane as a solid backup.  If Elam can break out it would help.  

Hopefully Elam is just a slow starter. Kinda like me in high school. 

1 hour ago, Scottysabres said:

It's doom and gloom every year for us lol. Welcome to 50+ years of never seeing an NHL or NFL Trophy won by your hometown professional sports teams. Oh, and let's not forget, they haven't only never won it all, but they often get jettisoned out in spectacularly bad fashion.

This the life of a Buffalo sports fan. Unique from any other fan base in the world.

Exactly. We're not cursed at all. We are just *****!!! Get used to it. 

[LTS]

The past few years I was irritated so much more about the loss in the playoffs. As much as I would get irritated over the Bills at this point. I'm always curious where people's level of frustration sits relative to those who survived four straight Super Bowl losses.

This year I had lower expectations. The first was, this team failed to find its stride until later in the season. The second is that quite simply, the defense was decimated. I'd not use that as a reason too often but just like the 2006 Sabres, sometimes injuries really do play a significant impact.

That said, the single game analysis would tell you Buffalo did not execute when they had the chance. Despite the defensive struggles the offense had the chance to keep pace and did not. 

There's a lot of talk about Diggs dropped ball, that's not the EASIEST catch in the world, but certainly one a WR of his level should make.

I've not seen much on Cook's dropped pass that would have been an easy touchdown.

If you have a team that can run, you need to use the play action pass, especially if you have Kincaid.  The Bills had a chance to use their TE just as well as the Chiefs used theirs and failed to do so.

If Sam Martin can't punt then why is he in the lineup? It's not the same as other positions.  It's a punter and while they can play into the game this is a team that punts less often than others and can endure one game with a punter who can kick the ball.  Perhaps it was the holding skills, but I think they would have had that covered.

I'm not upset. I still want them to win because I want Buffalo to be able to say its won a championship in a major sport. I'm not pointing fingers as much this time. There are some changes that need to be made...  I just don't have confidence (or in most cases enough knowledge) to say where those changes should occur or if they did would it make a difference.

BUt.. can they get rid of Von Miller?  Because I'd like him gone.

[That Aud Smell]

22 minutes ago, LTS said:

If Sam Martin can't punt then why is he in the lineup? It's not the same as other positions.  It's a punter and while they can play into the game this is a team that punts less often than others and can endure one game with a punter who can kick the ball.  Perhaps it was the holding skills, but I think they would have had that covered.

Given how obviously limited he was when he did punt, I inferred that his crucial role as the kick holder was what caused the coaching staff to roll the dice with him. Those three players - the long snapper, holder, and kicker - develop such a crucial chemistry during the season that I can see McDermott reasonably taking the gamble. Ironically, it was Bass who nonetheless failed to deliver on a critical kick.

[carpandean]

14 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

Given how obviously limited he was when he did punt, I inferred that his crucial role as the kick holder was what caused the coaching staff to roll the dice with him. Those three players - the long snapper, holder, and kicker - develop such a crucial chemistry during the season that I can see McDermott reasonably taking the gamble. Ironically, it was Bass who nonetheless failed to deliver on a critical kick.

Teams are limited to two callups from the practice squad per game in the playoffs, so bringing up Haack would have meant not elevating one of the guys that they did.  Obviously, AJ Klein had to be there, given their injuries at linebacker, so it came down to Haack or Isabella.  They chose the latter after evaluating Martin.

[mjd1001]

48 minutes ago, LTS said:

If Sam Martin can't punt then why is he in the lineup? It's not the same as other positions.  It's a punter and while they can play into the game this is a team that punts less often than others and can endure one game with a punter who can kick the ball.  Perhaps it was the holding skills, but I think they would have had that covered.

BUt.. can they get rid of Von Miller?  Because I'd like him gone.

Martin played because they did not want a different holder for Bass (how did that work out?)

As far as Miller, I agree with you that I wish he could be gone. But his contract is close to 100% guaranteed (or something close to it).  You'd have a better chance of moving on from Diggs (post June 1st cut) than you would from Miller.   Miller, however, I though had his first DECENT game of the year last week.

[LTS]

2 hours ago, carpandean said:

Teams are limited to two callups from the practice squad per game in the playoffs, so bringing up Haack would have meant not elevating one of the guys that they did.  Obviously, AJ Klein had to be there, given their injuries at linebacker, so it came down to Haack or Isabella.  They chose the latter after evaluating Martin.

Good to know.  Although Isabella... woof.  I would have had Haack in and let him punt while Martin held.

[mjd1001]

Maybe a reason that the Bills can't seem to beat the Chiefs in big games is that, when it comes down to it, the Chiefs and Mahomes play better against zone defenses than they do man-to-man, and the Bills/McDermott play primarily a zone.

The Bills under McD have always played primarily zone.  Of the top 5 teams that play the most zone in the league besides the Bills that KC played this year, Only Chicago is on that list (and Baltimore coming up plays a ton of zone). Historically the Bills have had trouble with Mahomes obviously, and this year against Chicago, KC put up 41, their BEST point total of the season and Mahomes had over a 127 QB rating, his best of the season also.  And Chicago wasn't exactly bad, they had 7 wins and overall allowed less points that Detroit, Philly, and the Dolphins (all playoff teams) and if you take out that KC game, they allowed less points per game than also Cleveland and the Rams.

On the other side of its, KC vs the teams that play the most man-to-man: The Raider, Pats, and Chargers are among the top 5 teams in Man-to-Man.  KC is clearly a better oveall team than all of those, yet they barely got by the Chargers scoring 13 points in their first game (winning the 2nd to a worse team), Lost to the Raiders scoring only 14 in another, and beat the Pats by 10 in a game Mahomes threw 2 ints.  Mahomes had 3 total TD's in 2 games vs the Raiders. 

Yes, Mahomes is good enough that he has good games vs both man and zone teams. However, some evidence exists that, espeically in big games/playoff games, the excels more vs zone teams than he does vs man teams.  It may not be that the Bills have a Bad D or that McDermott is a bad coach, or he is always outcoached by Reid...it might be simply he is a Zone coach (no doubt about that) and the chiefs/Mahomes can exploit a zone D much better.

[John Tucker]

3 hours ago, LTS said:

 

I've not seen much on Cook's dropped pass that would have been an easy touchdown.

If you have a team that can run, you need to use the play action pass, especially if you have Kincaid.  The Bills had a chance to use their TE just as well as the Chiefs used theirs and failed to do so.

 

Pretty sure Cook's drop led to a FG, correct?  If so, that's the difference in the ballgame.  He's dropped several passes like that over the last month.   They (by they I mean Brady) went to the well way too much in the 2nd half with the run game.  Almost as if he (Brady) didn't expect KC to adjust to stopping the run.   Agree that they didn't use play action nearly enough, especially since our receiving corps, outside of Diggs, can't get separation.  The middle of the field was open all game long.  They lost their starting MLB and a Safety and we didn't take advantage.  Always next year i guess... or the next... or the next..............