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2021 Buffalo Bills - Same as it ever was*** (2 Viewers)

The Bills are the only team in the league top 5 for points scored and top 5 for points against.

The funny thing is that I think the Bills have underachieved as an offense and the defense has been helped by playing some truly bad QBs (and get another one this week).

 
The Buffalo Bills are very likely to enter Week 5 with the most points scored and the fewest points given up in the NFL. #1 scoring offense and #1 scoring defense.

And it doesn’t even feel like either unit had played their best (probably because they haven’t and have benefited from playing some bad teams).

 
GroveDiesel said:
The Buffalo Bills are very likely to enter Week 5 with the most points scored and the fewest points given up in the NFL. #1 scoring offense and #1 scoring defense.

And it doesn’t even feel like either unit had played their best (probably because they haven’t and have benefited from playing some bad teams).
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Three of the teams we've played are outright terrible and the fourth (PIT) is at best mediocre.  I'd just ignore our team stats for a while.

Our preseason is now over.  Next week is when the season really starts 

 
ChiefD said:
You guys are gonna roll the Chiefs.  Our defense suuuuuuuuuuuckkkkkkkssss.
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I have a hard time buying that. What’s so different about KC’s defense this year? I feel like the Chiefs are still going to be able to get pressure on Allen. And Buffalo has struggled to get consistent pressure on QBs if their O-line is decent. If Milano is less than 100%, Buffalo is in even more trouble. The Chiefs have still been pretty good on offense, Mahomes just has been on the wrong side of some of the crazy plays he seems to always get away with. But I’m not so sure Buffalo can count on that.

The one big difference for the Bills this year versus last is that last year the Chiefs were able to run the ball really easily against Buffalo. So far this year, Star has been really good. Having him back could be enough to turn the tide for the Bills and allow the defense to date the Chiefs to run the ball (which is mostly what they did last year and without Star the Chiefs ran the ball down Buffalo’s throat).

 
GroveDiesel said:
I have a hard time buying that. What’s so different about KC’s defense this year? I feel like the Chiefs are still going to be able to get pressure on Allen. And Buffalo has struggled to get consistent pressure on QBs if their O-line is decent. If Milano is less than 100%, Buffalo is in even more trouble. The Chiefs have still been pretty good on offense, Mahomes just has been on the wrong side of some of the crazy plays he seems to always get away with. But I’m not so sure Buffalo can count on that.

The one big difference for the Bills this year versus last is that last year the Chiefs were able to run the ball really easily against Buffalo. So far this year, Star has been really good. Having him back could be enough to turn the tide for the Bills and allow the defense to date the Chiefs to run the ball (which is mostly what they did last year and without Star the Chiefs ran the ball down Buffalo’s throat).
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A couple things about our defense (and they really are worse - they cannot stop anyone):

1. They moved Chris Jones, our All Pro defensive tackle, to defensive end. Why? Because Frank Clark is a turd and our stupid GM didn't draft or sign any decent defensive ends over the last couple of years. So they have weakened two positions - D tackle and D-end. Which means we can't stop the run OR rush the passer.

2. We get zero pressure on the quarterback unless we bring the house. Our front 4 cannot get a pass rush going. So it leaves the Chiefs really vulnerable against backs coming out of the backfield for dump offs and quick passes. 

3. Our linebackers are terrible. We are playing one (Ben Niemann) because we have nobody else. This dude rarely makes a play. One of our starters has been hurt (may be back this week), but he'll be rusty. We are starting a rookie at another linebacker position. 

4. Our tackling is atrocious. Why? Because we have two guys - the aforementioned Niemann and a safety Daniel Sorenson who has no business playing 75 snaps a game. They are always a step late to the play and then miss the tackle. It's brutal.

5. Our corners have been OK, but with no pass rush they can't cover all day. Eventually any QB will pick them apart. Especially Josh Allen. Hell, he may run for 100 yards also.

6. Our subsitution patterns and simply lining up have been awful. Not sure what is going on there, but teams are playing up tempo and no huddle and quick snapping and eating the Chiefs alive. We are literally leaving guys wide open because the defense is not getting the signal fast enough and simply can't line up.

It's ugly man. I'm not kidding when I say the Bills should roll the Chiefs.

 
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The Bills certainly have a reasonable chance to win this one (+3 is a PK on a neutral field, which seems a little generous to Buffalo), but no they aren't going to "roll" KC.  Really now.

 
I am a little worried about coaching in this one. I still don’t think McDermott or his staff have proven they can pull a good game plan together against top opponents. 
 

In both the last two Bills losses there was some strange OC play calling instead of sticking with their strengths. Like they tried to get too cute and outthink their opponent.  
 

And their DC has not shown that he has any idea to slow down KC. You aren’t going to stop them, but slowing them down has been done by other teams and the talent on that side for the Bills is near the top in the NFL so I have to blame scheme.  The AFC Championship was KCs second highest points scored last year. 

 
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The Duff Man said:
I am a little worried about coaching in this one. I still don’t think McDermott or his staff have proven they can pull a good game plan together against top opponents. 
 

In both the last two Bills losses there was some strange OC play calling instead of sticking with their strengths. Like they tried to get too cute and outthink their opponent.  
 

And their DC has not shown that he has any idea to slow down KC. You aren’t going to stop them, but slowing them down has been done by other teams and the talent on that side for the Bills is near the top in the NFL so I have to blame scheme.  The AFC Championship was KCs second highest points scored last year. 
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The most important thing you can do to slow KC down is to pressure Mahomes and make him leave the pocket early. Their pass rush was awful last year and Mahomes was able to pick them apart. Hopefully it is better this year, but I think that remains to be seen.

I do like what they did against KC during the regular season last year: go all in on stopping the pass and force them to run the ball. KC ran all over the Bills, but I think Buffalo could slow the run down a bit more with Star back this year. I’d much rather see KC run the ball 30 times than Mahomes throw it 40 times.

 
So the positive from the offensive line on Sunday is that Spencer Brown did really well at RT, though it being the Texans it’s hard to project that. But at least it’s promising.

The bad news is that the OGs still weren’t great. They moved Williams inside to RG and, from most reports, he was not very good there. Which is a problem since Cody Ford has been so bad that it appears the Bills have finally given up on him as a bust. Hopefully this week was more Williams getting used to playing at RG and he can be a solid piece there, because the OGs have been a real liability.

 
Bills won't beat the Chiefs.  Looking like possibly Milano, Poyer, and Taron Johnson out.  Who's gonna cover Kelce and Hill?  Those guys will eat the LBs and secondary alive.

 
Steve Tasker said:
Bills won't beat the Chiefs.  Looking like possibly Milano, Poyer, and Taron Johnson out.  Who's gonna cover Kelce and Hill?  Those guys will eat the LBs and secondary alive.
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Chiefs won’t be able to stop the bills…..gonna be a barn burner. Can’t wait. 

 
Steve Tasker said:
Bills won't beat the Chiefs.  Looking like possibly Milano, Poyer, and Taron Johnson out.  Who's gonna cover Kelce and Hill?  Those guys will eat the LBs and secondary alive.
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I like their chances a bit more than last year based on Buffalo’s D-line being a bit better than last year and KC’s O-line being a bit worse, but yeah, without Milano (or without Milano at 100%), Kelce is going to murder the Bills. 

I don’t count the Bills out, but until they prove they can matchup agains the Chiefs, I’m picking the Chiefs.

 
Steve Tasker said:
Bills won't beat the Chiefs.  Looking like possibly Milano, Poyer, and Taron Johnson out.  Who's gonna cover Kelce and Hill?  Those guys will eat the LBs and secondary alive.
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Taron will fully practice today. Poyer will be limited. Milano not practicing. White and Feliciano both limited today as well. White reported to have a “little shoulder thing”.

I think Taron, Poyer and White all play. Milano is probably 40/60. All depends on the severity of the hamstring strain. If it was a low level, maybe holding him out all week allows him to be ready to go Sunday. But with a hamstring, if he’s not 100% I’d rather him sit anyway and not aggravate it and end up out even longer.

 
Was last week (2-16) an aberration for Beasley? He was dropped in my league and I'm considering him as a flex filler for bye weeks or injuries. The Buffalo schedule has some easy games coming up (TEN, MIA, Jax, NYJ) but maybe that's not conducive to high scoring fantasy players on the BUF.  Their defense got better.

 
Milano is questionable for the Bills and hasn’t practiced all week. Chris Jones is questionable for the Chiefs and hasn’t practiced all week. This could be an absolute offensive shootout.

 
With that win and Buffalo’s remaining schedule, the simulations apparently put the Bills at over a 50% chance to get the #1 seed in the AFC.

Great great win. The Chiefs aren’t as good as they were last year, but to go in without Milano, on the road, in terrible weather and win that convincingly should help the Bills psychologically anyway.

 
Nice win Bills fans. That game went pretty much as I expected.

The torch in the AFC was officially passed last night, at least for this year. You guys are the best overall team in the AFC. Hope you win it all if it's not gonna be the Chiefs. 

 
After two decades of sustained failure, it's nice to have my negative perceptions be proven wrong by this team repeatedly over the last 3 years.

 
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ChiefD said:
Nice win Bills fans. That game went pretty much as I expected.

The torch in the AFC was officially passed last night, at least for this year. You guys are the best overall team in the AFC. Hope you win it all if it's not gonna be the Chiefs. 
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Chiefs were missing 2 critical defensive pieces and haven’t had everyone together yet. Conditions were crazy last night and guys like Hill made a lot of uncharacteristic mistakes. I don’t expect last night was a definitive evaluation of these two teams

 
MJD ranks the Bills RB Duo as the 4th best in the NFL - anybody agree with him?

https://www.nfl.com/news/rb-index-week-6-browns-cowboys-lead-nfl-s-top-five-rushing-duos

Running backs: Devin Singletary and Zack Moss

The Bills have trotted out a rejuvenated ground game in 2021 after ranking 20th in the league in rushing a year ago. Quarterback Josh Allen is a tremendous threat with his legs and will likely be able to get the offense out of precarious situations by utilizing his running ability, but the improvement of Singletary and Moss five weeks into the season is great to see. The Bills are averaging 140.4 rush yards per contest (fifth in the NFL) and their young running backs have provided some much-needed balance to Brian Daboll's unit. I've seen the most improvement from Singletary, who's averaging 5.2 yards per carry and leads the team in carries and rush yards. Moss has been a major asset in the red zone with a team-high three rush TDs.

 
themeistersinger said:
MJD ranks the Bills RB Duo as the 4th best in the NFL - anybody agree with him?
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As a long-time fan of the NFL, I have to admit that it's been hard for me to adjust to our new reality in which the RB position is severely devalued.  Obviously I understand that the days of building your team around an Emmitt Smith, Barry Sanders, Thurman Thomas, Marshall Faulk, etc. are long over, unless you're Dave Gettleman. 

But when I look at the Bills RBs, I think "Well, I guess that's a serviceable backfield, I suppose, considering how strong the offense is at every other position."  It wouldn't have occurred to me to think "Oh, that's a top-5 backfield."  But then again, aside from Cleveland, I'm not really sure that the Bills are really much less talented at that position than anybody.  

 
IvanKaramazov said:
As a long-time fan of the NFL, I have to admit that it's been hard for me to adjust to our new reality in which the RB position is severely devalued.  Obviously I understand that the days of building your team around an Emmitt Smith, Barry Sanders, Thurman Thomas, Marshall Faulk, etc. are long over, unless you're Dave Gettleman. 

But when I look at the Bills RBs, I think "Well, I guess that's a serviceable backfield, I suppose, considering how strong the offense is at every other position."  It wouldn't have occurred to me to think "Oh, that's a top-5 backfield."  But then again, aside from Cleveland, I'm not really sure that the Bills are really much less talented at that position than anybody.  
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 I do think both Singletary and Moss are pretty decent RBs, but top 5 is really pushing it, in my opinion. Denver, Green Bay, Indy, and Detroit should be ahead of them. And you could make a solid case for teams like Tampa Bay, Philly, Arizona, Seattle.

 
Is Bills' Gregory Rousseau JPP 2.0?

The scouting business is all about making projections and comparisons to estimate how a prospect will perform at the next level. Evaluators pore over their previous scouting reports and pro day measurements to see if they are able to find the next big thing at a given position.

For pass rushers, the evaluation comes down to get-off, hand skills and flexibility (bend and burst). Those traits routinely translate into huge sack numbers when a young player figures it out.

In Buffalo, Greg Rousseau has started to put the pieces together and the rest of the AFC is on notice...

https://www.nfl.com/news/bears-headline-four-sneaky-contenders-will-baker-mayfield-odell-beckham-jr-ever-

 
This is a total reach, but is there any chance that Dabolls head is not in the game right now?  In the last six weeks he lost the two people who raised him. 
 

I see no adjustments to help relieve pass pressure. There are no quick hit slants. Their screen game is garbage.  After heaps of praise last year it seems like he has no answers. 

 
Rewatched a good chunk of the Bills plays. On most Jax was cover 2 and had 5-6 defenders in the 10-15 yard range. Even when the line held up a little there was nowhere to go with the ball.  There would be a huge gap 10 yards from the line of scrimmage with no defenders…but the Bills only had the RB sitting at the line for a dump off. 
 

Complete whiff on the Bills altering their game plan and going to shorter routes and quick hitters. I have never understood why teams don’t copy the Pats. Just keep rolling out those 7-10 yard short slants that are high percentage. Make the defence adjust THEN go back to your longer 10+ yard routes. 

 
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The Duff Man said:
Rewatched a good chunk of the Bills plays. On most Jax was cover 2 and had 5-6 defenders in the 10-15 yard range. Even when the line held up a little there was nowhere to go with the ball.  There would be a huge gap 10 yards from the line of scrimmage with no defenders…but the Bills only had the RB sitting at the line for a dump off. 
 

Complete whiff on the Bills altering their game plan and going to shorter routes and quick hitters. I have never understood why teams don’t copy the Pats. Just keep rolling out those 7-10 yard short slants that are high percentage. Make the defence adjust THEN go back to your longer 10+ yard routes. 
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I think you’re largely right but it’s also somewhat complicated. Beasley apparently was injured at some point and played very limited in the 2nd half after being a huge focal point in the first half. McKenzie is not a very good replacement for Beasley. The other guy that probably would have been a huge factor is Dawson Knox. His absence hurt in both the passing game and run blocking. Gotta credit Jax some too. Even when the Bills were hitting the quick hitters, Jacksonville was doing an excellent job of tackling before the Bills could rack up extra yards.

The other way to beat a Cover 2 shell is to run the ball effectively. Buffalo’s RBs average 0.22 yards before contact yesterday. People can blame Moss and Singletary all they want for not being better, but 0.22 yards before contact is a joke and a clear indicator that the offensive line is putrid.

The Dolphins had success against Buffalo running Cover 2 and now the Jags did too. Buffalo should expect to see that the rest of the season until they can show they can beat it. The same template has been created against KC and everyone is using it to great effect against them. Mahomes and their offense suddenly look very lackluster just like Buffalo’s right now.

 
I agree that the root problem is that the offensive line is much worse than I expected it to be.  This is more or less the same line that was perfectly serviceable for an AFCCG run last year, but for some reason everybody is just playing a notch worse than last year.  And those are just our starters -- our depth guys are terrible all of the sudden. 

Not sure what's going wrong precisely, but this unit needs to be a priority in the offseason, and Bobby Johnson should probably be replaced too.  It's kind to imagine that this isn't somehow coaching-related.

 
What a strange couple of weeks in the NFL.  Dominant teams like TB, KC, BUF and DAL struggling mightily.

As a Pats fan, I've just been hoping for a split with BUF this year and maybe creeping into the playoffs with a wildcard...this weekend gives me some hope for something better, but the way thinks work in this parity league now we'll probably get stomped by Cleveland in Week 10.

It's hard to know who's who these days.  On the one hand I can support the idea that yesterday would have been different with a healthy Knox and a healthy Beasley but its the freaking Jaguars, wtf.

It was definitely funny watching the DFS degenerates reacting to all the upsets this week....parity is here big time.

 
IvanKaramazov said:
I agree that the root problem is that the offensive line is much worse than I expected it to be.  This is more or less the same line that was perfectly serviceable for an AFCCG run last year, but for some reason everybody is just playing a notch worse than last year.  And those are just our starters -- our depth guys are terrible all of the sudden. 

Not sure what's going wrong precisely, but this unit needs to be a priority in the offseason, and Bobby Johnson should probably be replaced too.  It's kind to imagine that this isn't somehow coaching-related.
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Williams has slowed and is no longer adequate at tackle. Ford did not play for the 2nd half last year. Boettger was not that great last year as a fill in either.

Buffalo’s best O-line is clearly Dawkins, Feliciano, Morse, Williams, Brown. But 2 of those guys are hurt right now and it has lead to changes at 3 positions. They are adequate with their best line in there. But they have no depth and go from adequate to awful way too fast.

 
Not really a surprise that Covid has been causing some problems for the Bills given their low vaccination rate, but disappointing all the same. Big pieces of their O-line (Spencer Brown) and D-line (Star) out with Covid. Those lines both have shown that they are not nearly as good without those guys, so this week’s game will definitely be tougher than it was.

Just seems so foolish and self-sabotaging and now the chickens are coming home to roost.

I mean, one of Cody Ford or Bobby Hart could be forced into the starting O-like this week. Puke.

 
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GroveDiesel said:
Not really a surprise that Covid has been causing some problems for the Bills given their low vaccination rate, but disappointing all the same. Big pieces of their O-line (Spencer Brown) and D-line (Star) out with Covid. Those lines both have shown that they are not nearly as good without those guys, so this week’s game will definitely be tougher than it was.

Just seems so foolish and self-sabotaging and now the chickens are coming home to roost.

I mean, one of Cody Ford or Bobby Hart could be forced into the starting O-like this week. Puke.
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Also, there is a big seasonal surge in most northern states. Erie County is approaching an all-time high in new cases per 100k in the data on covidactnow.org.

 
GroveDiesel said:
Not really a surprise that Covid has been causing some problems for the Bills given their low vaccination rate, but disappointing all the same. Big pieces of their O-line (Spencer Brown) and D-line (Star) out with Covid. Those lines both have shown that they are not nearly as good without those guys, so this week’s game will definitely be tougher than it was.

Just seems so foolish and self-sabotaging and now the chickens are coming home to roost.

I mean, one of Cody Ford or Bobby Hart could be forced into the starting O-like this week. Puke.
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I can't believe the Bills are a full TD favorite in this one. I certainly don't have that level of confidence.

 
Grigs Allmoon said:
I can't believe the Bills are a full TD favorite in this one. I certainly don't have that level of confidence.
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Definitely feels like Buckner is going to cause all sorts of problems. With OG going to be an issue already and Buffalo not doing a good job adjusting to pressure up the middle, I could see the offense being a mess today. If it starts to become an issue, I hope Dabol is smart enough to start having Allen on designer roll outs.

 
This team is a pretender, not a contender. They desperately need a Kyle Williams or Lorenzo Alexander on defense who will make it clear that not playing 100% on every single play is simply not acceptable.

And it’s just so frustrating seeing just how much the selfishness of the guys who didn’t get vaccinated has hurt this team. With such a low vaccination rate we all knew this was a possibility. So disappointing to see just how much it has affected the team.

Maybe it’s just me, and I say this without knowing what’s going on behind closed doors, but this seems like a team that needs their head coach to go off on them and read them the riot act. Tired of hearing about how this isn’t who they are and they just have to forget about it and move on.
 

No, this IS WHO YOU ARE!! You ARE a team that loses to the Jaguars and the Colts. You ARE the team that got blown out by the Steelers and Titans. You ARE 2nd in the AFC East right now. You ARE a team that has exactly one win against an opponent with a winning record (and who would probably smash you right now). You are a middle of the road, borderline playoff team.

 
GroveDiesel said:
This team is a pretender, not a contender. They desperately need a Kyle Williams or Lorenzo Alexander on defense who will make it clear that not playing 100% on every single play is simply not acceptable.

And it’s just so frustrating seeing just how much the selfishness of the guys who didn’t get vaccinated has hurt this team. With such a low vaccination rate we all knew this was a possibility. So disappointing to see just how much it has affected the team.

Maybe it’s just me, and I say this without knowing what’s going on behind closed doors, but this seems like a team that needs their head coach to go off on them and read them the riot act. Tired of hearing about how this isn’t who they are and they just have to forget about it and move on.
 

No, this IS WHO YOU ARE!! You ARE a team that loses to the Jaguars and the Colts. You ARE the team that got blown out by the Steelers and Titans. You ARE 2nd in the AFC East right now. You ARE a team that has exactly one win against an opponent with a winning record (and who would probably smash you right now). You are a middle of the road, borderline playoff team.
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100% agree. It is unreal how soft this team is. Soft compared to other NFL teams, anyone who plays in the NFL isn’t soft in general. 
 

You are your record. And the Bills are a team that THINKS they are better than their record. That is not a good look and shocking considering how McDermott has run the team for four years. 
 

Pretty clear that something needs to change. 

 
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