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2021 Buffalo Bills - Same as it ever was*** (3 Viewers)
- Thread starter GroveDiesel
- Start date
Gottabesweet
Footballguy
flysack
Footballguy
Grigs Allmoon
Footballguy
That's exactly the reason I try not to look ahead, but I just can't help it...
I'd rather just put blinders on, and only think about this Miami game, which will surely be a tough one. However, that NE game is going to be huge, and I really don't think the Bills have a very good shot. Hopefully Dareus will be back. If the game was a few more weeks out and they had Watkins and Lawson back they'd obviously have a much better shot.
One big reason that game is so important is because the Bills aren't going to get any help from Pats opponents. They really only have Seattle left on their schedule. Denver seems to be faltering with their inexperience at QB, and the Pats get the Steelers this week with no Big Ben. I don't see them losing more than one more game if the Bills can't pull off a big win.
I have a feeling we're going to be looking at the wild card race in two weeks.
Gottabesweet
Footballguy
It sure is fun scoreboard watching in October with the jumbled AFC east. The Ravens losing to the Giants was big. I'm just hoping the AFC North, and West beat up each other and all end up at 3-3 in the division and 8-8 to 10-6 overall.
Tommy Collins
Footballguy
The Patriots have so many weapons that trying to go for the division title is a bit too optimistic for me. I still have a lot of worries with this team. Tyrod seems to have taken a big step backward this year. If a team is able to shut down our run game we are in a world of hurt. And Belichick is one of the best ever at making adjustments and gameplans. He's going to make Tyrod beat them and I don't think he can this year, last year was a different story.
I'm worried about this defense too. It seems they have been doing a lot of bending and thankfully haven't broke much. They're still giving up heaps of yards. The Rams moved the ball at will for most of the game and they're a very poor offense. Even SF would move the ball down the field. Many times they ultimately didn't come away with points. But when you face a good offense, those drives are going to continue on and result in points.
I'm happy to be at 4-2 right now, but we've had a pretty weak schedule thus far. The Ravens and Jets aren't good teams and we just played poorly early on. The Cardinals were playing bad at the time, Pats had a rookie QB back there and the Rams/49ers don't need an explanation. Our upcoming schedule is going to have some tough games:
@MIA, NE, @SEA, BYE, @CIN, JAX, @OAK, PIT, CLE, MIA, @NYJ.
Looking at those games, I see 7 tough games on there still (@MIA, NE, @SEA, @CIN, @OAK, PIT, MIA). The Dolphins did just beat the Steelers and while I don't view the Dolphins as a good team, they are a divisional game and those always seem to be tougher. So while they needed OT to beat Cleveland and beat the Steelers who don't seem to do that well on the road and Ben was hurt, it could still be a tough game. I'm hearing a lot about how the Dolphins figured out their issues on the OL and that they won because they protected Tannehil. That Steelers defense is nothing to be afraid of as they really don't have much of a pass rush. The Steelers seem to be a great team at home (luckily we play them home) and flat on the road. I find it funny that the Dolphins released 2 OL who had started in week 5 prior to this PIT game and still did well protecting Tannehil. Despite Mario being benched for most of the game, he's still a good DE when he can be motivated. Usually that's only when he's getting sacks, but he may be motivated this week against his former team. I don't want to think ahead to NE right now as we need to get past the Dolphins first.
And that's one thing that I am happy about. When Rex was hired a lot of people were excited. Some of us weren't too happy (I wanted them to promote Schwartz, keep their defense the way it was and focus on fixing the offense) but Rex did inject some life into this organization. It was previously being coached by Doug Marrone who provided nothing of that sort. So Rex energized the fan base, made some bold statements, got the fans excited, started off with a win against Indy, that had been considered a SB contender before their terrible 2015 season, then we disappointed enough throughout the year to end 8-8, falling short of his guaranteed playoffs and Buddy Ryan-esque defense.
The point I'm trying to make is that we just won 4 games in a row. Rex is usually up there boasting about how great the team is. We're going to the SB. Blah blah blah. But he's not. He's been very reserved lately, which is awfully surprising. I'm so used to him flapping his gums and making bold and sometimes ridiculous predictions that I'm thinking I must have missed it. But when I read the press conferences, there is nothing about it. He talked about how he couldn't pronounce Ajayi's last name but never discredited him. He said he looked good, rather than the usual jab of "we'll see how he does against this defense" type of talk that I'm accustomed to hearing from him. I like that he's not making those predictions, as it looks foolish when he's wrong. So many times it felt like our team was too hyped up last year and we had those let down games. And many times it seemed that the penalties cranked up in those games as well, which is another pleasant surprise this year that hasn't gotten enough attention. The penalties are actually down. We have had some dumb ones, but compared to last year, I feel like we're way lower than we were at this point in 2015.
I hope Rex keeps a low profile and goes about his business. It seems that the team is more fixated on beating their next opponent rather than beating their chests this year, and I like it.
GroveDiesel
Footballguy
Then you probably don't want to look at FootballOutsiders' front page and see who they say have the 4th best odds of winning the Super Bowl right now...
Steve Tasker
Footballguy
I usually think the whining about injuries is overblown, but man can this team ever catch a break? McCoy and Clay very banged up but active. Watkins and Woods out. Dareus still yet to play. Etc etc.
Steve Tasker
Footballguy
Well, if you told me they'd be 4-3 after 7 games I'd say that's a positive. 1-3 in the AFC is killer though.
I think we learn a lot over the next 3 weeks.
I think we learn a lot over the next 3 weeks.
Tommy Collins
Footballguy
I'm very pessimistic about those next 3 games. Strong chance we are 4-6. Especially after McCoy got injured. I don't understand why they changed the gameplan with McCoy hurt. If he's not 100%, which was obvious, why play him? Gillislee did well when given a chance. Stick to what's working. Prioritizing passing this week was pretty foolish.
And the defense had absolutely no answer for Ajayi. They knew what he did against Pittsburgh. How can you not have ANY solution? A bad time for Dareus to be out. If he's a more disciplined person, he works out and is in shape during his suspension. Funny he comes back and injures a hamstring immediately in practice. Thats a sign of being out of shape. Pisses me off.
IvanKaramazov
Footballguy
Steve Tasker
Footballguy
Agreed, at which point the season is effectively over by mid-November yet again.
That said, playoff teams beat other good teams a couple of times a year. Every team in the NFL is going to have 5, 6, 7 games against very good teams....the difference between the Bills for the past 15 years is that they don't win the games you don't expect them to win. They never surprise a team. If they're a playoff-caliber team, and I suspect they aren't, they need to win at least 1 and perhaps 2 of the next 3. Straight up. They won't run the table down the stretch with games against Oakland, Pittsburgh, and 2 division opponents they've already lost to. And 9-7 isn't getting them in.
I was thinking about this - how many games can you remember in recent memory where the Bills won a game where you really thought they had no business doing so? Packers in 2014 comes to mind. Patriots game in week 3 of 2011. Other than that I'm not really coming up with much. But flip it - how often can you remember them losing a game they had no business losing? Jags in London. Raiders 2014. Insert Chiefs game here. There was a Browns primetime disaster awhile back. That's the sign of a bad team and a loser franchise.
I want to see this team beat some teams they "shouldn't" beat. Until that happens they're just average or worse.
Steve Tasker
Footballguy
I know we're all feeling awful and pessimistic about the next three games but they're not unwinnable. The Bills beat the Patriots just this year and have them at home (this one's a stretch, I know). Seattle lost to LA, tied Arizona, and scored 12 points against Miami. Cincinnati is currently below .500.
I wouldn't pick the Bills to be favored in any of these, but all 3 are games that should be competitive (okay maybe not New England). Is this a "new" Bills team capable of a playoff push or just the same old lifeless Bills? The season isn't over yet but the next 3 weeks will be very telling.
I wouldn't pick the Bills to be favored in any of these, but all 3 are games that should be competitive (okay maybe not New England). Is this a "new" Bills team capable of a playoff push or just the same old lifeless Bills? The season isn't over yet but the next 3 weeks will be very telling.
Gottabesweet
Footballguy
You're right. I thought the same thing when I looked at the schedule. Win 1 of the next 3 keeps us in the hunt. Get to 5-5 with Jacksonville coming to Buffalo. 6-6 with that 4 game stretch. Maybe you beat Pittsburgh at home or finish with 3 wins and end up at 9-7. Who knows.
I'm beyond pissed. I don't even care about the injuries offensively. Up 17-6 and then all of a sudden the play calls weren't getting into the huddle until 9 seconds on the clock. Tyrod had to rush every snap, couldn't make any pre-snap reads. Goodwin is a one trick pony who is extremely frustrating to watch run an NFL route tree, always diving and flopping for the ball. The run D got gashed. I could care less how often they were on the field, They have a very solid rotation and were subbing in and out. Lawson and Alexander were solid. Hughes was no where to be found and couldn't set the edge. Back to his penalty ways with 20 yards worth. Our DB's on, one-on-one jump ball situations are hideous. I can only imagine what Brady will do. Dareus better be ready this week. Blount better not gash them with Brady checking out of pass plays, which they didn't attempt to do Week 3 with Jacoby. Bush ran a couple good routes and they didn't stick with it. They should have ran Gilislee in the first three quarters the way they did in the 4th. Shady shouldn't have played, another injury the Bills rush to put a star player on the field offensively to help Tyrod.
Tyrod is now 1-9 when he faces a 4 point deficit at any point in the game. He had a chance with about 4 minutes left and couldn't do it. If he doesn't have a 14+ lead and being babied he can't win you a game when adversity hits.
Rant over. I feel a little better.
Steve Tasker
Footballguy
I'm not as pissed as Reddit seems to be about McCoy playing. None of us know what the discussions were like. If I'm the coach/FO and my only star offensive weapon tells me he's good to go, I'm probably playing him unless the doctors are screaming against it. Clearly he was hobbled and eventually they made the change but I'm not gonna kill Rex for playing him. If they lose without him the same people are out there bashing the Bills for babying him.
Gottabesweet
Footballguy
They should have seen it way earlier in the first quarter that he wasn't right. He was cutting but they were slow and without much bounce. At one point he was 5-12 yards in the first few minutes. They should have sprinkled in Gilislee from the start. Play calling was atrocious. Injuries or not there's no excuse for Anthony Lynn to be extremely slow on getting the calls in. Especially when you have a limited offense, you need all the time at the line for pre-snap reads and him in his ear with what the defense is showing up until 15 seconds on the headset. Instead your rushing to line-not looking at anything, just trying to get the snap off at 1 on the play clock and getting chewed up.
I see NE opened at a -5.5 favorite.
packer_junkie
Footballguy
How long is Mccoy going to miss?
Gottabesweet
Footballguy
Might just keep trotting him out there ineffectively. He's "hopeful" for this week again.packer_junkie said:
I haven't seen the Reddit comments and I agree that we don't know how the discussions went, but considering the Bills and Shady's history, it's absurd that he was out there. Maybe it's not Rex's fault, but their training/medical staff needs a complete overhaul as well.Steve Tasker said:
Tommy Collins
Footballguy
If I can see on my TV after 1 play that he's not right, there is no excuse for anybody in the Bills organization. Rex saying he was told McCoy was 100% is a flat lie.
Tommy Collins
Footballguy
Wow, I didn't know that stat. It's very telling. We have seen two sides of the coin with Tyrod. In 2015 he looked sharp. Apparently he looked sharp in the off-season as well since they caved and gave him that contract extension. Now in 2016 he looks bad. He's still missing receivers and isn't looking comfortable. It's as if he's more timid this year for whatever reason.
It's early to be thinking about next year but the team is in difficult position with Tyrod. His cap hit is reportedly somewhere in the range of $27m next year. He is not a $27m QB. I don't know what options they have to restructure his deal, but if they can't, I have to imagine they would be exercising one of those opt out options built into the contract. Then we're back to where we started searching for a QB. At least 2 seasons ago we had a top 5 defense and just needed the offensive pieces. Now we're still fixing the defense broke by our HC and looking for a QB. Lets not forget some WRs who can make plays and stay healthy.
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GroveDiesel
Footballguy
I may be just about tapped out. Between the stupid antics of Rex Ryan, the stupidity of how they continually deal with injuries, all the dumb luck, and how the NFL treats them (and players in general) I honestly care less and less about the NFL.
I mean, guys get suspended for letting air out of footballs, get fines for wearing the "wrong" shoes and socks, get fined for dancing in the end zone, but....
Beat your wife and the NFL will ignore it until the public outcry forces their hand. Shoot players full of drugs while assuring them they'll be fine. Lie to them about the damage to their bodies. Pretend that they care about player safety and then not even give a fine for hits like this: https://twitter.com/SalSports/status/791730419829968898?s=09
Apparently launching yourself in the air and targeting a guy's head with your shoulder when he isn't even looking at you is not a fineable offense in the NFL. Total garbage. They don't give a crap about the players or the people their players hurt.
I mean, guys get suspended for letting air out of footballs, get fines for wearing the "wrong" shoes and socks, get fined for dancing in the end zone, but....
Beat your wife and the NFL will ignore it until the public outcry forces their hand. Shoot players full of drugs while assuring them they'll be fine. Lie to them about the damage to their bodies. Pretend that they care about player safety and then not even give a fine for hits like this: https://twitter.com/SalSports/status/791730419829968898?s=09
Apparently launching yourself in the air and targeting a guy's head with your shoulder when he isn't even looking at you is not a fineable offense in the NFL. Total garbage. They don't give a crap about the players or the people their players hurt.
GroveDiesel
Footballguy
Annnnnnddddd, now it's being reported Landis was fined $24k.
Also being reported that Aaron Williams will wait until the off season to decide whether to continue playing football after his latest neck injury. Which implies he is done for this season and may never play again. :(
Also being reported that Aaron Williams will wait until the off season to decide whether to continue playing football after his latest neck injury. Which implies he is done for this season and may never play again. :(
Tommy Collins
Footballguy
For his sake I hope he retires. This is a game and he's a smart guy. He could make a living as an analyst or something else. It's not worth being crippled over.
grateful zed
Footballguy
im in the northwest, does anyone know if the bills will be on national tv this year?
Tommy Collins
Footballguy
MNF in Seattle next weekgrateful zed said:
GroveDiesel
Footballguy
Tommy Collins
Footballguy
While I will agree that they really need some WRs, I'm not so quick to say that Tyrod isn't the problem. His issues from last year still exist in that he just doesn't see the middle of the field. He's got a great outside deep ball, but if that's not there, he's not taking the middle of the field. The problem with that is that the defenses have picked up on this and push the coverages to the outside, taking away the areas he is good at. He also doesn't appear to be comfortable this year. He looked like he was a much more patient passer last year. I was actually advocating for them to let him throw the ball more last year. This year, I cringe when they throw it because he just doesn't look like the same guy.
The reason why Buffalo is in such dire need of WRs is because of the hiring of Rex Ryan. The team had a top 5 defense in 2014. They then hired Rex Ryan who couldn't make the defense work. So they spent 2 seasons of using draft picks on the defensive side of the ball while completely neglecting the offense. It's true that without the hiring of Rex, Tyrod is likely to have never signed here, as Rex kind of handpicked him. And without Rex being hired, Kiko would still have a role and the trade for McCoy probably doesn't happen. But, we would have a hell of a lot of draft picks over the past 2 seasons to invest in QB/RB/WR/OL as the defensive side of the ball would have been set.
I don't view Tyrod as the long term option for Buffalo. At this rate I don't think Sammy will even stick with the team when it comes time to discuss his contract. He wants that superstar status and while he is injured frequently, Buffalo doesn't have the proper offense to utilize someone like him. Woods is due to be a FA after this season and I doubt the team pays him. WR is going to be an area of need and I don't want them to overpay for the guys we have because they're desperate. I'm already thinking that Tyrod contract was a bad idea, although there are 2 built-in opt out clauses which helps. On the subject of financials, I'm hoping they don't pay Gilmore, who wants top 5 money and doesn't play anywhere near that level.
Whaley did state that they have the cap space to bring in a WR, although they can't squeeze $14m in under the cap, which seemed to be specifically referencing Alshon Jeffery. Imagine that scenario... Jeffery to Buffalo.
Steve Tasker
Footballguy
Steve Tasker
Footballguy
The Bills are in the #1 CBS game this week, as they tend to be when they play the Patriots. Game is not on in the northwest though.grateful zed said:
They're not good enough / don't have enough of a national fanbase to get the prime 4 PM slots, so it's really just the national primetime games for them.
Tommy Collins
Footballguy
And playing a Patriots team out for revenge, without your best RB, best WR, while already having a bad passing game and a defense that just got blown away by the fricken Dolphins. But at least we get an out-of-shape Dareus back for limited snaps.
grateful zed
Footballguy
the reason im asking is because a friend of mine, who also plays for the bills, recently purchased one of my favorite bars in my hometown.
i want to watch some bills games there to pump up the scene but they dont have nfl ticket so the game has to be on a national network.
anyway, cheep drinks and the best burgers on the planet await bills fans at the missoula club.
http://missoulanews.bigskypress.com/IndyBlog/archives/2016/08/01/mo-club-purchased-by-former-griz-standout-nfl-player-colt-anderson
go griz!
i want to watch some bills games there to pump up the scene but they dont have nfl ticket so the game has to be on a national network.
anyway, cheep drinks and the best burgers on the planet await bills fans at the missoula club.
http://missoulanews.bigskypress.com/IndyBlog/archives/2016/08/01/mo-club-purchased-by-former-griz-standout-nfl-player-colt-anderson
go griz!
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grateful zed
Footballguy
it is the kind of bar that is like a museum, sort of a time capsule that must not be disturbed.
any sort of change is frowned upon. the last time the bar changed hands the new owner made the burgers bigger, and people got UPSET!
so nfl ticket is out of the question, for now.
pics
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OC Zed
Footballguy
OC Zed
Footballguy
Are you guys ready to allow women in the bar yet or do they have to wait outside tending to the horses?
The Duff Man
Footballguy
No surprises this game. Looking like an 8-8 team.
Tommy Collins
Footballguy
Had a top 5 defense, spent 2 years making it fit Rex and still not good. I don't think it will ever be top 5 under Rex.OC Zed said:
This is another bad game by top 5 CB Gilmore. They better not pay him that kind of money. I've always disliked his demeanor. Absolutely no intensity out there.
Gillislee looked great but they were behind so fast that they had to throw. I think Tyrod has regressed from last year but he has nobody to throw to. I would welcome a WR via trade by the deadine, if the price is right and he can make a long term impact since we aren't getting to the post-season this year.
On the positive, our run defense was better (about 1 week late for Dareus's return) and our OL did a good job.
I miss Jim Schwartz. Think what this team could be if they promoted him to HC and spent the past 2 years building the offense...
flysack
Footballguy
The best part is the refs standing around it wondering, "what the hell do we do with this?"
https://twitter.com/Dillon_Hayes/status/792811449735340032
https://twitter.com/Dillon_Hayes/status/792811449735340032
flysack
Footballguy
59 Questions for the Person who threw the Dildo on the Field.
https://theringer.com/59-questions-for-the-person-who-threw-a-dildo-on-the-field-during-the-patriots-game-b04c231b58fd#.n55n30v4s
https://theringer.com/59-questions-for-the-person-who-threw-a-dildo-on-the-field-during-the-patriots-game-b04c231b58fd#.n55n30v4s
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Steve Tasker
Footballguy
I'm closer to "blow it all up" than most fans naturally, but I'm still giving them the next two games. I said when they were 4-2 that the next 4 games are the test. An actual playoff contender wins two of those games. There's a roughly 2% chance of it happening but I'm still giving them the chance before writing them off.
Tommy Collins
Footballguy
Steve Tasker
Footballguy
And as always, these are the perils of having season tickets. The season could be over with 4 home games to go. And people wonder why Bills fans drink so much / find other ways to amuse themselves.....
flysack
Footballguy
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Gottabesweet
Footballguy
They are already planning for the injury excuse this year. They can't "evaluate" anyone without a healthy squad. Nothing is going to change and I'm not sure I blame them if they go 8-8 with this receiving depth chart and missing McCoy for 2 AFCE games and counting. They need to win 1 of the next 2 - hopefully Cincinnati for obvious reasons. 5-5 with Jacksonville coming here is what I'm hoping for. The AFC North and West have to start beating up on each other as well.
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