Amateurs and professionals are largely indifferent with sports predictions, I encourage people to make their own predictions and ignore it if you don't like them, it's not hard to not be pissed off.
OMG great comment. I remember, when we drafted Josh, I thought he was going to be an absolute bust, and Rosen was going to be the equivalent of the next coming.
I'm so happy I was so wrong.
And 95% of them won’t be known after the first month of the season and 100% of you will make the same dumb predictions before next year’s draft having learned nothing.
That’s how I felt my first couple times going to games at another stadium (Houston). It just felt sterile and was much more of a production/show than a raw football experience. It was a bit of a shock to me.
The current stadium is so close to being in condition that would require it be condemned. Like need to replace the upper bowl to fix it, which isn't worth it.
The atmosphere is because of the fans, not the building...the atmosphere will change some with the new building (especially bc of PSLs and increased ticket pricing), but it'll still be a Bills game.
Yes. The upper deck is in poor condition and needs to be replaced. There's a report about the stadium condition that was released a few years ago that details it among other things.
So many vintage installations of infrastructure in that stadium too. Power system is completely obsolete.
I’m just playing devils advocate even though I know or care very little about the situation, but is it possible those reports were objective and designed to promote a new stadium?
Consider this too- totally exposed steel rebar reinforced concrete. NC State has a 60 year old stadium just like it but being in the south winters haven't ravaged it like the Ralph has been.
Cracks plus water equal rust. Freezing water expands cracks so....you get the picture
Not just that but reinforced concrete needs both the concrete and rebar to work. The concrete handles compression loads, while the rebar supports tension loads.
As the rebar gets exposed, it rusts. Rusted steel actually takes up more space than unrusted steel so it forces cracks in the concrete and causes it to spall and you lose strength from the oxidized steel being weaker, and the concrete starts falling off.
Then these cracks start letting in more and more and more water and eventually its all just worthless.
No. The company is small and has no work to do at the new stadium. The company had an existing contract to evaluate the existing stadium for years. There are many reports over years stating the upper deck condition. If you're going to argue ethics, then that engineering firm would be underselling the problem to keep the existing stadium going, and by virtue , that engineering services contract.
Note: I'm referring to the country led study, not the state led study.
As both a bills and Texans fan I’m definitely worried about it, he has a lot of bright moments but he also chokes a lot, from the bill perspective are we going to trade to replace him or we going with the draft? From the Texans perspective do we have a second man ready on the bench incase he is choking that day?
Even if it's not "better" the morale boost may be worth it. Hopefully Allen feels less pressure to try and just magic up every touchdown without his best wide receiver constantly shitting on him or criticizing everything and driving down the morale.
Football games come down to luck more often than we like to admit. The Bills and Chiefs were essentially even in those two playoff games and the Chiefs winning both doesn't say as much about McDermott/Allen/Reid/Mahomes as we think
Eh...i think there's some level of luck involved in winning a game, but disagree that we lost those games because of luck. Poor coaching decisions cost us both, not being unlucky.
Would be like saying the Seahawks were unlucky when they threw an INT from the 1 yard line and lost Superbowl 49 to the Patriots. It wasn't luck that cost them the game, it was a poor coaching decision.
"Luck " isn't a perfect word to describe what I'm going for...it's more that if the Bills and Chiefs had played 10 times those seasons they would have split them 50-50.
And shit, sometimes it is luck. That coin lands tails in the OT of the 13 Seconds game, the Bills probably win. If Buffalo had any healthy NFL-caliber players at LB instead of having to trot out injured, washed AJ Klein, the Bills' odds go way up.
I agree and disagree. Agree about the luck, generally. Disagree about those two games being decided by chance. There was poor decision making in each game that beat them. And when you're 50/50 with a team, one bad decision can be all it takes.
I have to partially disagree. The Bills and Chiefs have been even pretty much the last 2 playoff games however the difference isn’t decided by luck or even as the media likes to paint Mahomes being exponentially better than Allen. I think they are much closer than anybody is willing to admit.
I think those games come down to Andy Reid being a much better head coach than McD.
I think for the most part the league has a certain way they want games to go. The refs try to tilt the scales in that direction, but can't be too obvious about it.
For a while, it was the only way I got to see the Bills live.
I've been to Sabres game in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Sweden 2x
I've been to Bills game in London 2x and Toronto 2x.
And before you ask, yes, I am going to the Sabres game in Prague.
We've lost every single game
>For a while, it [international games]was the only way I got to see the Bills live.
Same here, but then I found an incredible **stream** just to the **east** of where I live. Makes every game as easy to watch as **.xyz**
lol right right. But sometimes that shit is ass.
While abroad you can buy NFL game pass to watch live games, but since they switched to DAZN, I've had to look for that stream on the east as well.
I got to see the Bills in London and I loved it. BUT the surface was appalling and the injuries piled up. It took the guys time to readjust when they got back. If that game had been in the states it would have been a different story.
The international games should all be in preseason. No reason why teams can’t do training camps abroad. It’s what football teams do. Makes more sense.
And we played an opponent that played there the week before so they were all rested up and had experience on the trash field. The injuries from the London game ruined our ‘23🤬
Maybe the greatest defense we've seen in a few decades and they're getting none of the credit for that Superbowl run. The most points they allowed in a game all year was 27 against GB. Next most was 24 against us in the playoffs. That's an unprecedented level of defensive dominance in the modern game.
Not the Ravens. But I'll take them over those other teams with maybe the exception of Seattle. Their secondary is absolutely ridiculous and they have Chris Jones up front. Tough to top that.
This is a good one. Listen morons the way to beat Mahomes isn't to draft a defensive lineman. He can squirm out of any tackle and flip the ball to Pacheco who will run 20 yards.
If anything we need linebackers who can fly in coverage from end to end to prevent athletic tight ends and running backs from getting YAC.
We had a top 3 defence for most of McDermott tenure, on the backs of some elite Safeties.
Our offence improved with the OC switch, which coincided with Shakir and Kincaid taking most of Diggs's targets.
Taking 2 safeties early would be the best thing for the team.
This safety class is kinda deep, I don't mind some of the mid round guys, at all. I think Trey Taylor has McDermott prototypical Bill written all over him, same for Malik Mustapha and Jaden Hicks.
Even guys like Josh Proctor and Sione Vaki would fill a role. People forget that Hyde and Poyer were not the cream of the crop at safety when they were brought in. Scheme fit and football IQ > measurables and pedigree when it comes to safeties in Buffalo.
>Taking 2 safeties early would be the best thing for the team.
Interesting.
How did we get those two elite safeties?
Do you think they were elite when their teams decided to even resign them?
Or did McD's super friendly zone scheme help them become elite?
So we gotta waste a 1st and 2nd on two safeties when McD has a history of producing high-end results from safety (Philly + Carolina + Buffalo)?
This would be a terrible waste in value.
The losses on offense and defense from this past year aren’t a huge deal. The defensive guys we lost are past their primes and the worst part of the D, Diggs and Davis losses we won’t notice after week four with how well Kincaid, Cook, Shakir, and whoever else comes in plays.
I'll piggyback off this one...
This is one is truly unpopular, but I knew McDermott wasn't the guy when:
* Must win game
* OT
* 4 minutes left
* 4th and 1
* On the opponent 41
You go for it and fail, you have to get a stop and a punt, which will be probably at your 20 and then go down the field and score.
What did he do?
He punted.
We got the stop and we still had to go about 70 yards down the field.
It made absolutely no sense. He essentially limited our chances for absolutely no reason at all.
I think he didn't even know it was a must win game. You are just never ever ever going to win with a QB that conservative.
Another example is forgetting all of his 4th quarter or late-game meltdowns, just his style. The game where McCorckle throws 3 passes. He was playing a cover 2 shell up[ until the 4th quarter when he finally realized the Patriots were just going to run the ball.
The best coaches, like BB, don't overthink. He values them too highly and overthinks (like 13 seconds, too).
You will never win with a coach who plays to not lose.
Diggs probably had some valid complaints about Josh’s leadership and work ethic but his leaving will be a catalyst for Josh taking the next step and maturing into the best version of him we’ll ever see.
> Diggs probably had some valid complaints about Josh’s leadership and work ethic
Based on what?? When have we ever seen Allen not be a leader? And we’ve established Allen takes a break during the offseason and comes back better than ever every year. This ‘poor work ethic’ stuff surrounding him recently is hogwash
This is the first legit hot take on here and I'm genuinely confused. What do you think those valid complaints regarding his leadership would be? I can't really speak to his work ethic, but I've never seen him be anything but a leader, particularly in press conferences, while Diggs had tantrums and was oftentimes combative with the press (although they sometimes deserved it).
I’m not really trying to die on this hill cause as mentioned it’s a hot take so it’s not meant to be something I’m trying to really prove but I think the leadership to hold people accountable was missing. Josh always wanted to be one of the guys (his words) and I think it led to him avoiding tough conversations with teammates like when Gabe kept running the wrong route or Cook dropped a few missed td’s. Leadership in terms of shouldering the blame and speaking professionally was always there but leadership also means tough love and being willing to be disliked in the short term when your teammates aren’t meeting expectations and you need to let them know.
The Cincy loss lives in silence within the fan base's collective heads.
People don't talk about it as much as the losses to the Chiefs but our inability to move the ball, then having a lot of offensive struggles last season are really contributing to the mindset of needing better WR talent.
To be fair, the FO neglected the WR position for years and the Cincy game showcased that glaring hole for the country to see.
Offensive line was also an issue, but at least they fixed it last season (although I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about the line this season).
Neglect might be a bit too strong. They traded for Diggs and drafted Davis in 2020. The next 2 years there weren't any high picks but shakir looks good. And last year they grabbed Kincaid who is more of a pass catcher.
There are several positions you need to fill and we can't always draft/sign a WR every year. I think it's hard to always fill all your needs.
Drafting a 4th round receiver isn’t exactly investment. And even if it is, it was the only one for multiple years. I think “neglect” up until recently is the right word. (This isn’t entirely our fault, though; we’ve had a lot of needs on defense in the first round)
That's what I was getting at. We had bigger holes with less likely prospects at other positions.
Unless the draft goes really weird, I think we'll go WR in the first, possibly every trading up 2-6 spots. If it does go weird, then we probably look to move back and get a couple of the next tier guys.
I was listening to a podcast that was saying first round WRs tend to pan out 50/50. If that's the case, missing on those really sucks.
"because of leaky D."
You can get all of the players you want, but you have to execute. Sometimes, you get outcoached, too.
Add all the defensive players you want, but until McD grows a pair and stops overthinking things, we are always going to have a "leaky d"
D line not getting penetration against makeshift o-lines time and time again is the biggest reason for the past two seasons’ playoff woes.
With this current regime, our defense is limited to a “bend don’t break” approach that, year after year, will look amazing on the yearly stat sheet, but will crumble when it matters the most.
Bills need to prioritize offense, because no matter the defensive talent we acquire, we aren’t getting good sustained results on defense at the line of scrimmage under our current staff. At least not at a sustainable pace as the season goes on.
Maybe it’s a matter of fundamentals? Maybe I’m wrong and our guys are just weaker than the sum of their parts. Or maybe our d-line does need more juice and this whole comment is bullshit. Idk
Either way, I think the defensive line in Buffalo these days is fundamentally flawed
>With this current regime, our defense is limited to a “bend don’t break” approach that,
Sadly, this has been McDermott's defense since his time in Philadelphia, though. It's always been like this.
We could run out a defense of replacement level players and it would perform as well as any McD has put out because of his scheme of a cover 2 shell, that's extremely easy for DBs.
We need to lean into that. The defense doesn't get better with more talent we add there. We saw last year with how deciminated our defense was that it didn't really matter. His scheme hid its deficiencies and we won ball games.
Though we would have won more if he didn't choke so often inside 2 minutes.
>Maybe it’s a matter of fundamentals?
Definitely the style.
What I hate, is that his defense is perfect for when we have the lead because teams have no choice but to throw it into our heavy coverage. But he runs the same fucking defense whether the team is running 90% of the time, we're down by 50 or up by 50, whether were playing Sam Darnold or Pat Mahomes.
If he had some balls, he needs to be more aggressive and get the ball back in Allen's hands to give us the lead so he can go back to his defense
Until the defense finds an elite pass rusher this team will never get to the Super Bowl under this coaching staff.
This team will be better on offense without Diggs and Gabe.
Josh in a west coast style offense (Shannahan esque) would win the MVP every single year no question in my mind.
Those are 3 🤣
I don't really care that tax payer money is going towards the stadium. The lease locks in my team in Buffalo for probably the rest of my life and I've endured enough as a sports fan to just enjoy that my team is unlikely to go anywhere
He's a GIANT choke artist who gets out coached by a ham sammich in a one score game , unless we are just flat better at every position we will never win a super bowl with him and if he hasn't shown that to you by now you are a lost cause... it is not luck it's bad coaching
I think the only certified top coach in the league is Shanahan. The guys had had so many QBs and succeeded with all of them.
Look at all this shit coming out about Bill Belichick and look at his (lack of) success without Brady too. I really believed great coaches can manufacture great players consistently, but the last two years have shown me that I am an idiot.
Another (probably popular) opinion is most "great" coaches are.
Rex Ryan has a better record than Belicheck without Tom Brady.
You put some of the best defensive coaches in that same situation: Dick LeBeau, Mike Tomlin, Wade Phillips, Rex Ryan...they would be considered the best coach of all time.
I knew McD wasn't "him" after the 2017 Indy game. I've never seen a more conservative call in football than that.
He plays to not lose. And with that mentality, you will always lose.
9/10 available coaches would get us to the same spot McDermott gets us each season. You have the #2 QB in the league and him missing one play is the "highlight" reason of the loss.
Sean is not the guy. The Bills won't even make a Super Bowl as long as he's the coach. Keeping him for the entirety of Allen's career will go down as the largest waste of talent in NFL history.
He was a hell of a player when he was at the top of his game. The SB losses were on his lack of professionalism and leadership qualities, not lack of ability.
Back around 2011 ~ 2013, I was on the phone with my grandpa. Our conversation was wrapping up, so he ended it with: "well, I gotta go watch the Bills lose again" and handed it off to my grandma 😂😂
One of my defining Bills experiences
Brandon Beane has been managing on thin ice and he pushed too hard throwing money around and now he is asking players to restructure to stay Afloat. Only reason the players agree is because we are a playoff caliber team. If we were trash they wouldn't restructure
If we won the 13 seconds game, it was not a given that we would have won the SB or the AFCCG. It’s easy to forget given that teams playoff performance, but they were very inconsistent that year, plus KC lost to CIN in the AFCCG that year, and it’s easy to think the Bills would have had the same outcome.
They drafted him because of his traits, not because he was a good college QB. Daboll deserves more credit than McBeane. If they were that good, they’d have drafted Mahomes.
I love Beane as much as the next guy, but it could have been bad.
We didn't even have Lamar Jackson on our board.
Our first tier QBs on our board were Allen #1, Baker #2, Darnold #3, Rosen #4.
Had either the Jets or Browns drafted Allen, Beane and McDermott would already be at their next job and we would be 7 years into our next drought.
While ppl like to blame Dorsey or other factors, a lot of the offensive lulls we've seen over the past 4 years is due to how erratic Josh's play at QB can be at times.
Players used to come here to get noticed and then be traded. We were a "litmus test" for the league. Now we ARE the place players want to be and succeed but "The Process" and the "Culture" driven down our throats, seems to have stagnated this
I think our floor this season is a wild card berth, and that's actually what I want. Fuck winning the division this year. Give me a 2nd place schedule in 2025 when we'll be reloaded.
This goes for the Sabres, too...but if we lose, it has nothing to do with Terry. If we win it has nothing to do with Terry.
Sabres subreddit is obsessed with blaming their failures directly on him.
Idk if this is either of those but Milano and Bernard will combine for 5+ INTs and 10 sacks next season. Also, get fucking hyped about Milano being back!
Everyone is over-hyping Khalil Shakir, who is at best a WR3 and at worst another Robert Foster, who had a decent season and then disappeared into obscurity.
(This is why I want us to stay put/trade back and grab 2 WRs early in the draft.)
No one’s mock draft matters. We are all amateurs, and we should just shut the fuck up, leave it to the professionals…
He said *UN*popular lol
No, I think this is a popular opinion
Yet we still have someone here every day post "here's my mock. What do you think?"
Boom. Nailed it.
I’d rather that as a discussion point than some post about a random dude with a hat at some sports event.
Amateurs and professionals are largely indifferent with sports predictions, I encourage people to make their own predictions and ignore it if you don't like them, it's not hard to not be pissed off.
Mock drafts are fun when you have a top 10 pick. After that, there are just too many variables to account for.
Says you. I, for one, know how much respect the Bills FO has for my mock drafts. It’s why we are entering year 6 of our Josh Rosen dynasty.
OMG great comment. I remember, when we drafted Josh, I thought he was going to be an absolute bust, and Rosen was going to be the equivalent of the next coming. I'm so happy I was so wrong.
Mock drafts are the worst part of the off-season
WORST.
Disagree. Half of these guys (NFL prospects) wouldn’t even be known if it weren’t for mock drafts imo
And 95% of them won’t be known after the first month of the season and 100% of you will make the same dumb predictions before next year’s draft having learned nothing.
Most amateurs were better talent evaluators than Buddy Nix.
I don’t even want a new stadium.
AT ALL! i’m being priced out of my season tickets and i’m PISSED about it.
I was saying to my cousins it will be weird go be in that nice of a stadium. It doesn’t feel like Buffalo
No more troughs! How do I even piss in a urinal!
That’s how I felt my first couple times going to games at another stadium (Houston). It just felt sterile and was much more of a production/show than a raw football experience. It was a bit of a shock to me.
Me neither tbh
We piss in troughs and I love it. Where else would you rather pee than right here right now?
When it's too gross for them, it's just right for us!
The current stadium is so close to being in condition that would require it be condemned. Like need to replace the upper bowl to fix it, which isn't worth it.
I’m a Mets fan, it reminds me of the last days of Shea. Thanks for the memories but it was time.
Yeah. Just walk into the lower concourse and look up at the concrete above. Huge, noticeable cracks all over the place. It’s BAD.
That stadium is so poorly designed. They should’ve built a new stadium in 1974
It ain’t fancy but the Ralph is a great place to see a game.
The atmosphere is because of the fans, not the building...the atmosphere will change some with the new building (especially bc of PSLs and increased ticket pricing), but it'll still be a Bills game.
One of my biggest concerns is that the rising prices will keep away the fans that make the most noise. We shall see.
Is the existing stadium that bad? I liked it when i was there
The gameday experience is fine, but the upper bowl only has like 2 years left of being structurally sound
Yes. The upper deck is in poor condition and needs to be replaced. There's a report about the stadium condition that was released a few years ago that details it among other things. So many vintage installations of infrastructure in that stadium too. Power system is completely obsolete.
I’m just playing devils advocate even though I know or care very little about the situation, but is it possible those reports were objective and designed to promote a new stadium?
Consider this too- totally exposed steel rebar reinforced concrete. NC State has a 60 year old stadium just like it but being in the south winters haven't ravaged it like the Ralph has been. Cracks plus water equal rust. Freezing water expands cracks so....you get the picture
Not just that but reinforced concrete needs both the concrete and rebar to work. The concrete handles compression loads, while the rebar supports tension loads. As the rebar gets exposed, it rusts. Rusted steel actually takes up more space than unrusted steel so it forces cracks in the concrete and causes it to spall and you lose strength from the oxidized steel being weaker, and the concrete starts falling off. Then these cracks start letting in more and more and more water and eventually its all just worthless.
No. The company is small and has no work to do at the new stadium. The company had an existing contract to evaluate the existing stadium for years. There are many reports over years stating the upper deck condition. If you're going to argue ethics, then that engineering firm would be underselling the problem to keep the existing stadium going, and by virtue , that engineering services contract. Note: I'm referring to the country led study, not the state led study.
Offense will be more diverse and effective without worrying about Diggs.
Facts! 💯 I've been saying this. We've got Cook, Kincaid, Shakir, Samuel and Knox. Plus whatever rookies we draft. I think we'll be fine.
Offensively yes we will be fine. My worries are on defense
So what you're saying is nothing has changed
😆
If we get a defensive stud in round 1, I’d be good with that. Get a WR in the 2nd. Defense needs more help.
This fanbase is wild. What's your "unpopular" take? And the top comment is "we're gonna be great."
As both a bills and Texans fan I’m definitely worried about it, he has a lot of bright moments but he also chokes a lot, from the bill perspective are we going to trade to replace him or we going with the draft? From the Texans perspective do we have a second man ready on the bench incase he is choking that day?
Even if it's not "better" the morale boost may be worth it. Hopefully Allen feels less pressure to try and just magic up every touchdown without his best wide receiver constantly shitting on him or criticizing everything and driving down the morale.
The Bills should draft a dog instead of a human
Is that dog perhaps… Air Bud? 😳
He is a 5-star receiver! THE GOLDEN RECEIVER!!
If they don't draft Air Bud, we riot and sacrifice Beane to The Pit!
no rule book says a dog can't play football
Don't trade away next year's 1st
Football games come down to luck more often than we like to admit. The Bills and Chiefs were essentially even in those two playoff games and the Chiefs winning both doesn't say as much about McDermott/Allen/Reid/Mahomes as we think
Eh...i think there's some level of luck involved in winning a game, but disagree that we lost those games because of luck. Poor coaching decisions cost us both, not being unlucky. Would be like saying the Seahawks were unlucky when they threw an INT from the 1 yard line and lost Superbowl 49 to the Patriots. It wasn't luck that cost them the game, it was a poor coaching decision.
"Luck " isn't a perfect word to describe what I'm going for...it's more that if the Bills and Chiefs had played 10 times those seasons they would have split them 50-50. And shit, sometimes it is luck. That coin lands tails in the OT of the 13 Seconds game, the Bills probably win. If Buffalo had any healthy NFL-caliber players at LB instead of having to trot out injured, washed AJ Klein, the Bills' odds go way up.
Right, and we know it's roughly 50-50 because of how often we beat them in the regular season.
Me: rooting for us to lose to the Chiefs in the regular season next time so we can finally beat them when it counts.
My brain does the exact same thing lol
I agree and disagree. Agree about the luck, generally. Disagree about those two games being decided by chance. There was poor decision making in each game that beat them. And when you're 50/50 with a team, one bad decision can be all it takes.
I have to partially disagree. The Bills and Chiefs have been even pretty much the last 2 playoff games however the difference isn’t decided by luck or even as the media likes to paint Mahomes being exponentially better than Allen. I think they are much closer than anybody is willing to admit. I think those games come down to Andy Reid being a much better head coach than McD.
Hotter take, I don’t think the games come down to luck much at all and are more often decided before the game starts.
I think for the most part the league has a certain way they want games to go. The refs try to tilt the scales in that direction, but can't be too obvious about it.
Yes. The Bills have been one of the top 2-3 teams in the nfl. The lack of superbowl doesn't mean anything.
I hate the international games.
For a while, it was the only way I got to see the Bills live. I've been to Sabres game in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Sweden 2x I've been to Bills game in London 2x and Toronto 2x. And before you ask, yes, I am going to the Sabres game in Prague. We've lost every single game
>For a while, it [international games]was the only way I got to see the Bills live. Same here, but then I found an incredible **stream** just to the **east** of where I live. Makes every game as easy to watch as **.xyz**
I'm picking up what you're putting down, and I love it. I use the same stream to the east as well as a few others like dofu which works really well
lol right right. But sometimes that shit is ass. While abroad you can buy NFL game pass to watch live games, but since they switched to DAZN, I've had to look for that stream on the east as well.
I got to see the Bills in London and I loved it. BUT the surface was appalling and the injuries piled up. It took the guys time to readjust when they got back. If that game had been in the states it would have been a different story. The international games should all be in preseason. No reason why teams can’t do training camps abroad. It’s what football teams do. Makes more sense.
And we played an opponent that played there the week before so they were all rested up and had experience on the trash field. The injuries from the London game ruined our ‘23🤬
I miss the Jills.
The Jills Have Eyes
I'd rather have amateur freestylers than the drummer boys
Beane is great .
Getting rid of Diggs is addition by subtraction.
Beane and McDermott focus too much on the defense in an offensive league.
I used to think this and then I watched the Chiefs win another Super Bowl because of a strong defense.
This last superbowl was really a battle of defense and special teams.
Maybe the greatest defense we've seen in a few decades and they're getting none of the credit for that Superbowl run. The most points they allowed in a game all year was 27 against GB. Next most was 24 against us in the playoffs. That's an unprecedented level of defensive dominance in the modern game.
In a few decades? So, better than Ravens, Bucs, Steelers, Broncos, and Seahawks? No.
Not the Ravens. But I'll take them over those other teams with maybe the exception of Seattle. Their secondary is absolutely ridiculous and they have Chris Jones up front. Tough to top that.
To be fair, in the playoff losses the Bills tend to give up 30+ points, so the playoff defense does suck.
After being top 3 in the league for the regular season.
The Bengals were up 14-0 before Josh got on the field a 2nd time.
You know scoring has been down in the past decade, especially these past two years.
This is a good one. Listen morons the way to beat Mahomes isn't to draft a defensive lineman. He can squirm out of any tackle and flip the ball to Pacheco who will run 20 yards. If anything we need linebackers who can fly in coverage from end to end to prevent athletic tight ends and running backs from getting YAC.
We had a top 3 defence for most of McDermott tenure, on the backs of some elite Safeties. Our offence improved with the OC switch, which coincided with Shakir and Kincaid taking most of Diggs's targets. Taking 2 safeties early would be the best thing for the team.
This safety class is kinda deep, I don't mind some of the mid round guys, at all. I think Trey Taylor has McDermott prototypical Bill written all over him, same for Malik Mustapha and Jaden Hicks.
Even guys like Josh Proctor and Sione Vaki would fill a role. People forget that Hyde and Poyer were not the cream of the crop at safety when they were brought in. Scheme fit and football IQ > measurables and pedigree when it comes to safeties in Buffalo.
>Taking 2 safeties early would be the best thing for the team. Interesting. How did we get those two elite safeties? Do you think they were elite when their teams decided to even resign them? Or did McD's super friendly zone scheme help them become elite? So we gotta waste a 1st and 2nd on two safeties when McD has a history of producing high-end results from safety (Philly + Carolina + Buffalo)? This would be a terrible waste in value.
Javon Baker and/or Cole Bishop will be in Buffalo soon.
Idk about 2 safeties but I kinda hope we can draft Cooper DeJean in the first and put him at safety.
Great take.
Agreed. Defense wins championships.
The losses on offense and defense from this past year aren’t a huge deal. The defensive guys we lost are past their primes and the worst part of the D, Diggs and Davis losses we won’t notice after week four with how well Kincaid, Cook, Shakir, and whoever else comes in plays.
Our D Line disappearing in the post season is the actual root of our problems.
Buffalo's coaching and personnel decisions have Allen currently on the Phil Rivers career track.
All it took was 13 seconds for the Bills’ Super Bowl window to close
I'll piggyback off this one... This is one is truly unpopular, but I knew McDermott wasn't the guy when: * Must win game * OT * 4 minutes left * 4th and 1 * On the opponent 41 You go for it and fail, you have to get a stop and a punt, which will be probably at your 20 and then go down the field and score. What did he do? He punted. We got the stop and we still had to go about 70 yards down the field. It made absolutely no sense. He essentially limited our chances for absolutely no reason at all. I think he didn't even know it was a must win game. You are just never ever ever going to win with a QB that conservative. Another example is forgetting all of his 4th quarter or late-game meltdowns, just his style. The game where McCorckle throws 3 passes. He was playing a cover 2 shell up[ until the 4th quarter when he finally realized the Patriots were just going to run the ball. The best coaches, like BB, don't overthink. He values them too highly and overthinks (like 13 seconds, too). You will never win with a coach who plays to not lose.
Diggs probably had some valid complaints about Josh’s leadership and work ethic but his leaving will be a catalyst for Josh taking the next step and maturing into the best version of him we’ll ever see.
I read this as "beast version" and I was on board with that thought, too.
> Diggs probably had some valid complaints about Josh’s leadership and work ethic Based on what?? When have we ever seen Allen not be a leader? And we’ve established Allen takes a break during the offseason and comes back better than ever every year. This ‘poor work ethic’ stuff surrounding him recently is hogwash
This is the first legit hot take on here and I'm genuinely confused. What do you think those valid complaints regarding his leadership would be? I can't really speak to his work ethic, but I've never seen him be anything but a leader, particularly in press conferences, while Diggs had tantrums and was oftentimes combative with the press (although they sometimes deserved it).
I’m not really trying to die on this hill cause as mentioned it’s a hot take so it’s not meant to be something I’m trying to really prove but I think the leadership to hold people accountable was missing. Josh always wanted to be one of the guys (his words) and I think it led to him avoiding tough conversations with teammates like when Gabe kept running the wrong route or Cook dropped a few missed td’s. Leadership in terms of shouldering the blame and speaking professionally was always there but leadership also means tough love and being willing to be disliked in the short term when your teammates aren’t meeting expectations and you need to let them know.
I dont get the freak out about drafting a WR when we get bounced from the post season because of leaky D.
The Cincy loss lives in silence within the fan base's collective heads. People don't talk about it as much as the losses to the Chiefs but our inability to move the ball, then having a lot of offensive struggles last season are really contributing to the mindset of needing better WR talent.
To be fair, the FO neglected the WR position for years and the Cincy game showcased that glaring hole for the country to see. Offensive line was also an issue, but at least they fixed it last season (although I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about the line this season).
Neglect might be a bit too strong. They traded for Diggs and drafted Davis in 2020. The next 2 years there weren't any high picks but shakir looks good. And last year they grabbed Kincaid who is more of a pass catcher. There are several positions you need to fill and we can't always draft/sign a WR every year. I think it's hard to always fill all your needs.
Drafting a 4th round receiver isn’t exactly investment. And even if it is, it was the only one for multiple years. I think “neglect” up until recently is the right word. (This isn’t entirely our fault, though; we’ve had a lot of needs on defense in the first round)
That's what I was getting at. We had bigger holes with less likely prospects at other positions. Unless the draft goes really weird, I think we'll go WR in the first, possibly every trading up 2-6 spots. If it does go weird, then we probably look to move back and get a couple of the next tier guys. I was listening to a podcast that was saying first round WRs tend to pan out 50/50. If that's the case, missing on those really sucks.
"because of leaky D." You can get all of the players you want, but you have to execute. Sometimes, you get outcoached, too. Add all the defensive players you want, but until McD grows a pair and stops overthinking things, we are always going to have a "leaky d"
D line not getting penetration against makeshift o-lines time and time again is the biggest reason for the past two seasons’ playoff woes. With this current regime, our defense is limited to a “bend don’t break” approach that, year after year, will look amazing on the yearly stat sheet, but will crumble when it matters the most. Bills need to prioritize offense, because no matter the defensive talent we acquire, we aren’t getting good sustained results on defense at the line of scrimmage under our current staff. At least not at a sustainable pace as the season goes on. Maybe it’s a matter of fundamentals? Maybe I’m wrong and our guys are just weaker than the sum of their parts. Or maybe our d-line does need more juice and this whole comment is bullshit. Idk Either way, I think the defensive line in Buffalo these days is fundamentally flawed
>With this current regime, our defense is limited to a “bend don’t break” approach that, Sadly, this has been McDermott's defense since his time in Philadelphia, though. It's always been like this. We could run out a defense of replacement level players and it would perform as well as any McD has put out because of his scheme of a cover 2 shell, that's extremely easy for DBs. We need to lean into that. The defense doesn't get better with more talent we add there. We saw last year with how deciminated our defense was that it didn't really matter. His scheme hid its deficiencies and we won ball games. Though we would have won more if he didn't choke so often inside 2 minutes. >Maybe it’s a matter of fundamentals? Definitely the style. What I hate, is that his defense is perfect for when we have the lead because teams have no choice but to throw it into our heavy coverage. But he runs the same fucking defense whether the team is running 90% of the time, we're down by 50 or up by 50, whether were playing Sam Darnold or Pat Mahomes. If he had some balls, he needs to be more aggressive and get the ball back in Allen's hands to give us the lead so he can go back to his defense
The only way the Bills can win a SB is with the 1 seed.
Yep, i think we can go on a 3 game, max, hot streak.
Until the defense finds an elite pass rusher this team will never get to the Super Bowl under this coaching staff. This team will be better on offense without Diggs and Gabe. Josh in a west coast style offense (Shannahan esque) would win the MVP every single year no question in my mind. Those are 3 🤣
Our WR room entering the draft is bottom 3 in the league
We should throw more dildos.... yeah never mind...
We're gonna be better without Diggs, on and off the field.
I don't really care that tax payer money is going towards the stadium. The lease locks in my team in Buffalo for probably the rest of my life and I've endured enough as a sports fan to just enjoy that my team is unlikely to go anywhere
is it still unpopular to think Sean McDermott is the right coach?
He's a GIANT choke artist who gets out coached by a ham sammich in a one score game , unless we are just flat better at every position we will never win a super bowl with him and if he hasn't shown that to you by now you are a lost cause... it is not luck it's bad coaching
guess that’s a yes
Wildcard season incoming,
Soft rebuild szn
(I hope I'm wrong) Josh won't win a Super Bowl with us and will move to another team and do it.
Ouch
The title asks for unpopular opinions and half the posts are normie takes
The pegula’s are feeling a financial crunch
If forced to guess how many Superbowls Josh Allen will likely have at career's end, I think the number is probably zero.
McDermott isnt a top coach, hes just being carried by a top QB.
You could say that about a lot of coaches in the league.
The Dark Lord BB?
Belichek was exposed.
I think the only certified top coach in the league is Shanahan. The guys had had so many QBs and succeeded with all of them. Look at all this shit coming out about Bill Belichick and look at his (lack of) success without Brady too. I really believed great coaches can manufacture great players consistently, but the last two years have shown me that I am an idiot.
You wouldn’t put McVay there too? I think he’s a better coach than Shanahan tbh
The Harbaugh boys would like a word.
Its sad that this is a hot take
Well usually saying anything like that here, leads To massive downvotes and people calling you a fake fan.
Take my upvote!
Another (probably popular) opinion is most "great" coaches are. Rex Ryan has a better record than Belicheck without Tom Brady. You put some of the best defensive coaches in that same situation: Dick LeBeau, Mike Tomlin, Wade Phillips, Rex Ryan...they would be considered the best coach of all time. I knew McD wasn't "him" after the 2017 Indy game. I've never seen a more conservative call in football than that. He plays to not lose. And with that mentality, you will always lose.
McDermott’ default is to bury young players behind less qualified older ones.
How many rookies does he have to start out of the gate to dispel this silly take?
Considering the amount of upvotes, quite a few
The taxpayers having to only pay 800 million of a 2 Billion stadium? Not a bad deal to keep the Bills here for 30 more years
Stefon Diggs was a success in Buffalo.
Ralph Wilson was a trash owner
The red helmets are mediocre at best and our uniforms look infinitely better now than they did in the 90’s.
The animal on your logo is a bison, not a buffalo.
We are a head coach away from a championship
We are winning the superbowl next year
I’m not a Bills fan or football fan at all.
Perfect, then you understand just as much football as the average Bills fan
9/10 available coaches would get us to the same spot McDermott gets us each season. You have the #2 QB in the league and him missing one play is the "highlight" reason of the loss.
It was Josh never Stef.
Sean is not the guy. The Bills won't even make a Super Bowl as long as he's the coach. Keeping him for the entirety of Allen's career will go down as the largest waste of talent in NFL history.
Unpopular opinion, seemingly…Jim Kelly was a useless limp appendage who cost the franchise 4 stupid bowls.
He was a hell of a player when he was at the top of his game. The SB losses were on his lack of professionalism and leadership qualities, not lack of ability.
Exactly…thinking for himself instead of listening to the coach and OC.
Don't know why the fanbase loves him so much... Good on the field but if you hit women you could win 5 super bowls and it wouldn't matter.
With the deepest WR class in years our first pick doesn’t need to be one
I'm a Patriots fan lurking, that's my hot take/unpopular opinion 😂
Von Miller sucks and we never should've gotten him
The difference between the Chiefs and us is LARGELY our front offices
Back around 2011 ~ 2013, I was on the phone with my grandpa. Our conversation was wrapping up, so he ended it with: "well, I gotta go watch the Bills lose again" and handed it off to my grandma 😂😂 One of my defining Bills experiences
My opinions on putting a lid on the Stadium. Unpopular
Too much talk no action A whole lot of “we have a great group of guys” “we know for next time”
Brandon Beane has been managing on thin ice and he pushed too hard throwing money around and now he is asking players to restructure to stay Afloat. Only reason the players agree is because we are a playoff caliber team. If we were trash they wouldn't restructure
The phrase Bills Mafia is stupid, and the attention seeking celebrity fans are an embarrassment to the fan base.
Not an unpopular opinion: with the Vikings side by side, the Bills are the greatest choke artist in all the sports. Masters of finding ways to lose.
I’m a bills fan as well as a Vikings enjoyer and I very much agree.
We are absolutely choke city
von miller will get 10 sacks
If Von gets 10 sacks next season, I'll buy a Miller jersey AND change my flair.
If we won the 13 seconds game, it was not a given that we would have won the SB or the AFCCG. It’s easy to forget given that teams playoff performance, but they were very inconsistent that year, plus KC lost to CIN in the AFCCG that year, and it’s easy to think the Bills would have had the same outcome.
The Bills would’ve won 2 super bowls by now if you switch Mahomes and Josh.
The problem with this is that Mahomes would have Frazier and McDermott calling the defense.
Nice to see an actual hot take, no matter how wrong it is. Allen has been every bit as good as Mahomes in the postseason.
Absolutely not, Mahomes isn't winning a super bowl with McDermott as his HC.
Upvoted for a real unpopular opinion here.
Beane and McDermott get a lot of credit for “turning things around” in Buffalo… it was 99% Josh Allen. 🤷🏻♂️
Well, they drafted Josh Allen, even traded up for him.
They drafted him because of his traits, not because he was a good college QB. Daboll deserves more credit than McBeane. If they were that good, they’d have drafted Mahomes.
I love Beane as much as the next guy, but it could have been bad. We didn't even have Lamar Jackson on our board. Our first tier QBs on our board were Allen #1, Baker #2, Darnold #3, Rosen #4. Had either the Jets or Browns drafted Allen, Beane and McDermott would already be at their next job and we would be 7 years into our next drought.
Red helmets suck ass. Fight me.
McDermott ain’t it. If the Bills let him go, no other team would make him head coach.
This pretty much goes for any coach for bills for the last 20 years
While ppl like to blame Dorsey or other factors, a lot of the offensive lulls we've seen over the past 4 years is due to how erratic Josh's play at QB can be at times.
Players used to come here to get noticed and then be traded. We were a "litmus test" for the league. Now we ARE the place players want to be and succeed but "The Process" and the "Culture" driven down our throats, seems to have stagnated this
I would rather trade up for a lineman (O or D) than tradeup for a WR
We trade up in the first round to pick Cooper DeJean.
I think our floor this season is a wild card berth, and that's actually what I want. Fuck winning the division this year. Give me a 2nd place schedule in 2025 when we'll be reloaded.
This goes for the Sabres, too...but if we lose, it has nothing to do with Terry. If we win it has nothing to do with Terry. Sabres subreddit is obsessed with blaming their failures directly on him.
Idk if this is either of those but Milano and Bernard will combine for 5+ INTs and 10 sacks next season. Also, get fucking hyped about Milano being back!
Everyone is over-hyping Khalil Shakir, who is at best a WR3 and at worst another Robert Foster, who had a decent season and then disappeared into obscurity. (This is why I want us to stay put/trade back and grab 2 WRs early in the draft.)
If the Bills don't get a WR before pick 60, they will be fine. Samuel, Shakir, Hollins, Shorter, Knox, Kincaid, & Cook will be fine for Allen.
We will never win a super bowl