Ugh...

[DesertFox24]

Is it just me or is anyone else feel like this season is going to suck.

I just do not have any real optimism this year for some reason. Last year we came of 8-8 I will not count that week 17 win against pays for marone Rex was new thought we would have top 3 def.

This year yes it is great no new coordinators coaches or qb but with the schedule I just do not see 10 wins. I think we are looking at 7 or 8 wins. To many young guys in key positions in defense. Offense I just do not see a pass catching threat besides Sammy and clay that scares people. Teams will double Sammy put a safety on clay and play to stop the run.

I will still watch every game but I really do not see positivity happening. That coupled with the fact Rex and Doug probably fired when we win 7 is going to suck because we are going to rebuild yet again.

I did not want to hire Rex in the first place but since we did lets at least give him 4 years. Only way firing Rex and I would be ok with it is if Gregg Roman takes the job over full time. I actually think he will be one hell of a head coach one day sort of like Bruce arenas or Mike zimmer.

[sahlensguy]

Drink some Kool Aid.

Tyrod is going to pull it together in a contract year. Sammy will stay healthy. Clay will give a ****. Shady will be healthy. The D will gel without Mario and will be healthy. Carpenter will rebound. Etc...

[feldspar]

It's not just you, but it ain't me. I don't rule out a winning record. I really think it could go either way. At any rate, I expect things to be interesting no matter what. I'm psyched to see what happens. I plan on enjoying myself. I don't wait about 8 months for football season just to rain on my own parade when it finally is about to start.

I think we could be good this year.

And there is no way Whaley or Rex will be fired unless the team tanks in embarrassing fashion...even then, only maybe. That whole "make the playoffs or else" ultimatum was invented by the media. There is no truth to it, no matter who thinks what about it.

[sukie]

9-7 is a winning record and underwhelming at the same time

[jimmifli]

My give-a-****ter isn't working as well as it used to. I'll watch but I'm not as emotionally invested as I once was.

They'll probably suck, it'd be nice if they didn't though.

[Dr. Lecter]

4-12

[feldspar]

I'll watch but I'm not as emotionally invested as I once was.

Don't kid yourself...sure you will.

[trapezeus]

it's not that just what the original poster said, but its the fact that rex is so volatile and outspoken that if the wheels are kind of coming off early, they will completely come undone. if its going well early, his volatility and poor in game decisions can still sink us quickly.

[Mr. Pink]

They had a weaker schedule last year and didn't take advantage by building upon the success of the last Marrone year...

This year, they have a tougher schedule, loss of key personnel - no losing Mario and replacing him with basically no one since Lawson likely doesn't see the field in 2016 isn't making yourself better no matter how you wanna spin it. No backup RB really in the first 4 games. A QB who was exposed in the Pro Bowl as to why he didn't throw over the middle. No slot receiver of any value, lost Hogan and replaced him with...uh nothing. No nickel corner. And a blowhard at HC who got worse every season at his last stop.

3-6 into the bye. 6-10 or 7-9 overall.

[k-oneputt]

Mario is addition by subtraction.
Plenty of runners to be the backup rb, not important in the beginning of the season.
Tyrod is a ?
Hogan is no big loss.
Not worried at all about cb as long is everyone is healthy.
Rex, ?????, time to put up.

If Tyrod plays 16 games they win 9 or 10. If he goes down and EJ comes in they are done.

[swiper]

Is it just me or is anyone else feel like this season is going to suck.

I just do not have any real optimism this year for some reason. Last year we came of 8-8 I will not count that week 17 win against pays for marone Rex was new thought we would have top 3 def.

This year yes it is great no new coordinators coaches or qb but with the schedule I just do not see 10 wins. I think we are looking at 7 or 8 wins. To many young guys in key positions in defense. Offense I just do not see a pass catching threat besides Sammy and clay that scares people. Teams will double Sammy put a safety on clay and play to stop the run.

I will still watch every game but I really do not see positivity happening. That coupled with the fact Rex and Doug probably fired when we win 7 is going to suck because we are going to rebuild yet again.

I did not want to hire Rex in the first place but since we did lets at least give him 4 years. Only way firing Rex and I would be ok with it is if Gregg Roman takes the job over full time. I actually think he will be one hell of a head coach one day sort of like Bruce arenas or Mike zimmer.

I agree with most of what you posted. I agree about Ryan. I live in Jets territory. The fans have grown quietly (and that's not like them) confident since the Jets signed Wilkerson then Fitzpatrick. The Jets could be the AFC East dark horse now, if they are able to build on their last year.

As for the Bills, I too watch every game although I hate the Ryans, Whaley, the owner and his lackeys. Now that Fred is gone and the QBs all suck, there aren't really any players I like all that much either.

[Mace]

I'm looking forward to the season like always, I hope for the best but don't expect it. I'll always love the team but find them unlikable, though I like Roman and some of the players. That matters less than it might seem, though I despise him I hope for Ryans to be successful.

I have this peculiar feeling the offense will go backwards and the defense will improve. My thought would be 8-8, though I would say they could range from 6-10 to 9-7 depending.

I know neither Ryan or Whaley are going anywhere. I'm expecting stupid things to happen again, that's the nature of Rex, but I have a feeling too that Rob comes out of this looking better than expected.

I enjoy the buildup this time of the year.

[OpIv37]

Mario is addition by subtraction.
Plenty of runners to be the backup rb, not important in the beginning of the season.
Tyrod is a ?
Hogan is no big loss.
Not worried at all about cb as long is everyone is healthy.
Rex, ?????, time to put up.

If Tyrod plays 16 games they win 9 or 10. If he goes down and EJ comes in they are done.

There is no such thing as addition by subtraction. One of the few bright spots over the past few years is that this team is pretty good at ditching problematic players. However, they're pretty bad at replacing them with someone equal or better.

Shaq MAY be Mario's replacement if he pans out, but he won't be healthy at the start of the season, and with no camp or preseason, it's likely that he will struggle for a few weeks upon his return. Until Shaq returns and contributes, we are worse off than we were with Mario.

[swiper]

Shaq will be lucky to be a poor man's Mario Williams. Whatever certain self-loathing posters think, Williams earned his reputation by making sacks. Shaq Lawson has done exactly nothing. He needs to prove he's better than Dee Williams, Erik Flowers, and Ryan Denney. Until he gets on the field and does it, he's nothing other than an injured, wasted draft pick.

[justasportsfan]

I live 10 minutes away from camp and I havent gone. I tried to get tickets to night practices and theyve been sold out but I dont feel I'm missing anything.

Probably because I dont believe anything Rex has to say or offer . I was more into it with Dick Jauron. Yikes

[Ingtar33]

when i saw the schedule i said "8-8"

frankly i've seen nothing that changes my mind on this assessment, and i think 8-8 will be performing better then expected. If we were playing this season 10 times in a row, i think we'd probably get a 7-9 or 6-10 more often then not. 10-6 is definately the absolute ceiling this team will have with this schedule; and if they manage to get there we should be looking at a 25-30mil/year QB in tyrod to do it, plus we should be hailing our head coach as a genious. I just don't think 10-6 is even reasonable to expect, I have problems finding 9 wins on our schedule.

[Night Train]

Is it just me or is anyone else feel like this season is going to suck.



You are the victim of reading the non-stop cryfest that has dominated this place the last several months.

Keep an open mind and let camp, pre-season run it's course.

Bills have questions but so do other teams.

[OpIv37]

You are the victim of reading the non-stop cryfest that has dominated this place the last several months.

Keep an open mind and let camp, pre-season run it's course.

Bills have questions but so do other teams.

Here we go again.

"It doesn't matter what we did in FA- we still have the draft!"
"We need to wait and see how the draft picks turn out- let's see how they look in mini-camp-OTA's"
"Ok they didn't look that great in mini-camp/OTA's- let's see how they look in camp and preseason"
"Ok they suck in preseason- so did the early 90's teams. They'll be fine during the regular season."

Then they suck in the regular season and everyone wonders how it happened....

[Thurmal]

Look, I'll watch every game, and by Sunday morning Week One, I'll be pumped as hell.

That being said, I just don't get excited about the season like I used to. I would watch camp highlights, read every article on twobillsdrive.com, etc., and I just don't do that anymore. I mean, I'm 32 and the last time I saw them in a playoff game was a week after I got my driver's license. Nothing short of a winning, playoff season is going to get me pumped about this team. I'm not as hopeless as I was during the Jauron years, when you knew the team would not only suck, but be totally lifeless, but I just prepare myself for the worst rather then get optimistic.

[OpIv37]

I'm thinking 6-10 right now. The playoff drought is gonna hit 20.

[sahlensguy]

Realistcally I don't think we come close to the playoffs but I'm excited to see players make plays. I've always said that it's not weather you win or lose, it's how you play the game anyway. That said I can't stand Rex (so far) and I just hope that he doesn't get in the way.

[justasportsfan]

8-8

[swiper]

Too early to predict record. Nothing on this team to get excited about. Thanks Mr. Pegula.

[GreedoII]

get ready for the 8-8 or 9-7 era.....it's better than the 6-10 & 7-9 era right?

[sdbillsfan2]

get ready for the 8-8 or 9-7 era.....it's better than the 6-10 & 7-9 era right?

Thats like saying its better to have the stick poke you in the left eye rather than the right. Anything other than the playoffs is failure. Winning the east would be great , but at least a wild card would be satisfying. Anything short of the playoffs is failure.

[OpIv37]

Thats like saying its better to have the stick poke you in the left eye rather than the right. Anything other than the playoffs is failure. Winning the east would be great , but at least a wild card would be satisfying. Anything short of the playoffs is failure.

Well get ready for failure.

We were 8-8 last year. 10 wins probably gets us playoffs, 11 almost definitely means playoffs. So, somewhere we have to find 2-3 more wins than what we had last year. Did we do enough in the off-season to do that?

On O, we spent all our money to keep the guys we have. Still no real depth to talk about. The only real talent we added was an aging Reggie Bush, and he's really only here because our younger RB's seem to like league-mandated vacations.

On D, the only talent we added was a bunch of rookies, one of whom will miss significant time due to surgery. Also, keep in mind our opponents got to draft too- the only way we will beat them is to close the talent gap- improve more than they did.

I just don't see where those 2-3 extra wins are going to come from.

[GreedoII]

Thats like saying its better to have the stick poke you in the left eye rather than the right. Anything other than the playoffs is failure. Winning the east would be great , but at least a wild card would be satisfying. Anything short of the playoffs is failure.

I hear ya but I just think that;s the team they have built now. Avg instead of below avg.

[sdbillsfan2]

Opiv.:
"On O, we spent all our money to keep the guys we have. Still no real depth to talk about. The only real talent we added was an aging Reggie Bush, and he's really only here because our younger RB's seem to like league-mandated vacations. "


Agreed.. Whaley, Pre draft himself said the team was in Qb purgatory. If he honestly thinks Cardale Jones is a long term ( or even short term) solution , he's dilussional! Yet this was their answer to a glaring problem. Last year Mario took heat for all the defensive woes. Mario was a good player , but not so good that the entire defense sucked like they did.
Clean house starting at the top. Work your way down.
First thing to do when you've dug yourself into a hole is put down the damn shovel.

[WagonCircler]

7-9.

Lather.

Rinse.

Repeat.

[stuckincincy]

Good one! :drive:

[sdbillsfan2]

Check out @espn's Tweet: https://twitter.com/espn/status/761670509301948417?s=09

[DesertFox24]

You are the victim of reading the non-stop cryfest that has dominated this place the last several months.

Keep an open mind and let camp, pre-season run it's course.

Bills have questions but so do other teams.

Dude that is just it I have been absent from the boards and only stuff I read after the season was draft stuff.

I just think the schedule is really hard is my main concern. Nfc west and afc north are arguably best divisions in their conference.

[DesertFox24]

My other concern is passing offense. Teams will double Sammy and put a safety on clay. Being that clay is only 6'3 not the matchup nightmare a 6'7 gronk vs a safety posses. In addition teams know tyrod does not throw middle of the field so will defend short and the outsides forcing him to throw middle, and they will stack the box to stop the run.

Basically I have never played a down of football in my Life and if I am smart enough to figure that out you can beat the teams we play this year are as well.

[DesertFox24]

Opiv.:
"On O, we spent all our money to keep the guys we have. Still no real depth to talk about. The only real talent we added was an aging Reggie Bush, and he's really only here because our younger RB's seem to like league-mandated vacations. "


Agreed.. Whaley, Pre draft himself said the team was in Qb purgatory. If he honestly thinks Cardale Jones is a long term ( or even short term) solution , he's dilussional! Yet this was their answer to a glaring problem. Last year Mario took heat for all the defensive woes. Mario was a good player , but not so good that the entire defense sucked like they did.
Clean house starting at the top. Work your way down.
First thing to do when you've dug yourself into a hole is put down the damn shovel.

Drafting cardale is fine they need a backup. That said they need to take another next year anyway.

So as long as they keep taking qbs I am fine. I also love a two year deal for tyrod see if he is real deal see how cardale and our rookie in 17 draft look before locking him up long term.

[OpIv37]

Opiv.:
"On O, we spent all our money to keep the guys we have. Still no real depth to talk about. The only real talent we added was an aging Reggie Bush, and he's really only here because our younger RB's seem to like league-mandated vacations. "


Agreed.. Whaley, Pre draft himself said the team was in Qb purgatory. If he honestly thinks Cardale Jones is a long term ( or even short term) solution , he's dilussional! Yet this was their answer to a glaring problem. Last year Mario took heat for all the defensive woes. Mario was a good player , but not so good that the entire defense sucked like they did.
Clean house starting at the top. Work your way down.
First thing to do when you've dug yourself into a hole is put down the damn shovel.


To be fair, I don't think they have high hopes for Cardale. I think they viewed it as a "low risk, high reward" pick. That being said, it's pretty clear this organization has no idea how to find or develop QB talent. Hopefully they got lucky with Tyrod but I'm not holding my breath.

[Frenchman]

It seems to Rex Ryan that it is playoffs or bust for him! As well it is very important to the fans and the Bills.

[Night Train]

Here we go again.

"It doesn't matter what we did in FA- we still have the draft!"
"We need to wait and see how the draft picks turn out- let's see how they look in mini-camp-OTA's"
"Ok they didn't look that great in mini-camp/OTA's- let's see how they look in camp and preseason"
"Ok they suck in preseason- so did the early 90's teams. They'll be fine during the regular season."

Then they suck in the regular season and everyone wonders how it happened....

The defense rests, your honor..

[swiper]

The defense rests, your honor..

As opposed to those old fans that just shrug off the year after year stupidity and blindly look at each upcoming season with sparkling rose-colored glasses.

[IlluminatusUIUC]

Is it just me or is anyone else feel like this season is going to suck.

It's not just you, but the homers and optimists have been run off the board. If you had no idea what happened last year and saw it all from this forum, you'd assume this team went 3-13 and were outscored by 100 points.

We were an average team across the board last year. I can understand the disappointment with that given our schedule, but it does get a little tired.

[sdbillsfan2]

We were an average team across the board last year. I can understand the disappointment with that given our schedule, but it does get a little tired.
Last years defense wasn't average. The teams biggest strength the previous year , turned into a weakness.The two previous D/C had no problem getting results with the talent they had. I don't have any confidence that things have changed.

[IlluminatusUIUC]

Last years defense wasn't average. The teams biggest strength the previous year , turned into a weakness.The two previous D/C had no problem getting results with the talent they had. I don't have any confidence that things have changed.

That's true only if you measure a defense by its pass rush.

Go to this link: http://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2015/opp.htm and sort by whatever column you want. You'll find the Bills within a few spots of the statistical mean in most categories. It's not a great showing and I'd agree they underperformed, but again - this team won 8 games last year and finished 8th in the conference. I've seen people on this board openly jealous of the Tennessee Titans FFS, a team that has won 5 games in the last two seasons combined and just hired Mike Mularkey. Why?

[Mace]

That's true only if you measure a defense by its pass rush.

Go to this link: http://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2015/opp.htm and sort by whatever column you want. You'll find the Bills within a few spots of the statistical mean in most categories. It's not a great showing and I'd agree they underperformed, but again - this team won 8 games last year and finished 8th in the conference. I've seen people on this board openly jealous of the Tennessee Titans FFS, a team that has won 5 games in the last two seasons combined and just hired Mike Mularkey. Why?

Well, I'm not jealous of the Titans by any means, but the defense went backwards 2014 to 2015, from 11th rushing to 16th, and 3rd pass to 19th, from 4th ranked defense to 19th, going from 1st in sacks to 31st, registering the lowest sack total ever for a 16 game Bills season. That's not a defense on the upswing. They oddly won on the strength of their offense under a defensive wizard.

You can say a strength became a weakness last season.