I'm back to square one and don't think the Bills can make play-off

[ghz in pittsburgh]

Overall, I think everyone agrees that the Bills have played above their talent level first half the season. In a long season though, it cannot be sustained.

The main contribution of the"over-achieving" label is the performance of the defense. But we are seeing the erosion of the D steadily thus far. The newness is gone and teams are finding their ways against us.

Trading away Marcell may benefit the Bills long term. But I'm afrid that teams will be planning more like the Jets did to run on the Bills. Really who at the D tackle position that they need a double team to move? Oakland never had much running attack to began with. Along with the pass rushing issue, if this D cannot stop runs, overall it will be worse than last year.

On offense I actually see noticeable improvement from Tyrod on passing game. It is my belief that this team is slowly moving away from the "run, run , and more run" offense that we have seen for a few years now and getting into more of the mainstream NFL passing offense. Not everything is in place but I truly believing we'll see more fruits in that department. Still, I believe our offense will be below average to average at best the rest of the year.

Will that be enough for playoffs? Unless we are continuing to see turnovers like we used to see this year. But if teams are starting to run on you, those turnovers can go dry very quickly.

[Forward_Lateral]

Good for you.

[swiper]

It was fun while it lasted. But the true Bills are the team that lost to the Bengals and the Jets.

[OpIv37]

If we lose on Sunday, it makes playoffs all but impossible. Someone said they think a 9-7 team will make it in the AFC this year, but if we get to 9-7, it means we will have 5-6 AFC losses so I don't see us winning a tiebreaker. So, I'm proceeding under the assumption that we need 10 wins to get in.

If we lose to the Saints, that means we will have to find at least five wins out of Pats 2x, Fish 2x LAC on the road, KC on the road and Indy. I just don't see that happening. If we beat the Saints, that means we will only need 4 wins out of that group. Assuming we can win the games where we will be favored (Fish 2x, Indy), that means we will just need one upset out of the Pats 2x, the Chiefs and Chargers. No easy task but much easier than if we lose on Sunday.

Losing against the Jets really screwed us.

[sukie]

It will be fun to watch Kelvin Benjamin in a Bills uni.

[Forward_Lateral]

If we lose on Sunday, it makes playoffs all but impossible. Someone said they think a 9-7 team will make it in the AFC this year, but if we get to 9-7, it means we will have 5-6 AFC losses so I don't see us winning a tiebreaker. So, I'm proceeding under the assumption that we need 10 wins to get in.

If we lose to the Saints, that means we will have to find at least five wins out of Pats 2x, Fish 2x LAC on the road, KC on the road and Indy. I just don't see that happening. If we beat the Saints, that means we will only need 4 wins out of that group. Assuming we can win the games where we will be favored (Fish 2x, Indy), that means we will just need one upset out of the Pats 2x, the Chiefs and Chargers. No easy task but much easier than if we lose on Sunday.

Losing against the Jets really screwed us.

Normally I'd agree, but this season is so muddled. I could see 8 wins having a shot honestly. Outside of the Steelers, Pats and Chiefs, the rest of the conference is basically a bunch of ok teams.

[Ed]

Normally I'd agree, but this season is so muddled. I could see 8 wins having a shot honestly. Outside of the Steelers, Pats and Chiefs, the rest of the conference is basically a bunch of ok teams.
Yeah. I think people are underestimating the weakness of the AFC right now. Assuming the Dolphins lose at Carolina next Monday night (they're 9 point underdogs), the Bills could lose to the Saints and would still hold a playoff spot. They'd still be only 1 of 6 teams in the AFC with a winning record.

[Skooby]

The Bills have this rare event where they control their destiny now, still one game to be played this week & played hard at home. We can go from there.

[Mahdi]

Losing to the Jets has obviously put a bad taste in everyone's mouth however it was just bad timing for the Bills to be playing on a Thursday and on the road.

We had a tired, banged up veteran team. The Jets DL is young and very strong and that was the main difference between the teams.

On the other side of the ball our best interior lineman is 35 years old playing on a short week and they were running hard up the middle for big yards.

This game was never going to favor the Bills.

[Chet]

Losing to the Jets has obviously put a bad taste in everyone's mouth however it was just bad timing for the Bills to be playing on a Thursday and on the road.

We had a tired, banged up veteran team. The Jets DL is young and very strong and that was the main difference between the teams.

On the other side of the ball our best interior lineman is 35 years old playing on a short week and they were running hard up the middle for big yards.

This game was never going to favor the Bills.

Huh? From a historical perspective their imploding right on schedule.

[Skooby]

Jets played harder than they have all season, everything they did went right and we turned the ball over multiple times. That’s why we lost, the short week didn’t translate well for us & helped the Jets. Check the records, the Jets shouldn’t of won by 14 points. No one picked them, so it’s an anomaly based on scheduling.

[Homegrown]

Jets played harder than they have all season, everything they did went right and we turned the ball over multiple times. That’s why we lost, the short week didn’t translate well for us & helped the Jets. Check the records, the Jets shouldn’t of won by 14 points. No one picked them, so it’s an anomaly based on scheduling.
Slice & dice it anyway you want ....the Bills got taken to the woodshed - no excuses.

The New Orleans game is going to be ugly .... 7 & 9 baby - Commitment to Mediocrity

[sukie]

Jets played harder than they have all season, everything they did went right and we turned the ball over multiple times. That’s why we lost, the short week didn’t translate well for us & helped the Jets. Check the records, the Jets shouldn’t of won by 14 points. No one picked them, so it’s an anomaly based on scheduling.
Anomalies work both ways. The Bills by record weren't as good as everyone thought either. The Atlanta win was big but made smaller after Atlanta was exposed as much softer than everyone thought. The Raiders are a world of meh which surprised alot of people as well. Denver is way up and down.

So saying the Jets were an anomaly... perhaps they were an anomaly coming in.

- - - Updated - - -

[sukie]

Slice & dice it anyway you want ....the Bills got taken to the woodshed - no excuses.

The New Orleans game is going to be ugly .... 7 & 9 baby - Commitment to Mediocrity

Still a successful season considering no one legitimately had this team at 7-9 week 1

[psubills62]

I'm certainly not back to square one, but this loss makes it tougher to see playoffs. A lot of teams have a rough loss. And I've always said that weird stuff happens on short weeks.

I get that Bills fans look for reasons to start doubting, but I think this coaching staff has proven themselves so far in the limited sample of data. This roster is a 2-win roster and they've already well outplayed that. Let's see what happens in the second half of the schedule.

[streetkings01]

Some of you guys act as if the rest of the AFC is balling this year. I think an 8-8 team makes the playoffs this year.

[YardRat]

I just got done with square 8 and am looking at square 9 next week.

[BillyT92679]

Yeah. I think people are underestimating the weakness of the AFC right now. Assuming the Dolphins lose at Carolina next Monday night (they're 9 point underdogs), the Bills could lose to the Saints and would still hold a playoff spot. They'd still be only 1 of 6 teams in the AFC with a winning record.

I am not underestimating the weakness of the AFC. I know it is mediocre. I don't think the Bills get more than 9 wins, and would not be surprised if they end up with 8 or fewer.

[imbondz]

Another 8-8 success!

[Bill Cody]

Some of you guys act as if the rest of the AFC is balling this year. I think an 8-8 team makes the playoffs this year.

Have to admit that would be the Buffalo Bills. "How'd you guys finally break out and end the 17 year skid?" "Waited for a year when the entire conference blew dogs". Woohoo chest bump

[YardRat]

I figured out how to get back to square one (hope jimmi hasn't been looking for his time machine today).

I predict the Bills will be 5 and 3 after 8 games.

[Night Train]

So be it.

It NEVER was about this year, when they loaded up on draft picks for 2018. They used 1 to get Benjamin to fill a WR void, looking towards the future. They still have 2 first, 2 2nds and a third.

Posted many times there will be more Cinci games with a roster that isn't near complete and lacks depth. McDermott/Beane knew this and every move they make isn't about winning NOW but 2018 and beyond. I don't believe TT is the QB they envision beyond this year and anything we get out of this team the next 2 months is gravy.

Lets keep it real. All the 3-4 win predictions were wrong but suddenly believing this was a team 7-8 wins better than that was silly. Visit the middle ground and realize this is a long term build.

Being upset is crazy, with TT still under center and other holes needed to be filled.

[Turf]

Losing to the Jets was so crucial to this season, a real back breaker. They have to beat NO to prove they belong in the race and that they can beat a quality QB. AFAIC at this point this game this Sunday after losing to the Jets is the season.

[BertSquirtgum]

Overall, I think everyone agrees that the Bills have played above their talent level first half the season. In a long season though, it cannot be sustained.

The main contribution of the"over-achieving" label is the performance of the defense. But we are seeing the erosion of the D steadily thus far. The newness is gone and teams are finding their ways against us.

Trading away Marcell may benefit the Bills long term. But I'm afrid that teams will be planning more like the Jets did to run on the Bills. Really who at the D tackle position that they need a double team to move? Oakland never had much running attack to began with. Along with the pass rushing issue, if this D cannot stop runs, overall it will be worse than last year.

On offense I actually see noticeable improvement from Tyrod on passing game. It is my belief that this team is slowly moving away from the "run, run , and more run" offense that we have seen for a few years now and getting into more of the mainstream NFL passing offense. Not everything is in place but I truly believing we'll see more fruits in that department. Still, I believe our offense will be below average to average at best the rest of the year.

Will that be enough for playoffs? Unless we are continuing to see turnovers like we used to see this year. But if teams are starting to run on you, those turnovers can go dry very quickly.

What a pussy

[psubills62]

Another 8-8 success!
I certainly wouldn't call 8-8 a success by any means, especially after starting 5-2. The only successful season at this point for Buffalo is when we reach the playoffs.

But...taken in context, when was the last time we had a first-year coach approach that kind of success, especially after getting rid of all the talent on the roster? I'd say 8 wins is a positive sign for this coaching regime, even though they clearly need to take the next step.

[Oaf]

If we lose on Sunday, it makes playoffs all but impossible. Someone said they think a 9-7 team will make it in the AFC this year, but if we get to 9-7, it means we will have 5-6 AFC losses so I don't see us winning a tiebreaker. So, I'm proceeding under the assumption that we need 10 wins to get in.

If we lose to the Saints, that means we will have to find at least five wins out of Pats 2x, Fish 2x LAC on the road, KC on the road and Indy. I just don't see that happening. If we beat the Saints, that means we will only need 4 wins out of that group. Assuming we can win the games where we will be favored (Fish 2x, Indy), that means we will just need one upset out of the Pats 2x, the Chiefs and Chargers. No easy task but much easier than if we lose on Sunday.

Losing against the Jets really screwed us.

Before OAK, I believed we were going to go 2-4 in the next six.

That'd put us at 6-6 for the last quarter (IND, MIA, NE, MIA). A playoff team would win the first two and split the last two to finish 9-7.

In the first segment (2-4) we are 1-1, which means we only need to win one game of the next four (ideally AFC) to stay on trend to 9-7. I don't know if 9-7 gets us in, so hopefully we steal one against a team that should beat us to go 3-3 in this current stretch of six.

[Frenchman]

He is a new coach do not get me wrong. But really hope he can bring the team back to the promise land again. Just keep fingers crossed.

[stuckincincy]

He is a new coach do not get me wrong. But really hope he can bring the team back to the promise land again. Just keep fingers crossed.

Bien sure!

[swiper]

It will be fun to watch Kelvin Benjamin in a Bills uni.

Hope so!

[Wally The Barber]

Games are more difficult to win in November and December as teams prepare for the playoffs

Some teams start slow than improve weekly.
I agree with square 1
:curse:

[ghz in pittsburgh]

The overwhelming theme in NFL is that talent wins games. Competent coaching is important but coaching cannot override the lack of talent, period.

Free agency and readily available information created as much parity in the league than ever before. So coaching does make a difference between average talented teams. We probably all agree that the current coaching stuff is among the capable groups since they get more out of the talent than anyone, fan and football analysts alike, expected.

But this Jets game showed me that maybe the lack of talent is catching up to the Bills. In that case, not much more you can do other than hoping to catch some breaks, like turnovers on lucky bounces. It was obvious that the Jets D line dominated the Bills O-Line the whole game. Well the jets D line have been well recognized, before and during the season. What about the Bills D Line? Isn't that supposed to be the strongest unit of the whole team? Maybe it is just one game (the Jets O-Line is nothing to write home about), but from the last few games, I'm afraid that it is the talent issue.

[Kenny]

The overwhelming theme in NFL is that talent wins games. Competent coaching is important but coaching cannot override the lack of talent, period.

Free agency and readily available information created as much parity in the league than ever before. So coaching does make a difference between average talented teams. We probably all agree that the current coaching stuff is among the capable groups since they get more out of the talent than anyone, fan and football analysts alike, expected.

But this Jets game showed me that maybe the lack of talent is catching up to the Bills. In that case, not much more you can do other than hoping to catch some breaks, like turnovers on lucky bounces. It was obvious that the Jets D line dominated the Bills O-Line the whole game. Well the jets D line have been well recognized, before and during the season. What about the Bills D Line? Isn't that supposed to be the strongest unit of the whole team? Maybe it is just one game (the Jets O-Line is nothing to write home about), but from the last few games, I'm afraid that it is the talent issue.

We might not be a very talented team, but that Thursday game was more to do with being unprepared more than anything else. We came out flat, made mistakes, and basically got out played, out hustled, out everything... had nothing to do with lack of talent. For all praise McD deserves for our record, I think that thursday game was on him and the rest of the staff. It's almost if the Bills believed that their **** don't stink anymore, started to believe in some hype that they were better than they were, and just completely overlooked the Jets.

[ghz in pittsburgh]

I might give you that the whole team looked to be somewhat off, but I do want to point something very clear and worth noting in the next few games - the Jets kept on running the ball on us, started with the all 3 downs in the first series and the next. I remember saying to myself - the Jets must be seeing something.

The Bills had Thorton and Washington in where Dareus used to be. And I think they targeted that area, on top of the RDE where team has always targeted (I guess because Hughes is over there).

And we all know that it is copy cat league.

[Kenny]

I might give you that the whole team looked to be somewhat off, but I do want to point something very clear and worth noting in the next few games - the Jets kept on running the ball on us, started with the all 3 downs in the first series and the next. I remember saying to myself - the Jets must be seeing something.

The Bills had Thorton and Washington in where Dareus used to be. And I think they targeted that area, on top of the RDE where team has always targeted (I guess because Hughes is over there).

And we all know that it is copy cat league.

Yup... And if you thought Forte and Bilal gave our line problems, wait until we get Ingram and Kamara

[Oaf]

Yup... And if you thought Forte and Bilal gave our line problems, wait until we get Ingram and Kamara
Good call.

[ghz in pittsburgh]

So? Marcell may not be a long term answer for the Bills and they may very well dump him after this season if he stayed in the Bills for the season.

BUT with him, at least you have some talent you can work on. There is SOME HOPE in the locker room. Without him, the D tackles are a bunch of nobodies (Yes Kyle has been pushed around) that you have nothing to work on. Right now there is NO ONE the opposing O-Line needs to double team for our D tackles. Worse yet, I found both NYJ and NOS starts to run on those 3rd and longs when we substitute lighter guys on D tackle positions because they are getting 7 yards a pop.

The Bills are looking at drafting/signing FAs for 2 starting D tackles and 2 starting LBs right now. Hughes will be 30 next year as well.

It reminds me of those Ryan Denny years of defense. They have all the heart and work tirelessly during the week. Gave 100% of themselves on game day. But they always get the a** kicked at the end of Sunday because the opposing guys are simply more talented.