Buffalo Bills Season's End: The Off-Seasons Starts Now

[kirby11]

Since 2021 we've played 5 games against the Chiefs. 4 were true coin flip games that came down to one play or series of plays. We've won two and lost two. It's just so happens the two we lost were the playoff games

f***ing sucks.

Oh and that was by far the best game KC receivers as a group had all year, even with the Hardman fumble.

The MVS semi one-handed over the shoulder catch for 30 yards on the first play of the second half and the deep catch over the middle where he hung onto the ball after getting smacked were infuriating. In any other game this year, the first ball's dropped or tracked improperly, and the second one is dropped if not potentially bobbled into the air for an INT.

 

[HaNotsri]

Kind of hope we blow it up next year, take our cap medicine and do a reset. I wouldn't hate a coaching change either, but I don't see it happening. This group of players were entertaining, but they aren't going to get it done. They are aging, injured, and slow.

- Cut White (he may have to straight up retire)
- Trade/cut Diggs (his cap hit is way too high for a guy that can't beat man coverage anymore and is dropping a lot of balls)
- Cut Miller
- Cut Poyer (he may retire...)
- Cut Knox
- Let Davis walk
- Let Hyde walk

Focus on youth and speed on defense, McDermott can earn his paycheck covering up for talent deficiencies with scheme and coaching (it is supposedly his specialty). Draft WR as high as we can. Go into the year without necessarily Super Bowl aspirations.

If anything this season showed how fast players can grow. A successfull reset could push then further along towards the end of next season than trying to shamble on with the old guard.

 

[tsujimoto74]

Not to beat a dead horse, but in a season where we didn't lose a single game by more than 6 points, boy it sure would've been f***ing nice if we had a kicker who could reliably hit from outside of 30yds.

 

[kirby11]

It just feels like the Bills, in particular out of all Buffalo sports teams, have always dealt with at least one or two of the following in any big spots:
-Shooting themselves in the foot
-Random opposing depth players massively step up against them
-A shitload of injuries
-Almost every "gotta have it" play goes against them

Like, they could make the SB and be facing a team's unheralded backup, and I'd assume the guy would go full Nick Foles or hot streak Ryan Fitzpatrick on them

 

[HaNotsri]

Not to beat a dead horse, but in a season where we didn't lose a single game by more than 6 points, boy it sure would've been f***ing nice if we had a kicker who could reliably hit from outside of 30yds.

Bass is the nuclear bomb to Josh Allen's Einstein.

 

[BuiltTagonTough]

Not to beat a dead horse, but in a season where we didn't lose a single game by more than 6 points, boy it sure would've been f***ing nice if we had a kicker who could reliably hit from outside of 30yds.

Well...that's a stat that's gonna haunt me for f***ing ever.

 

[Husko]

To your first point: We did have a 3rd string LB capable of playing LB -- Dodson. For his shortcomings, he did just fine most of the year. Our 4th string LB, Williams, could have been fine....but McD did McD things with the kid (IE, not playing him when he clearly could have).

To your second point: That would require them to recognize that Poyer is on his last leg. And Rapp wasn't god-awful. A disappointment to be sure, but it's not like they didn't try to have a capable backup NB/Safety

To your third point: Conceded.

I do agree that the time has come to divest ourselves of a bunch of the ST-only guys.

Dodson was the direct backup to Milano and has been starting since he went down.

But that's getting into the minutia. My broader point is more that obviously someone needs to play special teams, but when those guys are also completely incapable of playing offense/defense (Matakevich, Neal), you get into big, big trouble if you reach the third level of your depth chart, as happened to us.

 

[kirby11]

If anything this season showed how fast players can grow. A successfull reset could push then further along towards the end of next season than trying to shamble on with the old guard.

Heck, look at what Houston and GB did this year

 

[Breakers]

no shot Diggs is on the roster

He has to be cut
Record high drops

Top 5 paid WR aren’t paid to make routine catches, they are paid to make the toe-tap, and triple coverage catches

Diggs misses routine catches

 

[kirby11]

Well...that's a stat that's gonna haunt me for f***ing ever.

I just remembered another one: the Bills had 124 yards rushing in the first half. Teams that had surrendered 120+ yards rushing in the first half of a playoff game were 0-20 before tonight.

 

[Husko]

We need to replace Gabe this year. We miss a true outside threat. Diggs isn't getting younger and while I love Shakir he's perfect right where he is. Let him grow into the Beasley/Edelman true inside threat. Anything to make sure Sherfield never sees the field again and we're ready for when Diggs falls off.

Not worried about LB. After this year we're 5 deep with Milano, Bernard, Dodson, Spector, and Williams. Just got ridiculously unlucky.

Eventually we need replacements at safety. Hyde and Poyer are great but certainly not young.

We need another good boundary corner. If White was healthy I'd be fine with him, Benford, and Douglas, but he isn't.

Idk. Maybe I'm wrong. Just f***ing devastated tonight.

We need replacements now. Hyde maybe has one year left in him, but Poyer looked like awful anytime he had to play deep. He was only effective as a dime backer. I think a street free agent would be an upgrade.

 

[BuiltTagonTough]

no shot Diggs is on the roster

He has to be cut
Record high drops

Top 5 paid WR aren’t paid to make routine catches, they are paid to make the toe-tap, and triple coverage catches

Diggs misses routine catches

They aren't taking on 20 million in dead cap.

 

[Zman5778]

We need to replace Gabe this year. We miss a true outside threat. Diggs isn't getting younger and while I love Shakir he's perfect right where he is. Let him grow into the Beasley/Edelman true inside threat. Anything to make sure Sherfield never sees the field again and we're ready for when Diggs falls off.

Not worried about LB. After this year we're 5 deep with Milano, Bernard, Dodson, Spector, and Williams. Just got ridiculously unlucky.

Eventually we need replacements at safety. Hyde and Poyer are great but certainly not young.

We need another good boundary corner. If White was healthy I'd be fine with him, Benford, and Douglas, but he isn't.

Idk. Maybe I'm wrong. Just f***ing devastated tonight.

Here's my day-of thoughts for next year:

1.) We need a younger WR, one who preferably is a legit speed merchant. There are quite a few in this draft, some even available in day 2. Get one.

2.) Overhaul ALL the safeties. Yes, all of them. Poyer is shot. Hyde is a half-step ahead of him.....maybe he's got one more decent-enough year left, but I doubt it. Rapp was underwhelming. Lewis is depth, nothing more. Hamlin doesn't play ST well. Maybe try converting Elam to safety?

3.) WTF are we doing at DT? We've got Oliver and a bunch of nothing...LITERALLY. I'd re-sign DaQuan for another year and sink an early day 3 pick into a developmental guy.

4.) Going back to WR......I'm fine with Diggs/Shakir being 2 of our top 3. An early WR is the 3rd. Gotta improve the depth there too.

5.) Cut White (sadly), re-sign Douglas. Let Dane walk. Go into next year with Douglas and Benford as your starters. Maybe Elam can be #3, maybe he can't.

6.) Get a true thumper at RB to spell Cook, but re-sign Johnson.

Those are my biggest thoughts at this point.

But yeah, my two biggest priorities right now are speed at WR and a completely new safety room.

 

[Husko]

Kind of hope we blow it up next year, take our cap medicine and do a reset. I wouldn't hate a coaching change either, but I don't see it happening. This group of players were entertaining, but they aren't going to get it done. They are aging, injured, and slow.

- Cut White (he may have to straight up retire)
- Trade/cut Diggs (his cap hit is way too high for a guy that can't beat man coverage anymore and is dropping a lot of balls)
- Cut Miller
- Cut Poyer (he may retire...)
- Cut Knox
- Let Davis walk
- Let Hyde walk

Focus on youth and speed on defense, McDermott can earn his paycheck covering up for talent deficiencies with scheme and coaching (it is supposedly his specialty). Draft WR as high as we can. Go into the year without necessarily Super Bowl aspirations.

The bolded moves would add $20 million to the cap. Not happening.

 

[DapperCam]

The bolded moves would add $20 million to the cap. Not happening.

Yea, I know that...that's why I said take their cap medicine...the alternative is to keep way overpaid players on the roster for years, where we have to pay them and they don't contribute nearly what they cost.

 

[Zman5778]

The bolded moves would add $20 million to the cap. Not happening.

Yeah. Miller, Knox, Diggs (and Bass) are all Bills next year for better or worse. That's why it kind of terrifies me that Beane is going to run it back with minimal (needed) changes.

 

[Husko]

Yea, I know that...that's why I said take their cap medicine...the alternative is to keep way overpaid players on the roster for years, where we have to pay them and they don't contribute nearly what they cost.

But they're already $50 million over the cap. They'd need to push other money down the road just to make room to make those cuts. It wouldn't be taking medicine, just juggling.

 

[Husko]

The best silver lining of our bad cap situation would be if Davis, Hyde, Floyd, Jackson, Epenesa, and Jones all signed FA deals over the comp threshold, we signed no one, and we turned it into a bevy of 2025 comp picks.

 

[Zman5778]

Yea, I know that...that's why I said take their cap medicine...the alternative is to keep way overpaid players on the roster for years, where we have to pay them and they don't contribute nearly what they cost.

The problem is, by "taking our medicine".......we'd need to make changes at other positions and REALLY weaken us next year by doing so.

Cutting Von, Knox and Diggs puts us SEVENTY MILLION over the cap next year.

There's no way to pare down our cap hits to a point where we could even put together a competitive 53 man roster by doing that.

I get the idea of using next year as a retool year. There's re-tooling, and then there's just straight-up wasting one of Josh's prime years. Willingly going 70M over the cap is akin to wasting at least one of Josh's years, if not 2 or more if we don't re-tool right.

 

[Zman5778]

The best silver lining of our bad cap situation would be if Davis, Hyde, Floyd, Jackson, Epenesa, and Jones all signed FA deals over the comp threshold, we signed no one, and we turned it into a bevy of 2025 comp picks.

I'd still re-sign Jones. Someone has to play DT.

 

[Taro Tsujimoto]

That's why it kind of terrifies me that Beane is going to run it back with minimal (needed) changes.

Running it back with minimal (needed) changes? Now where have I seen that before?

 

[BuiltTagonTough]

The best silver lining of our bad cap situation would be if Davis, Hyde, Floyd, Jackson, Epenesa, and Jones all signed FA deals over the comp threshold, we signed no one, and we turned it into a bevy of 2025 comp picks.

"Key" as if there aren't MAYBE four people on that list I'd consider bringing back.

 

[DapperCam]

But they're already $50 million over the cap. They'd need to push other money down the road just to make room to make those cuts. It wouldn't be taking medicine, just juggling.

I just don’t know how they can trot out Von Miller when he had no tackles for weeks, and was even a healthy scratch down the stretch.

Diggs has a more reasonable out after next season, so for better or worse he’s probably here another year. Hope he isn’t made captain, and he takes a step back to a more #2 type role.

 

[Husko]

Diggs actually would only cost ~3 million extra if he's traded. If we got a significant return (first or high second), that could be stomached. If he actually wants out, and wants to negotiate his own trade, that's fine.

 

[Zman5778]

"Key" as if there aren't MAYBE four people on that list I'd consider bringing back.

Guys I'd consider bringing back AT THE RIGHT PRICE: Davis, Epenesa, Floyd, Dodson

Guys I want to bring back: Jones, Ty Johnson, David Edwards