Are the Bills overhyped?

[RaidersOftheCellar]

Update: Yes, the Bills were overhyped.

Will the next edition prove to be overhyped too? Stay tuned…

[TomBarndtsTwin]

Yeah, that’s great and all but the Chiefs had a stretch of 27 games from 2019 to 2020 where they went 25-2. That’s insane in todays NFL!

And one of those two losses was against the Chargers with our backups playing. One of the best stretches in modern NFL history.

[Marcellus]

Originally Posted by Detoxing

Boom, nailed it.

Allen might near Mahomes in terms of talent.

But he isn't in the same stratosphere in terms of popularity with the kids and social impact.

FFS, Mahomes is making a goddamn hairstyle trend. Seems like everytime i watch youth football you see a dozen kids with Mahomes' cut.

This is no shit. My grandson has been playing football for a while now, he is 12 this season. Going to youth games is like going to a Mahomes hair style fashion show.

[Pasta Little Brioni]

KCs 25-2 stretch > Beefalo 13-7 stretch

Imagine bragging to us about something like that

[Marcellus]

Originally Posted by TomBarndtsTwin

Yeah, that’s great and all but the Chiefs had a stretch of 27 games from 2019 to 2020 where they went 25-2. That’s insane in todays NFL!

And one of those two losses was against the Chargers with our backups playing. One of the best stretches in modern NFL history.

Thanks for reminding me. I had forgotten that stat.

[JustDíqLix]

Originally Posted by TomBarndtsTwin

This tells me a couple things:

1. The Bills are really good at stepping on people’s throats and finishing them off when they’ve got them down.

2. They struggle to win close games, particularly against good teams. For the last nearly 2 years, almost every game they have lost has been decided by 7 points or less. The lone exception being the AFC Title Game lost to KC when they lost by 14. By in large, if the Bills are involved in a close game and it comes down to the wire, they will almost always lose the game.

And this isn’t me trying to trash talk them or anything. I recognize that they’re a really good team. But that’s what the data shows. It’s hard to manipulate those numbers. It is what it is.

So until the Bills learn to win close games in crunch time, they won’t be going to anywhere of significance, playoffs or not.

Yeah you pretty much nailed it. I agree.

At least that’s how it was last year. Hopefully they figured it out for this year.

[JustDíqLix]

Originally Posted by TomBarndtsTwin

Yeah, that’s great and all but the Chiefs had a stretch of 27 games from 2019 to 2020 where they went 25-2. That’s insane in todays NFL!

And one of those two losses was against the Chargers with our backups playing. One of the best stretches in modern NFL history.

That is incredibly impressive.

[tredadda]

Originally Posted by JustRyan

You’re right that the Bills are not unbeatable. NO team is unbeatable.

But to answer your question on what the Bills did this off-season to become stronger:

- They signed Von Miller who is drawing double teams and RB blocking help, which has freed up the rest of the d-line to cause havoc. I questioned this signing when it happened, but it’s working. Incredibly well.
- They drafted 2 cornerbacks, both of whom that are starting and look really good so far.
- The Bills numerous first round draft picks on the d-line are now a year older and they’re starting to dominate. Ed Oliver and Greg Rousseau are wrecking the linemen in front of them.
- Signed Tim Settle and Jordan Phillips - two starting quality D-Linemen that are depth on the Bills, allowing them to rotate and keep guys healthy.
- Josh Allen has become very patient and methodical. He is throwing short, long, and intermediate. The announcers during the game have compared him to Brady with his new methodical nature, and though I think that’s an extreme stretch, I get what they’re saying (he used to force balls instead of being patient).

All in all, it’s only been two games. But that’s all we can go on so far.

The Bills have won their last 20 games in a row by double digits. No team has done that since 1941. Not the Chiefs, not the Patriots, not the Greatest Show On Turf Rams. I think that deserves some respect but I also know it can change in an instant.

No doubts they are a very good team. Anyone who thinks they aren’t are either hating on them or they are fools. I also think anyone willing to hand them the Lombardi already are equally fools. Perhaps it’s because we are in the same division as the Chargers and hear them get crowned as SB Champs every year in the preseason that has us a little skeptical. If any team is capable of knocking KC out of the playoffs it’s Buffalo. Barring injuries at some point they will have to prove they can do it when it matters most and that’s in the playoffs.

[Stryker]

No - the BILLS are for real for the first time since Kelly in the early 90's. This team seems to me to be an air it out team with a limited run game. They have an awesome defense. I fear this team more than the Chargers and the Bengals. WE need to win as many games as possible to redirect the AFC Championship Game back to Arrowhead. But, to be honest, would LOVE to beat the Bills in Orchard Park for the AFC Championship game and move on to the SB! How GLORIOUS would that be? Bills Mafia shattering legs with table dives only for it to be for nothing! CHIEFS KINGDOM, Let's RIDE!

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by DRM08

Buffalo fans are jerks.

Hard for me to paint with a broad brush on a fan base. I mean...xfactor exists in ours.

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

At Tom Brady.

Irrefutable counterpoint. Although the ownership of said dildos can be called to question.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

I think LAC is just uniquely well designed to beat KC (and they still typically don't manage to do so).

Derwin James being able to lock onto Kelce is just such a big deal. There just aren't many guys with his combination of physicality and athleticism. That said, he's NOT as athletic as Diggs. So in that regard, the Chiefs are a better matchup for SD.
...
The Chargers, as well they should have been, are designed to be a difficult matchup for the Chiefs. And so no, I don't think the Bills would struggle with them as much as we do. But I don't really give a rip.

So just thinking about this a little more - it's honestly shocking that the Chargers haven't had more success against us than they have.

I mean think about it - ask yourself how you'd build a team to beat the Chiefs. Here's what I'd do (and honestly, it seems too ambitious to even pull off).

1) Big, athletic, strong armed QB. That's not Chiefs specific, it's just what you need. Chargers: Check

2) 2 aggressive pass rushing DEs who can win with speed and power. Also not specific to the Chiefs, but a little more damaging given that our strength on the OL is on the interior. Chargers: Check

3) A matched pair of complementary WRs who can operate underneath and downfield. Not exactly specific to the Chiefs but again, KC has a philosophy where they don't always invest heavily at CB and so this can be exploited a little more against them. Chargers: Check

4) An all-world Safety who can isolate and neutralize our HoF TE. VERY specific to the Chiefs and absolutely a Chargers: Check.

5) A powerful interior lineman who can help neutralize or at least modify how we use our best defensive player. Well shit...Chargers have THAT now as well. And with Corey Linsley to complement Zion, they have 2 guys who can do it which will allow them to slide protections to help no matter where Jones goes.

6) A premier pass catching HB. For years that was the way to attack us and while we have finally added enough speed to the defense to not make this quite as easy money as it used to be, it's still likely something that we'll need to resort to heavy Nickel packages to address if a team elects to make an emphasis out of it. Chargers: Check

7) A ball hawk CB who can make one of the 2-3 mistakes Mahomes will make in a given game (still far fewer than most QBs) really hurt. Well now the Chargers have that as well in JC Jackson. {Sigh}....check.

8) A strong LT to make the Chiefs play lefthanded defensively given that they simply don't have a complementary bookend pass-rusher (since Frank Clark ****ing Sucks).


I mean if you were given unlimited draft/cap resources just exactly what else could you add to the Chargers to make them a bigger handful for KC? A premier TE and maybe a true burner downfield. Oh, and a coach who isn't a goober, I suppose.

But man, when it comes to being a really REALLY tough out for Kansas City, the Chargers are absolutely built to a tee to give us fits. In a way that's almost difficult to fathom when you start to really dig into it.

It makes what the Chiefs have done against them over the last several years all the more impressive. And what happened last Thursday a little more understandable. They are a BRUTAL matchup for the Chiefs and very probably the dead last team I'd want to face in the post-season.

[Titty Meat]

They are the best team in the NFL right now. Still 15 more games plus the post season. Lots of football to be played folks

[Chief Pagan]

Originally Posted by Pasta Little Brother

I will also say...the Bills better win 1 soon because I don't care how "tough" you think Allen is that play style will not hold up in the NFL. Ask Cam Newton...and many others

I'm surprised how long Lamar has lasted.

But if I was a Bills fan, I wouldn't be keen on Allen's running.

Hurts seems more savvy with his running.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Chief Pagan

I'm surprised how long Lamar has lasted.

But if I was a Bills fan, I wouldn't be keen on Allen's running.

Hurts seems more savvy with his running.

Lamar is so damn shifty that nobody squares him up.

I also expected him to get broken in half, but after awhile I realized that any hit he takes seems to be a glancing blow.

I think ultimately it'll be a turf monster that gets him. He'll plant to make a cut and something will just let go. Because the guy just never gets planted by a defender.

[Best22]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

I think LAC is just uniquely well designed to beat KC (and they still typically don't manage to do so).

The Chargers, as well they should have been, are designed to be a difficult matchup for the Chiefs. And so no, I don't think the Bills would struggle with them as much as we do. But I don't really give a rip.

It does kindof surprise me that the Chiefs haven't seemed too terribly interested in trying to counter anything LAC is doing. Or Buffalo for that matter.

They're racing the track and not the drivers. And in a perfect world that's how you do it. But that approach is gonna bite you a bit during 'reload' cycles like this where you're not where you want to be yet, nor are you specifically tailored to get through your primary competition when they're at their respective apexes (and I think it's fair to say both SD and Buffalo are at that apex right now).

But like I said - better win it now, fellas. Because this likely is as good as it gets for you fellas.

I don’t entirely agree with this point, I think KC has attempted to build a team to handle the Chargers. It’s a big reason we drafted so many DBs, even tall ones…Reid and Veach knew we had another top QB in our division and he isn’t going to get worse. Trent McDuffie, Joshua Williams, and of course, Jaylen Watson were all drafted to help us stop the high flying AFCW passing offenses. We took a flyer on Watson in the 7th and he got us a game winning pick 6 against Herbert

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Best22

I don’t entirely agree with this point, I think KC has attempted to build a team to handle the Chargers. It’s a big reason we drafted so many DBs, even tall ones…Reid and Veach knew we had another top QB in our division and he isn’t going to get worse. Trent McDuffie, Joshua Williams, and of course, Jaylen Watson were all drafted to help us stop the high flying AFCW passing offenses. We took a flyer on Watson in the 7th and he got us a game winning pick 6 against Herbert

I mean...I guess. But Williams in the 4th and Watson in the 7th just seems like your standard "well they can probably at least play special teams" third day pick sort of stuff rather than a concerted effort to deal with LAC.

And McDuffie vs. Williams is a lousy matchup. That said, McDuffie as a Keenan Allen solution may certainly have been something they had in mind. But alternatively you could just say "hey, Ward was a FA and Fenton next year - they needed SOMEBODY to play CB..." which gets back to them worrying more about themselves than LAC.

But yeah, I can see that being a semi-targeted selection.