Big Changes In Buffalo

Yo Bills Mafia, back in January I called you the undisputed champions. Because you are. So long as we’re talking about pain and misery and heartbreak, you guys are elite. And of course, I don’t say that to rub it in, I say that because I feel your pain and your misery and your heartbreak. I sympathize. 

I know how excruciating it had to be to HEAR the words wide right yet again during another gut-wrenching playoff loss. How excruciating it had to be to have the ball in a two minute drill at home against the Chiefs and still wind up losing that game.

Which is why in the aftermath of that game, I said big changes were needed in Buffalo. And I knew big changes were coming. I was just hoping it wouldn’t come to this even if deep down I knew it might. Of course, I’m talking about what happened yesterday. I’m talking about I my dude Jordan Poyer going out the door along with Tre White, Mitch Morse and others.

I get it, they’re way over the cap, and that’s not how the Bills do it; and they did it like that in order to take a big swing and take one last big shot with this crew: and that it didn’t work. And that injuries contributed to that as well. And to some extent, I also understand that Poyer wasn’t quite the same player last season. He wasn’t quite the same player he was when he was a Pro-Bowler in 2022 or a First-team All-Pro in 2021. He set a high bar, but fine, I can accept a drop off.

But this dude was still an absolutely critical part of what makes the Buffalo Bills the Buffalo Bills. And say what you will about his performance this season, but when the season was on the line in that fourth quarter against Kansas City, who stepped up? Who stepped up and made one of the best clutch defensive plays in Bills history? Your dude Jordan Poyer stepped up.

Let’s not forget, KC was about to make it a 10 point game early in the fourth..., they had first and goal from the 3, and then this happened.

Just an absolutely incredible play. It could have been a season-saving play. It could have easily been the play that finally got Buffalo over that Kansas City hump. And it’s crazy to think it’s the last big play that this dude will make in Bills uniform. But I guess it's fitting because they don't get any bigger.

It is officially the end of an era of in Buffalo: and Poyer is a big reason there even was era: I’m not saying the only reason, obviously, but a big reason: we remember what the bills were like before he and Micah Hyde arrived. Those two were an institution: you don’t see a pair of safeties play together for 7 years: ever.  And I’m not sure we’ll ever it see it again.  But they did.   And at a freaking elite level. . They have been the standard when it comes to a safety pairing. The standard is the standard and they were it for years. So, if Poyer walking out the door feels like the end of an era, it’s because it is the end of an era. 

And again, yes, there was some drop-off in Poyer’s numbers … but he brought way more to the Bills than number alone. He brought the edge to that defense that badly needed an edge. He brought the toughness and his toughness was contagious. 

You don’t even have to take it from me, you can take it from Sean McDermott, who said it at the Combine just last week.

Normally I like to say, love to see it!  Love to see it! Except in this case, while I’m not surprised, hate to see it.  Hate to see it.  All that said, he’ll be aight. Jordan will be fine. Dude was giving off incredible energy when I caught up with him in Vegas and was in a great place about the season, as brutal as the ending was.

Simply put, this dude loved being a Buffalo Bill. And he did so much to set a winning tone for that team. He did so much to put them on a competitive path. No, they couldn’t ultimately get over the hump, but that was never on this dude. This dude was a huge part of the reason they ever got anywhere near that hump in the first place.

Now there’s even more pressure on Josh Allen to carry this team over that hump. And set the tough and competitive tone this team has thrived on. Because we all know Mitch Tribewsky isn’t gonna get them there. Solid backup, and he just took a pay cut to come back from Pittsburgh, but this thing is obviously on Josh. 

The dude is gonna come back from Paris like, the hell happened? Where is everyone? Where's my guy Poyer? The only reason I know he was in Paris, by the way, was this incredible X POST he dropped this week. 

Josh Allen @joshallenqb

My pants ripped at dinner. Didn’t want cheeks out… I love Paris.

Sounds like someone was having a really good time. At least until he found out about the mass exodus back in Orchard Park. I'm sure he wanted Poyer out even less than he wanted his cheeks out. But hey, sometimes it happens. Sometimes your pants rip and your cheeks pop out. And sometimes the cap forces you to part ways with the heart and soul of your defense. Unfortunately for Buffalo, filling the Poyer void is gonna be a lot tougher than just tying your jacket around your waist.

Josh is going from his pants ripped apart... To half the team being ripped apart.

All Pro Corner Tre’DAvious White 

Starting center Mitch Morse

Nyheim Hines

Deonte Hardy

And others to come.

Hearing from Bills fans, the one thing they want ripped out is their coach. BUT HE’S NOT PART OF THE REBUILD.