starrymessenger

I picked the Ravens to win this game. That was more than enough to put the Bills over the top.

Pre-game I expected the Ravens O to manhandle our D, what with missing #1 draftee, two vet starters and generally being in transition. TBH I was not optimistic about the result. Josh saved our bacon yesterday but McD is an excellent defensive coach. Assuming we play them later in the year we will be a lot better on both sides of the ball but especially on D. Josh Allen will beat them again.

That was a great block. Reminded me of the time Gronk drove one our DBs into the cheap seats.

Josh Allen. He good.

Im pretty confident that Coleman is going to have a productive season. What stands out to me as the difference between this year's Keon and last year's Keon is mental/attitudinal. He looks like he has fully adjusted to being on an NFL playing field to where he can now fully concentrate on continuing to learn the position. He showed great presence/concentration in adjusting to the tipped pass that went for a touchdown. He showed he understood the importance of clock management at a couple of intervals. He didn't fumble when Alexander unexpectedly tripped him up. He had his game face on and was all business attitudinally. I think he has already grown up.

The reality is that, but for the all important position, for all four quarters the Ravens had (and have) a markedly superior roster on both sides of the ball. What allowed Josh to hit Palmer and Coleman is his ability to routinely make throws (esp Palmer's) that few quarterbacks can make. Josh Allen is the best quarterback and probably the best football player on the planet. That's the takeaway.

All they talk about is bad coaching, playcalling etc...some of these guys just can't deal with the fact Josh Allen is flat out better. How many times does this have to happen before they realize it.

Im wondering how many multiple TD games Keon is going to have this year. I think he begs three twice.

Trey Palmer waived by Bucs. 4.33 40. He has receiving skills too. Bucs are deep at WR.

Hate to say it but I fear that the Ravens are going to steamroller us in the opener. Our receiving corps is suspect, our D-line adds may well eventually pan out in a big way but we need to have rooks contribute meaningful reps that you can't always count on getting from the get go, and our secondary is of questionable quality. Fortunately I'm usually wrong.

Shavers brings some good traits to the table but speed and explosion are not amongst them. He may be a bit faster than Hodgins but in fact they are both pretty slow. Kaden Prather had much better straight line speed though he too had a disappointing vertical and broad jump at the combine. Personally I feel that Shavers has earned himself a spot on the roster. He may even be able to hold onto it.

Tough break for the kid. If he is on the injured reserve list he must have cleared waivers, which makes sense. So he should go back on the team’s injured/reserve list. He cannot be designated to return to the roster this year but he would be eligible for the Bill’s practice squad once healthy and removed from the list. Or they may agree to a settlement and cut bait. He would then become an UFA. If they decide to keep him, the only change to his situation is that he cannot be promoted to the active roster this year, say late in the season in the event of injury to starters. He was almost certainly headed to the PS anyway. Some observers said pre-draft that he should not have declared since he had another year of eligibility. The thinking was that he would have been better served to access the transfer portal again and join a more prominent college program than Maryland’s. It’s a shame. The kid has traits.

Don't know for sure but my guess is that Moore makes the roster. Shavers looks like he has earned his spot. Shavers would have no problem making many NFL rosters if there was more explosion to his game. His routes appear to have been solid though albeit generally against second and third tier defenders.

Agreed. Not a three down back imo.

It's great to see some humility and maturity from the guy. Certainly an athletic freak but his overall NFL receiver traits are pretty much limited to one imo, namely his ability to outmuscle much smaller defenders. Despite his 4:42 combine 40 (and I doubt he is still at that level) he never got much in the way of separation, and he was never a good route runner or a dedicated blocker. The Bills already have a very big developing wideout whose game for now depends significantly on his size/strength attributes. I don't think they need another. What they still need Is a guy who can reliably contribute to the vertical passing game. Despite his athleticism I don't think that would be Claypool.

Pitchers most bear the brunt. The great Koufax said he quit when he did because otherwise he’d not have a usable left arm anymore.

Same place (combine). Not the same time.

Well they do have the same hand size. Exactly.

Five games into his rookie season (before injury) Steve Smith told Sports Illustrated that Keon Coleman was "one heck of a football player". Just sayin. In fairness, the thought was also expressed that playing him exclusively as a dedicated X from the get go without the benefit of scheme touches and motion was too much to put on the kid's plate given the step up in competition. I note that even Brian Thomas takes 30% of his snaps from the slot. I'm pretty confident that Keon can play from the slot. I can think of game situations where you might use a big slot effectively. Contrary to many I think he can also play outside, but only if he can learn to do some of the things that Boldin could do. I wouldn't set that bar for just any big "slow" receiver. I say it because he is a rare physical specimen who probably has the physical attributes to do it. It's largely up to him imo.

I disagree. The debate is informative (at least for yours truly). On the other hand your conclusion is 100% correct imo. Personally I'm optimistic about his chances.

His 10 and 20 yard splits are good. In fact his 10 yard split (1.54) is excellent. That's where you look for initial burst. It's likely the last 20 yards of his 40 that is slow.

I hear ya (and Steve). We shall see.

As long as he NEVER has to play in a different system. Even then.

Yeah we all remember the hit he took from the two Jets DBs. One of the worse things I've ever seen on a football field (next to Hamlin). I agree that Boldin is an outlier obviously. And every big slow receiver gets compared to him without justification. Where I might disagree with you is in thinking that (without actually being Boldin) he cannot have a very productive career having learned to do the kinds of things that Boldin did. I think I saw enuf from him last year before injury to conclude that it is not unreasonable to project him that way. Boldin was rare. Coleman is a rare specimen.

Prather is an ambitious kid who is pushing the envelope by having declared for the draft. He had another year of eligibility and he surely would have benefitted by transferring to a bigger program and conference for his last year of college ball because he is raw and his game is in need of refinement. Analysts frequently disagree of course but something I found a little odd was coming across diametrically opposed views on certain aspects, specifically footwork, release, route running, and hand use. What I think that winds up meaning is that he has shown that he can do it all well enuf except that he doesn't do it all the time. In other words he is not consistent, which is hardly surprising him being a youngster who lost targets to Tai Felton (who was drafted around 100 by Minni). Too me he may have declared too early and would have had a better shot of making a roster after next years draft. That's why I think he probably belongs on the practice squad. But if he makes the roster because he shows greater consistency even in spite of the limited reps he will get in OTÀs and preseason games I think it will be reasonable to conclude that the Bills found a diamond in the 7th round. It does happen. Jacobi Meyers was undrafted.