BADOLBILZ

If Jimmy Walker hadn't been such a deadbeat NBA dad.........Jalen Rose would have been Jimmy Walker Jr............and we wouldn't have 500 "Jalen/Jaelin/Jaelon/Jaylon's" in the NFL.

As the old schoolers who don't care about perspective die off..........Bruce will continue to gain ground on Reggie White in terms of notoriety. The old-timers don't care about the difference between rushing against Jumbo Elliott/Jim Lachey/Mark Tuinei in the SB versus lining up across from the pathetic Max Lane. But today we know and highlight the difference between rushing against an Eric Fisher or a Mike Remmers..........it is massive and can decide Super Bowls. Bruce Smith has been slowly gaining that respect over time. It's the Joe DiMaggio/Ted Williams dynamic.............in 1965 DiMaggio was considered the greater player by a lot........no contest. 60 years later Ted Williams is often cited as the best left handed hitter of all the time......and DiMaggio is really only brought up when someone has a hitting streak. The reason is because Ted Williams had the numbers advantage.........Bruce has that......he is the all-time leading sacker......getting to 200 mattered in the long run..........you can't talk about pass rushing greatness without Bruce........his sack total is the focal point for all great pass rushers and with the game being much more about passing now........the viewed importance of pass rush is heightened.

There were A LOT of people on TSW who were very upset with Beane for allowing he and Shaq to leave. They simply are not trustworthy players...........the fanbase falls in love with anyone who panders to them.......so these two counterfeit namesakes of NBA greats did that to try to create additional pressure for management to pay them. Fortunately Beane didn't fall for it. They are who they were before they ramped up for their money grab. Yeah but they were guys with motivation/work ethic issues prior to their contract runs. Pretty sure paying them was going to produce diminishing returns regardless once they got paid......whether here or elsewhere.

Oh I value coverage..........I know the numbers indicate that you should begin your defensive build there. But Belichick with his willingness to adapt from season to season and his opponent-specific-heavy game planning are the "exception that proves the rule" (as I hate to say). Unless you are willing to complicate your approach in coverage.........you aren't going to be able to run the same guys out there and do the same things for 3 seasons and not have good passing teams exploit a modest pass rush.

Yeah, this is why the key to McDermott's defense being anything but middling is pass rush. @GunnerBill for some reason disagrees with this but you can throw all kinds of different coverage adjustments out there but they are all defeatable with time and talent........which is the kind of offense you face A LOT when you start playing first place schedules. There are multiple years of McD's defense and the specific back 7 personnel they use on tape. Literally year 3 for those guys(save for Klein). The mystery of the first two seasons is gone and the piece of cake schedule of fragile opposing QB's from 2019 isn't coming back. Pass rush will dictate whether this defense looks like a top 10 unit again or not.

Yeah, the "he can cover receivers like a CB" thing has never really materialized. He tends to be more physically gifted than the vast majority of TE's and of course has a huge range advantage on the average Y receiver............but in zone the lack of instinctive reaction always shows up. And that's just the coverage aspect..........in terms of taking advantage of playmaking opportunities in the passing game he's lost. Teams have caught on now........that's why the same level of awareness produced diminishing returns last season. Now man coverage...........that's something he can do. Which is really what he always should have been doing..........simple responsibilities and beat the man in front of him..........it's a shame to waste his talent the way they have. Hopefully a switch kicks on this season but the practice work and preseason games I saw and all the reports from camp(or lack thereof) indicate nothing has changed.

Admit it, you were surprised he was just average in zone coverage. The way some talk up the impact of his length you would ASSUME that zone coverage would be a strength. But in reality, anything generally associated with "instinctive" play at the MLB position has been a weakness for Edmunds. He has been credited by some as a big difference maker in the passing game that teams are afraid to throw near.........and yet he had a 114 passer rating against and 4 TD passes allowed last season.

It's a sobering stat, that's for certain.

Thanks....but it was actually 0 for 72 And no, he's not a good blitzer. Obviously.

It's not correct. He blitzed 72 times with 0 pressures. Right in his stat line in pro football reference and has been cited here multiple times. And yes he had a couple sacks but not on blitzes (the subject of this thread). See for yourself, Lahey. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/E/EdmuTr01.htm

Yeah and I know it's been proven very difficult to maintain consistent defensive success from year to year...........but technically the Steelers are defying that rule with regard to their pass rush being dominant year after year. So it can be done. Which brings me back to Edmunds and the blitz..........it's not easy for him, with that wide, rangy frame to get thru that A gap unscathed. Had they instead made him and edge player from the start they might have that TJ Watt kinda' reliable presence by now.

Yeah I am concerned about the lack of speed. Beane implied that it was on the agenda after the AFCCG loss. Didn't really happen though.........nor did the TE situation. If 4-5 wide works at a high level it will be because the NFL has changed in the past couple of years.........because even in the post 2010 rule change era that empty backfield stuff has not served as a reliable base offense for anyone. Yeah, nobody has that much coverage inventory on D.........but it simplifies everything else for the rest of the defense and shortens the QB's time to throw. More plays = more opportunities for the offense to make mistakes. Exemplified by the 3rd and 20 the Bills starting offense got themselves into on the first drive versus GB's backups. Josh Allen making a great throw to Davis polished up a drive that otherwise might have typified what can happen when you play dink and dunk. So many defense's are literally designed to try to force teams to run 10-12 play drives for this reason. I don't actually think they will run 4-5 wide a ton...........I don't think Daboll is the next Bill Walsh like some folks but I think he's smarter than that. I think the dink and dunk stuff is to try to address teams throwing zone coverage(with some success) at Allen. On that 3rd and 20 throw they basically got GB into a man coverage situation........and Allen delivered the dagger.

Team defense(yards allowed) alone is an antiquated way of judging a defense. The two years where they were top 10 in both points allowed and yardage they had a double digit sacker. McD's defense team rank in points allowed 2011-2016: 27th 18th 2nd 21st 6th 26th That's inconsistency and it's a bit disingenuous to call a team like that a top 10 defense in an era of so many advanced statistics. Points matter in the equation. Here are the Bills ranks in points allowed under McD: 18th 18th 2nd 16th People can talk all they want about how they use the back 7........and no question McD does a good job there.........but the defense doesn't work right without that pass rush..........it's the #1 component.

So if you aren't in the top 4 DE's in the NFL you aren't excellent? Greg Hardy had 26 sacks and 48 QB hits in a 2 year stretch. Charles Johnson had 12.5 and 11 sack seasons. In truth, the Carolina McDefense was inconsistent..........his 2016 defense ranked 26th in points allowed and 21st in yards. The great season they had(2nd in points and 2nd in yards) was 2013 when Hardy and Johnson both put up double digit sacks from the DE position. That's excellent DE production.

They had excellent DE's in Carolina...........Greg Hardy, Charles Johnson and prime Mario Addison.

Edmunds blitzed 67 times without generating a single pressure last season. On paper he is ideal.......unfortunately games aren't played on paper they are played on tv.

Agreed

When the Bills went empty backfield last year, they were doing defense's a favor. It bogged the offense down. For an old, immobile soft-tosser like Big Ben it might be a way to utilize his recognition skills and hide his lack of arm strength. But for a young guy who can make every throw like Allen......no thanks. Stretch the field......use play action to create separation.......use an extra blocker to buy time for longer routes to develop.........give your skill players room to work so they don't get battered. I could make a highlight reel of body slams that Beasley and Diggs absorbed last season and when it mattered most, in January, they were beat up and it showed. And that was with mostly 11 and 12 personnel. So many things wrong with the 4-5 wide stuff. Fans should know this by now but there is still a perception that the empty backfield/4-5 WR approach is playing wide open.

I think Sanders will be fine.........but he hasn't been a big ypc guy in a long time........like 6 years. That's fine with end of career Peyton Manning and Drew Brees........they couldn't push the ball downfield anyway............but I'd like to see more diversity in the receiving corps. Brown declined last year........but he's a 14.8 ypc guy for his career and stretching the field has many benefits.........hopefully Davis can continue to be a field stretcher but it won't be because of speed. And like I've said.........not a big fan of the 4 and 5 wide stuff.......it just becomes dink and dunk and as defenses pin their ears back to get to the QB.....and the top 3 should probably be Diggs, Beasley and Davis, IMO. As for Shenault........he had an OK rookie year........not even as good as Davis though..........and of course Jefferson smashed NFL rookie records for the Vikes with the pick the Bills traded them..........it was a very impressive group of WR. Given his injury history and style I still don't think Shenault is a guy I would put a first round grade on.

Oh they definitely need the depth at WR...........especially if running a lot of 5 wide because of a lack of TE's. Emmanuel Sanders reportedly loves the up-tempo offense but that's likely because he can catch a lot of passes and pad those reception stats. More short passes = more hits on the WR corps though............that volume took it's toll in the playoffs. Like to see them push the ball down the field more and put less wear and tear on WR, ideally.

The back problems might have scared them off...........it didn't appear to be his play(in game at least, as you've noted). It is a little weird that they have always wanted a vet in every room and don't have one there. Hope Daboll doesn't get all wicky-wacky and go 5 wides all the time...........that just makes your offense more about small plays and inept running the football. Then you run into a defense that's prepared/equipped to neutralize that set and it can get ugly.

They were pretty awesome last year so that's a tall order. My concern with the group is still not having that deep threat that physically threatens defenses into playing off............because that dink and dunk 5 wide stuff we saw Saturday is a recipe for beat up WR's, amongst other negatives. Maybe Davis continues to transcend his modest speed/quickness talent and fills that role..........but Sanders and Beasley will not........and it will be hard for Diggs to match/top last season. Especially knowing he will probably come into the season a little banged up.

Just sayin' for all the concern expended........it really wasn't hard at all to get to 53. Same thing last year. Easy. Keeping 3 long in the tooth DL instead of just 2 over the younger, team controlled Bam Johnson was the only really debatable move. As I said..........the waiver wire around the league would be LOADED with recognizable young WR names.........not likely that Stevenson would have been picked up on waivers..........the Bills situation is just precarious at WR with Beas and Davis unvaxed, they had a lot of motivation to keep 7 and he was there and familiar with the offense and could be IR'd.

For all the declarations and even some hand-wringing about players the Bills would cut being claimed by other teams...........looks like UDFA Nick McCloud is the only one. As good of a preseason as the Bills had in the games they played.........there weren't many surprise performers and value additions........guys like Lamp and Hollister didn't materialize as hoped and Obada and Breida were just OK. CB and TE came into the offseason as areas of need and don't appear to be improved at all. Edmunds and Oliver didn't really show anything new. Cody Ford disappointed again. Fortunately they were already a very good team but it would be nice if there were more really intriguing new talent stories. Rousseau is really the only big addition at this point that appears poised to improve his position group.