HappyDays

Sure, I believe catching is something that anybody can get better at, although some are just naturally more or less gifted. But there has been zero progression there from Shakir. It was an issue in college, he had 2 drops on 20 targets in the regular season last year, he had an awful momentum-shifting drop against the Dolphins in the wildcard round, he reportedly has struggled with drops at camp this year, and now he had 1 drop on 3 targets yesterday. Shakir is a 5th rounder with a limited physical skill set. Players like that don't get years to turn it around. The only reason he gets any hype at all from Bills fans is because he was projected to be drafted higher than we got him so the perception is that we got a steal. Instead, we are seeing why teams were lower on him than the amateur draft community. Ideally for a starting slot player you want Mr. Reliable. That's what Beasley was for us before his athleticism fell off a cliff. If not Mr. Reliable, you want someone that is extremely explosive. That's what Harty will hopefully be for us. Shakir as of right now is neither of those. He's just a replacement level slot player the likes of which can be found on the waiver wire every year.

The problem is that that "1 bad drop" has been who he is as a player since Boise State. You can't have a double digit drop percentage and be successful in this league, not unless you are the elite of the elite in some other skill. Shakir is a pretty good route runner, he's pretty good with the ball in the hands, but he has below average physical abilities and abysmal hands (relative to the league standard). If we take away the draft hype around him, that is the profile of a player that should be firmly on the roster bubble.

Thank you as usual Gunner. Your offseason content remains unparalleled. Some thoughts of my own: 1) In preseason you can almost read as much into who isn't used as who is used. For example Kincaid was used to the same degree as Gabe Davis which tells me the team is very comfortable with him already and he will immediately see a big role in the offense. Based on camp reports this is not a surprise, but it's still good to see confirmation. Similarly Sherfield was off the field at the same time as the primary offensive starters so his roster spot is guaranteed. I've seen some fan rumblings recently that Harty may not be a roster lock, however his skill set was not displayed on offense in this game which I think means he is completely safe. He has a defined role as an explosive gadget player at least and can perform that role far better than anyone else on the roster. Similar to my thoughts on Kincaid's usage in this game, I think the team is fully comfortable with what Harty can do so they are waiting to put his role on tape in games that matter. 2) I too was impressed by Van Demark's play. I specifically focused on him and he more than held his own. At LT I didn't see any bad reps. I lost track of him on a couple of his RT reps but the one I did see was a win for him. Maybe the Bills got lucky and found a steal here. He will be my depth player to watch over the next two games. 3) Color me terrified about the MLB position. I remember last year when Edmunds missed time, people said "see his replacements aren't good enough, this is proof we need to re-sign him" and my response was always "don't worry, we will find a capable replacement, Beane isn't foolish enough to let his 2022 backups take over the job in 2023." Well here we are and we have done exactly that. Our main competition Mahomes and Burrow will absolutely pick you apart in the middle of the field if you let them, and I fear that we will be totally vulnerable there. In my mind I'm scrambling for answers but there really aren't any. The defense looked BAD when Edmunds wasn't out there last year. His absence kicked off the Vikings' improbable comeback. The more I think about it the more uneasy I become. 4) On a night where much of the DL from the top to the bottom of the roster showed out, where was Epenesa? I don't have snap counts but I know he was out there and his name is literally missing from the box score stat sheet. I don't recall him having a single QB pressure. For someone that is exclusively a situational pass rusher and leaves you vulnerable on run downs, he needs to show more over the next two games to prove he can have a meaningful role on this defense. 5) On Elam's penalty, agreed that it was somewhat ticky-tacky but we are going to see officiating crews that call those, and I worry that Elam will be a total liability in those games. All along I have questioned why the coaching staff has favored the limited Dane Jackson over Elam but I'm beginning to see why. They at least know what Jackson brings to the table on a play by play basis. With Elam it is more of an adventure. I think it is Jackson's job to lose at this point and Elam will be used situationally.

Rousseau. His Offside penalty was annoying but overall he was very active today. The reports on him from camp have been very promising.

Looked hesitant at first, like he was still thinking instead of reacting. But he looked fast and was a sure tackler at every opportunity. His run stuff on 2nd and goal was a great play. Probably not going to contribute much if at all this year, but I saw some promise for the future.

I thought Dodson looked very rough today. Not much we can do about it now, we are going to have to try and scheme around the weakness.

Barkley better get 2nd team reps next week. If he hasn't earned the opportunity, Allen has given it away.

Van Demark is in at RT now. Just had another very strong rep. I have a new preseason crush.

I'm not 100% sure on this but I think we lose our 3rd round comp pick next year if Keenum doesn't make it for a certain amount of time on the Texans. So trading for him would be contrary to our own interests, unless I am mistaken.

Going back and watching that drive again, I am very impressed with Van Demark. I'll be watching him the next two weeks.

Ryan Van Demark looks the part to me, albeit against depth DL. I like Jordan Mims for the PS.

Agreed. Epenesa on the other hand has been nowhere to be found.

He was the 2nd LT in before Quessenberry or Doyle. That is certainly something to watch.

Dorian Williams has made a couple nice tackles. You can tell he's still thinking and hesitating a bit but not a bad start I think.

Wow Isabella was impressive there. I think he has a PS spot locked up.

Okay Shakir has made a couple really nice grabs. If it's for real that's a great development. Aaaaaand he drops one as I say that. Focus drops on easy catches has been his problem.

I think even Murray could end up being at worst equal to Singetary. I have to imagine he has completely passed Harris on the depth chart at this point.

What is Kyle Allen doing??

He tugged on Pierce's shoulder pads. That is an easy call every time, and a killer on 3rd down. Pierce isn't exactly an elite WR either.

Elam isn't going to be able to start in this league if he can't stop being grabby. It's plays like that that make the coaching staff gravitate towards Dane Jackson, at least they know what they're getting from him from play to play.

If Houston is amenable to trading Davis Mills I would do that right now. Kyle Allen is awful.

Okay take Cook out of the game please

Richardson doesn't look ready.

I try not to get on rookies too much for interceptions but his was really bad. Throwing an interception because you try to do too much or thought you could squeeze one into a tight window or misread a disguised coverage, those are acceptable or even necessary rookie mistakes. His interception however he clearly just didn't see the defender at all, he had a clean pocket and was facing a vanilla preseason defense. That combined with his awful S2 score, you can't help but wonder.