Ayjent
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Posts posted by Ayjent
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On 3/7/2023 at 11:13 AM, Yantha said:
WRs: 4
DEs: 3
CBs: 3
TEs: 3
RB: 1
S: 1
Curiously, no O-linemen in this list.
And here is an "all combine interview" mock (except the last two picks - no players on this list left.....)
LB: 2
Miller is a smart playmaker and sure tackler, but he isn’t the fastest guy. Seems like an odd choice for Bills D style. They seem to value speed more than anything. Good player though.
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4 hours ago, Solomon Grundy said:
Talk about production!!
Cooper Kupp 2.0?
Impressive. Can’t say I watched much of Purdue in the past several years.
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Two players on the Gators that I do like are Ventrell Miller and Justin Shorter who are in this year’s draft. Miller just made plays and had the instincts to diagnose and be in position, especially against the run. When the Gator D played with any momentum he was typically at the heart of it. He did struggle with injuries, however. I think he is a day 3 pick but definitely a solid player. Shorter is most likely destined for UDFA but is low risk, high reward guy with a big body, good speed, and good hands. He can be a bit stiff in his routes but he is a very capable blocker. He really played with terrible passing QBs the last two years, especially on intermediate routes. I think with good QB play there might be a lot more there.
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19 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:
I'd be delighted if Dean lasted to the Bills pick in the 6th. I do think he is a day 3 guy but I figured he'd go earlier on day 3.... that's certainly how I have him graded. I think you can start him in some packages right now, he probably needs time to become a full time starter, still misdiagnoses a bit too much in zone concepts to throw him out there as an every down starter, but his ability to play as a matchup guy in man coverages from the safety position is a weapon and I imagine it being sufficiently coveted that he comes off the board a bit before the 6th round.
That matches what I’ve seen from him throughout his time as a Gator. He was part of a secondary that was inconsistent but he would flash some really good plays and then some really poor ones. I don’t think the coaching has been great at UF defensively the past several years, so it’s hard to know how much it is the player vs what they’re being taught. Last year’s staff was an upgrade from Mullen’s but still a bit underwhelming. I can’t see McD giving him much playing time unless forced and even then they’ve shown a desire to pickup street vets instead of starting a young guy.
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5 hours ago, MiltonWaddams said:
He is to Josh Allen what Harold Miner was to Michael Jordan. I’m getting tired of the comparisons there.
I am a UF fan and Richardson doesn’t have 1% of the want to win attitude of Josh Allen. He’s certainly comparable athletically but that’s where it begins and ends. I saw a kid that couldn’t put together a complete game and would get rattled as hell and not be able to rebound mentally. He could be electric but is a late round prospect at best that will get picked in the first. The team picking him that high will wish they hadn’t. I expect him to fall as teams evaluate him closer, but not too much.
He’s terribly inconsistent passing and doesn’t have great pocket presence.
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They need a reliable slot guy more than anything and McKenzie isn’t it. He missed his opportunity and was just too afraid of contact to be what the Bills need. I don’t blame him for that bc that takes being half nuts to play the position well, but the Bills need that more than anything in the passing game. I also think they need more physicality overall on offense with wrs and TEs that can block well in the screen and run game. There are a lot of easy plays they don’t have bc they really don’t have effective blocking outside and they don’t get playmakers any room to move in space for RAC. Some of the low RAC is also bc Josh is running around making time and the passes are just darts that aren’t timing or designed.
Parker Washington might be a decent pick in 3rd Rd to fill that role of a good blocking, tough slot receiver.
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4 hours ago, GreggTX said:
On 2/2/2023 at 11:28 PM, HomeskillitMoorman said:
I don't think it is. Frazier is an extension of him, he runs the defense the way McD wants it to be run and to his vision. If McDermott had a problem with any of it, he could change it.He doesn't. He won't bring in someone that would challenge him to make changes. We've seen that already, we're still seeing it now. It's easier to keep Frazier and have most of the fanbase blame him instead as if McD doesn't have anything to do with the defense. You could literally read most of the messages on the board and most want to can Frazier and keep McDermott. It doesn't make any sense.If they think Frazier is such a big problem...whose fault is it that he's been here and is still here? It's McD's. Any way you slice it, McDermott is the problem.So McDermott's goal is to have a bad defense and keep a bad, clueless DC in place so he won't have to take the blame. Also, the loss of Hyde, Miller and other, multiple players on D had nothing to do with it. Interesting theories. So let's fire the best HC we've had since Marv and replace him with a scrub.I think what people are asking for is that McDermott actually be the Head Coach and hire a new DC with more autonomy to run a different D than Frazier or than he might run and bring something new to the table. But I think it’s also fair to say that maybe McD won’t fire Frazier bc he is doing what McD wants. Either way they can’t keep doing the same thing bc it’s not the answer Defensively. The culture and expectations that McDermott and Beane have brought are to their credit and most of us don’t want to throw it all away for the unknown. Especially given that this team mired itself in the most frustrating mediocrity for the better part of 2 decades, and the Pegulas first hire was a huge swing and miss.
However, they do need to try to adapt bc this is clearly not on par with the teams that stand in the way and others are going to emerge.
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2 hours ago, Shaw66 said:
Ayjent -
Great stuff, as always. Thanks. I really like the first paragraph. "Imposing its will" is the key and as you say, that's what's lacking in the playoffs. Well, missing this year. I thought the Bills were more than tough enough against the Chiefs last year - there were other problems. And I agree that down the stretch of the regular season, they didn't have it. But just like against the Chiefs, the previous season that wasn't a problem. Going into the playoffs in the 2021 season, they were the team no one wanted to play. So, I think the things you're commenting on, although perhaps being somewhat true in early seasons, really are phenomena that troubled the Bills this season. And as I've said, I think their inability to pull things together this season were the result of a lot of different things, in some cases unique things, that the Bills just couldn't overcome.
I agree about your analysis of the defensive line, and I've said here myself. They need some guys who WIN; instead, they seem to be loaded with guys who read and react, particularly Rousseau. He really needs to crank up his intensity. I never paid much attention to Von Miller before this season, but he knows how to play the position. Not every play, not by a long shot, but every once in a while on the snap he absolutely explodes on the OT and knocks him off balance, then creates from there. Doing that once every ten plays or whatever puts the blocker on the defensive, and it allows Miller the opportunity to attack all the other way he attacks. Rousseau needs to do that to - instead, everyone knows he's just going to come across the line and look to see what's happening.
Did they play too much soft coverage this season? Looked like it.
The thing about all of this, from my point of view, is that McDermott is smart and determined, more than any people we tend to meet in our day-to-day lives. He works and studies all the time. He knows the coverage was too soft. He knows the pass rush didn't work. He knows the defense didn't impose its will. He sees all of that stuff and hundreds of other things, and he know what he wants to do about it. Frankly, I think if you asked him about the soft coverage, he'd tell you exactly why they played that way, and he probably has to do with having substandard safety play late in the season, White being off his pre-injury game, and Jackson and Elam being vulnerable. I don't know that, but isn't that the kind of reason that you would expect a smart guy like McDermott to have for playing a defense that he knows was not aggressive enough? Especially, when he's playing a quality QB like Burrows and he knows that none of his defensive linemen are going to get home, he's not going to play press coverage if he doesn't trust his corners or safeties.
Whatever the answers are, McDermott has literally made it his life to learn them. He knows if Frazier is a problem. He knows if Dorsey is a problem or just needed to get a year under his belt. He knows where his personnel is weak, and he's told Beane.
None of which is to say that he'll figure it out. I'm haunted by memories of George Allen, who has absolutely glorified by the press has a determined, detail-oriented coach who would lead Washington to the Super Bowl and more, and he couldn't do it. Just being like McDermott isn't necessarily enough. But, as I also said before, there is nothing that any of us sees that he doesn't see, he knows which things he needs to fix, and he almost certainly knows better than any of us how to fix it. So, like you, I'm not replacing him any time soon.
I hear what you are saying and I agree, but I wonder if McD’s solution will be the right one. If I’m him and Beane, I’m thinking we flip the script on drafting and focus on offense to build the team. Interior line has got to improve and I’m looking for competition for Brown. I think another WR is a must, as is a physical back that they can use as a hybrid blocker/runner. I think there are gems for backs throughout the draft. Draft physical specimens in later rounds on D and see where it takes you because I’ve seen them hit on great picks later in the draft (Taron, Milano).
This offense needs to be built to do whatever it wants and they’ve got the player at QB to make that easy if they put a great line in front of him. When a teams comes looking to harass Josh on the edge they need to be able to counter that with an ability to run at those ends and keep them home. They also need better play design but that’s a completely different conversation.
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4 hours ago, Shaw66 said:
Several thoughts about this. First, I was hoping Frazier would get a HC job last season. I've always thought he's too passive.
Second, however, I think that you're mischaracterizing the defense in several ways. Yes, they spent money on the defense, but they spent it to make it be more and more like the kind of defense that McDermott wants: a defense that can survive playing all different styles: playing man, playing zone, stopping the run, etc. It's more important to McDermott that his defense do everything reasonably well than it is that the defense is feared for being the most aggressive in one or another way. He wants eleven tough-minded, versatile athletes running around out there, making plays. Now, all kinds of people on this board will argue that that's the wrong style of defense, because you get what we've seen - a defense that is statistically excellent and wins a lot of games in the regular season, but that can't deal with the really high-powered, offenses that they face in the playoffs. It's like he has a defense that would be the best defense in flag football but not tackle football. I get that argument, and I agree with it and I can at least speculate why McDermott prefers that, but that's not the point. The point is that if you really think that style will never win a Super Bowl, then there's only one answer: Move on from McDermott. My own answer to that, which plenty of people disagree with, is that it's very unlikely you'll get as good a coach to replace him, and you're better off having a coach who repeatedly gets you close and may, over time, actually win the whole thing.
Third, if I were McDermott, I'd replace Frazier with someone who can run McD's defense, but with more fire. I'd replace whoever the D line coach with someone who will impress on those guys that they have to WIN their battles on the line, and if they don't they'll be replaced. Lots of guys can occupy space on the Dline. McD's defense requires guys who can win.
Fourth, I don't think it's about "figuring out" McD's defense. Every team's defense gets figured out. What's good about McD's defense, or what's supposed to be good about it, is what's good about Belichick's defense, which is that as team begin attacking the parts of the field that you don't defend well, you can tweak things so that you can defend that part of the field better, so that you players, in more or less the same defense, can recognize when teams are lined up to attack that weak spot and know how to cover it. When it works well, which it did with Poyer and Hyde, you'd never see Jamar Chase wide open in the middle like he was in the playoffs. Never. But when you're playing Elam and Marlowe and Jaquan Johnson, they haven't yet learned it, or they can't. That is, I don't think McDermott's scheme is the problem. I think who they have on the field and how aggressively they play it is the problem.
Thanks for posting.
I like McDermott and don’t want to move on from him but I do want to see them adjust and learn from what has made them vulnerable on both sides of the ball, and invest where it will make the biggest impact on their ability to win a. I understand what you like about the defensive philosophy of how they’ve built the team but the reality is that the team on D doesn’t impose its will at any level and is particularly susceptible against physical teams and inclement conditions neutralizing them. It’s easy to beat the Bills D with talent and you needn’t be spectacular either, just have a rhythm passing game and it’s there more times than not, and if you have a running game to go with it, then it’s up to Josh and the offense to come through with more urgency in each possession. It’s what we saw the second half of the season, the Bills got the wins but none was particularly comfortable outside of an atrocious Bears team.
I don’t even see the D play that multiple because when push comes to shove they play soft coverage and give too much respect to QBs that can get the ball out on time and on target trying to keep everything in front of them. They give yards. They give completions. They give you heartburn on 3rd down. Statistically it works out but that doesn’t mean it’s good nor dominant in any way. They really only play a front 6 and they can be dominated at the LOS. I get that it’s a passing league but the DL is not impactful in rushing the QB and yeah Von Miller going on IR hurt them but you’ve got to be better than one guy. The guys they have aren’t physical nor dominant enough to rush the QB even if they can run sideline to sideline to make tackles beyond the LOS. Pressure and penetration up front makes everything easier and they simply aren’t making that happen no matter what and soft coverage and passive schemes aren’t helping the pass rush either.
They spent tons of salary and capital on their D and it’s not really that much more effective than year 1 under McD (other than at LB) and the offense is not talented enough as a result of over-investment in the D. I don’t know why they have not invested more in the OL to protect their franchise player and to impose a running game when Buffalo weather dictates they take a game over. I think skill players are a luxury that is not a wise investment if you don’t have the essentials (OL) and I think the Bills have enough talent, but not great talent beyond Diggs and Allen, on offense. They can be so much better on that side and they are already good, but defenses definitely figured something out with hemming Josh in so that he doesn’t escape moving up in the pocket and that neutralized the offense more and more as the late season progressed. I also think Josh was bearing more and more of burden of carrying the team and there was no confidence in his OL as he was looking to keep himself in position where he could get out of trouble bc he was expecting it.
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On 2/1/2023 at 5:21 PM, Dubie54 said:
I enjoyed your write up and felt you covered all of the key points to our season very well.
Maybe it's just me, but it seems there are plenty out there who are very frustrated with what we have seen out of this defense. And for me, it all goes back to the 13 seconds and the fact that the Bills org seemed to dodge the whole accountability question.
We continued to see very similar "soft" schemes this past year and plenty of instances in the Bengals game. When you look at the 4 teams that played this past weekend, I would argue they all looked and played much more aggressively on defense than what we saw from the Bills at the end of the season, and all use the blitz very effectively. I would argue that we have the personnel but we're not putting them in positions to be as successful as they could be and that goes for the offensive side of the ball with players like Hines and Shakir, and not being able to effectively run screens.
The Damar Hamlin injury had to be a distraction for the Bills and probably did take some of the energy out of the locker room. But I also don't put a lot of stock in what Saffold says because he hasn't shown much energy the entire season.
This is the thing that I just can’t accept but will likely have to: the team with the biggest defensive investment, the defensive background HC and a constant HC candidate as DC was the softest least impressive defense in maybe the entire playoff field (at least bottom quartile). Every team has injuries and that is why coaching matters from scheming to your available personnel’s strengths and player development. The Bills seem to be falling short there - is it the organization’s inability to identify talent? is its inability to develop it that is the issue with a poor ROI on the DL? or is it what the players are asked to do that isn’t working out scheme wise? It’s probably some combination of all of those things but they are things that have to be true in one respect or the other. The defense is a paper tiger and we all know stats can be misleading because it’s how you play when it matters. Philosophically the Bills are simplistic on D and that makes it easy for good teams to attack and when the Bills don’t adjust the scheme with back ups the results are predictably going to be worse. That’s the story of playoffs this year and last was a different story but failed because of the same philosophy. They just had better players available and an offense hitting on all cylinders to give them a shot to win last year.
I honestly think Frazier’s -layoff performances have closed the door on him getting another HC opportunity and I think the Bills would be very wise to move on and consider going in a different direction for the good of the team. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. The scheme Frazier runs is not going to be much different results wise with uber talented players and mediocre players. It’s a great defense for mediocre talent vs mediocre opposition. It’s just not effective unless your front 4 are just wrecking balls and the Bills DL are not wrecking balls.
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I just don’t understand why this team is not built to be way more physical and imposing especially when a home game in the elements dictates you need that type of team. The Bengals just manhandled this team on both sides and with backups on their OL after looking quite pedestrian vs Ravens. I really just don’t see how this is anything but a reality check for the entire organization from Beane to position coaches. And I’m not certain the investments in the D are as bad as they may seem but I do think there are serious questions about their development and training as no players really seem to develop on the DL. Hard to say who is at fault but there is a massive issue. They need to invest in protecting Josh and getting more physical on offense as a priority. I sincerely believe the way the Bills play D wouldn’t be much worse if they didn’t Invest so much into it. It’s the keep it in front of you philosophy that rolls out the red carpet for first downs and long drives against talented offenses - you don’t need top notch talent to play patty cake.
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What was frustrating about the offense is that it went from quick release passing attack that looked unstoppable in the beginning of the season to one that turned into Josh running around all over the place until he could find something open with little rhythm. I’m not sure what changed the approach and how much of it was Josh and how much was Dorsey, but if the offense had that rhythm it had to open the season I don’t think we are all down on the direction of the team. Ultimately it is on Dorsey and McDermott to make sure they adapted to the circumstances or stayed with the more effective approach. Hell at times it looked like the team could impose its will in the run game against good defenses, but ultimately they had no answers when it mattered most.
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1 hour ago, GunnerBill said:
Yes, I agree. But only because the offense was spectacular in the 2021 playoffs. Otherwise it has been bad too. And I don't disagree with you on asset allocation either. My point was not that the defense doesn't deserve scrutiny. It was that the offense does too and I think that is being missed a bit.
Yes. The game plans for both sides have been lacking and they are getting both outcoached and outplayed. I also think that the DL players are not developing - which is likely a product that is some part bad picks, bad player development and scheme. On offense it’s a lack of investment and scheme - there has been little push to impress the importance of timing and plays that make sure the most dangerous players get the ball to make plays. There is no thing that Bills’ opponents stay awake at night fearful of other than what they could do with Allen improvising.
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The news of this article if true is the equivalent of punting from the opponent’s 37 down by 13 with 4 mins left in the game on 4th and inches.
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I’m having a problem having faith that the Bills know how to identify OL talent. Dawkins is their best OL player and he is not anywhere near the best at his position. The interior line is very mediocre at best. Sadly I’d think we’d probably be complaining about the whiffs on the OL ad much as the DL had the investment been made there instead.
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I just want to hear “Down goes Frazier”. I know that this organization has loyalty and that is a great thing but…not when it is impeding the progress towards the goal that the organization has to win it all. He seems like an incredible person as a human being but Im sorry that isn’t the criteria that is going to win playoff games.
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Thing is this defense wouldnt be much worse if they hadn’t invested so much in it. It would still be ineffective and unable to impose its will when it counted. It’s because of the scheme that we don’t see game changing plays frequently. The defense became less capable of creating turnovers down the stretch unless they were gifts or awful plays by the opposing offense. There weren’t turnovers due to pressure or aggressive attacking schemes. The D very much reminds me of Jauron’s. You can put a bunch of scabs or all pros in it and the difference isn’t going to be all that impactful. It’s great for a less talented team to run and it’s god awful for a talented team to run.
And with the injury excuses - please stop! Every team has to deal with injuries that’s where coaching and knowing your bench talent’s strengths and weaknesses comes into play. This coaching staff deserves the heat and on both sides.
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Bottom line is that team isn’t tough enough nor well coached enough right now. They are not mutually exclusive but one thing was clear on Sunday - the Bengals were superior in both aspects.
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1 hour ago, SoCal Deek said:
The purpose of the offense is to score points. They did that. The purpose of the defense is to stop the opponents from scoring points. They did that too! The Bills finished with close to the best record and close to the best point differential. Done, and done! They lost on Sunday because the coaching staff didn’t properly prepare their players to play a football game…period!
So they didn’t do either of those things with elimination on the line. That’s why people are upset. The team is built to win but not to win it all.
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2 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:
I think there is more blame for the players unfortunately. Yes you can scheme stuff up but eventually up front you just have to win your assignment 1v1 and yesterday on both lines we failed to do that far too often.
Fair enough. What happened bc these guys were playing pretty well early in the season but as the season wore on they became less effective. Guys like Phillips and Settle were disruptive. It’s definitely both play and coaching, and I know you aren’t disputing that but something isn’t right with the confidence of this team and I think we all wanted to dismiss it and hope they would play up to their potential in the big moment. Instead they did the opposite.
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They’ve invested heavily in the D Line and it made absolutely no impact against an OL missing 3 starters. I want to blame the players and there is probably some blame to be had but then I realize coaching was what separated the Bills and Bengals. The Bengals put their players in position to win while the Bills simply put their players in the position of an ineffective scheme.
You want to protect your depleted secondary? Get to Burrow. If you lose you go out swinging. Instead it was a blood bath where the only strategy was to not take too many haymakers and just get jabbed to death.
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This team was exposed on both lines where the drafting has been inadequate (OL) or hasn’t panned out (DL). Beane has done an amazing job but this team has had its Achilles heel with its lack of physicality on both lines for years. But it’s deeper than that - there was a total lack of aggressiveness on D and they looked like they were playing a mid season game where things just weren’t clicking. To me that was the most disheartening thing to watch. No pride or determination.
Seems like a franchise altering loss.
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Sucks that he isn’t playing but the Ravens for all the good they’ve done haven’t ever acquired or done much to try to acquire a really good receiver that would make Lamar’s job easier. That and the K are the sour points and the Ravens would be smart to try a sign and trade deal with some other team. I can actually see the Giants or Bucs in the mix here. Lamar and the Ravens are destined for a divorce and it’s been a slow motion train wreck. It sucks for the league and Ravens that he won’t be playing but I get it and think his injury is more serious than reported. I think it has been helping the team with its narrative to part ways without the fan base getting too upset.
Watkins is just a moron who cost the team any chance to have a shot at the end of the last game with his fumble. His career and what the Bills gave up for him in that draft full of talent at WR just makes you appreciate the current FO so much.
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14 hours ago, ArtVandalay said:
Well not quite, don't forget Ruggs (12), Jeudy (15), Lamb (17), Reagor (21) were all taken in front of him.
Coming out of college there was a lot of talk that Jefferson benefited too much playing from the slot on LSU basically being given free space at will and that wouldn't be there for him in the NFL.
Reagor was an awful pick and I never understood the fascination with Jeudy who benefitted way more than Jefferson from the talent around him. Jefferson had size, speed and contested catch ability that was very impressive. I thought Chase was better but he was awesome in college. I actually didn’t understand why the Bills traded for Diggs that draft with all of the WR talent but it worked out very well for both the Vikings and Bills. And I wouldn’t change anything because Diggs is a leader and a good teammate that helped Josh take it to the next level.
WR Trent Sherfield signed
in The Stadium Wall
Posted
Until you put that first lump of coal in them