WideNine

On this we can agree. Sensationalism is the name of the game, but it is a dangerous game just to court viewership and ad revenue. Have switched to just reading mostly AP News... amazing how pared down it is. So much garbage is passed along in the name of "news". Opinion pieces clutter the landscape along with a healthy does of divisive material. I do understand that it is kind of the new norm. I don't need to know every time folks of different color get into a squabble, how about when they do something nice for each other? Nor do I need to know every disagreement politicians have, or what shoes AOC is wearing. We have been gradually conditioned to a herd mentality of polarization and running from one artificially hyped "news" crisis to the next. As some here have recommended, it is healthy to step off the crazy train now and then and just read something meaningful or get a hobby. With Reuters and AP News they just kind of stick to the larger boring salient issues and reporting . I realize that is not the entertainment that many people tune in for. It's not perfect, just better for my sanity. For investigative journalism I prefer NPR and have for the last 20 years. Since they are a publicly-funded non-profit there is less of an editorial sway set by some weird billionaire ownership. They were great for my long commutes to work, although their money-drives would get on my nerves.

I find it a cartoonish oversimplification of the many things that conspiracy-minded QAnon affectionados do not understand. They do not have a grasp on laws, procedures, policies, or government organizations and their respective responsibilities. Because they either lack the will or the intellect to actually research to find the facts for themselves they easily fall prey to the allure of attributing easily-explained events to some kind of organized cabal beyond the boring truth of deeply-rooted bureaucracy. Take the whole stupidity of the evil voting machines. If someone spent just 10 minutes to understand how they work and are used they would have easily dismissed the ridiculous theories being tossed around by Trump's desperate legal teams and propaganda outlets. It is why many of them are now being sued by said machine makers and their desperate retractions will not get them off the libel hook for their role in spreading the stupid around. For some reason in their haste to crawl back under their respective rocks and beg not to get the pants sued off them for spreading conspiracies and lies, the retractions from these characters masquerading as purveyors of truth and justice do not seem to get as much "air play" or retweets. https://reason.com/2021/01/17/an-abject-apology-highlights-the-legal-exposure-for-promoters-of-trumps-election-fraud-fantasies/

A more detailed and objective report on the nature of Biden's executive orders. https://www.npr.org/2021/02/03/963380189/with-28-executive-orders-signed-president-biden-is-off-to-a-record-start Many are for the formation of committees to review and investigate policy. For example, responsible Covid-19 pandemic federal planning and actions. We all should take a break from the Twitter and so-called news outlets that sensationalize every topic. The rational is probably simply that most were transition team planned orders to unwind many of Trump's arbitrary executive orders. This is SOP for each incoming administration. Trump, even though he had the Senate majority, heavily resorted to executive orders. He had a slow start, then piled them on during his 4-year tenure as he struggled to get Senate backing for many that pushed or ignored policy norms. More tracking and comparison data on the subject: All executive orders from last few decades by president: https://www.federalregister.gov/presidential-documents/executive-orders

I guarantee if Beane can land a true impact 1-tech NT this whole defense improves across the board. Because your front gets better against the run, you can commit more players to coverage on likely passing situations. You free Oliver from more double-teams to pressure the pocket, QBs cannot step up and are forced left or right into your DEs.... It has a domino effect. And yes, you have to contest those routes on Kelce. On Hill, he is just too fast. He creates a 2 yard bubble around him just because he is so elusive. Tough choice, but most teams choose to bracket him not jam him.

That is what I saw too. Edmunds for all his reactive speed has not graded out well the past few years in coverage. Part of it has been his reactive vs instinctive play. He often falls for misdirection and fakes. He does play sideline to sideline cleaning up so I acknowledge his effort and contributions. Dropping him back into zone coverage was a wasted resource in my opinion unless he is coached up to be more disciplined on positioning, and to better diagnose plays. That is tough because usually LBs are taught to follow a QBs eyes, but in zone you still have to be disciplined enough not to be moved away from your zone responsibility. Agree with some that he would have been more useful picking up Kelce when he released off the line and playing man on him. He has the size and speed, not sure if he would win the physical pushoffs and what not, but prefer contested catches to clean routes and uncontested catches.

I agree and think we cannot wish that kind of player away, or ignore TE's and hope they don't continue to burn us. Heck the Fin's Gesicki had a field day against our defense too. The Bills have to get physical and challenge those guys. They wont win every match-up, but that is no reason to roll over for them. I would be looking for that larger safety/linebacker hybrid who can jam and skate with TE's. Milano was a bit undersized to hang with the better TEs and may end up walking too... just keeping it real and I know he has a strong fan base so hold off on the pitchforks and torches. Just for example (not that I have any idea who will drop to us, or be at the top of Beane's board), but TCU's Garret Wallow may be an intriguing prospect. He converted from safety to linebacker and is known for his coverage skills. Tested pos for Covid-19 so was not able to attend the senior bowl so maybe gets less looks? I like the part in this draft bio where Jordan Reid says, finishes plays in a hurry by bringing targets down to the ground. Tackling was a fundamental weakness on our defense this past year. https://thedraftnetwork.com/articles/2021-nfl-draft-scouting-report--lb-garret-wallow Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah was mentioned earlier on this thread, but he is one of the top LB prospects and has 4.4 speed - most projections have him gone fairly early RD 1. All and all a good draft year depth-wise for some of our team needs (Speedy WRs, Guard/Center, NT, TE's, and coverage LBs). I know you don't reach for need, but if the draft value is there at a need position then why wouldn't you pull the trigger? Really looking forward to the off season moves OBD makes - and also "the sky is falling" dialog that I am sure we will have here😁

Morse has a few more years under contract so I would not expect him to be cut unless there is some kind of injury clause where it is no longer viable for him to play. This would be someone they plan to groom who can backup guard and center next year. Deep draft this year for center: Georgia's Trey Hill: Oklahoma's Creed Humphrey Ohio's Josh Meyers Wisconsin Whitewater's Quinn Meinerz is one of those later round Div 3 guys you never see on the radar and he also did not get a chance to play out the season because of Covid-19 shutdown at his school, BUT I was looking at Senior Bowl reports and he has had a decent showing against a lot of high-profile competition. Beane and company have a history of leaning towards guys that they like in the Senior bowls if they fall to them. So if there was ever a year to switch gears and dive in and look for that guy that may not offer as much flexibility in regards to pulling and blocking in space but has the potential to completely own the gaps from G to G in pass-pro and in run support there are prospects.

I think we all can agree that we need some changes on the line to give us more flexibility to go outside or inside. I think it may start with center and I am a Morse fan, I just think the concussions and the limits on his play are reasons to start thinking about grooming the next guy. There are a couple really good center prospects in this year's draft that fit the bill if Beane decides to go in that direction. We seem to have role players now who are limited in what they can do. I still have hopes for what Ike can grow to become, with Morse I think you know what he does or has done exceptionally well and where he struggles, and the same with Mongo. I was generally pleased with our current tackles although they need to always remember to play through to the whistle with Allen back there.

I have also read elsewhere that we were running more outside zone and pulling Morse more last year than this year. Not sure if that is true, but would be interesting to see how our run preferences have changed. If that is the case and we do run more power, perhaps the change could be both that we have a lot of different starters on the line. That, and defenses started playing us differently with more coverage personnel and a lot of 4-man fronts with occasional pressure packages from slot DBs, heavy nickel, or dime linebackers. With such a thin front and safeties playing off, I am sure Daboll and his staff felt they could go with more power runs between the tackles, but that does not align well with the current strength of the guys up front. Been a mixed bag. I feel like it fails far too often, but based on some of your research and our YPG averages it looks like it may be just a lack of commitment where we get very 1-dimensional. I do know that we have a well-known tendency to pass on 1st downs and that has been largely successful, but tendencies like that are exploitable in games against better teams with better coaches. For example, don't play the run on 1st down, play press coverage with 2 safeties deep. The odds then go into your favor that you will snuff that out or force Allen to hold longer and let your pass rush get to him. An interesting question was posed to Beane in his exit presser and it was something about adapting to league changes or changes in our competition. I don't know if it is a good idea to get into chasing yesterday's strategies. It is a balancing act, but I would rather the Bills be setting the bar that others chase rather than we draft and nurture players and schemes that may be irrelevant by the time they are fully baked. Just thinking out loud

We can agree to disagree. I believe Kroft is a far superior run and pass blocker than Knox any day of the week. I know Knox is their future, but Kroft is more mobile than Smith (who is their best blocker) and better than Knox in pass-pro and run blocking. Does it solve all their issues - no, but relying on Knox to block is a liability in every game and his blown assignments lead to far too many negative plays. He needs a lot of coaching up on that aspect of his game to be the multi-tool TE that Daboll prefers in his 11 personnel sets. On the flip side having a healthy Knox line up in the slot vs a gimpy ineffective Davis is a win IMO. They already use Knox all over the place as a receiver, they have him at times at slot or even FB, although I would not trust him lead blocking for me. Daboll did have a cool play with Knox at FB where he got open against the Steelers, but that was also the play where he popped the ball up into their arms. I thought Knox's focus and ability to catch contested balls that last game was one of the bright spots - just saying they should have focused on getting him involved more as their receiving option as he was a mismatch for the many DBs KC was using and leveraged someone else to help with blocking.

Yep. One of the reasons I thought we would have been better served sitting a gimpy Davis and starting Kroft. That way they could use Knox strictly in a receiver role against smaller DBs and Kroft (who is a much better blocker) would help both in the running game and as another outlet receiving option. Joe is spot on.

I also believe that well-intentioned competitive players that try to do too much or play with poor technique get injured more often. If you find yourself in poor position on the field about to lose your battle on a play, you are more apt to do something that strains, sprains, tears, or breaks something. Aka Edmunds hitting the wrong gap, yet trying to catch the guy he missed with an arm as he is flying by him...there goes the shoulder. That is why teams stress trust and each player doing their 1/11th. If guys start playing put of position to compensate for the missed assignments of others the injuries mount up. Something to objectively consider when you have oft-injured players. Unavoidable accidents or are they often out of position with poor technique.

I too felt that Ford was grading poorly at tackle and guard. Beane stressed that Ford has been playing through multiple injuries. We have to give Beane, his staff, and Ford the benefit of the doubt, but my biggest concerns with Ford have always been his foot speed. His ability to keep moving his feet under him with quick small steps and rely less on leaning and reaching for blocks. Guard places less onus on this controled lateral speed if they are not pulling him, but DTs were still getting him off balance. In fairness to Ford, if he does get into the pads of a DL with good technique, he wins that battle more often than not and can drive him off his spot. He is strong. He should have to win back his spot from Ike or Mongo. If both are still here.

I expect there will be a steady roll call of players where Beane will not be picking up their options. As someone mentioned in an earlier thread, the Bills usually let guys go early so they have a chance to shop their services to other teams. It's better than stringing them along

McKinney's deal is coming up and there are a few really quick burners with burst and hands that are going to be at the Senior bowl if we are looking for that KC Hill type. Daboll has to do more to incorporate that player into plays on the field. I felt McKinney was under utilized. There are some good tweener prospects safety/linebacker that could give us better options to cover tightends considering Milano likely walking and our aging safeties. An impact 1-tech DT that can replace Star in that desperately needed anchor NT role is a must I think. There are a few TE prospects that can add competition in the later rounds. With some of the long term deals the Bills want to get done and limited cap space, the FO is not going to be able to be aggressive/active in FA. If anything Beane will be shedding cap to try to free up some space.

Commitment is part of it, but our success rate when we do run is well below league average. That is why we cannot keep defenses "honest". The coaches and Beane see it on film. It's not just one thing, but if they can address the most glaring issues they can work on the missed assignments, etc...

We have had some limitations on what we can do. Mitch, although an exceptional technician who can block in space with upper tier mobility for a center, was rarely pulled in our offense this year and is not a straight-ahead mauler. Some of that is because of the defensive fronts we face are better challenged (in theory) by straight-forward ISO and double team combination blocks. If Mitch or the guards pull, the remaining guys usually are not able to hold up against the interior DTs which usually results in a jail break before the play can develop. If they try straight-forward blocking they are not strong enough to get the push needed to move interior DL men off their spot which means your runs between the tackles hit a wall of bodies. Our longest runs have often been 2nd and 3rd efforts by our RBs to bounce it outside or hit another gap. Stretch runs usually play into the sideline to sideline speed on the field and are generally less successful. So to be more successful I think we need better straight forward blocking from guard to guard. Blocking that is capable of moving bodies and winning more of their assignments against DTs and NTs. Is that different personnel, more coaching up on technique, or better schemes...it all should be on the table. We are also well-scouted and I do see teams cheating towards run on plays where we run, so something in our personnel, alignment, or the leverage of our player pre-snap stances may be giving those runs away too often. Running backs that hit the hole quickly with authority would help too. Dancing behind the line is fairly doomed with the reactive speed on the field these days.

Us old-school guys remember life before free agency. Now folks want ready-made MVPs straight out of college. These kids have no patience. 😁 I do think GMs like to have draft picks that do not hurt the team too much year one, bonus if they catch on fast and can contribute. Then 2-3 solid cap-friendly years before they have to decide on investment divestment strategy.

As many of us noted here on the Wall, Epenesa was playing far too light early on. In college they like guys to pack on the pounds, but the Bills were looking for more balance and speed. I am glad Beane addressed this in his end of season presser. They had asked him to drop more of the body fat and Epenesa took extreme measures and dropped what looked like 3 weight classes. We saw how he was getting blown off the edges especially on runs and so did the Bills coaches so they asked him to put some more weight back on. I think with his frame he can handle getting up to around 270-275 with a good strength and nutrition plan without losing too much speed. I don't think they would want to see him any heavier than that. Originally I had not watched much of what he did in Iowa, but early on I thought he played a bit too long and upright for a stick-figure end. Over the second half of the year you could see that good burst/first step with surprising balance and leverage. He uses his long arms and hands well to fend off blockers and seems to have natural instincts diagnosing plays, tracking the ball, and taking the right gaps. If he can stay healthy I think this kid has a good ceiling and will work out well for us so kudos to Beane and the scouting staff. I like what we have in Darryl Johnson too. He came in really raw so has a longer runway, but he has that prototypical build and speed and strength you want in a DE. He just has not had a lot of coaching up. He has shown in flashes and I think he just needs more playing time. I think he will get more playing time as Beane is forced to trim the DL roster this offseason. Apparently Trent was usually inactive because Johnson is a beast on ST and they also had Johnson as an emergency DE if someone in their rotation got dinged.

I see how the "that's what Smoke and Beasley were for" comment was confusing. I meant Smoke for the outside speed and Beasley for exploiting the middle but worded it wrong. Never pictured Beasley taking the top off a defense. And agree Alan's biggest struggle will be reigning in the arm and patience. Especially when our defense is struggling and the race for points thoughts start creeping in and he looks for homeruns when there are only base hits available.

I agree that some of it is scheming up better run plays - particularly fast developing plays that do not require a change in formation or personnel such as draws, counters, and counter traps. I also like misdirection plays using Allen - rolling away from the play action/handoff or those inside shovel passes to force teams to chose between keying on and containing Allen or playing the run. Mohomes uses those shovel passes and misdirection plays quite a bit - they work especially well for QBs with wheels. It is also true that all those are more effective it we have better run blocking up front too. I like that 2 by 2 set 11 personnel IF our TE can actually block too; Right now Knox blocking leave much to be desired. He has got to put as much into his blocking as he does into running routes and trying to catch. TE's are most effective if they have that dual capability. We beef up that interior of our o-line and prioritize our pass-catching TEs being able to block too, our run game will improve.

Josh dropping back and slinging it a zillion times works when he is facing teams that cannot get to him and stop the run with their front d-linemen and are not able to drop everyone else into coverage effectively. Sure Allen had an MVP caliber season, but teams that could generate pressure with their front 4 and still leave 2 safeties back deep and field DBs across the shallow zones were able to give him his worst games. No open receivers, holding the ball too long, pressure in his face, and costly sacks and incompletions. Having the ability to run the ball, does not mean that you run the ball all the time and that Allen cannot sling it. There is this illogical fear that being able to run means that our offense is going to use 12 personnel and pound it 50% of the time and that is not the case. It means that you have the legit threat that you can run the ball when you need to. When teams have great coverage and can generate pressure, or when some of your key receiving threats are dinged up, you can dictate their defense and slow their pass rush. KC uses 12 personnel and has the option to run or hit their TE's usually 30%-35% of the time, but no one thinks of them as a running team. They can when they need to. When we did to them what they did to us and took away all their receivers what did they do? They ran all over us. When teams go into a split-deep safety look and flood the field with defensive backs leaving the box virtually empty we should be able to run against that and force them to change their defensive posture or personnel. It means that when their d-line is pinning its ears back to rush Allen they now have to tap the brakes to ensure a runner does not slip past them. When they have to change how they play us, it opens up the intermediate passes and play-action passes deep with no help over the top. It also keeps Allen from taking a lot of unnecessary hits from defensive linemen who have no reason to slow down. Allen having an MVP season is great, but it is not the goal. The team winning it all is the goal. In the championship games against more complete teams you have to be able to make good on the threat of being able to run on them if they are cheating their personnel towards coverage and pass rush. It was the legit threat of KC running the ball along with their deep passing threat that kept the Bills in an ineffective defensive purgatory of having to keep enough guys in the box and leave enough deep which left a lot of open green in between.

You may be right. McD mentioned in a presser that Edmunds had been playing more aggressive. Reading into that, the coaches see the film, the hesitation, the missed tackles and he may still be adapting to that role where he is no longer the biggest, strongest, fastest player on the field. I assume next year there will be some influx of talent, but more tweaks than wholesale changes. This draft will be very interesting.

Fixed and thanks for the head-up.

Probably the biggest head-scratcher for me too. You see Knox release and he is getting knocked around like a pin ball on his drag route. Kelce releases and it is a clean uncontested route. It was a zone concept you play if you think the other team is going to eventually misfire on execution, not a plan I would have against the Chiefs. You take away Kelce and Hill and make them beat you with the run or using other guys and you hit Mahomes whenever you can.