MasterStrategist

Some random thoughts after Q1 of season is now complete, and how this team might continue to "morph/improve" heading into the Q2+ of season. Q1 of season review: Trench play: we finally get to see what this team can do, when the trenches (both o-line & d-line) are excelling OL: improvement to both G positions, and what appears to be more consistent play from Dion & Spencer is yielding early dividends. Torrence looks to be a future pro-bowler/locked in starter. DL: Collectively this group is performing "at potential" (finally, based on resources used by Beane). Floyd has been the best signing for a while, collective group returning from LY has also taken a step. Poona is the only disappointment to-date, but inevitably we will likely need to count on him in the rotation again at some point Defensive attitude/aggression: you can tell there is a different "leader", passion/aggression is at an all-time high. I attribute that to Coach, but also to Bernard/Floyd - along with the other defensive leaders. No longer is the team allowing teams to push them around. Bernard has added the "game changing"/high impact plays that alluded Tremaine; not saying he's a better overall player at this point - but a lot of positives thus far (including I prefer TBs intensity) Offensive identity: dare I say, we can see a "well-rounded" identity developing?! Great gameplan by Dorsey yesterday, and this team has faced likely 2 of top 10 DLs already (Jets & Wash). This team will obviously lean on Josh/Diggs combo, but it's promising to see how the run-game & use of "complimentary" weapons are being utilized. Davis target share is down from LY, as I mentioned early this offseason as a "needed" adjustment. Spreading the ball around, and staying ahead of the sticks is "winning football" most times than not -- credit to Dorsey, but more importantly Josh for making positive changes to his style of play. Other than Week 1, which can be an outlier for many teams, this group has been clicking 1 player call-out OFFENSE: James Cook, I could mention others, but this guy caught my eye when attending training camp & he's been dynamic to start the year. I like our RB trio and how Dorsey has utilized them. I still think there are more ways to get James the ball in the passing game, but expect Cook to finish with double-digit TDs 1 player call-out DEFENSE: couple guys come to mind, but I'd give this to Terrell Bernard right now. Milano is our best player on defense, period, and Floyd has been a jolt up-front. But TB has surprised the masses on this message board & has shown ability to make the impactful plays -- and his tenacity/attitude are making it easy to forget Maine right now. Q2+: OL: scary to think this OL, as a group, only has 4 games together. It takes time to 'gel' as a collective unit, and this group looks to be improving week-to-week. This could be a top 5-7 unit in the NFL by season end Offensive improvements: I could see Dorsey trying to get "more" out of Harty/Shakir/Sherfield, each of these guys have that "YAC" ability-- we've seen limited glimpses to-date, but getting more plays designed to get them the ball in space. Kincaid is naturally seeing an uptick in targets, which should continue AND trying to get him on more downfield/developing cross or seam routes is something I expect to see as teams start to adjust to our success against 2-high safeties Mostly we've seen 2-high safety looks & Dorsey/Josh seemed to find a very good balance these past few weeks. I expect to see teams start mixing up more blitzes, which will be more test for our o-line & playmakers ability to win "1-1". Perhaps we could see the screen game, which is probably the only thing they haven't had much success with Defensive improvements: losing Tre - can only say it sucks - but this team has dealt with adversity, especially in the secondary for 3 years running now & have found ways to adjust. I think Elam will eventually take over for Dane, perhaps that's more a preference, but Dane has looked good in limited action & brings vet experience. Overall, whenever Von returns, he'll be joining an already impactful/top performing DL. I think our front 4 is "that good" this year, barring injury, and the expectation should be they are "elite" (given resources spent). I fully expect this DL to start getting more "media" notoriety over the next few weeks, Von returning will bring more attention to that as well Getting improvement: Von's return will only help, but this group has collectively performed extremely well & expect Bernard/Milano's impact to continue getting better S/T: I'm not a fan of our punt return "scheme" - you see alot of teams deploy "tiered" blocking, ie: 2 players 10-15 yards off the line to help set-up the blocks. I think Harty can be a much bigger weapon on PRs. Kick returns, I'm happy if Shakir would just take a knee. Bass is off to a fantastic start, he's been very critical 2022/2023 draft taking shape: 2022: IF, Elam can take advantage of his potential opportunity - we could look back at season's end & say this was the key component to our success/playoff run Round 1-3: Elam, Cook, Bernard - 2 of these guys have critical roles/high-end contributors already 2023: Torrence has been a stud up-front, Kincaid is continuing to get more targets, he needs fed the ball more still IMO.

Pretty sure it would take another corner injury OR they've completely given up on Elam (which I doubt) - in order to be looking for a trade. Benford, Dane, Elam Ingram (P/S) Is an OK group, with some unknown about Elam...perhaps he surprises, aka Bernard, when given the chance again. It's not like Elam looked bad LY, just wasn't consistent and had something behind the scenes that caused the New England benching (in favor of Rhodes). With Von returning at some point, very good to great DL play - coupled with outstanding LB play and 2 vet safeties- we will be more than fine.

I agree the injury sucks, but I wouldn't point to that "last play on Hill" as evidence. Hyde was sitting over the top, doubling Hill. We've not had to put Tre, or Benford for that matter, into many situations without safety help. Benford got beat 1-1 last week against Curtis Samuel, but he's done really good. There's a reason people say Coachs schemes are CB friendly, going back to his Carolina days when he didn't have "elite" talent there some years. We are primarily zone, and have a talented DL/instinctive talented LBs and 2 safeties that get guys into position very well/communicate well. Everyone hates the injury for Tre personally and the team, but realistically Coach will have this defense playing at a high level.

I think Von being activated this week is 50/50. And agree he likely takes Tre roster spot, after IR. Not sure there is a reason to "elevate" Ingram on gameday yet. They've rolled with 3 outside corners each week, expect that to continue. But I am high on Ingram developing into a "Dane" role (3rd corner type in the future).

They were talking specifically about AGC north injuries

I wouldn't say it hurt player development. Rather, it's very clear we could have seen even better results during his tenure (especially against top tier offenses). Bottom line, appears we're in good hands

Honestly, I don't know. How many have been caught on Benford? Not trying to be ignorant to Tre. He's our best corner, not elite overall anymore though. That's just 1 person's opinion....and hate to see the injury/downplay it, but it's the NFL and key injuries happen every week

Well Christian finished the game, after Tre went down. He's a tough dude, proved it LY, but I don't think they risk that if it was serious. So expect him to be ready next week. Tre injury sucks, and everyone should be upset for Tre...great guy/leader/hard worker. But it's the NFL, and we see these injuries happen every week. Aaron achilles, Trevon Diggs ACL, etc. It's more emotional, seeing Tre reaction and knowing what he went thru LY with ACL recovery. Just have to get past it and "next man up", as Coach says. Each year it's a game of attrition and any serious SB contender needs to keep most of their "stars" healthy, and have depth/guys step up. Not to sound rude, I think Tre is back to being a very good/above average corner, but not a "star" anymore. Dane/Elam will need to step up. Milano, Von, Groot, Ed, Floyd, Hyde...all more important to our defense success this year...JMO. Offense: obviously Josh and Diggs, then Dion. Those are the "stars"/extremely critical players to our success, IMO. Dane isn't Tre, neither is Elam at this point, but has most potential given his natural talent. All that to say, fingers crossed on news about Tre (expecting the worst) and prayers to him/family, but we will fine as a defense.

I think he still has/displayed that his instincts were elite. Unfortunately, I don't think he ever regained his quickness/lateral speed. Totally sucks for Tre. But agree he wasn't back to gis pre acl "all pro" caliber. He is also our best corner though, and definitely much much better than Dane IMO. Elam has the natural talent, it will be his time to step up when given the chance.

Not sure I'd call it 50/50, unless you think Coach is rolling out a new scheme this week...we haven't seen Elam or Benford/Tre play out of the slot (which your scheme would suggest). Unless you think Benford or Tre is coming off the field. Not sure why all this back and forth about a guy who hasn't dressed for 3 straight weeks. It is what it is...he's #4 on the.boundary corner depth chart. We aren't dressing a 4th boundary corner, who won't be playing meaningful snaps AND not a key s/t contributor.

Opinion. Hoping to be proven wrong though, Elam clearly has talent, just something not clicking.

Well it's all about effort/aggressivness/willingness (attitude). I'd not say any of these are Elams top skills. Something obviously happened LY, that triggered Rhodes starting and Elam being benched. Not sure the reason ever became public knowledge. But, it likely wasn't "performance", as Rhodes could barely run LY.

I think Hamlin and Cam are two different safeties. Hamlin more a SS/box safety, limited range in center field. Lewis is Hyde type, he can roam and react deep. Bonus that he's versatile to be a nickle/break glass boundary guy too. Elam sits on the bench all game, if we dress him. Unless Coach is rolling out a completely new dime scheme this week. Hamlin dresses for Po, primary backup to Rapp. Simple as that, at least what I expect.

Why? Benford has looked very good, so far. On top of that, Benford has played how many safety snaps in camp/leading up to this point? Take our 2nd best corner, and make him our 5th best safety (maybe), and insert our 4th best boundary corner....yeah, this isn't Madden... If the goal is to get more speed on the field, then Cam Lewis at safety makes more sense (over Rapp). And going more dime with Neal, 3-man fronts on obvious passing downs. I could see both of above happening, at points in the game on Sunday.

We offered Levi a contract, so I wouldn't say "we moved on". Levi moved on/picked to sign with the Steelers. Elam was targeted because he was graded as their best remaining corner, and we had a "need" for a starter opposite Dane. Part of that was Elams speed, but there were faster DBs available to draft if that was the primary reason. Then enter Benford, who outperformed his draft status. Elam underperformed, and Dane re-signed on a cheap contract...and here we are. Benford, and our entire secondary, will face their greatest test to-date this weekend. But performance has been very good so far. So it's not like Benford is looking like a fringe starter, as of now, he grabbed his role and been consistently playing well.

No it wasn't. On Sunday around 11:30am est, you will realize that. It's simple, Benford is playing better within their scheme and Dane is a reliable #3 outside corner/better Special team value on gameday. Who is coming off the field vs Miami, in favor of Elam? Benford? If we're fortunate to go through the season without a corner injury, we will be lucky. Elam will dress when that time arises and be counted on to be ready. Until then, it shouldn't shock anyone he is sitting as our #4 given what played out in training camp/preseason action. And we aren't going to dress a 4th corner who provides limited S/T value and would just ride the bench

Much improved vs LY situation, when we rolled into Miami down our entire starting secondary.

Why? Poyer not dressing, it's likely Hamlin as depth and taking Rapp S/T reps. Elam would just ride the bench...he's obviously #4 on the depth chart. You don't bench Lewis, who's a key S/T and likely our top backup safety this week.

I didn't take it like that. But also think Jordan at 80% (just hypothetical) isn't as good as Rapp at 100%-- at least this week, with the speed and dynamic passing attack of Miamis. Depends what type of defensive plan Coach has up his sleeve. If it's a mostly soft/2 deep shell, safety play is even more mitigated/less impactful. Not to downplay Po absence, but this game was likely coming down to our front 4 and ability to limit YAC on defense. And our offense being able to sustain/finish drives.

This is why we signed Rapp, time to see if he can step in and be impactful against a great offense. It wouldn't surprise me, if Cam geta some snaps this week...given the speed on Miami offense.

I like the Lions -2 tonight. They're better team in the trenches, both sides of the ball. And I like Detroits OC, and their style of play. GB has been a bit inconsistent, battling injuries too contributes to that. I've liked them ATS each week, they're 3-0 ATS (Detroit 2-1). But think this is the week that streak finishes.

Any recent news on Von? He's eligible to come off IR after this week's game. Figured some reporter would have asked Coach in the recent days, or should.

Exactly. 1st down: Miami : 7.6 yards per play Buffalo: 4.6 YPP To me it's a big key to "win" 1st down. Either be aggressive or simulate heavy fronts/blitzes. Get them into 2nd and long, and more predictable pass downs.

1st goal should just to get Miami to 3rd down. Miami has been extremely efficient on 1st/2nd downs, they've only ran 29 3rd down plays. Converted 62 1st downs, on first or second down. To make that happen, our front 4 needs to have a big game/limit the run game with a lighter box. If we can't do that, we need to start mixing in 1st down blitzes and get home/get them off schedule. Miami has been very good in the RZ too. So again I think it's getting them into 3rd down situations and put that additional pressure on Tua to convert/their OL to hold up. Limiting those 10+ yard plays is tough against them, but need to find a way of making them play a style they aren't accustomed to.

Bates exited, on the long run by Cook in 4th qtr. I'd guess most of these are maintenance: Hyde, Floyd, Po (and based on how Hyde/Floyd managed practice reps last week). Bates and Neal will be the ones to watch. We have Alec Anderson to step up on OL, but Neal would be a big loss on S/T if he has to miss/but still too early in week. If he had to sit, that'd likely give Elam his path to being active.