MasterStrategist

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.

Bengals literally getting every bounce

I like Eagles -5.5.. Unbelievable Baker/Bics haven't committed a turnover yet...Vikings/Bears defense very bad. Baker usually melts under 4 man pressure, and expect Eagles to get their passing offense back on track. Rams/Bengals, I expect to be very low scoring.

I love videos like this, breaking down the film/angles/reads. Bernard has been extremely impressive. Pre-snap recognition is improving each game. His ability to "read his keys" quickly, or what some call instinctive/mental processing, has been the biggest suprise. He's always been explosive/emotional player, that's what drew Buffalo to draft him. He showed that off in the Sugar Bowl. His emotional leadership is something Tremaine lacked. Not a knock on Maine, some guys just have a natural ability to fill that role. He's continuing to get better each week and generate big plays, similar to Kiko Alonsos early tenure with us. Unlike Kiko, TB appears to be a much better leader/well spoken. MLB was high, if not at the top, on everyone's "weakness" areas coming into the season. It's still early, but after 3 games he's proving a lot of doubters wrong