Beck Water

Actually.... didn't McGovern come here with the rep of being a talented run blocker but not so good in pass pro? And Morse can be a very effective run blocker, just not in the smash-mouth toss the nose tackle two yards back style.

Wait I missed this. Where did this info come from?

No it's a thing. A Good Thing, actually, for the guys who go on it.

Evidence? We don't need no stinkin' evidence. We'll take a couple scrap comments and some internet dude trying to be someone and puff it all up. I think part of the issue is Josh no longer has the same experienced cast of characters around him helping him assess what defenses are doing from the viewpoint of what he sees and what he needs to key on vs. X's and O's. Ken Dorsey is too busy trying to design the offense, instead of Case Keenum and Matt Barkley he has his buddy "the Other Allen" and some PS kid, and what evidence do we really have that Joe Brady is up to the job'? I feel as though KC has more of a run game though with Pacheco

Some of this seems to be internally contradictory as well as contradicting some previous pieces they did. I'd love to hear comments on someone I trust a bit more to decode plays and defenses than I trust Cover1 right now, on point 4). My impression, and I could be wrong, is that Dorsey tends to design plays that incorporate routes that will work against different defenses - so there's usually a man-beater play and a cover 2 beater etc. The problem is, we don't necessarily have the skill players who will consistently get open on the different choices.

Allen is capable of going through his reads. I think how he plays at times, where he looks and his choices, are a mystery to everyone outside the Bills who are covering football because it's NOT that he hasn't shown himself capable of progressing through his reads and hitting the open guy at times. Others have pointed out that Allen threw the pick to Gabe on the next play, so it's not like he "lost all faith in Gabe and doesn't look his way anymore". If you're correct that Josh thought the "game was almost over" down 14-7 in the 2nd Q, then he has the mental toughness of a loofah and should retire to play golf. I'm not saying that's what Josh was actually thinking, but I'm not kidding. Championship-winning QB don't think like that. Look, successful offensive coordinators stretch the field horizontally and vertically. You can't blame it on Dorsey for "giving him those plays" that do what an OC is supposed to do. Were there open players and plays to be had? There were. Then it's on Josh for not taking advantage of them. Air Raid is damned straight that Josh has warts right now, and somebody better get the liquid nitrogen and burn a few of them off.

You're correct that Simms was not a good NFL QB, but you realize that with his limited physical skills, there's probably a different reason he stayed in the league 7 years - that reason being his knowledge of football and football smarts? He was also a coaching assistant for the Patriots in 2012. Peak Belicheck wasn't noted for bringing in dumb football minds. I would say this take shows you aren't one of the brightest people covering football on this board, but I actually think you just like to post bad takes to ***** stir.

This may be truth.

Wasn’t it two sacks on one drive? Then there’s missing the sideline and stepping out on the 2 point conversion play

I think it’s only ‘Billsy” if they lose in the end. They sucked it up and won at the end so…

Indeed. Plus, sometimes he looked to me like he has no pocket sense at all (which is cray cray because wasn’t he known for that when he came out?)

They found a way to choke on the two goal line plays that were short. Yowza.

Wow, what a totally F up this Cowboys/Eagles game was, by both squads. The Eagles got the W at the end, but by no fault of their own until the very last play (that was good coverage)

Thinking now. I guess I haven’t seen him getting pushed back, but I definitely haven’t seen him getting push when I’ve noticed him, either. *zing!* i deserved that. 👿 But nah. I was on the board something like 4 years before I even started posting. Once I started though…

Settle clearly grades out better with the Bills than Poona Ford. I dunno, am I a loudmouth now? I’d like to think I’m more rational and that I know what I don’t know. There are plays where I don’t see him so maybe he was doing what’s expected, but when he did draw my attention he was getting entirely walled off from the play and getting 0 push. I was disappointed because I thought he showed flashes when he got a chance in Washington and I had high hopes he’d break out here. He didn’t start. He came in for the starter after he left with concussion. And, he literally IS a rocket scientist.

I also thought Poona played better than Settle at least, last week. As far as “only ST” it’s not a matter of “trust” and “process”, it’s a matter of knowing the playcalls and his assignment. We all know that if there’s a whopping bust in assignment leading to a big play for the Bengals, everyone will be “why did they throw him in the game on 2 days prep?” I’m not saying Douglas will or won’t play ST, I’m saying that his playing or not playing can and should be based on how much of the defense he’s been able to absorb

Um....

Yeah.

My question

I don't know about NFLN, but the Bills PR Twitter says he was "elevated from the practice squad", which usually means the Bills are taking advantage of one of his 3 free elevations and he will revert back to the PS after the game. I don't see anything anywhere else about signing him to the active roster. The Bills website shows Rasul Douglas and Linval Joseph on the roster, and Norman on the practice squad. Douglas and Joseph took the spots opened by Knox and Elam going on IR, so the Bills would have to cut someone to sign Norman, and that hasn't been announced. I think NFLN is maybe just using a shorthand or else, they got it wrong. We don't know if Douglas is playing tonight. My guess is that it depends upon Benford's hammy as well as how quickly he's vacuumed up the playbook. It's possible the Bills elevated Norman as a precaution in case when it came to gametime, Benford couldn't go, but my guess is Douglas won't be active and Norman will be asked to back-fill Cam Lewis and Klein's ST snaps with Klein declared out and Lewis the primary backup CB. But I think Norman was elevated primarily for ST. Agree on Norman. Respect for his ST play last week. "We will probably just shelf him until it's too late to even matter"

Again, this at core is another hyperbolic way of saying "I just really don't like Dodson" but I'll take it on because one aspect interests me. Dodson's first year on the roster was 2020, so this is his 4th year. He's always been behind Tremaine Edmunds (1st round pick and $8M free agent) and Matt Milano (Guided Missile gaining recognition as one of the best in the league before injury). So he's a backup. News flash, if backups were starter quality, they'd likely be starting somewhere else. He was beaten out by AJ Klein, the savvy vet steeped in McDermott's defense, in 2020. Also fair point. That doesn't mean he "never makes plays, can't run, isn't helpful against the run or pass truthfully" or that "he has been beaten out by almost every LB on the roster since the day he's been here". In his time here he has beaten out by players on the roster for 1 or more games (not counting camp and preseason guys) 2020 Andre Smith (7th round), Del'Shawn Phillips (UDFA), Darron Lee (1st), Deon Lacy (UDFA). He also starts ahead of Tyler Matakevich, who is here as ST. 2021 Joe Giles-Harris (UDFA) and still, Tyler Matakevich, who is here as ST. 2022 Baylon Spector, Terrel Bernard (Bernard started the Jets game and flamed out, Dodson then got snaps at Minnesota Cleveland and Detroit) And that's not counting the guys who never made it out of training camp or off the practice squad. Guys who can't run can't hit and never make plays can't play ST either. They'd be replaced by STers who can run, can hit, and can tackle. In his start against Pittsburgh last season, Dodson had 11 tackles. Start against Cleveland, 13. Not too shabby for a guy who can't run, hit, and never makes plays. It's fine to prefer the guy with athletic upside and potential over the known factor who isn't long-term starter quality, but in the exaggerated form you're making your point, it's a bad take. I'd love it if the coaches saw Williams as at a point where he can play himself into improvement, but they don't. You're not alone; it's a TBD tradition to anoint a whipping boy and start banging the drum for a rookie who's on the depth chart behind him. Next step is imputations of some broad-sweeping policy (McDermott won't play rookies even if they're clearly better in every way) or some conspiracy type theory. There's always a handful who get all "I'm 100% smarter than our stupid coaches who get paid the big bucks to evaluate and train up football players". Congratulations on joining that crowd and I'll leave you to it.

I can agree with that. The point I want to put out there is, while Josh rightly gets credit when he makes splendid, improvisational, "2 guys in the league could make that throw" plays....the OC does not always deserve blame for "not scheming open alternatives". Sometimes Josh is going off-schedule because he has to. Sometimes he's not, there is an easier play he could make within the design of the play. I would guesstimate it at 2/3 but that's totally a SWAG

Dude, at this point you're essentially repeating "I don't like Dodson, Dodson bad" multiple times with no rationale to back it up. And clearly nothing anyone could present in the way of actual analysis would persuade you. So, have fun with that!

There are different levels of "growing pains", though. There's "guy gets it 90% of the time and makes mistakes/whiffs 10%" and maybe you live with that. Then there's "you can see the wheels spinning and sometimes, the hamster is dead, and the wheel's still spinning, and he's chasing the play habitually". At that latter point, you not only hamstring your own D, you potentially destroy the player's confidence in himself and set him back. Belicheck made him dance. I can't tell where Williams is there, but the coaches who watch film with him and see him in practice know. Contrary to what some posters here believe, McDermott doesn't have any blanket prejudice against rookies where he won't play them even though they're marvelous. I thought Bernard sucked because of how bad he looked vs the Jets last season, and then he never got back on the field. I was "uh-oh, waste of a pick". I'm not the only one either. Turns out, Beane and McDermott knew something. So I'm not going to quarrel with however they decide to use Williams. As an MLB, he was clearly struggling mentally and getting sucked into play action, but he can thump as a tackler, and right now he and Bernard have about the same % of missed tackles. That's all I'll say, as I don't want to do "famous last words" @HappyDays said the Bills were doing medical work on Suh and someone else as DTs, but now that Joseph has been signed I expect that's been dropped. People are always wanting to keep adding at one or another position, but they don't necessarily figure out who to cut or how to keep balance on the roster. Example, a couple weeks ago someone wanted to add Isabella to the active roster and cut Poona Ford. Now we need Poona Ford.

Yeah, I agree, Poyer playing deep would highlight any decrease in speed/range, and I've had the thought that lining up closer to the LOS may help him maximize what he's got left. But Boyst is right it also physically punishes and takes a toll on the body - something Poyer has never shied away from. May you be right!