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BigAl2526

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Posts posted by BigAl2526

  1. I think the defensive line has the potential to be much improved.  However rookies can always disappoint.  What I most expect is that Sean McDermott/Leslie Frazier plan to use a heavy rotation on the defensive line.  Moreover, if the play of the rookies allows it, I expect a great deal of moving around in the line.  Jerry Hughes is going to be on one end or another when he's on the field, and Star Lotulelei will be at 1 tech when he's on the field.  Everybody else is subject being moved around.   Harrison Phillips can play either DT spot.  Rousseau and Basham can move in side, if we can believe the early buzz out of OTAs and mini-camp.  Oliver can, and probably will play anywhere, though I expect his play at 1 tech will be greatly reduced this season.  Epenesa can, like the rookies, move inside.  I think Justin Zimmer can probably move around too.  Some of the holdovers, like Mario Addison, are less flexible, and that may mean it'll be harder for them to make the team

  2. 2 hours ago, Allen2Diggs said:

    I think we have a lot of young players that have the potential to break out this season (excluding rookies):

     

    Gabriel Davis 

    AJ Epenesa 

    Tremaine Edmunds (still only 23)

    Devin Singletary 

    Zach Moss 

    Ed Oliver 

    Dawson Knox 

    Cody Ford 

    Dane Jackson 

     

    I hate declaring draft winners/losers the day after because some players take years to develop. If half of these guys progress significantly this season, we will have a great young core to build around for years to come.

    I agree.  Obviously, they are not all going to break out in the upcoming season, but more than one might.  Gabe Davis is still going to have to pick up touches when he can.  He may not get many more chances than last season unless Beasley makes good on his threat to retire over COVID restrictions.  Same thing with Epenesa.  I think he's going to be significantly better, but it looks like McDermott is going to use a heavy rotation.  Tremaine Edmunds may have the biggest opportunity to break out.  The line has a chance to be much better in front of him, and that could open up all sorts of opportunities to make plays.  Singletary and Moss could both be better with a little improvement on the offensive line (a healthy Cody Ford and better depth) but it's still going to be primarily a passing offense, and Matt Brieda is going to take some reps.  Ed Oliver is another player who has a solid chance not only to be better, but to make a splash.  I don't know what the percentages are, but I think a significant percentage of his play in 2021 was at 1 tech, and 1 tech does not lend itself to stats or splash plays.  Ideal, he'll play almost all the time at 3 tech, and maybe even a few times outside as McDermott tries to change things up.  The pressure is Knox and Ford to live up to their potential.  For Dane Jackson, it is a matter of beating out Levi Wallace and Rashad Wildgoose for the starting spot across from Tre White.

  3. 20 hours ago, PatsFanNH said:

    Allen is a known commodity, plain and simple we know he is good and will be top 5 in the league.  Jones all we have is what talking heads say and his game tapes.  Yes he was surrounded by talent but he had the smarts step up in the pocket and he read Defenses well and delivered the ball on target and on time, he also broke NCAA record for accuracy.  We won’t know if he be a boom or bust till he plays in the NFL.

     

    I think BB brought back Cam for a few reasons.  First being that no QB was left at 15 and we ended up with the second tier QBs who definitely wouldn’t be ready to year 2. Second to give Jones time to learn the playbook and get use to NFL game speed.  I wouldn’t be surprised if Jones sat the year even if Cam stinks  because another high draft picks give us hopefully a #1 WR for him to throw to. 

    I think Mac Jones is pretty smart.  As you say, we really don't know a whole lot.  One thing we do know is that college performance is an unreliable predictor of pro performance.  Sometimes things carry over and sometimes they don't.  Some people may remember a college QB who came out with a simply remarkable stat with regard to TDs and interceptions.  I don't remember the exact numbers, but he threw an astounding number of TDs and had almost no interceptions.  His name was Geno Smith.  People may recall the crash and burn he experienced with the Jets.

  4. Interesting thread.  Mahomes vs Allen is a very small gap IMO.  Defensive line and tight end were bigger.  Coaching is hard to compare since Reid is an offensive guy and McDermott a defensive guy.  I have to give Reid all kinds of props because he has never been confined by his West Coast coaching roots.  When the Chiefs drafted Mahomes, he wholeheartedly endorsed and incorporated a bunch of college read option stuff that Mahomes was familiar with.  McDermott is pretty adaptive on the defensive side however.  He is known for his ability to disguise coverage and confuse QBs.  I'm particular, he has used the abilities of Hyde and Poyer to coordinate and play off each other to great advantage.  He's never had a true big nickel in Buffalo, for which he was known in Carolina, but that has not stopped him from building a formidable defense.   Personally, I think he's drooling over the possibilities that Rousseau and Basham give him on the defensive line.

     

    I do think Brian Daboll was a brilliant hire by McDermott.  He's a lot newer in his coaching career than Reid, of course, but he has some of Reid's adaptability to him.  He's from the Belichick coaching tree and the Erhardt-Perkins offensive system.  That system originated with a smash mouth style of offense, but also lends itself to significant adaptation.  It was used in New England, of course, with Brady throwing timing passes all over the field.  Daboll has adapted it to Josh Allen's strengths, and like Reid has incorporated a lot of read-option stuff from college.  

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  5. I don't think he will regress.  I think he will get a little better at the mental aspect of playing QB.  He may improve in his anticipation on certain throws that he worked on this offseason.  That may not result in a big statistical leap since he had pretty lofty stats as it is.  If Buffalo rediscovers the running game for certain situations, that will make it even harder for Allen to have stats that are a lot better.  I don't think Buffalo would ever abandon their potent passing offense, but even a slight shift in the offensive balance could make it hard for Josh to have stats that are a lot better.

  6. 4 hours ago, Simon said:

    He already has.

    He was the best player on the Bills defensive front last year and it wasn't really close.

    Still, having to play a lot of 1 tech limited the things he could do to be disruptive.  If Star and Harrison can share most of the 1 tech work, it will free Oliver to do the kind of stuff that generates more stats and attention.

  7. On 6/18/2021 at 11:52 AM, Virgil said:

    Year 3 of any NFL players career is when GM's expect the light switch to turn on and see what kind of Pro they can become.  We saw it in the best possible way with Josh Allen and have some pretty big position players this year as well.  In my opinion, these players are all fighting for their new contracts this year or could see their replacements drafted soon.  With that, what would you need to see from the following players to justify their 5th year option (Oliver only) or a contract extension next off-season.

     

    Ed Oliver (5th year option) - I need to see him deliver on sacks. I'm tired of the pressure ratings and everything else.  If Star and Phillips are both healthy and doing theirs jobs, AND the edge rushers demand attention, Oliver needs to be a difference maker.  I want to see at least 6 sacks and many more pressures.  I want to hear about him commanding double teams.  For a #9 overall pick and the money he would get in that 5th year, I need to see more.  I personally don't think it will happen and his 5th year won't get picked up

     

    Cody Ford - Ford has to take firm ownership of the LG position and stay healthy this year if he wants to get paid.  With how they've drafted and how they played without him, I think he has an uphill battle, but I do believe he can be re-signed fairly cheap, so I could see him staying on with us


    Devin Singletary - I think Singletary puts up about 500 yards, but in splitting carries with Moss and Breida, I don't think he'll be able to take command of the group.  Singletary will play out his 4 years and most likely be gone, or stay on a cheap deal.

     

    Dawson Knox - Besides Oliver, Knox is the second most watched player for me this offseason.  All he has to do is show reliable hands on the easy catches and I think he'll earn an extension.  In this offense however, I don't see him commanding enough balls to get the stats that would get him highly paid, nor have other teams fight us for him.  I believe his strong relationship with Josh will help him (unlike it did Smoke), and he does enough to get a new deal.

     

    Thoughts?

    Oliver was stuck playing 1 tech a good share of the time last season, but you're right of course.  He needs to start showing up on the stat sheet.  II don't expect he'll be taking many reps at 1 tech this season with Phillips healthy finally and Lotulelei back.

     

    Ford can't be blamed for a lost season (to injury).  I expect he will be better than Boettger, but I'd like to see a lot better.

     

    The Bills, as you suggest, will have Singletary split carries.  They have decided to go with a committee approach.  What I want to see is a little more variety when they do run the ball, and fewer occasions where they get stuffed.  Some of that is on the offensive line.   Brieda's speed will help the outside run game, which was awful last season.

     

    I agree that Knox mainly needs to be more consistent.  I think, however, that Buffalo expects Hollister to have a pretty significant role this season too.  It's going to be something of a committee approach at TE too.

  8. 9 hours ago, RochesterLifer said:

    I never lost faith in our D last year, understanding that many of our most important players (Tre, Milano and Edmunds) were out or playing injured. That being said, the thought of this D once again becoming destructive is very exciting.

    This sounds as if the defensive line will be quite different, not just personnel wise, but also the things they do.  Of course, they probably didn't have the personnel they needed last season to do what they are envisioning this season.  

  9. I have seen media headlines suggesting "Cam Newton is back."  I also note that Josh Allen's last practice of mine-camp was pretty bad.  I don't put much weight on any of that, but neither do I put much weight on a 22 second video clip of a Patriots' practice.

  10. 2 minutes ago, Capco said:

     

    I think it's also worth pointing out that science is falsifiable (particularly the hard sciences but also the social ones).  Scientists and experts are constantly challenging the claims of others in their fields.  The entire peer-review process and the scientific method is centered around that.  Accountability is built into the system itself. 

     

    In fact, scientists love being wrong when new information becomes available that invalidates something prior, because it means they have expanded our knowledge about the universe.  

     

    That's another reason why I have so much faith in the expertise of others.  A true expert is never satisfied with the status quo and always pushing the limits of what we know.  

    Questioning previous conclusions and doing new research is different from just throwing out the available science because you don't like it.

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  11. 14 hours ago, cantankerous said:

    Healthy people don’t need vaccinated from a virus that doesn’t really make them sick. These are professional athletes in great physical condition. They don’t need the vaccine. You can still acquire and spread the virus even if vaccinated. 🙄All of these restrictions make no sense. Anyone with common sense knows that. 

    A healthy Tommy Sweeney got Myocarditis as a complication of COVID and couldn't even exercise for months.  It is not just about your own health, it is about the health of those you come in contact with.  A widespread infection rate increases the likelihood of new and nastier variants developing, like t he Delta variant from India.  And getting vaccinated reduces to almost zero the chances of you spreading the virus to others.  I'll refrain from comments about common sense, but you are wrong in virtually every point you attempted to make. 

    Here's a link to check out on vaccinated people spreading the COVID virus.  Spoiler alert:  They don't.

     

    Do people vaccinated against COVID shed coronavirus to others? | Miami Herald

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  12. 14 hours ago, KennyDavisEyes said:

    I appreciate your thoughtfulness
     

    What about folks w antibodies?  Many 20 & 30 somethings have already had the disease and have recovered.

     

    Perhaps Cole & other Buffalo Bills got infected after the season.

    Getting COVID may give you some protection against the  Delta variant, but percentages are not available on the internet and it may not have been studied.  We know the vaccines are effective against the Delta variant. especially the two shot vaccines (if you get both shots).  Persons with two shots of the Pfizer vaccine are 88% protected.

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  13. I do not understand the rationale of players like Beasley choosing not to get vaccinated.  It runs counter to medical science  and concern for the good of the community.  There are so many good reasons to get vaccinated and the reasons most people have for not getting vaccinated seem cockeyed to say the least.  As some have stated, yes, he has a right to not get the shot, but conversely, the league and society has the right to protect themselves from persons who choose to remain unvaccinated.  I'll be sorry if the team has to move on from him (not that they would cut him, but he could exercise his option to retire) because he's a good slot receiver, but unfortunate things happen occasionally.

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