Alphadawg7 Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 In his pre-injury years, Merriman averaged about 13 sacks a year. Over the past three years, he's averaged about 1. So let's split the difference and say he gets 7 this year. I'm okay with that - especially because M. Williams ought to get 10+ and Anderson will push double-digits. Kelsay will get a few. Both K.Williams and M.Dareus are capable of 5+. And then the LBs and DBs may contribute a few more. If all these guys are healthy, what kind of blocking scheme can account for all of them? You can't double-team everybody. The Bleacher Report article, btw, was amateurishly written but I love the author's enthusiasm and the Dennis Hopper/Bruce Smith reference to close it out. Actually, Kyle and Dareus should not be getting 5+ sacks...typically DL guys who get 5+ sacks play on teams with no outside pass rush. Our inside guys should be tying up blockers, pushing the pocket, and stuffing the run. Our outside guys should feast on QB's simply because they cant play Kyle and Dareus one on one all game, they are too good and too strong. I think 6 to 8 sacks combined between those 2 is what we will see with our outside guys in double digits and some good sacks from our LB's and DB's on blitzes. This D has the making to be ridiculous this year. The biggest wild card is our secondary. If our young guys can step in and hold their own in coverage this year, which buys time for the guys up front to get to the QB, then watch out. If our young guys struggle in coverage, then it will limit the effectiveness of our front 7 especially against guys like Brady who get rid of the ball fast. All and all, I havent been this excited about a Bills team in a long long time. Now we just need Fitz to make a leap forward finally and we will be a very dangerous and balanced team. Working on his mechanics is a big step towards that, so I am even excited to see what he can do this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jack Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 HELL NO it wasn't I put it in there from the get go knowing how people feel about VR ... just your facts straight I do have my facts straight since I'm the one that added it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eball Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 Actually, Kyle and Dareus should not be getting 5+ sacks...typically DL guys who get 5+ sacks play on teams with no outside pass rush. Our inside guys should be tying up blockers, pushing the pocket, and stuffing the run. Our outside guys should feast on QB's simply because they cant play Kyle and Dareus one on one all game, they are too good and too strong. I think 6 to 8 sacks combined between those 2 is what we will see with our outside guys in double digits and some good sacks from our LB's and DB's on blitzes. This D has the making to be ridiculous this year. The biggest wild card is our secondary. If our young guys can step in and hold their own in coverage this year, which buys time for the guys up front to get to the QB, then watch out. If our young guys struggle in coverage, then it will limit the effectiveness of our front 7 especially against guys like Brady who get rid of the ball fast. All and all, I havent been this excited about a Bills team in a long long time. Now we just need Fitz to make a leap forward finally and we will be a very dangerous and balanced team. Working on his mechanics is a big step towards that, so I am even excited to see what he can do this year. Not if you ask Wanny, they shouldn't. There's even an article on bb.com today about the DTs getting a little more "trim" so they can run around and make plays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSaint Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 Good grief, enough with the BR bashing. It is what it is. A fan site for fans. Some stories are good, others bad. We serious fans don't have enough "real" news sites to satisfy our cravings. So Bleacher serves a purpose. I read it several times a week. It shouldn't be the pariah it is on this board. Is it really worse than the AFC East blog on ESPN? No need to apologize for posting a BR story, if it's a good one. is it really that hard to just type out your opinion though, without using a BR link? I dont want to go look at a slideshow thats 20 pages just to find out some basic info and its no more reliable than linking random posts on here to prove a point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eball Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 Good grief, enough with the BR bashing. It is what it is. A fan site for fans. Some stories are good, others bad. We serious fans don't have enough "real" news sites to satisfy our cravings. So Bleacher serves a purpose. I read it several times a week. But isn't that the whole point? We're already ON a message board, and folks can post their opinions. If I want to read fans' opinions on another message board, I'll visit that board -- I don't need somebody posting links to it on THIS board, particularly when they make it seem as though it's material from someone with any more credibility than anyone here. It shouldn't be the pariah it is on this board. Is it really worse than the AFC East blog on ESPN? No need to apologize for posting a BR story, if it's a good one. Umm, yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivermont Mike Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 I think the optimistic thing here is that Merriman's not being relied on. We now have enough other talent that, if they all remain reasonably healthy (expect a few games lost here and there), they should be pretty good - and possibly even scary. Love the reference to that old Dennis Hopper commercial. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just in Atlanta Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 But isn't that the whole point? We're already ON a message board, and folks can post their opinions. If I want to read fans' opinions on another message board, I'll visit that board -- I don't need somebody posting links to it on THIS board, particularly when they make it seem as though it's material from someone with any more credibility than anyone here. Umm, yes. The ESPN blog is mostly one guy's opinion. Rarely does he have exclusive insight, or interviews with news makers. That doesn't mean I don't read him. But it's a blog, and I don't see it as much better than BR. As for BR being akin to this board, it's not. It's semi professional. Hardly a fan boy of it, but the hard-lined attitude toward the site is kind of silly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSaint Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 (edited) The ESPN blog is mostly one guy's opinion. Rarely does he have exclusive insight, or interviews with news makers. That doesn't mean I don't read him. But it's a blog, and I don't see it as much better than BR. As for BR being akin to this board, it's not. It's semi professional. Hardly a fan boy of it, but the hard-lined attitude toward the site is kind of silly. right, but an espn blog has access to a lot of insights daily that the 18 year old on bleacher does not. even if opinion, it is ideally a more educated opinion. further - many think the bleacher link ads credibility to their posts. it does not. just post what your thinking, and back it up with why you think it, and we all come out ahead on this board. no need to send us elsewhere to prove its right, if the destination is only minimally reliable to begin with. further, the slideshow format is just plain offensive. the number of clicks i have to go through to get semi-accurate, and semi-insightful information just isnt worth it to me, or a lot of others. last up - most fans dont know what it actually is. so when you say it is what it is - when linked on this board, for a lot of people thats not what it is. Edited June 5, 2012 by NoSaint Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buftex Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 Good grief, enough with the BR bashing. It is what it is. A fan site for fans. Some stories are good, others bad. We serious fans don't have enough "real" news sites to satisfy our cravings. So Bleacher serves a purpose. I read it several times a week. It shouldn't be the pariah it is on this board. Is it really worse than the AFC East blog on ESPN? No need to apologize for posting a BR story, if it's a good one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just in Atlanta Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 right, but an espn blog has access to a lot of insights daily that the 18 year old on bleacher does not. even if opinion, it is ideally a more educated opinion. further - many think the bleacher link ads credibility to their posts. it does not. just post what your thinking, and back it up with why you think it, and we all come out ahead on this board. no need to send us elsewhere to prove its right, if the destination is only minimally reliable to begin with. further, the slideshow format is just plain offensive. the number of clicks i have to go through to get semi-accurate, and semi-insightful information just isnt worth it to me, or a lot of others. last up - most fans dont know what it actually is. so when you say it is what it is - when linked on this board, for a lot of people thats not what it is. Like I said, I'm not saying it's great. I'm simply saying it's mega silly to have such a hard-lined stance against it. When I was a rookie reporter, my stories, by the logic exuded on this board, were more credible than a subject-matter expert non journalist writing about the issues I wrote about. Having recently read some of my stuff from back in the day, I can assure you that is not the case. I can also say that recent stuff I've written as a non professional journalist were better than some stories from "real" reporters. For the record, I think the insight provided on this board is far, far better than the insight provided by most professional news organizations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSaint Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 (edited) Like I said, I'm not saying it's great. I'm simply saying it's mega silly to have such a hard-lined stance against it. When I was a rookie reporter, my stories, by the logic exuded on this board, were more credible than a subject-matter expert non journalist writing about the issues I wrote about. Having recently read some of my stuff from back in the day, I can assure you that is not the case. I can also say that recent stuff I've written as a non professional journalist were better than some stories from "real" reporters. For the record, I think the insight provided on this board is far, far better than the insight provided by most professional news organizations. getting to the issue with using it as a link to start a thread: 1)I dont want to go read it for personal reasons (format, accuracy issues ive found, etc...), and many here agree with that take. using sourcing that people dont want to read never leads to good conversation. 2)People generally dont understand what it is. fans and amateurs with often times questionable sourcing and readers that think its much more professional can cause problems. When it comes to using it as a jumping off point it causes some issues with the thread and subsequent conversation. When someone "reports" on bleacher that the bills are interested in trading for XXXXX player, and think that this is insider info, instead of message board speculation - that is no fun. when they post "i agree with this take...." and then dont outline it and we have to click through 20 slides to find out if its reasonable (because we cannot assume so just from the fact that its a link) it is also frustrating. thats not to say nothing interesting has ever been posted there. but i think theres precious little there that goes beyond fan speculation, and if thats the case you may as well speculate without the link in the first place. if you want to read it, go for it. I dont think its an appropriate link for starting a thread though. Edited June 5, 2012 by NoSaint Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts