Cynical Posted July 8, 2012 Share Posted July 8, 2012 Still will have to see Merriman be anything near what he was to be convinced he can produce though... he WAS released by SD and his 2 years thus far in Blo have been underwhelming to say the least. but lets hope for the best. This is something we can both agree on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tcali Posted July 8, 2012 Share Posted July 8, 2012 Barnett is a quality NFL LB in anyone's book, and we would have been 45th in a 32-team league without him last year. Of course, you must have much better credentials and be in a much better position to evaluate NFL talent than Barnett, Wannstache, or Chix since they all seem to think Shep will be good, potentially on an upward trajectory to great. Mind sharing what these credentials might be? Morrison can play in the NFL, it remains to be seen if he can play outside in a 4-3. Scott is decent. There is no reason to believe Merriman would be better as an OLB in a 4-3. His skills are better suited to playing end in a 4-3, which is of course why Gailey has him penciled in as playing there. He should NOT be dropping back into coverage. Somehow "stinks" and "awful" seems a little over the top to describe Barnett-Sheppard-Morrison playing behind the DL we will have. Why not wait until a few snaps and see how they shake down? I think most of the people on this board can claim better credentials on how to run a team than the bills brass has had given the bills stellar record. I am not putting down Wanny or esp NIX. Nix did an amazing job this offseason.they got what they could. Its just that our LB core STUNK last year. And yes--if you noticed the post above--I did say that barnett was a legit starting LB. Its just that he was the only one on the team.thats not good. AND i complimented wanny for having the wisdom to change to a 4-3---emphasizing our D line strength and de-emphasizing our 'shaky' LB core. AND--I left open hope that Merriman will recover somewhat--and that we may get lucky with some of our mid round picks. I mentioned nothing about merriman being better in a 4-3. So cool your jets and go easy on the silly old bromide of.."oh so you are a bigger expert than the professionals crap" This is a discussion board about a kids game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boyst Posted July 8, 2012 Share Posted July 8, 2012 Oh, now I get it. Your credentials are that you saw bad LB play on a 3-4 out of Kelsay-Shep-Barnett-Johnson, therefore you feel Shep and Barnett must stink and since Morrison didn't play much on 3-4 behind them he must stink too. Stink by inference. Very persuasive. Morrison is such a likeable guy, too. I cannot believe everyone is so down on him when we have barely seen him play. The guy is not going to be All-Pro player of year but the guy is going to be a starter and show that he is capable of playing. I, myself, have barely seen him play and read more then seen. I look forward to preseason and think we all should hold off in judging him until after preseason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3rdand12 Posted July 8, 2012 Share Posted July 8, 2012 Morison has some very good stats before he got pushed out. And he did not play much last year to get Shepp the reps. The naysaers will be heart broken about him. The reason we are going back to 3-4 is not for the players. Simply enough it's what Wannstadt does best. Last year is no metric for our linebackers excepting Barnett. who was an f'n beast and everywhere. The whole roll out for a 3-4 was poorly executed and a major mistake. We have by now admitted just that. get on board already because the train is leaving. idjits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Webster Guy Posted July 8, 2012 Share Posted July 8, 2012 Merriman IS a better DE than M. Anderson..............and that's to take nothing away from Anderson............he's pretty darn good. I think Anderson will be the starting RDE because that is his only true position. Merriman can be used in a variety of ways.........and likely will be. You're basing that on Merriman in his prime dude. He's not better if he can't play because he's hurt, in that case he's way worse than Anderson because he's taking up a roster spot and not helping the team win. Also, Chan has said they think Anderson can do more than be just a specialist pass rush guy and I'm sorry but you seem to be the only one that thinks Merriman can be any more than that. He's not fast enough to be a 4-3OLB, not even close. Merriman himself would agree with this, and Wanny certainly would too. Situational pass rushers are tricky things to have because you can't always get them in when you want to. Picture Brady in 2nd and 7 and he's running the no huddle, they try a run, we stop them at the line. Now you have a 3rd and long passing situation, and they know we have Merriman fresh on the sideline waiting to get in there (assuming he's healthy and playing well....) he's going to immediately line up and prevent the substitution, take his time and call the play at the line that he wants to play based on the coverage etc. Unless we are willing to call a timeout, we are stuck with the personnel from the previous play. Good offenses in the NFL almost never allow substitutions on those 3rd and long plays. Fitz is good at keeping the defenses from changing up on us, and so are lots of other teams. It's not just to keep the situational pass rushers off the field, its to keep dbacks and other guys from changing too. Thats why having a good base package is such a key in the NFL. Versatile guys are more valuable than specialty guys by a long way. I think Wanny would say if he can get Merriman in for a third of the pass plays (12 to 15 rushes) then he's doing well. Anderson and Kelsay would handle the rest of the DE work, spelling Mario on the other side where necessary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOUSE Posted July 8, 2012 Share Posted July 8, 2012 I can't imagine Buffalo's defense with a healthy Shawn Merrimen. This could be the Top NFL Defense of 2012. Pretty exciting stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted July 8, 2012 Share Posted July 8, 2012 You're basing that on Merriman in his prime dude. He's not better if he can't play because he's hurt, in that case he's way worse than Anderson because he's taking up a roster spot and not helping the team win. Also, Chan has said they think Anderson can do more than be just a specialist pass rush guy and I'm sorry but you seem to be the only one that thinks Merriman can be any more than that. He's not fast enough to be a 4-3OLB, not even close. Merriman himself would agree with this, and Wanny certainly would too. Situational pass rushers are tricky things to have because you can't always get them in when you want to. Picture Brady in 2nd and 7 and he's running the no huddle, they try a run, we stop them at the line. Now you have a 3rd and long passing situation, and they know we have Merriman fresh on the sideline waiting to get in there (assuming he's healthy and playing well....) he's going to immediately line up and prevent the substitution, take his time and call the play at the line that he wants to play based on the coverage etc. Unless we are willing to call a timeout, we are stuck with the personnel from the previous play. Good offenses in the NFL almost never allow substitutions on those 3rd and long plays. Fitz is good at keeping the defenses from changing up on us, and so are lots of other teams. It's not just to keep the situational pass rushers off the field, its to keep dbacks and other guys from changing too. Thats why having a good base package is such a key in the NFL. Versatile guys are more valuable than specialty guys by a long way. I think Wanny would say if he can get Merriman in for a third of the pass plays (12 to 15 rushes) then he's doing well. Anderson and Kelsay would handle the rest of the DE work, spelling Mario on the other side where necessary. No doubt the hurry-up, no-huddle puts pressure on the defense and prevents them from getting their sub packages on the field. Against NE we'll be starting in a sub package anyway. If Brady wants to get away from his base offense, they'll have to substitute as well. If Merriman is healthy and back to 100%, he'll be a starter and he'll be on the field on first downs. While that's way too much to ask until we all know for sure, I can't see a healthy Merriman sitting behind anyone. Nor can I see Wanny making a specialist out of a guy who's too good NOT to play every down. GO BILLS!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOUSE Posted July 8, 2012 Share Posted July 8, 2012 (edited) No doubt the hurry-up, no-huddle puts pressure on the defense and prevents them from getting their sub packages on the field. Against NE we'll be starting in a sub package anyway. If Brady wants to get away from his base offense, they'll have to substitute as well. If Merriman is healthy and back to 100%, he'll be a starter and he'll be on the field on first downs. While that's way too much to ask until we all know for sure, I can't see a healthy Merriman sitting behind anyone. Nor can I see Wanny making a specialist out of a guy who's too good NOT to play every down. GO BILLS!!! You make some great points. I believe a healthy Shawne Merrimen is almost as good as Mario Williams,maybe equal 2 of the biggest studs in the NFL on one defense & lets not forget about Marcel Dareus and Kyle Williams. All of these guys can be ALL-PRO Edited July 8, 2012 by HOUSE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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