Doug Flutie Band Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 Jairus is good, and is a pro-bowl caliber safety. However, he's just not at the top of the game right now the same way Earl Thomas is. Thomas is playing at a dominant level, not quite to the level of Polamalu or Reed in their prime but he is approaching it. I'd put Thomas and probably Eric Berry ahead of Byrd, and put Weddle along the same level as Byrd. I still think Byrd is a top 5 safety and I hope the Bills resign him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buftex Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 Thanks for the update! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billsfan_34 Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 Earl Thomas has been a beast out there. But his role is a lil different than the other 2 you meantion. I dont think you can compare them. He is having a killer year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCOHEN13 Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 Earl Thomas has been a beast out there. But his role is a lil different than the other 2 you meantion. I dont think you can compare them. He is having a killer year. Doesnt hurt having guys like Sherman as a shutdown CB and Chancellor as his running mate as other Safety Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebandit27 Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 Many of us have said this all along...Byrd is very good; not as good as the best safeties in the game like Thomas, Berry, & Weddle. He's probably on par with guys like Goldson, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
first_and_ten Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 (edited) Thanks for the update! Yes, the update was needed. I had almost forgotten about Byrd. Edited January 12, 2014 by first_and_ten Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjjr Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 Earl Thomas is the best safety in football and a rare talent. Hard to compare him to Byrd. Either way, the Bills need to get Byrd re-signed to a long term deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NishP Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 Lol, hey thanks man! #gobills BTW EJ Manuel is not Tom Brady and Spiller isn't Lynch, Just to clear that up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B-Man Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 BTW EJ Manuel is not Tom Brady and Spiller isn't Lynch, Just to clear that up! The difference being (of course) that their agents are not having them hold out for top three money................................. but keep laughing. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Darin Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 The question is how would each look in the other's defense in the same situations. I'm quite sure Byrd would equate himself quite well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSaint Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 I think the gap is less than someone watching yesterday's game would likely admit. Thomas is a great player on a great defense that played a great game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoloinOhio Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 (edited) Jairus is good, and is a pro-bowl caliber safety. However, he's just not at the top of the game right now the same way Earl Thomas is. Thomas is playing at a dominant level, not quite to the level of Polamalu or Reed in their prime but he is approaching it. I'd put Thomas and probably Eric Berry ahead of Byrd, and put Weddle along the same level as Byrd. I still think Byrd is a top 5 safety and I hope the Bills resign him. IMO, Byrd is better than Weddle. Weddle is like a god in SD but being the 2nd highest paid player on the team (Rivers is highest at 12mill/yr), I think they may like to get out of that but he is extremely popular with the fan base and they are trying to build that back up after a few bad years. All those other safeties are good but sometimes the highest paid is the most recently paid when you are talking top 5 in the league. Whether Thomas is better than Byrd shouldn't impact whether Byrd gets the deal he wants, IMO, because we don't have the option to replace him with Thomas or someone of that caliber. We would need to use Searcy or Duke Williams or draft a guy we have no idea if he will really replace him. Pay the homegrown, proven talent you have. Edited January 12, 2014 by YoloinOhio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuntheDamnBall Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 The question is how would each look in the other's defense in the same situations. I'm quite sure Byrd would equate himself quite well. I agree (acquit?). The Bills' D is building towards something strong, but the Seahawks are already there. Also, they get to play with leads and their running game doesn't put the D back on the field every 3 minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jumbalaya Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 We should be collecting pro-bowl players not discarding them. I agree (acquit?). The Bills' D is building towards something strong, but the Seahawks are already there. Also, they get to play with leads and their running game doesn't put the D back on the field every 3 minutes. Can you image our run game with Fred and Marshawn? Oh wait, we had that and let a pro bowl player go for peanuts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gray Beard Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 The trouble with guys like Polumalu and Ed Reed is that after their first few years they were often hurt. When you play with reckless abandon, you are often throwing your body through the air at full speed to make a play on a guy who is also going full speed. And many times, that other guy is bigger than you. Earl Thomas took a few hits yesterday, and if he continues to play that way he will also start being out of the game with injuries quite often. I don't know how to balance the fact that top safeties play in a way that often gets them hurt, but if they slow down and avoid some of the crazy diving and collision plays, they may not be in the "game changer" category as much, but they can have a longer career with a more reliable level of play. I think this is a big factor for why Byrd is so reluctant to play without a long term deal. Pay the man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boyst Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 (edited) Defensive schemes make the difference. You can argue that Byrd is no Thomas or Fitzpatrick is no Manuel or Dareus is not Wilfork. Schemes make the difference and Byrds skillset is universal. His lack of speed being his only knock he has football smarts, good hands and makes great decisions. His tackling is top notch and his angles are nearly flawless. Those basic things make him stand out among other safeties, including Weddle who often lowers his head and takes bad angles. Berry used to be better at the run stopping but has showed a regression as the scheme changed, as well. He still gets the tackles but I have seen him get swallowed up in traffic and unable to fight through blockers. Byrd does not get gummed up by blockers the same. Polamula however it is spelled is a Strong Safety, so lets not even bother comparing those unless you want to have a lecture on the differences and what we have seen Byrd do in a Tampa2 defense that was better then Polawhatever did as a lone SS. Ed Reed had the benefit of not having to worry about containing outside runs or plugging the middle because he had a solid DL in front of him and Ray Lewis. Reed was given free range and an open task book in the D backfield. Byrd would benefit the same way if we simply stepped up our LB's to not let RB's leak thru, of course this starts at DT. But, I guess you're right. Earl Thomas is no Byrd. edit: Will this board ever freaking learn a Strong Safety is 180degrees different then a Free Safety? Just because they end in safety doesn't mean they're similar! That's like saying a Quarterback and a Halfback are the same because they both have back on the end. ARGGGHH! Edited January 12, 2014 by jboyst62 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoloinOhio Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 Defensive schemes make the difference. You can argue that Byrd is no Thomas or Fitzpatrick is no Manuel or Dareus is not Wilfork. Schemes make the difference and Byrds skillset is universal. His lack of speed being his only knock he has football smarts, good hands and makes great decisions. His tackling is top notch and his angles are nearly flawless. Those basic things make him stand out among other safeties, including Weddle who often lowers his head and takes bad angles. Berry used to be better at the run stopping but has showed a regression as the scheme changed, as well. He still gets the tackles but I have seen him get swallowed up in traffic and unable to fight through blockers. Byrd does not get gummed up by blockers the same. Polamula however it is spelled is a Strong Safety, so lets not even bother comparing those unless you want to have a lecture on the differences and what we have seen Byrd do in a Tampa2 defense that was better then Polawhatever did as a lone SS. Ed Reed had the benefit of not having to worry about containing outside runs or plugging the middle because he had a solid DL in front of him and Ray Lewis. Reed was given free range and an open task book in the D backfield. Byrd would benefit the same way if we simply stepped up our LB's to not let RB's leak thru, of course this starts at DT. But, I guess you're right. Earl Thomas is no Byrd. edit: Will this board ever freaking learn a Strong Safety is 180degrees different then a Free Safety? Just because they end in safety doesn't mean they're similar! That's like saying a Quarterback and a Halfback are the same because they both have back on the end. ARGGGHH! Yes, I agree. People need to stop saying that we can replace Byrd with AW. Just. stop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Flutie Band Posted January 13, 2014 Author Share Posted January 13, 2014 traditional strong safeties are in the process of being phased out similar to the fullback most defenses dont use a run stuffing enforcer safety these days saying they are 180 degrees different is not at all correct in today's NFL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KOKBILLS Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 Doesnt hurt having guys like Sherman as a shutdown CB and Chancellor as his running mate as other Safety That speaks to the team Defense and you're not wrong... Still...The OP is correct...Thomas is the best in the business...I really don't think that speaks ill of Byrd though...Thomas is better than any FS... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KOKBILLS Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 Yes, I agree. People need to stop saying that we can replace Byrd with AW. Just. stop. So...A converted CB who was projected by many Scouts to move to Free Safety in the NFL all of a sudden can't move to Free Safety because he played one year as a SS in a scheme that his DC admits the Safety positions are basically interchangeable? The only reason the Bills did not move Williams to FS is because they already had Byrd who is one of the best in the business...And once they moved him to SS, and Byrd got hurt, they did not want to further confuse the kid by moving him to his 3rd position in two years...Plus Williams was obviously converting well to his new role...Rest assured, if the Bills wanted to, Williams could move to Free Safety and be just fine there... I'd rather have both Byrd and Williams to be honest...But saying Williams cannot move to FS is not correct either...He can...Not sure if it really matters much in Pettine's scheme anyway...But Williams can play FS for just about any team in the NFL...It's a great fit for his skill set... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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