Which players can the Bills not afford to lose to injury?

[Gugny]

1. Shady

2. Hughes

3. Dareus

4. Watkins

5. Clay

6. Glenn

7. Incognito

[Johnny Hammersticks]

I'd argue Rex's stupid blitz packages and leaving a banged up secondary in man to man hurt us more than a S.

Fair point. But our sheer ineptitude at the safety position didn't help. Watching our safeties last year was flat out painful.

 

Hyde is far from an unknown. He is going to be a major component to this defense and ST IMO. Would be a tough loss.

[JerseyBills]

Yeah? Did you enjoy watching Duke Williams and Jonathan Meeks get tooled on all over the field last year? It was freaking embarrassing. Versatile DB's like Hyde are essential to this defense.

Yeah I LOVED that pickup from day 1, I feel he could turn into a star here. Remember he wasn't a full time starter because GB was loaded at S and had a rotation going on, even with limited playing time Hyde was a playmaker and leader out there, was always in at crucial moments in a game,and his versatility is off the charts. FS, SS , NICKEL CB, PR, KR.

 

I agree with the poster you responded to but he's going to be such an upgrade over what we had last year and he's also a natural leader, going to be the leader of that secondary, and leader of the defense as a whole.

 

He allows the DC to get extra creative because of his versatility. That GB defense is going to miss him big time.

[GunnerBill]

 

Who expected Karlos Williams and Gillisslee to do what they did the last 2 years? Jonathan Williams. please step forward. Let's wait and see what he's got.

I had a ton more faith in them that in Jonathan Williams.

[transplantbillsfan]

Losing the QB hurts more than any other position unless there's a diamond in the rough at backup, obviously.

[simpleman]

Maybe my memory is false, but I remember Karlos and Gillisslee having an immediate positive impact in the game. Williams has been a "blah" and a "oh no" whenever i saw him on the field. I don't remember any "ah ha" moments with him. Just because we were lucky twice in a row does not mean we will be again. Although I'm not saying Gillisslee was a playoff difference maker, he was the worst self inflicted wound for the Bills this off season. There was no reason for losing him other than incompetence. The handling of he and Groy were the height of stupidity by the Bills organization. Horrible gambles that were unneeded. Losing Woods and Gillmore were arguably simply too expensive under the cap to keep. Those two RFA were both easily affordable for a 2nd round bid.

[ROONDOGG55]

It seems it's the Bills luck to have key injuries either before the season or at some point early on in the season which has a significant impact on the Bills playoffs hopes. Last year, it was Reggie Ragland, Shaq Thompson (for most of the year) and Sammy Watkins.

 

Which players can the Bills not afford to lose to injury?

 

My choices are: Tyrod Taylor. If he goes down for significant amount of time, the Bills are toast. Without Taylor, the Bills are a 4-12 team (at best).

LeSean McCoy

Sammy Watkins

This one is hard to nail down, but I'll say more than one injury to the defensive front four. I think they could get away with one player being hurt as it seems like they have good depth at those positions, but any more than that, then there's problems.

Micah Hyde

Based on depth of the roster at each position, I'd have to go with the following:

1. Jerry Hughes - McDermott's defense has the majority of success while rushing the passer, and Hughes is the only pure pass rusher on the roster. If he goes down then we only have Shaq Lawson and Lorenzo Alexander rushing on passing downs. The lack of depth here really scares me.
2. Ronald Darby - We saw what happened to McDermott's defense once Norman left for Washington, and I don't have complete trust in the rookie White, or second year guy Seymour. If Darby goes down, then we have to turn to two unproven players at the second most critical position on the roster.
3. LeSean McCoy - Fortunately Mikey G' helped fill the void in the past, but if Shady goes down this year we will only have one proven running back on the roster, and he is way overweight and several years passed his prime. Jonathan Williams has a lot of promise and luck, but I don't see him providing our running game with the production needed for constant success.

I don't see a need to list QB, S, or WR for the following reasons:

1. We have great depth at QB with two young bucks and a proven backup that can lead a team. I'm not saying either is better than Taylor, but in a run first offense, I believe these guys can step in and continue success at a moderate to successful level.
2. We don't have the most depth here, but McDermott has a knack for developing safeties, and getting the most out of their production. If either starter went down I don't think we would see that large of a negative impact.
3. Again, in a run first offense and watching Sammy miss several games over the past few seasons, I don't think we will see a large drop off in production. Obviously the ball would be spread around more often, and a few more running plays will be added, but I don't believe it would be as detrimental as losing one of the key positions listed above.

Edited July 7, 2017 by ROONDOGG55

[BuffaloHokie13]

1) QB

2) LB

3) S

4) RB

5) TE

6) DE

[Call_Of_Ktulu]

1. Shady

2. Sammy

3. Dareus

4. Glenn

[Kirby Jackson]

We've won 6-9 games with Tyrod, EJ, Thad, Fitz, Trent, & JP. Perhaps we are overestimating how much Tyrod means to this tesam.

 

And even if Tyrod is that important, it might be better if we bottom out. 7-9 has gotten us nowhere.

 

That said. I think Sammy and Dareus would be the biggest losses because they are the best players we have in important positions.

Tyrod is 15-14 as the Bills starter, EJ 6-11, Thad 2-3, Fitz 20-33, Trent 14-18 and JP 10-23. We all know you aren't a Tyrod fan but I don't know how you could say those are the same? If anything this strongly illustrates that point.

 

There isn't a close 2nd to TT and there isn't a close 3rd to Shady. Your record isn't going to be drastically different if you have to plug Groy into LG for a game or 2. That's kind of the point. Maybe it would be different if they drafted a guy early this year. From what I've heard though there is a giant gap from TT to the field (and it widened during OTAs). Obviously it's early but they aren't interchangeable.

Edited July 7, 2017 by Kirby Jackson

[BuffaloHokie13]

Tyrod is 15-14 as the Bills starter, EJ 6-11, Thad 2-3, Fitz 20-33, Trent 14-18 and JP 10-23. We all know you aren't a Tyrod fan but I don't know how you could say those are the same? If anything this strongly illustrates that point.

 

There isn't a close 2nd to TT and there isn't a close 3rd to Shady. Your record isn't going to be drastically different if you have to plug Groy into LG for a game or 2. That's kind of the point. Maybe it would be different if they drafted a guy early this year. From what I've heard though there is a giant gap from TT to the field (and it widened during OTAs). Obviously it's early but they aren't interchangeable.

I know he didn't list him, but Orton was 7-5 haha. Closest to the same success, but not sustained over 1 season, let alone 29 games.

[Kirby Jackson]

I know he didn't list him, but Orton was 7-5 haha. Closest to the same success, but not sustained over 1 season, let alone 29 games.

EJ has 3 starts with the same roster as TT and is 0-3. That's the only other comp. TT is a big step up from the bums that we've had at QB. Orton was probably next (at least since Bledsoe)!!

[Cripple Creek]

Tyrod is 15-14 as the Bills starter, EJ 6-11, Thad 2-3, Fitz 20-33, Trent 14-18 and JP 10-23. We all know you aren't a Tyrod fan but I don't know how you could say those are the same? If anything this strongly illustrates that point.

 

There isn't a close 2nd to TT and there isn't a close 3rd to Shady. Your record isn't going to be drastically different if you have to plug Groy into LG for a game or 2. That's kind of the point. Maybe it would be different if they drafted a guy early this year. From what I've heard though there is a giant gap from TT to the field (and it widened during OTAs). Obviously it's early but they aren't interchangeable.

What an incompetent organization when it comes to the most important position in a major sport in this country. Hopefully we've seen the last of that type of team building.

 

To the question asked by the OP I say meh. How can anyone be too important to be lost to injury on a mediocre team? Sure, if McCoy was lost the wins would go down. I'd argue that would be a net positive going into the next draft with 2 first round picks. As for Taylor I'm certainly not a fan and I feel that there is 0% chance he is part of the eventual rise of the Bills, but, the win total would likely suffer without him.

Edited July 7, 2017 by Cripple Creek

[JohnBonhamRocks]

Top 5:

 

1. Taylor - the drop off from him to Yates is... not good

2. McCoy - bell-cow of the offense and do not want to see Williams as a HB1

3. Hyde - not sold on Poyer and Anderson seems more a special teamer than dependable safety

4. Hughes - okay with Lawson stepping in, but then Davis/Valles mans the other side

5. Watkins - almost did not make list because, like others said, used to his unavailability; still, Jones and Holmes is less than desirable

[Kirby Jackson]

What an incompetent organization when it comes to the most important position in a major sport in this country.

 

To the question asked by the OP I say meh. How can anyone be too important to be lost to injury on a mediocre team? Sure, if McCoy was lost the wins would go down. I'd argue that would be a net positive going into the next draft with 2 first round picks. As for Taylor I'm certainly not a fan and I feel that there is 0% chance he is part of the eventual rise of the Bills, but, the win total would likely suffer without him.

Yeah and again that's a different point. Who are the best players and who can they least afford to lose are different. That's why I used Incognito as an example. He's a great player (one of the Bills top 3 or 4) but if Groy filled in the record wouldn't be terribly different.

 

In general it's like the top 10 of the draft. QB followed by elite skill players, pass rushers and LT. Safety is an exception in the Bills case because they only have 1 NFL starter IMO. Other than that the Bills have some really good players and will have a drop off without them but not that will have a giant impact on the record.

[Scott7975]

I'll have to look it up when I have more time but I believe the Bills have a winning record when shady was out and a losing record when Tyrod was out fyi

[jr1]

I'm still angry about Gillislee. The !@#$ing *kicker* has a 2,6 million cap hit

[BuffaloHokie13]

I'll have to look it up when I have more time but I believe the Bills have a winning record when shady was out and a losing record when Tyrod was out fyi

To be fair, over the past 2 years Tyrod has been the best QB on the team, the 2nd best RB on the team, and if asked to play it he'd probably be the 2nd best WR on the team (especially in a slot type role).

[Buffalo Bills Detective]

Bills guna be Billsy.

 

Very skeptical of McDermott. For a guy who's seen as mr. Attention to detail, he made some head scratching moves.

When you worked in the front office for an NFL team, did you make any "head scratching moves," or did every move you made brilliant from a strategic and financial perspective?

[RyanC883]

If the Bills lost Shady for 16 weeks they could still win 6. If they lost Tyrod for 16 weeks they couldn't win more than 4. If the Bills lost any other player its maybe a game. Shady is the Bills best player but Tyrod is the one that they can least afford to lose.

 

Generally I agree with you, but depending on when TT is lost a backup could take over and perform well-enough. Loosing Shady makes the offense rely on the pass. None of our QB's can gun-sling their way to a win. Shady must stay healthy.