Johnny Hammersticks Posted July 10, 2017 Share Posted July 10, 2017 Sam: Ragland/Lorax Mike: P. Brown/Ragland Will: Hughes/Humber Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted July 10, 2017 Share Posted July 10, 2017 Sam: Ragland/Lorax Mike: P. Brown/Ragland Will: Hughes/Humber Hughes is playing DE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Hammersticks Posted July 10, 2017 Share Posted July 10, 2017 Hughes is playing DE. Oops...meant Hodges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Costa Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 I think Lorax will be a rotational DE on passing downs more than a every down LB. I'd be fine with Brown ,Ragland and Hodges as starting Lb's. On second down at least one is coming out anyways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3rdand12 Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 Ha, yes, I do have it out for Preston. I will not deny that. There are fundamental things a MLB has to do in my mind. First and foremost is tackle well. I can say with a high degree of certainty that more times than not when I saw a play (and I'm talking up the middle more so than the outside) that a guy got dragged for yards on a tackle, or attempted an arm tackle that was run through, or went to the wrong hole leaving a gaping hole where he should have been, Preston Brown seemed to be the man at fault. So, after noticing this, I tried to watch him solely on a number of plays during games. What I saw then was Preston eaten up by blockers with no shedding ability at all. Now, can some of it be Rex's fault? Maybe he was assigned the wrong holes to attack, I don't know. But a MLB who can't get off blocks and who can't tackle, well, that's not a coaching problem IMO, that's a player problem. Add to that the complete dysfunction on the communication side of things, which is also usually a MLB job. I attribute that aspect more to Rex and the coaching staff though, but other MLBs have done fine with these coaches, even excelled with Lewis and Harris. Terrible may be an exaggeration as I'm sure he would be a good depth guy to have. But if we end up depending on him to be our run stopping, team leader on defense, well, I think we are in trouble then. I too have focused on a player. I did it with Mario Williams while he was still being defended. I did it with Gilmore, just to see for myself. Preston fell off the cart and played poorly all on his own, as well as being lost in the Ryans gibberish I am going to suggest he had a right shoulder injury. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianmoorman4jesus Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 Ragland will be one of the best 11. Hopefully brown will be the starting mlb for the second team...the guy is way to slow and is nowhere near good enough. How can hodges not be an every down LB in this defense? I don't know how much I believe this thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 Ragland will be one of the best 11. Hopefully brown will be the starting mlb for the second team...the guy is way to slow and is nowhere near good enough. How can hodges not be an every down LB in this defense? I don't know how much I believe this thread What? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragonborn10 Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 I strongly disagree. Dareus stood there at times jumping around like a 350 pound ballerina. He was also used quite a bit in coverage. Just thinking about this is sickening.[/quote, Looking back , the whole scheme was sickening Rex was a disaster but the zone blitz is one of the great defensive innovations of the last couple decades. Everyone uses it. The issue is not the zone blitz. It is not using the D-line to penetrate and pass rush instead they just occupied blockers. That works if you have Wilfork or Ted Washington. If you have Dareus and KW they should rush the passer and penetrate on almost every down. I think Lorax will be a rotational DE on passing downs more than a every down LB. I'd be fine with Brown ,Ragland and Hodges as starting Lb's. On second down at least one is coming out anyways. This is how I see it too. Also there will be times with Washington at DE (unarmed) and Hughes at OLB. Probably against run heavy teams or situations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianmoorman4jesus Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 What? benched Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhitewalkerInPhilly Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 Honestly, the "Best 11" to me makes me think more along the lines of going with a modified Big Nickel as a base. Realistically, we in a league setup when the majority of times you are in subpackages more than a standard 3-4 or 4-3 base, and I see value in being more flexible in a nickel situation than having to risk Brady ripping us because they go no huddle and we can't get subs in. Going off of what Micah Hyde mentioned, he sees himself as willing to be a hybrid safety/LB. Now, to be honest, I don't love the prospect of either Ragland or Brown as a pure WLB, and I have worried about MLB. But if you are telling me that we are going to yank LorAx (really an edge rusher) from SAM on nickel downs to slide in Seymour as an extra CB, and move Hyde into the box to line up over the slot receiver or TE while Poyer centerfields...well, I feel better about Brown and Ragland to shade the other have the field and run stuff respectively. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 benched I wouldn't be surprised at all if Brown gets key snaps as the starting MLB especially early in the season as Ragland gets acclimated to the NFL and playing in a 4-3 defense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alphadawg7 Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 Im confused, was this ever in question? I mean I thought it was pretty clear our 3 LBs are Lonzo, Brown, and Ragland. Actually, us fans feel/think Lonzo and Brown may be liabilities vs the run and that's why they went out and brought in Hodges, who got a terrific PFF LB rating last season, just a bit below Zack Brown, and specifically vs the run, rated 12th best in the NFL, right after, sic, Bradham Based on last years stats, Hodges and Lonzo, are the best 3 down LB's, and one of Brown and Ragland, will begin as a backup, though Frazier seems to contradict what alot of us are thinking, lol Considering we should be in nickel/dime 65% of the time, and only 2 LB's will see the field, I see a rotation of sorts, Ragland and Hodges being the primary LB's on run downs, both come out for Lonzo and Brown on passing downs, that works, and now having brought Hodges in, re-upped Lonzo, and depending upon if Ragland is the real deal, our LB's situation is not as dire as it once looked, might turn out to be a strength, however no one really knows until the guys hit the field, let alone, who is starting, etc, its all a transitional year jc You know what, honestly I forgot about Hodges. Good point...he hasn't been getting talked about much, and forgot we signed him. I really liked that signing too. So that makes more sense to me now. Thanks for reminding me about him. You don't even need to look at statistics to know the defense sucked. Yet many people post statistics to defend the defense. They sucked and any semblance of a decent defense this team is a playoff team the last two years. Exactly...and the only people defending the defense are those that want to discredit Tyrod as much as possible and make him the bigger problem over the defense when it was without a shadow of a doubt the Defense was the bigger issue that kept this team from the playoffs, not the offense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Bills Fan Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 This is why I actually like preseason games. I cant wait to see what Brown and Ragland look like CBF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drunken Pygmy Goat Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 I think Lorax will be a rotational DE on passing downs more than a every down LB. I'd be fine with Brown ,Ragland and Hodges as starting Lb's. On second down at least one is coming out anyways. I think you're right. He is a monster on ST coverage, and keeping his legs fresh at his age will be important. Our other LBs are much younger, and if a player goes down, Alexander would be a nice replacement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drunken Pygmy Goat Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 You know what, honestly I forgot about Hodges. Good point...he hasn't been getting talked about much, and forgot we signed him. I really liked that signing too. So that makes more sense to me now. Thanks for reminding me about him. Exactly...and the only people defending the defense are those that want to discredit Tyrod as much as possible and make him the bigger problem over the defense when it was without a shadow of a doubt the Defense was the bigger issue that kept this team from the playoffs, not the offense. Regardless of their reasoning, anyone that defends the defense if the last 2 years should not be taken seriously. Taylor may have some issues, but if the defense had performed close to a top 10 unit these last 2 years, the Bills would have been in the playoff discussion in the end. Taylor and the offense would have been "good enough". Every (non-dilusional) fan knows this. The only thing that will hold this defense back from improvement over last year will be injuries, IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baskingridgebillsfan Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 I'm not sure how you absolve Rex when the team was 9th DVOA in 2014, 15th in 2015, and 28th in 2016 with virtually the same guys? No one is saying Brown is great but he's not terrible. Rex (and Rob) made guys worse with their scheme and lack of communication. We will see this year just how bad they were. Rex had plenty of issues but he did not have the same personal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirby Jackson Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 Rex had plenty of issues but he did not have the same personal From 2014 to 2015 they lost Spikes and Searcy and added Darby and moved Graham over. I don't see that as a massive change to the roster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Formerly Allan in MD Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 Preston Brown is terrible. Period. End of story. It is not Rex Ryan's fault the guy cannot tackle anyone without being pushed ahead 2-3 yards, needing help, or risk the guy breaking the arm tackle for huge games (see Dolphins games). It is not Rex Ryan's fault that the guy over pursued his assigned hole over and over and over again leading to huge gains. It is not Rex Ryan's fault the guy simply cannot shed a block and make a play. Stop blaming Rex Ryan for all of our terrible players performance. Some of guys are just terrible. Now, Ragland was a tackling machine at Alabama and in the limited time he was on the field last summer. That is something to get excited about, not Preston Brown. As Rex's agent, can he pay you as much as when he was coaching? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunsgoodtime Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 ame="JerseyBills" post="4426570" timestamp="1499635291"] Rex was a disaster but the zone blitz is one of the great defensive innovations of the last couple decades. Everyone uses it. The issue is not the zone blitz. It is not using the D-line to penetrate and pass rush instead they just occupied blockers. That works if you have Wilfork or Ted Washington. If you have Dareus and KW they should rush the passer and penetrate on almost every down. This is how I see it too. Also there will be times with Washington at DE (unarmed) and Hughes at OLB. Probably against run heavy teams or situations. Wouldn't he have a better chance getting to the QB armed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark80 Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 As Rex's agent, can he pay you as much as when he was coaching? Just wondering, where exactly did I proclaim any support whatsoever for Rex Ryan? Just because I don't think it is Rex's fault that Preston cannot tackle does not mean I think Rex Ryan was as good coach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drunken Pygmy Goat Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 The reason why Big Cat got ran off the board. His take was laughable and he went as far as to make a bull **** statistical graph to show us he knew more then us. It was insane. It's pretty sad, the lengths some people will go to, to try and convince others that their hate driven theories are correct. I love football, and love the Bills. With that being said, I'll never let my personal obsessions cloud my vision or perception of reality. For many fans, if a player isn't a future Hall of Famer or All-Pro, he sucks. Some people nit pick way too much. For example, Jerry Hughes has been known to jump offsides more often than we'd like. It can get frustrating, but some people tend to blow that way out of proportion, and judge him more off of that as opposed to the total body of work. Part of what makes him a good player is his jump off the snap, and sometimes as a result, he jumps early. Bruce Smith used to get flagged for jumping early all the time, because he was trying to time his jump off the snap. Now obviously I'm not going to compare Hughes to Smith, because Bruce certainly made up for those penalties by becoming the all time sack leader, but that was part of his game, just like Hughes. A third of a second is a long time when trying to get to the QB before he throws, and that early jump could be the difference between a sack, a hurry, or not coming close to the QB. I guess what I'm trying to say is that some fans take things way too seriously sometimes, and hold some weird grudges against certain players. Tyrod Taylor may not be a QB that can carry his team to a championship, but he's definitely not as bad as some people make him out to be. His play is far more positive than negative, and with a competent defense, he can play well enough and smart enough to make the playoffs, IMO. Too often, people look at stats when judging, rather than efficiency. My apologies for getting off topic here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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