How would you rate Dion Dawkins 1st start?v

[CEN-CAL17]

I would like to hear some opinions on what you thought about Dion's first start... what do you all think and we did you see?

[GunnerBill]

Tough assignment but had some struggles. I suspect he will grade out poorly on proper review.

[BuffaloBillsMagic1]

shaky

[PinOak]

D

[Pirate Angel]

it was so bad it made me be thankful that we have Mills

[Lurker]

I'm sure the pressure had nothing to do with it

No push in the run game, lots of pressure given up on the pass rush. TT bailed him out a few times on what would have been sacks with a less mobile QB.

 

Still a rookie. Still a work in progress...

[boyst]

Was he ever going to get better than a C against this team? I didn't watch a down and I'll give him a B. Because B

[dwight in philly]

i really cannot analyze .. but they won.. ill read all the "expert" opinions on here and then i will know.

[John from Riverside]

Are we factoring level of difficulty given he was going against one of the premier pass rushers in the league?

[JohnC]

I would grade his play as a C- to D. And I'm being generous. He struggled but you learn by playing. I'll be interested to see how he does by the second half of the season.

[H2o]

I give him a D+. He wasn't completely horrid, but you can definitely tell he's a rookie. Glenn needs to get better quick for Tyrod and the running game's sake.

Edited September 25, 2017 by H2o

[Big Turk]

Tough assignment but had some struggles. I suspect he will grade out poorly on proper review.

Good Enough to help us win...

[ganesh]

Below average with all the negative yardage...But then he was also going against the best Pass Rusher in the NFL

[PABillsfan23]

He looks overmatched in every aspect

[mikemac2001]

W

[GreggTX]

I think it's safe to say that none of us watched closely enough to grade him fairly at this point, but as far as Von Miller's numbers go, a lot of NFL OT's have done far worse. There are no OLB's that I've ever seen play that are any better than Miller and I've been watching pro football since the 60's. Frankly, I expected far worse.

[GunnerBill]

Good Enough to help us win...

For sure and he was playing against probably the best pass rusher in the league. It was a rough start on a tough assignment. There will be better days to judge Dion than this game. Cordy remains one of the top 3 players on this team though and they need to get him healthy asap.

[Dragonborn10]

I think it's safe to say that none of us watched closely enough to grade him fairly at this point, but as far as Von Miller's numbers go, a lot of NFL OT's have done far worse. There are no OLB's that I've ever seen play that are any better than Miller and I've been watching pro football since the 60's. Frankly, I expected far worse.

Not even Lawrence Taylor?

[BillnutinHouston]

I'll have to look at the film.

[YoloinOhio]

I may be in the minority. I expected much worse. It was baptism by fire and even though Von got his sacks, he didn't wreck the whole game plan. They couldn't stop him they could only hope to contain him, and imo it was a decent performance for a rookie in his first start vs not only a player of that caliber in Von Miller, but that whole DL is made up of studs.

Edited September 25, 2017 by YoloinOhio

[Blokestradamus]

Started off slowly in pass pro but I thought he started to bed in as the game went along. Couple of the bigger pressures off the left side came vs Clay & O'Leary later in the game.

 

Really had his struggles in the run game. I think it was always inevitable with the standard of opponent. All he can do is understand that he can play against the best and where he needs to improve to match them. Not overly discouraged.

[papazoid]

it was so bad it made me be thankful that we have Mills

 

oh my

[Royale with Cheese]

Dawkins going up against Von Miller in his first start would have been equivalent to Howard Ballard going up against Lawrence Taylor in his first start.

Tough assignment for him and of course had struggles but he did enough.

[YoloinOhio]

Beasley hurt for Falcons so that helps for next week esp if Glenn is still out

[Royale with Cheese]

Beasley hurt for Falcons so that helps for next week esp if Glenn is still out

 

I'll be there next week. I can't stand these tickets are so high but the Bills don't come here very often at all.

The last time was in 2009 and 2001 before that.

The stadium will be packed with Bills fans.

[GunnerBill]

 

I'll be there next week. I can't stand these tickets are so high but the Bills don't come here very often at all.

The last time was in 2009 and 2001 before that.

The stadium will be packed with Bills fans.

 

Yea it is every 8 years... that is the way the schedule works.... Although we haven't played them in Buffalo since 2005 seeing as the 2013 loss was the last Bills regular season game in the Toronto series.

[Royale with Cheese]

 

Yea it is every 8 years... that is the way the schedule works.... Although we haven't played them in Buffalo since 2005 seeing as the 2013 loss was the last Bills regular season game in the Toronto series.

 

oh...didn't know that. I know they play every 4 years but didn't know they alternated home/away.

[bigK14094]

At least he didn't get hurt......

[GunnerBill]

 

oh...didn't know that. I know they play every 4 years but didn't know they alternated home/away.

 

Yep. Unless expansion / re-alignment intervenes after Sunday you will next see the Bills in Atlanta in 2025.

[26CornerBlitz]

@YardsPerPass

I don't think the LT is supposed to be 2 yards behind the LOS

[GreggTX]

Not even Lawrence Taylor?

Agreed. Let's go with 'in a VERY small elite group.' I'd add Derek Thomas and Mack as well.

[Spiderweb]

Shakey would be the best one word comment. He's definitely mot ready for prime time. I do believe he's been a bit disappointing thus far.

 

Sent from my LGLS992 using Tapatalk

 

 

[YoloinOhio]

@christrapasso

After allowing quick sack on 2nd play of game (Von Miller), #Bills rookie Dion Dawkins held his own vs. strong group of Denver edge-rushers.

[JohnC]

I'm looking at our top three picks as a barometer of whether the strategy of accumulating draft picks to build this roster is going to work. Our first pick, CB White, in my eyes is terrific. He is tough physically and mentally. He doesn't allow the inevitable negative plays to affect him. I think he is a gem and could turn out to be better than some of the higher drafted defensive backs.

 

In the Denver game Dawkins was often getting beat but he continued to battle. I'm going to watch to see how he plays in the second half of the season.

 

So far Zay Jones is a disappointment. But with him I get the sense that once he catches a few balls that he will gain some confidence and play at his talent level. He is player that I think by the second half of the season will lose the jitters and play as if he belongs.

 

McDermott seems to have a philosophy (as he has repeatedly stated) that he wants players who not only are talented but have a maturity level to handle the pro game. All three of these players fit his character mold. Watching how these players develop, even more than our record, is going to be a good indicator as to whether McDermott's approach is going to succeed. That's what I am focusing on.

[Original Byrd Man]

I may be in the minority. I expected much worse. It was baptism by fire and even though Von got his sacks, he didn't wreck the whole game plan. They couldn't stop him they could only hope to contain him, and imo it was a decent performance for a rookie in his first start vs not only a player of that caliber in Von Miller, but that whole DL is made up of studs.

I'll second that. I know TT avoided some pressure but I envisioned their D line having a field day and even Mills stepped up, and I'm definitely not a fan of his.

[PolishDave]

I'm looking at our top three picks as a barometer of whether the strategy of accumulating draft picks to build this roster is going to work. Our first pick, CB White, in my eyes is terrific. He is tough physically and mentally. He doesn't allow the inevitable negative plays to affect him. I think he is a gem and could turn out to be better than some of the higher drafted defensive backs.

 

In the Denver game Dawkins was often getting beat but he continued to battle. I'm going to watch to see how he plays in the second half of the season.

 

So far Zay Jones is a disappointment. But with him I get the sense that once he catches a few balls that he will gain some confidence and play at his talent level. He is player that I think by the second half of the season will lose the jitters and play as if he belongs.

 

McDermott seems to have a philosophy (as he has repeatedly stated) that he wants players who not only are talented but have a maturity level to handle the pro game. All three of these players fit his character mold. Watching how these players develop, even more than our record, is going to be a good indicator as to whether McDermott's approach is going to succeed. That's what I am focusing on.

I think you are right. And I can see all of those 3 players becoming very good borderline excellent within a year or two. That has given me a major confidence boost. Still have to play the year out though.

[billsfan89]

No push in the run game, lots of pressure given up on the pass rush. TT bailed him out a few times on what would have been sacks with a less mobile QB.

 

Still a rookie. Still a work in progress...

 

I think O-line is no longer the plug and play position it used to be. 10 maybe even 5 years ago guards, centers, and right tackles drafted in the first 2-3 rounds were thought to be safer impact picks who could come in and start right away and play at a fairly high level. But with the spread offense being so popular in college and the evolution of NFL defensive lines O-linemen are not only lacking fundamentals (thanks to the spread) but they are playing against defensive lines that are pass rushing completely differently.

 

The leagues top defensive ends are pass rushing more so against the right tackle because thanks to the high use of shotgun in NFL offenses there really isn't a blind side anymore. On top of that defensive tackles are much more agile and much more capable of rushing from the inside due to defenses needing to generate much more pressure.

 

So I don't expect Dawkins to do much this year, hopefully he learns the offense, gets a hang of the NFL lifestyle and regimen, gets comfortable with his teammates along the O-line, and polishes up his fundamentals a bit. Then maybe next year with another off-season under his belt he can take over at RT but even then he might struggle on the job.

[rant_and_go]

How does someone so big get pushed back so far by someone so small?

[billsfan89]

I'm looking at our top three picks as a barometer of whether the strategy of accumulating draft picks to build this roster is going to work. Our first pick, CB White, in my eyes is terrific. He is tough physically and mentally. He doesn't allow the inevitable negative plays to affect him. I think he is a gem and could turn out to be better than some of the higher drafted defensive backs.

 

In the Denver game Dawkins was often getting beat but he continued to battle. I'm going to watch to see how he plays in the second half of the season.

 

So far Zay Jones is a disappointment. But with him I get the sense that once he catches a few balls that he will gain some confidence and play at his talent level. He is player that I think by the second half of the season will lose the jitters and play as if he belongs.

 

McDermott seems to have a philosophy (as he has repeatedly stated) that he wants players who not only are talented but have a maturity level to handle the pro game. All three of these players fit his character mold. Watching how these players develop, even more than our record, is going to be a good indicator as to whether McDermott's approach is going to succeed. That's what I am focusing on.

 

I think that Zay would have really benefited from a Sammy Watkins type presence at the receiver position. That's not to say that I don't think that the Sammy trade was good but rather that the offense not having a true number 1 receiving option could be impacting his ability to get good matchups.

 

Jordan Matthews is a nice player but he isn't a number one receiver, Charles Clay is a solid tight end but he isn't a dominating presence like Gronk or Kelce, and they don't have another high end receiving option out there. So Zay is going to see a lot of high end coverage coming his way. That's going to result is less production and it could be impacting his confidence.

 

I think Zay figures it out and I also think that the coaching staff finds a way to get him involved and get his confidence going. Although I don't think any receiver or tight end puts up monster numbers on this offense, simply because the defense will likely be good enough to keep them in most games and the rush attack will be the most effective way to move the ball. Also the offense will be low risk in general to avoid turnovers.

[BillsfanAZ]

One game against an elite pass rusher isnt enough to judge him. Give him two more games and see how he is doing. It will be interesting when Henderson comes back from suspension and Cordy is back from injury as to what the Oline will look like. Wonder if Groy of Ducasse will be replacing Miller anytime soon?