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Why did teams let Micah Hyde and our current players go?


Billsfed

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I'm stunned. In the case of Hyde specifically, the dude has missed 1 or 2 games and still leads the NFL in interceptions. He always seems to be in around the football.

 

In the case of Micah Hyde, he was a FA and Green Bay didn't want to pay him. Bills gave him $8M up front and $14M guaranteed, and he's been playing like he's worth every penny.

In the case of Haushka, Seattle had an oversize memory of a couple misses, and tried to go cheap on their kicker. Will it pay off for them? Don't know.

 

Some of the Bills FA signings have been excellent.

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I think he values character/intelligence/willingness to learn the program and stick to it reliably over things like raw talent.

 

There are always guys that are desirable that are floating around, getting waived, don't make a good fit on a given roster but fit well on another, etc.

 

The trick is knowing which is which and gathering the right guys.

 

Seems to be working so far!

Exactly right. The Mid-60s Bills were similar to this team. This is about putting together a team and not just stock piling raw talent. I would argue that stock piling raw talent in hopes of winning is the lazy man's way. All of these unknowns will be in consideration for All-star and All-pro. It will not be because of their individual talent in most cases, but with winning comes the spoils. Hopefully other idiot teams don't start raiding our cookie jar in hopes of gathering enough raw talent to win.

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In Hyde's case it's really about opportunity, perhaps even fit within the system. He wasn't consistently starting in GB, which is a bit surprising given how ineffective their secondary was last year. I know they invested a lot in Clinton Dix, perhaps they just couldn't justify paying both.

 

He hasn't missed any games though, at least not that I'm aware.

 

 

Poyer was a FA steal. Fantastic job scouting, not sure if he was signed by Whaley or Beane, but somebody deserves some credit.

 

Hyde was starting all over GBs backfield his whole career....they couldnt pay him, and we were the highest bidders...good ole fashioned FA signing

 

Poyer was indeed a great scouting job....a buddy of mine and good poster here BarleyNY is a big Browns fan, and when we signed him his words were something like "I guess he is a backup"? he wasnt too impressed with him from the Browns but obviously our FO/staff saw something in his ability because hes a rock for us

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There is something extremely encouraging about the Bills ability to take cast offs and backups from other teams and turn them into good or useful players. Hopefully it isn't smoke and mirrors, it looks legit but things can always fall apart.

 

Agreed. It's all about the coaching and Beane is showing he and his staff are finding gems.

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I'm stunned. In the case of Hyde specifically, the dude has missed 1 or 2 games and still leads the NFL in interceptions. He always seems to be in around the football.

I think Hyde's played every game.

 

In his case specifically, the Packers are generally conservative regarding paying players. His position in their specific defense didn't warrant big money. They've invested in Morgan Burnett and Haha Clinton-Dix at safety. Hyde was relegated to a part time player, mostly nickle corner.

Edited by Carey Bender
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A first time HC without a lot of film on what he's doing has the element of surprise over opponents. Getting contributions from lesser heralded players is necessary to win, but talent wins out in the end because teams are going to take away what's working well.

 

I'm very interested to see how McD adjusts in the second half. We're going to find out if they can keep getting the same type of performance as teams see more of what McD's doing.

This only makes sense if McDermott doesn't adjust and this coaching staff has already shown they can and will.

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Green Bay pays Rodgers, Nelson, Cobb, both its offensive tackles, Clay Matthews and the DT Adams.

 

After that the rest are 1st contract guys or street FAs. They might be the only team in the league that pays both WRs and both OTs.... they realise their method to win is ARod's arm.

 

Additionally Hyde was a victim of his own versatility in Green Bay. He started as a corner, then played safety, then nickel and then last year he started games at all 3 spots as injuries piled up around him in the secondary.

 

I was always a fan and felt the moment we signed him he would be a big contributor here.

 

 

That's a lot of it.

 

Teams like Green Bay & Seattle operate on a pay structure where they pay A LOT of money to their core guys who exemplify their strength (Rodgers in Green Bay, Wilson and the D in Seattle). It forces them to fill their roster with cheap draft picks / UDFA talent. It squeezes out the middle term vets, guys like Hyde who are good enough to make a decent salary but not good enough to be a "core" guy in Green Bay for what they do. Whaley was taking us down this path with Watkins / Dareus / Shady / Glenn / Mario. Basically this model requires your high priced guys to be good enough to cover huge holes on your roster, for the Packers it's Rodgers being good enough to cover for an otherwise poor D, for Seattle it's Wilson's elusiveness being good enough to cover for the worst O-Line in football.

 

Our roster doesn't exactly possess the top end name talent, but that's also allowed us to avoid many glaring holes. It's allowed us to fill the roster with guys who know their jobs and do them well, but don't need to be the focal point of the team. It really reminds me of the early '00s Pats teams, a couple of top end guys but otherwise a collection of guys with their heads on right who play hard every game.

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Teams know they can't keep everyone, so every year they evaluate and identify players they're going to work hard to keep, players that they'll make offers to but won't get into a bidding war over, and players they know will most likely have to part ways with.

 

Sometimes it comes down to opportunity as well. A player may be buried on a depth chart and when he finally gets a shot, he shines. There was an SI article I read a while back that had comments from various players and one of them (I think it was former Browns WR Andrew Hawkins) said when he entered the league he just assumed that every player was an all-world athlete. He discovered that in reality, maybe half the guys in the league are supremely talented athletes and there are a few on each team. He said every other guy is pretty even in terms of talent and skill and it comes down to who's going to work the hardest to create their opportunities. McBeane has built a team with a lot of these hard working players who just want a shot. There are several reasons players play the game, some of the most talented players don't even like the game that much. They play because they know they can make big money doing it. Those kinds of players won't be on this team. McCoy said it earlier in the season, the group of guys on this team right now are all dudes who just wanna win. The money is nice, sure, but at the end of the day, they've shaped a roster of players who have a real passion for the game and wanna win more than anything.

 

I think those reasons are why this team appears to be such a tight-knit group. They've all bought into McD's message/philosophy and he's done an excellent job of not just preaching accountability, but giving his players reasons why they need to be accountable via his practice of having a player speak at each Monday meeting on why they play and why it's important to them. They may not be the most talented team in the league but they're certainly showing that they are one of the most unified teams in the league. And right now I think we're seeing that unity play a big role in how they've gotten to 5-2.

Edited by blacklabel
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the same reason castoffs play well in New England. they get cheap players that fit a certain mold or skill set and they are asked to do their job, nothing more nothing less. McD preaches 1 of 11. if everyone does their job on every play then we will win as a team. you don't need a superstar to take over a game if everyone is doing their job. when one player has a great game they say he put the team on his back and carried them. but if everyone is doing their job then why would you need one player to take over? makes sense in theory but is of course difficult to put into practice. before this season i would have said that's a nice idea but i don't know if that will work. but seeing it first hand now i am a believer.

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In Hyde's case it's really about opportunity, perhaps even fit within the system. He wasn't consistently starting in GB, which is a bit surprising given how ineffective their secondary was last year. I know they invested a lot in Clinton Dix, perhaps they just couldn't justify paying both.

 

Haha's salary this year is $2.6m and his 5th year option is $5.5m. They also had Morgan Burnett this year making $6.9m. I think they have a big decision pending at safety. Burnett's injury history probably means he is out but Haha has played solidly without being great through 3 and a half years. Do they pay him big and then draft a rookie in the mid rounds?

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Humber and I will even go with Alexander that they were and are such high caliber Special teams players that they were never given a full opportunity as a starter because they wouldn't want that special teams contributions to be effected, Much in the way Levy would not play Tasker that much on offense. Poyer suffered a fairly severe and bizarre injury last year for Cleveland. He earned the starting spot than the injury happened, also they are the Browns. Hyde is perplexing to me. Whenever I watched a Packers game the last 2 years Hyde always made plays. Kick or Punt returns then at saftey, at slot corner, and even at boundary corner he made plays. Maybe they thought he could be more than a situational player Idk. I was excited they got him and he is balling out.

Edited by Mat68
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