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Levi Wallace ends season as highest graded rookie CB by PFF


YoloinOhio

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Great to see. Heck of an undrafted class we had this year.

 

We still need to bring in a corner or two in free agency or the draft. We need depth.

 

But there are definitely bigger fish to fry on this team, especially on the offensive side of the ball.

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18 hours ago, Coach Tuesday said:

He had a much better game in Week 17 - finally displayed a willingness to get his hands dirty and tackle.  Same with Edmunds for that matter.  Still need to upgrade the position in 2019.  Wallace is a nice, capable reserve but not yet a solution at the #2 CB spot.

 

So I'm kind of here.... in that I don't think he should be handed the #2 CB job next year. They should bring in legitimate competition (not a guy verging on retirement and Philip freaking Gaines) and let them battle it out. But if Wallace legitimately wins that competition I have no problem him being a starter in 2019. His understanding of route concepts and break points is absolutely excellent from a rookie CB in this league let alone an UDFA who has a legitimate deficiency in terms of speed. Probably shouldn't be a surprise though..... Nick Saban is at heart a frustrated defensive backs coach acting as a Head Coach. His guys always come out prepared.

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16 minutes ago, LittleJoeCartwright said:

 

Playing for Alabama didn’t hurt 

 

And also before we give Beane too much credit for Wallace and Foster can we remember he risked losing them both to select his buddy's son in the 7th? On his third practice squad now bless him.  ?

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Between Wallace and T. Johnson, I'd say the Bills scouts and coaching staff are nailing this DB thing. Additionally, Foster just put it all together and it adds credence to Beane's ability, with a tremendous amount of help from his scouting staff and personnel people, to unearth talent that goes unnoticed by many. Btw, for those who say, "Who cares about 4th and 5th Round Draft picks, they don't mean anything", please review Milano and T. Johnson (before their injuries) - in consecutive years folks, and try to convince me that the right FO and staff can't find talent ANYWHERE in the Draft. 

 

Add in Wallace and Foster, and you could make the argument that it can be found eve AFTER the Draft when scouted and coached properly.

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6 hours ago, MJS said:

Great to see. Heck of an undrafted class we had this year.

 

We still need to bring in a corner or two in free agency or the draft. We need depth.

 

But there are definitely bigger fish to fry on this team, especially on the offensive side of the ball.

 

They'll be able to find depth at CB.  Not a concern.

 

3 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

So I'm kind of here.... in that I don't think he should be handed the #2 CB job next year. They should bring in legitimate competition (not a guy verging on retirement and Philip freaking Gaines) and let them battle it out. But if Wallace legitimately wins that competition I have no problem him being a starter in 2019. His understanding of route concepts and break points is absolutely excellent from a rookie CB in this league let alone an UDFA who has a legitimate deficiency in terms of speed. Probably shouldn't be a surprise though..... Nick Saban is at heart a frustrated defensive backs coach acting as a Head Coach. His guys always come out prepared.

 

Seeing as how Wallace was given nothing and worked his way into the starting lineup, he's earned the right to be the #2 CB going into the off-season and unless/until he loses it.  It's up to him to work hard in the off-season but I wouldn't spend money in FA or a high draft pick on a CB.

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19 hours ago, Coach Tuesday said:

 

Just not true.  I don't know how PFF came up with its ranking but Denzel Ward was an incredible player for Cleveland this year - when he was healthy he was borderline dominant.  Levi was a nice add but his unwillingness to tackle was a serious problem for long stretches of multiple games.  I would be saying the same thing if he was drafted in Round 1, it doesn't matter to me, I saw a guy playing with very little functional strength and horrible tackling technique.  

 

While I agree on the tackling, my argument would be he showed 1) He has good coverage skills; 2) he knows how to use his length to disrupt passes.  3)  He showed good press technique at the line of scrimmage; 4)  He showed he can track the football while staying with the WR; 5)  He showed understanding of the scheme.  Now with all of that, to me, that's the making of a starting CB.  You are right on what you've pointed out.  With so many positives though, I'd hesitate to throw the kid out of there for someone else.  To me, what you point out is something he has to grow into.  If that's all he has to grow in to, why would I be in a hurry to get rid of him or to have him on the bench?  I certainly think we should take a corner at some point in the draft just for the sake of competition and the fact that you can never have too many DBs in a passing league.  Your indictment though seems to not even consider the positive dimensions of the guys game.  Functional strength can be gathered in the offseason, eating, lifting and training program.  He can also work on his tackling technique.

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5 minutes ago, Doc said:

 

Seeing as how Wallace was given nothing and worked his way into the starting lineup, he's earned the right to be the #2 CB going into the off-season and unless/until he loses it.  It's up to him to work hard in the off-season but I wouldn't spend money in FA or a high draft pick on a CB.

 

I'm not suggesting a big FA deal by any means - someone in that $2.5m a year for 2 years type range. We need depth at the position in any event. So you sign someone of that ilk, you make he and Wallace compete, winner of the competition starts and the loser is your primary outside corner depth. I am perfectly fine with Wallace starting if he wins out, and he would start with an edge because he has been in the scheme a year and has chemistry with the other starters. I just don't think as yet he has done enough to make me want to hand him the job on a plate.

40 minutes ago, NewEraBills said:

 

While I agree on the tackling, my argument would be he showed 1) He has good coverage skills; 2) he knows how to use his length to disrupt passes.  3)  He showed good press technique at the line of scrimmage; 4)  He showed he can track the football while staying with the WR; 5)  He showed understanding of the scheme.  Now with all of that, to me, that's the making of a starting CB.  You are right on what you've pointed out.  With so many positives though, I'd hesitate to throw the kid out of there for someone else.  To me, what you point out is something he has to grow into.  If that's all he has to grow in to, why would I be in a hurry to get rid of him or to have him on the bench?  I certainly think we should take a corner at some point in the draft just for the sake of competition and the fact that you can never have too many DBs in a passing league.  Your indictment though seems to not even consider the positive dimensions of the guys game.  Functional strength can be gathered in the offseason, eating, lifting and training program.  He can also work on his tackling technique.

 

Completely agree with you that there are plenty of positives to outweigh some areas for development.

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15 minutes ago, NewEraBills said:

While I agree on the tackling, my argument would be he showed 1) He has good coverage skills; 2) he knows how to use his length to disrupt passes.  3)  He showed good press technique at the line of scrimmage; 4)  He showed he can track the football while staying with the WR; 5)  He showed understanding of the scheme.  Now with all of that, to me, that's the making of a starting CB.  You are right on what you've pointed out.  With so many positives though, I'd hesitate to throw the kid out of there for someone else.  To me, what you point out is something he has to grow into.  If that's all he has to grow in to, why would I be in a hurry to get rid of him or to have him on the bench?  I certainly think we should take a corner at some point in the draft just for the sake of competition and the fact that you can never have too many DBs in a passing league.  Your indictment though seems to not even consider the positive dimensions of the guys game.  Functional strength can be gathered in the offseason, eating, lifting and training program.  He can also work on his tackling technique.

 

Whether Wallace is #1, 2 or 3 according to PFF doesn't matter to me so much as the fact that he played well.  Just like I don't care that Tre didn't make the Pro Bowl. 

6 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

I'm not suggesting a big FA deal by any means - someone in that $2.5m a year for 2 years type range. We need depth at the position in any event. So you sign someone of that ilk, you make he and Wallace compete, winner of the competition starts and the loser is your primary outside corner depth. I am perfectly fine with Wallace starting if he wins out, and he would start with an edge because he has been in the scheme a year and has chemistry with the other starters. I just don't think as yet he has done enough to make me want to hand him the job on a plate.

 

I have no problem trying to improve depth and competition.  And if they can bring in a guy for $2.5M/year and he can beat-out Wallace, so much the better.

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3 minutes ago, YoloinOhio said:

FYI... 

McCourty is a FA. Not sure if pats will bring back though his brother is there. Also, congrats Gilly (see how classy I am)

 

 

Stephon had a great year.

 

Always has been a good DB.  I think the dislike from him comes that he comes off as if he is disinterested at times and rarely owns up to any mistakes that he commits.  When you combine that with a franchise that loses often, the two just dont mix well.

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On 1/2/2019 at 1:13 PM, Logic said:


Fully agree. Take a corner every year. EVERY YEAR. No matter what.

But boy, it sure is nice to go into the offseason with one less PRESSING need. Lord knows there's lots of work to do on offense without having to worry about finding a bona fide #2 corner.

 

Yes.  Every year.  For all of his failings, Buddy had some really solid fundamental views of building a team.

 

And I totally agree- the need for a second corner was sort of a damper when we have so many other holes to fill on the O-line.  It was particularly demotivating to realize that corner position was one of those classic Billsy glass-with-a-hole-in-the-bottom situations.  I think we really got lucky with Wallace.  

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On 1/2/2019 at 11:52 AM, Coach Tuesday said:

He had a much better game in Week 17 - finally displayed a willingness to get his hands dirty and tackle.  Same with Edmunds for that matter.  Still need to upgrade the position in 2019.  Wallace is a nice, capable reserve but not yet a solution at the #2 CB spot.

 

 

Actually it was like someone cussed him out at halftime of the New England game and he came out mad as hell against the run and sustained it all game versus Miami.

 

His coverage has always been good but he'd been getting outmuscled by receivers on contested throws and trounced in the run game. 

 

Looking forward to what he can do with an offseason of NFL strength and conditioning............but I agree it's a mistake to ink he......or Foster.......in as starters.   Gotta' bring in competition at those positions.

 

It was great to finish on such a high note but we've seen STRONG finishes time and again that didn't accurately portend things to come............like the home finales of 2015 and 2016 where the Bills knocked the talented Jets out of the playoffs with Tyrod/Sammy closing Revis island for good and then the setting of a franchise record for offensive yardage against Miami(that Dan Carpenter cost them) the following season.

 

The combination of one teams elation and the others despair/indifference leads to these crazy lopsided finale finishes.    

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On 1/2/2019 at 1:08 PM, YoloinOhio said:

I’m pretty sure UDFAs do get bonuses at the end of the year based on playing time and performance. Part of the CBA I believe. I recall Seantrel Henderson getting a nice check after his rookie year here. 

 

That is out of a pool for entire NFL and how much you are being paid is a factor.

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