HOUSE Posted June 27, 2019 Share Posted June 27, 2019 (edited) The NFL Wire has ranked the 11 best players at each position throughout the offense. A few players on the Buffalo Bills’ defense have made those lists. Now the offense is on the board. Here’s why Doug Farrar says he landed Morse at four: Morse’s injury history—he missed five games in 2018 and nine the year before—may be why the Chiefs decided to let him test the free-agent market. The Bills had no such qualms, signing the 2015 second-round pick and Missouri alum to a four-year, $44.5 million deal with $20.4 million guaranteed in March. The deal makes Morse one of the highest-paid center in the league, and he’s earned that designation. Last season, in 811 snaps, he allowed no sacks and five total pressures, and this sack of Patrick Mahomes wasn’t exactly his fault. Morse is tall for a center at 6’6” and 305 pounds, but he manages to maintain power through the block with low pad level, optimal leg drive, and excellent overall technique. Even when he does get bent back by stronger interior defenders, he has the upper-body strength and flexibility to recover. In a running game that experienced a lot of transition after the Kareem Hunt fiasco, Morse was a stalwart in everything from taking on nose tackles head-up to moving outside the tackle on sweeps, and up to linebacker depth to hit his targets. The Chiefs may have saved a lot of money letting Morse go, but they’ll miss his talent. https://billswire.usatoday.com/2019/06/26/buffalo-bills-mitch-morse-fourth-best-center-nfl/?fbclid=IwAR1GL57LfxwukEQMUB8qMag_0fSJR41OctxshlAT3dk4h1WC8xBJPKO3VTA Edited June 27, 2019 by HOUSE 8 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
machine gun kelly Posted June 27, 2019 Share Posted June 27, 2019 Good call House. Thanks for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
US Egg Posted June 27, 2019 Share Posted June 27, 2019 I had to laugh when ESPN implied that his contract with the Bills is excessive for his worth. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted June 27, 2019 Share Posted June 27, 2019 29 minutes ago, I am the egg man said: I had to laugh when ESPN implied that his contract with the Bills is excessive for his worth. Opinions... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victory Formation Posted June 27, 2019 Share Posted June 27, 2019 Yes, we did overpay. Had we not, we may not of had Oliver, Ford or Singletary. Not signing Morse would have thrown a wrench into our entire draft process. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Florida Bills Fanatic Posted June 27, 2019 Share Posted June 27, 2019 2 hours ago, I am the egg man said: I had to laugh when ESPN implied that his contract with the Bills is excessive for his worth. I agree with you. It's hard to identify a good offensive team that does not have a good center. This will prove to be money well spent. I have trouble with many ESPN evaluations of teams and individual players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logic Posted June 27, 2019 Share Posted June 27, 2019 3 hours ago, I am the egg man said: I had to laugh when ESPN implied that his contract with the Bills is excessive for his worth. Indeed. It's like these analysts forget over and over and over again that the salary cap is constantly rising and that players aren't the highest paid at their position for very long. Within two seasons, Morse won't even be in the top 3. Oh, and if the Bills are going to "overpay" for something, let it be someone who will directly impact the success of the quarterback to the degree that Morse will. If it helps Allen turn into a bona fide franchise QB, then it's money extremely well spent. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perry Turtle Posted June 27, 2019 Share Posted June 27, 2019 He can set the pocket and lead a sweep. His strength and athleticism will enable the offense to do a lot of good things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
US Egg Posted June 27, 2019 Share Posted June 27, 2019 31 minutes ago, Florida Bills Fanatic said: I have trouble with many ESPN evaluations of teams and individual players. What made it a bit more silly is that Sammy Watkins didn't make their top 20 player "outlier" contracts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PromoTheRobot Posted June 27, 2019 Share Posted June 27, 2019 (edited) PFF's recent ranking of NFL rosters doesn't even mention us adding Morse. They rank us #29. Edited June 27, 2019 by PromoTheRobot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. WEO Posted June 27, 2019 Share Posted June 27, 2019 4 hours ago, I am the egg man said: I had to laugh when ESPN implied that his contract with the Bills is excessive for his worth. 1 hour ago, Florida Bills Fanatic said: I agree with you. It's hard to identify a good offensive team that does not have a good center. This will prove to be money well spent. I have trouble with many ESPN evaluations of teams and individual players. He missed weeks 3-7 and 13-16 in 2017 and then weeks 7-11 last year and the Bills made him the highest paid center in the NFL. It's really not beyond reason for someone ("ESPN" or otherwise--a guy on NFL.com said the same thing) to suggest they may have overpaid for Morse. "Morse is due more than $28 million in the first two years of his contract, and only $16 million in the last two. So it's a front-loaded pact where any flexibility for Buffalo to leave the deal after two years will only come after paying Morse as the best center in football. To put it another way: Teams that can't develop their own linemen often pay double for it". "The recent stretch of ex-Chiefs starters who have struggled away from Kansas City -- guys like Jeff Allen and Zach Fulton -- doesn't help Morse's case." Hardly a radical take right there....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John from Riverside Posted June 27, 2019 Share Posted June 27, 2019 "the first check you right is for the mortgage (the QB) "the second check you right is for the insurance" 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethan in Cleveland Posted June 27, 2019 Share Posted June 27, 2019 Hmmmm. He was ranked 15th last year and has not taken a snap in 2019 yet. Not sure how he went to #4. He is a massive upgrade over last year. Is he overpaid? We will found out this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stank_Nasty Posted June 27, 2019 Share Posted June 27, 2019 (edited) 3 minutes ago, Ethan in Portland said: Hmmmm. He was ranked 15th last year and has not taken a snap in 2019 yet. Not sure how he went to #4. He is a massive upgrade over last year. Is he overpaid? We will found out this year. i'm assuming you think there is one ranking system to rule them all? Edited June 27, 2019 by Stank_Nasty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Royale with Cheese Posted June 27, 2019 Share Posted June 27, 2019 2 hours ago, NewDayBills said: Yes, we did overpay. Had we not, we may not of had Oliver, Ford or Singletary. Not signing Morse would have thrown a wrench into our entire draft process. We definitely would have had Oliver. We aren't passing on Kyle Williams replacement and a special talent like Oliver for a center. I can see Ford and Singletary though. But at the same time, I think Spencer Long would have been our starting center if we didn't get Morse. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
US Egg Posted June 28, 2019 Share Posted June 28, 2019 (edited) 7 hours ago, Mr. WEO said: Hardly a radical take right there....... Same ones pot shotting Morse's signing surely were trashing McBeane for the O-line they put on the field last year too, I'd bet. They'd likely be ripping on them for not making a move at center if they stood pat. Too many in that "profession" are of a damn if you do or damn if you don't ilk. They're irrelevant to the game. They belong in here with us. Edited June 28, 2019 by I am the egg man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. WEO Posted June 28, 2019 Share Posted June 28, 2019 6 minutes ago, I am the egg man said: Same ones pot shotting Morse's signing surely were trashing McBeane for the O-line they put on the field last year too, I'd bet. They'd likely be ripping on them for not making a move at center if they stood pat. Too many in that "profession" are of a damn if you do or damn if you don't ilk. They're irrelevant to the game. They belong in here with us. So you're saying any questioning of signing him as the most expensive Center in the NFL given his recent injury history cannot be justified? All doubts expressed are simply "pot shotting"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted June 28, 2019 Share Posted June 28, 2019 8 hours ago, Mr. WEO said: He missed weeks 3-7 and 13-16 in 2017 and then weeks 7-11 last year and the Bills made him the highest paid center in the NFL. It's really not beyond reason for someone ("ESPN" or otherwise--a guy on NFL.com said the same thing) to suggest they may have overpaid for Morse. "Morse is due more than $28 million in the first two years of his contract, and only $16 million in the last two. So it's a front-loaded pact where any flexibility for Buffalo to leave the deal after two years will only come after paying Morse as the best center in football. To put it another way: Teams that can't develop their own linemen often pay double for it". "The recent stretch of ex-Chiefs starters who have struggled away from Kansas City -- guys like Jeff Allen and Zach Fulton -- doesn't help Morse's case." Hardly a radical take right there....... He's missed less time the past 2 seasons than Beckham has. And you said it wasn't an issue for Beckham. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Florida Bills Fanatic Posted June 28, 2019 Share Posted June 28, 2019 7 hours ago, Mr. WEO said: He missed weeks 3-7 and 13-16 in 2017 and then weeks 7-11 last year and the Bills made him the highest paid center in the NFL. It's really not beyond reason for someone ("ESPN" or otherwise--a guy on NFL.com said the same thing) to suggest they may have overpaid for Morse. "Morse is due more than $28 million in the first two years of his contract, and only $16 million in the last two. So it's a front-loaded pact where any flexibility for Buffalo to leave the deal after two years will only come after paying Morse as the best center in football. To put it another way: Teams that can't develop their own linemen often pay double for it". "The recent stretch of ex-Chiefs starters who have struggled away from Kansas City -- guys like Jeff Allen and Zach Fulton -- doesn't help Morse's case." Hardly a radical take right there....... Injuries are part of the game, no doubt. When you look at his play, he was very good. He was the best option available and was being courted by other teams. Putting a rookie center in front of Allen was not an option that the team was ready to accept. The Bills paid what was necessary to make the signing, unless you feel that the Bills just threw extra money at him out of the goodness of their heart. As far as not being able to develop their own, we should not forget that this is all the result of a rather unexpected career ending injury. Front loading the money when the team had a lot of cap space was probably a decent strategic decision and it was likely necessary to close the deal. High profile free agents, that have multiple options, are going to have a higher price and more favorable terms. Time will tell whether or not he is worth the money. I put more faith in the real football people that evaluate players and make these decisions instead of sports writers who base their opinions more subjectively. If you want to place more credence on the sports writers, that is your right. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. WEO Posted June 28, 2019 Share Posted June 28, 2019 26 minutes ago, Doc said: He's missed less time the past 2 seasons than Beckham has. And you said it wasn't an issue for Beckham. Beckham broke his ankle in 2017. After surgery, he came back in 2018 and had 77 catches and over 1000 yards before quad injury. Not an issue. He's a top 5 playmaker in this League. Morse may be a top 10 Center. 14 minutes ago, Florida Bills Fanatic said: Injuries are part of the game, no doubt. When you look at his play, he was very good. He was the best option available and was being courted by other teams. Putting a rookie center in front of Allen was not an option that the team was ready to accept. The Bills paid what was necessary to make the signing, unless you feel that the Bills just threw extra money at him out of the goodness of their heart. As far as not being able to develop their own, we should not forget that this is all the result of a rather unexpected career ending injury. Front loading the money when the team had a lot of cap space was probably a decent strategic decision and it was likely necessary to close the deal. High profile free agents, that have multiple options, are going to have a higher price and more favorable terms. Time will tell whether or not he is worth the money. I put more faith in the real football people that evaluate players and make these decisions instead of sports writers who base their opinions more subjectively. If you want to place more credence on the sports writers, that is your right. Well we all see how that works out every year don't we? Anyway go back and read my posts. I'm not remotely suggesting that we "place more credence on the sports writers". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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