The missing offensive weapon is TE

[Frez]

It's pretty obvious when you really think about it to what this Bills offense is missing. 

 

A field stretching pass catching TE. 

 

Knox and Sweeney are yet to step up and take that part. Until we plug in that missing piece I'm afraid this offense will struggle. I'm hoping Knox will play the part this coming week vs the Eagles. 

[Gray Beard]

It ain’t for lack of trying.  With Sweeney, Knox, along with Lee, Kroft and Duke (who isn’t a tight end but he’s pretty big) the attempt to find that guy is pretty clear.   It’s a shame that Allen hasn’t built an on-field rapport with any of them yet, but I have faith that he will. 

[atlbillsfan1975]

Let Kroft get acclimated and Knox hopefully will settle down and make the easy catches like he makes the difficult ones. 

Kroft really is the best all around TE on the roster when healthy. It appears he is healthy now and hopefully get some worked into the game plan more this week and moving forward. 

[Victory Formation]

Knox will be that guy.

[njbuff]

Just now, atlbillsfan1975 said:

Let Kroft get acclimated and Knox hopefully will settle down and make the easy catches like he makes the difficult ones. 

Kroft really is the best all around TE on the roster when healthy. It appears he is healthy now and hopefully get some worked into the game plan more this week and moving forward. 

 

Actually, Knox is a beast blocker already.

 

He just needs to hold onto the ball. Hopefully that will come.

[BurpleBull]

Missing offensive weapon is last year's Robert Foster; there wouldn't be all this discussion to trade for a receiver if that Robert Foster was in the mix.

[BillsFan17]

They need to work on Knox's hands. They target the kid a lot, just has lapses in concentration. Five drops already is bad!

[Augie]

6 minutes ago, BillsFan17 said:

They need to work on Knox's hands. They target the kid a lot, just has lapses in concentration. Five drops already is bad!

 

I think he’ll get past that, and the good will outweigh the bad. I’m excited to see more of him. 

[Johnny Hammersticks]

Personally, I think we’re pretty well set at TE.  

[1st Ammendment NoMas]

31 minutes ago, Sunshower said:

Knox will be that guy.

when he actually starts catching passes that bounce off his hands and chest

26 minutes ago, BurpleBull said:

Missing offensive weapon is last year's Robert Foster; there wouldn't be all this discussion to trade for a receiver if that Robert Foster was in the mix.

wtf happened to him... he just disappeared

 

[DRA3196]

This offense has all the physical tools it needs to succeed. It needs chemistry and time to develop. We have 4 new TE's this year. How is adding another one at this point of the season going to help?

 

[Hapless Bills Fan]

32 minutes ago, Sunshower said:

Knox will be that guy.

 

He needs to change gloves or add stickum or something

[Bangarang]

50 minutes ago, Gray Beard said:

It ain’t for lack of trying.  With Sweeney, Knox, along with Lee, Kroft and Duke (who isn’t a tight end but he’s pretty big) the attempt to find that guy is pretty clear.   It’s a shame that Allen hasn’t built an on-field rapport with any of them yet, but I have faith that he will. 

Lee as in Lee Smith? He doesn’t belong on that list. You aren’t signing that guy to be a threat in the passing game.

Edited October 23, 2019 by Bangarang

[Don Otreply]

57 minutes ago, Frez said:

It's pretty obvious when you really think about it to what this Bills offense is missing. 

 

A field stretching pass catching TE. 

 

Knox and Sweeney are yet to step up and take that part. Until we plug in that missing piece I'm afraid this offense will struggle. I'm hoping Knox will play the part this coming week vs the Eagles. 

I’m thinking Foster or similar opposite John Brown to fully stretch the opposing D, with Beasley and Williams underneath, it then becomes a pick your poison sort of thing as to who and if you can double anyone of them, just a thought...

 

Go Bills!!!

Edited October 23, 2019 by Don Otreply

[JoPar_v2]

58 minutes ago, Frez said:

It's pretty obvious when you really think about it to what this Bills offense is missing. 

 

A field stretching pass catching TE. 

 

Knox and Sweeney are yet to step up and take that part. Until we plug in that missing piece I'm afraid this offense will struggle. I'm hoping Knox will play the part this coming week vs the Eagles. 

They also have Kroft. 
 

if you want a real “burner” type pure pass-catching TE, well that’s something to wish for but it ain’t appearing this season.

45 minutes ago, Sunshower said:

Knox will be that guy.

You should go teach him how to hold on to the ball then.

[WideNine]

Miami is having a fire sale down there - Gesicki did not look too shabby - seriously though pretty sure he is not going anywhere.

 

It is a bit early to give up on Knox or Sweeney, but we do need those reliable hands and Daboll has schemed him open so many times for the drive-killing drop. He has made some great catches too, but needs to be a more consistent target.

 

He has a ways to go as a route runner too, but have to remember that Ol' Miss did not really have much of a passing tree for their TEs. 

[Scott7975]

20 minutes ago, BillsRdue said:

when he actually starts catching passes that bounce off his hands and chest

wtf happened to him... he just disappeared

 

In McD interview today he was asked about Foster.  McD said that its just game planning and that they are trying to put the best players on the field.  Foster must not be looking good in practice or something.

[Hebert19]

Agree.  I'd take Howard. 

[hemma]

26 minutes ago, BillsFan17 said:

They need to work on Knox's hands. They target the kid a lot, just has lapses in concentration. Five drops already is bad!

 

At least 1 Service reports it as 6, which is the most drops in the league and that is with only 23 attempts. 

Think about that. 

12 catches, 6 drops + 5 other, meaning that he catches very catchable balls only 2 out of 3 times.

 

Add that to 3 penalties, Kroft being back and to me, it looks to be time to send him back to Phase 1 of the process.

Make him inactive and give Sweeney a swing at success.

[BurpleBull]

20 minutes ago, BillsRdue said:

when he actually starts catching passes that bounce off his hands and chest

wtf happened to him... he just disappeared

 

 

Groin injury apparently. Perhaps they're trying to nurse him back to 101% health, before letting him hit the field again. 

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

5 minutes ago, WideNine said:

Miami is having a fire sale down there - Gesicki did not look too shabby - seriously though pretty sure he is not going anywhere.

 

It is a bit early to give up on Knox or Sweeney, but we do need those reliable hands and Daboll has schemed him open so many times for the drive-killing drop. He has made some great catches too, but needs to be a more consistent target.

 

He has a ways to go as a route runner too, but have to remember that Ol' Miss did not really have much of a passing tree for their TEs. 

The Guy caught some seriously aweful Fitz balls

26 minutes ago, BillsRdue said:

when he actually starts catching passes that bounce off his hands and chest

wtf happened to him... he just disappeared

 

A few times times early on he blew some blocking assignments and ran wrong routes. Guessing injury or not he’s almost off of last chances to fix that stuff

[Ethan in Cleveland]

No tight end in the history of the franchise has made the ProBowl.   It's not like they have't tried. They drafted Tony Hunter ahead of Jim Kelly.  They tried to trade for Tony Gonzalez when he still had several ProBowl years left in him.  They had a top prospect nearly paralyzed on a kickoff. 

Knox has made some acrobatic catches that rarely have been seen in Buffalo by a TE.  He doesn't have elite speed or elite size, but neither do Kelce, Witten, or Ertz.  He has just enough size and speed to be a great TE if given more time.

I've posted many times that a healthy Kroft paired with Knox could be very difficult to defend giving Daboll run or pass options with multiple formations from a single personnel grouping.  

I also made no secret that I wanted Hockenson or Fant(with a trade down) in the draft over all other players except Josh Allen, OLB.  Hockenson is 13th in catches and yards for TE's but Knox has more than 2.5 YPC more than Hockenson.  If Knox had a few more catches he would be one of the league leaders in YPC.  

 

[Augie]

2 hours ago, Johnny Hammersticks said:

Personally, I think we’re pretty well set at TE.  

 

I’m trying to think of a position where we are better set....any suggestions?  

[Nelius]

Yeah I think we're okay too, TE is such a weak position around the league this year. All numbers are down, I think Kelce has 1 TD right now? Darren Waller looks like a freak but outside of him, Knox is one of the more interesting young TE's right now and I'm cool with seeing what he could do. Could be worse, we could be trotting out Luke Willson, or Ricky Seals-Jones, or Jared Cook, or one of the numerous slow, bad TE's that have seemingly been in the league for like a decade now, at least we have some youth at the position.

 

All that said I wouldn't hate OJ Howard. This team just needs another playmaker in general, I'm open to what position it is.

[Yav]

The missing offensive weapon is Von Miller

[Vod Kanockers]

I’d love to see Smoke, Foster, and Knox on the field at the same time. Pick your poison...add in Beasley in the slot.. oh, man... ??

[Thurman#1]

3 hours ago, hemma said:

 

At least 1 Service reports it as 6, which is the most drops in the league and that is with only 23 attempts. 

Think about that. 

12 catches, 6 drops + 5 other, meaning that he catches very catchable balls only 2 out of 3 times.

 

Add that to 3 penalties, Kroft being back and to me, it looks to be time to send him back to Phase 1 of the process.

Make him inactive and give Sweeney a swing at success.

 

 

NBC Sports has him with two.

https://scores.nbcsports.com/fb/leaders.asp?type=Receiving&range=NFL&rank=232

 

STATS has the Bills with a total of six from all players.

http://hosted.stats.com/fb/tmleaders.asp?type=Receiving&range=NFL&rank=232

 

... with Knox with two.

http://hosted.stats.com/fb/leaders.asp?type=Receiving&range=NFL&rank=232

 

The Washington Post has him with two.

http://stats.washingtonpost.com/fb/leaders.asp?range=NFL&rank=232&type=Receiving

 

Fox Sports appears to be the one you refer to, as they have him with six.

 

But it's not all that clear. They appear to be a distant outlier.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[hemma]

5 hours ago, Thurman#1 said:

 

 

NBC Sports has him with two.

https://scores.nbcsports.com/fb/leaders.asp?type=Receiving&range=NFL&rank=232

 

STATS has the Bills with a total of six from all players.

http://hosted.stats.com/fb/tmleaders.asp?type=Receiving&range=NFL&rank=232

 

... with Knox with two.

http://hosted.stats.com/fb/leaders.asp?type=Receiving&range=NFL&rank=232

 

The Washington Post has him with two.

http://stats.washingtonpost.com/fb/leaders.asp?range=NFL&rank=232&type=Receiving

 

Fox Sports appears to be the one you refer to, as they have him with six.

 

But it's not all that clear. They appear to be a distant outlier.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I looked in the source code for these pages and they all appear to be using (probably paying for) the same code (stats) from stats.com.

 

I looked in fox sports code to see where they are getting their #'s, but it is a little thick of a read for me. 

Probably a poster here somewhere that writes code would be able to figure it out.

 

So anyway, there are likely 2 different services in play, not a bunch.  Based on my feeble memory, I think Fox's numbers look more accurate.... 6 vs 2.

 

 

[Todd Allan]

9 hours ago, Augie said:

 

I’m trying to think of a position where we are better set....any suggestions?  

 

DB?

[Hapless Bills Fan]

11 hours ago, Sunshower said:

Knox will be that guy.

 

Only if he hits the Juggs more

[Augie]

1 hour ago, ToddAllan said:

 

DB?

 

Tough game for Levi, so maybe CB. But they do seem to be easy for this FO to find! 

[wppete]

12 hours ago, atlbillsfan1975 said:

Let Kroft get acclimated and Knox hopefully will settle down and make the easy catches like he makes the difficult ones. 

Kroft really is the best all around TE on the roster when healthy. It appears he is healthy now and hopefully get some worked into the game plan more this week and moving forward. 

I think if Kroft and Knox pick up their games we are going to be ok. 

[Not at the table Karlos]

12 hours ago, hemma said:

 

At least 1 Service reports it as 6, which is the most drops in the league and that is with only 23 attempts. 

Think about that. 

12 catches, 6 drops + 5 other, meaning that he catches very catchable balls only 2 out of 3 times.

 

Add that to 3 penalties, Kroft being back and to me, it looks to be time to send him back to Phase 1 of the process.

Make him inactive and give Sweeney a swing at success.

He’s been dropping balls too

[Buffalo_Stampede]

9 hours ago, Vod Kanockers said:

I’d love to see Smoke, Foster, and Knox on the field at the same time. Pick your poison...add in Beasley in the slot.. oh, man... ??

Foster is such a great fit for Allen. I don't understand why he fell down the depth chart so far. 

 

Duke should be a redzone threat. Foster should be starting opposite Brown. It will open up the offense.

Edited October 23, 2019 by Buffalo_Stampede

[TheBeaneBandit]

1 minute ago, Buffalo_Stampede said:

Foster is such a great fit for Allen. I don't understand why he fell down the depth chart so far. 

Im starting to think he just isnt a guy who is committed to working on his craft to being a pro. Just speculating but it makes the most sense right now.

[Mr. WEO]

Sweeney needs to get in there.  He’s the pass catcher.  Knox can be the new Lee Smith

[Call_Of_Ktulu]

Rookie TE’s take time to develop.

 

We have no offensive player that demands a double team.

 

No team is worried about Gore taking it to the house.

 

The priority in the Draft and FA should be to get Allen a elite offensive weapon and constantly improve the starters and depth on the O-Line.

Edited October 23, 2019 by Call_Of_Ktulu

[dave mcbride]

12 hours ago, WideNine said:

Miami is having a fire sale down there - Gesicki did not look too shabby - seriously though pretty sure he is not going anywhere.

 

It is a bit early to give up on Knox or Sweeney, but we do need those reliable hands and Daboll has schemed him open so many times for the drive-killing drop. He has made some great catches too, but needs to be a more consistent target.

 

He has a ways to go as a route runner too, but have to remember that Ol' Miss did not really have much of a passing tree for their TEs. 

Gesicki is part of their future, not their past. He's one of the guys they've gotta build around.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

12 hours ago, Bangarang said:

Lee as in Lee Smith? He doesn’t belong on that list. You aren’t signing that guy to be a threat in the passing game.

 

Agreed.  And yet, he does have 3 pass receptions on 4 targets, including a TD - the latter because the Bills exploited that very assumption

 

20 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

Sweeney needs to get in there.  He’s the pass catcher.  Knox can be the new Lee Smith

 

And yet, in his 5 active games, Sweeney has 3 catches on 8 targets.  That's the same number of catches as Lee Smith, on 2x the targets.

37.5% catch % is not promising support for this point of view.   That's Zay Jones territory.

 

Even Knox is doing better.

 

[Mr. WEO]

4 hours ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

Agreed.  And yet, he does have 3 pass receptions on 4 targets, including a TD - the latter because the Bills exploited that very assumption

 

 

And yet, in his 5 active games, Sweeney has 3 catches on 8 targets.  That's the same number of catches as Lee Smith, on 2x the targets.

37.5% catch % is not promising support for this point of view.   That's Zay Jones territory.

 

Even Knox is doing better.

 

 

 

The simple solution is throw him more balls---or at least play him and cut that ridiculous Kroft pickup.

 

Knox was never a receiver....anywhere except maybe a bit in HS.  He came out of college way too soon.  Sweeney played 4 years, was used as a receiver at BC.

 

If they both turn out as solid receivers, that's great.  But just tossing Knox out there to find out if he's any good at catching footballs in games isn't a solid TE plan.