Chris Kelsay to Start Per MM

[LabattBlue]

Did I miss the link on this??? I thought MM was quoted earlier in the week that they will split the duties at LDE, so does it really make a difference who starts??

[San-O]

I see the need the Bills had to pick an LDE two years in a row as certainly being prompted by some real failure on Denny's part as a rookie, but also in no small part it was prompted by:

 

1. The Bills moved from running a 3-4 to a 4-3.

2. At the same time they jacked up their need for DL players by 25% they were in the process of losing Big Ted as a cap cut, Wiley as an FA and Hansen to retirement.

3. This also came on the tail of losing the best defensive player we ever had, Bruce Smith, as a cap casualty.

 

If you want to talk about the whole point, then look at the whole thing.  I think one of the major failings of the GW era was moving to a 4-3 at the worst possible time.  I think the Bills would have been shopping for prominent De help regardless of how Denny performed as this team needed to create leverage and prepare for the potential loss of Schobel.

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Good points, taken with the larger perspective.

 

[gflande1]

Per Billsdaily.com

Kelsay, Reed To Start: Coach Mularkey said in his media day press conference that Chris Kelsay and Josh Reed will start Sunday's opener against Jacksonville. He said there will be plenty of reps for Ryan Denney and Lee Evans. The rotation at left defensive end will continue however as Denney is expected to start next week.

[Cash2Burn]

"Is Denney now officailly a bust?"

 

Why is it that every post that asks..."is [fill in name] officially a bust?" written by someone relatively new to TSW? Are you just trying to get a rise out of people?

 

Denny's an effective role player who'll never get a lot of sacks. But every team needs quality depth guys like him. He'll get a lot of playing time and make Kelsay all the better for it.

[San-O]

"Is Denney now officailly a bust?"

 

Why is it that every post that asks..."is [fill in name] officially a bust?" written by someone relatively new to TSW?    Are you just trying to get a rise out of people?     

 

Denny's an effective role player who'll never get a lot of sacks.  But every team needs quality depth guys like him.  He'll get a lot of playing time and make Kelsay all the better for it.

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Excuse me, I have been a member longer than you.

 

Every team needs quality depth, however not from players drafted with a number 2 pick. Players taken that high are expected to start.

 

B)

[Fake-Fat Sunny]

Not at all FFS, and he DID start, this is true. But he was the weak link, right?

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A rational assessment of who was the weak link on the Bills D last year certainly varied from game to game. However, even looking at the D from a perspective of weakness is probably not a rational way to try to assess what most feel was a very successful D and one which put up some good stats. The worse performer is probably better thought about as the "least strong" rather than the "most weak" The two things may be equal but the phrasing seems to be more applicable to a D which was productive.

 

I'd judge the 2003 starting D this was;

 

DE- Schobel- racked up stats like his sack total which show his consistent improvement over the three years. He has gained some strength and compensated also by learning the game (some of his rookie tackling angles chosen were embarassing). Hedoes not yet appear to be a force that other teams must gameplan around, but may become one if he shows the same level of improvement.

 

DT- Pat Williams- A very good season last year but we've grown to expect this from a consistent performer. He will step it up a few times a game to make plays which are downright extraordinary. His play had suffered the two previous years when other teams could focus on him but the addition of Adams and with a good LV crew around him has made him even more effective.

 

DT- Adams- O expected a big upgrade over Edwards from even an Adams in decline and he actually strapped it on and seem to take the game more seriously as realized he was getting older. Third parties took notice and reported that Adams showed up on plays at a much greater level than in the past. Opponents could never tell anyway which play he was going to go on vacation so they had to account for him all the time, but this year he took fewer vactions and it showed with some amazing plays from an incredibly fast first step.

 

DE- Denny improved his play last year as much as almost any Bill. Unfortunately this speaks not simply to him showing him applying better leverage in using his big body and also showing some good athletic talent in covering downfield in zone-blitz situations, but it also speaks to how bad he was as a rookie when his leverage and bending properly problems forced the Bills to keep him inactive much of his rookie season. He lost his starting job to Kelsay in 2004 but should see a significant chunk of time because the Bills will apparently use the 3 DEs they have to man the two positions. Thougts that he is a bust seem to be an indicator that the poster does not know football or is caught in the past of their first impressions.

 

LB- Posey- Perhaps one of the biggest disappointments last year to Bills fans but it probably speaks more to the fans having too high of expectations than problems on Posey's part as an athlete. He seemed to have trouble getting used to the move from the 3-4 he played in TX to the 4-3 the Bills employed. Gray/LeBeau also never seemed to employ him with direction and authority as they were always tempted to use him to bolster a weak pass rush. He however showed moments of brilliance (he hit David Carr so hard he hurt him) and he really seemed to be coming around toward the end of the season so this year is one of anticipation about what he is becoming rather than fear of what he was.

 

LB- Fletcher- I also felt very good about his play. He will always be undersized and not the fastest kid on the block, but he rose to the FA demand he got when TD snagged him through his diligence, constant motor and understanding of the game. He exhibited all these features last year. His tackle total dropped mostly because we got better personel with him like Spikes. I think he is a stud.

 

LB- Spikes earned his pro bowl appearance by working well with Fletcher and becoming a go to guy right away in a very good D. Not much you can say but keeo on doing what you do.

 

CB- Winfield got alot of grief from folks disappointed by his lack of INTs, but he made up for this in my mind with some incredibly tough tackling, particularly by a pretty small package. His best game in my mind was the one against Jax last year where he simply destroyed plans they had to make use of their TE heavily and got several tackles for losses on outlet passes. It was pretty understandable that the Bills let him go as the $ they set aside to sign him early went for Milloy and once he survived the season (I thought the injury bug would get him given how hard he hit in a small body) multiples teams bid through the roof for him. However, getting turnovers is a key for us and not only did his tackle-first attotide work against this (despite him being a blanket cover-guy) but even his hits never produced a lot of fumbles.

 

SS- Milloy was worth the too much money which the market forced the Bills to give him as the need we had for a starting caliber SS was huge (I love Wire, but his rookie year at SS was an adventure in decision-making for him since he had never played safety before) and Cota and Battles had retired on us. He single handedly allowed us to blast a better team in our first game and made a few game altering plays in the season and racked up one of the leading # of tackles for our team. Some fans were disappointed because they merely judged him by the fact he was overpaid because it is what the market required, but objectively he was one of the biggest factors of the improvement of our D last year/

 

FS- Reese really pointed to some weakness we had at FS. FS was not Prioleau's first position as he made his bones in this league as a SS. Reese provided better pass coverage than PP but Reese has to work hard to be the hitter we want and it was not surprising to me he ended up on the IR. I will not be shocled to see Baker actually unseat him as this rookie learns the pro game.

 

CB Clements is a great talent who may have the breakout year we're hoping for now that he is out of Winfield's shadow and has Vincent to learn from. The kwy for him will be not to get hurt doing punt returns.

 

So over all, I'd answer your question by saying that the least strong links on this #2 statistical defense last year was actually Reese and the early polay of Posey rather than Denny. This year I expect great things because Posey should be better. i expect Reese to be pushed by Baker and Denny has actually been supplanted by Kelsay though given that the Bills are only carrying 3 DEs I expect Denny to see a lot of duty and if he continues to improve at a level which saw him move from being inactive to starting on the #2 statistical D Denny may actually end up bringing some comparisons to The Stork with his big body if he proves effective.

[BuffaloBob]

You raise good points, but it is more than the sorry number of sacks. He does not even bring much pressure to qbs and he should, with guys like Big Sam and PW occupying blockers.

Almost everyone on the board states that OL and DE are their concerns this season. Denney is the bulk of the reason for concern at DE imo, and MM seems to agree.

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You people are freakin' nuts! I can't believe you are even having this discussion it is so ridiculous!

 

Mularkey stated that they would both play equally. Did you people not watch the preseason games? I saw only two, and in those two games I saw Denny twice play off of a block and make a tackle on a running play at or behind behind the LOS. He dropped back into coverage on a zone blitz and made a great interception, and he was in the face of Manning when Manning threw the INT to Wire.

 

You people and your labeling of two-year players as busts belie your ignorance regarding personnel. Do you not realize that it is EXTREMELY rare that a player, even a first rounder but especially number 2's, come into the league and play with impact until they've had at least two years under their belts?

 

You obviously were the same people declaring Bruce Smith, Marcellus Wiley, Eric Moulds, Phil Hansen (and the list could go on and on) busts also. God, this labeling of young draft choices as busts after 1 or 2 years of experience is just maddening.

 

Jesus, why do you think Marv rarely played first and second year players? Of course, he had the luxury not to, but it gave them the time to develop physically and mentally, and to get the feel for the professional game.

 

Denny has bulked up and has become a very solid run stuffer at LDE. But I suppose it will take two or three years of that before you people will give up this collective assessment of his supposed failure.

 

Unbelieveable!

[Fan in San Diego]

I thought I read they are going to split time. That being the case Denny is not a bust.

[nick in* england]

Unbe-f*cking-lievable.

 

Look - Kelsay being named starter doesn't mean squat right now. All preseason the Bills have inisted that Kelsay and Denney are a two headed monster at DE - they will split time in a pretty heavy rotation, as will Phat Sam, the Keg, etc. Does this mean that they too are busts?? NO!