Move Oliver to Defensive End

[WideNine]

13 minutes ago, Bangarang said:

Nah 

 

This.

 

Oliver is a rookie, having rookie growing pains, getting stronger, diagnosing plays, playing a new position in a new scheme.

 

And he has enough size for the way this defense wants their DTs to play.

 

Same height as Aaron Donald and although close in build, Oliver is nearly 10 lbs heavier. The comparisons should and do stop there.

 

He isn't there yet (obviously), but it took some time to see Harry come into his own in this scheme, Oliver needs time too.

 

Making him earn playing time is not a bad thing. If he does not take the limited reps as a challenge to work hard and up his game, then the Bills would have a problem.

 

Way too early, and we need to see how he responds and takes steps in the right direction.

 

 

 

[Hapless Bills Fan]

13 minutes ago, Real McCoy said:

You need to tell this to our FO and coaching staff then who gave him his lowest snap count of the season on Sunday and had him playing ST.

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/O/OlivEd00/fantasy/2019

 

Well, someone has got to play ST.  He played 4 snaps on 'Teams", it's not like a big role.

 

They decided the bigger guys were a better fit, and McDermott went against his strong preferences to somewhat abandon his DT rotation.

[BuffaninSarasota]

30 minutes ago, ndirish1978 said:

IN, this is the first time this has ever been discussed and needs it's own thread.

 

no it hasn't - and it doesn't need another inane thread

 

 

[BuffaloMatt]

Since we are playing this game.  . . . Can we try him as MLB? 

[njbuff]

Just now, HOUSE said:

 

Isn't this a little extreme ??

 

Is "back off Oliver" any better?

 

?

[CEN-CAL17]

He needs to have a role similar to Donald.... just move him all over the line.

 

Shoot Lorax stands up at the DT position but fans don’t think a man who ran a 4.7 40 with a 7.15 3 cone can’t play the edge? Ok...

 

Put him all over the line!!!!

[Augie]

AGAIN? 

[GETTOTHE50]

Lets try the 3-4 again too. 

[Rock-A-Bye Beasley]

34 minutes ago, auburnbillsbacker said:

According to this board the Bills need to

-Move Oliver to DE

-Move Ford to Guard

-Move Edmunds to OLB

If this board is right the Bills really need to start drafting players who can actually play the position they drafted them to play.

 

You forgot DK Metcalf can’t run routes 

[HOUSE]

1 hour ago, njbuff said:

Lay off Oliver.

 

He is a rookie playing a tough position.

 

Donald wasn’t exactly dominant at the start of his career either.

 

Be patient for once.

 

Is he eligible for unemployment?

[Captain_Quint]

Is Kevin and his liquid involved in this thread, too? 

[njbuff]

Just now, HOUSE said:

 

Is he eligible for unemployment?

 

Aren't we all.

[Bronxbomber21]

If u move him to DE you should just change the d to a 3-4

[SJDK]

1 minute ago, BuffaloMatt said:

Since we are playing this game.  . . . Can we try him as MLB? 

Sure, Oliver MLB, Edwards OLB. Since we are playing the game. For real though, he is obviously struggling a bit. I think his issue may be lack of effort or injury with his snap count going down. McDermott will stick with a guy if the effort is there in most cases. Of course we also don’t know how long it’s been an issue.

[njbuff]

1 minute ago, Captain_Quint said:

Is Kevin and his liquid involved in this thread, too? 

 

I posted this in another thread, but, meet the real Kevin here. ?

 

 

[Phil The Thrill]

57 minutes ago, M. Wrotto said:

I wonder why Oliver hasn’t been given the chance to play Defensive End. There is no mistaking his effort, but he seems to be often overmatched by the hulking Offensive Lineman and has has a really hard time releasing from their blocks. Jordan Phillips have proven to be much more effective on the inside and watching V Taylor a couple days ago I don’t see a great drop off. Oliver is strong as an Ox, young and quick, I think the coaches should give this a try and see what happens. Thoughts?

Sal Capaccio explained why this wouldn’t work in a 4-3.  

[Da webster guy]

Lorax used to play in the trenches as a Dlineman and Olineman, he's turned into a great linebacker.    Anything is possible (I compared him to Levon Kirkland in another thread suggesting this) , but I feel like he's grading out well where he is and simply needs to keep plugging in there.

 

He's so fast, it does seem as if he could sometimes be put in a position to have a little more room to operate and utilize his strengths better.

 

Same thing is happening to Quinnen Williams down in NY, pretty steep learning curve when you're going from college trenches to the NFL.

[BuffaloMatt]

13 minutes ago, SJDK said:

Sure, Oliver MLB, Edwards OLB. Since we are playing the game. For real though, he is obviously struggling a bit. I think his issue may be lack of effort or injury with his snap count going down. McDermott will stick with a guy if the effort is there in most cases. Of course we also don’t know how long it’s been an issue.

I think I will continue to just trust in the "Process"

[CorkScrewHill]

Per the board we have several significant busts .. Allen, Edmunds, Ford, and Oliver. Why not try this:

- Allen (a high ceiling prospect who needed time to groom) time is up move him to TE. Trade for Josh Rosen after the season since if you ignore the tape, he is clearly a product of a bad system and is in fact Pro-Ready but can be had for a fourth or fifth.

 

- Ford (who after 8 games will clearly never be a starting level player) - Move to a blocking TE and bring back Jordan Mills as he was much more consistent.

 

- Edmunds (freak athlete but can't man the middle). Give him a try at TE because he has a unique skill set that will allow him to beat LBers in space.

 

- Oliver (never has it been so clear after 8 games that someone will never be able to make the leap to be a DT in the league). I would think you should shift him to TE as he is fast and big.

 

Matt Barkley throwing to our new 4 TE set would be unstoppable. Go Bills.

[Logic]

Don't move Oliver anywhere.

Leave him at 3T, where he's having a good rookie season. Let him learn on the job. He needs reps at the pro level.

The only people thinking he's any kind of a letdown are those who bought into all of the Aaron Donald and John Randle comparisons and set themselves up to believe he'd have 6 or more sacks as a rookie. Warren Sapp -- arguably the greatest penetrating 3T of all time -- had 3 sacks as a rookie. John Randle, the Hall of Famer to whom Oliver was compared before the draft, had ONE sack in his rookie season. Historically, defensive tackles take a season or two to adjust to the pro game and start to dominate. Aaron Donald was a rare exception to this rule.

Oliver is doing just fine. He needs a bunch of reps the second half of the season and a full offseason in the weight room and he's gonna be the absolute least of the Bills' concerns going forward.