The Athletic All-22: Why the film shows Duke Williams should be active in the playoffs

[MAJBobby]

 

[Rock'em Sock'em]

7 hours ago, ticketssince61 said:

It is alot more than 8 picks:

- Allen was 4 (?)

- Edmunds was 2

- Ford was 2

- Knox was 2

So it was really 15 picks

Interesting take and partially true, but they did not actually "make" 15 picks.

 

In terms of whether they should have traded up...

Allen - Solid enough pick.  But could have also waited and hoped Allen fell, or else selected Jackson.  Or they could have selected Watson or Mahommes in 2017.  There were lots of good options for QBs in 2017 and 2018, and they landed one of them.

Edmunds - Solid enough pick.  But they could have waited and selected Edmunds later if he fell, or else Darius Leonard.

Ford - Solid trade up, no great alternatives.

Knox - Solid trade up, no great alternatives.

[Buffalo Junction]

1 hour ago, DuckyBoys said:

Go look at the snap counts for offense and more importantly special teams and tell me Foster, Roberts, Dimarco and Perry are all irreplacable    I can guarantee you all 4 are worthless on offense  If only McKenzie could hold onto returns we wouldn't be wasting a wr spot for Roberts

This why I’m slightly baffled by everyone wanting to pull Foster for Duke instead of pulling McKenzie. Foster has done a pretty good job with those jet sweeps over the last two years when given the opportunity. ?‍♂️

[Scott7975]

1 hour ago, MAJBobby said:

Stats have shown this to be wrong. There are just as many kick returns this year than those in the past. Also Texans ST are very good so doesn’t make sense taking off one of our best ST weapons. 
 

so let’s say you lose his Return yards because of Hyde just catching the Punt. You don’t think those extra yards Help an offense?

 

The dude is good and I am not advocating taking him out … but I also see the point.  There may be just as many kick returns this year than in the past but that doesn't mean its the right thing.  For instance  his avg kick return is the 26 yard line.  If its just a touchback you are at the 25 anyways.  I doubt that 1 yard avg extra is that much of a difference.  That includes a long of 66 yards.  Which means more often than not he isn't even getting to the 25 yard line. 

 

Roberts has broken 40+ yards 3 times this season.  While those 3 times are helpful in the moment... what about the rest of the time that he effectively lost yardage due to not getting there or a penalty which are way more frequent.  There are also potential injuries to consider. Its kind of like when we had a really poor run game but kept banging away at it.  The RB would get stuffed, lose yardage, or maybe get a yard at best most of the time... but hey he broke one for 20 yards that one time.  That's great except the other 15 times he put us in long yardage situations.

 

As for PR's... Hyde averages 2.7 yards less.  That's not a lot. like maybe 1 first down an entire game?  A little more?

 

Again, I am not advocating him not doing the job.  I am just saying I see the argument. 

 

Marcus Easley we kept on the roster for years.  Worthless player IMO and a wasted roster spot but hey... great gunner.  Kind of like what Foster is to me now.

Edited January 1, 2020 by Scott7975

[Big Blitz]

Like I said last week........"lit."  Didn't have 12 catches but he had 12 freaking targets.  

 

 

Edited January 1, 2020 by Big Blitz

[Scott7975]

27 minutes ago, Buffalo Junction said:

This why I’m slightly baffled by everyone wanting to pull Foster for Duke instead of pulling McKenzie. Foster has done a pretty good job with those jet sweeps over the last two years when given the opportunity. ?‍♂️

 

My problem is the Jet sweeps work well for us but we rarely use them.  I can count on one hand how many time we ran them over the last month or so.

[Jerome007]

Fans have been having a hard on for Duke for a while but that means nothing. BUT, the Jets played to win, had  their starters, there were no Smoke or Beasley or Knox to draw attention away from Duke, and he was wide open all game. That to me makes it a no brainer. We all though Foster would at the very least stretch the field but he's been a non-factor all year, and well Josh has not connected much on deep throws. Much better to put Duke in there,

[GunnerBill]

1 hour ago, HappyDays said:

 

I agree with Joe Marino's take - inactivate Kurt Coleman for Duke Williams. His special teams snaps have declined since the beginning of the year and he was terrible against the Jets. It is useless to keep him active over a receiver that offers something different on offense.

 

It is just a numbers game at defensive back that keeps Coleman up for me. 

[Albany,n.y.]

11 hours ago, ticketssince61 said:

 

It is alot more than 8 picks:

- Allen was 4 (?)

- Edmunds was 2

- Ford was 2

- Knox was 2

So it was really 15 picks

8 picks were 2019 only.  The extra Ford pick was giving back the one we stole for AJ McCarron & the Knox pick was for our 4th & the 4th we got for Reggie Ragland.  So I still think the 2019 draft was pretty amazing. 

 

The reality of the Allen trade is more complicated: Glenn to Cincinnati to move from 21 to 12 and then trading pick 12 along with our own 2nd pick & the 2nd we got from LAR to rent Watkins for a year.  So technically it was 4 players, 3 actual draft picks-may turn out to be the steal of the draft.  Edmunds was traded by taking the extra 1 we got from KC the year before & throwing in the 3rd we stole from Cleveland for their 1 year rental of Tyrod Taylor.  

 

With the exception of his last 3 picks in 2018, Beane has been great handling the draft.  We drafted 2 players who look like keepers in the 7th round last year & found at least 1 more starter in the 2018 undrafted free agent class.  

 

Just think: in 3 of the 4 player trades you mentioned Beane moved a draft pick that he acquired by trading a player on the final year of his contract.  

Edited January 1, 2020 by Albany,n.y.

[John from Riverside]

6 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

 

In fairness Duke's run blocking overall has been pretty decent when he has been on the field despite a couple of whiffs on Sunday. Otherwise I agree with everything you posted above. 

 

I wonder if people actually watch the Bills and really understand what their plan is?

 

The Bills win on defense by not giving up big plays and by making teams put together 8-12 play drives to score. Make one mistake in there and get yourself behind the chains and the Bills defense almost always gets you off the field. That has to be allied with a special teams unit that at the very least holds its own in the field position game. Make teams start drives against you from their 30 at best. If you have a couple of special teams breakdowns that give your opponent, in this case Deshaun Watson and the Texans, starts at midfield it undermines your whole defensive gameplan. 

 

The Bills are not going to risk that for a marginal talent at wide receiver. I still say the route to get Duke active if that is the way they decide to go is at the expense of a tight end. 

I think the player that should sit for Duke being active is Lee Evans......his snap count has gone down over the course of the season.....he takes too many penalties....he provides virtually NOTHING as a offensive threat.....and as you said Duke also blocks for the run.

 

I dont understand the downplay of Duke's offensive ability.....someone called a him a good pass  catcher...I can think of 2 games this year that head he been the pass catcher on the end of the pass we either win or go to overtime.

 

I dont know what the future holds for Duke....maybe in the offseason they get the bigger body guy who actually separates but I love how Duke squeezes the ball when he catches it....secures the ball....he provides something that we dont have on the field because Dawson KNox while he makes big plays also drops the ball.....Duke has been as reliable as it gets.  He just went against the jets starters and had a 100 yard game.   We dont have any size to throw to the boundry or high point the ball at wr which is missing from this offense.

 

I keep going back to Kelvin Benjamin.....who ws a disaster as a wide receiver but Josh threw Kelvin so many balls that Duke Williams would have caught (imo)

[Albany,n.y.]

55 minutes ago, Rock'em Sock'em said:

Allen - Solid enough pick.  But could have also waited and hoped Allen fell, or else selected Jackson.  Or they could have selected Watson or Mahommes in 2017.  There were lots of good options for QBs in 2017 and 2018, and they landed one of them.

 

Allen wouldn't have fallen, Arizona really wanted him & he would have never made it to 12.   The Bills didn't like Jackson as evidenced by the leaked draft board that had Rosen, Rudolph & Lauletta on it as the final 3 but no Jackson.  

 

Obviously, in hindsight even the biggest Allen homers (like me) will admit we shouldn't have traded the pick to KC & either drafted Mahomes or Watson.  The problem is, by not firing Whaley immediately after the season & putting his replacement in there in January, the Bills were not prepared to draft a QB to be the face of the franchise in 2017.  If you need to blame the Bills for not getting Mahomes or Watson, blame Pegula for not having a GM in place well before the 2017 draft.  It was well known in the Buffalo media (or at least by Jerry Sullivan who said in April that Whaley was leaving) that Whaley was dead GM walking.  Basically with the structure they had in place, they were not about to saddle the new GM with someone else's QB selection.  

[HappyDays]

31 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

It is just a numbers game at defensive back that keeps Coleman up for me. 

 

Not counting the last game he has played 13 defensive snaps this year. Less than 1 per game. White, Wallace, Poyer, Hyde, T. Johnson, J. Johnson, K. Johnson, and Neal is enough for me.

[3rdand12]

17 hours ago, Don Otreply said:

Well, there you have it folks, it has become Main Stream obvious, Duke Williams should be active and used in our offense, this has been very obvious to many off us here and in the greater Bills world for quite some time now. Now maybe, just maybe those who have not seen the forest through the trees might just notice the shrubbery....

 

Go Bills!!!

Main Stream Obvious

 Love the new term you just coined !

 and since you mentioned a shrubbery....

[Kelly the Dog]

8 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

 

Not counting the last game he has played 13 defensive snaps this year. Less than 1 per game. White, Wallace, Poyer, Hyde, T. Johnson, J. Johnson, K. Johnson, and Neal is enough for me.

Yep, depending on Wallace's health. I don't think they will do it though. I think in a playoff game that McD will opt for Coleman's experience. It's possible that he would sit J Johnson though if he really thought that Duke could make a difference. IMO, he could.

[HappyDays]

2 minutes ago, Kelly the Dog said:

Yep, depending on Wallace's health. I don't think they will do it though. I think in a playoff game that McD will opt for Coleman's experience. It's possible that he would sit J Johnson though if he really thought that Duke could make a difference. IMO, he could.

 

Jaquan Johnson was vastly superior to Kurt Coleman against the Jets. That being said, knowing McDermott you are probably right.

[WotAGuy]

5 hours ago, jwhit34 said:

Duke will follow in the great TBD Stadium Wall tradition of Brandon Reilly, Da'Rick Rogers and Naaman Roosevelt and drift into oblivion after the board clamoring for more snaps. 

Only 14 hours in and you’ve ruined 2020 for me...?

[3rdand12]

12 hours ago, oldschoolfootball1963 said:

Just confirming what we already know. Not only should Duke be starting but Sweeney should be in there with knox when the Bills go to 2 TE sets. Also put Singletary and Yeldon on the field at the same time. This is so easy to see. Maybe our coaching staff will wise up. We need points not a fullback or TE that just blocks.  Sean McDermott  started Peterman out of the blue against the Chargers 2 years ago and benched Tyrod. Maybe lighting will strike twice. We need to score, wtf is wrong with the Bills flood the field with your best weapons and let’s attack. 

I think part of McD's method has been to protect Allen. either with blocking or empty sets and quick reads.

 and he is patient. painfully so , to let His Process play out.

[Kelly the Dog]

2 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

 

Jaquan Johnson was vastly superior to Kurt Coleman against the Jets. That being said, knowing McDermott you are probably right.

Yeah, I think he was, too. McD loves him some Coleman though, and a rookie late rounder who hasn't played a ton of snaps on the road against a good QB and  WR corps makes any NFL twitchy.

[Freddie's Dead]

2 hours ago, MAJBobby said:

houstons secondary is exposed by speed. Has been all year. My prediction BOTH Foster and Williams will be active. 

 

Who bites it then?  My guy McKittrick?  

[3rdand12]

On 1/1/2020 at 8:49 AM, ProcessTruster said:

To your second line above, my sense is that many who watch the Bills intently desperately want them to be like the Chiefs, Saints, the popular entertaining offensive teams.   The cool kids of the league with the shiny toys and the goats.   That's fine, but McD is working to win games, and trying to imitate the cool kids and throw it all over the place with a 2nd tier offensive roster will lose you more games than it will win.   Bills-style football(this year) is pretty boring, lunch pail, field position, stay in the game stuff,  in comparison to the other top 10 teams.   and I'm a fan.   but it works.  the media ignore it, bc there are no splash plays or players to sell advertising off of.   but it works.   Trust the Process; barring a pile of injuries,  my sense is McBeanes will ultimately prevail over time.

I am on board.
 and trust them.
I can still have my wish list.

Mentioned to my Buddy at work.

Bills lose games because turnovers. if they protect the ball all game, they are playing the game the drew up. Always tight and almost always a nailbiter. for me its been huge fun this year.
 

 So many game began with me saying " oh well we're f'd " after getting gashed by the run in the 1st qtr. and then what happens?
Bills tighten up and make it interesting. very.
 I would play Duke all day over Foster at this point.
because Foster suks. not because Duke is all that and a bag of chips. But he does play a rounded game of football.

Edited January 2, 2020 by 3rdand12

[GunnerBill]

27 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

 

Not counting the last game he has played 13 defensive snaps this year. Less than 1 per game. White, Wallace, Poyer, Hyde, T. Johnson, J. Johnson, K. Johnson, and Neal is enough for me.

 

If Wallace is good to go. And if he is not they likely have to bring someone up. 

46 minutes ago, John from Riverside said:

I think the player that should sit for Duke being active is Lee Evans......his snap count has gone down over the course of the season.....he takes too many penalties....he provides virtually NOTHING as a offensive threat.....and as you said Duke also blocks for the run.

 

I dont understand the downplay of Duke's offensive ability.....someone called a him a good pass  catcher...I can think of 2 games this year that head he been the pass catcher on the end of the pass we either win or go to overtime.

 

I dont know what the future holds for Duke....maybe in the offseason they get the bigger body guy who actually separates but I love how Duke squeezes the ball when he catches it....secures the ball....he provides something that we dont have on the field because Dawson KNox while he makes big plays also drops the ball.....Duke has been as reliable as it gets.  He just went against the jets starters and had a 100 yard game.   We dont have any size to throw to the boundry or high point the ball at wr which is missing from this offense.

 

I keep going back to Kelvin Benjamin.....who ws a disaster as a wide receiver but Josh threw Kelvin so many balls that Duke Williams would have caught (imo)

 

He did also drop balls on Sunday. But on the basis you mean Lee Smith when you said Lee Evans I agree. And that is what I would do. 

[3rdand12]

45 minutes ago, Albany,n.y. said:

Allen wouldn't have fallen, Arizona really wanted him & he would have never made it to 12.   The Bills didn't like Jackson as evidenced by the leaked draft board that had Rosen, Rudolph & Lauletta on it as the final 3 but no Jackson.  

 

Obviously, in hindsight even the biggest Allen homers (like me) will admit we shouldn't have traded the pick to KC & either drafted Mahomes or Watson.  The problem is, by not firing Whaley immediately after the season & putting his replacement in there in January, the Bills were not prepared to draft a QB to be the face of the franchise in 2017.  If you need to blame the Bills for not getting Mahomes or Watson, blame Pegula for not having a GM in place well before the 2017 draft.  It was well known in the Buffalo media (or at least by Jerry Sullivan who said in April that Whaley was leaving) that Whaley was dead GM walking.  Basically with the structure they had in place, they were not about to saddle the new GM with someone else's QB selection.  

 

[Dr.Sack]

Duke is going to be a difference maker Saturday.

[3rdand12]

1 minute ago, Dr.Sack said:

Duke is going to be a difference maker Saturday.

if he plays? he just might.

 will be interesting to see how they approach this game via play calling and players on Offense

[Scott7975]

This could have been the NE play
 

 

[Don Otreply]

45 minutes ago, 3rdand12 said:

Main Stream Obvious

 Love the new term you just coined !

 and since you mentioned a shrubbery....

 I shall face my peril...

[transplantbillsfan]

8 hours ago, ProcessTruster said:

yeah Duke is nothing but a slower, bigger pass catcher who can't yet do anything else..  With limited roster sizes,  If you are not a top 2 wideout or a top 2 DB , on most teams you better be a strong blocker or strong on special teams, neither of which Duke is remotely close to being.   Playoff football is field position football, and what I see is we have a somewhat limited, but improving talent and therefore (IMO) field position management team, and special teams is all about gaining field position advantage.   If a team like the Bills just rolls out anyone on ST they will lose the special teams field position battle and be at a bigger disadvantage  than super talented teams that can just still score a bunch of points regardless of field position.. Bills obviously do not yet have the roster on offense to do that.  just my view

 

Uhhh... sorry but a WR is supposed to be a pass catcher.

 

Ever heard of possession WRs? At the very least, that's what Duke would be. Except as the article points out, Duke is much better at route running in terms of deception than Foster is. He gets open pretty consistently. And Sunday's game should help squash the myth that he's not fast enough to play WR. 2 deep routes on Sunday for him with 1 catch and 1 very nearly a catch.

 

He's also a damn good blocker if you're actually watching him on running plays.

 

The guy should be on the field and as the article suggests we can use Taron or Kevin Johnson as our gunner... they'd be better tacklers than Foster, anyway.

 

 

Despite all of this, I expect he will be inactive because our coaches are bull headed when it comes to personnel that best fits scheme, despite the lack of actual production from them.

[CardinalScotts]

First I like Duke, i noticed they have been using Foster to run the safety off. I haven't studied it enough to see how important this is to their successful plays but you have to respect Fosters speed- Duke doesn't have that speed. Dukes ability to get yards after catch is appealing, breaking tackles big body as well as having a big target in the red zone. We do have 2 big targets in Knox and Kroft and cant find them when throwing inside the opponents 10. You have had a successful season with Isiah McKenzie-Brown and Beasley ..do you scrap that and all of a sudden it's Duke ? I doubt McDermott would do that and then you factor in special teams..you cant lose the game on special teams this year. To switch that up would scare a lot of guys. Duke is a weapon he's not Roosevelt it would show a tremendous amount of belief to do it. I liked Foster running the jet sweep although McKenzie has been good doing it he does nothing else. 

 

Sweeney at tight end is a project if he played more snaps the defense would force him to stay in and block and he would be eaten up

[transplantbillsfan]

9 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

 

In fairness Duke's run blocking overall has been pretty decent when he has been on the field despite a couple of whiffs on Sunday. Otherwise I agree with everything you posted above. 

 

I wonder if people actually watch the Bills and really understand what their plan is?

 

The Bills win on defense by not giving up big plays and by making teams put together 8-12 play drives to score. Make one mistake in there and get yourself behind the chains and the Bills defense almost always gets you off the field. That has to be allied with a special teams unit that at the very least holds its own in the field position game. Make teams start drives against you from their 30 at best. If you have a couple of special teams breakdowns that give your opponent, in this case Deshaun Watson and the Texans, starts at midfield it undermines your whole defensive gameplan. 

 

The Bills are not going to risk that for a marginal talent at wide receiver. I still say the route to get Duke active if that is the way they decide to go is at the expense of a tight end. 

 

Actually I think most of us understand the plan, we just think it's a poor one, especially when it comes to the playoffs.

 

Our Special Teams hasn't been great this year. What's the issue with using a defender like one of the Johnsons as a gunner? They're defenders and would be better tacklers.

 

And our defense, while very, very good, is not consistent. They played the Ravens very well but then gave up the long Hurst TD. They were pretty terrible in terms of yards allowed against the Patriots, but were fortunate enough on the 1st drive to get a turnover on what was otherwise a bad play allowed and got a couple other breaks in the game. Eagles game our defense was terrible. First Miami game our defense wasn't all that good. Cleveland game our defense was disappointing. Dallas game began with Zeke running all over us and then the incompetent Jason Garrett abandoned the run game.

 

I understand our coaches' plan--I just don't think it's a good one, especially in an elimination one and done scenario that the playoffs are.

 

Something I heard the hoodie say on one of the NFL 100 shows as a war metaphor in terms of his approach to coaching really stuck with me, and I think it's emblematic of why the Patriots have been so great for so long and why I'm terrified of McDermott's approach... to paraphrase:

 

You can't just dig yourself in a hole and stay there. At some point, you need to attack.

 

McDermott, it seems as a whole, prefers the foxhole. 

Edited January 1, 2020 by transplantbillsfan

[GunnerBill]

1 hour ago, transplantbillsfan said:

 

Actually I think most of us understand the plan, we just think it's a poor one, especially when it comes to the playoffs.

 

Our Special Teams hasn't been great this year. What's the issue with using a defender like one of the Johnsons as a gunner? They're defenders and would be better tacklers.

 

And our defense, while very, very good, is not consistent. They played the Ravens very well but then gave up the long Hurst TD. They were pretty terrible in terms of yards allowed against the Patriots, but were fortunate enough on the 1st drive to get a turnover on what was otherwise a bad play allowed and got a couple other breaks in the game. Eagles game our defense was terrible. First Miami game our defense wasn't all that good. Cleveland game our defense was disappointing. Dallas game began with Zeke running all over us and then the incompetent Jason Garrett abandoned the run game.

 

I understand our coaches' plan--I just don't think it's a good one, especially in an elimination one and done scenario that the playoffs are.

 

Something I heard the hoodie say on one of the NFL 100 shows as a war metaphor in terms of his approach to coaching really stuck with me, and I think it's emblematic of why the Patriots have been so great for so long and why I'm terrified of McDermott's approach... to paraphrase:

 

You can't just dig yourself in a hole and stay there. At some point, you need to attack.

 

McDermott, it seems as a whole, prefers the foxhole. 

 

So a few things here. 

 

1) the problem with using a corner as the gunner is we are banged up at corner as it is. 

 

2) the defense has been consistent. It gave up more than 21 points 3 times all season and more than 24 points ONCE. That is a staggering level of consistency. That is how they finished 2nd in ppg and 3rd in yards per game. If you think being consistent means nobody scores on you ever then you are not watching the NFL. The Bills defense was remarkably consistent. 

 

3) you can dislike parts of the plan if you want to you can dislike it all if you so choose but let me tell you what is a bad plan - scrapping everything you have done all year for a playoff game. 

 

4) I don't recognise your description of McDermott's coaching. 

[ExWNYer]

18 hours ago, transplantbillsfan said:

 

And you would have gone with...?

 

 

   -OR- 

[MAJBobby]

3 hours ago, Freddie's Dead said:

 

Who bites it then?  My guy McKittrick?  

I can name some very easy. 
 

let’s start with Senorise Perry

ans end with Lee Smith 

[Freddie's Dead]

1 minute ago, MAJBobby said:

I can name some very easy. 
 

let’s start with Senorise Perry

ans end with Lee Smith

 

I'm down with Sa'Norris or Smith.

[transplantbillsfan]

6 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

So a few things here. 

 

1) the problem with using a corner as the gunner is we are banged up at corner as it is. 

 

2) the defense has been consistent. It gave up more than 21 points 3 times all season and more than 24 points ONCE. That is a staggering level of consistency. That is how they finished 2nd in ppg and 3rd in yards per game. If you think being consistent means nobody scores on you ever then you are not watching the NFL. The Bills defense was remarkably consistent. 

 

3) you can dislike parts of the plan if you want to you can dislike it all if you so choose but let me tell you what is a bad plan - scrapping everything you have done all year for a playoff game. 

 

4) I don't recognise your description of McDermott's coaching. 

 

1) Wallace is banged up. He's been disappointing this season. Might be a blessing in disguise. Other than Tre and our 2 Safeties, I think anyone in our secondary is interchangeable. 

 

2) I understand the points argument, but haven't you watched the team? Come on... our defense pretty clearly has some glaring weaknesses, particularly in run support. McDermott has assembled a team that I believe will consistently be in the playoffs, but with his approach we won't be consistent winners in the playoffs unless we see some drastic improvement in a few key positions on our defense in the upcoming years to make the D legitimately Elite. Baltimore and New England have better defenses, yet their approach to the game on offense is still largely to attack.

 

3) Who said scrap everything? Keep playing good defense but be a little more aggressive on offense and give Allen the one big WR on our team on gameday. How is this scrapping everything?

 

4) Okay. See all my commentary previously.

 

5) What charity do you want me to donate $50 to for our bet?

[MAJBobby]

Just now, Freddie's Dead said:

 

I'm down with Sa'Norris or Smith.

there are Players on this team that offer nothing close to what Roberts offers. So the people advocating putting Robert on the Inactive list for Duke Williams really need to know their team. 
 

you don’t put a top 5 KR and top 10 PR on inactive list for a couple catches maybe 50 yards and maybe a TD. 
 

does Duke Williams put 108 up when he is sharing TGTs with Brown, Beasley, Knox and Singletary. People want to use the Jets game as evidence. Good use it how many of those Targets during Jets Game does he get with Brown, Beasley, Singletary and Knox on the Field?

[Scott7975]

scrap it.  Put Duke in there and go 5 wide all game.

[transplantbillsfan]

5 hours ago, Buffalo Junction said:

This why I’m slightly baffled by everyone wanting to pull Foster for Duke instead of pulling McKenzie. Foster has done a pretty good job with those jet sweeps over the last two years when given the opportunity. ?‍♂️

 

McKenzie is better at them. He's much more elusive than Foster with the ball in his hands. Plus he's been used in the short passing game at times.

 

Honestly I thought Foster would prove to be a good NFL WR this year... boy was I wrong. He's a waste of a gameday roster spot.

 

There's no good reason he should be active and Duke should be inactive.

 

Yet, that's what's going to happen.

[GunnerBill]

23 minutes ago, transplantbillsfan said:

 

1) Wallace is banged up. He's been disappointing this season. Might be a blessing in disguise. Other than Tre and our 2 Safeties, I think anyone in our secondary is interchangeable. 

 

2) I understand the points argument, but haven't you watched the team? Come on... our defense pretty clearly has some glaring weaknesses, particularly in run support. McDermott has assembled a team that I believe will consistently be in the playoffs, but with his approach we won't be consistent winners in the playoffs unless we see some drastic improvement in a few key positions on our defense in the upcoming years to make the D legitimately Elite. Baltimore and New England have better defenses, yet their approach to the game on offense is still largely to attack.

 

3) Who said scrap everything? Keep playing good defense but be a little more aggressive on offense and give Allen the one big WR on our team on gameday. How is this scrapping everything?

 

4) Okay. See all my commentary previously.

 

5) What charity do you want me to donate $50 to for our bet?

 

I just don't agree that the problem with offense is conservatism. It is execution. I'd argue the Bills have been more aggressive than the Patriots on offense this season. We have among other things thrown more deep balls and attempted more 4th downs. The problem is our offensive execution remains bottom 3rd of the NFL for a variety of reasons but primarily because the talent level there is still somewhere between bottom of the middle 3rd of the league and top of the bottom 3rd. 

 

As for the charity bet - and great credit to for sticking to it @transplantbillsfan - I'd like you to donate it to Alzheimers UK which is a charity here in the UK that helps support and look after those affected by dementia. I have seen first hand two grandparents suffer the horrible decline in their final years that dementia causes. I'm glad our friendly wager can help in some small way. Link is below:

 

https://www.alzheimers.org.uk

8 minutes ago, transplantbillsfan said:

 

McKenzie is better at them. He's much more elusive than Foster with the ball in his hands. Plus he's been used in the short passing game at times.

 

Honestly I thought Foster would prove to be a good NFL WR this year... boy was I wrong. He's a waste of a gameday roster spot.

 

There's no good reason he should be active and Duke should be inactive.

 

Yet, that's what's going to happen.

 

Yea Foster is as good as McKenzie on those reverse or pop pass plays when they are executed well and catch the defense napping because his long stride speed to the edge is devastating. The reason McKenzie is more effective overall on those plays is his short area quickness. When the defense sniffs one out McKenzie can make that quick cut up field that prevents a 5 yard loss and makes it into a 6 yard gain. That I think is where you would lose with Foster. He doesn't have the same short area quickness to make that cut and get positive yardage if he can see the edge is sealed. 

Edited January 1, 2020 by GunnerBill

[MDH]

I haven’t read the entire thread but Im assuming there are a bunch of posters questioning what Joe B knows? I mean, it happens every time he has a negative take on a player, I assume its the same when he says something they agree with.

[Punching Bag]

5 hours ago, John from Riverside said:

I think the player that should sit for Duke being active is Lee Evans......his snap count has gone down over the course of the season.....he takes too many penalties....he provides virtually NOTHING as a offensive threat.....and as you said Duke also blocks for the run.

 

I have talked to Lee and he has no intention of returning to NFL even if anyone asked if he would play in playoffs.  ?

 

I think the player you meant was Lee Smith.  They both wear (or wore) Bills uniforms at one point and both catch balls but similarity ends there.