Will Christian Wade make the Bills' final 53 in 2021?

[DCOrange]

I would vote 0% if given the choice but 0-25% will have to suffice. I'd be really surprised if he makes it.

[Shaw66]

26 minutes ago, dbfla10 said:

I dont underestimate anything. Hes an athlete that was able to play scout team (non contact) and simulated Jacksons speed... He is not a RB or an NFL caliber player... You over exaggerate his abilities. 

I disagree about his abilities, but that's just a difference of opinion.   I get it.   We agree he doesn't make it; I just think it's because there's no way he can learn to play the game at a level that is good enough.  The objective is mistake-free football; I don't see how he can play mistake-free football 

 

We'll see. 

 

 

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

I don’t know how anyone on here can be so definitive in their views either way. Had anyone seen him play in practice over the past few years? 

[Artem Lipatov]

I hope he will. But chances are low

[Brennan Huff]

I can’t wait for him to go back to England and it has absolutely nothing to do with him

[Rocky Landing]

Shaw, I wish you had a 50/50 option for voting, because that's where I am. And, because I'm such an irrational, homer-type fan, I went with the 50-75 option. The glass is always half full with me. Unfortunately, it's usually half full of sh**.

[Ethan in Cleveland]

1 hour ago, Shaw66 said:

I think you underestimate the level of his talent.   When the Bills were preparing for the Ravens, Wade was the guy who played Lamar Jackson on the scout team, because he was the only guy the Bills had with that combination of quickness and speed.   

 

The guy is really talented.   It's only a question of whether he can learn enough to play the game. 

If he was really that talented why is he not on the roster already? It can't take two full seasons to learn how to return kicks or play RB. Catch ball. Run. Take handoff. Run right or left.  If he was truly a gamebreaker as you suggest they would have found a way to get him on the roster. 

[Rocky Landing]

12 minutes ago, Ethan in Portland said:

If he was really that talented why is he not on the roster already? It can't take two full seasons to learn how to return kicks or play RB. Catch ball. Run. Take handoff. Run right or left.  If he was truly a gamebreaker as you suggest they would have found a way to get him on the roster. 

Do you really think the game is so simple that it can be easily learned, from scratch, at the professional level, in just a couple seasons? Really?

 

 

Edited March 19, 2021 by Rocky Landing

[dbfla10]

27 minutes ago, Miyagi-Do Karate said:

I don’t know how anyone on here can be so definitive in their views either way. Had anyone seen him play in practice over the past few years? 

I'm so definitive because I've seen enough of him, understand what it takes to make, been around this game/people long enough to know he has 0 chance. Not to mention hes going to be 30yrs old. Great story but not going to happen

[Alphadawg7]

2 hours ago, Shaw66 said:

I keep coming back to Wade.  We saw the flashes of his talent in the 2019 preseason - he has NFL speed and escapability.   Obviously, he has zero football experience.  

 

His talents would be a great addition in the Bills' backfield, but does his inexperience make him a liability?   He has said that the hardest thing for him to learn has been blocking.  I'm sure Josh Allen loves to hear that.   

 

Bills need a punt returner and kick returner, and his skills fit there, too.   But are the Bills really going to trust him to make the right decisions on those plays?

 

Missing the 2020 preseason really hurt him.  

 

As much as I like the idea, I think he's less than 25%.

Correction, he now has 2 years football experience actually

 

I think he’s got a legit shot to make the roster, assuming he’s been showing the staff he’s picked it up enough thus far.  Problem is, we don’t really have any information on how far along he is, so it’s all speculative really.  

Edited March 19, 2021 by Alphadawg7

[Shaw66]

2 minutes ago, Rocky Landing said:

Do you really think the game is so simple that it can be easily learned, from scratch, at the professional level, in just a couple seasons? Really?

 

 

I agree.  Just think about punt returns.    Just learning to judge the flight of the ball requires a lot of work, doing it from scratch.  Remember, this isn't a guy who grew up shagging fly balls like most American kids.  So, he has to learn the flight of the ball, how it curves, how to read the spin, all of that.   He has to learn to look away from the ball to gauge where the coverage is, then find the ball.  Then catch the ball under pressure, learn when to take the fair catch, learn how to play the ball close to the sideline.   Then he has to not fumble when he gets hit two seconds after catching it.   A team can tolerate maybe one mistake in any of that process a season; the rest of the time, all of that has to be done right.   I don't think that's something you just practice and learn to do without having done it under live fire.   

[TroutDog]

2 minutes ago, Alphadawg7 said:

Correction, he now has 2 years football experience actually

 

I think he’s got a legit shot to make the roster, assuming he’s been showing the staff he’s picked it up enough thus far.  Problem is, we don’t really have any information on how far along he is, so it’s all speculative really.  

Yup, this is where I am. Unfortunately we didn’t get to see him at all last ‘preseason’. There is a possibility he advanced quite a bit from year one. 
 

I will be interested to either see him play in preseason or hear what McD or Daboll say about him. 

[Rochesterfan]

2 hours ago, Shaw66 said:

I keep coming back to Wade.  We saw the flashes of his talent in the 2019 preseason - he has NFL speed and escapability.   Obviously, he has zero football experience.  

 

His talents would be a great addition in the Bills' backfield, but does his inexperience make him a liability?   He has said that the hardest thing for him to learn has been blocking.  I'm sure Josh Allen loves to hear that.   

 

Bills need a punt returner and kick returner, and his skills fit there, too.   But are the Bills really going to trust him to make the right decisions on those plays?

 

Missing the 2020 preseason really hurt him.  

 

As much as I like the idea, I think he's less than 25%.

 

Love his attitude and heart - just do not see any way on a team with SB aspirations that Wade makes the final roster.  I could see them look at a counting PS spot, but I think his football journey ends this year. 
 

He made nice money and lived a dream many of us would love.  I could see them using him as a liaison in the UK, but I just don’t think he has enough of the basic blocking/receiving skills to be a full time player.

[Shaw66]

3 minutes ago, Alphadawg7 said:

Correction, he now has 2 years football experience actually

 

I think he’s got a legit shot to make the roster, assuming he’s been showing the staff he’s picked it up enough thus far.  Problem is, we don’t really have any information on how far along he is, so it’s all speculative really.  

Well, his best opportunity for experience was his second year of preseason football, and he didn't get that.   But he has had two years of something.  

 

I agree about it being speculative.   I started this just to see what kind of thoughts people had about it.  

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

37 minutes ago, dbfla10 said:

I'm so definitive because I've seen enough of him, understand what it takes to make, been around this game/people long enough to know he has 0 chance. Not to mention hes going to be 30yrs old. Great story but not going to happen

I don’t know your background. But how can you say you have “seen enough of him”? Unless you have some inside access to practice (maybe you do), we have all seen him

play like 10 snaps two years ago. 
 

I am not saying that you are wrong. It’s just that it seems like everyone is just guessing based on no data. I would like to see what he looks like this pre-season now with a few years of training and reps.  

[Freddie's Dead]

After being indentured to the Bills for the last two years, he makes the team this year, 75-100%.  If not, he's playing somewhere else.  Too much talent to keep off the field.

38 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

I agree.  Just think about punt returns.    Just learning to judge the flight of the ball requires a lot of work, doing it from scratch.  Remember, this isn't a guy who grew up shagging fly balls like most American kids.  So, he has to learn the flight of the ball, how it curves, how to read the spin, all of that.   He has to learn to look away from the ball to gauge where the coverage is, then find the ball.  Then catch the ball under pressure, learn when to take the fair catch, learn how to play the ball close to the sideline.   Then he has to not fumble when he gets hit two seconds after catching it.   A team can tolerate maybe one mistake in any of that process a season; the rest of the time, all of that has to be done right.   I don't think that's something you just practice and learn to do without having done it under live fire.   

 

They catch kicked balls in rugby all the time.  Sure, different ball, but the concept is the same.

59 minutes ago, Ethan in Portland said:

If he was really that talented why is he not on the roster already? It can't take two full seasons to learn how to return kicks or play RB. Catch ball. Run. Take handoff. Run right or left.  If he was truly a gamebreaker as you suggest they would have found a way to get him on the roster. 

 

He was indentured for two years to the Bills and was not eligible to be activated, period.

[Southern_Bills]

No chance. Good story but story's don't win games.

 

We are in SB mode. Hope we get one but no guarantee, make no doubt though that's where we are.

[Gunvald's Husse]

43 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

I agree.  Just think about punt returns.    Just learning to judge the flight of the ball requires a lot of work, doing it from scratch.  Remember, this isn't a guy who grew up shagging fly balls like most American kids.  So, he has to learn the flight of the ball, how it curves, how to read the spin, all of that.   He has to learn to look away from the ball to gauge where the coverage is, then find the ball.  Then catch the ball under pressure, learn when to take the fair catch, learn how to play the ball close to the sideline.   Then he has to not fumble when he gets hit two seconds after catching it.   A team can tolerate maybe one mistake in any of that process a season; the rest of the time, all of that has to be done right.   I don't think that's something you just practice and learn to do without having done it under live fire.   

Actually, that is exactly what he has done probably every rugby game he has ever played - being able to catch the high ball (which can come at any time unlike in American Football when you know the other team is punting) is a skill that a winger in rugby definitely needs - and there is no one out there slowing the chase down. Also, fair catch is a thing in rugby too.

[Shaw66]

2 minutes ago, Gunvald's Husse said:

Actually, that is exactly what he has done probably every rugby game he has ever played - being able to catch the high ball (which can come at any time unlike in American Football when you know the other team is punting) is a skill that a winger in rugby definitely needs - and there is no one out there slowing the chase down. Also, fair catch is a thing in rugby too.

Thanks to you and Freddie for the rugby comments.  I didn't think a rugby wing caught those kicked balls.     

 

Wade has commented that it's tougher to catch a football than a rugby ball, but that's something he should have mastered by now.  THe flight of the rugby ball should be easier to track, because it's rounder, but he can learn that, too.  The decision making in traffic is hard to replicate in practice.  

 

It will be interesting to see what happens.   If he gets cut at the end of preseason, as I expect he will, it will be interesting to see if the Bills or any other team adds him their practice squad.  

[Wsam4031]

who cares