Who is your main DARK HORSE this season for the BILLS?

[ChronicAndKnuckles]

On 6/16/2021 at 12:45 PM, RoyBatty is alive said:

My Dark Horse was our lowly 6th rd pick Jack Anderson.  No not an all pro but for a 6th rounder, i think he can be a starting guard or even tackle or center in the NFL for years.

 

Yep, that's what a dark horse is. People on here are listing guys like Tremaine Edmunds and Micah Hyde which is not at all what I meant, but to each his own.

[ChronicAndKnuckles]

On 6/17/2021 at 6:48 PM, StHustle said:

Singletary

 

I chose Zack Moss. I think he has a build that's better equipped to deal w/ having the majority of carries though I would be equally happy if Singletary became the guy. His 1st season he averaged more than 5 yards per run and I love his patience & shiftiness in traffic. Last year neither one of them really separated themselves both averaging about the same YPC. 

 

[pi2000]

Tanner Gentry

[skibum]

Does Star count as a dark horse? He's coming off a year of rest with a whole fan base talking smack about how he's washed up. He gets my vote. 

[ThurmanThomasEnglishMuffin]

3 hours ago, ChronicAndKnuckles said:

 

I chose Zack Moss. I think he has a build that's better equipped to deal w/ having the majority of carries though I would be equally happy if Singletary became the guy. His 1st season he averaged more than 5 yards per run and I love his patience & shiftiness in traffic. Last year neither one of them really separated themselves both averaging about the same YPC. 

 

 

I want any RB to stand out. Moss did excel as a pass blocker last year. When you are a passing team (did I just say that about Buffalo?) then having a back Josh Allen trusts to block and buy that extra time could be the deciding factor on who gets the bulk of snaps and when. Moss is a good choice.

 

My personal choice is Forrest Lamp. This team needs to settle the interior OL and I was disappointed Buffalo did not draft an interior OL early in the draft. There were OL available at different times that I thought could be plug and play like Creed Humphrey or Wyatt Davis. That said, I like the flyer on Forrest Lamp. I am hopeful he has the type of season at the OG position that D Williams had at RT.

 

On Defense I think S Tariq Thompson has a chance. The S position is thin after the starters with Marlowe gone. Thompson has a chance and I am happy they got him as a UFA.

[RoyBatty is alive]

21 minutes ago, ThurmanThomasEnglishMuffin said:

 

I want any RB to stand out. Moss did excel as a pass blocker last year. When you are a passing team (did I just say that about Buffalo?) then having a back Josh Allen trusts to block and buy that extra time could be the deciding factor on who gets the bulk of snaps and when. Moss is a good choice.

 

My personal choice is Forrest Lamp. This team needs to settle the interior OL and I was disappointed Buffalo did not draft an interior OL early in the draft. There were OL available at different times that I thought could be plug and play like Creed Humphrey or Wyatt Davis. That said, I like the flyer on Forrest Lamp. I am hopeful he has the type of season at the OG position that D Williams had at RT.

 

On Defense I think S Tariq Thompson has a chance. The S position is thin after the starters with Marlowe gone. Thompson has a chance and I am happy they got him as a UFA.

 

 

Dead right about our interior O Line, that is why I selected Jack Anderson.  I had to look up Forrest Lamp. he sure does look interesting.  I wish i knew how solid the Chargers O Line was to let him go as he started all 16 games last year, actually lead the league in total snaps last year.

[ExiledInIllinois]

Cole Beasley. 

 

Drop the mic.

 

 

 

[ThurmanThomasEnglishMuffin]

27 minutes ago, RoyBatty is alive said:

 

 

Dead right about our interior O Line, that is why I selected Jack Anderson.  I had to look up Forrest Lamp. he sure does look interesting.  I wish i knew how solid the Chargers O Line was to let him go as he started all 16 games last year, actually lead the league in total snaps last year.

 

I was going to mention your post. We are thinking along the same lines. I think Jack Anderson may make the PS out of need and has some tools. Lamp has some injury history, but so did Morse and Williams. I'll give Beane credit for taking some chances. I would be really thrilled if Lamp or Anderson surprise this year.

 

13 minutes ago, ExiledInIllinois said:

Cole Beasley. 

 

Drop the mic.

 

 

 

 

Is a guy who made a Pro Bowl and is considered the best or top 3 Slot WR a dark horse? I love Cole Beasley for many reasons. Don't consider him a 'Dark Horse'. He is more essential IMO. I am shocked and disappointed in the amount of vitriol thrown on the guy for speaking out about the COVID vaccine stance the NFLPA took. I'm not sure everyone who weighed in took the time to research the limitations the NFLPA agreed to. Limitations on marketing and personal brand management are included, along with treatments like sauna access. That means no more local/ regional commercials.... seems unfair. The guy played for our team with a broken leg in the playoffs for heavens sake. I agree, Cole is very important, but not a Dark Horse IMO.

Edited June 22, 2021 by ThurmanThomasEnglishMuffin

[RoyBatty is alive]

Just now, ThurmanThomasEnglishMuffin said:

 

I was going to mention your post. We are thinking along the same lines. I think Jack Anderson may make the PS out of need and has some tools. Lamp has some injury history, but so did Morse and Williams. I'll give Beane credit for taking some chances. I would be really thrilled if Lamp of Anderson surprise this year.

 

On Morse, talk about rolling the dice.

 

With his concussion history i would have a real, real hard time paying him as much as we did and continuing his career at all from a personal standpoint.  When he had his concussion last year, I thought he would hang it up.  

 

Amazing how "our Bills fans collective mindset" has changed.  In the "old days" (two years ago a 6th or 7th rd pick was set to be a future HOFer, (Michael Jasper and a long list of WRs).   Now we expect them to be lucky to make the practice squad.

[ThurmanThomasEnglishMuffin]

3 minutes ago, RoyBatty is alive said:

 

On Morse, talk about rolling the dice.

 

With his concussion history i would have a real, real hard time paying him as much as we did and continuing his career at all from a personal standpoint.  When he had his concussion last year, I thought he would hang it up.  

 

Amazing how "our Bills fans collective mindset" has changed.  In the "old days" (two years ago a 6th or 7th rd pick was set to be a future HOFer, (Michael Jasper and a long list of WRs).   Now we expect them to be lucky to make the practice squad.

 

Agree on Morse. He is a solid center, helped stabilize the position. I'm worried about his long term well being. I really thought Creed Humphrey was going to be the pick in the 2nd. It made me physically ill when I saw KC take him a few picks later. He will be snapping and calling protections for Mahomes for a decade. I hope Boogie works out. If Lamp, Boettger or Anderson can work out, that gives some flexibility for Feliciano (also getting offseason dirt thrown on him) to move to Center if needed.

 

Progress looks good though. No more need for 6-7 rd picks or UFA to be stars. Nice if it happens. Earlier round guys need to step up to take the next step though.

 

But as a Bills fan I always look for gold there  What do you think of Tariq Thompson the Safety?

[Turk71]

Not sure Breida would qualify as dark horse, but I think he will have a good year and make some big plays.

 He is one of the fastest rbs in the league. After not being invited to the 2017 combine he ran 4.37 in the 40, an incredible 42" vertical jump, and benched 225 23 times at his pro day. 

  I think he has a lot to prove and will have success in Buffalo. His opportunities will increase as the year progresses and he establishes himself as the top threat.

[Victory Formation]

Instead of a player, can I pick an entire unit? Ultimately I think that our DL is what’s going to help this defense turn the corner and I think Star will have little to do with it. Between Boogie, Oliver, Epenesa and Hughes we’ll be cooking. I’m not sure where Rousseau is yet weight wise, I think he may need another year or two before he reaches his full potential. Ideally I think he should be playing in the 295-300 range but I think he will be a pretty good player when he fills out his frame, but Boogie will be more dominant right away. Tre Day will always be a savage corner, but that’s old news. He’ll essentially lockdown every WR he faces 99% of the time. Those two pieces working together will give Buffalo an elite defense this year. Edmunds and Milano will simply have to clean up the trash. Hopefully Allen and co can put some points up. I think we have a better season than we had last year. We have about as good a chance as anyone to win the Super Bowl this year. Hopefully Allen gets MVP.

[Rocky Landing]

On 6/22/2021 at 8:45 AM, ChronicAndKnuckles said:

 

I chose Zack Moss. I think he has a build that's better equipped to deal w/ having the majority of carries though I would be equally happy if Singletary became the guy. His 1st season he averaged more than 5 yards per run and I love his patience & shiftiness in traffic. Last year neither one of them really separated themselves both averaging about the same YPC. 

 

Moss' efficiency in pass pro makes him a lock, imo.

 

 

Lately, I've been thinking Tanner Gentry, though, as a dark horse candidate for making the 53. If McK gets the P/KR role, that opens up the depth receiver competition a little bit. And one thing is clear: Josh Allen loves Gentry. And, if anybody needs to understand the familiarity, and chemistry between the two, just watch Josh's highlight reel from Wyoming. Gentry was all over it. Allen knows right where Gentry is on the field, and when he's going to turn. And, apparently, Allen gushed about him (and Hollister) during OTAs. 

 

So many good competitions for TC this year. It's a nice luxury that, for the foreseeable future, the Bills are done with the annual Quarterback Competition. It wasn't so long ago that Josh Allen was in an three-way competition with AJ McCarron, and Late Nate Peterman. I do not miss those days!

[ChronicAndKnuckles]

On 6/24/2021 at 2:03 PM, Rocky Landing said:

Moss' efficiency in pass pro makes him a lock, imo.

 

 

Lately, I've been thinking Tanner Gentry, though, as a dark horse candidate for making the 53. If McK gets the P/KR role, that opens up the depth receiver competition a little bit. And one thing is clear: Josh Allen loves Gentry. And, if anybody needs to understand the familiarity, and chemistry between the two, just watch Josh's highlight reel from Wyoming. Gentry was all over it. Allen knows right where Gentry is on the field, and when he's going to turn. And, apparently, Allen gushed about him (and Hollister) during OTAs. 

 

So many good competitions for TC this year. It's a nice luxury that, for the foreseeable future, the Bills are done with the annual Quarterback Competition. It wasn't so long ago that Josh Allen was in an three-way competition with AJ McCarron, and Late Nate Peterman. I do not miss those days!

 

If the WR depth wasn't so big in Buffalo I would've gladly picked Tanner Gentry. I always do my due diligence in researching newly acquired players and that guy is just as much as an underdog as Josh Allen. He was a 2 star recruit w/ only 2 offers (Wyoming and I believe Air Force.) His first few seasons were decent, but nothing spectacular. Then Josh Allen hit the scene during Gentry's senior year and he doubled both his yards (1400) and TD's (14) leading the Mountain  West Conference in receiving Yards and tied for 1st in TD's w/ Gallup from the Cowboys. 

 

The coolest stat during his senior year (I got this from PFF) was that he had the most deep targets of any receiver in all of the NCAA. I hate turning this into a race thing, but I think the white boys get overlooked as slot/possession guys. Gentry clearly has good speed (look at his 40 time) and is a legitimate deep threat. I can see why Allen pushed hard for this guy after doing the proper research. At first, I thought it was Allen just trying to help a buddy out, but I can see that Josh really wanted this guy because he's a weapon. Gentry hasn't had the chance to show what he has. I'm not sure if it was a numbers game for the bears, but I hope this come back to bite them in the butt. 😂✌️

[starrymessenger]

On 6/10/2021 at 4:49 PM, TBBills said:

I think Boogie will be the one rookie breakout.

 

I hope Harrison Phillips breaks out also.

Agree. Boogie’s gonna Bash’em.

[machine gun kelly]

Dane Jackson and Matt Breida I believe should qualify as dark horses as it’s assumed Moss and Singletary are the leads in the running game.  How could you not say a 7th round pick is not a dark horse?  I think he is going to shine this year.

[Buffalo716]

Zack Moss 

 

On a pass first team he will be the 3rd down back because his blocking 

 

He was finishing strong before injury.. powerful runner , great balance.. a full year in NFL strength and conditioning should do wonder's for his explosion

[T master]

There are so many players on the Bills that could be a dark horse or someone to route for this season I have always liked Christin Wade i hope he gets a legit chance to prove himself Obada i really like too and think he has a good chance to replace Addison, Knox is also a candidate to route for then there is Oliver .

 

Man the Bills players are kind of like Lays potato chips bet you can't choose just 1 ...

 

Plus all the rookies man i just can't decide .

Edited June 28, 2021 by T master

[Figster]

On 6/10/2021 at 11:32 AM, Seasons1992 said:

Marquez Stevenson 

Biggest steal of the draft.

 

I'm with you on this...

[CommonCents]

10 minutes ago, Figster said:

Biggest steal of the draft.

 

I'm with you on this...

I will go with Basham. If they get him to drop fifteen pounds he could be the Bills version of Suggs. 

 

I am afraid they will ask him to bulk up and eat some of the interior snaps. 

[Figster]

46 minutes ago, CommonCents said:

I will go with Basham. If they get him to drop fifteen pounds he could be the Bills version of Suggs. 

 

I am afraid they will ask him to bulk up and eat some of the interior snaps. 

"The Boogie man "Basham would be my Defensive choice.

Edited June 28, 2021 by Figster

[Patrick Duffy]

I will go with Devin Singletary. Think he may have a really good season and bounce back

[ChronicAndKnuckles]

On 6/27/2021 at 4:38 PM, Buffalo716 said:

Zack Moss 

 

On a pass first team he will be the 3rd down back because his blocking 

 

He was finishing strong before injury.. powerful runner , great balance.. a full year in NFL strength and conditioning should do wonder's for his explosion

 

I'm riding the Moss train as well. Skill-wise to me, there's nothing overwhelming to me about Singletary and as someone mentioned on here he's a small back and when you don't have speed to go w/ that it's a killer. The only way for it to work is to have elite vision and patience (he does have those traits though don't get me wrong, just not elite yet.) 

 

Then I had read on another thread here that Moss & Singletary were like 2nd and 9th place out of all of RB's hit behind the line of scrimmage. So for all we know we could have the next Thurman Thomas with no way to showcase their talent due to getting blown up in the backfield. It's such a huge combination of things that need to happen for a running back. There is a RARE ELITE that can literally do it BY THEMSELVES. 💯

Edited July 1, 2021 by ChronicAndKnuckles

[Putin]

Mr Ed of course of course !!! 

God I’m getting old .

Edited July 2, 2021 by Putin

[ChronicAndKnuckles]

On 6/28/2021 at 11:28 AM, CommonCents said:

I will go with Basham. If they get him to drop fifteen pounds he could be the Bills version of Suggs. 

 

I am afraid they will ask him to bulk up and eat some of the interior snaps. 

If the guy can become a fraction of Suggs ability I will be very happy. Definitely a favorite non-Bill growing up. 👍

On 7/1/2021 at 8:08 PM, Putin said:

Mr Ed of course of course !!! 

God I’m getting old .

Oh, I get it. Because he likes horses? 😂

[astorelli49]

Dane Jackson, dude balled out whenever he was on the field last year. Should he a nice competition for Levi

[NC Lifelong Bills fan]

Boogie Basham will surprise everyone with his understated skills. Having watched him at Wake Forest for years, he is a total workhorse, and fans love him. Crossing my fingers that Buffalo will see how exciting he can be.

[Patrick Duffy]

On 7/16/2021 at 12:49 PM, ChronicAndKnuckles said:

If the guy can become a fraction of Suggs ability I will be very happy. Definitely a favorite non-Bill growing up.

Lol yeah really, that's some big shoes to fill. At this point I would be happy with a solid play maker. Anyways, players like Suggs are difficult to come by...

[NewEra]

Our pass rush must be better this year if we’re going to win the Super Bowl this year.    I’ll go with Obada having the biggest impact rushing the passer this year from all of our new additions.  
 

 

on offense, I’ll go with Feliciano.   Strange as that may be. I didn’t think he was a good RG last year even though our offensive line had a very solid season.  I’m hoping that a year fully removed from his injury, a contract that doesn’t guarantee very much and a passion for playing for the Bills will result in a better season for Feliciano and help rejuvenate our run game….which is needed imo.  The run game doesn’t have to be great.  Just good enough to keep the opposing defenses honest…..unlike the chiefs in the AFCCG. 
 

Side note, I think Gabe Davis will be our second best WR this season.  1000 yards and 10 TDs possible

[BillsBlue]

Gibran hamden

[Hapless Bills Fan]

On 6/22/2021 at 3:10 PM, RoyBatty is alive said:

Dead right about our interior O Line, that is why I selected Jack Anderson.  I had to look up Forrest Lamp. he sure does look interesting.  I wish i knew how solid the Chargers O Line was to let him go as he started all 16 games last year, actually lead the league in total snaps last year.

 

Chargers were very respectable last year, overall - good pass protection, middle of the league (18th) for rush yards, but poor for YPA.  Austin Ekelar got pretty good YPA when not on IR so I gotta think RB talent had some factor.

 

I expect that bringing in a new run game coordinator/OL coach in former Raiders TE coach Frank Smith, meant they probably wanted to re-work their line a bit.  At least, that seems to be what usually happens with a new OL coach.  At least, they got their LT, C, and RT locked down with big cap hits, so G is the place the coach can "flex"

 

 

 

 

On 7/1/2021 at 6:38 PM, ChronicAndKnuckles said:

I'm riding the Moss train as well. Skill-wise to me, there's nothing overwhelming to me about Singletary and as someone mentioned on here he's a small back and when you don't have speed to go w/ that it's a killer. The only way for it to work is to have elite vision and patience (he does have those traits though don't get me wrong, just not elite yet.) 

 

Then I had read on another thread here that Moss & Singletary were like 2nd and 9th place out of all of RB's hit behind the line of scrimmage. So for all we know we could have the next Thurman Thomas with no way to showcase their talent due to getting blown up in the backfield. It's such a huge combination of things that need to happen for a running back. There is a RARE ELITE that can literally do it BY THEMSELVES. 💯

 

Well - make no mistake, the OL (and sometimes the TE) had a lot to do with run plays getting blown up in the backfield.

 

But there's probably a reason Moss was 2nd and Singletary 9th.  Patience and vision are all very well, but when there's a hole, you got to HIT IT with conviction, and sometimes Singletary danced around (or ran right into a guy).  And of course, sometimes the poor guy got hammered through no fault of his own.

[ChronicAndKnuckles]

11 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

Chargers were very respectable last year, overall - good pass protection, middle of the league (18th) for rush yards, but poor for YPA.  Austin Ekelar got pretty good YPA when not on IR so I gotta think RB talent had some factor.

 

I expect that bringing in a new run game coordinator/OL coach in former Raiders TE coach Frank Smith, meant they probably wanted to re-work their line a bit.  At least, that seems to be what usually happens with a new OL coach.  At least, they got their LT, C, and RT locked down with big cap hits, so G is the place the coach can "flex"

 

 

 

 

 

Well - make no mistake, the OL (and sometimes the TE) had a lot to do with run plays getting blown up in the backfield.

 

But there's probably a reason Moss was 2nd and Singletary 9th.  Patience and vision are all very well, but when there's a hole, you got to HIT IT with conviction, and sometimes Singletary danced around (or ran right into a guy).  And of course, sometimes the poor guy got hammered through no fault of his own.

I’ve never been a fan of the “dancers” like Willis McGahee or LeSean McCoy (they are both talented backs, just not what I would personally build a team with) and you’re right on that Singletary is cut from that cloth. I’m more of a Travis Henry/Marshawn Lynch kind of dude. Sometimes it pays off for a RB to wait a second longer to wait for the hole to open up more, but other times it results in more negative plays. I’ll take the guaranteed 3 yards and a cloud of dust. 

[Buffalo716]

4 minutes ago, ChronicAndKnuckles said:

I’ve never been a fan of the “dancers” like Willis McGahee or LeSean McCoy (they are both talented backs, just not what I would personally build a team with) and you’re right on that Singletary is cut from that cloth. I’m more of a Travis Henry/Marshawn Lynch kind of dude. Sometimes it pays off for a RB to wait a second longer to wait for the hole to open up more, but other times it results in more negative plays. I’ll take the guaranteed 3 yards and a cloud of dust. 

Lynch actually danced around behind the line of scrimmage a good amount in his time here because there weren't many holes to run through 

 

He never put up the stats in buffalo that he did in Seattle

 

Edited July 18, 2021 by Buffalo716

[Sherlock Holmes]

Zack Ertz

[ChronicAndKnuckles]

50 minutes ago, NewEra said:

Our pass rush must be better this year if we’re going to win the Super Bowl this year.    I’ll go with Obada having the biggest impact rushing the passer this year from all of our new additions.  
 

 

on offense, I’ll go with Feliciano.   Strange as that may be. I didn’t think he was a good RG last year even though our offensive line had a very solid season.  I’m hoping that a year fully removed from his injury, a contract that doesn’t guarantee very much and a passion for playing for the Bills will result in a better season for Feliciano and help rejuvenate our run game….which is needed imo.  The run game doesn’t have to be great.  Just good enough to keep the opposing defenses honest…..unlike the chiefs in the AFCCG. 
 

Side note, I think Gabe Davis will be our second best WR this season.  1000 yards and 10 TDs possible

These are pretty solid picks I could see panning out when I really think about it. I love that Feliciano has a nasty streak in him and seems willing to go to war for his teammates (along w/ Dion Dawkins.) He just reminds me of those old school linemen from the 60s and 70s. 

[ChronicAndKnuckles]

6 minutes ago, Buffalo716 said:

Lynch actually danced around behind the line of scrimmage a good amount in his time here because there weren't many holes to run through 

 

He never put up the stats in buffalo that he did in Seattle

 

You’re right. I love that Cincinnati run when he was hit in the backfield like 3 times and he took it to the house. He def has more shiftiness than people give him credit for. I want to say he was like that at Cal also.

 

In Seattle, he became more of a power back. 

[Hapless Bills Fan]

6 minutes ago, ChronicAndKnuckles said:

These are pretty solid picks I could see panning out when I really think about it. I love that Feliciano has a nasty streak in him and seems willing to go to war for his teammates (along w/ Dion Dawkins.) He just reminds me of those old school linemen from the 60s and 70s. 

 

I'd settle for less "go to war for" and more "blocking for".  As some player said on Twitter during the AFCCG, "they aren't even trying to block for 17".  All well and good that Feliciano mixed in when JA threw the ball at the guy's helmet, but far better to block him and keep him from getting home in the first place.

 

We'll hope Mongo was still injured and suffering from cumulative dings and dangs, and we'll see a stronger OLman this year.

 

[Buffalo716]

Just now, ChronicAndKnuckles said:

You’re right. I love that Cincinnati run when he was hit in the backfield like 3 times and he took it to the house. He def has more shiftiness than people give him credit for. I want to say he was like that at Cal also.

 

In Seattle, he became more of a power back. 

He Absolutely was able to absorb immense contact in the backfield and still churn out three four yards

 

Sometimes even bust a big one

 

His contact balance with no momentum was insane

[NewEra]

6 minutes ago, ChronicAndKnuckles said:

You’re right. I love that Cincinnati run when he was hit in the backfield like 3 times and he took it to the house. He def has more shiftiness than people give him credit for. I want to say he was like that at Cal also.

 

In Seattle, he became more of a power back. 

Yeah. He was super shifty at cal.  That inside outside juke was on display often.  

[Putin]

The dark horse is definitely mr ED