Bills cuts to get to 53 [final info in the OP]

[Scott7975]

1 hour ago, ScottLaw said:

Yep…. Which is what some fans were arguing about the team after FA/draft…. How exactly to this team improve enough to overtake the Chiefs?(who went all in on improving their offensive line)…. Regardless of the Chiefs, It’s really hard to say they’ve improved at all. 
 

As I’ve said before, more improvement from Allen and home field advantage is really their best bet for getting to the SB because the rest of their roster isn’t  nearly as talented as the Chiefs is. 

 

I think our defensive front is improved from last season.  Remains to be seen though.  I also think our receiving core has improved.  I would have liked to seen an upgrade at TE and #2 corner but that is probably easier said than done.  Improvements in Josh taking what he is given sometimes and maybe a healthier receiver core.  All those things could get us over the hump.

 

Maybe some improvements in game planning as well.  It may have been just execution on the players part but I wasn't to thrilled with the plan they had against the Chiefs.

Edited September 1, 2021 by Scott7975

[The Dean]

2 hours ago, FLFan said:

I am not sure I get the Hollister love.  He has bounced around because he is a very limited athlete at the position who does not block very well.  This makes him of limited value, certainly not a starter, more a third TE on the roster guy.  You will likely see both Morris and Becker on the practice squad to fill this role in an emergency.  Otherwise they have no need for a third TE active in any given week.  

 

I share people’s concerns about Knox’s reliability and hoped the Bills might be able to upgrade in the off season but Hollister was certainly not that.  The TE position will not be the difference in championship or not for this team.  They have plenty of offensive firepower without an all pro at that position.  It is the OL and DL that will need to make the difference.

 

I don't see a lot of that. What I see is a team with ONE healthy TE.  I cannot, and do not, believe the Bills will have only 1 TE on the 53. If Sweeny is injured they almost HAVE to do someting, no?

[Kelly the Dog]

1 minute ago, The Dean said:

 

I don't see a lot of that. What I see is a team with ONE healthy TE.  I cannot, and do not, believe the Bills will have only 1 TE on the 53. If Sweeny is injured they almost HAVE to do someting, no?

They have Gilliam who can play it, and they can activate Quintin Morris from the PS to play it. Unless it is a long term injury, and then yes they would have to sign someone. But that isnt uncommon to have to sign someone with any long term injury.

[FLFan]

10 minutes ago, The Dean said:

 

I don't see a lot of that. What I see is a team with ONE healthy TE.  I cannot, and do not, believe the Bills will have only 1 TE on the 53. If Sweeny is injured they almost HAVE to do someting, no?

Sure, but it looks like he will be ready, which I am sure they knew.   They will have to have at least one viable option on the practice squad.  

[Rocky Landing]

13 minutes ago, The Dean said:

 

I don't see a lot of that. What I see is a team with ONE healthy TE.  I cannot, and do not, believe the Bills will have only 1 TE on the 53. If Sweeny is injured they almost HAVE to do someting, no?

And if they want to pull off the PS, they've got Quintin Morris, and that's it. 

[Ethan in Cleveland]

2 hours ago, FLFan said:

I am not sure I get the Hollister love.  He has bounced around because he is a very limited athlete at the position who does not block very well.  This makes him of limited value, certainly not a starter, more a third TE on the roster guy.  You will likely see both Morris and Becker on the practice squad to fill this role in an emergency.  Otherwise they have no need for a third TE active in any given week.  

 

I share people’s concerns about Knox’s reliability and hoped the Bills might be able to upgrade in the off season but Hollister was certainly not that.  The TE position will not be the difference in championship or not for this team.  They have plenty of offensive firepower without an all pro at that position.  It is the OL and DL that will need to make the difference.

It's less about Hollister love for me than it is at least he has produced in the past. What has Sweeny done to earn a roster spot? He can't block worth a dam.  Maybe the organization sees them as interchangeable and that Sweeney may have more potential than what we have seen on the field.  Again fringe decisions that in the end won't really matter.  

[Kelly the Dog]

5 minutes ago, Ethan in Portland said:

It's less about Hollister love for me than it is at least he has produced in the past. What has Sweeny done to earn a roster spot? He can't block worth a dam.  Maybe the organization sees them as interchangeable and that Sweeney may have more potential than what we have seen on the field.  Again fringe decisions that in the end won't really matter.  

He can block a lot better than Hollister.

[Ethan in Cleveland]

2 hours ago, ScottLaw said:

Yep…. Which is what some fans were arguing about the team after FA/draft…. How exactly to this team improve enough to overtake the Chiefs?(who went all in on improving their offensive line)…. Regardless of the Chiefs, It’s really hard to say they’ve improved at all. 
 

As I’ve said before, more improvement from Allen and home field advantage is really their best bet for getting to the SB because the rest of their roster isn’t  nearly as talented as the Chiefs is. 

The current roster can play better and they added guys. Epenesa can play better.  Star is back.  Edmunds might fulfill his potential.  Phillips might play better if he returns(I don't think he will but others on this board do).  At WR sanders could/should give more production than Brown did and Davis looks like he will produce even more.  RB is a quesoitn makr but both guys have the potential to be better if the line is better. And for the OL, the starting 5 is together for the first time and healthy.

I agree free agency didn't do much other than swap Sanders for Brown.   But the draft bought talent.  They added a first round DE that looks good.  Basham looks like a guy that will get treated how Epenesa did last year. I suspect he is a healthy scratch the first month or so and then is brought along slowly.  

So yes, they didn't make any splash moves, but they are a better team.  And none of that matters if Allen gets hurt or regresses. 

[letsgoteam]

1 hour ago, ColoradoBills said:

Just seen on Spotrac that Reid Ferguson signed a 1 year $990k contract with the Bills.

He had signed a 3 year extension earlier this year.

I'm sure other news will be out soon to see if this is accurate.

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/buffalo-bills/reid-ferguson-19383/

 

Reid Ferguson signed a 1 year, $990,000 contract with the Buffalo Bills, including an average annual salary of $990,000. In 2021, Ferguson will earn a base salary of $990,000, while carrying a cap hit of $990,000.

Did I read it correctly that he is still going to get paid some bonuses from that 3 he extension deal. It was under the "dead" contracts on spotrac

[ColoradoBills]

1 minute ago, letsgoteam said:

Did I read it correctly that he is still going to get paid some bonuses from that 3 he extension deal. It was under the "dead" contracts on spotrac

 

Yes.  Cap hit for Bills are like $160k this year and $500k next year.

[SoCal Deek]

5 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

They do have a top roster in the league… it’s not better than the Chiefs though and the Browns are close.(I’d give the Browns the edge if Allen wasn’t so good) 

Game management and strategy? Why will this be so much better this year? 

 

You and I agree. No, I don’t see much changing on the coaching side. But Our coaches aren’t young and just starting out…but they do have an additional and very recent year of experience under their belts, competing against what most believe will be the same teams as last year. I’m hoping that counts for something. 

[Scott7975]

8 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

They do have a top roster in the league… it’s not better than the Chiefs though and the Browns are close.(I’d give the Browns the edge if Allen wasn’t so good) 

Game management and strategy? Why will this be so much better this year? 

 

 

I think coaches can learn and get better.  Hell, I think McD has come a long way already.  

[YoloinOhio]

2 hours ago, The Dean said:

 

I don't see a lot of that. What I see is a team with ONE healthy TE.  I cannot, and do not, believe the Bills will have only 1 TE on the 53. If Sweeny is injured they almost HAVE to do someting, no?

I don’t think he’s injured. He was practicing today. Gilliam is their 3rd TE/Hback. I think one of the tackles (Spencer brown?) will take over the lee smith role. 

[Sammy Watkins' Rib]

3 hours ago, jkeerie said:

I actually thought that our coordinators were distracted by their head coaching interviews.  I thought our game plans both offensively and defensively were lacking in the playoffs, particularly that last game.

 

Nah. We just didn't match up well with the Chiefs. The week six game was just as bad and without those excuses.  Hopefully this year will be different. 

 

It's interesting, it is looking like Beane and the coaching staff have decided to go all in even further with the WR centric offense. This was a bad match up against the Chiefs, so the question is will the addition of Sanders and an improved Davis and McKenzie be enough to swing the match up in our favor?  

[Ralonzo]

4 hours ago, Pokebball said:

For me it's simply comparing Hollister to the other TEs.  I thought he was very close to Knox, if not better.  IMO he is better than Sweeney.

Hollister just wasn’t a good enough blocker. He was Logan Thomas-bad on a good number of plays that I paid attention. Knox is the field-stretcher, TE2 needs to be able to thrive inline.

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

3 hours ago, jkeerie said:

I actually thought that our coordinators were distracted by their head coaching interviews.  I thought our game plans both offensively and defensively were lacking in the playoffs, particularly that last game.

Agreed In my view, the gameplans were the main reason we lost. Just got  totally outcoached. 

[Pokebball]

20 minutes ago, Ralonzo said:

Hollister just wasn’t a good enough blocker. He was Logan Thomas-bad on a good number of plays that I paid attention. Knox is the field-stretcher, TE2 needs to be able to thrive inline.

Hollister had the 4th best missed block rating, in the NFL, of all non starting TEs when he was in Seattle.  We don't use our TEs and don't really value them in our offense, so it's really not a big deal.  I really like Knox and want to see him to continue to improve.  Sweeney's a head scratcher. We'll be loading up our sets with 4-5 WRs.

Edited September 1, 2021 by Pokebball

[BADOLBILZ]

3 hours ago, Coach Tuesday said:

 

Maybe I was more down on Smoke last year than others - he looked totally washed to me, I had zero confidence he could beat his man in any kind of semi-contested situation.  And I'm probably higher on Sanders than you are.  (Then again - you may have been wrong about Laviska Shenault, eh?)

 

 

I think Sanders will be fine.........but he hasn't been a big ypc guy in a long time........like 6 years.

 

That's fine with end of career Peyton Manning and Drew Brees........they couldn't push the ball downfield anyway............but I'd like to see more diversity in the receiving corps.

 

Brown declined last year........but he's a 14.8 ypc guy for his career and stretching the field has many benefits.........hopefully Davis can continue to be a field stretcher but it won't be because of speed.

 

And like I've said.........not a big fan of the 4 and 5 wide stuff.......it just becomes dink and dunk and as defenses pin their ears back to get to the QB.....and the top 3 should probably be Diggs, Beasley and Davis, IMO.

 

As for Shenault........he had an OK rookie year........not even as good as Davis though..........and of course Jefferson smashed NFL rookie records for the Vikes with the pick the Bills traded them..........it was a very impressive group of WR.   Given his injury history and style I still don't think Shenault is a guy I would put a first round grade on. 

[Sammy Watkins' Rib]

5 hours ago, BADOLBILZ said:

And like I've said.........not a big fan of the 4 and 5 wide stuff.......it just becomes dink and dunk and as defenses pin their ears back to get to the QB.....and the top 3 should probably be Diggs, Beasley and Davis, IMO.

 

If Allen wasn’t our QB I might be concerned about dink and dunk. But since Allen’s natural instinct is to take what he wants rather than take what is given to him, I’m not too concerned about not continuing to make the defenses defend the entire field.

 

What I am concerned about is the chiefs defense is built to stop the Bills passing game. RB’s and TE’s is how you move the ball on them. But we seem to be doubling down on the WR centric offense. Hopefully Sanders and the growth of the younger less experienced receivers is enough to overcome last year’s failures against the Chiefs specifically.

Edited September 2, 2021 by Sammy Watkins' Rib

[Weatherman]

5 hours ago, ScottLaw said:

Not even sure Basham plays much at all this year, Rousseau looks like he can make a difference but again, he’s a rookie who sat out last season from football, jury’s out on Obada who was a rotational piece in Carolina whom they let go without a fight. Star to help the pass rush? 😅😅

 

 

I think it’s more than plausible to suggest they didn’t do enough to fix their flaws and overtake the Chiefs. We will see.

 

The Chiefs have a brand new oline (with 2 injured), lost their #2 WR and #2 RB (FA) and lost their #1 DE (most likely).  We didn’t do much on paper to improve our team, but team continuity and experience are crucially by important.  The FO brought back nearly all starters on O and D.  Because of this, we will be better this year and I believe we narrowed the gap with the Chiefs.  Hopefully it’s enough to overtake them, we will see.  

[3rdand12]

On 8/31/2021 at 7:44 PM, youthemanog said:

Wade? Is he still on the team?

Nope

 I think he retired finally

You do recall he had an unfortunate falling out with Ralph a couple of decades ago ?

[3rdand12]

4 hours ago, The Dean said:

 

I don't see a lot of that. What I see is a team with ONE healthy TE.  I cannot, and do not, believe the Bills will have only 1 TE on the 53. If Sweeny is injured they almost HAVE to do someting, no?

yes. something must be done.

[Solomon Grundy]

1 hour ago, Ralonzo said:

Hollister just wasn’t a good enough blocker. He was Logan Thomas-bad on a good number of plays that I paid attention. Knox is the field-stretcher, TE2 needs to be able to thrive inline.

Knox isn’t a good blocker either 

[3rdand12]

1 hour ago, Ralonzo said:

Hollister just wasn’t a good enough blocker. He was Logan Thomas-bad on a good number of plays that I paid attention. Knox is the field-stretcher, TE2 needs to be able to thrive inline.

TE 3 should be the in line .
Lee Smith style

inmyhumble opinion

[Solomon Grundy]

5 hours ago, ColoradoBills said:

Just seen on Spotrac that Reid Ferguson signed a 1 year $990k contract with the Bills.

He had signed a 3 year extension earlier this year.

I'm sure other news will be out soon to see if this is accurate.

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/buffalo-bills/reid-ferguson-19383/

 

Reid Ferguson signed a 1 year, $990,000 contract with the Buffalo Bills, including an average annual salary of $990,000. In 2021, Ferguson will earn a base salary of $990,000, while carrying a cap hit of $990,000.

Hey, that guy Coach Starbucks cut on his birthday is always an option 😎

[Solomon Grundy]

Rewatching Packers game and missing Bam Johnson already

[Hapless Bills Fan]

3 hours ago, YoloinOhio said:

I don’t think he’s injured. He was practicing today. Gilliam is their 3rd TE/Hback. I think one of the tackles (Spencer brown?) will take over the lee smith role. 

 

From the clip I saw he was moving pretty freely too (Sweeney)

59 minutes ago, 3rdand12 said:

TE 3 should be the in line .
Lee Smith style

inmyhumble opinion

 

Well, the Bills decided to go with one less TE, so your TE 3 is the Bills TE 2

[BADOLBILZ]

2 hours ago, Sammy Watkins' Rib said:

If Allen wasn’t our QB I might be concerned about dink and dunk. But since Allen’s natural instinct is to take what he wants rather than take what is given to him, I’m not too concerned about not continuing to make the defenses defend the entire field.

 

What I am concerned about is the chiefs defense is built to stop the wells passing game. RB’s and TE’s is how you move the ball on them. But we seem to be doubling down on the WR centric offense. Hopefully Sanders and the growth of the younger less experienced receivers is enough to overcome last year’s failures against the Chiefs specifically.

 

 

When the Bills went empty backfield last year, they were doing defense's a favor.    It bogged the offense down.

 

For an old, immobile soft-tosser like Big Ben it might be a way to utilize his recognition skills and hide his lack of arm strength.

 

But for a young guy who can make every throw like Allen......no thanks.

 

Stretch the field......use play action to create separation.......use an extra blocker to buy time for longer routes to develop.........give your skill players room to work so they don't get battered.   I could make a highlight reel of body slams that Beasley and Diggs absorbed last season and when it mattered most,  in January, they were beat up and it showed.   And that was with mostly 11 and 12 personnel.

 

So many things wrong with the 4-5 wide stuff.   Fans should know this by now but there is still a perception that the empty backfield/4-5 WR approach is playing wide open.     

 

 

Edited September 2, 2021 by BADOLBILZ

[Sammy Watkins' Rib]

1 hour ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

When the Bills went empty backfield last year, they were doing defense's a favor.    It bogged the offense down.

 

For an old, immobile soft-tosser like Big Ben it might be a way to utilize his recognition skills and hide his lack of arm strength.

 

But for a young guy who can make every throw like Allen......no thanks.

 

Stretch the field......use play action to create separation.......use an extra blocker to buy time for longer routes to develop.........give your skill players room to work so they don't get battered.   I could make a highlight reel of body slams that Beasley and Diggs absorbed last season and when it mattered most,  in January, they were beat up and it showed.   And that was with mostly 11 and 12 personnel.

 

So many things wrong with the 4-5 wide stuff.   Fans should know this by now but there is still a perception that the empty backfield/4-5 WR approach is playing wide open.     

 

 

 

Beat up in January? You mean against KC? What was the excuse in October week 6? Clearly not beat up then.  I don't think we can draw conclusions other than KC was a bad match up for us last year. Will doubling down on the WR centric offense get us over the top this year? I have my doubts but at the same time I think the offense is going to be better than last year so there is a chance it could be enough to put us over the top. But for every team other than KC I think we will have success more often than not.  They didn't struggle in January against the Colts and that included starting at their own 6 yard line for an entire half due to poor special teams. Can't really draw any conclusions in the Baltimore game due to the high winds conditions. 

 

I seriously doubt we use many 5 WR sets if any. Our most common set will still be 3 WR, 1 TE and 1 RB. What I am most curious to see is what Davis snap count will be. He saw a lot of snaps last year due to Brown's lack of availability. I think Davis has developed into an every down receiver which means either Beasley or Sanders are going to be on the sidelines a lot if we run majority 3 WR sets. How often will Daboll want to get all four on the field? 

 

I think all six receivers we will likely carry on game days, Diggs, Beasley, Sanders, Davis, McKenzie and Kumerow can play and should play meaningful snaps this year. I look for Diggs numbers to be way down this year because Josh is going to spread the ball around a lot. No reason why Beasley and Sanders shouldn't split reps and Kumerow can spell Davis from time to time. And McKenzie kind of being a wild card to come in on any down. I also think they want to try and get Singletary involved more in the passing game. So what I am getting at is that if we spread the ball around as much as i think we will this year using different personnel then I think all of the receivers will hopefully be in better health come January. But even better, we won't be so reliant on two guys (Diggs and Beasley) like we were last year. Everyone will have reps and the ability to gain meaningful yards in January should someone be forced out with injury. 

[Ethan in Cleveland]

Another training camp and preseason in the books and it proves yet again there is zero need for preseason games.  There is not a poster on this board that could not have guessed 50 or maybe even 52 of the 53 players on this roster.  People were posting how the Bills would cut good players this year. So far only one has been picked up by another organization.  Preseason is an absolute waste of time and only risks injury.  Three games and they didn't learn anything more than the casual fan already knew.  NFLPA is nuts to agree to any more than 1 preseason game and should fight for none.  

[GunnerBill]

2 hours ago, Ethan in Portland said:

Another training camp and preseason in the books and it proves yet again there is zero need for preseason games.  There is not a poster on this board that could not have guessed 50 or maybe even 52 of the 53 players on this roster.  People were posting how the Bills would cut good players this year. So far only one has been picked up by another organization.  Preseason is an absolute waste of time and only risks injury.  Three games and they didn't learn anything more than the casual fan already knew.  NFLPA is nuts to agree to any more than 1 preseason game and should fight for none.  

 

The only players that need it are those bottom of the roster guys. Nick McCloud for instance, the rookie UDFA who was picked up by another team, likely earned that with his pre-season performances. I thought the Bills got games 1 and 2 right and while game 3 was fun, my preference was for them to carry on sitting most of their guys. I'd be quite happy to never see the Bills starters take a pre-season snap again. Maybe in years where you are making over an oline there is an argument for getting those guys out there together, sure. But other than that unit nothing that is done in pre-season can't be done in practice for the starters. 

[CSBill]

7 hours ago, 3rdand12 said:

TE 3 should be the in line .
Lee Smith style

inmyhumble opinion

 

We have the 2.5 (I like Gilliam in the role as well) and Brown or Bates will take Lee "all I do is block" Smith's role. Putting a true professional paid to block in that role makes sense.

[GunnerBill]

9 hours ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

I think Sanders will be fine.........but he hasn't been a big ypc guy in a long time........like 6 years.

 

That's fine with end of career Peyton Manning and Drew Brees........they couldn't push the ball downfield anyway............but I'd like to see more diversity in the receiving corps.

 

Brown declined last year........but he's a 14.8 ypc guy for his career and stretching the field has many benefits.........hopefully Davis can continue to be a field stretcher but it won't be because of speed.

 

And like I've said.........not a big fan of the 4 and 5 wide stuff.......it just becomes dink and dunk and as defenses pin their ears back to get to the QB.....and the top 3 should probably be Diggs, Beasley and Davis, IMO.

 

As for Shenault........he had an OK rookie year........not even as good as Davis though..........and of course Jefferson smashed NFL rookie records for the Vikes with the pick the Bills traded them..........it was a very impressive group of WR.   Given his injury history and style I still don't think Shenault is a guy I would put a first round grade on. 

 

I agree with you on Sanders v Brown. I am very meh on the Sanders pick up. He is still great at finding the soft spot in zone coverage in those intermediate areas but I don't think he offers any significant field stretching. Now it may well be that Smoke is done but they should have been looking for a speed type for the outside IMO. Diggs can do it, but you want to be able to move Diggs all over the field and use him to dictate coverage. Davis does give them deep ball threat and while he is not a speedster he improved his separation last year which was the question some had against him coming out. He has definitely made efficiencies in his get off which has helped. I have said in numerous places I expect Davis to outperform Sanders and even if he doesn't start the year as the consensus #2 opposite Diggs he will definitely end the year there. 

 

I agree with you on Shenault too. I had a late second on him, didn't really have an issue with where the Jags took him, but still even now I wouldn't put a first round grade on that guy. 

 

I disagree to an extent on the 4 and 5 wide stuff. Not that it should be the Bills base offense or anything but not many teams can go four DBs deep against the Bills receivers. Yes, it makes us a bit more dink and dunk but it isn't like Allen's dink and dunk is 4 and 5 yard completions, it is 8 yards, 12 yards, 6 yards, 17 yards etc... we all know you love the deep ball. I care less about that. I think you can win in this NFL without throwing deep a lot, but you do need to make sure you still threaten to go deep, I agree with that. That was always the Pats thing... they didn't actually throw the deep ball a ton, but they did it just enough and they had guys run those routes. 

[Rochesterfan]

4 hours ago, Ethan in Portland said:

Another training camp and preseason in the books and it proves yet again there is zero need for preseason games.  There is not a poster on this board that could not have guessed 50 or maybe even 52 of the 53 players on this roster.  People were posting how the Bills would cut good players this year. So far only one has been picked up by another organization.  Preseason is an absolute waste of time and only risks injury.  Three games and they didn't learn anything more than the casual fan already knew.  NFLPA is nuts to agree to any more than 1 preseason game and should fight for none.  

 

 

Completely disagree with this take.

 

We saw once again that for bottom tiered young guys 45-60 - pre season is vital to making a roster.  That was really lacking for rookies and UDFA’s last year and there were almost no waiver wire pick-ups because of the lack of preseason.
 

Stevenson makes this roster because of preseason work.  Hamlin makes this roster in the preseason.  McCloud gets picked up and is on a roster because of preseason.  For 27 waiver wire pick-up - preseason meant the world.

 

Now we will see how it goes once the season starts.  Do defenses look better early because they got (even if limited) some playing time?  Are there fewer soft tissue injuries early in the season because these players were able to open it up and go all out and actually tackle?

 

I could see a reduction and/or a change from 3 preseason games down to 2 or 1 and more controlled scrimmages to allow coaches to see these players actually play, but there are just as many injuries in the scrimmages as games.

 

I personally loved how McD handled the preseason.  Almost no starters - he let bubble guys play and it showed out for some young guys that made this roster and some Veterans that got cut. He also chose one game and got his guys a little time together just to get them all on the same rhythm and timing.

 

 

[machine gun kelly]

PS, is not going away.  This is a negotiating tool for the 18th game.  Once we get to the new CBA, 18 games will be the push and they will go from 3 to most likely 1 PS game with more controlled scrimmages as they can manage injuries a little better in scrimmages (aka, no hitting the QB, etc.)

[Hapless Bills Fan]

8 hours ago, Sammy Watkins' Rib said:

Beat up in January? You mean against KC? What was the excuse in October week 6? Clearly not beat up then.

 

Except that we were beat up in October. 

 

-Allen was playing in a "linebacker brace" 2 weeks out from injuring his shoulder against LV.  The ball was clearly not quiet going where he wanted vs. Tenn and KC. 

-John Brown was playing injured and seemed affected (slow, fell down on one throw)

-Feliciano was on IR and we were playing Winters

-Milano was playing with a torn pec

-White was playing with a back injury

-Wallace was on IR

 

On offense, Allen was the biggest "excuse"

 

Frankly I think the injury list in October affected our game plan in January.  We assumed we'd be able to do some things (because of key guys back from injury) that we in fact, couldn't.

 

8 hours ago, Sammy Watkins' Rib said:

 I don't think we can draw conclusions other than KC was a bad match up for us last year.

 

That, too.

[Ethan in Cleveland]

3 hours ago, Rochesterfan said:

 

 

Completely disagree with this take.

 

We saw once again that for bottom tiered young guys 45-60 - pre season is vital to making a roster.  That was really lacking for rookies and UDFA’s last year and there were almost no waiver wire pick-ups because of the lack of preseason.
 

Stevenson makes this roster because of preseason work.  Hamlin makes this roster in the preseason.  McCloud gets picked up and is on a roster because of preseason.  For 27 waiver wire pick-up - preseason meant the world.

 

Now we will see how it goes once the season starts.  Do defenses look better early because they got (even if limited) some playing time?  Are there fewer soft tissue injuries early in the season because these players were able to open it up and go all out and actually tackle?

 

I could see a reduction and/or a change from 3 preseason games down to 2 or 1 and more controlled scrimmages to allow coaches to see these players actually play, but there are just as many injuries in the scrimmages as games.

 

I personally loved how McD handled the preseason.  Almost no starters - he let bubble guys play and it showed out for some young guys that made this roster and some Veterans that got cut. He also chose one game and got his guys a little time together just to get them all on the same rhythm and timing.

 

 

Hamlin made the roster because there are were few other credible back up safeties on the roster.

I would agree Stevenson's performance made the decision to keep 7 WRs easier. I could argue though 6 vs 7 WR really came down to Kumerow's performance in camp.

 

Given there were three games to play I agree McD did a fine job in how he managed playing time.  I would not have played any starters the whole time but I understand and see how McD approached it. 

Like someone else posted add another regular season game and cut back to 1 preseason game would be perfect.

[Behindenemylines]

On 8/30/2021 at 11:26 AM, Draconator said:

 

What’s the cap hit if we cut Allen and will we have enough for Peterman to sign to a deal?  He looked great pre-season

[Rocky Landing]

4 hours ago, Rochesterfan said:

 

 

Completely disagree with this take.

 

We saw once again that for bottom tiered young guys 45-60 - pre season is vital to making a roster.  That was really lacking for rookies and UDFA’s last year and there were almost no waiver wire pick-ups because of the lack of preseason.
 

Stevenson makes this roster because of preseason work.  Hamlin makes this roster in the preseason.  McCloud gets picked up and is on a roster because of preseason.  For 27 waiver wire pick-up - preseason meant the world.

 

Now we will see how it goes once the season starts.  Do defenses look better early because they got (even if limited) some playing time?  Are there fewer soft tissue injuries early in the season because these players were able to open it up and go all out and actually tackle?

 

I could see a reduction and/or a change from 3 preseason games down to 2 or 1 and more controlled scrimmages to allow coaches to see these players actually play, but there are just as many injuries in the scrimmages as games.

 

I personally loved how McD handled the preseason.  Almost no starters - he let bubble guys play and it showed out for some young guys that made this roster and some Veterans that got cut. He also chose one game and got his guys a little time together just to get them all on the same rhythm and timing.

 

 

And not for nothing, certain players who made the 53, as well as the PS-- Rousseau, Basham, Spencer Brown, Fromm, Doyle, Anderson, Stevenson, Wildgoose, Hamlin, etc developed in those three games. I'll disagree with @Ethan in Portland, and @GunnerBill here: There is no substitute for real game time experience, and the preseason games are the only opportunity for these guys to get it before the regular season starts.

 

And I'll add: I enjoy the hell out of them.

 

 

Edited September 2, 2021 by Rocky Landing

[scuba guy]

On 8/31/2021 at 6:15 PM, Kelly the Dog said:

IR’d for season. 

Yolo did you post the the new te we just got?