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Bills open practice 9/1 and media


YoloinOhio

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11 hours ago, RoyBatty is alive said:

Hope you are right, I dont know what happened to Singletary's "fire" last year but he looked like his "old" self this pre-season.

Yup.  Same average ypc as Derrick Henry two years ago.  He has the skills, this will be his year to put it all together.

I'd like to ask Beane about where this "we need a home run hitter" RB with breakaway speed came from when virtually no playoff teams have such a runner and our #2 offense is scoring 30 pts a week.

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1 hour ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

I personally think Sweeney looks awkward when he runs routes and catches passes.  He gets the job done, he just looks awkward to me.

I can accept that view, I guess it’s that he catches the ball with more confidence than Knox, Knox to me always looks like he’s super relieved he didn’t drop the pass when he makes a catch…, either that or I’m super relieved he didn’t drop the pass… 😁👍

Edited by Don Otreply
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1 hour ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

I personally think Sweeney looks awkward when he runs routes and catches passes.  He gets the job done, he just looks awkward to me.


Totally agreed on that for his rookie year, but I thought he looked quicker and smoother this preseason. Granted, it was an ultra-small sample size, but it still beats looking the same or worse. 
 

I was pretty high on him his rookie year, but maybe just because he looked like an old-school Metzelaars style TE. I’m hoping that the Hollister cut means that Sweeney has developed and will be able to help the team for real this year. If he’s somehow improved his athleticism, that would be amazing. But even if not, maybe his blocking is now good enough to fill the Lee Smith role - and he was always a better athlete than Smith. 

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8 hours ago, jeremy2020 said:

 

You completely and totally misunderstand. The 20% is what keeps you from being great. You're so focused on "their must be someone who is labeled as a TE" that you ignore the best results.

 

Turns out Knox, Gilliam and Sweeney were all draft picks. 

Knox and Sweeney were.  Yes, they were drafted before last season.  Last season showed us that we could do much better at TE.  Knox has questionable hands and isn’t a dependable blocker.  Sweeney is never available.  Ever.  Gilliam went undrafted and is a fullback 
 

so following last season, we discovered that Sweeney is rarely available and Knox is meh.  Then we did nothing but add hollister (who I somewhat liked, but was hoping for a TE that can block).  I admit, I wasn’t a fan of the TE draft class after the top few TEs.


Maybe Sweeney is the wild card that I’m overlooking.  Maybe I’m not giving him enough credit.   If he gets hurt and misses ample time this season I think we’d be best using him as a TE3

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9 hours ago, dneveu said:

 

I feel like this years draft and last years kind of stunk regarding tight ends.  And as for a couple mil? https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/free-agents/tight-end/

 

Anyone on that list making 3m or less is not even really an upgrade.  

Perfectly stated and that’s why I’m not upset about not upgrading at TE.  The value wasn’t there in the under 3M club but Jared Cook at 4.5M might’ve been a nice upgrade at a somewhat affordable number.  
 

but BB knows more than me and is banking on Knox taking a step forward and Sweeney staying healthy.  Let’s hope both happen

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1 hour ago, billsherd said:

Without having any "sources" I just get the feeling that McBeane did not like Hollister's work ethic and him missing considerable amount of time in the camp while he had a new offense to learn.


Huh?  If the guy had a back injury, he shouldn’t practice to the detriment of healing up, and he could still study the offense.  A guy doesn’t stick under Belichick and Carroll unless he’s a hard worker 

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12 hours ago, billrooter said:

I don't think he lost his "fire" last year myself, run blocking I thought was pretty bad. You would think the element of surprise would have factored in alot more when they ran the ball since they were so pass heavy.

 

 

Yeah, there's no reason to think fire was ever a problem.

 

More likely OL problems combined with the lack of the off-season. And Devin noticed that the offseason problem had an effect, and as we know this year spent a lot of time with a coach who works specifically with RBs. The effects have been obvious.

 

And it ain't that he didn't work hard in 2020's offseason. He did.

 

https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/buffalo/bills/2020/05/22/singletary-s-uphill-offseason

 

But this year he worked with some different guys, including Nick Hicks (who's worked with Dalvin Cook, JK Dobbins and Jerick McKinnon).

 

"Four days a week, two hours a day at PER4ORM, they hit the lab. On Mondays, they’ll drive the sled to feed explosion. Throughout the week, Singletary masters every type of cut imaginable: the sweep cut, jump cut, skinny cut and hesi-burst. The emphasis, always, is to get north and south so every drill is timed. On Thursdays, they’ll fine-tune “back-end speed.” That is, Hicks taught Singletary how to run because, frankly, Hicks says Singletary never was before. His mechanics were shot. 

 

“ 'It’s just been, "Hey, Motor, here’s this football. I want you to run as fast as you can to the other side of the field,’” Hicks says. “And that’s about as much technique he’s ever been taught. That’s what we’ve been really plugging — speed, speed, speed.”

 

... and ...

 

"Hicks emphasizes the 'angles' of the body. Hicks taught Singletary how to strike behind his pelvic region to drive downfield, instead of popping straight up. Instead of instantly losing all RPMs. He often cites Adrian Peterson with all of his backs because when AP was AP, Hicks says, he’d hit a crease, 'throw his shoulders to the ground' and violently pump his arms to leave defenders in the dust. 

 

"Now, Singletary is running lower to the ground and gradually climbing. Like an airplane taking off.

 

"With those arms chopping.

 

“ 'If you’re actually having a slow arm pump,' Hicks says, 'your legs aren’t going to turn over fast. He had a lethargic arm pump. He’d kind of just throw the hands back as opposed to really hammering back and being explosive — driving the elbow backward. Once that happens, man, you really do find another gear.' ”

 

https://www.golongtd.com/p/what-fuels-motor-devin-singletary

https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/football/news/bills-devin-singletary-gains-speed-this-offseason/

 

 

Edited by Thurman#1
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21 minutes ago, Thurman#1 said:

 

 

Yeah, there's no reason to think fire was ever a problem.

 

More likely OL problems combined with the lack of the off-season. And Devin noticed that the offseason problem had an effect, and as we know this year spent a lot of time with a coach who works specifically with RBs. The effects have been obvious.

 

And it ain't that he didn't work hard in 2020's offseason. He did.

 

https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/buffalo/bills/2020/05/22/singletary-s-uphill-offseason

 

But this year he worked with some different guys, including Nick Hicks (who's worked with Dalvin Cook, JK Dobbins and Jerick McKinnon).

 

"Four days a week, two hours a day at PER4ORM, they hit the lab. On Mondays, they’ll drive the sled to feed explosion. Throughout the week, Singletary masters every type of cut imaginable: the sweep cut, jump cut, skinny cut and hesi-burst. The emphasis, always, is to get north and south so every drill is timed. On Thursdays, they’ll fine-tune “back-end speed.” That is, Hicks taught Singletary how to run because, frankly, Hicks says Singletary never was before. His mechanics were shot. 

 

“ 'It’s just been, "Hey, Motor, here’s this football. I want you to run as fast as you can to the other side of the field,’” Hicks says. “And that’s about as much technique he’s ever been taught. That’s what we’ve been really plugging — speed, speed, speed.”

 

https://www.golongtd.com/p/what-fuels-motor-devin-singletary

https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/football/news/bills-devin-singletary-gains-speed-this-offseason/

 

 

His new running style was pretty evident to me.  I admit to being one of the drama queens that denounced motor after the drop vs KC.  I didn’t want to see him in the rb rotation again.  I envisioned him in the yeldon role until his contract expired.  We saw how he transformed his body.  Then we saw him play in the preseason.  What I saw was in line with what the reporters had been saying about his play in camp.  He looks quicker.  He looks faster.  He looks more decisive.  Not to mention that he had to relearn how to run and apply it to his running back abilities.  I think he’s the best back right now based on what I’ve seen in preseason.  I’m confident in him, but his small hands do worry me.  Every time I watch his interviewers I can’t help but notice how stubby his hands look.  

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I understand the head scratching regarding TE, but my biggest concern is that despite bringing in numerous FAs and draft picks, the starting OL is the same as last season, and they got manhandled in the AFC championship game.

Edited by vincec
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16 hours ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

If Long Snapping were so easy that anyone could do it, teams wouldn't keep a dedicated long snapping specialist

 

4 or 5 punts, 2 or 3 FG attempts, 3 or 4 PATs…probably anywhere from 9-12 long snaps per game.  Nobody says a thing when they’re all good snaps, but miss one…

 

It’s a very underrated skill and position.

 

 

15 hours ago, Motorin' said:

I like Ike

 

That’s catchy.  Somebody should use that as a slogan.

 

 

Edited by eball
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19 hours ago, jwhit34 said:

1. A large percentage of a team's fans will overvalue their own players. See the comments/following of people on TBD over the years about players like Duke WIlliams, Da'Rick Rogers, a bunch of WR and RBs, etc.

I think it was because the media-at-large, and many of us, thought they would have to release some DL and WRs, which is where our depth was/is. In fact, they chose to go very heavy in those two areas and did not make any of those players available for other teams, with one exception, and Beane got a 6th for him.

8 hours ago, NewEra said:

Every time I watch his interviewers I can’t help but notice how stubby his hands look.  


Doggone those stubby-handed RBs!!

Edited by foreboding
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