Three unexpected studs and three duds on the Bills roster at this point in the season

[BuffaloBill]

The regular season is better than halfway in the bag. Who are three “unexpected” studs on the Bills roster at this point and who are three duds. “Unexpected” is obviously subjective but an easy example of the “expected” would be Josh Allen.

 

“Unexpected” Studs:

1) Dawson Knox - the Bills look like and play like a different team when he is in the lineup - definitely a step forward this season

2) Jordan Poyer - possibly not “unexpected” but he is probably the most solid all around player in a very solid defense

3) tie Levon Wallace & Taron Johnson - The secondary has been lights out all season and these two guys have been an absolutely pleasant surprise with superb play.  

 

Duds:

1) Easy - Cody Ford - can’t imagine he will remain on the roster

2) Mongo - huge disappointment this year

3) Gabriel Davis - This is probably harsh as I like the guy (very much) but why has he mostly disappeared from the roster this year?

 

 

What are your thoughts?

[No_Matter_What]

Knox, Brown and Rousseau are unexpected studs. How could you not mention Brown.

[CaptnCoke11]

I’d hardly call Davis a dud.  His snaps are way down from last year.  Certainly looked like 2020 Davis yesterday 

[wppete]

Gabriel Davis is Not a dud. He has done nothing but produce when targeted. He was also dealing with a foot injury coming out of preseason. 
 

Edited November 15, 2021 by wppete

[msw2112]

Other than the drop against Jax, which was a big one, Davis has played well when he's been in the game and targeted.  He played very well yesterday.  I agree with Ford and Mongo.  I also agree with Knox and the next post that cited Brown and Rousseau as unexpected studs.  I also think Epenesa has exceeded many peoples' expectations this year.  Star, before his COVID exit, had been playing better than expected and you could argue the same for Oliver.  

Edited November 15, 2021 by msw2112

[artmalibu]

Davis is buried on a very good WR group.

 

Th think there is a rookie DE that should get stud talk, he is tied for first in sacks....

[BearNorth]

I think after winning Toe Drag Swag this morning, that Davis is no longer in witness protection.

 

I also notice that he has started playing ST's the last three games, which was missing earlier in the season.

 

 

[MJS]

Ford isn't unexpected, though.

[Mark Vader]

2 minutes ago, BuffaloBill said:

The regular season is better than halfway in the bag. Who are three “unexpected” studs on the Bills roster at this point and who are three duds. “Unexpected” is obviously subjective but an easy example of the “expected” would be Josh Allen.

 

“Unexpected” Studs:

1) Dawson Knox - the Bills look like and play like a different team when he is in the lineup - definitely a step forward this season   Patience has paid off. This guy has taken so much criticism for his first couple of years, but he came on very late last season and has continued to improve since then. 

2) Jordan Poyer - possibly not “unexpected” but he is probably the most solid all around player in a very solid defense

Not unexpected at all. He was our best defensive player last year.

3) tie Levon Wallace & Taron Johnson - The secondary has been lights out all season and these two guys have been an absolutely pleasant surprise with superb play.  

Johnson is not unexpected. Wallace has been a surprise, especially since he still gets picked on, but he has stepped up his game.

 

I would also give an honorable mention to Ed Oliver & Spencer Brown. I'm not saying Brown is a stud, but I was not expecting him to have the type of impact he is having with this team right now.

Duds:

1) Easy - Cody Ford - can’t imagine he will remain on the roster

I was cheering for this guy, but it just is not working out.

2) Mongo - huge disappointment this year

Love this guy's attitude, but it does not translate to performance.

3) Gabriel Davis - This is probably harsh as I like the guy (very much) but why has he mostly disappeared from the roster this year?

Emmanuel Sanders is the answer. Davis is not a dud. He will get more opportunities.

 

What are your thoughts?

 

[Matt_In_NH]

Oliver is turning into a stud.

 

Agree on Feliciano, very disappointed in him.....but mostly disapointed that this team has found a way to lose 3 games.

[Fred Slacks]

12 minutes ago, wppete said:

Gabriel Davis is Not a dud. He has done nothing but produce when targeted. He was also dealing with a foot injury coming out of preseason. 
 

Except in the Jaguars game when he dropped a wide open pass that probably helps us win that game.....drops happen yes, but in critical moments in tight games they are compounded.  I do think we could use him more but to say he only has produced we also have to remember where he let us down in a big moment.

[Mr. WEO]

Davis a dud?  
 

This take is awful

[Weatherman]

29 minutes ago, wppete said:

Gabriel Davis is Not a dud. He has done nothing but produce when targeted. He was also dealing with a foot injury coming out of preseason. 
 

Except for dropping a game tying /winning ball last week I would agree with this.  

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

I’d classify the 2021 running game as a dud up until yesterday 

[eSJayDee]

42 minutes ago, No_Matter_What said:

Knox, Brown and Rousseau are unexpected studs. How could you not mention Brown.

Those were the exact 3 I thought of.

For duds, I'll say Feliciano, Haack, and ...  Ford or Davis.

The 3rd dud was kinda tough as I think Davis' problem is more a lack of opportunity.  As for Ford, were we really EXPECTING that much?  hoping yes, expecting no.

[JGMcD2]

28 minutes ago, Fred Slacks said:

Except in the Jaguars game when he dropped a wide open pass that probably helps us win that game.....drops happen yes, but in critical moments in tight games they are compounded.  I do think we could use him more but to say he only has produced we also have to remember where he let us down in a big moment.

Or we move on from it because it’s an anomaly for him over 1.5 seasons… Josh seemed to have no issues going to him yesterday after the drop. 

[Rigotz]

Unexpected Studs:

Levi Wallace

Spencer Brown

Greg Rousseau

 

Nobody thought Brown and Rousseau would be this impactful in their first year. Levi has been quietly fantastic.

(A lot of people saw Knox, Poyer, etc coming)

 

Unexpected Duds:

Cody Ford

Matt Haack 

Zach Moss

 

We expected Ford and Haack to be bad, but not this terrible.

I was hoping Moss would take a step this year. Instead, he's looking as average as Singletary.

 

[BuffaloBillyG]

48 minutes ago, BuffaloBill said:

The regular season is better than halfway in the bag. Who are three “unexpected” studs on the Bills roster at this point and who are three duds. “Unexpected” is obviously subjective but an easy example of the “expected” would be Josh Allen.

 

“Unexpected” Studs:

1) Dawson Knox - the Bills look like and play like a different team when he is in the lineup - definitely a step forward this season

2) Jordan Poyer - possibly not “unexpected” but he is probably the most solid all around player in a very solid defense

3) tie Levon Wallace & Taron Johnson - The secondary has been lights out all season and these two guys have been an absolutely pleasant surprise with superb play.  

 

Duds:

1) Easy - Cody Ford - can’t imagine he will remain on the roster

2) Mongo - huge disappointment this year

3) Gabriel Davis - This is probably harsh as I like the guy (very much) but why has he mostly disappeared from the roster this year?

 

 

What are your thoughts?

Mongo has been a huge dud this year. That 20 pounds he lost (and let's HOPE he doesn't lose more while on IR) is making a difference.

 

Dud category for me would include Dawkins, Moss, and Horrible Harry.

 

Suprise studs:

Sanders, Knox, and McKenzie on Special Teams.

[947]

Unexpected Dud for me is Dawkins. He hasn't been terrible, but is playing at a much lower level than most of us were expecting. I know there are post-Covid issues, and he seems to be getting some mojo back now, but I doubt anyone predicted he'd be average to slightly below at the halfway point of the season.

 

Ford can't be called a Dud, because he's been exactly as terrible as everyone here expected.

[Buffalo Bills Fan]

37 minutes ago, Fred Slacks said:

Except in the Jaguars game when he dropped a wide open pass that probably helps us win that game.....drops happen yes, but in critical moments in tight games they are compounded.  I do think we could use him more but to say he only has produced we also have to remember where he let us down in a big moment.

He also helped in big moments last year.