Mitch Morse ready to retire?

[BruceVilanch]

20 hours ago, 13 Second Prevent Defense said:

he spent some time hogging

I spent some time hogging when I was in the military.

[purple haze]

On 1/24/2022 at 5:43 AM, Niagara Dude said:

Could be more than that,  Beane basically did next to nothing from last season after losing in title game.  Other than Sanders and draft,  we were basically the same team.  I think because of all the in season struggles with our line there will be changes.  The Bills can create about 35 million in cap space cutting guys like Star/Addision/Klein/Beasley/Ford/Moss/ Feliciano and a couple of others who play on ST'S.  If they include Morse that goes to around 42-43 million

 

 

I think Beane adds a couple of play makers to starting 11 defence. Other than White they have no elite play makers on defence

Addison is a FA I believe.  He was signed for two years and this past season was his second.

 

I think Beane goes after playmakers on O.  I think Bease and Star  are definitely gone.   Not so sure about Feliciano; depends on Morse.   They won’t get rid of Ford.  They need depth and with Allen’s cap hit going up it will need to be cheap depth.   Team will still be good, but my thought is it will be too heavy (big resources spent on starters).  
 

Draft will be huge this year.

[Niagara Dude]

14 minutes ago, purple haze said:

Addison is a FA I believe.  He was signed for two years and this past season was his second.

 

I think Beane goes after playmakers on O.  I think Bease and Star  are definitely gone.   Not so sure about Feliciano; depends on Morse.   They won’t get rid of Ford.  They need depth and with Allen’s cap hit going up it will need to be cheap depth.   Team will still be good, but my thought is it will be too heavy (big resources spent on starters).  
 

Draft will be huge this year.

I am hopeful we can sign some prove it deals with free agents,  maybe restructure some deals until cap moves up.  Next season is the last year that ALLEN'S deal is at reasonable money.

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

On 1/24/2022 at 8:56 AM, No_Matter_What said:

I just came to post this. There is a poster on this board who said before the season that he talked to Morse's relative and that this would be his final season in NFL. I don't take it for granted but it makes sense to me, and OPs observations seem to confirm it.

 

If he retires I want to say thank you for what he has done here. He was one of the best Beane's FA signings, and very underrated one.

Good lord it took until late this season to start pulling him for runs and it worked impeccably 

[SACTOBILLSFAN]

On 1/25/2022 at 4:51 AM, Buffalo Boy said:

https://www.espn.com/blog/kansas-city-chiefs/post/_/id/29889/kansas-city-chiefs-offensive-line-rebuild-was-a-long-time-in-the-making?platform=amp
 

“The result from their neglect was a line that was solid at tackle with Fisher, the first pick in the draft back in 2013, and Schwartz. But it had been patched together with waiver claims and low-round draft picks in the interior. When Fisher and Schwartz were injured last season, everything collapsed.”

 

Yeah, what was I thinking. What kind of idiot Neanderthal would look to fortify their O line in this Century😉

You said you wanted a top 10 rushing attack. A top 10 rushing attack doesn't correlate to winning a thing, passing does, and even more than that it's early down success rate. So yes, it's neanderthal thinking and out of touch with what matters. If the line protects Josh like they did the last month the offense will continue to be elite. 

[GunnerBill]

24 minutes ago, SACTOBILLSFAN said:

You said you wanted a top 10 rushing attack. A top 10 rushing attack doesn't correlate to winning a thing, passing does, and even more than that it's early down success rate. So yes, it's neanderthal thinking and out of touch with what matters. If the line protects Josh like they did the last month the offense will continue to be elite. 

 

I agree with this but what I would say is this line does not deserve the benefit of the doubt when you look at the season as a whole. Efforts should still be made to fortify it. They were great against New England they were otherwise steady over the last 6 weeks of the season (including playoffs) but stnading pat with a group that struggled most of the year would be a mistake IMO. 

 

 

As for Morse I have heard from two well connected and totally separate to each other sources in the last two weeks that he plans to call it a career. That was before Sunday's game and obviously the emotion of that might affect his decision (I thought he was really good on Sunday, he looked to me like a player who was leaving it all out there for his final ride) but that was what I heard. 

[Buffalo Boy]

1 hour ago, SACTOBILLSFAN said:

You said you wanted a top 10 rushing attack. A top 10 rushing attack doesn't correlate to winning a thing, passing does, and even more than that it's early down success rate. So yes, it's neanderthal thinking and out of touch with what matters. If the line protects Josh like they did the last month the offense will continue to be elite. 

A one dimensional O where the QB is your number one rushing weapon?

No Thank You

[Hapless Bills Fan]

1 hour ago, SACTOBILLSFAN said:

You said you wanted a top 10 rushing attack. A top 10 rushing attack doesn't correlate to winning a thing, passing does, and even more than that it's early down success rate. So yes, it's neanderthal thinking and out of touch with what matters. If the line protects Josh like they did the last month the offense will continue to be elite. 

 

There are a couple of points here.

1) The Bills actually had a top 10 rushing attack - #5 in Y/A, #13 for attempts but #6 for yards.   Guess who was tied for #7 in Y/A?  Kansas City.  Just perhaps it's less out of touch with what matters than you think

2) "If the line protects Josh like they did in the last month" .....Guess what changed in the last month?  We started jamming down on the run game.  We didn't become a top rushing team, or a run-first team, but def. committed to it more and to my eyes, started to return to the pin-and-pull blocking concepts that worked in 2019.  Starting with the Carolina game, we began using Tommy Doyle as a 2nd TE blocking on those plays.  We also ran more designed runs for Josh and started using McKenzie in the running game. 

 

The reason this is important to protecting Josh, is that if there is uncertainty in the minds of the defense as to what we will do, they can't just "sell out" to stop the pass by blanketing the field and using exotic pass rush schemes to overload one half of the line while leaving vast turf unprotected for a run they have no fear of.

 

 

51 minutes ago, Buffalo Boy said:

A one dimensional O where the QB is your number one rushing weapon?

No Thank You

 

Hopefully that is what Beane says as well, and I think it is - he talked about the current state of the OL as "something to build on", he said "it all starts with protecting Josh" and said "part of protecting Josh is the run game"

[Hapless Bills Fan]

1 hour ago, GunnerBill said:

As for Morse I have heard from two well connected and totally separate to each other sources in the last two weeks that he plans to call it a career. That was before Sunday's game and obviously the emotion of that might affect his decision (I thought he was really good on Sunday, he looked to me like a player who was leaving it all out there for his final ride) but that was what I heard. 

 

This is probably going to sound snarkier than I intend it, but it always amazes me how all these TBDers with "inside scoop" connections come out of the woodwork after the season.  Morse will retire, the Giants will hire Flores, etc etc.

 

Beane seems unaware of this intention. 

 

If Morse retires, the Bills can ask him to return $2.75M of his signing bonus and foregoing $8.5M of salary and bonus.

That's a pretty big chunk of change to walk away from.

 

I don't know how you can distinguish a "guy who was leaving it out there for his final ride" from a guy who is trying with all his might to help his brothers on the team advance to the AFCCG and the Superbowl

[GunnerBill]

1 hour ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

This is probably going to sound snarkier than I intend it, but it always amazes me how all these TBDers with "inside scoop" connections come out of the woodwork after the season.  Morse will retire, the Giants will hire Flores, etc etc.

 

Beane seems unaware of this intention. 

 

If Morse retires, the Bills can ask him to return $2.75M of his signing bonus and foregoing $8.5M of salary and bonus.

That's a pretty big chunk of change to walk away from.

 

I don't know how you can distinguish a "guy who was leaving it out there for his final ride" from a guy who is trying with all his might to help his brothers on the team advance to the AFCCG and the Superbowl

 

I don't claim to have the inside scoop. The story about Morse has been out there and alluded to in a few places. I had two people totally unconnected tell me that they had heard he intended to retire after the season. This is before the playoffs even began. 

 

Now of course having heard that beforehand it is entirely possible that the way I saw his game on Sunday was some kind of confirmation bias. But if that is a career for Mitch he left absolutely everything on the field on Sunday. It might have been his best game as a Bill. 

 

As for if he is retiring why isn't Beane aware.... we don't know that he isn't. Maybe he has had a chat with them and said "look I think this might be it" and they have said to him "take your time Mitch no rush to make a decision, let us know before March." 

 

My only point in posting in this thread is that it is more than just people jumping to conclusions based on press conference answers. This rumour has been doing the rounds for a few weeks. 

[CNYfan]

If Mitch goes (an even if he doesn't) they need to look at IOL hard.

I think that R. Bates will be the front runner for the center position, and they will need to fill the LG position with a new body.  With all respect to Feliciano and Boetger.

[Victory Formation]

He could just be full of hot air after the loss. He could mean that many of his teammates will be gone next year. Dude’s only 29, he’ll be 30 next year, he clearly has another 2-3 years at a high level. He was our best lineman behind Dawkins, hopefully Josh can convince him to stay. Maybe Beane can convert some of his salary into a bonus for him?

He would be a big loss and he was fantastic this year, especially on pull plays which is an underrated aspect to line play and it’s something this team relies on and does very well.

Edited January 27, 2022 by Victory Formation

[Beast]

On 1/24/2022 at 9:00 AM, 13 Second Prevent Defense said:

I think he spent some time hogging Reid after the game too.   

 

Reid seems to be hogg enough on his own without someone else hogging him.

Edited January 27, 2022 by Beast

[Augie]

On 1/24/2022 at 9:21 AM, BuffaloBillyG said:

Well, he's pushing 30. Made a ton of money. Has a concussion history and just had a new baby.

 

As a Bills fan I hate to think he may retire "early". He would be missed. However if he wants to enjoy life with his family and walk away before more brain injuries...I get that too. 

 

I’ve posted this before, but I met a guy in the Chicago airport on the way to the opener who said he was Mitch’s uncle. We were chatting as half the plane was going to the Bills game, and he said it would be Mitch’s last year. I said I thought he had one more year on his contract, and he just shrugged and said “well, you know….”  Sat with him and his wife on the flight talking about Mitch at home and his family. It seemed legit. 

 

I didn’t know what to make of it, and I was hesitant to post, but if his own family is telling strangers in airports…..🤷‍♂️

 

The guy has all the money he will ever need and a young family. If he wants to be sure he can be 100% there for his family for many years to come, I wish him well and thank him for his time with our Bills. 

 

 

.

Edited January 27, 2022 by Augie

[Buffalo Boy]

2 hours ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

started to return to the pin-and-pull blocking concepts that worked in 2019.

This!!!!

   They started running counters and having Singletary follow blocker who were road grading AND allowing him to see seams as they were developing.

    Up until the beginning of December (?) they just kept having him try to run straight behind the center and guards and it NEVER worked.

    Thurman’s bread and butter was the counter play so it was doubly gratifying to see it spark the ground game. 
    Tangentially, it raises my suspicion about Daboll’s true coaching acumen that it took him that long to make the change and get Singletary going. I feel like this is a symptom of relying on Josh to much …ie. Lazy coaching.

 

Edited January 27, 2022 by Buffalo Boy

[Doc]

3 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

 

I agree with this but what I would say is this line does not deserve the benefit of the doubt when you look at the season as a whole. Efforts should still be made to fortify it. They were great against New England they were otherwise steady over the last 6 weeks of the season (including playoffs) but stnading pat with a group that struggled most of the year would be a mistake IMO. 

 

 

As for Morse I have heard from two well connected and totally separate to each other sources in the last two weeks that he plans to call it a career. That was before Sunday's game and obviously the emotion of that might affect his decision (I thought he was really good on Sunday, he looked to me like a player who was leaving it all out there for his final ride) but that was what I heard. 

 

The OL went through various permutations and combinations for numerous reasons, only becoming solid once Dawkins improved (I'm still chalking his early-season struggles to COVID), Bates became the starter at LG and they settled on Brown at RT and Williams at RG.  If Morse doesn't retire, they'll be able to bring them all back and keep that continuity going and improving.  I just don't see a reasonably priced alternative in FA and the draft is always a crap shoot.