Shaq Lawson tweet

[DCofNC]

21 hours ago, RyanC883 said:

a 2 year prove-it deal seems fair to both sides.  He was just cut by a bad team, he comes here and performs well and we get a great player, he increases his value when our young guys are hopefully ready to take over (hopefully before 2 years for Groot and Basham).  

 

21 hours ago, FilthyBeast said:

 

This is my concern as well, 2019 looked to be the peak for him which isn't saying much to begin with.

 

But if he did regain that form in Buffalo again he's at worse a solid rotational piece which this team seems to love.

I would like him on a prove it deal, no guarantees but a ton of incentive money.  He seems like he has a bad case of the “play when I want money”.

[BarleyNY]

16 hours ago, Fan in Chicago said:

If Lawson signs, it will point to a shake up in the DE room. I have theorized that Hughes, Obada and Epenesa won't be on the team next season 

I don’t think a signing like Lawson points to anything other than that the Bills are addressing DE depth. 

16 hours ago, Augie said:

 

Imagine Jerry wondering if he would “bother” playing for “only” $3 million a year. Don’t get me wrong, I do NOT begrudge any of them the money, it’s just such a different world and mindset. Good for them, especially the ones that are truly good people. 

13 seasons and over $79M in earnings.  If he plays another year for $3M or so it will be because he wants a ring and/or still loves playing.  At some point it becomes about how your body is holding up and how far you want to push that though.  He will be 34 for next season.

[nucci]

he was just ok when he was here...I doubt he's gotten much better the last few seasons

[BarleyNY]

14 hours ago, Paul Costa said:

Shaq would be a solid pick as he and Rousseau are both solid at setting the edge and playing against RPO’s. It would be nice to have a solid run stopping unit on early downs. The go get after the QB. This coming year we play the AFC & NFC North. A bunch of run first teams and some great RB’s. Plus we play Tennessee. And all the division teams are run first teams. We have to be much more stout against the run than the last couple of years. If we want to reach our goals. 

Something to consider for all of the “we need run stoppers on first and second down” folks:

https://www.teamrankings.com/nfl/stat/passing-first-down-pct

Only two teams in the league ran more than they passed on first down last season.  Stopping the run when you need to do that is important (obviously).  Cheap depth guys like Lawson are a good way to address that.  I’m not enthusiastic about using first round picks or spending large on players who primarily do that however.  

 

[DapperCam]

6 minutes ago, BarleyNY said:

Something to consider for all of the “we need run stoppers on first and second down” folks:

https://www.teamrankings.com/nfl/stat/passing-first-down-pct

Only two teams in the league ran more than they passed on first down last season.  Stopping the run when you need to do that is important (obviously).  Cheap depth guys like Lawson are a good way to address that.  I’m not enthusiastic about using first round picks or spending large on players who primarily do that however.  

 

Setting the edge is also about keeping the QB in the pocket. I still have nightmares about Addison and Hughes running right past Mahomes while he runs outside and gains 15 yards.

 

I’m sure they got credited with a “QB Pressure” though…

[CheshireCT]

How it all went for Shaq was a bit of a shame. It took him a long time to get over his injury and develop. He was on an upward slope in his last year and the Bills said publicly they would welcome him back at the right price. Of course he got an over-inflated deal that he couldn't live up to on an inferior team and it all went south from there. In the long run, a lower payday on the team where he was improving would have served him better.

 

Whether or not he would play well for us at this point is anybody's guess. What I appreciate is the level-headed approach from Beane. He doesn't try hold guys down, and he doesn't seem to hold grudges either. He says this is what we're willing to pay you, if you can get more, I understand and we wish you well. If they evaluate Shaq and like what they see, I can imagine they'll offer him a deal to come back (at likely a pretty reasonable price).

Edited March 10, 2022 by CheshireCT

[Fan in Chicago]

26 minutes ago, BarleyNY said:

I don’t think a signing like Lawson points to anything other than that the Bills are addressing DE depth. 

 

DE depth was not a problem. We have bodies but we need more impact

[BarleyNY]

10 minutes ago, DapperCam said:

Setting the edge is also about keeping the QB in the pocket. I still have nightmares about Addison and Hughes running right past Mahomes while he runs outside and gains 15 yards.

 

I’m sure they got credited with a “QB Pressure” though…

Absolutely.  But a lot of DEs can set the edge but can’t get to the QB.  The edge setting kind is about all the Bills have right now anyway.

[BarleyNY]

9 minutes ago, Fan in Chicago said:

DE depth was not a problem. We have bodies but we need more impact

I’m honestly not sure what you’re saying.  DE depth “was not a problem”?  Last year?  Or this year prior to any signings?  Because we have 3 Edge player that have any value at all under contract for 2022 right now: Rousseau, Epenesa and Basham.  That’s it, unless you’re counting free agents or players that we already know won’t make our 53 (Bryan Cox & Mike Love).  I don’t know about you, but that group is extremely underwhelming to me and I see almost no depth as Basham is still a big question mark. 

Edited March 10, 2022 by BarleyNY

[Fan in Chicago]

7 minutes ago, BarleyNY said:

I’m honestly not sure what you’re saying.  DE depth “was not a problem”?  Last year?  Or this year prior to any signings?  Because we have 3 Edge player that have any value at all under contract for 2022 right now: Rousseau, Epenesa and Basham.  That’s it, unless you’re counting free agents or players that we already know won’t make our 53 (Bryan Cox & Mike Love).  I don’t know about you, but that group is extremely underwhelming to me and I see almost no depth as Basham is still a big question mark. 

We are both saying the same thing. I was saying that we did not have a problem with number of DEs on the roster. Hence, technically "depth" was not an issue for the DE role. 

[BuffaloBillsGospel]

We need a pass rusher, Shaq Lawson isn't that guy imo.

[bmur66]

Slowest DE off the snap that I ever noticed. I don't know why but it was very noticeable to me when he was here. I liked his attitude and he was solid otherwise.

Edited March 10, 2022 by bmur66

[FilthyBeast]

2 hours ago, DCofNC said:

 

I would like him on a prove it deal, no guarantees but a ton of incentive money.  He seems like he has a bad case of the “play when I want money”.

 

I would suspect that's all he's going to get for the Bills or any other team at this point and I'd 100% fine with that.

[Jay_Fixit]

2 hours ago, nucci said:

he was just ok when he was here...I doubt he's gotten much better the last few seasons

This is putting it nicely.

 

Lawson is a JAG.

[nucci]

3 hours ago, DCofNC said:

 

I would like him on a prove it deal, no guarantees but a ton of incentive money.  He seems like he has a bad case of the “play when I want money”.

what's a "prove it deal" ? He's been in the league a few years. We know how he plays

[billsfan89]

I would like it as a one year prove it Deal for Shaq. Shaq is a good early down edge setter. If they can sign him I would like it.

[Maine-iac]

4 hours ago, nucci said:

he was just ok when he was here...I doubt he's gotten much better the last few seasons

Lawson's last season here he had more tackles, almost as many sacks, and more than double the tackles for loss than any DE currently on our roster had last year and we paid him half over 4 years what we paid Addison over 2.

[Motor26]

How about they try and sign an impact edge rusher instead of another JAG. They have enough to those already.

[Maine-iac]

9 minutes ago, Motor26 said:

How about they try and sign an impact edge rusher instead of another JAG. They have enough to those already.

If we somehow clear some cap space and magically sign Clowney I'll be cheering as loud as anyone.

[nucci]

18 minutes ago, Maine-iac said:

Lawson's last season here he had more tackles, almost as many sacks, and more than double the tackles for loss than any DE currently on our roster had last year and we paid him half over 4 years what we paid Addison over 2.

so is Lawson good or rest of our DL bad?

[eball]

It’s always interesting to me to read a thread about a non-star player upon whom I don’t have a strong opinion. So many different assessments that literally run the gamut. If NFL GMs are as varied in their evaluations as fans are it’s no wonder there are so many misses. 
 

[LABILLBACKER]

5 hours ago, DapperCam said:

Setting the edge is also about keeping the QB in the pocket. I still have nightmares about Addison and Hughes running right past Mahomes while he runs outside and gains 15 yards.

 

I’m sure they got credited with a “QB Pressure” though…

The whole idea of a pressure, a hurry or a hit is worthless if the pass was still completed.  Sacks are all I care about. If Shaq wants to come back for a 1 year prove it "league minimum" deal,  I guess I could live with that?

[DCofNC]

3 hours ago, nucci said:

what's a "prove it deal" ? He's been in the league a few years. We know how he plays

Short term, low guarantees and incentives to reach, gives the player a chance to show up big and earn another longer deal.  Personally, I’d do 2 years so if he does ball out for his incentives, I get to keep him for another year he’ll be chasing a contract.  Let’s not pretend he was ever great here, just started showing some success in his last year when teams were having to pay attention to the center of the line getting blown up by Phillips.  6.5 sacks is nothing to write home about.  I’d do something like; Year 1: 1.8M base, 200k bonus at 40% of defensive snaps, 300k at 7 sacks, 500k for pro bowl, 2M for All Pro (HA!).  Year 2 voidable at 9 sacks.

 

Year 2: total salary = year 1 salary plus bonuses total, same bonus structure again.

[RoyBatty is alive]

Shaq Lawson, LOL.

 

 

He is going to cost the Houston Texans $5.3 in dead cap money this year.

[JaCrispy]

Just the thought of this guy back on the Bills makes my body quiver in unappetizing ways...😉

Edited March 11, 2022 by JaCrispy

[NewEra]

23 hours ago, LABILLBACKER said:

The whole idea of a pressure, a hurry or a hit is worthless if the pass was still completed.  Sacks are all I care about. If Shaq wants to come back for a 1 year prove it "league minimum" deal,  I guess I could live with that?

No offense, but If that’s all you care about then you should take some football 101 classes.  
 

“A hurry or a hit is worthless if the pass was completed”, tells 1/2 the story.  A hurry or a hit is almost as good as a sack if the pass is incomplete.  But they aren’t sacks…..so you don’t care about them….even if they help you win the game.  Similar to Aaron Donald’s play to end the super bowl…..mmmhmmm

[Rocky Landing]

23 hours ago, eball said:

It’s always interesting to me to read a thread about a non-star player upon whom I don’t have a strong opinion. So many different assessments that literally run the gamut. If NFL GMs are as varied in their evaluations as fans are it’s no wonder there are so many misses. 
 

Put another way:  If [some] NFL GMs are as varied in [bad at] their evaluations as fans are it’s no wonder there are so many misses. 

 

And that may even be the case. Be that as it may, I don't ever find myself placing my own opinions of a player (however strong they might be) above Beane's. I feel like he's earned our trust.

 

And I'm right there with you regarding Lawson. I will say though: he was playing his best football in a Bills uniform right before he left. 

[vincec]

9 hours ago, NewEra said:

No offense, but If that’s all you care about then you should take some football 101 classes.  
 

“A hurry or a hit is worthless if the pass was completed”, tells 1/2 the story.  A hurry or a hit is almost as good as a sack if the pass is incomplete.  But they aren’t sacks…..so you don’t care about them….even if they help you win the game.  Similar to Aaron Donald’s play to end the super bowl…..mmmhmmm

I agree with what you're saying, but the difference is that sacks are explosive plays that can end drives by putting the offense in un-makable down/distance situations, not to mention possibly cause fumbles by the QB. Hurries that force interceptions are as well, but hurries that force incompletions are not. The Bills D could certainly use more explosive plays on defense. They're basically the only way to stop top offenses with the current rules.

[NewEra]

10 minutes ago, vincec said:

I agree with what you're saying, but the difference is that sacks are explosive plays that can end drives by putting the offense in un-makable down/distance situations, not to mention possibly cause fumbles by the QB. Hurries that force interceptions are as well, but hurries that force incompletions are not. The Bills D could certainly use more explosive plays on defense. They're basically the only way to stop top offenses with the current rules.

Yeah, sacks are better than hurries and hits.  But to say that hurries and hits are equivalent to nothing just disregards a big part of our defense.  The pressure (aka hurries and hits) we generated was one of the reasons our pass d was so good.  Levi and Dane aren’t world beaters.  
 

I’d rather our DE’s finish too.  We were 11th in the league in sacks, with a very low blitz rate and top in pressures.  Could be better….definitely.  

[AmishRifle]

I like Shaw for his ability to set the edge.  Especially when you play run-heavy teams like the Ravens.

[Paul Costa]

3 hours ago, AmishRifle said:

I like Shaw for his ability to set the edge.  Especially when you play run-heavy teams like the Ravens.

I thought Shaw was just a poster. Didn’t know he was active on game days. I’m a bigger fan now 😂😂😂. But seriously Shaq would be a great pickup because our schedule features so many run heavy teams this year. 

[TheyCallMeAndy]

I see Lawson as our plan C. I think they’ll go for a big upgrade, but if they can’t get your Chander Jones or that dude from LA they’ll sign Lawson. Lawson isn’t a terrible worst case scenario either, he’s still young and the things he does well he does very well. He probably walks into TC and beats AJ and Boogie for a starting job (although I love Boogie)