Edmunds…back to back good games. Facts. (Update: Another good game)

[FireChans]

28 minutes ago, BringBackFergy said:

The fact that we need a thread pointing out two decent weeks of football is indicative of how mediocre his football IQ has been for three years. 

This is true.

 

We don't need the "Josh has had two good games in a row" thread because he's almost always pretty good.

[Big Turk]

14 minutes ago, benderbender said:

We don't need an Edmunds Justice Warrior to convince us that Edmunds is good. He is what he is: size and athleticism. Period. You can either make peace with his pros and cons or be upset by unreasonable expectations.

 

His upside is he can disrupt their passing game by his height and wingspan, and if he has a free rush he could get a sack. His flaws are that he cannot shed a block to save his life, is not a sure tackler, and has goldfish level instincts. 

 

I've accepted Edmunds as my personal LB knowing all of his flaws. If only to save myself sanity. Also it lets me celebrate the occasional good play. 

 

The Bills have been #1 in the NFL in pass defense for like 2.5 years now.  In a passing league that is pretty stellar.

[RyanC883]

59 minutes ago, Buffalo_Stampede said:

You’re wrong man. 

 

I'm not wrong, that's exactly how and why Jackson got hurt.  Has Edmunds played better, yes.  Did he injure Jackson by diving onto a player who was already down like he does all the time: also yes.  

[Buffalo_Stampede]

1 minute ago, RyanC883 said:

 

I'm not wrong, that's exactly how and why Jackson got hurt.  Has Edmunds played better, yes.  Did he injure Jackson by diving onto a player who was already down like he does all the time: also yes.  

You are wrong about him always being late to tackles. It’s not even remotely accurate.

 

After that play though I wondered if the refs have ever called unnecessary roughness for hitting your own player late.

Edited September 20, 2022 by Buffalo_Stampede

[Royale with Cheese]

Just now, RyanC883 said:

 

I'm not wrong, that's exactly how and why Jackson got hurt.  Has Edmunds played better, yes.  Did he injure Jackson by diving onto a player who was already down like he does all the time: also yes.  

 

He wasn't already down, he was going down when Edmunds was going into him.  

 

 

[Punching Bag]

10 hours ago, balln said:

he broke his team mates neck in half bc hes slow and lacks instincts

 

As I was taught in debate class "Exaggeration is the favorite tool of opponent unarmed for the battle of wits."

 

He will miraculously have his neck repaired. /s

[Luka]

He's made some splash plays but his play in the run game is why Beane has not extended him a contract offer. Just is what it is at this point. With his athletic ability he should be dominant in both phases of the game at this point in his career. Like I said in the chat, plays in the backfield should be more common, because he has the ability. It's the reads that he struggles to make. Henry's touchdown run is something you'd like to see him diagnose and at least be near the ball, not patting his lineman on the back. His overall play is still average and he's going to need a whole season of good games.

[Ya Digg?]

11 hours ago, In Summary said:

Edmunds sack came unopposed with an open lane. I've never seen him do that fighting off a committed blocker. He's not a pass rusher. Lacks necessary hand fighting skills for one.  Suppose it was a clever call to send him because it worked.

 

As to his hit I'm not impressed or apologetic. Seems the better players impact the play early on rather than finish it late in that manner.  Just my take.

 

I love how you still take a shot at him when he makes a good play.  "Yeah, he got the sack, but it was unopposed so it's still not that good."  As if other guys on the team don't get sacks "unopposed" and then get called out on it here.  Never once have I seen Milano, Hyde, Poyer, etc get called out when they get to the QB on a blitz because they weren't blocked...isn't that the idea behind a blitz?

Edited September 20, 2022 by Ya Digg?

[FireChans]

5 minutes ago, Luka said:

He's made some splash plays but his play in the run game is why Beane has not extended him a contract offer. Just is what it is at this point. With his athletic ability he should be dominant in both phases of the game at this point in his career. Like I said in the chat, plays in the backfield should be more common, because he has the ability. It's the reads that he struggles to make. Henry's touchdown run is something you'd like to see him diagnose and at least be near the ball, not patting his lineman on the back. His overall play is still average and he's going to need a whole season of good games.

I mean Derrick Henry on the 2 yard line is scoring more often than not.

 

Maybe we watched a different game, but the King (even though I think he's washed) had like 25 yards. That's pretty good in the run department.

[gonzo1105]

He has played well in the first two games. He was better against the Rams than the Titans but solid in both imo 

[clayboy54]

11 hours ago, balln said:

looks like we have a lot of edmunds apologists here

imout

Permanently?

[Brand J]

6 minutes ago, FireChans said:

I mean Derrick Henry on the 2 yard line is scoring more often than not.

This is true. But it’s also true that if Edmunds attacked the gap to his right with violence, there’s a good chance Henry doesn’t score (assuming Edmunds puts a hit on him). But I’m not here to whine and complain about the plays he didn’t make after a 34 point win. Solid showing by him and the rest of the defense all around. 

[Dopey]

2 hours ago, BringBackFergy said:

The fact that we need a thread pointing out two decent weeks of football is indicative of how mediocre his football IQ has been for three years. 

Or the mediocre football IQ some on this board have to just look for a mistake by Edmunds to justify their stance. He's been the center of a damn good defense for 3 years running. As to RyanC883, there's a reason for the stat "assisted tackle". Edmunds isn't the only player in the NFL to help with a tackle. There are plenty of examples of "friendly fire" in the NFL. It happens all the time. That take is total BS.

[Royale with Cheese]

15 minutes ago, JayBaller10 said:

This is true. But it’s also true that if Edmunds attacked the gap to his right with violence, there’s a good chance Henry doesn’t score (assuming Edmunds puts a hit on him). But I’m not here to whine and complain about the plays he didn’t make after a 34 point win. Solid showing by him and the rest of the defense all around. 

 

I noticed that as well.  But overall good game by Edmunds.

[FilthyBeast]

I've been a big Edmunds critic but this isn't unexpected since it's a contract year combined with the best dline he's ever played behind.

 

Obviously if it keeps up though he's likely playing his way out of Buffalo because we aren't giving a MLB a record contract next year no matter how much a wizard Beane is it's simply not going to be possible.

[Dopey]

25 minutes ago, Ya Digg? said:

I love how you still take a shot at him when he makes a good play.  "Yeah, he got the sack, but it was unopposed so it's still not that good."  As if other guys on the team don't get sacks "unopposed" and then get called out on it here.  Never once have I seen Milano, Hyde, Poyer, etc get called out when they get to the QB on a blitz because they weren't blocked...isn't that the idea behind a blitz?

You're making too much sense. That might have gone over his head. 9 tackles, 1 sack AND he tipped the ball that everyone is giving Hyde credit for. Why, because they would have to admit he has made more than 1 impact play in his career. I find it weird that the vocal few will try and spin a positive into a negative. Might be the same folks who said Cook looks slow, as he busts a long run on the Titans last night. Surprised to not see the comment " I could have run that one".

[DrDawkinstein]

As a long time detractor, I'll give him some credit where it is due.

 

He had a slow start last night, getting blown up and ran right over twice in the 1st quarter. But the entire team had a slow start, and like the team he was able to turn it around and actually make some plays when called upon. Finally.

 

Good job finally showing the flashes a lot of us have been looking for over the past 5 years. We need big plays from that MLB spot and he's finally delivering.

 

I'm torn on the Jackson injury. On one hand, in general I dont think it's fair to blame a player when they cause an injury with friendly fire. On the other hand, he plays with such a lack of instinct, being late on that tackle and having bad form is tough to simply overlook. But I'm sure he feels horrible about it, and I'm not going to blast him on it.

Edited September 20, 2022 by DrDawkinstein

[BillsShredder83]

8 hours ago, Lfod said:

So what caused the injury then, was it non contact? I'm not saying it happened on purpose but one dudes head spearing into another dudes head 100% made some kind of injury happen. 

Dude ran in on a gang tackle we all love to see. It's unfortunate but to put blame on the kid is beyond stupid. Everyone was hyped af for home opener, was bang bang play.

[FireChans]

7 minutes ago, Dopey said:

Or the mediocre football IQ some on this board have to just look for a mistake by Edmunds to justify their stance. He's been the center of a damn good defense for 3 years running. As to RyanC883, there's a reason for the stat "assisted tackle". Edmunds isn't the only player in the NFL to help with a tackle. There are plenty of examples of "friendly fire" in the NFL. It happens all the time. That take is total BS.

Yes that’s why Beane locked him up so fast. Because of how great Edmunds has been.

[nosejob]

2 hours ago, benderbender said:

We don't need an Edmunds Justice Warrior to convince us that Edmunds is good. He is what he is: size and athleticism. Period. You can either make peace with his pros and cons or be upset by unreasonable expectations.

 

His upside is he can disrupt their passing game by his height and wingspan, and if he has a free rush he could get a sack. His flaws are that he cannot shed a block to save his life, is not a sure tackler, and has goldfish level instincts. 

 

I've accepted Edmunds as my personal LB knowing all of his flaws. If only to save myself sanity. Also it lets me celebrate the occasional good play. 

LMAO! I like that one. I hope he doesn't end up taking Milano out.

[Dablitzkrieg]

I know this hurts some people here. Lol

[Bruffalo]

He's definitely reaping the fruits of the revamped D-Line for sure. 

 

I've never been down on him but I do think he still has some processing concerns.  When he has the right read on the play he's obviously incredibly effective. 

[nosejob]

1 hour ago, Royale with Cheese said:

 

He wasn't already down, he was going down when Edmunds was going into him.  

 

 

That absolutely did not need to happen. He could have hurt Milano last week. JMO

[Success]

2 hours ago, Lfod said:

 

I don't really want to derail the thread from people getting to talk about how he played so I'm not going to elaborate too much. 

 

I don't think he intentionally injured some one on purpose but it does feel sort of like an anomaly never seeing anything quite like that. It hit me differently I must admit. 

 

I know that leading tackles with your head can bring fines for helmet to helmet hits and it looked like to me he dove in head first blindly. Like if he dove head first blindly and it was a helmet to helmet hit. 

 

All I can say is something about it feels wrong to me but it could just be the perfect camera angle showing it so clear. I hope people can be better than me because I wouldn't be cool with it if I was the one in that situation. 

 

You mess with my health and my potential future earnings trying to dog pile on a tackle I already made I'm not gonna be your friend anymore. 

 

It's so easy for us as fans to see a replay in slow motion, over & over again, and claim that a "smart" or "good" player could have seen that coming and altered his trajectory, or put on the brakes.

 

In real motion, I don't think any of us can really understand how fast the game moves on the field.  And we want guys to play aggressive - we want a 2nd defender to come in for the hit, to either ensure the tackle or knock the ball loose.  

 

That's just the game.  It's basically a split second where he has to completely change his mindset from aggressive and high energy to cautious.

 

[HoofHearted]

12 hours ago, In Summary said:

Edmunds sack came unopposed with an open lane. I've never seen him do that fighting off a committed blocker. He's not a pass rusher. Lacks necessary hand fighting skills for one.  Suppose it was a clever call to send him because it worked.

 

As to his hit I'm not impressed or apologetic. Seems the better players impact the play early on rather than finish it late in that manner.  Just my take.

 

Having an understanding of how pass rush lanes work would help you understand what and why you are seeing what you're seeing. Go read up on box rules and being a low box vs. high box player.

[Scott7975]

9 hours ago, ChronicAndKnuckles said:

Anybody that blames Edmunds for that injury is moronic. 

 

Honestly in the heat of the moment I did to but that passed about 2 minutes later when I came to my senses.

Edited September 20, 2022 by Scott7975

[starrymessenger]

Maybe he finally woke up and smells the money.

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

Maybe Ed needs to show him how to ride a horse. 🤔

[ColoradoBills]

Haven't people seen that the entire back 7 for the Bills have been flying around like crazed assassins these first 2 games?

 

It's no doubt a result of the new scheme of the DL and the great results they have had.

Edmunds is no exception, and none of us know what kind of player he would have been if the D played this style the last 4 years.

What I see is Edmunds and Milano (along with Poyer and Hyde) being "released" to play fast and furious and it's working great.

 

I did predict (after all the Bills don't need to blitz talk) that Edmunds would get a sack yesterday.  The run blitzing derailed Henry too.

 

What future Edmunds ultimately finds himself in, I don't know yet.  I do know I like what I'm seeing.

[Warcodered]

49 minutes ago, Success said:

 

It's so easy for us as fans to see a replay in slow motion, over & over again, and claim that a "smart" or "good" player could have seen that coming and altered his trajectory, or put on the brakes.

 

In real motion, I don't think any of us can really understand how fast the game moves on the field.  And we want guys to play aggressive - we want a 2nd defender to come in for the hit, to either ensure the tackle or knock the ball loose.  

 

That's just the game.  It's basically a split second where he has to completely change his mindset from aggressive and high energy to cautious.

 

Even in slow motion he goes over the top of the guy right after the guy hits the ground, like WTF are we even talking about, that wouldn't even have been a penalty if he'd hit the Titan's player.

[Dopey]

1 hour ago, FireChans said:

Yes that’s why Beane locked him up so fast. Because of how great Edmunds has been.

Way to deflect. 

[JohnNord]

14 hours ago, Alphadawg7 said:

Edmunds has now had good games in back to back to weeks.  This includes big impact plays tonight including sack and tipping a pass for an Int.  One drive he dominated the Titans for 3 downs to almost single handedly force them off the field.  
 

So since everyone starts a thread trashing him even after good games, I figured it was time he got a thread praising his play because he’s been very good these first 2 weeks.

 

He still has to prove it the rest of the season to see where he fits in the Bills future plans, but he’s off to a very good start and he has earned some praise.  

I have been very critical of Edmunds.  I don’t think he played as well as you believe he did last week - especially when it came to getting off blocks.  
 

However I do not dispute that he had an excellent game last night and was a difference maker.  The big sack is just what we are looking for in Edmunds.  He made a number of other big plays.   These are the type of plays that were lacking from Edmunds.  

 

Before you say “the big plays were always there,” that isn’t me saying this.  This is what Leslie Frazier and Brandon Brandon said publicly.  

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

This is the song that never ends 

It goes on and on my friends 

 

 

[Alphadawg7]

59 minutes ago, JohnNord said:

I have been very critical of Edmunds.  I don’t think he played as well as you believe he did last week - especially when it came to getting off blocks.  
 

However I do not dispute that he had an excellent game last night and was a difference maker.  The big sack is just what we are looking for in Edmunds.  He made a number of other big plays.   These are the type of plays that were lacking from Edmunds.  

 

Before you say “the big plays were always there,” that isn’t me saying this.  This is what Leslie Frazier and Brandon Brandon said publicly.  

 

Don't get my post wrong, I am not suggesting Edmunds has played this good always.  I have been critical of him too when it was warranted.  However, there have been many times, and I do mean many times, where Edmunds and the D had a very good game and still there was a thread thrashing Edmunds after that game because someone wants to ignore the body of work that game and nit pick a single play to paint a negative narrative.  

 

My stance on Edmunds has been simple...he is nowhere near as bad as his harshest distractors like to paint, but still did need to make his presence felt more impactfully on a consistent basis.  I will say this though, I do think a part of what the issue has been is how Frazier has used him so much in the past where he felt like a big 3rd safety more than a MLB enforcing in the front 7.  Edmunds has felt more like a last line of defense for the DL when they were not winning the LOS in the run game or pass game in years past.  This year, he is all over the field playing more aggressive and more as an enforcer.  

 

So not only am I seeing a big difference in Edmunds play this year, but also in how he is being used.  Edmunds use seems less like a safety net for Fraziers D and more now of an enforcer.  Its like Frazier now trusts the front 4 to do their job and doesn't have to rely on Edmunds roaming with his athleticism to mitigate the damage when the DL loses in the trenches.  This puts Edmunds in more positions more often to make more of those splash plays, plays closer to the LOS, sacks, etc.  

 

So for me, I think it is two fold here.  Frazier's retooled DL means he can trust them more allowing him to use more Edmunds more as an aggressor/enforcer  and less as a last line of defense, and then Edmunds is responding and rising to the occasion...at least so far through 2 games.  It's a long season, so we will see how this plays out moving forward.  But I am liking what I am seeing and this is what I wanted to see Frazier start to do with Edmunds for the past few years.  

[Bing Bong]

This is going to be the thread that gets bumped every week between the Edmunds factions. There's one every year 

[Alphadawg7]

3 hours ago, JayBaller10 said:

This is true. But it’s also true that if Edmunds attacked the gap to his right with violence, there’s a good chance Henry doesn’t score (assuming Edmunds puts a hit on him). But I’m not here to whine and complain about the plays he didn’t make after a 34 point win. Solid showing by him and the rest of the defense all around. 

 

We also don't know what his assignment on the play was either.  

[newcam2012]

9 hours ago, Gene1973 said:

Seems like the revamped D-Line may get him an extension...

Or is the extension giving him a little extra incentive?

[Brand J]

3 minutes ago, Alphadawg7 said:

 

We also don't know what his assignment on the play was either.  

But you’d still like to see him attack an open gap on a 4th and 1 at the goal line. We don’t know his assignment, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t “stand flat-footed in the EZ while Henry rushes through uncontested.”
I’d rather a guy go all out in making the wrong decision than get caught in no man’s land and make no decision at all.

[DrDawkinstein]

5 hours ago, JayBaller10 said:

This is true. But it’s also true that if Edmunds attacked the gap to his right with violence, there’s a good chance Henry doesn’t score (assuming Edmunds puts a hit on him). But I’m not here to whine and complain about the plays he didn’t make after a 34 point win. Solid showing by him and the rest of the defense all around. 

 

1 hour ago, Alphadawg7 said:

 

We also don't know what his assignment on the play was either.  

 

Likely, his assignment was both gaps. That's the general rule of our scheme and the pressure it puts on Edmunds. Cover1 did a really good analysis of it last year.

 

Again, usually an Edmunds detractor here, and I hate seeing plays like that as well. But from what has been previously outlined, and given the way he played that down, it is very likely he had responsibility for both gaps, and had to play the inside first.

[Kenosha2Buffalo]

17 hours ago, balln said:

he broke his team mates neck in half bc hes slow and lacks instincts

 

ALSO , go watch his stellar play on henry TD on goal line. pathetic 

 

Dumbest take I've ever seen