Would Cole Beasley come back to Buffalo?

[Alphadawg7]

40 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

He can't still be a contributor here IMO. I think he is washed. I didn't think he was good last year. His numbers flattered him and were more Josh than Beasley. He consistently struggled to make plays he made in the other 2 years. Would he catch some balls if they were thrown his way? Sure. But he has no YAC ability at all at this point. And the guys we have there - particularly Mczkenzie and Knox are open enough. The ball just isn't going there often. I'd rather we just throw them the ball. 

 

Beas was terrific here his first two years. He played a big part in making us contenders and in Josh's development. For that he has my gratitude. He can't still play. And Beane knows it. 

McKenzie is not the answer in the slot.  He is a gadget player, he isn’t a guy who can make a tough catch in traffic or get tough yards.  He also is not a refined route runner and has made mistakes many times on his routes that hurt us this year.  
 

I would rather see Shakir out there than McKenzie on a key third down. 
 

And Cole last year was still better McKenzie this year IMHO.  

[Generic_Bills_Fan]

50 minutes ago, Nephilim17 said:

My take was Beasley's POV. Yours is the Bills. They do not contradict each other as they don't represent the same party.

I think outside of tryin to look tough on social media, Beasley would be the first to admit he fell off that final year with buffalo.  Doesn’t mean his career is over necessarily but it is what it is. 
 

it was in his best interest for future employment to make it seem like the split wasn’t ability related 

Edited December 2, 2022 by Generic_Bills_Fan

[ILBillsfan]

36 minutes ago, Warriorspikes51 said:

They do not. Contract was terminated

Ok I was under the impression he retired after the game he was called up to play in and the contract was not terminated.   Not an expert on those rules or exactly if it was retired/cut yada yada been trying to find the video i seen with more knowledable people where I heard the Bucs held his rights

[Orlando Tim]

I am repeating a bunch here but if he was 2020 good then yes bring him in ASAP but he was not that guy most of last year and not at all in TB while there this year. I like him as an individual but his talent is no longer there, injuries have defeated him. 

[Brianmoorman4jesus]

Put him on the practice squad to get a look. What’s the worst that could happen? If he looks sharp, bring him up. If he looks done? No harm done.

[Devilmann]

15 hours ago, Eastport bills said:

I love Cole, but why kill McKenzie after he saved our ass with his best game in 2 years against Detroit?

Sorry but 1 game of production doesn’t compare to what Beasley produced for us   

[Devilmann]

10 hours ago, RocCityRoller said:

 

Pretty sure that was supposed to be Crowder. An no, Crowder was not an answer either... I am really disappointed by that pick up.

We have no way of knowing how things could’ve turned out with Crowder but McKenzie did win the job in training camp so you can’t necessarily say it was supposed to be Crowder. 

[Simon]

14 minutes ago, Devilmann said:

Sorry but 1 game of production 

 

how about 2?-)

[GunnerBill]

4 hours ago, Alphadawg7 said:

McKenzie is not the answer in the slot.  He is a gadget player, he isn’t a guy who can make a tough catch in traffic or get tough yards.  He also is not a refined route runner and has made mistakes many times on his routes that hurt us this year.  
 

I would rather see Shakir out there than McKenzie on a key third down. 
 

And Cole last year was still better McKenzie this year IMHO.  

 

McKenzie is out there because he is our best slot receiver. He is open so often whe  you look at the film. Agree he isn't a refined, nuanced route runner that Beas was at his peak and he isn't the most natural hands catcher. But he gets open consistently and he is dangerous ball in hand in the open field. 

 

I like Shakir, you know I do, but at the moment the eye in the sky don't lie.... he is struggling to separate. He doesn't have the natural suddeness of Isaiah so he will have to be more of a nuanced route runner and find those soft spots in zones a bit more. He is kind of a hybrid between Beasley and McKenzie. It is his job eventually. And I am convinced he will get there. But at the moment McKenzie is the better player. There is no doubt about it. He isn't the long term answer as a slot receiver. But right now, for 2022? He is the guy. I expect Shakir to battle him hard for that job next spring and summer and hopefully take it.

 

I also think Isaiah is better than Beas would be now. I do genuinely believe he is washed. I thought he looked it the second half of last year. From week 9 on last year he averaged fewer than 30 yards a game. He was not the Beasley of old. So when I look at those two Tampa games I look at them as a guy a year older whose burst had clearly gone and I see it as a continuation. He was a very good player for us. But he is done. And Beane all but said that without saying it in his January presser too. 

[Nelius]

Cole can’t do what McKenzie did tonight, sorry. Not current present day old rickety man Beasley. Lil dummy or whatever, he and Shakir are at a different tier of athleticism right now. Beas bowed out for a reason. 

[WyoAZBillfan]

Beese May catch it and fall down, but he CAN catch, McK, Shakir(I love them both, they bring a certain something..or at least Shakir will). Beese I don’t think will be back, but 17 would use him until the wheels fall off (again).

[Punching Bag]

18 hours ago, Beck Water said:

Not sure it's the smart move to cut any of these in favor of a guy who's been sitting on his sofa and who "took his ball and went home" in Tampa when asked to live on the practice squad and play ST, especially when it's not clear he'd be nearly as effective in Dorsey's play designs.

 

The way the NFL is now during mid-season teams sign you to practice squad, elevate you when needed and if you show you are a consistent performer they sign you to regular roster.  John Brown is on practice squad and was active for Thursday night game.

[Eastport bills]

9 hours ago, Devilmann said:

Sorry but 1 game of production doesn’t compare to what Beasley produced for us   

I’m not comparing the two. Beasley was one of the best slot receivers in football, but he was sent packing for behavior unrelated to football and will not be coming back. My comment about McKenzie had to do with him being our best option for this season and maybe his game against Detroit would springboard his production going forward. Sure enough, he made some good plays last night.

[Beck Water]

10 hours ago, Alphadawg7 said:

 

How long you gonna hold out hope for McKenzie that he locks down the slot spot?  He has not stepped up like you thought he would this offseason

 

Why are you replying to your own post where you say you'd prefer Shakir to McKenzie and McKenzie can't play in the slot?

 

4 hours ago, Limeaid said:

 

The way the NFL is now during mid-season teams sign you to practice squad, elevate you when needed and if you show you are a consistent performer they sign you to regular roster.  John Brown is on practice squad and was active for Thursday night game.

 

I understand that.  But PS players also have certain expectations placed on them, such as taking on "opponent look" roles for the scout team during practice and often playing ST if they are called up.

 

Beasley wasn't into that, apparently, so when placed back on the PS instead of being signed after his 2nd game, he went home.  Why folks think he'd like those roles any better here in B'lo has me bemused.  Bea-mused?

[Beck Water]

18 minutes ago, Eastport bills said:

I’m not comparing the two. Beasley was one of the best slot receivers in football, but he was sent packing for behavior unrelated to football and will not be coming back. My comment about McKenzie had to do with him being our best option for this season and maybe his game against Detroit would springboard his production going forward. Sure enough, he made some good plays last night.

 

I actually think Beasley was sent packing exactly for reasons related to football (declining performance on field, speed, and injury factors).  However to be fair, as Shady McCoy pointed out there is a performance vs nuisance ratio, where top performers get more tolerance for off-field shenanigans than lower performers, so it's probably fair that off-field stuff factored into it.  But if his performance were still 2021 grade, I believe they would have kept him.

 

McKenzie had a nice game, and unlike Detroit where a number of his catches were deep, his receptions yesterday were all short slot routes.

Edited December 2, 2022 by Beck Water

[Dopey]

16 minutes ago, Beck Water said:

 

Why are you replying to your own post where you say you'd prefer Shakir to McKenzie and McKenzie can't play in the slot?

 

 

I understand that.  But PS players also have certain expectations placed on them, such as taking on "opponent look" roles for the scout team during practice and often playing ST if they are called up.

 

Beasley wasn't into that, apparently, so when placed back on the PS instead of being signed after his 2nd game, he went home.  Why folks think he'd like those roles any better here in B'lo has me bemused.  Bea-mused?

Glad you asked, I was wondering too.

[Alphadawg7]

9 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

 

McKenzie is out there because he is our best slot receiver. He is open so often whe  you look at the film. Agree he isn't a refined, nuanced route runner that Beas was at his peak and he isn't the most natural hands catcher. But he gets open consistently and he is dangerous ball in hand in the open field. 

 

I like Shakir, you know I do, but at the moment the eye in the sky don't lie.... he is struggling to separate. He doesn't have the natural suddeness of Isaiah so he will have to be more of a nuanced route runner and find those soft spots in zones a bit more. He is kind of a hybrid between Beasley and McKenzie. It is his job eventually. And I am convinced he will get there. But at the moment McKenzie is the better player. There is no doubt about it. He isn't the long term answer as a slot receiver. But right now, for 2022? He is the guy. I expect Shakir to battle him hard for that job next spring and summer and hopefully take it.

 

I also think Isaiah is better than Beas would be now. I do genuinely believe he is washed. I thought he looked it the second half of last year. From week 9 on last year he averaged fewer than 30 yards a game. He was not the Beasley of old. So when I look at those two Tampa games I look at them as a guy a year older whose burst had clearly gone and I see it as a continuation. He was a very good player for us. But he is done. And Beane all but said that without saying it in his January presser too. 

I don’t disagree McKenzie has been best slot currently on team…but that doesn’t make him a good slot option.  That means the slot position has been an issue all year.  
 

Sure, periods during a game he can make some plays, not consistently though I will add because he isn’t a good route runner, but he makes some plays.  
 

I like him in that role.  But, I hate having to rely on him in tough situations. He just is atrocious catching in traffic, he goes down the second he is touched, and can’t pick up tough yards when we need them.  

For me, I would rather see Shakir…Crowder if he comes back…or someone like Cole or OBJ (in terms of who is available) out there in a key moment where we need a tough third/4th down conversion.  
 

I know Cole is not the same, and I know he is not an every down slot guy at this point either.  But I’d take Cole at 75% of what he was over McKenzie on a critical third down.  The main reason is how substantially more cerebral Cole is than McKenzie to adjust and get open for Allen.  McKenzie is terrible at that and it’s cost us points and drives this year multiple times already where McKenzie went somewhere were wrong on Josh.  
 

I think with Shakir, he needs more reps.  They need to get him more plays to adjust to the speed of the NFL.  I’d love to see him involved more to get him more seasoned for the playoffs

Edited December 2, 2022 by Alphadawg7

[GunnerBill]

3 minutes ago, Alphadawg7 said:

I don’t disagree McKenzie has been best slot currently on team…but that doesn’t make him a good slot option.  That means the slot position has been an issue all year.  
 

Sure, periods during a game he can make some plays, not consistently though I will add because he isn’t a good route runner, but he makes some plays.  
 

I like him in that role.  But, I hate having to rely on him in tough situations. He just is atrocious catching in traffic, he goes down the second he is touched, and can’t pick up tough yards when we need them.  

For me, I would rather see Shakir…Crowder if he comes back…or someone like Cole or OBJ (in terms of who is available) out there in a key moment where we need a tough third/4th down conversion.  
 

I know Cole is not the same, and I know he is not an every down slot guy at this point either.  But I’d take Cole at 75% of what he was over McKenzie on a critical third down.  The main reason is how substantially more cerebral Cole is than McKenzie to adjust and get open for Allen.  McKenzie is terrible at that and it’s cost us points and drives this year multiple times already where McKenzie went somewhere were wrong on Josh.  
 

I think with Shakir, he needs more reps.  They need to get him more plays to adjust to the speed of the NFL.  I’d love to see him involved more to get him more seasoned for the playoffs

 

Disagree. We have to ride with Isaiah this year. He is the best guy. Then we need to think about the slot plan again in the spring. I'd rather see Isaiah than Shakir on a critical down, I'd rather see him than Crowder on a critical down and I'd much rather see him than the corpse of Cole Beasley's career on a critical down. 

[Alphadawg7]

38 minutes ago, Beck Water said:

 

Why are you replying to your own post where you say you'd prefer Shakir to McKenzie and McKenzie can't play in the slot?

 

21 minutes ago, Dopey said:

Glad you asked, I was wondering too.

I meant to reply to Gunner but mistakenly hit the wrong reply button on my own post.  I deleted it.  

[Eastport bills]

18 minutes ago, Beck Water said:

 

I actually think Beasley was sent packing exactly for reasons related to football (declining performance on field, speed, and injury factors).  However to be fair, as Shady McCoy pointed out there is a performance vs nuisance ratio, where top performers get more tolerance for off-field shenanigans than lower performers, so it's probably fair that off-field stuff factored into it.  But if his performance were still 2021 grade, I believe they would have kept him.

 

McKenzie had a nice game, and unlike Detroit where a number of his catches were deep, his receptions yesterday were all short slot routes.

Unfortunately the 2021 mishandling of Beasley  effectively ended Cole’s career, and it’s a damn shame. Cole’s polarizing stance on  his personal medical autonomy ended his appeal for other franchises. He was injured and played through it last year and it affected his production. Josh loved him and trusted him and we weren’t able to replace him from within. Hopefully it doesn’t come back to haunt us.