'22 draft class is really rounding into form

[Success]

Elam had some big plays yesterday - but if you watched throughout the game, he was basically blanketing whoever he was covering.  

 

Cook is our top RB. I love how Motor plays, but Cook has a better ability to turn nothing into something, and is more of a threat to break it when he gets the ball.

 

Shakir had the drop - but he's an exciting player.  He has a 5th gear that our other receivers don't really have, and it seems like they're starting to trust him more & work him more into the offense.  

 

Benford is great depth.

 

With JA's contract kicking in, good drafting is going to be the key to sustained success.  Beane looks to be up to that challenge, imo.

 

[Marcus Aurelius]

Now if the bills could only draft someone who could CONSISTENTLY rush the passer

[IronyAbounds]

2 minutes ago, Success said:

Cook is our top RB. I love how Motor plays, but Cook has a better ability to turn nothing into something, and is more of a threat to break it when he gets the ball.

 

 

 

I slightly disagree here. Singletary is tough. That last carry was epic. Cook has better YPC for the season, but I think that's somewhat due to Singletary being used in more traditional rushing situations. In any event, I think they're a good 1-2 combo.

[Success]

Just now, IronyAbounds said:

I slightly disagree here. Singletary is tough. That last carry was epic. Cook has better YPC for the season, but I think that's somewhat due to Singletary being used in more traditional rushing situations. In any event, I think they're a good 1-2 combo.

 

That's fair.  That was great fight from Motor on that last run - and he does that a lot.

 

It's close w/ both of them, and I'm glad we have 2 guys there who can make big plays.  

 

[Sierra Foothills]

10 minutes ago, Success said:

Elam had some big plays yesterday - but if you watched throughout the game, he was basically blanketing whoever he was covering.  

 

Cook is our top RB. I love how Motor plays, but Cook has a better ability to turn nothing into something, and is more of a threat to break it when he gets the ball.

 

Shakir had the drop - but he's an exciting player.  He has a 5th gear that our other receivers don't really have, and it seems like they're starting to trust him more & work him more into the offense.  

 

Benford is great depth.

 

With JA's contract kicking in, good drafting is going to be the key to sustained success.  Beane looks to be up to that challenge, imo.

 

 

As I mentioned in the game thread (you know that topic where everyone is posting but no one is reading?) that besides the contributions of Elam and Cook, the trade deadline acquisitions of Dean Marlowe and Nyheim Hines have really paid big dividends. McBeane are really doing a good job.

 

1 minute ago, Success said:

 

That's fair.  That was great fight from Motor on that last run - and he does that a lot.

 

It's close w/ both of them, and I'm glad we have 2 guys there who can make big plays.  

 

 

Because he's shorter, people don't think of Singletary as a power back but as most of us know, Motor squats 550 pounds and has a great north-south compass... essentially he's a mini-power back. I know that's not satisfactory for some here but it is what it is. He's pretty good at getting those tough yards and I think he has an important role on the team.

 

 

[IronyAbounds]

9 minutes ago, Sierra Foothills said:

 

As I mentioned in the game thread (you know that topic where everyone is posting but no one is reading?) that besides the contributions of Elam and Cook, the trade deadline acquisitions of Dean Marlowe and Nyheim Hines have really paid big dividends. McBeane are really doing a good job.

 

 

Because he's shorter, people don't think of Singletary as a power back but as most of us know, Motor squats 550 pounds and has a great north-south compass... essentially he's a mini-power back. I know that's not satisfactory for some here but it is what it is. He's pretty good at getting those tough yards and I think he has an important role on the team.

 

 

Another thing about both running backs - people here love to criticize the OL when it comes to protecting Allen, but don't seem to give the RBs much credit for both have better than 4.5 YPC despite having to run behind the same OL.

[bobobonators]

30 minutes ago, Success said:

Elam had some big plays yesterday - but if you watched throughout the game, he was basically blanketing whoever he was covering.  

 

Cook is our top RB. I love how Motor plays, but Cook has a better ability to turn nothing into something, and is more of a threat to break it when he gets the ball.

 

Shakir had the drop - but he's an exciting player.  He has a 5th gear that our other receivers don't really have, and it seems like they're starting to trust him more & work him more into the offense.  

 

Benford is great depth.

 

With JA's contract kicking in, good drafting is going to be the key to sustained success.  Beane looks to be up to that challenge, imo.

 

I found it extremely interesting how Shakir has played such a limited roll in this season and now in the playoffs he’s utilized more. All of us have seen the potential upside of Shakir and questioned why he wasn’t targeted more. Was this done on purpose now? Added wrinkle for other teams to contend with last minute with little game planning? Thats a highly suspect take on my part but it would be genius. 

[Ya Digg?]

1 minute ago, bobobonators said:

I found it extremely interesting how Shakir has played such a limited roll in this season and now in the playoffs he’s utilized more. All of us have seen the potential upside of Shakir and questioned why he wasn’t targeted more. Was this done on purpose now? Added wrinkle for other teams to contend with last minute with little game planning? Thats a highly suspect take on my part but it would be genius. 

I actually really like that Josh went to Shakir on the first ply of the game-help settle some nerves. I have to admit I’m not as sold on Shakir as many others on here are, that drop on the bomb was really bad. That being said that third down catch was incredible! The inconsistency bothers me, hoping it’s not another Davis situation 

 

*yes I do like Davis, but as we all have seen with him being elevated to a more important role he has struggled…hoping if Shakir gets elevated next year to a more important role he doesn’t struggle as much 

[Billz4ever]

36 minutes ago, Marcus Aurelius said:

Now if the bills could only draft someone who could CONSISTENTLY rush the passer

Considering how banged up Cincy's O-line is, our front four better be able to make some plays on Burrow.  If not, no excuses.

[Turbo44]

43 minutes ago, Marcus Aurelius said:

Now if the bills could only draft someone who could CONSISTENTLY rush the passer

Like Boogie yesterday?? Milano, a 5th rd pick, had 2 sacks yesterday too

Edited January 16, 2023 by Turbo44

[ExiledInIllinois]

40 minutes ago, IronyAbounds said:

I slightly disagree here. Singletary is tough. That last carry was epic. Cook has better YPC for the season, but I think that's somewhat due to Singletary being used in more traditional rushing situations. In any event, I think they're a good 1-2 combo.

So so... They allow the pile/scrum to be pushed forward...

[LOVEMESOMEBILLS]

49 minutes ago, Marcus Aurelius said:

Now if the bills could only draft someone who could CONSISTENTLY rush the passer

 

 The Bills took care of that the same way they took care of the #1 WR, by bringing in a already established star player. No one's at fault, Von suffered an ACL tear.

 

 

 

 

[JerseyBills]

56 minutes ago, Success said:

Elam had some big plays yesterday - but if you watched throughout the game, he was basically blanketing whoever he was covering.  

 

Cook is our top RB. I love how Motor plays, but Cook has a better ability to turn nothing into something, and is more of a threat to break it when he gets the ball.

 

Shakir had the drop - but he's an exciting player.  He has a 5th gear that our other receivers don't really have, and it seems like they're starting to trust him more & work him more into the offense.  

 

Benford is great depth.

 

With JA's contract kicking in, good drafting is going to be the key to sustained success.  Beane looks to be up to that challenge, imo.

 

Agreed 100%,  except I still think Motor is RB1.

 

Shakir looked good. Despite the drop but he reminds me of a Diggs clone once he gets comfortable.  Both 5th rounders. 

 

I'm looking for the snap counts and can't find em. But either way, I'd re sign Motor and have him n Cook as  duo for the future. 

Edited January 16, 2023 by JerseyBills

[LOVEMESOMEBILLS]

3 minutes ago, JerseyBills said:

Agreed 100%,  except I still think Motor is RB1.

 

Shakir looked good. Despite the drop but he reminds me of a Diggs clone once he gets comfortable.  Both 5th rounders. 

 

I'm looking for the snap counts and can't find em. But either way, I'd re sign Motor and have him n Cook as  duo for the future. 

 

 I would also attempt to re-sign Motor, but not as a RB1. This offense is dying for dynamic players and Cook is going to be one of those guys. Tied for 14th among RBs with (6) 20+ yard runs on only 89 carries. The next fewest carries of the RBs tied or above him was Wilson JR with twice as many carries and only 1 more long run than Cook. He's exactly what this offense needs and it's the reason why his playing time continues to increase.

 

 

 

[Saint Doug]

43 minutes ago, bobobonators said:

I found it extremely interesting how Shakir has played such a limited roll in this season and now in the playoffs he’s utilized more. All of us have seen the potential upside of Shakir and questioned why he wasn’t targeted more. Was this done on purpose now? Added wrinkle for other teams to contend with last minute with little game planning? Thats a highly suspect take on my part but it would be genius. 

I think it’s a long season for rookies. They’re not used to it, nor are in NFL shape at beginning of season. The Bills seem to let them slowly get acclimated and then let them loose in the playoffs. 

[Billz4ever]

3 hours ago, JerseyBills said:

Agreed 100%,  except I still think Motor is RB1.

 

Shakir looked good. Despite the drop but he reminds me of a Diggs clone once he gets comfortable.  Both 5th rounders. 

 

I'm looking for the snap counts and can't find em. But either way, I'd re sign Motor and have him n Cook as  duo for the future. 

If Cook can add around 10 lbs of muscle in the offseason, he will be a monster next season.  That will give him some additional heft and strength to power through those arm tackles and get into the open field more often where he can straight fly.

[bobobonators]

4 hours ago, JerseyBills said:

Agreed 100%,  except I still think Motor is RB1.

 

Shakir looked good. Despite the drop but he reminds me of a Diggs clone once he gets comfortable.  Both 5th rounders. 

 

I'm looking for the snap counts and can't find em. But either way, I'd re sign Motor and have him n Cook as  duo for the future. 

I love motor but id say the future is Cook. I want Cook starting next season with a rookie behind him. Singletary will get paid OK money. We need all the money to address other positions. 

[boater]

5 hours ago, Success said:

With JA's contract kicking in, good drafting is going to be the key to sustained success. 

There. There in one quote you excelled 90% of Bills fans in their football acumen. The common fan fantasizes about salary cap limits. The common fan fantasizes about the value added by free agent signings.

 

Looking at the long run, we're not playing Madden here. The draft is where its at.

 

(I will add Stephon Diggs and Von Millers contracts to the scrum)

Edited January 17, 2023 by boater

[Airseven]

7 hours ago, Marcus Aurelius said:

Now if the bills could only draft someone who could CONSISTENTLY rush the passer

Or block.

[AlfaBill]

7 hours ago, Marcus Aurelius said:

Now if the bills could only draft someone who could CONSISTENTLY rush the passer

Maybe if they didn’t rotate them so often 😛

[Buffalo716]

7 hours ago, IronyAbounds said:

I slightly disagree here. Singletary is tough. That last carry was epic. Cook has better YPC for the season, but I think that's somewhat due to Singletary being used in more traditional rushing situations. In any event, I think they're a good 1-2 combo.

Yea Singletary needs to be the closer… When the game is on the line he is our toughest running back  

to tackle and has great intensity and ability to get tough yards 

[Marcus Aurelius]

15 minutes ago, Airseven said:

Or block.

Yeah, that too. 

[Shaw66]

7 hours ago, Success said:

Elam had some big plays yesterday - but if you watched throughout the game, he was basically blanketing whoever he was covering.  

 

Cook is our top RB. I love how Motor plays, but Cook has a better ability to turn nothing into something, and is more of a threat to break it when he gets the ball.

 

Shakir had the drop - but he's an exciting player.  He has a 5th gear that our other receivers don't really have, and it seems like they're starting to trust him more & work him more into the offense.  

 

Benford is great depth.

 

With JA's contract kicking in, good drafting is going to be the key to sustained success.  Beane looks to be up to that challenge, imo.

 

These are great observations.  

 

You're correct about Elam.  I watched him some, and blanketed is a pretty good description.  When I saw him, he was consistently in position.  Playing with awareness.  

 

I haven't been a Cook fan, and I want Singletary in on big downs, but Cook already is a good number 2 threat.  The two stress the defense in different ways - Singletary with power and shiftiness, Cook with his big play threat, his burst, but his willingness to go inside, too.  

 

I think the offense has to be reshaped to give a bigger role to Shakir, not now, but in the off-season.  I think Diggs, Shakir, and Davis on the field together challenges the defense - all three can run tough inside routes, out routes, crossers, whatever.  They all can get deep, not with blazing speed, but at least with sneaky speed.  I don't think McKenzie ever will play that role.  

 

Benford's more than depth.  He's going to fight for playing time.  He's part of the reason I think that Poyer will be gone after this season.  Maybe Benford is a slot corner and Johnson becomes a safety.  Maybe it's White moving back to safety, but I don't think so.  

 

Four solid additions.   Plus Bernard.  They took him for a reason.   Maybe they're discovering he can't do what they wanted, or maybe they have a development plan for him.  I thought they might have wanted to go more 4-3, but I would have expected to see that some this season.   He hasn't seen the field on defense very much at all. 

[JerseyBills]

9 hours ago, bobobonators said:

I love motor but id say the future is Cook. I want Cook starting next season with a rookie behind him. Singletary will get paid OK money. We need all the money to address other positions. 

That's definitely a possibility and I think Cook will take over as RB1 but I just love the way their styles complement each other and if we draft a RB that'd be 2 draft picks, if you include Hines. All depends on the amount of $ Motor demands. He's so consistent with an impressive 4.7 lifetime ypc and 4.6 ypc this year

[Mango]

14 hours ago, bobobonators said:

I found it extremely interesting how Shakir has played such a limited roll in this season and now in the playoffs he’s utilized more. All of us have seen the potential upside of Shakir and questioned why he wasn’t targeted more. Was this done on purpose now? Added wrinkle for other teams to contend with last minute with little game planning? Thats a highly suspect take on my part but it would be genius. 

Nothing would be more genius than not getting a rookie meaningful NFL experience and rhythm with your starting QB. Then suddenly trying to create that connection when it matters most…..

[GunnerBill]

14 hours ago, bobobonators said:

I found it extremely interesting how Shakir has played such a limited roll in this season and now in the playoffs he’s utilized more. All of us have seen the potential upside of Shakir and questioned why he wasn’t targeted more. Was this done on purpose now? Added wrinkle for other teams to contend with last minute with little game planning? Thats a highly suspect take on my part but it would be genius. 

 

I think he just took longer to develop than some here expected (me included). He has had issues getting open and finding the spaces in the zones where you need to sit down. People talk about him not getting more run but he played almost 30% of the offensive snaps this year. He was out there enough to make more impact. He was just having a slightly longer learning curve than we might have hoped. There were some flashes on Sunday but I still think his impacy is likely to come next year when fingers crossed he will win the battle to be the starting slot coming out of camp. 

[CSBill]

15 hours ago, IronyAbounds said:

I slightly disagree here. Singletary is tough. That last carry was epic. Cook has better YPC for the season, but I think that's somewhat due to Singletary being used in more traditional rushing situations. In any event, I think they're a good 1-2 combo.

 

That last play is Motor at his best. I think they will do all they can to keep him, within reason on the contract amount.

[CSBill]

8 hours ago, Shaw66 said:

Benford's more than depth.  He's going to fight for playing time.  He's part of the reason I think that Poyer will be gone after this season.  Maybe Benford is a slot corner and Johnson becomes a safety.  Maybe it's White moving back to safety, but I don't think so.  

 

Four solid additions.   Plus Bernard.  They took him for a reason.   Maybe they're discovering he can't do what they wanted, or maybe they have a development plan for him.  I thought they might have wanted to go more 4-3, but I would have expected to see that some this season.   He hasn't seen the field on defense very much at all. 

 

The Safety decision(s) is intriguing: Are Poyer and Hyde back? I think one of them, but not sure we can afford both. If you let one walk, what next?

• A draft pick? Or, free agent pick-up -- That's a big "if," and too many uncontrollable variables. And if you are going to sign a top FA, why not resign what you have?
• One of the current back-ups? Hamlin--future is unknown, Jaquan Johnson - nope, Marlow - maybe? but we've seen his ceiling. What about Siran Neal? I like his play, he is a thumper when filling in at CB. Cam Lewis - again, I think we have seen his ceiling.
• Move Benford back? I think this is a possibility, I would like to give it a shot. But the coaches may have other ideas?
• Taron Johnson? This is intriguing, and I had not thought of it. But he seems to have the perfect skill set and instrincts. But, do you weaken the Slot to make this move? We know the Bills play predominate nickle, and in that scheme the slot corner is hugely important. Taron may be one of the best in the NFL. Is it worth the risk?
• Tre White? I don't see it. Unless the Bills think there crop of younger corners can handle it. I do think White has the game intelligence and instincts to be a good one back there.
• Wildcard: Terrel Bernard? HIs size and athletic ability seem to say "safety." Does he have the mental acumen and speed?
• And there is always the possibility they find a way to keep both Poyer and Hyde--that would be the ideal solution.

Other options?

 

 

 

Edited January 17, 2023 by CSBill

[Giuseppe Tognarelli]

8 hours ago, Airseven said:

Or block.

Why do you disagree with the post? It seems like it's all facts

[SoTier]

1 hour ago, GunnerBill said:

 

I think he just took longer to develop than some here expected (me included). He has had issues getting open and finding the spaces in the zones where you need to sit down. People talk about him not getting more run but he played almost 30% of the offensive snaps this year. He was out there enough to make more impact. He was just having a slightly longer learning curve than we might have hoped. There were some flashes on Sunday but I still think his impacy is likely to come next year when fingers crossed he will win the battle to be the starting slot coming out of camp. 

 

Shakir was a fifth rounder from Boise State, not a first rounder from Georgia or LSU.   Fans who expected him to have instant success in the NFL were unrealistic.   He was drafted for his potential ... and he seems to be developing that potential.

[GunnerBill]

21 minutes ago, SoTier said:

 

Shakir was a fifth rounder from Boise State, not a first rounder from Georgia or LSU.   Fans who expected him to have instant success in the NFL were unrealistic.   He was drafted for his potential ... and he seems to be developing that potential.

 

Agree totally. I was trying to make this point before the season when people were wildly talking about him being "another Gabe Davis" and having 600 yards as a rookie or whatever. I actually thought by the end of the season he might have edged himself into that starting slot role, and he hasn't quite, so even by my more reasonable expectations he is a touch behind but that is not anything to panic over. You are right he was a 5th rounder for a reason and is coming from a smaller school not a powerhouse. If we get to the end of next year and he is still struggling for impact then maybe we start questioning the pick but for now it was just a case of over-inflated expectations back in August. 

[Maybe Someday]

17 hours ago, bobobonators said:

I found it extremely interesting how Shakir has played such a limited roll in this season and now in the playoffs he’s utilized more. All of us have seen the potential upside of Shakir and questioned why he wasn’t targeted more. Was this done on purpose now? Added wrinkle for other teams to contend with last minute with little game planning? Thats a highly suspect take on my part but it would be genius. 

 

I don't think this was part of some master plan.  Lil Dirty was injured and missed the game, Shakir is the next man up.  If #6 plays this week, #10 will go back to his typical snap count.  

 

[Lagoon Blues]

Motor's blocking ability still keeps him RB1.  But yes, Cook has come along better than I had expected for sure.

 

Edited January 17, 2023 by Lagoon Blues