Outside of MLB, Where are the Bills Worse in 2023?

[PrimeTime101]

7 hours ago, Limeaid said:

 

I stated he was a Feast or Famine  player - I acknowledged he had as you call them "meh" games.  And McKenzie won that game for us with Josh Allen throwing to him.

 

Talking about Perspective Hardy is being paid far more than McKenzie was.  And "healthy Harty" ?  The check that McKenzie could not cash was his mouth - he talked too much and should have used energy on his skills more.

 

He cannot stay healthy - why do you think he will be with Buffalo?  McKenzie played almost every game for Buffalo, was used on scout team (he took Lemar Jackson's role in practice for playoff game where Bills beat Ravens) and even played on defense when necessary.

Put health aside.. the 2 players are the same. 

[LyndonvilleBill]

7 hours ago, PrimeTime101 said:

Put health aside.. the 2 players are the same. 

But, you have to take health into account. Plus more than double the cost. Not going to judge much until I see Harty on game day, but, I think it's a lot of extra money and risk for the same type player.🤔. I sure hope he works out the way some people think. I like rooting for the little guys.😁

[Ayjent]

14 hours ago, ngbills said:

 

Tremaine played as close to 100% of the snaps as a player can play. It is so odd how people continue to talk like he was a liability on the field. The Bears and other NFL teams only see his size. The bills played him from day 1 and kept him on the field and never looked to replace or even support him. Yes he sucks and only has size. This stuff makes no sense. If Josh walked rather than resigning is this what the narrative would be? People just love his arm and size and speed but he was terrible. 

Who said he was a liability?  He was fine, but he wasn’t worth what the Bears paid.  It’s that simple.  He did his job, but he wasn’t a superstar, nor a huge playmaker.  Thus, the difference between Josh Allen and Tremaine Edmunds is one that speaks for itself.

[Nextmanup]

On 8/4/2023 at 6:06 AM, SoMAn said:

Overhyped players are frequently overpaid. In a couple of years when the Bears figure out what they're getting for their money, Edmunds will be looking for another team. 

I've re-watched games from the past 3 seasons, specifically focusing in on Edmunds.

More often than not he was a liability in my opinion. He had a couple of decent games, but most of the time he can be seen chasing the play, getting blocked out of the way, not creating fumbles, not getting interceptions, 'assisting' on tackles when an opposing ball carrier is already halfway to the ground from another defender, or just being in close proximity to that ball carrier after the tackle.  

His condor-like wing span was supposed to be integral in clogging up passing lanes. That doesn't work unless your in a position to do that. Edmunds' poor instincts prevented him from being in position. My guess is he followed the defensive playbook to the letter, making him predictable. 

It was weird watching him trail a ball carrier when it appeared another Bill would be there to make the tackle, and it looked like Edmunds was running at half speed, assuming the teammate would make the tackle. Seriously, he sometimes looked like he was out for a morning jog. 

I have nothing against him personally, and by all accounts was well-liked by his teammates. I just don't believe he was all he was made out to be by the press and some fans.

The organization is very loyal to their players and would never disparage any of them publicly, but I believe if they had really wanted to keep him, they could have found a way.

Prediction: in a couple of years he'll come knocking on the door at One Bills Drive as a FA, just like the numerous other players that came back home after a stint with another team.

Excellent post filled with incisive commentary! 

 

You and I see Edmunds almost exactly the same way.

 

The excerpt I highlighted defines who Edmunds is as a player.

 

Edmunds has huge athletic ability but incredibly low football IQ = very replaceable talent.

 

Will be fun to dig out this thread at mid-season and laugh at all the posters talking about Edmunds as a loss to the D in 2023.

 

Edmunds' absence NOT being a problem will be one of the early themes of the season.

 

 

[PrimeTime101]

2 hours ago, LyndonvilleBill said:

But, you have to take health into account. Plus more than double the cost. Not going to judge much until I see Harty on game day, but, I think it's a lot of extra money and risk for the same type player.🤔. I sure hope he works out the way some people think. I like rooting for the little guys.😁

we are talking about how good a player is. that was your original thing you said. you said you did not think he was as good as McKenzie. I disagree. Sorry lol

[Orlando Tim]

On 8/1/2023 at 11:10 AM, wppete said:

Losing Edmunds is going to hurt. 

I like Edmunds but I think we will be running a different defense this fall, with more of a two floating LBs and less of MLB vs WLB which fits our talent better. If we run an identical defense Edmunds missing will be huge. 

[HIT BY SPIKES]

On 8/1/2023 at 11:10 AM, wppete said:

Losing Edmunds is going to hurt. 

Why? 

 

Great Body.

 

Very Athletic.

 

Well liked in the locker room.

 

The football instincts of a Pop Warner player.

 

NO way was he worth (to the Bills)  the $18M/yr the Bears paid him.

 

What the Bills will miss is NOT preparing in advance for his eventual departure.

[HIT BY SPIKES]

To me, the biggest problem area on the Bills remains the OL.

 

RT is a question mark with Spencer Brown's injury and overall development.

 

We filled one of the 2 OG positions with a relatively high draft pick however the other OG position is still not set.

 

Morse is on his last legs.

 

Bates is not a starting calibre NFL OL however he has the position flexibility to come off the bench.

 

I appreciate Dion Dawkins is liked by most Bills fans however, he is nothing more than an average NFL LT.

[Behindenemylines]

On 8/1/2023 at 11:10 AM, wppete said:

Losing Edmunds is going to hurt. 

The other teams offense I assume your referring to 

[ngbills]

9 hours ago, Ayjent said:

Who said he was a liability?  He was fine, but he wasn’t worth what the Bears paid.  It’s that simple.  He did his job, but he wasn’t a superstar, nor a huge playmaker.  Thus, the difference between Josh Allen and Tremaine Edmunds is one that speaks for itself.

A ton of people have said he was a liability on the field which is just wrong. He is a top tier lb. Always a tough call when deciding who to pay. They would have signed him to a Milano like contract but he was too pricey. Just like we thought Milano would be but luckily the market was softer for Milano. 

[Chaos]

On 8/1/2023 at 11:07 AM, jwhit34 said:

Need Von Miller to come back at same level as '22. Contract year for Epenesa.

LBs - Worse without Edmunds

DBs - Better because of health of White, Poyer and Hyde

Going into last season, everyone expected White to return to prior form by end of year. Miller, Hyde, and Poyer were all healthy and not viewed as more of of a health risk than anyone else.   4/11 defensive starters are questionable to be able to play full time for the season, or to play back to prior form.  This is far worse than going into last season.  It is the big question facing the Bills. 

[Chaos]

11 hours ago, Nextmanup said:

Excellent post filled with incisive commentary! 

 

You and I see Edmunds almost exactly the same way.

 

The excerpt I highlighted defines who Edmunds is as a player.

 

Edmunds has huge athletic ability but incredibly low football IQ = very replaceable talent.

 

Will be fun to dig out this thread at mid-season and laugh at all the posters talking about Edmunds as a loss to the D in 2023.

 

Edmunds' absence NOT being a problem will be one of the early themes of the season.

 

 

Edmunds being gone, will be blamed for every defensive failing.  While he was here, his detractors were told "you can't see his contributions on the field, because his role is so sophisticated, you can barely see him."  Now that he is gone, every missed tackle and every defensive TD will be blamed on the absence of the stealth linebacker.  The new DC will likely mention this often. 

Edited August 6, 2023 by Chaos

[Luka]

26 minutes ago, Chaos said:

Edmunds being gone, will be blamed for every defensive failing.  While he was here, his detractors were told "you can't see his contributions on the field, because his role is so sophisticated, you can barely see him."  Now that he is gone, every missed tackle and every defensive TD will be blamed on the absence of the stealth linebacker.  The new DC will likely mention this often. 

 

Never seen a more mediocre player so over hyped. The kid could not play the run if his life depended on it. With his size and speed he would be better suited on the edge with the addition of about 20 pounds. Standing in the middle of the field watching the play unfold and reacting a second too late is all I'll remember of Edmunds.

[BillsFanForever19]

Outside of MLB, Backup QB. Literally everywhere else is upgraded or the same.

Edited August 7, 2023 by BillsFanForever19

[maddenboy]

On 8/2/2023 at 7:45 AM, Robert Paulson said:

We will miss [having people constantly tell us about] his wing span in the central zone [and how we cannot possibly fathom, as mere fans, how awesome it is or something] but that's about it.

fixed.  teamwork.

 

whatever he had, or was supposed to be able to do, never materialized.  not consistently.  not much at all.  Blind squirrel.

 

not a smart football player.   At a position in This defense that requires being smart. 

Edited August 7, 2023 by maddenboy

[maddenboy]

On 8/2/2023 at 10:19 AM, BigAl2526 said:

. . .   As others have suggested, though, the loss of Edmunds could be significant.  . . .

I think a theme in this (very good) thread is:

 

The loss of Edmunds will be noticeable for sure.

 

Debatable whether it will be significant.  As in, will it affect wins and losses.   As a few posters have noted, we do not need the #1 defense in the league to win games.

[Don Otreply]

Imo, everything depends on the O-line, MLB? Not nearly as much, the O-line on paper is improved,but will have growing pains, the general lack of priority for getting noticeably above average players for years on the O-line has shown to be the Achilles heel of our point scoring squad,

[hondo in seattle]

There are Bills fans who want McD fired.  

 

But I believe the biggest 'mistake' made by anyone in the organization is Beane's failure to build a good OL.  Both teams in last year's SB had good OLs.  Ours was poor.   We weren't in last year's SB for a number of reasons and one of them was our roster wasn't among the best, particularly at OL. 

 

MLB might be the one position group that's worst this year than last.  But OL is the position group that makes me think a Lombardi is - once again - unlikely.  

[OldTimer1960]

1 hour ago, hondo in seattle said:

There are Bills fans who want McD fired.  

 

But I believe the biggest 'mistake' made by anyone in the organization is Beane's failure to build a good OL.  Both teams in last year's SB had good OLs.  Ours was poor.   We weren't in last year's SB for a number of reasons and one of them was our roster wasn't among the best, particularly at OL. 

 

MLB might be the one position group that's worst this year than last.  But OL is the position group that makes me think a Lombardi is - once again - unlikely.  

While they don’t have the injury problems that they did last year, I don’t think that CB is any better at all than last year.  They tried to replace a weak spot in Dane Jackson with a 1st round pick in Elam and that isn’t looking good about now.  Every day I read about Elam being “overly grabby” and he can’t separate himself from the guy he was drafted to replace nor from a guy drafted 5 rounds later the same year (Belford).  This is beginning to feel like another wasted high draft pick.

 

I also think that MLB is much worse than last year neither Dodson nor Bernard should be starting on a team that hopes to make noise in the playoffs.  
 

I recognize that there is still time for Elam and Bernard to turn things around and be good players, but things aren’t trending in the right direction for them.

[FireChans]

31 minutes ago, OldTimer1960 said:

While they don’t have the injury problems that they did last year, I don’t think that CB is any better at all than last year.  They tried to replace a weak spot in Dane Jackson with a 1st round pick in Elam and that isn’t looking good about now.  Every day I read about Elam being “overly grabby” and he can’t separate himself from the guy he was drafted to replace nor from a guy drafted 5 rounds later the same year (Belford).  This is beginning to feel like another wasted high draft pick.

 

I also think that MLB is much worse than last year neither Dodson nor Bernard should be starting on a team that hopes to make noise in the playoffs.  
 

I recognize that there is still time for Elam and Bernard to turn things around and be good players, but things aren’t trending in the right direction for them.

CB is better this year if Tre White returns to form and doesn’t miss half the year. 

[OldTimer1960]

22 minutes ago, FireChans said:

CB is better this year if Tre White returns to form and doesn’t miss half the year. 

I agree, I failed to consider that.  Still, the other CB spot is at best “unsettled”.