Is the MLB Competition Over Before It Started?

[JackKemp]

https://apple.news/A2u_Ix6gBR4SS1sBP-7nFOA
 

With this hamstring injury did Bernard already lose his competition with Dodson?

[KDIGGZ]

This "competition" was never much of a competition to begin with. They had Dodson, who is a career backup but knows the defense, and they had Bernard, who is the size of a safety. They never even made an attempt to replace Edmunds and I think it will come back to bite them in the you know what. The MLB is a very important piece in this defense. It's the Luke Kuechly position. You can't just stick a backup in there and call it a day

[BillsVet]

Trust the process?

 

Or rather, believe that MLB is of lower positional value, that Edmunds' value was significantly overrated by TBD, and that knowing the defense and being instinctive is more important than having top-end physical talent with low-end instincts.  

 

I'm amazed at how many people are doubting McD now.  Trust the process! 

[KDIGGZ]

 

The counterpoint to my argument seems to be "we had a top 5 defense with Edmunds, but let's spend the money elsewhere and worst case still have a top 10 defense with a backup. It's not that much of a difference." I think it will be a very noticeable difference. We saw it last year when Edmunds was out.

[I'm Spartacus]

Go with Klein 

[Bangarang]

Seemed like Dodson already had it won. 

[BuffaloBillyG]

Well, can never be too sure how things would have played out but I think Dodson was ahead already in the competition. 

 

My personal feeling is that they "hoped" Bernard or Spector would have taken the job away...but Dodson was the safe bet to at least start the season at MLB due to his familiarity. 

 

If Bernard is missing a good length of time my only question is: Does Spector do anything to put himself back in the conversation?

[oldmanfan]

13 minutes ago, KDIGGZ said:

 

The counterpoint to my argument seems to be "we had a top 5 defense with Edmunds, but let's spend the money elsewhere and worst case still have a top 10 defense with a backup. It's not that much of a difference." I think it will be a very noticeable difference. We saw it last year when Edmunds was out.

I believe they were 4-0 with Dodson starting last year.

[KDIGGZ]

5 minutes ago, oldmanfan said:

I believe they were 4-0 with Dodson starting last year.

Well then there's your answer. They, like some on here, probably think a backup is "good enough." I guess we'll see!

[Drew21PA]

Or….OR maybe Dodson is actually ya know a good player capable of filling in for Edmunds who - well, underperformed and underwhelmed ?

 

never felt we missed much when Edmunds sat out and Dodson had game prep opportunities in the past 

 

I like the kid personally but what do I know 

[oldmanfan]

1 minute ago, KDIGGZ said:

Well then there's your answer. They, like some on here, probably think a backup is "good enough." I guess we'll see!

And what would your answer be?  Bring in a guy with no experience in McD’s defense, whether rookie or vet? ?  Or stick with a veteran who knows the system as has performed fairly well within it?

 

When are fans going to get it through their heads that there is a salary cap in the NFL and because of that you are not going to have All Pros at every spot on the field?  If one were to listen to the hysteria this past off season we should have brought high priced guys in at MLB, WR2, RT.  That is not the way the NFL works.

[Beast]

11 minutes ago, Drew21PA said:

Or….OR maybe Dodson is actually ya know a good player capable of filling in for Edmunds who - well, underperformed and underwhelmed ?

 

never felt we missed much when Edmunds sat out and Dodson had game prep opportunities in the past 

 

I like the kid personally but what do I know 

Edmunds underperformed and underwhelmed himself into a 20 million per year contract.

 

[whorlnut]

13 minutes ago, KDIGGZ said:

Well then there's your answer. They, like some on here, probably think a backup is "good enough." I guess we'll see!

You talk about backups like they are a bad thing. Sometimes players are only backups until they are given a chance to prove themselves as starters and they never look back…

[KDIGGZ]

1 minute ago, whorlnut said:

You talk about backups like they are a bad thing. Sometimes players are only backups until they are given a chance to prove themselves as starters and they never look back…

Any news from camp about Dodson being amazing and taking the job by the reigns? Nope, it was between him and a "hybrid" special teams player and he's only winning by default because the little guy hurt his hammy

[Simon Says]

40 minutes ago, KDIGGZ said:

This "competition" was never much of a competition to begin with. They had Dodson, who is a career backup but knows the defense, and they had Bernard, who is the size of a safety. They never even made an attempt to replace Edmunds and I think it will come back to bite them in the you know what. The MLB is a very important piece in this defense. It's the Luke Kuechly position. You can't just stick a backup in there and call it a day

Perhaps the scheme will be adjusted to accommodate the players they DO have.

I never took Bernard seriously as a MLB because of his size.

I assumed from the start that Dodson would be the guy but Iwonder if Klein gets many reps 

[whorlnut]

Just now, KDIGGZ said:

Any news from camp about Dodson being amazing and taking the job by the reigns? Nope, it was between him and a "hybrid" special teams player and he's only winning by default because the little guy hurt his hammy

That’s funny because I’ve read a lot about how Dodson is making plays and looks to be in control. But you have an agenda, so…

[Einstein]

43 minutes ago, KDIGGZ said:

This "competition" was never much of a competition to begin with. They had Dodson, who is a career backup but knows the defense, and they had Bernard, who is the size of a safety. They never even made an attempt to replace Edmunds and I think it will come back to bite them in the you know what. 

 

Agreed. We better hope our DL is strong enough to not allow many runners to reach the second level. 

[Buffalo_Stampede]

48 minutes ago, KDIGGZ said:

This "competition" was never much of a competition to begin with. They had Dodson, who is a career backup but knows the defense, and they had Bernard, who is the size of a safety. They never even made an attempt to replace Edmunds and I think it will come back to bite them in the you know what. The MLB is a very important piece in this defense. It's the Luke Kuechly position. You can't just stick a backup in there and call it a day

You’re talking about a defense that had a nickel CB playing LB and taking on pulling OGs.

 

Size is not needed for this defense to be successful. It also sounds like they’re going to be attacking with speed. Rapp is going to play a lot.

 

If they felt they needed better at MLB they would’ve signed someone.

Edited August 11, 2023 by Buffalo_Stampede

[Bigvinny]

Von Miller even said it was Dodson the whole time.

[whorlnut]

1 minute ago, Buffalo_Stampede said:

You’re talking about a defense that had a nickel CB playing LB and taking on pulling OGs.

 

Size is not needed for this defense to be successful. It also sounds like they’re going to be attacking with speed. Rapp is going to play a lot.

Sam Mills starred in McDs defense in Carolina and was 5’9”, 229. 

[Einstein]

30 minutes ago, oldmanfan said:

I believe they were 4-0 with Dodson starting last year.

 

But some perspective.

 

Our defense averages 16.7 ppg last season when Dodson did not start.

 

Dodson started against Goff and gave up 25. 

Dodson started against Brissett and gave up 23.

 

The only game our defense (with Dodson) didn’t do worse than our average was against Pittsburgh with them starting their rookie QB for the first time ever.

[Buffalo Boy]

47 minutes ago, KDIGGZ said:

 

The counterpoint to my argument seems to be "we had a top 5 defense with Edmunds, but let's spend the money elsewhere and worst case still have a top 10 defense with a backup. It's not that much of a difference." I think it will be a very noticeable difference. We saw it last year when Edmunds was out.

   The problem with calling his absence the cause is he wasn’t the only , or most important, starter (s) who was missing from the middle of last years D.

   We truly have no idea how this years D will look compared to last. While Edmund’s absence is a notable change  it may well be not even be a top 3 difference compared to last year.

19 minutes ago, Beast said:

Edmunds underperformed and underwhelmed himself into a 20 million per year contract.

 

Because teams never over pay for talent and it never blows up in their face 🤔

[Buffalo Boy]

13 minutes ago, whorlnut said:

Sam Mills starred in McDs defense in Carolina and was 5’9”, 229. 

And the Panthers erected a statue of him outside their stadium!

[Ethan in Cleveland]

It was over when we saw Bernard play last year and Beane drafted another smurf in the third round this year. 

I've never been high on Dodson but at least he has size.

So disappointed we couldn't land Wagner for a SB run. 

Oh well hope Dodson can hold his own.  

Could he really make any less plays than Edmunds did last year?

[Drew21PA]

33 minutes ago, Beast said:

Edmunds underperformed and underwhelmed himself into a 20 million per year contract.

 

Overpaid by the bears

[That's No Moon]

20 minutes ago, whorlnut said:

Sam Mills starred in McDs defense in Carolina and was 5’9”, 229. 

Sam Mills died in 2005. McDermott didn't work in Carolina until 2011. 

 

When Mills retired from the NFL in 1997 McDermott was a year away from being a grad assistant at William and Mary.

[LABILLBACKER]

55 minutes ago, oldmanfan said:

I believe they were 4-0 with Dodson starting last year.

We'll be fine. We're not falling off the cliff without Edmunds. A rotation of Dodson & Klein can still give us a top 10 defense.  And we should be better at run support with those two.  

[oldmanfan]

34 minutes ago, Einstein said:

 

But some perspective.

 

Our defense averages 16.7 ppg last season when Dodson did not start.

 

Dodson started against Goff and gave up 25. 

Dodson started against Brissett and gave up 23.

 

The only game our defense (with Dodson) didn’t do worse than our average was against Pittsburgh with them starting their rookie QB for the first time ever.

So the MLB is now solely responsible for the performance of the defense?  Once again your user name belies your knowledge base.

[GunnerBill]

1 hour ago, Bangarang said:

Seemed like Dodson already had it won. 

 

It is Dodson's job to lose. As long as he shows out reasonably in the pre-season games he will start week 1. 

[PBF81]

1 hour ago, KDIGGZ said:

The counterpoint to my argument seems to be "we had a top 5 defense with Edmunds, but let's spend the money elsewhere and worst case still have a top 10 defense with a backup. It's not that much of a difference." I think it will be a very noticeable difference. We saw it last year when Edmunds was out.

 

FWIW, we allowed our 3rd and 4th most points against Cleveland and Detroit, two of the games that Edmunds was out.  Also, the 4th and 8th most total yards.  The other game was vs. Pittsburgh, which was ranked 26th in scoring and 23rd in yardage offense.  Their QB was the rookie Pickett, who was terrible last season.  It was his second NFL start, on the road here.  Probably not the best gauge of our D with or w/o Edmunds.  LOL  

 

 

[PBF81]

53 minutes ago, whorlnut said:

Sam Mills starred in McDs defense in Carolina and was 5’9”, 229. 

 

Sam Mills, the NO LB?  

 

He played in the '90s, he was Bills '90s era.  

 

 

58 minutes ago, Bigvinny said:

Von Miller even said it was Dodson the whole time.

 

LOL

 

I didn't realize that Von was our DC now.   

 

 

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

49 minutes ago, Einstein said:

 

But some perspective.

 

Our defense averages 16.7 ppg last season when Dodson did not start.

 

Dodson started against Goff and gave up 25. 

Dodson started against Brissett and gave up 23.

 

The only game our defense (with Dodson) didn’t do worse than our average was against Pittsburgh with them starting their rookie QB for the first time ever.

 

Just for some context -

 

The lions had the #4 Offensive in football.  Coming off a 3 game winning streak (and following this loss with 3 more wins).  They had 3 turnovers total in that 7 game stretch and 2 were against buffalo, and it was among their mediocre to poor outings on the season.  And also dodson played 10 snaps in that game - klein played 71.  

 

Dodson did play the entire game against Cleveland.  It should be noted that the game was 28-10 and the Browns gained 150 yards on offense after that 3 score lead was established, as well as 13 points.  

 

 

 

 

[PBF81]

32 minutes ago, LABILLBACKER said:

We'll be fine. We're not falling off the cliff without Edmunds. A rotation of Dodson & Klein can still give us a top 10 defense.  And we should be better at run support with those two.  

 

Well, we're going to find out.  Despite all the rhetoric back and forth, no one knows what's going to happen or how we'll be w/o Edmunds and with Dodson or whomever else starts at MLB.  

 

As Gunner points out, it's Dodson's job to lose.  We'll see how it plays out once the season gets going.  

 

There are more reasons to think that it will be problematic than that it won't be, but until the games get played, we won't know with any certainty.  

 

We all have our thoughts on the matter.   We're all hoping for the same result!  

 

GO BILLS!!!

 

 

[Buffalo_Stampede]

1 minute ago, Bleeding Bills Blue said:

 

Just for some context -

 

The lions had the #4 Offensive in football.  Coming off a 3 game winning streak (and following this loss with 3 more wins).  They had 3 turnovers total in that 7 game stretch and 2 were against buffalo, and it was among their mediocre to poor outings on the season.  And also dodson played 10 snaps in that game - klein played 71.  

 

Dodson did play the entire game against Cleveland.  It should be noted that the game was 28-10 and the Browns gained 150 yards on offense after that 3 score lead was established, as well as 13 points.  

 

 

 

 

Browns game would’ve been a good evaluation of Dodson but Jacoby Brissett juked him out of his jock 1v1 on the first drive so I couldn’t continue to watch him after that play.

 

[Airseven]

No, I think upstart teams like the Orioles can give the Braves a good run.

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

10 minutes ago, Buffalo_Stampede said:

Browns game would’ve been a good evaluation of Dodson but Jacoby Brissett juked him out of his jock 1v1 on the first drive so I couldn’t continue to watch him after that play.

 

 

And yet he soldiered on and led the team in tackles 🙂 

 

Their top 10 running game managed 51 yards on 19 carries.  If you want to add in the QB scrambles you have 26 carries for 80 yards.  

Edited August 11, 2023 by Bleeding Bills Blue

[Captain Hindsight]

1 hour ago, oldmanfan said:

I believe they were 4-0 with Dodson starting last year.

And he was integral 

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

3 minutes ago, Airseven said:

No, I think upstart teams like the Orioles can give the Braves a good run.

 

I think it'd have to be the astros simply because i don't know that the orioles can match their starters in a series - and they're the defending champions.  

[Beast]

1 hour ago, Buffalo Boy said:

And the Panthers erected a statue of him outside their stadium!

Yeah, Dodson and Sam Mills belong in the same sentence. 

[What a Tuel]

9 minutes ago, Bleeding Bills Blue said:

 

Just for some context -

 

The lions had the #4 Offensive in football.  Coming off a 3 game winning streak (and following this loss with 3 more wins).  They had 3 turnovers total in that 7 game stretch and 2 were against buffalo, and it was among their mediocre to poor outings on the season.  And also dodson played 10 snaps in that game - klein played 71.  

 

Dodson did play the entire game against Cleveland.  It should be noted that the game was 28-10 and the Browns gained 150 yards on offense after that 3 score lead was established, as well as 13 points.  

 

 

 

 

 

To add some more context the Cleveland drives after it was 28 to 10 were:

28-10 6:45 remaining to play:

Run Chubb -1 yards

Pass Incomplete

Pass Complete 6 yards

Pass Complete 6 yards

Pass Incomplete

Run Hunt 11 yards

Pass Incomplete

Pass Complete 14 yards

Pass Complete 27 yards

Pass Complete 7 yards - TD

 

31-16 1:56 Remaining to play:

Pass Complete 12 yards

Pass complete 15 yards

Pass complete 12 yards

QB Run 6 yards

Pass incomplete

Pass incomplete

Pass complete 20 yards

Pass incomplete

Pass Incomplete

Pass complete 2 yards - TD

 

31-23 - 19 seconds left Bills kneel.