Terrel Bernard Appreciation Thread

[BuffaloBill]

May be the biggest surprise so far this season.

[ngbills]

49 minutes ago, SCBills said:

That interception was not simply right place, right time.  
 

He had to show ball skills to secure that.. and did.   Something in his second game, that we rarely ever saw from our “pro-bowl” MLB of the past five years. 

Really? My 10 year old daughter could have caught that. And to say Edmunds could not have made that play is just absurd. 

 

 

54 minutes ago, HOUSE said:

Trumaine Edmunds had 8 tackles yesterday and he has lots of money 

No - 16 tackles

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

1 hour ago, ngbills said:

Nobody is wrong about him. MLB is still a need for the Bills. He did less to hurt them this week than last. That was mostly because the DL dominated not him.
He had 6 tackles as a MLB. It’s not like he was flying all over and had 20 tackles. Not all interceptions are created equal - unlike Milano his was luck and just right place right time. 
Bills one. The D played well. So his play is noticed less. That is good. But I doubt anyone was watching saying wow, look at that 43, he is baller. 

 

He led the team with 6.  20 tackles would be even more impressive when you consider he played 34 snaps.  

[ngbills]

56 minutes ago, JDHillFan said:

He was on the field for 34 plays. The remaining 5 plays LV ran were against backups. How many tackles should he have racked up?

Obviously 34 tackles then...My point is he played an ok game. The coaches will watch the tape and there will be some good and some bad. How the game played out because the Bills DL and Bills overall dominated the game he was not required to do much. I would not sell this performance as a we have our future all pro mlb like he was out there just destroying people and tookover the game. The team got the job done, he got an easy pick and otherwise what noticed a ton which is good. 

4 minutes ago, Bleeding Bills Blue said:

 

He led the team with 6.  20 tackles would be even more impressive when you consider he played 34 snaps.  

Your MLB will lead your team in tackles 90% of the time. That should be expected not used as a see he played great stat. 

[SCBills]

10 minutes ago, ngbills said:

Really? My 10 year old daughter could have caught that. And to say Edmunds could not have made that play is just absurd. 

 

 

No - 16 tackles

 

Good thing I didn't say that.  

 

I wasn't a fan of the Bernard pick, and was extremely underwhelmed with what we saw from him as a rookie, but to say MLB is still a need based off his play so far comes off as personal bias.  That's not to say MLB won't be an issue, but through 2 games... it is not. 

[Eastport bills]

Seems pretty solid and quick in his reads. He will be important vs Miami and Jax. I can’t look at Dodson anymore. I hope Williams sees the field a little more.

[JakeFrommStateFarm]

17 hours ago, Rigotz said:

How wrong were all of us about this guy??

 

Wait a minute.

 

Are you saying this entire board was wrong and Beane and McD were right ???

[TheBrownBear]

Good start so far.  I liked his college tape, so I'm not surprised.

[BuffaloBillyG]

Hey, I like PFF this week. 

 

In all seriousness, this is a case where the grade meets the eye test.

[JerseyBills]

19 hours ago, TheyCallMeAndy said:

He definitely is off to a great start, let’s keep this thread going all season. Bills don’t need elite MLB play, just solid. The Nard-Dog has been an awesome surprise so far.

It's not like we were getting elite mlb play before Bernard. He looks better in alot of aspects than Maine and Milano looks better than ever, he's everywhere, not sure if it's because Nard or not.  Back to back 1st team all pros incoming?

Edited September 18, 2023 by JerseyBills

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

19 hours ago, Rigotz said:

How wrong were all of us about this guy??

 

- Led the team in tackles Week 1 and Week 2.

- Huge interception Week 2 and a nice PBU.

- Looked solid in coverage, redirecting routes and erasing short gains. 

- Surprisingly good in run fills both weeks. Quick trigger and getting downhill fast. Sure tackler.

 

I don’t think any of us saw this coming, but a HUGE development if what we’re seeing early continues.

Agreed- also the front four was dominant against the run, so he didn’t have to shed and tackle. 
 

I expected he’d be good in coverage ….

[Mango]

19 hours ago, Andysplaylist said:

Just watched YouTube and you are right! Wow, they look like the same player, makes much more sense that a corner could catch him. So Bernard really didn’t have a great first game, noticeably improved this game

I disliked the 40’s for LB and DB’s. It adds a ton of confusion. 

[Coach Tuesday]

Bernard's small stature may actually help him wriggle through the gaps.  He's kind of a tunnel rat.

[HardyBoy]

4 hours ago, ngbills said:

Obviously 34 tackles then...My point is he played an ok game. The coaches will watch the tape and there will be some good and some bad. How the game played out because the Bills DL and Bills overall dominated the game he was not required to do much. I would not sell this performance as a we have our future all pro mlb like he was out there just destroying people and tookover the game. The team got the job done, he got an easy pick and otherwise what noticed a ton which is good. 

 

Your MLB will lead your team in tackles 90% of the time. That should be expected not used as a see he played great stat. 

 

Have you watched any film? Do you have any reason in terms of actually knowing anything about what you're really watching for anyone here to take this as anything more than just a blustering and likely awful hot take?

 

NFL football is no question the most complicated and least understood sport there is...I can understand coverage concepts and such, and I would never ever claim to know anything about the sport I am watching and frankly anyone who claims they do, without actual bonafides to back that up are walking Duning Kruger blowhards.

[ngbills]

Just now, HardyBoy said:

 

Have you watched any film? Do you have any reason in terms of actually knowing anything about what you're really watching for anyone here to take this as anything more than just a blustering and likely awful hot take?

 

NFL football is no question the most complicated and least understood sport there is...I can understand coverage concepts and such, and I would never ever claim to know anything about the sport I am watching and frankly anyone who claims they do, without actual bonafides to back that up are walking Duning Kruger blowhards.

I re-watched every play from the first game. Have not done so for the 2nd game yet. Not a ton of plays so should not be a hard one to do. I both played later coached at the college and high school levels. So do have experience watching tape.

 

Bernard has been better since the 1st have of the Jets game. He was bad in the first half of the Jets game and would call him average since then. if you can protect him, he is not as much of a liability. Or if he is in coverage he is not as much of a liability. Nothing special, just hopefully wont hurt you. 

 

Without being in the room it is hard to say, but it looks like he is still learning to call the D. There is more confusion than is typical pre-snap. He can get lost if a guy gets a block on him and has trouble shedding the block. The Raiders could not get past the DL this week so Bernard didnt have a ton of chances. He was in coverage a lot more than stopping the run, which is good. Also had him lined up tight with Milano a lot, I assume to protect him and put more guys in the box. 

[GunnerBill]

17 minutes ago, ngbills said:

I re-watched every play from the first game. Have not done so for the 2nd game yet. Not a ton of plays so should not be a hard one to do. I both played later coached at the college and high school levels. So do have experience watching tape.

 

Bernard has been better since the 1st have of the Jets game. He was bad in the first half of the Jets game and would call him average since then. if you can protect him, he is not as much of a liability. Or if he is in coverage he is not as much of a liability. Nothing special, just hopefully wont hurt you. 

 

Without being in the room it is hard to say, but it looks like he is still learning to call the D. There is more confusion than is typical pre-snap. He can get lost if a guy gets a block on him and has trouble shedding the block. The Raiders could not get past the DL this week so Bernard didnt have a ton of chances. He was in coverage a lot more than stopping the run, which is good. Also had him lined up tight with Milano a lot, I assume to protect him and put more guys in the box. 

 

I agree with some of this.... yesterday was definitely partly a result of the Bills Dline dominating. Especially in the middle Oliver and Jones won most of their reps and that did make his game easier. But I think he was better than average yesterday. I agree poor first half v Jets, average 2nd half, pretty good yesterday even if not fully tested because of the performances in front of him. 

 

I also agree he still has to improve pre-snap, both in recognition and in authority calling it. As was pointed out earlier it looked on the TD pass as though he recognised we were lined up wrong but couldn't get the guys to fix it. You have to take control there, hard as it is for a young player. 

 

Ultimately compared to where I feared we would be "not a liability" would be a very good outcome and I trust the defense to work around him. Anything better than that is money. 

[ROCBillsBeliever]

1 hour ago, Coach Tuesday said:

Bernard's small stature may actually help him wriggle through the gaps.  He's kind of a tunnel rat.

 

He also coincidentally has hair like Pat the Rat... coincidence? 🤔

[Chaos]

He's played great so far.   Its a shame he is so old (24).  

[HappyDays]

13 hours ago, ngbills said:

And to say Edmunds could not have made that play is just absurd. 

 

I mean, Edmunds had several opportunities to make that exact play over the course of his career here and missed them. Are you really choosing this hill to die on? Edmunds was not a playmaker, he was a scarecrow.

[John from Riverside]

13 hours ago, ngbills said:

Obviously 34 tackles then...My point is he played an ok game. The coaches will watch the tape and there will be some good and some bad. How the game played out because the Bills DL and Bills overall dominated the game he was not required to do much. I would not sell this performance as a we have our future all pro mlb like he was out there just destroying people and tookover the game. The team got the job done, he got an easy pick and otherwise what noticed a ton which is good. 

Your MLB will lead your team in tackles 90% of the time. That should be expected not used as a see he played great stat. 

This is true, but Bernard has shown the propensity to be a playmaker
 

Something Edmonds was not

[AuntieEm]

58 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

 

I mean, Edmunds had several opportunities to make that exact play over the course of his career here and missed them. Are you really choosing this hill to die on? Edmunds was not a playmaker, he was a scarecrow.

 

I never got the sense that Tremaine loves playing football.  Yes his size and talents allow him to be a fairly decent player but he never seemed to want to up his game.  Seemed more concerned about staying healthy and that isn't a bad thing in many ways but it does make it easier to find a player that gives more in effort and the results of that effort can be equal to what youd get with Edmunds.  

[AuntieEm]

3 minutes ago, John from Riverside said:

This is true, but Bernard has shown the propensity to be a playmaker
 

Something Edmonds was not

And tbh if the Bills are playing to their offensive capabilities  the cover ability is the more important ability and there should be fewer plays needed to be made as our offense just refuses to get of the field as they eat up game time and wrack up a big enough lead that keeps opponents pressing and making the mistakes.  

[Chaos]

5 hours ago, AuntieEm said:

And tbh if the Bills are playing to their offensive capabilities  the cover ability is the more important ability and there should be fewer plays needed to be made as our offense just refuses to get of the field as they eat up game time and wrack up a big enough lead that keeps opponents pressing and making the mistakes.  

Waiting for mistakes definitely can help a team win 10-12 regular season games against inferior opponents.  So far it has not proven to be a viable strategy for a deep playoff run. 

[AuntieEm]

7 minutes ago, Chaos said:

Waiting for mistakes definitely can help a team win 10-12 regular season games against inferior opponents.  So far it has not proven to be a viable strategy for a deep playoff run. 

Well ss your team gets their bread and butter plays down pat and limits mistakes it lessens the pressure and playing well with confidence can overcome talent disparities between 2 teams.  

[Rigotz]

A few nice clips of his run fills here:

 

https://x.com/cover1/status/1704230868594663547?s=46&t=E40WAbu8GsA_XsQdsioRYw

[John from Riverside]

It’s cool that they’re showing the run stops because we know that this guy can blitz we’re not seeing that part of his game yet
 

When you consider that this was one of the biggest fears we had going into the season, things are rounding out quite nicely

 

Would still bring up Kirksey to back him up

[Shaw66]

19 hours ago, AuntieEm said:

 

I never got the sense that Tremaine loves playing football.  Yes his size and talents allow him to be a fairly decent player but he never seemed to want to up his game.  Seemed more concerned about staying healthy and that isn't a bad thing in many ways but it does make it easier to find a player that gives more in effort and the results of that effort can be equal to what youd get with Edmunds.  

I agree. I never got the feeling that he had the passion a lot of guys had. It seemed like he was playing football because his family expected it or something.  

 

Passion drives great play.  

[ColoradoBills]

39 minutes ago, John from Riverside said:

It’s cool that they’re showing the run stops because we know that this guy can blitz we’re not seeing that part of his game yet
 

When you consider that this was one of the biggest fears we had going into the season, things are rounding out quite nicely

 

Would still bring up Kirksey to back him up

 

Kirksey's call up full time would mean Dodson is cut.  Tyrel is good on ST and Christian would have to take snaps there.  Not sure how

his ST play is.  I'd give him more time to get acclimated.  He always can be a PS elevation if a LB gets banged up.

 

If everyone is staying healthy, I'd leave things the way they are right now.  It's a long season.

[HappyDays]

I genuinely don't think Edmunds makes this play. I think he hesitates on the play action and Jacobs has a chance to bounce it outside.

[AuntieEm]

16 hours ago, Chaos said:

Waiting for mistakes definitely can help a team win 10-12 regular season games against inferior opponents.  So far it has not proven to be a viable strategy for a deep playoff run. 

Maybe not but that's the beauty of 17.  He can do more than just dink dunk game manager.  If they need to switch gears in playoffs so be it and having more film on the dink dunking will offer up some of the other play action shots back to the how did he do that from defenses not seeing it much during the req season wins.  And once a lead is established I think trying to match  might be harder with Josh and the boys eating up game clock like they can.  Even the fans that rate mahomes over Allen  have to admit he might have problems e ms keeping up with less time to match Allen's output.

 

 

 

[NickelCity]

4 hours ago, Rigotz said:

A few nice clips of his run fills here:

 

https://x.com/cover1/status/1704230868594663547?s=46&t=E40WAbu8GsA_XsQdsioRYw

 

That second tackle is particularly impressive, knifing through traffic like that.

[John from Riverside]

Bernard has the instincts and the dog in him

 

I worry about him, holding up over the course of the season, but I am definitely rooting for him

[Doc]

8 hours ago, John from Riverside said:

Bernard has the instincts and the dog in him

 

I worry about him, holding up over the course of the season, but I am definitely rooting for him

 

That's where Kirksey comes in.  And is Spector done for the year or on IR-return?

[Beck Water]

13 hours ago, Rigotz said:

A few nice clips of his run fills here:

 

https://x.com/cover1/status/1704230868594663547?s=46&t=E40WAbu8GsA_XsQdsioRYw

 

That is nice.

 

Couple of remarks:

1) The Bills defensive motto seems to be "you'll never tackle alone".  And making those tackles in the backfield or near the LOS helps this philosophy vs. waiting for 5 yds downfield.  Bernard is NOT a "thumper" but he has good technique and he's consistently slowing his targets to the point where the rest of the Bills catch up.

2) this guy is a douche.  I used to get this all the time here when I did more data-rich posts.  Hey, someone took the time to put together data.  "I'd be interested to know the run-pass percentages each faced, do you have those data?" is one thing.  A demand with please in front of it is something else.

https://x.com/Kyle_Wright/status/1704273869316440371?s=20

 

28 minutes ago, Doc said:

 

That's where Kirksey comes in.  And is Spector done for the year or on IR-return?

 

Spector is eligible to return.

Edited September 20, 2023 by Beck Water

[Beck Water]

12 hours ago, ColoradoBills said:

 

Kirksey's call up full time would mean Dodson is cut.  Tyrel is good on ST and Christian would have to take snaps there.  Not sure how

his ST play is.  I'd give him more time to get acclimated.  He always can be a PS elevation if a LB gets banged up.

 

If everyone is staying healthy, I'd leave things the way they are right now.  It's a long season.

 

This.

 

Kirksey last played significant ST in 2017.

[ngbills]

13 hours ago, HappyDays said:

I genuinely don't think Edmunds makes this play. I think he hesitates on the play action and Jacobs has a chance to bounce it outside.

This Edmunds guy must be out of the league if he is not making that play. 

[GunnerBill]

13 hours ago, HappyDays said:

 

 

The Raiders decision to voluntarily downgrade at QB makes no sense unless they are tanking and they don't appear to be. Such a bizarre decision. 

[ngbills]

1 minute ago, GunnerBill said:

 

The Raiders decision to voluntarily downgrade at QB makes no sense unless they are tanking and they don't appear to be. Such a bizarre decision. 

But Garoppolo is a winner. All he does is win yet no one wants him...

[Rigotz]

1 hour ago, GunnerBill said:

 

The Raiders decision to voluntarily downgrade at QB makes no sense unless they are tanking and they don't appear to be. Such a bizarre decision. 

One comment on this, then back to Bernard discussion. 
 

I don’t think it’s fair to say they voluntarily downgraded at QB. They benched Carr at the end of the season because he was imploding and Carr openly expressed his frustration and desire to leave. It was clear as day he had run his course in Oakland after nearly a decade there.

[billsfan89]

1 hour ago, GunnerBill said:

 

The Raiders decision to voluntarily downgrade at QB makes no sense unless they are tanking and they don't appear to be. Such a bizarre decision. 

Carr was on a 40 million dollar a year deal they signed Jimmy G to a deal worth about 22.5 per year. The Raiders felt like Carr at a huge cap number was not going to allow them to win and that Jimmy G plus having some extra 12-17 million in cap space would be better. 
 

I don’t understand it either, they could have worked around Carr’s deal and the Raiders cap is not that bad for them they enter 2024 with 46 million in space and probably 20-30 million in “fat” they can cut to make more space if needed. So carry some extra weight on a QB contract is not going to hamper them much.

 

 Just a poorly run organization