Kaiir’s game

[Ya Digg?]

So the PI was really bad, but he made up for it with the pick and almost had another one! I thought he had a pretty good game. Granted there’s a huge difference between Mahomes and Rudolph, but I have confidence he can go in and makes some plays if he needs to play next week. 
 

I’m trying to remember any other plays that caused concern and am not thinking of any. They needed him to step up and he did, props to him 

[dorquemada]

Given that he's been riding the pine allyear he was a pleasant surprise

[CNYfan]

He got bowled over easily; had the egregious PI and then everyone knew they would continue to attack him.  

Then he intercepted that next play and it was mostly quiet after that.  

I did notice a certain unwillingness to tackle at least once later in the game, and I think I saw why he has been inactive.   

 

Edited January 16 by CNYfan

[Doc Brown]

He picked off Mahomes last year in the regular season.  He also had a key pick in the Wild Card game last year just like this year.  He's a very frustrating player to watch because you can see the flashes of what made him a first round pick.  

[pocoboy]

6 minutes ago, Ya Digg? said:

So the PI was really bad, but he made up for it with the pick and almost had another one! I thought he had a pretty good game. Granted there’s a huge difference between Mahomes and Rudolph, but I have confidence he can go in and makes some plays if he needs to play next week. 
 

I’m trying to remember any other plays that caused concern and am not thinking of any. They needed him to step up and he did, props to him 

 

Officials seem to put targets on certain guy's backs, and Elam may be one of them. There's a lot of contact in the defensive backfield every game that gets ignored. It's really difficult to take anything to do with officiating seriously.

 

To me the situation seems like a 1st rounder who thought he should be gifted opening day, got in McDermott's doghouse, then injuries & solid play from Benford pushed him off the depth chart. Has a real chance to show he can contribute and/or rehabilitate value to find another opportunity elsewhere in 2024.

[BuffaloBill]

He seems to get beat often and easily. I’m still not sold. 

[Beast]

5 minutes ago, pocoboy said:

 

Officials seem to put targets on certain guy's backs, and Elam may be one of them. There's a lot of contact in the defensive backfield every game that gets ignored. It's really difficult to take anything to do with officiating seriously.

 

To me the situation seems like a 1st rounder who thought he should be gifted opening day, got in McDermott's doghouse, then injuries & solid play from Benford pushed him off the depth chart. Has a real chance to show he can contribute and/or rehabilitate value to find another opportunity elsewhere in 2024.

Why would he not be here next season?

[GoBills!]

I think with enough playing time he can be a nice back up or maybe switch to safety. He needs to tackle better but his hand eye coordination and catch ability is there. 

[Punching Bag]

Kaiir Elam seems like Sauce without allowance by referees for extra contact.

[NeverOutNick]

3 minutes ago, BuffaloBill said:

He seems to get beat often and easily. I’m still not sold. 

Agree. I want to like him but he looks lost and indecisive. Even the interception, although awesome, was a last second “whoa the ball is coming at me” play. Hopefully he was just rusty and thankful he got the int but don’t want to have to count on him vs chiefs 

[Bill Grundy]

I started to worry that Elam was soft. 

 

Him getting run over on his INT drive was embarassing. Then the WR verbally violating him after the PI. 

 

Suddenly him being a good 'note-taker' at interview seemed to make sense. Maybe he's a classy thinker, with good hands ... but a bit of a 😽 when playing with the men. 

 

I'm reading a lot into a small bit of data there though. But if he is a softie, it would explain why he's not making his mark in the NFL despite clearly having game. Guts aren't something you can coach. 

Edited January 16 by Bill Grundy

[SageAgainstTheMachine]

15 minutes ago, Bill Grundy said:

I started to worry that Elam was soft. 

 

Him getting run over on his INT drive was embarassing. Then the WR verbally violating him after the PI. 

 

Suddenly him being a good 'note-taker' at interview seemed to make sense. Maybe he's a classy thinker, with good hands ... but a bit of a 😽 when playing with the men. 

 

I'm reading a lot into a small bit of data there though. But if he is a softie, it would explain why he's not making his mark in the NFL despite clearly having game. Guts aren't something you can coach. 

 

This is definitely reading in too much, but there's no denying he's a poor tackler with a bad feel for zone concepts.  A terrible first round pick but Beane balanced it by finding an absolute steal in Benford.

 

But all of that is kind of irrelevant now.  What we need from Elam is to be a good backup and make a play or two and he accomplished that yesterday.

[Rew]

He really doesn't seem to match the physicality of the rest of the defense.  He looks like he's on skates every time someone is running at him with the ball.  He might have been an nfl starter 5 years ago, but with the way the run game seems to be surging back he is a liability.

 

His coverage, as always, is not bad and he makes good plays on the ball.

 

It's like to see him hit the gym in the off-season and come back with another 10 lbs of muscle.  Otherwise, he'll never be a starter for the Bills.

[dickleyjones]

The PI was the right play once he was beat. He prevented a TD that play. 

 

Then he prevented the TD on that drive with the int.

 

Both smart plays. I hope he can improve in other areas because he has a real knack for interceptions.

 

 

[H2o]

I was happy with his performance. We were down to our 2nd and 3rd string CB's last night. Dionte Johnson is no slouch and Pickens has the talent to be one of the best WR's in this league. Kaiir held his own for a guy who probably didn't even get many practice reps this past week before the game. His INT turned out to be a 14 point swing. It was about to be 14-7, he gets the pick, and the ensuing drive ended up being the 52 yd TD run by Josh. 21-0. Huge play. I'm REALLY hoping we get Douglas and Johnson back this week. We are literally the walking wounded now. Even still, I am not overly worried if Elam has to see extended playing time this week. This team just feels like everyone is on a mission, all 53 and then some. 

[BarleyNY]

31 minutes ago, NeverOutNick said:

Agree. I want to like him but he looks lost and indecisive. Even the interception, although awesome, was a last second “whoa the ball is coming at me” play. Hopefully he was just rusty and thankful he got the int but don’t want to have to count on him vs chiefs 

 

This sums him up. He has a lot of the physical tools you want and that INT showed great visual processing and reactions. But he still doesn’t seem comfortable in zone, he can’t seem to stay with WRs at the top of their routes unless he gets grabby and his physicality is at best inconsistent. 

[Paul Costa]

He probably is going to have a role next week. Hopefully Douglas is back. But Benford & Taron didn’t return from injury yesterday. 

[fasteddie]

I was at the stadium so you would not see this on tv, but on one play, he was playing the outside receiver with another in the slot. At the snap, he decided to run straight past the receiver, straight up field. He was covering air, while the receiver made the catch.  I have no clue of what he was thinking. 

Edited January 16 by fasteddie

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

44 minutes ago, Limeaid said:

Kaiir Elam seems like Sauce without allowance by referees for extra contact.

So Elam is 'Gallant' to Gardiner's 'Goofus'?

*
Only old people and teef will get that reference. 🤔

[Mr. WEO]

44 minutes ago, Limeaid said:

Kaiir Elam seems like Sauce without allowance by referees for extra contact.

 

how does he seem anything like one of the best CBs in the league??  that's nuts!!

 

On his PI-he was beat after 2 steps and decided it was best to simply grab the receiver by the jersey.

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

6 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

On his PI-he was beat after 2 steps and decided it was best to simply grab the receiver by the jersey.

Somehow, this is probably Edmunds' fault...

*
😁

[dorquemada]

11 minutes ago, Ridgewaycynic2013 said:

So Elam is 'Gallant' to Gardiner's 'Goofus'?

*
Only old people and teef will get that reference. 🤔

 

"Gallant covers his receiver while Goofus runs right past his!"

 

lol

 

 

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

1 minute ago, dorquemada said:

 

"Gallant covers his receiver while Goofus runs right past his!"

 

lol

 

 

Goofus keeps getting ranch dressing on his opponents' jerseys...🤔😁

[rajinka]

1 hour ago, CNYfan said:

He got bowled over easily; had the egregious PI and then everyone knew they would continue to attack him.  

Then he intercepted that next play and it was mostly quiet after that.  

I did notice a certain unwillingness to tackle at least once later in the game, and I think I saw why he has been inactive.   

 

Come on. He got bowled over by a tight end that had a head of steam with 10 yard head start and 40 lbs on him.  I noticed him in a couple run stops at the line. 

[Big Turk]

1 hour ago, Ya Digg? said:

So the PI was really bad, but he made up for it with the pick and almost had another one! I thought he had a pretty good game. Granted there’s a huge difference between Mahomes and Rudolph, but I have confidence he can go in and makes some plays if he needs to play next week. 
 

I’m trying to remember any other plays that caused concern and am not thinking of any. They needed him to step up and he did, props to him 

 

Seems to have a knack for big games. He also had an INT of Mahomes in the end zone last year.

 

Hopefully that gives him some confidence. Ironically, he might be valuable next week since the Chiefs defenders get away with a lot of grabbiness and illegal contacted something he is also known for.

Edited January 16 by Big Turk

[MPL]

I don't know if Elam will ever live up to his draft spot. I don't know if he will ever become a starting CB on this team. The way things have gone for Kaiir this year being a healthy scratch for much of the season... I know that can be a very difficult thing to overcome mentally. And then with the way things were going when he got in the game, getting run over, getting beat bad on routes, to come back from all that and make that play at that moment? I couldn't have been happier for Kaiir. I don't know if he's going to turn into a good football player... but as a human? I learned a lot about Kaiir last night, and I liked what I saw. 

[BillsFan130]

He definitely held his own. But In a perfect world let's hope he doesn't have to start next week.

 

I don't think benford comes back, but by all accounts it sounds like Douglas will be which would leave Douglas and Dane as the starters

[Straight Hucklebuck]

I think he's a liability in coverage. 

 

I thought the Bills defense had the corner too far back/off all night, and Elam was slow to recover on routes thrown to the inside. 

 

 

 

[Mr. WEO]

19 minutes ago, Ridgewaycynic2013 said:

Somehow, this is probably Edmunds' fault...

*
😁

 

 

another bum...

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

Just now, Mr. WEO said:

 

 

another bum...

My brother passed away last year, but you might well be my cousin. 🤔😁

[Kmart128]

PI was smart. He knew he was beat. Saved a TD and lived to play another down. Sure you wouldnt like it but when a player gets beat id rather they grab and tackle then just let the player score an easy TD.

[KDIGGZ]

Douglas and Dane will be back there Sunday if Benford can't go

[pocoboy]

1 hour ago, Beast said:

Why would he not be here next season?

 

I could see McBeane looking to salvage something via trade from a 1st Rounder that seems to not fit their mold after given a couple of seasons.

[Shaw66]

I have a different take on Elam.   I think he's a project, and his best games are ahead of him.  

 

We all know he struggled as a rookie.  But plenty of players struggle as rookies.  Bernard, for example.  Dotson.  Spector.  Williams.  All of the looked liked liabilities as rookies, and all of them have been valuable contributors in the last few games.  

 

Yes, Benford stepped in and played early, but he was a guy accustomed to playing in a complex defensive backfield scheme in college.  

 

I expected Elam to contribute this year, but then he got hurt and was unavailable until a month ago.   In meantime, as we would expected, he hasn't been sitting at home watching cartoons.   He's had his entire rookie season and most of this season to sit and study.  He has the physical tools, and it isn't surprising that with a chance to learn and understand concepts better, he could be put on the field on he could perform.

 

As someone pointed out, the play he got run over on was an obvious mismatch as it was happening.  I didn't know who was out there, but I knew he was about to get blasted.  It was ugly, but it wasn't surprising.   A tackle there would have been a great, great play, and a missed tackle was the likely outcome for most corners.  

 

The interference call, as someone else said, was a good play.   Every corner gets beat sometime.  Every single one.  Everyone holds.  Elam's play saved a touchdown.  

 

The INT was an important play at a key point in the game, for sure, but what I liked about it better than the INT was, along with the other INT, how good his coverage was.  In BOTH cases, his coverage was excellent, he was in position to make a tackle or a play on the ball, AND he showed the athletic ability actually to make a good play on the ball.  

 

Elam's a good example of what perhaps is McDermott's greatest talent - player development.   His system is complex and demanding, on both offense and defense.  You don't play until you can play within the system.  He creates an environment for people to learn and grow within the system, to become "the best version of themselves."   I'd forgotten that Isabella was on the team.  They signed him and put him in practice for how long - three months? - before he was called on to contribute.   In McDermott's system, no one is plug and play - you have to learn and develop.  But his system works, because he creates a TEAM, a group that works together, and together they are better than as individuals.  

 

It wasn't just Elam yesterday.  It was Klein and Williams and Dane Jackson and Cam Lewis and Damar Hamlin and Isabella and who knows who else.  The Bills had a lot of guys ready to play, and they without them, there probably would have been a different outcome.  

[Meatloaf63]

1 hour ago, dorquemada said:

Given that he's been riding the pine allyear he was a pleasant surprise

Very tough to get up to game speed after sitting so long.

[Matt_In_NH]

I have never seen a horse collar defensive holding/PI.  Deante Johnson gave him an interesting stare.

[CNYfan]

With apologies, I still don't think he is a willing tackler, and it is an obvious and significant flaw.

 

I hope he gets better.

[BCAS Baritone]

13 minutes ago, CNYfan said:

With apologies, I still don't think he is a willing tackler, and it is an obvious and significant flaw.

 

I hope he gets better.

On the play where he got run over, he was obviously willing.  It takes some guts to stand there and get blasted by a bigger dude.

 

After the game in an interview, he said his feet were cold when he first went in from just standing around on the sideline.  Until the INT he was clearly bad throughout his first drive.  But at least from watching the TV, the only other time I can recall him on a play was on the INT that he dropped, and that wasn't an easy catch.  Generally, a CB who doesn't get his name called must be doing something right.

 

He was quite below average in the early part of the season, which the Bills have attributed to his ankle injury (at least publicly).  Hopefully he will have more to offer if called upon again during the playoffs.

[ChronicAndKnuckles]

3 hours ago, Ya Digg? said:

So the PI was really bad, but he made up for it with the pick and almost had another one! I thought he had a pretty good game. Granted there’s a huge difference between Mahomes and Rudolph, but I have confidence he can go in and makes some plays if he needs to play next week. 
 

I’m trying to remember any other plays that caused concern and am not thinking of any. They needed him to step up and he did, props to him 

Elam was shaky the entire game. His athleticism allowed him to make a couple big plays. Honestly, I am nervous w/ him out there against KC. I hope I’m wrong 

[Beck Water]

3 hours ago, Ya Digg? said:

So the PI was really bad, but he made up for it with the pick and almost had another one! I thought he had a pretty good game. Granted there’s a huge difference between Mahomes and Rudolph, but I have confidence he can go in and makes some plays if he needs to play next week. 
 

I’m trying to remember any other plays that caused concern and am not thinking of any. They needed him to step up and he did, props to him 

 

The Bills really need to put oven mitts on him at the start of OTCs next season.  He has got the "grabby habit" and he needs to be forced out of it.

 

To be fair, Rudolph was really slinging it yesterday.  He had his opportunity and he was really taking advantage.  He made some outstanding throws.

 

2 hours ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

how does he seem anything like one of the best CBs in the league??  that's nuts!!

 

On his PI-he was beat after 2 steps and decided it was best to simply grab the receiver by the jersey.

 

I do know that Next Sunday's ref crew apparently calls the largest number of DH penalties in the league and we can not afford that.

 

It is pretty clear that the Bills receivers are coached to take a penalty if they have to instead of being beaten for a score.

 

The play where he let himself get run over concerns me more.

Edited January 16 by Beck Water