2024 concerns at Saftey and Defensive Gloom and Doom

[Lenigmusx]

     It’s an unfortunate reality that Poyer and Hyde are done. They empty their tanks in Bills Red, White and Blue. I think Hyde will retire. Poyer I’m not sure yet. 
 

That said I think the plan for next year may already be laid out with some personnel we have and a free agent acquisition. I think Rapp with be resigned and I think the improvements in Cam Lewis and a fully recovered Damar Hamlin can provide the necessary depth. I think Lewis although listed as a corner  could move into Poyer role. It will be a downgrade from 2 years ago but a sideways move from last year. 
 

    There are not many good free agents I think we could target but I do think Alohi Gilman from the Chargers could be there for the taking. He is a very good cover Saftey who is used to running the back end. He fits McDermott’s scheme and could replace Hyde and maybe provide the back end speed we lacked last year.
 

     I also think a healthy Benford, Douglas, Johnson, White, Jackson, Elam and Neal mean  maybe shifting Elam to Saftey or one of the others could work. Neal has played Saftey but him seeing the field on D has been a scary proposition. 
 

I also think a couple mid round picks that will hopefully contribute are necessary at both Corner, Saftey, LB and 1 Tech DT. 
 

The gloom and doom over the defense though I think is overblown. If it looked like this to start it would be solid, if not still top 10: 

 
(27 players 2 or 3 on PS) 

 

        Floyd    Jones   Oliver  Rousseau 

     (Lawson) (Settle) (Anjou) (Miller)    (Johnathan)(Draft-1 tech)

 

                 Milano       Bernard 

              (Williams)    (Spector)

                (Draft)
 

Benford          Johnson          Douglas 

(White)             (Neal)            (Jackson)

                         (Draft)
 

     FA-   Gilman               Rapp

             (Hamlin)            (Lewis) 

                                       (Draft) 

[Shaw66]

Floyd said he's going to the highest bidder, and Jones might two, so there are a couple of big holes for you to fill.  

[SirAndrew]

I’m not worried about defense at all. I like McDermott’s defensive scheme, but ultimately the NFL comes down to outscoring opponents. Quit the ball control offense, trust the defense to do just enough, and play ball. Defense has been legislated out of the game. If you have enough guys to make a few big plays, that’s all you can ask on defense. We have that with players like Milano and Douglas returning. 

[BuffaloBill]

McDermott is a CB and S whisperer.  I am not concerned there.

 

Assuming Babich returns the middle of the D is set for LB’s.  

 

It’s the d line that requires some hope.  The Bills will have to look to the draft and maybe one bargain but good FA (Floyd was this).

 

 

[machine gun kelly]

36 minutes ago, Lenigmusx said:

     It’s an unfortunate reality that Poyer and Hyde are done. They empty their tanks in Bills Red, White and Blue. I think Hyde will retire. Poyer I’m not sure yet. 
 

That said I think the plan for next year may already be laid out with some personnel we have and a free agent acquisition. I think Rapp with be resigned and I think the improvements in Cam Lewis and a fully recovered Damar Hamlin can provide the necessary depth. I think Lewis although listed as a corner  could move into Poyer role. It will be a downgrade from 2 years ago but a sideways move from last year. 
 

    There are not many good free agents I think we could target but I do think Alohi Gilman from the Chargers could be there for the taking. He is a very good cover Saftey who is used to running the back end. He fits McDermott’s scheme and could replace Hyde and maybe provide the back end speed we lacked last year.
 

     I also think a healthy Benford, Douglas, Johnson, White, Jackson, Elam and Neal mean  maybe shifting Elam to Saftey or one of the others could work. Neal has played Saftey but him seeing the field on D has been a scary proposition. 
 

I also think a couple mid round picks that will hopefully contribute are necessary at both Corner, Saftey, LB and 1 Tech DT. 
 

The gloom and doom over the defense though I think is overblown. If it looked like this to start it would be solid, if not still top 10: 

 
(27 players 2 or 3 on PS) 

 

        Floyd    Jones   Oliver  Rousseau 

     (Lawson) (Settle) (Anjou) (Miller)    (Johnathan)(Draft-1 tech)

 

                 Milano       Bernard 

              (Williams)    (Spector)

                (Draft)
 

Benford          Johnson          Douglas 

(White)             (Neal)            (Jackson)

                         (Draft)
 

     FA-   Gilman               Rapp

             (Hamlin)            (Lewis) 

                                       (Draft) 

Until we move on from Poyer, he’s still here for 1 more year.  We may keep him out of necessity as we have other needs in the draft and we have no $ whatsoever for free agents.

[SCBills]

I honestly don’t care about these guys who perform in the regular season and no show in the playoffs.

 

Its not like we’ve been remotely close to securing the 1 seed anyway. 
 

Keep tinkering until you finally get a group that doesn’t fold in the years biggest game or just try to outscore everyone in the playoffs and hope your Defensive HC can out-perform the opposing DC just once. 
 

 

[Allen2D̶i̶g̶g̶s̶TBD]

Hyde and Poyer dropped off significantly this year and I'm confident that Beane and Mcdermott can find suitable replacements.  With the addition of Rasul Douglas, I think it could be Benford and a rookie at safety.

[TheBeaneBandit]

28 minutes ago, BuffaloBill said:

McDermott is a CB and S whisperer.  I am not concerned there.

 

Assuming Babich returns the middle of the D is set for LB’s.  

 

It’s the d line that requires some hope.  The Bills will have to look to the draft and maybe one bargain but good FA (Floyd was this).

 

 

Yeah if you mean by whispering to the DBS come up short in the playoffs every year sure

[Don Otreply]

Frankly, as long as they bring on a #1b WR that is a bonafide threat/weapon for the offense, they can do what the hell ever they want to do on defense, jmo. 

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

Jackson is a FA, so much better chance the main CB;s for next year will be Douglas, Benford, and Elam plus Johnson at nickel (is he also a FA??)  Throw in a rookie and/or a low level late signee FA. Only way Jackson comes back is either there's little interest for him or the Bills have zero confidence in Elam.  Which is that's the case, likely would see him traded pre draft for maybe a 5th or 6th rounder.  But with such a likely low return, think much better chance they will bring him back for another year.

 

Hyde is a FA hinted at retiring so I'd be fine moving on there, but bring back Poyer for one year as would make me nervous having two new S in one year.  And would be fine with the name you mention Gilman as Hydes replacement, then draft i n3rd round or so a replacement for 2025 for Poyer.

 

But the bigger concern is the DL and doubtful all those names are back as many are FA and Bills can't afford them all.

[djp14150]

59 minutes ago, Lenigmusx said:

     It’s an unfortunate reality that Poyer and Hyde are done. They empty their tanks in Bills Red, White and Blue. I think Hyde will retire. Poyer I’m not sure yet. 
 

That said I think the plan for next year may already be laid out with some personnel we have and a free agent acquisition. I think Rapp with be resigned and I think the improvements in Cam Lewis and a fully recovered Damar Hamlin can provide the necessary depth. I think Lewis although listed as a corner  could move into Poyer role. It will be a downgrade from 2 years ago but a sideways move from last year. 
 

    There are not many good free agents I think we could target but I do think Alohi Gilman from the Chargers could be there for the taking. He is a very good cover Saftey who is used to running the back end. He fits McDermott’s scheme and could replace Hyde and maybe provide the back end speed we lacked last year.
 

     I also think a healthy Benford, Douglas, Johnson, White, Jackson, Elam and Neal mean  maybe shifting Elam to Saftey or one of the others could work. Neal has played Saftey but him seeing the field on D has been a scary proposition. 
 

I also think a couple mid round picks that will hopefully contribute are necessary at both Corner, Saftey, LB and 1 Tech DT. 
 

The gloom and doom over the defense though I think is overblown. If it looked like this to start it would be solid, if not still top 10: 

 
(27 players 2 or 3 on PS) 

 

        Floyd    Jones   Oliver  Rousseau 

     (Lawson) (Settle) (Anjou) (Miller)    (Johnathan)(Draft-1 tech)

 

                 Milano       Bernard 

              (Williams)    (Spector)

                (Draft)
 

Benford          Johnson          Douglas 

(White)             (Neal)            (Jackson)

                         (Draft)
 

     FA-   Gilman               Rapp

             (Hamlin)            (Lewis) 

                                       (Draft) 

 

assuming Hyde/ Poyer are done….

 

if they keep Douglas and Johnson  with Branford, Elam, tre they are fine at CB

sone of the CBs can move to FS

they draft a SS or a lighter LB with speed eho can play in a SS role covering TEs and join in runnsupport

 

i look at the D being a 4-2-5 with Milano, Bernard, and recent drafted players playing LBs. If you have that hybrid…at DB..both Johnson snd tre have bern strong in blitzing/ run support. They could look at it as straight CBs in DB roles with a converted LB fir TE/ run support.

 

I see their  drafting….

 

1&2 — I think a WR with speed ( not a slot) or it could be hybrid TE with size/ speed where they could use Kincaid as a #2. And the other pick would be a DL 

expect a late 3rd comp pick—I think they trade up using a 5 th and 6th

4th, 2 5th 3 6th, 7th 

with 4 latter picks would be—(1)  CB/S/ LB to SS player (2) interior OL, (3) TE, (4) depending on what thr pick high DE/DT, they take the other 

 

of course free agent signings and losses change things.

 

I think they will attract some cheap free agents who want to prove themselves and get bigger exposure  With Buffalo being a high profile team getting 10+ games on national tv/ primary game they do well and then cash in on a bigger contract.

 

Candidate  games next year for 

espn/ nbc/ lone or clear A game 425 — SF, KC, at DET, at Rams, at SEA , at balt , home Miami game, at jets game,NE game , one of hou/ Indy/ JAX

Thursday game would be  either one of AFC south, at jets, or they do a single west trip where they play at rams and at seattle on consecutive weeks with one being on Thursday night likely rams.

 

 

 

 

[MrEpsYtown]

I think the doom and gloom is over McDermott’s return. At least for me. In terms of defensive holes, they will figure it out. 

[MrEpsYtown]

Just now, Buffalo619 said:

We need to get bigger to avoid injuries. Find a mlb who won’t miss games every year. 

Bernard is going to be the mike for a while. They went out of their way to praise him. Linebacker is the last place they will look to upgrade, aside from depth adds. 

[Lenigmusx]

1 hour ago, SirAndrew said:

I’m not worried about defense at all. I like McDermott’s defensive scheme, but ultimately the NFL comes down to outscoring opponents. Quit the ball control offense, trust the defense to do just enough, and play ball. Defense has been legislated out of the game. If you have enough guys to make a few big plays, that’s all you can ask on defense. We have that with players like Milano and Douglas returning. 

I think the Ravens are a stark contrast to this thought process. You are correct about 95% of the NFL but the Ravens and Niners definitely still place high emphasis on stifling defense. 

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

1 hour ago, Allen2Diggs said:

Hyde and Poyer dropped off significantly this year and I'm confident that Beane and Mcdermott can find suitable replacements.  With the addition of Rasul Douglas, I think it could be Benford and a rookie at safety.

I was a huge “Benford at safety” guy right when we drafted him.

 

Now I am not so sure.
 

He seems great at corner. He also gets dinged up a lot, so I am concerned about him playing safety and probably having to play in the box more. 

[LABILLBACKER]

1 hour ago, SirAndrew said:

I’m not worried about defense at all. I like McDermott’s defensive scheme, but ultimately the NFL comes down to outscoring opponents. Quit the ball control offense, trust the defense to do just enough, and play ball. Defense has been legislated out of the game. If you have enough guys to make a few big plays, that’s all you can ask on defense. We have that with players like Milano and Douglas returning. 

I totally agree but to go all in on offense will require something McDermott is not willing to do. It's easier for him to keep throwing darts at defensive draft picks and tell Josh to do it all.  If we lose both Floyd and Jones our DL will be ass. 

[Lenigmusx]

57 minutes ago, Ed_Formerly_of_Roch said:

Jackson is a FA, so much better chance the main CB;s for next year will be Douglas, Benford, and Elam plus Johnson at nickel (is he also a FA??)  Throw in a rookie and/or a low level late signee FA. Only way Jackson comes back is either there's little interest for him or the Bills have zero confidence in Elam.  Which is that's the case, likely would see him traded pre draft for maybe a 5th or 6th rounder.  But with such a likely low return, think much better chance they will bring him back for another year.

 

Hyde is a FA hinted at retiring so I'd be fine moving on there, but bring back Poyer for one year as would make me nervous having two new S in one year.  And would be fine with the name you mention Gilman as Hydes replacement, then draft i n3rd round or so a replacement for 2025 for Poyer.

 

But the bigger concern is the DL and doubtful all those names are back as many are FA and Bills can't afford them all.

I thought Settle and Jones were under contract for one more year… I was mistaken. So the DL revamp is bigger than I thought. I figured they would re-up one good DL that being Floyd. 
 

so I guess the D line starts here:

 

Johnathan  Anjou     Oliver    Rousseau  (Draft FA) (Draft FA) (Draft FA) (Miller)

 

rough indeed…. 

[SirAndrew]

11 minutes ago, Lenigmusx said:

I think the Ravens are a stark contrast to this thought process. You are correct about 95% of the NFL but the Ravens and Niners definitely still place high emphasis on stifling defense. 

You have a good point, but I’m not convinced that much separates the best defensive teams from the average ones. Those teams have good defenses, but they also have dynamic offense. We’re never going to see the 85 Bears or Dilfer Ravens again. The Ravens have Jackson, while SF has a dynamic offensive coach along with good receivers and CMC. I’m not about to call the Ravens or 49ers defense overrated, but sometimes the best defense is a good offense. Those teams invested in their offense, particularly the 49ers with hiring Shanahan. One player like Bosa makes a huge impact on defense. The problem is the difficulty in finding a guy like Bosa. The Lions have the same luxury with Hutchinson. Those guys are game changers, making the entire defense look better. 

[Toledo Bill]

16 minutes ago, Lenigmusx said:

I thought Settle and Jones were under contract for one more year… I was mistaken. So the DL revamp is bigger than I thought. I figured they would re-up one good DL that being Floyd. 
 

so I guess the D line starts here:

 

Johnathan  Anjou     Oliver    Rousseau  (Draft FA) (Draft FA) (Draft FA) (Miller)

 

rough indeed…. 

I think Jones is the most important defensive signing. I see teams running roughshod over our defense without him.

[noacls]

2 hours ago, Allen2Diggs said:

Hyde and Poyer dropped off significantly this year and I'm confident that Beane and Mcdermott can find suitable replacements.  With the addition of Rasul Douglas, I think it could be Benford and a rookie at safety.

They are not moving their number 1 CB to safety nor are they moving one of the best young CBs in the league to safety.