So it should be clear we won’t get there rushing 4

[Lost]

35 minutes ago, corta765 said:

It is always a good idea to make massive assumptions about the team based off a quarter of pre season game one with zero gameplan.

 

While I think it's silly to project a season based off one preseason game but the whole "we didn't gameplan argument" is also silly.  Neither are the other teams we're facing.  It should be be a little bit concerning if our guys aren't winning 1v1 matchups in vanilla vs. vanilla gameplay.  

[billsfan89]

It is the first game of pre-season I would really calm down. I think last year showed that the Bills linemen do pace themselves well. This is a veteran D-line group. D. Jones is a 10+ year vet as Bosa is also going into year 10. Oliver, Groot, and AJE are in their 5th to 7th years they are well established "young vets". The backend guys who are rookies and 2nd year players (Walker, Sanders, Jackson, Carter, and Solomon) were the ones to watch and I think outside of Landon Jackson they are looked good to decent. 

 

The top of the line pass rushers the guys with 5+ years experience they aren't going all out in pre-season and they will look much different in the regular season. Now it is the case that the front 4 pass rush could be an issue. But I'm not ready to say it is an issue just yet based off one pre-season game...

[billsfan89]

14 minutes ago, Lost said:

 

While I think it's silly to project a season based off one preseason game but the whole "we didn't gameplan argument" is also silly.  Neither are the other teams we're facing.  It should be be a little bit concerning if our guys aren't winning 1v1 matchups in vanilla vs. vanilla gameplay.  

 

Veteran players approach pre-season differently, they might just be looking to work on things they are weaker at which might produce less results in a game. If you are leaning into moves and approaches that you are less effective at as a means to work on them you product might not be so good come gameday. I'm not saying that's what happened but rather there's a lot of factors to consider when watching pre-season games. 

[Lost]

15 minutes ago, billsfan89 said:

 

Veteran players approach pre-season differently, they might just be looking to work on things they are weaker at which might produce less results in a game. If you are leaning into moves and approaches that you are less effective at as a means to work on them you product might not be so good come gameday. I'm not saying that's what happened but rather there's a lot of factors to consider when watching pre-season games. 

 

Same can be said of veterans of opposing teams.   

[billsfan89]

1 minute ago, Lost said:

 

Same can be said of veterans of opposing teams.   

 

The vets on different teams could have a different approach given how the coaches approach the game. If you are Daboll you could be wanting your offensive line to protect your new QB's and give them the chance to work with WR's so you have them lean more into their strengths as opposed to working on things? So it is not always 1 to 1.

[Mister Defense]

On 8/10/2025 at 7:08 AM, dayman said:

Obviously, we didn’t disrupt Wilson doing it vanilla. But even with various stunts, it’s not going to get home. Will we blitz this year?

 

Wow, way to jump the gun, after one preseason game!

 

Nothing like these nonsensical threads since the end of last season, where the glass is not just half empty, but almost completely empty, dry.

 

Now, it's like they're gearing up for another 13, 14 win season, trying to get an ultra negative foundation established, as everyone (almost) will soon begin to say how unbeatable this Bills' team is.  That will freak them out, as usual, so they need to establish a base of ultra negativity before the new season even begins. And then just keep going with it...

 

The OPS should be embarrassed by how ridiculous and immature these are.

 

 

[SCBills]

48 minutes ago, Lost said:

 

While I think it's silly to project a season based off one preseason game but the whole "we didn't gameplan argument" is also silly.  Neither are the other teams we're facing.  It should be be a little bit concerning if our guys aren't winning 1v1 matchups in vanilla vs. vanilla gameplay.  

How concerned should we be though..

 

Rousseau and Oliver didn’t play much and we know what they are.  
 

Bosa dominated in his reps. 
 

Sanders & Walker also flashed strong in their reps.  
 

Solomon & Hoecht were solid, Hoecht especially at collapsing the pocket from his side. 
 

So that leaves DeWayne Carter, Landon Jackson and guys who won’t make the 53 as players who were out there for most of the game and looked pretty meh.   
 

It’s concerning how poor Carter looked last year and then didn’t impress at all on Saturday.   Followed with his fellow 3rd Round Pick looking pretty bad too.   But if we get what I saw from Bosa, Sanders, Walker, Hoecht and Solomon to go with Jones, Oliver, Epenesa and Rousseau.. this DL should be good. 
 

 

Edited August 11 by SCBills

[billsfan89]

5 minutes ago, SCBills said:

How concerned should we be though..

 

Rousseau and Oliver didn’t play much and we know what they are.  
 

Bosa dominated in his reps. 
 

Sanders & Walker also flashed strong in their reps.  
 

Solomon & Hoecht were solid, Hoecht especially at collapsing the pocket from his side. 
 

So that leaves DeWayne Carter, Landon Jackson and guys who won’t make the 53 as players who were out there for most of the game and looked pretty meh.   
 

It’s concerning how poor Carter looked last year and then didn’t impress at all on Saturday.   Followed with his fellow 3rd Round Pick looking pretty bad too.   But if we get what I saw from Bosa, Sanders, Walker, Hoecht and Solomon to go with Jones, Oliver, Epenesa and Rousseau.. this DL should be good. 
 

 

 

Kind of worried about Carter, I like what the Bills have in Oliver/Jones/Sanders in the early goings before Larry O comes back from suspension and adds a competent veteran but I think Carter might just be a flat out bust if he can't at least show that he can be a competent backend rotation player. I'm not looking for him to come in and be a dominant starter in year two. But I think it is very reasonable to expect him to as a 3rd round pick with a year under his belt to come in and play like a decent rotational player. 

 

I'm not gonna put too much stock into a pre-season game but my concern with Carter is beyond this one game, not gonna call him a bust just yet but if he gets displaced by Sanders/Walker before Larry O comes back then it's gonna look like Carter's trending towards bust. 

[SCBills]

5 minutes ago, billsfan89 said:

 

Kind of worried about Carter, I like what the Bills have in Oliver/Jones/Sanders in the early goings before Larry O comes back from suspension and adds a competent veteran but I think Carter might just be a flat out bust if he can't at least show that he can be a competent backend rotation player. I'm not looking for him to come in and be a dominant starter in year two. But I think it is very reasonable to expect him to as a 3rd round pick with a year under his belt to come in and play like a decent rotational player. 

 

I'm not gonna put too much stock into a pre-season game but my concern with Carter is beyond this one game, not gonna call him a bust just yet but if he gets displaced by Sanders/Walker before Larry O comes back then it's gonna look like Carter's trending towards bust. 

I completely agree with you on Carter.  
 

Didn’t like the pick when it happened.  Definitely don’t like it now.  
 

Joe Buscaglia even floated him as a potential trade candidate.  Probably for a ham sandwich, but if they feel confident in Walker’s back, plus we get Ogunjobi back in Week 7, he might just be odd man out. 
 

Landon Jackson is a compression DE and likely serves a role as he gets acclimated to the NFL with his size and power, but he’s that typical rotational 4-8 sacks a year, run stopping DE.   Not sure I see a ton more beyond that. 
 

I can’t get too upset about Carter though because I friggin loved what I saw in Sanders and Walker.   So if Carter is a bust but we hit on those two, all is forgiven. 

[JP51]

11 minutes ago, SCBills said:

I completely agree with you on Carter.  
 

Didn’t like the pick when it happened.  Definitely don’t like it now.  
 

Joe Buscaglia even floated him as a potential trade candidate.  Probably for a ham sandwich, but if they feel confident in Walker’s back, plus we get Ogunjobi back in Week 7, he might just be odd man out. 
 

Landon Jackson is a compression DE and likely serves a role as he gets acclimated to the NFL with his size and power, but he’s that typical rotational 4-8 sacks a year, run stopping DE.   Not sure I see a ton more beyond that. 
 

I can’t get too upset about Carter though because I friggin loved what I saw in Sanders and Walker.   So if Carter is a bust but we hit on those two, all is forgiven. 

Yeah I didnt see much from him nor am I hearing out of camp ... holy crap this guy gets it and is going to be a beast etc... , its early, but if he doesnt turn it up its not gonna end well for him 

[Green Lightning]

On 8/10/2025 at 7:08 AM, dayman said:

Obviously, we didn’t disrupt Wilson doing it vanilla. But even with various stunts, it’s not going to get home. Will we blitz this year?

I realize it's just pre-season game one, but I was disappointed nobody with the ones or twos got home. Where I am at on the D is show me. Just get off the field on 3rd and long actually put the QB on the turf. Haven't seen it for several seasons and didn't against the Giants. And while hope springs eternal, hope alone is a bad strategy. Let's see if the latest effort to address the D line actually works. It's show us time.

[billsfan89]

1 hour ago, SCBills said:

I completely agree with you on Carter.  
 

Didn’t like the pick when it happened.  Definitely don’t like it now.  
 

Joe Buscaglia even floated him as a potential trade candidate.  Probably for a ham sandwich, but if they feel confident in Walker’s back, plus we get Ogunjobi back in Week 7, he might just be odd man out. 
 

Landon Jackson is a compression DE and likely serves a role as he gets acclimated to the NFL with his size and power, but he’s that typical rotational 4-8 sacks a year, run stopping DE.   Not sure I see a ton more beyond that. 
 

I can’t get too upset about Carter though because I friggin loved what I saw in Sanders and Walker.   So if Carter is a bust but we hit on those two, all is forgiven. 

I was ok with the Carter pick in 2024 I was not super excited but I also thought as a prospect he was a late 3rd early 4th round talent which is right where he went.

 

The Bills also needed some depth and youth at DT in 2024 and after addressing bigger needs at safety and WR they hit DT and it thus far is looking like a miss.

But the double dip at DT plus the Larry O acquisition this offseason have made Carter being a possible bust easier to handle.

[corta765]

3 hours ago, Lost said:

 

While I think it's silly to project a season based off one preseason game but the whole "we didn't gameplan argument" is also silly.  Neither are the other teams we're facing.  It should be be a little bit concerning if our guys aren't winning 1v1 matchups in vanilla vs. vanilla gameplay.  

Go for a walk, touch the grass, get some ice cream... it will be OK

[Fleezoid]

To me, our defense didn't look any bit different than last year. I know it's the first preseason game and we shouldn't make assessments based on one game. while I agree, there's still some of the same things we've all seen and discussed: soft cushions; can't get off the field on 3rd downs; can't get to the QB. I'm not getting ready to mash the panic button. But until I see hints of anything different, I'll be expecting a rinse and repeat defense this year. 

[dorquemada]

50 minutes ago, Fleezoid said:

To me, our defense didn't look any bit different than last year. I know it's the first preseason game and we shouldn't make assessments based on one game. while I agree, there's still some of the same things we've all seen and discussed: soft cushions; can't get off the field on 3rd downs; can't get to the QB. I'm not getting ready to mash the panic button. But until I see hints of anything different, I'll be expecting a rinse and repeat defense this year. 

Correct. Soft soft soft, waiting, hoping for a turnover.  Seems like they could do that without spending the entire draft on D

[Avisan]

3 hours ago, dorquemada said:

Correct. Soft soft soft, waiting, hoping for a turnover.  Seems like they could do that without spending the entire draft on D

The Bills' D consistently gets turnovers.  They don't wait and hope, they make it happen.  You aren't a top 10 defense in takeaways every year without deliberate coaching and scheming to achieve them.

[HardyBoy]

14 hours ago, dorquemada said:

 

The frustration is that they look just like last year and the year before.   Let’s just keep drafting DL and hope something changes 

 

Are you comparing them to the regular season last year or to the first preseason game last year? Cause I have a feeling you're comparing it to the regular season

 

You can't have gleaned any insight from that preason game at all...like they likely were intentionally doing that style of defense to make opponents think they were gonna play a similar style this season...but there's no scheme, there's no gameplanning, and there's players trying to avoid getting hurt...

 

Like it's scary to see how willingly people with an agenda or a preconceived opinion will take the absolute worst data and use it to run with in a mob mentality...it really is kinda wild

Edited August 12 by HardyBoy

[dorquemada]

10 hours ago, HardyBoy said:

 

Are you comparing them to the regular season last year or to the first preseason game last year? Cause I have a feeling you're comparing it to the regular season

 

You can't have gleaned any insight from that preason game at all...like they likely were intentionally doing that style of defense to make opponents think they were gonna play a similar style this season...but there's no scheme, there's no gameplanning, and there's players trying to avoid getting hurt...

 

Like it's scary to see how willingly people with an agenda or a preconceived opinion will take the absolute worst data and use it to run with in a mob mentality...it really is kinda wild

 

Coach McD:  “Boys, make sure you don’t win any one on one battles, it’ll give away our strategy for the season!”

[boater]

I'm afraid Babich is just an "OK" coordinator. Top-20 material.

 

It's a situation where hiring from within wasn't the best option.

[Tenhigh]

On 8/10/2025 at 7:08 AM, dayman said:

Obviously, we didn’t disrupt Wilson doing it vanilla. But even with various stunts, it’s not going to get home. Will we blitz this year?

Great handle, strange take...