Elam Last Night

[Phils n Bills]

He played fine. The 51 yard pass he kept with him and the ball was thrown well where Elam couldn’t get to it. He among the others often played off the ball. This happens in many eagles games considering their wide receivers and tight ends aren’t exactly low talent. He held his own against one of the best receiving corps in the league. He also had a really nice camp from all accounts. I wish the kid all the success in the world. It just didn’t work out with us. 

[QLBillsFan]

18 minutes ago, Mark Vader said:

If this is the one and only game that people are going to talk about Elam this entire season, then I will believe that there is no obsession.

Ok sure. It was the first game of the NFL. Bold if you will seemed a normal topic given the circumstances. 

[SoCal Deek]

1 hour ago, Mark Vader said:

If this is the one and only game that people are going to talk about Elam this entire season, then I will believe that there is no obsession.

Is one game considered an obsession? Two? Three? What’s the cutoff? 😉

[Paup 1995MVP]

7 hours ago, colin said:

he looked to me like he always did.  really athletic and capable of playing well when driving forward, just entirely lost when he has to turn around or use any technique.

 

he never got better after we drafted him, that's not a good sign.

He plays like a poor man's Leodis McKelvin.

[The Cincinnati Kid]

1 hour ago, hondo in seattle said:

 

I kind of care because it's a data point that may tell us something about the Bills' coaches.  If Elam balls out with another team, I'll wonder if the Bills coaching staff didn't coach and mentor him correctly.  

The Cornerbacks coach currently with the Bills is not the same guy as when Elam was drafted. The league is so transient. Didn’t work here. Oh well. Moving on.

[BananaB]

3 hours ago, Bruffalo said:

If the coaches that made Damar Hamlin, Levi Wallace, and Dane Jackson look like serviceable starters have dumped you for a day three flyer then I don't have high hopes for a career revival.

 

I expect he's going to look worse and worse as the season goes on when teams get game film on him.

If the coaches are so good, why are they still trying to fix the secondary? Tre, Hyde, and Poyer were the backbone of this D since McD was hired, but were all brought in when Whaley and his scouting staff were still on the payroll. 

[JerseyBills]

8 hours ago, Dillenger4 said:

I watched Elam closely. Other than than him getting beat on that one deep pass, he played great! He actually shut his side of the field down and made some good tackles too. I was surprised. He isn't awesome - but he sure has improved. I thought he looked good.

Agreed and even that 50 harder he was in decent position just a pinpoint throw , he has ton of potential,  was just useless in this scheme 

Thank God Beane double dipped with Benford 

Edited September 5 by JerseyBills

[BillsFanForever19]

11 hours ago, SoonerBillsFan said:

Bottom line, bad 1st round pick by Beane.

 

At least his 6th Round Insurance Policy immediately made up for it and he was able to get something out of the mistake. We got a 5th this year and a 7th next year.

 

We turned that 5th into Jordan Hancock - who looked very impressive and could very well become a Starter as soon as next season as a Nickel or a Safety.

Edited September 6 by BillsFanForever19

[Royale with Cheese]

3 hours ago, BananaB said:

If the coaches are so good, why are they still trying to fix the secondary? Tre, Hyde, and Poyer were the backbone of this D since McD was hired, but were all brought in when Whaley and his scouting staff were still on the payroll. 

Come on.

[Generic_Bills_Fan]

5 hours ago, BananaB said:

If the coaches are so good, why are they still trying to fix the secondary? Tre, Hyde, and Poyer were the backbone of this D since McD was hired, but were all brought in when Whaley and his scouting staff were still on the payroll. 

I mean all three of those guys were exclusively coached by mcd while in Buffalo haha I’m not sure what the point even is there. Tre he developed from the start of his career and he turned poyer who was a bum in Cleveland into a great player.  Micah Hyde was obviously good already but he’s the only one mcd didn’t have a big hand in developing 
 

he did bring in taron johnson and Christian benford in the beane era too who are cornerstone type players in the secondary.  Seems like they made Rapp into a serviceable player also which I never even woulda thought possible 😂 
 

Elam was a first round miss but they got some return for him and late first round misses are pretty common.  Chiefs drafted Anudike-uzomah in 2023 who is pretty equal to the Elam pick id say 

Edited September 6 by Generic_Bills_Fan

[Madbillsfan]

Who cares? We have our own issues at cb.

[BananaB]

5 hours ago, Generic_Bills_Fan said:

I mean all three of those guys were exclusively coached by mcd while in Buffalo haha I’m not sure what the point even is there. Tre he developed from the start of his career and he turned poyer who was a bum in Cleveland into a great player.  Micah Hyde was obviously good already but he’s the only one mcd didn’t have a big hand in developing 
 

he did bring in taron johnson and Christian benford in the beane era too who are cornerstone type players in the secondary.  Seems like they made Rapp into a serviceable player also which I never even woulda thought possible 😂 
 

Elam was a first round miss but they got some return for him and late first round misses are pretty common.  Chiefs drafted Anudike-uzomah in 2023 who is pretty equal to the Elam pick id say 

The point is another scouting staff helped bring those guys here. While the Bills struggle to fix this secondary everyone make McD like he’s some kind of DB guru but if he was it would be fixed by now. 2 guys in seven years of drafting and free agents, compared to 3 in one offseason. Some guru

[finn]

20 hours ago, Mango said:

 

Weird rep indeed. It looks like he got beat inside, but he didn't have to. He just kep watching the WR and had no idea WTF was going on with the football. 

Speaking of, has anybody noticed that defenders seem to never turn around and look for the ball anymore? It seems like most replays I just see a WR running with their head upfield towards the WR with their hands in the air. Looking for the ball used to be the prerequisite for DPI. But now it seems like as long as you don't grab or truck the receiver you can do whatever. 

I would be fine with a little more grabby/physical play if DB's were tracking the football. 

The play reminds of J.D. Williams, for any old timers out there. Great speed and athleticism, first-round pick, but for some reason couldn't track the ball. Got beat again and again, just like this, watching the receiver catch the ball. 

[Ray Stonada]

Went from being unable to crack the 53 most games with us, to starting for the Cowboys and holding his own.

 

To me it seemed like our coaches got so down on him that they underrated him and broke his confidence. Happy for him he’s playing again.
 

 

[Orlando Buffalo]

Elam was fine yesterday, he was definitely not why the Cowboys lost. I am not surprised he caught on somewhere, he likes playing man defense, the Bills play zone and very few CBs are good at both 

[WhitewalkerInPhilly]

22 hours ago, boyst said:

Every defender was 10 yards off the line. I doubt elam went rogue and did it solely.

 

The 51 yard pass was a great catch and it's hard to defend a nicely placed ball and catch. Not an excuse because he still could have tried to bat it away or play on the ball he just didn't have leverage on it.

 

He didn't have a good game but he also didn't have a terrible game. His speed made up for his depth the defense played. 

I'd argue it's a quintessential Elam performance: impressive athleticism and playmaking ability interspersed with giving up huge plays

[Generic_Bills_Fan]

13 hours ago, BananaB said:

The point is another scouting staff helped bring those guys here. While the Bills struggle to fix this secondary everyone make McD like he’s some kind of DB guru but if he was it would be fixed by now. 2 guys in seven years of drafting and free agents, compared to 3 in one offseason. Some guru

There really is no point because mcd had a huge influence on those signings/picks lol. You think Whaley was running the show by himself and just randomly got fired the day after the draft 😂?   If these guys were brought in in 2016 then sure give mcd no credit but that’s not the case at all 

[BananaB]

1 hour ago, Generic_Bills_Fan said:

There really is no point because mcd had a huge influence on those signings/picks lol. You think Whaley was running the show by himself and just randomly got fired the day after the draft 😂?   If these guys were brought in in 2016 then sure give mcd no credit but that’s not the case at all 

Do you think they kept the scouting staff until after the draft if their input wasn’t needed? McD had input just like he does every draft. The reason Whaley and the staff was kept on was because they were more prepared for free agency and the draft. If they fired them in January they would have to assemble a whole knew staff and completely start over and have little time to get ready. Smart move by McD and Pegula. I’m not saying mcd didn’t have input, but if he was such a db wizard why have we strggled the past few years when they are constantly trying to address a bad situation.

Edited September 7 by BananaB

[Generic_Bills_Fan]

1 hour ago, BananaB said:

Do you think they kept the scouting staff until after the draft if their input wasn’t needed? McD had input just like he does every draft. The reason Whaley and the staff was kept on was because they were more prepared for free agency and the draft. If they fired them in January they would have to assemble a whole knew staff and completely start over and have little time to get ready. Smart move by McD and Pegula. I’m not saying mcd didn’t have input, but if he was such a db wizard why have we strggled the past few years when they are constantly trying to address a bad situation.

Mann idk…Doug Whaley was probably the worst nfl mind in the league 2013-2016 then we think he was the main factor in bringing in those three impact dbs and it wasn’t mostly McDermott? That is a scaldingly hot take

 

im almost certain Whaley was a lame duck in that draft/free agency period and pegula wanted to keep it under wraps so prospective gms didn’t think they were walking into some kind of power struggle 

 

I feel like if Hairston and bishop don’t work out then yea lets have that discussion you were going for. Seems a bit premature though.  Mcd has developed some great dbs and has had some minimal talent depth guys step in and play pretty solid when needed 

 

[BananaB]

17 minutes ago, Generic_Bills_Fan said:

Mann idk…Doug Whaley was probably the worst nfl mind in the league 2013-2016 then we think he was the main factor in bringing in those three impact dbs and it wasn’t mostly McDermott? That is a scaldingly hot take

 

im almost certain Whaley was a lame duck in that draft/free agency period and pegula wanted to keep it under wraps so prospective gms didn’t think they were walking into some kind of power struggle 

 

I feel like if Hairston and bishop don’t work out then yea lets have that discussion you were going for. Seems a bit premature though.  Mcd has developed some great dbs and has had some minimal talent depth guys step in and play pretty solid when needed 

 

You do know there is more than just the GM and HC scouting players? Whaleys staff was a big part of that draft and free agency. McD just didn’t show up in Buffalo and do everything himself until they hired Beane. 

Edited September 7 by BananaB