Ideas at Safety?

[Allen2Moulds]

The one thing I don't understand about the construction of this roster, is the lack of size on the dline, and the lack of speed on the back end.  This has been a glaring problem for many years now.  Hopefully the rookies develop as the year go on and become factors in the playoffs. 

 

That being said, I understand that Mad Max is extremely fast, and he could certainly add some to the back end, but Dorian Strong was far from the problem last night.  Rapp is average size, but extremely slow.  Bishop is faster, but lacks play recognition, and is a very slight build.

 

I'm holding out hope, that we hit on another late round gem, with Hancock at safety.  He seems to have a better pedigree than both Rapp and Bishop.

The rookies also need to develop as the year goes, and hopefully becomes a factor by playoff time. 

 

The last thing I'm hopeful about, is the Hoect signing. Maybe he'll be part of a big package, in that Lorenzo Alexander type of hybrid OLB/DE role. 

 

Only time well tell.

 

I am happy with what I saw from Kincaid and Coleman.  The 2 guys with the most pressure to step up on the offensive side of the ball. 

[oldmanfan]

8 minutes ago, finn said:

I hardly think it's over the top. You really think no safety in the league has a chance to tackle Henry from that angle? That's giving Henry an awful lot of credit, and takes Bishop off the hook for a truly lame attempt. Yes, it's a tough tackle, but his job is to tackle, not flail and end up on the ground. 

I absolutely do.  Being able take Henry on head to head is way different than trying to grab him from the side when he’s running with a full head of steam.

 

Bishop clearly has room to improve, as most second year guys do, but it seems he is going to be the guy singled out by the fans this year for criticism.  That is a tradition that goes back to 1960; find a punching bag and beat on it.  From Richie Lucas through Bishop, including guys like Kelsey, Edmunds, Jeff Wright, and many others, it’s a time honored tradition.

[gonzo1105]

24 minutes ago, TheyCallMeAndy said:

There is nothing that happened last night that a 35 year old, athletically declined Poyer or a 195 pound rookie would have done with an untouched 260 pound future HOF RB running full steam at them. 
 

I'm very curious for the All-22 film to come out. I think the rookies (43, 98, 96) and LBers will grade out worse than the safeties. It starts upfront, eye test  says it was a rough day on the DL for everyone not named Ed Oliver. That sets the stage for LB failure as well. 

the middle of the field was also crushed in the passing game as well not just the alley run plays . I’m not saying Poyer or Hancock are saviors but if their not going to sign someone, which I don’t,  think they are they need to improve significantly 

[NoSaint]

1 hour ago, K-9 said:

We will not see a bigger matchup nightmare than the Ravens. We need Bishop’s athleticism on the field as he continues on the learning curve. Facing Lamar last night was a good prep for seeing Fields next week. 

yea- fields and breece are an athletic pair but much more manageable 

 

Lamar’s speed and Henry’s power/speed are near impossible for a safety in the open field 

[K-9]

1 minute ago, NoSaint said:

yea- fields and breece are an athletic pair but much more manageable 

 

Lamar’s speed and Henry’s power/speed are near impossible for a safety in the open field 

Exactly why it was good prep to face Lamar. 

[balln]

1 hour ago, MasterStrategist said:

This is 100% where Im at.

 

We brought in a more athletic safety in Bishop, let him groe/see if he turns into something.  

 

But man, Rapp looked like he lost a step and he was already a slower player.

 

It's also just week 1 vs the most dynamic offense in AFC.  But it didnt look good at all with our pursuit angles/ability to tackle.

He’s never been good. Just relatively better than our next best option. Last year grades were in the 50s. He’s bad. Get Hancock and bishop in there and McD and babich just needs to lessen the mental gymnastics overall for the D. Their younger and more athletic. So let them play fast. Enough already
 

https://sports.yahoo.com/pff-calls-extending-taylor-rapp-124530255.html

[oldmanfan]

1 minute ago, NoSaint said:

yea- fields and breece are an athletic pair but much more manageable 

 

Lamar’s speed and Henry’s power/speed are near impossible for a safety in the open field 

Their O line flat out dominated us until the 4th quarter, outside of a couple great plays by Ed.  The Ravens are pretty unique in the league being able to run the ball with Jackson and Henry.

[Brianmoorman4jesus]

The guys are obsessed with telling you at every turn how great Cam Lewis is…make this guy a full time FS. His current role is unnecessary and useless IMO. If the guy is so good, make him the FS and let’s go.

[appoo]

1 minute ago, oldmanfan said:

Their O line flat out dominated us until the 4th quarter, outside of a couple great plays by Ed.  The Ravens are pretty unique in the league being able to run the ball with Jackson and Henry.

That’s not actually true. Yes Baltimore won its share of oline battles but so so did Buffalo.  
 

And a lot of the Ravens successful runs came about while the DTackles did their jobs, but the 2nd level didn’t for various reasons. Behind that they seemed to pressure Lamar quite often on drop backs.

 

As for the thread title? You wait.  This was Cole’s first start in his career. He’s an incredible athlete. Now give the coaches a chance to do their work.

 

He may or may not turn out to be what the bills need, but you cant short circuit the process. You gotta be patient 

11 minutes ago, gonzo1105 said:

the middle of the field was also crushed in the passing game as well not just the alley run plays . I’m not saying Poyer or Hancock are saviors but if their not going to sign someone, which I don’t,  think they are they need to improve significantly 

The Ravens are a really unique challenge  for any defense.  

[K-9]

24 minutes ago, Allen2Moulds said:

The one thing I don't understand about the construction of this roster, is the lack of size on the dline, and the lack of speed on the back end.  This has been a glaring problem for many years now.  Hopefully the rookies develop as the year go on and become factors in the playoffs. 

 

That being said, I understand that Mad Max is extremely fast, and he could certainly add some to the back end, but Dorian Strong was far from the problem last night.  Rapp is average size, but extremely slow.  Bishop is faster, but lacks play recognition, and is a very slight build.

 

I'm holding out hope, that we hit on another late round gem, with Hancock at safety.  He seems to have a better pedigree than both Rapp and Bishop.

The rookies also need to develop as the year goes, and hopefully becomes a factor by playoff time. 

 

The last thing I'm hopeful about, is the Hoect signing. Maybe he'll be part of a big package, in that Lorenzo Alexander type of hybrid OLB/DE role. 

 

Only time well tell.

 

I am happy with what I saw from Kincaid and Coleman.  The 2 guys with the most pressure to step up on the offensive side of the ball. 

Per the bold text, Bishop is bigger than Micah Hyde. Bigger than Poyer, too. He just needs to learn the position. 

Edited September 8 by K-9

[Brand J]

Rapp looked legitimately slower than the 4.7 he runs. Guy looked like he was running in sand. Hamlin is NOT the answer. I’d rather see a Bishop/Hancock pairing myself. Get some athleticism back there even if it comes at a cost of giving up plays (mentally). We’re giving up those plays physically right now, so might as well go with a full on youth and athleticism movement. 

[appoo]

27 minutes ago, JerseyBills said:

That Ravens offense was so good, I'd keep Bishop , if he struggles vs the Jets than idk but they're O looked good and will likely copy what Bal did with Fields and Hall

They don’t need to copy anything. They offer their own, creative run attack that fits their personnel.  
 

Joey Bosa and GR are going to get tested again on the edges to maintain contain against Justin Fields, and the Jets have 3 runners that are capable, and Breece Hall has some tremendous traits.

 

they also have a pretty good power oline even without Vera-Tucker.

 

None of those pieces are as good as the Ravens but they’re plenty capable.

 

However the real danger is Garett Wilson and Benford and Strong are going to have to bring their ***** with them 

[Jalan81]

1 hour ago, BillMafia716ix said:

Bro they gave up 40pts in 3 and a half quarters lol. We have issues in the secondary and linebacker. The guys who we gave extensions too this offseason guys like Greg Rousseau, Bernard, Benford didn’t play great. The lack of playmakers we have on defense is very glaring. Thank God for Ed Oliver last night 

The Ravens gave up 41 do you think they have issues?

[Roundybout]

2 hours ago, TFBillsfan said:

I might be in the minority but I thought Rapp played worse than Bishop. I’m willing to grow with Bishop, but would like to see Hancock get some action. Hamlin is meh and Poyer is even slower. 

100% with you. I’m all out on Rapp. He constantly takes atrocious angles on tackles, and he never wraps up. He likes to launch himself shoulder-first into the ball carrier. 
 

I hope Hancock looks better because I don’t like any of our options. 

[DC Greg]

1 hour ago, Brandon said:

Let Bishop play through it for awhile and see if he improves.  The Ravens are probably their worst matchup and I don't think it's indicative of what to expect in an average week.  

 

Generally I agree with this. They have to keep evaluating Bishop and give him a chance to grow. We have to see if this kid can play.

 

And yes, the defense will probably be fine in most weeks like they were last year and the year before that and so on. But McDermott needs to have the big playoff picture in mind... if things don't improve substantially in the secondary, how they do in "average weeks" won't cut it against the best teams in the playoffs as they have proven over and over again. They need to really keep an eye on this and not just be content with poor safety play that doesn't lose them games in "average weeks" because Josh Allen is good enough to overcome it. In that playoffs, the shoddy defense that was good enough most regular season weeks will keep us out of the Super Bowl again.

 

Beane shouldn't panic immediately, but they should really be considering Peppers and other potential guys they could bring in. 

[alg]

23 minutes ago, oldmanfan said:

Bishop clearly has room to improve, as most second year guys do, but it seems he is going to be the guy singled out by the fans this year for criticism.  That is a tradition that goes back to 1960; find a punching bag and beat on it.  From Richie Lucas through Bishop, including guys like Kelsey, Edmunds, Jeff Wright, and many others, it’s a time honored tradition.

Don't forget - Kincaid was the guy fans' rode last year, along with some Keon. They looked good last night.

 

We need to stop expecting our rookies to be all pros out of the gate. See what they can do. Appreciate their potential. 

[GASabresIUFan]

6 minutes ago, Jalan81 said:

The Ravens gave up 41 do you think they have issues?

Not according to Chris Collingsworth.

[Jalan81]

12 minutes ago, Roundybout said:

100% with you. I’m all out on Rapp. He constantly takes atrocious angles on tackles, and he never wraps up. He likes to launch himself shoulder-first into the ball carrier. 
 

I hope Hancock looks better because I don’t like any of our options. 

He was so slow last night he was never near the ball carrier, that Gazoo helmet needs to go🤦‍♂️

[noacls17]

Milano, Bernard, and Wallker played worse than the safeties. 

[skibum]

I think you have to give it back to Damar. He has his limitations, but he plays a lot smarter than Bishop. Really hoping the rookie can have a good showing at some point. Not much else can be done, unfortunately.