That was a championship level play by Bernard

[Simon]

4 minutes ago, Special K said:

 

 I wasn't knocking Tre.....I don't expect him to have the speed to keep up with those guys at this point.....he's still a valuable CB to have on the team, but if Hairston was healthy, I'd bet we would've seen a lot of him on the field tonight.

 

I would not make that switch at this point and I bet you McDermott won't either.

 

3 minutes ago, Buffalo716 said:

He has a lot more left than I thought 

 

As a former defensive back that's the one thing I can see with a really good eye and he looks pretty quick .. better than I thought 

 

And he should actually keep improving since it's a long rehab from that tear he had.. you're going to be better 25 months out than you were 16 months out

 

Agreed with all of this.

His strength, conditioning and confidence are all on point and he's really attacking offenses successfully.

The big turnover out of nowhere is coming.

 

[Buffalo716]

3 minutes ago, Simon said:

 

I would not make that switch at this point and I bet you McDermott won't either.

 

Agreed with all of this.

His strength, conditioning and confidence are all on point and he's really attacking offenses successfully.

The big turnover out of nowhere is coming.

 

I can feel it 

 

He looks like he's playing with some confidence and I believe it's probably because he's back with McDermott again 

 

Pick 6 Tre White is definitely coming this season

[SectionC3]

11 minutes ago, ChronicAndKnuckles said:

I thought Tre White had a solid game. Made some key tackles and passes defended. Now that he’s completely over his injury it’s clear that he lost a step, but I think his experience & leadership will prove useful down the stretch. He is what he is at this point which is solid depth, but still a former All Pro that receivers must respect. 

Not making the play on Tua when he had him dead to rights changes the game. 

[Simon]

6 minutes ago, Buffalo716 said:

He looks like he's playing with some confidence and I believe it's probably because he's back with McDermott again 

 

I'm done hijacking the Groot thread after this one, but I'd add that that confidence also probably stems from the fact that his body feels like it's supposed to again and he's willing to cut and drive because he's not worried about further injury. And that is massive news, imo.

 

5 minutes ago, SectionC3 said:

Not making the play on Tua when he had him dead to rights changes the game. 

 

The bad guys make good plays too. That was a great no-look escape that beats 90% of blitzers who have the pedal buried, imo.

[buffaloboyinATL]

58 minutes ago, Billsfed1 said:

I know the D has some things to work on after this one…but what a play.  

 

The immediate recognition that Waddle was going to run that short route, and the instincts and ability to jump the pattern to seal the game was huge.

 

I think the Bills D until after the bye is going to look like this.  Up and down but once we got everyone back, this could be a very, very good group.

That is a team captain, making a play when it matters. And that will pay dividends.

[Richard Noggin]

56 minutes ago, MikePJ76 said:

that play was a direct result of coaching wasn't it?

 

Bernard gave props to LB coach Holcomb in his postgame presser. Apparently they ID'd that exact play as an opportunity for Bernard to get his hands on one. Coach told him if Bernard saw it pre/post-snap to trigger and go get it. Worked perfectly (with a HUGE assist by Walker absolutely beasting on that snap).

[billsfan89]

Walker pressing the issue and causing less of a field view and Bernard making the INT were clutch defensive plays. They made the play that put the offense in position to ice it

[NoSaint]

59 minutes ago, Simon said:

 

Don't leave out the swim move from a 330lb DT that turned Tua blind and scared.

if he hits his ceiling, he will be tremendous value for us - the type that can sway huge games. 
 

he’s flashing it.

[Simon]

Just now, NoSaint said:

if he hits his ceiling, he will be tremendous value for us - the type that can sway huge games. 
 

he’s flashing it.

 

I think he is already moving better than in any of the college film I saw of him.

 

Would it be gruesome to get an O/U going on how many RBs he's going to knock out of games this year?

Cuz it is going to happen.

[QLBillsFan]

50 minutes ago, ChronicAndKnuckles said:

I thought Tre White had a solid game. Made some key tackles and passes defended. Now that he’s completely over his injury it’s clear that he lost a step, but I think his experience & leadership will prove useful down the stretch. He is what he is at this point which is solid depth, but still a former All Pro that receivers must respect. 

Well they don’t respect his speed. He made a few tackles but he got toasted a fair amount. He’s a great depth player and mentor but if he’s starting in the playoffs it’s a bad sign. Great guy great teammate but just a depth player at this stage of his career. 

[BigAl2526]

45 minutes ago, Simon said:

 

I would not make that switch at this point and I bet you McDermott won't either.

 

 

Agreed with all of this.

His strength, conditioning and confidence are all on point and he's really attacking offenses successfully.

The big turnover out of nowhere is coming.

 

There will be opportunities to rotate Hairston in.  There also might be situations where the Bills might think Hairston's skill set can be a better matchup for the Bills.

[eball]

6 hours ago, ChronicAndKnuckles said:

I thought Tre White had a solid game. Made some key tackles and passes defended. Now that he’s completely over his injury it’s clear that he lost a step, but I think his experience & leadership will prove useful down the stretch. He is what he is at this point which is solid depth, but still a former All Pro that receivers must respect. 

 

I agree, he made some nice plays.  We just can’t expect him to cover a speed receiver running across the flat…he doesn’t have those wheels any more.  Can’t wait for Hairston to get in there.

 

5 hours ago, QLBillsFan said:

He made a few tackles but he got toasted a fair amount

 

The Bills gave up 4.5 yards per play and 250 yards total.  There wasn’t a whole lot of butter on that toast.

 

[CSBill]

It's hard not to notice Walker's play on the field (his size alone sets him apart), but I like what I've seen from him so far.

Sanders is there, but I haven't noticed him much. I hope these two will eventually take control of the D-line.

[Sierra Foothills]

I often don't know how to feel about Bernard.

 

Obviously he's made tons of big plays for the team and is the sole Defensive Captain. Certainly we don't beat Baltimore in the playoffs without him. On the other hand I often see him being washed out of plays too. Then you see Tyrell Dodson out there thumping people and wish he was still a Bill.

 

Ultimately we have no choice but to take the bad with the good with Bernard.

 

Regarding Tre White, against the 4.29 Tyreek Hill and the 4.37 Jaylen Waddle, Tre more than held his own. Those two combined for just 88 yards on 10 catches.

 

In week 1 Tre didn't play and in week 2 he played 26 snaps (55%). Last night he played 100% of the 61 snaps.

 

Tre was good against the run and had a tackle for a loss. He had a pass defensed.

 

Tre looked better than Benford last night.

 

With Strong looking promising and Hairston waiting in the wings, the revamped Bills CB group looks MUCH better than last year.

 

Kudos to McBeane.

 

7 hours ago, ChronicAndKnuckles said:

I thought Tre White had a solid game. Made some key tackles and passes defended. Now that he’s completely over his injury it’s clear that he lost a step, but I think his experience & leadership will prove useful down the stretch. He is what he is at this point which is solid depth, but still a former All Pro that receivers must respect. 

 

Absolutely.

 

Tre knows this defense like the back of his hand. He gets guys lined up correctly pre-snap.

 

It'll be awhile before Hairston's a starter for the Bills and that's a bonus.

 

[SoonerBillsFan]

7 hours ago, Simon said:

 

Don't leave out the swim move from a 330lb DT that turned Tua blind and scared.

Both these DT's could end up being something, but yeah that move was outstanding 

[Kaenon]

7 hours ago, Simon said:

 

He looks pretty live out there to me.

You may be right about the step in regards to long speed, but he's making a lot of short area plays that are negatively affecting offenses.

I'm very pleasantly surprised by what he's been showing.

Once we have Hairston back - we can be more matchup driven and Tre will shine more as a result. 

Hill and Waddle are the fastest tandem in the NFL and that's not White's game, it's Hairston's game. 

[PoundingDog]

1 hour ago, Sierra Foothills said:

I often don't know how to feel about Bernard.

Bernard is a good player, worth getting a second contract. Very cerebral. There is reason why he's the co-captain and calling plays. But he's not someone the opposing offenses will game-plan for "we can't let him beat us." His size and the fact O-Lineman, FBs, some TEs getting hands on him can take him out of the play most of the time means he needs a strong D-Line to keep him clean to be effective (most MLBs are that way but Bernard more so). 

 

The Bills have a bunch guys like that. Milano (better shedding blocks though), even the new Shaq Thompson who is another undersized LB but flashed instincts and made Milano like plays. Beane and McDermott took a swing at a guy who, like a raw Josh Allen, has all the raw talent to be a superstar on defense in MLB position but missed (or you can say got a ground ball single barely made out of infield); he's now wearing the Bears jersey. 

[ganesh]

9 hours ago, Brand J said:

Actually if you look at the play again, his assignment was the running back and he was running into the flat. Bernard sprinted that way to cover him and Tua inexplicably threw the ball to the curl route Dorian Williams was defending, right to Bernard. The offensive design of that play was bad. Tua either has to hold it for Bernard to clear, or throw it to the flat before he gets there. Bernard effectively covered two players. 

Walker had a big hand in why Tua was forced to throw and not hold the ball.  The big fella is winning a lot of mafia hearts 

[Big Turk]

9 hours ago, Special K said:

Agree.....I love Tre, but he doesn't have the speed to guard guys like Waddle/Hill.....that's what Hairston was drafted for....looking forward to Hairston, Oliver and Milano to get back into the lineup.

 

Thankfully, the Offense is almost a lock to score 30 points a game at this point.....even with the conservative play calling we saw tonight.

 

I am most looking forward to Hoecht used as the versatile chess piece that will give offenses fits.

[Coastie]

9 hours ago, Mikie2times said:

I nominate Walkers nickname as Gru.

I had to go check the spelling because this is the first thing I thought when you said that.