Ray Davis - Unquestioned RB3

[BillsFanForever19]

In the off-season, Ray Davis stated that he decided to cut weight because:

 

“I wanted be lighter. Last year I was the bruiser, short yardage and I felt I could do a lot more… I feel way lighter and way faster.”

 

I found this baffling bc that was the reason he was brought in, imo. To be the "bruiser, short yardage" RB - the Thunder to Cook's Lightning.

 

And for him to try and get "lighter and faster", I felt could bring more negative to his game than positive. Bc dropping weight wouldn't take him from what he is, which us a 4.55 guy with a straight line style, and turn him into a RB like Cook. But it could effect his power and effectiveness in what his role on this team was.

 

I was interested to see how he looked in the Pre-Season, as I was kind of skeptical that his deciding to do that would be positive for his game. And through Camp and the Pre-Season, he did look less effective. And looking at the snap counts for Running Back, it's pretty clear the Bills have noticed. Through three games, the RB room snap count is:

 

James Cook - 123 Snaps

Ty Johnson - 62 Snaps

Ray Davis - 34 Snaps

 

James Cook seeing the field more wasn't all that surprising to me, as him "not being a 3 Down RB" was such a talking point this off-season. And with him being paid what he was, I think they wanted to show he could be a bellcow.

 

But Ty Johnson having almost double the snaps of Davis is pretty surprising. And last night, Davis was only on the field for a total of four snaps, with zero touches.

 

Which is a pretty big fall off so far from last season. It makes me wonder if his decision to cut weight was done on his own accord? Or did the Bills tell him to do it? Bc I can't imagine, especially with how he's been used this year, that they felt it was a good decision.

 

It's pretty clear that in the pecking order, he's a distant 3rd option. It feels like he didn't want the "bruiser, short yardage" role and in his desire to be used differently - he now has no role.

Edited September 21 by BillsFanForever19

[Mikie2times]

Davis is 5”8, regardless if it’s 220 or 208, it’s a very compact build and he’s going to be bringing a lot of power. Johnson emerged more towards the end of last season. They like him in passing downs a lot. You also can’t tip your hand with him in the game so he’s going to get some carries. Ultimately I think this is more about them preferring Cook and Johnson vs any weight concerns with Davis. 

[BuffaloBillyG]

10 minutes ago, BillsFanForever19 said:

In the off-season, Ray Davis stated that he decided cut weight because:

 

“I wanted be lighter. Last year I was the bruiser, short yardage and I felt I could do a lot more… I feel way lighter and way faster.”

 

I found this baffling bc that was the reason he was brought in, imo. To be the "bruiser, short yardage" RB - the Thunder to Cook's Lightning.

 

And for him to try and get "lighter and faster", I felt could bring more negative to his game than positive. Bc dropping weight wouldn't take him from what he is, which us a 4.55 guy with a straight line style, and turn him into a RB like Cook. But it could effect his power and effectiveness in what his role on this team was.

 

I was interested to see how he looked in the Pre-Season, as I was kind of skeptical that his deciding to do that would be positive for his game. And through Camp and the Pre-Season, he did look less effective. And looking at the snap counts for Running Back, it's pretty clear the Bills have noticed. Through three games, the RB room snap count is:

 

James Cook - 123 Snaps

Ty Johnson - 62 Snaps

Ray Davis - 34 Snaps

 

James Cook seeing the field more wasn't all that surprising to me, as him "not being a 3 Down RB" was such a talking point this off-season. And with him being paid what he was, I think they wanted to show he could be a bellcow.

 

But Ty Johnson having almost double the snaps of Davis is pretty surprising. And last night, Davis was only on the field for a total of four snaps, with zero touches.

 

Which is a pretty big fall off so far from last season. It makes me wonder if his decision to cut weight was done on his own accord? Or did the Bills tell him to do it? Bc I can't imagine, especially with how he's been used this year, that they felt it was a good decision.

 

It's pretty clear that in the pecking order, he's a distant 3rd option. It feels like he didn't want the "bruiser, short yardage" role and in his desire to be used differently - he has no role.

Yeah I was talking about him earlier today. But you hit the nail on the head. He's fallen off from last year and the snap counts/touches show the coaching staff sees it too.

 

The few times he has touched the ball on offense he's been gobbled up and very unimpressive. He had 9 carriers against the Jets (24 yards 2.7ypc) and only 1 carry for 2 yards against the Ravens ("adding" 1 catch for -1 yard). 

 

I could see the Bills giving him another game or two before they try and elevate Gore and see what he can do and Davis becomes the dreaded 'healthy scratch'. 

 

But here's the thing. We need SOMEONE to take a few of the carries a game away from Cook. We don't want him to handle 90-95% of the carries in offense for the season. He's not a big guy and chances are come playoff time he will be at or near the wall.

Edited September 20 by BuffaloBillyG

[Victory Formation]

More than anything Buffalo needs a mauler. A Derrick Henry type of RB..

[GunnerBill]

I don't think either Davis or Johnson have been great thus far to be honest. Johnson was a bit better this week but thank heavens we got the Cook contract sorted.

 

The people arguing with our offensive line it didn't really matter who the running back was woulda had the shock of their lives if we were watching Davis and Johnson as our primary ball carriers right now.

[BuffaloBillyG]

9 minutes ago, Victory Formation said:

More than anything Buffalo needs a mauler. A Derrick Henry type of RB..

Yes a generational generic freak would be great. Unfortunately, those types are very few and far between. 

[BillsfaninSB]

I like Davis but I would love see Gore get a chance.  Now is the time. 

[zow2]

I like Gore, but he fumbled in preseason and McDermott will probably need a full year to forgive him.

[BillsFanForever19]

42 minutes ago, BuffaloBillyG said:

Yes a generational generic freak would be great. Unfortunately, those types are very few and far between. 

 

I was huge on Braelon Allen in the Draft last season because physically, he is a freak of nature. I was pretty heartbroken when he was available in Round 4 and we went with Davis instead.

 

There was a lot of talk that he could be RB1 in New York this season and that Breece was on the trading block after an impressive off-season by Allen. That didn't come to be. But I still wish we went Allen instead of Davis.

[Aussie Joe]

So he has decided to drop the weight himself and not at the direction of the coaching staff ? 
 

Brave 

[Amorgus]

1 hour ago, Aussie Joe said:

So he has decided to drop the weight himself and not at the direction of the coaching staff ? 
 

Brave 

Just because you bought a tux doesn't mean you can quit mopping floors, right?

[MJS]

He hasn't gotten much work, so it's tough to judge.

[Charles Romes]

2 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

I don't think either Davis or Johnson have been great thus far to be honest. Johnson was a bit better this week but thank heavens we got the Cook contract sorted.

 

The people arguing with our offensive line it didn't really matter who the running back was woulda had the shock of their lives if we were watching Davis and Johnson as our primary ball carriers right now.

We’d have the Chiefs offense 

[NickelCity]

He hasn't been impressive this year. A long way to go, yet.

[transplantbillsfan]

I asked a couple buddies if they thought it was crazy that I liked Frank Gore Jr. more than Ray Davis. It was preseason. They said yes I was crazy.

 

I don't think I was...

[Sojourner]

How much mustard can he cut?

[BillsFanForever19]

1 hour ago, MJS said:

He hasn't gotten much work, so it's tough to judge.

 

If you're referring to whether the weight loss has adversely effected his game, you're right - the sample size is small. But it hasn't looked good in that small sample size.

 

But if you're referring to whether or not he's the unquestioned RB3, I'd say that your argument is more of an argument for why he is. The fact that he's gotten a quarter of the reps that Cook has and more importantly, half the reps that Ty Johnson has, and that his number seems to go down on a weekly basis - says that he is.

[Kirby Jackson]

6 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

I don't think either Davis or Johnson have been great thus far to be honest. Johnson was a bit better this week but thank heavens we got the Cook contract sorted.

 

The people arguing with our offensive line it didn't really matter who the running back was woulda had the shock of their lives if we were watching Davis and Johnson as our primary ball carriers right now.

Davis isn’t very good; he has slow feet. I call him Zack Moss 2.0. In my opinion, he may be the worst player on the 53. I think Johnson is pretty good. He has struggled a little this year but he’s smart and versatile. I’m fine with him being the number 2. Cook has become a star. The people saying that, “if Cook holds out, screw him, we will be fine because we have Ray Davis” deserve to be tarred and feathered for their horrendous football take. 🤣🤣

Edited September 20 by Kirby Jackson

[Matt_In_NH]

I think you have your jump to conclusions mat out, look around at the other options if jumped a little left or right, there might be some other options.

[thronethinker]

Reading all of this has convinced me that signing Cook was a smart move. I was on the fence till now.

 

Edited September 20 by thronethinker