The Ray Davis-backup running back discussion

[nuklz2594]

Ray put the weight back on. 

[TBBills Fan]

1 minute ago, transplantbillsfan said:

At this point we should absolutely be bringing Frank Gore Jr. up and seeing what he can do in games.  Joe Marino actually mentioned this in his podcast this week.

I don't see how it could hurt.  

 

 

[Paup 1995MVP]

1 hour ago, TBBills Fan said:

The jets game, which was his breakout game was week 5 I think. 

 

And I'm not saying give up on him, but he does not look like the same back. And yes it was pre season, but at what point would you use a Gore call up to see if there is a difference. 

 

I think I'd want to see now or in the next few weeks. Someone to take some burden off cook will help us in January

 

McD loves rotations. I think they don't like what they see either and that is why you see his touches way down. He has spoken about cooks usage a bit in pressers..

 

I'm not saying get rid of anyone. But at some point if he continues averaging 2.6 yards a carry and looking bad, they are gonna have to take a look. 

 

I'd rather they look sooner or in the next few weeks before we hit the Bye and KC. 

I think so as well

 

Even in preseason he has looked horrible to my untrained but passionate life long fan eyes

I agree.  Ray Davis looks terrible.  I see no reason for him to be on the active roster. 
 

Let’s give Gore Jr a chance.  

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

10 minutes ago, transplantbillsfan said:

At this point we should absolutely be bringing Frank Gore Jr. up and seeing what he can do in games.  Joe Marino actually mentioned this in his podcast this week.

 

Davis has played 39 SNAPS in 4 games.  That's less than 10 plays per game - and he played 9 total snaps in the last 2 games.  

[Simon]

8 minutes ago, TBBills Fan said:

I don't see how it could hurt.  

 

 

 

You bring him up now for no legitimate reason, then he only has two call ups left for the entire season I think.

That could become an issue if we have injuries at RB down the road.

[Charles Romes]

6 minutes ago, transplantbillsfan said:

At this point we should absolutely be bringing Frank Gore Jr. up and seeing what he can do in games.  Joe Marino actually mentioned this in his podcast this week.

He’s also called out Gore’s historically low 0.6 RAS score. Might as well throw him out there, watch him get swallowed up by the 1s 2-4 times and find someone else for the PS.  

[TBBills Fan]

1 hour ago, gonzo1105 said:

I haven’t seen Davis get enough touches to draw a conclusion one way or another. 2 carries a game isn’t enough period for a RB to get in a rhythm. You could be right , or maybe the Bills asked him to shed the weight. Usually players don’t lose or gain weight on their own. The coaches, with the strength staff usually decide the playing range they want a player at 

If he didn't discuss it with the staff and hasn't shown much with his limited opportunities, that could be a reason we have seen very little of him. 

 

26 carries as of this time last year. Now he has 11. last year at this time he had 3 receptions, this year he has 0

45 minutes ago, Simon said:

 

You bring him up now for no legitimate reason, then he only has two call ups left for the entire season I think.

That could become an issue if we have injuries at RB down the road.

This is true.  The coaches see these guys everyday.  You give him a few game run now to see if they feel he would be a better fit for what they want in RB 2/RB 3. If they don't see it,nthen you don't do it 

[Paup 1995MVP]

1 hour ago, Kirby Jackson said:

I have pretty strong feelings on this. Davis seems like a fantastic guy. He also is the worst player on the 53 IMO. His feet are so slow. He’s Zack Moss. I’d certainly give Gore a chance. I’d trade Davis for whatever I could get. I’d just draft another RB in 2026 in the middle rounds. 

It’s my buddy Kirby.  We haven’t communicated since our long debate on Garett Wilson.  lol.  I am in total agreement on your assessment of Ray Davis.  I was losing my mind when we ran him into the line on 3rd and 1 against the Saints in the 4th qtr near midfield.  
 

And I wish we had your namesake right now to play boundary corner opposite Benford.  He actually had some game when he played.  More than Tre White has now.  

[quincy]

Against New Orleans their backup RB, Kendre Miller scored a running touchdown on his first touch of the game, breaking numerous tackles for 18 yards.

 

This is just to highlight that a player can be subbed in and make an instant impact immediately.

 

Miller seems to be trending upwards and it wouldn't surprise me if he is their starter next year.

 

He is leading the league in "elusiveness", I didn't know that was a metric that existed lol. 

 

Saints Already Have Alvin Kamara Successor In New Orleans

 

Kendre Miller tops NFL elusive rating

[SectionC3]

1 hour ago, transplantbillsfan said:

At this point we should absolutely be bringing Frank Gore Jr. up and seeing what he can do in games.  Joe Marino actually mentioned this in his podcast this week.

With what carries?  Whether it’s Davis or Gore or someone else they have to carve out some carries for him.  Atlanta and Carolina should provide those opportunities.  

[Matt_In_NH]

2 hours ago, mannc said:

I’d say it’s both…Davis has looked poor in his limited action.

Sample size…

[Kirby Jackson]

For me, I’m not that concerned about how Davis has looked this year. I was okay moving on before the season. He did okay last year. His skills just aren’t dynamic enough to me. I didn’t like Zack Moss either. Motor was a much better player. You just can’t have slow feet. It doesn’t work in 2025. It is WAY too easy to defend. 

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

1 hour ago, SectionC3 said:

With what carries?  Whether it’s Davis or Gore or someone else they have to carve out some carries for him.  Atlanta and Carolina should provide those opportunities.  

 

9 snaps on offense the last 2 weeks vs. 16 on special teams. 

 

I don't understand how there can be a discussion about a player who has 1 carry in the last 2 weeks.  There's nothing to even judge.  

[Mr. WEO]

Hard to imagine he could be more elusive…

[reddogblitz]

3 hours ago, TBBills Fan said:

Ty looks fine to me. 

 

Yes and no. I've seen him drop 2 passes this year.  Surprising because he's usually the most sure handed of the bunch.  Hopefully he gets back to that.

[GunnerBill]

I did say last year Davis just wasn't that good. 

 

11 of the 19 games he has carries in the NFL he is below 4 yards per carry. 

 

Now I will concede that his three highest volume games are three of his best games. But if he needs 10 plus touches to be effective that is zero use to us here. Cos he isn't getting that while Cook is healthy.

1 hour ago, Kirby Jackson said:

For me, I’m not that concerned about how Davis has looked this year. I was okay moving on before the season. He did okay last year. His skills just aren’t dynamic enough to me. I didn’t like Zack Moss either. Motor was a much better player. You just can’t have slow feet. It doesn’t work in 2025. It is WAY too easy to defend. 

 

I mean I didn't like Motor either. The only running back Beane has made that I have liked was Cook. 

[Kirby Jackson]

6 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

I did say last year Davis just wasn't that good. 

 

11 of the 19 games he has carries in the NFL he is below 4 yards per carry. 

 

Now I will concede that his three highest volume games are three of his best games. But if he needs 10 plus touches to be effective that is zero use to us here. Cos he isn't getting that while Cook is healthy.

 

I mean I didn't like Motor either. The only running back Beane has made that I have liked was Cook. 

Motor wasn’t elite but he was fine. He once was playing behind Moss. That was crazy. Cook is obviously the best of the bunch but they have had a couple that were just plain bad (Moss and maybe Davis). The Bills love big and slow

[GunnerBill]

3 minutes ago, Kirby Jackson said:

Motor wasn’t elite but he was fine. He once was playing behind Moss. That was crazy. Cook is obviously the best of the bunch but they have had a couple that were just plain bad (Moss and maybe Davis). The Bills love big and slow

 

Singpurpose has been on three teams and lost the starting job 3 times. I agree he was better than Moss but that is the ultimate low bar. He is currently RB3 on one of the worst teams in football having been overtaken by a 5th round pick last year then a 4th round pick this year.  Ultimate JAG.

[Lagoon Blues]

One of these games we will see the ty johnson explosion like we have seen in the past.  When we need something that no one is expecting we will see a major ramp up on his targets.  Would be interesting to see another game w/ multi rbs in the backfield to give a look not seen before.  just my 2c

[No_Matter_What]

4 hours ago, Alphadawg7 said:

You can't judge a RB who gets a random touch here and there and thats it.  RB's need Rhythm, they need to feel the OL, the defense, etc.  Then you have the factor that in a lot of Davis carries they are mostly obviously running situations and the defense responds accordingly.  Davis is not getting the same type of touches that Cook gets who gets them on downs where we can be passing or running.  Davis is getting a random touch here and there on more obviously running downs and with no creativity.  And if you actually look at the carries, there are no holes, the play is getting blown up, its not Davis failing to see a hole.

 

This is what happens when people use a stat sheet despite the sample size is so small and the use case context is not considered. You get misleading conclusions.  I am not saying Davis is the next Cook, but he has proven he can play, and his lack of production is almost entirely rooted in the fact the plays and blocking themselves failed on the play more than anything Davis did poorly.  

 

I am not concerned at this point, not until I see him get some relevant carries that demonstrate he is the reason for the lack of success of better production on those carries.  Cook has been playing out of his mind, and they have been riding his hot feet is what the real biggest factor is.  Like others, I dont want to see this amount of carries continue for Cook, and I expect they will start to try and get the touches down some as the season goes on.  But Cook is also VERY good at avoiding hard contact and big hits.  So while there are a lot of carries, hes not taking on the same kind of physicality that comes with it like a Jacobs, Henry, Saquan, etc would be on this many touches where the power run game is a bigger part of their carries.  

Agree that it is hard to judge RB when he gets random touch here and there. It seems that it applies to Davis as well. Last year he started one game vs Jets when Cook was down, and he was really good once he got some flow.

 

But like Gunner said, if he needs flow more that some other backup RBs, then we need someone else, since he will never get consistently going behind Cook.

 

And I disagree about him not missing holes. I watches All22 of two games. In Baltimore game he missed one hole early, and after that was doing fine. In Saints game he had 2&4 during that infamous drive, and to my eye he missed the hole between McGovern and Cybo and went to the right. I'd say it's a first down if he just went through that hole.