The PED Twins how much of a possible upgrade and "shot in the arm" do they represent?

[billsfan89]

Six weeks in and the PED Twins are coming back off suspension after the bye week. The Defense needs a shot in the arm. Ed, Milano, Daquon, and several others have been banged up with fairly "normal" week to week injuries (every team has injuries). The bye should help with those. But the team is getting two vet D-line players back from suspension in Larry O and Hoecht. While these guys aren't JAGS they aren't super stars either. What type of impact will these two have? How much of a "shot in the arm" do these guys actually represent? 

 

Larry Ogunjobi- He's 31 old but not ancient for a DT (usually they play near a prime level until around age 32/33) but for this season he's not someone whose age should be a concern. He was viewed as a good player by Steelers fans not elite but a quality starter. Known as a good but a bit inconsistent run defender in recent years with the Steelers. His return to the active roster comes at a needed time. With Sanders hurt and the team needing some bodies at DT a decent vet here will help. How much it will help I don't know. Walker and Ed should be the primary DT duo but having Larry Ogunjobi as a solid capable vet rotating in will help them it should also take some snaps away from Daquon who could be in a more early down role. 

 

Michael Hoecht- Just turned 28 so a younger in his prime addition to the D-line. Really showed a lot in pre-season and camp. Known to be a super versatile defender who can line up a lot of different places on the defensive front. Known to set the edge well as a former DT in college. But has some pass rush upside with 13.5 sacks his last 3 with the Rams. Rams fans liked him as a high end rotational player who added some wrinkles to the defense. Overall I think he's going to add some needed depth and versatility. What I think he helps most with is getting Bosa less snaps. With Landon Jackson and Solomon being not that great so far the Bills only have 3 really viable DE's with a 4th viable DE to the mix that should allow the Bills to play Bosa less and keep him fresh. 

 

Overall I would say that these two represent a chance to help improve the defense not by a massive margin but not by an insignificant one either...

Edited 15 hours ago by billsfan89

[BuffaloRebound]

We need bodies at DT so i’d hope ogunjobi can help.  

More excited about Hoecht.  Hopefully he can be a Lorax type chess piece in this defense that allows us to play bigger in the front 7.  

[RiotAct]

Nice thread title, I see what you did there 😄

[Goin Breakdown]

I don't think a couple mid level players are going to do anything major. The main thing is we'll have more players on the roster that won't have to be call ups from the PS. 

[buffblue]

Hoecht could be a solid rotational piece for us, but whether the coaching staff can figure out how to deploy him is another matter. Ogunjobi is a JAG

[stlbills13]

They'll help. I'm not sure that means a ton but they'll help.

 

I'm just glad that our defensive fate rides on a rookie CB coming off a knee injury about to make his NFL debut. 

[MPL]

I do think keeping guys like Jordan Phillips, Landon Jackson, and Javon Solomon off the field will yield positive results. I would feel more optimistic about it if we were getting the enhanced versions of Hoecht and Ogunjobi. 

Edited 14 hours ago by MPL

[Sweats]

Unless they can get pressure on the QB and lighten the load for our CB's/DB's, then i can't really see any difference.

[billsfan89]

4 minutes ago, stlbills13 said:

They'll help. I'm not sure that means a ton but they'll help.

 

I'm just glad that our defensive fate rides on a rookie CB coming off a knee injury about to make his NFL debut. 

 

I think a corner via trade (doesn't have to be a major addition but can the team find a 2023 Rasul Douglas solid starter type) is needed getting a competent vet in there and getting Mad Max back I think is the best this team could hope to do on defense I don't see them doing much else. 

[AlCowlingsTaxiService]

They’re both legit NFL players, but they’re not real difference makers IMO. Can’t hurt, but not sure how much they’ll help. 

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

[The Frankish Reich]

Just for the sake of argument since it's probably unlikely that they admit that they were deliberately juicing ...

 

... PED effects last a whole lot longer than a six-week suspension, or even six months (the time of signing, when their suspensions became known).

 

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/effects-performance-enhancing-drugs-may-last-decades/

 

https://www.wada-ama.org/en/resources/scientific-research/long-term-changes-human-skeletal-muscles-after-anabolic-steroid

 

The world anti-doping administration suggests 2 year suspensions may therefore be too short if the goal is to take away any advantage gained from prior PED use.

 

I was only half kidding when I said that Beane is trying to exploit a market inefficiency in signing players recently busted for PEDs ...

[bmur66]

I wouldn’t hold my breath hoping these are the missing pieces

[QCity]

The better question is how many games do you think they'll play? They are not exactly young and PED abusers don't exactly have a good track record with injuries.

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

2 minutes ago, QCity said:

The better question is how many games do you think they'll play? They are not exactly young and PED abusers don't exactly have a good track record with injuries.

yup. I would predict both are injured in some way within the next 1-3 weeks. 

[Sojourner]

Just now, bmur66 said:

I wouldn’t hold my breath hoping these are the missing pieces

Was speaking to a guy at the diner yesterday morning during breakfast about our team and he actually mentioned Hoecht. Said he thinks he’ll be a Jerry Huges type player… a lot of pressures but not much sacks. If he’s accurate on that it surely would help but in the broader perspective, yes. I’m with you. Not holding my breath but will hope for positive additions. 

[RobbRiddick]

I really hope these two do well so we can start calling them the PED Twins all the time.

 

I'm guessing if Michael does well Chris Brown will enjoy telling us he's taken the defense to new Hoechts 

[MasterStrategist]

26 minutes ago, billsfan89 said:

 

I think a corner via trade (doesn't have to be a major addition but can the team find a 2023 Rasul Douglas solid starter type) is needed getting a competent vet in there and getting Mad Max back I think is the best this team could hope to do on defense I don't see them doing much else. 

They already brought in what they viewed as a competent vet --- Tre White.  

 

We have to hope our 1st rounder can take the reigns, once he sees the field.  

 

And maybe, Dorian Strong will come back this yr.

 

To your original post, Hoecht & Oji --- its about improving on depth + bringing something to our pass rush.  Vast improvement on depth, translates to better 1st/2nd down results and pass rush opportunities.

[NoSaint]

I think ogunjobi is relatively just another guy in the DT rotation. Won’t move the needle but better than a street free agent coming in

 

hoecht should be a nice addition. Not a game changer but will help with disguising looks and keeping legs fresh on the more important guys with less drop off

[billsfan89]

10 minutes ago, QCity said:

The better question is how many games do you think they'll play? They are not exactly young and PED abusers don't exactly have a good track record with injuries.

 

Hoecht is 28 that's not old, he's also only in year 5. Larry Ogunjobi he's older and while he's not missed a lot of games in 8 seasons (played 14 or more games every season) he does get banged up. But Larry Ogunjobi does play through his injuries most of the time. Both guys should be durable but football is a violent sport.