The New Guys: Hairston, Hoecht, Ogunjobi plus Hancock

[ProcessTruster]

It's a young man's game, and the Bills rolled out some youth yesterday.   

 

Beane nailed the draft and FA, we are just now getting a first glimpse of what he accomplished. 

 

Ed Oliver being out is sort of a "whatever" to me.  Was never a huge fan.  

[Walking Tall]

Hoecht caused chaos on the LOS.

[Draconator]

15 minutes ago, ganesh said:

Bishop overplayed the run so badly that he was completely OUT of position.

Adding to that, I would guess Rico saw Bishop over pursue, and cut it back to get him past the 2nd level. 

[billsbackto81]

5 hours ago, RobbRiddick said:

yeah the defense looked much improved. We'll see how they look Vs KC. 

 

Walker looked good again and is really coming along, and it's also great (fingers and toes crossed)to see Bosa still healthy. Ed was the one bad spot, oh and Taron who looks a shell of his former self.

Taron and Tre continue to be cause for concern.  Fortunately the influx of the players mentioned masked many of the issues. I'm sure many noticed that without Bernard and Milano the run D was much more stout and the pass rush much more effective. This in turn allowed the secondary to be more decisive in coverage instead of having to stick with receivers for long periods.

 

But as optimistic as this game was, also keep in mind they were dealing with a relic backup QB with the mobility of a turtle. Dalton was absolutely abysmal.

Edited 3 hours ago by billsbackto81

[Livinginthepast]

A much better effort from the defense yesterday and it definitely gives us some hope going forward.  In many ways it was a flashback to a few years ago when the McD defense was actually strong. The new guys basically showed what we have been missing when our previous crew (Poyer, Hyde, Milano, White started to age out).  But the Oliver injury is a big tragedy. 

[billsfan89]

2 minutes ago, ProcessTruster said:

It's a young man's game, and the Bills rolled out some youth yesterday.   

 

Beane nailed the draft and FA, we are just now getting a first glimpse of what he accomplished. 

 

Ed Oliver being out is sort of a "whatever" to me.  Was never a huge fan.  

 

Ed was dominating the game, I think he's such a loss for this defense esp when he has a competent NT next to him. That being said if he can come back late December I think the team can manage without him (could always trade a late round pick for a competent body) and it is better he comes back possibly healthy for the playoffs as opposed to banged up again. 

 

I think we are seeing 3 of the top 4 defensive acquisitions in free agency and the draft being back and that's now the vision they had. I wasn't a fan of brining Tre back as the primary CB option but they did draft a CB with their top draft pick signaling that they really didn't want to start Tre. They added Hoecht, Bosa, and Larry Ogunjobi to really add some veteran pop to the defensive line while bringing in 3 fairly high draft picks to add some longer term development and we are seeing Walker coming in and playing a good role there right away. With Groot/AJE/Daquon/Ed a solid bunch being joined by Hoecht, Bosa, Larry Ogunjobi, and Walker that's a D-line that's rolling 7 deep (with Ed hurt that trims the numbers sadly) and still has options down the line with Sanders possibly coming back and a trade to a back end DT being possible. 

 

Then we are seeing Shaq also being a nice later surprise and filling in at LB way better than expected. I think the defense is certainly coming together but let's also see it against a better offense without the backup QB. But if you aren't going to dominate the Panthers with Dalton then who are you going to dominate? 

[Captain Hindsight]

I made a comment a few days ago about how aggressive and fast detroits defense looked and yesterday I saw that from the Bills. Very encouraging 

[947]

There was still a ton of soft zone that left guys wide open on short routes & crossers. A lot of that was made irrelevant by the pass rush or Dalton bobbling snaps, but Tetairoa had 99 yards on mostly easy catches & could've had much more with even average QB play.

[gonzo1105]

I’m not going to toot my horn a ton but I was on Hoecht before he signed here and was one of the few people on this board who loved his signing while everyone else was like who the hell is this guy and he’s not worth it etc. 

[billsfan89]

5 minutes ago, gonzo1105 said:

I’m not going to toot my horn a ton but I was on Hoecht before he signed here and was one of the few people on this board who loved his signing while everyone else was like who the hell is this guy and he’s not worth it etc. 

 

I think most fans were pretty positive about Hoecht comparing him to Lorax in terms of versatility. I know most fans didn't know who he was but like after most signings of mid tier and lower players fans looked into him and were mostly seeing positive things. 

[hondo in seattle]

We had a bye week to address some execution issues, McD is more involved in play calling, and we had some new faces out there against a team with a backup QB.  It's hard to pinpoint what made the difference but it was fun to see.  

 

Encouraging, too, though I'm going to reserve judgment until after next week's game.  

[MikePJ76]

The defense looked much faster yesterday.  Some young guys made some big tackles that we have seen go for big plays this year.

 

hancock's great tackle on the breakaway run and andressen made a great play on the screen which had he missed could have gone a long way.

 

Hairston looked the part yesterday.  On the sack by Groot at the ten yard line, taron johnson had great coverage, hairston seemed to know exactly what to do on his side in zone and bishop took away the spot where Dalton wanted to throw the ball.  Great play from the defense.

 

Hairston, Bishop, Hancock all looked quick and athletic and seems like if they can keep growing on that it could make a big difference.

[Frostbite]

1 hour ago, ganesh said:

Bishop overplayed the run so badly that he was completely OUT of position.

Looked like he was man up on their TE coming across the formation who maybe couldve leaked out. shouldve been able to react better though. 

 

EDIT: i dont know why i felt the need to defend him there. he's always out of position otherwise. 

Edited 2 hours ago by Frostbite

[Ethan in Cleveland]

They all looked good.

Hairston moved well. Only one play did it seem like he didnt know what to do and I think Bishop got him lined up.

Hoecht plays chippy at time. He was hitting the punt block guy down the field well after the whistle. Already got one unsportsmanlike penalty at the end of the game. He's going to need to clean that up. Brings a lot of energy to that DE spot. I think the Lorax comparison fits well. 

Edited 2 hours ago by Ethan in Cleveland

[dcinmuncie]

10 minutes ago, Ethan in Cleveland said:

They all looked good.

Hairston moved well. Only one play did it seem like he didnt know what to do and I think Bishop got him lined up.

Hoecht plays chippy at time. He was hitting the punt block guy down the field well after the whistle. Already got one unsportsmanlike penalty at the end of the game. He's going to need to clean that up. Brings a lot of energy to that DE spot. I think the Lorax comparison fits well. 

Roid rage 

[Ralonzo]

1 hour ago, BearNorth said:

This Wande Owens on the PS intrigues me.  Yale grad, 5-10 210 - a bigger DB that could help in run support, explosive athletically, 43" vertical 11'3" broad jump 9.59 RAS.  Suspect having gone to Yale he probably gets schemes etc pretty well.

 

He didn't look good in his preseason reps. Then again JaMarcus Ingram was as bad as anyone I've ever seen as a UDFA rookie, so maybe there's upside.

1 hour ago, 947 said:

There was still a ton of soft zone that left guys wide open on short routes & crossers. A lot of that was made irrelevant by the pass rush or Dalton bobbling snaps, but Tetairoa had 99 yards on mostly easy catches & could've had much more with even average QB play.

 I was questioning the wisdom of not having a specific matchup on their one legitimate threat. I saw Bishop on him, Taron, Cam Lewis... linebackers... come on.

[Sgt. Ski]

2 hours ago, Paup 1995MVP said:

I have been saying this since the first preseason game watching Hancock.  The kid looks like an NFL safety.  He can move, read plays and tackle.  He started for the Buckeyes last year on their Nat Championship team.  That means you have talent!!  Of course talent has to be developed at the pro level.  But you have a lot to work with there.  Just like Dione Walker.  The kid just needs to play.  Him and Bishop will hopefully turn into a strong duo on the back end.  With Poyer doing some mentoring.  I like that group.  And with Hairston getting some reps at CB, things are looking up in the secondary.  Not sure what is going on with Benford.  But he looks a step slow this year.  Not horrible.  Just not playing nearly as aggressive as the past few years.

 

But the real problem and liability in the secondary is Taron Johnson.  He just can not keep up anymore.  Teams are going to target him going forward.  Thats what defensive coaches do.  They target the weak link.  I think our only other option at nickel would be Cam Lewis.  Although I don't know if he is any better in coverage.  He is a pretty solid tackler though.  Anyone else has some thoughts on that?  Do we have someone on the PS that can play nickel?

 

And then there is McDermott staying too loyal to "his guys".

 

But a great defensive effort overall yesterday.  Great to see.  

i guess you are not really watching Taron. still making playes and tackles.

[finn]

3 hours ago, Process said:

Hairston and Hancock bring athleticism we simply did not have in the secondary. They have the potential to completely transform this D.

 

 

Bishop with the bad read again. 

[wppete]

Huge hit by Hairston on the RB that knocked him out was a great thing to see. Hairston not scared to get physical is a great sign.