Christian Benford Apology Thread

[Simon]

10 minutes ago, Coach Tuesday said:

I continue to think he hit his head in the opener and wasn't the same for weeks.

 

Multiple times.

He was attacking the LOS like it had kicked his dog and was repeatedly leading with his face over and over and over again.

I think he was second on the defense in tackles, just behind Oliver.

There were at least 2-3 of those tackles where he came in at full speed to take on a charging RB around the sticks and paid for it. Then he got up and went and did it again. And again.

There are folks who keep saying he's been coming on lately but has been bad since the beginning of the season; I think some of those OG's may have missed the opener.

[Jay_Fixit]

2 hours ago, Rigotz said:

Feels necessary.

 

The guy was unbelievable the past several years and we all crucified him when he got off to a slow start.

 

Dude is a stud. 16 coverage snaps against Jamar Chase, zero receptions.

 

Touchdowns and INTs in back to back games. Come on now!

"We all" definitely did not.

[RkFast]

2 hours ago, Rigotz said:

Feels necessary.

 

The guy was unbelievable the past several years and we all crucified him when he got off to a slow start.

 

Dude is a stud. 16 coverage snaps against Jamar Chase, zero receptions.

 

Touchdowns and INTs in back to back games. Come on now!

What are we apologizing for?  Was he not struggling earlier this year?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2 hours ago, Rigotz said:

Feels necessary.

 

The guy was unbelievable the past several years and we all crucified him when he got off to a slow start.

 

Dude is a stud. 16 coverage snaps against Jamar Chase, zero receptions.

 

Touchdowns and INTs in back to back games. Come on now!

[WhitewalkerInPhilly]

It's ok to say he started slow but honestly if there is a time to be rounding into form it's now.

[NewEra]

32 minutes ago, Mango said:

 

Meh, some people want to deal in absolutes.

 

I like Benford. He's a very good player for us. 

 

Criticizing your best players for playing bad when you need them to be your best players is fair game. Benford was very bad to start the season. That's not a hot take.

Criticizing a player is one thing.  Dude said that we shouldn’t have given him an extension. I asked him if he still feels that way

[WNYFAN1]

3 hours ago, Rigotz said:

Feels necessary.

 

The guy was unbelievable the past several years and we all crucified him when he got off to a slow start.

 

Dude is a stud. 16 coverage snaps against Jamar Chase, zero receptions.

 

Touchdowns and INTs in back to back games. Come on now!

Not apologizing when millionaire pros aren't playing well. Also happy to give props when they are.

[Mango]

11 minutes ago, NewEra said:

Criticizing a player is one thing.  Dude said that we shouldn’t have given him an extension. I asked him if he still feels that way

 

My B.

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

[RyanC883]

not sure the need to apologize.  He was not great at the beginning of the season.  Meanwhile, the last 2 weeks he has been on fire, including against Chase.  I wonder if he needs to blitz to get mentally "in" the game, like how JA seems to need to run the ball to get totally "in" the game.  

Edited 13 hours ago by RyanC883

[ngbills]

Had a rough start to the year. Now is playing better. It is what it is. No need to apologize. 

[Joe Mama]

The ultimate disrespect, one of the Cincy after game reports called him Kaiar Benford.

[RoyBatty is alive]

3 hours ago, Ethan in Cleveland said:

Why apologize? Don't.

Benford wasn’t playing great at the beginning of the year and now he has been playing better and making some amazing plays. He was never really playing poorly but he did give up more yards and catches than you would expect from your #1CB.

Nobody called him to be benched. Most on here never even really criticized his extension.

Bernard has been terrible. If he comes back and makes some plays in the playoffs doesn't erase how bad he was earlier in the year. 

Rousseau has been nonexistent all year. If he gets a strip sack in the playoffs it wont change the lack of plays he has made in the season so far.

And here is another one. I love Cook but his fumbles cost us one game and almost cost another. He is arguably the MVP on the team but he needs to hold onto the ball. 

 

 

What game did Cook's fumble cost us a game?  Miami, we were blown out , 1 fumble hardly cratered that game.

[Mark Vader]

4 hours ago, SageAgainstTheMachine said:

The most irrational fans crucified him.  Most of us knew all along he’s our best defensive player.

These are the same fans that were ragging on Cole Bishop the whole time.

[Rigotz]

8 hours ago, Ethan in Cleveland said:

Why apologize? Don't.

Benford wasn’t playing great at the beginning of the year and now he has been playing better and making some amazing plays. He was never really playing poorly but he did give up more yards and catches than you would expect from your #1CB.

Nobody called him to be benched. Most on here never even really criticized his extension.

Bernard has been terrible. If he comes back and makes some plays in the playoffs doesn't erase how bad he was earlier in the year. 

Rousseau has been nonexistent all year. If he gets a strip sack in the playoffs it wont change the lack of plays he has made in the season so far.

And here is another one. I love Cook but his fumbles cost us one game and almost cost another. He is arguably the MVP on the team but he needs to hold onto the ball. 

 

 

 

Hey man .... this you?

 

 

[Mark Vader]

13 hours ago, RkFast said:

What are we apologizing for?  Was he not struggling earlier this year?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, he was struggling, but you know how melodramatic the people on this board are.

 

There was very little constructive criticism, and plenty of bogus takes. 

[Chandler#81]

16 hours ago, Goin Breakdown said:

Never was down on him. Dealing with injuries. I knew he'd be back to form, but he's even better than expected. Glad we have him back there. 

Ditto. He started as a rookie when we spent our 1st Round pick on a CB. ‘nuff said. This thread ISN’T necessary.

[Dan Darragh]

16 hours ago, NewEra said:

@SoonerBillsFan so how’s that Benford extension looking now?

Links, please!

[GunnerBill]

14 hours ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

There isn't any reason for anyone to "apologize".    Benford was bad thru 11 games.   The eyeball test showed his coverage wasn't good, the physicality wasn't there and statistically he had an abysmal 110-115 passer rating when targeted.   The argument that he wasn't bad was just that he hadn't given up a lot of yards in recent weeks.......but the Bills haven't given up yards in the air all season.   They were #1 in the NFL in that regard but we all know they are not the most dominant coverage unit by any stretch.

 

I suspected Benford rung his bell again very early in the season and was playing tentatively.   The Benford criticism is different that the Rousseau criticism because the tape shows Rousseau doing his job well.  The tape wasn't kind to Benford (or Bernard).   Hopefully Shaq Thompson manages to stay healthy for at least a couple more weeks so Bernard can be healthy when he returns to the lineup.   And then maybe he starts making plays again too.

 

I will say though.......one of the more frustrating defensive plays of the game involved Benford and took place after the Bills called that defensive timeout with the Bengals at 3rd and 4.   The Bengals split the back out wide and Benford came off of Jamar Chase and took a couple strides out wider to cover the back and Cam Lewis dropped down on Chase.  That lead to an easy pitch and catch conversion to Chase.   And it wasn't a bang-bang switch.......it was a failure in slo-mo.  Benford has to identify what they are doing there and not leave the All Pro for Lewis to cover.

 

It isn't true he was bad for 11 games. He has played 12 games this year was very bad for the first 6 but since the bye Benford has been playing well. It is only the last two weeks I think you can say he has got back to the sort of level he was playing at last year where he was one of the best half dozen outside corners in football. But he has played well his last 6 games. 

 

I don't know what the reason was for the slow start, and those summising it is linked the head injuries are not being unfair. 

 

I agree with you on Rousseau btw. I think he has had a good year. The issue with Rousseau is the expectations a lot of people have of the type of player he will be have never really stacked up with the reality. And then there is a fair question about where his contract slots him in when you look at defensive ends across the league... he is probably paid like a player that he isn't quite in reality too. But in terms of him playing his position, being assignment sound and actually causing more disruption than probably shows up on the stat sheet I think it is his most consistent season as a pro. He has played better this year than when he got 8 sacks last year. Sometimes that is just how it goes.