Alphadawg7

I should clarify, it wasn't that I thought Frazier was the problem, I know he is a top DC in the NFL. But there were times his defensive play call style was frustratingly soft and it cost us. But I am loving what I am seeing from the defense as a whole, as I am sure we all are. But its more than just the scoreboard, its how this defense is playing on the field with a more aggressive style. And like we just agreed on, the performance and the new confidence they have in the DL is surely a big part of that turned up aggression. And yeah, I also agree we are likely going to see a different look and some adjustments Sunday though with the threat of all that speed and YAC ability lining up on the other side of the field coupled with the potential to be missing at least half, if not all, of our starting secondary for this game. I am just really hoping both Oliver and Phillips suit up, we are going to need to disrupt Tua and help our young secondary out.

When we lead the NFL in point differential and are scoring at will throwing the ball, I will never complain that we need to run the ball more. However, the weather is inevitably going to change. The playoffs are inevitably going to arrive. And the one constant is that being able to win in the trenches becomes crucial. And the reason for that is your team needs to both be able to stop the run and on the other side be able to effectively run the ball. Doesn't mean you have to be a run first team, just means history has shown us that being able to run the ball makes things easier come winter and the playoffs. Now...why I am not concerned. We are dominating in the trenches already. We have been able to run fairly easy when calling in rhythm running plays (not those funky tricky plays like he tried on 4th and 1 that was god awful play call choice). The new OL run blocking scheme looks much improved. Devin has shown he can be very good when given sufficient carries already last year, and that was before the better run blocking scheme. So I think when the time comes and we need to run the ball more (and that could even be this weekend with all the defensive injuries we have to try and hold the ball longer and limit Miami's time of possession), this team is well equipped to be able to get the job done. In the meantime, if we keep scoring at ease through the air I am just fine with that.

Yeah, also another good point. And honestly, I think ironically the more Edmunds thrives, the lower his chances to get another contract here are. With him and Oliver, something is going to have to give. And Oliver looked dominant against the Rams and fully expect him to have a big year. Not to mention, if Jordan Phillips keeps playing like this, I don't see how they don't do what they can to bring him back too given he is on a 1 year deal. Might even be something we see happen in season to be honest. Personally, if Phillips keeps playing like this, I would prioritize BOTH Oliver and Phillips over Edmunds. The game changes when you can dominate in the trenches, that will always be more valuable IMHO than any LB (exception for those rare LB's like LT, Lewis, etc). Dominating up front makes everyone's job easier on that field. So be interesting to see how this all unfolds, but I will never count Beane out, he has been a wizard at the cap and player retention. If he wants everyone back, he is the guy best suited to try and figure out a way to get it done.

This is a good post, and I think there is also one more layer to it, and IMHO its been evident on the field this year compared to years past. Frazier frustratingly used Edmunds more like a safety net or last line of defense out there than an aggressive MLB in the past. It was like Frazier didn't trust the front 4 to win in the trenches, so he played Edmunds deeper off the ball and relied on his range and athleticism to try and minimize the damage of losing up front. This is why I have been saying the last couple years, I think the things people hate most about Edmunds is more tied to how Frazier has used him. This year, its like they turned Edmunds loose and let him play more aggressive. He feels closer to the ball and all over the field. And I think that has everything to do with the revamped DL. The fact they are playing at a much higher level already helps the LB's do their job better, then you add in Frazier seems to trust the front 4 more and allowing Edmunds to play more closer to the action and be more of an aggressor or enforcer out of the MLB spot. One of the reasons I wanted Frazier to get a HC gig is because I was hoping to see what another DC would do with Edmunds and how he would use him. But so far, it seems we didn't need a new DC, we just needed a new DL for Frazier to seemingly turn Edmunds loose more. Its only been 2 weeks though, so we will see if that continues or not. I just hope Frazier doesn't start to fall back into the soft bend but don't break mentality. I love seeing this D be aggressive.

Dont get it twisted, I have been critical of him too. I just think its grossly exaggerated. And I def not taking it too seriously, simply responding to posters who commented at me with nonsense. Im not losing any sleep over it lol.

Criticism is fair of any player when its warranted, and Edmunds has had his share of fair criticism. But, the Edmunds hate has surpassed Whitner levels around here at times to where he would have a good game and the same people would yet again start another thread bashing him. Edmunds has made 2 pro bowls, 5th in the NFL in tackles since entering the league, the captain of a top ranked defense, constant praise from his teammates, staff, and peers...his play hasn't been so bad that 200 threads need to be started a season committed to trashing him. He has had things he needed to improve...no doubt. He hasn't been perfect...no doubt. But he also has not been a total train wreck like so many people here like to portray. And now Edmunds contract is a looming decision for this team, so how he plays this year is what it is really going to come down to. And even though I started this thread, I do NOT think he has automatically earned his next deal. Based on what the expected market is going to be for him, I think like most people, we need to see more from him and more consistent impact plays before he even becomes a consideration to resign (unless he was to take a team friendly deal that is more affordable than we expect). And even if he has a great season, still doesn't even mean we can afford to resign him with other deals also looming and a tight cap. But the only point of this thread was to point out his improved play so far this season, and something to keep an eye on. As a TSW whipping boy, he earned at least one thread that recognized that his good play on the field has been noticed.

Yeah, hard to say when he will be back, but it certainly sounds like he won't be out too long, assuming he misses any time. Its unfortunate timing with both the Fins and Chiefs up next, but all that matters is that he avoided serious injury. While it seems unlikely, I won't rule him out to playing this week yet.

I wasn’t shocked to be honest. I’ve been telling people Lions could be explosive this year all off season. I drafted St. Brown in all my leagues. I wanted Swift, but draft never fell for me in 3 leagues that made that happen, but got St. Brown in all 3. Side note…in one league I have Kupp, Diggs, and St. Brown who the trio through 3 games has outscored one whole fantasy team and is like within 20 points of 2 other whole fantasy teams hahaha. Let’s just say I’m comfortably in first place haha.

Neither are the people bashing Edmunds in this same thread…so… My comment was directed here at the people hijacking a thread to update on the Dane injury to use this as another excuse to bash Edmunds. Especially those who had been trying to bash Edmunds in the other thread about his strong play the first 2 games but found no one was hearing that nonsense. So they came here to hijack a thread on Dane's recovery to get their crack like fix on bashing Edmunds after 2 stellar games.

Bahahahaha that legit made me laugh out loud. Kudos, you win the internet today sir.

I agree...but I would amend it to say, "Not all stats tell the whole story, but people lie." Stats don't always lie, but can often mislead if full context is not known or understood. And people will take cherry picked stats without the context to form a false narrative that supports their viewpoint.

Who had "13 page thread missing being a loser" on your 2022 Bingo card?

Lol, you do realize PFF doesn't even have his stats added in from the second game right? It shows him with 10 tackles, he had 10 tackles in just the Rams game. So yeah, your list is wrong. Not to mention, its not really a 1-32 ranking, its some ranking (again off incomplete data) and then some smaller group rankings with tiers where they list the first few only in that alleged tier. But again, all off incorrect data. Poster asked you to list 35 guys better than him...you couldn't, found an inaccurate data list, didn't check it...then posted it. If you are going to claim X number are better than him, then you better be able cite every single person YOU are ranking ahead of him. Otherwise you're just BS'ing a bunch of nonsense.

LMAO...so starting one thread...literally one thread...pointing out the improved play by one of our main players is now somehow a crusade? The same thread where I literally said repeatedly its just 2 games, and he still has a lot to prove this season in showing consistency... Meanwhile, you are running around in multiple threads now taking exception to the fact someone acknowledge the improved play of someone you dislike. So maybe check your own agenda before you start throwing around the crusade accusations. I mean heaven forbid we discuss some positive things after 2 big wins on the message board of our favorite team. What was I thinking not just starting another bashing thread instead? Blasphemy and shame on me...

Well considering Bills are not going to be playing from behind often, and there will be more games where Josh likely leaves early with big leagues, I don't think Josh will lead the league in passing yards. So that's good news for us then I think the correlation is that guys who throw for that many yards are often not on the best overall teams and find themselves often throwing a lot playing from behind or masking poor defense. Look at Brees, he threw for 5000+ yards all those times and a lot of times they were a fringe playoff team or not even in the playoffs.

Here is what is funny about all of those... Tua - Only has that many yards because he threw 2 pic in the first half and was down 21 points and had to throw practically every play and got a couple long broken coverage freebies. Wentz - Same scenario, was down and had to keep throwing non stop Flacco - Same scenario, was down big and had to throw constantly and got over 100 yards extra because Nick Chubb didnt take a knee. Herbert - Legit passing yards, but took an extra quarter to get to one yard less than Josh Allen with less TD's. Allen got all his yards dominating teams, not playing from behind, and did it 7 quarters instead of 8. Plus Allen has even more rushing yards to go with that, and did this while missing one of his top weapons one of those games (so did Hebert too). If I was to make a top 5 list of people in MVP consideration after week 2, its Allen out in front, followed by Mahomes, Hebert, Lamar, and Diggs as the top 5 guys.

Not gonna lie, I legit forgot that was his real name. When I saw posters type that Van Roten is in the game, I literally thought they were mocking someone with a name that sounded similar. Then saw his jersey as he lined up at center, and was like, oh yeah, forgot that is his actual name

I don’t disagree with Oliver being higher priority at the moment and closer to getting that deal. Like I said, Oliver started turning the corner last year of improved play. But…he is not a lock for an extension based on what the expectation of what his price tag will be. He still will need to keep playing well and impacting the game this season if they are going to hang him a big bag this off-season. And I said I do expect that to happen, but he doesn’t have enough time established at that level to play to just default they will pay him big money. And another factor to not over look is how well Phillips and the other DTs are playing. So I think maybe you misunderstood or misread my point. Was never doubting Oliver, I fully believe he will keep this up. But if you think he has already 100% earned that contract regardless of how he plays this year, then I think that is jumping the gun. If he has meh season, then he will likely enter the last year of his deal just like Edmunds without an extension yet and see what he does the year after. But again, I have full confidence Oliver will have a great season personally and fully expect to extend Oliver this offseason.

I was hyping one drive, where he made three straight plays to force a 3 and out, I was barely in the shout box. And why does a player in his final year of his contract (who is in line for a significant deal) on a team with multiple personnel decisions looming have a lot to prove? Do you really not know the answer to that question? We don’t exactly have a ton of cap space, every contract we sign will have extra scrutiny from this point on. Oliver has a lot to prove too. Oliver isn’t a slam dunk give him the bag on his next contract either. We don’t have the cap space to just automatically re-up every player based on what their market value will be. And while Edmunds has been valuable here, had some success, made pro bowls, been the captain of the defense…he still had some areas he needed to improve on before we could even consider resigning him based on what the expected market range for him will be. Everyone knows that, whether they are positive or negative on him. No one is delusional on him and thinks he had nothing to prove. Oliver is in the same boat. The only difference with Oliver is he started showing improvement in areas he needed to improve on last year. But he still hasn’t for sure locked down his next contract here and his continued improvement will need to be seen this year as well. And his first game against Rams sure looked like he is headed that way. But again, he is going to have to have a good season if they are going to pay him what the market will likely be for him. And I think Oliver will do just that, but it still has to happen. Again…I find it interesting people felt the need to take exception to a thread giving praise to a player you deserved it for improving his play noticeably to start the season. Especially one who plays a significant role for this team. Oh, and as far as your 5 years comment…he broke out a long time ago, his detractors refuse to admit he isn’t as bad as they exaggerate him to be. Edmunds should have had several threads last year for example praising his play in a game, but instead his detractors posted more negative bias threads to continue their whipping boy agenda. So, this isn’t a player finally showing promise, he’s a multiple pro bowl player who is 5th in the NFL in tackles since entering the league who has been the captain of one of the top ranked defenses. Yes he had some areas of weakness he still needed to improve, but he was not minutely close to as bad as people portray here.

No offense, but what message board have you been on? The only endless threads on here have been the same posters starting practically weekly bashing threads, over exaggerating the negativity, and doing it even on the backs of games he’s played well. And did you even read my posts? Literally said repeatedly it’s just 2 games, he has a lot to prove over the season. No one is crowning him, but heaven forbid we acknowledge improved play of an important player on our favorite team that’s off to a hot start on a major Super Bowl run. I mean what was I thinking? It’s pretty mind blowing when posters here take exception with seeing someone improve, impact the team, and receive praise for that.

I can tell you without looking it up, there have been a substantial amount of successful onside kick recoveries that also result in a score compared to the number of times a team has ever fumbled a kneel down snap that resulted in a turnover and a change in the outcome of a game (which I am not even sure has ever happened in the history of the NFL). There is no reason to do the stat analysis on this one.

For clarification...If I am not mistaken, they needed a first down to kneel all the clock time off and couldn't just kneel down. Otherwise they wouldn't have even handed the ball off at all. BUT...he got that first down and should have just went down there, but instead got the next 2 yards for the TD foolishly.

It tells you that the criticism on him previously has been over the top, including starting threads to thrash after he and the defense had good games last year (which happened a lot). Someone had to break the cycle of people being negative for the sake of being negative. What if I flip that question around on you...What does it tell you that you have to come in to be negative despite seeing vast improvement in his play? Just sayin...

DITTO! Devin yards before contact rate is substantially better than Moss, and Devins yards after contact is better too. This false narrative that Moss is a better short yardage back is factually untrue, and like you, I cringe everytime I see him come in instead of Devin. Devin has better vision, runs with a low center of gravity and powerful legs. He finds creases and hits them fast. Moss just doesn't hit the hole fast enough and doesn't make anyone miss either. He gets his yards based on whether the OL wins up front giving him a wide open lane, or the play goes nowhere. Devin on the other hand can make people miss and find creases and running lanes when needed. So I am 100% with you on this. And honestly, I really like Gilliam, he is a tough player out there and valuable asset to the team beyond the box score. I think he is a better option over Moss on the down and shorts too. Not to mention, Devin or Allen.

Respect to every poster who came in here and acknowledged that they haven't been his biggest supporter previously, but that he has played well and deserving of praise for this season so far. That is all this thread was ever about...being objective and acknowledging he (so far) has upped his game this year despite what ever previous skepticism anyone may have had coming into the season on him as a player. Nothing he has done, or will do, changes what his previous 4 seasons were, so this thread has nothing to do with what anyones previous positive or negative opinion was. And the story isn't done, 2 games don't earn contracts unless your name is Rob Johnson. He has a lot to prove the rest of the season still, but just felt his play has elevated to the point it needed to be acknowledged.