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Everything posted by Alphadawg7
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Carruci: Bills not pursuing Cam Newton
Alphadawg7 replied to YoloinOhio's topic in The Stadium Wall Archives
Greg Olsen was very close to him. My 2 cents: Some of you are being overly critical of Cam and still leaning on the bias of his persona coming out of college. This guy is no where near as bad of a teammate as some are painting him to be. Its more than OK to not want to sign Cam, but people are going way over the top to smear him to make that point. There is literally no interest from either party...Bills or Cam...for him to be a member of the team. Cam, rightfully so, is going to want to be in a place where he can at least compete to start. Bills are 100% behind Josh and would not open up the competition, nor do they want to bring anyone in that might send the wrong signal and inadvertently create a question of their overall confidence in Josh. At the end of the day, I fully agree Cam has no place on this team right now. But at the same time, the reasons many are giving are being way over exaggerated IMO and Cam would have been a good addition to this team IMO if we did not already have Josh Allen. Personally, I am stunned he is not a Chicago Bear. Pace is doing a terrible job up there, and trading draft assets for a scrub in Foles to battle with another scrub in Trubisky was foolish. They should sign Cam and they would immediately be a better team and could contend for the division between the defense and the offense having more life to it under Newton. I think he ends up being a Redskin, Giant, Steeler, Bronco, or Raider soon enough. Steelers could use the insurance given the talented roster, the terrible backups, and Big Bens injury potential. They would remain a contender with Newton if Big Ben went down. Broncos and Giants could use the veteran around their young QB's. Elway wants to contend this year, if Lock isnt getting the job done by mid season, he could have someone like Cam that could help turn things around. Redskins are obvious why. Raiders...well Gruden loves offense, and I am not sure he loves Carr. They have been reloading pretty nicely and could be a surprise team this year if Carr isn't holding them back. And it wouldn't surprise me if let Carr and Cam open batter for QB1 before the season started either, again because I am not convinced they are committed to Carr and they want to start winning this year. -
What AJ Espensa peers say about facing him...
Alphadawg7 replied to Alphadawg7's topic in The Stadium Wall Archives
I agree totally with this...and TBH, speed rushers are more often less complete EDGE players as the are far too often all finesse. They can struggle with containing the edge in stopping the run or are easily neutralized if they dont get past their blocker. Im not saying a dominate speed rusher cant be great, but too much emphasis is put on the sack total. I mean at the end of the day, if a guy gets 14 sacks in a season, thats not even 1 a game. And almost certainly didnt even likely get one in 14 different games, as they more thank likely had one or more multi-sack games too. People way over value those 14 total plays on a season. For me, the question is what he is doing the rest of the snaps and games? I care more about that than double digit sack totals. You show me a guy with 8 sacks but also is good tackler and good against the run...and you show me a finesse guy who gets 12-14 sacks but isnt strong in run stopping or tackling...and I would take that 8 sack guy every single time who is a more complete player and will make a bigger and more consistent impact on that defense. And thats not to say AJE cant get more than 8 sacks...but people are hung up on that number because that moron Booger said it and someone else on draft coverage said he would probably be an 8-10 sack guy. Especially on this defense, once he starts each week I think he potential is not limited in the kind of impact he could make. -
What AJ Espensa peers say about facing him...
Alphadawg7 replied to Alphadawg7's topic in The Stadium Wall Archives
No problem I wouldn't normally start a thread about a topic already going, but just felt this was a different take and was buried in that beast of a thread and was worthy of its own dialogue. Glad you liked it too! Comments from his peers who had to go up against him, especially guys so highly regarded in their own right, are IMO a good source of quality and insightful analysis on him. Obviously scouts were high on him too as many had him going round 1 and Beane had a first round grade on him too he said. But as usual, there were quite a few people here upset over this pick, which was quite surprising given the combo of the need and great value at where we got him. -
What AJ Espensa peers say about facing him...
Alphadawg7 replied to Alphadawg7's topic in The Stadium Wall Archives
Well until FA breaks them up HA. If all 3 of those guys and another speed guy all become studs, we wont be able to afford to keep all 4 ha -
What AJ Espensa peers say about facing him...
Alphadawg7 replied to Alphadawg7's topic in The Stadium Wall Archives
I am not worried about his strength, and not sure why you say he is a strong dude but wont be in the NFL. I mean the guys talking about his elite strength are all now in the NFL. Its not like once you get to the NFL people become 10 times stronger. If he was that strong against NFL level players, including first round picks, then he will be plenty strong in the NFL too. I think the bigger question mark will be can he develop enough moves and be athletic enough to be a consistent disruptor to go along with his strength. If he has to rely only on his strength, he can be neutralized much easier. I really do think he is going to be a good to great starter for the Bills personally. But thats just an opinion, so we will see what he can do on the field soon enough. -
What AJ Espensa peers say about facing him...
Alphadawg7 replied to Alphadawg7's topic in The Stadium Wall Archives
Dude that is a really good comparison IMO, spot on -
Josh Allen Running Style Versus Cam Newton
Alphadawg7 replied to TroutDog's topic in The Stadium Wall Archives
Two things: 1. The amount of joy I had watching this is off the charts. I just love watching Allen play, I cant remember a player I enjoyed watching and rooting for as much as I do for this kid. 2. Please please please...while working on the deep ball...also work on holding onto the football better. He was better down the stretch, but just needs to protect the ball more on runs. -
What AJ Espensa peers say about facing him...
Alphadawg7 posted a topic in The Stadium Wall Archives
I already posted this in the AJ draft pick thread, but that thing is a beast and I think this deserves more eye balls as its quite telling. Its their opinion on AJ Espensa, and its quite impressive and high praise from some pretty good college players. FROM HIS PEERS: That's what we saw. But what we heard during interviews with the offensive players who faced him was a very different story. Michigan left tackle Jon Runyan, who provides deeply technical insights into his opponents, said Epenesa was tied with Ohio State's Chase Young as the two toughest defenders he ever faced. "A.J. exploits the weakness of what I play," Runyan said. "I'm a vertical setter, and the weakness of a vertical set is what A.J. loves to do: bull rush with a one-armed stab. He's able to catch me leaning a lot, catch me off guard. Early in the [2019 Michigan vs. Iowa] game, the first three or four drives, I wasn't really keying on his shoulders. He started running downhill, and I wasn't able to get my hips down and react to the bull rush." Purdue tight end Brycen Hopkins also singled out Epenesa as one of the toughest defenders he ever faced, adding a most unusual compliment to his scouting report: "I thought he was a great player. He was physical, but at the same time he's a cool guy. He wasn't a jerk out there. ... So I thought he was a great player, great guy. He came off the ball with an explosive power." And then there's teammate Tristan Wirfs, one of the stars of Friday night's offensive line workouts. Wirfs didn't hesitate to name Epenesa as the toughest defender he ever faced. Sure, he may be a teensy bit biased, but players rarely single out teammates when answering "toughest opponent" questions. "We had some battles," Wirfs said. "When I met with the Broncos, they said a scout was there [at Iowa practice] and I didn't lose to A.J. So I said, 'I'm glad you were there on that day.'" "It goes back and forth, me and him," Wirfs added. "He was one of my best friends on the team. We will try to help each other get better. If he sees something that he beat me on, he'll tell me what he saw. And when I beat him, I tell him what I saw." So Epenesa earned glowing endorsements from a first-round-caliber teammate and two of the guys who had to block him, and those were just the remarks we heard while making the interview rounds. If you don't believe Runyan, Hopkins and Wirfs, there's also the production across two seasons against major competition. And also there's the tape, which shows opponents redesigning their offenses to corral him. At one point against Minnesota, for example, Epenesa was chipped by the tight end before a route, and then chipped by a running back before a route, with the left tackle backing up to engage Epenesa after he worked his way through that whole bag of chips. (It's at the 2:09 mark on this cutup.)- 42 replies
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Opinions on a hypothetical trade
Alphadawg7 replied to offsides#76FredSmerlas's topic in The Stadium Wall Archives
This thread seems to be going well... LOL As expected, my answer is also NO. Brown is a gonna eat this year with Diggs drawing the top coverage now. I dont get it...Is AJ Green elite at playing WR on Madden? Because in the NFL he just doesn't play much given he is always hurt. -
Do we have the Deepest D-Line in the league?
Alphadawg7 replied to Dkollidas's topic in The Stadium Wall Archives
We have the deepest DL in the league IMO. And it could also prove to be the best DL in the league, but we need to see it on the field first. We still have still key questions answer to know if we can be one of the best, if not the best DL in the NFL next year. Is Harrison going to pick up where he left off before injury? He was quietly playing as our best DT when he got hurt. What does Addison and Hughes have left in the tank as they enter the later years of their respective careers. Can they keep up their level of play? What role does Espensa have as a rookie, and how will he perform? Does Ed Oliver take another step forward? All of these key questions will impact the overall ranking of or DL obviously, but I am quite optimistic on all the above questions. My offseason answers to the above are" Yes, I think Harrison comes back strong, always liked that pick and think we were just starting to see what kind of player he can be. I think at least for this season (assuming it happens), both Addison and Hughes will maintain a similar level of play, especially with our depth allowing a rotation to keep them fresh. AJE I think pretty obviously starts the season in a rotation with guys like Addison, Hughes, Jefferson and Murphy still ahead of him. I expect them to bring him a long similar to how they worked with Oliver last year where with hard work will earn a bigger role in that rotation as the season goes on. I am not convinced he will start at any point this year (barring injuries of course) because we are so deep at DE right now with 2 pretty good players ahead of him in Hughes and Addison. But I do see him getting increased reps in the rotation between his versatility and the age of the guys ahead of him. YES. I think Ed Oliver is going to have a break out year on this DL. So much talent around him and I think we see Oliver emerge as a beast. So if you ask me, I think we have a great shot at finishing the year as the best DL in football. Until these questions are officially answered, its just potential right now. But I do feel its quite fair to label us the deepest D Line in football. As someone else pointed out, our projected 2nd unit could literally be a starting unit on most teams and still be pretty good. -
Beane wasn’t exact on how many picks ahead it was. He just guessed 3 or 4 picks, so could be Muti. He just knew it wasn’t that far ahead of us. Also, saw some others think it was the 3rd. But Beane said he was real nervous about the Moss pick, was hoping he would last. I don’t think it was the third he was trying to trade up for an OL. He said the wait for Moss was more stressful than the wait for Espensa
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Doesn't matter where Sweeney was drafted, that information is completely irrelevant now. All that matters is what he is doing on the field, and last year he showed promise. So this idea that he cant succeed now because where he was drafted just has no value anymore. Knox and Sweeny both showed a lot of upside, especially Knox. They still have a veteran presence in Kroft who didn't really get to show what he might be able to add last year due to being derailed by an injury for most the season. And yeah, if he cant stay healthy then there isn't much value he adds. But here is the thing: This draft, the TE class was probably the weakest position in the class. What TE are they going to add that has more upside than Knox and Sweeney? No way one of the TE's were going to be BPA when AJ Espensa was on the board. We needed a RB more, and Moss was BPA on the board. So its easy to criticize not taking a TE, but the reality is there wasn't one to take nor were they the BPA when we picked. And once you got past round 3, there was nothing available that is a better prospect than our own two TE's. I dont think they have any intention on cutting Knox or Sweeney, and Kroft is here one more year. Thats 3 TE's right now...where does a late round TE fit in? Again, my original comment was about you saying its been neglected...signing and drafting 3 TE's last year alone says otherwise. And two of them showed upside last year. I have no doubt what so ever that if Knox doesn't take a big step forward this season and lock down the starting spot, that TE will be high on the priority list next offseason as Kroft will also be a FA.
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I get that, but all that matters is what this regime has done. Everything prior is irrelevant, and this regime has drafted and signed TEs. So just saying they haven’t been neglecting it
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I was gonna write a draft recap, but don’t really need to now as I would have said just about all the same things, although you know more about Davis than I did as I’ve only really seen highlights. The one spot I would be slightly different on, is AJ Espensa. I was a little bit higher on him than you. While I wanted a WR at 22, my second choice was Espensa. All of the top OL in this draft said he was the best and toughest defender they ever faced. He is a complete edge player IMO because he can get to the QB but he’s also a beast against the run. He may not be a guy who will challenge for league lead in sacks, but he’s a guy that will likely be in the 8 to 12 range each year but also have a lot more tackles than most edge guys and really be an impact on run defense. And for me, I would take a guy like that all day long over a finesse pass rusher who may get a few more sacks but offer little in run defense or tackling.
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No disrespect, but you can’t say the TE position has been neglected for years when just last year Bills drafted two of them, including trading up back into the 3rd to get one. Is it set? Yes and No. Yes being they have 2 young TEs that showed a lot of promise they are developing right now, but no as they are still only entering their 2nd year. So yeah, not a surprise they didn’t make a move for a TE. We have a vet in Kroft finally healthy to go along with 2 promising second year players, especially Knox. I’m sure they would have if something made sense, Beane is never afraid to add competition to the mix or make a move he feels makes us better. But this wasn’t a good draft for TEs at all, might be the worst position in this draft IMO. I could still possibly see Beane making a trade too for either Njoku (Browns signed Hopper and drafted TEs) or Howard (Gronk and Brate their) if the price is right. But at the same time, won’t surprise me at all if he doesn’t given they like Knox and Sweeney’s potential.
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Cal's Post Draft Grades (Mod edited) LAMP!!!!
Alphadawg7 replied to Cal's topic in The Stadium Wall Archives
I doubt any GM in the NFL would take Glennon right now over Fromm. Glennon is awful. You’re not helping your case here with stuff like this. Im not saying Fromm is gonna be great, I don’t really care to be honest. But Glennon is awful and there is reason Jake Fromm has a job right now and Glennon does not. -
Spot on in regard to this being a new era. It’s amazing what a great FO and coaching staff can do for a franchise in relatively short order. I honestly believe Beane to be one of the best GMs in the NFL. I would even argue he is at the very least top 3 and will have a case for the best GM in football if Bills make the SB or even AFCC game this year. Thinking about where this team was when they took over and where it is now is crazy. IMHO we are the third best team in the AFC right now before the players hit the field. KC obviously has the top spot until someone proves otherwise, and Baltimore has a narrow grasp on 2 from us, but we proved last year we can beat them as long as we don’t beat ourselves. And we are better goin hi to this year than when we last played them, so I think gap is close. There are some other tough teams potentially in the AFC like the Steelers for instance, but I think if anyone was to do an honest ranking it’s hard not to put the Bills at 3. Cant remember any year since the Super Bowl era where we had a legit claim before the season as a top 3 team. What I love most about the team Beane built is how close all the players are with each other, the types of players they built around, etc. This team just feels special and honestly can’t think of a better player suited to lead this team than Josh Allen, a better coach suited for this team than McD, or a better GM for this franchise than Beane.
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Rd 5, Pick 167: QB Jake Fromm, Georgia
Alphadawg7 replied to Hapless Bills Fan's topic in The Stadium Wall Archives
All good brother -
Backup quart back. Newton Winston Flacco
Alphadawg7 replied to Matt_In_NH's topic in The Stadium Wall Archives
Its unnecessary. -
Rd 5, Pick 167: QB Jake Fromm, Georgia
Alphadawg7 replied to Hapless Bills Fan's topic in The Stadium Wall Archives
Brady was the worst combine in history. Physical tools are nice, but they are not everything. Peyton, Brees, and Brady...3 of the GOATS, all are not physically gifted. NO, not saying he will be one of those guys, just saying its not everything. And in the 5th...the value was too good here. And more importantly, Barkley looked terrible last year, so a young prospect to bring some competition there for the backup is fine by me in the 5th. -
Rd 5, Pick 167: QB Jake Fromm, Georgia
Alphadawg7 replied to Hapless Bills Fan's topic in The Stadium Wall Archives
Did you watch Barkley play last year? How is this not easy to understand. Great value at this spot and now backup QB has competition. And if Fromm shows promise on the field, could potentially be traded later like NE has done many times since they had Brady.- 832 replies
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Backup quart back. Newton Winston Flacco
Alphadawg7 replied to Matt_In_NH's topic in The Stadium Wall Archives
At the risk of sounding redundant. No. -
Please, Please Please...Never mind
Alphadawg7 replied to Lurker's topic in The Stadium Wall Archives
Just my two cents... This isn't a good post. So he failed for not trading up for a RB with a big fumbling problem? He failed for not trading up for safeties despite having the best safety duo in the NFL already on our roster, one of which was just extended? He failed because he didn't trade up for a WR to be at the very best the 4th WR on our depth chart and after he already made a big trade to get Diggs? And he could have taken Dobbins, but saw too much value in AJ Espensa and still got an exciting RB prospect after.