Hapless Bills Fan

Murphy-bunting and Carlton Davis are their starters. Jamel Dean is their Nickle. I leave you to deplore the Buccaneers lack of aggressiveness at improving their #4 -6 CB depth. PS most teams improve at #4-6 depth by hoping 2nd year players continue to develop and bringing in a couple rookies they like

He played 2 drives on offense and some ST as well. If he's a "lock" it's at #5 or #6.

Saw 23 snaps (38%) from Drive 3 to the end of the game. Played in the slot. Split snaps there with Brandon Powell, who was 3 receptions on 4 targets for 14 yds. Gentry was 0 for 1. Can't tell you if that's 'cuz he wasn't getting open, or just wasn't getting targeted by Webb/Fromm

Erm...you do realize the Bills had probably only hoped-for 1 starter on the field on OL (Ford at RG)? Boettger started last year at LG but this year they've been pretty consistent giving Feliciano "1s" snaps ahead of Boettger. In contrast, the Lions appeared to lead off with their starters on both sides of the ball for the 1st two drives. How much domination do you expect from our 2nd or 3rd string guys on OL (I'm not persuaded Bates is the #2 center ahead of Feliciano)? Also, we're just not built to be a smash-mouth power gap OL. Even so, we gained 51 yds on the ground (initial run called back by holding on Hart included) on the first 2 drives. Assuming 8 drives per game, that's on point to gain >200 yds per game on the ground. What exactly do you want to see? So quick. Who are the depth corners for Tampa Bay and how good are they?

I think the Bills believed Dane Jackson and Siran Neal were further along than they showed last night

Yeah, after looking again and realizing he's a rookie, I'm sure he gets more time.

Oh, Now, That's Going Too Far. Then why are you in this thread? I'd like to nominate this entire thread:

Don't know, but his favorite food is Vanilla ice cream and his hobby is making Hemp bracelets. All in Bills Media Guide: https://bufbills.com/player-bios/bills_media_guide.pdf

Maybe...Kumerow was in the game on those 11 snaps of the first 2 drives because they wanted to look at his downfield RUN BLOCKING And since we ran for like 51 yds on those 2 drives (including a 15 yd run called back for a holding penalty on Hart).....maybe he Did His Job.

Good post. Just a guess but I'm thinking Jon Feliciano is the actual backup C and Bates is 3rd string. Since both Bates and Feliciano can play capably across the interior, and Bates can fill in at LT (he's not great, but in actual games he has played well enough to draw no notice) my guess is they might go with Brown as backup LT and Hart as backup RT (where he has looked OK, not good but capable) That's contrary to their stated preference to have a swing T who can play both sides, but if the question is "who is the backup RT?" I'm not sure Doyle is the answer quite yet. But hopefully he will step up, because as the Bills 5th round pick he probably makes the roster. Question: has Williams actually every played LT? Because as you correctly note, it's not a sure bet that a guy can play either side. You guys are gonna be disappointed when we cut Hart 0 times this week. Cue the "naughty pictures of Bobby Johnson" discussion.

Just a follow up here: Benenoch and Harrell did not play. They were late adds to the roster with Boettger and Dawkins on Covid list and may be a case of "FIFO" now that we've got both of the regulars back. Becker apparently did play, and got the same # of snaps as Quentin Morris. Nick McCloud was listed on the Bills early depth chart behind Rachad Wildgoose, and was playing opposite Wildgoose last night on the Lions 3 successive scoring drives. He's credited with a tackle on a run play. Since he's a rookie, my guess is he gets more time. Treyvon Hester got snaps starting on Drive 2 then all through the game, so even though he's listed at the back of the Bills depth chart with Eli Ankou, the Bills evidently wanted to get more of a look at him than Ankou, who came in only at the end. So maybe Ankou is more on the bubble. Personnel on every drive, offense and defense, here: https://theathletic.com/2769992/2021/08/14/bills-preseason-opener-eight-observations-as-tyler-bass-and-marquez-stevenson-help-buffalo-edge-the-lions/?source=emp_shared_article Question: Mike Love was listed as "Not Dressed/Injury" along with TE Bug Howard. Anyone know what the injury is?

He played for the Bungles and the G-men, both craptastic OL. If the question is "was he craptastic just because he had poor players to the side of him?" I would say the answer is established as "No". So some info on how the Bills are seeing roster cuts: From TBN article (I like their coverage) quoting McDermott: From Joe Buscaglia breaking down the DNP into 3 categories: I don't think the Bills are going to exclusively cut OLmen. But coupled with training camp reports, I think at least 2 of those guys are gonna go, maybe 3. From training camp/scrimmage reports I would guess Benenoch, Harrell, and Tuitele; Gauthier has been playing 3rd string C and Anderson was a draft pick which typically earns a guy more time.

I was more in response to someone upthread saying Oliver was "meh". I thought he played well.

https://theathletic.com/2769992/2021/08/14/bills-preseason-opener-eight-observations-as-tyler-bass-and-marquez-stevenson-help-buffalo-edge-the-lions/?source=emp_shared_article Comments on Basham and Rousseau: Joe gives a drive-by-drive breakdown of who played where which is too much to put up here, but worth the subscription $ if you get into knowing that stuff like I do. Basically on the first drives, the only starting OL or potential starting OL who played were Boettger and Ford. Starting with the 3rd drive Boettger was swapped out for Jamil Douglas, who we haven't heard a lot about - proving that might be a Good Thing where OLmen are concerned. Starting WR were Kumerow, Davis, and McKenzie, and that was It for them at WR. Considering only 2 passes were attempted during those drives, that answers the question "what happened to Kumerow". He only played 2 offensive series and on those series, there were 2 passes - one that McKenzie failed to bring in. On Defense: Buscaglia then breaks the DNP into 3 groups: Injured, Bona Fide Roster Locks, and "Bottom of the Roster": I doubt we part with a rookie this early, but the rest of the guys on the list like like prime Turk territory, though I doubt we cut 5 OLmen. All in all a great and informative article by Joe B, where I've just given some highlights. Go read it.

I expect sensing Oliver had something to do with that turtle decision. Plenty of QB we face who feel a hand and just go elsewhere unless other bodies are heading their way.

I wish there were a way to separate early and late snaps. LOL Webb must have really impressed him because he made the list twice. I think Mike Bell should be on that list. Before that game I had no idea we had a guy named Mike Bell on our roster. After that game, I was "let's see more"

I could be wrong but Powell being the only guy with significant KR/PR chops in the regular season I think they want to see more KR/PR from McKenzie in games before they turn him loose. Also could be wrong but we are so thin at TE I think they hang on to Howard until they see if Hollister can make it through a week of practice. Griffin by some reports has looked to be the better of our two rookie CBs so I think we hang onto him a while. Tuitele and Ankou are at positions with many bodies so I agree, they're candidates for the Turk

I would say Lenoir stated a case to stay around a bit longer. He didn't, but he's a draft pick so he and Hamlin get time.

As far as I know, Ford has not taken a single snap at tackle this training camp. Strictly guard, which, if they want him to contribute, is appropriate - Focus.

https://buffalonews.com/sports/bills/in-battle-of-first-round-picks-bills-defensive-end-greg-rousseau-gets-upper-hand/article_f3a701a8-fc99-11eb-86c6-6b5892d9b4a2.html Rousseau: If that's his sack I would say off hand a few others were involved. The guy with the biggest wrap-up would appear to be Ed Oliver.

Sooooo...... Credit where credit is due, great throw and catch by Fromm and Stevenson. That said, am I the only one who feels he needs to learn to telegraph the ball's arrival less - not turn his head so soon in order to maintain his best speed?

It isn't angry making, but many teams carry 4 QB through training camp, so that they can give the expanded rosters all the reps they need. TB has 4, KC has 4, WFT has 4 for three examples. It's not every team, but it's not uncommon either. So cutting the guy who already knows the system and is making the handoffs and throws might be a "cut nose to spite face" maneuver. I also think you should give the kid some slack. It's the first time he's taken the field in an NFL game, the OL in front of him was atrocious, and for all we know he was missing "easy throws" in part because the WR weren't running the routes quite right. He's basically the rawest of rookies at this point. We still have several weeks of training camp to go, so we're a long way from the active roster. This is just the first of the small cuts.

Ah...they have to be 5 different players Nice try but...

I think we really won't know until we see the regular season. Or maybe a different team - the Lions were 28th in rush yards given up last season, and are just hoping to be better

He did look comfortable running the offense. On the one hand, I don't see him hitting those shots to Stevenson and Lenoir that won us the game On the other hand, if he hits the bunnies, avoids the sacks, and moves the chains maybe he doesn't need to