GunnerBill

Would like to see Kyle throw a few passes this drive.

No. Bernard isn't. Dodson is.

God Tasker is rough "Steichen might appeal this" What?

Starters are out on D except Dodson. EDIT: and Milano.

Elam in for Dane 2nd series. They are still in a battle.

Suspect that was planned.

Yea he got in the way... which was enough. Blocking technique needs some work tho.

He looks a process guy. Yep. Seen what I need to see. Sit down kid.

Okay things to take so far on O: - already in some 12 personnel; - O'Torrence beasting in the run game getting the start at RG; - Sherfield is gonna be loved by this staff.

Sherfield an excellent block in the backfield.

Run game looks good.

Cyrus getting the start at RG

Tasker is awful

Classic rookie INT.

Cheers guys. Has kicked in now.

Has it started yet? The new international gamepass is just running a hype vid on repeat.

Certainly if they are only going to use him situationally. I think you have to get him out there more often as your starter and that doesn't mean you never use him in a zone look but you just tweak what you normally ask of that role towards his skillset more and you do use him less in the soft zone that they have tended to use for their CB2 to cover up that lack of traits that Levi and to a lesser extent Dane have.

Yes my analogy is exactly that. I have said multiple times on Kincaid I am not displeased with the outcome. What I am making is a wider strategic process point. You can have the wrong process and get the right outcome. You can have perfect process and still miss. But I do feel like Beane as the Bills have got into true contender mode has become a bit short term tactical in his draft process. Sometimes he has still got really good players as a result. But long term personally I'd prefer them to be a bit more strategic. Because there will always be a guy every year when you are drafting where the Bills do who in isolation you can justify to yourself jumping up for.

Yep. And he IS injury prone (people here love to describe as injury prone people who have had one or two big injuries which isn't what it means). Armstead in 11 years has NEVER played a full season and has played fewer than 14 games (so at least 3 missed) on SEVEN occasions.

How has a threat about MLB competition descended into yet another re-run of 13 seconds? Yet more proof that some people just can't get past that moment and it will forever colour everything else this regime does for them.

See my point on Elam in the trad candidates thread but I agree. They knew what they were drafting - Beane said as much right after the pick - and yet they are reluctant to put him on the field because he isn't something other than the thing they drafted. Bizarre. Either they made a poor decision OR they need to get him on the field and tweak the defense to accentuate what he can do and not what he can't.

With Josh it is more about rhythm to me. And when he is taking what the D gives him, taking the underneath throws, making completions and moving the chains his confidence is there and he becomes unstoppable to all ranges of the field and there is in those moments genuinely not a throw on the field that is beyond him. When he / they (cos it is on play calling and execution of those around him too) get locked into throwing deep all the time he doesn't stack those completions and build the same rhythm and that is when the offense often looks disjointed and inconsistent and they end up needing to use Allen's legs more to move the chains. They normally still put up points. But he is at his best when they get him into that rhythm early with the intermediate stuff and then start to attack deep.

This was better than my explanation. It is too early on a Saturday morning for me to sound this smart 😄

The thing they don't like or trust is his transitions in zone. I said it before we drafted him that it was my concern with him for our scheme. Beane said it in the post pick presser and it is still the thing that I think they don't trust. That is much more the factor than the run support tackling IMO. And it is the thing that showed up on the field. He gets too much depth, he looks a bit mechancial in transitoning from mirroring to closing, he is fast as a long strider (which helps him in man) but he doesn't have that quick twitch that for instance Tre at his best has. I think it means they just trust Jackson to execute the core techniques in their defense better on a down by down basis. To me the answer is they need to get Elam on the field, worry far less about what he can't do, focus lots more on what he can do and use that skillset to the full. Because there are fewer corners in football who can do the things Kaiir can do. There are plenty more who can play good, fundamentally solid zone defense. If that means building a bit more man into what they ask of Kaiir or a bit more press at the line, or even using him inside in man against big slots and tight ends on occasion then do it. The kid had two very strong outings against Tyreek Hill as a rookie. And we are worried what that he might give up a few too many yards in zone coverage to Kendrick Bourne?

Okay so my definition of strategic is it is a plan to achieve long term goals. So in the context of NFL roster building that means ensuring you as a GM keep the team well stocked with young talent at the premium positions - QB, WR, EDGE, CB, LT. Tactical in this context is individual moves to get you there so to me that encompasses both the fixation on a year by year basis on certain spots and the moving around the draft board to secure guys at those spots. When you go "we must have a tackle now for this coming year" you can justify trading up in round 2 for Cody Ford; you can justify trading up for "your last first round grade" whether it is Kaiir Elam or Dalton Kincaid; you can justify Boogie Basham because "edge is a need." And when you isolate each of those decisions in turn you can justify them as tactically the right move. But using the draft as a year year shopping list in that way means you are always chasing your own roster construction and step back and look at the results of the Bills drafting in the second half of Beane's reign when I think this has been more pronounced and they are not as strong as the results in the first half. They aren't disastrous by any meana and nor would I expect them to be because as I say I think the majority of the decisions are in isolation justifiable. But I fear a bit we are in chase our tail mode. One of these years (fingers crossed it isn't this one) Dion Dawkins is going to get to the point where his relative lack of conditioning catches up with him, his feet slow down and he becomes a less reliable LT than he has been. At that point the Bills will have an urgent need at left tackle. And I wonder if miraculously at that stage the last first round grade on their board with a small trade up from mid to late 20s to early 20s will snag them a tackle?