IndyMark

Nor do you my friend, nor do you. Go Bills!

The only issue with your observation is that it has not been the case for most of the games this year, injuries notwithstanding. I want Ed to dominate and shine, but it does not happen enough and when viewing his whole body of work, he has as many and likely more "off" games then games where he had notable impact. Oliver provided almost zero disruption or impact during the most recent dolphins game, among others this year. The only time he truly dominated was against second tier, if not third string, players - Detroit game. Which is all well and good, but he needs to disrupt consistently and against top tier OL's. If he shows up tonight, great! I cheer him on, like all Bills. He simply has not been consistent enough nor disruptive enough in his career to date. Go Bills!

I am not sure anyone is stating that we are looking for astronomical sack numbers from Ed, or any DT. However, TFL's should be a bigger thing for him, as should just tackles. In a similar vein, why do people think "pressures" are a thing? I believe some "pressures" are probably truly missed sacks - particularly in Ed's case; I would like to see the definitions of those as it is not uncommon for Ed to whiff on a sack where our other DL actually make it. Again, I think the truth about Ed is in the middle of those of thus that think he is severely underperforming and those of us whom think he is a stud. Ed was absolutely absent in the Miami game, among others. Yet, he has shined (?) in a few games. Bottom line Ed is average.

Yep; I got sidetracked as well. Back to the point of the thread........to me, it is 100% goofy to label him a bust or not at this point in time. It is about 2 years to early to even assess the 2021 draft class, contrary to the "experts" on here. Does he need to develop, evolve, and start to have impact in a more consistent manner? Absolutely. But as a second round pick in his 2nd season, he is the least of our concerns. Let's see what year 3 holds for Boogie.

That is intriguing. Yet, I simply cannot imagine that being a common thought, at least for those that watch each Bills game. In retrospect we passed on 2 DL studs to land Oliver and, yes, hindsight is 20/20. So, I truly hope he lives up to his billing, but his body of work just does not lend itself to that thinking. I wonder how many more seasons (or how much money we spend) in crossing our fingers that he evolves into a disruptive force? I would take that in a millisecond; it would be great if 31 teams would take that and I would then target those top 10 drafting teams next year and put Ed out there. However, likely it would be, maybe 5-6 teams considering and likely only 1-2 whom would literally pull the trigger on that trade; if that.

Top 25%? I have to think you meant Top 25 and at that, that would be a huge stretch. Top 25% would mean Oliver, at best, would be (depending on schemes which admittedly I have no sense of the league wide dominant formats) in the top 12? And at worst be in the top 16? No. Way. Here is why: Aaron Donald, Cameron Heyward, Chris Jones, DeForest Buckner, Vita Vea, Jonathan Allen, Jeffery Simmons, Leonard Williams, D.J. Reader, Christian Wilkins, Fletcher Cox, Akiem Hicks, Dalvin Tomlinson, Quinnen Williams, Zach Sieler, Christian Barmore......and that is just a quick review. I do not follow teams super closely, so I am sure I am missing some gems in there, yet the point remains does any true football fan look at the above list and go "Yes, I would take Oliver over him?". I cannot imagine a football world where that is the case. Ed is likely barely top 30, maybe top 32. He is an average DT, not horrible not bad just average. I feel there is some hometown bias in appraising his production. Sure, he makes impact plays at times, but he is also completely absent and blown off the ball more often than not. The most recent Miami game is a perfect illustration of his absence; he was run at and over during the game. Opposing offenses spend zero amount of time accounting for him in a blocking scheme. To be clear, he is a Bill and I cheer for him like I do all Bills and he seems like a good dude who tries, but we need considerably more from that position. People argued last year he needs a true 1 tech next to him for him to shine. Ok, see DaQuan Jones. That box is checked and while he has made a step forward this year, it is a modest step. He needs too many things around him to be ideal for him to shine and that in and of itself equates to him being average. Go Bills!

I crushed 20 wings once again, the night before. What is somewhat flummoxing, however, is that apparently there is no additional protective effect of eating wings the day of as I did not eat wings, rather, I enjoyed some ham. Yet, the Bills still won. I guess I can give myself some grace with game day meals. I also have attended 2 of their last 5 games so clearly that is tangential to them winning as well. Keeping it simple and staying with wings the night before. PS- What an awesome ride we are on.....and I think most of us can agree that while we may not be winning totally "cleanly" (whatever that means) it is hard to argue with the results. All 3 phases seem to be producing when it counts, and the scary thing is that we have not truly hit our stride yet.

Yes, overlooking DaQuan Jones, Greg Rousseau, and Shaq Lawson for Jordan Phillips as the best run stopper on our DL is a hot take. Jordan Phillips is battling Tim Settle and Ed Oliver for 4th best.

While I will admit, I may be too harsh stating Oliver is below average there is no way anyone whom watches football would come away stating that Oliver is a stud. There are too many points of evidence that refute that......Oliver is a very average player; he has as many "stud" games as he does "dud" games. And the games in between are "meh". Again, seems like a good guy, a guy who looks like he tries, but ex-Bill Justin Zimmer outplayed Oliver regularly and they do play the same position.

Maybe I am missing something, but Gilliam and Oliver do not play the same position. There is not a universe where any one sole would think Oliver is > Chris Jones, Kanas City Chiefs*, Quinnen Williams, New York Jets*, Jeffery Simmons, Tennessee Titans is there? That is literally what you typed but I am confident not what you meant. Oliver is quite fortunate to be considered a 4th - that is generous. He is not sniffing pro-bowl play. Was almost completely absent last game. Again seems like a good dude, but he is a pretty average to below average player.

Late to the party here, sorry. Yet, a quick check-in on this awesome prompt. So in the spirit of a growth mindset, not only did I crush wings the night before and day of the game (so grateful the game was at 8:15pm), but I went to the game. Yep, drove from the midwest to WNY and soaked in all that is good with WNY. This stated here are a few quick random thoughts: (1) I had Diggs' hot sauce, actually not bad. I have had worse. Simply not as bad as some have said it. (2) BarBils wings are on another level; sure I can appreciate the differing views of others on this topic, but I have had wings in a lot of states at a lot of places and for me and my palate BarBils is in the top 2 of wings places. (3) Relatedly, Legend Larry's in Sheboygan, WI is still my all-time favorite. Trust me, those of you that happen to find yourself in east central WI, go there. (4) I am still a bit curious how "Bills fans" (yes, intentional quotes) think it is (a) funny (b) appropriate or (c) rebellious to throw snowballs on the field when we are on Offense in the red zone. Really? (5) Similarly, the cheering when we were on offense in our redzone (more around the 5-10 yd line) is equally baffling to me. Me thinks some "fans" are not really fans or not that smart or some combo of the two. Disclaimer, yes clearly a Phins fan or two threw snow balls, yep got it. But I was there and can state with some degree of certainty the vast majority of snowball throwers were Bills fans. (6) Still not a big fan of fighting in the stands. Saw a hugely drunk Bills "fan" try to provoke a very polite Phins fan, security was called and it ended in Bills fans (decent) defending the Phins fan and then fighting with another Bills fan. So, Bills fan on Bills fan over a Phins fan. Christ we are a dumb bunch sometimes. NOTE as someone who goes to away games to support the Bills, I absolutely hate that we treat other fans poorly. Hate it. If you ever go to an away game you know how stupid it is to treat visitors poorly. You know the whole "shoe is on the other foot" fable. I have been to SD, HOU, IND, Green Bay, Chicago, and STL and feel some Bills fans could learn a thing or two from opposing teams fans. (7) On a positive note, watching fans toss the snow upward after a huge play (so, a TD) was an AWESOME sight to behold....that is Bills fans at their best. (8) Generally speaking Bills fans are awesome and the tailgating is strong and it is always heart warming to be welcomed to a tailgate by complete strangers when they see our license plate from the midwest.....though, I was in full Bills attire and still got "You a Bills fan?" when learning I came from the Midwest......slightly puzzling, but I attribute that to liquor. And yes, as I type that I should attribute much of the above to liquor. In sum, still doing my part, growing by the week, and have plans to keep eating wings and attending games until this awesome ride ends!

^^^ This. This is what I scroll for each game day. All is right with the Bills vibe today.

Agreed. Milano laid the hardest hit on White all game, and it is not even close. Sure other Bills hit him, but no one folded him in 1/2.

Sorry, my friend but that is not how this works. You need to soldier up, take one for the team, and repeat what you did. Trust me, I get your hesitation. I have crushed 20 wings literally about 11 times over the last 22 or so days to send some positive mojo to our beloved Bills and preserve a win streak. I actually am not (yet) repulsed by wings so I plan on staying strong here. Give it a day, you got this. You can do it. You need to do it. We are in this together. (Any other clumsy idioms I can offer here?).

I completed another daily double, folks. Wings on Saturday night and Wings on Sunday pre-game. I had a bad feeling about the game so I doubled down and well, you know the result. 2 different places, 2 different sauces so it is like a new experience each time. Again, no need to thank me. Just doing my part.

Curiously, Romo nailed a call or three about what the Bills were about to do on offense. In that sense, he still prognosticates. I find him funny and easy to listen to; pairs well with Nance. To each their own. Admittedly, I am not bothered by any announcers, per se. I am so invested in the game flow that I do not focus on them, they are complimentary to the action.

Ha Ha; I thought the exact thing when I started playing that clip. There is a considerable difference in his frame from last year to this, and that likely explains why he is winning at the line of scrimmage so often, he is elusive, powerful, and quick - basically he is turning into a beast. Thankfully. He, by far, is the mvp of our DL and it really is not even close. Lots of good support along the DL, but he is the premier player.

AJ right?

Glad to see the particular DL personnel on the last two drives, gotta have the consistent presence and play makers on the field at that point. AJ, DaQuan, Boogie, and Rosseau....what a great young core. Plus, Settle Jr. played solid. Those are 4-5 solid players, just need to bring in a few more.

I wonder if Oliver is injured, when the game is on the line he was not on the field. Interesting. Very very interesting.

If this does not motivate Beane to invest in the OL, then sadly nothing will.

Yes, sadly I much prefer 3rd and 4 vs 3rd and 13 at this point with Frazier's scheme.

Rosseau teaching Oliver how to tackle. Hope. Ed. Learns. That is his signature move.

It is the "no one is making a play" script.

Sticking with Hines; both from ST and out of the backfield. I have to think either a PR for a TD or TD from a screen pass are in his future.