Rochesterfan

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwj-m-XZqcD0AhX2QzABHe6GD5AQFnoECAIQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fthecommutesports.com%2F2020%2F10%2F27%2Fnfl-starting-field-position%2F&usg=AOvVaw1BOEs8WNFlTbcAOnIuT1x_ There is room for you both to be right. This study from last year suggests the Bills are one of the best teams at returns of both Kickoffs and Punts and this years data fall right in line as one again they are near the top in both kick returns yards average and punt return yard average. They suggest the Bills should be returning every kick when given a chance, but that was with Roberts when he was safe. There is also truth in that both Stevenson and McKenzie have shown difficulty with returns and taking the safe start at the 25 on kickoffs would actually be best. The difference is minor, but early in the season the energy from a big kick got the Bills some early momentum and at times later the mistakes have worked to kill momentum- so it is a mixed bag. What I find interesting is Stevenson to me seems very comfortable with Kick-off return duties, but less comfortable with punt returns (although explosive- he seems much less comfortable making the catch). McKenzie is the opposite- he seems much more comfortable in the punt return role, but seems very uncomfortable fielding kick-offs. A combination would be best, but you cannot justify the needed position. So at this very moment - I have no issue with the deciding to return a kickoff or not - the average difference is not worthy of the discussion. The pluses and minuses of touchbacks versus returns has played out in multiple games - some good - some bad. Just let it go - either way - it is what it is and plays out.

I totally agree - the Bills have been real good at stopping teams short of the 25 with the high, short kickoffs. McKenzie - I have mixed feelings. He has had some real nice kickoff returns at times, but he has struggled with a consistent approach. He has also put a few balls on the ground. Punt returns - I thought he looked more comfortable, but even there he struggles to just get to the ball on each kick. I agree Stevenson does not look really any better - I am not sure what the true benefits of him over McKenzie would be. He may be here longer, but I don’t see kick returner as a long term role for Stevenson as he seems uncomfortable. He also can’t fill McKenzie’s gadget role - he seems more of an outside receiver. Overall - I think it is sending a message and we will see who responds and who takes control of the position as we move forward once we get through the COVID and injuries.

I disagree totally. They only showed a small part, but when Josh was in the pocket and looking to screen to the left - the O-Line were already at the 1 yard downfield. Josh then scrambled forward and then threw the ball downfield to Knox and by that time I think they were 3+ yards downfield because the plays timing was messed up. It looked like a perfectly reasonable call to me.

That works if you have guys that can move out to protect, but if the WR/TE chips down it slows down their route. If the guards struggle to pull for the roll out - it leaves lots of room to attack the gaps and get pressure on Josh - closer to the sideline.

For years and years - every study shows the same thing - Buffalo is top 1 or 2 for wind during NFL games and has one of the most difficult stadiums to kick and thrown in because of how that wind comes across the stadium and swirls. Buffalo is the snowiest NFL stadium for games and is near the top in rain and precipitation for all venues. Small amounts of snow are not a big deal, but rain and heavy snow has major impacts - especially when combined with the wind. Buffalo is one of the coldest cities - although GB is and can be colder - it doesn’t combine all of the other weather the way Buffalo does. Buffalo is by far the worst NFL city for weather and we have a chance to fix that any of multiple ways. A new OP stadium built with better wind and weather blocking and built at a proper angle and not dug down - will all help with the wind, but does little for the rain and snow and temperatures. A covered stadium fixes all 3 issues. A downtown stadium likely also helps as there is less wind and the stadium design can help, there is significantly less snow and the temperature is warmer closer to the water. There are so many good options to adjust this, but most likely we will stay status Quo and remain a place no one can play at their peak level.

Correct, but you are very limited as you have almost no athleticism at the guard position. Typically with roll outs - you are pulling guards or centers to slide over and create a new pocket toward the outside. Currently the Bills are facing a contain DE and DTs that are beating your RG - which is where you want to move the pocket. Your Center and LT have some athletic ability, but your guards are big bodies that take up space. Rolling to the right with the current line just adds to the pressure. You are literally moving Josh right into the pressure spots on the DLine. With Spencer Brown at RT and Williams at RG - you now have the athletic makeup to move the line, but the improved guard play so that you don’t need to. I think as a rare 1 off it works, but based upon your OP - I think you are inviting trouble. The current line is weakened and can’t really perform what you are asking, the regular line doesn’t need to. So you would be trying to create a whole new offense that actually plays into what the defense is doing and only doing it for the limited time that Brown is out - seems like a huge stretch of something for an offense to work on. They are better off working on ways to help Ford out that can be when he is replaced by the next game.

I think mostly because teams are not rushing with their DEs - they are having them go up field to contain JA in the pocket. Therefore many times you would roll Josh right into an oncoming DE. Rollouts work best if the tackle can hook a DE giving space, but the times they have move Josh out - he is forced directly into guys not rushing, but playing contain. - Similar to how the Bills have played Lamar. Pass Rush from the outside to contain get pressure from the middle. Defenses have even gotten particular in allowing space for Josh to escape, but mostly to his left because they can control better where he throws when he is moving that way. If you watch the game there are times he tries to roll out and the DE or OLB is waiting for him and forces him backwards and away from the LOS. It has moved Josh into areas where he is unprotected and he has rushed throws or made plays where he didn’t get the ball back to the LOS and got flagged for intentional grounding. Your idea sounds great in theory, but is easily thwarted by a DE playing contain - which brings Josh right into the pass rush. Also as we have seen - anytime the QB or RB is moving side to side and the DL disengages to pursue - that is when the majority of holding calls occur. They see the player move and then call the hands outside the frame. Those would be the first two reasons - I am sure their are more. It works on occasion, but as a long term attack plan - I think it opens up issues.

It shows just how bad of a post/thread you have when a different Troll is the only one supporting you. Sometimes the threads and posters just make you 🤢🤢🤮.

Can it be nominated also for the dumbest, longest, and most pointless run on sentence of all time. It could be a 3 time winner. What a post!

Just shift the focus of the OP post. Instead of 4 guys competing for the All-Time Bill’s team - which is just a bit early on any of these players. Drop it down a few notches. Those 4 players are all striving toward Wall of Fame status. Something that is given for both team play and individual play - along with being fan favorites. Most WOF’ers are all time greats, but you have guys like Phil Hansen, Joe Ferguson, and maybe Fred Smerlas up there that are good players during their time, but none are all time greats for long periods with the Bills. Some had personality, some had longevity, and some were just the best player during a bad period of time. I think with a few more good years several of these guys could be eventual WOF guys - even without being all time greats and some like Allen, White, and Bass might make cases as All Time Bills team stars.

I just think this is wrong. After the top couple of guys that are mostly 2nd round picks - the next 20+ backs all have between 500-600 yards and are all interchangeable. There are 1st round guys to UDFAs in that group with lots of guys picked 3rd round and later. Take a guy like Taylor and put him on the Bills - it might make a difference it might not as our line is not as good at run blocking as Indy. What I do know is I would not waste a 1st round pick on that position. If I moved back into mid second maybe. After the top couple where 4 of the 5 are on run first teams - every other running back looks pretty much the same - small differences in style. Rather keep trying different 3rd-6th round backs and use higher picks on premium positions.

Your quote stated he would not be retained after this year. He is already on a guaranteed contract for next year - so it seems highly unlikely that they won’t retain him after this year. He has not signed a long term contract, but they liked him enough to pick up a big option.

You know he is already on a guaranteed contract for next year right.

I agree 31 carries is small, but if you review - he was the first RB signed after the injuries to the PS - Days before Murray and Freeman as veterans and Williams. Yet as RB injuries mounted - the others were called up first - even with less experience in the system - there must be a reason. Murray, Freeman, and Williams all have outproduced him and Freeman has looked significantly better the last 3 games. I think Bell is a victim of numbers as he has not produced and guys are getting healthy.

I think it really depends. The offer given and used by the Sporting news citing sources was that while on the franchise tag - Bell was offered 5 years - 70 million. That contract even with limited upfront cash and guarantees would of paid him more than sitting out the year and the Money the Jets paid him. Their analysis showed even with the Jets overpay - it most likely cost him money. Bell made 0 and then 28 million for the 1.5 years with the Jets - so in essence 9 -10 million per. The Steelers would of had to pay ~42 million in those same 3 years - 14 million per. Plus Pittsburgh isn’t big on cutting players mid season if it will mean any kind of salary cap hit - So I doubt they cut him mid season like the rebuilding Jets did. They most likely look to trade him after the 3rd season to a team like the Jets - so he might have gotten year 4 at 14+ million and maybe the Jets even renegotiate with more upfront for an additional year or 2. Did it financially cost him big - probably not, but it killed his career faster than staying in Pittsburgh would have - he could of had 1 more year when he sat out of slight decline and probably a 2nd year with Pittsburgh that would of been better than the Jets year 1 - so maybe it plays out with a longer arc. I do totally agree - FA RBs should not get top dollar- it is a recipe for disaster.

I agree - Moss is at best average - more likely even slightly below average. The issue is that for over the last 2 years Bell is not even sniffing below average. His YPC across 3 teams is below 3.0 and he is no longer a threat out of the backfield - even when on KC where they threw a bunch to RBs. Bell wouldn’t even be a lateral move with Moss - he would be a large step backwards based upon what each player has done the last 2 years. If the Jets got better without him as the worst team in the NFL and 2 contenders that signed him for nothing both moved on - I think his time as even a back-up is done. He is PS level at best at this point and you are better off trying a UDFA on the street because they have been better.

Can you explain this? On a poor rushing team - Moss is averaging 3.6 YPC and has 18 catches for 166 yards. He is also a willing blocker and blitz pick-up. On a top end rushing team - Bell is averaging 2.7 YPC and has 1 catch for -1 yards. He also can not block or pick up blitzes. Bell is no longer even in the same ball park as Moss and is probably at this point one of the 4 or 5 worst RBs in the NFL. 3 teams in the last 1.5 years - multiple ugly divorces from teams and no production at any place he has been. He has been replaced in both spots by UDFA RBs on the roster. Moss is not great, but still significantly better than Bell at this point.

For the year on a team with a 4.9 YPC he is averaging 2.7 YPC - he is being outrushed by an UDFA in Baltimore - Ty’Son Williams by over 100 yards. Bell has 1 catch for -1 yard on the season and he is known as a terrible blocker and blitz pick-up. He is not on par with Moss or Singletary - on a better rushing team he is significantly worse. I was not suggesting you thought he might sign here - just that he has value - he has absolutely no value in the NFL. Even his 11 for 48 against Minnesota was below their average. Last week against Miami he had 3 carries for 1 whole yard. I just do not see him as on par with any back in the league. He is Reggie Bush in Buffalo at the end - one of the worst backs in the NFL right now.

How can anyone at all say he still has any value. After the Jets cut him - he went to one of the best offenses in the NFL in KC and sucked. He was beaten out by an UDFA RB and way out performed and then complained about how he was treated by a coach known for giving second chances. This year he was signed to the top rushing team in the NFL in Baltimore - every back they seem to bring in or use averages close to 5 yards - except Bell. What you saw in NY, KC, and Baltimore is who he is - he is not a complimentary piece - he is a waste of space. 3 teams with plenty of production from replacement level backs and no production from Bell - he isn’t worth the space on the roster even if free. You are better with a back off a practice squad or out of the league.

I am pretty sure it would end up terrible, but whatever. Picking up blitzes coming from all over and catching small, fast guys is not something big slow tackles do well - especially with a lot of space to cover - so I think he would be worse at blocking than Singletary or Moss on pass plays. A big tackle is slower than Josh - so it slows down Josh’s ability to run and gets into running and passing lanes. Another big body limits the space Josh has in the backfield making it easier to contain him and surround him with big bodies. It gives the offense significantly less capabilities- there is no play action, no running game, no swing passes, no outlet passes - you basically have taken a multidimensional offense and told the other team we are passing to WRs or running Josh - so they play coverage and spy and pretty much stop the offense. A good zone defense and a spy eliminates anything this offense could do.

Not a chance - because they would of had to announce it before this weeks games - we would already know. It is a minimum of 12 days - so they would have had to announce it Mon/Tuesday of last week for it to get flexed. Good Thought, but it is not a last minute decision.

My thoughts on AJ Klein. - He is a decent back-up level LB, but god forbid he has to start to many weeks. He is a pretty good straight ahead thumper, but he was out of position on several passes where he was to slow to cover the running back in the flat and gave up first downs, he missed tackles on the RBs in space on passes, and he wasn’t deep enough on drops to impact the middle of the field passes. Any plays outside the hash marks/numbers were questionable as he lacks the sideline speed to close on the ball. There we’re several running plays where just like Edmunds he was blocked 10+ yards down field and jumped on the pile at the end or slid off the RB. Basically in the modern NFL - he is a nice luxury to have, but he was not an improvement out there. He made a few plays, missed a few plays, and was exactly what he should be - an experienced vet that did not cost them the game. I like him best coming in for a few plays here or there in specific situations and then let him sit the rest of the time.

It was a turnover and all turnovers are automatically reviewed. They had 1 angle from the back that looked trapped, but they never showed any other angles - so it was impossible to say what replay saw going from multiple angles. I thought it should of been overturned based upon the one angle they showed, but with nothing else that was a pretty blurry camera angle to make a definitive call.

A.). I believe the issue was that the league allows the “sky judge” to make some reviews, but the coaches do not always know when that is employed. I believe in this case they ruled it incomplete on the field and then got confirmation of that incompletion from the “sky judge”. Saleh does not know it was reviewed and his guys say it is close and as it was a 4th down - so no harm in challenging the call. The Ref steps over and says it was already reviewed and ruled incomplete- there is no reason to challenge. The current system is so dumb because they allow some review, but it is not clear to the coaches what has been reviewed and what hasn’t. The Bills used a timeout to try and get a review the week before. B.) The penalty is typically added to the end of the play - a play like defensive holding is typically on an incomplete pass and therefore from the LOS.

I don’t want to see that video. Ethan and Basham starring in a sorority video 🤢. 🤮.