IgotBILLStopay

A Linebacker is only as good as the front four and the back 4 allow him to be. I think if the front 4 do their job and Tre plays in the game, it will be fair game to evaluate Edmunds. That being said, his play does appear to have dropped off - partly injury related but partly because of what the OP says - he does bite on the first fake more often than a MLB should. Strangely enough he does well when he is very close to the line of scrimmage (where play has to be instinctual) and far from the line of scrimmage (where he can wait and depend on his closing speed to stop big chunk players). It is in the middle area where he is getting burned. McD appears to recognize that - he was playing close to the line of scrimmage to stop Henry and a lil deeper to stop Mahomes. I think these two players are anomalies and we won’t face these types of beasts in most games ( I think he will cover Kittle well). I would not be averse to having Dodson play MLB and Edmunds play OLB with or without Milano.

sorry that will never work with McD. Son of a bum (like Bum Phillips before him) has always been a 3-4 guy and McD always employs a 4-3.

just counting my blessings a certain Tre White and a certain John Brown are active.

the more disciplined team (us?) the team with a power running game as opposed to a juke type running game or passing game (moss > CEH) the team with better conditioning - it is harder to move on wet fields (chiefs?) i believe overall we will win

yes and no. defense white coming back helps with containing their receivers like the Raiders did front four has to generate a better pass rush like the raiders did milano and edmunds need to maintain gap integrity and show sure tackling offense we will see a lot of cover2 - none of our backs are at Jacobs’ level but moss and singletary have to hit the blockhole and get us those tough 2-3 yards after contact our receivers are better than Agholor Ruggs and Zay and need to a. make up for the absence of an elite TE and b. have a few deep bombs of our own esp. if trailing late

Diggs was drawing so much coverage. having Smoke means teams can’t just focus on Diggs. They hv to pick their poison.

After the Aldon Smith experiment, why not? He is sneakily good - and his best years in Dallas were playing DT. He can compete with and backup Oliver. He was very good at generating pass rush from the DT position.

for every big armed Josh Allen, there is a big armed Jamarcus Russell out there. there are so many things that go into evaluating a QB’s success - most important of which is what would they do with the talent. Allen’s progress has as much to do with how he has worked on his weakness every offseason and how the organization has put complementary pieces around him as his god given talent.

If they are “unlucky” enough to win 2 games you will lose Trevor to Atlanta or WFT no? That is why you need to tank so you are lucky enough to go 0-16.

Jets’ best plan may be to tank for Trevor. Gase winning a few games to prove himself may be the worst thing for them and good for us.

very nice. appreciate what you do off the field Horrible Harry. Now do your thing on the field against the Chiefs.

Lorax ain’t going to say anything else, no? can the injury heal or do we have to wait for the offseason? bottomline: injured or not, our LB core has underperformed. that being said, they have also been let down by the front four and, in the last game, by the Wallace and White-less secondary.

Torbert is the absolute worst. Here he is fist bumping after a Broncos TD vs. the Bills - never seen anything like this. https://nesn.com/2014/12/referees-inexplicably-fist-bump-after-broncos-score-touchdown-gif/?fb_comment_id=746990758687604_747002248686455 Those iffy flags from the 2014 season (see recap below) left me fuming for days. This was the season we finished 9-7 and this game and the raiders game could have easily gone the other way and we woulda finished 11-5. Even one of those wins might have won us the tiebreak at 10-6 over the Ravens. After that stupid 2004 final game loss to the backup steelers, I think 2014 was the season I was most upset about regarding missing the playoffs. https://www.espn.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/153112/bills-predictable-loss-to-broncos-follows-familiar-script

just to provide context, this happened a few years ago https://abcnews.go.com/Sports/side-judge-james-coleman-injured-colliding-bills-coach/story?id=49918527

he has been a 3-4 DE all his life. can he fit into McD’s scheme?

My apologies. I shd have clarified. Here is the thought process First, it is my understanding that teams can get out from Bell’s deal after this year. So he is available as a 1 year 6 m rental. Chances are only a team with postseason aspirations will trade for him. Browns - they are 4-1. Nick Chubb is expected to miss several weeks and Stefanski wants multiple RBs for his run first offense. Can’t get anyone better than Bell to add to the stable. Panthers - they are 3-2. Matt Rhule needs pass catching out of his RBs and the scheme was perfect for McCaffrey whose replacement Mike Davis went for 150 scrimmage yards in week 5. Not sure if Davis can do that against better defenses. Bell is arguably one of the top 3 pass catching RBs in the league. Patriots - This needs some explanation since they have RB depth. I don’t think Sony Michel or Damien Harris are great as pass catching RBs. Belichick has been moving to that more and more the past few years. James White is elite as a pass catching RB (he had 70+ catches on 100 targets last year). But he is “still processing things” and there is a good chance he takes more time off. Unlike the first two teams, the Pats if interested in Bell would actually trade a RB like Michel or Harris instead of a draft pick for Bell. Also, Gase has been very appreciative of Sony Michel (who is from Broward County) in the past.

thanks for the link. But Bolt is starting from 0 m/s - a RB typically is already moving when he gets the ball. also there is self selection - they become RBs since they are the twitchiest - so I wouldnt be surprised if the elite RBs have greater initial acceleration than Bolt but a lower peak. I just cite another source (see the post link above) - haven’t really measured it 😀. But actually looking at the great link you provided, I find the 21 mph number quite believable, no?

patriots, panthers or browns come to mind immediately

https://www.nfl.com/news/derrick-henry-credits-chiefs-game-plan-following-loss-0ap3000001097894

That post tells me you do understand the significance of reaching 21 mph in 4 steps. Here is one source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/nfl/you-might-be-able-to-tackle-derrick-henry-but-youre-not-going-to-like-it/2020/01/16/9514d9e8-38ba-11ea-9541-9107303481a4_story.html It is behind a paywall - but this nugget is in the first para and can be seen without subscribing.

Yup. That is point #5 above. The more Allen & co. run up the score the less we will see of Henry.

I pulled Henry and his replacement gave a decent 15 points. Not Henryesque but has kept me in the game. Need to decide whether to pull Allen for Herbert or not. Need 23 points for a win.

You sir are a candidate to be our resident Yogi Berra

Most RBs fit a physical profile - small 5-9 to 5-11 and tip the scales at a muscular 215 lbs. But Derrick Henry does not fit that mould - he is a legit 6-3 and about 250 lbs. That size doesnt make him slow however. I read somewhere that he gets to 21 mph (typically an elite RB speed) by the time he gets to his 4th step. And each step of his covers 7.5 ft (2,5 yeards) - which means he covers 10 yards in 4 steps. Derrick Henry in modern football is what Usain Bolt is to track - a physical anomaly. The guy had 370+ yards in consecutive games during the 2019-20 playoffs, something no one else had done. And he likes contact - it is what sets him off. Oh and did I forget to mention that he has the endurance of an Alaskan Husky. At Alabama, he would get his most carries in the 4th quarter since he was never gassed. Even in the NFL, he is the back with the best third and fourth quarter stats. Quite simply, HE IS the engine that drives the Titans. Fortunately, unlike track, football is a team sport and good teams have managed to stop the Titans by stopping Henry. But, without Lotuleilei, it will not be easy. Also, the conditioning of our defenders the first few games has been suspect. They were so gassed against the Rams in the second half. Our run defense has been gashed a lot this season though the second half against Jacobs (oh he is a typical 5-10 220 lb back) and the Raiders was sublime. I rewatched the Chiefs limit Henry to 69 yards in the Conference Championship game and here are some lessons from that. 1. We may have to play the traditional 4-3-4 instead of our preferred 4-2-5. No way Taron Johnson can handle a guy Henry's size. 2. Frazier's first pet phrase: Gap Integrity - you have to stay disciplined - cant bite on fakes and leave your running lane open. While one defender can rarely take down Henry, you slow him down till the help gets there 3. Frazier's second pet phrase: Tackling - The Chiefs made a conscious attempt to tackle him low below the waist. You cant just bring Henry down by wrapping the arms around his upper torso since he is big and strong and his legs keep on churning. 4. Dont worry about giving up a few big pass plays - With Humphries and Davis out even those will be few. But trust the secondary to do their job. After all, this is Tannehill throwing the ball. 5.Last, but not the least, the best defense is a potent offense - run up the score early so that the Titans are forced to go to the air in the second half when Henry is at his strongest. The Chiefs limited Henry to maybe 5 touches and 7 yards in the second half since the Titans had to play catchup. Here is my prediction: Henry gets 150+ yards, we lose. He gets less than 100 yards, we win. Somewhere in the middle, we got ourselves a game.

Fantasy Question: Shd I go with Josh Allen or a Justin Herbert? usually a no-brainer but tomorrow’s game uncertainty makes this hard to decide - need 23 points to win.