PBF81

Well, to start, these PFF grades and other indicators that people are citing, generally refer to outside runs since neither they nor the Raiders ran much UTM. So not sure how stopping runs on the outsides is in any way indicative of stopping them in the middle. Yet ... I don't know about "wearing him down" per se, I simply don't think he's going to be effective against teams that end up running UTM on us, and IMO as the season develops, I'd expect opposing OCs that have the capabilities on their teams to do that, to do that. Any overreaction as stated is from people who equate making a few tackles on outside runs is anything even approaching being stout in the middle on those UTM runs. Again, look, maybe he will be great at that, the UTM runs that is, but if so, it will be bucking every single draft profile out there on him, so I'm in good company there anyway. As another part of the overreaction, is people that don't understand my position on either Bernard or Williams. All I've ever said is that in a traditional MLB role, which frankly they're not in, they'll have difficulty stopping the UTM runs. I don't know how to make it any clearer. I know that both are great at coverage. I've never argued contrarily. Let's see how this unfolds. I'd bet good money that his UTM inability to stop runs in key games is going to cost us this season, assuming that he continues in that role. We'll see. After that who cares, I'm happy to be wrong and a moron until further notice. LOL

Well, OK, so let's use that standard then. Which receivers on the team have done better on a "per-snap" basis? Here are Davis' individual plays: Jets: 2nd-and-11, 26 yard catch for a 1st-Down, to set up a TD in the red zone. 2nd-and-3, 6 yards for a 1st-Down on a drive that resulted in a FG. Raiders: 2nd-and-7, 7 yard catch for a 1D ... followed by ... 1st-and-10, 19 yard catch for a 1D, on a drive that resulted in a TD. 1st-and-10, 15 yard catch that put us at the Raider 11, and setup Allen's next completion to Shakir for a TD. 4th-and-2, 2 yards for a TD. 2nd-and-8, 9 yards for a 1D, ... later on that drive ... 3rd-and-6, 40 yards for a 1D at the Raider 8 YL to set up Harris' TD run. Washington: 1st-and-10, 35 yards for a TD for our first TD of the day and Allen's only passing TD. Allen only completed 20 passes on Sunday, and only one receiver had more than 2 catches, and that was Diggs with 8. The other dozen catches were distributed fairly evenly among the rest of the receiving players on the team. Hammer on them as one will, but those are just facts.

My position is long-term, not overreacting on a week-by-week basis. I think I've already answered the question, but let me try another approach, I do appreciate your reasonability here!! IMO the circumstances under which he's shined are not typical of what he'll see throughout most of the season. ... without again going into any details already mentioned. We'll see. Let's hope I'm so wrong that I look like a moron. That would make me happy.

So now you're blaming Davis for Allen's underthrown pass in the Jets game and for throwing into perfect coverage against Fuller in the Skins game? I mean really, look at that coverage. I don't see Diggs much less any other receiver on our team making that catch either. I'm not defending or attacking Davis here, just laying out some facts, but dang, there's clearly an anti-Davis agenda at work here.

Say what people will about Davis, but all 9 of his catches have gone for 1st-Downs or TDs. They've been heavily instrumental in scoring drives and putting points on the board. Some of the throws to Davis that he didn't catch were on him. And now we're blaming Davis for those?

Almost all of Cook's rushing yards have been with us leading. He's got 13 carries for 36 yards when we're tied or trailing. He has no rushing TDs. All but one of his carries have been on 1st or 2nd down. He's useless in the Red Zone; 8 carries for 22 yards, no 1st-Downs or TDs. In the first halves of games he's got 21 carries for 93 yards, a 4.3 YPC average, and 4 1st-Downs. In the second halves of games he's got 22 carries for 174 yards, 7.9 YPC average, 8 1st-Downs. It's the 4th Q with us up insumountably is where he's shone. 11 carries for 106 yards, 9.6 YPC. 4 1st-Downs Calling him a "bell cow" is way premature. A heavy dose of caution is recommended here. FWIW Let's see how he does as a "bell cow" with the games on the line.

IDK, our last three games vs. them have been a loss, then in the two wins, one with Skylar Thompson at QB, they lost 34-31 and 32-29. In that last one, in the heavy snow, in Buffalo, Tua posted an excellent game and their rushing game put up nearly 200 yards on over 7 ypc. That was without Achane. IMO this game will come down to how well we defend their running game. Also, I thought that we had a pretty emotional win last week too, matching our second highest scoring game of last season.

That's the biggest thing for me. Both O and D are going to have to show up and this is a classic game that will also highlight coaching. Lose and we'd be 0-2 in the division and 1-2 conference, making it an uphill battle to win the division. Also, we'd be 0-1 vs. the only team that we'll have played that's likely to post a winning record or make the playoffs.

Thanks, and please, don't get me wrong, I'm far from the notion that Bernard sucks, both he and the rookie Williams should have zero troubles in pass D. The draft profiles on both, pervasively, state that. Williams is supposed to be even more quick thinking/processing than Bernard. I'm sure that both are intelligent leaders for the D, etc. My criticism of Bernard is limited because the UTM runs against us in the past two games have been limited. I think there were only 7 or 8 combined in both games, of 26 carries. Bernard shone in two of them. I leave room for him becoming a beast there, I simply never see it happening however. Whether that become relevant, who knows. I suspect that come playoff time when we face balanced offenses with good OCs and HCs, that it would become a problem, at least in one game, and that's all it takes to get outsted from the playoffs, eh, a one-game lapse like that where the opponent capitalizes on a weakness. As to Edmunds, I've never looked at him in crazy detail, but enough to know that he was hit and miss vs. the run. Inconsistent is the one word I'd use to describe him. My big thing re: Edmunds is that he was expected to play a weird role, similar to what we're running this season, not typically a traditional 4-3, and the reason for that, to me anyway, is obvious, we don't have the proper personnel to run one. We're so overly focused on stopping the passing game that IMO we've overlooked the key pieces for stopping the run. We'll find out more as the season develops and we begin to play better coached, more talented, more well-rounded teams. Also, and this is huge for me, he was the youngest player in the NFL in his rookie season. He's always been asked to play in a weird non-traditional alignment that he's never been in, and I'm not sure many LBs have been in, and he was 24 last season, his fourth here. He's only 25 as of May. IMO it was way too early to determine that he wasn't going to be good here. Having said that, IMO it was in his own best interests, as a player with an NFL career in mind, to get out of here. So while I don't believe that either Williams or Bernard (who's exactly one year younger than Edmunds) will ever be as good as Edmunds, if this is the defense we're going to play here, I suppose that there's a chance that they're better suited to it. McBeane don't explain to us what they're doing with their alignments and whether or not 'they're doing what they can with the talent that they have,' or this has been fully planned, but I see it being an issue come playoff time and in our games agains tougher offenses. I haven't paid much attention to Edmunds this year, but I do know that unlike us, he is playing in a traditional 4-3 most of the time over there. But a quick google just now turned up the following, which seems to contradict the sour-grapes take that's prominent here; https://bearstalk.com/tremaine-edmunds-earned-bears-highest-pff-grade-on-defense-in-week-2/ https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-every-nfl-team-most-improved-player-2022 https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-2023-free-agent-rankings-linebacker FWIW At the end of the day, as much as I think Edmunds was better than anyone we now have on the roster, without hesitation, I think that for his own sake he's better off not here. I've said before, I expect him to finish the season among the top-10 traditional MLBs in all facets of the game, likely towards the higher end of that. Look, I know we're going to disagree here, and I'll be the pariah in the forums that is the retraded skeptical guy. But in traffic, whether people see it or not, he gets bounced around like a lightweight. I've pointed out the plays and people simply make excuses. I'll tell you what though, I'll make a friendly wager with you that come December, few people will be defending his run defense skills. And handful of plays in couple of routs don't do it for me. Like I said, I'm happy to play the role of the retradeed skeptic. I've been there often, ... initially. And BTW, if he becomes a beast at MLB vs. the run, great. Happy to be wrong. Just what we need, so I'd be elated. Why wouldn't I be.

PFF is one resource. I had spoken to them about working for them years ago, I understand how they arrive at their ratings, which is a sound process. It's not an end-all-to-be-all, but it's a sound decision based on well more than a single person rendering a determination. Agree on your third sentence, but consider, teams haven't run much against us, 13 non-QB carries average the last two weeks. Which as you know is way below average. The single game in which a team did run against us, and with all but zero balance in the passing game, was the Jets, who were generally successful at it, rushing 24 times for 166 yards. Even with that 83 yard long run not considered, which was largely on Bernard BTW, we can call it alignment or whatever, but it was his play to make, they still put up 23 carries for 83 yards, which given the circumstances was decent. As to your last statement, yes, I realize that it's not linear, but at the same time, if as I suspect will be the case, as teams run more on us, and more UTM, little of which happened the past two games, I suspect that he's not even going to be average, again, specifically vs. UTM/off-tackle runs. I have also noticed that we're running several different configurations re: LB set-ups. We'll see what happens Sunday. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous about that game, for which a loss would put us in a significant hole for both division and conf record. I'm optimistic however. Overall I'm quite satisfied with the way we're playing, but I'm also not delusional in thinking that the three teams that we've beaten won't be anything but finishing with losing records with none making the playoffs come the end of the season. Also, I'm also not expecting any of the QBs that we've played to finish above-average in passing either. As always, we'll see. Sunday will be huge however. The fan energy is going to be sick. I hope we capitalize.

Appreciate your take. Royale's just giving me the business and overreacting to my original take, which more or less aligns worth yours, as you know. I never said he was horrible vs. the run on Sunday overall, but IMO he wasn't as good vs. the run as the overall hype on him following that game, but his highlights are primarily on pass D. IMO, looking at his entire body of work vs. the run on Sunday, he was average at best. He was outstanding in the passing game. Unlike some I don't care about being right, I call it as I see it. If I'm wrong, great, I'm content with that as it's a good thing to be wrong about. But I will say, if he's really that good as everyone is saying now, he should only improve, not get worse. So we'll see if all. Perhaps he'll make our collective year and be DPOY, who knows. But right now I still see trouble ahead when we don't play the of the worst teams on our schedule. Sunday should be a good test on this. 🙂

And BTW, if by the end of the season the take on him is that he's more liability than answer at MLB against the UTM/off-tackle runs, then it sure won't have meant that he's excellent at it now but for some reason regressed throughout the season, as your take would have to be if that ends up being the case. LOL

I'll tell ya what, post the same plays A22. I dare ya! If I could get access and didn't have technical difficulties I'd post 'em myself, just for you. And look, I get that you may be excited over his play, but at least be honest, run D isn't his forte. It's obvious.

Nah, sorry bro, the one that's hallucinating is you. Here's a marvelous stop by Bernard, boy, you sure are right. LOL https://www.youtube.com/shorts/5XW6KTUABVE And another, ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mb-uJ9PnQ7g First play, Bernard gets turned around and neutralized. Second play he gets plowed. Third play was the one you provided. Granted. Fourth play, first time I've seen it. Also granted. Fifth play, DL did the job, GL. DNA Sixth play, ... LOL Seventh play, ... more LOL Eighth play, group tackle Ninth play, 6 yard gain, not sure what to make of that one. Contributed to a group tackle at best. 10th play, completely neutralized at the second level and taken out of the play by an interior OL-man. The last play is a pass. The long run by Gibson was to the outside, wasn't on Bernard. Not in that video anyway. Either way, he'll have plenty of opportunities to cement himself as a good UTM run-defending MLB forthcoming. I'm pretty confident that vs. the Skins isn't going to be his toughest challenge in that way. I hope he responds as you seem to think he is.

Diggs was ranked 14th last season in YAC among WRs. He had 419 YAC on 1,429 total receiving yards. 29.3% Only one of the WRs before him had a lower percentage, Hill, 28.2%. Diggs ranked 4th among WRs for YBC. He ranked 22nd among WRs for YBC/Recpt. Guess who ranked 1st among WRs in YBC/Recpt.? Diggs ranked 49th among WRs in Avg. Depth of Target when targeted. We weren't good with broken tackles. Diggs ranked 42nd among WRs. Our next best was Shakir at 74th.

He was. It was clear. Find the UTM running plays that he did well on? To start, there were only a couple. Two for large gains. I realize that living in fantasyland where a guy plays well against the pass means that he's been perfect all around, but that simply was not the case. I provided the time shots in the highlight video. Again, it's the UTM plays that I'm referring to, and sorry, but he did nothing on any of them. ... as the MLB. He'll have an opportunity to shine in that role on Sunday quite possibly. Let's hope he's better then than he was on Sunday or we're in trouble if the Fins run UTM often.

Snap Counts: Torrence & Brown 100% McGovern 93% Morse 88% Dawkins 87% That's great, so much better than past seasons. I'm eager to see how Allen's pocket play changes after 6-8 games like that. Not like our OL of Ballard, Wolford, Hull, Ritcher, but still solid. Torrence, I've gotta say, may be our best OL-man by the end of the season.

LOL Of course not, despite my having gone through video and PBP to validate it in the past. And again, of the three plays that I cited, you didn't even watch them. No one in their right mind would disagree with me on those. "Right mind" is key here. This is one of those things that when the situation arises, people are going to lose their minds here and get apoplectic about due to the shortsighted perceptions that they've generated in thieir minds. I'd put money on it. LOL It's real comedy too the back-n-forth of the moods here. BTW, in other news, I've enjoyed the way we've played, haven't had any criticisms generally speaking. But let's also keep in mind here that of the three teams we've played thus far, all three are likely to be among the worst five or six on the schedule, and not one posted a winning record last season, and not one featured an above-average QB. Again, our schedule starts getting into the tougher games next week. Our defense isn't going to play like that every week. I have a feeling that next week you'll either be complaining about Bernard at MLB or biting your tongue and staying silent. Let's hope that's not the case, but if it is, presumably you'll understand what I'm referring to. Simply because it wasn't all that noticeable because Washington didn't run much and few times UTM, and because our offense ran away with it off of turnovers in the 2nd half doesn't mean it won't be an issue. GO BILLS!!! I'm pretty sure that there was a lesson in last season after we beat similar teams the Rams and Titans, and the world, including us, thought that we were unstoppable.

You didn't even watch them. SMH I think it does since my criticism of him is specific to those types of plays. I mean if this is all about you "being right," let me save you the time and agree, you can be right. I see what I see, and I don't see a LB that's stout in the middle against the run. Now, I suppose that it's quite possible that that issue doesn't haunt us all season, or in the playoffs, for unlikely that is, so maybe McD's figured out a way to all but work it out of the equation. You asked me a question, I answered it, I even provided a few specifica instances, which frankly were all that were available today as the Skins didn't run the ball all that much and most of their runs were off-tackle or end runs. I don't know what else I'm supposed to do or say here. And yes, he is a liability in the running game. It's simply that it's not particularly noticeable due to our DL play and the support from the Ss, etc., and due to the fact that the last two weeks have been blowouts. I'm not going to come and hammer on you or others that argued with me on this, not sure why that's everyone's MO, "to be right." I'm happy with this game, enjoying the aftermath of the win, happy that the O is coming together as I'd thought and hoped, but concerned about next week, particularly given how our last two home games against Miami were, once with Skylar Thompson, both nearly ending in losses. Again, if Miami plays like they did today in their running game, if Bernard helps prevent that next week, then I will begin to change my mind. Not seeing it however. His best plays are rushing the passer and in coverage.

OK, you're reasonable here, I'll reply to you. Here are today's highlights, and I've noticed similar in our other two games. Specific examples in the UTM run game, I'll ask you, what do you see from him? 4:30 4:50, good read? That was his play to make. 6:15 Those are the kinds of plays that I'm referring to. Most of his tackles are on receptions or comb tackles otherwise where he's not the primary. I pointed that out last week. He's a solid player, I never argued otherwise, I still say that he'll be out of place next week, for example, if Miami runs like they did today. You'll notice the liability that he'll be if they do. Again, and I can't stress this enough and never took issue with it, but his pass-rush and coverage abilities appear to be tight and were touted coming in. Not sure why I have to admit that he's stout on UTM runs when he's not, ... or hasn't been anyway. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXkyPkOEA0E

He'll hit the hole fast, yes, I've noticed that, but have you noticed that he essentially bounces off of blockers routinely? I noticed a couple of those plays today too. They didn't run much today, I can recall two plays that they did, both for big gains, I have no idea where he was on them, but maybe they're in the review. You know my position, he's fine except as a run defender UTM, which will come into play at times this season, even if it didn't today. It wasn't much different the first two weeks either. I'll try to dig up at least those couple of plays from the highlights, which will probably be on the reel. I'm content with our play overall as a team, so far, very happy. Not much to complain about. I'm concerned about next week.

He's been great, but he also missed a couple of tackles today and I'm still far from sold on "in traffic" plays. He's a great cover LB and was coming in. He's fast and was coming in. I'd like to see more in terms of UTM run stoppage. The Skins ran outside a lot today. Of the few plays they did run UTM he got pushed around some. Right now it's our pass-rush and DL that's doing the heavy lifting. JMO i.e., so far "the process" is working. LOL

The question is, who on our team will post a triple-double.

It was tremendously encouraging. And Torrence, for a rookie, ... very impressive. You can see the chemistry building. I wasn't really paying attention to subs, did they come in with the QB swap, or prior to then? Can't wait to see the snap counts for the OL again.

It's easy to jump rails on arguments and discussions. Sorry if I did that in coming back full circle.