PBF81

Call me nuts, but I can envision the Chargers winning the West this year.

No worries. BTW, this place was flooded with posters claiming that Williams would play MLB. For the life of me I have no idea why since shortly after they drafted him they said he'd backup Milano. But again, that raises questions as to why they'd draft a backup at OLB before trying to grab a potential starter or at least someone to compete for a vacant position instead.

The positives are in the profile as well. As I said, I posted those from nfl.com, pff.com, and si.com. I only posted the negs because that's what you asked for, as you said and to not have any more info than what was germane. I personally like walterfootball because they do a lot of their own stuff, or have people that do, and don't always agree with the 90+% of draft profiles out there, and in the past they've matched some of mine on players that I have reviewed.

The problem is that given the role that he plays, Milano, Miller, now Lloyd all essentially play similar roles. This is what I'm referring to when I suggest planning our drafts around more immediate needs rather than players suitable to depth. Williams may be great in the WLB or even the SLB role, but he's got guys ahead of him that are better, get paid more, and have more experience. So it's unlikely he'll do much besides in a depth role. Drafting players on days 1 & 2 in roles where immediate starters are needed, or preferably a season prior to when they'll be needed, like in Edmunds' role, and like Philly did last year by drafting Dean to replace Edwards for example, might be a better plan. We seem to draft a lot of depth players when starters are needed in other positions.

Here are his weaknesses and summaries according to NFL.com, SI.com, and PFF.com draft profiles. There are others but they more or less mimic these. Sorry about the lack of formatting, I was lazy. LOL Tick slow to anticipate runner’s lane choice at times. Scrapes to the football can lack control and leverage. Below average point-of-attack strength/skill set. Swallowed by blocks on second level. Kansas State’s blocking scheme found him all afternoon in 2022 matchup. Recognizes play design but fails to beat blocker to the spot. Long strider who isn’t the quickest changing direction when hips need to open Appeared to be a bit stiff in the lower half - a bit high-hipped Trigger downhill is adequate and not always instantaneous Short-area-quickness in a phone booth leaves some to be desired Shifty players can make him miss in a phone booth Stack and shed has to improve Reads pullers well but struggles to quickly discard blocks Struggles to shed blocks when blockers get into his chest - Bearcats Q2 4:22, 3rd & 3 18 yd run - Houston OT 15:00, 1st & 10 5 yd run - Southern Miss Q4 4:31, 3rd & 11 11yd run Questions about his man coverage ability are fair Adequate awareness in zone coverage - not consistently aware of routes behind him Needs to improve his reaction to screen passes Summary Dorian Williams is fast, big, and has upside as a pass-rusher. He had a productive senior season as one of the leaders of an underrated Tulane defense. There’s a reason why Tulane went 12-2 with an impressive Cotton Bowl victory over USC, and players like Williams contribute to that reason. Williams is not a polished linebacker, nor is he an incredible athlete at the position. However, Williams was well-rounded, assignment-sound, and a reliable overall tackler. I appreciate Williams ability to read & react to run concepts in the box, specifically power/gap plays, but his inability to consistently shed climbing IOL was an issue that will plague him at the next level. He needs to react quicker to leverage his length or develop ways to avoid the contact but not compromise his position; he’s a bit stiff in his lower half, which may hinder the latter proposition. Williams is adequate as a spot-drop zone defender. Tulane ran a lot of different coverage concepts; he was adequate in matching routes underneath him but wasn’t always aware of route concepts and what lurked behind him. He’s not the most natural at flipping his hips instantaneously, which could be an issue in the NFL against shiftier RBs. He has the necessary linear speed, but the quick change of direction with opening and closing of the hips leaves some to be desired. Overall, Williams is a developmental special teams asset with some upside as a two-down starter. I don’t necessarily think he’s limited to one type of scheme, albeit he may best fit in as a WILL initially rather than a MIKE or SAM. I’m interested to see how he tests and if he can improve his overall fluidity in space, specifically when he's not square to the line of scrimmage. His ability to blitz could be something that helps him earn snaps early on passing downs. His competitive nature will draw attention, and he should be an early-impact player on special team with starter upside eventually. Williams has a high ceiling, but there’s some necessary development that must take place. Williams looks and moves more like a big box safety with his bursts to the football and open-field fluidity. Lacking the size and strength to match up with NFL take-on duties near the line, Williams needs to become more adept at slipping blocks and staying a step ahead of the blocking scheme. His coverage potential and special teams background will give his roster quest a boost as a likely Day 3 selection looking to fit into a backup role as a Will linebacker. Where he wins: Coverage feel Williams is a very adept zone defender with the plus athletic tools to make quarterbacks think twice about throwing his way. He allowed only 161 yards in coverage in 2022. What’s his role: WLB Williams isn’t the guy you want taking on fullbacks in the hole anytime soon. He’s the one you want cleaning up for that guy. What can he Improve: Taking on blocks Williams has the “want to” in the run game, but his life is difficult at 228 pounds. He has to have more answers to work around blocks.

LOL, but yes, exactly. On the flip side, if our offense is as good as it can be, we can afford to have a worse D and it likely won't make that much of a difference given that we don't do D come playoff time anyway. I joke, ... or do I.

Beane didn't draft them, so that pretty much takes care of that. I'm pretty sure that Beane was hired after that draft, so if he "had a heavy hand in that draft" that'd be pretty impressive. Too bad he hasn't come close since otherwise. Well, it's pretty certain that we'll be without even an average MLB this season. Again, and you seem to have missed this, it's about marginal differences, not an offensive player vs. a defensive player. Thinking that way is how the better GMs build better teams. That's our problem in large measure. Again, untrue, you're trying to make it that way. Again, I know what I think thanks. Great. But I originally responded to your statement ... All I did was to point out that if that's true, then they came to that conclusion on their own. Absolutely no one with any notable credentials in the NFL Draft world suggested that Williams was even capable of playing MLB. You're defending that thinking by Beane & Co. I'm saying it's problematic when a GM drafts a player with the intention of playing a position that absolutely no one else believes he's capable of playing effectively, and suggesting that if "we" (the "they" that you refer to above) really thought that, then it should raise questions about those that thought it since it's far from reality. As it turns out, that's exactly the case as well. Perhaps take it up with them. But if you want to talk about irony, that might be a good place to start. Defending the people that thought something like that. And FWIW, I took an absolute rash here after the Draft suggesting the same, that Williams was ill-qualified to play MLB. I was told that "they" are experts and I don't know what they do. No, I didn't watch him at Tulane, I'm also not one of those people that claims to have watched our draft picks play extensively whereever they played college ball. But I can read many Draft Profiles by people that did along with his strengths and weaknesses. If others, including our own FO ignore the obvious, well, that's on them, don't you think? Not sure why you're defending them. Either way, we disagree there. Go BILLS!!!!

Of our projected starting roster, here are the players that Beane has drafted, not including Allen, who's the one we're talking about protecting: Offense Davis WR Torrence OG Brown OT Knox TE Cook RB Defense Rousseau Oliver Bernard Elam Taron Johnson That impressive to you? Even if Cook develops into an average RB, or even above-average, we still have a hole at MLB. My take has absolutely nothing to do with whether or not Cook is any good or not. RBs are all but a dime a dozen these days. MLBs are not. It's a where do we get more utility, and where are we more hurtin' without a player in a role. I don't think that there's much argument that we're worse off w/o a good MLB than we'd be without Cook. So yes, it is context. Incorrect. And I know what I think, thanks. I've tried to explain it, but you're not comprehending what I'm writing. See the para above. A MLB is a huge piece to be missing from a defense. My point is that Beane had no plan for Edmunds' departure, of if he did it was inadequate. I'll let you choose between the two options. I don't care. Our play at MLB this season is going to be well below average. Who knows what our play at RB will be, but given that it's much easier to replace a RB, seems that in the case of a MLB, it may have been wise to deal with that first. Clearly you see it otherwise, so we can agree to disagree. The season will provide more insight as to whether it matters. My criticisms of Beane's approach to offense are largely limited to his approach, or lack thereof, of getting an above-average OL in place, not RBs, which is last on the list.

So far a whole lot of people are questioning their "scouting of players." i.e. why are we so heavily reliant upon free agents. (rhetorical) Otherwise, I'm pretty sure that most of our previous ousted coaches would have "changed the culture" and built the team into a perennial contender with Allen. Call me nuts. Oh, have you peeked in on New England over the last three seasons where we're told that their coach is the best. You've now altered the context. This isn't about Cook, it's about Dean or Cook. When Dean turns into a monster player this season in Philly, it'll be unfortunate to consider that we could have had him here. Also in context, and again, our illustrious FO and scouting staff have no answer after Edmunds' departure, that much is clear. Otherwise, Cook would have to turn into one helluva RB to suggest that he wasn't worth a solid MLB instead. On a side note, Cook's never even approached carrying a full time load, and he's not even a 3-down back on top of that, so the likelihood that he's worth an empty spot at MLB is pretty slim, particularly in a league where RBs can't get hired and where everyone knows that they can be had in the draft Well, that's interesting. My take was in planning for Edmunds' departure. Make more sense now? Otherwise for years now I've been for the drafting of OL-men as a priority. Either way, shouldn't that reflect upon our illustrious scouts and FO? This is what happens when you get a defensive minded head coach that's obsessed with having the best defense in a league where offenses carry teams to championships, wouldn't you say.

Or who can jump through a flaming table from the highest point, after doing five shots of course. I'll never understand it at any game. And LOL, was that the beginning of Hell's Bells playing in the video?

OK, given that there's not a credible Draft Profile on Williams out there that even remotely suggests that he'll ever be a good MLB, what does that tell us? Seems to me that there are only two options, that "they" were either lying, or that they don't know what they're doing. I'm open to entertaining either or even both. Either way, he was forecasted as a WLB all along. If they wanted to try to squeeze a square peg into a triangular hole, that's on them. Just sayin'. They talk as if they can wish their thinking into existence sometimes. See above. But when all you have is depth players, I suppose that's to be expected. I put it into the poor-planning category. Maybe instead of taking Cook last season we should have drafted Nakobe Dean, or traded up for him in the 3rd. ... as one solid option. Instead, well, here we are. OK, given that there's not a credible Draft Profile on Williams out there that even remotely suggests that he'll ever be a good MLB, what does that tell us? Seems to me that there are only two options, that "they" were either lying, or that they don't know what they're doing. I'm open to entertaining either or even both. Either way, he was forecasted as a WLB all along. If they wanted to try to squeeze a square peg into a triangular hole, that's on them. Just sayin'. They talk as if they can wish their thinking into existence sometimes. See above. But when all you have is depth players, I suppose that's to be expected. I put it into the poor-planning category. Maybe instead of taking Cook last season we should have drafted Nakobe Dean, or traded up for him in the 3rd. ... as one solid option. Instead, well, here we are. They have no choice but to play their rookies this season though. Fortunately Kincaid and Torrence looked great. Not sure how much impact a back-up WLB is going to make. (Williams)

There's little reason not to think that our offense will be just fine. It's the D that's a huge questionmark. The good news there is that this isn't the '90s, great Offense can easily overcome average Defense.

Realistically they can't fire anyone until after the season. Let's see how it plays out. I'm not ready to throw Dorsey to the curb unless the play-calling is problematic, one preseason game with the first unit playing fairly "vanilla" as it's called, isn't the best barometer. Also, it seemed as if Pittsburgh thought it was the Super Bowl. If we get our a$$e$ kicked by the Jets because of zero innovation or creativity in play-calling, let the discussion begin. Some of this is on Allen too, he's the anti-Brady in that way. There are far too many plays where entirely ignores checkdown options on screens or on short outs where his guys are wide f'n open, he sees them, but continues to look downfield for the bigger play. That's on him. It's a fair guess that that's one of the things that he's focused on correcting this season. Josh is a very bright guy! Where Dorsey's fate may hinge, is in games where our RBs are chewing up yardage like college athletes at a buffet, and we abandon the run and start throwing with less than optimal results. Stuff like that, which would be indicative that he's got a lot to learn, and given his experience he should have a lot to learn in that way, particularly as a historically accomplished college QB.

Granted, they're not for everyone, but there is a subset of fans that does enjoy good well-articulated back-n-forth, agree or not. Thanks for at least being honest that they're your cup-o'-tea so to speak. LOL

That's not important, what is important is that all Bills fans in attendance @Chicago this Saturday wear glasses similar to the ones that McD wore this past game.

It's likely not practical, simply throwing it out there as a what-if kinda thing. Largely myself wondering whether a G could transition to T quickly. It's been done, so implying that it's an impossibility is baseless. No need to overanalyze it otherwise, it was largely rhetorical on my part. Next time I'll try to state as much. Agreed Brown's play, from what I saw on the highlights, was a 2/3 on a 10-scale.

None of the other coaches had Allen however. Give Allen to Marrone's offense and he does what we've done. Gunner even stated to me in discussion that had Marrone started Orton instead of Manuel we likely would have made the playoffs that season, .... with Orton, whom he argued was a solid if not average NFL QB, which I do not argue with. But put Orton on this team and anyone really think that McD makes the playoffs? Conversely, put Allen on that team, IMO we do better than we've done here with him under McD. As to talent he had there, it was actually quite decent. Davis at LB, Kuechly as you mention. Charles Johnson was a very good DE. Lotulolei played much better than he ever played here, which appeared to be a vacation stint for him. Addison as well, who was back-9 by the time McD dragged him here. Josh Norman was there too when he was good and before he fell off for who knows what reason. They had a very good D roster.

As I said, I find it difficult to believe that they could be "much worse" than Brown. Brown's a cut above a turnstyle. If they were even comparable, even slightly worse, considering that neither has ever played the position, at least it's a higher ceiling.

I'm wondering whether Bates or Torrence could slide over a spot. Coudn't be much worse than Brown. I realize it's not likely, just sayin'.

Just wait, with the QBs that we face this season, opening up the running lanes, and us w/o a MLB, ... LOL Anyone thinking that our rushing D has been problematic against even teams with mediocre RBs had better buckle-up. I don't see our rushing D going well this season.

Agreed. It's a tall task for anyone, even for those that have mastered one or the other, HC or DC. He hasn't mastered either. Here's the thing, there's this perception out there that McD was some sort of fantastic DC in Carolina. I'm not seeing that. I see a DC that on his watch in 6 seasons averaged 17th in Scoring D and 13th Yardage D, which is purely average. In Scoring D he finished 18th, 21st, 26th, and 27th in 4 of 6 seasons there, and that 26th was his last season there, not his first. The following year Steve Wilks, who's a nothing coach that gets no particular respect, took the same 26th ranked Scoring D from McD's tenure and turned it into the 11th Scoring D, and went from 21st in Yardage D to 7th, up 15 and 14 spots, with a notably tougher schedule!! It doesn't say much when some schlep can come in and do that with what you had. One of the two seasons that McD's D ranked well there, the Panthers had the easiest schedule that any team in the league had from 2011 - 2022. I'll put that another way, of 384 (12 seasons x 32 teams) different schedules from 2011 - 2022, McD's Carolina had the easiest schedule of any NFL team during that 12-year period when McD's D was good. That leaves one single season as having been great there all other things being comparable to his peers. So is he really proven to be some great DC? I don't nor ever have seen it. We'll find out this season, but it should be pretty clear that he's not Parcell's or Buddy Ryan. Has he even really ironed out his head-coaching yet? "13-Seconds"? Last season's ridiculous debacle in the playoffs. OK, fine, we can write it off as "lots having gone down late in the season," but that doesn't give him a free-pass to Head-Coach-of-the-Year or greater, nor was he. He's arguably the worst coach in the playoffs, indisputably, for teams that reach the Divisional Rounds. But Carolina's playoff pattern was about the same. Underachievement once they got to the playoffs. Maybe it's a Rivera coaching tree thing. LOL So in questioning whether or not he can handle it, it's marvelous that he's got the "culture" thing here worked out, and that he's what used to be called a "player's coach." "The Process" is still some ridiculous mystery that no one on the planet can define or explain, it just gets laid out anytime anything goes off the rails, ... "Trust the Process." Notice it hasn't been said recently. There's a reason why not. But otherwise, without Allen, he's nothing. Even now everyone's saying if Allen were to go down we'd be in the basement. Believe it. Honestly, I don't see this team winning more than 7 games w/o Allen the way McD's got it going. That's par for how everyone before him was, everyone that also didn't have Allen. Who knows, perhaps he'll morph into some monster HC/DC combo this season, all I'm saying is that there's not even a basis for any notion that he's even a top-10 DC, nor a top-10 HC arguably, but both? ... at the same time? It takes a real reach to think that that's going to happen. He is routinely outcoached by the better coaches in the league, even in wins for us at times. As to the "situation," if he had fired Frazier instead of pandering to him for whatever his reasons were, then perhaps a decent DC would have come here. I'm of the opinion that much as people don't hire people better than they are for fear that they'll end up taking their jobs, that's why he didn't hire another DC. But who knows, again, JMO based upon how I view things. But there isn't one assistant coach on the team that is even remotely slated to get a head-coaching position, and they all owe him and are loyal to him after he brought them here and promoted them. Is that what's best for the team right now however? Yeah, we all get it, those are coaches that "he's familiar with and trusts," by why? What are their above-average achievements and accomplishments? The short answer is not much if anything significant at all. What we do know is that the NFL is a business, not some jobs program designed to keep people employed. Taking Frazier's responsibilities without firing him raises questions. We'll see how it works out, but once again, we don't have an easy schedule here this season, and his track record as a DC with a more difficult than not schedule as a DC is 2nd, 18th, and 26th. That's not Parcells. But even McD's 2nd ranked Scoring D season is skewed. The Panthers played a lot of low-end scoring teams that season. 30th (twice), 29th, 28th, 26th, 22nd, 21st, 20th (twice), the 17th, and 15th for 11 of their 16 games. That's also a third of their schedule solidly against 5 of the 7 worst offensive teams. Of course the defense ranked well. But we have the polar opposite here this season. Should be interesting to be sure. More proof? The Saints had the 4th ranked Scoring and Yardage D that season, wedged in between 31st/32nd & 28th/31st seasons. The Bucs defense was also ranked somewhat higher at 21st/17th, wedged in between 23rd/29th and 25th/25th seasons, up by 10 on average in Yardage D. Atlanta, a team perennially bereft of defense remained about the same. And funny, isn't it, that was Rob Ryan's only "good" year as a DC (New Orleans) too. Pure coincidence? If we discount that season, on paper, from McD's dossier, to put it mildly, he was not good as a DC there ranking 20th in Scoring and 15th in Yardage on average, with the former lagging the latter, which is also not a positive indicator. My opinion is that's about what we're going to see here this season. And once again, as the 2nd seed in the playoffs in that 2nd-ranked season, against the Niners' 11th ranked Scoring team, 24th ranked Yardage Offense, and 30th ranked Passing Offense led by Kaepernick, McD's D allowed 23 Points and 315 Net Yards, along with scoring drives of 80 (TD), 77 (TD), 73 (FG), 49 (FG), and 31 (FG), and losing embarrasingly to the 5th seeded Niners in the Divisional Round as their only playoff game. That's 310 net yards of scoring drives. In short, another below-average playoff performance defensively speaking, against a very average offense when he had the 2nd-ranked D, both Scoring and Yardage on the season. So where is it that this narrative that he's some great Defensive mind comes from. It's not from that.

Birkenstocks and one of those T-shirts that looks like a tux.

No, not at all, I blame all of his assistants that were forced upon him from Carolina, which did nothing while they were there. As the head coach he bears no fault or blame. I didn't mean to insinuate that whatsoever. I don't even understand why anyone would think something so foolish.

I say yes. Despite popular opinion to the contrary, his defenses already were merely average in Carolina with two exceptions, one of which included the easiest schedule in the league from 2011-2022. It was below average in four of six seasons otherwise and had better overall talent. There are already questions out, TBD (to be determined that is) pending this season, as to his overall head-coaching prowess. While the other popular narrative is that he's "comfortable" and "trusts" his current staff, which is all but an entire import from his time at Carolina, yet which achieved even less than we've achieved here over the past three seasons, seasons which essentially resulted in losses largely due to coaching failures, 2021 and 2022 in particular. I'd consider it to be half a miracle if it isn't too much for him. But he thinks he's up to the task, but he's not a control-freak. No. LOL As I've said in the past, IMO this is the season where the wheels come off for McBeane. I'm bullish and optimistic about the offense, but the coaching can easily derail that, so my faith has to be in the talent we have there, which under an offensively well-coached team I would consider to be underachievement if it weren't #1 or #2 in scoring this season. The defense IMO will likely end up being incredibly average. But if the offense does turn out to be well-coached, it won't matter. This season, with this roster, is entirely in McD and his Carolina posse's hands. Any failure to achieve properly and play competitively in the playoffs will come back on them this season. If not, we'll have another AFC CG appearance and hopefully an NFL Championship and everything else will be irrelevant. Again, just my two cents. Well, when it's so clear that none of our issues are coaching related. Good point.

Funny you say that, I've been preaching that for a while, but I've been vehemently reassured that McD has a plan thereby negating any such concerns, and that part of that plan may be all but eliminating the position, because despite all of the 31 other teams having MLBs/ILBs on their depth charts, the NFL is moving away from the position. So we'll see, either McD's a visionary and Beane's astute, or ... not. This season should provide the answer to that. I'm far from optimistic.