2020 Our Year For Sure

Cool

Beating a team on one given Sunday doesn't necessarily make you better. KC blew out the eventual SB champs in week 4 last year- doesn't mean anything. Too many conclusions being drawn so early. So no I don't feel different

No argument here. We have every reason to have high expectations for this defense.

A first rounder for a guy who just cleared waivers

Thanks! Good stuff. I think we're gonna win this here foosball game. Introduce the Patsies to one Samuel Watkins, then forge ahead on the ground.

This is where I am too, love those blues.

:thumbsup: It's telling when whatever player you throw in there, they exceed expectations...same thing we saw with the QBs in preseason under Roman & staff.

Yeah it certainly gets said on here every time the Bills lose.

"We get wise by asking questions, and even if these are not answered, we get wise, for a well-packed question carries its answer on its back as a snail carries its shell."

Thanks for putting the time in, John, my favorite threads are the ones that begin with game obversations. I believe there are further examples in the game of Henderson struggling (but not struggling too hard, that would be tiring). In the limited observation I've done of Hendy in his time here it seems the trends he's exhibited are shining through in your post. I think we agree this is not a guy showing a whole lot of ambition on the field. I think there is some potential with this player, though how much is up for debate. Yes he's 6'7, 331 with long arms and an otherwise well-proportioned body- this kid looks the part in every conceivable way. But he doesn't seem to have the kind of power it looks like he should have. I've never seen him line up and drive a defender backwards. I was interested to learn that he skipped the bench press at the combine... His technique in the run game isn't bad, it is nonexistent. The CLE preseason games, one of his best run snaps was one where he was tasked with getting to the second level and sealing the Mike LB inside on a run wide to the right. Henderson gets turned around, flails his way forward and the LB actually bumps right into Hendy's backside. It delayed him enough for the HB to get outside but this nonexistent technique just won't cut it against the best of the best. The one thing he can do in the run game with any consistency is get into a hole and wall off. I suspect that's because it doesn't take a whole lot of effort, or power, comparatively. His pass pro is a good deal better than his run work but still needs a good deal of improvement. He flashes good proper footwork but it's wildly inconsistent, and he seems to have little chance of stopping any move inside to his left. He's still 6'7 331 with long arms and relatively athletic feet when he's bothered to use them. In order for this young man to unlock whatever potential he has great or small, someone needs to get through to Seantrel and cause him to fundamentally re-think what it takes to succeed in the NFL and whether that's something he wants or not. From what I saw of Kouandjio he's better than last year as he flashes the ability to move large men around in the run game, but again, even this is wildly inconsistent. He still whiffs and can't be counted on to do his job snap in and snap out. I won't even speak much of his pass pro, suffice to say it's still a mess and he would struggle. Roman would have no choice but to devote manpower to helping this guy all afternoon long. If CK was a consistent run blocker who's ready to go, I'd without hesitation say start him and find a way to deal with the pass pro issues. Even though his run blocking (and overall game) is still a work in progress it may make sense to start Kouandjio anyway, as long as maximum effort is there, because desire will allow for coachability and growth. One thing I'm sure of is that if Henderson doesn't drastically increase his desire to be good then he won't last long on a Rex Ryan team. They made a strong run at Bulaga which had me on pins and needles, and when Bulaga stayed in GB for less money they figured they could improve Henderson's effort through coaching and it wasn't worth it to sign a lower level veteran. To this point, that has not happened, and it's a line of thinking I disagreed with from the start. I think folks are now seeing why I and a handful of others (FearTheLosing comes to mind, crazy bastard that he is ) spent the entire offseason pounding the table for a right tackle. Roman had success with the best RT and best offensive line in the NFL. It made little sense to enter the season with nothing but sophomores who had shown poorly as rookies. The ugly and infuriating truth is that this is a better offensive line if we re-sign Erik Pears! Another option was to sign a mid- or low-level FA comparable to Pears. Whaley did nothing because he and his coaching staff overrated (you betcha) what Henderson brought to the table. We'll almost certainly upgrade the position after the season but it's too late for 2015, short of Whaley swinging a trade, which I'm praying for. But the point is we never should've allowed ourselves into this predicament. That said...we have a serious football team, no?

You da man Ronald Darby. This team is goooood

GO BILLS

Thank you. That is the implication and the right message to send at this beautiful time of year. "For some reason" is my favorite part of the quote. I like that he'll make himself sound essentially like an idiot in order to give motivation that may or may not be needed. Does Armadillo Skin need the kid gloves? Maybe not but what's the downside

Good info, thanks. Very interesting Throwing Darby to the wolves is probably what's best for his long-term development. But is it best for the Bills' chances of making the playoffs? McKlevin will presumably be back by midseason. I can't help thinking we'd be better served taking a more short-term perspective here.

That quote reads like Rexy has no idea DC is coming off an injury and missed all that practice time. Puzzling

I wish all could see this post, it makes a critical point. If each of us accepted this we could have more valuable conversation.

I'm not your personal assistant >.>

If Tyrod stinks and we're losing we shouldn't hesitate to give someone else a chance. Its about giving the Bills the best chance to win, nothing else. Loyalty in the NFL is an illusion. Same would go for EJ or anyone really

I hear that

That back shoulder throw is tough for a safety to give help on when it's for 10-15 yards. Darby had a back shoulder throw in one of the PS games where he got his head around to look at the ball...just before it was caught. And Darby was still on the WR's front shoulder. I have doubts he can get from there to defending Luck and Hilton successfully on the route so quickly. Love me some Donnie Henderson so who knows for sure The double moves up the field will get safety help but you can run double moves horizontally too, not the same threat but Luck is perfectly capable of moving down the field in smaller chunks. I think that at this moment Graham is the vastly superior corner and would fare better against Johnson than Darby against TY. Additionally Rex' defenses are built on confusing the quarterback and offensive line into mistakes. This is done by varying positions and assignments for all 11 players- move them around so the offensive line has no idea before the snap who they're about to be blocking. This becomes a lot harder for Ryan to accomplish when you start pulling numbers away from that mix in order to double team somebody- why do this if it isn't necessary? I like your ideas about hiding Darby if he is in there. Get on the Twitter machine and spread the word.

Yeah I don't think its as simple as "safety help over the top, done-ski." The kid will get torn up by either Andre Johnson or TY Hilton. Does he have a prayer against a Luck back shoulder throw? Double moves underneath? Agreed, I wrote elsewhere I think Graham and Rambo start- for Rex what is the point of trying this Darby thing so quickly when you have Graham right there.

Crickets The EJ partisanship has gone to the point of insanity. Now you're not permitted to make objective statements about what has transpired in his career. No matter what they try to tell ya it's perfectly fine to both get excited about EJ's progress and potential, and also acknowledge the reality that he played poorly the last time he got a chance. Preferrable, even. I don't know why this is so difficult

I wasn't thinking of running when I typed that, I don't think the mobility is key to Roman's system the way some do. He has an enormous playbook and I don't think he'd have a problem simply ignoring the QB running plays. Cassel limits the playbook because he doesn't throw downfield very well. That's what I mean by EJ keeps the whole playbook open- you don't have to go into Chan/Fitz mode where everything is horizontal and the defense can creep up to the LOS. With Cassel this becomes a possibility to keep in mind.

I look at it like EJ is the better overall quarterback while Cassel is the more reliable. As a starter I much prefer EJ, but the backup job isn't about upside to me as much as it is limiting downside. Cassel won't win on his own but his style and strengths lend themselves to giving the rest of the team the chance to elevate their game and find a way to win. EJ is capable of astonishing things but you don't know what you're getting on a given day- he could give you zero chance to win like he did in Houston. As others have said, if Tyrod is out multiple weeks I much prefer EJ, he keeps the whole playbook open and unlike Cassel has a shot to be really good. If it's an in-game replacement I prefer Cassel, you know the ball will come out on time and accurately and you'll still have a chance to win that day.

Bravo Doug. Love it