J Byrd - Anyone think he will go back to ball hawking ways?

[95altima12]

Anyone else think this guy is going to get 10+ INT this year. With the new pass rush and going to the 4-3?

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IUpRhK-T1g&feature=player_embedded

Edited March 22, 2012 by 95altima12

[FleaMoulds80]

A lot of those INTs were luck. Sure he had to be in the right place at the right time, but a lot of those passes were just poorly thrown balls or tipped balls that happened to drop in his hands.

[DreamOnDan]

I think that resigning Byrd this offseason is one of the most important things for Buffalo to do.. He should be a pro bowl caliber safety for 10 years in my opinion. Sign the man. Oh and Yes, I think his amazing hands and ball skills will shine once again in 2012

[Punch]

I thought the bulk of last season was his best year so far--- he's become a much more complete player. Certainly luck plays a role in takeaways, but he has a knack for being around the ball, and with a vastly improved front 7 I fully expect his interception totals to increase.

[kdub]

A lot of those INTs were luck. Sure he had to be in the right place at the right time, but a lot of those passes were just poorly thrown balls or tipped balls that happened to drop in his hands.

 

That's the beauty of actually having a pass rush. The percentage of balls that are poorly thrown or tipped goes up, which allows for the secondary, and specifically, ball hawking safeties (see: ed reed), to take advantage of.

 

I expect Byrd to have a great season.

[PDaDdy]

Byrd really worked on his run support and other aspects of his game the last 2 years. That being said if he is "allowed" to ball hawk like he was when we ran the Cover 2 I think we will see more INTs and exciting plays out of him like we did his rookie year. He was still making plays the last 2 years, just not like his rookie year.

[RyanC883]

I think that resigning Byrd this offseason is one of the most important things for Buffalo to do.. He should be a pro bowl caliber safety for 10 years in my opinion. Sign the man. Oh and Yes, I think his amazing hands and ball skills will shine once again in 2012

 

 

I think he will. They should resign him prior to this season. I think he gets a ton of Int's this year with the improved pass rush. If they wait till after this season, he could cost too much. A risk for both sides, but a deal could get done. Bills risk: he doesn't turn out to be worth the $ they give him. His risk: he turns into Ed Reed making less money.

[95altima12]

That's the beauty of actually having a pass rush. The percentage of balls that are poorly thrown or tipped goes up, which allows for the secondary, and specifically, ball hawking safeties (see: ed reed), to take advantage of.

 

I expect Byrd to have a great season.

Yea I don't want our run D to suck again like in 2009 2010 but I would like if the coaches staff tells Byrd to keep his eyes on teh Qb and get some INT. I agree alot of those were luck and tipped passes but when you have a safty right next to the WR at all times I think that has something to do with it as well.

 

I think he will. They should resign him prior to this season. I think he gets a ton of Int's this year with the improved pass rush. If they wait till after this season, he could cost too much. A risk for both sides, but a deal could get done. Bills risk: he doesn't turn out to be worth the $ they give him. His risk: he turns into Ed Reed making less money.

I have been thinking this since the day we signed MW.

[Billsrhody]

A lot of those INTs were luck. Sure he had to be in the right place at the right time, but a lot of those passes were just poorly thrown balls or tipped balls that happened to drop in his hands.

 

Haha its kind of funny watching them all together like that. I counted:

 

2 Slight over throws

3 Really bad throws

4 Tipped Balls

 

I think Byrd made a "really nice play" on 1 of the INTs where he had to dive for an errant pass. I think only 2 of the bad throws were forced by pressure from the pass rush so I'm not sure I expect Byrd's INT numbers to go up that much. Its pretty crazy how lucky he got in his 1st year. I do think the kid has a lot of talent but I doubt we'll see 9 INTS from him again.

Edited March 22, 2012 by Billsrhody

[OCinBuffalo]

A lot of those INTs were luck. Sure he had to be in the right place at the right time, but a lot of those passes were just poorly thrown balls or tipped balls that happened to drop in his hands.

I don't know about this....being in the right place at the right time, as a Safety, has a lot more to do with skill and preparation than it does luck. Consider, on any typical play, a safety could realistically end up anywhere within 1500 square yards, and even more if it's a deep pass. Thus, the right place is a very small area in that that range, and the right time is a very small vector as well.

 

But if we don't want to look at in terms of physical reality...and base in anecdotal evidence, then, how often have we seen FS on other teams drop these kind of balls? More often than not.

Haha its kind of funny watching them all together like that. I counted:

 

2 Slight over throws

3 Really bad throws

4 Tipped Balls

 

I think Byrd made a "really nice play" on 1 of the INTs where he had to dive for an errant pass. I think only 2 of the bad throws were forced by pressure from the pass rush so I'm not sure I expect Byrd's INT numbers to go up that much. Its pretty crazy how lucky he got in his 1st year. I do think the kid has a lot of talent but I doubt we'll see 9 INTS from him again.

Gary Player said..."the more I practice, the luckier I get".

 

If we apply that to football: The more often we scheme to put Byrd in the right place, the luckier he will get as well. 4-3 D should allow him to go back to running free more often....and we should see his luck...improve.

Edited March 22, 2012 by OCinBuffalo

[thurst44]

I thought the bulk of last season was his best year so far--- he's become a much more complete player. Certainly luck plays a role in takeaways, but he has a knack for being around the ball, and with a vastly improved front 7 I fully expect his interception totals to increase.

Agreed. He is likely their best open-field tackler at this point.

[Dorkington]

A lot of those INTs were luck. Sure he had to be in the right place at the right time, but a lot of those passes were just poorly thrown balls or tipped balls that happened to drop in his hands.

Those happen when the QB is being harassed.

[Alaska Darin]

Byrd made the lion's share of those picks because he was late to the spot. He's a much better player now in every facet of the game but he'd better not regress to where he was then.

[Gugny]

Blows me away that people just can't acknowledge that Byrd had a really awesome year that year. Better than Revis, stats-wise. They had to be lucky INTs ... I say bull. If we're making excuses, then why not point out that the only reason Revis is so good is because he never gets called for interference. Give credit where it's due. One or two INTs might be "right place at the right time," like a lineman getting a ball batted into his chest. But when a guy gets 9 INTs, he simply had a great year.

[prissythecat]

Blows me away that people just can't acknowledge that Byrd had a really awesome year that year. Better than Revis, stats-wise. They had to be lucky INTs ... I say bull. If we're making excuses, then why not point out that the only reason Revis is so good is because he never gets called for interference. Give credit where it's due. One or two INTs might be "right place at the right time," like a lineman getting a ball batted into his chest. But when a guy gets 9 INTs, he simply had a great year.

 

 

How many of Byrd's INTs that year came from Sanchize?

[hondo in seattle]

A lot of those INTs were luck. Sure he had to be in the right place at the right time, but a lot of those passes were just poorly thrown balls or tipped balls that happened to drop in his hands.

 

I agree. It did seem uncanny as if he had some kind of preternatural ability to predict where the ball would go. But I think "luck" better describes the reality of it. I'll be thrilled he comes up with 5 INTs.

 

Blows me away that people just can't acknowledge that Byrd had a really awesome year that year. Better than Revis, stats-wise. They had to be lucky INTs ... I say bull. If we're making excuses, then why not point out that the only reason Revis is so good is because he never gets called for interference. Give credit where it's due. One or two INTs might be "right place at the right time," like a lineman getting a ball batted into his chest. But when a guy gets 9 INTs, he simply had a great year.

 

In poker, you might be dealt a flush. That's luck, not skill. And it's not likely to get repeated.

 

Football is partly a game of chance. Lots of statistically improbable things happen every year. On many of Byrd's INTs, he was out of position. But the ball came to him anyway either because of a funny tip or a bad throw. I give him credit for making the catches. Some defenders have hands of concrete.

 

The comparison with Revis is false. Revis is a gifted athlete who blankets receivers. WRs struggle to get open against him and don't usually have productive games. And Revis remains dominant year after year. The comparison with Revis would make sense if Revis allowed receivers to get open but posted good stats anyway because QBs tended to throw poorly and receivers dropped balls when open against Revis.

 

I'll believe in Byrd's ball-hawking skills when he can repeat his rookie stats. But hopefully, he doesn't blow assignments and miss tackles like he did his rookie year. Other than the lack of INTs, I thought he actually played much better last season.

[Gugny]

I agree. It did seem uncanny as if he had some kind of preternatural ability to predict where the ball would go. But I think "luck" better describes the reality of it. I'll be thrilled he comes up with 5 INTs.

 

 

 

In poker, you might be dealt a flush. That's luck, not skill. And it's not likely to get repeated.

 

Football is partly a game of chance. Lots of statistically improbable things happen every year. On many of Byrd's INTs, he was out of position. But the ball came to him anyway either because of a funny tip or a bad throw. I give him credit for making the catches. Some defenders have hands of concrete.

 

The comparison with Revis is false. Revis is a gifted athlete who blankets receivers. WRs struggle to get open against him and don't usually have productive games. And Revis remains dominant year after year. The comparison with Revis would make sense if Revis allowed receivers to get open but posted good stats anyway because QBs tended to throw poorly and receivers dropped balls when open against Revis.

 

I'll believe in Byrd's ball-hawking skills when he can repeat his rookie stats. But hopefully, he doesn't blow assignments and miss tackles like he did his rookie year. Other than the lack of INTs, I thought he actually played much better last season.

I agree that he had an awesome year last year. And I agree that Revis is gifted. But I stand by my opinion that part of the reason he blankets receivers so well is that he knows he basically has to pull a knife out and stab someone in the nuts in order to draw a flag. Byrd has never had that luxury.

[OCinBuffalo]

In poker, you might be dealt a flush. That's luck, not skill. And it's not likely to get repeated.

Yes, and how many fish at the table completely underplay that hand, and only end up with 20% of what they could have got, sitting back with their "poker face" because they have 0 skill? When you are playing against "lucky" guys that keep getting nut hands like this, the only thing that keeps you from losing to them is....skill.

 

Sure the hand is the hand, but what you do with it is way more important. And even more important: can you keep doing it? As you may know, one hand rarely means a lot in poker, same as one play in football, but, there are certain hands/certain plays that are huge.

 

Being able to consistently capitalize on opportunity when it presents itself, and to consistently make the big play when it's available....that's skill.

 

The key is the consistency, not the degree/number of opportunities.

 

And why? Because eventually the other players take notice. You keep outplaying them/getting INTs, and they remember. Do it consistently, and you are in their head. Doesn't matter how the opportunities occurred....people will only remember seeing the back of Byrd's jersey running the other way.

[WhitewalkerInPhilly]

I don't think Byrd is going to go back to his wonderful crazy INT season. That said, even though he didn't put up crazy numbers the last two years I agree that his play has been solid and improving.

 

I don't think that he will get those same numbers but with the new pass rush I think he could shine again.

[BillsFan-4-Ever]

3 years played

 

We allways hear about the sophomore slump... but that year everyone ran against Buffalo.

 

Does anyone have stats on passed defensed last season? are they not throwing the ball in his direction?

Edited March 22, 2012 by BillsFan-4-Ever