frogger Posted May 15, 2014 Posted May 15, 2014 Just as baffled as the draft experts who downgraded the Bills for taking Ross Cockrell in the 4th when there were better corners available. Except they didn't take into account that we have two very solid starting corners, and Cockrell is just as likely to play safety. They acted like we were one of those teams that actually needed a starting corner. No research as usual. YouTube Texas a&m vs duke full game, just watch the first quarter, I think you'll see Cockrell is better than a 4th rounder, I absolutely think he will have an impact throughout his rookie reason.
YoloinOhio Posted May 15, 2014 Author Posted May 15, 2014 YouTube Texas a&m vs duke full game, just watch the first quarter, I think you'll see Cockrell is better than a 4th rounder, I absolutely think he will have an impact throughout his rookie reason. I watched that game live and I didn't know it was Cockrell at the time, but remember thinking that I must have seriously overrated Evans. I came back around to liking Evans around the time of the combine and thought maybe he just had a bad game. I looked up Cockrell when the Bills brought him in for a visit, and realized it was him who was covering Evans and noted the size difference between the two and thought that was pretty impressive.
Buffalo_Stampede Posted May 16, 2014 Posted May 16, 2014 (edited) Im surprised the Bills have the best roster so far. List includes Arizona, Baltimore, Atlanta, and Carolina. All teams that will be predicted to make the playoffs. Lets face it, this is a good roster. They could be even better if their OL moves work and Sammy is the real the deal. But then we have QB. Edited May 16, 2014 by TheTruthHurts
bowery4 Posted May 16, 2014 Posted May 16, 2014 Mike Rodak @mikerodak 26m Pumping the brakes on talk of the Bills moving Corey Graham to safety: http://es.pn/T7JBuG Wow, I really liked Robey last year, I sort of hope it wasn't just scheme. "That's not to say that Robey didn't have a good season last year. He did, and he's a high-character player within the Bills' locker room. But between the Bills signing Graham and drafting cornerback Ross Cockrell in the fourth round, there are signs that Robey may not fit as well within Jim Schwartz's scheme as he did within Mike Pettine's system."
Fingon Posted May 16, 2014 Posted May 16, 2014 Wow, I really liked Robey last year, I sort of hope it wasn't just scheme. "That's not to say that Robey didn't have a good season last year. He did, and he's a high-character player within the Bills' locker room. But between the Bills signing Graham and drafting cornerback Ross Cockrell in the fourth round, there are signs that Robey may not fit as well within Jim Schwartz's scheme as he did within Mike Pettine's system." I think they like Robey but want some corners with length to cover the bigger receivers. Robey is a pure slot corner and if one of our outside guys gets hurt he can't slide over. The Bills also needed a guy to rotate Robey out for when the other team puts a big WR or TE in the slot.
thebandit27 Posted May 16, 2014 Posted May 16, 2014 I think they like Robey but want some corners with length to cover the bigger receivers. Robey is a pure slot corner and if one of our outside guys gets hurt he can't slide over. The Bills also needed a guy to rotate Robey out for when the other team puts a big WR or TE in the slot. Good point...I also think that their DB additions have a lot to do with matching up against New England. It wouldn't surprise me if they plan to have Gilmore man up on Gronk because he's big and physical enough to do so without sacrificing speed. That kind of approach allows boundary guys like Graham and McKelvin to stay out there and cover WRs, while drafting a guy like Cockrell provides the depth needed to play a scheme like this in the event you lose one of the top 3. Seems like smart football.
Fingon Posted May 16, 2014 Posted May 16, 2014 Good point...I also think that their DB additions have a lot to do with matching up against New England. It wouldn't surprise me if they plan to have Gilmore man up on Gronk because he's big and physical enough to do so without sacrificing speed. That kind of approach allows boundary guys like Graham and McKelvin to stay out there and cover WRs, while drafting a guy like Cockrell provides the depth needed to play a scheme like this in the event you lose one of the top 3. Seems like smart football. Exactly, if Edelman is in the slot the Bills will keep Robey there all day. If NE puts Gronk in the slot the Bills would then put Graham on him or like you said rotate Gilmore on him.
Dorkington Posted May 16, 2014 Posted May 16, 2014 Im surprised the Bills have the best roster so far. List includes Arizona, Baltimore, Atlanta, and Carolina. All teams that will be predicted to make the playoffs. Lets face it, this is a good roster. They could be even better if their OL moves work and Sammy is the real the deal. But then we have QB. The difference being QB. Which is why it's "all on EJ" this year. Well, that and the coaches. We have a good team on paper, otherwise. My "ouch" earlier, was in relation to EJ's rating, which I should have clarified.
34-78-83 Posted May 16, 2014 Posted May 16, 2014 does pff have a stat for D-lineman for occupying 2 blockers or having a chip block assigned to them? just curious... Also along those lines, how do they evaluate DT's considering there are two different types of Dt's really? The pluggers and the penetrators...
YoloinOhio Posted May 16, 2014 Author Posted May 16, 2014 (edited) Good point...I also think that their DB additions have a lot to do with matching up against New England. It wouldn't surprise me if they plan to have Gilmore man up on Gronk because he's big and physical enough to do so without sacrificing speed. That kind of approach allows boundary guys like Graham and McKelvin to stay out there and cover WRs, while drafting a guy like Cockrell provides the depth needed to play a scheme like this in the event you lose one of the top 3. Seems like smart football. Let's not pretend Marrone has forgotten the beginning of the season when both Gilmore and McKelvin, and Brooks, all went down for multiple games. It happens. I am sure they thought they were prepared, but they weren't. They were signing guys off the street. We lost a game because of Justin Rogers playing CB1. It was also the reason they couldn't bring Thad up from the PS prior to the Browns game, because they needed room for the extra DBs they had to sign just to field a secondary. They should be solid now, both for sub-package flexibility and depth. Exactly, if Edelman is in the slot the Bills will keep Robey there all day. If NE puts Gronk in the slot the Bills would then put Graham on him or like you said rotate Gilmore on him. The Jets drafted a 5'7 WR to play in the slot too...so Robey can cover him although they will probably slide Decker in there to try to take advantage of the size difference, in which case the Bills can counter with Graham. Edited May 16, 2014 by YoloinOhio
34-78-83 Posted May 20, 2014 Posted May 20, 2014 does pff have a stat for D-lineman for occupying 2 blockers or having a chip block assigned to them? just curious... Also along those lines, how do they evaluate DT's considering there are two different types of Dt's really? The pluggers and the penetrators... hmm , must be a mystery .... or a stumper
papazoid Posted June 6, 2014 Posted June 6, 2014 Ranking the NFL team rosters, 1-32 At Pro Football Focus we run position rankings and have done unit group rankings in the past, but here we're going to do something a little more in-depth coming out of the draft -- ranking entire rosters. 20. Buffalo Bills There might not be a finer example in the league of how much coaching can affect a team than the Bills and their defense. That side of the ball has been loaded with talent for a while, but it was anonymous in 2012 under the old coaching staff and then a completely different prospect in 2013 under Mike Pettine. With Pettine now installed as the Cleveland Browns' head coach, we are going to see how much of that success a year ago can be sustained with new coaching. The talent is certainly there, but that hasn't kept the team from underachieving in the past. On offense, much rests on the shoulders of EJ Manuel in his second season after an ugly first year. Manuel has a decent offensive line in front of him and a backfield full of talent to hand the ball off to, but the receiving corps needs first-round draft pick Sammy Watkins to be special right off the bat. By the numbers: Buffalo has a pair of starters ranked as poor, including QB Manuel. While Manuel at least has the chance to improve upon that ranking with a big step forward in his development, the other player, left guard Chris Williams, has been a model of consistently poor play. Kyle Williams is the team's lone blue-chip player, but along with Marcell Dareus and Mario Williams, three quarters of the Bills' defensive line rank as good starters or better. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Key: Blue=Elite; Green=High quality; Light green=Good starter; Yellow=Average starter; Orange=Below-average starter; Red=Poor starter; Gray=Not enough information; Purple=Rookie http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/11012674/nfl-ranking-rosters-all-32-teams
dave mcbride Posted June 6, 2014 Posted June 6, 2014 Mario Williams may not grade out as well as we might think on a snap-per-snap chart, but he's one thing and one thing only: elite.
dollars 2 donuts Posted June 6, 2014 Posted June 6, 2014 I can't be the only one that hopes EJ, who was 4-5 as a rookie starter in games he finished on an already poor team, can raise his game to the level this year of at least Erik Pears and Doug Legursky.
Kirby Jackson Posted June 6, 2014 Posted June 6, 2014 Mario Williams may not grade out as well as we might think on a snap-per-snap chart, but he's one thing and one thing only: elite. ^This Mario is the best player on the team. There are other really good players (Kiko, Kyle, Glenn, etc...) but they are not at his level.
thebandit27 Posted June 6, 2014 Posted June 6, 2014 ^This Mario is the best player on the team. There are other really good players (Kiko, Kyle, Glenn, etc...) but they are not at his level. Absolutely...I use this example all the time: when in week 1, your opponent (NE) has all off-season to gameplan against your defense, and the plan involves taking a passing target off the field on 3rd downs and bringing in an extra OT so that they can position their starting LT and RT across from your best defender, that should tell you something.
Hazed and Amuzed Posted June 6, 2014 Posted June 6, 2014 ^This Mario is the best player on the team. There are other really good players (Kiko, Kyle, Glenn, etc...) but they are not at his level. People discount Mario's ability against the run and the effect he has on the offenses accountability. Without Mario, everyone on the Bills defense is a little bit worse.
Kirby Jackson Posted June 6, 2014 Posted June 6, 2014 People discount Mario's ability against the run and the effect he has on the offenses accountability. Without Mario, everyone on the Bills defense is a little bit worse. Yep, I actually think that he is underrated against the run. I can think of so many times last year where he set the edge or did the dirty work. Typically pass rushers just fire forward every play. He is a team player.
34-78-83 Posted June 6, 2014 Posted June 6, 2014 Looks like a lazy evaluation to me Lazy or at least incomplete. Nobody could answer my question above for example about the method of ranking D-Lineman for PFF (I figured someone more familiar with their methods would know), which leads me to think that they don't have a true accurate evaluation process in place for them. It all seems like more of a football = Dungeons and Dragons approach that they use, which leaves out huge important factors.
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