GunnerBill Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 (edited) Oh dear. Last night did not make for pleasant viewing. Here goes..... Good Night for...... Jordan Poyer - Really encouraging night for Poyer who blitzed effectively, made tackles in run support and looked athletic and smooth in his movements on the backend of the defense. "Fly to the football" seems to be McDermott's moto and Poyer has taken that to heart. If he turns out to be an unheralded "find" that is good news for our secondary. Zay Jones - A couple of really nice grabs for Zay who looked fluent in route running and demonstrated the same excellent hands that marked him out as a future NFL starter in his college career. Looked to have slightly more chemistry with Peterman than Tyrod at the moment.... which is a concern, they really need to keep working at that ahead of the Jets game. With Jordan Matthews week to week Zay is the only receiver on this team I have a level of comfort in at this stage. Nick O'Leary - The competition for the #2 Tight End is now officially over. Croom went out hurt, Logan Thomas had a couple of different penalties and failed to "pop" in the passing game. O'Leary had 3 impressive grabs for 50 yards to end as the Bills leading receiver. He might be one of the surprising beneficiaries of this offense. Joe Banyard - The Bills are going to keep 2 running backs (McCoy and Williams), 1 full back (DiMarco) and 1 swing HB/FB (Tolbert). There is still the possibility of a 3rd pure running back making the cut and Banyard had a reasonable night both rushing and receiving out of the backfield. The one downside was the fumble.... but if a 3rd running back currently on the roster is in the final 53 Banyard is the one with the inside track on the job. Run defense - Philly attempted 26 rushes for 66 yards. The first team D shut down the run to the extent that Wentz's final drive was almost all passes and the 2nd and 3rd team D did their bit too. Shout out to Preston Brown in particular who had a really good 1st quarter..... he looks somewhere close to the player he was in the Jim Schwartz defense (and yes.... I still miss Jim Schwartz). Bad Night for...... Tyrod Taylor - Let me preface this before the usual Tyrod loyalists turn on me by saying that trading his favourite receiver away a week into pre-season and the performance of the line are mitigating factors in what was an ugly night for the Bills starting Quarterback as he went 8/18 with 2 interceptions. However, the concern that I have had all offseason about his fit in this offense looked well founded last night. The design of the WCO requires the ball to come out in time with the feet, at the top of the drop and if it doesn't the receiver is not necessarily going to still be open because their route is based on the same timing. Tyrod does not look comfortable and his feet and the throw are not at all in sync. He was getting frustrated with himself out there and the more frustrated he got the worse the accuracy got. Yes - it is only pre-season. But this was concerning, make no mistake. Anquan Boldin - Boldin certainly has an excuse for looking "behind the curve" in terms of preparedness and knowledge of the offense but his route running looked clunky and his feet look slow. There is still work to be done on his chemistry with the Quarterback but they also have to use him as intended - as a short yardage specialist. Austin Rehkow - The UDFA punter out of Idaho started camp with a realistic chance to displace Colton Schmidt as the Bills punter, especially given his place kicking experience and the fact that he could be an option to kick off. However, Schmidt has so far punted pretty well in pre-season after a rough 2nd half of 2016 and Rehkow's kick off out of bounds last night might have been the moment that this mountain became too high for him to climb. Special Teams - Penalties, penalties and more penalties. No need to say any more but I do wonder if the sheer volume of "illegal block in the back" calls that the Bills got last night and have had since Danny Crossman has been here point to an issue with the technique he coaches for coverage units and kick return units? Juan Castillo - I could just make the point again that Vlad Ducasse sucks.... but I am not going to. He has always sucked - his whole NFL career, it is not his fault he is being put out there against players he simply cannot ever hope to hold up against. Miller wasn't perfect last night either and Eric Wood did not have a good night but Ducasse is so obviously not good enough that the continued insistence in giving him time with the first unit can only be down to Castillo who was involved in bringing him over from Baltimore. This has all the hallmarks of Doug Marrone deciding Eric Pears was a better guard than Kraig Urbik - the tape doesn't support it and McDermott / Dennison need to pull rank on their offensive line coach before he sinks the whole unit for the year for the sake of his pet project. Agree? disagree? anyone else catch your eye? Edited August 18, 2017 by GunnerBill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeGOATski Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 Yep. Clay looked good too. Why the hell did they start Ducasse? I don't know much about Castillo, but if he's playing favorites then get him out of here. I loved Zay's play. Peterman had some great throws again, but not good under pressure. He has a good highlight reel going for this preseason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunnerBill Posted August 18, 2017 Author Share Posted August 18, 2017 I felt it was another mixed night for Peterman. Some good, some bad..... I think he has looked fine for a 5th round rookie and should be the #2, no doubt. Wasn't consistent enough to make my "good night" list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elite Poster Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 This regime loves "their guys". It's why we have Vlad, Zay, Tolbert, and Boldin. Don't be surprised if we see more Vlad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pbomb Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 U forgot henderson and jefferson for bad. They were both terrible. I sure hope cordy is healthy by the season and stays that way. Did anyone notice how dawkins looked last night? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coach Tuesday Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 Ducasse has been a pylon ever since being drafted. They actually raced to sign the guy! If Beane doesn't cut him, it doesn't bode well for his pro personnel skills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunnerBill Posted August 18, 2017 Author Share Posted August 18, 2017 U forgot henderson and jefferson for bad. They were both terrible. I sure hope cordy is healthy by the season and stays that way. Did anyone notice how dawkins looked last night? I hammered Henderson last week..... all that still stands. I was struggling to stay awake by the time Jefferson was in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Son Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 I thought LoRax looked good in space. Was encouraging. Jerry Hughes is fun to watch, so quick. It was also nice to see Gaines make a play. From a coaching perspective, they did a nice job with clock management. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirkwoodus13 Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 We are building a team, not accumulating talent. LOL. That's all you need to know. If fans can see the obvious, why can't the people who get paid millions of dollars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fixxxer Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 I agree with your list, I would add a couple of things Adolphus Washington scooping up the forced fumble (by Alexander) with one hand and on the run, that was impressive. Mabin stealing the ball from the Eagles WR for an interception, odd play. Jerel Worthy seems to be off-sides everytime he lines up. Maybe it's me. Max Valles had a good night with a sack and a couple of pressures on the QB. Nice to see an EJ and a Ma(y)bin making positive plays for this team..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watkins101 Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 What about Groy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALF Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 The D is looking good The O is looking bad The ST is looking bad except the kicker and punter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niagara Bill Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 Ragland was less than ordinary. Looked slow and late to most plays Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunnerBill Posted August 18, 2017 Author Share Posted August 18, 2017 Yea Hughes, Lorax and Groy were all decent. I try and limit myself to 5 but Hughes probably should have made the cut. He looked explosive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pbomb Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 Ragland was less than ordinary. Looked slow and late to most playsreally? I thought he wasnt bad for his very limited action. Got beat on the one catch but was right there just didnt turn around and then stuffed the rb on 4th and 1. Guess he is the new guy to bash Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John from Riverside Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 Oh dear. Last night did not make for pleasant viewing. Here goes..... Good Night for...... Jordan Poyer - Really encouraging night for Poyer who blitzed effectively, made tackles in run support and looked athletic and smooth in his movements on the backend of the defense. "Fly to the football" seems to be McDermott's moto and Poyer has taken that to heart. If he turns out to be an unheralded "find" that is good news for our secondary. Zay Jones - A couple of really nice grabs for Zay who looked fluent in route running and demonstrated the same excellent hands that marked him out as a future NFL starter in his college career. Looked to have slightly more chemistry with Peterman than Tyrod at the moment.... which is a concern, they really need to keep working at that ahead of the Jets game. With Jordan Matthews week to week Zay is the only receiver on this team I have a level of comfort in at this stage. Nick O'Leary - The competition for the #2 Tight End is now officially over. Croom went out hurt, Logan Thomas had a couple of different penalties and failed to "pop" in the passing game. O'Leary had 3 impressive grabs for 50 yards to end as the Bills leading receiver. He might be one of the surprising beneficiaries of this offense. Joe Banyard - The Bills are going to keep 2 running backs (McCoy and Williams), 1 full back (DiMarco) and 1 swing HB/FB (Tolbert). There is still the possibility of a 3rd pure running back making the cut and Banyard had a reasonable night both rushing and receiving out of the backfield. The one downside was the fumble.... but if a 3rd running back currently on the roster is in the final 53 Banyard is the one with the inside track on the job. Run defense - Philly attempted 26 rushes for 66 yards. The first team D shut down the run to the extent that Wentz's final drive was almost all passes and the 2nd and 3rd team D did their bit too. Shout out to Preston Brown in particular who had a really good 1st quarter..... he looks somewhere close to the player he was in the Jim Schwartz defense (and yes.... I still miss Jim Schwartz). Bad Night for...... Tyrod Taylor - Let me preface this before the usual Tyrod loyalists turn on me by saying that trading his favourite receiver away a week into pre-season and the performance of the line are mitigating factors in what was an ugly night for the Bills starting Quarterback as he went 8/18 with 2 interceptions. However, the concern that I have had all offseason about his fit in this offense looked well founded last night. The design of the WCO requires the ball to come out in time with the feet, at the top of the drop and if it doesn't the receiver is not necessarily going to still be open because their route is based on the same timing. Tyrod does not look comfortable and his feet and the throw are not at all in sync. He was getting frustrated with himself out there and the more frustrated he got the worse the accuracy got. Yes - it is only pre-season. But this was concerning, make no mistake. Anquan Boldin - Boldin certainly has an excuse for looking "behind the curve" in terms of preparedness and knowledge of the offense but his route running looked clunky and his feet look slow. There is still work to be done on his chemistry with the Quarterback but they also have to use him as intended - as a short yardage specialist. Austin Rehkow - The UDFA punter out of Idaho started camp with a realistic chance to displace Colton Schmidt as the Bills punter, especially given his place kicking experience and the fact that he could be an option to kick off. However, Schmidt has so far punted pretty well in pre-season after a rough 2nd half of 2016 and Rehkow's punt out of bounds last night might have been the moment that this mountain became too high for him to climb. Special Teams - Penalties, penalties and more penalties. No need to say any more but I do wonder if the sheer volume of "illegal block in the back" calls that the Bills got last night and have had since Danny Crossman has been here point to an issue with the technique he coaches for coverage units and kick return units? Juan Castillo - I could just make the point again that Vlad Ducasse sucks.... but I am not going to. He has always sucked - his whole NFL career, it is not his fault he is being put out there against players he simply cannot ever hope to hold up against. Miller wasn't perfect last night either and Eric Wood did not have a good night but Ducasse is so obviously not good enough that the continued insistence in giving him time with the first unit can only be down to Castillo who was involved in bringing him over from Baltimore. This has all the hallmarks of Doug Marrone deciding Eric Pears was a better guard than Kraig Urbik - the tape doesn't support it and McDermott / Dennison need to pull rank on their offensive line coach before he sinks the whole unit for the year for the sake of his pet project. Agree? disagree? anyone else catch your eye? Tyrod had a rough night Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pbomb Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 I thought LoRax looked good in space. Was encouraging. Jerry Hughes is fun to watch, so quick. It was also nice to see Gaines make a play. From a coaching perspective, they did a nice job with clock management. i agree with all this. Gaines looks like he is gonna be a good tackler, would be very surprised if he isnt starting opposite tre by the start of the season Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlimShady'sSpaceForce Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 Tyrod had a rough night I think the correct word is FUGLY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r00tabaga Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 (edited) Rehkow Kicked the ball out of bounds, not Punted it out of bounds. He had a good punt and a FG too. Edited August 18, 2017 by r00tabaga Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevewin Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 (edited) Jerel Worthy seems to be off-sides everytime he lines up. Maybe it's me. It wasn't just Worthy - at times it seemed like the whole D-line was over the ball. I was trying to watch Shaq the frst few series and I swear sometimes he was easily over a foot offsides - it was weird That may have been one of the worst football games I ever watched Edited August 18, 2017 by stevewin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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