Good Night / Bad Night - Pre-season Game 2

[GunnerBill]

Apologies for my tardiness this week, I had this written in note form by the end of the game in the early hours of Saturday morning but then I had friends staying for the weekend so was rather busy. A little delayed there for and I know some of you will have already moved on but here is my week 2 assessment of who hurt themself and who helped themself against the Panthers. 

 

Good Night for...

 

Josh Allen - Last week Josh was encouraging but at times uneven. I called it a "knocking the rust off" performance and was accused of being a Josh Allen homer - first time for everything! This week was a different story. His worst throw was his first throw - where if he puts it in the right spot Beasley has an easy first down - but after that Josh was right on point. Two throws to Tommy Sweeney that demonstrated an improved touched on down field passes were the highlights but the way he got to his outlet receiver and used Cole Beasley consistently was impressive too. The two incompletions were a drop (probably a good drop because it was lost yardage if Shady held hit) and a throwaway which was the right decision. He wasn't perfect - he did fail to see open receivers on consecutive plays when things happened a little faster in the redzone and that remains an area for growth but this performance, without a doubt, demonstrated significant improvements from where Josh Allen was a year ago. 

 

Deon Lacey - The battle for the depth positions at linebacker is suddenly the fight that is taking my eye. Your three starters are locked in, Corey Thompson's ability to play all three spots likely gives him a leg up on a backup spot and Julian Stanford as a "specialist" middle linebacker might be nudging ahead of the rest too. That means Mo Alexander (a special teams ace), Vosean Joseph (their 5th round draft pick) and Deon Lacey are likely battling for one spot. Lacey was impressive on Friday, flashing in both the run and pass games. Would the Bills really cut a guy they took in round 5 at the end of his first camp? Lacey is at least going to make them consider that question. 

 

Duke Williams - With week 3 of pre-season likely to mean more time for the starters and less time for the 3s those back of the roster wide receivers - Williams, Sills and Easley were pretty close to the last chance saloon against the Panthers. Duke is the guy who made the plays, cathcing 3 of his 4 targets including a terrific touchdown grab, to earn himself a spot an extended stay at the bar. I still think he has the shifty gadget guys infront of him - especially McKenzie - but he is still in the fight. Sills and Easley are now in the conversation for practice squad only.

 

Cole Beasley - Cole Beasley was always a 'lock' for this roster so he didn't need to help himself in that regard but the reason that the Panthers game was such an important moment for Beasley as a Bill was the evidence of building chemistry and trust between he and Josh Allen. Five targets, five catches. Now I know that the Panthers were in relatively vanilla cover 2 base and that helps a slot guy get free but the fact that Josh was finding him and not always looking to force things deep is an encouraging sign for the season to come. I don't expect Beasley to have massive touchdown numbers, or a 1,000 receiving yards.... but if he can be a volume catch guy who moves the chains on 3rd down then he will be critical to this offense. 

 

Christian Wade - The fairytale continues. It's gonna take more than one of your American arm tackles to get Wade on the ground. He has run away from bigger and scarier dudes than the Panthers 3rd team defense in his rugby career. I still think for him to make the active roster this year would be stretch but one would think that the Bills would take advantage of the roster protection he has to keep him around. 

 

 

Bad Night for...

 

Quinton Spain - So Spain did get badly beaten by Kawann Short on a play that led to a sack and had a holding penalty but hey this stuff happens. He was still moving people around the rest of that first drive and had a good low block on the goalline TD run. We should never forget the other guys get paid too and Kawann Short is elite.

 

Mike Love - His penalty on a missed FG ended up helping Carolina put points on the board. That is the sort of mistake coaches hate. The defensive end battle is tough and mistakes on special teams are gonna make it hard for him to stick.

 

Senorise Perry - Last week it was TJ Yeldon and this week it was Perry with the fumble leading to a turnover. Neither of the guys who entered the offseason directly behind the top 3 on the running back depth chart have made a strong case so far for their inclusion on the 53.

 

Tyree Jackson - I get it he is trying. But if you want to see inaccurate passes then watch him throw. He has played himself off the Bills' practice squad for my money.

 

Trent Murphy - This will be the controversial one this week "whoa Gunner but he had a sack!" He did. Good on him. That drive might have been over on the other side of the 50 if he hadn't twice completely lost contain in the run game - once to the running back and once on 4th down to the Quarterback - both for 1st downs. If they want to bring Murphy in on 2nd and long and 3rd and long - obvious passing downs - then I won't hate it. But Shaq Lawson should be the starter opposite Jerry Hughes, especially if the Bills are serious about improving their run defense.

 

 

Not many negatives this week, most of the bad night guys came down to one or two moments..... it is only pre-season. But the Panthers game was encouraging for the Bills in lots of ways! As ever, let me hear your thoughts!

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

1 minute ago, GunnerBill said:

Christian Wade - The fairytale continues. It's gonna take more than one of your American arm tackles to get Wade on the ground. He has run away from bigger and scarier dudes than the Panthers 3rd team defense in his rugby career. I still think for him to make the active roster this year would be stretch but one would think that the Bills would take advantage of the roster protection he has to keep him around. 

 

Its too bad a number of people won't accept that as a reality and claim he's only doing good because he's playing against scrubs 

 

 

Thanks Gunner 

[EmotionallyUnstable]

Couldn't agree more on your thoughts about Trent Murphy 

[SoCal Deek]

5 minutes ago, EmotionallyUnstable said:

Couldn't agree more on your thoughts about Trent Murphy 

I agree as well on the containment comment. I was screaming at the TV. (Only time all game.) But...I’m hoping that as a veteran he knows what he’s doing and those mental gaffes won’t happen when the games count.

[oldmanfan]

Using Murphy as a 3rd down rushing guy has merit.  Would help keep him healthy.  And Lawson has looked pretty good thus far.

[RoyBatty is alive]

Good write up, be a real shame if they cut Vosean Joseph and try to sneak him on the PS, i dont think he would clear waivers.  Vosean was always an up and down player at FLA, make some great plays an have some real head scratchers.

[H2o]

1 minute ago, RoyBatty is alive said:

Good write up, be a real shame if they cut Vosean Joseph and try to sneak him on the PS, i dont think he would clear waivers.  Vosean was always an up and down player at FLA, make some great plays an have some real head scratchers.

Agreed. I hope he sticks around as well because the guy has a lot of talent. I think our staff could get him up to speed mentally if they just give him a year to develop. We shall see what happens. 

[SoTier]

I was really impressed by Josh Allen and his receivers in this game.   They looked like a real NFL passing offense, something that we didn't see last season.   Allen was on target on his throws and his receivers held on to the ball and even got YAC.   His short game was impressive.  His decision making was good.  If Allen can continue this kind of play in the regular season -- a big "if" -- then he will have definitely made that "significant" improvement everyone was hoping that he would. 

 

 

[Chandler#81]

1 hour ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Good Night for...

 

Josh Allen - Last week Josh was encouraging but at times uneven. I called it a "knocking the rust off" performance and was accused of being a Josh Allen homer - first time for everything! This week was a different story. His worst throw was his first throw - where if he puts it in the right spot Beasley has an easy first down - but after that Josh was right on point. Two throws to Tommy Sweeney that demonstrated an improved touched on down field passes were the highlights but the way he got to his outlet receiver and used Cole Beasley consistently was impressive too. The two incompletions were a drop (probably a good drop because it was lost yardage if Shady held hit) and a throwaway which was the right decision. He wasn't perfect - he did fail to see open receivers on consecutive plays when things happened a little faster in the redzone and that remains an area for growth but this performance, without a doubt, demonstrated significant improvements from where Josh Allen was a year ago. 

 

Imagine where we’d be if McBeane stuck to their original plan last year Not to let Josh play!

1 hour ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Duke Williams - With week 3 of pre-season likely to mean more time for the starters and less time for the 3s those back of the roster wide receivers - Williams, Sills and Easley were pretty close to the last chance saloon against the Panthers. Duke is the guy who made the plays, cathcing 3 of his 4 targets including a terrific touchdown grab, to earn himself a spot an extended stay at the bar. I still think he has the shifty gadget guys infront of him - especially McKenzie - but he is still in the fight. Sills and Easley are now in the conversation for practice squad only.

 

I think the days of 3rd PS Game means starters play more than a half are history. Word around the League is ‘Hell No! Our guys are in shape and ready to play for keeps. Not exposing them to injury in meaningless games’

 

 

1 hour ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Christian Wade - The fairytale continues. It's gonna take more than one of your American arm tackles to get Wade on the ground. He has run away from bigger and scarier dudes than the Panthers 3rd team defense in his rugby career. I still think for him to make the active roster this year would be stretch but one would think that the Bills would take advantage of the roster protection he has to keep him around. 

 

He’d have to clear waivers 1st and there isn’t a football fan in America who isn’t up on his exploits, let alone 31 other teams. Does he know what to do after scoring a TD? No. Does he understand he had blockers aligned on the sideline for him to prance into the end zone if he stayed there? No. Does he understand ZY Banana, Trips, Buster? Not likely.  Will he get swooped up on waivers before we have a chance to take advantage of this one time offering? That’s the big question and risk. Personally, he’s shown more than Yeldon & Perry combined. He’s a threat to ‘take it to house’ every play. We don’t have that with anybody else.

1 hour ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Bad Night for...

Tyree Jackson -

 

Who?

1 hour ago, GunnerBill said:

Trent Murphy - This will be the controversial one this week "whoa Gunner but he had a sack!" He did. Good on him. That drive might have been over on the other side of the 50 if he hadn't twice completely lost contain in the run game - once to the running back and once on 4th down to the Quarterback - both for 1st downs. If they want to bring Murphy in on 2nd and long and 3rd and long - obvious passing downs - then I won't hate it. But Shaq Lawson should be the starter opposite Jerry Hughes, especially if the Bills are serious about improving their run defense.

 

 

Not many negatives this week, most of the bad night guys came down to one or two moments..... it is only pre-season. But the Panthers game was encouraging for the Bills in lots of ways! As ever, let me hear your thoughts!

 

Great write up, GB, THANKS!

[GunnerBill]

2 minutes ago, Chandler#81 said:

 

He’d have to clear waivers 1st and there isn’t a football fan in America who isn’t up on his exploits, let alone 31 other teams.

 

Has this been clarified? It isn't my reading of the rules.... but then again it is a little ambiguous.

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

3 minutes ago, Chandler#81 said:

Quote

 

Christian Wade - The fairytale continues. It's gonna take more than one of your American arm tackles to get Wade on the ground. He has run away from bigger and scarier dudes than the Panthers 3rd team defense in his rugby career. I still think for him to make the active roster this year would be stretch but one would think that the Bills would take advantage of the roster protection he has to keep him around. 

 

He’d have to clear waivers 1st and there isn’t a football fan in America who isn’t up on his exploits, let alone 31 other teams. Does he know what to do after scoring a TD? No. Does he understand he had blockers aligned on the sideline for him to prance into the end zone if he stayed there? No. Does he understand ZY Banana, Trips, Buster? Not likely.  Will he get swooped up on waivers before we have a chance to take advantage of this one time offering? That’s the big question and risk. Personally, he’s shown more than Yeldon & Perry combined. He’s a threat to ‘take it to house’ every play. We don’t have that with anybody else.

 

the only wavers he would face would be in 2020.  (unless the Bills don't keep him at all in 2019)  

 

[Chandler#81]

Just now, GunnerBill said:

 

Has this been clarified? It isn't my reading of the rules.... but then again it is a little ambiguous.

Yes. It’s in one of the threads about him -from the League. We have to waive him 1st. If he isn’t signed to another teams 53, then we can sign him our PS, but can’t call him up all season.

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

1 minute ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Has this been clarified? It isn't my reading of the rules.... but then again it is a little ambiguous.

In my eyes its clear ...  

the 53 or PS.   HE was allocated to Buffalo by the NFL.

 

he will make the PS at minimum  

[Chandler#81]

Just now, ShadyBillsFan said:

In my eyes its clear ...  

the 53 or PS.   HE was allocated to Buffalo by the NFL.

 

he will make the PS at minimum  

Nope. Not the way it’s written. He has to be waived 1st and any team can sign him then.

[GunnerBill]

Just now, Chandler#81 said:

Yes. It’s in one of the threads about him -from the League. We have to waive him 1st. If he isn’t signed to another teams 53, then we can sign him our PS, but can’t call him up all season.

 

Yea I agree if we waive him one of the worse teams than the Bills will likely claim him.

[Chandler#81]

Just now, GunnerBill said:

 

Yea I agree if we waive him one of the worse teams than the Bills will likely claim him.

Frankly, I’m skeeert

https://www.buffalorumblings.com/2019/8/18/20810950/clarifying-the-buffalo-bills-roster-status-with-running-back-christian-wade

[GunnerBill]

4 minutes ago, Chandler#81 said:

Frankly, I’m skeeert

https://www.buffalorumblings.com/2019/8/18/20810950/clarifying-the-buffalo-bills-roster-status-with-running-back-christian-wade

 

I agree with the Rumblings guys though. I personally wouldn't put him on the roster as 4th running back who can run an extremely limited number of plays in the playbook. And if you do the first time you get a short term injury that you need to sign cover for when you look around the roster and ask "what can I stand to lose?" the answer is always going to be Wade. If he was a potential return game contributor then that is different. But just doing what he is, as much as I love him and love the story.... I don't think I can find room on the 53.

[Chandler#81]

Just now, GunnerBill said:

 

I agree with the Rumblings guys though. I personally wouldn't put him on the roster as 4th running back who can run an extremely limited number of plays in the playbook. And if you do the first time you get a short term injury that you need to sign cover for when you look around the roster and ask "what can I stand to lose?" the answer is always going to be Wade. If he was a potential return game contributor then that is different. But just doing what he is, as much as I love him and love the story.... I don't think I can find room on the 53.

Quite the conundrum is he. 

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

Wade will not count as part of the Bills' 90-man roster when they report to training camp in July. The team will receive an exemption for him and will be carried by the club until the end of camp.  If he does not make the initial 53-man roster after final cuts, he is eligible for an "international player practice squad" exemption, allowing the team an 11th practice squad player. If that is the case, Wade is ineligible to be on any NFL team’s active roster at any time in 2019. 

 

the problem is that there are too many ALTERNATE ideas what is actually supposed to happen.

[GunnerBill]

Just now, ShadyBillsFan said:

Wade will not count as part of the Bills' 90-man roster when they report to training camp in July. The team will receive an exemption for him and will be carried by the club until the end of camp.  If he does not make the initial 53-man roster after final cuts, he is eligible for an "international player practice squad" exemption, allowing the team an 11th practice squad player. If that is the case, Wade is ineligible to be on any NFL team’s active roster at any time in 2019. 

 

the problem is that there are too many ALTERNATE ideas what is actually supposed to happen.

 

The question is whether he becomes eligible for that designation immediately or only after clearing waivers. I've seen it reported both ways and the league's guidance is ambiguous. The Buffalo Rumblings guys are generally pretty good though and they are saying he passes through waivers first.