we need a big receiver on the field for the end of games tired of this *****

[hemma]

That end of game pass to Beasley does look like an instance Duke may have had a shot. 

The defender had Beasley' boxed out' and there was no chance at all for him to get to that ball. 

Duke, with his largish butt, may have been able to box out the defender.  

 

Of course, if he had, we'd probably be complaining about the Offensive PI flag.

[Dopey]

13 hours ago, Augie said:

 

The point was made that the staff has made mistakes in the past, and that's certainly true. They have messed up, and the KB thing still has me scratching my head. 

 

Having said that, everybody gets some things wrong. The class valedictorian got a few wrong in high school, but I’ll take him/her over some mouth breather majoring in twinkies and PE. You go with the odds. To me personally, I’ll trust this staff to see and know enough about the guys they work with day in and day out and let them make the call. I’m sure they know we need more size, but maybe Duke just isn’t the guy to get it done right now. 

 

I’ll also say, if there EVER was a time to give him a shot, this might be that weekend. We can’t afford to lose anyone in front of him!

 

 

.

Not sure why the KB thing is so perplexing:

2013 at FSU 

54 rec. 1011 yds and 15 tds and he caught the game winning TD vs Auburn in the closing seconds of the College Championship game.

2014 w Carolina as a rookie

73 rec. 1008 yds and 9 tds  50 of those receptions went for 1st downs

2015 

Injured

2016

63 rec. 941 yds and 7 tds again 50 of those receptions went for 1st downs

2017

1st 8 games w Carolina

32 rec. 475 yds and 2 tds  21 of those receptions for 1st downs, on a similar pace to the previous year.

traded to the Bills for a 3rd and 7th

16 rec 217 yds and 1 td only with Peterman and Taylor at QB.

2018 was a disaster. I would give the reason for this as having a combination of Peterman, Anderson, Barkely and then Josh as a rookie. No oline to speak of and no TEs either.

My understanding was KB was let go because we were very slow at WR and wanted to infuse some speed (Foster and Zay).

The mistake I see, is we weren't at a point in the "process" where someone like him was needed, unless we felt he was someone to build off of. I don't think we were and that was the mistake. I am using hindsight here though. At the time we traded for him, Kelvin was worth a shot for a 3rd and a 7th. Sometimes the timing has to be right and it wasn't. Again, using hindsight.

All of that to say, I agree with you in trusting the staff on why Duke isn't playing. I also agree with playing him this weekend.

 

 

[ALF]

They were hoping Kroft or Knox could be the big receiver , so far not so good.

[Augie]

14 minutes ago, Dopey said:

Not sure why the KB thing is so perplexing:

2013 at FSU 

54 rec. 1011 yds and 15 tds and he caught the game winning TD vs Auburn in the closing seconds of the College Championship game.

2014 w Carolina as a rookie

73 rec. 1008 yds and 9 tds  50 of those receptions went for 1st downs

2015 

Injured

2016

63 rec. 941 yds and 7 tds again 50 of those receptions went for 1st downs

2017

1st 8 games w Carolina

32 rec. 475 yds and 2 tds  21 of those receptions for 1st downs, on a similar pace to the previous year.

traded to the Bills for a 3rd and 7th

16 rec 217 yds and 1 td only with Peterman and Taylor at QB.

2018 was a disaster. I would give the reason for this as having a combination of Peterman, Anderson, Barkely and then Josh as a rookie. No oline to speak of and no TEs either.

My understanding was KB was let go because we were very slow at WR and wanted to infuse some speed (Foster and Zay).

The mistake I see, is we weren't at a point in the "process" where someone like him was needed, unless we felt he was someone to build off of. I don't think we were and that was the mistake. I am using hindsight here though. At the time we traded for him, Kelvin was worth a shot for a 3rd and a 7th. Sometimes the timing has to be right and it wasn't. Again, using hindsight.

All of that to say, I agree with you in trusting the staff on why Duke isn't playing. I also agree with playing him this weekend.

 

 

 

My point was that KB looked like a big tub of goo out there and seemed generally disinterested. Yes, he had been productive at times, but that’s not the player we got in return for our draft picks. It almost instantly appeared to be a mistake. But that’s OK, nobody gets them all right. I’m sure they had their reasons, and I’m sure they’d want a do-over. 

 

We can’t afford to have a WR injured this week, so if they think Duke is the next guy, I’ll look forward to seeing him out there. 

[Rc2catch]

16 minutes ago, Augie said:

 

My point was that KB looked like a big tub of goo out there and seemed generally disinterested. Yes, he had been productive at times, but that’s not the player we got in return for our draft picks. It almost instantly appeared to be a mistake. But that’s OK, nobody gets them all right. I’m sure they had their reasons, and I’m sure they’d want a do-over. 

 

We can’t afford to have a WR injured this week, so if they think Duke is the next guy, I’ll look forward to seeing him out there. 

On the KB thing, it was just a gamble. 
We were a team in the playoff hunt that was not expected to be in a playoff hunt. They threw a dart and brought in someone who had potential and it just didn’t work out good.

I would guess most teams would of gambled a mid round pick for a former promising receiver for a playoff run. It was a fail in the end. 

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

1 hour ago, Dopey said:

Not sure why the KB thing is so perplexing:

2013 at FSU 

54 rec. 1011 yds and 15 tds and he caught the game winning TD vs Auburn in the closing seconds of the College Championship game.

2014 w Carolina as a rookie

73 rec. 1008 yds and 9 tds  50 of those receptions went for 1st downs

2015 

Injured

2016

63 rec. 941 yds and 7 tds again 50 of those receptions went for 1st downs

2017

1st 8 games w Carolina

32 rec. 475 yds and 2 tds  21 of those receptions for 1st downs, on a similar pace to the previous year.

traded to the Bills for a 3rd and 7th

16 rec 217 yds and 1 td only with Peterman and Taylor at QB.

2018 was a disaster. I would give the reason for this as having a combination of Peterman, Anderson, Barkely and then Josh as a rookie. No oline to speak of and no TEs either.

My understanding was KB was let go because we were very slow at WR and wanted to infuse some speed (Foster and Zay).

The mistake I see, is we weren't at a point in the "process" where someone like him was needed, unless we felt he was someone to build off of. I don't think we were and that was the mistake. I am using hindsight here though. At the time we traded for him, Kelvin was worth a shot for a 3rd and a 7th. Sometimes the timing has to be right and it wasn't. Again, using hindsight.

All of that to say, I agree with you in trusting the staff on why Duke isn't playing. I also agree with playing him this weekend.

 

 

 

He was huge - but didn't pull down 50/50 balls with any level of consistency.  He also developed some really bad habits with regards to work ethic and his hands weren't very good.  

 

Perhaps some of those things have creeped into duke's practices - not pulling in 50/50 passes, or dropping passes?  If he's not doing those things in practice consistently, he's probably not worth playing since you probably won't call a play trusting him to do it.  

1 hour ago, Rc2catch said:

On the KB thing, it was just a gamble. 
We were a team in the playoff hunt that was not expected to be in a playoff hunt. They threw a dart and brought in someone who had potential and it just didn’t work out good.

I would guess most teams would of gambled a mid round pick for a former promising receiver for a playoff run. It was a fail in the end. 

 

Yeah - 3 and 7 for a 4th year player with a 5th year option.  Could do worse in a trade.

[LABILLBACKER]

4 hours ago, Meatloaf63 said:

Nice post Augie? I’m Not saying I know that Duke is the answer, I’m just saying I’d like to see him have another chance before he’s tossed into the scrap heap. I would think we can all agree the receiving core is inadequate, and McKenzie brings very little to the table that we don’t already have. I also still say out of all of our receivers we have, I would have trusted Duke to battle for Allen’s last pass of the game more than anybody else’s on the roster, certainly more than a 5’8” Beasly .
This is all just to be a discussion among fans, and when posters just dismiss other people’s thoughts and try to ridicule them because they are different thoughts than theirs, this whole forum loses...

Perfect response. It's just very frustrating for fans to see him perform in 2 games only to be sent back to the bench. I can't wait for the day when the NFL allows team to activate all 53.

[Rochesterfan]

15 hours ago, LABILLBACKER said:

Perfect response. It's just very frustrating for fans to see him perform in 2 games only to be sent back to the bench. I can't wait for the day when the NFL allows team to activate all 53.

I guess my real question is about your expectations in performing for him versus let’s say Zay Jones or McKenzie.  
 

All 3 guys averaged about 2 Catches or less per game.  They averaged between 7 and 10 yards per catch.  
 

The biggest difference is McKenzie can play special teams and is used for running plays and Duke is not.

 

Duke played in 3 games and after an initial good game - he had 1 catch in each of his next 2 games.  It is not like they benched a guy getting 5 - 10 catches a game.  He also gives them nothing else except receiver play - so you lose something from both Foster and McKenzie going to the bench.

 

I am fine if they want to use him, but please do not act like he was some kind of playmaker they benched.  His stats are not better than the guys currently playing and he gives them less flexibility when playing.

[Livinginthepast]

Do my eyes deceive me?? Can it be true? is Duke active this Sunday?!!

https://www.syracuse.com/buffalo-bills/2019/12/battles-with-tre-white-have-buffalo-bills-duke-williams-ready-to-bring-nasty-vs-jets.html

Edited December 27, 2019 by Livinginthepast

[GreggTX]

An AJ Green type would be great. A great passer would be so much better. Allen is an elite scrambler, but as a passer he leaves much to be desired. Also, I don't think Duke Willoams is the answer, but let's hope he is.

[Steptide]

14 hours ago, Livinginthepast said:

Do my eyes deceive me?? Can it be true? is Duke active this Sunday?!!

https://www.syracuse.com/buffalo-bills/2019/12/battles-with-tre-white-have-buffalo-bills-duke-williams-ready-to-bring-nasty-vs-jets.html

I'll litterally be shocked if he isn't active tomorrow. Can't imagine beasley and brown are gonna play, plus Roberts is out 

Edited December 28, 2019 by Steptide

[Hapless Bills Fan]

On 12/21/2019 at 6:53 PM, oldschoolfootball1963 said:

Let tell you something Mckenzie is ok but that’s not what we need he’s just like smoke and beasley. 

whats the point. Why is this coaching staff so stubborn on this issue. We are just pissing these games away at the end 

 

You do know our coach sees Williams in practice every day, right?

 

Williams sounds fired-up, but his fire is that he's gonna train his ass off in the off-season, work with Brown to become a better smoother route runner, and get faster.

That is what he needs to do to see our (or someone elses's) field on a more regular basis.

[Livinginthepast]

1 hour ago, Steptide said:

I'll litterally be shocked if he isn't active tomorrow. Can't imagine beasley and brown are gonna play, plus Roberts is out 

Once again there is no explanation in the article  as to why Duke was left out of the most of these games.

[Locomark]

Dear Op Ed please identify any end of the game TD that was a jump ball fade pass in the last decade. It not only never works, but Duke Williams is also not the All Pro type who will make that play which also requires a perfect touch pass from a QB, which is not Josh’s strength. Duke is a CFL player who happens to be bigger receiver. It is likely after the draft that he doesn’t even make next year’s roster. Please stop with the worship over a player that has proven nothing. 

[Hapless Bills Fan]

On 12/21/2019 at 7:04 PM, Rc2catch said:

I don’t get it. 
Weeks past we’re dropping balls and duke is sure handed. Ok that is a fair point. 
Tonight, what did they need duke for? 
Allen missed two touchdowns to Knox. 
Is duke making those catches? Shaquille O’Neal in his prime isn’t making those catches. 
This game has zero to do with duke, or the receivers. Daboll had some bad calls, Allen missed throws, and the defense played soft and missed tackles. 
Sorry duke is not the difference between winning and losing today. This team had every chance to win. They did not execute. 

 

I think our OL deserves some "love" in your otherwise correct assessment.  I think the failure to see/throw to Brown was of more moment than the 1st TD to Knox - in fact, I would have liked to pass that up in favor of an easy toss to Singletary and see if he moves the chains.  I am unsure that Knox and Allen are on the same page with his routes.

 

46 minutes ago, Livinginthepast said:

Once again there is no explanation in the article  as to why Duke was left out of the most of these games.

 

I think McDermott should channel Mike Tomlin on that.  He really doesn't owe the press or the fans an explanation of his every roster decision.

[Sammy Watkins' Rib]

It was demoralizing when Allen threw the jump ball into the end zone in the New England game on the final play to our 5'8" receiver.

[billsfan_34]

On 12/26/2019 at 2:51 PM, dneveu said:

 

He was huge - but didn't pull down 50/50 balls with any level of consistency.  He also developed some really bad habits with regards to work ethic and his hands weren't very good.  

 

Perhaps some of those things have creeped into duke's practices - not pulling in 50/50 passes, or dropping passes?  If he's not doing those things in practice consistently, he's probably not worth playing since you probably won't call a play trusting him to do it.  

 

Yeah - 3 and 7 for a 4th year player with a 5th year option.  Could do worse in a trade.

Look no further than the Sabres for the worst trades possible- just sayin’

[JoPoy88]

2 minutes ago, billsfan_34 said:

Look no further than the Sabres for the worst trades possible- just sayin’

You can just say it but the Sabres have no relevance here. Ownership’s not making these decisions.

[billsfan_34]

13 minutes ago, JoPoy88 said:

You can just say it but the Sabres have no relevance here. Ownership’s not making these decisions.

Don’t be that guy- just having a little fun. After 14 years on here I know whats relevant or not. 

[123719bwiqrb]

4 hours ago, Locomark said:

Dear Op Ed please identify any end of the game TD that was a jump ball fade pass in the last decade. It not only never works, but Duke Williams is also not the All Pro type who will make that play which also requires a perfect touch pass from a QB, which is not Josh’s strength. Duke is a CFL player who happens to be bigger receiver. It is likely after the draft that he doesn’t even make next year’s roster. Please stop with the worship over a player that has proven nothing. 

Brandon Reilly agrees.