MasterStrategist Posted October 24, 2020 Posted October 24, 2020 Surprising to see Spain cut this week, but equally intriguing was the signing of Zimmer to the active roster. 1. He was rumored to be signed to another teams roster, very likely pushing our hand. He has had flashes as a rotational piece, so the decision on this merit was not surprising 2. More interesting, is the numbers game. Now with 10 DL, 5 DTs and 5 DEs, this is the most for any McDermott coached Bills team (unless I missed something). Yes Covid has changed alot, but still can't see us keeping 10, especially with key injuries that has caused our numbers to be low at CB, potentially LB, and OL This week, we are possibly looking to need to promote from the practice squad: 1. CB - up to 2. If White and Lewis are both out, this is a must. 1 if White or Lewis is out, and this still leaves us with only (Neal, Lewis or Tre, Taron, likely Dane promoted, and Marlowe at corner - typically we dress 6) 2. OL - with 7 healthy to play, 1 is likely needed. Could be Feliciano getting activated, or another player from our PS promoted 3. LB - with Dodson out, if Milano plays we likely promote nobody. But if Milano sits, that leaves us with 4 LBs, and we must promote 1 Keeping in mind, we are allowed 2 "free" PS call ups per week, without signing them to the active roster. That said, it won't surprise me if we need 3 PS (or Feliciano signed) elevated for this week. Leaving me to think someone is getting cut at DL. We shall see, but with all the injuries, something must be done
Hapless Bills Fan Posted October 24, 2020 Posted October 24, 2020 10 minutes ago, PUNT750 said: I think Norman will be OUT too! Do you mean "out" as in cut, or "out" as in inactive? Norman has already been declared "out" (inactive) for the game. 1
BillsVet Posted October 24, 2020 Posted October 24, 2020 Perhaps McD will move one DL from his 10 man rotation over to play guard. On second thought, he probably needs an 11th DL. Because you can never have enough high motor slightly replacement level DL. 1
Hapless Bills Fan Posted October 24, 2020 Posted October 24, 2020 19 minutes ago, MasterStrategist said: Surprising to see Spain cut this week, but equally intriguing was the signing of Zimmer to the active roster. 1. He was rumored to be signed to another teams roster, very likely pushing our hand. He has had flashes as a rotational piece, so the decision on this merit was not surprising 2. More interesting, is the numbers game. Now with 10 DL, 5 DTs and 5 DEs, this is the most for any McDermott coached Bills team (unless I missed something). Yes Covid has changed alot, but still can't see us keeping 10, especially with key injuries that has caused our numbers to be low at CB, potentially LB, and OL This week, we are possibly looking to need to promote from the practice squad: 1. CB - up to 2. If White and Lewis are both out, this is a must. 1 if White or Lewis is out, and this still leaves us with only (Neal, Lewis or Tre, Taron, likely Dane promoted, and Marlowe at corner - typically we dress 6) 2. OL - with 7 healthy to play, 1 is likely needed. Could be Feliciano getting activated, or another player from our PS promoted 3. LB - with Dodson out, if Milano plays we likely promote nobody. But if Milano sits, that leaves us with 4 LBs, and we must promote 1 Keeping in mind, we are allowed 2 "free" PS call ups per week, without signing them to the active roster. That said, it won't surprise me if we need 3 PS (or Feliciano signed) elevated for this week. Leaving me to think someone is getting cut at DL. We shall see, but with all the injuries, something must be done Good assessment. I've been thinking about this myself. My guess is that another team wanting to sign Zimmer off our practice squad forced Beane's hand to release someone, and Spain was the "low man" I would guess that Beane sought to trade him, but that his salary and per-game roster bonus made him an unattractive trade target - the Bills OL has not been that good at guard, so being inactive for us is not a "resume builder". He'll probably get offers at a lower salary. Why Dean Marlow at CB? Isn't he their backup Safety? But considering Jacquan and Marlow as safeties, we normally dress 5 CBs? Best case CB: Lewis and White, Siran Neal, Taron Johnson, we need 1 more - we may only call up Dane Jackson but we also may want more margin if one reinjures or can't make it the whole game. Worst case: neither White nor Lewis, we'll be short handed even if we call up both Jackson and Pitts. OL, if we activate Feliciano, we got to cut someone for sure - who? If we don't activate Feliciano, we got to call up another OL from the PS in order to be able to dress 48, right? Must have at least 8 active OLmen for that? LB, With Milano we have Edmunds, AJ Klein, Matakavich, and Deon Lacy. Without, Man, the pickings are slim - Andre Smith or Ahmed Gooden. Or would they try to go with 4? I'm glad it's Beane and McDermott's job and not mine, but given that we need to call up an OLman and get to 8 in order to get our two free PS callups...it seems to me we either need to cut someone, or IR someone. It would not be a huge shock to me if Dodson, Norman, or Ford wound up on IR. I was thinking we were going to try to trade someone, and maybe we are, but it's not there yet. You can't make a trade official and move a guy off the roster over the weekend, right?
Mike in Horseheads Posted October 24, 2020 Posted October 24, 2020 Roster spots and game day are diff, not dressing 10 1
BobbyC81 Posted October 24, 2020 Posted October 24, 2020 7 hours ago, Hapless Bills Fan said: Why Dean Marlow at CB? Isn't he their backup Safety? But considering Jacquan and Marlow as safeties, we normally dress 5 CBs? Best case CB: Lewis and White, Siran Neal, Taron Johnson, we need 1 more - we may only call up Dane Jackson but we also may want more margin if one reinjures or can't make it the whole game. Worst case: neither White nor Lewis, we'll be short handed even if we call up both Jackson and Pitts. Taron Johnson has been terrible. I was just reading somewhere that the Bills had the worst stats for defending slot receivers.
ProcessTruster Posted October 24, 2020 Posted October 24, 2020 With all the injuries, this game Sunday is not a given. Pretty thin roster being rolled out Sunday. 1
ganesh Posted October 24, 2020 Posted October 24, 2020 49 minutes ago, ColeB said: Taron Johnson has been terrible. I was just reading somewhere that the Bills had the worst stats for defending slot receivers. Or TEs
MasterStrategist Posted October 24, 2020 Author Posted October 24, 2020 9 hours ago, Hapless Bills Fan said: Good assessment. I've been thinking about this myself. My guess is that another team wanting to sign Zimmer off our practice squad forced Beane's hand to release someone, and Spain was the "low man" I would guess that Beane sought to trade him, but that his salary and per-game roster bonus made him an unattractive trade target - the Bills OL has not been that good at guard, so being inactive for us is not a "resume builder". He'll probably get offers at a lower salary. Why Dean Marlow at CB? Isn't he their backup Safety? But considering Jacquan and Marlow as safeties, we normally dress 5 CBs? Best case CB: Lewis and White, Siran Neal, Taron Johnson, we need 1 more - we may only call up Dane Jackson but we also may want more margin if one reinjures or can't make it the whole game. Worst case: neither White nor Lewis, we'll be short handed even if we call up both Jackson and Pitts. OL, if we activate Feliciano, we got to cut someone for sure - who? If we don't activate Feliciano, we got to call up another OL from the PS in order to be able to dress 48, right? Must have at least 8 active OLmen for that? LB, With Milano we have Edmunds, AJ Klein, Matakavich, and Deon Lacy. Without, Man, the pickings are slim - Andre Smith or Ahmed Gooden. Or would they try to go with 4? I'm glad it's Beane and McDermott's job and not mine, but given that we need to call up an OLman and get to 8 in order to get our two free PS callups...it seems to me we either need to cut someone, or IR someone. It would not be a huge shock to me if Dodson, Norman, or Ford wound up on IR. I was thinking we were going to try to trade someone, and maybe we are, but it's not there yet. You can't make a trade official and move a guy off the roster over the weekend, right? Great post. Agree, and Marlowe comment was in regard to them having ability to use him in the slot/nickle (5 Corners is what I meant for typically dressing and r safeties). Good point about Ford, that would make sense to IR perhaps. I didn't see alot of details on his injury, was it released if it was MCL sprain (assuming this)? As many said before the season, our weakest area of depth is LB. At least for now, can only hope Edmunds' shoulder keeps healing and we can get Milano back soon. Still perplexed by the 10 DL on active roster, but I guess they are going with best guys (as opposed to strict numbers by position) and hope for quick recoveries. Especially if we are moving toward "less rotation" with our front 4. I guess if they keep all 10 DL, they need to step up
Hapless Bills Fan Posted October 24, 2020 Posted October 24, 2020 32 minutes ago, MasterStrategist said: Great post. Agree, and Marlowe comment was in regard to them having ability to use him in the slot/nickle (5 Corners is what I meant for typically dressing and r safeties). Good point about Ford, that would make sense to IR perhaps. I didn't see alot of details on his injury, was it released if it was MCL sprain (assuming this)? As many said before the season, our weakest area of depth is LB. At least for now, can only hope Edmunds' shoulder keeps healing and we can get Milano back soon. Still perplexed by the 10 DL on active roster, but I guess they are going with best guys (as opposed to strict numbers by position) and hope for quick recoveries. Especially if we are moving toward "less rotation" with our front 4. I guess if they keep all 10 DL, they need to step up I don't think they intend to keep all 10 DL. My belief is that Beane is trying to shop 1 or 2 of them or package one into a trade. If he can't, I expect we'll see one cut. At a guess, the player with the largest trade value is probably the young and not-quite-back-from-ACL Harrison Phillips, but since he was seen as our future, he's probably the hardest for Beane to cut ties with. The problem Beane's going to run into this weekend is, as I see it, unless White and Lewis can both go, he needs to elevate both an OLman AND two CB from the practice squad. Or he could activate Feliciano in which case he needs to cut or IR someone currently on the roster. Bangedupbills has this to say about Ford and Feliciano: G Cody Ford (right knee) Ford is ruled out for Sunday after sustaining what appears to be an MCL sprain to his right knee as the result of getting rolled upon in the 4th quarter. He was able to walk off under his own power before requiring the cart to head to the locker room. I had thought he would benefit from a short term IR stay but the team has not elected to go that route quite yet. Considering he was playing through a groin, possible left shoulder/elbow, and now knee, he could use the break. Regardless of the IR decision, Ford will be out Sunday. To me, it makes sense to IR Ford and it didn't make sense to cut Spain - Ford has clearly been playing hampered - but he's also one of their best "maulers" we got so I can see their reluctance to put him out for 3 games. G Jon Feliciano (pectoral tear) Feliciano has been discussed in the game plan this week for the first time since before his injury occurred. His 21-day window to practice without counting towards the active roster is rapidly closing and the team will have to make a decision by October 28th. By the time you’re reading this, Feliciano will likely have been activated from IR. I do not expect him to take all the snaps in his first game back but he should see a decent amount to get live game reps to prepare for the second half of the season. A corresponding move to bring Feliciano back will either mean someone is cut or someone is placed on IR, hopefully, Cody Ford. The other sensible choice IMO (sorry McDermott) is probably Norman. Since he re-aggravated his same hamstring, given his age and past history, it will probably take several weeks to heal enough for him to be at full effectiveness (which is not that effective). Admit it, give him 3 weeks of sprints running on the low-gravity treadmill and in the pool, and clear the deck. I think they don't want to because they were counting on Norman to bring the "Juice" to the defense and some of the veteran leadership this year. But that only works if the guy is playing AND playing at a decent level, not sitting inactive.
SCBills Posted October 24, 2020 Posted October 24, 2020 If Beane is doing what we hope he’s doing... shopping for a DT, then I have to imagine Harry would be someone who might have value in a trade given his contract and circumstance. For instance, if we trade for say Tomlinson, he’d help a ton this year and if he’s long term, we’d go into next year with Tomlinson & Star at 1 tech and Oliver plus one of Butler/Jefferson, potentially. I’m good with that for this year and next.
Hapless Bills Fan Posted October 24, 2020 Posted October 24, 2020 3 hours ago, ProcessTruster said: With all the injuries, this game Sunday is not a given. Pretty thin roster being rolled out Sunday. The proverbial "Boarding House Peanut Butter", indeed 5 minutes ago, SCBills said: If Beane is doing what we hope he’s doing... shopping for a DT, then I have to imagine Harry would be someone who might have value in a trade given his contract and circumstance. For instance, if we trade for say Tomlinson, he’d help a ton this year and if he’s long term, we’d go into next year with Tomlinson & Star at 1 tech and Oliver plus one of Butler/Jefferson, potentially. I’m good with that for this year and next. I think the challenge is that Beane isn't likely to be able to do a 1:1 trade. It's going to have to be more complex. Say Beane can get Tomlinson (Dalvin from Giants I assume you mean). The Giants would probably want a pick for him, not a swap for a DT the Bills just healthy scratched. But there may be another team around who is willing to give Phillips the time to heal up and coach up and might give Beane a pick in return, or possibly a developmental player at another position of need. C'mon, Beane! 1
Bills Fan of St Augustine Posted October 24, 2020 Posted October 24, 2020 Need a real NT. Only way we get better with what we have is to start playing 12 on D.
SCBills Posted October 24, 2020 Posted October 24, 2020 1 hour ago, Hapless Bills Fan said: The proverbial "Boarding House Peanut Butter", indeed I think the challenge is that Beane isn't likely to be able to do a 1:1 trade. It's going to have to be more complex. Say Beane can get Tomlinson (Dalvin from Giants I assume you mean). The Giants would probably want a pick for him, not a swap for a DT the Bills just healthy scratched. But there may be another team around who is willing to give Phillips the time to heal up and coach up and might give Beane a pick in return, or possibly a developmental player at another position of need. C'mon, Beane! Agreed. In a hypothetical trade for Tomlinson, I could us sending a mid-round pick to the Giants for him and then recouping a late round pick for Harry. Tomlinson, Oliver, Butler and Zimmer at DT. We could then move Jefferson out to DE to give us more of a bull rush/contain.
2ForMacAdoo Posted October 24, 2020 Posted October 24, 2020 20 hours ago, BillsVet said: Perhaps McD will move one DL from his 10 man rotation over to play guard. On second thought, he probably needs an 11th DL. Because you can never have enough high motor, LUNCH PAIL, slightly replacement level DL. I'll forever associate that lunch pail description with Chris Kelsay and years of mediocrity.
BillsVet Posted October 25, 2020 Posted October 25, 2020 2 hours ago, 2ForMacAdoo said: I'll forever associate that lunch pail description with Chris Kelsay and years of mediocrity. Don't forget Ohio State product Tim Anderson. He was the first, IIRC, lunch pail DL.
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