dave mcbride Posted January 30, 2021 Posted January 30, 2021 On 1/29/2021 at 3:28 AM, SlimShady'sSpaceForce said: Saw this earlier Over the hill and a $12 cap hit. Expand $8 million for the Bills, $12 million for Philly. The Bills wouldn’t be on the hook for any prorated bonus. $8 million is a lot, but it’s all salary and can easily be restructured. https://overthecap.com/player/zach-ertz/112/ On 1/29/2021 at 7:48 PM, Miyagi-Do Karate said: Ertz could end up returning to form. He had an injury-plagued year, but is one year removed from 88 catches. And he had been a model of consistency and high production for years. That said, how is he better than Knox? If you watch his highlights, he goes out 7 yards and makes a catch. That’s it. You just wonder if the Bills really wanted to make Knox a big part of their offense, they could. They just don’t, either by design or because Josh doesn’t want to take those 6-yard dump downs to the TE. Expand He is grrwt at finding open spaces in zones. Great, great route runner. Knox is very talented physically, but he plays the game like a WR and doesn’t do what the Kelces and Ertzes are so good at doing. 1
Miyagi-Do Karate Posted January 30, 2021 Posted January 30, 2021 On 1/30/2021 at 1:22 PM, dave mcbride said: He is grrwt at finding open spaces in zones. Great, great route runner. Knox is very talented physically, but he plays the game like a WR and doesn’t do what the Kelces and Ertzes are so good at doing. Expand I haven’t studied all of these guys’ route running. But it seems to me from watching game highlights of Ertz and Kelce, their bread and butter is to go straight out about 7 yards and just sit down in the zone. That seems easy enough for Knox to do, and I have seen him do it. Maybe running deeper routes or getting behind the LB’s— yeah, ertz and Kelce may be far superior. But I have this sneaking suspicion that Knox can do that too. He has the size, speed, athleticism of ertz and Kelce. I just wonder if they made him more of a focal point, he would be more of a threat and produce a lot more.
BuffaloRebound Posted January 30, 2021 Posted January 30, 2021 On 1/30/2021 at 3:02 PM, Miyagi-Do Karate said: I haven’t studied all of these guys’ route running. But it seems to me from watching game highlights of Ertz and Kelce, their bread and butter is to go straight out about 7 yards and just sit down in the zone. That seems easy enough for Knox to do, and I have seen him do it. Maybe running deeper routes or getting behind the LB’s— yeah, ertz and Kelce may be far superior. But I have this sneaking suspicion that Knox can do that too. He has the size, speed, athleticism of ertz and Kelce. I just wonder if they made him more of a focal point, he would be more of a threat and produce a lot more. Expand Bills can’t wait around hoping Knox turns into something he hasn’t been. He hasn’t shown that he can catch balls cleanly. The drops and fumbles are killers but so is the fact that his hands aren’t sure enough to catch it cleanly and turn it upfield. He can be a good #2TE/ gadget halfback type, but this offense needs a chain moving TE that defenses need to respect to take another step. 1 1
BillsFan2313 Posted January 30, 2021 Posted January 30, 2021 He had 88 receptions, 900+ yards, 6 tds in 2019. The Eagles were a mess this past year. I would take a flier on him for sure. Oft injured seems a little misleading. He had a significant injury early in his career, but has missed a total of 10 games since 2016 1
Miyagi-Do Karate Posted January 30, 2021 Posted January 30, 2021 On 1/30/2021 at 4:30 PM, BuffaloRebound said: Bills can’t wait around hoping Knox turns into something he hasn’t been. He hasn’t shown that he can catch balls cleanly. The drops and fumbles are killers but so is the fact that his hands aren’t sure enough to catch it cleanly and turn it upfield. He can be a good #2TE/ gadget halfback type, but this offense needs a chain moving TE that defenses need to respect to take another step. Expand You may be right. But Knox only has been in the NFL for 2 years, and, as I recall, was a bit more of a raw prospect coming out of college. Do you give up on him, or give him another 1-2 years to see what his ceiling is? In terms of his size, speed, and athleticism, there is no question that he is elite. Can we significantly improve his hands, route running, blocking, and feel?
Rc2catch Posted January 30, 2021 Posted January 30, 2021 I’d rather bargain shop for competition for Knox. Gerald Everett Trey Burton Jordan Reed. These guys should come at a fraction of the cost Ertz will get.
BuffaloRebound Posted January 30, 2021 Posted January 30, 2021 On 1/30/2021 at 4:53 PM, Miyagi-Do Karate said: You may be right. But Knox only has been in the NFL for 2 years, and, as I recall, was a bit more of a raw prospect coming out of college. Do you give up on him, or give him another 1-2 years to see what his ceiling is? In terms of his size, speed, and athleticism, there is no question that he is elite. Can we significantly improve his hands, route running, blocking, and feel? Expand Definitely not advocating giving up on Knox, but he hasn’t shown enough to not find a veteran upgrade. 1
Buffalo03 Posted January 30, 2021 Posted January 30, 2021 If you want a TE, get Hunter Henry. He's a FA and won't have to give up anything
Miyagi-Do Karate Posted January 30, 2021 Posted January 30, 2021 On 1/30/2021 at 5:00 PM, Buffalo03 said: If you want a TE, get Hunter Henry. He's a FA and won't have to give up anything Expand Too expensive. My gut too is that the Chargers will re-sign him before he hits the market— I think he is too valuable to what they do.
Bobby Hooks Posted January 30, 2021 Posted January 30, 2021 (edited) I like the idea of getting another TE, but I’m not sure about Ertz. I think he’d want too much. Not keeping Knox around would be ludicrous. He’s young, and still on his rookie deal. Him and Sweeney as the 2nd and 3rd option are perfect as they’re cheaper and are only going to get better. Being in the position we’re in now having to pay big money for key pieces we’re not going to have as many options free agency wise as people here seem to think. We’re playing big boy ball now. We need our top guys to keep doing what they’re doing and hope the young guys step up. Its all about drafting well and getting the most out of the talent we’ve got. That’s not to say we can’t get lucky and have Beane work his magic and get us some nice pieces at reasonable cost. Edited January 30, 2021 by Bobby Hooks
4merper4mer Posted January 30, 2021 Posted January 30, 2021 Ertz proved this year that he is all about Ertz.
78thealltimegreat Posted February 14, 2021 Posted February 14, 2021 (edited) He’s definitely an upgrade over Knox might give the Birds a call if I where Beane Edited February 14, 2021 by 78thealltimegreat
4merper4mer Posted February 14, 2021 Posted February 14, 2021 He absolutely blew this year. Made Knox look like Kittle.
John from Riverside Posted February 14, 2021 Posted February 14, 2021 I think beane will be patient but probably has his eye on it
Rc2catch Posted February 14, 2021 Posted February 14, 2021 If he starts running now he will be open for a 15 yard catch come September. Seriously the guy has no wheels left. If he becomes a free agent maybe toss a couple bucks at him. But no way would I want to send even a 5th rounder for his 8 million dollar salary 1
Rigotz Posted February 14, 2021 Posted February 14, 2021 We have A LOT of threads about this already. 1
LOVEMESOMEBILLS Posted February 14, 2021 Posted February 14, 2021 On 2/14/2021 at 2:39 AM, 4merper4mer said: He absolutely blew this year. Made Knox look like Kittle. Expand I'm not saying Ertz is a stud TE anymore, but when you only have 288 yards(Ranked 34th for TEs & behind Ertz)for the year and can't block to save your life, you don't look like Kittle when compared to someone off the street. One difference between the two is Knox had a QB who completed nearly 70% of his passes and finished 2nd in the MVP race and the other had 2 QBs who were just horrible at throwing the ball this year. Wentz completed 57.4% of his passes and had a 72.8 QB Rating, Fields completed 52.0% of his throws with a 77.6 QB Rating. Neither finished above 32nd in either category. I'm not advocating for Ertz over Knox, but at the same time I think it's time for the team to strongly consider moving on from Knox being the #1 TE. JMO
Chicken Boo Posted February 14, 2021 Posted February 14, 2021 I feel bad for Ertz. He was on the verge of a monster contract but the injury bug screwed him.
Rc2catch Posted February 14, 2021 Posted February 14, 2021 On 2/14/2021 at 3:22 AM, LOVEMESOMEBILLS said: I'm not saying Ertz is a stud TE anymore, but when you only have 288 yards(Ranked 34th for TEs & behind Ertz)for the year and can't block to save your life, you don't look like Kittle when compared to someone off the street. One difference between the two is Knox had a QB who completed nearly 70% of his passes and finished 2nd in the MVP race and the other had 2 QBs who were just horrible at throwing the ball this year. Wentz completed 57.4% of his passes and had a 72.8 QB Rating, Fields completed 52.0% of his throws with a 77.6 QB Rating. Neither finished above 32nd in either category. I'm not advocating for Ertz over Knox, but at the same time I think it's time for the team to strongly consider moving on from Knox being the #1 TE. JMO Expand Ertz had 330 yards on 70+ targets. Knox had 288 on 40+ targets. Is Ertz really better than Knox at this stage of their careers? Even at his best Ertz was seeing a crazy amount of targets his way and was featured non stop in that offense. We don’t feature the tight end that much and probably never will unless Knox or some no name blows up or we acquire a legit elite tight end. Knox will 100% face some competition for his job this upcoming season though and that’s deserved.
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