Bills sign TE Jacob Hollister

[whatdrought]

me casually waking into a thread: 

 

Scott’s Bills hate and negative nancery:

 

[Cash]

I'm pretty sure I've legitimately never heard of this guy before today.  So obviously I'm not excited, but I'm not going to dump on it either.  From what I've read so far, he's apparently more of an H-back type than an in-line TE, which doesn't sound great.  But apparently he's a good blocker?  Those 2 don't really reconcile for me, because I usually think of TE blocking as most important when lined up next to the OT.  But what do I know? 

 

I'm interested to see the $$$ on this one, especially since it's not a guy I'm familiar with.  If it's very low (?), I wouldn't necessarily count out a move for Ertz still.  Marcel L-J tweeted that the Bills were interested in Ertz, but not for a 3rd round pick.  Leaking that to him could easily be a way to negotiate through the media. 

 

I do think this signing makes an Ertz trade (or signing if he gets cut) less likely, but I'm not ready to fully shut the door on it.

 

8 minutes ago, whatdrought said:

Do you think many would assume you saying you’d give up the 30th pick in the draft for a top 2 TE in the league is a joke?...

 

I'm not kidding, I would pay a thousand dollars for a new BMW.  Sure it might cost a lot to maintain, but I think it's worth it.

Edited March 19, 2021 by Cash

[Buffalo03]

9 minutes ago, whatdrought said:

Do you think many would assume you saying you’d give up the 30th pick in the draft for a top 2 TE in the league is a joke?...

I'm basically just trying to say how serious I would be to do that if I were Beane lol

[atlbillsfan1975]

29 minutes ago, Buffalo03 said:

I'm not kidding, I would have given up our 1st round pick this year to San Francisco for Kittle. He only has a $5 million cap hit this year. It goes up a lot next year but that could always be restructured. 

Why would they trade him?

30 minutes ago, MAJBobby said:

 

Their GM really struggles showing high levels of competency.

Edited March 19, 2021 by atlbillsfan1975

[Hapless Bills Fan]

10 minutes ago, Logic said:

Thanks for the reply.

 

One point I think you’re overlooking is that they DID sign two free agents at key positions: right tackle and WLB.

 

Had they let those players walk and instead signed an edge player or dynamic offensive player, then sure, they would improve in those areas, but they would then also need a starting tackle and a starting linebacker.

 

Keeping Josh Allen upright and supplying him with weapons is priority one. You and I agree we’d like to see speed added, but no one can say with a straight face that they haven’t given Josh protection and weaponry. If they “only” bring back last year’s offense and add Sanders, well: last year’s offense scored the most points in team history! They scored more PPG than the vaunted Chiefs! So “just” returning that offense? Not so bad.

 

If your position is that you wish they had let Milano and Williams walk and used the money elsewhere, that’s understandable. But in that case, you must at least acknowledge the possibility that losses in talent at right tackle and WLB might not have been easy to replace, and thus might have cancelled out any gains made elsewhere.

 

Logical!!!

[Buffalo03]

5 minutes ago, atlbillsfan1975 said:

Why would they trade him?

Not saying they would but it doesn't hurt to call

Edited March 19, 2021 by Buffalo03

[Solomon Grundy]

1 hour ago, stosh64 said:

Jacob "two guns"

[Hapless Bills Fan]

1 hour ago, Dr. K said:

It must be hard for you to get up in the morning. Or maybe just hard for those around you.

[billsfan_34]

1 hour ago, njbuff said:

 

When your WR group is very strong, you don't necessarily need a prime time TE.

 

Knox can continue to develop into a solid starter, which is all the Bills need.

 

A good blocking No. 2 TE that can catch a few passes is also a need and the Bills think they have that now in Hollister.

 

I won't argue if you guys still want a dynamic player like Ertz, but the Bills WR position is so good, they really don't need Ertz. 

I understand our O philosophy and the talent we have, just pointing out we do not have a quality number 1 TE and we could really use one that can split the seams. 
 

I am glad we did not overpay for Ertz as he is on the wrong aide of 30. 

[Hapless Bills Fan]

1 hour ago, stosh64 said:

 

That musta been like Allen's first year in Wyo or something.  He looks tiny next to Ol' "Suns Out, Guns Out" there

[HappyDays]

1 hour ago, ScottLaw said:

This is where I'm at.... not a very aggressive approach thus far for a team that looked significantly behind the AFC Champs.

 

Here's my ideal draft scenario to close the gap with the Chiefs:

 

Round 1 - Draft one of the raw DEs (Rousseau, Paye, Ossai) to at least give us a pure pass rusher on obvious passing downs. Especially if we can sign Clowney for a year.

Round 2 - Draft an explosive playmaker like Rondale Moore or Elijah Moore or Kenneth Gainwell.

 

That would give us the two ingredients we were missing against the Chiefs last year. Those additions combined with Sanders being an upgrade over Brown, and ideally at least a couple current Bills players will take a step, we will have closed the gap.

[97bills]

It’s on now!!! 

[Success]

I'm already in rationalizing mode - but A) We have more weapons on offense than just about anyone in the league, B) Ertz was hurt and didn't look great last year, and C) Defense, defense, defense.

 

On that last point, the offense is really set, except for the RB draft pick.  The Bucs showed yet again that you need a good to great D to win a Super Bowl, and I'd be fine if every remaining move & draft pick (except for said RB) was for the D.

 

[njbuff]

9 minutes ago, billsfan_34 said:

I understand our O philosophy and the talent we have, just pointing out we do not have a quality number 1 TE and we could really use one that can split the seams. 
 

I am glad we did not overpay for Ertz as he is on the wrong aide of 30. 

 

Knox can develop into that guy. I am not saying he will, but he has the talent to do it.

 

Sometimes you patience with young players and I think Allen and the coaching staff are behind Knox 100%.

 

And Knox did play well the second half of the season.

[NewEra]

1 hour ago, BuffaloBills1998 said:

Lol to insult you?? Don’t flatter yourself Buddy. And yes I do know what I’m talking about since I’ve been watching football for a long time and if Beane really wanted ertz he’d already be on the team. And you want him because you think it’ll solve our TE problem and you think he’d be one of the pieces to help us get in the SB next year in which that’s quite a bit to bank on especially when we still need a true number 1 pass rusher to help the defense and a RB to take the pressure off of Allen’s shoulders more than a 30 year old TE coming off a career low and an injury too boot. But yes I don’t know what I’m talking about 🤣😂

You did insult me.  That’s not flattering myself.  It’s ok, I’m not offended, I was just wondering if there were any reasons you were glad I’m not the GM, other than me wanting to trade a 5th rd pick for Zach Ertz?  Or is that the only reason?

 

I wanted zach ertz because he’s a better blocker than Dawson knox and a reliable route runner run with good hands.  He’s been a great red zone threat throughout his career.  I feel that he and knox would compliment each other in 2TE sets because he’s a decent blocker.  
 

I’m not a believer in looking at game stats to determine whether or not a player is good or not, especially pass catchers that rely heavily on QBs and schemes.  Of ertz’s first 32 targets last season, 11 of them were graded as not catchable.  He had a high ankle sprain.  A 6-8 week injury that is brutal for route runners.  Athletes that have them, usually look like they lost a step.  That said, I’m sure he has lost a step.  I’m Not claiming that he’s a top 4 TE like he was considered before last season.  I’m claiming that he could have helped our team win based on his skill set and experience.  If he could have been had for a 5th rd pick, I believe he would have been a nice addition to a TE room that was among the worst in the league.  Not good for a pass heavy team that got dimed to death in our season ending game.  He’s better than Hollister.  
 

Bolded:  punctuation exists for a reason.  
 

anyhooo.  😃

[BillsFan130]

4 minutes ago, njbuff said:

 

Knox can develop into that guy. I am not saying he will, but he has the talent to do it.

 

Sometimes you patience with young players and I think Allen and the coaching staff are behind Knox 100%.

 

And Knox did play well the second half of the season.

Knox drives me crazy, but I truly think he’s going to take a big step next year.

 

Hes still so raw and has all the physical skills to succeed. Just needs more reps I think.

[Perk71]

He had the same amount of TD's as Kroft did last year.  I'm happy with the signing.

 

Go Bills!!

[MrEpsYtown]

This is going to be everyone’s new favorite player after a few games. He is a do-it-all player that allows the offense to be even more multiple. He’s a poor man’s Kyle Juszcyk. I am happy about this, QB1 I’m sure is happy. It should also light a little fire under Knox because they will be competing for reps. I for one really like it. 

[Pokebball]

And on this same day, Jay Novacek releases his first batch of whiskey.  A sign?

 

https://7220sports.com/jay-novacek-whiskey-anyone/

 

[Mr. WEO]

1 hour ago, CincyBillsFan said:

Blocking

 

 

no