Harrison Phillips- Can he become what he was drafted for?

[TBBills]

Some reason I cannot get Harrison Phillips out of my head. After watching embedded... 6 times now, I watch get to the part of Phillips talking to Groot when he was being interviewed and keep forgetting he was coming off a knee injury. An injury that takes time with big guys. 

 

 

Can he be an important piece in this defensive line that we are overlooking? A year removed from the injury and spent almost his whole off-season training at the Bills facility, is he inbound for an above average season?

 

 

If we get an upgrade from a guy who many had big expectations for... I don't know if it was the Kyle Williams friendship hype but I had big expectations of him. I think this defensive line might make a huge jump with our younger guys and AJ having a full off-season to perfect his body.

 

I have extremely high expectations for this D-Line, and it might not start early but in the stretch that matters most I can see them becoming dominant.

Edited May 26, 2021 by TBBills

[Royale with Cheese]

He may have to be if Star is done.

[Might Rather]

I have always rooted for Horrible Harry. He has also done a lot for the community and I like guys with a wrestling background. 

[716er]

He's going to be on the bubble for sure but seems like the type of guy who has the work ethic to improve.

[Jauronimo]

From what I recall, Harrison played his best ball later in the year after spending some time on the inactive list.  I am optimistic he will have his best season this year.

[Captain Caveman]

I am hoping he, Epenesa and Zimmer all improve on last year and the D line shows some significant improvement.

[billsfanmiamioh]

I don’t know if he will ever be a starter caliber player, but that doesn’t mean he can’t become a valuable contributor. 

[NewEra]

10 minutes ago, 716er said:

He's going to be on the bubble for sure but seems like the type of guy who has the work ethic to improve.

Sadly, I think he’s our best 1T.  He’s not on the bubble imo.  Star won’t be playing and even if he does, the atrophy will likely set him back even more imo.  

[BillsFanThru-N-Thru]

What I remember also he was playing excellent ball in the first 2-3 games of 2012 until he was injured late in the Bengals game. I know he had the major ACL surgery and then another minor one after.  I'm thinking he should be fully recovered and hopefully back to how he was playing to start 2019

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

32 minutes ago, NewEra said:

Sadly, I think he’s our best 1T.  He’s not on the bubble imo.  Star won’t be playing and even if he does, the atrophy will likely set him back even more imo.  

 

Atrophy?  He could be in the best shape of his life and we would have no idea.  

 

Last season the team lost phillips and lawson and replaced them with addison, jefferson, and butler.  The one thing they didnt replace was 1T with the opt out, and they didnt bring in anyone this offseason either.  Seems his place is fairly secure IMO. 

[msw2112]

There is precedent for guys coming back from major knee injuries being better in year 2 than they were in year 1 post-surgery.  That, combined with the fact that Phillips played pretty well prior the injury (and played better later in the season last year), gives me some hope that he may bounce back and be the guy they drafted him to be.

Edited May 26, 2021 by msw2112

[Jauronimo]

55 minutes ago, BillsFanThru-N-Thru said:

What I remember also he was playing excellent ball in the first 2-3 games of 2012 until he was injured late in the Bengals game. I know he had the major ACL surgery and then another minor one after.  I'm thinking he should be fully recovered and hopefully back to how he was playing to start 2019

Theres no doubt Harrison had a monster year in 2012.  Not only was he a dominant pass rusher and run stuffer but he also was the team's starting running back, backup QB, and lined up at tight end.  If he can return to his junior season of highschool form then he could be a major contributor on both sides of the ball.

[BillsFanThru-N-Thru]

All right, typo in the beginning but had 2019 at the end which is what I meant.  But an outstanding catch and rebuttal on your part ... I'm simply in awe of your prowess

[NoSaint]

1 hour ago, TBBills said:

Some reason I cannot get Harrison Phillips out of my head. After watching embedded... 6 times now, I watch get to the part of Phillips talking to Groot when he was being interviewed and keep forgetting he was coming off a knee injury. An injury that takes time with big guys. 

 

 

Can he be an important piece in this defensive line that we are overlooking? A year removed from the injury and spent almost his whole off-season training at the Bills facility, is he inbound for an above average season?

 

 

If we get an upgrade from a guy who many had big expectations for... I don't know if it was the Kyle Williams friendship hype but I had big expectations of him. I think this defensive line might make a huge jump with our younger guys and AJ having a full off-season to perfect his body.

 

I have extremely high expectations for this D-Line, and it might not start early but in the stretch that matters most I can see them becoming dominant.

as a 3rd round pick has he already reached expectation and any further is gravy?

[NewEra]

42 minutes ago, dneveu said:

 

Atrophy?  He could be in the best shape of his life and we would have no idea.  

 

Last season the team lost phillips and lawson and replaced them with addison, jefferson, and butler.  The one thing they didnt replace was 1T with the opt out, and they didnt bring in anyone this offseason either.  Seems his place is fairly secure IMO. 

Yeah.....he could be. Most athletes over 30 tend to lose a step after taking 1.5 years off.  Sure, he could be in the minority but life tends to suggest the opposite.  Do you think he’s in the best shape of his life?  If I were star, and I was in the best shape of my life, I’d sure as hell be out there in OTAs showing off

[ghostwriter]

I don’t think Phillips will be cut, but I also don’t think he will see a whole lot of snaps. Thing about Harry is that he is an adequate 1T. He can play that role and we’re not getting gashed left and right on the ground. Star Lotulelei will also see the vast majority of the snaps here, but if Harry can be a decent backup, that frees Oliver up some to play 3T. I will say one thing though, Harry has flashed some signs of dominance, but it was cut short by an ACL tear. If he does rebound then he could very well see some significant action by the end of the year in a starting role. He’s cheaper than Butler, cutting Butler could free up some cap for a guy like Zach Ertz or if maybe a solid corner shakes free, but Harry is a boom or bust prospect.

[Rigotz]

The fact that we didn't draft a single 1-Tech, didn't pursue one in FA, and barely looked in UDFA should tell you everything you need to know.

 

I think he's going to surpass a lot of people's expectations. The guy has had bad injury luck, but when fully healthy, he has been great.

 

It's always disappointing when people say "bust" or "he'll never be a starter" ... it's more likely he'll be a strong starter than a bench player or cut.

 

[KOKBILLS]

1 hour ago, Royale with Cheese said:

He may have to be if Star is done.

 

Well...

 

That's going to be a problem IMHO...I have very little faith that Harrison is even an average caliber NFL 1-tech...

 

If that's our plan B I'm not thrilled to say the least...Maybe he'll take a step seeing as though he was coming off a major injury. But Harrison does not check off enough of the basic physical boxes to stand up inside as the starting 1-tech...As little faith as I have in Butler overall, I think he's a better option behind Star...But we'll see...Would love for Phillips to prove me wrong because he's definitely a great guy...

[ThurmanThomasEnglishMuffin]

Debbie Downer warning:

 

I just don't see it. I like Horrible Harry as a good guy and his personality fits Buffalo perfectly. People keep referring to the end of 2018 or the start of 2019 like he was playing lights out. He was a high energy JAG.

 

Counting on so-so Star coming back fit and ready and playing his best ball or Phillips to recover and play better than ever to fix the 1DT woes is a bit of fools' gold to me. Unfortunately the draft was light on 1T DT and guys like Alim McNeil got drafted higher for it.

 

The draft was weird and fell funny for Buffalo.

Edited May 26, 2021 by ThurmanThomasEnglishMuffin

[Bangarang]

33 minutes ago, Rigotz said:

The fact that we didn't draft a single 1-Tech, didn't pursue one in FA, and barely looked in UDFA should tell you everything you need to know.

 

I think he's going to surpass a lot of people's expectations. The guy has had bad injury luck, but when fully healthy, he has been great.

 

It's always disappointing when people say "bust" or "he'll never be a starter" ... it's more likely he'll be a strong starter than a bench player or cut.

 

He’s never been great and I don’t know how you came to the conclusion that he’s more likely to be a strong starter than a bench player or cut.