Hollister signing with Jags

[Turk71]

40 minutes ago, Jay_Fixit said:

Hollister.

 

 

lol.

Hilarious!

 

Now do Sweeney 

1 hour ago, JimmyNoodles said:

My bad. I thought this was about expressing opinions. For the most part, I don’t even really disagree with yours, only in that I don’t think Hollister got any other good offers besides the jags. Cheers 🍻 

Sorry, just being a wise guy.

Cheers🍻

[John from Riverside]

Maybe it is as simple as Sweeney is a better blocker and that’s what they want out of their tight ends

[Matt_In_NH]

7 hours ago, DJB said:

I thought he outplayed Knox in the pre season. He caught everything his way and looked great

As a receiver.  Maybe. There is more to a te than pass catching though.  

[Billy Claude]

Keeping Sweeney over Hollister might also have to do with the salary cap.   Hollister would have  cost 300K or 400K more than Sweeney.  It's not much, but with the Bills seemingly very close to the cap, the difference may have been enough.

 

I am sure they would have loved to get rid of Christian Wade's 660K but with him on IR they will just have to eat it.

Edited September 3, 2021 by Billy Claude

[sherpa]

7 hours ago, JimmyNoodles said:

Had multiple offers but signed with the jags…🤔

 

Anglophile with a vacation home in the Cotswold's.

[Rochesterfan]

10 hours ago, JohnNord said:

He’ll probably have a fairly productive year and should move right into a starting role. IMO keeping Hollister over Sweeney is going to hurt the team.  Fans will say “we should’ve kept Hollister” and they’ll be right 

 

7 hours ago, JohnNord said:

Way to embellish what most people are saying.  I don’t think anyone is going to that extreme.  They have questioned the move of releasing Hollister and keeping Sweeney, when Hollister’s quickness and ability to get downfield are something that the team doesn’t have at the position.  
 

The other danger is relying on Dawson Knox who looked like the same player he’s always been in the preseason.   If Knox is injured or playing poorly, the team is in better shape with Hollister getting snaps than Sweeney

Lawrence….and the other TE on the team:

 

Jimmy O’Shauhnessy

Chris Manhertz

Luke Farrell

 

There’s a good chance Hollister is the starting TE a few weeks into the season, if not sooner.  

 

Maybe people are embellishing what people are saying because of things like your original statement.  Keeping Sweeney over Hollister is going to “hurt the team” and “fans will be right”.

 

Basically the last 2 years the #2 TE has been targeted 14 and 16 times in total with a catch rate of 45% and 75%.  I am not sure that Hollister or Sweeney in that role truly “hurts the team”.

 

I also think that where the Bills will utilize the #2 TE most is around the goal line as a blocker sneak out TE - think Lee Smith and that is where Kroft got several of his catches.  If the Bills think Sweeney is the better in-line blocker and he has pretty much continued through this camp catching everything thrown his way per Sal (Sal stated he thought Sweeney had the best hands of all the TEs and it wasn’t close) then Sweeney was kept for a specific reason - a role Hollister could not fill.

 

Hollister and Knox in the end were competing for other TE position because of the numbers - so I don’t look at it as Sweeney over Hollister because I think Sweeney fills a specific role that Knox and Hollister can’t.  I look at it as Knox over Hollister and that may be a mistake - it may not - but those 2 play a similar role and based upon the Media watching practice - Sal (and the coach and GM) said that Knox has looked real good and they like what they see.

 

Honestly based on Beane’s comments - I think they liked Hollister, but preferred Knox’s upside and his work ethic.  I think (and it is just my opinion) the Bill’s would of liked to get him on the PS, but in discussion (sort of like Cam Newton) - Hollister felt he could make another teams starting 53 (and maybe Beane even suggested to him to go ahead and try) and therefore they agreed not to go the PS route.  Beane did say it was available and not to rule him coming back - so to me it read like - the Bill’s decided on Knox over Hollister and then working with the player and agent decided to let him pursue other options and left the door open if things don’t work out we would love to have you back.

 

My final guess is in the end because Jacksonville has a rookie QB and an offense that uses TEs - Hollister will get more opportunity there than the TEs here.  The WR room here is too good and too well stocked for a back up TE to see the field enough to be a difference maker.  Where it might hurt is if Knox reverts back and is unreliable- then Knox over Hollister was a mistake.  Sweeney was most likely the right call as he was the only true in-line blocker of the 3 and fills the role in the red zone to run those look like I am blocking and slip out roles.

Edited September 3, 2021 by Rochesterfan

[CSBill]

I'm good with this, he's an upgrade over Tebow.

 

Edited September 3, 2021 by CSBill

[maryland-bills-fan]

Great Post ^.

 

Blocking is the key. On any situation where Hollister is there mostly to catch a pass, I would rather have Kumero or Davis split out wide and be playing against the other teams 4th or 5th defensive back or a LB.

 

Sweeney is for goal line situations instead of an additional OT for blocking.  The defense has to cover him, he holds the ball and is as fast as anyone to run 5 yards and turn around to catch a quick pass.  Those sort of plays are not the major factor in the offense, but they score points and make the defense have to cover the TE for a short pass. Invaluable as the edge rusher/blitzer can not blow by the TE because Allen is good enough to snap a quick pass for the TD.

[Rochesterfan]

 

 

I will say the other piece that I think worked against Hollister was Reggie Gilliam becoming a multi position NFL level player.  
 

Where I expected Hollister to have a big advantage on the Bills was in an H-Back role - picking up blitzes and then sliding out to become an outlet.  He seemed to do that well in Seattle and I thought that was a spot Knox struggled last year.

 

I think Gilliam showed he could become the Bills version of Kittle lite in the backfield.  He can protect, he can slip out for catches, he can run that Kelce style TE/H back shovel pass near the goal line, and he can run the ball on occasion.

 

I think the Bills looked at it as we have Gilliam and Sweeney near the goal line and Knox in the middle of the field - what role does Hollister bring other than back-up to these spots and is that worth a roster spot over Kumerow/Stevenson or Addison/Obada?

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

1 hour ago, sherpa said:

 

Anglophile with a vacation home in the Cotswold's.

With frequent visits to Torquay, the 'English Riviera'.

[Royale with Cheese]

8 hours ago, GLP said:

He's better than Sweeney. Sweeney's always injured. He's made of glass.

How is he made of glass?  He’s had one foot injury.

[Rochesterfan]

8 hours ago, Freddie's Dead said:

 

The Bills clearly had no intention of bringing him back.  With the Jags, he's arguably TE1, with the best QB prospect since Josh Allen.  He's playing the long game.  Good for him.

 

Bold prediction:  We will miss Lee Smith this year.

 

 

I am not sure I believe the bolder bit.  Just based upon Beane’s comments alone - I think they would of loved to have him on the PS and it was very close to getting on the 53.  
 

I think based upon what Beane said in his news conference and on WGR about how he handles cuts - that he and Hollister and probably Hollister agent had a discussion and they decided that he had opportunities to make someone else’s 53 and they gave their blessing to pursue that.

 

Beane quite candidly stated he thought he would sign on someone else’s roster and that the door here was not closed and that he could be brought back, but I think the agent was already working on landing places.

 

Beane seems well respected by agents for his honesty and openness as was seen when he talked about how they signed Mitch and the discussion Beane and Mitch’s agent had - so it would not surprise me if Beane had a similar discussion and that was why Hollister was an early cut and my guess is that just increases the respect these agents have for Beane.

 

 

[Malazan]

9 hours ago, JohnNord said:

Poorly written but you get my point

 

I think hollister was definitely the right choice for the Jags over Sweeney

[First Round Bust]

13 hours ago, Royale with Cheese said:

I'm gonna say that he's better than Tebow.

small sample size, gonna say he is better than Dawson Knox - a higher floor for sure,  maybe Knox ceiliing can be higher but we keep waiting, waiting for that, and other than 1-2 spectacular plays the drops outweigh those

[Patrick Duffy]

1 minute ago, First Round Bust said:

small sample size, gonna say he is better than Dawson Knox - a higher floor for sure,  maybe Knox ceiliing can be higher but we keep waiting, waiting for that, and other than 1-2 spectacular plays the drops outweigh those

I guess we will see if the ping pong ball training plan works

[machine gun kelly]

I like you’re point Rochester on Gilliam.

[Freddie's Dead]

1 hour ago, Rochesterfan said:

 

 

I am not sure I believe the bolder bit.  Just based upon Beane’s comments alone - I think they would of loved to have him on the PS and it was very close to getting on the 53.  
 

I think based upon what Beane said in his news conference and on WGR about how he handles cuts - that he and Hollister and probably Hollister agent had a discussion and they decided that he had opportunities to make someone else’s 53 and they gave their blessing to pursue that.

 

Beane quite candidly stated he thought he would sign on someone else’s roster and that the door here was not closed and that he could be brought back, but I think the agent was already working on landing places.

 

Beane seems well respected by agents for his honesty and openness as was seen when he talked about how they signed Mitch and the discussion Beane and Mitch’s agent had - so it would not surprise me if Beane had a similar discussion and that was why Hollister was an early cut and my guess is that just increases the respect these agents have for Beane.

 

 

 

I should have said "The Bills clearly had no intention of bringing him back to the 53".

[Rico]

13 hours ago, Sherlock Holmes said:

You guys told me he'd be back yesterday!!!!!!

Look at the bright side,

you lost Hollister

 

but you keep Sweeney!

 

[BarleyNY]

11 hours ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

I was mistaken, and very sad to be so.

 

I don't understand the Sweeney over Hollister decision, but the coaches must have their reasons.

 

 

Likewise

Hollister seemed like a player who was the slightest step above a JAG.  That said, it seems like he’d have a rapport with Allen and he could be depended on to stay healthy. I thought we’d keep both him and Sweeney due to injury issues with Sweeney and need for numbers at the position.  It’s not much of a loss from a talent standpoint though as Sweeney has the higher ceiling, relatively speaking.  

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

1 hour ago, Royale with Cheese said:

How is he made of glass?  He’s had one foot injury.

"Here...hold my beer!"