Inactivating Zach Moss

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

Did anyone see Singletary pass blocking? I Saw him lined up outside the hashes pretending to be a wr most of the game 

[Warcodered]

 

In one of his replies to a comment about him playing against Miami he says he is.

[BananaB]

Sadly, Moss is the best all around RB we got. I had high hopes for Singletary after his rookie year but they are long gone. They didn’t bother to upgrade the position so I’d rather them just give Moss more of an opportunity to show what he can do. Having him inactive was a head scratcher and I have no clue what to think at this point besides we are ***** at RB. 

[YoloinOhio]

Moss will be inactive again unless McKenzie and Davis are both out. Numbers game. 

[Hapless Bills Fan]

48 minutes ago, YoloinOhio said:

Moss will be inactive again unless McKenzie and Davis are both out. Numbers game. 

 

Is this something McD or Daboll said, or your deduction?

 

And if the latter can you walk me through it?

[JoPoy88]

12 hours ago, Straight Hucklebuck said:

Because Moss is a slow plodder, with no playmaking ability and not enough size to be a true bruiser. 

 

He’s a classic McDermott running back  in the mold of Mike Tolbert, Chris Ivory, Frank Gore.

 

He’s a holdover from McDermott saying we need to be “physical” in the run game.

 

He’s never been an impressive player, and a lot of his nostalgia among fans is being overhyped in his first Training Camp by Joe B. 
 

On top of that he’s been injured.

If Zach Moss became Frank Gore, would anyone be mad besides you?🤔

[Dr.Mantis_Toboggan]

Has the reason for Moss being inactive been addressed by the coaching staff or Beane?  Puzzling move, agree with much of what the OP said.  4th and 1 I'd rather have Moss on the field than Matt Breida.  Atleast make Steelers respect Moss' power and the possibility it may go to him in a key short yardage situation, then run and option with Allen if you have to get cute in that spot bc the OL can't get hold up... How does a power run package with Moss, Singletary, Josh and Gilliam not make more sense than the garbage Daboll pulled in that spot?  

 

The sky is far from falling, these takes are a little ridiculous, but the Bills last 3 offensive showings have been extremely lack luster.  If Josh and Co can't get on track against the Dolphins, then there might be some cause for concern...

[Nelius]

I didn't mind adding Breida to the stable to see if he could recapture what he had truly 2 years ago, but I did not think it would come at the expense of Moss.

 

Some fun Breida facts - He hasn't scored a touchdown, rushing or receiving, since October 7th, 2019. He had more fumbles (2) than touchdowns (0) last year. For all of his incredible breakaway speed, he's had only a single 20+ yard run since he was with the Niners. Only a single 40+ yard run going back to 2018.

 

I don't know, maybe Breida can't really contribute much at RB any more, in which case he's solely an ST contributor, in which case they're really only dressing one back? That doesn't seem right at all. If they're this committed to Breida on ST as it seems then they really need to figure out a way to also get Moss dressed.

[Nelius]

13 hours ago, Straight Hucklebuck said:

Because Moss is a slow plodder, with no playmaking ability and not enough size to be a true bruiser. 

 

He’s never been an impressive player, and a lot of his nostalgia among fans is being overhyped in his first Training Camp by Joe B. 
 

 

Moss was impressive in college, and while it's open to personal opinion, I thought he showed some flashes last year.

 

Regardless, considering his competition, isn't it much easier at this point to say that Matt Breida has never been an impressive player (5th NFL season) than Moss (2nd NFL season)? Breida has never really done anything other than flash potential every once in awhile, and even that was 2-3 years ago at this point. It's not as if we should all respect Matt Breida as some vet that's proven himself, he's never even been a feature back. At this point he's barely a running back.

[bigduke6]

i find it funny that some think deactivating Moss was the reason we lost this game.    the gameplan we had,   bad or not,  wouldnt have used his skill set.   Steelers D is legit,  always has been legit,  even when they were missing starters last year against us.    Bills and Allen havent played well against them the last 3 meetings, even though we won 2,  and were basically in the majority of this past game.   also,  Steelers run defense,  is very good.    sure peeps wanted to see more runs cuz the pass wasnt working,   mbe it would have helped,  kinda doubt it tho.

 

its this simple,  the offense went with what works for them the majority of the time,   just so happens it didnt this game.   Steelers offense struggled,  they made adjustments in the 2nd half,   we didnt really.   thats what NFL football games come down to,   u cant just pound people with talent like in college if things arent working,   in the NFL u have to make adjustments,  cuz everybody is talented.   we didnt, and we lost a very close game due to it.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

13 hours ago, Over 29 years of fanhood said:

Did anyone see Singletary pass blocking? I Saw him lined up outside the hashes pretending to be a wr most of the game 

 

He was in to pass block on the 4th and 8 where Josh thought he had a "free play" and threw to Davis.

That's the play where Dawkins got pwned by Ingram on a spin move.  the IOL got forced back.  Singletary wound up ahead of the line looking for someone to block, but he was definitely in there to block.

 

33 minutes ago, Nelius said:

I didn't mind adding Breida to the stable to see if he could recapture what he had truly 2 years ago, but I did not think it would come at the expense of Moss.

 

Some fun Breida facts - He hasn't scored a touchdown, rushing or receiving, since October 7th, 2019. He had more fumbles (2) than touchdowns (0) last year. For all of his incredible breakaway speed, he's had only a single 20+ yard run since he was with the Niners. Only a single 40+ yard run going back to 2018.

 

I don't know, maybe Breida can't really contribute much at RB any more, in which case he's solely an ST contributor, in which case they're really only dressing one back? That doesn't seem right at all. If they're this committed to Breida on ST as it seems then they really need to figure out a way to also get Moss dressed.

 

This

[YoloinOhio]

10 hours ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

Is this something McD or Daboll said, or your deduction?

 

And if the latter can you walk me through it?

Deduction. Singletary will play if healthy and he is. Breida is a different type of RB  and mckenzies primary backup at KR and PR, so he will be active with McKenzie dinged up. Jones will be active for ST. They only dress 3 RB. Then you have Star - will likely be back which gives them one less active spot. So they need two who were active last week to not be active this week to have a spot for moss and I don’t see any injuries as of now that will lead to that unless McKenzie and Davis injuries do. Even then, I think there is a greater chance they elevate a WR from the PS. Potentially, they could activate moss over Hamlin, but again they almost always only dress 3 RBs. 
 

edit: they may evaluate brieda from week 1 and decide that despite the speed element that he brings, moss gives them more of an advantage in this game considering Raekwon Davis is out and that really impacts the dolphins run D. They may want to pound the rock a bit. But, breida is 2 phase ST player and there is still the McKenzie injury to consider in the return game. 

Edited September 16, 2021 by YoloinOhio

[YoloinOhio]

6 hours ago, Nelius said:

 

Moss was impressive in college, and while it's open to personal opinion, I thought he showed some flashes last year.

 

Regardless, considering his competition, isn't it much easier at this point to say that Matt Breida has never been an impressive player (5th NFL season) than Moss (2nd NFL season)? Breida has never really done anything other than flash potential every once in awhile, and even that was 2-3 years ago at this point. It's not as if we should all respect Matt Breida as some vet that's proven himself, he's never even been a feature back. At this point he's barely a running back.

The difference is that Breida is the backup KR and PR and McKenzie is dinged up in both shoulders. If moss played ST like Breida or Jones, Or had beaten out Singletary in camp,  he would be active. Once McKenzie is fully healthy you might see moss take brieda’s spot for certain games depending on the game plan.

[1ManRaid]

On 9/13/2021 at 7:32 PM, CountDorkula said:

considering 99% of kicks are touchbacks now.

 

You need three/four special teamers

Kicker

Punter

Long Snapper/have a guy who plays another position do it Hell Epenesa did it in preseason. 

One good gunner for punts. 

 

 

The emphasis teams, especially this one put on it is so ***** dumb. 

 

Last I checked touchbacks were only like 75%, not 99%.  Also look at the OPENING KICKOFF OF THE GAME and the blocked punt for a TD if you want to see how special teams affects games.

 

Epenesa did long snaps in preseason, but not WELL.  He botched a snap which directly took a point off the board for us.

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

8 hours ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

He was in to pass block on the 4th and 8 where Josh thought he had a "free play" and threw to Davis.

That's the play where Dawkins got pwned by Ingram on a spin move.  the IOL got forced back.  Singletary wound up ahead of the line looking for someone to block, but he was definitely in there to block.

 

 

This

Fun fact, Steelers are paying less for 32 year old Ingram than Bills are for 34 Mario Addison 

[dave mcbride]

2 hours ago, YoloinOhio said:

The difference is that Breida is the backup KR and PR and McKenzie is dinged up in both shoulders. If moss played ST like Breida or Jones, Or had beaten out Singletary in camp,  he would be active. Once McKenzie is fully healthy you might see moss take brieda’s spot for certain games depending on the game plan.

I think singletary plays, but factor in that he fumbled twice. Both went out of bounds, but that’s dumb luck. You know that doesn’t sit well with the coaches. RBs have one job besides accumulating yardage: don’t fumble because they are supposed to be the “safe play” players.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

1 hour ago, 1ManRaid said:

 

Last I checked touchbacks were only like 75%, not 99%.  Also look at the OPENING KICKOFF OF THE GAME and the blocked punt for a TD if you want to see how special teams affects games.

 

Epenesa did long snaps in preseason, but not WELL.  He botched a snap which directly took a point off the board for us.

 

I looked this up a few days ago and from Pro-football-reference, actually it's even lower than that: the average last year was 61.2% touchbacks

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2020/

 

There was a blocked punt TD against us in the first quarter of the NE Patriots game in 2019 for 7 points.  We lost the game 10-16.

 

 

 

4 minutes ago, dave mcbride said:

I think singletary plays, but factor in that he fumbled twice. Both went out of bounds, but that’s dumb luck. You know that doesn’t sit well with the coaches. RBs have one job besides accumulating yardage: don’t fumble because they are supposed to be the “safe play” players.

 

I've actually been surprised that Devin Singletary's two fumbles haven't been brought up more in media sessions.

McDermott has said he thought he played well.

 

I'm sure it's been brought up and ball security in general has been emphasized this week.

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

3 hours ago, YoloinOhio said:

The difference is that Breida is the backup KR and PR and McKenzie is dinged up in both shoulders. If moss played ST like Breida or Jones, Or had beaten out Singletary in camp,  he would be active. Once McKenzie is fully healthy you might see moss take brieda’s spot for certain games depending on the game plan.

This fits the mo in the past, you could tell if they were running or passing by the scratches.  Lee Smith was the tell
 

 

[Saxum]

On 9/13/2021 at 8:03 PM, Bangarang said:

So many hot takes

 

So many people who never learned as a child to not get burned.

 

[MJS]

I think Singletary is clearly our best back. Breida adds a different dimension that Singletary and Moss don't provide. Jones plays special teams. Moss was just the odd man out.

 

It's not complicated. But you seem to not agree with the coaches, which is fine, but they see him everyday in practice and felt like the other backs gave the Bills a better chance to win. I agree with them.