Rd 3, Pick 89 (25): LB Terrell Bernard, Baylor

[HamptonBillsfan]

4 hours ago, DCofNC said:

Step one, have a LB who can actually set the edge, Edmunds gets tossed like a rag doll.

You actually think this kid at 215,soaking wet,  will set an edge better than 245 lb Edmunds. Kiper said on the coverage that once someone gets inside his pads, he's toast. He's got good instincts and a good motor, but he's got to get into the weight room.

[Last Guy on the Bench]

What's this stuff about McDermott's good old boys, or small overachievers? Strange narrative. Is it just based on McD's personality and his own story? Because the Bills have been CONSISTENTLY drafting high RAS guys - explosive athletes with good positional size. Where are they small or overachievers?

 

They are drafting giants on OL. DL guys are good sized - Groot makes McD look like a chipmunk. Edmunds is huge for that position. Josh is huge. Their starting corners have decent size. There are a few smallish players, like Milano, who can really ball anyway. And the receivers aren't that big right now. But overall, they have clearly been prioritizing guys with superior athletic traits (including size) who also happen to be very self-motivated football junkies. They've also been trying to get faster, and this draft class will help that.

 

The Bills are not a team of plucky underdogs.

Edited May 2, 2022 by Last Guy on the Bench

[4merper4mer]

I mean Happy Birthday and all but does anyone think he sticks when we just drafted a linebacker from Baylor?  Mike Singletary is from Baylor.  Done deal.

[FilthyBeast]

This is the only pick I truly hated this year for reasons likely beat to death already including another potential Creed Humphrey situation by not taking the obvious guy who was off the board right after our pick.

 

Also hate the Dick Jauron type fascination with smallish tweener type of players like this whose only real contribution may be on ST. When is this team going to learn that these type of guys are the reason physical teams like the Titans, Colts, etc continue to have our way with us? Also what is different with this guy that says he's going to be able to hold up in pass defense against the leagues elite QB's like Mahomes that continue to beat the Bills when it matters.

 

Obviously if this guy ends up being a legit NFL starter down the road so be it but on the surface it leaves a lot to be desired.

[Putin]

10 minutes ago, FilthyBeast said:

This is the only pick I truly hated this year for reasons likely beat to death already including another potential Creed Humphrey situation by not taking the obvious guy who was off the board right after our pick.

 

Also hate the Dick Jauron type fascination with smallish tweener type of players like this whose only real contribution may be on ST. When is this team going to learn that these type of guys are the reason physical teams like the Titans, Colts, etc continue to have our way with us? Also what is different with this guy that says he's going to be able to hold up in pass defense against the leagues elite QB's like Mahomes that continue to beat the Bills when it matters.

 

Obviously if this guy ends up being a legit NFL starter down the road so be it but on the surface it leaves a lot to be desired.

I was screaming for Dylan Parham to be the pick and the Raiders taking  him with the next pick really pissed me of even more 

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

https://sports.yahoo.com/bills-rookie-terrel-bernard-already-164522585.html
 

Terrel Bernard models Matt Milano
 

After being selected by the Bills, he discussed his game and admitted that Milano is a player he models himself after and has studied in the past.

 

[Paul Costa]

I see a pretty big role for Bernard. I think he
can be the third LB in base. V/I think he can
replace Edmonds in dime situations playing
LB with Milano with 4DL & 5 DB's. V And
he will be on the field most of the time on
4th down. V I actually like the pick. He's
also that Buffalo * Nickel many have
wanted to match up with TE's. Too many
thought he was a Edmonds replacement.
He's far from that. He will be in Kelce's hip
pocket next year.

[Shaw66]

1 hour ago, FilthyBeast said:

 

 

Also hate the Dick Jauron type fascination with smallish tweener type of players like this whose only real contribution may be on ST. When is this team going to learn that these type of guys are the reason physical teams like the Titans, Colts, etc continue to have our way with us? Also what is different with this guy that says he's going to be able to hold up in pass defense against the leagues elite QB's like Mahomes that continue to beat the Bills when it matters.

 

 

Well, I'm surprised you haven't gotten used to it.  It isn't Dick Jauron's fascination with the tweeners; it's McDermotts.   The Bills did nothing much in 2020 to muscle up against the best running games, and they didn't again in 2021.   Unless and until power running games become the dominant offense in the NFL, McDermott is going to go small and quick.  It's obvious that's his preference.   

 

I get the logic.   Small and quick has a chance against the power game, but big never has a chance against quick.  

 

One thing that has surprised me is how good the Bills are in goal line situations.  Teams bulk up and bring in extra tackles and all that, and McDermott's little guys make a lot of stops.  

 

Comments in this thread have convinced me that McDermott wants to play with Bernard as the third linebacker on the field.  I always wanted Klein in on running situations, to ge his muscle to work.  Turns out, McDermott wanted to get rid of Klein and put more speed on the field.  

[Sierra Foothills]

 

2 hours ago, FilthyBeast said:

Also hate the Dick Jauron type fascination with smallish tweener type of players like this whose only real contribution may be on ST. When is this team going to learn that these type of guys are the reason physical teams like the Titans, Colts, etc continue to have our way with us? Also what is different with this guy that says he's going to be able to hold up in pass defense against the leagues elite QB's like Mahomes that continue to beat the Bills when it matters.

 

If you haven't already you should read what Last Guy... says below:

 

7 hours ago, Last Guy on the Bench said:

What's this stuff about McDermott's good old boys, or small overachievers? Strange narrative. Is it just based on McD's personality and his own story? Because the Bills have been CONSISTENTLY drafting high RAS guys - explosive athletes with good positional size. Where are they small or overachievers?

 

They are drafting giants on OL. DL guys are good sized - Groot makes McD look like a chipmunk. Edmunds is huge for that position. Josh is huge. Their starting corners have decent size. There are a few smallish players, like Milano, who can really ball anyway. And the receivers aren't that big right now. But overall, they have clearly been prioritizing guys with superior athletic traits (including size) who also happen to be very self-motivated football junkies. They've also been trying to get faster, and this draft class will help that.

 

The Bills are not a team of plucky underdogs.

 

What's more, look at the Bills free agent acquisitions... DaQuan Jones, Tim Settle, Jordan Phillips... Rodger Saffold and Dave Quessenberry on the offensive side. Say what you want about these players but they have one thing in common.

 

It's pretty obvious the Bills are trying to increase their physicality on the lines.

 

Beane has said from the moment he arrived that football is won and lost at the line of scrimmage.

 

The Bills have size at the positions where size is important.

 

And they're trying to get faster at the positions where speed is more important than size.

Edited May 3, 2022 by Sierra Foothills

[Cash]

49 minutes ago, Sierra Foothills said:

 

 

If you haven't already you should read what Last Guy... says below:

 

 

What's more, look at the Bills free agent acquisitions... DaQuan Jones, Tim Settle, Jordan Phillips... Rodger Saffold and Dave Quessenberry on the offensive side. Say what you want about these players but they have one thing in common.

 

It's pretty obvious the Bills are trying to increase their physicality on the lines.

 

Beane has said from the moment he arrived that football is won and lost at the line of scrimmage.

 

The Bills have size at the positions where size is important.

 

And they're trying to get faster at the positions where speed is more important than size.

Totally agree with this. I’ve never been afraid of undersized LBs - Mike Singletary, Sam Mills, Zach Thomas, London Fletcher, etc. I think the key is having the right DL to keep the OL off of the linebackers. (And I think that’s key regardless of the size of the LB.) Hopefully the Bills have that DL now. I thought they did last year, but once Star went out they really took a step back, and he wasn’t the same after he came back. 

[Richard Noggin]

1 hour ago, Shaw66 said:

Well, I'm surprised you haven't gotten used to it.  It isn't Dick Jauron's fascination with the tweeners; it's McDermotts.   The Bills did nothing much in 2020 to muscle up against the best running games, and they didn't again in 2021.   Unless and until power running games become the dominant offense in the NFL, McDermott is going to go small and quick.  It's obvious that's his preference.   

 

I get the logic.   Small and quick has a chance against the power game, but big never has a chance against quick.  

 

One thing that has surprised me is how good the Bills are in goal line situations.  Teams bulk up and bring in extra tackles and all that, and McDermott's little guys make a lot of stops.  

 

Comments in this thread have convinced me that McDermott wants to play with Bernard as the third linebacker on the field.  I always wanted Klein in on running situations, to ge his muscle to work.  Turns out, McDermott wanted to get rid of Klein and put more speed on the field.  

 

I often return to McDermott personally pulling aside Milano at some point later in the MNF Patriots wind game, where you could see McD gesturing and reminding Milano to attack the gaps vertically rather than flow horizontally (we don't have audio)...and then on the next series Milano had two big stops behind the line of scrimmage. 

 

For McD, it's not about stifling a running game with leverage and mass. It's about attacking it with speed and decisiveness. At least/especially from the 2nd level. While McD's concepts don't always seem aggressive in terms of blitzing and coverage, he does want his guys to trust their reads and ATTACK. That way, with the right players, a defense can cover its own ass on the backend AND swarm to the ball underneath. 

[MasterStrategist]

1 hour ago, Shaw66 said:

Well, I'm surprised you haven't gotten used to it.  It isn't Dick Jauron's fascination with the tweeners; it's McDermotts.   The Bills did nothing much in 2020 to muscle up against the best running games, and they didn't again in 2021.   Unless and until power running games become the dominant offense in the NFL, McDermott is going to go small and quick.  It's obvious that's his preference.   

 

I get the logic.   Small and quick has a chance against the power game, but big never has a chance against quick.  

 

One thing that has surprised me is how good the Bills are in goal line situations.  Teams bulk up and bring in extra tackles and all that, and McDermott's little guys make a lot of stops.  

 

Comments in this thread have convinced me that McDermott wants to play with Bernard as the third linebacker on the field.  I always wanted Klein in on running situations, to ge his muscle to work.  Turns out, McDermott wanted to get rid of Klein and put more speed on the field.  

Yeah I don't think the coaches had alot of confidence in Kleins coverage/zone fit in our defense.  He was very instinctive, but if he took 1 falsestep, he didn't possess the speed/quickness to recover.  Hence his use in blitzing, which he did well.  We got lucky several times his man dropped the ball out of the backfield, ie: Patriots playoff game.

 

Enter Bernard, who has been talked up a superb leader, great instincts, strong blitz ability for the position (which alot of this is instincts/timing), and coverage skills.  Gives McD alot more options to take Taron off the field against 12 personnel (which NE will run alot of) and replaces Klein at a reasonable cost.  Win/Win

[Shaw66]

2 minutes ago, Richard Noggin said:

 

I often return to McDermott personally pulling aside Milano at some point later in the MNF Patriots wind game, where you could see McD gesturing and reminding Milano to attack the gaps vertically rather than flow horizontally (we don't have audio)...and then on the next series Milano had two big stops behind the line of scrimmage. 

 

For McD, it's not about stifling a running game with leverage and mass. It's about attacking it with speed and decisiveness. At least/especially from the 2nd level. While McD's concepts don't always seem aggressive in terms of blitzing and coverage, he does want his guys to trust their reads and ATTACK. That way, with the right players, a defense can cover its own ass on the backend AND swarm to the ball underneath. 

Thanks.  That's a really great observation.  That's a perfect example.  Speed and decisiveness.   Disguise, speed and decisiveness.  And mental processing.  Hyde, Poyer, White, Johnson, Milano, Edmunds all read and react and make plays.  And now they're adding Elam, who clearly has the speed and decisiveness, and there's evidence he has the smarts to learn the nuances and become part of a team of guys in the defensive backfield.  

 

And Bernard, who might become the leader of it all.  

 

Pretty awesome vision. 

[Shaw66]

1 hour ago, Sierra Foothills said:

 

 

If you haven't already you should read what Last Guy... says below:

 

 

What's more, look at the Bills free agent acquisitions... DaQuan Jones, Tim Settle, Jordan Phillips... Rodger Saffold and Dave Quessenberry on the offensive side. Say what you want about these players but they have one thing in common.

 

It's pretty obvious the Bills are trying to increase their physicality on the lines.

 

Beane has said from the moment he arrived that football is won and lost at the line of scrimmage.

 

The Bills have size at the positions where size is important.

 

And they're trying to get faster at the positions where speed is more important than size.

Interesting comments from you and others.   The height movement has been obvious.  Weight a bit, too, but i think the emphasis on the lines is still mobility - Spencer Brown isn't your common plodding right tackle.  Bates and Morse, too.  It's quickness, execution, decisiveness.  Both offense and defense. 

[stinky finger]

So many good posts here. I learn so much from so many of you.

 
thanks 

[hemma]

What was Lorenzo’s role in our D a few years ago?

Could it be similar for Bernard?

[TheyCallMeAndy]

6 hours ago, hemma said:

What was Lorenzo’s role in our D a few years ago?

Could it be similar for Bernard?

Not likely, apples to oranges. His importance comes vs heavy sets and scheme disguise. If the opponent lines up with 2 TEs, we now have a LB who should be capable of holding up vs a TE compared to marching Taron Johnson out there and praying they don’t run the ball. 
 

I love Taron and think he’s a BMF, but relying on him to act as the WLB is why we really struggled vs the run at times. 

Bills top 5 LBs are all outstanding athletes 

[starrymessenger]

The more I look into this guy the more I like the pick. They thought very highly of him at Baylor. I’ve seen some interesting comment on him dating from the outset of college season. It was very positive and seemed to me to be well informed. Probably a bit early but not a bad decision at all for the Bills D. Milano is a legit NFL OLB and he was a fifth round pick. Definitely a guy who brings something to the table and who can be coached up. Obviously the Bills think so.

[DCofNC]

On 5/2/2022 at 1:22 PM, HamptonBillsfan said:

You actually think this kid at 215,soaking wet,  will set an edge better than 245 lb Edmunds. Kiper said on the coverage that once someone gets inside his pads, he's toast. He's got good instincts and a good motor, but he's got to get into the weight room.

Nope, it’s about context.  The Bills have nobody in the Lb group that can set an edge, unless you count Miller as an LB.  All too light or high centered.

17 hours ago, Cash said:

Totally agree with this. I’ve never been afraid of undersized LBs - Mike Singletary, Sam Mills, Zach Thomas, London Fletcher, etc. I think the key is having the right DL to keep the OL off of the linebackers. (And I think that’s key regardless of the size of the LB.) Hopefully the Bills have that DL now. I thought they did last year, but once Star went out they really took a step back, and he wasn’t the same after he came back. 

There’s a difference between short and actually undersized.  All those guys were just short, still built like a tree trunk.  The difference in the Bills LBs is they are small.  With the exception of Edmunds who is the classic, looks like Tarzan plays like Jane, they are all short and light and still not very fast, it’s basically a group of guys that weren’t fast enough to play SS.

[DCofNC]

1 hour ago, starrymessenger said:

The more I look into this guy the more I like the pick. They thought very highly of him at Baylor. I’ve seen some interesting comment on him dating from the outset of college season. It was very positive and seemed to me to be well informed. Probably a bit early but not a bad decision at all for the Bills D. Milano is a legit NFL OLB and he was a fifth round pick. Definitely a guy who brings something to the table and who can be coached up. Obviously the Bills think so.

The Bills also thought Cody Ford, Zach Moss, etc were top prospects, let’s not get so up in Beane’s jock strap, we forget he’s missed a LOT on 1st-3rd round picks.   They haven’t added a single starting caliber LB since Beane took over, continue to waste pick after pick on mediocre RBs, under sized “motor” guys and worst of all they are doing it in the first 3 rounds.  The only pick they have nailed has been Allen, it covers up a lot.  Brown looks good so maybe we give them 2 picks in their time they have hit on in the first 3 rounds of any draft.  Before the fan boys get here, yes Oliver is solid, but no where near top 10 pick production in any category.