Good Night / Bad Night - Pre-season game 1

[GunnerBill]

Back, by absolutely no popular acclaim, it is my good night / bad night pre-season breakdowns as I try and work out who hurt themselves and who helped themselves in the exhibition season. So as the Bills extend the pre-season winning run to 9, it's time to do that vs the Colts. I should say this is the first pre-season game I have missed watching live for 9 years, and sometimes I feel you get a different perspective watching later knowing the outcome, but here goes. 

 

Good Night for...

 

Zack Moss - the fact that Moss got all three of his carries in the first series tells you all you need to know. The Bills brass had seen what they needed to see from him. After a promising rookie season, followed by a sophomore slump Moss came into this offseason with a slight question mark over his roster status. Those questions had been all but erased after a strong camp but any lingering doubt was extinguished last night particularly with the burst he showed to get to the edge on his longest run. He is on this roster and how the Bills balance him vs Singletary and Cook promises to be intriguing. 

 

The 'starting' secondary - the secondary that started this game was essentially the Bills second string as things stand and they played very well. Jaquan Johnson continues to demonstrate the sort of instincts and smarts for which the Bills starting safeties are renowned and got himself an interception to boot; rookie corners Kaiir Elam and Christian Benford both had nice 3rd down stops; and second year safety Damar Hamlin was active around the football. Compared to a year ago I feel much better about the depth of this unit with a mix of development from the safties and the additions at corner. 

 

Matt Araiza - his holding seemed to be on point, and the one punt he hit he absolutely creamed EIGHTY TWO yards. There are still questions for him to answer on the hang time and directional punts when the Bills are closer in, but as a field flipper when your offense stalls deep in your own territory he is a weapon. It was an important night for him and he came up trumps. Matt Haack had one nicely placed shorter punt for a fair catch, but one feels that this competition has decisively turned in the rookie's favour. 

 

Boogie Basham and AJ Epenesa - I thought AJ had two nice pressures early on (though he should definitely have converted one of them into a sack and seemed to lose his footing a touch having turned the corner) and Basham made the big strip sack that allowed Bernard the scoop and score chance in the first half. The Bills are going to need contributions from these two guys this year as the second line guys behind Von and Greg. This was a promising start, though greater tests undoubtedly lie ahead. 

 

Isaiah Hodgins - Khalil Shakir also had a really nice night, but he was all but a lock for the roster anyway and while he had a catch from out wide early most of his best routes were still run from the slot. Hodgins played mostly wide where there is a potential spot to shoot for on this roster (much discussed on these boards in the last week) as depth behind Diggs and Davis. Hodgins did some "big slot" stuff too and he kind of has to make contested catches because he lacks the burst to separate organically but he came up clutch last night in the second half albeit against the Colts 2nd and 3rd stringers. Is he legitimately in with a shot at the roster? Who knows, but Jake Kumerow's fumble may have left the door ajar. Let's see whether the Bills give him more snaps against the Broncos starters next week. If they do, then Hodgins has a chance. 

 

 

Bad Night for...

 

Case Keenum - Yea, that was concerning. Case Keenum can play Quarterback in this league, but he admitted in his presser this week that he is still learning this offense and reports from camp have not been stellar. The first interception last night was not really on him, but the second was a telegraphed throw that lacked heat and he just generally looked indecisive and tentative. He completed 11 of 18 but for a paltry 4.8 YPA. Matt Barkley demonstrated his own limitations at times as well with a pick and an intercepted 2pointer but his greater experience in the scheme showed and he was able to at least move the offence. 

 

Jamison Crowder - If the red alert signals are not flashing in Crowder's head right now, they should be. His roster spot is not safe. The fact that Isaiah McKenzie didn't even suit up is a sure sign that he has all but won the starting slot job. Crowder got snaps early, struggled to find space in the defense and on his one target spooned a catch up into the air for an interception. When you add that to Shakir's performance the Bills must ask themselves the question "what is this guy doing except preventing an exciting rookie from getting on the field?" 

 

Matt Smiley - What we have learned about the Bills' new Special Teams Coordinator this summer is that he is a bouncy, high energy personality. But this was a rough first outing for his unit. Special teams penalties galore and this generally looked like a sloppy effort. Yes, it is hard to run efficient STs in pre-season when guys are shuffling in and out, plus as far as I could see his starting gunners Taiwan Jones and Siran Neal did not play (think Cam Lewis and Nick McCloud were on gunner duties), but this was a concerning start. 

 

OJ Howard - He wasn't out there a lot but he just made no impact. He doesn't seem to be moving that quickly and he struggled to get separation. He has been arguably the biggest disappointment of the entire offseason so far. For all the talk about two and even three tight end sets it is going to be difficult for the Bills to add that wrinkle without an effective running mate for Dawson Knox. Of the tight ends that played only Quinton Morris flashed at all for me, with one long catch and a couple of nice blocks to set up screens. 

 

The run blocking - I have put this 5th of the five concerns because I should start with the cavet - this wasn't even the second team offensive line. Not only did the five supposed starters all sit, but Quessenberry and Mancz sat too and Cody Ford only played the first series or two. So there is an argument to say this was a line shorn of what the Bills consider their top 8 guys. But they struggled, especially at the point of attack in the run game. Even the big Zack Moss run I alluded to earlier was more about him creating than the line blowing people off the ball. But if improving their run game was a genuine focus in the offseason this wasn't the most impressive of starts. 

 

 

That is week 1 of the pre-season in the books and the first Bills football since they walked off the field devastated in Arrowhead. Two more to go before the real stuff starts. Those final few roster battles are definitely hotting up. 

[TBBills]

Zack Moss getting carries first means nothing. Those same question marks are still there. The overreaction to the first preseason game is amazing.

Edited August 14, 2022 by TBBills

[NewEra]

23 minutes ago, TBBills said:

Zack Moss getting carries first means nothing. Those same question marks are still there. The overreaction to the first preseason game is amazing.

Your overreaction to this post is amazing. 
 

Moss will get carries this season and isn’t competing for a roster spot.  He has one.  
 

 

Edited August 14, 2022 by NewEra

[TBBills]

1 minute ago, NewEra said:

Your overreaction to this post is amazing. 
 

Moss will get carried this season and isn’t competing for a roster spot.  He has one.  
 

 

I never said he wouldn't get a roster spot.  Nice try though.

Edited August 14, 2022 by TBBills

[eball]

5 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

When you add that to Shakir's performance the Bills must ask themselves the question "what is this guy doing except preventing an exciting rookie from getting on the field?" 

 

This is a perfect summation of what I was thinking regarding Crowder.

 

Also, your take on the OL should be required reading for a few on this board.  THIS WASN’T EVEN THE 2ND STRING OL.

 

I’m not worried about Keenum because he is a pro and will do what’s needed if (god forbid) Josh misses any significant time.  He was playing with a bunch of stiffs (and Shakir).

 

The big winner in my opinion last night was Brandon Beane.

 

[hemma]

Tenuda was a one man wrecking crew and sure didn’t help Keenum’s performance.

He is my leader for 1st cut.

 

[GunnerBill]

Just now, hemma said:

Tenuda was a one man wrecking crew and sure didn’t help Keenum’s performance.

He is my leader for 1st cut.

 

Yea the poor kid really struggled. He was trying his ass off as well you could tell. He just lacks foot speed and technique. 

[eball]

1 minute ago, hemma said:

Tenuda was a one man wrecking crew and sure didn’t help Keenum’s performance.

He is my leader for 1st cut.

 

 

He’s headed to the PS for sure.

[hemma]

Just now, eball said:

 

He’s headed to the PS for sure.

Not so sure he makes the PS.  I thought Anderson looked much better at RT.

I think Anderson is a PS keeper.

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

20 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

Case Keenum - Yea, that was concerning. Case Keenum can play Quarterback in this league, but he admitted in his presser this week that he is still learning this offense and reports from camp have not been stellar

Keenan is #3 QB at best.  
 

thank God for Barkley 

[NewEra]

5 minutes ago, TBBills said:

I never said he wouldn't get a roster spot.  Nice try though.

Lol….where did I say that you said he wouldn’t get a roster spot? 
 

You’re saying that people are overreacting, that first team carries mean nothing and that his questions still remain.  The fact that he carries 3 times than never again showed me that he’s a lock to make the team.  Some people we questioning whether or not he would make the team.  That is not a question anymore.  He will make the team. He will get carries.  He will beat out Duke.

 

@GunnerBill didn’t say he would be a great running back….he simply stated what most of us (minus you) had gathered from watching the game.  You state overreaction….which it was not by any stretch of the imagination
 

 
 

[LeGOATski]

Good write-up. I'm surprised by Crowder. When they signed him, he seemed like a bonafide slot guy who could easily find a role in Beasley's absence.

[TBBills]

2 minutes ago, NewEra said:

  Some people we questioning whether or not he would make the team.  That is not a question anymore.  He will make the team. He will get carries.  He will beat out Duke.

 

 
 

Doesn't have anything to do with what I said. Again... please just stop responding if you cannot understand. 

 

The question marks are still there but somehow you think it means he won't make the team. All it means is he still needs to prove himself in the regular season.

Edited August 14, 2022 by TBBills

[NewEra]

1 minute ago, TBBills said:

Doesn't have anything to do with what I said. Again... please just stop responding if you cannot understand. 

I’m starting to feel bad.  I’ll stop

[GunnerBill]

1 minute ago, TBBills said:

Doesn't have anything to do with what I said. Again... please just stop responding if you cannot understand. 

 

It does because I referred to "question marks over his roster status" and you said "those same question marks are still there." That goes directly to will he make the team. 

[TBBills]

Just now, NewEra said:

I’m starting to feel bad.  I’ll stop

Well just next time don't make stuff up for the sake of arguments. It's OK, I forgive you.

[BillsFanSD]

9 minutes ago, LeGOATski said:

Good write-up. I'm surprised by Crowder. When they signed him, he seemed like a bonafide slot guy who could easily find a role in Beasley's absence.

I've had a fairly high opinion of Crowder -- the guy always seemed to make a play or two against us every time we saw the Jets.  Big disappointment so far.  I thought he would be a near lock for the starting slot position, and now I'm in the same boat as the OP wondering whether we really need a third slot guy. 

 

I mean, I'm sure he probably ends up making the roster, but still.    

[Big Turk]

I don't think Moss had a slump last year, Singletary alluded to he never got right coming back from that ankle injury last year but is back to his normal self this year

[NewEra]

7 minutes ago, TBBills said:

Well just next time don't make stuff up for the sake of arguments. It's OK, I forgive you.

I didn’t make anything up.  Your inability to process things properly created a void in your brain which then allowed me to see the real problem here.  Hence why I feel bad.  I feel like a really bad person now.  I promise to stop this time.  

[SectionC3]

Moss should be in.  He had a little bit of burst both last night and at the open practice.  I think Crowder is a trade candidate, as is Haack.  I have to say I’d like to see araiza hold at a location other than a hash to see if he can hit his spot without a guide.