OJ Howard disappointing showing vs Indy

[wppete]

Was excited to see how OJ Howard will look and be used against Indy but was very disappointed by his performance. Looks like low energy and not giving full effort. Anyone else notice that? 

[JimmyNoodles]

Yes, and seems like not much from camp that I have seen. 

[HOUSE]

I think the torn Achilles in 2020 robbed him of speed . He was never the same after that. 

[Sammy Watkins' Rib]

Unfortunately it looks like he is guaranteed a roster spot with a dead cap hit of 3.2 million. I just hope it doesn't force Ken Dorsey to try to make a role for him on offense with more two tight end sets than is necessary.

[H2o]

Whipping boy #2!!! Tremaine must be ecstatic at this point. First Elam and now OJ Howard 

[Steptide]

I think he'll be just fine once he's in with the starters. 

[Rock-A-Bye Beasley]

2 minutes ago, H2o said:

Whipping boy #2!!! Tremaine must be ecstatic at this point. First Elam and now OJ Howard 

Don’t forget Crowder. 

[JoPoy88]

21 minutes ago, wppete said:

Was excited to see how OJ Howard will look and be used against Indy but was very disappointed by his performance. Looks like low energy and not giving full effort. Anyone else notice that? 

it wasn’t great, and the camp reports haven’t been great either. Immense amount of talent coming into the league, but maybe the injuries have sapped some of that, as others have said.

[Augie]

14 minutes ago, HOUSE said:

I think the torn Achilles in 2020 robbed him of speed . He was never the same after that. 

 

The Achilles is a B word, especially if you are unwilling to eat avocado ice cream. 

[FloridaSnow]

4 minutes ago, Rock-A-Bye Beasley said:

Don’t forget Crowder. 

Oh, man. I’d like to

[That's No Moon]

Being on the field at the end of the game is not a good sign for a player like him.

[Steptide]

Just now, That's No Moon said:

Being on the field at the end of the game is not a good sign for a player like him.

Obviously I know nothing, but part of me thinks the coaches were just looking at different schemes and such. I find it hard to believe he was out there because he was under performing, or because they consider him a backup. 

[Charles Romes]

He looks done to me. What a talent coming out of college. It’s not his fault. Injuries can take away your ability to play. There are too many good players on the bubble to protect. Bills will not hesitate to cut him and eat the dead cap.  

[NewEra]

I think he just needs to be a good run blocker and catch wide open passes out of play action.  That’s what a TE2 is imo.  
 

now, if Knox gets hurt…..we could be in real trouble. 

[Ethan in Cleveland]

Hopefully he turns it around.  Sweeney has zero talent.  If Howard can just be average they can do so much out of a two TE set.  

[That's No Moon]

2 minutes ago, Steptide said:

Obviously I know nothing, but part of me thinks the coaches were just looking at different schemes and such. I find it hard to believe he was out there because he was under performing, or because they consider him a backup. 

Pre-season games are for evaluating players.  Howard started the game, sat for a LONG time, then was put back in at the end. Maybe they wanted to see how his leg would respond to that.  IDK.  What I do know is they took Wydermyer and/or Morris off to put Howard and Sweeney back on for the last drive.  Wydermyer was released today so obviously they'd seen enough but it's odd that they took Morris off also at that point in the game.

 

For comparison, Crowder wasn't put back in at the end even though he's also new, it was a clear passing situation, and he hadn't had much opportunity earlier.  They left young guys on to get the reps.

 

None of this player usage is accidental or coincidental during the PS. Howard being on at the end of a game where no starters played and lots of backups also barely played tells you he's not safe regardless of his contract situation.  It's something to keep tabs on next week.

[Coach Tuesday]

1 hour ago, Sammy Watkins' Rib said:

Unfortunately it looks like he is guaranteed a roster spot with a dead cap hit of 3.2 million. I just hope it doesn't force Ken Dorsey to try to make a role for him on offense with more two tight end sets than is necessary.

Every year Beane hands out 1-2 of these head-scratchers.  Guessing he’d justify it with “hard to get free agents to come to Buffalo” which personally I feel is overblown.  They’ve got a bit of an issue identifying offensive skill players in their Pro Personnel dept.  

[wppete]

Just now, Coach Tuesday said:

Every year Beane hands out 1-2 of these head-scratchers.  Guessing he’d justify it with “hard to get free agents to come to Buffalo” which personally I feel is overblown.  They’ve got a bit of an issue identifying offensive skill players in their Pro Personnel dept.  

 

What looked concerning was OJs energy level and effort. At the very least he should be giving full effort and looking like he wants to be out there in battle. 

[Beck Water]

3 hours ago, JimmyNoodles said:

Yes, and seems like not much from camp that I have seen. 

 

I haven't seen, but that's what several of the local Bills media have said - that they keep being asked what about OJ Howard and the answer is "what about him, he's not doing much"

 

2 hours ago, wppete said:

 

What looked concerning was OJs energy level and effort. At the very least he should be giving full effort and looking like he wants to be out there in battle. 

 

Why?

 

Serious Q

 

His contract is essentially fully guaranteed.  If he slacks off and gets cut, there's a good chance another team will take him on as a rehab project.

If he goes super-hard in a meaningless preseason game with Keenum struggling, and gets injured, that won't happen, and his chances of winning a long-term contract decrease.

 

The problem is that slacking starts to become a habit, like anything else a person keeps doing

 

I'm disappointed because I hoped that at least he'd be an upgrade to Sweeney.

Edited August 15, 2022 by Beck Water

[Saxum]

3 hours ago, Steptide said:

I think he'll be just fine once he's in with the starters. 

 

So do I - with another team when he is traded.