Gabe Davis Injured

[Beck Water]

41 minutes ago, H2o said:

Everyone talking about giving Davis a rest week, like this Steelers game is a gimme. It's not. Even without Watt, they still have a really good defense. I don't expect them to be a pushover. We should win, but any given Sunday ya know. If Davis is comfortable to go then we need him on the field. We have two weeks left and then our Bye. 

 

Not only that, but Keith Butler has always seemed to have the Bills number for their defense.  He's retired now, and IMO it's not yet clear his understudy Teryl Austin is up to the task but I'd say 2 of their 3 losses are more on the offense than the D.

 

I think Davis is not comfortable at all, but people who say he's doing nothing are ignoring his role in blocking, which was significant on a number of plays. Like this dude.  Even the announcers yesterday called out Davis for key blocks on a couple of plays.  Watch some film, buddy.

 

38 minutes ago, zow2 said:

Davis should be fine this week.  He literally did nothing yesterday.  He probably puts more stress on that ankle during a typical day of practice.  

Edited October 3, 2022 by Beck Water

[Captain Caveman]

1 hour ago, H2o said:

Everyone talking about giving Davis a rest week, like this Steelers game is a gimme. It's not. Even without Watt, they still have a really good defense. I don't expect them to be a pushover. We should win, but any given Sunday ya know. If Davis is comfortable to go then we need him on the field. We have two weeks left and then our Bye. 

 

1. The Steelers just lost to the Jets at home, they're very bad.  

2. Davis has not looked comfortable, he's not getting open, and he's dropping balls / not making contested catches.  He doesn't look good enough to play right now, so let him get back to full health and see if the young guys can make enough plays.

[H2o]

5 minutes ago, Captain Caveman said:

 

1. The Steelers just lost to the Jets at home, they're very bad.  

2. Davis has not looked comfortable, he's not getting open, and he's dropping balls / not making contested catches.  He doesn't look good enough to play right now, so let him get back to full health and see if the young guys can make enough plays.

Kumerow, Crowder, McKenzie, all guys we may be without this coming weekend against Pittsburgh. But hey, let's rest Gabe for the sake of rest even if HE feels comfortable enough to go. What a great idea. That would leave us with Diggs and Shakir. Then what? Call up Austin, Hodgins, and Gentry? This isn't a head injury. I trust a WR to know whether he can go while pushing through an ankle situation or not. We're already looking at having to bring up one or two from the PS as it is. We need to make it to the Bye week and then guys can get a solid 9-10 days off if need be. 

[Matt_In_NH]

3 minutes ago, H2o said:

Kumerow, Crowder, McKenzie, all guys we may be without this coming weekend against Pittsburgh. But hey, let's rest Gabe for the sake of rest even if HE feels comfortable enough to go. What a great idea. That would leave us with Diggs and Shakir. Then what? Call up Austin, Hodgins, and Gentry? This isn't a head injury. I trust a WR to know whether he can go while pushing through an ankle situation or not. We're already looking at having to bring up one or two from the PS as it is. We need to make it to the Bye week and then guys can get a solid 9-10 days off if need be. 

 

The odds are McKenzie will play but he has to clear protocol.  Regardless, it is probably better to get Davis healthy vs playing him but it depends on the injury to some degree.  If he can reaggravate it and prolong the injury by playing he should not.  But if it is just dealing with pain while its healing maybe he should play.  Davis has dropped balls the last two weeks....maybe concentration is an issue due to a painful ankle?   Not so sure, he needs to catch the ball...not saying I have lost faith or they should bench him or anything but less drops are needed.

[Captain Caveman]

9 minutes ago, H2o said:

Kumerow, Crowder, McKenzie, all guys we may be without this coming weekend against Pittsburgh. But hey, let's rest Gabe for the sake of rest even if HE feels comfortable enough to go. What a great idea. That would leave us with Diggs and Shakir. Then what? Call up Austin, Hodgins, and Gentry? 

 

Yes, if need be.  Hodgins, Shakir and Hodgins should be able to beat the Steelers (heck, sure throw in Tavon Austin and let him run some deep routes.)  If Davis feels he can go, he can be active and used if needed.  But he's definitely going to be needed against KC next week, and what he's given us the last two weeks isn't going to do it against the Chiefs.

Edited October 3, 2022 by Captain Caveman

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

1 hour ago, Beck Water said:

 

Not only that, but Keith Butler has always seemed to have the Bills number for their defense.  He's retired now, and IMO it's not yet clear his understudy Teryl Austin is up to the task but I'd say 2 of their 3 losses are more on the offense than the D.

 

I think Davis is not comfortable at all, but people who say he's doing nothing are ignoring his role in blocking, which was significant on a number of plays. Like this dude.  Even the announcers yesterday called out Davis for key blocks on a couple of plays.  Watch some film, buddy.

 

 

No watt is a killer to their pass rush defensively.  Their last 3 games have been against NE, CLE, and NYJ - 3 of the worst passing offenses in football.  I expect buffalo to put a hurting on this unit on Sunday.  

 

Offensively they'll have a rookie making his first start.  They also have a pretty trash offensive line.  We should cause some issues for him.  

[Back2Buff]

Gabe's ankle is being used an excuse that is not warranted.

 

Since Gabe has been in the league, there are weeks at a time where he doesn't produce.

 

I know (myself included) had very high expectations of Davis, but the first years in the league were nothing but inconsistent.  I expected different this year, but that was probably on me.  Think it's going to come down to Davis being a nice player, but I think he lacks the consistent aspect of being a good player.

[Beck Water]

1 hour ago, Back2Buff said:

Gabe's ankle is being used an excuse that is not warranted.

 

Since Gabe has been in the league, there are weeks at a time where he doesn't produce.

 

I know (myself included) had very high expectations of Davis, but the first years in the league were nothing but inconsistent.  I expected different this year, but that was probably on me.  Think it's going to come down to Davis being a nice player, but I think he lacks the consistent aspect of being a good player.

 

You're writing like a guy who equates production 100% with targets and receptions.  Fantasy football promotes this.  These guys look at the stat sheet and says "1 reception on 3 targets for a guy playing 98% of the snaps, That's Crap" or "Holy hell, 3 receptions on 6 targets, Catch the Ball, Man!".   Well, Davis is currently scored with 0 drops, so maybe technically he was the closest WR but those weren't considered catchable balls.

 

The Bills weren't high enough on Davis to pencil him in as the #2 guy because they see him as "nothing but inconsistent".   If you have a more salient argument for his inconsistancy, I'd be happy to hear it.

 

A WR production from week to week depends upon a lot of things, including what the opponent decides to scheme to take away.  If Davis is being asked to block, he won't get targets.  If the opponent is saying "we're gonna play to take away the deep/intermediate game and force you to beat us with short throws" leading to 10, 14, 17, 20 play drives - Davis likely won't see a lot of targets because he's just not gonna be playing in the slot.

 

Personally, my concern about Davis as a legit #2 WR in the NFL is 100% based on his right ankle.  That's not an excuse, it's a statement of fact.  He sprained it in practice leading up to week 2 last season. Several reasonably knowledgeable Bills Beat reporters (Capaccio was one) said that Davis just didn't have the explosiveness/quickness he needs to gain separation as a WR when they were watching him in practice, through most of the first half of the season. 

 

Now week 2 this season, he injures the same ankle, misses a game.  He's not a fast enough guy that he can gain separation by running by people or a big enough guy that he's always open above his head.  If he can't keep his ankles healthy enough to play his best game and get open as a #2, we can't rely upon him as a #2 WR.

 

That said, I think the last 2 games were outliers in that in Miami, the patchwork OL forced a dink-n-dunk offense and in Baltimore, the rain and wind likewise.

 

Time will tell.  If Davis is going to make a habit of gimping up in the week 2 practice and not being able to get open against NFL Ds on game day as our #2 WR for the next 6 weeks, then we can't count on him as our #2 no matter what he can do when healthy, no matter what he can do when healthy.

Edited October 3, 2022 by Beck Water