Four roster needs the Bills still must address

[QLBillsFan]

ILB and RT are the weakest spots. RB and DT are fine. Edge/DE until Von comes back need to improve. 
Unlikely the Bills or anyone else are making major moves at this point. The Bills narrative is they have stayed the same or regressed. I happen to think a healthy D and more O weapons make the Bills stronger. The expected improvement of others teams is part of the story. But not all of the “vastly “ improved teams will jell. The Bills are in a good spot roster wise. Last year many people had them #1 or close going into the season. The Cincinnati game is biasing the Bills expectations as much as the KC loss the year before. The Bills are in the mix to win it all with 4 or 5 teams. I’ll take that. 

[Thurman#1]

16 hours ago, ngbills said:

Weakest positions:

 

ILB

WR2

RT

Edge Rusher

 

 

 

Disagree. In order:

 

ILB

RT

DE (would be #2 if I didn't expect them to pick up one of Ngakoue, Quinn, Ingram, Clowney, Dunlap, Pierre-Paul, etc. on the cheap.)

 

Every team has problems, but those are ours, and depth at a couple of positions could also be added in, including possibly CB if Tre doesn't come back at his previous level.

 

Which equates to a damn good line-up. But yeah, there's stuff to worry about. Always.

 

Edited May 15, 2023 by Thurman#1

[Success]

2 hours ago, SUNY_amherst said:

White is a shade of his former self. Hyde and Poyer healthy is good if they can stay that way but the front 7 is weak and that’s where games are won

 

Tre White was working back from injury.  He was clearly (imo) getting better in the last few games of the season.

 

[mjt328]

19 hours ago, BillsFan619 said:

Does the mafia agree? Thoughts?
 

ILB

DT

RB

Offensive Line

 

Here’s the full article if you want to take a deep dive: https://www.yahoo.com/sports/4-roster-needs-bills-still-114503349.html

 

Go Bills!

 

Inside Linebacker 

Easily the weakest spot on the roster.  But if the Bills haven't made a move yet, I think we are just going to see a change in defensive philosophy towards this position.  They are going to try rolling with Tyrel Dodson as the initial starter... hope Terrel Bernard takes the job in training camp... and then rely on AJ Klein as an emergency fallback.

If you really think about it, the Bills got screwed at ILB this year.  They would have been foolish to give Tremaine Edmunds the contract he got from the Bears.  The options to replace him in Free Agency were extremely slim.  And this year's draft class was not only very weak, but had zero chance of falling favorably our way.

 

Defensive Tackle

We are in very good shape for 2023.  Nobody is signed for next year, but we still have plenty of time to give extensions to anyone who deserves it.

 

Running Back

Short of having an elite/star runner, you really can't ask for more from the Bills group.  They have a strong mix of veterans, young guys, pass catchers, power backs, etc.  They are fine here.

 

Offensive Line

Guard was probably over-addressed this offseason.  We are still good at LT with Dion Dawkins and C with Mitch Morse.  The excesses at Guard give us the option to slide Ryan Bates over if Morse gets another concussion.  The only weak spot is Right Tackle.  I wouldn't mind getting a veteran fallback in the event he doesn't progress this season.

 

In my opinion, the Bills still need to bring in another Edge Rusher.  We clearly didn't get enough out of Shaq Lawson, AJ Epenesa and Boogie Basham last year down the stretch.  As of right now, one of those guys is pretty much guaranteed to start the season.  My guess is that Beane is probably waiting to get a health report on Von Miller before making a move.  There are also a half-dozen veteran guys still on the market who could potentially fit this need. Yannick Ngakou, Justin Houston, Leonard Floyd, etc.  Maybe he waits for the season to get closer before adding one of these guys.

 

[ganesh]

14 hours ago, Ethan in Cleveland said:

Edge is the biggest need. I like Lawson but he is putrid as a pass rusher. Rousseau looked good opposite Miller until both got hurt. He didn’t play well after the injury. He needs a big year. I have no hopes for Basham and Epenesa. They are as bad as the Ford pick. Maybe one of these backup LBs can pass rush from time to time. Maybe they kick Oliver to end for a few snaps a game. 
Maybe Miller shows up and is ready to go and we all still question what the hell happened with White last year.

May be we have a coaching issue with Eric Washington as the DL coach

[Rockinon]

I can't help thinking that the young DE's on this team need to be let loose. I think coaching is at fault. The Bills had Von last year and another vet before that was always attacking the QB while the other side would play contain. That changes if you have 2 of the youngsters playing at the same time. It just seems that they always have one DE playing contain in this defense while the other is attacking. Those roles should be reversed imo. Let Shaq play contain and turn those young bucks loose. Or put 2 of the young guys on the line at once. Time to stop babying them along.

[Thurman#1]

6 hours ago, Warriorspikes51 said:

We'll see on White.  Milano.  Von will play most of the season likely at a high level (see his full season after he tore his ACL 9 games in previous year)
Ford and DaQuan is a strong pair inside with decent depth in OIiver Phillips and Settle. Rousseau is good.  Shaq is a solid player. Another DE in rotation to upgrade from AJ and Basham would be ideal

 

 

Yeah, good luck with that Von stuff. That previous ACL came in his mid-twenties. And that's a whole different world from mid-thirties in terms of healing speed and ability. 

 

High level most of the year is very much not the way to bet. Unfortunately.

 

If he does play that way, I'll be thrilled and will acclaim you a seer. Not expecting that, though.

[Ethan in Cleveland]

19 hours ago, ganesh said:

May be we have a coaching issue with Eric Washington as the DL coach

Perhaps. Not sure a DL coach really matters that much. In the hierarchy of importance I would put DL coach only above ST coordinator in terms of importance. Im sure there are some techniques to learn but doubt there is much difference between college and pro for DL.

That said DT takes a long time to develop where edge guys can make a difference right away.

18 hours ago, Rockinon said:

I can't help thinking that the young DE's on this team need to be let loose. I think coaching is at fault. The Bills had Von last year and another vet before that was always attacking the QB while the other side would play contain. That changes if you have 2 of the youngsters playing at the same time. It just seems that they always have one DE playing contain in this defense while the other is attacking. Those roles should be reversed imo. Let Shaq play contain and turn those young bucks loose. Or put 2 of the young guys on the line at once. Time to stop babying them along.

Lol. I think "playing contain" is code word for suck at pass rush. You can maintain contain and still rush the passer.  Now setting the edge is different. That is key for run defense and letting the linebackers flow to the ball.