A really good read on Damien Harris

[Zag20]

I think he has what it takes to get 2.5 on 3rd and 2 rather than 1.5 like it seems like we’ve been getting from our RB group for a while now. 

[PBF81]

12 hours ago, Matt_In_NH said:

Hoping they use him enough to take some rushing yards from Josh and provide a little more of a physical offense at times.

 

Agreed.

 

No RB in the past five seasons for us has averaged more than 11 carries/game.  

 

 

[Chandler#81]

Yes, he’s been a Bill-killer in the past and possess traits we think we’d all  love to have. But there is no level of consistency in his game. He alludes to this as well, referencing his best games as a pro. He was available because NE* didn’t want to pay him. 
 

He’s a different type of runner but nothing to hang your hat on. I’m already rueing losing Motor.

 

Color me skeptical.

[PrimeTime101]

25 minutes ago, Chandler#81 said:

Yes, he’s been a Bill-killer in the past and possess traits we think we’d all  love to have. But there is no level of consistency in his game. He alludes to this as well, referencing his best games as a pro. He was available because NE* didn’t want to pay him. 
 

He’s a different type of runner but nothing to hang your hat on. I’m already rueing losing Motor.

 

Color me skeptical.

Done   Look we are looking at Harris being a backup not a starter. Cook will be great for us. Some how I am just not as worried about the RB crew as you are. 

[PatsFanNH]

19 hours ago, PrimeTime101 said:

to the bolded. is this so much to ask? 

For Harris it has been an issue as a pro. I think he had one healthy year in NE and that’s it. That said I wish the Pats had resigned him because he was a very good complimentary RB to Stevenson.

[PrimeTime101]

4 minutes ago, PatsFanNH said:

For Harris it has been an issue as a pro. I think he had one healthy year in NE and that’s it. That said I wish the Pats had resigned him because he was a very good complimentary RB to Stevenson.

yea. Its the right one year deal that is for sure. I just hope he balls out and has a healthy year and just keep him and cook as our 1-2 punch

 

his first year I am guessing he got the rookie treatment and sat and learned. Second year he got injured early yes?  Third year he was playing like a top 15 rb in the league then injuries all over again. 

 

Edited May 26, 2023 by PrimeTime101

[Bill from NYC]

I was in the hospital when Damien was signed and only recently found out that he was on our team.

 

Harris is a complete player. I really don't understand why NE released him. He doesn't have blinding speed but he is a very good one cut, downhill runner when he has even a little momentum. He is also strong on short yardage and goal line situations, a VERY willing blocker, and a good enough receiver.

 

Damien is also a very smart player and person. He was a favorite of Coach Saban. I would be extremely surprised if he gets in any off field trouble. 

 

Overall, I think that he will be an important player on the Bills. He will be a big help in terms of protecting Josh and he can score touchdowns. 

 

Needless to say, I am quiite happy that we signed him and imo he will soon be a fan favorite.

 

GO DAMIEN!!!!!!!!! GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[PrimeTime101]

1 minute ago, ScottLaw said:

The best part about all the RB signings is it prevented McD from wasting another early round pick on one. 

When has McD/Beane ever shown interest in a round 1 RB other than pre-draft smokescreen?

 

I get the point.. We needed a receiving weapon and not one out of the backfield this year. we had that.. .So even if we had not had Harris, I feel they would of taken the same type of rout. Now if you had come and said that this prevented them from taking a 2nd or 3rd round RB? Then i 100% agree lol. 

[Bill from NYC]

20 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

The best part about all the RB signings is it prevented McD from wasting another early round pick on one. 

You are going to like this player. He is obviously not a superstar but he goes all in in every play.

5 minutes ago, SUNY_amherst said:

 

if you give Harris 11 carries he might give us 22 yards

Yeah well it will be really cool if he gets any blocking. 😮😲

[C.Biscuit97]

It’s a great cost effective pick up. But man, I’d love to just have a nasty 3 down back. Imagine Henry, Jackson, half a season Spiller, or Anthony Thomas on this offense!

[Chandler#81]

3 hours ago, PrimeTime101 said:

Done   Look we are looking at Harris being a backup not a starter. Cook will be great for us. Some how I am just not as worried about the RB crew as you are. 

The reason you’re not as worried as I am is because I’m not worried.🤷‍♂️ We have Josh Allen whose passing exploits are otherworldly and he runs like a Mack truck. Screw RBs. They’re quickly becoming obsolete and certainly not worthy of any huge contracts. It’s merely a ruse to keep DL from pinning their ears back every single play.

[TheWeatherMan]

1 hour ago, PrimeTime101 said:

When has McD/Beane ever shown interest in a round 1 RB other than pre-draft smokescreen?

 

I get the point.. We needed a receiving weapon and not one out of the backfield this year. we had that.. .So even if we had not had Harris, I feel they would have taken the same type of rout. Now if you had come and said that this prevented them from taking a 2nd or 3rd round RB? Then i 100% agree lol. 

100% agree with @ScottLaw on this.

 

Singletary 3rd Round, Moss 2nd Round, Cook 2nd Round.  These are all early (like Scott said plain language) round picks wasted (except for Cook) on RBs. Not sure where you got the 1st Round RB thing from, but kindly ask you read posts before replying.  

[PBF81]

1 hour ago, SUNY_amherst said:

if you give Harris 11 carries he might give us 22 yards

 

LOL

 

I don't know whether you're joking with belief, or joking in disbelief.  

 

I'm not big on the Harris signing.  IMO we don't see anything better than average rushing out of him.  Singletary was a more complete and 3-down RB, which Harris is not.  Harris is a downhill runner with limited receiving skills.  I think that we're going to miss Singletary, who, ironically, was among Beane's better draft picks, which I realize isn't saying much, but nonetheless.  As I've pointed out, Had Singletary gotten the same number of carries as Dalvin Cook, he'd have outperformed Cook on the season based on averages.   Many have clamored for Cook (Dalvin), but we send Singletary packing despite a better YPC and similar stats elsewhere.  It makes little sense.  

 

I've surmised that we like Harris because he's eaten us alive.  HIs best games are easily against us.  25% of his career TDs are against us.  But are we a good measure of how good RBs are?  We've had some of the worst RBs in the league post big numbers against us under McD's coaching.  

 

Other than playing against us, he's an incredibly average RB otherwise.  There's no reason to believe that he'll run against our opponents as he did vs. us.  Will that change now that he's here?  Is our OL going to be better than what NE had?  Sure, we have Allen, but we've had Allen, and everyone's still dissatisfied with our RB performances, and Singletary's not worse and had a higher YPC average.  IMO it's not wise to hope that all of a sudden Harris is going to emerge into a better RB.  

 

But here's the thing, is strength is power [downhill] rushing.  Lots of talk about using him in goal line situations.  But honestly, let's say 2nd and 2, do we really see us abandoning a receiver, putting Harris in, and going UTM?  I don't.  I see us still trying to spread out the D, and with Allen, having the same option with fewer defenders in the way and per his read, and an open-field short scramble for the goal line if no one's open.  

 

So we'll see.  But he's one of those players that IMO people are getting too overly excited about.  I don't see him making any kind of significant impact on us winning games.  

 

 

[John from Riverside]

I really don’t think that you can discount seasons
 

Having said that, he’s put enough positive film on tape that I’m pretty excited about him

 

I’m tired of the talk about how we can’t play in our own stadium whenever it gets cold Smash Mouth running game would help that

[The Frankish Reich]

23 hours ago, PrimeTime101 said:

Take out his 2 unhealthy year.. and just focus on 2021. His PFF numbers were in the TEENS.

Yep, PFF loves Damien. They had him rated in the high 80s (that's pro bowl caliber) and even 90 ("elite") in a couple seasons. They like Singletary, but more as a mid-70s guy (kind of generic NFL starter quality).

As for PFF, I've said it before: yes, take it with a boulder of salt. But Beane's free agent acquisitions have always gone in one direction: dumping a PFF lower-rated player in favor of a PFF higher-rated one. So either the Bills' internal scouting is sympatico with PFF, or they're using PFF analysis themselves. 

Sometimes it doesn't work so well (was Saffold an upgrade over anyone last year?), but the pattern is there.

[Mark Vader]

22 hours ago, PrimeTime101 said:

to the bolded. is this so much to ask? 

Isn't this the main reason why we signed Latavius Murray?

[Einstein's Dog]

51 minutes ago, TheWeatherMan said:

100% agree with @ScottLaw on this.

 

Singletary 3rd Round, Moss 2nd Round, Cook 2nd Round.  These are all early (like Scott said plain language) round picks wasted (except for Cook) on RBs. Not sure where you got the 1st Round RB thing from, but kindly ask you read posts before replying.  

I'm not sure where you got that Moss was a 2nd rounder, but you're wrong.

 

Also Singletary was not a wasted pick.  The Bills got 4 years production out of him, a couple as RB1.  I believe this was the plan all along.  And it's a solid one, the strategy has been to have a low spend RB room and they have executed on it.

 

D Harris is a great pickup.  He fits the role the Bills can use for the Thunder type, short yardage guy.  A Vet.  And low cost on a prove it deal.

 

I kindly ask that you refrain from posting a knee-jerk negative reaction in every thread.  

[TheWeatherMan]

38 minutes ago, Einstein's Dog said:

I'm not sure where you got that Moss was a 2nd rounder, but you're wrong.

 

Also Singletary was not a wasted pick.  The Bills got 4 years production out of him, a couple as RB1.  I believe this was the plan all along.  And it's a solid one, the strategy has been to have a low spend RB room and they have executed on it.

 

D Harris is a great pickup.  He fits the role the Bills can use for the Thunder type, short yardage guy.  A Vet.  And low cost on a prove it deal.

 

I kindly ask that you refrain from posting a knee-jerk negative reaction in every thread.  

Ah yeah, Moss was a 3rd rounder but our 2nd pick in the draft because we had no 1st.  
 

Singletary, like all RBs on the roster were extremely underutilized.  you’re correct, Singletary wasn’t a waste of a pick, but optimally you like to get something a little more out of a 3rd rounder.  

[PatsFanNH]

4 hours ago, PrimeTime101 said:

yea. Its the right one year deal that is for sure. I just hope he balls out and has a healthy year and just keep him and cook as our 1-2 punch

 

his first year I am guessing he got the rookie treatment and sat and learned. Second year he got injured early yes?  Third year he was playing like a top 15 rb in the league then injuries all over again. 

 

Actually was his third year he played 15 games the most he has played his career. 

[PrimeTime101]

4 hours ago, TheWeatherMan said:

100% agree with @ScottLaw on this.

 

Singletary 3rd Round, Moss 2nd Round, Cook 2nd Round.  These are all early (like Scott said plain language) round picks wasted (except for Cook) on RBs. Not sure where you got the 1st Round RB thing from, but kindly ask you read posts before replying.  

again. placing words in my mouth go back and read the WHOLE conversation I had with someone else. 1st round RB thing? I NEVER SAID THAT ! lol. stop putting words in peoples mouths

 

Scott was more referring to injuries and other stuff unrelated to your replies... 

3 hours ago, Einstein's Dog said:

I'm not sure where you got that Moss was a 2nd rounder, but you're wrong.

 

Also Singletary was not a wasted pick.  The Bills got 4 years production out of him, a couple as RB1.  I believe this was the plan all along.  And it's a solid one, the strategy has been to have a low spend RB room and they have executed on it.

 

D Harris is a great pickup.  He fits the role the Bills can use for the Thunder type, short yardage guy.  A Vet.  And low cost on a prove it deal.

 

I kindly ask that you refrain from posting a knee-jerk negative reaction in every thread.  

@TheWeatherMan  This ^^ Absolutely correct!

3 hours ago, The Frankish Reich said:

Yep, PFF loves Damien. They had him rated in the high 80s (that's pro bowl caliber) and even 90 ("elite") in a couple seasons. They like Singletary, but more as a mid-70s guy (kind of generic NFL starter quality).

As for PFF, I've said it before: yes, take it with a boulder of salt. But Beane's free agent acquisitions have always gone in one direction: dumping a PFF lower-rated player in favor of a PFF higher-rated one. So either the Bills' internal scouting is sympatico with PFF, or they're using PFF analysis themselves. 

Sometimes it doesn't work so well (was Saffold an upgrade over anyone last year?), but the pattern is there.

yep. I get it. we only hope he regains his healthy form. and if he does? He ranks in the teens just like his HEALTHY year.. people do not get that.. 

2 hours ago, PatsFanNH said:

Actually was his third year he played 15 games the most he has played his career. 

correct. i keep missing the one hear he only played what? 2 games? just a few snaps his first year?