Bernard/Williams >>> Edmunds/Milano by the end of the regular season

[John from Riverside]

I am a Dorien Williams fan
 

Having said that, there’s no way that I am possibly happy with the fact that Matt Milano is not playing. He is an absolute stud, a playmaker a star.

 

Dorien Williams has a lot of potential and it shows he’s not quite Milano yet

[Beck Water]

14 hours ago, mushypeaches said:

AJ Klein will be a practice squad call up

 

AJ Klein is currently on the 53 man roster.

[Buffalo716]

Just now, Beck Water said:

 

AJ Klein is currently on the 53 man roster.

AJ will surprise if he plays

 

McDermott knows his strengths and weaknesses...  he would be an edge Blitzer and can make plays 

 

Keep him aggressive and he will surprise... Russel Wilson has NEVER been the same after he met AJ

[HereComesTheReignAgain]

10 hours ago, Sierra Foothills said:

 

I wouldn't overstate the point about the Pats weak running game.

 

The Bills aren't only missing Ed Oliver, they're also missing Daquan Jones. The dropoff from these two to Jordan Phillips, Poona Ford, and Tim Settle is fairly huge IMO. Both Oliver and Jones were playing at approximate All-Pro levels.

 

Oliver and Jones are very big losses on the line.  But Phillips, Ford, and Settle would probably start for half the teams in the league.  These are not scrubs that are liabilities.

[Doc]

10 hours ago, Sierra Foothills said:

I wouldn't overstate the point about the Pats weak running game.

 

The Bills aren't only missing Ed Oliver, they're also missing Daquan Jones. The dropoff from these two to Jordan Phillips, Poona Ford, and Tim Settle is fairly huge IMO. Both Oliver and Jones were playing at approximate All-Pro levels.

 

True but their defense is terrible.  They've allowed an average of 28 PPG the last 3 games.

 

9 hours ago, John from Riverside said:

I am a Dorien Williams fan
 

Having said that, there’s no way that I am possibly happy with the fact that Matt Milano is not playing. He is an absolute stud, a playmaker a star.

 

Dorien Williams has a lot of potential and it shows he’s not quite Milano yet

 

Agree.  But no one is happy that Milano is out.  At most we're happy that Williams was a) drafted, b) groomed behind him and c) looking like he has promise.

Edited October 21, 2023 by Doc

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

On 10/20/2023 at 11:46 AM, warrior9 said:

I mean, Milano was All-Pro last year which means he's top 2-3. 

 

Yeah I couldn't recall when I wrote this, was he All Pro or Pro Bowl which is like anyone still standing in January makes the Pro Bowl.  So to be safe and not be challenged, I said top 10, but I felt he was more like top 5 or higher too.

[Donuts and Doritos]

It's a wee bit early for this.

 

I recall after 2 games people wanted to compare Trent Edwards to Tom Brady (I'm looking at you Ron Jaworski)

 

 

Edited October 21, 2023 by Donuts and Doritos

[Fan in Chicago]

4 hours ago, HereComesTheReignAgain said:

Oliver and Jones are very big losses on the line.  But Phillips, Ford, and Settle would probably start for half the teams in the league.  These are not scrubs that are liabilities.

imo, BB will test the middle of our D early and often to see how the DL and LBers hold up. This is a good test for our new LBers. 

I doubt BB will let Jones (or whichever scrub plays QB) test the perimeter with passes. Our D will have to cover the middle of the field. 

Edited October 21, 2023 by Fan in Chicago

[Doc]

44 minutes ago, Fan in Chicago said:

imo, BB will test the middle of our D early and often to see how the DL and LBers hold up. This is a good test for our new LBers. 

I doubt BB will let Jones (or whichever scrub plays QB) test the perimeter with passes. Our D will have to cover the middle of the field. 

 

They have no speed and Jones has a noodle arm.  That means playing closer to the LOS. 

 

And on the flip-side their defense is terrible.  Easily the worst that Josh has faced.

[DCofNC]

I’m gonna go ahead and say no.  For that math to check out, you would have to say Bernard is incrementally better than Edmunds, more so than Milano is better than Williams.  Milano is an All-Pro, Williams is not close.  As cool as it would be if he can make it to be a pro-bowler, there’s just no chance of closing that gap to Milano by the much in this season.

[YattaOkasan]

On 10/20/2023 at 11:04 AM, Big Turk said:

 

You mean their 31st ranked run and pass offense.  Yes...huge challenge it would seem. Watch other games much?

 

You know that players do improve typically in their rookie years as time goes on right?  Usually pretty massively.  That's why I specifically said end of the season.  

For sure but must of the talk here has been positive and as I said his ceiling looks high. Like any rookie he looks inconsistent. Guess I would point you to spencer brown, another 3rd round/high ceiling player we had to depend on as a rookie.  People were so thrilled with him (people thought his absence was why we lost the jags game) and then realized he wasn’t reliable. I see willams in a similar light. Def doesn’t have to turn out the same but I’m not taking improvement as a guarantee and right now it’s got some big lows. 
 

would also note I didn’t mind the draft pick at the time as much as others that loathed it. I think it looks better in hindsight and the logic is clear (need good play behind Milano in case of injury). Just like Kincaid I think we should temper our expectations. 

Edited October 21, 2023 by YattaOkasan

[LeGOATski]

All three LBs seem very interchangeable. Edmunds really stood out with his size and created issues solely because of that, but the Milano/Bernard/Williams are way more intense and instinctual.

[TheyCallMeAndy]

On 10/20/2023 at 10:25 AM, Big Turk said:

 

I'm not sure how they could sub Williams for him when Williams would already be on the field in 95% of those situations.

I meant when we have a healthy Matt Milano as well.

[Sierra Foothills]

Like a few others have said, I'm intrigued by the idea of Bernard, Milano, and Williams being on the field at the same time when the opponent is in heavier sets.

 

There wouldn't be an LB corps anywhere near as fast as those three.

[CoudyBills]

On 10/20/2023 at 10:23 AM, Ed_Formerly_of_Roch said:

I think Bernard could be better than Edmunds, but that's big leap for Williams to be better than Milano, who is being talked about as one of top 10 in league if not higher.

 

That being said Williams could be better than Milano post injury or at least through the 2024 season.  By 2025 Williams is in his 3rd year, so could see him replacing Milano barring a miraculous recovery.  Certainly this injury will drastically accelerate Williams learning curve.

 

But overall IMO team would be better right now, by year end, and in 2024 with Milano & Bernard as the starters.

Top 10 in the league?

 

Fred Warner

Matt Milano

The rest...

[Orlando Buffalo]

20 hours ago, John from Riverside said:

I am a Dorien Williams fan
 

Having said that, there’s no way that I am possibly happy with the fact that Matt Milano is not playing. He is an absolute stud, a playmaker a star.

 

Dorien Williams has a lot of potential and it shows he’s not quite Milano yet

How dare you steal what I was gonna say. Truly I thought Dorian was gonna be our LB2 and him and Milano were gonna tear it up until I was pleasantly surprised by Bernard 

[John from Riverside]

7 minutes ago, Orlando Tim said:

How dare you steal what I was gonna say. Truly I thought Dorian was gonna be our LB2 and him and Milano were gonna tear it up until I was pleasantly surprised by Bernard 

It’s really good news for us as we start to venture into the area where we’re gonna have to make tough decisions on contracts while we still continue try to improve our team
 

I’m not saying that the cut is going to be Milano, but having the depth at these positions so that we don’t have to draft it or free agent it is going to be huge

[Doc]

7 minutes ago, John from Riverside said:

It’s really good news for us as we start to venture into the area where we’re gonna have to make tough decisions on contracts while we still continue try to improve our team
 

I’m not saying that the cut is going to be Milano, but having the depth at these positions so that we don’t have to draft it or free agent it is going to be huge

They can’t cut Milano without a huge cap hit until after the 2025 season.  He’s not going anywhere for awhile.

[John from Riverside]

Just now, Doc said:

They can’t cut Milano without a huge cap hit until after the 2025 season.  He’s not going anywhere for awhile.

He’s in his prime no way should we cut him

 

But now, that third round pick this year, can go on something other than a linebacker

 

[Richard Noggin]

5 hours ago, LeGOATski said:

All three LBs seem very interchangeable. Edmunds really stood out with his size and created issues solely because of that, but the Milano/Bernard/Williams are way more intense and instinctual.

 

But DID he really? That's the narrative, but it isn't supported by anything other than repetition. Can it be quantified at all?