CNYfan Posted January 16 Posted January 16 13 minutes ago, Alphadawg7 said: I mean he was a small DB who got tricked by a big TE, it happens. Allen trucks LBs and DL guys as a QB for example. So I think people made a little too much out of that play. PI was bad as it’s been an issue, but the INT made up for it and then he almost had a second INT later in the game. All in all, I think the PI was the only negative play really and he had some other big plays. Plus, it felt like they stopped going at him too and started targeting Cam Lewis who was a liability. OK, I will keep an open mind. Quote
GunnerBill Posted January 16 Posted January 16 17 minutes ago, Alphadawg7 said: Plus, it felt like they stopped going at him too and started targeting Cam Lewis who was a liability. Cam was actually having a nice game replacing Rapp in dime packages. But when Taron Johnson went out and he had to play the nickel and cover Johnson out of the slot he was an accident waiting to happen. I haven't heard anything about Taron today but on the basis I think Bernard will be out Taron becomes the guy to watch IMO. If we get him back I feel much better about our chances on Sunday. 2 1 Quote
Alphadawg7 Posted January 16 Posted January 16 (edited) 13 minutes ago, CNYfan said: OK, I will keep an open mind. I think that is best for right now for everyone on Elam. He has flashed some big play potential late last year and now comes into the playoff game and gets a critical INT and almost had another. But he still has issues that need to be improved. Hard to evaluate him this year because we found out he was playing hurt and then hasn't gotten any opportunities until this game. I still think the kid has a lot of potential as well as a lot to work on, but we won't really know the kind of player he could be until he can get on the field and see if he can continue to develop. 8 minutes ago, GunnerBill said: Cam was actually having a nice game replacing Rapp in dime packages. But when Taron Johnson went out and he had to play the nickel and cover Johnson out of the slot he was an accident waiting to happen. I haven't heard anything about Taron today but on the basis I think Bernard will be out Taron becomes the guy to watch IMO. If we get him back I feel much better about our chances on Sunday. Yeah, that is why I said they switched it seemed to target Cam when that happened. And agree, its gonna be a long week of watching the injury situation here as not having Taron would be tough. Bernard seems like he avoided a major injury, but I doubt he plays this week. I think best case scenario for him would be AFCCG or SB. Hopefully Benford is back too. Edited January 16 by Alphadawg7 Quote
MPL Posted January 16 Posted January 16 4 hours ago, Shaw66 said: I have a different take on Elam. I think he's a project, and his best games are ahead of him. We all know he struggled as a rookie. But plenty of players struggle as rookies. Bernard, for example. Dotson. Spector. Williams. All of the looked liked liabilities as rookies, and all of them have been valuable contributors in the last few games. Yes, Benford stepped in and played early, but he was a guy accustomed to playing in a complex defensive backfield scheme in college. I expected Elam to contribute this year, but then he got hurt and was unavailable until a month ago. In meantime, as we would expected, he hasn't been sitting at home watching cartoons. He's had his entire rookie season and most of this season to sit and study. He has the physical tools, and it isn't surprising that with a chance to learn and understand concepts better, he could be put on the field on he could perform. As someone pointed out, the play he got run over on was an obvious mismatch as it was happening. I didn't know who was out there, but I knew he was about to get blasted. It was ugly, but it wasn't surprising. A tackle there would have been a great, great play, and a missed tackle was the likely outcome for most corners. The interference call, as someone else said, was a good play. Every corner gets beat sometime. Every single one. Everyone holds. Elam's play saved a touchdown. The INT was an important play at a key point in the game, for sure, but what I liked about it better than the INT was, along with the other INT, how good his coverage was. In BOTH cases, his coverage was excellent, he was in position to make a tackle or a play on the ball, AND he showed the athletic ability actually to make a good play on the ball. Elam's a good example of what perhaps is McDermott's greatest talent - player development. His system is complex and demanding, on both offense and defense. You don't play until you can play within the system. He creates an environment for people to learn and grow within the system, to become "the best version of themselves." I'd forgotten that Isabella was on the team. They signed him and put him in practice for how long - three months? - before he was called on to contribute. In McDermott's system, no one is plug and play - you have to learn and develop. But his system works, because he creates a TEAM, a group that works together, and together they are better than as individuals. It wasn't just Elam yesterday. It was Klein and Williams and Dane Jackson and Cam Lewis and Damar Hamlin and Isabella and who knows who else. The Bills had a lot of guys ready to play, and they without them, there probably would have been a different outcome. I remember another #24 that really struggled early in his career but ended up becoming pretty good starting cornerback for this team, and that's Terrence McGee.Now, obviously McGee wasn't a first round draft pick, but he's an example of a guy who I remember being an absolute liability in coverage turning into a good starter. 2 Quote
Capco Posted January 16 Posted January 16 5 hours ago, rajinka said: Come on. He got bowled over by a tight end that had a head of steam with 10 yard head start and 40 lbs on him. I noticed him in a couple run stops at the line. Fair point, but I still don't think he can make a transition to safety like some folks have floated. Outside CB is his natural playing position on defense. Quote
3rdand12 Posted January 16 Posted January 16 3 hours ago, PonyBoy said: Highlights magazine baby! My dentist always had them in his office 😀 OMG We are older than I thought ! once you wrote Highlights and connected that to dentist office. Ding ! Thank you for the chuckle and memory 1 Quote
Shaw66 Posted January 16 Posted January 16 38 minutes ago, MPL said: I remember another #24 that really struggled early in his career but ended up becoming pretty good starting cornerback for this team, and that's Terrence McGee.Now, obviously McGee wasn't a first round draft pick, but he's an example of a guy who I remember being an absolute liability in coverage turning into a good starter. Good one! I used to wonder why he was still on the team. Then, year by year, he showed me why. When he finally left, his spot was a big hole to fill Quote
3rdand12 Posted January 16 Posted January 16 2 hours ago, dave mcbride said: Regularly all game. He was playing off a lot and couldn't time his closing, so the separation was generally pretty substantial. He almost had a second pick, but that was a busted play because the receiver fell down. Still, he made a nice play on that one. He's just not very trustworthy on a regular basis. He gets spun around a lot. Isn't that coaching though ? When to press , how to press different receivers while moving laterally and then "vertically " quickly ? is he hard headed ? Because he has not been on the field when healthy. Who us truly to blame he hasn't reached his potential many of us had hoped for still. We can make excuses and retain hope. But thought we Bills would have gotten more solid production out him. Dependable type of production. Dane continue to trend upward. albeit slowly Quote
GunnerBill Posted January 16 Posted January 16 6 minutes ago, 3rdand12 said: Isn't that coaching though ? When to press , how to press different receivers while moving laterally and then "vertically " quickly ? is he hard headed ? Because he has not been on the field when healthy. Who us truly to blame he hasn't reached his potential many of us had hoped for still. We can make excuses and retain hope. But thought we Bills would have gotten more solid production out him. Dependable type of production. Dane continue to trend upward. albeit slowly No I don't think it is. I think it is physical. I think his long limbs hurt him. He just looks awkward each time he tries to transition he is often late not becauee he diagnosed late but because he couldn't transition from drop to close quickly enough. 1 1 Quote
dave mcbride Posted January 16 Posted January 16 2 minutes ago, GunnerBill said: No I don't think it is. I think it is physical. I think his long limbs hurt him. He just looks awkward each time he tries to transition he is often late not becauee he diagnosed late but because he couldn't transition from drop to close quickly enough. https://www.profootballnetwork.com/kaiir-elam-florida-cb-nfl-draft-scouting-report-2022/ check out this scouting report. Not so accurate in retrospect! Quote
PayDaBill$ Posted January 16 Posted January 16 (edited) Still doesn’t have much playing time under his belt. Some of the weaknesses we see were clearly mentioned in his draft report. He may still develop. It’s just hard to tell when his NFL body of work is almost non existent. I’m still hopeful in his development. https://www.nfl.com/prospects/kaiir-elam/3200454c-4155-0002-a198-92eda6859fa9 Edited January 16 by PayDaBill$ Quote
GunnerBill Posted January 16 Posted January 16 1 minute ago, dave mcbride said: https://www.profootballnetwork.com/kaiir-elam-florida-cb-nfl-draft-scouting-report-2022/ check out this scouting report. Not so accurate in retrospect! Yea not sure what they were watching. This weakness was very clear on his college film. Quote
C.Biscuit97 Posted January 16 Posted January 16 Dude made a huge play after doing nothing all season. I’ve heard nothing negative about him so good for him. Maybe this is a much needed confidence boost. Would be a huge bonus (wild to say that about a 1st rounder) if he could become even a serviceable player. 1 2 Quote
BigAl2526 Posted January 16 Posted January 16 Elam has some gifts, but he is frustratingly slow at addressing his shortcomings in technique. I think the jury is still out about whether or not he has a viable future long term in Buffalo. The interception, while it really helped the Bills at the time, doesn't change the murkiness of his future. 1 Quote
C.Biscuit97 Posted January 16 Posted January 16 8 minutes ago, BigAl2526 said: Elam has some gifts, but he is frustratingly slow at addressing his shortcomings in technique. I think the jury is still out about whether or not he has a viable future long term in Buffalo. The interception, while it really helped the Bills at the time, doesn't change the murkiness of his future. It’s just wild that McDermott is so good with d backs, FAs and low round/ UFAs, and can miss so bad on a 1st rounder. Quote
realtruelove Posted January 16 Posted January 16 The jury is still out on this player. The fact that his teammates were celebrating his interception tells me they have faith in his abilities and now that he's finally healthy, let's look at the glass as half full. 1 Quote
billsfan89 Posted January 16 Posted January 16 I was really shocked to see how poorly Elam was playing in the early part of the season. Elam is the teams most athletic corner and he flashed solidly in his rookie year playing decently while learning to play zone. Then with another training camp under his belt and a chance to further develop he just looked awful. But then when it came out that he was injured it made sense why he was so bad. Jury is still out on Elam but I think he’s going to be at the very least an effective player. Quote
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