Tasker & Chris Brown on Bills CB’s for 2024

[Warriorspikes51]

This is really strange to me.  Douglas is an impact player and made a big difference for us.  Saying Elam and Benford are more athletic and therefore will start? Odd.

 

Douglas should be viewed as CB1 and let Benford and Elam compete for CB2.

 

I guess they also assumed Tre will no longer be with the team

 

[BillsFanForever19]

7 hours ago, Warriorspikes51 said:

This is really strange to me.  Douglas is an impact player and made a big difference for us.  Saying Elam and Benford are more athletic and therefore will start? Odd.

 

Douglas should be viewed as CB1 and let Benford and Elam compete for CB2.

 

I guess they also assumed Tre will no longer be with the team

 

 

Edit: I read this wrong at first. I thought it was saying Douglas and Benford would be starting which isn't crazy at all.

 

But yeah.... this is absolutely crazy talk. 

 

I think Tasker might have got names mixed up again. Something he's notorious for doing every time I tune in.

 

He's also notorious for saying things that make me go "wtf?" and are way off base.

 

This isn't going to happen and doesn't make sense for a LARGE number of reasons.

Edited February 26 by BillsFanForever19

[strive_for_five_guy]

Interesting.  Well, we will likely need to find a new FS for ourselves.  If Benford and Elam (or Tre) can serve as the starting outside CBs, and Douglas take over FS, helps fill some holes on the D.

[Steptide]

They gave up a draft pick for Douglass. I'd be surprised if they didn't try to keep him. 

[SoonerBillsFan]

26 minutes ago, Warriorspikes51 said:

This is really strange to me.  Douglas is an impact player and made a big difference for us.  Saying Elam and Benford are more athletic and therefore will start? Odd.

 

Douglas should be viewed as CB1 and let Benford and Elam compete for CB2.

 

I guess they also assumed Tre will no longer be with the team

 

Could be Douglass is moved to Safety.

[CaptnCoke11]

Douglas and Benford are the two best CBs on the roster.  

[BillsFanForever19]

26 minutes ago, strive_for_five_guy said:

Interesting.  Well, we will likely need to find a new FS for ourselves.  If Benford and Elam (or Tre) can serve as the starting outside CBs, and Douglas take over FS, helps fill some holes on the D.

 

We are not moving high performing Starting CB's to Safety. You simply do NOT do that. The only time you move a CB to Safety is with aging Elite CB's (ala Rod Woodson, Charles Woodson, Troy Vincent, Patrick Peterson) who have the skills to transition and extend their career. Or guys that were Drafted out of College that played both CB and Safety (like Micah Hyde in GB). 

 

A high functioning CB - you KEEP at CB. Safety is a much easier and much cheaper to replace than a CB. And CB's don't WANT to switch to Safety. It's a tougher position on the body that pays FAR less.

 

You know what would happen if we approached Douglas to play Safety? He'd laugh in our face when approached for an extension. He wouldn't re-sign here and be paid to be a Starting CB at Starting CB money on another team after this season. My favorite post i've ever seen on this subject was someone who hypothesized we could move him to Safety and save money by paying him as a Sadety. In what world would Douglas choose to do that?!

 

And why on earth would we move one of our 2 best CB's to Safety to move a lesser player in Elam to start at a more important position? Like... what?

 

Douglas and Benford are unquestioned starters at CB. It's not happening. And guys like White and Elam do not have the ability to do it well. White isn't a good tackler. And Elam, though a better tackler, would need to be even better at Zones than he is already failing at the CB position.

 

The switching any of our CB's to Safety is a completely short sighted, nonsense discussion.

Edited February 26 by BillsFanForever19

[julian]

5 minutes ago, CaptnCoke11 said:

Douglas and Benford are the two best CBs on the roster.  

If that’s true, an upgrade is needed. 

[Success]

I could see Elam emerging if he goes into the season fully healthy.

 

He has more talent than some fans think, imo.

 

[julian]

28 minutes ago, BillsFanForever19 said:

 

I mean, it's not odd at all.

 

It's stupid to think Benford and Elam are going to compete though. Benford is a stalwart at CB2 and should unquestionably start there and continue to grow and get even better.

 

Hopefully Elam can develop into something more and provide us with impact plays when he cycles in or if one of them were to get hurt. But with how Benford played last season, there should be no competition. If there is, it's a competition in name only.

 

As for Tre, whether he's on the team or not, I don't see him on the field Week 1. Even if he does, it will take him some time to get back up to speed. He'd be working his way back in a relief role. You're not removing Douglas or Benford from their spots with how they performed last season for a guy who'd essentially be rehabbing on the field from the start.

 

And that's where it gets tricky for Tre. The out in his contract is this offseason. Rasul Douglas time for an extension is now. We could keep him on the last year of his Contract, but that would mean paying him $9m in Cap and risking losing him after the season. That's a risky proposition, not knowing what Tre is going to look like after the past two major injuries and would involve keeping both their numbers on the cap together this season, when we're in terrible shape.

 

I'm in the "move on from Tre" camp, simply because of the cap situation we're in, the core of CB's we have right now, and this is his 'Out' year. You don't carry 4 starting CB's in Douglas, Benford, Tre, and Taron when you have to find money, need to fill starting holes elsewhere, and one of them has an out in their deal.

Benford is a stalwart and should unquestionably start ? I like Benford, he played well but that’s crazy talk

[BuffaloRebound]

Tasker isn’t wrong.  Elam has more upside at corner and I think Douglas would be a pro bowl safety. He’s a ball hawk that likes to hit.  

[SCBills]

20 minutes ago, Steptide said:

They gave up a draft pick for Douglass. I'd be surprised if they didn't try to keep him. 

The more I think about it, the more I’m intrigued by it.

 

It depends what McDermott/Babich think of Elam. 
 

Apparently he didn’t really vibe with Butler.. and now we have new coaches. 
 

Douglas as Safety or .. a 4th RD Pick and 9M of cap could go a long way

 

 

Edited February 26 by SCBills

[GASabresIUFan]

I think we all forget that Taron Johnson is also a CB.  I wonder if Benford will eventually move to Johnson's role (Hybrid LB/Nickel CB) in the next few years.  I like Douglas just where he is, but if Elam has a good camp and Douglas wants to take Hyde role, that's up to the coaching staff.  

 

 

 

[BillsFanForever19]

19 minutes ago, julian said:

Benford is a stalwart and should unquestionably start ? I like Benford, he played well but that’s crazy talk

 

Definition of 'stalwart' is reliable.

 

Benford played well, at times extremely well. I think you should go back and watch some of the film on him bc he was often shut down on his side. 

 

At 23 years old and on a pennies on the dollar 6th Round Rookie Contract, he's been on a solid ascension with room to get even better. You don't mess with that development.

 

I don't think you're going to find many people who agree with you that we need an Upgrade from him and that we should toss him aside.

Edited February 26 by BillsFanForever19

[julian]

10 minutes ago, BillsFanForever19 said:

 

Definition of 'stalwart' is reliable.

 

Benford played well, at times extremely well. I think you should go back and watch some of the film on him bc he was often shut down on his side. 

 

At 23 years old and on a pennies on the dollar 6th Round Rookie Contract, he's been on a solid ascension with room to get even better. You don't mess with that development.

 

I don't think you're going to find many people who agree with you that we need an Upgrade from him and that we should toss him aside.

I never said toss aside and I agreed he’s been a good player, I think it’s crazy to say unquestionably the starter, hell, even Elam has more INTs than him in half the starts.

 

 If he wins the job in camp then so be it, he’ll again be a good player and the Bills D will be fine but I’m definitely making it an open competition, he hasn’t earned the unquestionably status. He’s basically been Levi Wallace, maybe he gets better and maybe he doesn’t but it definitely should be a camp competition.

[juno999]

I think it's Douglas and Benford as CB1 and CB2.  Elam would need a really strong training camp to challenge.  He's probably CB3 though.  White will likely be on IR or PUP to start the season if he's still on the team.  They'll need another CB though whether it's Dane Jackson or someone else.

[jahnyc]

Tasker's comments are a surprise to me.  I don't think he is plugged into what McD and Beane are thinking, but it is a bit weird for him to be expressing these views in a video on the Bills' website.  Wonder if Douglas will be traded or released because of the cap savings (almost $10 million)?

 

I don't think that Elam is a fit for the Bills, and I had thought he was a trade candidate this offseason.

[BarleyNY]

1 hour ago, Warriorspikes51 said:

This is really strange to me.  Douglas is an impact player and made a big difference for us.  Saying Elam and Benford are more athletic and therefore will start? Odd.

 

Douglas should be viewed as CB1 and let Benford and Elam compete for CB2.

 

I guess they also assumed Tre will no longer be with the team

 

 

A couple weeks ago I noticed that Tasker on 550 and some other media close to the Bills started pushing the narrative that the team “had to get younger”. I took that to mean that the team was going to move on from some of the bigger names. This was the team’s way of preparing the fan base for it so there’s be less of a backlash or uproar. This would fit. 

[BillsFanForever19]

41 minutes ago, julian said:

I never said toss aside and I agreed he’s been a good player, I think it’s crazy to say unquestionably the starter, hell, even Elam has more INTs than him in half the starts.

 

 If he wins the job in camp then so be it, he’ll again be a good player and the Bills D will be fine but I’m definitely making it an open competition, he hasn’t earned the unquestionably status. He’s basically been Levi Wallace, maybe he gets better and maybe he doesn’t but it definitely should be a camp competition.

 

Then what did you mean when you said...

 

1 hour ago, julian said:

If that’s true, an upgrade is needed. 

 

[BillsFanForever19]

21 minutes ago, BarleyNY said:

 

A couple weeks ago I noticed that Tasker on 550 and some other media close to the Bills started pushing the narrative that the team “had to get younger”. I took that to mean that the team was going to move on from some of the bigger names. This was the team’s way of preparing the fan base for it so there’s be less of a backlash or uproar. This would fit. 

 

Yeah, it's pretty clear that if you read between the lines of what McDermott said in Pressers at the end of the year that both Hyde and Poyer are gone. 

 

He demands a lot from the Safety position. Unfortunately, between Hyde not being REMOTELY the same player he was returning from the neck injury and then Poyer, who had shown some decline the year before, falling off a cliff last year - he got little to nothing from that side of the ball all season.

 

Hyde's a Free Agent. Even if he doesn't retire, which seems likely, we won't be bringing him back. And releasing Poyer can save us cap space.

 

My guess is we re-sign Taylor Rapp, who I felt was addition by subtraction when one of them was out of the lineup last season, and Cam Lewis. Then we'll Draft a guy, quite possibly 2 (as it wouldn't surprise me to see us move on from Hamlin too) between Round 2 and the end of the Draft.

 

We probably won't have the Safety core of Hyde and Poyer at their prime - but we can't do a lot worse than what they provided us last season.