Running Back Room

[MarlinTheMagician]

 

 

With all the hue and cry over our wide receivers there has been limited mention of our running back room.  I think it is really good.  Cook looked pretty elite last year, especially down the stretch.  I thought Ty Johnson was a helluva addition and was a very valuable contributor - has size and speed.  And I am so excited about Davis, who I think will bring a lot to the table receiving and running - as well as a can of whoopass.  Would not shock me if Gore sneaks on the roster and contributes as well - his old man will kill him if he doesn't!

 

So much better than when we had Singletary and a bag of balls.  Loved Singletary, but he was a little small and a little slow.  This group is really talented.

[Dillenger4]

I agree. I love Ty Johnson and think he will see more touches this season. He can run hard between the tackles, and when he get's to open field he has speed and power! Cook is elite. Hoping Ray Ray can add some short yardage pounding! Overall, we have a great RB room and these guys will play a significant role in our offense this year.

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

'Running Back Room'

*
What the coaches and OL never gave C.J. Spiller. (aka C.J. Spill'em)

😁

[I'm Spartacus]

Are we sporting a fullback again this year?

[MikePJ76]

1 hour ago, I'm Spartacus said:

Are we sporting a fullback again this year?

I was hoping they would bring in the H-Back type tight end to replace Gilliam but as of right now gilliam has a role.  

 

Maybe Gore and Davis change that in the summer though.

[hondo in seattle]

I think in the past Beane has underspent on the OL.  And this year, he's underspending on the WR group (5th lowest in the NFL?).  

 

But I like his approach toward the RB room.  With our offense revolving around Josh, he's trying to man the RB position with low-cost draft picks on rookie contracts.  Cook is already a bargain and Davis looks to be one.  Johnson has a modest cap number of about 1.1m. 

 

You can't spend everywhere so Beane has decided not to spend heavily on the backfield.  But he's getting us some talent there regardless.  

 

[Beast]

Ty Johnson is one of my favorite players in the roster. He runs like he’s pissed off at the ground.

[MikePJ76]

21 minutes ago, hondo in seattle said:

I think in the past Beane has underspent on the OL.  And this year, he's underspending on the WR group (5th lowest in the NFL?).  

 

But I like his approach toward the RB room.  With our offense revolving around Josh, he's trying to man the RB position with low-cost draft picks on rookie contracts.  Cook is already a bargain and Davis looks to be one.  Johnson has a modest cap number of about 1.1m. 

 

You can't spend everywhere so Beane has decided not to spend heavily on the backfield.  But he's getting us some talent there regardless.  

 

They have a 31 million dollar dead cap hit for steve diggs.    

[hondo in seattle]

12 minutes ago, Beast said:

Ty Johnson is one of my favorite players in the roster. He runs like he’s pissed off at the ground.

 

Great way of saying it.

 

The NFL is a hard mistress.  Ty was a star in college (3rd most all-purpose yards in Maryland history) and now he's fighting just for a roster spot.

 

Despite his success in college, he wasn't invited to the combine.  And yet he reportedly benched 27 reps at 225 lbs - more than any of the backs who were invited to the combine that year.  And one scout timed him at 4.26 in the 40 - also better than any of the backs at the combine.  Other scouts had him between 4.3 and 4.4.  

 

The guy is an elite athlete by many measures, yet barely good enough for the NFL and has already been released by two NFL teams.  

[NewEra]

Calm down guys.  RBs don’t matter as much as WRs and TEs so it doesn’t matter if we like our RB unit or not.  
 

That said-  this is the best RB unit we’ve had since McCoy, Gills and eats.  And I like these guys more

Edited May 25 by NewEra

[SoonerBillsFan]

I think it might be the best RB room in a long time.  Davis has the ability to be a starter in this league.  I hope he wins the #2 spot.

[Ethan in Cleveland]

2 hours ago, NewEra said:

Calm down guys.  RBs don’t matter as much as WRs and TEs so it doesn’t matter if we like our RB unit or not.  
 

That said-  this is the best RB unit we’ve had since McCoy, Gills and eats.  And I like these guys more

McCoy in his prime was better than what we have seen from Cook so far. I don't think we've seen his best though.  He looks like he can be truly special! Just catch the dam ball!!!

Really like Johnson and Davis.

 

I know lots of people including Tony Romo were talking about how a run game helps in the playoffs. I'm not saying it doesn't. But I think an effective run game can help Buffalo more early in the year. If they can run effectively right from the start then they can limit Josh taking hits and develop the pass offense with all these new parts. 

I would love to see them win several games early on only passing 20-25 tines a game. 

[MarlinTheMagician]

Of course it is a passing league, but it is beyond doubt that a running game that challenges the defense helps open the pass.  Singletary and "the bag of balls" backs with him scared no one -- even after Devon gutted out eight yards, he was going down.  Cook and Johnson can both take it to the house.  Sleep on that at your peril.  Big help for the passing game.

[wppete]

Cook as the star, workhorse RB with two hard nose, stud backs in Johnson and Davis behind him. I think the RB is very strong this year. Should be fun to watch.

[BillsFanForever19]

6 hours ago, MikePJ76 said:

I was hoping they would bring in the H-Back type tight end to replace Gilliam but as of right now gilliam has a role.  

 

Maybe Gore and Davis change that in the summer though.

 

Reggie Gilliam can be an H-Back, if that's what they want for their offense. That's actually exactly what his role was before they moved him to Fullback.

 

That kind of versatility, combined with him being a core Special Teams player is what makes him a commodity for the team and why he's 100% safe - regardless of how many posters want to boot him from the team because he doesn't show up on the stats sheet. He's inexpensive, can be a Fullback, can be a Tight End/H-Back (which allows us to carry only 3 TE's when we always carried 4 before him), is essentially an extra lineman providing blocking on the field, and is an important Teams player.

 

The latter part makes him safer than ever this season, as we've moved on from multiple long time Special Teams players already, including Tyler Matakevitch and Siran Neal. They're not going to want to completely rebuild that unit. He's also absolutely beloved by the coaching staff and the players. Gilliam is going nowhere.

 

There's a chance Frank Gore makes it by beating out Ty or if they decide to keep 4 Tailbacks and 1 FB (which isn't completely unheard of, we've done it in the past). But they aren't going to replace Gilliam with Gore. Gore can't do the things GIlliam can that has made Gilliam a long term veteran for this team. They aren't going to remove Gilliam's role off of the team to carry a 4th Tailback that wouldn't dress on Game Day, unless there was an injury.

Edited May 25 by BillsFanForever19

[hondo in seattle]

6 hours ago, MikePJ76 said:

They have a 31 million dollar dead cap hit for steve diggs.    

 

I was ignoring that and looking at how much each team spends on their current wideouts.  

 

Sadly, we spend more on a receiver who plays for another team than all the receivers in Bills unis combined.  

[MarlinTheMagician]

17 minutes ago, hondo in seattle said:

 

I was ignoring that and looking at how much each team spends on their current wideouts.  

 

Sadly, we spend more on a receiver who plays for another team than all the receivers in Bills unis combined.  

It is sad indeed, but not at all unlikely that it helps the Bills more having him on another team than it would having him on the Bills.  If so, the 2nd rounder we got is a windfall.  The $31 million is a sunk cost.

[chris heff]

On 5/25/2024 at 9:37 AM, Dillenger4 said:

I agree. I love Ty Johnson and think he will see more touches this season. He can run hard between the tackles, and when he get's to open field he has speed and power! Cook is elite. Hoping Ray Ray can add some short yardage pounding! Overall, we have a great RB room and these guys will play a significant role in our offense this year.

Didn’t we determine in another thread, weeks ago, that no one calls Ray Davis “Ray Ray”?

[Sweats]

Anyone "sleeping" on Davis are gonna have their eyes opened.

[harmonkillebrew]

It really hinges on Davis, who is entirely unproven in the NFL - particularly his pass blocking abilities. His college tape looks good, but to anoint this the best backfield in Bills history is a bit much. Damien Harris and Latavius Murry were better, more proven backs at the start of last year. Didn't end up working out all that well. Not bad in terms of vet leadership, but not really very explosive.

Cooks is a really good starter, but he needs to be spelled. He is not the biggest guy and has had his ball security issues. Hoping Davis picks up pro protection schemes quickly and turns into a great backup.