I'm really starting to love this WR room. We quietly got better

[gonzo1105]

3 minutes ago, GASabresIUFan said:

Actually it did.  Which offense looks better to you?  The feed the Diggs monster 170 times but he only catches 65% or the current offense where the top 5 receivers catch 80+% of his catches.  
 

So who are the top receivers in the NFL?  How are their teams doing so far? It’s mixed.  Lamb?  His Cowboys are 1-2.  Chase?  Cinn 0-3?  Nabers? Giants 1-3. Jefferson is 3-0, Collins 1-2.  Having a top WR obviously isn’t enough to guarantee a top offense.  

 

I do believe spending 30+ million dollars a season when you have an elite QB is dumb in my opinion. Just gotta make sure your keeping the cupboard full of younger talented players.

[NeverOutNick]

3 minutes ago, gonzo1105 said:

 

I do believe spending 30+ million dollars a season when you have an elite QB is dumb in my opinion. Just gotta make sure your keeping the cupboard full of younger talented players.

Exactly draft 2-3 new WRs each year some will stick and some won’t but it’s such an expensive position you have to do this when you have your franchise QB

[BillsVet]

2 hours ago, Simon said:

What if he's also blessed with legit playmakers at both TE and RB. And a great group of blockers he can count on?

I think that maybe he can overcome an average WR room.

 

Lot of if's though.  Not impossible, but need to see it when they're locked in a close game.  

 

As in, the guy who becomes their go-to receiver in obvious passing downs.  Would like to think it's Kincaid because he's a former first round pick and is probably the most talented of the WR/TE.  

[GoBills808]

17 minutes ago, GASabresIUFan said:

Actually it did.  Which offense looks better to you?  The feed the Diggs monster 170 times but he only catches 65% or the current offense where the top 5 receivers catch 80+% of his catches.  
 

So who are the top receivers in the NFL?  How are their teams doing so far? It’s mixed.  Lamb?  His Cowboys are 1-2.  Chase?  Cinn 0-3?  Nabers? Giants 1-3. Jefferson is 3-0, Collins 1-2.  Having a top WR obviously isn’t enough to guarantee a top offense.  

it's just a poor grasp of causality

 

the existence of an elite wideout on a bad team isn't proof elite wideouts cause poor records any more than the existence of a firetruck at a burning house is proof firemen cause fires

[HappyDays]

1 hour ago, Alphadawg7 said:

So unless you or anyone else can produce video evidence of our WRs being limited, struggling to do their jobs, etc then there is not an argument to be made that this group is playing bad these first three weeks.  

 

"Bad" isn't the right word. I would say they're doing fine.

 

Nobody can come in here and post 30 all-22 clips showing that the WRs aren't really playing above the scheme (the notable exception being Shakir after the catch). Here's a stat that I think at least implies that notion though:

 

So Allen is dead last in the NFL at throwing to his first read, only 55.6% of the time. It's an interesting stat that can probably be interpreted in a few different ways. What it tells me is that our WRs are not getting quick separation. Allen is having to move on but luckily he has been going though progressions at an elite level, the OL is holding up long enough for him to do that, and Brady's schemed route combinations are working well enough that somebody is eventually coming open along the natural progression. It's unicorn caliber that we're the NFL's most efficient offense while going to our 1st read barely half the time. That sort of thing just doesn't happen, but Allen and Brady are finding a way, and the WRs are executing just enough to make it work.

 

I know you don't believe those of us who say the WRs are meeting our offseason expectations, but it really is the case. I expected Shakir to have 4-5 targets per game and have elite YAC production. I expected Hollins to be mostly a blocking WR. I expected MVS to replicate his role with the Chiefs. I expected Coleman to be brought along slowly and only contribute here and there. Shakir I'll say has moderately exceeded my expectations only because a 100% catch rate is ridiculous and I have to give him some flowers for that. Samuel on the other hand has moderately fallen short of my expectations. So across the board I would say the room as a whole has met my expectations.

 

What has really exceeded my expectations so far are Josh Allen (improbably), the pass protection, and most of all Joe Brady. Those specific ingredients have been so good that they are masking the deficiencies. I'm not going to hedge myself and predict that the offense will fall off. I am flat out very impressed by the whole operation and I see signs that it is in fact sustainable and is in fact championship caliber. Still I stand by my view that the WR room specifically is below average relative to the rest of the league.

[HappyDays]

1 hour ago, gonzo1105 said:

I think the thing they deserve credit for so far is that when the ball has been thrown to them they have caught it. That was a huge problem with the Bills past teams. We are efficient staying ahead of the chains

 

This is an underrated talking point and should be brought up more. The best thing the Bills offense is doing is limiting mistakes. I would consider big mistakes as turnovers, drops, and offensive linemen getting beaten off the snap. We had Allen's fumble on the very first drive of the season. Other than that I can't remember a single play that I would consider a big mistake. We knew coming into the season the Bills offense would be predicated on executing on relatively long drives, and an offense like that has to avoid mistakes more than anything. I give Brady credit for this maybe more than anything else. Limiting mistake-prone plays was the best thing he did when he took over last year and it's only gotten better. In this respect, losing Gabe Davis really was addition by subtraction.