Rasul Douglas and Christian Benford one of the top tandems in the NFL?

[dorquemada]

58 minutes ago, Augie said:

In the Benford appreciation thread this chart does not appear to flatter Sauce Garden. I get that it’s only 2 games, but it was interesting. 

 

lmao you notice who is in the loser quadrant

[Big Turk]

32 minutes ago, Punching Bag said:

 

He was paid as elite and except in cold weather he was successful under McDaniel.

 

I wish we had a player like Stevie Johnson who could embarrass him so bad that he wished he was playing for a team wearing red to help blush blend in.

 

You mean a player like this? Must have been the old "Bobby Wagner" audible that left him confused 😂

 

Side note... Ed Oliver at the 24 second mark is an all-time classic random Bills moment 😂😂

 

 

Edited yesterday at 08:52 PM by Big Turk

[Augie]

2 minutes ago, dorquemada said:

 

lmao you notice who is in the loser quadrant

Two former Bills, among others. Tre is not the quickest to return to form following injury, but he’s had a couple horrible injuries with huge consequences for what a CB needs to do. I bet he keeps getting better, but at his age his best days are behind him. I loved the guy so wish him well when he’s not playing the Bills. Be smart with your money, Tre. 

[gonzo1105]

1 hour ago, nedboy7 said:

 

 

Led the NFL in yards last season.  Pretty damn good QB and WRs. 

 

So did Jameis Winston. I don’t think anyone is calling Jameis an elite QB 

[Augie]

17 minutes ago, gonzo1105 said:

So did Jameis Winston. I don’t think anyone is calling Jameis an elite QB 

 

You’ve got to keep an eye on your crab legs with that guy around! 

 

Disclosure: My son was at FSU in those days, and he’s got all kinds of excuses for how that was just fine. He is otherwise a law abiding citizen, my son that is. 

[eball]

1 hour ago, jahnyc said:

Did we ever get an update on Taron Johnson's injury or the timeline until he will return?

 

I’ve got to think the fact they put neither Taron nor Bernard on IR means we’re looking at sooner rather than later for both. 
 

[Doc]

7 minutes ago, eball said:

I’ve got to think the fact they put neither Taron nor Bernard on IR means we’re looking at sooner rather than later for both.

 

Let's hope.

[NoName]

2 hours ago, GrimboG said:

I say let's give it a few more weeks. 2 games is a small sample size. 

 

I love how much Benford is delivering for a 6th rounder though! Seems to be a legit top 20 CB. 

 

Is Elam going to get a look this season? 

They played together the majority of last season.  They have more than 2 games of sample size 

[JerseyBills]

2 hours ago, Special K said:

If you throw in a healthy Taron Johnson at nickel, does anyone have a better top 3??

Was just going to post this, easily top 3 or better, McD is a DB genius, Taron an all pro exits and we still dominate a pass heavy Mia team, just great work by the players and coaches 

[Charles Romes]

Adding Ingram, I like the concept of the three giant corner triumvirate. Many of the dangerous receivers in the conference are on the small side. 

[mannc]

2 hours ago, Simon said:

 

It's been more than two games; this has been going on for a long while, imo.

God forbid we get excited too soon around here about a Bills player…

[MJS]

2 hours ago, Buffalo_Stampede said:

They will never get the respect because they play a lot of zone, but they play it at an elite level.

All defenses play more zone than man these days anyway. The days of shutdown corners who produce out on an island by themselves is long gone. The league-wide man coverage rate for the 2023 season was 24%.

[3rdand12]

54 minutes ago, Doc said:

 

Let's hope.

Cam has been pretty darned okay !

[NewEra]

Just like they were last season.   And the. They both got hurt in the playoff’s .  🤦🏻‍♂️ 

[Low Positive]

41 minutes ago, mannc said:

God forbid we get excited too soon around here about a Bills player…

[Big Turk]

3 hours ago, jahnyc said:

Did we ever get an update on Taron Johnson's injury or the timeline until he will return?

 

The update is both are out for Monday's game.

 

Terrel is out multiple weeks and haven't decided whether to IR him or not. Probably waiting til last possible moment to decide to see how he is recovering and give them the best timeline from trainers at that point they can get. I don't know if the deadline is Saturday still or if they get til Sunday due to it being a Monday night game.

 

IMHO from the pics in the locker room where he is embracing and hugging rather forcefully with that arm after the game and no sling, it's likely about the least serious pec strain you can have which is a good thing.

 

Johnson I am assuming they believe is sooner than 4 weeks because they didn't IR him when they had the chance last week prior to the game.

 

Edited 22 hours ago by Big Turk

[Doc]

42 minutes ago, 3rdand12 said:

Cam has been pretty darned okay !

 

Yup.  Just want all the options healthy/available.

[vincec]

3 hours ago, Augie said:

In the Benford appreciation thread this chart does not appear to flatter Sauce Garden. I get that it’s only 2 games, but it was interesting. 

Poor Trey.

[Augie]

14 minutes ago, vincec said:

Poor Trey.

 

If there is any consolation, Tre should never be poor. 

[folz]

As others stated, Rasul and Christian have now started 11 games together (Benford missed two games last year after Rasul arrived)....and, yes, they look pretty darn good right now. Now, of course, the stats won't tell the full story because it's so early this season, and Rasul didn't start for the Bills until week 9 last year (though he did play 53% of last season for the Bills). But, for what it's worth:

 

2023 Bills

7th in passing yards allowed

tied for 2nd in Interceptions

tied for 2nd in passing touchdowns allowed

6th in Net passing yards per attempt

 

2024 (2 games)

12th in passing yards allowed

tied for 3rd in interceptions

tied for 3rd in passing TDs allowed

5th in Net passing yards per attempt

 

 

As far as against upper echelon players (since Rasul arrived), you could say they have been lock down the first two games this year...but we need a bigger sample size, as last year was a bit of a mixed bag (well, basically the Chiefs, Eagles, and Bengals did well against our pass defense, but our boys pretty much held their own against everyone else). [I didn't include games like the Chargers who were starting a backup QB and missing WRs---just the teams or players that would be considered upper tier when both Douglas and Benford were starting.] [Red = held in check; Green = good game for the player; Blue = ok game for player.]

 

2024

AZ: Marvin Harrison, Jr. 1 for 4, 0 TDs; Dortch 6 for 47, 0 TDs; Murray 21 of 31 for 162, 1 TD 0 INTs

MIA: Tyreek Hill 3 for 24, 0 TDs; Waddle 4 for 41, 0 TDs; Tua T. 17 of 25 for 145, 1 TD 3 INTs

 

2023:

CIN: Jamar Chase 4 for 41, 0 TDs; Tee Higgins 8 for 110, 0 TDs; Burrow 31 of 44 for 348, 2 TDs 0 INTs (this was the first game as a Bill for Rasul)

Jets: Garrett Wilson 2 for 9 yards, 0 TDs

Eagles: DeVonta Smith 7 for 106, 1 TD; A.J. Brown 5 for 37, 1 TD; Hurts 18 of 31 for 200 yards, 3 TDs 1 INT

Chiefs: Kelce 6 for 83, 0 TDs; Rashee Rice 7 for 72, 1 TD; Mahomes 25 of 43 for 271, 1 TD 1 INT

Cowboys: CeeDee Lamb 7 for 53, 0 TDs; Brandin Cooks 2 for 10, 0 TDs; Prescott 21 of 34 for 134, 0 TDs, 1 INT

Dolphins: Tyreek Hill 7 for 82, 1 TD; Tua 17 of 27 for 173, 1 TD 2 INTs

Pittsburgh: Pickens 5 for 50, 0 TDs, Diontae Johnson 4 for 48, 1 TD

 

I do think that Taron is one of the best slot corners in the league, Rasul was a great pickup by Beane, Benford has been really solid since he started, and the UB kids have been balling out. Elam's got the talent if he could just put it all together.

 

As a whole, the secondary is definitely a top-10 squad dating back to last year. And if they keep up the level of play from the first two weeks this season, they may be top 5...or better (especially once Taron is back and if Cole comes on at safety as we hope he will). But, either way, they have been playing well and I'm glad to feel confident in our secondary right now. It was a big question mark coming into the season (more so due to the safeties of course). Let's hope this trend continues.