Is the "new" Curtis Samuel here to stay?

[Coach Tuesday]

Just now, RyanC883 said:

he keeps this up, we may have the best WR group in the league.  Samule, Cooper, Coleman, Shakir, and Hollins as the top 5.  

 

Not even top 8.

[uninja]

9 minutes ago, MiracleAtRich1393 said:

Such a great decision to let him walk!

Bills finally in a position to let players go a year early instead of a year late. 

[somnus00]

As long as they stop with the screens to him.

 

But yes, his acceleration on that TD was impressive. His toe must be getting better. Showed a lot of burst on that play. 

[Sojourner]

1 hour ago, Coach Tuesday said:

Meanwhile Gabe Davis is being shut down for the season after 20 catches.

It’s a personal decision. Gives him time to watch Buffalo play on the weekend. 

[TheBeaneBandit]

You got to think the terrible turf toe had a lot to do with it. Now with two more weeks to rest it further and get the other guys back.....I'm feelin pretty good over here😎

[gordong]

1 hour ago, Coach Tuesday said:

Meanwhile Gabe Davis is being shut down for the season after 20 catches.

after the interaction with the fans after the last game last year...  I have zero thoughts on Davis either way.  he was good for one game...   other than that way too many drops and just not a difference maker. I already like Coleman 10 times more than Davis.  And at that salary they can have him forever.  

9 minutes ago, Sojourner said:

It’s a personal decision. Gives him time to watch Buffalo play on the weekend. 

 Oh my....    

 

[Jauronimo]

He looks significantly faster these past two weeks.  That change of direction and body control on his TD showed what a healthy Samuel can do.  I love the fact that KC and the rest of the league still have no idea what this offense looks like with Kincaid, Samuel, Cooper, and Coleman all healthy and in the lineup. 

[hondo in seattle]

1 hour ago, Logic said:

We all heard the breathless training camp reports about how big a part of the offense Curtis Samuel looked like he was going to be.

We all watched through the first 9 weeks as he was a total afterthought.

Last week, and then even more so last night, Curtis Samuel made plays. Both his usage and his productivity vastly improved. He ran legitimate wide receiver routes and made legitimate plays in the passing game.

So what's the deal? Did his turf toe injury just finally heal up? Did the OC just finally start using him more intelligently? Were the Bills just FORCED to use him because of injuries to other receivers? A combination of these things?

Whatever the case may be, if this new and more productive and versatile Curtis Samuel is here to stay, it will mean great things going forward. Cooper, Coleman, Shakir, Samuel, Hollins could actually wind up being a very strong, versatile, and deep WR corps over the stretch run of the season into the playoffs.

Here's hoping Samuel has "arrived" on this offense and this isn't just a short term mirage.

 

Mea culpa.  Before the season, I argued that the Bills WR wasn't great but not horrible either.  My logic was this:  Shakir and Samuel are legit NFL starters.  And between Coleman, MVS, and Claypool it seemed likely that one would also emerge as another legit starter.  If we could stay healthy, three was all we needed. 

 

In retrospect, it wasn't a good take and I'm really happy we traded for Amari Cooper.  And seeing Samuel play like a legit wideout for the first time this year in a game where we needed him warmed my heart.  

 

Whether turf toe or Joe Brady was to blame for Samuel's production prior to this game, I'm also hoping neither will be an issue going forward.  

[ColoradoBills]

It may sound funny to some, but if Samuel indeed has recovered from his turf toe and begins to really contribute, it will

be hard to find snaps/targets for the top 5 WRs if all play healthy for once.

 

Nice problem for Brady and Allen to have.

[hondo in seattle]

4 minutes ago, ColoradoBills said:

It may sound funny to some, but if Samuel indeed has recovered from his turf toe and begins to really contribute, it will

be hard to find snaps/targets for the top 5 WRs if all play healthy for once.

 

Nice problem for Brady and Allen to have.

 

Earlier this season, our WR corps seemed to be our Achilles' Heel - the one position group most likely to prevent a playoff run.   

 

Yesterday, our RBs weren't finding daylight and only produced 49 yards on 19 carries.   And yet, without Kincaid or Coleman in the lineup, we beat an undefeated team and hung 30 points on a team that hadn't allowed 30 points since 2022.  Our receivers must have done something right. 

 

And, yep, it does sound funny to say going forward it'll be hard to find snaps and targets for pass catchers who deserve them.  

[GASabresIUFan]

24 minutes ago, hondo in seattle said:

 

Mea culpa.  Before the season, I argued that the Bills WR wasn't great but not horrible either.  My logic was this:  Shakir and Samuel are legit NFL starters.  And between Coleman, MVS, and Claypool it seemed likely that one would also emerge as another legit starter.  If we could stay healthy, three was all we needed. 

 

In retrospect, it wasn't a good take and I'm really happy we traded for Amari Cooper.  And seeing Samuel play like a legit wideout for the first time this year in a game where we needed him warmed my heart.  

 

Whether turf toe or Joe Brady was to blame for Samuel's production prior to this game, I'm also hoping neither will be an issue going forward.  

I'm not sure this is a bad take.  We never got to see the initial vision for the Bills offense as Samuel and MVS got injured in camp and never really had a chance to develop chemistry with Josh then.  It's taken 10 weeks for Samuel to ramp up and MVS, now cut, looks much better with the Saints.  

 

I like the addition of Cooper and with Samuel looking healthy and engaged, the passing game looks much improved.  Now if we could just get everyone healthy for a change.

24 minutes ago, ColoradoBills said:

It may sound funny to some, but if Samuel indeed has recovered from his turf toe and begins to really contribute, it will

be hard to find snaps/targets for the top 5 WRs if all play healthy for once.

 

Nice problem for Brady and Allen to have.

If everyone can get healthy,  we are moving much much closer to the original vision of the Bills offense this season.  

 

A healthy Bills look like this

TE 1 - Kincaid, TE 2 Knox, (TE 3 Morris, but he isn't really relevant to this discussion)

RB 1 - Cook, RB 2 Davis, RB 3 Johnson

WR 1 - Cooper, WR 2 - Coleman, WR 3 - Hollins

Slot 1 - Shakir, Slot 2 - Samuel 

 

That's ton of players to scheme for where anyone of the 10 can catch the ball and break tackles.  Cooper, Shakir and Samuel all showed their worth yesterday.  

 

With so many targets to throw to when healthy, no receiver, other than Shakir, will put up consistent numbers.  The ball is going to go to who is open. 

Edited November 18 by GASabresIUFan

[ddaryl]

Our WR depth looks very stout in the 2nd half of this season, it was concerning the 1st 5 or 6 games

Better than I can remember in the Allen era, and much better with Diggs and Gabe no longer with the team

 

The unsung hero is our OC Brady.. You have to execute but you have to set up your guys to be able to execute...

Edited November 18 by ddaryl

[PoundingDog]

Shakir, Samuel, Hollins top 3 WRs for the Bills last 2 games. Talent wise. probably ranked near bottom in the league. By the end of the season going into Playoffs, you hope it will be Cooper, Shakir, and Coleman. 

 

For reference, Bills TEs snap counts:

[NickelCity]

We're so much better without Gabe as WR2. 

[Bookie Man]

Let’s see him on a jet sweep eh!?

[ColoradoBills]

12 minutes ago, Bookie Man said:

Let’s see him on a jet sweep eh!?

 

Once he is fully up to speed, I expect we will.

[warrior9]

2 hours ago, somnus00 said:

As long as they stop with the screens to him.

 

But yes, his acceleration on that TD was impressive. His toe must be getting better. Showed a lot of burst on that play. 

I mean, did you not see the screen he turned in to a first down on the first drive on third and 9? I believe that first down set the tone for the game. 

52 minutes ago, NickelCity said:

We're so much better without Gabe as WR2. 

We're so much better just without Gabe, in general. 

[MJS]

No. Once Cooper is 100% and Coleman and Kincaid are back, Samuel will just not be able to get on the field much. But, he can come in for a gadget play here and there. I'm not sure who they would want to take off the field. Certainly not Shakir. And going 4 or 5 WRs means you take Kincaid off the field.

[stinky finger]

3 hours ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

That was a nice TD RAC he had last night

 

 

 

This - the most important element in any good Saturday morning cartoon. Back in the day, of course. 

[HappyDays]

3 hours ago, NickelCity said:

We're so much better without Gabe as WR2. 

 

Addition by subtraction is a cliche but in this case it's true. The passing offense becamse much more efficient and less mistake-prone ever since Brady mostly phased Davis out of the target share last year, and it's gotten even better this year with him out of the lineup. I was beyond sick of the goofy mistakes and constant miscommunications leading to a bunch interceptable passes. Based on his performance in Jacksonville this year it turns out Davis is even worse than I thought.