Time for Hyde

[boyst]

11 hours ago, BuffaloBillyG said:

Hyde couldn't cover anyone last year. He would have been an even bigger liability yesterday. 

 

Older and slower isn't what this defense needs 

Hydes selling point is not hitting harder or covering faster. Hyde sells because he plays smarter.

 

I don't know that it would be an improvement to Hyde but I know he has special value. He is fully healed and he was not as weak of a link as people think - Poyer left us vulnerable at safety. Rapp and Hyde played quite well, especially against Miami.

[BuffaloBillyG]

11 minutes ago, boyst said:

Hydes selling point is not hitting harder or covering faster. Hyde sells because he plays smarter.

 

I don't know that it would be an improvement to Hyde but I know he has special value. He is fully healed and he was not as weak of a link as people think - Poyer left us vulnerable at safety. Rapp and Hyde played quite well, especially against Miami.

Poyer was indeed terrible blast year and is incredibly unpopular with Dolfans because bof his continued poor play this year. That much I agree with 

 

Yes, Hyde plays smart. And experience is a valuable asset. But once the ball is snapped you need physical tools to cover a player or the speed to get to your spot in the zone in time. He didn't have that last year. I doubt being a year older has improved that. 

 

He can still have value. But I think his best value is teaching players like Hamlin and Cine and Bishop some tricks of the trade rather then pushing them back to the bench.

[boyst]

3 minutes ago, BuffaloBillyG said:

Poyer was indeed terrible blast year and is incredibly unpopular with Dolfans because bof his continued poor play this year. That much I agree with 

 

Yes, Hyde plays smart. And experience is a valuable asset. But once the ball is snapped you need physical tools to cover a player or the speed to get to your spot in the zone in time. He didn't have that last year. I doubt being a year older has improved that. 

 

He can still have value. But I think his best value is teaching players like Hamlin and Cine and Bishop some tricks of the trade rather then pushing them back to the bench.

i don't think the deal was to sign with the team just to make an extra practice squad pay check. at the least, sure, depth. I think Hyde will start in the playoffs.

[T master]

13 hours ago, RichRiderBills said:

I thought Hamlin played pretty bad .

 

His play this entire season has been at best questionable, he's not a starting safety he's a decent back up & should be a back up I feel his starting position is in part due to his past situation and that he has been in this D for a few years and knows the D but he doesn't have the tangibles .

 

He's usually late to the tackle & if he is there first he needs help to bring the guy down I think they would be better allowing the rookie Cole Bishop more playing time .

[I'm Spartacus]

3 hours ago, Blackbeard said:

This. 
 

we lost.  Our D played blah.  But that won’t happen every game.  This one was an anomaly, and it doesn’t help that Stafford, Nacua and Cupp were on fire.  
 

We have one of the best players, let alone our qb, to have ever played the game.  He, along with our offense, can and will our score most teams on any given day.  Allen is beyond generational.  

Not sure this game was a anomaly. Our defensive line has been atrocious against the run, and pressuring the QB. It puts our DBs in a big pickle to cover up their poor play. Our small linebackers don't help much either.

[Blackbeard]

9 minutes ago, I'm Spartacus said:

Not sure this game was a anomaly. Our defensive line has been atrocious against the run, and pressuring the QB. It puts our DBs in a big pickle to cover up their poor play. Our small linebackers don't help much either.

I hear ya.

 

But when is our D letting up even close to this many points in a game?  

 

I think we rebound hard this weekend.  McD and crew is always seemingly great after a big loss.  Fingers crossed.

[BillsShredder83]

15 hours ago, transplantbillsfan said:

 

And honestly... if not Hyde... put Cole Bishop back in there and let the athletic freak learn a little in some live action.

Too late for this IMO.  If you were going to try and get him up to live speed via live reps, you had to plug him in my like week 3 or 4.  Its too far in to do it now, committed to a redshirt, barring end of game in a blowout type reps

[BananaB]

I got no doubt Hyde could walk on the field Sunday and be an upgrade over Hamlin

[BuffaloBillyG]

1 hour ago, boyst said:

i don't think the deal was to sign with the team just to make an extra practice squad pay check. at the least, sure, depth. I think Hyde will start in the playoffs.

And at this point of his career I think that is a mistake.

[RyanC883]

15 hours ago, thenorthremembers said:

 

I am not sure I can point to one player on defense who played well.

 

Bernard?

1 hour ago, I'm Spartacus said:

Not sure this game was a anomaly. Our defensive line has been atrocious against the run, and pressuring the QB. It puts our DBs in a big pickle to cover up their poor play. Our small linebackers don't help much either.

 

The DL is really the root issue.  It lets blockers swallow up the small LBs.  I mean we need to run blitz and have the secondary stop the run at the line.  We have no one on the DL capable of winning 1 on 1s or that a OC needs to plan for.  All that spend in cap and draft for nothing.  Let's spend on the offense, trade the overpaid Oliver's, not keep Groot, I'd rather roll with Solomon, another draft pick, and FA or draft a NT.  Spend FA on WR, OL, perhaps Benford if he is up, etc.  Get a FA safety, etc. 

[Logic]

Just gonna leave this here.

 

 

[bmur66]

3 minutes ago, Logic said:

Just gonna leave this here.

 

 

The stats tell the story! I didn't think Hyde played well at all in 2023. He is a "Break glass in case of emergency" player. If he is playing it will be due to injuries.

[flmike]

14 hours ago, EasternOHBillsFan said:

 

The Rams defense ACTUALLY GAVE UP MORE POINTS (42) THAN WE DID (37) and yet nobody talked about that at all! Disgusting.

The Rams D is trash and that's mostly why they are barely above .500

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

I thought Oliver DQ and AJE probably played the worst on the defense, but i didn't think anyone played particularly well.  Milano and Bernard were getting hammered up the middle in the first half and they didn't seem to need to double oliver or DQ to get linemen to the next level.  Milano Bernard and Johnson were all also struggling with the motion all game long in one way or another.  Either they were late to their run fits and got blocked, or they gave leverage to the outside for blocks on WR screens, or outside breaking routes.  They started run blitzing, and just generally blitzing to pressure their offense, but that just leaves challenges on the back end, which... puts a lot of pressure on your safeties.  

 

Hamlin and Rapp did a lot of work keeping some of the big plays from being... really big plays.  I thought benford covered and tackled fairly well.  Groot was an afterthought, a lot of the play actions went away from his side.  Miller was definitely held a few times, and made a couple plays.  No one harrassed stafford all game so he played with quite a bit of confidence, and that is a group failure for the front 7.  

[BuffaloMatt]

Need to see all 22 on Milano and Hamlin before we worry about Hyde

Edited December 10 by BuffaloMatt

[machine gun kelly]

Hyde was slow last year.  He’s not the answer.  He can help with our starting safeties, and in case of injury can assist in a pinch.

 

My guess is he’ll get some playing time like Bishop in the 2nd half if we’re up vs. the Cheats twice and Jests.  I can also see other starters getting pulled if we’re up by 2 TD’s in the 2nd half of these three games.

[harmonkillebrew]

18 hours ago, Steptide said:

The entire defense (minus maybe benford) was atrocious last night, but I don't think Hyde is gonna come in and make any kind of difference. At least not yet. Let him play the last 2 games maybe, but he hasent played a snap since last season. 

I agree Detroit is probably too early to give him significant PT. But Hyde does bring an element we don't really have at Safety now - ball-hawking.

We could use Hyde's instincts and coverage skills to generate a few more TOs

[finn]

50 minutes ago, machine gun kelly said:

Hyde was slow last year.  He’s not the answer.  He can help with our starting safeties, and in case of injury can assist in a pinch.

 

My guess is he’ll get some playing time like Bishop in the 2nd half if we’re up vs. the Cheats twice and Jests.  I can also see other starters getting pulled if we’re up by 2 TD’s in the 2nd half of these three games.

It's possible that Bishop is close, and a three-game tune-up is all he needs to be more effective than Hamlin. Frankly, I don't see the Bills winning the Super Bowl with Hamlin. The elite coaches in the playoffs will figure out how to exploit him the same way McVay did. He's not only slow, but he plays way back and hesitates to boot. Yes, he's a reliable tackler and he gets to the right spot eventually, but if you have a "C" grade free safety, you're putting a lot of pressure on the rest of the team. It's no wonder the pass rush isn't getting home. 

 

As for Hyde, I'm inclined to take McDermott and Hyde at their word that their expectations are very low. As mediocre as Hamlin is, Hyde isn't much better at this point in his career. He's a welcome locker-room presence and a very useful player-coach for Bishop and Hamlin, but he may never see the field.

 

I hope they give Bishop a try. Does anyone remember the 1992 Super Bowl? Marv Levy went with the slow veteran safety Leonard Smith instead of the fast, athletic rookie Henry Jones, who went to the Pro Bowl the very next season. Result: Smith was torched all game. Levy also kept rookie run stuffers James Patton and Frank Kmet on the bench the next Super Bowl, preferring to let Emmitt Smith run over the lightweight veteran Jeff Wright all game long than play rookies. McDermott has played rookies (Cook, Rousseau, Oliver), but I can see him sticking with Hamlin all through the playoffs even as he continues to be the weakest link on the defense. 

 

[Sojourner]

4 hours ago, RyanC883 said:

 

Bernard?

 

The DL is really the root issue.  It lets blockers swallow up the small LBs.  I mean we need to run blitz and have the secondary stop the run at the line.  We have no one on the DL capable of winning 1 on 1s or that a OC needs to plan for.  All that spend in cap and draft for nothing.  Let's spend on the offense, trade the overpaid Oliver's, not keep Groot, I'd rather roll with Solomon, another draft pick, and FA or draft a NT.  Spend FA on WR, OL, perhaps Benford if he is up, etc.  Get a FA safety, etc. 

 

Bernard was not good. Both him and Milano were borderline terrible. 
 

Right on with the defensive line observation. They need a guy that’s just a bohemeoth and eats up a double team as much as possible to allow the backers to navigate. On top of that, I think that would help everyone along the line, especially the guy next to him in Oliver as unless there’s a monumental trade (2nd rounder) I can’t see McD and the staff choosing to move on from Oliver. Especially not if he can repeat last years stats after signing the extension. 
 

The pool, as it stands right now, for free agents next season on the defensive line isn’t great. There’s a handful and they’ll likely get paid pretty well by other teams. I know Sean is credited for the play he gets from CBs but Benford is a must imo. Douglas has been up and down this year and while I like him I don’t think it will be an extremely team friendly deal he’s looking for. Best allocate those finances to 47. 
 

Groot is tough. Loads of talent but the sacks aren’t there for what you’re going to end up paying. I’m on the fence with that one as after him it’s an unknown seeing as Von is likely not returning. 
 

 

Edited December 10 by Sojourner

[transplantbillsfan]

7 hours ago, BuffaloBillyG said:

Poyer was indeed terrible blast year and is incredibly unpopular with Dolfans because bof his continued poor play this year. That much I agree with 

 

Yes, Hyde plays smart. And experience is a valuable asset. But once the ball is snapped you need physical tools to cover a player or the speed to get to your spot in the zone in time. He didn't have that last year. I doubt being a year older has improved that. 

 

He can still have value. But I think his best value is teaching players like Hamlin and Cine and Bishop some tricks of the trade rather then pushing them back to the bench.

 

The speed thing is a question, but Hyde as the "centerfield" Free Safety he's always played hasn't really had the responsibility of covering other defenders.

 

His value would be added communication to the secondary and the instincts to read what the offense is doing pre-snap and react to it quicker than Hamlin.

 

To me, that's the biggest issue with Hamlin.  And some of the guys who watch film have alluded to it.  Hamlin tackles well, but it's almost always down the field because of how late he is to react to plays.

 

I think we can all agree that Hyde was the better Safety than Poyer last year.  Now with so much time to rest and recover from his neck injuries and stingers, maybe he can be even better than he was last season.

 

The Rams ate the Bills alive because of how much their misdirection was confusing the entire D.  To me, a veteran presence would have helped to diagnose some of that.  If the Bills do make it to a Super Bowl, they're almost certainly going to face a similarly explosive offense with lots of misdirection since that's what most of the Elites of the NFC do.