Buffalo BILLS 2022-23 Season Official Thread

[Ann]

It's a good question:

 

Which AFC East team can dethrone the Bills? Where the Dolphins, Patriots and Jets stand

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NFL Nation reporters Rich Cimini (Jets), Alaina Getzenberg (Bills), Marcel Louis-Jacques (Dolphins) and Mike Reiss (Patriots) take a closer look at each AFC East team.

</snip>

[Alaska Darin]

 

[Dragon Fly Jones]

On 7/6/2022 at 12:57 AM, Fansince88 said:

Welcome aboard the board. Where? How do you feel about how far Tremaine Edmunds has come. Asking for @Crap Throwing Monkey

 

I'm kinda "meh" on him I guess I could say....Kinda over all the "he's still young and learning" talk that some still say.

 

Overall clearly he hasn't lived up to expectations, but this likely may be his last chance this upcoming season. 

[Deranged Rhino]

2 hours ago, Alaska Darin said:

Moss is the first name that comes to mind.

 

 

 

Moss is definitely at or near the top of that list. I'd put AJ and Stevenson on that short list too. AJ has a bit more wiggle room, but it feels like his last shot at getting meaningful snaps. And with the hole at returner, Stevenson has a chance most bottom tier WRs don't have to make the roster - if his hands cooperate. 

[Alaska Darin]

Just now, Deranged Rhino said:

 

Moss is definitely at or near the top of that list. I'd put AJ and Stevenson on that short list too. AJ has a bit more wiggle room, but it feels like his last shot at getting meaningful snaps. And with the hole at returner, Stevenson has a chance most bottom tier WRs don't have to make the roster - if his hands cooperate. 

I would be shocked if a healthy AJ isn't on the roster and one of the better PRs this season.   Miller's addition should benefit him more than anyone. 

 

I've already cut Stevenson in my head.  GMBB wouldn't keep bringing in similar guys if he was progressing. 

[Fansince88]

7 minutes ago, Alaska Darin said:

I would be shocked if a healthy AJ isn't on the roster and one of the better PRs this season.   Miller's addition should benefit him more than anyone. 

 

I've already cut Stevenson in my head.  GMBB wouldn't keep bringing in similar guys if he was progressing. 

Cant think of names right off but it seemed some undrafted signings were considered returners. Possibly even drafted. 

[Dragon Fly Jones]

13 minutes ago, Alaska Darin said:

I would be shocked if a healthy AJ isn't on the roster and one of the better PRs this season.   Miller's addition should benefit him more than anyone. 

 

I've already cut Stevenson in my head.  GMBB wouldn't keep bringing in similar guys if he was progressing. 

 

Not sure why? I would think it's other way around. I'd be more shocked if he is than isn't. What has he shown (to this point) that makes you think he will be one of the better PRs this season?

[Alaska Darin]

58 minutes ago, Dragon Fly Jones said:

 

Not sure why? I would think it's other way around. I'd be more shocked if he is than isn't. What has he shown (to this point) that makes you think he will be one of the better PRs this season?

He's had a bit of a weird career to date because of COVID and the BILLS asking him to literally change who he is as a football player/athlete and then pushing him down the depth chart because Frazier pretty clearly prefers trotting out the veterans unless he's forced by injury to do something different.

 

AJ is a big, strong and relatively fast dude.  When people say things like "what has he shown", it says they're not really paying attention.  AJ had NINE QB pressures in the away game against the Fish.  NINE.  All people remember from that game is Groot's 2 sacks but Epenesa was the best defensive player on the field that day.

 

The mentality that we're going to cut a cheap salary cap 2nd rounder going into his 3rd year is pure folly.  It's the same thing people were talking about with Eric Moulds going into his third season.

[Dragon Fly Jones]

12 minutes ago, Alaska Darin said:

He's had a bit of a weird career to date because of COVID and the BILLS asking him to literally change who he is as a football player/athlete and then pushing him down the depth chart because Frazier pretty clearly prefers trotting out the veterans unless he's forced by injury to do something different.

 

AJ is a big, strong and relatively fast dude.  When people say things like "what has he shown", it says they're not really paying attention.  AJ had NINE QB pressures in the home game against the Fish.  NINE.  All people remember from that game is Groot's 2 sacks but Epenesa was the best defensive player on the field that day.

 

The mentality that we're going to cut a cheap salary cap 2nd rounder going into his 3rd year is pure folly.  It's the same thing people were talking about with Eric Moulds going into his third season.

 

I get that he has shown flashes, also I always pay attention by the way....As for the good game he had against the fins, I'm not disregarding that at all. I agree that particular game he made a good impact.

 

However, that was the only game against Fins and the last basically that he played well. I acknowledge he had limited opportunities, but even so he still didn't take advantage of those opportunities like he/we wanted. Clearly the staff thought they could get more from Greg R for whatever reason.

 

All that said, brings me to my point....Are you saying that 1 game vs Fins was enough to make you feel as he will be one of the better PRs on the team this season? 

[Dragon Fly Jones]

3 hours ago, Alaska Darin said:

I would be shocked if a healthy AJ isn't on the roster and one of the better PRs this season.   Miller's addition should benefit him more than anyone. 

 

I've already cut Stevenson in my head.  GMBB wouldn't keep bringing in similar guys if he was progressing. 

 

I certainly hope AJ shows enough improvement going into TC throughout preseason that he gets more opportunities from coaches. 

 

But if he does end up being one of the top PRs that would be a huge leap in improvement

[Alaska Darin]

2 hours ago, Dragon Fly Jones said:

 

I get that he has shown flashes, also I always pay attention by the way....As for the good game he had against the fins, I'm not disregarding that at all. I agree that particular game he made a good impact.

 

However, that was the only game against Fins and the last basically that he played well. I acknowledge he had limited opportunities, but even so he still didn't take advantage of those opportunities like he/we wanted. Clearly the staff thought they could get more from Greg R for whatever reason.

 

All that said, brings me to my point....Are you saying that 1 game vs Fins was enough to make you feel as he will be one of the better PRs on the team this season? 

Couple things here:

1.  Groot didn't really take snaps from AJ.  It was more Addison/Hughes.  AJ has always been more RDE.  I can't remember him ever lining up at LDE but that doesn't mean he didn't.  I remember when he was drafted and they said they wanted to use him inside as well and then told him to drop 15 pounds.  Not exactly the track for success inside.

2.  I used the Fish game because it's the internet and that's the easiest example.  There are numerous other individual plays where he's beaten his guy but someone else (or multiple someone elses) didn't handle their responsibilities and the QB was able to move within or to outside the pocket and get a ball off.  AJ is never going to be Von Miller, just like 99.99999% of pass rushers so his success will always be dependent on other guys doing their jobs at a high level.  It's inarguable that last season's DL underperformed against better teams, which is the reason the BILLS went out and got Phillips, Lawson, Miller, etc.  I guarantee they expect Epenesa to be a factor and he has to know he's running outta daylight as well.

3.  In this particular defense, it takes time for guys to stop thinking and as I said in the earlier post, AJ literally had to 100% change his body AND his game to fit.  That isn't a recipe for short term success but since he's clearly a worker he should continue to improve.  AJ is a more natural edge rusher than any of the others currently on the roster. 

 

[Alaska Darin]

One thing I forgot to mention was how the current regime sticks with draft picks not named Wyatt Teller:  If Cody Ford was still on the team going into last season, I have zero reason to expect something different for AJ.  Ford has literally been terrible every time he's been given any opportunity to get on the field.  Epenesa has always looked like a football player, even when he was too light in the ass to be super effective.  The same can't be said about Ford.

[Deranged Rhino]

10 minutes ago, Alaska Darin said:

One thing I forgot to mention was how the current regime sticks with draft picks not named Wyatt Teller:  If Cody Ford was still on the team going into last season, I have zero reason to expect something different for AJ.  Ford has literally been terrible every time he's been given any opportunity to get on the field.  Epenesa has always looked like a football player, even when he was too light in the ass to be super effective.  The same can't be said about Ford.

 

100%

 

For clarity on my part, I didn't mean to imply that AJ will get cut this year - even if he has a so-so to bad camp. I don't think there's much danger of that outside of injury. I put him on my "prove it" list because he's a bubble guy in terms of gameday roster slots. His camp performance, perhaps more than the others on the front 7, will largely determine how many meaningful snaps he gets come the regular season. If he has a down August, or doesn't separate himself, I expect he'll find himself inactive more than active come Sundays. But if he has a good camp, he will get a ton of snaps behind Miller and Groot.

 

AJ has more to prove in camp than anyone else on that DL - with the possible exception of Boogie who's almost in the same boat. In the modern NFL you can never have too many pass rushers, so both are likely safe in terms of making the roster.  

[Alaska Darin]

1 minute ago, Deranged Rhino said:

 

100%

 

For clarity on my part, I didn't mean to imply that AJ will get cut this year - even if he has a so-so to bad camp. I don't think there's much danger of that outside of injury. I put him on my "prove it" list because he's a bubble guy in terms of gameday roster slots. His camp performance, perhaps more than the others on the front 7, will largely determine how many meaningful snaps he gets come the regular season. If he has a down August, or doesn't separate himself, I expect he'll find himself inactive more than active come Sundays. But if he has a good camp, he will get a ton of snaps behind Miller and Groot.

 

AJ has more to prove in camp than anyone else on that DL - with the possible exception of Boogie who's almost in the same boat. In the modern NFL you can never have too many pass rushers, so both are likely safe in terms of making the roster.  

No argument with any of these points.  Boogie was weirdly in almost the same position his rookie year that AJ was - he was essentially asked to play at a different style while changing his body.  You can really tell from the latest pictures that he's lost some of that baby fat he had last year.

[Dragon Fly Jones]

40 minutes ago, Alaska Darin said:

Couple things here:

1.  Groot didn't really take snaps from AJ.  It was more Addison/Hughes.  AJ has always been more RDE.  I can't remember him ever lining up at LDE but that doesn't mean he didn't.  I remember when he was drafted and they said they wanted to use him inside as well and then told him to drop 15 pounds.  Not exactly the track for success inside.

2.  I used the Fish game because it's the internet and that's the easiest example.  There are numerous other individual plays where he's beaten his guy but someone else (or multiple someone elses) didn't handle their responsibilities and the QB was able to move within or to outside the pocket and get a ball off.  AJ is never going to be Von Miller, just like 99.99999% of pass rushers so his success will always be dependent on other guys doing their jobs at a high level.  It's inarguable that last season's DL underperformed against better teams, which is the reason the BILLS went out and got Phillips, Lawson, Miller, etc.  I guarantee they expect Epenesa to be a factor and he has to know he's running outta daylight as well.

3.  In this particular defense, it takes time for guys to stop thinking and as I said in the earlier post, AJ literally had to 100% change his body AND his game to fit.  That isn't a recipe for short term success but since he's clearly a worker he should continue to improve.  AJ is a more natural edge rusher than any of the others currently on the roster. 

 

 

I believe you are correct he mostly played RDE, although I do recall seeing him on the left a couple times also. In any event, I hope he does become a consistent impact player. 

[Crap Throwing Clavin]

3 hours ago, Dragon Fly Jones said:

 

I believe you are correct he mostly played RDE, although I do recall seeing him on the left a couple times also. In any event, I hope he does become a consistent impact player. 

 

Just rewatched the game.  

1) For the first half, Epenesa mostly played LDE, platooned with Rousseau.  He had one snap at RDE that I saw.

2) For the second half, he mostly lined up at RDE, and was often on the field with Rousseau.  

3) More of his memorable plays came from RDE.  He was often swallowed up by Miami's LT, but when he wasn't he was getting good pressure on Brissett.

4) But his best play came at LDE - he only got to the QB once that I saw (knocking Tua Turndaballova out of the game), but on almost every single play he was in, was bull-rushing the Miami tackle one-on-one back in to the QB's face.

5) But...everyone was bull-rushing Miami's RT (Jesse Davis).  To Davis' credit, he never let a lineman get around him, but he was driven back pretty badly on every play. 

 

Given that, I'm willing to suggest that Empanada's effectiveness from the left was due to Davis' relative ineffectiveness at holding his ground, and he was actually more effective from the right in the 2nd half than from the left in the 1st.

 

But I haven't looked at other games, so that represents a single moment in time, not an overall analysis of him.

 

 

[Dragon Fly Jones]

4 minutes ago, Crap Throwing Monkey said:

 

But I haven't looked at other games, so that represents a single moment in time, not an overall analysis of him.

 

Well there isn't other games to look at for most part.

[Alaska Darin]

 

[Alaska Darin]

BILLS who've worn #62

 

Mark Asper
Joe Bock
Levert Carr
Dick Cunningham
Mike Devlin
Vlad Ducasse
Dick Hart
Treyvon Hester
Richie Incognito
Aaron Merz
Eddie Meyer
Ervin Parker
Mark Traynowicz
Jeff Yeates

 

 

[Foxx]

Buffalo Bills: NFL's Best Offense - Getting Even Better?

Quote

The Buffalo Bills put on a fireworks show last season on offense. They were third in the NFL in scoring offense with 28.4 points per game and had an NFL MVP candidate at quarterback in Josh Allen. With their offensive dominance last season, Yardbarker has the Bills as the projected most explosive offense in the NFL next season.

 

Allen posted a prolific 4,407 yards and 36 touchdowns through the air, and added over 700 yards rushing and six rushing touchdowns. Additionally, it was a well balanced attack, as five different Bills players posted 500+ receiving yards. ...