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Post by Dry Heat on Aug 19, 2024 13:39:06 GMT -7
I think we are all used to watching 2nd string through likely practice squad and cuttable players through the bulk of pre-season, but I’ve been surprised by the complete lack of play by our actual team. We aren’t just sitting and protecting the vet QB1 and a few old vets like Larry or JJ Watt. I thought I’d take a look at usage of our 1st and second teamers on the depth chart as well as the rookies and new free agents.
QB: QB1 Kyler has 0 snaps. Tune had 59% of snaps in Game 1 and 64% in Game 2. Ridder seems the odd man out.
RB: RB1 Conner 0 snaps. Rookie Benson has 25% and then 28% of snaps.
WR1: MHJ has 3 snaps in Game, just 4% of snaps.
WR2: Wilson has 0 snaps.
WR3: Dortch has 0 snaps.
WR FA Zay Jones has 0 snaps and is likely WR4.
WR FA C Moore has 30% of snaps G1 and then 60% in G2. Also some special teams play.
WR rookies Palmer and Weaver averaging 40-55% of snaps, lots of time.
TE: TE1 McBride has 0 snaps. TE2 Higgins has only 6 snaps in G1. Rookie Tip Reiman has 31% G1 and 49% G2, along with special teams play.
LT: PJJ has 0 snaps in his sophomore season and first on the left side.
LG: Evan Brown has 0 snaps
C: Frojolt has 0 snaps
RG: Hernandez has 0 snaps
RT: Williams has 0 snaps
The rookies Jones and Adams plus Gaines logged the top 3 spots in snaps played in G2, and are getting a lot of time on the field. 68-76% of all snaps.
I can stop here, as the trend is obvious. None of are starters are seeing the field, even rookie starters like MHJ and Robinson. Budda, new FA LB Mack Wilson, K White, FA CB Sean-Murphy Bunting, sophomore CB G Williams, Z collins and Gardeck, new FA Dlinemen Nichols and Jones not playing. Rookies CB Melton and LB X Thomas are getting good reps.
Gannon is using pre-season COMPLETELY to fill out the bottom of the roster. If the trend continues in Game 3 vs Denver, the very first live game action for ALL our starters on offense and defense will be Game 1 vs the Bills.
Interesting strategy, let’s see how that works out!
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Post by cbltv on Aug 19, 2024 18:52:17 GMT -7
The Bills will have No Tape to judge the type of plays our starters will be doing game 1. All they will have is last years tape.
JG giving the Bills Coaches Nothing to work against.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 20, 2024 6:05:58 GMT -7
Yeah the risk of injury during preseason to starters are a bigger threat than sitting them down, my opinion of course. I think so far its a good strategy, a lot of backups need a lot of help right now. They are getting a good amount of attention and film to go over their issues and hopefully they can turn that around to help them, so they will be better prepared when their number is called during the season. If it takes 2 or 3 games to knock off the rust during the beginning of the regular season, I am ok with that. The pressure isnt to win now, as they start their 2nd year of a complete rebuild. Obviously they want to see progress and winning is a good thing. But eh, its ok to me as long as they stay the course and continue to build this out. My hope is by year 4, this team is a playoff team.
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Post by Redbirdfan62 on Aug 20, 2024 9:33:31 GMT -7
Yeah the risk of injury during preseason to starters are a bigger threat than sitting them down, my opinion of course. I think so far its a good strategy, a lot of backups need a lot of help right now. They are getting a good amount of attention and film to go over their issues and hopefully they can turn that around to help them, so they will be better prepared when their number is called during the season. If it takes 2 or 3 games to knock off the rust during the beginning of the regular season, I am ok with that. The pressure isnt to win now, as they start their 2nd year of a complete rebuild. Obviously they want to see progress and winning is a good thing. But eh, its ok to me as long as they stay the course and continue to build this out. My hope is by year 4, this team is a playoff team. Why is that ? you don't think they go full speed and are not hitting in practice ? not key players they always will be protected if we lost key players the season would be over before it started. |
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Post by Redbirdfan62 on Aug 20, 2024 9:35:39 GMT -7
The Bills will have No Tape to judge the type of plays our starters will be doing game 1. All they will have is last years tape. JG giving the Bills Coaches Nothing to work against. The bills have a lot of new players as well not sure how much tape they have. Main weapon is the TE and RB cook. mostly new wr corp. |
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Post by End Zone on Aug 20, 2024 10:33:23 GMT -7
Has the team suffered a significant injury besides second-year man LB Ojlari in the offseason? Unless I missed someone dinged for a practice or two, the starters are in good shape going into week one vs. BUF.
If there is a 'strategy' in work today, it works. The season is long. Making the playoffs is a worthy 2024 goal. If the team is lucky and not too many guys will go down by January, maybe there will be enough warm bodies left by January to be competitive at a playoff game.
We have some anecdotal evidence that the practices are meeting the HC's measures of effect: viciousness, speed, timing, and intelligence. The PS games are where the survivors of TC get to showcase what they learned at practices.
I'm trying like double-hockey sticks to remain optimistic about few of the 'starters' playing at PS games and then being 'game ready' on Sept 8th. We'll know if the strategy was right in 2 weeks.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 20, 2024 10:45:21 GMT -7
Yeah the risk of injury during preseason to starters are a bigger threat than sitting them down, my opinion of course. I think so far its a good strategy, a lot of backups need a lot of help right now. They are getting a good amount of attention and film to go over their issues and hopefully they can turn that around to help them, so they will be better prepared when their number is called during the season. If it takes 2 or 3 games to knock off the rust during the beginning of the regular season, I am ok with that. The pressure isnt to win now, as they start their 2nd year of a complete rebuild. Obviously they want to see progress and winning is a good thing. But eh, its ok to me as long as they stay the course and continue to build this out. My hope is by year 4, this team is a playoff team. Why is that ? you don't think they go full speed and are not hitting in practice ? not key players they always will be protected if we lost key players the season would be over before it started. Exposing them to play in preseason when it doesnt matter. You have more control in practice. Not saying they cant get hurt in practice, but a lot more can happen in a pre-season game against another team IMO. Go practice with the Cardinals and as a LB, go hit KM during drills, see what happens. They sit your arse down super fast |
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Post by devongent on Aug 20, 2024 12:02:36 GMT -7
Yeah the risk of injury during preseason to starters are a bigger threat than sitting them down, my opinion of course. I think so far its a good strategy, a lot of backups need a lot of help right now. They are getting a good amount of attention and film to go over their issues and hopefully they can turn that around to help them, so they will be better prepared when their number is called during the season. If it takes 2 or 3 games to knock off the rust during the beginning of the regular season, I am ok with that. The pressure isn't to win now, as they start their 2nd year of a complete rebuild. Obviously they want to see progress and winning is a good thing. But eh, its ok to me as long as they stay the course and continue to build this out. My hope is by year 4, this team is a playoff team. Seventeen regular season games is a long and grueling season, and come the end of December no-one will worry a jot about how the team performed or the results of these pre-season encounters. People playing a lot of game-time are either rookie new signings (getting acclimatized to the NFL), or vets fighting their hardest to secure a roster spot (getting a well earned payday). Firm conclusions to be arrived at, after the Broncos match. |
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ricardo
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Post by ricardo on Aug 20, 2024 12:44:50 GMT -7
Interesting pre-season strategy: It would be awesome if JG has the same chance to use this kind of strategy if they were to get a playoff spot...
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Post by Dry Heat on Aug 20, 2024 14:28:37 GMT -7
Some things you take a break from and then do it again with ease. “It’s like riding a bike”.
I used to downhill ski and loved the black diamonds and moguls. But at the beginning of each season, it was foolish of me to hop right from a few greens and blues and then go full out on a black and moguls.
Practice is a green hill, and pre-season games are blue hills. The scrimmages with Indy are not even blue hills. Come Game 1, you have to be ready for all out speed and the rough stuff. Way beyond black hill inclines, turns and moguls.
We tried this strategy one time with Kyler when KK and Keim thought we were playoff and maybe Super Bowl ready. And we came out completely rusty against Mahomes and KC. Andy Reid had a stud QB1 and playoff team yet played his starters including Mahomes plenty in their pre-season. It was an embarrassment.
If we look rusty against the Bills and lose, and even for a few more weeks and start 0-2 or 0-3, Mrs. Dry Heat may have to kick me to the couch for a while.
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Post by Dry Heat on Aug 20, 2024 14:38:54 GMT -7
Aside from my feelings on the complete pre-season sitting of starters, I am not concerned with our 0-2 record.
Without starting starters, the goal must be to see what we have in our drafted rookies and bench players, and get them lots of experience and tape.
I think the earlier draft picks rounds 2-4 look promising. Melton has looked good aside from a mental mistake on a penalty where he used college rules. Benson looks good and just needs to learn the speed of the NFL and that he has no room for second guessing his blocking. Adams has not looked good but Olinemen take a while even when they are late first rounders, so he’s getting valuable experience (along with Gaines and Jones). Reiman looks good blocking. CB E Jones is getting great time and S “Rabbit” looks good. Even Round 5 LB X Thomas looks like he may be a steal, with a sack in each pre-season game.
Aside from the rookies, coaches are getting a great amount of tape and late-string players a lot of experience. They will know who paid the “price of admission” and deserves a roster spot.
If we don’t come out rusty and the starters start strong, this strategy will have pay dividends.
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Post by Redbirdfan62 on Aug 20, 2024 17:06:45 GMT -7
Why is that ? you don't think they go full speed and are not hitting in practice ? not key players they always will be protected if we lost key players the season would be over before it started. Exposing them to play in preseason when it doesnt matter. You have more control in practice. Not saying they cant get hurt in practice, but a lot more can happen in a pre-season game against another team IMO. Go practice with the Cardinals and as a LB, go hit KM during drills, see what happens. They sit your arse down super fast He is one of the key players I spoke about. |
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Post by End Zone on Aug 21, 2024 1:04:20 GMT -7
At game 1 in 2023, Gannon unleashed his violence, speed, and power game. Yellow flags flew. He's not changed his strategy one bit, near as I can tell at PS games in 2024. Everybody is a Hitman. And so it goes.
BUF knows what's coming. I'm going to enjoy seeing our newer guys test the Referee's tolerance for Gannon's violence.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 21, 2024 5:09:19 GMT -7
Exposing them to play in preseason when it doesnt matter. You have more control in practice. Not saying they cant get hurt in practice, but a lot more can happen in a pre-season game against another team IMO. Go practice with the Cardinals and as a LB, go hit KM during drills, see what happens. They sit your arse down super fast He is one of the key players I spoke about. But I am saying in general, you can control practices more than a preseason game. And as I was saying, you can still get hurt in practice. BJ is a good example. But I feel like they dont want to risk injuries in an environment they cant control. The starters will make the roster, they are going up against other players who may be fighting for a roster in a preseason game. So they are going full speed and dont care who is in front of them. The starters are the key players, so they are keeping all the key players out of harms way, preseason game. |
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Post by belac44 on Sept 2, 2024 19:53:45 GMT -7
Interesting that on the Gameplan show JG said that it doesn’t matter if you’re young or old, you need to get better each week. He said the way to do that is with game reps. Yet he didn't give the starters any in preseason. Seems to contradict his actions.
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