MHS831

Raym and Coker are possibly headed for roster spots--good for them!

maybe his age? He was such a good leader.

TMJ will be a Patriot, imo.

I BLAME EVERYTHING ON THE BOOGIE.

I still remember Evan Mathis, the OG we cut and he signed with the Eagles and was a pro bowler for them--but that is rare

Just give me Five.

we are seeing the PS....if Raym is not announced by the time I catch up with this thread, I'd say he made the roster. Good for him

I would sign Zappe (as I have said, but it was before Plummer went all Tom Brady on the Bills) and send Dalton packing. In our offense, Zappe would do well.

Good tackler, has been a bit of a liability in coverage---would love to take a look at him as a S--he is 6'3" but 29

these early cuts are headed to the PS---they hope they clear waivers in the dust of the day.

I saw that, watched the game again and stated that Anderson #67 did not seem as good as Mason Brooks #71 who was playing RG. PFF listed Anderson as the RG when he was playing LG. I figured the could have confused them. I also know that they have yet to cut WCU's Smith (OT) who was terrible---so maybe they are releasing players that they plan to put on the PS first--that would make sense.

He is thinking right now--eventually, the muscle memory will take over, but he was open. I hate it that he dropped that pass over the middle--a bit behind him but catchable--he needs confidence right now. I love the person under the helmet so I am pulling for him. Same for Bryce--love that kid--

I think about or OL depth in the past--we did not have depth. The best depth player I can recall is Jeff Hangartner, a g/c who did not cause us to lose a step. If Nijman is as good as he was at Green Bay (playing behind an all-pro LT), if Christensen can focus on just one or two positions, and if Zavala and Raym continue to play solid football vs. the 1s, this could be the best OL--top 9 players--we have had. Moton is our best RT, Hunt is probably good enough to equal or surpass any RG we have had, Corbett has a lot to prove, but he will never be Kalil level, but he does offer more girth--Kalil at 285 could get bull rushed into the passer--with Cam, not a big deal--Bryce? Yikes. Lewis is unknown, but he potentially can play with some of our best LGs, and of course, Ekwonu--after Gross, who else is there? Oher? Remmers? Byron Bell? Greg Little? Matt Kalil? If Ickey gets his technique down, he could be one of the best LT in franchise history--or in the conversation by the time he peaks.

Ekwonu is a technical issue--he has the athleticism and upper body strength to play OT. I coached OL for a high school so I enough to be dangerous--I just know how high school OL develop when you are preaching technique. You have vertical technique (pass blocking) and horizontal technique (run blocking). It is almost like Ickey combines the two--when the edge gets a half step on him, he needs to alter his angle, keep his back straight, arms extended, and slide those feet. Ickey panics and lunges at times, and a good NFL edge will eat your lunch every time. I did not see growth under Campen, but I am already seeing huge development under the current OL staff (3 guys). I think he will be better--but Zavala's growth is mind blowing--telling me that the light is now on (I think he may have screwed up Ickey on one pass play--the defense stunted toward the center and Zavala followed the three technique who was picked up by Raym. Ickey's man scooped into C gap, and technically, Zavala should have stayed home and picked him up. Ickey rode the edge inside, but the edge got into Bryce's face and caused the play to break down--Bryce scrambled for about 3 yards. That looked bad on Ickey, but I have to believe, since Bryce did not roll to his right, that Zavala tried to reach the 3 technique when Raym had nobody else to block. It could be that Raym thought there would be a blitz that did not happen, so Zavala was correct. Without knowing the play and the rule blocking process, it is hard to say--regardless, that play would buried Young last year. )

He was open a lot, but that was Buffalo's second secondary. He seemed a bit slow off the start--wonder how he would survive press coverage. He has missed a lot of camp and we drafted him knowing that he was raw. He still is. This year, he has to serve as our #4 WR. Next season? We may need an X. To me, I am aiming for 2025 and hope that he gets experience and confidence this season.

Smart decision. Your early schedule is not that difficult and you have 4 RBs who can hold down the fort.

I watched this and I watched the OL. Here is my breakdown of each OL: Ekwonu: He did OK. Still has some balance issues--bending at the waist. Needs to keep feet under him. He should be farther along by now, but he is better than last year. Old habits--and the two times I saw this was late in the drive. There are drills to correct this, but to prevent waste bending you need to bend at the knees and waist--not back. With Ickey, I only saw it at the end of the 12 play drive--was he tired? Lower body strength training--especially squats--can help. Conditioning can help. It is fixable and I know they know what to do--so I expect a better Ickey in 2024 because in 90 degree heat at the end of camp, if fatigue is going to reveal itself, it would show itself at the end of a 12-play drive, we can hope. Zavala: He was confident that he knew his assignment and demonstrated some football intelligence wherein last season, he seemed lost. For example, he was doubling down to help Raym and a deep ILB came on a slight delay blitz. Not only did Zavala effectively double the 3 technique, he broke off and picked up the LB. On running plays he reached the second level. Most improved player on the team. Raym: He made all his blocks and was accurate with his pre snap reads, identifying the Mike correctly and calling out potential blitzes. His snaps were quick and fairly accurate--a few, however, were above eye level. Now, most QBs in the shotgun do not like looking down to catch the snap, so he is trying to put the snap just above the numbers. One snap was to Bryce's right and low, causing him to lose eye contact with the defense; another was above his head, causing the short qb to jump a hair. That may not seem like too much, but if you leave your feet, your timing is off. This may have been the reason Bryce missed some open targets early in the route--I need to rewatch this to make sure that is the case. Beyond that, Raym is good enough to be the back up center. Run blocking--he was excellent. He got in position quickly on an early reach block--the video host criticized him for not anchoring at the end of the reach block, but that is nearly impossible--a 320 lb DT moving with the flow of the play and you expect the Center to beat him to a point and then get leverage? Rare. I am very excited about Raym. Hunt is a beast. He really surprised me when he pulled across the formation. Excellent body control and agility. However, that is not his strong suit. You do not move Hunt with a bull rush. If he gets his hands on you, game over. RG was our biggest weakness last season on the OL (very arguable), and now we have a pro bowler there. Moton: Mr. Reliable. Smart, effective--not the most overwhelming physical presence, but he just wins most of the time. You all know Moton. Some other observations: Matthews took on an edge rusher and won. I was surprised. He will be the veteran leader on this team. Love him. I worry that Legette is still learning and it is causing him to play slow. Receivers were open early, but it was as if Bryce was still a bit -- a fraction-- late in delivering the pass. Not complaining--his reads were solid--but there were a few routes that would have been TDs had he seen them, and he threw underneath. 1. Johnson on a post---man that was wide open, but Young was not looking for it at that time in his progression--may not be his fault. The other was on the play (I think--going from memory) where he had to scramble. He should not have missed this one. A back (or slot) was flaring out of the backfield as if he was going to be a check down option and he sprinted up the sideline. A nickel or LB came up to cover the check down. While he was not open when Bryce looked there, he was going to be. It was obvious that the LB's momentum would make covering the sideline go route impossible. At that time, all Bryce had to do was loft a pass for the back to run under. I am sure Bryce is watching film, and I am sure this drive gave him some feedback. He needs to read more not be afraid. His feet need to be in position, but they are loads better than last season. It is as if he does not trust his eyes downfield. That will change. The pass to Thielen was a good read but he had options--like Johnson. The pass to Matthews was a no brainer--busted coverage. I give Bryce a B when he might have earned a B once last season. Overview: Ickey is now the weak link on the OL, but Canales seems to be offering more help for him (TEs). Last season, Ickey was the second best offensive lineman for much of the season. He has improved. I have not seen the starting C or LG, but even if considering their backups, Ickey had the most areas in which he needs to improve than Zavala and Raym as evidenced in these 12 plays. Small sample size.

And Marshall had a good game against the Bills following a good showing vs. rival Jets in practice the week before

I thought Jammie Robinson earned a spot.....Not sure about Wooten. The following will return and knock some out: RB Brooks OLB Wonnum OLB Barno DT Crumedy (practice squad?) CB D. Jackson S Franklin I am also going to predict that they claim at least 2 players off waivers---so this list of 53 is very temporary.

Remember how pissed off he got when he was drafted in the third round? Seems like a good kid and maybe he can learn from Love. GB has a successful formula for QBs.

I totally blanked on blackshear KR--I was probably thinking punt returner--but I appreciate the memory jolt.

Good question. In 2021 he had 5 sacks, but he has not really been that impactful (stats) I do not see him as an upgrade---I am not sure an Edge can be found in the scrap heap that will upgrade us--just my opinion. He will be 27 by the end of football season, fwiw,

with this line, that could happen and it could be a good thing--no sense rushing brooks in, so if Hubbard, Sanders, and Boone can tote the rock, that is probably good in the long run. Question: Does Blackshear (or Shirden) have return skills?

Makes me wonder--Dallas under Quinn used a 4-2 alignment and Zimmer is running a base 4-3--so maybe this 280 lb player was a tweener with no fit. I dunno.

Not to say I am always right--I am not--I see players getting cut today that I was banging the drum for--but I HATED the Sanders signing. It was stupid. Never sign a veteran from a team with a good OL. I did not know he'd suck as bad, but I thought the money could have been used somewhere other than RB. Fitterer was the worst GM---terrible.