Tremaine Edmunds has missed just one tackle this season

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From the Buffalo News:

Inside the Bills: A remarkable advanced stat shows Tremaine Edmunds' growth this season (https://buffalonews.com/sports/bills/inside-the-bills-a-remarkable-advanced-stat-shows-tremaine-edmunds-growth-this-season/article_817e855c-88ab-11ed-8c2e-77dd12191e72.html)


Missed tackles have been an issue for the Buffalo Bills’ defense in 2022.

According to advanced statistics tracked by Sportradar and shared with website Pro Football Reference, the Bills have missed 76 tackles this season, sixth most in the NFL.

While accepting that there is some subjectivity in defining exactly what a missed tackle is, here’s one number that really stands out among the guilty parties on the Bills’ defense: Middle linebacker Tremaine Edmunds – who has been credited with 95 tackles on the season – has been responsible for just one of those missed tackles.

Among the 45 players with as many or more tackles than Edmunds in the NFL, just two of them – Seattle’s Cody Barton (123 tackles) and the Los Angeles Rams’ Bobby Wagner (126 tackles) – also have just one missed tackle this season. They are the only two players with a better missed tackle percentage than Edmunds’ 1.0%, with both of them at 0.8%.



Buried in the article:


It’s worth pointing out, again, that missed tackles can be subjective. For example, the analytics website Pro Football Focus has charged the Bills with 152 missed tackles, which is a much larger total than what SportRadar has determined. According to PFF, Edmunds has missed seven tackles. Still, his 6.9% missed tackle rate, according to PFF, ranks a solid tied for 11th among linebackers who have played at least 524 defensive snaps.


https://buffalowdown.com/wp-content/uploads/imagn-images/2017/07/15090055-768x630.jpeg

So pay him or don't pay him?

[DraftBoy]

He’s definitely improved, but unless you win a Super Bowl this year you have to consider an upgrade at LB.
The combination of he and Milano is too passive for my taste and I’m fine resigning Edmunds and moving Milano, but you need to find a down hill LB who actually wants to attack gaps and take on blockers.

[Night Train]

We'll see if he gets a new contract from Buffalo.

[swiper]

He’s definitely improved, but unless you win a Super Bowl this year you have to consider an upgrade at LB.
The combination of he and Milano is too passive for my taste and I’m fine resigning Edmunds and moving Milano, but you need to find a down hill LB who actually wants to attack gaps and take on blockers.

Agree 100%. The problem I see with this is that Frazier likes his game. So we'll see. I still hold he would be more effective as an outside LB.

[YardRat]

I don't trust missed tackle or dropped passes statistics, they never seem to line up with the film.

If anything, the statistic that stands out in that article is (or should be) "Among the 45 players with as many or more tackles than Edmunds in the NFL" 45 more players in the league have as many or more tackles than our MLB? That's alarming.

Admittedly Edmunds has played a little bit better this season than the past, but he's still a weak point . Ironically he's kind of the poster child for the identity of the defense...if the game plan has him focusing mostly against the run, or pass, he's not bad, but he's not good enough to do both and you have to pick your poison.

I think he'll want too much and will walk, but I've been surprised by Beane before and if they re-sign him I won't be thrilled because we still need an upgrade but I won't be stunned. Best case scenario = we win the whole thing this year with him and amicably part ways moving forward.

[TacklingDummy]

As of now I’d rather sign Edmunds vs Oliver.

[kgun12]

Yes, his a good tackle when he’s in position to make the tackle, he makes the tackle. The problem is in the RUN game, he’s not always in position. He either run into his linemen or guesses wrong and ends up chasing the play and almost getting there. When he does make a tackle on a running play it’s 5-7 yards downfield.
Like I’ve said before, I love him in the passing game, the defense really suffers when he’s not there. I just down think the Bills can pay the kind of money he want’s for what he brings.

[kgun12]

As of now I’d rather sign Edmunds vs Oliver.

Not me hands down it’s Oliver. Besides Settle our starting interior linemen are 30 or over. Besides he does a lot of things that we don’t see unless you rewatch the game and focus on him.

[Woodman]

I missed a tackle once and I'll never forget it.

[Bill Cody]

We'll see if he gets a new contract from Buffalo.

He may not. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t good. Hard salary cap decisions are going to have to be made on a number of good players.

[Canadian'eh!]

It’s because he’s never around the ball or blocked out of the play.

All kidding aside, he’s been better this year about not being the cause of big plays. He’s played solid but unspectacular football. His shadowing of Fields last week was effective. He’s definitely better than the depth we have.

That said, his ceiling is “good” not “great”. He’s not a playmaker. I would not spend big $ to sign him.

[notacon]

As of now I’d rather sign Edmunds vs Oliver.

The Bills need to (eventually) extend both. It is not necessarily a one-or-the-other situation.

Oliver is under contract for 2023.

There is little (but not none) chance that the Bills will let Edmunds walk this off season. They have no one that comes even close to replace him, and those that thought that Bernard would be that guy are barking up the wrong tree. Bernard is not even close to being a starter....and he was never drafted to replace Edmunds.

The Bills proved how little faith and trust they have for Bernard when they started putting in replacement in the Chicago blow out. He got zero defensive snaps. In fact, Bernard has had zero defensive snaps for the past five games.

After he replaced the injured Milano in the Jets game and had 59 snaps (98.3% of the total defensive snaps) and he performed less than admirably, he had only 4 snaps in Minny loss and 5 in the Cleveland win.

The fact is that Tremaine Edmunds has been playing at a very high level since he came into the league, and an extremely high level this season. When hs is NOT on the filed, the Bills defense is considerably worse.

Two other quotes from the Buffo News article show how critical he is to the Bills defense....this from Leslie Frazier....



“That's so key to what we do on defense, having a middle linebacker who is a sure tackler because he's so often at the point of attack,” defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier said Friday. “Our defensive line has done a good job for us and when they have struggled being in their gaps, that puts a lot of pressure on the linebackers. But they've done a good job of being gap sound for the most part of the season. That allows Tremaine, when he's at the point of attack, to make those plays, because he is a sure tackler and that is growth from his first year to where he is currently. Tremendous growth in bringing his feet, using his hands, putting his eyes on our target, taking great angles to the football. These are all improvements over the last couple of years and this year, particularly, he's taking a big leap. Some of it, I think, is his confidence, as well. He's more confident, he's stronger now, he's more experienced, so I think that has a lot to do with it. But he is, for sure, a good tackler.”


And this accurate observation....



That’s one opinion, but another can be formed by looking at the two-game stretch Edmunds missed against Cleveland and Detroit because of groin and heel injuries, which ended up being two of the four worst performances by the defense this season in terms of points allowed. Another one came in the game Edmunds got hurt in, against Minnesota in Week 10. Without him, the defense just didn’t look the same.



Depending on if the Bills win a Super Bowl this year will help shape the decisions that the Bills have to make for 2023 and beyond. Edmunds can certainly be a cap casualty, but it will NOT be because he is not worthy or important to the Bills defense.

It will be very, very difficult to replace him. The Bills defense will be considerably worse without him. No matter if a portion of fans realizes this reality or not.

[kgun12]

Excellent post noty and without the anger and name calling, I really enjoy your posts when you write like this! I forgot that Oliver had another year left on his contract. I agree there isn’t anyone on this team to replace Edmunds and I thick a lot depends if Frazier is here next year or not because his defense needs Edmunds pass coverage skills!

[notacon]

Excellent post noty and without the anger and name calling, I really enjoy your posts when you write like this! I forgot that Oliver had another year left on his contract. I agree there isn’t anyone on this team to replace Edmunds and I thick a lot depends if Frazier is here next year or not because his defense needs Edmunds pass coverage skills!

Of course, if Frazier gets hired away (more than 50/50 chance he does), that could change the defensive philosophy. That’s where McDermott comes in. HE hires the coordinators (with consultation with Beane and probably Pegula too), which is how great football operations work.


And I suspect that McDermott meshes with Frazier’s defensive philosophy so the logical likelihood is that he will search out a DC that meshes with what has been going on for the Bills defense for five years, and has been built around personal wise.

No need to tear down what’s working and hire a guy that is going to upend what the team is and has been, to a great amount of success.

There are a lot of very tough decisions coming next year, and going forward. I do not envy GM Beane.

[Ingtar33]

So pay him or don't pay him?

I'll quote bill parcells (I think it was bill parcells, might have been jimmy johnson)

"Never pay a tackler at linebacker, pay a playmaker"

The point being a MLB should see 100+ tackles a season in pretty much any defense. Tackles are cheap. Players who force fumbles, get sacks, make tackles behind the line, and get INTs are worth a fortune. those are the guys you pay for. not the guy who makes 100 tackles 5 yards down field. this is why I always thought the Miami dolphins were stupid for paying Zach Thomas.

[kgun12]

I'll quote bill parcells (I think it was bill parcells, might have been jimmy johnson)

"Never pay a tackler at linebacker, pay a playmaker"

The point being a MLB should see 100+ tackles a season in pretty much any defense. Tackles are cheap. Players who force fumbles, get sacks, make tackles behind the line, and get INTs are worth a fortune. those are the guys you pay for. not the guy who makes 100 tackles 5 yards down field. this is why I always thought the Miami dolphins were stupid for paying Zach Thomas.

I never heard that great perspective!

[jamze132]

As of now I’d rather sign Edmunds vs Oliver.

Lol seriously?

[sukie]

Edmunds will command 15 plus a season. What other MLB make that?

[Mace]

I expected Edmunds to have a better season and said so often. He has better DL in front of him. I still see him getting muscled and running behind plays. I don't see him becoming a playmaker in this scheme. I can see him becoming a playmaker in another scheme. I would not pay him here, it's fruitless and not maximizing him, the defensive staff is not going anywhere. I do not agree Frazier will go anywhere, he doesn't have the chops for dynamic or innovation.

I would absolutely not get rid of Milano, he's way too small to be a contact guy, but he makes plays until he breaks down inevitably, and plays over his limits.

Edmunds will not reach his potential in this scheme, imho, and paying him to be stuck in his inadequate role will not accomplish anything, for Edmunds or this stupid scheme.

[kgun12]

I expected Edmunds to have a better season and said so often. He has better DL in front of him. I still see him getting muscled and running behind plays. I don't see him becoming a playmaker in this scheme. I can see him becoming a playmaker in another scheme. I would not pay him here, it's fruitless and not maximizing him, the defensive staff is not going anywhere. I do not agree Frazier will go anywhere, he doesn't have the chops for dynamic or innovation.

I would absolutely not get rid of Milano, he's way too small to be a contact guy, but he makes plays until he breaks down inevitably, and plays over his limits.

Edmunds will not reach his potential in this scheme, imho, and paying him to be stuck in his inadequate role will not accomplish anything, for Edmunds or this stupid scheme.

I agree with most of this but with his inability to read and react to the run, what scheme would he be good in?

[jamze132]

Edmunds will command 15 plus a season. What other MLB make that?

Hopefully he can get that elsewhere…maybe Miami lol