TBN Carucci : Bills at DB: Seymour could be a true sleeper

One thing I'm fairly confident about is that Ryan knows DB's. After reading about him, I'd be delighted if Seymour panned out, though it will take time for him to grow the preds.

One other thing I found interesting.....

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Here's more food for thought: The Bills focused on adding secondary depth with low-level free-agent signings. One player to watch at safety is Robert Blanton, who spent the previous four seasons with the Minnesota Vikings. Blanton was noticeably vocal in practice, directing traffic in the secondary and generally making sure everyone was lined up properly.

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Maybe Blanton is the new Leonhard. I'd be happy with that.

http://bills.buffalonews.com/2016/05...-true-sleeper/

This team is going to need a lot of help from unexpected sources if they want to avoid dropping below .500 again.

Blanton was great at ND but hasn't done much in the NFL.

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Originally Posted by YardRat

This team is going to need a lot of help from unexpected sources if they want to avoid dropping below .500 again.

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I'm not even sure what my expectations are anymore, though they aren't high (maybe 9-7 in my best dreams). I'm trying real hard to have some optimism. If everything goes bad, like I have a feeling it will, I'm just hoping for some gems to shine for the long term. At the least, if defensive players get a handle on Ryan's system, any other one will be gravy down the road.

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Originally Posted by Mace

I'm not even sure what my expectations are anymore, though they aren't high (maybe 9-7 in my best dreams). I'm trying real hard to have some optimism. If everything goes bad, like I have a feeling it will, I'm just hoping for some gems to shine for the long term. At the least, if defensive players get a handle on Ryan's system, any other one will be gravy down the road.

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Score more points than your opponent...

I honestly feel we will be better overall:

1. Second year in the same offense and defense is huge for the players knowledge and reaction time. That minimizes mental miscues.
2. Tyrod in his second year as the uncontested starter is huge. There is no battle or dividing reps. The extra reps and time to jell helps the offense play better right out of the gate.
3. The running game should be even better. Injuries plagued us last year even though we still exceeded expectations on the ground. We may see more injuries this year but Johnathan Williams was a very good add and I think we will be very pleased with what he does on the field if injuries occur.
4. The passing game should be better with the aforementioned extra reps with Tyrod as the uncontested starter. Furthermore, I think we may throw the ball more this year and use Woods in the slot where he really should be.
5. The defensive line may be the same. Bryant will start where Mario was early on but Mario under-performed so I don't see a drop in production. Shaq and a rotational Washington should make the production better overall.
6. The linebacking corp should be much better. Ragland may end up being the most important addition from this draft. Having Brown and Rgaland in the middle make me feel way better about our run defense.
7. The secondary, barring injury, will be better if for nothing more than getting Aaron back. McKelvin cost us too many plays and I believe the new faces at CB will make us more sound overall.

Really RT is my only worry right now since Henderson is MIA. But many felt Mills was just as good. I'm not sure we won't make an addition later on in the summer if Henderson can't go.

Overall, I think many simply have angst because of the changes to known quantities. But I feel real good about what the new faces should add and improve on this team.

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Originally Posted by X-Era

Score more points than your opponent...

I honestly feel we will be better overall:

1. Second year in the same offense and defense is huge for the players knowledge and reaction time. That minimizes mental miscues.
2. Tyrod in his second year as the uncontested starter is huge. There is no battle or dividing reps. The extra reps and time to jell helps the offense play better right out of the gate.
3. The running game should be even better. Injuries plagued us last year even though we still exceeded expectations on the ground. We may see more injuries this year but Johnathan Williams was a very good add and I think we will be very pleased with what he does on the field if injuries occur.
4. The passing game should be better with the aforementioned extra reps with Tyrod as the uncontested starter. Furthermore, I think we may throw the ball more this year and use Woods in the slot where he really should be.
5. The defensive line may be the same. Bryant will start where Mario was early on but Mario under-performed so I don't see a drop in production. Shaq and a rotational Washington should make the production better overall.
6. The linebacking corp should be much better. Ragland may end up being the most important addition from this draft. Having Brown and Rgaland in the middle make me feel way better about our run defense.
7. The secondary, barring injury, will be better if for nothing more than getting Aaron back. McKelvin cost us too many plays and I believe the new faces at CB will make us more sound overall.

Really RT is my only worry right now since Henderson is MIA. But many felt Mills was just as good. I'm not sure we won't make an addition later on in the summer if Henderson can't go.

Overall, I think many simply have angst because of the changes to known quantities. But I feel real good about what the new faces should add and improve on this team.

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If we stay healthy, we make some noise. Great write up BTW.

Until we figure out how to stop a no huddle offense, and how to run a hurry up offense inside two minutes, I have no hope.

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Originally Posted by Turf

Until we figure out how to stop a no huddle offense, and how to run a hurry up offense inside two minutes, I have no hope.

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You stop a no-huddle offense by sticking to your assignment and getting the calls in on time. Two things this team did terribly last year.

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Originally Posted by ParanoidAndroid

You stop a no-huddle offense by sticking to your assignment and getting the calls in on time. Two things this team did terribly last year.

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I honestly don't think the coaching staff is aware of this. Also Roman showed no displeasure with the lack of a two minute offense.

If Seymour pans out, that would be a coup. He's got the size, speed, and athleticism you covet. And the fact that his eyesight was poor and was recently (post college playing career) provides hope that he'll be better than what he showed in college.

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Originally Posted by X-Era

Score more points than your opponent...

I honestly feel we will be better overall:

1. Second year in the same offense and defense is huge for the players knowledge and reaction time. That minimizes mental miscues.
2. Tyrod in his second year as the uncontested starter is huge. There is no battle or dividing reps. The extra reps and time to jell helps the offense play better right out of the gate.
3. The running game should be even better. Injuries plagued us last year even though we still exceeded expectations on the ground. We may see more injuries this year but Johnathan Williams was a very good add and I think we will be very pleased with what he does on the field if injuries occur.
4. The passing game should be better with the aforementioned extra reps with Tyrod as the uncontested starter. Furthermore, I think we may throw the ball more this year and use Woods in the slot where he really should be.
5. The defensive line may be the same. Bryant will start where Mario was early on but Mario under-performed so I don't see a drop in production. Shaq and a rotational Washington should make the production better overall.
6. The linebacking corp should be much better. Ragland may end up being the most important addition from this draft. Having Brown and Rgaland in the middle make me feel way better about our run defense.
7. The secondary, barring injury, will be better if for nothing more than getting Aaron back. McKelvin cost us too many plays and I believe the new faces at CB will make us more sound overall.

Really RT is my only worry right now since Henderson is MIA. But many felt Mills was just as good. I'm not sure we won't make an addition later on in the summer if Henderson can't go.

Overall, I think many simply have angst because of the changes to known quantities. But I feel real good about what the new faces should add and improve on this team.

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Well, I can appreciate your perspectives. I can agree with 1,2, & 6 easily.

3 - Maybe. Teams are going to key on the running game.
4 - Maybe, if Taylor can improve his reads and decision speed. Unsure if it's growing pains or player limitation. And Taylor needs to stay healthy (obviously).
5 - Manny Lawson replaces Mario/Shaq, not Bryant. That's sort of ok until Shaq heals.
7- Can agree for diff reasons, I think Aaron will not last but Blanton leaves me optimistic, Colt Anderson was good depth, Seymour looks promising.

The wildcards, to me :

- Taylor, health and development
- They need a 2 minute offense
- Is the Ryan defense past shelf life ? Might be.
- RG & RT, health and improvement (even by consistency and lack of injuries) are needed
- Carpenter has to regain his form
- Ryan needs to improve his game management skills and be more aware. There were some inexplicable things happened last year that shouldn't for a vet HC
- They need to stop the stupid personal judgement penalties

I hope you're right. I don't know. Tougher schedule, too many achy players. I wish it was September though so we could start finding out already.

His #1 is the biggest load of crap. Every year it's "our same guys are magically going to improve through playing together longer!"

It has never once actually happened. The only improvements occurred when we added talent. But for some reason, people keep repeating this nonsense cliche.

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Originally Posted by Mace

One thing I'm fairly confident about is that Ryan knows DB's. After reading about him, I'd be delighted if Seymour panned out, though it will take time for him to grow the preds.

One other thing I found interesting.....



Maybe Blanton is the new Leonhard. I'd be happy with that.

http://bills.buffalonews.com/2016/05...-true-sleeper/

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Of course BillsImpossible would thank this post. Because he is the ultimate dope. I don't care how vocal the player is. Start making plays.

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Originally Posted by OpIv37

His #1 is the biggest load of crap. Every year it's "our same guys are magically going to improve through playing together longer!"

It has never once actually happened. The only improvements occurred when we added talent. But for some reason, people keep repeating this nonsense cliche.

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I think the exception to that is 2014, when we added a coordinator that got the defense to improve drastically with basically the same roster as the year prior, although admittedly Spikes especially was a huge upgrade for that squad.

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Originally Posted by OpIv37

His #1 is the biggest load of crap. Every year it's "our same guys are magically going to improve through playing together longer!"

It has never once actually happened. The only improvements occurred when we added talent. But for some reason, people keep repeating this nonsense cliche.

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Did the Bills offense get out of the bottom of the league ? Did we have a QB actually visit the pro bowl ?? That's a change for the better, at least acknowledge we got better (#1 rushing as well).

x-era, do we need all your points to be a playoff team? or can we get by with 50% of your points happening? I view your points as we have to hit them all to be a playoff team and that's scary because its hard to go 100% on that list. curious on your take

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Originally Posted by OpIv37

Blanton was great at ND but hasn't done much in the NFL.

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I'm not sure what happened to him. He started 13 games in 2014 and was the leading tackler on the #11 defense, but got benched the next year and released after. I don't watch enough Viking games.

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Originally Posted by MitchMurrayDowntown

Did the Bills offense get out of the bottom of the league ? Did we have a QB actually visit the pro bowl ?? That's a change for the better, at least acknowledge we got better (#1 rushing as well).

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Are you daft? We added Tyrod, McCoy and Clay. It wasn't the same guys as the year before. It was a huge talent influx. This year, we have virtually the same guys on O that we had last year. Nothing significant in terms of added talent. We didn't really lose any talent either, so the results will be about the same. I'm not particularly worried about the O- while they weren't spectacular last year, they were good enough to win more often than not. It was the D that held them back.

I'm merely stating that expecting significant improvement with the same guys is unrealistic.

^ It was their first year together as a unit. It's not crazy to think improvement should come with more familiarity and solidification.

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Originally Posted by Buffalogic

^ It was their first year together as a unit. It's not crazy to think improvement should come with more familiarity and solidification.

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People keep saying this, but when has it actually happened? When has either the O or the D improved significantly from one year to the next without adding talent?