All during training camp we kept on hearing how Crowder was barely going to make the team, with one confused thread stating “Im (sic) going to say it now, Crowder isnt (sic) making the team”, that included one the most idiotic posts this year, “guaranteeing” that Crowder would be cut.
Yet, there he is, playing WR on a third of the offensive snaps only 20 behind McKenzie. More importantly, he is the sole punt AND kickoff returner. And doing a very good job at that.
All during training camp we kept on hearing about Kumerow not being a good WR and Hodgins was way better and would make the final roster.
Yet, there he is, not only one of the core special teams players, with 65% of ST snaps, he was THE WR to fill in for Gabe Davis....and doing quite well.
Kumerow has the second highest snap count percentage of any Bills WR, behind only Diggs (65.35%) with his 52.76% offensive snap count. Ahead of Davis’ 45.67% and McKenzie’s 44.88%.
So many posters here were promoting Khalil Shakir as a star and sure to be the returner of choice. Yet, he did did not even dress against the Rams, and got only 11 snaps before “garbage time” in the Titans game. While Kumerow got 45 of a whopping 81.8% of (“pre-garbage” time) snaps.
Of course, anyone who understands history of how McDermott handles young players and how much he values experience, it’s no surprise that Crowder is seen as a reliable vet who knows that he is doing and can be trusted over a raw rookie like Shakir (and James Cook).
It’s no surprise that Kumerow was relied upon to fill-in for Davis....he is a very good blocker and made two very big catches. His presence on the field (as opposed to Davis) did not reduce Diggs’ effectiveness in the least.
Mitch Morse goes down for almost two quarters at the start of the game, and Van Roten fills in without a hitch. Oliver and Settle are out, and Brandon Bryant and C.J. Brewer step right in, with the D-line (with their usual depth and rotation) dominates.
THESE are the reasons why the Bills are so dangerous. As was mentioned late in the game (when the announcers had to fill in because of the blow out) the Bills lead the NFL in number of starts from players they have drafted since 2017....with (if my memory serves) is close to 700.
As the year drones on, rookies like Shakir and Cook will be given the room and opportunity to grow and develop....at a reasonable pace. And because the injury to Tre’ White (and now Dane Jackson) Elam and especially (what seems to be the steal of the Bills draft) 6th round CB Christian Benford are more than holding their own at CB....and will get better as the season and years fly by.
The Bills organization, form top to bottom is STELLAR. As Von Miller paid homage to the “attitude of domination” fueled and supported by a fantastic organization....
Ownership....GM and player personal evaluation system....head coach....coordinators....position coaches....players....vets and youngsters....and as Von highlights....janitors, cafeteria works, athletic training staff and equipment guys.Miller went on to say the Bills aren’t content to simply win games.
“I don't know how it was before I got here, but now we pedal to the metal,” he said. “We have an attitude of domination. We're not playing the game to just win the game, we’re playing the game to dominate the game. We've got a team full of killers, and it's led by our quarterback, our head coach, the leadership on this team. From Brandon Beane all the way down to the janitors and the infrastructure of this team, like our cafeteria leaders are just so great. Everybody that helps out with his team from Nate (Breske) and the athletic training staff, to the equipment guys, Eric Ciano. Everybody has their hand in this, and we just want to take it one player at a time.
It takes a village to produce a champion....and the Bills have a very solid village.
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Originally Posted by Night Train
