Welcome to this week’s Bills Mailbag. Let’s get right to tackling all your questions …
Ed in Tonawanda asks: Based on this week's performance, do A.J. Epenesa and Greg Rousseau deserve more playing time than Jerry Hughes and Mario Addison?
Jay: In Rousseau’s case, he’s already getting more. The rookie first-round draft pick leads all Bills defensive ends with 79 snaps. Hughes is next with 67, followed by Addison (61), Epenesa (53) and Efe Obada (15). After registering nine quarterback pressures, according to NFL’s Next Gen Stats, Epenesa has a strong case to earn a bit more playing time. The Bills have already said limiting Addison’s snap count is a priority, because they believe he will be a more impactful pass rusher if he can stay fresher. I’d say through two weeks, the rotation at defensive end is working out really well. It’s well documented that McDermott likes to rotate heavily on the defensive line. Maybe Epenesa cuts into Hughes’ playing time a bit more, but that wouldn’t be by a significant amount.
Don Freedman asks: Matt Breida is on his third team in this, his fourth year. Miami let him go, a team not exactly loaded at running back. He's quick – but so is Devin Singletary – and is easily tackled. He's clearly No. 3, but what could we see as his role?
Jay: The answer to this question has changed pretty drastically in a couple of weeks. It was at least a mild surprise Breida was active in the season opener against Pittsburgh while second-year veteran Zack Moss was a healthy inactive. Breida didn’t have much production against the Steelers, however, and while he played against Miami, he saw the field for just two offensive snaps. Moss, meanwhile, made his season debut against the Dolphins and bounced back from an early lost fumble to score a pair of touchdowns on impressive runs in the second half. Moss runs with a physical style that is a nice counterbalance to Singletary. Breida’s speed is an attractive weapon, but it looks as if he’s going to be trapped in the same spot T.J. Yeldon was in the past couple of seasons, waiting on an injury to get meaningful playing time.
Joe Brown asks: Curious why offenses (quarterbacks) don’t run plays while defenses are still bouncing around and getting set. I understand the quarterback and offensive line are deciphering coverages and assignments, but it sure seems like the offense should have an advantage by running quick counts before the defense is ready. We know they can, as it’s often employed when trying to run a play before the opposing coach can throw red flag.
Jay: It does happen, especially when the defense is trying to make a late substitution and the quarterback tries to catch them with too many men on the field. Basically, Joe, your question boils down to running the no-huddle offense, but on steroids. The Bills are actually one of the faster offenses in the NFL. According to Football Outsiders, they take 25.07 seconds until the snap of the ball, which is fourth (Jacksonville is first, at 22.83 seconds, followed by Tampa Bay at 24.65 and Washington at 25.06). It’s possible the operation could be done even more quickly, but the offense still has to get set and Allen has to communicate the play. If those two things aren’t done properly, speed won’t matter.
Kevin Hartnett asks: With our average offensive line, General Manager Brandon Beane and the coaching staff obviously missed something (or were not patient enough) with Wyatt Teller, who is now an All-Pro with the Browns. Sure, we got draft capital in return in the trade, but no one on our side envisioned Teller becoming an All-Pro. What is the degree of regret in the Bills’ front office?
Jay: Of course Beane would like a do-over on that deal, especially considering the current state of the interior offensive line. Let’s call it what it is: A mistake on the part of the coaching staff and front office for bailing on Teller so soon. Beane and coach Sean McDermott have done a terrific job in building the Bills into contenders … but not every move they’ve made has worked out. They would be the first to tell you that. The picks the Bills acquired for Teller – fifth- and sixth-rounders in 2020 – were used as part of the trade for Stefon Diggs (the fifth rounder) and on kicker Tyler Bass (sixth round), so at least Beane made good on those.
Female Football Fan asks: Any thoughts on why the Bills parted ways with Corey Bojorquez and signed Matt Haack? I read that Bojorquez uses a two-step technique while Haack uses three steps. I think the blocked punt in the Pittsburgh game was a missed assignment, but every time we've punted this season, I hold my breath. Will this move come back to haunt us this year?
Jay: As I wrote in last week’s report card, it feels as if there is enough time to file your taxes while waiting for Haack to punt. The speed of the operation absolutely feels like an issue – one that could impact the Bills if the blocking is not on point. The game against Pittsburgh is an example, although no punter might have been able to get a kick off with that significant a failure in front of him. Haack is off to a rather uninspired start. He’s averaging just 34.4 net yards on seven punts, with two touchbacks.
As for why the Bills moved on from Bojorquez, it appears to be a fiscal issue. The team was tight against the salary cap in the offseason, and Bojorquez (or his agent) valued his performance more than the team did. Bojorquez punted just 41 times last year, but did it well, with a net average of 44.0 yards.
Jeff Miller asks: Novice question, if not nefarious: At halftime I assume the players break into offense and defense and discuss the adjustments they need to make and then at the end get together and coach McDermott gives his thoughts. Does one side or the other ever say, “Keep doing what you’re doing, it’s up to (the other side) to do their part.” I’d like to add: It’s OK that the WFT doesn’t have a name. After the whooping we’re going to give them, nobody would have remembered it anyway.
Jay: Jeff, for all your answers to halftime questions, be sure to read the front-page story in Sunday’s sports section. Also, stop reading my mind.
TNFP69 asks: NFL question: Do you think teams don’t show a replay right after a questionable call on the stadium scoreboard that would affect the other team throwing the challenge flag on them but replay it right away so the staff can see it and decide before the other rushes to line?
Jay: Of course. If there is a questionable play that looks as if it will go in the Bills’ favor, it feels as if it gets replayed a dozen times inside Highmark Stadium. If it looks as if it will go against the Bills, you might see it once. Given how quickly offenses move, particularly when they are trying to avoid a challenge flag being thrown, stadium replays aren’t always available. It definitely feels as if the home team uses the scoreboard replay in a way that helps them. That’s true across the NFL.
GDW asks: Two items: With the active roster at 53 players, why can't they all dress for the game? With the possibility of a rash of injuries, it doesn't make sense. All 53 still get paid the same whether they play or sit. Also, Tampa Bay has 100% vaccinated players on their team while the Bills have only about 80%. What is Bruce Arians doing different than McBeane? Or are the Bucs just smarter people?
Jay: The reason teams are limited to 46 active players on game day, or 48 as long as eight of them are offensive linemen, is to level the playing field because of injuries. As we saw in the season opener with defensive tackle Star Lotulelei not being able to play, teams will have certain players each week unavailable to them. If one team has five players out and another has two, that’s a competitive advantage. Only dressing 46 or 48 levels the playing field.
As for the vaccination issue, Beane and McDermott have been consistent on the topic all along. They want their players to get vaccinated, but respect that it is ultimately a personal choice. They can’t physically drag them to a vaccination clinic. They’ve done nothing different than Arians, the Bills just have different players on their team.
Jim Schlesinger asks: Noticed several Bills wearing the external soft helmet pads over their regular helmets in camp. Remember Jeff Nixon wearing one during games. So why not have linemen wearing them during games? Could be made to look like the regular helmet. Seems like a good bit of extra protection compared to simply the hard helmet.
Jay: The pads you are referring to are made by Guardian Caps. They are soft-shell helmet covers that strap onto regular helmets and are designed to reduce impact. They came to the NFL in 2020 through the HeadHealthTECH Challenges, which provides funding to explore new ways to prevent head injuries.
According to the company, the product can reduce up to 33% of an impact. Tony Plagman, a national sales manager for the company, told The Buffalo News’ Katherine Fitzgerald that no exact data exists on how many would-be concussions have been prevented, because that information would be too speculative. However, the research has shown the reduction in impact to be true in various collisions.
The covers are definitely not fashionable – Bills players interviewed by Fitzgerald said they looked like video-game characters – but none of them had too much of a problem with wearing them. Their use in games does not seem like it’s close, given that not every NFL team has taken to wearing them, but if the league truly was serious about making the sport safer, they would allow the covers to be worn. Perhaps, down the road, they may be grandfathered into the NFL the way helmets were in hockey. If it reduces the risk of head injuries, it seems like a good step to take.
Mike Davis asks: I watched a replay of the Bills-Ravens divisional playoff game in Orchard Park last January. The Al Michaels-Cris Collinsworth team announced several times that the wind was blowing at 8 mph, but all the flags at the top of the stadium were blowing straight out as if in a gale. I know they have streamers at the top of the goal posts, but what do you think about putting some sort of wind indicator on the field, say on the first-down marker poles?
Jay: That’s an area the TV broadcast could perhaps do more to give fans at home a better idea of the impact the wind is having at any moment. I watch plenty of golf, and there are plenty of graphics used on those broadcasts to show what the wind is doing. That could be beefed up for football, especially considering how impactful the wind is during games in Orchard Park.
Thank you, as always, for the questions this week. As a reminder, they can be submitted via email to jskurski@buffnews.com or via Twitter, @JaySkurski.
