Bills 16, Chiefs 10: Week 14 Film Session

Two things:

Why can’t maybin play left end? Is it not in his skill set? Is it because playing left is different than right? They just don’t want to take kelsay out? You’d think he’d have a better chance against a right tackle than a left, but what do i know.

How come aaron maybin gets a break, and you say he needs more playing time, but you already write harris off as a fringe player? The dude has had like, 30 reps, and if i recall correctly, is playing a position he didn’t play in college. Why doesn’t he get a chance too?

• Personally, I think Maybin, who came out after his sophomore season and was not even starting at the beginning of the season, until Maurice Evans got injured, has a lot to prove to me before I think he will be an impact player. For one, he needs to put on some weight. And for the adage that he needs more time, I took a look at what the leading pass rushers this season did in their first season in the league. Mathis of the Colts had the least amount of sacks – Face it, Orakpo, who does play outside LB, could make the Pro Bowl.

Elvis Dumervill – 8.5 sacks
Aaron Maybin – 0 sacks.
Dwight Freeney – 13 sacks
Jared Allen – 9 sacks
Aaron Schobel – 6.5 sacks
Andre Carter – 6.5 sacks
Brian Orakpo – 11 sacks
Julius Peppers-12 sacks
Will Smith – 7.5 sacks
Robert Mathis – 3.5 sacks
Trent Cole – 5 sacks
Mario Williams – 4.5 sacks

I am glad they picked him up this year, but that’s only because of how many guys are injured right now, and you can’t even make a trade anymore

that Aaron Maybin can only make left turns, which is why he can’t play left defensive end? (well, I guess he still could, but it would take him a while to get to the QB)

That would at least make sense.

If Poz should move to the outside spot (which I agree with, he gets swallowed up on way to many plays) I think from a draft standpoint a DT or MLB becomes more of a priority.
the defense doesn’t generate a consistent pass rush on 3rd downs. if we can eliminate the high percentage of 3rd down conversions allowed this team, overall, would be in a much better position. I think through the draft a DT would help improve upon that more than a MLB would. it appears this team will be in a position to draft a player such as McCoy to help with this issue.

Charles ran by Whitner as if the Chiefs had installed a No. 20 statue in the middle of their Arrowhead Stadium field.

My week 14 pickup of Charles for the injured Slaton would’ve gotten me into the FF playoffs, had it not been for Kurt Warner not being able to put up just a necessary mediocre 9 pts that I needed from him!

Many of you were quick to write off Edwards this year…….but yet dont want to do the same with Maybin…..not exactly sure why that is.

Good stuff Brian. I don’t think Poz is a guy who needs to come off the field on 3rd downs, especially if he’s moved to OLB. I think he would do fine in shallow zones covering RBs out on flats and stuff like that. He’s asked to cover a lot of gound in this scheme and a position change or scheme change would help out his coverage. Although, if you’re moving Poz to OLB and still want Mitchell on the field as a blitzing option, I guess Poz does become a 2 down player.

And I’m comfortable with Maybin’s playing time, especially if he would have played 15-18 snaps had KC not gone no-huddle on 3rd downs. 18 snaps would have been a little over 25% and that sounds about right to me (although 30-35 would sound a little better).

I think this defense needs A LOT more than one elite MLB/piece. Mitchell is underwhelming, and that’s assuming he comes back 100% next year. He was slow and struggled to move around as it is. Now he’ll be returning from a major knee injury…not exactly something that’ll help his weaknesses. The safeties, especially Whitner, just continue to give back every nice play they make in the run game. I’ll say this, they shouldn’t be forced to consistently make tackles 8-10 yards downfield, but they also shouldn’t consistently miss tackles and take bad angles there. If we have Byrd and Whitner starting at Safety next year, which is highly likely, I think we’ll see more similar plays next season. Our DT’s are just so mediocre and a major reason why our lack of LB play gets exposed so often. Stroud has been a complete non-factor, imaginary entity for most of this season. He just got a big new contract, but has hardly played like he deserved it. This D needs so much more out of him. Kyle Williams is a solid 2nd DT, but will always struggle at the point of attack if he gets engaged. Finally, the pass rush continues to underwhelm and the only guys that have done anything there this year will be another year older. Kelsay has gotten some sacks this year, but doesn’t get any other pressures. Schobel is the same way. Both have struggled in the run department as well. In order to fix the run defense, we definitely need more than the elite LB.

On Poz moving to OLB, I guess that’s the best move for him simply because he can’t handle MLB. As unfair as it is, he just hasn’t lived up to the incredibly ridiculous hype Bills fans threw on him. He should be a secondary piece of a defense, not one of the main guys. Moving him to OLB where he likely won’t have to try shedding as many blocks can help him, but nobody should be expecting him to be a Pro Bowl player out there. He’s an average NFL starting LB, which is ok if there were more talent around him. Oh well.

The running the ball and Fitzpatrick thing go hand in hand. This team needs to keep running the ball often in the next 3 weeks for a few reasons. One big one is to keep the ball out of Fitzy’s hands. Another is to allow Levitre and Hangartner more reps for next season, while also getting potential depth players in Scott and maybe Simmons more looks. Finally, I want to see more of Lynch. He’s been a major disappointment this year and just doesn’t look like the pile pushing “beast” of the past couple seasons. If he looks good over the final 3, maybe some team would be willing to throw some nice draft picks at the Bills (I’m not saying I’d trade him here!). Either way, I’d like to see him slim down to 210-215, work on his speed/agility and really concentrate on hitting the holes this offseason.

I continue to watch Maybin and I continue to be underwhelmed. I’m not talking about his lack of production though. Brian, you consistently mention his raw potential and elite tools, but I really struggle to see them. His first step was supposed to be one of the best in last year’s draft and he just looks beyond average coming off the ball. I don’t see elite quickness at all. His lack of strength/bulk obviously is a factor, but that should improve. I just hope his frame is able to add that without giving up what speed he currently has. His inability to get away from a blocker or even beat them with speed is what concerns me so much more than his zero sacks. He desperately needs some pass rush moves, because what he does not doesn’t cut it. To me, his ceiling doesn’t look anywhere near as high as these “elite physical gifts” would suggest. I just see a skinny guy, that looks a bit awkward trying to rush the passer, with decent speed/quickness and no moves. To reach his potential/expectations, he needs a magnificent off-season. January-July means so much more to him than 15 plays a game down the stretch. I’m hoping for the best here, but am getting discouraged with what little I’ve seen of his ability. I’m still trying to remember why myself and many others never really paid a ton of attention to him in the pre-draft process last year.

what ever happened to rookies sitting on the sidelines coming in situatiuonally and learning Maybin did have his best game statisically last week he forced a fumble got 3 tackles in what like 12 snaps… good for him…give the kid a chance he is young and learning at the pro level he isnt grossly overpaid and he is learning from some of the best in the leaugue (Schobel and Bob Sanders) better than practicing like 9 hrs a week at penn state… he is gonna be a impact player u’ll see hes got the intangibles to put together a great offseason and make name for himself beacuse he will get his oppurtuinity at some point

well he still plays with alot of emotion and he hasnt lost his edge even with his limited reps he’ll get better… the reason he was drafted was because of his first step and thats what makes jared allen what he is so hes got potential to be a star and sometimes u take a chance on boom or bust player

(preface: you all know how much I’ve been looking forward to this.)

Here’s what I wrote about him in a fanpost a few weeks ago

Guys, he’s not a good linebacker! Maybe he’ll become one. I’m not a judge of football talent, and for all I know he’s about to turn a corner and become a very good middle linebacker. But I am a judge of what-the-heck-just-happened-in-front-of-my-eyes, and I challenge anyone to tell me he played well today, or that his reappearance in the lineup helped us in any way stopping the run.

He’s not a good MLB, and I think we should all be able to agree on that, especially now that Brian has gone on the record on that.

My question is this:
Moving him outside helps the problem of his inability to shed blocks right? But what about him being slow? (He is slow. He just is.) Also, what about him being bad in space, another thing that’s been acknowledged by more than 1 person on this board. He showed on sunday that he isn’t good in traffic because he can’t shed blockers. But he also showed that he’s not good at making open field tackles. So my question is, where do you put him that protects him from both of these things?

I think Brian is right though, overall. If he’s the 3rd best LB on the field (behind an awesome MLB and Mitchell), we’re okay. but I don’t think he’s much more than that.