NFL analyst expresses serious concern about a key Buffalo Bills position group before Week 1
There has been plenty of turnover on the roster of the Buffalo Bills between this year and last, with multiple positions looking vastly different than they did last season. NFL analyst and former safety Ryan Clark seems pretty concerned about the safety position for Buffalo heading into Week 1. "I think the first thing that Buffalo […]
There has been plenty of turnover on the roster of the Buffalo Bills between this year and last, with multiple positions looking vastly different than they did last season.
NFL analyst and former safety Ryan Clark seems pretty concerned about the safety position for Buffalo heading into Week 1.
"I think the first thing that Buffalo Bills or bills mafia will understand is that y'all didn't appreciate those two dudes enough," Clark said regarding Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde, both of whom are no longer with the Bills. "There was a level of play and excellence that they demonstrated together that I don't think ever got the credit it deserved. We're talking about two Pro Bowl caliber players, all pro caliber players, extremely intelligent, and you work off of one another."
Clark has every reason to talk up the duo of Hyde and Poyer, who anchored the Buffalo secondary for seven straight seasons. The continuity and the chemistry was unmatched across the NFL, something Clark thinks is going to be sorely missed.
"Well, I was talking to Javon Holland, who now plays with [Poyer] down in Miami, and he was just saying how every year the safety opposite of him has switched. So you had to learn a new guy, learn how to communicate, learn how to play off of a dude. You didn't have that in Buffalo because of Jordan and Micah. When I played with Troy [Polamalu], we never had that because we played together for eight years. So there was always a synergy, some communication, some chemistry. When you lose that, that's huge, because those two dudes, along with the middle backer, run the entire defense," Clark continued.
"And then their playmaking ability. Micah was a ball haul. Micah understood how to play the deep part of the field. Jordan was the down safety that could move into the box, also play high. And so I think you're going to have a drop off in play. But more than anything, you're going to have a drop off in the way the defense was able to run efficiently. And that could be even bigger than the actual play of two very good you know, safeties that you guys have had for a long time."
Buffalo enters the season with major questions at safety. Taylor Rapp is poised to step into one of those two vacated spots, but the other remains a mystery due to training camp injuries. One of Mike Edwards, Damar Hamlin, or rookie Cole Bishop will get the start, but the lack of on-field reps together, the lack of familiarity, communication, and chemistry, is cause for major concern as the season is set to begin.
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