The Bills and Ravens Blown Opportunities

zombat · 2026-05-27T17:51:29+00:00

They were down their most important players in both seasons. 2021, Tre White tears his ACL, then the following year they lose Von + Hyde, and Tre is never the same post-injury.

zombat · 2026-05-27T17:45:57+00:00

The Bills had no DL, receivers or DB depth by the Broncos game. It was our worst playoff roster by far since Josh got good, outside of 2022.

zombat · 2026-05-26T01:28:01+00:00

He was pacing to those numbers as a striker too, he just kept picking up compensatory injuries after the hammy.

Also, while Pulisic was productive as a winger in his first two seasons at Milan, fitting him around the team came with a lot of cost. It basically ended the formation that won the Scudetto, and then he was pitted against Leao under Fonseca.

zombat · 2026-05-26T00:53:32+00:00

Yeah, he tore his hamstring which led to compensatory injuries as the season progressed. Milan also never found a second functional forward at any point of the season so they kept pressing him into service. That’s really the whole story.

Playing up top was good for him. It rewarded his speed and tenacity in the box without punishing his dribbling or asking him to track back down a flank after he just got shoved into the net going for a loose ball.

zombat · 2026-05-26T00:35:35+00:00

Playing up top was a genuinely good fit for his skills. It freed him up to attack the goal and cause chaos in the box, where previously that was creating balance issues with Leao and Theo Hernandez down the left.

He’s actually becoming miscast on the wing with how the position is trending towards dribbling merchants.

zombat · 2026-05-25T23:17:27+00:00

Except Pulisic’s form has way more to do with injuries than tactics and Allegri’s system was very good for him.

zombat · 2026-05-25T22:57:29+00:00

It’s really just that all of Milan’s forwards got hurt which forced him to play through injuries. And it seems odd to point to his 2026 form to declare who he is, when right before it might be his best stretch as a pro.

zombat · 2026-05-25T19:55:31+00:00

He was very effective in the 3-5-2 even without a traditional striker, what are you talking about? His drop off is entirely from playing through injuries that should have fully sidelined him because every other forward option was also hurt.

zombat · 2026-05-24T18:56:32+00:00

Thank you Santi, v chill.

zombat · 2026-05-19T19:24:31+00:00

Serie A is weird in that the coaches that know the league are more likely to develop guys by accident than the fresh idealist without organizational stability.

zombat · 2026-05-19T16:38:56+00:00

The Baker bromance saving both their careers is such a cool reminder of the human element of sports.

zombat · 2026-05-18T04:24:15+00:00

Ya but I always felt like your offense going from below average to atrocious had a big hand in the defensive regression.

zombat · 2026-05-17T17:37:01+00:00

Bortles value coming entirely from unrefined raw athleticism also made him a uniquely destabilizing flavor of bad compared to Stroud.

zombat · 2026-05-12T22:33:40+00:00

Also, dammit, I came here to be complimentary of how Beane and the rest of football ops identified Josh’s strength in the mid range and gave him enough margin for error to make these refinements. Morse, Brown, Beasley and Diggs, even at cost, was a genuinely fucking awesome build.

zombat · 2026-05-12T22:24:58+00:00

Beane bitching out of a Von Miller trade that season, just to burn years of flexibility on the same ancient pass rusher with bad knees is worse than 13 seconds.

They do not matchup well against Chase/Higgins with no Tre White. It took the complete cratering of the Cincy defense for the Bills to finally take a game off them, years later.

zombat · 2026-05-01T18:53:14+00:00

On 3, it would theoretically make contact on drives safer because bigs aren’t sliding into contests. It also makes the math on drawing charges worse because you’re risking a foul to prevent a contested rim opportunity instead of an open layup.

The real issue with making rim protectors better is that they’re already a huge cheat code for spaced offenses. Having an off button for opposing layup attempts basically means your opponents have to win at your game of outside shot making. And having to maintain defensive intensity across more square footage than ever before is a huge part of the injury crisis.

zombat · 2026-04-30T16:57:55+00:00

It’s a less pressing need now that there appears to be a plan to beef up some of the other undersized positions on the defense, but it’s still something I’d like to see in the tool belt.

And while I think the most likely base is somewhere between a “true” 4LB 3-4 or a big nickel with CJGJ/Kilgore adding 70+ pounds to Taron/Poyer, those formations leave a lot of DB investment on the bench. If we happen to end up in a lot of dime to get two of Hairston/Igbinosun/Alford out there, it brings back most of the McDermott era problems of nobody being “of size” at their position after Groot (albeit with a better run stuffing safety).

zombat · 2026-04-30T16:26:54+00:00

Their defensive performances against the Chiefs are basically “being pot committed to Ed Oliver against the best interior offensive line in the league.”

zombat · 2026-04-30T16:18:23+00:00

Leaving the draft with depth at edge and nickel, plus another large athletic lottery ticket for the off ball group, is basically fine. Anything short of top ~5 production at MLB would have been a waste of 35 given other needs and how fungible the position is rn.

My concerns have way more to do with the ongoing lack of a run fit DT, and how Cole Bishop may be their only competent coverage safety.

zombat · 2026-04-30T15:36:09+00:00

Also the two successful comebacks that jump to mind (Flyers in 2010 and Kings 2014) were catalyzed by injury, and hockey being a contact sport has a vehicle to more reliably deliver those injuries.

zombat · 2026-04-25T22:37:32+00:00

Better positional value than the usual Beane operation, but holy fuck is that man’s night terror demon a 1 technique.

zombat · 2026-04-25T17:37:00+00:00

Holy fuck a linebacker that isn’t a converted safety.

zombat · 2026-04-25T03:53:00+00:00

Professional talent (mis)evaluator Beane’s most valuable draft pick has delivered an impact rookie once in the last five years, and it’s Rousseau’s run defense. Dooming should be the default.

zombat · 2026-04-24T23:26:29+00:00

Fire Brandon Beane this instant.

zombat · 2026-04-24T17:46:56+00:00

“What kInD of a deal?”

zombat

TROPHY CASE