Breaking news: Bills close in to re-sign former sensational star in a blockbuster deal.
The way the Buffalo Bills reorganized their safety room during the offseason drew harsh criticism. How is it doing after two weeks?
After two weeks of play, the Buffalo Bills discover that one of their main offseason queries is being answered right away. Following the early offseason departures of both their seven-year starters and multi-time All-Pros, Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer, they were met with unwavering criticism for allowing their safety position to dry up. Now that the season has just been underway for two weeks, everything seems to make sense.
It was not an easy decision, nor a situation they put themselves in. The Bills signed three-year contracts with backup safety and rotational starter Taylor Rapp, and kept Damar Hamlin as comfortable depth, but many were not satisfied; they went after former Chiefs starter Mike Edwards and selected Cole Bishop out of Utah in the draft, but the depth of the safety corps remained unclear; when training camp arrived, nearly every safety on the roster sustained an injury that kept them out of action for a significant amount of time; Buffalo appeared stuck with their go-to pair, the only two safeties with enough experience in this defense to start in the first game.
The Current Safety Predicament
More injuries have befallen the Bills defense in the past two weeks. Their performance hasn’t diminished in spite of it. Damar Hamlin and Taylor Rapp are two of just four guys who have played all of the defensive beginning snaps. The secondary has performed incredibly well. The club has only allowed 346 net passing yards (pass yards minus negative pass plays/sack yardage) through two games, despite being without both starting linebackers and their All-Pro slot corner. This is despite many undrafted players getting substantial snaps. We couldn’t ask for better when facing receivers like Trey McBride, Tyreek Hill, Marvin Harrison Jr., and Jaylen Waddle. To be honest, what action could we have taken to have better first results?
Had they stayed put, the Buffalo Bills would not have discovered those outcomes. A cursory look at Jordan Poyer’s play so far this season demonstrates why it was so necessary to move on. A number of his mistakes, the majority resulting from his physical incapacity to make the play in time, helped the Bills secure an emphatic victory in Week 2. Although Poyer’s performance against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 1 was passable, the Bills still didn’t need him at safety this season.
Now, none of this should be taken as justification or cause to minimize Jordan Poyer’s influence. For five years, he and Micah Hyde were the best safety duo in the NFL. Unfortunately, they were no longer able to be that dominant duo, even if they were both well. The Buffalo Bills will never be able to field a safer group than that one; even if they were successful in bringing them back, it would never be the same. Both injury and aging have taken their toll. As painful as it was, it was time to go on. The pair of Hyde and Poyer from the previous two seasons was not very good physically and wasn’t very active on the field. Moving on was time, and it’s proving to be a wise decision right now.
The Bills now field a different team that lacks the opulence but has so far all the efficacy. The club makes every effort to extend Josh Allen’s window for a Super Bowl as they get younger, healthier, and less expensive.
