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acquisition Youth Frank Gore Jerseys , defensive end Eli HaroldNew,21commentsThe Bills aren’t done shopping. We take a look at the team’s newest defensive
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defensive end Eli HaroldI’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “There’s no rest for
the wicked or the Buffalo Bills once free agency starts.” This year that old gem
has certainly been accurate. This time, the Bills are working to shore up their
line by signing defensive end Eli Harold. Formerly with the San Francisco 49ers
and Detroit Lions, Harold has four years of NFL experience at outside
linebacker. Don’t let the position fool you, with the systems these teams used
Harold was mainly performing the role of an end in Buffalo’s defense. Let’s take
a look. Play 1Arguably, this should be the finale. Any time an outside
linebacker/defensive end has two offensive lineman wedging him in it should be
an easy victory for the offensive players. Now being fair to the 49ers, neither
lineman initiated contact perfectly. Still, this is somewhat insane for Eli
Harold to just drive through them. Harold’s strength and tenacity are off the
charts for this play. Play 2If you look long enough, you’ll find a “wow” play
for any player in the NFL. So is Harold consistently strong? Well he did this to
Joe Staley all day long. Making this all the more incredible is that Harold is
undersized for Buffalo’s defense. Per Pro Football Reference, at 243 lbs he’s
about a dozen pounds lighter than Jerry Hughes. It’s closer to 20 compared to
Eddie Yarbrough and Trent Murphy. And Shaq Lawson is 24 lbs heavier than Harold.
The low point of attack helps, but the power still stands out. Play 3Harold
attempts a couple techniques that aren’t “running through guys” on this play
with mixed results. The initial quick step to the right shows some
promise Frank Gore Jerseys Stitched , but the cut-back and swim move are lacking. What appears to have gone awry is that Harold loses momentum and doesn’t drive into Staley. A
swim move is intended to help skirt around an opponent in close quarters. The
gap left by Harold allows Staley to keep his upper body and arms clean to follow
up after the move. Play 4Harold suffered injuries to his shoulder and hip during
the year. Both joints are crucial for generating power. The game against San
Francisco came before both injuries. This game against the Los Angeles Rams came
after Harold was put back into the lineup following the second injury. It did
appear that injuries impacted his game to some degree, as Harold wasn’t winning
his shoving contests as often as he did early in the season. As we see here,
though, he still had his moments. Play 5We see a similar set of circumstances to
Eli Harold’s attempt in Play 3. As above, the actual use of hands seems fine,
but the gap Harold leaves between himself and the offensive linemen renders the
hand fighting ineffective. Play 6Regular readers have probably seen my assertion
that it’s fine for offensive lineman to “lose slowly.” Despite Harold’s strength
most offensive linemen are still able to hold him off long enough to be called a
“slow loss.” Sometimes this happens though. Harold had four sacks last year on
only 183 snaps. That works out to about one every 46 snaps. This was his best
year by volume and by far his best year for efficiency. Play 7In the games
reviewed, Detroit seemed to want to avoid having Eli Harold in coverage. The
49ers weren’t so shy and asked him to work on shorter/medium routes like we see
here. This is a fairly good representation of how it went on average. The
difference in usage likely helps explain the sack-efficiency difference to some
degree, but more than likely Harold will not be able to continue at a pace of
one sack every 46 snaps. Play 8Eli Harold places his hand to the side of his
opponent’s shoulder and tries to shove him aside. When that doesn’t work, some
hand-fighting takes place. It’s not until Harold drives forward that he has any
progress. Similar to the pair of plays above, by not leaning in to use the hand
techniques the offensive lineman can hold their ground and deal with the hands.
Play 9Here’s Eli Harold sacking Tom Brady. SummaryEli Harold has a high ceiling
athletically, especially when it comes to strength. Despite his diminutive
weight, a healthy Harold routinely shoves back offensive lineman. Harold still
seems to be working on hand fighting and more finesse-based approaches, which
would help his game-play drastically. With Lawson Youth Adolphus Washington Jerseys , Murphy, Yarbrough, and Hughes all ahead of Harold on the depth chart it will be an uphill battle for him to make an
impression. On the other hand, Harold can line up on either side of the
formation, adding value. Sean McDermott may also see Harold as part of a “big
nickel” defense. Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton doesn't believe he could have
scripted a better visit to Buffalo on Sunday.The donation he made to Buffalo's
Roswell Park Cancer Institute to open the day was special. The two standing
ovations he received from Bills fans before the preseason game were chilling.And
Dalton was able to keep his emotions in check on the first snap from scrimmage
to hit John Ross for a 57-yard touchdown pass in leading the Bengals to a 26-13
victory."It was a good day. I think the way it started was the best part,"
Dalton said. "The game went well, too."The Bills could not say the same about
their offense, and a three-way quarterback competition that remains
unsettled.Rookie Josh Allen struggled in his first preseason start , while
getting little protection from an offensive line that allowed five sacks in the
first half alone. He finished 6 of 12 and was sacked for more yards (39) than he
had passing (34)."I didn't do a good enough job getting the ball out on time,"
the first-round pick said. "I've got to do a better job, but there's a lot to
learn from."Dalton eased whatever concerns the starters raised with their
sputters in last week's 21-13 win at Dallas by producing three scoring drives —
two touchdowns and a field goal — over five series against the Bills.Dalton
finished 11 of 16 for 180 yards and two touchdowns — including a 14-yarder to
A.J. Green — to celebrate the warm reception he received in Buffalo nine months
after playing a key role in the Bills making the playoffs and ending a 17-year
playoff drought.It happened in the final minute of the season finale against
Baltimore on New Year's Eve. Dalton's 49-yard touchdown pass on fourth down to
Tyler Boyd sent the Bengals to a 31-27 win, and eliminated the Ravens from
playoff contention.Bills fans responded immediately by making over $450,000 to
Dalton's charitable foundation."It's a crazy story Adolphus Washington Jerseys Stitched , and it's been fun to be on this side of it," Dalton said. "The best part is all the money that was raised."Buffalo's
offense continues to raise concerns two weeks before opening the regular season
at Baltimore.Allen generated just three first downs before being forced out of
the game in the final minute of the first half. He was escorted off the field to
be evaluated for a possible concussion after being tackled by Carlos Dunlap in
the end zone.Though Allen was cleared to return, he stayed on the sideline while
Nathan Peterman finished the game.This was a week after the starters went
three-and-out in four series and starter AJ McCarron was sacked once and hit
several other times before being sidelined with an injury to his right throwing
shoulder in a 19-17 win at Cleveland."It's disappointing," Bills coach Sean
McDermott said. "We're going to make sure we're helping him with protection and
catching the football and not beating ourselves with penalties. Let's just start
there."SACK ATTACKLinebacker Carl Lawson had 2 1/2 of the Bengals five sacks in
the first half, and nearly had an interception. He was in position to pick off
Allen's underthrown pass up the right sideline only to have tight end Charles
Clay break it up.PETERMAN TIMEThe Bengals led 23-0 before the Bills mounted a
comeback with two scores late in the third quarter.Peterman hit Jason Croom for
a 17-yard touchdown, and then Travaris Cadet scored on a 1-yard run on a drive
set up by Rafael Bush intercepting Bengals backup Matt Barkley's pass. Peterman
finished 16 of 21 for 200 yards, and upped his preseason total to 33 of 41 for
432 yards with three touchdowns and an interception.WELCOME BACKBengals tight
end Tyler Eifert had one catch for 11 yards while targeted three times in making
his preseason debut. The Bengals' 2013 first-round draft pick is coming off back
surgery and was limited to playing just two games last year.INJURIESBengals:
Left tackle Cordy Glenn stood on the sideline, but did not return after hurting
his right shoulder in the first quarter. Coach Marvin Lewis said Glenn was fine.
Guard Christian Westerman (back) and running back Jarveon Williams (left knee)
did not return.Bills: Backup linebacker Julian Stanford did not return after
hurting his nose in the first half. RB LeSean McCoy (hip/groin) and left tackle
Dion Dawkins (hip) did not play after being injured in practice this week.ANTHEM
UPDATEThe Bengals stood together along the sideline except for Dunlap, who stood
on the field at the 45 with his hand on his chest. No member of the Bills
appeared to protest.UP NEXTBengals: Host Indianapolis Colts on Thursday
night.Bills: At Chicago Bears on Thursday night.