DE Mark Anderson released by Bills

[Brady6]

Andre Carter, coming off of a severe injury and starting the season late, still had as many sacks as Cunningham.

Brother-man I'm not saying anything negative about Carter.

I'm saying Anderson is not even close to the type of player as Carter, in terms of production, attributes, leadership. I'd rather sign Carter today even at 34 then Anderson.

 

[Brady6]

We still have no way of knowing unless they actually decide to work him out. If the Abraham thing doesn't happen I would hope they at least take a look.

If we had a need for a player like Anderson we would of been best off resigning a younger Trevor Scott; Scott's production last season was comparable to Anderson's in 2011 when you break it down by snaps and overall opportunity.

 

[Deus Irae]

Brother-man I'm not saying anything negative about Carter.

I'm saying Anderson is not even close to the type of player as Carter, in terms of production, attributes, leadership. I'd rather sign Carter today even at 34 then Anderson.

I hear you. I was just pointing out Carter's accomplishments under the circumstances. I think it should go a long way towards lessening/eliminating any "mea culpa" people might be tempted to say about wanting him back. Heck, I'd still rather have had him than Cunningham.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

If we had a need for a player like Anderson we would of been best off resigning a younger Trevor Scott; Scott's production last season was comparable to Anderson's in 2011 when you break it down by snaps and overall opportunity.

3 sacks is a pretty small sample though. Can't really say it's comparable to doing it over a full season. Anderson came up pretty big in the playoffs too.

 

[Brady6]

3 sacks is a pretty small sample though. Can't really say it's comparable to doing it over a full season. Anderson came up pretty big in the playoffs too.

I don't disagree; it is a small sample size but they're similar in the playing style and if we only had 250 snaps to send Scott's way even with Jones missing time with injuries how many will we have for Anderson?

You have to remember Anderson only brings a skill-set that is productive as a wide 9 defensive end preferably on the left side of the line. He isn't going to offer anything inside, or off the line, so you're putting him in that slot then where is a guy like Ninkovich or even Collins going to be lining up? Depth guys like Francis, Cunningham and even Bequette offer the ability to play inside and spell Jones in early downs against the run to keep him fresh.

I think when we drafted Jones to play defensive end, Hightower to play strong side linebacker and moved Ninkovich to end we eliminated the possibility to have a full time pass rush specialist who could only rush from a defensive end position unless that player was significantly better then Jones or Ninkovich which I would have to disagree with being the case with Anderson.

 

[AzPatsFan]

I don't think that we're getting Anderson for no guaranteed money. However, that matters little. He's worth taking a shot at $1.5M, about the same as last time. And then he can get $8M from someone else next year again.

This situation is what usually happens when a guy signs an outsized contract. After the initial euphoria, the deal is seen as lopsided and he gets cut, never to see all the mythical future earnings. The days of these outrageous signings is drawing to close, with league revenues not growing much anymore as revenue sources saturate.

It wasn't always so. Tedy Bruschi always preferred to sign for good money, but not ridiculous contracts as he wanted both sides to honor them as fair, and it worked. He palyed his entre career in the same place.

 

[Claremonster]

I was standing right next you brother on both of those players. But I don't look at Anderson as that type of player for a number of reasons.

Are you related to DW Toys...Cousin?

 

[Brady'sButtBoy]

The Bills make lots of mistakes. Anderson is only 30. who's to say they didn't just make another mistake?

I'd prefer to let the coaches decide, rather than posters based on a hunch.

Man, you read my mind. There is no reason to not believe this is another in a long line of Buffalo mistakes.

If we had a need for a player like Anderson we would of been best off resigning a younger Trevor Scott; Scott's production last season was comparable to Anderson's in 2011 when you break it down by snaps and overall opportunity.

Trevor Scott delivered a very uneven performance as a Patriot. There may have been a game or two where he flashed like Anderson did regularly as a pass rusher. Scott was a little more versatile, yes, but didn't generate much of a threat to the QB.

 

[Brady6]

Trevor Scott delivered a very uneven performance as a Patriot. There may have been a game or two where he flashed like Anderson did regularly as a pass rusher. Scott was a little more versatile, yes, but didn't generate much of a threat to the QB.

The only real opportunity he saw was in the games that Jones missed, Cunningham was suspended. When you have Jones and Ninkovich both playing 85% of the snaps you really need a player that can either sub rush from DT or come from a LB position, Anderson can really only play from LE which means you have to move Ninkovich but to where? I don't think he could come from inside, maybe from LB, either way I don't see the need.

 

[spacecrime]

I really don't think you refuse to look at someone who has actually proven to be able to rush the passer so you can have more time to assess all the bodies that haven't, hoping they will someday.

They don't need to assess him. They have years of game film on him. He came here as a vet and played here for a year. They know his ceiling pretty well.

If they think he's better than what they have, they don't need to cut a guy to bring him in to assess him.

Hey, the Bears let him go. After one year the Pats let him go. After one year, the Bills let him go. No one has signed him. Significant, maybe? OTOH, if the Pats cut Bequette, Francis, etc, they'd be claimed on waivers in a heartbeat. That should give a clue as to relative worth.

 

[Uncle Meat]

I wouldn't lump Anderson in with Jones. Anderson had success rushing the passer before coming to New England, and while playing in this scheme. Donald Jones, despite the prognostications by some posters on this forum that he was going to be the next Jerry Rice the day he was signed, never really had much success to speak of while with Buffalo in spite of playing in an offense that didn't exactly have a ton of options in the passing game outside of Johnson.

All I'm saying is that when Buffalo flat out doesn't WANT a player, it's usually a pretty good indication that something is wrong with him. There are major questions about filling Mark Anderson's position in Buffalo, but the Bills cut him anyway. They did the same thing with Donald Jones. Money was not the issue in either case. Anderson did nothing to speak of MOST of his 7 years in the league, outside of a couple of years.

If and when another team picks him up, he'll be on his fifth team in only four years. What does THAT say about him?

 

[Brady6]

Are you related to DW Toys...Cousin?

Nope, I don't think I even know who DW is?

 

[NEPettyOfficer72]

My response to all of this is why did the Bills release him and how come he cannot get a long term deal with anybody? The other question is will he be a necessity or luxury? I mean, not even half way through the season last year before he got hurt, Chandler Jones was on his way to accumulating double digit sacks. He already forced a few fumbles, and made a few game changing plays. One can only think that he is only going to get better and reach superstar status. He has that athleticism and is a mirror image of Jason Pierre-Paul from a physical standpoint. Having him, especially with someone as consistent as Rob Ninkovich on the other side, could be enough given that Jones stays healthy a full season and improves from last year. And Rob's production last year was slept on. If you ask me, 8 sacks and at least 4 forced fumbles is better then at least 80% of production from defensive ends last year, and that's coming from a guy who started at that position for the first time in his career. Then you look at the guys behind these two, in Bequette, and Cunningham. More so Bequette then Cunningham anyways. But the real guy intriguing me is Michael Buchanan, a hybrid defensive end who was said by many to be a steal in the draft, and only fell due to character issues. With his athleticism, and projected skillset, if he adds even adequate production then that could be more than enough of a pass rush. I know you could never have too much, and it wouldn't hurt to add Mark Anderson, but would it really hurt if we passed on him? I think absolutely not.

 

[Deus Irae]

All I'm saying is that when Buffalo flat out doesn't WANT a player, it's usually a pretty good indication that something is wrong with him. There are major questions about filling Mark Anderson's position in Buffalo, but the Bills cut him anyway. They did the same thing with Donald Jones. Money was not the issue in either case. Anderson did nothing to speak of MOST of his 7 years in the league, outside of a couple of years.

If and when another team picks him up, he'll be on his fifth team in only four years. What does THAT say about him?

Look at the full story, though. You've got a change of scheme, with a 3-4 blitzing hybrid replacing last year's more reactionary system. Hughes was brought in to function as the OLB/PR in the new scheme, and Anderson is not a fit.

Anderson may be done, or his injury may be lingering, but scheme issues probably played a big part in his release.

 

[Brady6]

They don't need to assess him. They have years of game film on him. He came here as a vet and played here for a year. They know his ceiling pretty well.

It's been several years and 2 knee surgeries, they still have to assess him. Players can change as they get older, look at Shaun Ellis, or even a younger guy like Pat Chung. Chung was looking to be on the rise after 2011 now he is a gone.

 

[Sciz]

I would like to see Anderson back to compete for a spot. He'd have to accept a pretty small contract, probably vet minimum with some sack incentives or something like that, but he knows that the Pats would put him into a position to succeed if he's healthy and able to do so.

 

[Brady6]

Look at the full story, though. You've got a change of scheme, with a 3-4 blitzing hybrid replacing last year's more reactionary system. Hughes was brought in to function as the OLB/PR in the new scheme, and Anderson is not a fit.

Anderson may be done, or his injury may be lingering, but scheme issues probably played a big part in his release.

Could also mean that Anderson is more the player he was in 07', 08', 09', and 10' then he was in 06' or 11'.

I felt like a lot of Anderson sack in 11' were attributed to Carter? Similar to the game last season against Miami when Francis had 3 sack, personally I thought they were more attributed to Jones.

 

[Uncle Meat]

Look at the full story, though. You've got a change of scheme, with a 3-4 blitzing hybrid replacing last year's more reactionary system. Hughes was brought in to function as the OLB/PR in the new scheme, and Anderson is not a fit.

Anderson may be done, or his injury may be lingering, but scheme issues probably played a big part in his release.

I understand about scheme and mentioned that in my original post. I'm sure that plays in, but it doesn't explain cutting Anderson entirely. From what I hear (and I look into Bills news almost daily), the Bills defense is hard to describe. "3-4 hybrid" doesn't really tell the story. We are going to be lining guys up in different spots constantly and disguising looks a lot, which is why Pettine likes versatile players in his scheme. Mario Williams was saying that they were lining him up, and he couldn't even tell you what position he was playing a lot of the time.

This is a far cry from last year's scheme, which was purely vanilla...we did the same thing under DC Dave Wannstedt over and over last year even though it wasn't working...rushing the same guys the same way, not bothering to disguise looks, and blitzing extremely rarely. It was ENTIRELY predictable and pathetic. I think the Bills defense will take a giant leap forward this year for that reason...the scheme, along with some other variables. Wanny is the Special Teams coach for the Bucs now.

But I don't think there is any scheme that wouldn't be helped with a situational pass rusher, which is what Mark Anderson basically is. Sorry, but I just don't think the guy is very good at the end of the day. That said, I was still surprised the Bills cut him when they did.

 

[NEPettyOfficer72]

Rob Ninkovich, Chandler Jones in his 2nd year, Jamie Collins, Don'ta Hightower in his 2nd year, (can improve on 4 sacks), Michael Buchanan, and our interior pass rush that could be potentially good this year.. we should be fine. If anything, I'd rather have John Abraham. But we have enough talent after the passer this year to be ok either way. We have to give players who we drafted high a chance to pan out at least in their second year.

 

[Sicilian]

I felt like a lot of Anderson sack in 11' were attributed to Carter? Similar to the game last season against Miami when Francis had 3 sack, personally I thought they were more attributed to Jones.

I would agree early in that season, but when Carter went down Anderson filled in pretty well, including a sack in the SB if I recall. He definitely benefit from having Carter on the other side, but he played well without him too.