The NFL preseason game between the Buffalo Bills and Chicago Bears was a brutal watch for the record Fox audience of 5.1 million viewers. Luckily, preseason games aren’t known for game planning. That means the collective effort is less important than individual efforts.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at rookie defensive back Jordan Hancock to see how he played. The Bills have been known to find/coach-up gold in the secondary, and perhaps the fifth rounder has some bright spots for us to review.
Blitz attempt
One of the first things to note is that Hancock played corner in college, but due to a depleted roster at safety for Buffalo, he’s been working there in practice and in preseason.
Back to the GIF, Hancock is tasked with blitzing but starts a bit early and tips off his intent. Worse, he has to stop, step back, and then try to regain momentum. Despite all that, he’s nearly in the backfield in time to try and make a play — but “nearly” means there’s room for improvement.
I highlight the rock, papers, scissors nature of play calling on this one. The running play makes Hancock’s success less likely, for sure.
Let’s try this again
This should look pretty familiar to you, but, with improved timing, the end result is quite a bit more preferable for Bills Mafia. This isn’t entirely just a change in singular effort by Hancock, but that change is a big factor.
In a regular-season game, there’d be a bit more support for Hancock by virtue of a better game plan as well as film study that might help reveal snap timing.
Touchdown allowed
The GIF does the heavy lifting on the explanation for this play. Hancock shadows pretty well but doesn’t go deep enough to be a true impediment to the pass. This is something that’s hopefully easily coached.
Good hustle
In coverage, the chaos of the team’s lack of cohesive strategy and few passes coming directly his way led to an incomplete grade in my eyes for Hancock. More on that in just a second, but for now let’s see him making a tackle downfield after the team allowed a large chunk on a catch. Hancock’s hustle and tackle were both good.
The Final Straw
It was preseason. The Bills as a whole were uncharacteristically bad for even that low bar. Jordan Hancock is learning a new position on a team known for some cerebral schemes. He looked hesitant at times. He looked out of sync at times. He looked pretty normal, considering the circumstances.
What he did not look like was afraid to mix it up or wanting for effort. I wouldn’t go on record and say I’m in love with the idea of Hancock having to play significant reps come the regular season, but there are tools to work with and the Bills have had good success overall getting the most out of defensive backs.
