It’s preseason! Well the end of it anyway. Regardless, my goal here was to talk about how it’s time to tinker and figure things out. The Buffalo Bills went to Florida to take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to close out preseason action and defensive back Cole Bishop got a chance to show off what he can do.
I’ve seen some buzz as Bishop potentially fighting for a starting safety position. Here are my thoughts below and since I was on the topic of tinkering, you might notice a different format for my clips
on this game. Let me know what you think in the comments.
Run stop
There’s not a ton to discuss in the clip, but I love how Cole Bishop weaves through traffic and finds the right lane to burst through to help make the tackle.
Also, due to some mumbo jumbo with news/aggregators/whatnot, I’ve always had a file-size limitation when making GIFs that led to me making sacrifices in clip quality. I’m trying out hosting MP4 clips via Vimeo rather than straight embedding GIFs. Hope you like the change, but if not feel free to blast me in the comments.
Tackle 1
If you’re into etymology, then you’re likely aware that the position is called a “safety” as they act as a safety net of sorts. In that regard, Bishop lined up this deep is a great example of the position being played. Bishop also seeing the play and crashing down to be that final line of defense would also be a good illustration of the position.
Tackle 2
Bishop had a very good game if you ask me, but being fair it was only 12 plays. That means I can only pull from a limited sample size in this game and it’s honestly pretty great that I was able to pull multiple quality tackles from the guy. In none of the plays is Bishop shy about tackling, and in this particular one there’s a very deliberate drive after the contact.
Coverage
The one thing I wasn’t able to get too many clips of was Cole Bishop in meaningful coverage. I like this snap though with Bishop picking up a receiver going into his zone, flipping his head and hips, and providing coverage. This isn’t the tightest coverage you’ll ever see, but Bishop is making the throw considerably harder to anyone looking that way. A quarterback with a good deep ball would be able to fit that in over the top to be clear.
The Final Straw
I never like to make anything too definitive for conclusions when it comes to preseason football. The lack of true scheme and potential issues with quality of competition are just too significant.
That said, you can get a good look at physical ability and on field “personality” and Cole Bishop’s game against the Buccaneers was very good. Very good tackling, good play recognition and reaction, and solid coverage skills (in limited opportunities). Preseason is for putting your best foot forward in individual play and I believe Bishop did that.
