Analysis: Javon Solomon giving Bills some juice off the edge in preseason
Solomon, the fifth-round pick out of Troy University, was a bright spot for the Bills defense for a second straight preseason week.
Buffalo Bills rookie defensive end Javon Solomon had four hits on the quarterback Saturday night, but his biggest reaction on the field came after a second-quarter run stuff.
The Steelers ran a power run play off right tackle, with two tight ends to that side, where Solomon was trying to set the edge and keep the running back from getting around the corner.
Bills defensive end Javon Solomon, right, pressures Steelers quarterback Justin Fields during the second half of Saturday’s preseason game in Pittsburgh. Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News
Solomon held his ground and forced Cordarrelle Patterson to cut inside, where linebacker Joe Andreessen made the tackle for a 1-yard loss.
“That’s what football’s about – physicality,” Solomon said in the locker room after the Bills’ 9-3 exhibition victory at Acrisure Stadium. “You can’t get to third down without first down. You have to play the run. Coach always talks about doing your 1/11th. That was my 1/11th on that play.”
Solomon, the fifth-round pick out of Troy University, was a bright spot for the Bills defense for a second straight preseason week. He was pretty good against Chicago, too. He looks like he’s winning the No. 5 defensive end spot on the roster, behind Von Miller, Greg Rousseau, A.J. Epenesa and Dawuane Smoot.
Solomon showed plenty of ability to dip and bend around the edge in college, where he led the Football Bowl Subdivision last year with 16 sacks. Can he do it in the NFL despite his lack of prototypical length? And can he hold his own vs. the run? He’s only 6-foot-1 and 246 pounds, though he has long arms for his size (33¾ inches).
So far, so good this summer. Solomon beat the Steelers starting right tackle, Broderick Jones, with a speed move wide and then a long-arm shove that almost knocked Jones off his feet. It forced a third-down incompletion. It was similar to a long-arm attack Bills starting end Rousseau used on Jones to get a first-quarter sack.
“Absolutely, I’ve got really good coaches, and I’m surrounded by All-Pros and Hall of Famers,” Solomon said. “I just take tips and learn from them as we go.”
Solomon tweaked a calf muscle late in the game. But he was walking around the locker room pretty well after the game. It didn’t seem too bad.
The Bills’ pass rush will go largely as Miller and Rousseau go this season.
Yet you can’t have enough depth off the edge. If you get two or three sacks and a bunch of pressures from your No. 5 outside rush man, you’re doing pretty good. Solomon was viewed as a developmental, situational rusher on draft weekend. Maybe he can force his way into the pass-rush rotation sooner than expected in the regular season.
“Javon is a dog,” Rousseau said. “The way he can bend the edge and also throwing power in there, I feel like he can do a lot of good things in this league.”
Here were a few more roster developments from Saturday’s game, while trying not to put too much importance on an exhibition game that will have little impact on the regular-season opener:
Mr. Versatile
Cam Lewis is going to make the roster for a sixth year, and the coaches showed how much they trust him Saturday. With Damar Hamlin sitting out after getting dinged up from Thursday’s practice, Lewis started at safety next to Taylor Rapp.Lewis’ primary position in training camp has been as the backup nickel cornerback to Taron Johnson. The secondary operation went just fine through five Pittsburgh drives, with Lewis on the back end (the first four were with Rapp and the fifth was with 36-year-old, recently signed Kareem Jackson.
Even since projected starter Mike Edwards and rookie Cole Bishop got hurt in training camp, Lewis still has worked more in the slot in practice.
“It’s probably 80% nickel and 20% safety,” Lewis said. “I’m just making sure I’m good at both positions because you never know what happens. You always try to build that trust factor, especially during practice. This is my sixth year here. I’ve been trying to do that over the course of my career, show I’m able to play different positions, and if you need me, I’ll go out there and perform well.”
Bills safety Damar Hamlin, right, greets cornerback Ja’Marcus Ingram after Saturday night’s game. Harry Scull Jr. photos, Buffalo News
With Lewis at safety, Ja’Marcus Ingram saw a lot of snaps as the primary backup to Johnson in the slot on Saturday. Ingram works more at outside corner but he has the size and quickness to move inside.
Ingram had a strong game vs. the Steelers and looks like a lock to make the roster again.
“I’m still learning, still trying to get adjusted to it because I’ve been outside more so than I’ve been inside,” Ingram said. “It’s really just a learning process. ... When I get reps at nickel, I’m trying to learn every day. I ask Taron questions, I ask Cam questions. The coaches help out a lot.”
Ingram made a nice play on a fourth-and-2 stop of Steelers quarterback Justin Fields, stringing out a wide run after Fields kept a read-option handoff. He was tackled for a 7-yard loss by Andreessen and Ingram.
“We always talk about playing with vision,” Ingram said. “That was one of the things I did. I was keying the QB. Once I saw him keep it, I was like it’s fourth-and-2, go make a play. Send it back to the sharks. That’s what we say, send it back inside.”
Special teams roles
Two important special team jobs that are up for grabs are the gunner positions, the players lined up wide on punts. The Steve Tasker position. Ingram and cornerback Kaiir Elam filled the roles with the first-team punt unit vs. Pittsburgh. Receiver Mack Hollins is good at the job, too. He could fill the role with Ingram when the regular-season starts. Receiver Tyrell Shavers is an option at gunner, too. So is receiver Justin Shorter, but Shorter looks like he’s on the wrong side of the roster bubble.“In preseason really it’s just being the vice,” Ingram said. “Playing fast and not really thinking. Just go. Get down there and be disruptive. Show color down the field. That’s been my mindset, and embrace the opportunity.”
Sam Martin had a good night punting in Pittsburgh. His first punt went 59 yards for a 48-yard net. His third punt went 59 yards for a 50-yard net with a 4.67-second hang time (4.50 is excellent).
Kickoff coverage is going to be a critical job this season. Here were the Bills’ 10 first-unit players on the kick coverage unit: Elam, Ingram, Quintin Morris, Solomon, Deion Jones, Te’Cory Couch, Reggie Gilliam, Kameron Cline, Dee Delaney and Kendall Williamson. Some of them probably are not making the team. Bishop, Lewis and injured linebacker Baylon Spector are likely players on the unit when the regular season starts. Hamlin and linebacker Dorian Williams have experience on the unit. Now that Williams is in a starting role, it might take him off the unit.