Archives for May 2006

‘Simpson and Williams (6-1, 295), along with Ohio State strong safety Donte Whitner and North Carolina State defensive tackle John McCargo (6-2, 301), Buffalo’s two first-round picks on Saturday, represent a serious influx of talent between the hash marks where the Bills lost many a physical battle last season in falling to 5-11. All four are expected to contribute as rookies with Whitner and McCargo expected to start in Buffalo’s new attack-style scheme being improvised by coach Dick Jauron.’

‘If Matt Leinart becomes a Pro Bowl quarterback, and J.P. Losman fails to develop, the Buffalo Bills are going to look very foolish for passing up Leinart in Saturday’s draft in favor of a strong safety (Donte Whitner) most analysts projected as a late first-rounder. Sure, Buffalo has many needs, but quarterback happens to be among them – unless you’re excited about the three-man competition between Losman, Craig Nall and Kelly Holcomb.’

‘Sure, Matt Leinart might also fail to live up to the unprecedented hype that surrounds him, but the Buffalo Bills will never know. That’s because with the eighth overall pick in the first round of Saturday’s NFL Draft, the Bills took … (yawn) Dante Whitner, a strong safety from The Ohio State University.’

‘”It’s a done deal,” Nance said Sunday night from his home in St. Louis. “I’m headed to Buffalo on Thursday. That’s when they’ll have their mini-camp.”‘

‘Simpson’s agent, Jason Chayut, said he was surprised the former Gamecocks rover still was waiting for a phone call during the draft’s second day. “I’m disappointed he was even there,” Chayut said. “It’s pretty shocking the evaluators felt a certain way. I’m sure he’s relieved but disappointed, too.”‘

‘Ryan Neill, a defensive end who was named Rutgers most valuable player for the 2005 season, was among three Scarlet Knights who signed free agent contracts with NFL teams on Sunday. Neill, a two-time all-Big East selection who also served as Rutgers’ long snapper, signed with the Buffalo Bills…’

‘Jason Hall will join former Vols Jabari Greer and Rashad Baker in Buffalo. The Bills a have a need at defensive end, and this could be a nice fit for Hall.’

‘Not only were all of their free-agent signings players 30 years old or younger, their first four draft picks were underclassmen.’

‘Reyes, 28, has started the past two seasons for the Carolina Panthers on a very good line. Though he was seen as a marginal player on an 11-5 Carolina club, he’s likely to start for the 5-11 Bills. “He’s a young yet experienced offensive lineman who functioned in an offense that worked well last year,” Bills general manager Marv Levy said.’

‘”Well, for one thing, when you talk about history, that’s a long time. Current history isn’t the same. The game is evolving to a degree and safeties who can do a couple of things for you continue to be valuable. Without going into all the wideout formations and open sets and all the things defensive coordinators are faced with, safeties have to get into the coverage. They aren’t the old walk-down-into-the-box safety. You need coverage ability and he has that. I know what you’re saying, but that trend has been broken a bit.” — Bills assistant general manager Tom Modrak responding to the rare selection of a strong safety in the Top 10 (Donte Whitner).’

‘The Buffalo Bills may have made their defense far better this past weekend, but no team will ever win without a great quarterback, with the exception of the 1985 Chicago Bears and 2000 Baltimore Ravens , but even they had wise veterans. In 2006, the Bills better hope one of their three quarterbacks becomes a star, otherwise they’ll wonder what could have been as they left the draft’s best quarterback, Matt Leinart, on the board.’

‘It would be hard to overlook the Bills last pick, offensive guard Aaron Merz 6’3, 348 pounds, adds more beef to the o-line.’

‘The Bills then used the first pick in the fifth round (acquired for Eric Moulds) to select LSU defensive tackle Kyle Williams, who GM Marv Levy compared to Phil Hansen.’

‘The Bills second choice in the 5th round was their first offensive selection, as they grabbed offensive tackle Brad Butler, a 6-7, 310 pounder from Virginia (143 overall).’

‘The Bills have six total picks on the day. With their first selection of the day (pick #105) Buffalo chose to go with one of the best players left on their board and took South Carolina safety Ko Simpson. Buffalo had a Day One grade on Simpson and were surprised to see him available.’