maddenboy

. . . and 3rd and longs. Wouldnt that be nice. Our defense getting off the field once in a while? Linebackers, please.

Its funny that you mention him. Everybody calls him Jair-ee-us. Like you spelled it. "Jarius." But its actually spelled Jairus. Jay-ur-us. And no, he isnt remotely top 5, or top 20. He has good ball skills, plays hard, and I'm glad we have him so we can focus on drafting other positions, but . . . I hope you were joking.

A lot of fans and writers say the team quit on Sunday. Especially the defense. When I watch, I see defenders who are sick and tired of being out of position. Sick and tired of being overmatched. Sick and tired of not being put in the best position to make a play. Obviously Edwards needs to go. But again, there is no CORE to this team. Get me some serious, grown-ass man, kick-ass linebackers, and then watch the whole defense improve. Stop drafting me 1 guy here, and another over there, and a project to patch up this leak. Draft like a man. Build a team of men who DICTATE on Sundays, instead of just reacting to the other team. Ask the Steelers about it.

Its the drafting. And the Coaching. The point of this post was to show that the cupboard is bare. And to try to fix it. I say we draft like 4-5 linebackers, to find 1 or 2 that stick. Next year, draft 3 OTs to find 2. The interior O-line is fine. Year 3, draft some DLs and CBs. Those positions dont take quite as long to learn, so they can wait for year 3. Dont worry about WRs or TEs. Every year you can add a late rounder or free agent, if you'd like. These are not crucial, core positions (with pass rush, you can have ordinary CBs, and in a 3-4 if you have excellent LBs, you just need the DL to hold, more than penetrate). These are luxuries you add when you are 1 or 2 players away. Right now we are 7 or 8 players away. Then, in year 4, you can get a qb. Or whatever other "needs" we have. Lets build a foundation first. And lets get some coaches who can actually teach today's player to be his best.

Okay. But how many teams dont have ANY? Present company excluded, of course. Sure, you dont have to have a bunch of them. But if you dont have any, and if you havent had any for at least 10 years, that's a Red Flag. That's the point of the post. Why? And how do we fix it?

And maybe we also plan to draft his replacement. In the first round. Who do I have to kill at OBD?

2012: Build a dominant Linebacker corps. Just focus on one unit at a time. We're running a 3-4. Lets draft 5 linebackers next year. I am serious about that. 2013: Build a dominant offensive line by drafting LT and RT first and second. Our interior line is already okay. 2014: Build a dominant WR/TE corps and get me a QB. During this time, we will have drafted some okay players in the later rounds that will have stepped up (CB, DE, RB). Now, 2015: Draft a couple "need" players, now that you actually know what you "need" to make a deep run in the playoffs. Right now, we draft what we "need" to have a shot at .500 football. Listen. 2015 is coming. One day, we will wake up and it will be 2015. When it comes, we can either have some dominant units, or we can be rebuilding again. Stop drafting a guy here, and a guy there. Have a clear vision and plan to Dominate and Dictate.

2012: Build a dominant Linebacker corps. Just focus on one unit at a time. We're running a 3-4. Lets draft 5 linebackers next year. I am serious about that. 2013: Build a dominant offensive line by drafting LT and RT first and second. Our interior line is already okay. 2014: Build a dominant WR/TE corps and get me a QB. During this time, we will have drafted some okay players in the later rounds that will have stepped up (CB, DE, RB). Now, 2015: Draft a couple "need" players, now that you actually know what you "need" to make a deep run in the playoffs. Right now, we draft what we "need" to have a shot at .500 football. Listen. 2015 is coming. One day, we will wake up and it will be 2015. When it comes, we can either have some dominant units, or we can be rebuilding again. Stop drafting a guy here, and a guy there. Have a clear vision and plan to Dominate and Dictate.

Hell no. And I dont appreciate your stupid options. "if you choose yes, you are smart, and if you choose "no" you are stupid." Build. Build. Build through the draft. If you get Tebow, you have to re-structure your offense. You have to draft players who ran a spread and/or option in college. Not just qb, but linemen, running backs, and WRs. There's a REASON that Elway looks pained. Then, when Tebow gets injured, you're stuck. Unless your backup QB was also an option qb in college. Etc, etc. etc.

Can I please get my 3 linebackers now? In the first 3 rounds. Can I please start trying to build at least one dominant unit?

Was this on purpose, or Freudian? Either way, I like it as his new nickname.

Gosh. This is a perfectly reasoned post. I completely agree. There seems to be no draft plan at OBD, except to patch holes. I'm sick of that. We arent winning the Super Bowl this year. Or next year. We arent 1 or 2 players away. So stop kidding ourselves. Lets draft a few dominant players. Then after a couple years, we'll be able to build around them. Who do we have currently that we can build around? . . . Exactly. The main point from the OP is so very true. The draft is a process. I say start with the linebackers.

This. looooool

I'll take the OP's #1 pick at OLB. And then another Linebacker at #2. I can find wrs later. I dont need a dominant wr. But I do need dominant, blue-chip early round linebackers. I am trying to run a 3-4 after all.

Naw, bruh. I strongly disagree. a few months ago, I was watching an old re-run of some NFL quarterback challenge from the Pro Bowl, maybe around 2005. In a side segment, they asked the quarterbacks what their favorite play was, and why. Then they showed video of the qb actually running that play the previous season. Tom Brady: (something like) "36 flanker shallow z right h fill shaggle tree on 2. The 36 is the protection shifting to the right, the h fill means the running back will chip if there's penetration and run a hook, or if the linebacker drops, then he goes to the flat. What we're trying to do here is score a touchdown with the Z. If the safety bites on the flanker, its a read between me and the Z to go to the post. Shaggle means that the Z and me will do a hand signal, depending on whether its zone or man." Peyton Manning: (something like) 23 fade shallow right cross z trail 77 jet trey on 2. I'm able to audible to a run if the safeties play off, but what i'm looking for is Marvin and me to read the Free Safety. The 77 means a play action run fake. If the safety bites, then Marvin knows I will pump to freeze his cornerback, then let it fly deep. If the safety is disciplined, then he isnt moving, so he has to decide between the shallow fade or the cross, and we at least get a first down. AARON BROOKS: (specifically called the play as) "X Y go. That's my favorite play." The X receiver and Y go deep, and I get to decide who is open. We try to get a touchdown here. (And in the video, the X receiver had to cut it off because Brooks got flushed, the X ended up running a post route and Brooks somehow found him in the end zone). Seriously. The Fitzpatrick Harvard thing is not hype. Dude is super smart about football. Brooks, not so much. Either "XY go" is all he could remember of the complicated play call, or else the coaches dumbed it down for his ass.

Shamelessly promoting your site = -1 Being honest and up-front about it = +2. Net result = +1

FYP.

To the OP, I had to go to Walterfootball to find the position of most of your players. Next time, please help us out. I chose Dont'a Hightower (which, unfortunately, we will probably be told is pronounced "don-tay" even though its not, like cb Dunta Robinson) because he's the best linebacker likely to be available. To be a REAL team, we need defense and toughness. WalterFootball has him going to the Ravens, as Ozzie Newsome's heir to Ray Lewis. I can live with that. And he plays the 3-4 at Alabama. I believe we need rush linebackers more than anything, but at ILB, Donta seems like the BPA at a position of great great need. Winning 10-9 counts just as much as 39-35, so please give me defense.

Totally agree. That's why I advocate drafting LB, LB, LB. Build at least one dominant unit to start controlling some shtt.

Very well reasoned. And thank you for (unlike some around here) mixing in a paragraph break or 10, for easier reading. You have kind of talked me off my ledge. But I still say that "depth" is underrated at the key position of Linebacker. If you are running a 3-4 you need 5 or 6 who can step on the field at any time, and a couple prospects waiting in the wings. Right now we only have about 2 linebackers who are worth much at a Contending level. I also agree with San Jose that rb is thin, but you can find them in later rounds, or on the street. Big, fast, angry pass rushing linebackers, or run stuffing linebackers, dont grow on trees, so please draft me a couple.

Lurking silently beneath this thread is the 800 pound Gorilla. Does MVP mean "Most Valuable to his team" or "Most Valuable to the NFL (i.e., league's best player)?" It usually goes to the biggest star, which means most valuable to the league. This is standard water-cooler stuff, and the fact that there's no clear answer from the league just means it will continue. Clearly, without the slightest doubt, Manning is the most valuable to his team. The team is built around him. Yes, they arent really trying to win, but Jeez they look horrible. The defense is built of small fast guys who play with a lead. No Manning, no lead. Etc, etc, etc.

Yes, that is an argument for Levitre. But if true/accurate (and it might not be), its because of upside, more than where he actually is as a player right now. I'm talking about right now. Show game film of all LGs to all coaches and ask them to rank the players. Not sure we have anybody who would crack anyone's top 5 (assuming coaches cant vote for their own players). Not trying to beat a dead horse here. Just the fact that there are arguments to be made about our players is what proves the point. I bet Steelers fans dont debate whether Polamalu (sp?) is a top 5 safety. Texans fans dont go back-and-forth over Andre Johnson. The last time we had such a player was . . . probably Ruben Brown. All the others mentioned here (Peters, Clements, Moulds) were at least debatable. Why? Why why why?

No, not their tendency to take first round RBs. Which is so very stupid anyway. As the original title of this topic suggests, We either dont draft right, or dont develop right, at any position. I mean, our only top 5 player is a RB, that wasnt even drafted at all, and was developed in another league. If there are 18 positions, times 5 players, that's 90 top guys in the league. Why dont we have any? Or we have kinda 1 or 2 kinda sorta, but not really. And we dont have any that are truly in-arguable. Larry Fitzgerald, inarguable. Darelle Revis, inarguable. James Harrison, inarguable. Freddy Jackson? Arguable. (Peterson, Ray Rice, Shady McCoy, Chris Johnson, Arian Foster, Matt Forte, Darren McFadden, Maurice Jones-Drew). Its at least arguable for Freddie. Kyle Williams? (Ngata, Raji, Wilfork, Suh, . . . Kyle?) As to Levitre, my point is that Bills fans think he's a good pick, and going to be a good player, but are you ready to say, for SURE, that for most Personnel people, there arent 5 guys they would rather have than Levitre? A simple google search found, as the first result, a top 10 list of guards that doesnt contain Levitre: http://fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/26/top-10-guards-in-n-f-l/ And here's the list of top 10 Left Guards: http://fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/07/best-left-guards-in-the-n-f-l-the-top-10-list/ Whether or not you agree, it sure looks like a very big argument to me.

Last night, I was thinking that the Bills are like one of the NFL's Farm Teams. (Along with teams like Seattle, detroit). Let them draft whoever they want, and if anybody seems promising, then let the Farm Team trade them to a real team. It reminded me of a post on here last year, where a guy said "all the Bills do is train other teams' future stars." Or as I heard a mid-40s unmarried woman say about her many failed relationships, "i'm tired of training other people's husbands." ---- Again, back to the main point of this post: Smart teams draft talent, talent, talent. And develop it like its the Prime Directive. Then, down the line, draft a couple "need" players when they are on the cusp of Superbowl contention. But the bills keep drafting band-aid "need" players. When you are a perennial sucky team, how the hell do you think you have "need" positions? When you need EVERYTHING, you dont draft for need. Stupid.

I guess my bottom line is to stop pretending we arent in need of a FULL rebuild. Year 1: Draft me a bunch of linebackers. Lets build a dominant unit. (Pittsburgh knows you can never have enuf linebackers). Year 2: Draft me a couple of OTs. In the first 2 rounds, please. Then sprinkle me some WRs and TEs. Year 3: Draft me DLs and CBs. These positions dont take as long to learn, so I dont need them in the early years. Year 4: Draft me some "need" positions. Now that I know what I actually need to win a superbowl. Of course some picks wont pan out. But when you develop a nucleus, with a plan, you should see results. And I did not mention QB. Try to find the next Brady in the later rounds. If it doesnt work out, then in year 4 you are 1 or 2 players away from seriously competing, so you can reach for a QB.