Bob in STL

If you look at were we ended last season and were we stand now it does not appear we are making much ground filling holes. We picked up a veteran RT to fill the void left by Butler. We let Incognito go so now we lack veteran depth in the middle of the OL. We let Owens and Reed go so we lack WR experience (and maybe talent). Hardy and Johnson are still unknowns. We did not (or could not) address LT, making it a draft priority. Changing to a 3-4 created a huge need at NT and that hole is still there going into the draft, another prioirity. We added solid veteran help at ILB and DE with Davis and Edwards. Very good pick ups to have made, both with 3-4 experience. Schobel will most likely be leaving, not sure if he fits into the 3-4 anyway. QB of the future is still unknown. Gailey appears to want to give Trent a thorough look. We will probabaly draft a QB somewhere in the first 4 rounds. I understand the uncapped year and not a great crop of Free Agents this year. All the good NTs were taken off the board early. I sure hope we can swing a deal for a few more players or possibly add more picks in the first three rounds.

There was another post covering this is depth. Someone posted some "expert" opinions (could have been Maycock) that Morgan is strictly a 4-3 DE. I could not say either way but I would not be surprised that Gailey takes one of his boys. I would prefer to fill that LT spot, we have few options there.

My Therioes: You need a good cohesive OL to develop a QB. Not a bunch of first round picks and not a bunch of mid rounders either. Most successful lines have a blend players taken in various draft positions but the key seems to be experience and cohesiveness. If the QB you develop is above average you will have a playoff team. If the QB is special (like Brady, Manning, Brees) you have a SB contender. Combine the special QB with a great OL and you have an offense that will be dominant for many years. You have to have a decent OL just to give your QB a chance to develop. No QB could have suceeded with the OL we had last year.

Joe D has errors in his fact but his concepts are correct.

Agree but ... Good protocal calls for release of the assistants when a HC is fired. This gives them more time to land another job. We don't know when Gailey popped onto the scene. It would have been unfair to Kugler to hold on and then have a new guy release him later. I suppose they could have talked to him about waiting until we find a coach, but the Steelers offer great opportunity for him.

Your correct. Lombardi was not fired. Add Don Shula. Once Marino got old many in the media said "the game past him by". Reality is Shula got shoved out. The biggest problem with Shula's last teams were that Buffalo Bills had more talent and were better in all phases of the game.

sure. Why not Edwards for Romo and Kelsay for Ware?!!!

I replayed it a lot the first few years after it happened. Can't even look at it now. I recently watched the debacle in Nashville ... maybe that took some of the starch out of me.

I hated it when Williams was released. Never understood the ideology of changing schemes and letting great players go because of it. Here is some hope. Pat Williams was an undrafted free agent. He studied under Ted Washington for a few years. Maybe we can develop another great NT?

If you are saying: 1. Teams cloak their intentions. Expect a surprise in the draft. 2. Look at our division - We have to get bigger and stronger on both lines to compete. 3 . Draft players not athletes and projects (like Maybin). Then I agree.

Nice post. You may be right.

He partied for sure .. but he studied, he practiced, he was a leader, and he made big plays. Maybin should not be mentioned in the same sentence with Jim Kelly.

I hope your wrong but Maybin sure acts like a little kid. I too would not even pencil him in to make any kind of impact this year.

Don't know the answer other than to say we obviously could have won a few more games with a better QB who could accurately get the ball down field. Trent won't throw down field at all; Fitz will but he lacks accuracy and zip. I would rather have a Pro Bowl QB than a Pro Bowler at any other position. Very few Super Bowls are won by teams with average QBs. It has happened in the past but that is far from the norm. You cannot win with a below average QB in the NFL. Defenses are too good. Not gonna happen. I just want a solid, above average LT that is reliable, smart, big and mean. I don't know what your point is on the Bills beating Indy's JV team. It proves nothing.

I stand corrected. I sure thought he played more games than 8. But lets point out that his first two losses where in the final games of the reqular season (1990, and 1991) and he played those games with backups. He was 2-0 as a starter in the playoffs.

Come on. Last years OL was one of the worst in Bills history. Our best lineman were two rookie gaurds. If that is not a sign of weakness what is? Our best tackle was actually a gaurd and he got injured in the first game. The experience of our remaining tackles was non-existent. Our talent at tackle was a developmental project (Bell), a player we cut and recalled (Chambers), a player off another teams practice squad (Meredith), a street free agent (Ramsey), and a reject from Detroit (Scott). I won't even get into the rotating door at right guard after Wood got hurt but please recall we had 4 different starters at right gaurd. No QB could look good behind this crew. Survival was a measure of success for our QBs.

Balance is always good. Defenses need to respect both the run and the pass. You have to run the ball, especially to pick up short yardage first downs and to be effective in the red zone. Draft blockers and you can enable the run and pass.

It would be bad. Spiller looks great but we have to stop this trend. I the past 10 years we have invested 1st round picks in A. Smith, Willis McGahee and M. Lynch. Include in that list a 2nd round pick in Travis Henry. Each guy replaced the guy before him. We have also drafted Josh Reed and James Hardy in the second, not to mention Roscoe Parish. None have been worth the investment. I want to see this team invest in big, mean, blockers and tacklers. Look at our division. All three of the teams ahead of us place a premuim on lineman. All three are bigger and more physical. We have Jackson and Lynch, a good one-two punch at RB. We do not have a proven , average quality offensive tackle on our roster.

So how do you trade him with his high salary? His value is no better than a 5th or 6th. But why would anyone make that trade? Teams know he is on the bubble with our switch to the 3-4 and they will be watching to pick him up on waivers for a much better deal. Any team that gets him off of waivers is getting a steal. He is not that bad.

Concur . We relly need some veteran depth. Hardy and Stevie are unproven.

Every time I watch that game I become more convinced that we had a far better team. The difference was not the wide right kick. The difference was Parcells and his previous Super Bowl experience. We did exactly what they planned for us to do but we did not do it with the execution needed to win. So many "almost" plays. On top of that, the best player on the field, Thurman, did not get the ball enough. I think we were better than Washingto too.

LOL. I roared at that one.

Even as a backup Collins has hardly ever played. He is not a great backup. His career was not like Frank Rieich who went something like 9-0 as a backup for Kelly, including the greatest comeback ever. If we bring in another quarterback it should be a prospect we can develop. Move forward please.

You know you have a really goood offensive line when no one talks about it.

I heard that Cappuccino was foaming over to get him signed.