Webster Guy

Hey Mario if you could add another ten pounds we'd love to have you at left tackle with those long arms and those quick feet of yours. I mean, we're paying you as much as two dudes, why not play on both sides of the ball?

He's streaky but I agree he can be productive out there. Not sure if I agree with you on being the starting DE in our 4 front, he'll have to add some weight but he has the frame and he goes all out every play. I think he loses the starting end spot to Dwan Edwards and will be the backup DE (non situational) but will still spell Mario or Edwards on 1st and 2nd downs. The only way he gets cut is if its money related, but he's good enough to make 43 DE for depth.

If I am team GM and I sign a guy to big money like they just did Fitz, I would have a four day a week minimum expectation that he would have his ass in the gym to stay strong and flexible and fit. Maybe the pic is just a bad one of him or something but I actually kinda see the OP's point here. There are 300lb NFL hitmen like Vince Wolfork that are going to try to kill you 150 days from now, you might want to make sure you have as much muscle armor and flexibility as possible dude. He doesn't seem like a lazy guy and he takes his job seriously as far as I know so maybe it's just a bad pic and he's really in good shape. If you're a pro athlete you'd better be.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyonwZLR538&feature=relmfu personally i like this Freddy one better. f k the Jets

Yeah I like him too, but he's not a 43 LB and there is no way he plays end. We already have situational pass rushers in Merriman, Anderson and possibly Kelsay, and I think both Moats and Batten are screwed in Buff now that we are switching our primary defense to the 43. I think that's the reason GM's hate to switch back and forth from the 34 and 43, because the personnel requirements are so different and it takes years to draft the right guys and develop them in your system. I still think Dwan Edwards will drop 15 lbs and show up at 285 and win that coveted 4th spot as starting DE. He's good against the run and he is a play finisher. Anderson, Merriman and Kelsay will not do as well against the run in my opinion as Dwan. The dude was a second round pick by the Ravens in 2004 but he sat out a whole season from injury so he's played only 6 seasons, and I think he made some nice plays out there last year.

Yeah you say the only legit #2 we have on the team is SJ. So 2100 yards and 17 td's in two seasons makes you a number 2 guy in your book? Last year he ranked 19th in the NFL for yards, and the year before he was 11th best in the league in yards, and only SIX receivers in the NFL had more TD's than he did two years ago. (hint: it wasn't Andre Johnson or Maclin or Miles Austin, Welker, Fitgerald etc) But you say he's just a number two huh? Why because Revis shut him down last year? Oh wait no that didn't happen either.

When you say New England did well to address needs and there weren't many, what exactly do you mean? They gave up over 400 yards per game on a defense ranked next to dead last in the league. They have no running game and the offensive line is average. They have many needs like any team, it's just that they have an amazing qb that helps mask some of their weaknesses. God I can't wait til that guy retires. Any draft evaluation now is obviously a complete guess. The team that you think did the worst in the draft may have had the best draft of anyone when time tells the real story. In our case, we have a decent shot to have three guys that will be in our starting rotation this year in Glenn Graham and Gilmore (the REAL G3) If one more rookie pans out, then it could be a great draft. Nobody knows until the games are played.

Trent Dilfer said that the top 2 QB's left graded out higher than last year's Blaine Gabbert and Christian Ponder. One was The ASU guy and I missed the other, but he named the Bills as a team who should grab a 2nd round QB. Thoughts?

In 1968, the Ohio State Buckeyes, en route to a national championship, defeated their bitter rival, the Michigan Wolverines, 50-14. Late in the game, Ohio State held a commanding 44-14 advantage and scored one final touchdown. Rather than taking the more common extra point kick, Ohio State head coach Woody Hayes opted for a two-point conversion, which was unsuccessful. When asked later why he went for two points, Hayes said, "Because I couldn't go for three."

exactly. if we move anywhere, Claiborne is the play. i hope they sit and take Keuchly at 10 and grab the best receiver available at 41. It's the only way I see us getting two starters.

We have Troupe, Heard, and Spencer backing up the inside. Carrington is perfectly sized for a 4-3 DE and will compete against Mark Anderson and Merriman for the end spot on first and second downs. Maybe all three downs because in our division NE and Jets go no huddle a lot which makes substitutions tough. That's the problem with situational pass rushers, you can't always get them in when you want to without burning a timeout. I don't see us spending $27M on Anderson to have him sit, and Kelsay looks like the odd man out right now. Too slow for 43 LB, too many pass rushers ahead of him to be anything but a backup this year until one of our DE's goes down. I think they will bulk him up to 275ish, he has the frame for it and he won't be dropping in coverage. I also see Dwan Edwards as still being involved, he had a good season last year and buddy loves to keep the big strong dudes around.

So Chan and Buddy hired an overrated defensive coordinator for our team? Damn. They should have called you first, it sounds like you have it all figured out. Or maybe you should have called them and explained what makes a real DC and told them the REAL guy to hire was you all along. These silly NFL GM's and experienced NFL head coaches don't know nothin bout nothin.

You mean the 3 time pro bowl qb that threw for over 4400 yards for us in a single season? In case you're wondering that's about 1000 yards more than Jim Kelly's best. I'll take zero pocket presence and 4400 yards any day of the week.

I like our two more than anyone else because they can both catch as well. I also think we will have the best 1-2 combo of interior defensive linemen in the league this year in Dareus and Kyle. So if "run and stop the run" is the key to winning (although the Patriots did neither and still won the AFC) we're looking pretty good.

We were the least sacked team in the league last year, our O line wasn't that bad at pass protection and they were pretty good at run blocking. I think we could split with everyone in our division with a pass rush and faster linebackers that can cover the strong TE's and catch the little backs like Reggie Bush.

The Patriots are a good team and they don't have a very strong track record of success in the draft. Except for that one guy from Michigan a long time ago. The draft is a lot of luck, which is why I laugh when GM's sit there and say with far too much certainty that a left tackle is a better player than a wide receiver when the two can't be compared. Its like comparing a lawn mower to a car and saying one is better than the other when they serve completely different purposes. I understand the need to rank BPA, but to sit there and actually believe your board is going to be the way things pan out is either arrogance or just being naive. I agree with your point about picking a player that fits your team, regardless of consensus, but sometimes that burns you (orakpo, Ngata, etc)

I know we keep thinking Nix is going to draft BPA because he did it with Spiller when we already had two pro bowl type running backs in Lynch and FJax, but I think he's going to draft Keuchly because we are so thin at LB. Half our LB's are pass rushing 34 types, and the rest are unproven. Shep is only played half the games last year and Barnett is injury prone (though last year he was a durable beast). WE LOST 5 OUT OF 6 DIVISION GAMES last year and it wasn't because of the pass rush they put on Fitz, it was because we were getting shredded on defense because we had no pass rush and LB's that weren't fast enough to cover TE's like Dustin Keller, Hernandez, Gronk or stop little Reggie Bush from rushing for 200 yards against us AT HOME. We need to get faster at LB people. Pass rush has been addressed but the only LB that is going to start for us next year is a first rounder and its Keuchly. Great speed, instincts, work ethic, versatility. Im sold on the dude, I hope Nix isn't so stuck in his "gotta be from the south" mode that he overlooks the next Zack Thomas.

100% agree with everything you said. Also, the DirecTV remote is so much better. The new interface is great and doesn't have the frequency of delays as TW. That said, I have a very good deal with TWC for all 3 that DirecTV can't match. (Damn you, house phone!)

I don't agree Keuchly would be able to beat out Barnett. He was very productive last year, our best LB by far. No way a rookie takes his job. Also I don't agree that Floyd would only get thrown to 6 times a game. Fitz slings it 35 times a game, and if Stevie draws doubles all day and Floyd is getting good separation there is no telling how many balls will come his way. OP brings up some good points though. For me the question is can Keuchly transition to OLB from the middle? In a 4-3 it would seem like they could work him in on passing downs to develop his coverage reads without having to worry about run support right away. Where is 'Never Give Up' these days? I'm waiting for the real news on the draft board.

The Weeden jokes remind me of this classic: Link

agreed. How did you see a scouting tape breakdown of him? Link?

Saying a free agent is overpaid before you see his impact on the new team is like grading a draft right after it happens. You have ABSOLUTELY no idea what you're talking about, and neither does anybody else until the scenario plays out. I think Anderson will make the starting lineup as the 4th man on the dreamteam front line, but Wanny will adjust his first and second down rotations based on how he is handling the right tackle on running plays. He's definitely undersized for a typical 43 DE but he'll still see half the snaps over there this year I'll bet. Can we start the NFL season already? These inferior sports are killing me man.....

trade down with a team that wants him and stack the picks baby!

Ok ok everyone relax....(puff.....exhale) hey on a serious note, how did Fairley do his rookie season? I didn't see him play one snap this year and I know he was out for awhile but did he show any flashes of that unblockable monster he was in the Bowl game? I wanted that dude to be a Bill after seeing that game but I'm glad we went with Big 99. Was Detroit happy with the pick?

One of the most exciting offensive college players I've ever seen and always a joy to watch when he had the ball as a Bill. Getting him the ball was the challenge, not just because of his injuries but our QB's and offensive play callers. Still the most electric punt returner in the NFL and a tough little dude. I remember when Donahoe picked him, he was our first pick that year in the 2nd round when we didn't have a first round selection, and we were sitting there watching his college highlights and he was freezing everyone on defense with these triple jukes and that patented spin move. It's time to move on I suppose but I wish him well in SD. If I remember he struggled with footing on grass fields a little bit because of his aggressive cuts so the Chargers better keep that field tight for their new weapon. GOOD LUCK ROSCOE !