Webster Guy

I think there is no way Sheppard sees the field other than special teams for the first half of the year at the earliest, and I don't think Merriman will ever be healthy enough to crack the starting lineup assuming he even gets through camp and preseason healthy (sure hope i'm wrong there). Opening day LB's will be Andra Davis, Poz, Kelsay and Moats. I really like Dwan Edwards and think he will surprise this year with two pro bowl caliber big bodies on the the line next to him, and with Moats being the primary edge rusher we may be able to get consistent pressure with just four (the key to a great defense). All four dudes can get upfield and three DL's are all lane cloggers that have the size and power to control their gap. If you can bring heat with the front four, your LB's and D backs get a whole lot better from day 1.

I like the optimism, but its nearly impossible to grade this draft other than to say that from the scouting reports and looking at the way these dudes played at a much simpler and easier level, we have some promising guys to evaluate and hopefully the majority will make the team. It looks like we have one opening day starter in Dareus (can't wait to see him in action), the rest hopefully will help us as the season and years go on. Would be awesome to get a Moats/Stevie/Kyle late round steal but usually teams are made up of 1st and 2nd round picks out there. Shepp is not gonna be ready to contribute until mid season at the earliest, as his job inside is not usually something rookies excel at because of it's complexities. This draft may have sucked, or it may be the one that turns the corner for us. I believe our offense is as good as the jets or the steelers, and they have been carried deep into the playoffs by a great D. Here's hoping we can have the same this year.

Sure, I mean why would drafting the consensus #1 defensive lineman in the country give you ANY reason to believe your team would be any better. Nahhh. He'll probably make us WORSE right?

good point. Thats why I love those 10 yard drills at the combine. Shows first step and explosiveness. For inside linebackers my number one characteristic is ability to shed blockers. In the NFL you don't roam free, someone is always assigned to you (including on special teams even when it looks like chaos). Being able to work through your blocker and make the play is what inside guys need the most. 40 yard straight run unblocked is such a poor indicator of how a dude is going to play pro ball between the tackles in a real game.

How do you know he would've been there? Obviously our GM didn't think he would be or he wouldn't have taken him in round 3. You must have inside information that Nix doesn't have. I'll bet you talked to the other 31 teams that would've picked between our 3rd and 4th and asked them if they were going to take Shepp and they all said no.

AGREED

First of all, thanks NeverGiveUp for your post. You make this board even cooler than it already is by throwing us the 'real' torpedo of truth once in awhile. I'm starting to become afraid that Carolina isn't going to take Cam Newton. If they take Dareus or Von Miller then Denver is likely to take whoever is left. That means we will have Cam and AJ Green as next in line on the board based on NGU's post. Cam wont even start, and AJ Green is at a position that we are deep at already. Then we will sit and watch the next 32 players (majority of them defense) go elsewhere. WE HAVE TO HAVE AN IMPACT FRONT SEVEN DEFENDER STARTING ON DAY ONE OR WE WILL GET SLAUGHTERED THIS YEAR. Not another Troupe or Carrington, we need a true first round stud. Our QB is good, and still gaining experience as is our O line. Our receivers are solid. We don't even have room for Easley and he might be the best one on the team in two years. Our defense was so bad last year that teams looked like they weren't even game planning for us near the end. I don't know more about football than Buddy Nix, but I know what I can stomach, and having a weak defense in the AFC east is the kiss of death. Carolina needs to take Cam.......

If we were sitting at 15 and Fairley was there I would take him. But after watching him on Gruden's ESPN special, the guy is just clueless. He may be a great DL but I sure wouldn't want him as a teammate. It was like Gruden was talking to a 2nd grader. I know his position doesn't call for the most cerebral guy, but you have to draw the line somewhere. He'll go to the Titans on Thursday.

I dont think you can group Carrington and Troupe in with Moats. Moats made plays and had some significant contributions. Carrington certainly looks the part with this size and frame, and Troupe is built like a DT with that lower body weight, but those two didn't impress very much in their rookie seasons. Not worried about them yet, just didn't see the explosiveness of an NFL playmaker yet like Moats showed us. As far as this year, I think the Bills Best Player board looks like this 1.Dareus 2.Miller 3.Gabbert If we get 1 or 2 then we take Ponder in the 2nd round. No Cam Newton, No Fairley or Bowers for us in B Lo. Cant wait for draft day. Im glad they do it in prime time Thursday AND Friday evenings. NFL getting smart. For once.

Good: ESPN has Berman, Kiper, and Gruden in a scaled down version than the grand productions of recent years. Bad: I do not like ESPN giving the pick away by showing the phone call in advance of the announcement. ESPN Scale Down

Ive been telling all my friends to TIVO the Grudens QB camp, if you haven't been then you should. They re-run them periodically so you should be able to see them all. Chucky is one funny dude. I loved when he gave Dalton that FFCA visor and then said "did you bring anything for me?" Dalton says NO and Gruden gets this kinda sad look on his face and says "well...that's OK...". He LOVES f*cking with the rookies, its such interesting TV instead of the majority of sports crap on ESPN. There is such a thirst for more information for the fans on the X and O's of the NFL from players and coaches and analysts, its nice to see them breakdown some film, hit the whiteboard to draw up plays etc. Throw in some Gruden humor and the best NFL-bound college QB's and its a brilliant combo. After watching all of them, I really like that kid Dalton. He reminds me of how Bradford was last year on the show. Respectful but not overly nervous with the camera's and coach Gruden, very astute answers, loves the game and winning. Maybe the redhead will stink it up but I wouldn't be bummed if the Bills could steal him in a later round.

Its intriguing to consider a DB so high but if you can't rush the passer or stop the run nothing else matters. Hard to evaluate our coverage skills when we're asking our Dbacks to cover for 6 seconds or more every play. I think our pressure next year in obvious passing downs is going to come from Moats off the edge (he's gonna have a huge year) and our rookie DE. We're big enough at the line with Troup, Kyle, Carrington, Dwan Edwards etc, just need a versatile stud DE. Kelsay is such a non-factor I honestly think he will not be a starter next year. If they draft correctly there shouldn't be room for him except in a rotational role on long drives and special teams.

I have no idea what the most important stats are, but I would think the 10 and 20 yard splits, especially the 10 which measure how fast your first step or two are would be the most important for D linemen. Second I would rate ability to drive/lower back n hips strength, which I heard they don't even do at the combine anymore. (sled push, 325 lbs, how far and fast can you move it) Players that rise or fall at the combine has always been a mystery to me unless they're injury assessments, guys without much playing time in college, or interviews for character/team player evaluations etc. After that, how can you not judge dudes by actual game film? My prediction: Bills are taking Dareus or Fairley in what will prove to be the first draft in a decade where they actually took who we thought they were going to take in the first round.

Three Points 1. Your stat shows percentage of players over $1 million. So what. You can pay 100% of the guys on your team a million a year and you'd be about $45 to $50 million under the average NFL team. Total player compensation including bonuses combined with coaching/staff salaries is the relevant number here, not a percentage of guys over a million. Another meaningless stat from Clayton. 2. Putting that stat aside, if you're trying to exonerate Ralph from being cheap you should explain why he is unwilling to setup a logical exit strategy from owning the Bills and communicate that to the loyal fans of Buffalo who have tolerated his playoff drought for 10 years and still love their team in spite of his ineptness. 3. If Ralph wasn't cheap, he would come to the fans and say I appreciate your faith and support, and I will return the favor by setting up a purchase plan that allows for the team to stay here while still giving my family half a billion after tax when I die. It may mean I don't get the absolute best price in the world, but MONEY ISNT THE ONLY FACTOR here and I'd like my legacy to include a guarantee you guys keep the team. Mention my name when you win the Lombardi and I'll be smiling down from heaven on you guys. Rooney would do it for Pittsburgh, hell I'll bet even Al the Scrooge Davis would do it and he's the worst owner in the league. If Ralph doesn't it will be because of money and money only. And THAT'S textbook cheap. Maybe you're right. I sure hope you are, but we'll know for sure when the time comes.

I disagree that Belichick is a draft master. And seeing as it takes a few years to evaluate a draft, take a look at this from 2008 and earlier: Bill Belichick’s Complete Draft History 2000-2008: 9 seasons, 77 picks (8.6/season) 2000: Second: Adrian Klemm T: 10 starts in 5 seasons with Pats, only made it though one 16 game season; BUST Third: J.R. Redmond RB: 600 career yards, 1 TD; BUST Fourth: Greg Randall T: One season as starting RT, but traded away one year later; MEDIOCRE Fifth: Dave Stachelski TE: Never made the team, one career catch; BUST Fifth: Jeff Marriott NT: Never played a down in NFL; BUST Sixth: Antwan Harris CB: 2 career starts in six years; BUST Sixth: Tom Brady QB: Eh, decent value…; SUCCESS Sixth: David Nugent DT: 1 start, off the team in 2 seasons; BUST Seventh: Casey Tisdale LB: Never played a down in NFL; BUST Seventh: Patrick Pass RB: Special Teamer and was 3rd RB for 6 seasons, if Tatum Bell is MEDIOCRE, so is Pass. 2001: First: Richard Seymour DE: SUCCESSest 3-4 DE of his era; SUCCESS Second: Matt Light T: Decade-long Franchise LT; SUCCESS Third: Brock Williams CB: Never played a game for the Pats; BUST Fourth: Kenyatta Jones T: 11 starts at RT in 02, off the team in 04, out of league in 06; BUST Fourth: Jabari Holloway TE: Never caught a pass with Pats, cut in 02; BUST Fifth: Hakim Akbar DB: Cut in 02, 5 career tackles; BUST Sixth: Arther Love TE: Never played a down; BUST Sixth: Leonard Myers CB: 1 start, cut after 2 seasons in 03; BUST Seventh: Owen Pochman K: Never made team (wish he was a punter, there’s a good/terrible joke here); BUST Seventh: T.J. Turner LB: 2 games in 02, out of football in 03; BUST 2002: First: Daniel Graham TE: Mediocre TE, never had more than 410 yards recieving - solid if not 21st overall pick; BUST Second: Deion Branch WR: Super Bowl MVP; SUCCESS Fourth: Rohan Davey QB: Guess they’re not all Tom Brady; BUST Fourth: Jarvis Green DE: Very, very good rotational DE while with Pats; SUCCESS Seventh: Antwoine Womack RB: As a Hoo, I wish he wasn’t such a BUST Seventh: David Givens WR: About as good as you can get from a 7th round WR; SUCCESS 2003: First: Ty Warren DE: Excellent bookend to Seymour; SUCCESS Second: Eugene Wilson FS: Nothing special, but solid player; SUCCESS Second: Bethel Johnson WR: Career stats 600 yards, 4 TDs, are good single season stats for a 3rd WR; BUST Fourth: Dan Klecko DT: 5 touches in 3 yrs as a converted FB. Conversion failed; BUST Fourth: Asante Samuel CB: 3x Pro Bowler; SUCCESS Fifth: Dan Koppen C: started every game he’s been healthy for since drafted; SUCCESS Sixth: Kliff Kingsbury QB: 1 career completion; BUST Seventh: Spencer Nead TE: Never made team; BUST Seventh: Tully Banta-Cain LB: Prototypical “Belichick Guy”; SUCCESS Seventh: Ethan Kelley NT: Gone after one season; BUST 2004: First: Vince Wilfork NT: Multiple All-Pro; SUCCESS First: Ben Watson TE: Again, middling TE who had one decent year, can't be SUCCESS if its a 1st round pick; MEDIOCRE Second: Marquise Hill DE: Died in accidental drowning, had potential, but never realized. Don't want to be cold, but he's a BUST. Third: Guss Scott SS: active for 11 games in 6 years; BUST Fourth: Dexter Reid FS: Gone after one year, out of NFL after three; BUST Fourth: Cedric Cobbs RB: Shanny picked him up after NE cut him. He still sucked; BUST Fifth: P.K. Sam WR: 0 career catches; BUST Seventh: Christian Morton CB: Never played for Pats; BUST 2005: First: Logan Mankins G: Keystone OL; SUCCESS Third: Ellis Hobbs CB: I mean, I guess he started 2 years as the #2 CB in 07 and 08. It's still Ellis effing HobbsMediocre at best Third: Nick Kaczur T: Starting RT for 5 years; SUCCESS Fourth: James Sanders SS: 48 starts over six seasons and still contributing; SUCCESS Fifth: Ryan Claridge LB: Cut after one season, his only in NFL; BUST Seventh: Matt Cassel QB: Impressed that he is succeeding outside of NE; SUCCESS Seventh: Andy Stokes TE: Never played a down; BUST 2006: (AKA, Worst Draft Ever) First: Laurence Maroney RB: never has a player done so little in such a prolific offense; BUST Second: Chad Jackson WR: He was awesome in NCAA 2006. The game. He blew in the NFL; BUST Third: David Thomas TE: Pretty good little #2/3 TE in NOLA now, but amassed a whopping 21 catches in 3 yrs in NE; BUST Fourth: Garrett Mills RB: Cut after one season; BUST Fourth: Stephen Gostkowski K: Solid kicker; SUCCESS Fifth: Ryan O'Callaghan T: Cut after two seasons as utility OL; BUST Sixth: Jeremy Mincey LB: Never played a down in NE; BUST Sixth: Dan Stevenson G: Cut midway through rookie season; BUST Sixth: Le Kevin Smith DT: 18 tackles in 3 years; BUST Seventh: Willie Andrews CB: Cut after 2 seasons; BUST 2007: First: Brandon Meriweather FS: up and down guy, but still pretty young; SUCCESS Fourth: Kareem Brown DT: Never played a down NE; BUST Fifth: Clint Oldenburg T: If he’s on the Redskins PS right now, he’s a BUST Sixth: Justin Rogers LB: Never played a down in NE; BUST Sixth: Mike Richardson DB: Cut after one year; BUST Sixth: Justise Hairston RB: Never played a down; BUST Sixth: Corey Hilliard OT: Never played a down in NE; BUST Seventh: Oscar Lua LB: Never played a down in NFL; BUST Seventh: Mike Elgin G: Never played a down in NFL; BUST 2008: First: Jerod Mayo ILB: Stud; SUCCESS Second: Terrence Wheatley CB: 1 start in 3 years, cut this season; BUST Third: Shawn Crable OLB: I keep hearing about his potential, but 4 tackles in 3 years is a BUST Third: Kevin O'Connell QB: out of the league; BUST Fourth: Jonathan Wilhite CB: Nickel CB; SUCCESS Fifth: Matt Slater WR: ST has never caught a pass, if Hixon is a bust, so is he; BUST Sixth: Bo Ruud LB: Has yet to play a down for 3 teams; BUST So now for the comparitive stats: First: 9 picks (5 defense, 4 offense), 6 SUCCESS, 2 BUST, 1 MEDIOCRE; 72% Success Rate Second: 8 picks (3 defense, 5 offense), 3 SUCCESS, 5 BUST; 38% Success Rate Third: 8 picks (4 defense, 4 offense), 1 SUCCESS, 6 BUST, 1 MEDIOCRE; 19% Success Rate Fourth: 14 picks (7 defense, 6 offense, 1 specialist), 5 SUCCESS, 8 BUST, 1 MEDIOCRE; 39% Success Rate Fifth: 9 picks (3 defense, 6 offense), 1 SUCCESS, 8 BUST; 11% Success Rate Sixth: 14 picks (8 defense, 6 offense), 1 SUCCESS, 13 BUST; 7% Success Rate Seventh: 15 picks (8 defense, 6 offense, 1 specialist); 3 SUCCESS, 11 BUST, 1 MEDIOCRE; 23% Success Rate TOTALS: 77 picks, 20 SUCCESS, 53 BUST, 4 MEDIOCRE; 29% Success Rate Offense: 37 picks, 8 SUCCESS, 26 BUST, 3 MEDIOCRE; 26% Success Rate Defense: 38 picks, 11 SUCCESS, 26 BUST, 1 MEDIOCRE; 30% Success Rate Specialist: 2 picks, 1 SUCCESS, 1 BUST, 0 MEDIOCRE; 50% Success Rate Some Quick Observations: - By my unofficial count, 19 players drafted by Belichick never played a down for the Patriots. That is a staggering figure, basically 1/4th of players you draft never see the field.

Posted Today, 07:33 AM Jeffery Lester, on 09 February 2011 - 06:32 PM, said: Paul Solai (sorry if misspelled his name) FA from Miami. This is the type of player Buff wants. 27 yrs old young just comeing into being a dominant player. Shaun is over the hill. Good fortune to him anyways. Cornell Green, Dwan Edwards, Shawne Merriman? Hey I think Dwan Edwards is pretty solid. The guy's 29 and he doesn't have a ton of wear n tear on his body assuming his back surgery from 2008 isn't bothering him, which I don't think it is. He can be a force when he's healthy. As far as Rodgers goes, he can be a beast if he's on his game. He was unblockable in the game I saw him this season. I wonder if he could be a Sam Adams type veteran who comes in mostly on his name but is used situationally to stuff the short runs.

LMAO now THATS funny

OK first of all Papazoid, 'irregardless' isnt a word. Its a double negative- the correct term is regardless. (Just making sure you don't end up getting Bruce Smith disease and using your own set of words like I do when I'm drinking) I like this thread and some of the points here, it just goes to show how much BS some of these draft guru's and GM's have when they talk about BPA and how they construct a draft board. Some teams, like the Rams, swear they stick to the BPA approach, but my guess is they don't pick a QB in the first round this year even if he WAS the best player on their board because they already have a young rising star QB. So its a blend that falls somewhere in between the two for sure. Right now all I care about is our defensive front seven, and I hope our board has lots and lots of fast, strong NFL future stars waiting to get our defense back to respectable and maybe even feared. Come on Nix you've gotta pull through on this one or I swear I'll never visit the south again.

Agreed. The only thing AJ Green can do for us is entice someone to trade up for him and get us more quality draft picks. He's the only sure thing at WR in the draft. With our defense being so weak and our receivers being so strong, taking a receiver at 3 would be worse than taking a RB at 13 like we did last year. This team needs a big mean front seven on defense before anything else, even O line in my opinion.

I think its hilarious that anyone would think Cutler or his coaches didn't want him in that game for the second half. He's an excellent QB playing at home in the NFC championship game, a moment he's waited for his entire life, he obviously wasn't faking his injury. Its baffling that people think he was. When I hear guys like Jones Drew and Deion Sanders talking about how tough they were and how they'd have to get dragged off the field, I say if you can't cut and move in pro football then you certainly aren't better than the healthy professional behind you that is trained to step in for you in the event of injury. All it says is that your ego is bigger than your concern for the team to have the best player in your position to help the team win. I've had a minor MCL injury and I could only walk perfectly straight with the knee or it would give in. If you've had one you know what I mean. Impossible to play even with a brace.

completely agree. Despite what Nix is saying about sticking with 3-4, i believe this draft and how our new talent shakes out in training camp will determine what style of defense we play. My hunch is that Wannstedt is going to push for a 4-3 based on our personnel (and the fact that he prefers it). Moats and Poz for sure starters, upfront kyle, Dwan, our 1st round pass rusher and 4th spot open in camp for guys like Spencer J, Carrington, Troupe etc. I think this senior bowl coaching thing is a huge help for us, and that Chan will find us one late round gem in outside linebackers: Mississippi State's K.J. Wright, Arizona's Brooks Reed or inside linebackers Miami's Colin McCarthy, LSU's Kelvin Sheppard or N.C. State's Nate Irving. We need a tough front seven. I would burn my first three picks in this area.

Easy for them to say now that Lynch's run embarassed their team's weak arm tackling and ended their season. This report is a joke. Everyone that follows football knows we were shopping Lynch for a long time, this wasn't a quick trade by any means. The Saints owner probably said "hey why didn't we end up getting this Lynch guy he seems pretty good, didn't we try to trade for him? And the front office guys said "yeah we sure did boss, but they wouldn't trade him to us even though we offered a 3rd round pick" to cover their asses, if it was even said at all. Lynch wanted out, his agent was pushing the trade with anybody and so was Nix. Green Bay played around for awhile too but Nix pulled the trigger with the best offer out there. Plus that 2nd conditional pick might be decent if Lynch get the carries and yards that dictate the pick round. That was a great run by Lynch at the perfect time for his team. I still wouldn't trade him for Freddy in a million years though.

Jason Peters was different. That was a trade and we got Andy Levitre with that pick. Here's my question to everyone who thinks we should release Poz and Whitner, if they were FREE and cost the team nothing would you keep them? What if we could easily afford them and they didn't preclude us from having enough money to sign the free agents this offseason with reasonable asking prices? When I look at the Bills team salaries, there is plenty of room there to keep these guys and sign more FA's. So why wouldn't you want them in camp next year to at least compete against the strong new talent you obviously think we have waiting in the wings to take over the ILB and SS spots. Let the staff evaluate them and then just trade or waive em if they can't make the team. Why let them go now and get nothing while weakening the teams competition in training camp? Im not an NFL talent evaluator, but it seems to me that most strong safeties don't do well in coverage, and most tackles that linebackers make (when they have a sub-par D line in front of them) are downfield. I personally like Wilson better than Whitner but that's for the coaches to evaluate and decide on. We need depth and we need draft picks right now, and releasing your two leading tacklers on an already bad defense when you have the money to keep them is foolish.

I completely agree Dankster. I laugh at everyone saying we should cut all these guys when here we sit with a massive amount of cap room (barring any league changes) and we have so many needs at other spots. Cut Florence? Yeah okay and play Youboty all year in his place? Brilliant. Cut whitner? Sure and when Wilson gets hurt we put in Scott and watch him get killed in coverage by every TE or RB in the league. Bills should retain every possible player they can at this point and structure the deals with as little upfront as possible. Just like Merrimans deal. If he doesn't perform well in camp, then you release guys. But not now.

Lee Evans was a solid first round choice.