OHBillsFan

1st String: Antonio Pittman (Ohio State, 43rd Overall Pick) 2nd String: A-Train 3rd String: Shaud Williams

Hahaha...that's pretty good.

From the D & C today: Whittle was still with the Giants in 2001 when the 9/11 attacks occurred, and on that tragic day, as people were trying to get away from the danger, Whittle was trying to get into the middle of it to find the brother of his best friend, a construction worker, who was hit by debris when the second World Trade Center tower crumbled. He later died in the hospital. I know that Whittle is only expected to provide some depth for us, but wow...talk about a high character guy.

Every season, NFL teams make me wonder why they hire scouts in the first place. Each year, a quarterback from a mediocre-to-bad team gets a ton of hype after the Combine and rockets up the draft board. In 2003, it was Kyle Boller at 19th overall. In 2004, Philip Rivers flew up to 4th overall after five straight weeks of talk about his intangibles. 2006 gave us the Broncos trading up to 11th to grab Jay Cutler. What do all these quarterbacks have in common? There are a few common strings that tie this breed together: First, they need to play for a bad team in a major conference (Boller – Cal (Pac-10), Rivers – NC State (ACC), Cutler – Vandy (SEC).) Second, they can only marginal success as a starter. Leading the team to a major bowl game is out of the question. Third, a phenomenal Combine workout is a necessity, and is really the fuel that sets the media rolling up until draft day. Boller actually went above and beyond in his workout at Cal, where he threw a football from his knees and split the uprights. As we've seen from his play in the NFL, this skill translates directly to the football field. These traits set up a firestorm of media hype that allows the players to fly up the draft board. Boller was considered a shaky pick until all of the excitement over his little parlor trick at his workout. Everyone fell in love with Rivers' intangibles, and I remember that people were debating whether the Bills should pick him at 13th. It turns out that all the excitement would push him from a borderline first rounder to Top Five. While this wasn't so bad, since he had shown strong abilities to lead a team and sufficient physical tools at NC State, he was picked unnecessarily high based on the ridiculous media hype. This past year, pundits like Merrill Hoge argued that Jay Cutler should be picked ahead over Vince Young (who single-handedly won the Nat'l Championship) and Matt Leinart (the most decorated college QB of all-time). The basis for this odd argument? Cutler has a stronger arm. Apparently Merrill lives in a fantasy world where Tom Brady is an Arena leaguer while Jeff George and Rob Johnson battle for the Super Bowl every year. Naturally, I was led to ask what college signal caller we've never heard of will end up being picked above proven college veterans. I went to NFLdraftcountdown.com, which is generally a reliable source for the top prospects and hype surrounding them. After pulling up the top Senior prospects, my prayers were answered. Along with Brady Quinn, Drew Stanton, and Troy Smith was a Pac-10 QB who stuck out like a sore thumb: Stanford's Trent Edwards. The website's comment only added to my excitement, stating that Edwards "Has the physical tools you look for and could be this year's Jay Cutler." A comment about physical tools without regard for intangibles! A comparison to Jay Cutler! This was almost too good to be true. Next stop, his statistics. Surely, playing in the pass-happy Pac-10 on a bad team, allowed Edwards to put up massive numbers. Here they are: 2003 - In 8 games, 4 TDS / 9 INT for 750 yds. with a 45.3 completion % 2004 - In 9 games, 9 TDS / 11 INT for 1718 yds. w/ a 54.6 comp. % 2005 - In 11 games, 17 TDS / 7 INT for 1934 yds. w/ a 62.7 comp. % 2006 - In 7 games, 6 TDS / 6 INT for 1027 yds 60.3 w/ a comp. % Aside from the 2005 season, those look like very pedestrian numbers. The difference in games played is due to the injuries he's dealt with every season, including missing time during the 2005 campaign (another red flag). Also, four of his six touchdowns for the 2006 season came in one game, against San Jose State. While the 2005 season was fairly impressive as a whole, let's take a look at what he did against the best teams in his conference: @ USC: 21 for 35, 1 TD / 3 INTs, 245 yds. OREGON: 16 for 28, 1 TD / 2 INTs, 156 yds. @ Oregon State: 16 for 28, 2 TDs / 2 INTs, 196 yds. It sure doesn't look like he elevates his game against tough competition. Although he did throw all of his interceptions for the 2005 season in those three games, bear in mind that outside of those three teams, the PAC-10 is very weak in pass defense. He's played on a bad team, but throwing three picks in a game sure wasn't going to help them contend. Moving past his stats, the most concerning aspect to any team looking to draft the kid should be his answers during the "Getting to know Trent Edwards" aspect of his Stanford bio. Some of his answers: "What most people don't know about me is: I wasn't going to play high school football", "My favorite class at Stanford: The Holocaust", "Least favorite class: Colonial and Revolutionary American History", "One moment in history I wish I could have seen: Amelia Earhart's transatlantic flight", and the grand finale: "Favorite Actresses: Dakota Fanning, Piper Perabo." Now, I realize that I'm being harsh on the guy. I don't know the man, and have no idea about his character. This isn't a personal attack on Trent Edwards. My real problem is with the national sports media, and their desire to overhype unproven players. Troy Smith has beaten Michigan three times, plays with a mean streak rarely seen in college quarterbacks, and is the unquestioned leader of the top team in the country. Drew Stanton has battled hard in a tough Big 10 schedule, and has shown outstanding toughness. Brady Quinn, although he has his own flaws (poor bowl record and mediocre stats against non-academy schools) has shown the ability to run a pro-style offense. Trent Edwards has put up very mediocre numbers in a conference geared to allow quarterbacks to put up huge stats. He's missed parts of every season due to injury and hasn't shown the slightest ability to be clutch in a big game. Of course, since he's 6'4" 220 and has a strong arm, scouts will overlook four years of weak production on the field. Get ready for the media firestorm about his 'upside', while what big-time players actually did on the field is ignored. Here's hoping that NFL teams will stop looking for the next diamond in the rough, and start taking the gem right in front of them.

While it's a foregone conclusion that the Playmaker will be moving on, there's a strong possibility that the Bills will pursue one of the Colts' free agent cornerbacks. Nick Harper was high on my list until I realized that he's 32. While he's a solid Cover-2 corner, I don't want another Troy Vincent scenario on our hands. Jason David is the more appealing option. He's an RFA, but if we make him a solid offer, the Colts shouldn't be able to match (Even with Manning restructuring, their Cap is tied up with Franchising Freeney). While he doesn't have great size, he's familiar with the Cover 2 and has Playoff experience. If we could bring him in for a fraction of what Clements will get and grab an impact MLB like Willis in the draft, our defense should be in good shape for next season.

He's valuable in that he's not another "high motor" pass rusher! I expect Moss to have a solid combine and move himself into early-to-mid first round consideration. With Kelsay/Denney/Hargrove, we have plenty of all-effort guys. If you look at some of the great Cover-2 teams, many have had that top-flight speed rusher coming off the edge (Simion Rice, Dwight Freeney, Mark Anderson are examples).

While a lot of the Mocks have us taking Leon Hall or Okoye, I don't think that either player fills a gaping need or is a great value pick. We already have a big-money DT (Tripplett), 1st rounder (McCargo), and scrapper (KW). At corner, we could use some help after Clements walks but can patch the hole with a guy like Indy's Nick Harper. Hopefully, the Bills won't be picking as high as 12 in the near future. Marv has the chance to grab an impact player like DE Jarvis Moss from Florida (6'6", 251). If you watched the Nat'l Championship game, you saw this guy harrassing Troy Smith all day long. I watched every Buckeyes game, and really felt that the offensive line was a huge strength. Moss made the Parade All-American Tackles look like Bennie Anderson. While I realize that we are strong with Schobel; Moss would be the edge-rusher that we haven't had for a long time. Kelsay and Denney are nice players, but will never have the same impact that Moss could.