KOKBILLS

RIP Ralph...Thank You very much...

First off, please don't take offense to this statement, but I should point out that I'm not an idiot...I fully realize the difference between accusation and conviction...And I don't just arbitrarily find reasons to point fingers at players, especially players from my favorite College football team, unless I have read an awful lot about the situation and get a bad feeling about the kid...Remember that before all this this Lewan admitted to threatening a female student who had accused Michigan's PK and Lewan's roommate Brendon Gibbons of rape...And had Gibbons been charged in that rape case Lewan would have been charged for the threat... http://www.washtenaw...s-for-rape.html I'm sure you realize the difference between the stuff Newton was linked to and the things Lewan is being accused of...They're very different kinds of crime...That's all I'll say about that... Like I said in my post I'm a Michigan fan so believe me...I understand the rivalry and how deep the hatred runs...Those Ohio fans do hate Michigan players and would love nothing better than to bring the hammer down on Lewan...But the problem is the incident happened in Ann Arbor and by all accounts the Ann Arbor police and officials tried like hell to get rid of this...But they could not because of the eye-witness evidence...The fact that Lewan was charged with anything in this case does not bode well for him...It basically means they had no choice but to do so based on the evidence... Here's the other side of the story... http://ohiostate.247...-Assault-167623 I don't want this to be true about Lewan...Please keep that in mind...But it's hard for me to believe his side when you look at all the evidence...And remember he is on record telling the entire Combine there is absolutely no truth to the assault charges...Maybe all this has taught Lewan a very valuable lesson and he'll be a choir boy from now on...And by no means am I saying I know he did these things...Just saying IMHO it does not look great...And knowing what I know at this moment...Without any further developments, I personally would not Draft him...

No question...

Quinn...He's much younger... But I'm not following what that has to do with Jeffery and Evans?...

Well...Technically Evans is 6-4 3/4... And most guys his size don't have his athletic ability...Otherwise he would not be considered a Top 15 talent... When players do turn that size and athletic ability into on-the-field production they become special in the NFL... He's 1/4" taller than Brandon Marshall...About an inch taller than AJ Green... 1/4" shorter than Megatron...Same exact height as the player he's most compared to Vincent Jackson... 1/8" taller than Marques Colston... The truth is, like Whaley said, prospects like Evans are rare...Bigger, assuming the talent is equivalent, is always better...And if you get a good one you have a very unique NFL weapon...A match-up nightmare...

Is there another WR in the lower 1st or early 2nd that is 6-5 with a 37" vertical, 35" arms, who runs 4.5 and had 2500 yards and 17 TD's in only 2 seasons in the SEC? There's a reason most every big board you can find has Evans in the Top 13 or so...He's a rare talent...The only thing close to him in this Draft is Benjamin who is slower, heavier, not as quick, and not as productive...Not that I don't like Benjamin because I do...But he's not Evans...Evans has elite potential...It's just potential until he actually does it...But it's elite potential nonetheless...And he's one-of-a-kind in this Draft...

They do have weapons...I won't argue that... But they don't have anything like Evans or Ebron currently on the roster...They just don't...Not saying they can't make due with what they have assuming EJ plays well...Just saying... I'm not opposed to O-line at #9 as long as it's Matthews or Robinson...And I doubt very much Robinson will still be available...Outside of that I would be happy with Evans or Ebron...Though I would prefer Evans...If only slightly...

To be fair Ebron measured 6-4 3/8 at the Combine...I was wondering why that article had him listed at 6-3... But anyway...

I could seriously watch that all day...

Well..That's what they're doing...And like everything else with this team you'll just have to wait and bash them when it all goes wrong... But for now it is what it is...They're sticking with EJ and we'll all be hoping he takes a big step in year #2...I'm one who believes you can't judge too much on his Rookie year...QB's rarely do well in their Rookie years anyway, and his was marred by injury...We'll see how this thing looks at this time next year...I can't fault the Bills for sticking with EJ...That's the plan and they're sticking to it...Period...

Well...Just don't wear any Buckeye gear while running up there unless you want to get punched by Lewan on the way... Sorry I could not resist...

I've been a Michigan fan for over 20 years now...I've watched Lewan on the field more than I care to admit (only because Michigan lost more than I could stomach during this period... ) and I love his athletic ability and potential...I've been saying it here for a while now that I see Lewan as a slightly more physical Nate Solder...And I think that's a very good thing... Now...For the bad news...I don't have as much info on Taylor Lewan as the Bills do and I trust they will do their due diligence...But the off-the-field stuff with this kid is not anything to discount...In fact, IMHO it's the most important factor in whether or not to Draft him...And I don't think it's comparable to Kiko and Duke because both Kiko and Duke had a long stretch of good behavior after their incidences... I've read an awful lot about these 2 situations Lewan got himself in and...well...like I said in another thread this is not your typical "College kid drank too much and did a dumb thing..." To me his actions in these two situations are seriously major red flags...Not to mention if in fact the accounts given by the victims are accurate (and the fact that Lewan has now been charged pretty much proves a bunch of officials who wanted nothing to do with bringing charges against the kid believe the victims story) Lewan stood up in front of every NFL team and lied his ass off at the Combine... I don't know...This is just me and I'm not the Buffalo Bills...It's just my opinion and for lack of anything more it's mainly a gut feeling I have about the kid...But I am a Michigan fan, and I would not Draft Taylor Lewan...I think he's a ticking time bomb...I felt diferently before the charges were brought against him...But knowing how much they wanted to sweep this thing under the rug, and still seeing him being charged in this case...Well...It does not look good to me at all... If the Bills do Draft him I'll hope for the best though...We'll see...

Right...I'm just saying that's why they did it...And it's not going to go back the other way so...It is what it is I guess... I know it sucks...Taking away one of the more exciting plays in a game was not going to be popular...Watching the Kickoff's now is about as boring/dumb as it gets...

I'm not sure about last year, but in 2012 I think the number of PK's who were actually Drafted was about 30%...

Well...Kickoffs had the highest rate of injury than any other play-type, and the injury percentage was growing faster than any other play type...That's why they've done what they've done with Kickoffs specifically... I'm not saying it was justified because the actual raw numbers of reduction are pretty small since the change...But just saying...

Ahhh...OK...My apologies...

My upfront apologies for the length of this post...I got carried away... I don't question whatsoever that the Bills need to get better on the O-line, especially at RT... But the Draft is a process, every Draft is different, and there are more ways than one to address needs... To me it all comes down to who is still available at #9...If you tell me Matthews or Robinson will be available then I have no problem with the Bills Drafting either...They are both elite OT prospects who would likely have gone #1 overall in 2013...But...For the sake of this argument, and likely reality, I'm assuming both will be gone...That leaves Taylor Lewan and Zach Martin as potential OT picks at #9 overall...Lewan is a physical beast with big upside and questionable character...I'm a Michigan fan...Watched the kid for his whole College career...I think his upside is basically a slightly more physical Nate Solder...And that's a good thing...The problem is the off field stuff with Lewan...It's not your normal "College kid has too much to drink and messes up..." stuff...It's a bit more complicated, and it gives me a bad feeling about the kid, even being a Michigan fan...Martin is a good prospect but I don't think he's #9 overall material...He's probably going to be a very good OG in the NFL...I don't think he has the length to play OT in the league long-term... Which brings us to Evans...I think there is a ton of amateur over-scouting going on here...The same kind of over-scouting that made Alshon Jeffery a 2nd round pick despite some pretty serious evidence that he was a very special talent... This a couple years ago concerning Jeffery... "Route running: If there is an area of concern for scouts, this would be it. Many of Jeffery's routes in South Carolina's offense are relatively simple quick screens, slants, crossers and fades. He does not possess the elite speed, which may allow NFL cornerbacks to squat on underneath routes. He runs with good balance and is a developing route-runner, but isn't always capable of shaking off cornerbacks to gain real separation due to the fact that he lacks true explosiveness out of his cuts. When he is asked to run double moves, Jeffery often rounds off his cuts, gaining freedom more due to a series of shoulder fakes and adjusting his speeds, rather than exploding out of his breaks." "His performance in lateral agility drills was only average and not smooth. " "Jeffery is an elite jump-ball prospect, but he does not stand out as fast on tape and is such a long strider that at times he looks to be moving in slow motion. Speed will never be his game, but he needs to become more comfortable in his routes to work the corner and truly gain separation. The development of his route-running skills will be the key to his success. Jeffery was bit uncoordinated early in his career and only began to look comfortable in his body toward the end of his collegiate career..." "NFL teams are wondering what his playing weight will be and whether he will have the speed to get open against NFL defensive backs." "Jeffery lacks quick-cutting ability, and he spent much of 2011 failing to get separation from defensive backs because he couldn't make tight cuts on his short routes. " Now...Here's a comment by Matt Waldman who truly understood Jeffery and his potential...The same-type potential I see in Evans..."How did I grade out Alshon Jeffery in the 2012 NFL Draft? A potential cross between Michael Irvin and Chris Carter if Jeffery demonstrates he wants to work like a Pro..." And that's how I see Evans...If he works at his craft and gets the necessary coaching you're looking at a player who will have an AJ Green/Brandon Marshall type of impact as a Pro...The sky is the limit...None of these kids are 100% sure things...Scouts drool over Clowney who has the physical skills of freaking Zeus, but I watched a TON of SC games over the years and the kid could do a major disappearing act when he was not "on..." There are questions with the absolute best prospects...Nothing is guaranteed...At the end of the day it's always a leap of faith...I bold the word potential for a reason...Because that's what you're Drafting in any kid...Not a single one has played a down in the NFL...Not a single one has been through an NFL camp, and not a single one has had NFL coaching in the actual NFL when it is their job 24/7...I believe, if he's still there at #9, Evans will be the BPA because his potential is off the charts...His production in two SEC years was silly...And he has not come close to being a polished WR yet... So...to that point...I don't believe there will be a WR at #41 that has anything near Evans potential...I do believe that there will be a RT prospect at #41, or maybe even #73, that can come in and play fairly quickly and have a similar impact to Lewan (without the off field stuff), and Martin...It's just the way I see this particular Draft, and Evans...I have no idea how Whaley and company will see it though...And no question Evans could end up in the wrong system, or not have the proper attitude to excel in the NFL...It happens...If they take Lewan at #9 then so be it...Things could be worse no question...But I think when it's all said and done passing on Mike Evans will be a mistake...We'll see though...

Not trying to be a smart-ass...But I think a better question is do you really think an NFL DC will be dumb enough to greatly change a players role when it resulted in 10 sacks the previous season?

There is... But the Bills already have a couple of them (Woods and SJ)...And being 6-5 with 35" arms, a 37" vertical, and 4.5 speed give Evans a leg up on the competition... I'm not trying to predict Evans will be the next great thing...And I do think he will need time...But I would not be so quick to dismiss 2500 yards and 17 TD's in 2 SEC seasons...The questions concerning Evans are the same questions this board, and the football world, had about another ultra-productive SEC WR two years ago...Alshon Jeffery...Athletically Evans and Jeffery are similar, only Evans is 2" taller...Both are long and snatch everything out of the air...All that matters with Evans is how well he takes to coaching and how hard he works...If he puts in his time, and learns well, just like Jeffery he'll do well in the NFL...And that's a match-up nightmare for opposing Defenses... I think this write up pegged Evans pretty well...You just don't come across players with his size, athletic ability, and the ability to snatch the ball very often...They are very, very, rare... http://thesidelineview.com/scouting-report/mike-evans

I would take that Draft in a heartbeat...

Woods, Goodwin, Stevie...They're not #1's...Not saying the Bills can't get by without a #1...But it would be easier on EJ if they had one...That much I'm 100% certain of...Especially one with a 10 ft catch radius, seeing as though EJ can be less than accurate at times... And it's just as easy on the other side...#4 AJ Green, #6 Julio Jones, #2 - Megatron, #13 Michael Floyd looks pretty good, #22 Demaryius Thomas, #24 Dez Bryant, #10 - Crabtree, #19 Jeremy Macklin, #22 Percy Harvin, #23 Dwayne Bowe...There have been some darn good WR's Drafted in the 1st Round in recent years...Evans is 3 inches taller than Dez Bryant, faster than Dez Bryant, and he's got better hands than Dez Bryant...I don't see any reason with proper development and coaching the kid can't be just as good as Dez Bryant...And Dez Bryant is a legit NFL #1 WR...If Evans comes close to his potential you'll have a Brandon Marshall-type WR...A real, true #1...Is there a chance he bombs? No doubt about it...They don't all make it...But 2500 yds and 17 TD's in only 2 SEC years tells me the kid has a good chance to be a solid NFL WR... You never Draft anyone in the 1st Round worried about failure...You Draft them assuming you can coach them up to reach their potential...You Draft them because your scouts tell you the kid is special...I realize there's risk Drafting Evans at #9, but realistically there's risk Drafting just about any prospect at any position...If the Bills believe Evans is their guy at #9 I'll be thrilled with it...It's a gamble on greatness...No doubt it's a big gamble...But if it pays off we've got one hell of an Offensive weapon for years to come... And btw...I have absolutely no problem with the Bills taking an OT, or even Ebron at #9...I just prefer Evans... They said similar things about Alson Jeffery who, like Evans, also dominated SEC competition...He's done just fine...

Thing is...You're going to get a Woods-type WR if you wait till the 2nd...Not that it's a bad thing...Robert Woods is a very good WR...But he's a #2, and he's probably always going to be a #2...You're not going to get a player with Mike Evans upside at #41...Not saying he's going to reach that upside...Just saying...

I would not be at all surprised to see them come out of the 1st three rounds with a WR, OT, and a TE....Not that they won't go Defense...Just saying I would not be surprised to see an Offensive heavy Draft...