In retrospect

[gobillsinytown]

"- We cannot discount the amount of injuries we had on our O line.....I dont ever remember seeing a team hit that badly. Now the old mgt did not help themselves by deciding they want to get rid of all the veteran guys and then compound the problem with the "hurry up" with young players that actually NEEDED that huddle. Trading Peters didnt bother me so much as not having a real plan in place to replace him.....then we cut Langston Walker when he would have been perfectly fine on the RT side. A string of injuries and bad decisions killed this team offensively."

 

No team in recent memory had such bad luck combined with bad decisions as the Bills did last year. When a team loses a player to injury on Sunday, is calling street free agents on Sunday night, and then those street free agents are starting the following Sunday.....you know there's a serious problem. Luck had a lot to do with it, but also bad decision making at the beginning of the season. Hopefully the "bad decision making" part has been fixed, and with better conditioning I think the injuries should decline.

[Kelly the Dog]

In any case, I have to have faith in the talent we brought in to not be reaches and good impact. I just don't agree with the direction. However, for fun, imagine if I could go back in time to Wednesday and told you we walked away with:

 

RB Spiller

QB Clausen

DT Cam Thomas

OT Campbell

OT Wang

 

I admit, I had a higher opinion of Clause, Thomas, and Campbell before the draft, but they fell for a reason. Show's what we know I guess...

Here is the funny thing to me. You're right, the Bills could have had the above draft. And I would have been ecstatic with that draft. Just looking at it right now it looks better than our draft and I came away happy with ours.

 

BUT... if I HAD TO BET, I think in three fours years we will look at our draft and say that was a damn good draft, and we'll look at the careers of Clausen and Thomas and Campbell and say, wow, am I glad we didnt go that route. We all love the draft and read about these guys or saw them play a couple times but we really don't know diddly about them and how they will translate to the NFL. Even the best professionals in the business like Bill Polian are like baseball hitters, if you hit .333 you're a hall of famer.

 

We took big, tough, hard ass hard working football players that were team captains and smart guys. I think it will prove fruitful.

[Thoner7]

Shhh. Don't bring logic into this. The lemmings see a fancy new toy and think, "he's Chris Johnson! Yay!"

 

I wonder what they thought when we spent 1st rounders on Antwain Smith. Then a high second rounder on Travis Henry. Another first on Willis and then, not more than 2 years ago, the number 11 pick on Lynch.

 

How did all those first round RBs work out for us? ... Right. 0 playoff games in a decade.

 

RBs are the most overrated players on the field in the modern NFL. You no longer need a superstar running back to win games. All you need are 2 serviceable backs. Like the two already on our roster (who are actually well above serviceable). And spending even MORE cap money on a first round RB, let alone wasting a high pick on one when there are multiple holes on the roster is just proof that this front office is the same as the last two regimes.

 

But Spiller is "fast". And a "home run threat".

 

Awesome.

 

I share your perspective. I was getting reemed in the shout box when I stated Dwyer with a 6th round pick was a better direction to go than a top 10 Pick on Spiller. People can use cliche words like "gamebreaker" as much as they want, but he wont get us to the next level. Not with guys like DBell and Hangartner starting for the OL.

 

RB is the most over hyped position in football. Any bumb thats quick and doesnt fumble is good enough to win a superbowl. RBs dont belong at the top of the first round, period. Not when your team has holes like ours does. Marion Barber/frank Gore/Tashard CHoice/Brian Westbrook/Jammal Charles/Shaun Alexander/Brandon Jacobs/Derrick Ward/Pierre Thomas/Willie Parker/Jason Fargas/Michael Bush... can I stop now? No position has a shorter career expectancy than RB. By the time his rookie contract will be up he will more than likely be over the hill and cut. The OL and the pass rushers we passed on will be in their prime and still producing.

 

Meanwhile we have been building a Madden roster with our 1st round picks and not a true football team. Spiller will bring some big time plays, but he wont bring many more wins. TO didnt help a team without an OL or QB, and neither will a RB who is not a true 3 down back.

[Sisyphean Bills]

I am as skeptical as anyone when it comes to the Bills...until they start winning more games than they lose, I think I am at the point where I just assume anything they did was wrong, or could have been handled better.

 

That said, I think you are suffering, at least with this statement, from the scars of the Dick Jauron era offense. I am not a Chan Gailey ballwasher, but, I would be shocked, even with the current roster, if this offense does not improve this coming season. It may not be good, as you say, but I really find it hard to believe that this new staff will be as inept, particularly on the offensive side of the ball, as what we have suffered through, the last four seasons. I think a competent, not even great, offensive coaching staff would have been able to make more with what the Bills roster had, than Jauron and company... Gailey does have a proven track record of making something with nothing, on offense.

It's pretty obvious that they have placed their chips on the Gailey factor (and Spiller). It's not far fetched at all that Gailey watched tape of the Jauron offense and came away with the belief that it was a total cluster!@#$ and utter joke.

[Speedy G]

All i know is that Chris Johnson changed everything for the Titans. It wasn't Hayensworth, Young, or Kerry Collins.

 

+1

[Sisyphean Bills]

A few thoughts

 

- I thought the plan was for Kyle Williams to be the pass rushing NT in this new scheme.....with Troupe being the space eating 2 down run stopper.....then we have the Stroud and the DE we brought in free agency from Baltimore (who was listed as one of the good ones in free agency at that position) with Carriker and Johnson backing them up......that is a pretty darn solid rotation......the addition of a legit run stopping NT is what make sit all work.

There is really no evidence that Stroud is going to be a great DE. He's a 3-technique DT, long in the tooth, and overpaid to be trying to reset his career at a new position.

 

Frankly, his career at this point is following the same trajectory as Langston Walker's did last year. Walker has plenty of "he was good there for a game", "I like him", "he'll be fine" comments to try and ease the doubts, but in the end he was simply discarded by the side of the road.

[BLZFAN4LIFE]

First off, let me say that I firmly believe that none of us have any idea what goes into the scouting and drafting process. There are probably so many things going on that we will never comprehend and therefor it's hard to pretend to what's really going on with the Front Office. Overall, I'm not a huge fan of our draft just because I think we overdid it on the Defensive side and waited to long to get a LT. We are taking a huge gamble on our current QB's and Offensive line to not address them with high picks, but again...that's me.

 

One thing I do take into consideration is that a lot of the guys we wanted, got passed on by us, but also by a lot of other people. I can't remember a draft like this where the pre-draft rankings were so wrong. I mean, when we took Troupe in the second round, I wanted to get upset, but honestly, there were many other DT's taken before and after him that weren't Cody or Cam Thomas. So clearly, there was something we were missing. Same with the OT Campbell.

 

In any case, I have to have faith in the talent we brought in to not be reaches and good impact. I just don't agree with the direction. However, for fun, imagine if I could go back in time to Wednesday and told you we walked away with:

 

RB Spiller

QB Clausen

DT Cam Thomas

OT Campbell

OT Wang

 

I admit, I had a higher opinion of Clause, Thomas, and Campbell before the draft, but they fell for a reason. Show's what we know I guess...

 

 

OMFG, if I see Torrell Troup's name spelled with a !@#$ing E at the end of it ONE MORE TIME I am going to BLOW A FREAKING GASKET!!!! It's Troup, T-R-O-U-P. PERIOD. No E. No E. TROUP.

[Terry Tate]

First off, let me say that I firmly believe that none of us have any idea what goes into the scouting and drafting process. There are probably so many things going on that we will never comprehend and therefor it's hard to pretend to what's really going on with the Front Office. ...

 

One thing I do take into consideration is that a lot of the guys we wanted, got passed on by us, but also by a lot of other people. ...

 

So clearly, there was something we were missing. ...

 

I admit, I had a higher opinion of Clause, Thomas, and Campbell before the draft, but they fell for a reason. Show's what we know I guess...

You are being far too reasonable. If you want to be a part of the "I'm smarter than the new GM/Coach" club, you're going to have to raise your game up a notch. See some of the posts in this thread for examples.

[VADC Bills]

Watching last years Bills games were tough for a couple of reasons.

- Watching them blow games that were close in the 4th quarter.

- Watching our lack of run defense or pass rush.

- Watching TE play scared or constantly checking down.

The most important thing we needed out of the draft was to get bigger, stronger and faster.

Our key players in the front 7 are small and weak. They are gamers but tend to get dominated.

Kelsey, Williams, Poz, Ellison are gamers but they are not strong. With Maybin being an unknown and Schobel's pending retirement (and both being undersized) we clearly needed to get bigger and stronger.

Troup was taken because he was one of the strongest NT's at the combine and an everydown player that has started for years. He doesn't take plays off and constantly commands a double team. Cody is a 2 down NT that wasn't that strong at the combine and Cam Thomas had a great Senior bowl but was very mediocre during the season the knock was he didn't play hard.

Carrington was a beast at Ark. if he was from Penn St. he would have gone 1st round. He has started for multiple years and played at a high level..he will be the steal of the draft for us. He is 6'5" at 285lbs, he can stop the run and get heat on the QB. He can bull OT's. When Maybin grows up he will be Carrington.

Batten is another that will provide a huge upgrade where Ellison now resides but Batten has size, strength and speed and has started for years. Good at rushing the QB and stopping the run. Haven't seen much on his pass coverage skills.

Adding these guys in the rotation makes us bigger and stronger and should give us a better chance to win the close 4th quarter battles.

If we are lucky enough for one of our past draft picks like Ellis, or Maybin to have a break out year we will be that much better.

Expect our OL to look like by the mid season

RT - Green

RG - Calloway

C - Wood

LG - Levitre

LT - Look for FA support here

This line up is bigger and stronger and very physical. This will give the QB and extra second to make a play or check it to Spiller or Jackson. Lynch will become the redzone back.

Bring back Josh Reed and I think we can win improve our record by 3-4 games.

[Red]

Without writing out he world, I believe that the NFL has such great parody that the idea of full rebuilding is outdated. To tell fans that they need to wait another 3 years after missing the playoffs for a decade is absurd. All of the players in the NFL are professionals and, while some are better than others, there is enough in FA to and the Draft to atleast be competitive and add a few wins each year.

 

With that, I think we did a great job of filling in the box on the defensive side. Seriously, we got huge. And, if we are gonna be that team that pounds it down your throats and wins 3-0, then great. The problem is that, while our D wasn't great, our O was worse. We can't pound the ball cause we don't have an O-Line. And even if Bell is the answer, who is his back-up? Our O-Line was by far the weakest unit on the field. We have no depth and most of the guys suffered pretty large injuries last year. Our O-Line could be so comical again this year, and with Captain Check-down behind the helm, we will pry be better off punting on first down.

 

At the end of the day, I agree with the DT pick in the 2nd. But we have Kyle Williams and Stroud to start as DE's. That may not be a dream team, but I think it would do the job. It would atleast be average, not a need anymore with Troupe. At LB, we have our ILB's with Davis and Poz. Between Maybin, Schobel, Harris, Mitchell, and Kelsay...we should have been fine to add a OLB with a later round pick, which is why I like the JMU pick. But that's it. That's it for the D. Would they be the most dominant bunch like the Jets or Ravens? No. But they wouldn't lose games either. I would have wanted the rest of the picks to go to building the O-Line with 2 starters and pry 2 more for depth cause right now, we don't have Depth or starting Tackles. They guys they got today are going to be depth in the first year. They get your WR, which maybe they did with the UConn kid, but you are telling me that there wasn't a single College QB worth a look? I find that hard to believe. But maybe that was the case.

 

So what direction? I guess a balanced one. We got some guys in FA for the D, and that unit was well ahead of the O. So balance it out in the draft. Here's what I wanted to see:

 

DT - Starter

OLB - Competition

OT - Starter

OT - Starter

OT - Depth

OG - G/C Depth

QB - Grooming

 

And then whatever else depth.

 

Seriously, I can't believe anyone out there expects this offense to do anything at all this year. I'm talking, complete joke on the field bad

 

Who knows how these rookies, or any potential future free agent signings will pan out? Who knows? Maybe Bell could step up and really start to dominate as a LT.

 

Anything can happen.

 

The NFL every year has a team(s) that surprise people. Was pre-Bronco Brandon Marshall a much-hyped college WR, destined to go in the first round? Tom Brady? Andre Reed? Steve Tasker? Howard Ballard? Nate Odomes? How about Terrell Davis. Wasn't he drafted in something like the 6th round by Denver? Joe Montana was drafted in the 3rd.

 

It's a crap shoot. But this Bills front office has it right that these guys, once drafted have to then be developed by a competent staff. They have to be conditioned to compete, and mentally coached and prepared, and they have to have the athletic ability. They would not have gotten drafted if they could not play.

 

I believe that we finally are putting the pieces in place to win. I don't think it will happen overnight, nor should anyone.

 

But I think with 2-3 more drafts like this one, the Bills will not only be in the playoffs, but starting to assemble a core of players that will begin to march towards the Championship.

 

As far as your arguments about free agents, there are so many variables going into that, too. Contracts being a big one. Bringing in somebody else's goods will offset your salary structure if your goal is to build through the draft and then reward your own. I think the way the Super Bowls built through the old Plan B is a perfect example of how we should acquire free agents. Players like Leonard Smith, James Lofton, Kenneth Davis, and John Davis are perfect examples of how free agency should go. I don't think that anyone can criticize any of those players, and they all added tremendous value to the franchise. They were hardly big names when they were brought in, but supported the team that the front office had already assembled through the draft.

 

Free agents should be looked at as compliments to your team, not remedies.

[voodoo poonani]

I think this draft was a a pretty safe one, and by that I mean the QBs didn't grade how they wanted. Buffalo wasn't the only team to pass on Clausen twice and McCoy thrice. I was hoping for a LT in round one, but Spiller makes sense when Lynch can be suspended next time for a whole season (and we're probably not going to resign him anyway). Plus Gailey likes a player he can do a lot of things with, we shouldn't discount seeing Spiller spread out wide at receiver at times. They tried trading back into the first round probably for either Bulaga or NT Dan Williams, but couldn't find a partner. Troup makes sense, he's a run stuffer. K. Williams will be the NT on passing downs. Stroud and Johnson are the DEs, but most likely for just a season or two, so Carrington is a good replacement. The way the injury bug hit us last year depth isn't a bad thing, and this draft certainly provided that. Wang will be a backup OT while Calloway will be a backup OG so they may yet see time on the field this season.

 

Who knows, maybe the best thing for this franchise is to go 0-16 next year and get Jake Locker out of Washington. I'm not really an optimist when it comes to OBD, but at least we didn't draft 4 DBs this time

[Virgil]

OMFG, if I see Torrell Troup's name spelled with a !@#$ing E at the end of it ONE MORE TIME I am going to BLOW A FREAKING GASKET!!!! It's Troup, T-R-O-U-P. PERIOD. No E. No E. TROUP.

 

You mean Troupe

[BLZFAN4LIFE]

You mean Troupe

 

That's IT! My gasket is officially blown!

[Virgil]

That's IT! My gasket is officially blown!

 

[KOKBILLS]

Seriously, I can't believe anyone out there expects this offense to do anything at all this year. I'm talking, complete joke on the field bad

 

I don't think so at all...We'll see though...I think it all depends on Gailey and the way he handles this thing...I don't think he's going to try to make chicken soup out of chicken ****...I think he's going to play the Field Position Game and look for the big Plays with Evans and Spiller every now and again...Other than that he's going to pound Jackson and Lynch a lot, especially at Home...

 

Thing is I REALLY like the way this D is looking early on...And I think that's going to help the Offense a lot Field Position-wise...I think they have the possibility of being MUCH better vs. the Run and the secondary is solid...They have some ball-hawks back there...And if The Bills play good D, there's not telling what can happen...

 

This is not a good NFL Team on paper right now, especially on Offense...I'll admit as much...But I'm beginning to get the feeling that this is going to be a Team that will give some Teams WAY more than they bargain for...I also feel the Coaching will be MUCH better...And even though I was not in favor of Drafting Spiller for this Team right now I do feel he is an incredible talent...He's going to change a lot of Games with a couple Plays...So if The Bills Defense can improve...Get more 3 and outs...The Offense will have more chances to score with Spiller and Evans...

 

We'll see soon enough...

[Sisyphean Bills]

That's IT! My gasket is officially blown!

You're leaking all over the place, dude...