Buddy Missed A Golden Chance to Sell Tickets...Smartly

[EastRochBillsfan]

So New England drafted local Williamsville star tight end from Arizona, Rob Gronkowski, with the 42nd pick of the draft. I'm sure many of us missed that, because we were all on-line trying to figure out who the heck Torell Troup was, the 41st pick of the draft taken by our own Buddy Nix.

 

Let me say for any draft-gurus that knew who Troup was and think you should flame me for not knowing, I could care less. However, after looking him up on-line and reading about what other NFL personell thought of him, I liked the pick after all. This huge kid can end up being our next Ted Washington for 10 years, if he stays healthy, and that is certainly a good thing!

 

But let's go back to the Pats, with all of their success over the past decade, deciding that Gronkowski was worth drafting right after our pick in the 2nd round. Wow, congrats to young Rob - and I wish him nothing but success in every game but two every year of his NFL career!!

 

Last year Barnam and Bailey Russ Brandon went out and signed T.O. to desperately sell tickets after a boring off season and it worked pretty well. But this year Russ handed the keys over to a true football man, and I think overall Buddy did a good job in his first draft. But tight end is certainly still a "need" position for our Bills, right? Who is the starter this season, and what has he accomplished in his NFL career to date??

 

There were big nose tackles still available, and some rated higher by the draft experts then Troup, into the third and even fourth round of the draft. Nix could have drafted Gronkowski in the second round, and sure, after Spiller, many fans might have thought he was crazy. However, he did not draft an OT until round 7 anyway, and like I said, he could have easily addressed nose tackle later in the draft......and.....he certainly could have sold more tickets and brought home a great "local kid" story to boot!

 

I'm hoping Nelson steps up and takes over TE full time this season, to help our passing game. But I will be watching Rob Gronkoswski with New England, and if he becomes established as the starting TE before someone in Buffalo establishes himself, that would have been a very cool opportunity missed by the Bills.

 

well, no need for me to bash you here. EVERYONE else has done a fine job of that! but I will add, if anyone will put more people in the stands it will be spiller, not a tight end from the area that not a lot of people even know about. and if you think tight end is as big a need as a nt in our new 3-4, you must be nuts. why risk losing who we wanted at nt for a te? just does not make a lot of sense.

[VADC Bills]

We signed Maybin and Pos to sell tickets to Northern PA. No more drafting players to sell tickets.

+1

I'd rather draft real talent over ticket sellers any day.

[Lori]

I remember reading (csbsportsline IIRC), that they yielded 5.6 ypc on 3rd down. Ouch.

That's fine if it's 3rd-and-10. 3rd-and-2, obviously, not so much.

 

The NFL's Game Stats and Information System has added some new breakdowns this year. I don't see defensive down-and-distance stats, but the play direction stats against the Bills D might be of interest here:

 

Left End                Left Tackle             Left Guard              Middle                  Right Guard             Right Tackle            Right End
Plays: 47		Plays: 64		Plays: 72		Plays: 174		Plays: 72		Plays: 49		Plays: 36
NFL Rank: 22		NFL Rank: 5		NFL Rank: 2		NFL Rank: 3		NFL Rank: 6		NFL Rank: 24		NFL Rank: 27
Avg Gain: 4.87		Avg Gain: 5.50		Avg Gain: 5.68		Avg Gain: 3.69		Avg Gain: 4.07		Avg Gain: 5.96		Avg Gain: 7.92
NFL Rank: 13		NFL Rank: 28		NFL Rank: 30		NFL Rank: 10		NFL Rank: 18		NFL Rank: 31		NFL Rank: 32

After seeing those 28-30-32 rankings, I'm okay with using some draft picks on that side of the ball.

 

For comparison, here's how the Bills offense looked:

Left End                Left Tackle             Left Guard              Middle                  Right Guard             Right Tackle            Right End
Plays: 36		Plays: 46		Plays: 40		Plays: 153		Plays: 51		Plays: 46		Plays: 41
NFL Rank: 28		NFL Rank: 22		NFL Rank: 17		NFL Rank: 8		NFL Rank: 13		NFL Rank: 26		NFL Rank: 24
Avg Gain: 5.19		Avg Gain: 5.30		Avg Gain: 5.15		Avg Gain: 3.74		Avg Gain: 4.65		Avg Gain: 2.67		Avg Gain: 6.61
NFL Rank: 22		NFL Rank: 8		NFL Rank: 8		NFL Rank: 23		NFL Rank: 7		NFL Rank: 31		NFL Rank: 4

Guess we'll see if Cornell Green can provide an upgrade at RT.

[oak tree 12]

So New England drafted local Williamsville star tight end from Arizona, Rob Gronkowski, with the 42nd pick of the draft. I'm sure many of us missed that, because we were all on-line trying to figure out who the heck Torell Troup was, the 41st pick of the draft taken by our own Buddy Nix.

 

Let me say for any draft-gurus that knew who Troup was and think you should flame me for not knowing, I could care less. However, after looking him up on-line and reading about what other NFL personell thought of him, I liked the pick after all. This huge kid can end up being our next Ted Washington for 10 years, if he stays healthy, and that is certainly a good thing!

 

But let's go back to the Pats, with all of their success over the past decade, deciding that Gronkowski was worth drafting right after our pick in the 2nd round. Wow, congrats to young Rob - and I wish him nothing but success in every game but two every year of his NFL career!!

 

Last year Barnam and Bailey Russ Brandon went out and signed T.O. to desperately sell tickets after a boring off season and it worked pretty well. But this year Russ handed the keys over to a true football man, and I think overall Buddy did a good job in his first draft. But tight end is certainly still a "need" position for our Bills, right? Who is the starter this season, and what has he accomplished in his NFL career to date??

 

There were big nose tackles still available, and some rated higher by the draft experts then Troup, into the third and even fourth round of the draft. Nix could have drafted Gronkowski in the second round, and sure, after Spiller, many fans might have thought he was crazy. However, he did not draft an OT until round 7 anyway, and like I said, he could have easily addressed nose tackle later in the draft......and.....he certainly could have sold more tickets and brought home a great "local kid" story to boot!

 

I'm hoping Nelson steps up and takes over TE full time this season, to help our passing game. But I will be watching Rob Gronkoswski with New England, and if he becomes established as the starting TE before someone in Buffalo establishes himself, that would have been a very cool opportunity missed by the Bills.

 

thank you tom donahoe,but you dont make any sense @ all.

 

there were better nose tackles there in the third and fourth according to who? mel keiper or todd mcshay are you freaking kidding me. are you so dumb that you acutally believe those draft prognosticators or reporters working as NFL personell men.

 

you my friend are totally clueless. nix and modrak had you listened liked troup better than every nose guy except maybe the kid from tenn.

 

everyone bitched that we needed a nose tackle they got the best guy available on THEIR board in round 2 and you B word.

 

we dont need a freaking TE. we have a great young TE in nelson and a solid versatile guy in schoeman.

 

if you really think that taking a local TE would sell tickets you are even crazier than your post makes you sound the only people that would attend a bills game because we drafted a local kid was his family,unreal!!!!!!!!!

 

so you go watch groncowski i'll watch my bills and watch nelson tear it up!

[HurlyBurly51]

he certainly could have sold more tickets

 

When are people going to realize selling a game ticket is practically meaningless to the owners relative to the other revenue streams they receive to run their business?

[Thurman#1]

So New England drafted local Williamsville star tight end from Arizona, Rob Gronkowski, with the 42nd pick of the draft. I'm sure many of us missed that, because we were all on-line trying to figure out who the heck Torell Troup was, the 41st pick of the draft taken by our own Buddy Nix.

 

Let me say for any draft-gurus that knew who Troup was and think you should flame me for not knowing, I could care less. However, after looking him up on-line and reading about what other NFL personell thought of him, I liked the pick after all. This huge kid can end up being our next Ted Washington for 10 years, if he stays healthy, and that is certainly a good thing!

 

But let's go back to the Pats, with all of their success over the past decade, deciding that Gronkowski was worth drafting right after our pick in the 2nd round. Wow, congrats to young Rob - and I wish him nothing but success in every game but two every year of his NFL career!!

 

Last year Barnam and Bailey Russ Brandon went out and signed T.O. to desperately sell tickets after a boring off season and it worked pretty well. But this year Russ handed the keys over to a true football man, and I think overall Buddy did a good job in his first draft. But tight end is certainly still a "need" position for our Bills, right? Who is the starter this season, and what has he accomplished in his NFL career to date??

 

There were big nose tackles still available, and some rated higher by the draft experts then Troup, into the third and even fourth round of the draft. Nix could have drafted Gronkowski in the second round, and sure, after Spiller, many fans might have thought he was crazy. However, he did not draft an OT until round 7 anyway, and like I said, he could have easily addressed nose tackle later in the draft......and.....he certainly could have sold more tickets and brought home a great "local kid" story to boot!

 

I'm hoping Nelson steps up and takes over TE full time this season, to help our passing game. But I will be watching Rob Gronkoswski with New England, and if he becomes established as the starting TE before someone in Buffalo establishes himself, that would have been a very cool opportunity missed by the Bills.

 

 

I like Gronkowski, but NT is a priority need, and TE is not so much. Also, we've got a guy we're developing, he might turn out to be a pretty good one, particularly if he learns to block better.

[Coach Tuesday]

They sell out every game while consistently putting out one of the worst products in NFL history. So I don't see how adding a local tight end to the equation makes any difference whatsoever. This isn't Jacksonville.

[BillsPhan]

Wait, now we're peeved they're not signing players just to sell tickets?

 

No, "we're" not peeved about anything. If you took the time to read my entire post, you would see that I liked the Troup pick anyway! But when the Pats decide a local kid from Williamsville who happens to be a tight end with good hands and good size and can even block is worth their second round pick, I take notice.

 

No sooner do I post about that, I have the people on this board slamming the local kid like he's a sure-fire bust. He's injury prone, his back is beyond hope, Nix was smart to stay away from him while the Pats were stupid to waste their second round pick on him.

 

Really?? The Pats were stupid to draft this kid in the second round? These are the New England Patriots we are talking about right? The same Pats that have owned the Bills since the turn of the century? The same Pats that have won 3 SB's while the Bills have had ONE winning season, right?

 

Well all right then. I will stand corrected. I will expect Gronkowski to barely even make the Pats team, while our group of tight ends will step up this season and combine for at least 700 yards receiving, at least 8 TD receptions, and will also become excellent blockers at the point of attack.

[BillsPhan]

thank you tom donahoe,but you dont make any sense @ all.

 

there were better nose tackles there in the third and fourth according to who? mel keiper or todd mcshay are you freaking kidding me. are you so dumb that you acutally believe those draft prognosticators or reporters working as NFL personell men.

 

you my friend are totally clueless. nix and modrak had you listened liked troup better than every nose guy except maybe the kid from tenn.

 

everyone bitched that we needed a nose tackle they got the best guy available on THEIR board in round 2 and you B word.

 

we dont need a freaking TE. we have a great young TE in nelson and a solid versatile guy in schoeman.

 

if you really think that taking a local TE would sell tickets you are even crazier than your post makes you sound the only people that would attend a bills game because we drafted a local kid was his family,unreal!!!!!!!!!

 

so you go watch groncowski i'll watch my bills and watch nelson tear it up!

 

 

Why are you so upset that I thought Gronkowski would have been a nice pick for the Bills at 41, when the Pats took him at 42?? You think the Bills are smarter at drafting then New England? You don't think it would have been great to have a real tight end drafted by the Bills and have him be from the Williamsville area? It's not like I'm saying the Bills should have drafted Naaman Roosevelt in the second round instead of signing him as a FA, this is a local kid that the Pats took one pick after Nix took Troup.

 

Secondly, exactly zero draft experts thought that Terrel Troup was the best nose tackle in the draft. Most publications had him rated around the 8th through 10th "best" DT in the draft. It's great when the draft gurus say the Bills made a smart pick by taking Spiller but you get all "WTF do they know" when just about every one of them say they reached with the Troup pick. Please find one draft expert that thought Troup was a better pick then Cody. And I don't even care about the draft experts. I'm just saying that it would not have been so "horrible" for Nix to have drafted Gronkowski instead of Troup at that point in the draft.

 

And oh by the way, since like you, I am a life long Bills fan, I certainly hope that Nelson "tears it up" this season. But I will watch how Gronkowski does in New England, too.

[NewEra]

Why are you so upset that I thought Gronkowski would have been a nice pick for the Bills at 41, when the Pats took him at 42?? You think the Bills are smarter at drafting then New England? You don't think it would have been great to have a real tight end drafted by the Bills and have him be from the Williamsville area? It's not like I'm saying the Bills should have drafted Naaman Roosevelt in the second round instead of signing him as a FA, this is a local kid that the Pats took one pick after Nix took Troup.

 

Secondly, exactly zero draft experts thought that Terrel Troup was the best nose tackle in the draft. Most publications had him rated around the 8th through 10th "best" DT in the draft. It's great when the draft gurus say the Bills made a smart pick by taking Spiller but you get all "WTF do they know" when just about every one of them say they reached with the Troup pick. Please find one draft expert that thought Troup was a better pick then Cody. And I don't even care about the draft experts. I'm just saying that it would not have been so "horrible" for Nix to have drafted Gronkowski instead of Troup at that point in the draft.

 

And oh by the way, since like you, I am a life long Bills fan, I certainly hope that Nelson "tears it up" this season. But I will watch how Gronkowski does in New England, too.

 

Yes, it would have.

 

The opening post of the thread wasn't entirely bad. But each time you responded, you seem to lose me more and more. He MAY be a good player, but if we would have ignored each of our 3 biggest needs (OT, QB and DT) in the first 2 rounds, it would have been borderline crazy.

[PromoTheRobot]

When will people stop with the ticket-selling threads? The Bills have no trouble selling tickets. They haven't since the mid-80s. And if they were trying to sell tickets they would sell more drafting a CJ Spiller than a TE that few outside of WNY heard of.

 

PTR

[tombstone56]

GRONKOWSKI WAS COMING OFF a back surgery ,hes lucky to have gone before the 6th

[Lv-Bills]

So New England drafted local Williamsville star tight end from Arizona, Rob Gronkowski, with the 42nd pick of the draft. I'm sure many of us missed that, because we were all on-line trying to figure out who the heck Torell Troup was, the 41st pick of the draft taken by our own Buddy Nix.

 

Let me say for any draft-gurus that knew who Troup was and think you should flame me for not knowing, I could care less. However, after looking him up on-line and reading about what other NFL personell thought of him, I liked the pick after all. This huge kid can end up being our next Ted Washington for 10 years, if he stays healthy, and that is certainly a good thing!

 

But let's go back to the Pats, with all of their success over the past decade, deciding that Gronkowski was worth drafting right after our pick in the 2nd round. Wow, congrats to young Rob - and I wish him nothing but success in every game but two every year of his NFL career!!

 

Last year Barnam and Bailey Russ Brandon went out and signed T.O. to desperately sell tickets after a boring off season and it worked pretty well. But this year Russ handed the keys over to a true football man, and I think overall Buddy did a good job in his first draft. But tight end is certainly still a "need" position for our Bills, right? Who is the starter this season, and what has he accomplished in his NFL career to date??

 

There were big nose tackles still available, and some rated higher by the draft experts then Troup, into the third and even fourth round of the draft. Nix could have drafted Gronkowski in the second round, and sure, after Spiller, many fans might have thought he was crazy. However, he did not draft an OT until round 7 anyway, and like I said, he could have easily addressed nose tackle later in the draft......and.....he certainly could have sold more tickets and brought home a great "local kid" story to boot!

 

I'm hoping Nelson steps up and takes over TE full time this season, to help our passing game. But I will be watching Rob Gronkoswski with New England, and if he becomes established as the starting TE before someone in Buffalo establishes himself, that would have been a very cool opportunity missed by the Bills.

Me and my group have six season tickets, and I could care less about Rob Gronkowski. Really, I would have been more kikely to drop them if they took him in the second. I would bet there are many more people like me that could care less if Gronkowski was born in Hammers Lot or in Utah. I just want to win. Period. I could care less where our guys are from.

 

I upgraded my season tickets, not because I have any confidence in this team. I did it because I hope this somehow keeps them in Buffalo and this is a great year to do so, as many people have opted out. But Gronkowski selling tickets? Maybe to his family, but I think he pretty mcuh would have zero effect on season tickets.

[ChasBB]

The bottom line, as Nix says, it "you can only draft one" at any given position. We simply will not know if our 41st pick was better than New England's 42nd pick for years to come. I think you just have to believe in Nix's extensive background in personnel. For all we know, NE would have taken Troup if they had the 41st pick in the draft. We'll simply never know, so there's just no point in belaboring the picks. We got some good guys in this draft -- guys that can help us right away, so I feel good about the direction of the franchise.

[yungmack]

Wait, now we're peeved they're not signing players just to sell tickets?

I know, I know, it gets crazier around here by the day.

[San Jose Bills Fan]

http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patr..._patriot_2.html

 

The Patriots may have wanted to draft the #1 tight end, Jermaine Gresham at #22. When he was taken at #21, they traded out of their pick and later took Gronkowski.

 

This part is interesting too:

 

"I did find one team last week that had Gronkowski carrying the same grade as Greshman. On the other hand, I know of another one that had Gronkowski off its board all together, because of the medical issue (back)."

[Malazan]

No, "we're" not peeved about anything.

 

I don't know. You seem awfully upset.