What young guys have to develop for the year to be a success

[billsfan89]

OK next season we are going to be giving a lot of young guys on offense a chance and some on defense a chance too. OK I think that on defense I think that Troup and Carrington need to prove capable of being fixtures on the D-line. McKelvin also needs to be a number one corner.

 

As far as offense goes I would like to see Meridith, Nelson, and Johnson (As at least a number 3 WR) to step up. We need an answer at tight end and Nelson needs to be a threat at tightend. Our O-line has a lot of young tackles and as a RT I think Meridith needs to step up and be a capable RT going forward. And at WR we need to find a capable slot guy in Johnson.

 

Now we have a lot of hole on the offensive side of the ball. And in keeping with my realistic expectations for the season I know that our QB situation might not get solved nor will our LT or #2 WR get solved. However if we can get a serious passing weapon at TE and a capable slot guy out of Johnson it would go a long way to shaping our passing attack. All in all our O-line is a mess but if Meridith can be a solid RT it would go a long way to shaping our O-line.

 

All in all what young players would have to step up in order for you to call the season a success in terms of player development.

[PushthePile]

I'd consider the season a success if a few of our top two picks establish themselves. The lack of production from the top of the drafts is the biggest reason why they can't win.

 

2010

 

Spiller- ?

 

Troupe ?

 

2009

 

Maybin- showed very very little

 

Wood- showed promise but coming off injury

 

2008

 

McKelvin- has flashed talent but hasn't been consistent enough yet. Also coming off injury

 

Hardy- has shown little and coming off injury

 

2007

 

Lynch- His career in Buffalo is in jeopardy. Talented but stupid/immature

 

Posluszny- A decent player when healthy but could benefit or regress in the new scheme.

 

2006

 

Whitner- Never lived up to draft position but has been adequate, despite the lack of big plays. Battling for starting position in camp.

 

McCargo- Bust thus far and not likely to be on the team IMO.

 

 

 

 

The team needs some of these players to really start producing.

[Geno Smith's Arm]

I'd consider the season a success if a few of our top two picks establish themselves. The lack of production from the top of the drafts is the biggest reason why they can't win.

 

2010

 

Spiller- ?

 

Troupe ?

 

2009

 

Maybin- showed very very little

 

Wood- showed promise but coming off injury

 

2008

 

McKelvin- has flashed talent but hasn't been consistent enough yet. Also coming off injury

 

Hardy- has shown little and coming off injury

 

2007

 

Lynch- His career in Buffalo is in jeopardy. Talented but stupid/immature

 

Posluszny- A decent player when healthy but could benefit or regress in the new scheme.

 

2006

 

Whitner- Never lived up to draft position but has been adequate, despite the lack of big plays. Battling for starting position in camp.

 

McCargo- Bust thus far and not likely to be on the team IMO.

 

 

 

 

The team needs some of these players to really start producing.

 

I agree.

 

It really hasn't been the POSITIONS of the players the Bills have drafted, it's been the fact that they haven't gotten good value out of their picks.

[Spiderweb]

I'd consider the season a success if a few of our top two picks establish themselves. The lack of production from the top of the drafts is the biggest reason why they can't win.

 

2010

 

Spiller- ?

 

Troupe ?

 

2009

 

Maybin- showed very very little

 

Wood- showed promise but coming off injury

 

2008

 

McKelvin- has flashed talent but hasn't been consistent enough yet. Also coming off injury

 

Hardy- has shown little and coming off injury

 

2007

 

Lynch- His career in Buffalo is in jeopardy. Talented but stupid/immature

 

Posluszny- A decent player when healthy but could benefit or regress in the new scheme.

 

2006

 

Whitner- Never lived up to draft position but has been adequate, despite the lack of big plays. Battling for starting position in camp.

 

McCargo- Bust thus far and not likely to be on the team IMO.

 

 

 

 

The team needs some of these players to really start producing.

 

Decent summary all told, yet I've already given up on McCargo. He was a huge reach by Levy and it failed.

[mpl6876]

Decent summary all told, yet I've already given up on McCargo. He was a huge reach by Levy and it failed.

 

Another reason why we haven't been comptetive enough to make the playoffs in years... We haven't built a solid foundation via the draft. Very poor organization. Ralph has alot to do with it...

[Bill from NYC]

It really hasn't been the POSITIONS of the players the Bills have drafted, it's been the fact that they haven't gotten good value out of their picks.

 

I agree, but only to an extent.

 

If Whitner was an all pro instead of an awful selection, and Spiller is a gifted NFL back, we still don't have a worthwhile OT on the squad, let alone a quarterback. But, I am pleased with rounds 2 and 3 this season. IF we are going to miss, let's miss with some big players that were drastically needed.

The tendency for the Bills has been to strike out with "skill players," and just continue to reach for them.

[JohnC]

I agree, but only to an extent.

 

If Whitner was an all pro instead of an awful selection, and Spiller is a gifted NFL back, we still don't have a worthwhile OT on the squad, let alone a quarterback. But, I am pleased with rounds 2 and 3 this season. IF we are going to miss, let's miss with some big players that were drastically needed.

The tendency for the Bills has been to strike out with "skill players," and just continue to reach for them.

 

I don't understand how the Bills can enter this season with D. Bell as the projected LT? Not only is he very raw but he is recovering from a very serious knee injury. It doesn't make much sense. Getting a veteran stop gap lineman for the short term would make sense for a very depleted position. Who is the backup LT? Last year was a disaster because from the very start the line was over-matched. As it stands nothing much has changed. Let's hope that this front office is still searching the market for some additional help. The front office signing of Cornell Green to play RT was a feeble attempt to address the OL.

 

As it stands, this staff believes they have some untested talent, such as Bell and Merideth, who are capable. I hope that they are right though I have very serious doubts.

[transient]

I don't understand how the Bills can enter this season with D. Bell as the projected LT? Not only is he very raw but he is recovering from a very serious knee injury. It doesn't make much sense. Getting a veteran stop gap lineman for the short term would make sense for a very depleted position. Who is the backup LT? Last year was a disaster because from the very start the line was over-matched. As it stands nothing much has changed. Let's hope that this front office is still searching the market for some additional help. The front office signing of Cornell Green to play RT was a feeble attempt to address the OL.

 

As it stands, this staff believes they have some untested talent, such as Bell and Merideth, who are capable. I hope that they are right though I have very serious doubts.

 

By the way the FO has conducted themselves thus far, I think if we add players to the OL it will be just before training camp after they've had a chance to actually see what they have on the roster during OTAs. Plugging in a journeyman doesn't make sense if they are trying to develop young players. Face it, we're not winning the Super Bowl this year, and the FO knows it. This is an evaluation year so Nix and Gailey know for sure what they have in these young guys heading in to next year's draft. I don't think it's a coincidence that we didn't spend high draft picks this year at positions where we had young players with unknown upside.

[BillnutinHouston]

By the way the FO has conducted themselves thus far, I think if we add players to the OL it will be just before training camp after they've had a chance to actually see what they have on the roster during OTAs. Plugging in a journeyman doesn't make sense if they are trying to develop young players. Face it, we're not winning the Super Bowl this year, and the FO knows it. This is an evaluation year so Nix and Gailey know for sure what they have in these young guys heading in to next year's draft. I don't think it's a coincidence that we didn't spend high draft picks this year at positions where we had young players with unknown upside.

 

Excellent points.

[mattsox]

I'd consider the season a success if a few of our top two picks establish themselves. The lack of production from the top of the drafts is the biggest reason why they can't win.

 

2010

 

Spiller- ?

 

Troupe ?

 

2009

 

Maybin- showed very very little

 

Wood- showed promise but coming off injury

 

2008

 

McKelvin- has flashed talent but hasn't been consistent enough yet. Also coming off injury

 

Hardy- has shown little and coming off injury

 

2007

 

Lynch- His career in Buffalo is in jeopardy. Talented but stupid/immature

 

Posluszny- A decent player when healthy but could benefit or regress in the new scheme.

 

2006

 

Whitner- Never lived up to draft position but has been adequate, despite the lack of big plays. Battling for starting position in camp.

 

McCargo- Bust thus far and not likely to be on the team IMO.

 

 

 

 

The team needs some of these players to really start producing.

 

That's the thing. This team has soooo many question marks. That's why this team is ranked 31st going into the season. They have a lot of talent. But none of these guys have proven anything yet. We have no QB, luckily Chan has had success with nobodys. RB we have too much talent. WR you got Evans. Everyone is gonna triple cover him. No other WR has proven a thing yet. TE is another position no one has proven they can be a go to guy yet. The line is a Big ? All the injuries and No legit LT or RT for that matter. I don't care what you say, NO LINE, NO OFFENSIVE PRODUCTION!!!

 

So I hope all the RB talent will make something happen, but, come on. I think we're joking ourselves if no one steps up. I hope this Coaching staff can make it happen. I want the offense to be successful, but so much work that needs to be done and alot of personal that have to step up.

 

Defense is another thing. We're switching from 4-3 to 3-4. How much success have other DE had playing OLB??? I'd love to see that list. I honestly can't think of any. But I hope ours can make that transition. Everyone except the secondary is basically playing a new position. This makes the Front seven suspect until they prove otherwise on the field.

 

We got lots of potential. But this team hasn't proven its going anywhere yet. They got mucho to prove. Hope the players step up and make things happen. Sick of seeing us lose year in and year out. I want the team to win and hopefully 2010 will be the year to make the change to the right direction.

[Kelly the Dog]

By the way the FO has conducted themselves thus far, I think if we add players to the OL it will be just before training camp after they've had a chance to actually see what they have on the roster during OTAs. Plugging in a journeyman doesn't make sense if they are trying to develop young players. Face it, we're not winning the Super Bowl this year, and the FO knows it. This is an evaluation year so Nix and Gailey know for sure what they have in these young guys heading in to next year's draft. I don't think it's a coincidence that we didn't spend high draft picks this year at positions where we had young players with unknown upside.

What you said is true, but what is also true is that, for example, it's hard to know if Trent Edwards is going to be a decent starter in this league if he constantly gets harrassed and battered because his LT stinks. It's hard to know if James Hardy can be a solid #2 in this league if because of the point above, the QB has a half second less to let Hardy break out of his route. It's hard to let the interior of the line gel if they always have to compensate for the inferior exterior. It's hard for an established offensive mind like Chan Gailey to work his magic with the talent at hand, if the 10 other players are hindered because of a catastrophe at one of the 2-3 most important positions on the team.

 

It may just be that a journeyman, serviceable LT is EXACTLY what this team needs to see what we have.

[Bill from NYC]

What you said is true, but what is also true is that, for example, it's hard to know if Trent Edwards is going to be a decent starter in this league if he constantly gets harrassed and battered because his LT stinks. It's hard to know if James Hardy can be a solid #2 in this league if because of the point above, the QB has a half second less to let Hardy break out of his route. It's hard to let the interior of the line gel if they always have to compensate for the inferior exterior. It's hard for an established offensive mind like Chan Gailey to work his magic with the talent at hand, if the 10 other players are hindered because of a catastrophe at one of the 2-3 most important positions on the team.

 

It may just be that a journeyman, serviceable LT is EXACTLY what this team needs to see what we have.

 

Thank you for this KTFBD. I also remind you that for years, you have touted the RT position as of equal importance to LT (albeit harder to fill). We would at the very least seem to be in a bad way there as well.

 

I am well aware that at times I sound too negative. There ARE a couple of positives wrt this team. Unlike some, I am high on the Bills 3 interior starters. I would have been fine with Levitre with the 28th pick and he hasn't let me down in terms of developing. Wood (if healthy) looks good and I like Hangartner more than most seem to. He did OK playing between an assortment of rookies and below average guards. I also liked the 2nd and 3rd selection of this year's draft.

The thing is, 2 holes at OT are just not possible to compensate for imo. If the RBs and TEs are forced to stay inside, Evans will draw WAY too much coverage. Because of this, it is hard to imagine this offense being successful.

[JohnC]

By the way the FO has conducted themselves thus far, I think if we add players to the OL it will be just before training camp after they've had a chance to actually see what they have on the roster during OTAs. Plugging in a journeyman doesn't make sense if they are trying to develop young players. Face it, we're not winning the Super Bowl this year, and the FO knows it. This is an evaluation year so Nix and Gailey know for sure what they have in these young guys heading in to next year's draft. I don't think it's a coincidence that we didn't spend high draft picks this year at positions where we had young players with unknown upside.

 

There comes a point where if you don't address the glaring OT needs you are negatively impacting the rest of the offense. No matter which of the qb trio you support the odds of that qb having a fair opportunity to succeed is going to be squashed because of the feeble line play. No qb is going to thrive when he is under siege.

 

Is Demetrius Bell the answer at LT? I have my doubts. I'm willing to give him an opportunity. But you have to be smart about over relying on an OT who the previous year was blatantly ill-prepared to handle that position. Adding in the fact that he is still rehabbing a knee doesn't add to the probability that he is the solution at that position.

 

The argument that the Bills aren't going to be contenders this year shouldn't mean that the team shouldn't within reason try to put out a competitive team. I don't want to burst your bubble but the Bills won't be serious contenders for at least another five years, if that, within this very challenging division. If that is the case do we just give up and declare that we are rebuilding again and again?

 

As I previously stated bringing in short term stop gap competent tackles certainly won't be a long term solution but it will at least give this offense an opportunity to play at a better than atrocious level.

[Rob's House]

I don't understand how the Bills can enter this season with D. Bell as the projected LT? Not only is he very raw but he is recovering from a very serious knee injury. It doesn't make much sense. Getting a veteran stop gap lineman for the short term would make sense for a very depleted position. Who is the backup LT? Last year was a disaster because from the very start the line was over-matched. As it stands nothing much has changed. Let's hope that this front office is still searching the market for some additional help. The front office signing of Cornell Green to play RT was a feeble attempt to address the OL.

 

As it stands, this staff believes they have some untested talent, such as Bell and Merideth, who are capable. I hope that they are right though I have very serious doubts.

 

I share your sentiment, and was distraught as the draft rolled through the first four rounds w/ no tackles, but upon further reflection I think there is reason for hope. Assuming Bell's knee is ok (which the teams direction indicates they think it's a non-issue) the line should still be vastly improved from last year. The only thing of value lost is Butler, who only played in 2 games anyway.

 

Bell has some significant game time experience, as does Meridith, and although he's by no means a savior, Cornhole Green offers more substantial depth than we had last year. Add to that the potential of Wang and Calloway gives reason to believe that we have improved depth at the present and hope for the future at the position.

 

It's clearly a position of weakness, but one where we may be average rather than horrendous like we were last year.

[buffaloaggie]

...the line should still be vastly improved from last year.

 

Bell has some significant game time experience, as does Meridith, and although he's by no means a savior, Cornhole Green offers more substantial depth than we had last year. Add to that the potential of Wang and Calloway gives reason to believe that we have improved depth at the present and hope for the future at the position.

 

It's clearly a position of weakness, but one where we may be average rather than horrendous like we were last year.

The line play can only go up, right? Anticipating vast improvement may be reaching. Yes, they are raw, so experience will help. I just don't know if the talent is there. From what I saw from Bell last year, he is a backup at best. Wang needs to step in and make the Left OT job his. His pedigree is similar to Peters in that he was a Tight End converted to Tackle. He obviously has some athleticism.

 

This is all part of Buddy's master plan, finding a diamond in the rough. Let's just hope he didn't find cubic zirconium in this draft.

[DaGimp]

Levi Brown

[transient]

There comes a point where if you don't address the glaring OT needs you are negatively impacting the rest of the offense. No matter which of the qb trio you support the odds of that qb having a fair opportunity to succeed is going to be squashed because of the feeble line play. No qb is going to thrive when he is under siege.

 

Is Demetrius Bell the answer at LT? I have my doubts. I'm willing to give him an opportunity. But you have to be smart about over relying on an OT who the previous year was blatantly ill-prepared to handle that position. Adding in the fact that he is still rehabbing a knee doesn't add to the probability that he is the solution at that position.

 

The argument that the Bills aren't going to be contenders this year shouldn't mean that the team shouldn't within reason try to put out a competitive team. I don't want to burst your bubble but the Bills won't be serious contenders for at least another five years, if that, within this very challenging division. If that is the case do we just give up and declare that we are rebuilding again and again?

 

As I previously stated bringing in short term stop gap competent tackles certainly won't be a long term solution but it will at least give this offense an opportunity to play at a better than atrocious level.

 

I didn't say they wouldn't do it, I said I don't think they'll do it before training camp starts so they can look at the young guys during OTAs and evaluate them. If you're bringing in a stop-gap veteran, he's played in the league a bit and the value of OTAs is less to him than rookies. If it looks like going with young guys has disaster written all over it, then I think they bring someone in. The fact that it hasn't been done yet is of little or no bearing IMO.

[transient]

The line play can only go up, right? Anticipating vast improvement may be reaching. Yes, they are raw, so experience will help. I just don't know if the talent is there. From what I saw from Bell last year, he is a backup at best. Wang needs to step in and make the Left OT job his. His pedigree is similar to Peters in that he was a Tight End converted to Tackle. He obviously has some athleticism.

 

This is all part of Buddy's master plan, finding a diamond in the rough. Let's just hope he didn't find cubic zirconium in this draft.

 

You mean the year he should have been groomed, instead of pushing him into the starting lineup when they cut their starting LT on the eve of the season?

[Wilson from Gamehendge]

OK next season we are going to be giving a lot of young guys on offense a chance and some on defense a chance too. OK I think that on defense I think that Troup and Carrington need to prove capable of being fixtures on the D-line. McKelvin also needs to be a number one corner.

 

As far as offense goes I would like to see Meridith, Nelson, and Johnson (As at least a number 3 WR) to step up. We need an answer at tight end and Nelson needs to be a threat at tightend. Our O-line has a lot of young tackles and as a RT I think Meridith needs to step up and be a capable RT going forward. And at WR we need to find a capable slot guy in Johnson.

 

Now we have a lot of hole on the offensive side of the ball. And in keeping with my realistic expectations for the season I know that our QB situation might not get solved nor will our LT or #2 WR get solved. However if we can get a serious passing weapon at TE and a capable slot guy out of Johnson it would go a long way to shaping our passing attack. All in all our O-line is a mess but if Meridith can be a solid RT it would go a long way to shaping our O-line.

 

All in all what young players would have to step up in order for you to call the season a success in terms of player development.

Ummmmm...ALL of them!

 

[Dr. Fong]

Ummmmm...ALL of them!

 

 

 

I was coming here to post that.