Clausen was the pick?

[San Jose Somron]

New to this Board..but reading it for years. So much negativity. The journey is the reason to watch our beloved Bills (may they rest in peace).......see you guys rubbed off on me.

[Chandler#81]

Thats it. I'm starting a thread debating who the better QB was....Johnson or Flutie

 

 

I vote Flutie

 

 

Oh, No you din't!

 

[1B4IDie]

The Bills might have had Brown rated as highly as Clausen. They didn't want Clausen no matter what round they could draft him. Why is that so tough to understand? This was arguably one of the worst QBs ever (time will tell) and a guy who has to change his entire throwing motion became a 1st rounder. That's a joke and would not have happen in any other draft.

 

The fact is Clausen probably won't even play until at least 2 years at the earliest. But why be happy with the 3rd best QB of a bad QB draft? In the Bills' opinion, Clausen is no better than the guys we have on the roster. If they fail, next year's QB draft by all accounts will be really good. I'd rather any of these guys (Locker, Mallett, Luck, Pryor) than Clausen.

 

Biscuit is Right on.

 

And this string will be much more interesting in 2014, if Clausen is putting up Jim Kelly numbers and Spiller is perennially sitting on the PUP list.

 

Also this thread will never happen in 2014 in the far more likely event that Spiller is putting up close to Thurman combined yards Numbers and Clausen is just another-never-was.

[John from Riverside]

I would much rather stop the run

[CarolinaBill]

I don't think Brian Brohm has anything to do with us ( & every other team) not drafting Clausen before he was picked. If a top notch prospect at QB was available the fact that Brian Brohm is on the roster wouldn't have meant anything to the Bills-they would have went QB.

and thats why i think having brohm did impact our decision not to take clausen, clearly our FO did not view clausen as a top notch prospect, and since we already had a guy with similiar skills in brohm, why take clausen when we have other needs

[Chandler#81]

New to this Board..but reading it for years. So much negativity. The journey is the reason to watch our beloved Bills (may they rest in peace).......see you guys rubbed off on me.

 

 

That's it? That's all ya got??

 

 

Welcome aboard! Fasten your seatbelt!

[SuperKillerRobots]

I feel that the Bills front office really made a poor decision not taking Clausen at pick 41. I understand not taking him at pick nine. Too risky and too many good players on the board like Spiller. However, I believe at pick 41 he was a "STEAL." The risk is greatly reduced and he would have filled a HUGE need. Assess our QB situation for this year. It is perhaps the worst in the NFL. All we can say is that we are waiting for next years draft because that QB class is better. In my humble opinion, that doesn't "cut it." Wait til next year.....I am tired of waiting and besides those guys are going to 'BIGGER RISK" if we select a QB with our first pick. (likely a top 5 -10 pick)

 

Also, I think from a fan prospestive this year would be a lot more exciting with Clausen on the roster. Remember the TO signing...It was fun to have TO in the Buffalo limelight and have some media attention. Right now, all of us would be glued to the Clausen updates and hoping he is the one. Today, I read that Fitz took the snaps today and Edwards yesterday. BOY IS THAT EXCITING...Perhaps Clausen could have stepped right in and started for us. What do we have to loose? Heck, I believe this season is a bust anyway. Its a season of learnng, growing, and building for the future. Which hopefully leads to winning soon. This season isn't about winning despite what you hear from the front office. Objectively, look at the rosters and you have to conclude we don't have the players. PLAYERS win games not coaches...Coaches can aid in the winning process no doubt but they still need the personnel. Our personnel is subpar.

 

In concluding, Clausen was a "low risk" at pick 41, an instant upgrade to our QB roster, and could have given many of fans a reason for some excitment this year. It was a win win for all of us. Instead we reached for a guy named TROUP who noone has ever heard of prior to the draft. What a collosal blunder...

 

Tell me what you guys think?

 

I didn't (and still don't) like Clausen, but I do think he was pretty low risk at #41. That being said, if they don't take Troup, we probably don't end up with a solid-looking NT prospect in this draft (there was a run on them after we took Troup). I've said this before, but I think there were three critical neesds on this team that all were nearly equally important: QB, LT, run defense. The run defense looks like it will be a lot better now than it was the past few years and is a tough one to fill especially given that we just switched defenses. If they are better against the run, that will go a long way towards making the team better. Maybe even moreso in year one than taking a QB (or at least one of those QBs).

 

By the way, I had not only heard of Troup before the draft, but also remember Modrak/Nix talking about him during the combine and how impressed they were with him.

[SuperKillerRobots]

I think if the X Factor Brian Brohm wasn't on this roster, Nix and co. would've pulled the trigger on Clausen at 41. It's nice to say, "they are unsure of the QBs on the roster, due to the OL, OC, etc." but good QBs find ways to make plays, even in the most dire of circumstances. There were numerous plays that were there to be made (when Trent or Fitz had ample time to pass) and the QBs failed to make those plays. Evans, Owens, and even Edwards have stated as much. "There were plays out there to be made, but for whatever reason, we didn't make them. It's frustrating." On a second note, please stop with the logic, "all teams passed on this guy, so there's no way he's capable of being a franchise QB. These guys get paid to do these jobs, so if he was a franchise QB, why did he last until the middle of the 2nd round?" GMs, with all of their resources, do not have the ability to forecast success. If so, the Montana's, Brady's, and Warner's of the world would never make it past the 1st round...

 

It's actually great QBs that find ways to make plays. Most of the QBs in the league are not great - maybe 5 are. The rest have good supporting casts, coaches who know how to use them/what their weaknesses are, and some luck.

[2003Contenders]

I think the overall objective of this draft was to fortify the trenches on both sides of the ball. By taking Spiller with the #9 pick, it pretty much sealed that the Bills were going to go OL/DL with the next couple of picks. Had they taken an OL with that pick instead of Spiller, I believe that Clausen would have been a much more serious possibility at 41.

[Adam]

I feel that the Bills front office really made a poor decision not taking Clausen at pick 41. I understand not taking him at pick nine. Too risky and too many good players on the board like Spiller. However, I believe at pick 41 he was a "STEAL." The risk is greatly reduced and he would have filled a HUGE need. Assess our QB situation for this year. It is perhaps the worst in the NFL. All we can say is that we are waiting for next years draft because that QB class is better. In my humble opinion, that doesn't "cut it." Wait til next year.....I am tired of waiting and besides those guys are going to 'BIGGER RISK" if we select a QB with our first pick. (likely a top 5 -10 pick)

 

Also, I think from a fan prospestive this year would be a lot more exciting with Clausen on the roster. Remember the TO signing...It was fun to have TO in the Buffalo limelight and have some media attention. Right now, all of us would be glued to the Clausen updates and hoping he is the one. Today, I read that Fitz took the snaps today and Edwards yesterday. BOY IS THAT EXCITING...Perhaps Clausen could have stepped right in and started for us. What do we have to loose? Heck, I believe this season is a bust anyway. Its a season of learnng, growing, and building for the future. Which hopefully leads to winning soon. This season isn't about winning despite what you hear from the front office. Objectively, look at the rosters and you have to conclude we don't have the players. PLAYERS win games not coaches...Coaches can aid in the winning process no doubt but they still need the personnel. Our personnel is subpar.

 

In concluding, Clausen was a "low risk" at pick 41, an instant upgrade to our QB roster, and could have given many of fans a reason for some excitment this year. It was a win win for all of us. Instead we reached for a guy named TROUP who noone has ever heard of prior to the draft. What a collosal blunder...

 

Tell me what you guys think?

I think the Bills have gone with what they think the fans want long enough- and the win/loss record proves it. It is time the team decides for the fans what the fans want, like successful organizations do. Claussen is a bust and the next five years will bear that out.

[Brand J]

It's actually great QBs that find ways to make plays. Most of the QBs in the league are not great - maybe 5 are. The rest have good supporting casts, coaches who know how to use them/what their weaknesses are, and some luck.

 

No, I was right in my assessment. The Bills' QB of yesteryear wouldn't have to have been great to have made plays in our cracker jack of an offense - just good. I believe Vince Young, Tony Romo, Joe Flacco, Carson Palmer, Jay Cutler, David Garrard, and Matt Schaub, all would have made more than their share of plays if they were the Bills starter and would have led us to a better record overall. I wouldn't consider any of the aforementioned QBs "great", so it would've only taken a good QB to succeed in those conditions..

[disco]

I love that Clausen was picked 48.

It validated what we should already know - Nix knows what the hell he's doing.

 

If we would have traded back into the first round to grab him, we'd have been praised for grabbing a value late first round pick in Clausen.

 

If we had drafted Brian Bulaga at #9 as many suggested, we'd have been praised for picking the right guy in the right spot. Turns out he was overrated too going at #26.

 

The fact that this year teams had the ability to think about round 2 over night with Clausen still on the board...and the Rams, Vikings, Bucs, Chiefs, Browns, Bills, Raiders, and Cardinals STILL passed on him pretty much tells you all you need to know.

[mpl6876]

No doubt the Clausen debate is diverse and controversial. Some agree with me and some don't. Time will tell who is right...The theme I keep reading is that we needed a N/T to stop the run. I couldn't agree more! That is why we took Troup ( maybe I am not so smart because I never heard of the guy before) The questions I have is why him? and why him at the 41st pick? Mt Cody was picked 57th and Cam Thomas was picked in the 4th round by San Diego. We could have picked Clausen and still gotten our N/T in the 3rd or 4th round...I know its hindsight but I think its worth mentioning. We didn't have to pick the N/T at 41. I think the Bills panicked and picked based on needs. Troup by most expert account didn't warrant a second round pick.

 

Bottom line is we could have had Clausen at 41 and Troup or Thomas in the 3rd or 4th round. How sweet would that have been...

 

I think the Bills missed the boat and were in for another boring losing season.

[mpl6876]

My football philosophy - for what it's worth - revolves around getting the best LBs and OLs I can get my hands on. Reluctantly, I advocated drafting a qb in the 2nd. Reasoning being that why not roll the dice? Their qb problems in recent years are well known.

 

When they announced the change to a 3-4 defense, I felt that they pitched the upcoming season...generally, such a switch comes with growing pains. With cart firmly placed in front of horse, they had to pull the trigger for a NT.

 

 

There were plenty of quality N/T around prior to our 41st pick. On the board were Mt Cody, Cam Thomas and Troup. Could have had quality N/T in third or fourth round. I firmly believe Troup would have bee there at our 3rd round pick. I think the Bills Brass panicked and picked based on need.

 

Another thing that bothers me a lot is why do the Bills always seem to reach for these small school guys..

[Wilson from Gamehendge]

Thanks for your response. Not so sure picking the wrong QB in the second round at 41 sets a franchise back as much as you and others think? That is why I wanted the pick so bad at 41. Now, a top ten QB selection that doesn't work out indeed sets a team back years...I believe the Bills are going to pick a QB in the top ten next year. Big risk hope they get it right.

No matter where you draft a QB, #9 or #41...you are saying that he is your guy. Now, even with Levi Brown, if they invest in him, 3-4 years trying to groom him...he will be a bust and set the franchise back 3-4 years, because of the time that they invested in him.

 

So, no matter where you pick your QB, if he does not pan out and you invest any amount of time in him, he is a bust or a wasted draft pick...however you wanna look at it.

 

 

There were many players available at #41 that I would have rather had than Clausen AND Troup...and I am an Irish fan.