Bryan Bulaga competing for starting job...

[San Jose Bills Fan]

According to this report from yesterday, not only is Bulaga competing for the job at left guard, but he appears to be out of the mix at left tackle.

 

http://packersnews.greenbaypressgazette.co...t-training-camp

 

"With starter Chad Clifton out (illness) and backup Bulaga now playing left guard, Allen Barbre was the left tackle with the No. 1 offense, and rookie Marshall Newhouse worked with the No. 2s."

 

Maybe they want him to concentrate on one position rather than splitting reps.

[tennesseeboy]

Your missing the point. Your cellar is flooding and the sump pump is broke. You drive down to Home Depot to get a new sump pump. There is a great sale on a refrigerator for, believe it or not, THE SAME PRICE as the sump pump. You buy the frig, bring it home. The wife gets pissed, the cellar is a mess, all sorts of stuff is ruined. You went for VALUE over NEED. see?

[FLFan]

Are you talking about Bulaga or Oher?

 

Bulaga, as I thought that was the topic of the post. Clearly Oher would have been a better pick than Maybin last year, with the benefit of hindsight. By this time next year we may be saying the same thing about some other LT prospect that we passed in this draft, but not Bulaga, and I believe Spiller will prove to be a very valuable player to the Bills.

[Doc]

According to this report from yesterday, not only is Bulaga competing for the job at left guard, but he appears to be out of the mix at left tackle.

 

http://packersnews.greenbaypressgazette.co...t-training-camp

 

"With starter Chad Clifton out (illness) and backup Bulaga now playing left guard, Allen Barbre was the left tackle with the No. 1 offense, and rookie Marshall Newhouse worked with the No. 2s."

 

Maybe they want him to concentrate on one position rather than splitting reps.

Or maybe they don't view him as anything more than an OG? Time will tell.

[Buffalonian-at-Heart]

You are right. Drafting for need over drafting BPA type of thinking got us Hardy in the second round. Sometimes the BPA and drafting for need blend together. When they overlap and you have a choice then address the need. The Bills addressed another need when the traded a pick to move up to get McCargo? How did that work out?

 

In the long run filling your roster with the best players you can pick will serve you well. Reaching for picks to address needs is one of the reasons why the Bills have been mediocre for a very long time. If you can't learn from your mistakes then you can expect to continue to flounder.

 

 

For me the argument isn't so much about BPA or drafting for need. It's how well can you evaluate players. I want a front office that drafts players that start, contribute, develop and become the foundation of your team. What position they play in the end works itself out.

[Buffalonian-at-Heart]

Your missing the point. Your cellar is flooding and the sump pump is broke. You drive down to Home Depot to get a new sump pump. There is a great sale on a refrigerator for, believe it or not, THE SAME PRICE as the sump pump. You buy the frig, bring it home. The wife gets pissed, the cellar is a mess, all sorts of stuff is ruined. You went for VALUE over NEED. see?

 

Good analogy. But consider this.

 

Your crazy wife doesn't realize last night you went down and repaired the sump pump to the best of your ability. But you thought you would look into getting a new one at Home Depot if it was reasonable enough. Darn the things were not as cheap as you thought, but they had a great deal on a fridge, so you took advantage of an opportunity hoping your repair held.

 

You turned out to be right because the repair took and now you have a stainless steel fridge. Not only that but it matches the other stainless steel appliances you already had but until you found the deal couldn't afford to buy.

[stuckincincy]

Your missing the point. Your cellar is flooding and the sump pump is broke. You drive down to Home Depot to get a new sump pump. There is a great sale on a refrigerator for, believe it or not, THE SAME PRICE as the sump pump. You buy the frig, bring it home. The wife gets pissed, the cellar is a mess, all sorts of stuff is ruined. You went for VALUE over NEED. see?

 

I have a down-dip driveway with a drain that goes into a sump well. There is the main pump with a battery back-up. I have an additional battery back-up higher up in the well, which his valved to allow for an alternative discharge circuit. Two deep cycle batteries under constant trickle charge, with low fluid alerts.

 

I have an additional free-standing deep-cycle battery that is trickle charged with a solar cell.

 

I have a portable generator, two battery chargers and and two inverters that can be connected to same, as well as the ability to use my truck 12v socket to power the inverter to power the charger to recharge the batteries.

 

I mated a manual pump to an exercise bike, with necessary discharge hosing. I also engineered a coupling for an electric drill to run the pump.

 

I have a garden-hose venturi effect vacuum device as recommended by our poster EEI.

 

I purchased cartons of electrolyte and bottles of distilled water sufficient to rejuvenate all 3 batteries.

 

I cobbled up an easily-installed emergency weir, and have taken steps to insure that in case of total lack of power, the water pouring from the sump well is shunted to a free flowing basement floor drain.

 

I have sufficient 2x4s, other lumber, and visqueen sheeting to manufacture a tent structure over the driveway.

 

I drilled strategic pressure relief holes between the basement and slab, and installed drainage dams that direct seepage to the floor drain.

 

 

Tenny...OK if I buy that refrigerator?

[tennesseeboy]

I have a down-dip driveway with a drain that goes into a sump well. There is the main pump with a battery back-up. I have an additional battery back-up higher up in the well, which his valved to allow for an alternative discharge circuit. Two deep cycle batteries under constant trickle charge, with low fluid alerts.

 

I have an additional free-standing deep-cycle battery that is trickle charged with a solar cell.

 

I have a portable generator, two battery chargers and and two inverters that can be connected to same, as well as the ability to use my truck 12v socket to power the inverter to power the charger to recharge the batteries.

 

I mated a manual pump to an exercise bike, with necessary discharge hosing. I also engineered a coupling for an electric drill to run the pump.

 

I have a a garden-hose venturi effect vacuum device as recommended by our poster EEI.

 

I have cartons of electrolyte and bottles of distilled water sufficient to rejuvenate all 3 batteries.

 

I have an easily-installed emergency weir, and have taken steps to insure that in case of total lack of power, the water pouring from the sump well is shunted to a free flowing basement floor drain.

 

I have sufficient 2x4s, other lumber, and visqueen sheeting to manufacture a tent structure over the driveway.

 

I drilled strategic pressure relief holes between the basement and slab, and installed drainage dams that direct seepage to the floor drain.

 

 

Tenny...OK if I buy that refrigerator?

Sure..if you can produce nine wins!

[Doc]

Good analogy.

It's not a good analogy. You know a fridge or sump pump will work (and if it doesn't, you can return it for one that does). You can't send back a player that doesn't work.

[stuckincincy]

Sure..if you can produce nine wins!

 

I'll need more solar cells, then.

 

I 've been working on a wind turbine recently, using an old automotive generator and the fan assembly from an out-of service ceiling fan. It will be a portable thing, erected and put outside if there is a desperate need. I'm doubtful that I will succeed.

[stuckincincy]

It's not a good analogy. You know a fridge or sump pump will work (and if it doesn't, you can return it for one that does). You can't send back a player that doesn't work.

 

 

If your sump fails, you are FUBAR. You can put on your Wellies or scuba outfit - whichever applies - and remove it and try to return it.

[Doc]

If your sump fails, you are FUBAR. You can put on your Wellies or scuba outfit - whichever applies - and remove it and try to return it.

The point is that you can still return it for one that works.

[stuckincincy]

The point is that you can still return it for one that works.

 

Depends on how long it has been in service. Warranties have time limitations. And they have specific terms re maintenance. As in ensuring that the float isn't crapped up - something you have to check. And filling up the sump every few months to check for operation, and free flow through the discharge piping.

 

If yours isn't backed up with a battery (that you maintain properly), and the power goes out and the rain continues, it's no fault of the seller or the manufacturer.

 

 

My next door neighbor, since moved on, suffered a catastrophe. He had a pump and a back-up. He was a very competent tradesman. And I am sure he kicked himself black and blue, as he hauled out furniture, soaked plaster board, tools etc., knowing that he failed to maintain.

 

 

If you purport to blame the manufacturer for a failure, you will find it tough slogging.

 

You may have a sump pump to remove small seepage over time - that's one thing. If you depend on one to handle heavy rain events (1 1/2" over a half hour per my rain gauge yesterday afternoon), you will have a load of headaches if you don't apply due diligence.

 

Henry Thoreau observed - "A man does not own a house. A house owns a man." Still true.

[Thoner7]

Bulaga, as I thought that was the topic of the post. Clearly Oher would have been a better pick than Maybin last year, with the benefit of hindsight. By this time next year we may be saying the same thing about some other LT prospect that we passed in this draft, but not Bulaga, and I believe Spiller will prove to be a very valuable player to the Bills.

 

Oher was clearly a better choice than Maybin on draft day. 85% of this board could have told you that. Hopefully Spiller is better than Maybin, but we will surely be disappointed in not aquiring Bulaga

[Doc]

Oher was clearly a better choice than Maybin on draft day. 85% of this board could have told you that. Hopefully Spiller is better than Maybin, but we will surely be disappointed in not aquiring Bulaga

Not if he stays at OG.

[FLFan]

Oher was clearly a better choice than Maybin on draft day. 85% of this board could have told you that. Hopefully Spiller is better than Maybin, but we will surely be disappointed in not aquiring Bulaga

I do not agree on Bulaga. There was no reason to waste a ist round pick on a guard, which is what he was being projected at. As for draft day last year, I think your "85%" is a bit off, on this board and by NFL scouts in general. There was plenty of disagreement on Maybin vs Orako, and plenty of questions about Oher. Hindsight is great. There was no consensus on any of these guys at the time.

[San Jose Bills Fan]

I do not agree on Bulaga. There was no reason to waste a 1st round pick on a guard, which is what he was being projected at. As for draft day last year, I think your "85%" is a bit off, on this board and by NFL scouts in general. There was plenty of disagreement on Maybin vs Orako, and plenty of questions about Oher. Hindsight is great. There was no consensus on any of these guys at the time.

How did you feel about the Bills drafting a guard in the first round last year?

[Doc]

How did you feel about the Bills drafting a guard in the first round last year?

I believe what he meant is that since the Bills drafted 2 interior OL last year, there was no reason to draft another this year. Much less 9th overall.

[tennesseeboy]

Bulaga was drafted as a left tackle, and the long term plans at Green Bay have been for him to play that position.

 

http://www.fox11online.com/dpp/sports/pack...e-at-left-guard

 

That being said there was a position of need, Bulaga is being given the opportunity to play there, but there's no indication as of yet that he isn't still being considered for LT.

 

Not that we neede a LT anyway.

[FLFan]

How did you feel about the Bills drafting a guard in the first round last year?

I was very happy with it, but since we spent two premium picks on guards last year that would not seem to me to be the best move this year. Like everybody else, I am not comfortable with our tackle situation but I just don't think Bulaga was the right choice, nor do I think there was by any means a sure fire choice for LT at number 9.