silvermike Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 The Bills have had been in chaos since John Butler left. Three GMs and 5 coaches later we are still looking for a QB and we have less talent than we had 10 year ago. The Patriots have endured changes by being so sucessful. The have impressed me by grooming replacement coaches and front office people, almost all from within. They have drafted wisely and used free agency to perfection. Their ability to unload players and stockpile draft picks is unmatched. Sure, drafting Brady at 6 was luck but with all the continuous smart moves they make it should not surprise us that that they will find players in any round. At the top of it is Belichek. He seems to run everything and no one in the league plans better or has the attention to detail that he has. I think the real troubles go back to the Polian era. Butler did a great job in SD, but in Buffalo, he was unable to rebuild the team to take advantage of the talent he inherited. Look at his drafts: http://drafthistory.com/teams/bills.html (1993-2000). Three CBs in the first round, a pick blown on Rob Johnson, another on Antowain Smith, Eric Flowers, etc. He deserves credit for Reuben Brown and Eric Moulds, but it's not a great track record. When we needed a hit in the second round, we got a torrent of Lonnie Johnsons and Todd Collins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronc24 Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 You cannot discount the Brady / Belichek factor, but I think the "formula" is rather simple. The Pats win, which makes Foxboro a desireable place for FAs and they treat it like a business, trading used players(see: Moss, Randy) at a time when teams think they may still get something out of them. Also, they draft well...maybe not all "superstars" or Pro Bowlers, but guys who assimilate to the culture and fill roles where needed. Bottom line, guys want to play there....just like guys wanted to play for the Bills in the early 90's. The location does not matter....winning does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 With all the picks we have wasted on CB's, Safety, RB's and terrible DL in the first round This. The Bills have refused to spend top picks on the front 7 and OL for years (other than a one-year wonder "defensive end" that is built like a small linebacker) and that is why they get manhandled against teams like the Pats* who understand the need to build from the inside out. The Pats are literally pulling guys off waivers to play RB while the Bills continue to spend first round picks on that position every 3 years. The maddening thing about it is how the Bills continually pass on stud talent at positions of huge need. I'll never bemoan not drafting Brady because no one saw that coming. But to pass on highly regarded performers like Wilfork, Ngata, Oher, Clady, Orakpa, Bulaga, etc. when they had huge holes at those positions is maddening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohiotim Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 I've listened to Patriots players and coaches being interviewed on NFL radio and I can tell you the single most import reason for their success: They Adapt. To a man, the coaches and players say they don't have a system and try to fit players in, they identify players who have a talent and try to figure out a way to exploit that talent. The players dictate the type of system they run, the system doesn't dictate to the type of players they acquire. Think about the 19-1 season. They ran a wide-open, spread offense focusing on the passing game. They put up insane point. Why? Because they added Randy Moss and Wes Welker during the offseason. Now think back to the previous Super Bowl runs, where they had Branch, Brown and Givens, and Kevin Faulk was the focus of their running game. They ran a completely different style of offense focusing on "dink and dunk" with the small, fast receivers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 I've listened to Patriots players and coaches being interviewed on NFL radio and I can tell you the single most import reason for their success: They Adapt. To a man, the coaches and players say they don't have a system and try to fit players in, they identify players who have a talent and try to figure out a way to exploit that talent. The players dictate the type of system they run, the system doesn't dictate to the type of players they acquire. Think about the 19-1 season. They ran a wide-open, spread offense focusing on the passing game. They put up insane point. Why? Because they added Randy Moss and Wes Welker during the offseason. Now think back to the previous Super Bowl runs, where they had Branch, Brown and Givens, and Kevin Faulk was the focus of their running game. They ran a completely different style of offense focusing on "dink and dunk" with the small, fast receivers. Excellent point. And this goes to back to the draft -- passing on premier talent because "he doens't play in the right scheme". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just in Atlanta Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 Great analysis. Let's hope we don't draft a "skill" position in the first or second. Front 7 and O line is what we need. TE in the third. Then we can start talking QBs and WRs. I would really love AJ Greene. There I go, thinking like the Bills front office again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K Gun Special Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 How do they Patriots remain so good. With the draft picks they have piled up they will be good for years to come. Having Brady on your team doesn't hurt. But they still won some games with an average at best QB in Cassell. They don't waste high draft picks on RB's and WR's. They put an emphasis on key positions and fill in the rest with average players. Having a strong defensive line especially in the middle and strong LB's makes a defense work well. When your top CB wants to walk to make big money you let him go or trade him for some value and replace him with a draft choice. They draft very good tight ends. The top WR's in the game can be covered by the top CB's and sometimes taken out of the game. Great TE's are a mismatch for a good safety or LB. They automatically are a mismatch and they take advantage of that. On offense they put an emphasis on a strong OL while not spending a lot of time going after high profile RB's and WR's, minus the Moss trade. They also have a great QB to run the offense. The thing they do with their veterans is probably one of the main reasons they remain one of the top teams. They trade players as they age, while they still have value. In doing this they replace a high salary with a younger high draft pick and keep on going and not missing much in the process. They play them and let them take their lumps. The days of allowing a player to sit and develop are gone with the modern day NFL. You must have blue chip players in key areas and then you just need to fill in the other areas with average, smart players that buy in to your system. I believe that the modern NFL, since salary cap and free agency, the teams are watered down. If you just go back to the Bills glory days and look at both sides of the football and how many players they already have in the HOF. The Cowboys, Bills, Niners, Packers and some other teams of the early 90's would destroy the best teams today in my opinion, taking out advances in medicine and sports nutrition. The point I'm trying to make is that the Bills should be focusing on a few key areas in the next 2-3 drafts to be a great team in the modern day NFL. You will never have great players in every position. Don't waste draft picks on positions that are less important. 1. QB is the most important position in football. Makes the whole team better. 2. Great OL makes everyone on the offense better: QB, WR, RB. 3. Great TE's give a great outlet and are mismatches for defenses no matter what style you run. 4. Great DL (see above on OL): CB, Safety, LB. 5. Good LB's benefit from a great DL and are free to do their thing and fly around and show why they are the best athletes in the NFL. I don't watch enough college football to even act like I'm an expert. I can't take both Saturday and Sunday off with kids to watch football. I know if AJ Green is to fall to 3, I don't want the Bills to waste a pick on him. He is a game changer, from what I've seen, but I want a player that is worthy of the pick that will make everyone else around him better. In my opinion a player like that is someone you grab when you have a strong DL and OL already in place. It's like installing a beautiful front door on a house before building the foundation or framework. The patriots have spent just as many 1st and 2nd round picks on RB and WR and they have on line in the past ten years. Look it up. Seriously stop perpetuating the nonsense on this board that WR and RB shouldnt be drafted high. The Patriots do it. The patriots are good bc they get the best value out of the picks they stockpile. Oh yea, they also have a great QB who makes any talent around him better. Think thats probably the most important thing to copying their success. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 The patriots have spent just as many 1st and 2nd round picks on RB and WR and they have on line in the past ten years. Look it up. Seriously stop perpetuating the nonsense on this board that WR and RB shouldnt be drafted high. The Patriots do it. The patriots are good bc they get the best value out of the picks they stockpile. Oh yea, they also have a great QB who makes any talent around him better. Think thats probably the most important thing to copying their success. I don't dispute that Brady is the key, but your research off a little off. The last WR the Pats took in round 1 was Terry Glenn. Maroney is the only first round RB they've taken this century (compared to 3 for Buffalo). They've also drafted 3 DT that have beent to 9 probowls in that time, plus one of the best young linebackers and best young safteys in football. There's nothing wrong with drafting WR and RB high -- assuming you don't have a mess on the OL and the worst front 7 in football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K Gun Special Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 I don't dispute that Brady is the key, but your research off a little off. The last WR the Pats took in round 1 was Terry Glenn. Maroney is the only first round RB they've taken this century (compared to 3 for Buffalo). They've also drafted 3 DT that have beent to 9 probowls in that time, plus one of the best young linebackers and best young safteys in football. There's nothing wrong with drafting WR and RB high -- assuming you don't have a mess on the OL and the worst front 7 in football. No my research is not wrong, i said first two rounds. BTW the pats havent taken a OL in the first two rounds since 2005. Since 2002 they have selected in the 1st round 1 CB, 2 safeties, 1 LB, 1 RB, and 1 OL and 2 DL. So are they wasting picks on skill positions? If you include the 2nd round they have picked 6 DBs, 3 TEs, 4 DL, 3 WR, 1 LB and 1 RB with 1 OL. thats 8/19 picks used for lineman if you include TEs or about 42% of their high picks. So most of their picks were on skill positions including a lot of DBs. The Bills in that same time period took 5 DL, 1 OL and 1 TE for 7/19 picks used on line positions. THEY USED ONE LESS PICK than the Pats. The bills also took 4 fewer DBs and 1 more WR. So the analysis is way off. Its not hte position that you draft its whether you draft the right players. Keep in mind the Pats also had their QB in place during this time period. We still do not. Its a little different when you break down the numbers isnt it. The pats are great bc they draft the best players they can and dont draft someone just bc they play a position. The bills are wise to follow the same and they did last year with Spiller. Its hard to argue there were better players available at that point (yes some taken after have performed better but thats hindsight now) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanker Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 Pats* QBs Drafted Year Round Player1993 1 Drew Bledsoe1994 7 Jay Walker1999 7 Michael Bishop2000 6 Tom Brady2002 4 Rohan Davey2003 6 Kliff Kingsbury2005 5 Matt Cassel2008 3 Kevin OConnell 2010 7 Zac Robinson[/Code] It's obvious that they built their team by drafting on average a QB every 2 years in the 5th round.Their stats bear me out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pneumonic Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 The Pats success is due to them being the best in the business at the 3 most critical spots; QB, HC and owner. Everything else is complementary. Tough, if not impossible, to copy this plan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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