Astrobot Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 I have heard every one of the Bills' draft class described with the same word: tough. Aaron Williams: (Dallas News) "Cowboys thought Texas cornerback Aaron Williams was going to stick around until their second round pick at No. 40, they were wrong. Williams was drafted 34th overall by the Buffalo Bills Friday. Williams is one of the most versatile defensive backs in this draft, as he can play all five positions - both corners, both safeties and nickel. He's tough, aggressive, battles every receiver, covers the slot, provides run support and isn't afraid to get after the quarterback. It's a little surprising that Williams went to the Bills, as there was lots of talk he might go to Pittsburgh at No. 31, Green Bay at No. 32, Dallas at No. 40 or Houston at No. 42. The Bills chose Alabama defensive tackle Marcell Dareus with the third overall pick Thursday. Williams and Dareus played against each other when Texas and Alabama played for the National Championship in January 2010." Kelvin Sheppard: (NFL Network Analyst Mike Mayock) "Sheppard is savvy and tough. He comes to play every week." Da'Norris Searcy: (NFL.COM) "The Bills continue to add intriguing pieces to their secondary with the selection of Searcy. He is a tough, physical player with a feel for playing against the run. He also is an accomplished returner with the potential to add some juice in the kicking game" (Bleacher Report)"Searcy is a strong kid. He benched 225 at the Scouting Combines 27 times. He is tough and physical. It is conceivable that he will pair up with Jairus Byrd to form a safety tandem down the road." Chris Hairston: (ESPN Insider Scouting Report): "had this to say about Hairston's toughness....Plays with an edge and can throw smaller defenders to the ground. Killer instinct and finishes blocks when gets defender off balance....Big, tough, nasty" Johnny White: (NFL.COM) "White is a tough, hard-nosed runner with the ability to be a strong contributor with the Bills. His downhill running skills will boost a Bills' running game that already features a pair of quality runners in Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller" Chris White: (our own Buffalo Barbarian) "kid hits like a truck and has a lot of nasty in him" (!@#$) "Mississippi State defensive coordinator Manny Diaz told linebacker Chris White before this season he had a chance to win the Butkus Award, the senior laughed. But Diaz wasn't joking. In his mind, he saw an elite Southeastern Conference athlete. 'I'm a simple guy when it comes to evaluating linebackers,' Diaz said. 'I like them to run fast and hit hard. Chris White can run fast, he is tough as nails, and he will bring it.' " Justin Rogers:(DraftInsiders) "Tough smallish senior corner completed an excellent career at the lower level, earning conference honors over his final three seasons....He won many battles on instincts, experience and toughness that allowed him to rank with any corner from the lower level" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockinon Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 (edited) Astro, nice post. I have noticed the same thing. I started a similar post but used my own observations rather than ESPN, Dallas News or NFL.com. Your right. Tougher is a good description. I said, "bigger and stronger". A definite theme of this draft. Look here: My link Edited May 2, 2011 by Rockinon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Hindsight Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 About time we got some tough guys here...if only we had a Samoan... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewEra Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 Nice post. I thought the same thing when looking at the scouting reports. I couldn't be happier about the draft as a whole. I glad we didnt take a QB. I think we'll be looking to add a FA to backup Fitz, much better than Levi or a 5th-7th round rookie. If we don't add a QB in a FA....better hope Fitz doesn't get hurt early, or we'll be drafting Andrew Luck for sure...or maybe we should hope he gets hurt. Sorry guys, had to say it, and I love Fitz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilson's Ears Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 Nice post. I thought the same thing when looking at the scouting reports. I couldn't be happier about the draft as a whole. I glad we didnt take a QB. I think we'll be looking to add a FA to backup Fitz, much better than Levi or a 5th-7th round rookie. If we don't add a QB in a FA....better hope Fitz doesn't get hurt early, or we'll be drafting Andrew Luck for sure...or maybe we should hope he gets hurt. Sorry guys, had to say it, and I love Fitz. Either way, when we miss the playoffs AGAIN, we might as well do it right and totally tank at just the right time. Look at the Pittsburgh Penguins. They conveniently tanked twice and wound up with Lemieux and Crosby!!! Different sport, I know, but.... (and I am a Fitz fan BTW) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aloha22 Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 Football is a tough game for tough people. So, obviously we needed to get tougher Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green Lightning Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Good point Astro. Tough and big. Every pick is just big. A 6'8" RT, a 319 lb DE, a 223 lb safety. All bigger than the players they are replacing, not to mention nastier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astrobot Posted May 3, 2011 Author Share Posted May 3, 2011 Good point Astro. Tough and big. Every pick is just big. A 6'8" RT, a 319 lb DE, a 223 lb safety. All bigger than the players they are replacing, not to mention nastier. I remember Nix saying early on that we needed to get bigger and nastier. Dareus, Jasper, our RT, and even our new RB are bigger and tougher than we've seen around training camp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philo Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 I'd take tough players over the Tampon Two squad any day. We are headed in the right direction. If these picks pan out and the guys from last years draft improve like we hope they do, this defense will be a force to be reckoned with soon enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lvbillzfan Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 If i'm not mistaken, I read a lot of the same things about last years picks. I like that. Not flashy, but guys who are football players that come to play. Don't know how it will play out but it's good to have those types of players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanker Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Unfortunately, it might take two more drafts, but after that The Bills will be totally reborn and you won't recognize them. The wuss-bunnies of the last decade will fade into a distant bad memory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPS Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 I think most of them are described as hard working, high character too--much like last year's crop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niagara Bill Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 As opposed to Maybin in which he is described as quick, and does a good cha cha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrappy Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 I'd like to see it left on the field, not on paper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBill Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Good I'm a little tired of the "high motor" guys. We need size and toughness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SouthernMan Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 I have heard every one of the Bills' draft class described with the same word: tough. Aaron Williams: (Dallas News) "Cowboys thought Texas cornerback Aaron Williams was going to stick around until their second round pick at No. 40, they were wrong. Williams was drafted 34th overall by the Buffalo Bills Friday. Williams is one of the most versatile defensive backs in this draft, as he can play all five positions - both corners, both safeties and nickel. He's tough, aggressive, battles every receiver, covers the slot, provides run support and isn't afraid to get after the quarterback. It's a little surprising that Williams went to the Bills, as there was lots of talk he might go to Pittsburgh at No. 31, Green Bay at No. 32, Dallas at No. 40 or Houston at No. 42. The Bills chose Alabama defensive tackle Marcell Dareus with the third overall pick Thursday. Williams and Dareus played against each other when Texas and Alabama played for the National Championship in January 2010." Kelvin Sheppard: (NFL Network Analyst Mike Mayock) "Sheppard is savvy and tough. He comes to play every week." Da'Norris Searcy: (NFL.COM) "The Bills continue to add intriguing pieces to their secondary with the selection of Searcy. He is a tough, physical player with a feel for playing against the run. He also is an accomplished returner with the potential to add some juice in the kicking game" (Bleacher Report)"Searcy is a strong kid. He benched 225 at the Scouting Combines 27 times. He is tough and physical. It is conceivable that he will pair up with Jairus Byrd to form a safety tandem down the road." Chris Hairston: (ESPN Insider Scouting Report): "had this to say about Hairston's toughness....Plays with an edge and can throw smaller defenders to the ground. Killer instinct and finishes blocks when gets defender off balance....Big, tough, nasty" Johnny White: (NFL.COM) "White is a tough, hard-nosed runner with the ability to be a strong contributor with the Bills. His downhill running skills will boost a Bills' running game that already features a pair of quality runners in Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller" Chris White: (our own Buffalo Barbarian) "kid hits like a truck and has a lot of nasty in him" (!@#$) "Mississippi State defensive coordinator Manny Diaz told linebacker Chris White before this season he had a chance to win the Butkus Award, the senior laughed. But Diaz wasn't joking. In his mind, he saw an elite Southeastern Conference athlete. 'I'm a simple guy when it comes to evaluating linebackers,' Diaz said. 'I like them to run fast and hit hard. Chris White can run fast, he is tough as nails, and he will bring it.' " Justin Rogers:(DraftInsiders) "Tough smallish senior corner completed an excellent career at the lower level, earning conference honors over his final three seasons....He won many battles on instincts, experience and toughness that allowed him to rank with any corner from the lower level" Reading those evaluations reminds of the players from the Bills superbowl era. That was their commonality - toughness; competitiveness. In my estimation, toughness is a state of mind that comes from being a competitor. The superbowl Bills were guys who hated to lose. Not to start the Flutie/Johnson thing up again, but I always felt Flutie got the edge because he couldn't stand losing. Hopefully the new class of rookies will have enough talent and intelligence to go along with that toughness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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