Good Year not to draft A QB

[Nanker]

All we need to do now is wait for Tampa to give up on Josh Freeman.

We pick him up and we're a SB contender for sure.

 

Hey it happened before

 

and before

 

and before.

[BuffaloBill]

With no learning curve larger than that of a quarterback when entering the NFL and with the current lockout I am even more pleased that we did not draft a QB. Without contact with the coaches, regular practices and meetings it is hard to imagine that that player would even be prepared to be a #2 player. With Defense the learning curve inst as steep I'm not saying its not there by any means but I'm more comfortable with Dareus lining up on day one than an offensive player. IMO we will see Aaron Williams and Sheppard more and more after week 6. Maybe Chan and Buddy saw this coming, who knows.

 

 

I highly doubt the lockout played any factor in the Bills draft. If the QB they wanted was there they would have taken him. The lockout was as likely to end as it was to go on so relative to a draft it has short term impact.

[ganesh]

For the first time in a while we have a GM that has a clue !! Nix has chosen a path that seems to make a lot of sense or a lot more than the previous couple of "football people" chose .

 

The talent is on this team & bringing in good coaches like Wanny & keeping Bob Sanders , the QB coach from the CFL i think the team can go no where but up . We have had the talent for a while now but if the coaches don't know how to use it or bring it out you'll never win !!

 

I expect really good things this year & unlike a few others have all the faith in Fitz & believe it is VERY possible that the guy can be a pro bowl caliber QB , he is the right fit for the team & the talent that surrounds him . It may take a couple of other players but i for one think we are a lot closer than others think we are !!!!

 

I hope you are right. The picks from Nix's 1st draft could not get on the field consistently and couldn't contribute on a 4-12 team (for various reasons, that have already been hashed out here on TBD). Only time will tell if the picks from this season will go the same way or have a much better impact on this team and also if those rookies from last season can blossom into starters this season.

 

Fitz is just another version of Holcomb and is not a pro-bowl caliber QB. The key to our success on offense is going to trigger that anemic run game that failed to score TDs.

 

I am also not sold on Edwards as our DC. He is an average LB coach and he can't even get them to play as the best unit on his team.

 

One of the big problems this young team faced last year was the attempt to change to a 3-4 defense during training camp and then abandoning it for a 4-3 during the regular season...It is almost like wasting your off season.

Edited June 13, 2011 by ganesh

[Mickey]

If the season gets canceled, no games at all, and then they reach a settlement in time to have a draft next year, wouldn't they use the same draft order? If so, we would be third again and the team with the No. 1 pick already took a QB this year so there is no way they would take another one. Hmmmm.......I wonder.

 

 

[maryland-bills-fan]

Back to the original thread topic.... I agree that the abbreviated training camp and maybe little preseason is going to make it especially hard on rookie QB's. I don't think it kept the Bills from drafting a franchise QB if they thought one was there, but it probably kept them from "wasting" a pick on a 2nd or 3rd tier canidate this year. Such a guy would get little pro training, practice or evaluation in 2011 and would be starting 2012 about even with that years rookies. That was a good move.

[RyanC883]

100% correct. defensive players have a smaller learning curve than those on offense. I bet Nix took this, and the fact that this was a loaded D class into account when drafting.

 

I hope you are right. The picks from Nix's 1st draft could not get on the field consistently and couldn't contribute on a 4-12 team (for various reasons, that have already been hashed out here on TBD). Only time will tell if the picks from this season will go the same way or have a much better impact on this team and also if those rookies from last season can blossom into starters this season.

 

Fitz is just another version of Holcomb and is not a pro-bowl caliber QB. The key to our success on offense is going to trigger that anemic run game that failed to score TDs.

 

I am also not sold on Edwards as our DC. He is an average LB coach and he can't even get them to play as the best unit on his team.

 

One of the big problems this young team faced last year was the attempt to change to a 3-4 defense during training camp and then abandoning it for a 4-3 during the regular season...It is almost like wasting your off season.

 

 

WOW. Lets not compare Fitz to Holcomb, who couldn't throw the ball more than 10 yards. On the other hand, I agree with you that Edwards is not a D-coordinator. I fully expect him and Wanny to switch positions by the middle of the season unless the D gets its act in order.

 

Also, I think Nix took into account the looming lockout and the loaded D class and made the smart move to go heavy on D, where there is a smaller learning curve.

Edited June 13, 2011 by RyanC883

[bigc14120]

We still need a backup. I was amused at the reports of JP LOsman working out with Evans and some other Bills. I always wondered what JP would have done with good coaching, especially one of Chan's stature. Even if that could work to produce a competent backup, the fans would never give him a second chance, however. However, Brandon might just be stupid enough to try it if he would sign cheap. Where are all the calls for a second chance, like the Vick and Burress dramas. Still, JP has never shown "the head" to be a good QB...I wonder how he won that USFL championship with Fassel?

[yungmack]

I was saying going into this year's draft that there could end up being 4-6 starters coming out of it, and even up to 7 or 8 QB's who end up playing in the NFL that were drafted this year. Newton, Locker, Ponder, Dalton, and Gabbert are all pretty much locks to be starters. Then I think Kaepernick is an eventual, which makes 6. Then you've got the guys who were the darkhorse fan favorites who number somewhere around 4 - that's a lot of QB talent to pass up.

 

But, I'm glad they did. As many good QB's there were in this draft, we knew our team wasn't going to be a contender for at least one more year. Looking at the draft, the defense was the deeper of the units, and it happened that in rounds 2-5 we ended up with guys that look like they might've been overlooked for other more widely recognized names - we were hearing pre-draft about guys like Mathews, but Searcy was never mentioned. But, looking at their work now, I believe Searcy has a better chance of being an impact player than Mathews. What I like the most about this draft is we seemed to really fill positions of need with players that might be solid starters for years with guys like Dareus (really solidify the run D and our D-line is now set, I think, with Troupe, Williams, Carrington, and Edwards to line up next to), and then we get Williams to go along with McKelvin and McGee, and hopefully Florence - which would give us a very solid secondary (that's 2 of the three D units), and Williams could play safety in a pinch, too. Then we add Searcy to bring that meat to the safety position, which will go great next to Byrd, who is more of a finesse player. Finally, we have Batten, Moats, and Coleman to look forward to adding to our Linebacker Corps. Maybin is not lost totally yet, and I'm holding out hope he turns into a lightning bolt for us. Add to that Merriman, Poz, and Davis, and you have a group that is missing an OLB and an ILB to make it steady. Enter Kelvin Sheppard and Chris White, and I think we have the youth to grow into the positions. We have enough now to be a good defense - one that I think could end up being top 12 this season.

 

On offense we landed Hairston, who I think will start at RT, and who was highly regarded coming out, and who is strong as an ox, thank goodness. We get a RB who looks to be the perfect compliment to Fred and CJ, and I think we are going into F.A. lacking only a very dynamic TE - and there will be talent available at that position, and QB, if you doubt Fitz is the guy. Maybe good depth to backup our Tackle position, and another OLB to compete. Still, if our O-line continues to grow and improve, we stand to go into next year's draft with a good Defense in place, a squad of excellent Recievers (which I think we do have), a good O-line, and dynamic RB's - a team ready for a true Franchise QB - and there are supposedly 3 QB's coming out next year who would've been the top QB had they came out this year. So, if we're sitting where I think we will be, there is absolutely no reason we don't do whatever it takes to land that QB next draft, so that we can look forward to a decade of creating a system. Everything else will be in place - except maybe that great TE, I don't know how the college landscape looks for TE in next year's draft.

 

Anyway, had we reached this year for a QB and missed on someone good on Defense, we might not only have missed that defensive player and had to go high next year to replace him, but also we might feel obliged to stick with a QB who isn't necessarily good enough, and then eventually have to replace him anyway. I like that our F.O. goes for who they believe to be the best players available, because just like San Diego had that very sound, deep team, not to mention Pittsburgh - so, too, will we have that good depth and steady, level talent level, if we have another draft or two like this.

Nice analysis.

[paintmyhouse]

Every year is a good year to draft a QB when the current group you have are all not that good.

[maryland-bills-fan]

Every year is a good year to draft a QB when the current group you have are all not that good.

 

And Fitz is about middle of the pack. You forgot about all the other holes.

[Orton's Arm]

100% correct. defensive players have a smaller learning curve than those on offense. I bet Nix took this, and the fact that this was a loaded D class into account when drafting.

 

 

 

 

WOW. Lets not compare Fitz to Holcomb, who couldn't throw the ball more than 10 yards. On the other hand, I agree with you that Edwards is not a D-coordinator. I fully expect him and Wanny to switch positions by the middle of the season unless the D gets its act in order.

 

Also, I think Nix took into account the looming lockout and the loaded D class and made the smart move to go heavy on D, where there is a smaller learning curve.

In 2005, Holcomb averaged 6.6 yards per attempt for the Bills, while throwing behind a joke OL and with an inconsistent running game. This past season, Fitz averaged 6.8 yards per attempt. That's a bit of a step up from Holcomb, but not much of one.

 

With Holcomb, people seem to remember the bad and forget the good. They remember his weak arm strength, while forgetting how accurate he could be with short to intermediate passes. They remember his short pass to Moulds on 4th and 12 against the Patriots, while forgetting that Holcomb had played well enough up to that point for the Bills to have a realistic chance to beat the Patriots well into the fourth quarter. The Patriots needed a little help from the refs to win that game, with a third down completion to Moulds (which should have been for a first down) getting turned into 4th and 12 based on a bogus offensive pass interference penalty on Moulds.

 

The similarities between Fitz and Holcomb are actually pretty strong. Both had been long-term career backups/occasional starters before coming to Buffalo. Both QBs displaced a younger QB while here to take the starting job. Both played behind bad OLs, and both did well at getting rid of the ball quickly to make up for bad pass protection. Both have/had an Achilles heel which prevents them from being the long-term answer. (Arm strength for Holcomb, accuracy for Fitz.) Both seem like overachievers. Both seem to have a good grasp of the game.