st. pete gogolak Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 Not going to use hindsight on this and I'm interested in reaction. 2010 draft. We pick Dareus and our turn is coming up in Round 2. Is the argument in the draft room cornerback v. outside linebacker? At corner, we have a couple of vets (Florence and an oft-injured McGee), a former first round potential bust or maybe breakout player (McKelvin) and Reggie Corner. A rookie cornerback is going to be what? 4th on the depth chart? At OLB we had Kelsey (an absolute joke the year before when playing in space), an oft injured Merriman, former first round bust Maybin, and second year guys Moats (who showed some skill at pass rushing) and Batten. So we pick Aaron Williams (who certainly has shown some skills and may turn out to be a terrific pick) and pass on Brooks Reed (six sacks for Houston), Akeem Ayers (12 game starter for Tennessee) and Justin Houston (showing flashes for KC and who we could have picked in Round 3). So my question is: what was the thinking during the draft? Had they given up on McKelvin? Did they think Maybin was going to be answer at OLB? Merriman? It just seems to me that the braintrust is clueless as to what makes a 3-4 D effective. Above all else, you need a run-stuffing NT and two really good OLB's. I presume that they thought Troup would take over at the nose but what exactly did they think was going to happen at OLB? Two years into the 3-4 or whatever hybrid that they are running and the current OLB's are Spencer Johnson and Chris Kelsey. I'm in favor of giving up on the experiment. Your best two defensive players (Dareus and K. Williams) are natural DT's. Move Kelsey back to DE for one or two more seasons and draft some 4-3 linebackers who can play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billswi2000 Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 Good post, but I am wondering whether it is easier to find and develop 4-3 DE or 3-4 OLB. Other than Bryce Paup, who was a free agent, I don't think the Bills had nay good OLB during the last decade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H2o Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 Good post, but I am wondering whether it is easier to find and develop 4-3 DE or 3-4 OLB. Other than Bryce Paup, who was a free agent, I don't think the Bills had nay good OLB during the last decade. Pre-Achilles tear Takeo Spikes. Dude was a beast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 The thinking was they had two veteran starters at OLB, an injured McGee, an unsigned Drayton Florence, and a woeful Leodis McKelvin as the only starting CB on the roster. Aaron Williams was more highly rated at a position of more perceived need at the time. A pretty simple decision really. I know you said you didn't want to use hindsight but that's what inevitably happens as your recitation of the stats of the OLBs we could have selected would suggest. GO BILLS!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSaint Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 Good post, but I am wondering whether it is easier to find and develop 4-3 DE or 3-4 OLB. Other than Bryce Paup, who was a free agent, I don't think the Bills had nay good OLB during the last decade. With Gregg, and DJ there was a whole lotta 43 that decade, with schobel at end. Not sure when you thought we chased a 34 end in the draft last unless you mean moats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBD Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 At the time I wanted Akeem Ayers, but Aaron Williams was the best player on the board and while in the short term Ayers may have made more sense, Williams could be the best player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSaint Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 At the time I wanted Akeem Ayers, but Aaron Williams was the best player on the board and while in the short term Ayers may have made more sense, Williams could be the best player. Wanted ayers, curious about reed, happy with williams if I remember correct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPS Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 Develop draft board. Commit to draft board. Follow draft board. History (and hindsight) is for losers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thoner7 Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 I am just not a fan of CBs. With todays rules their job is just to stay near the WR and tackle him after he catches the ball. The all mighty Revis couldnt cover SJ last week...my point is even the best CBs in the game cant cover a guy who half the fans say isnt a 'true #1 WR' with a noodle armed, innaccurate QB throwing his way. I would rather draft positions that can still have an impact on the game, and havent been eliminated by the rule book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
st. pete gogolak Posted December 7, 2011 Author Share Posted December 7, 2011 Develop draft board. Commit to draft board. Follow draft board. History (and hindsight) is for losers. No problem with that but when in hell do we get an OLB who can play? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thoner7 Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 Develop draft board. Commit to draft board. Follow draft board. History (and hindsight) is for losers. No problem with that but when in hell do we get an OLB who can play? The REAL problem with that is who we have had putting together said draft board all those years. I dont care if you alwasy draft the top rated player on your board, if you cant rate players you are SOL. Maybin over Orakpo!?!?!?!? GRlakerfhdklfnhsldf I hate that pick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RTW2012 Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 Not sure why people keep screwing this up- you're talking about the 2011 draft, not 2010. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPS Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 (edited) No problem with that but when in hell do we get an OLB who can play? 2012...or my name ain't Nathan Arizona!! The REAL problem with that is who we have had putting together said draft board all those years. I dont care if you alwasy draft the top rated player on your board, if you cant rate players you are SOL. Maybin over Orakpo!?!?!?!? GRlakerfhdklfnhsldf I hate that pick Different regime, I think. Different in names, not necessarily in performance and results. I dunno why they seem to make it so hard. I want this team to draft defensive front 7 HEAVY for the next 2 years. But you know we'll get WRs and DBs. I'm so numb, I'm kinda losing interest...and my thirst for season tix. Edited December 7, 2011 by JPS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T master Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 We will take another corner this year in the draft because with this injury & being put on IR Terrence Mcgee is done !!! I am going on the record as saying that he will no longer be a Bill . He was good for a time but to bring him back with his injury history would be foolish !! We definitely need a pass rushing LB , our D looked better with Merriman on the field because he had to be accounted for which took people away from other places and that was even with him being less than 100% . If he can (& i think we should bring him back for OTA's at least) come back & be just half of what he was when he was blowing up O lines all over the NFL he will be better than say Kelsay or others on the team , If nothing else he can be a mentor for other rookies & first year vet's but try telling that to a Bills fan ???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Jose Bills Fan Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 At the time I wanted Akeem Ayers, but Aaron Williams was the best player on the board and while in the short term Ayers may have made more sense, Williams could be the best player. Yeah, some guys wanted Brooks Reed, who's having a nice season with 6 sacks. I really wanted Jabaal Sheard who has 5.5 sacks and 5 forced fumbles. In this day and age you have to draft a cornerback every year but there's no rule that you have to draft one highly. I think Williams is gonna be a good player but I was not in favor of drafting him at the time. Back in 2009, I wanted us to draft Lawrence Sidbury in the 4th round when we drafted Shawn Nelson. Sidbury is a situational pass rusher and has 4 sacks this year. If I were a GM, I'd be drafting pass rushers all the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Jose Bills Fan Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 And to elaborate on what I said above, everyone knows it's a passing league. Teams pass about 60% of the time. Offenses utilize 3-4 WR sets more than half the time. So obviously yes, you need DBs who can cover. But you also need pass rushers. You can say that you need DBs to cover but what good are they if the QB has all day to throw? Wouldn't it be better to have crappy DBs but great pass rushers who can force QB mistakes AND who all things being equal, would improve your run defense more than a DB? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bufcomments Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 I thought they were going to draft Brooks Reed . But I think Williams is gonna be better than average. Wish he didn't get hurt because he needs the reps. They may have to draft another one next year but not as high as a 2nd rounder. They have to go D heavy. DE, OLB are must gets until they find one that can pressure the passer. CB are forced to cover for 5 seconds on damn near every play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddenboy Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 (edited) I thought they were going to draft Brooks Reed . But I think Williams is gonna be better than average. Wish he didn't get hurt because he needs the reps. They may have to draft another one next year but not as high as a 2nd rounder. They have to go D heavy. DE, OLB are must gets until they find THREE OR FOUR that can pressure the passer. CB are forced to cover for 5 seconds on damn near every play. FYP. Edited December 7, 2011 by maddenboy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts