Did Ralph pick Spiller?

[Doc]

Rebuilding football teams don't have the luxury of strictly taking BPA. That is, unless they're going with a top QB, pass rusher, or perhaps LT and don't have one already. And from a supply and demand perspective, RB's with above average VORP aren't hard to find. Although someone will rebut with the below concept:

Reaching for a need isn't a winning strategy either.

[JohnC]

Rebuilding football teams don't have the luxury of strictly taking BPA. That is, unless they're going with a top QB, pass rusher, or perhaps LT and don't have one already. And from a supply and demand perspective, RB's with above average VORP aren't hard to find. Although someone will rebut with the below concept:

 

Rebuilding a hollow franchise is not a one year endeavor; it is a multi-year project. In general, taking the BPA (not carrying it out to an extreme) is a very sound strategy to take.

 

 

 

Dan Williams yes, Anthony Davis not so much.

 

Drafting Anthony Davis was too much of a risk for an organizagion that couldn't afford making a mistake with its first pick. Davis was noted for his lack of consistent effort on the field and the red flags were furiously waving when during the draft assessment period he got out of shape. If he is the type of player you want to invest in then you are more of a gambler than I am.

 

and justifying Spiller's selection because everyone behind him in the draft wasn't good outlines the fallacy of the pick.

 

Your logic is perplexing. If you are acknowledging that Spiller was a better player than those players drafted after him then you are making the case that the pick was reasonable.

 

 

Regardless, the Bills from 2003-2010 have been one of, if not the poorest drafting teams in the NFL. And it's occurred with 4 men as GM.

 

That is like saying that Al Capone was a crook. You are stating the obvious. Other than some irredeemable clones no one would disagree with your opinion on the organization's ineptitude.

[San Jose Bills Fan]

Because the question was silly the way it was framed. Spiller was top ten in his draft class.

 

Yes, he was chosen with the #9. Some mocks show Richardson going earlier, some later. Perhaps I'm a tad slow, but I don't understand what was wrong with the question. I was merely asking which player you, as a Bills fan, would rather have on your team.

Don't take this as a personal criticism Bill but I'm a bit slow today and I don't really understand the rhetorical question of Spiller vs Richardson. It makes no sense to me to include this in the discussion.

 

I was out drinking until late last night but I just don't see the relevancy of the point.

 

Could you make it more clear for me? Thanks.

 

 

[JohnC]

Reaching for a need isn't a winning strategy either.

 

When I find myself agreeing with you I get queasy.

[Doc]

When I find myself agreeing with you I get queasy.

You must be queasy a lot then, because we only disagree on Ralph. And Pegs and the Sabres basically make my case for me.

[JohnC]

You must be queasy a lot then, because we only disagree on Ralph. And Pegs and the Sabres basically make my case for me.

 

Ralph has been a buffoon for half a century. It's going to take a lot longer before Pegula comes close to matching Ralph's laughable ownership record.

 

I'm not sure what case you are making regarding Pegula? Whatever reason you have fault with him at least it has nothing to do with his desire to win. You can't say that about grouchy Ralph.

[Doc]

Ralph has been a buffoon for half a century. It's going to take a lot longer before Pegula comes close to matching Ralph's laughable ownership record.

 

I'm not sure what case you are making regarding Pegula? Whatever reason you have fault with him at least it has nothing to do with his desire to win. You can't say that about grouchy Ralph.

What case am I trying to make? Really?

 

And "desire to win" as evidenced by spending loads of money on crap players doesn't impress me. But as with Ralph, I'll love Pegs merely for keeping the team in Buffalo.

[SelmonSmith6378]

I think Chan picked him because he sort of fit his system and i don't know, maybe Krueger (That's my nickname for him) didn;t?

[thewildrabbit]

Rebuilding football teams don't have the luxury of strictly taking BPA. That is, unless they're going with a top QB, pass rusher, or perhaps LT and don't have one already. And from a supply and demand perspective, RB's with above average VORP aren't hard to find. Although someone will rebut with the below concept:

 

Dan Williams yes, Anthony Davis not so much.

 

If the confirmation that a top 10 pick is good because he gets decent PT when the starter is hurt, well, rebuilding in perpetuity will become common all around the NFL. NFL teams do not build around RB's at this point in the evolution of NFL offense and justifying Spiller's selection because everyone behind him in the draft wasn't good outlines the fallacy of the pick. Regardless, the Bills from 2003-2010 have been one of, if not the poorest drafting teams in the NFL. And it's occurred with 4 men as GM.

Nowadays most NFL team don't take a RB in the top 15 unless he is an immediate starter along the lines of Adrian Peterson and makes an impact his first year. I just don't buy the BPA excuse when this team was desperate for a pass rusher and O line help back then. Here it is 3 years later and the guy STILL isn't the starter and the team STILL needs a pass rusher AND O line help....wth, even the 0-16 Detroit Lions weren't that lame....ok,maybe they were.

 

Why does it take 3 years for this regime to understand that they are desperate for pass rush and O line when it could have easily been addressed the very first year.

 

 

I suppose what bothers me the most is the complete lack of scouting on this player, then the complete lack of coaching him up his first year. How does this kid get named starter on opening day, run three plays and then get benched as RB. He doesn't make an impact as a starting RB for almost a year and a half after he was drafted, and that was only because of an injury to the starter. If this is going to be the scenario behind other BPA so called picks then it makes more sense to draft for a direct need IMO.

[RealityCheck]

Nowadays most NFL team don't take a RB in the top 15 unless he is an immediate starter along the lines of Adrian Peterson and makes an impact his first year. I just don't buy the BPA excuse when this team was desperate for a pass rusher and O line help back then. Here it is 3 years later and the guy STILL isn't the starter and the team STILL needs a pass rusher AND O line help....wth, even the 0-16 Detroit Lions weren't that lame....ok,maybe they were.

 

Why does it take 3 years for this regime to understand that they are desperate for pass rush and O line when it could have easily been addressed the very first year.

 

 

I suppose what bothers me the most is the complete lack of scouting on this player, then the complete lack of coaching him up his first year. How does this kid get named starter on opening day, run three plays and then get benched as RB. He doesn't make an impact as a starting RB for almost a year and a half after he was drafted, and that was only because of an injury to the starter. If this is going to be the scenario behind other BPA so called picks then it makes more sense to draft for a direct need IMO.

As I recall the other 2 heads of our alleged 3 headed monster at the time were injured since game 1 of preseason. Lynch was far from 100% for game 1 and Fred had a cast on his hand. I agree that Spiller was not ready for prime time and he owns that himself, but if you were to refresh your memory somewhat you might find that Spiller was the only sensible option to start those first few weeks despite his ineffectiveness.

[Bill from NYC]

Don't take this as a personal criticism Bill but I'm a bit slow today and I don't really understand the rhetorical question of Spiller vs Richardson. It makes no sense to me to include this in the discussion.

 

I was out drinking until late last night but I just don't see the relevancy of the point.

 

Could you make it more clear for me? Thanks.

 

LOL! No, I think it's me not making myself clear.

 

Imo, Richardson will be picked somewhere around #9, just like Spiller. Although he has never played a professional down, I am of the opinion that he will be a clearly superior player. He is bigger, stronger, a better blocker, hard to tackle, a better receiver imo, and not that much slower. Richardson is a complete player, not a situational player.

 

And given the above, I still wouldn't want Richardson at #9. I think the Spiller pick was a huge mistake, but this is merely my opinion.

[BADOLBILZ]

Crusade? I was one vote out of 93 in a poll that I didn't start, and post #25 in a thread. My view is obviously on the unpopular side, just as your contention that Dick Jauron is a good coach fails to go over all that much.

Should we both just stop posting?

 

Yes, Biscuit had hundreds of posts over a four year period defending all things Jauron and literally compared and equated him to Bill Belichick as a head coach....... over, and over and over......despite mounting evidence to the contrary......like 8 losing seasons in 9 years as a head coach, for example.

 

Inarguably, the most ill-conceived crusade of all time on TBD. And the Baghdad Bob of TSW is calling YOU out?

 

He is right less often than The Big Cat.......and everyone knows that The Big Cat is always wrong.

[JohnC]

Yes, Biscuit had hundreds of posts over a four year period defending all things Jauron and literally compared and equated him to Bill Belichick as a head coach....... over, and over and over......despite mounting evidence to the contrary......like 8 losing seasons in 9 years as a head coach, for example.

 

Inarguably, the most ill-conceived crusade of all time on TBD. And the Baghdad Bob of TSW is calling YOU out?

 

He is right less often than The Big Cat.......and everyone knows that The Big Cat is always wrong.

 

It's patently unfair to keep a record of what was previously said. How is one going to shamelessly change one's position when busy bodies are taking note? It simply isn't fair. You just don't know how hard it is to be consistent.

[thewildrabbit]

As I recall the other 2 heads of our alleged 3 headed monster at the time were injured since game 1 of preseason. Lynch was far from 100% for game 1 and Fred had a cast on his hand. I agree that Spiller was not ready for prime time and he owns that himself, but if you were to refresh your memory somewhat you might find that Spiller was the only sensible option to start those first few weeks despite his ineffectiveness.

Yea both 2 other RBs were slightly injured, Marshawn with a leg injury and Freddy with a cast on his hand. Both those 2 RB's could have played if the team was that desperate. Apparently it was that desperate because after 3 plays Spiller was benched and Freddy entered that game, and he caught a pass from Trent.

 

How does this kid get drafted that high and he isn't able to start, bad scouting and or bad coaching? How does Gailey name him the starter for the opener? Once he started he didn't get any carries for awhile, he had 7 attempts in that first game for 6 yards! Both Lynch and Jackson played in that game because Spiller was so ineffective. Plus he was no longer the starter after that game. One attempt for 3 yards the next game.

 

 

My point was that a player taken that high in the draft shouldn't be riding the bench at his position when the team needed so much help elsewhere. The Bills needed a pass rusher and O line help then. Why draft the kid then if you are not gonna use him for 3 years?