A Modern Day Case Against First Round Corners

[Bill from NYC]

Jeff Burris. Thomas Smith, Antoine Winfield, and Nate Clements. These are 1 contract and out 1st round corners who were drafted by the Bills, but we already knew this. Back in the day, many of us were furious to see us draft players in the first round and let them walk. Things change. Check this out: http://nyjetscap.com/darrellerevis.html

And this: http://www.sportscity.com/NFL/Philadelphia-Eagles-Salaries

 

Darrelle Revis is, imo, the best corner in the NFL. His cap hit in 2012 is $11,503,000, and it appears he will be eligible for 3 seperate 1 million dollar bonuses (reporting, workout, roster) to boot. Wow!

 

Asumugha comes with an 11,300,000 cap hit for the Eagles. How did that work out?

 

Many posters are quick to point out that the teams with perhaps the best Left Tackles failed to make the playoffs (Miami and Cleveland). Well, look at the financial hit the Jets and Eagles are taking on these corners! It hurt the Jets SO bad that they had to extend, and give more guaranteed money to Sanchez, who imo is not all that. A huge chunk of their entire cap is devoted to a corner, who can cover 1 receiver, and today, we see 4 and 5 wide sets.

Paying corners the big bucks after the first contract might actually lend itself to letting them walk, the way the Bills historically do. The thing is, Bills fans know better, because we have seen the results of wasting first round picks on DBs and RBs, and seeing them depart with nothing (or a 4th round pick) in return, and this would be losing football games.

 

Now, as for the 2012 draft, I fully expect the Bills to draft Floyd. I don't want them to mind you, but if they do, I will not have a "Donte Whitner at #8" type of meltdown like I did in 2006 LOL! And I would want to see him play at an Eric Moulds level. If he could, I would be more than satisfied, because this could win us games.

What I hope is that we grab an LT who could play at a Brad Hopkins/Takik Glenn level. That would be just fine, if of course one exists. If not, I hope that they trade down, and take a look at Hightower. It would be pretty freaking hard to run against the Bills with Hightower behind Dareus and KW, not to mention our pass rush.

 

I think the Bills will be a playoff contender if they don't tank this draft. And it feels good to be able to even go there.

 

GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[spartacus]

Jeff Burris. Thomas Smith, Antoine Winfield, and Nate Clements. These are 1 contract and out 1st round corners who were drafted by the Bills, but we already knew this. Back in the day, many of us were furious to see us draft players in the first round and let them walk. Things change. Check this out: http://nyjetscap.com...rellerevis.html

And this: http://www.sportscit...Eagles-Salaries

 

Darrelle Revis is, imo, the best corner in the NFL. His cap hit in 2012 is $11,503,000, and it appears he will be eligible for 3 seperate 1 million dollar bonuses (reporting, workout, roster) to boot. Wow!

 

Asumugha comes with an 11,300,000 cap hit for the Eagles. How did that work out?

 

Many posters are quick to point out that the teams with perhaps the best Left Tackles failed to make the playoffs (Miami and Cleveland). Well, look at the financial hit the Jets and Eagles are taking on these corners! It hurt the Jets SO bad that they had to extend, and give more guaranteed money to Sanchez, who imo is not all that. A huge chunk of their entire cap is devoted to a corner, who can cover 1 receiver, and today, we see 4 and 5 wide sets.

Paying corners the big bucks after the first contract might actually lend itself to letting them walk, the way the Bills historically do. The thing is, Bills fans know better, because we have seen the results of wasting first round picks on DBs and RBs, and seeing them depart with nothing (or a 4th round pick) in return, and this would be losing football games.

 

Now, as for the 2012 draft, I fully expect the Bills to draft Floyd. I don't want them to mind you, but if they do, I will not have a "Donte Whitner at #8" type of meltdown like I did in 2006 LOL! And I would want to see him play at an Eric Moulds level. If he could, I would be more than satisfied, because this could win us games.

What I hope is that we grab an LT who could play at a Brad Hopkins/Takik Glenn level. That would be just fine, if of course one exists. If not, I hope that they trade down, and take a look at Hightower. It would be pretty freaking hard to run against the Bills with Hightower behind Dareus and KW, not to mention our pass rush.

 

I think the Bills will be a playoff contender if they don't tank this draft. And it feels good to be able to even go there.

 

GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

the bigger problem with the Bills infatuation with 1st round DBs is they wasted the skills acquired.

 

they insisted on using premium picks to acquire press coverage skills and then wasted those skills by playing soft zones with the DB in a different zip code from the WR. IN fact, the CBs had trouble adjusting to zone coverage and turned out to be underperformers in the Bills defense.

 

pass rushers and pass blockers would have been the better route to go - or a t a minimum coordiante the defensive scheme with the desired skillsets

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Zulu Cthulhu]

Maybe corners make so much money nowadays because they're more important than ever in today's NFL. It's not 1966 anymore after all Bill.

[EldaBillsFan]

A Great WR is a problem for any defense....

 

One good WR can be scheme against and control...

But 2 Good WR's is better than having One Great WR's ....

 

Stevie and Floyd would give us 2 Good WR's .....

[Bill from NYC]

Maybe corners make so much money nowadays because they're more important than ever in today's NFL. It's not 1966 anymore after all Bill.

 

In 1966 they played with 2 wideouts, no? A shutdown corner took away 50% of a team's receivers. TEs weren't even used that much in those days.

 

Thanks for helping me make my point.

 

A Great WR is a problem for any defense....

 

One good WR can be scheme against and control...

But 2 Good WR's is better than having One Great WR's ....

 

Stevie and Floyd would give us 2 Good WR's .....

 

And like I said, I won't have a fit if they select Floyd.

[ieatcrayonz]

 

 

Now, as for the 2012 draft, I fully expect the Bills to draft Floyd. I don't want them to mind you, but if they do,... ... I would want to see him play at an Eric Moulds level. If he could, I would be more than satisfied, because this could win us games.

 

 

 

For real? You want our #1 pick to suck for two years and then get good? Personally I'd rather have a player who can contribute right away even if it is a lineman.

 

Personally I think you are looking at this DB thing all wrong. In today's NFL where an offense flows like water in that it can go anywhere on the field at any time, we need DBs. Think of DBs like sponges who can absorb water anywhere it is. They can take the water out of play. If you only have one sponge in can get saturated and become useless against more water. If you have crappy sponges they are all brittle and unable to hold enough water plus many of them smell like comet. If you have enough sponges you can deal with any amount of water. Now think of linemen as concrete barriers or sand bags if you prefer. If you are preparing to hold back water they can be useful but they are immobile and once the water gets past/around them you are doomed. We don't want to be doomed. We need more sponges.

Edited April 7, 2012 by ieatcrayonz

[Shoutbox]

Here is a positional breakdown of all 23 1st round draft picks this franchise has made since its historical pinnacle in 1990:

 

DB: 8

RB: 4

DL: 4

OL: 4

WR: 2

QB: 1

 

Notice how the Bills have drafted as many DB's during this timespan as they have OL and DL combined (half of which were colossal busts - Mike Williams, Maybin, McCargo, Flowers...yikes).

 

Also notice how the Bills have drafted more combined DB's and RB's during this timespan as all other positions combined.

 

The OP is right: this is not a winning draft formula.

[Beerball]

For real? You want our #1 pick to suck for two years and then get good? Personally I'd rather have a player who can contribute right away even if it is a lineman.

 

Personally I think you are looking at this DB thing all wrong. In today's NFL where an offense flows like water in that it can go anywhere on the field at any time, we need DBs. Think of DBs like sponges who can absorb water anywhere it is. They can take the water out of play. If you only have one sponge in can get saturated and become useless against more water. If you have crappy sponges they are all brittle and unable to hold enough water plus many of them smell like comet. If you have enough sponges you can deal with any amount of water. Now think of linemen as concrete barriers or sand bags if you prefer. If you are preparing to hold back water they can be useful but they are immobile and once the water gets past/around them you are doomed. We don't want to be doomed. We need more sponges.

You do realize that sponges don't have feet don't you?

 

What are the LBs?

[Fan in Chicago]

Jeff Burris. Thomas Smith, Antoine Winfield, and Nate Clements. These are 1 contract and out 1st round corners who were drafted by the Bills, but we already knew this. Back in the day, many of us were furious to see us draft players in the first round and let them walk. Things change. Check this out: http://nyjetscap.com/darrellerevis.html

And this: http://www.sportscity.com/NFL/Philadelphia-Eagles-Salaries

 

I think the Bills will be a playoff contender if they don't tank this draft. And it feels good to be able to even go there.

 

GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Given the same financial premise that you are making, I see the situation differently. CBs are highly paid because good ones are tough to come by. Which is why teams have to draft DBs frequently in the hopes that they hit on some good ones. Also, financially restricted teams may choose not to pay $10MM+ for a CB which again means there needs to be a constant supply of DBs from the draft. Now, from the football perspective, while the front 7 are extremely important on both passing and running plays, there will be the free scoring teams such as the Saints and Pats* who will be tough to stop purely with front-7 pressure. Brees, Brady etc will get their completions - the goal will be to contain the damage which is where we need good DBs.

 

Overall, I agree that drafting a CB this year in round 1 is not as preferred as say drafting a OL or WR. My personal preference is to draft the best out of WR, OL and LB. But I willl not be too upset if we again draft a CB in the early rounds.

[ieatcrayonz]

You do realize that sponges don't have feet don't you?

 

What are the LBs?

The LBs are like those Civil Defense people that wear those funny helmets with the flat brim all the way around. The can direct things in a more mobile way than the barricades but they are subject to getting washed out.

 

Pic of helmet

 

Here is a positional breakdown of all 23 1st round draft picks this franchise has made since its historical pinnacle in 1990:

 

DB: 8

RB: 4

DL: 4

OL: 4

WR: 2

QB: 1

 

Notice how the Bills have drafted as many DB's during this timespan as they have OL and DL combined (half of which were colossal busts - Mike Williams, Maybin, McCargo, Flowers...yikes).

 

Also notice how the Bills have drafted more combined DB's and RB's during this timespan as all other positions combined.

 

The OP is right: this is not a winning draft formula.

So the answer is we'll get better if we draft more crappy OL/DL?

[UConn James]

For real? You want our #1 pick to suck for two years and then get good? Personally I'd rather have a player who can contribute right away even if it is a lineman.

 

 

You do realize that sponges don't have feet don't you?

 

What are the LBs?

 

Brillo pads?

[Beerball]

The LBs are like those Civil Defense people that wear those funny helmets with the flat brim all the way around. The can direct things in a more mobile way than the barricades but they are subject to getting washed out.

 

Pic of helmet

So, to summarize, your defensive philosophy involves immobile cement blocks (I think you mean concrete) backed up by fedora wearing traffic directors surrounded by spongebobs? And you wonder why people don't take you seriously.

[DefenseWinzChampionshipz]

For real? You want our #1 pick to suck for two years and then get good? Personally I'd rather have a player who can contribute right away even if it is a lineman.

 

Personally I think you are looking at this DB thing all wrong. In today's NFL where an offense flows like water in that it can go anywhere on the field at any time, we need DBs. Think of DBs like sponges who can absorb water anywhere it is. They can take the water out of play. If you only have one sponge in can get saturated and become useless against more water. If you have crappy sponges they are all brittle and unable to hold enough water plus many of them smell like comet. If you have enough sponges you can deal with any amount of water. Now think of linemen as concrete barriers or sand bags if you prefer. If you are preparing to hold back water they can be useful but they are immobile and once the water gets past/around them you are doomed. We don't want to be doomed. We need more sponges.

 

We need to find more Shamwow's.

[Fan in Chicago]

So, to summarize, your defensive philosophy involves immobile cement blocks (I think you mean concrete) backed up by fedora wearing traffic directors surrounded by spongebobs? And you wonder why people don't take you seriously.

They don't ? Under the guise of sarcasm and outrageous-sounding analogies, I think he makes many good football points. Whether I agree with them is another matter, but witty he is.

[GG]

Look at it simply this way. An OT screw up is a sack. A DB screw up is 6 points. If you apply the law of averages, you'd rather give up sacks than points. The focus of the player selected should also take into account the offense & defense this team runs. So far, Gailey has done alright plugging in OT guys to have done alright to help the offense. The real thing that hurt them last year was lack of depth at OT, and it certainly looks like Nix will definitely address that in the draft or in the week after the draft. I fully expect at least two more OTs coming in to camp this year.

 

But that doesn't mean that you automatically select an OT over a CB, depending on who's still on the board at #10. If the CB ranks far higher than the next available OT, the choice is clear. CB is definitely a major need this and every year.

[gobillsinytown]

So, to summarize, your defensive philosophy involves immobile cement blocks (I think you mean concrete) backed up by fedora wearing traffic directors surrounded by spongebobs? And you wonder why people don't take you seriously.

 

I think this has the beginnings of a Pro Bowl caliber defense. Now, to put it over the top, all you would need is rolling farm wagons to put the cement blocks on. Instant mobile blocking sleds!

[Bill from NYC]

Look at it simply this way. An OT screw up is a sack.

 

Or a tackle for a loss on a run, a fumble, an interception, pick-six, a hurried, incomplete pass, or a QB with a broken rib.

Edited April 7, 2012 by Bill from NYC

[Simon]

CB is definitely a major need this and every year.

 

I agree that you need to keep the DB cupboard well-stocked all the time, but I'd be hesitant to call CB a major need this year, at least relative to other needs.

Despite the opinions of the folks who can only see him when he makes a mistake, Florence is rock solid and is only going to get better behind an improving front 7. Aaron Williams showed strong last year and should have the other side well in hand. Even McKelvin could be significant factor this year if the Bills are wise enough to keep him in the slot as a nickel, where he could really excel by keeping things in front of him and at eye level and not having to play downfield with the ball over his head, which is the only place he gets in trouble.

Fresh depth is always welcome, particularly in a division with the Pats, but I don't think it's a significant enough situation to refer to it as a major need.

[You herd it hear last]

You do realize that sponges don't have feet don't you?

 

What are the LBs?

Everyone knows that linebackers are like jellyfish...

[Bill from NYC]

I agree that you need to keep the DB cupboard well-stocked all the time, but I'd be hesitant to call CB a major need this year, at least relative to other needs.

Despite the opinions of the folks who can only see him when he makes a mistake, Florence is rock solid and is only going to get better behind an improving front 7. Aaron Williams showed strong last year and should have the other side well in hand. Even McKelvin could be significant factor this year if the Bills are wise enough to keep him in the slot as a nickel, where he could really excel by keeping things in front of him and at eye level and not having to play downfield with the ball over his head, which is the only place he gets in trouble.

Fresh depth is always welcome, particularly in a division with the Pats, but I don't think it's a significant enough situation to refer to it as a major need.

 

Do you expect a contribution from Justin Rogers? That would be a great thing!