Rosenthal Likes the Bills Draft

[hondo in seattle]

I had decided not to read draft grades this year because I've made the mistake of believing them in the past. I'm in the 'trust-Nix' mode now and just waiting for the season to begin.

 

But I stumbled across this short article about the Bills draft and our secondary by Greg Rosenthal on NFL.com that I thought I'd share...

 

 

 

 

Bills drafted Gilmore to match up with Patriots TEs

 

 

By Gregg Rosenthal NFL.com

Around The League editor

Published: May 1, 2012 at 08:37 a.m.

Updated: May 1, 2012 at 08:48 a.m.

 

 

 

In case we haven't said it before, we loved the Bills draft. They didn't spend future picks trading up for Matt Kalil. They found a wildly talented potential starter at left tackle in Cordy Glenn in the second round, and they took the best player on the board at No. 10 in cornerback Stephon Gilmore.

 

The South Carolina product is a physical cornerback, and the beasts of the AFC East have two particularly big tight ends that need tracking.

 

“We would like to be able to match up against those two guys,” said G.M. Buddy Nix of Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. "Even though you’re not as big as they are these guys with speed and they’re big enough that they can’t knock them around and push them away from them. It’s a lot harder for them against these bigger corners. Yes, we think (Gilmore) can do that."

 

The team also drafted Aaron Williams in the second round last year. He's six feet tall. Gilmore and Williams could be starting as a tandem sooner than later at a deep cornerback position in Buffalo that also features Terrence McGee and Drayton Florence.

 

This Bills squad appears to have fewer holes than they have had in years. This was Nix's third draft as general manager and his master plan seems to be working. He knows the Patriots have won the division or tied for the division lead every year since 2001, so he needs weapons to stop them. Everything is pointing towards contention this year in Buffalo.

 

"We were able to fill every one that we set out to fill," said Nix.

[dollars 2 donuts]

"In Buddy we Trust."

[BRAWNDO]

Its great to have extremely competent football people in charge again!!

[atlbillsfan1975]

He brings up some great points-

Not trading up and thus away future picks.

Glenn was taken in the second, which means there is some question about him. If there was not he would have gone in the first most likely. Now i am one who thinks Glenn can be a starting LT in this league. He said he can drop 15-20lbs and thus play around 330.

 

The Bills have built a D in one off season to stop the Pats.

Strong pass rushers were brought in thru FA. Then they got argueably the best corner or atleast 1B.

They got a LB that is big and physical in the fourth, that can also cover.

 

Buddy and Chan and Wanny have a plan. Lets win our division first. This means we have to beat the Pats. And how do you beat the Pats, put pressure on Brady with your front four, and have guys that can cover their TE's.

 

Personally i like the approach, set realistic goals. You beat New england last year finally. You proved it can be done. Now you have a team with more depth then it has had in maybe 15 years. So when the injuries mount up, and they will, there shoould not be a huge drop off in talent.

[Mr. WEO]

Is Gilmore really a "big corner"? He 190lbs. He's giving up 55 lbs to Hernandez and 75 lbs (and 6 inches) to Gronkowski.

[dollars 2 donuts]

Is Gilmore really a "big corner"? He 190lbs. He's giving up 55 lbs to Hernandez and 75 lbs (and 6 inches) to Gronkowski.

 

 

...well, for a TE, yes he is small. However, for a jockey he is huuuuugggggeeeee!

[BuffaloBill]

He brings up some great points-

Not trading up and thus away future picks.

Glenn was taken in the second, which means there is some question about him. If there was not he would have gone in the first most likely. Now i am one who thinks Glenn can be a starting LT in this league. He said he can drop 15-20lbs and thus play around 330.

 

The Bills have built a D in one off season to stop the Pats.

Strong pass rushers were brought in thru FA. Then they got argueably the best corner or atleast 1B.

They got a LB that is big and physical in the fourth, that can also cover.

 

Buddy and Chan and Wanny have a plan. Lets win our division first. This means we have to beat the Pats. And how do you beat the Pats, put pressure on Brady with your front four, and have guys that can cover their TE's.

 

Personally i like the approach, set realistic goals. You beat New england last year finally. You proved it can be done. Now you have a team with more depth then it has had in maybe 15 years. So when the injuries mount up, and they will, there shoould not be a huge drop off in talent.

 

 

+1

 

It will be interesting to see how the Bills match up against the Patsies*. For far too long they have owned the Bills and with this draft and FA period the Bills have certainly made themselves more competitive. I look forward to the season.

[Dragonborn10]

On paper it looks good. However we have no evidence Wanny is a competent DC. The players are better and hopefully healthier this year. Also the season is only one injury away from disaster. If Fitz goes down all is lost. Yes you can say that about almost all teams but the backup QB situation in Buffalo is an unmitigated disaster.

[Green Lightning]

You have to slow Gronkowski at the line of scrimmage. With four stud pass rushers the TE will have to chip in. It gives a LB or taller CB a better chance to cover. Buddy knows you need a plan and not any one player to slow the Pats down. He's got the pieces in place.

[Kelly the Dog]

On paper it looks good. However we have no evidence Wanny is a competent DC.

? He was an excellent DC for the Cowboys and an excellent DC for both the Dolphins and the Bears when he was a crappy HC but ran their defenses because that is his specialty, similarly to how Chan runs the Bills offense and is the HC.

[JPS]

Is Gilmore really a "big corner"? He 190lbs. He's giving up 55 lbs to Hernandez and 75 lbs (and 6 inches) to Gronkowski.

He doesn't have to wrestle those dudes. But can he hang in their hip pocket. Maybe Brady looks elsewhere if they appear covered.

[Enemarty]

This is an intelligent analysis. So often, windbags like Kiper go on about a team that had two first round picks or drafted in the top five and couldn't help but get quality and suggest that they had an A draft, while a team like the Bills that didn't make any foolish moves and took great talent when it came their turn and filled the needs they set out to fill gets a C.

 

For example, last year we drafted MD with the third pick, a BPA and need position, but which was essentially a no-brainer decision and many gurus gave us a good grade as a result. However, I consider the job Nix did this year, with the 10th overall selection, to be far superior from the GM perspective.

 

He managed to select what many, if not most consider the BPA, after several (or all) of the the pre-draft favorites were off the board, and still got his choice of O-lineman, indeed the same guy many had us using our first round pick on. Although the third round was curious, he could well fit a major need and the talent from the 4th and 5th rounds was nothing short of highway robbery.

 

In Nix we trust indeed!

[VanCity]

On paper it looks good. However we have no evidence Wanny is a competent DC. The players are better and hopefully healthier this year. Also the season is only one injury away from disaster. If Fitz goes down all is lost. Yes you can say that about almost all teams but the backup QB situation in Buffalo is an unmitigated disaster.

 

Actually, we have evidence (se: Cowboys, Dallas) that he is a very good D-Coordinator, it's just not recent. And you are 100% correct about the QB position. I think everyone wants to know what Chan was talking about in regards to bringing in a "very good QB". The only possibilities on the FA market are Dennis Dixon and Vince Young IMO. Dixon has fewer red flags and comes from a winning program. He also is an agile, athletic QB that could fit Chan's schemes well. VY was once a very sound QB. Then his head got in the way. If he has his life sorted, I'd love to see what he could do. I'd have few issues seeing him backing up Fitz because Thigpen has nowhere near the upside. I don't look at his results in the preseason last year to evaluate Thigpen as he was coming into a new system. I do look at his history in the league however and it only includes one decent year in KC with Chan scheming to his strengths and not getting too far with that gameplan. If this team is going to be a contender, which is the aspiration, the Bills need complete faith in the back-up to step in and at least come close to what Fitz is bringing to the table.

 

As for Cordy Glenn in the second, I am more positive about the pick after reading D'Allesandris' comments about him this morning. I see D'Allesandris as one of the best O-line coaches in the league and if he sees a lot of potential in Cordy and the ability for him to step in and improve the O-line, I am 100% behind that pick.

[Dr. Fong]

On paper it looks good. However we have no evidence Wanny is a competent DC.

 

Well I guess if you throw out all of the times he's been a good DC in the NFL, then I guess you're right. There is no evidence.

[1B4IDie]

I had decided not to read draft grades this year because I've made the mistake of believing them in the past. I'm in the 'trust-Nix' mode now and just waiting for the season to begin.

 

But I stumbled across this short article about the Bills draft and our secondary by Greg Rosenthal on NFL.com that I thought I'd share...

 

 

 

 

Bills drafted Gilmore to match up with Patriots TEs

 

 

By Gregg Rosenthal NFL.com

Around The League editor

Published: May 1, 2012 at 08:37 a.m.

Updated: May 1, 2012 at 08:48 a.m.

 

 

 

In case we haven't said it before, we loved the Bills draft. They didn't spend future picks trading up for Matt Kalil. They found a wildly talented potential starter at left tackle in Cordy Glenn in the second round, and they took the best player on the board at No. 10 in cornerback Stephon Gilmore.

 

The South Carolina product is a physical cornerback, and the beasts of the AFC East have two particularly big tight ends that need tracking.

 

“We would like to be able to match up against those two guys,” said G.M. Buddy Nix of Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. "Even though you’re not as big as they are these guys with speed and they’re big enough that they can’t knock them around and push them away from them. It’s a lot harder for them against these bigger corners. Yes, we think (Gilmore) can do that."

 

The team also drafted Aaron Williams in the second round last year. He's six feet tall. Gilmore and Williams could be starting as a tandem sooner than later at a deep cornerback position in Buffalo that also features Terrence McGee and Drayton Florence.

 

This Bills squad appears to have fewer holes than they have had in years. This was Nix's third draft as general manager and his master plan seems to be working. He knows the Patriots have won the division or tied for the division lead every year since 2001, so he needs weapons to stop them. Everything is pointing towards contention this year in Buffalo.

 

"We were able to fill every one that we set out to fill," said Nix.

 

I Think you're running a little too far with a Nix Softball answer.

 

The question is "will Gilmore help with the Patriots TEs?"

 

The answer from Nix "sure, size helps"

 

Gilmore will be matched up on Gronk and Hernandez as often as McGee and Florence were matched up; that is say not very often.

 

You're probably going to have a LB bump them at the Line and run with them with a safety over Top. Gilmore isn't likely to be maned one on one with Gronk or Hernandez.

 

Its just a softball question and a softball answer.

 

Gilmore was drafted to compete on the outside with the best WRs in the game.

 

He will have his hands full with Brandon Lloyd when the Bills play the Patriots next year.

 

Gronk and Hernandez are going to be someone else's problem.

Edited May 1, 2012 by Why So Serious?

[Bufcomments]

Really you can say this whole offseason has been directed to stopping Tom Brady.

 

Buddy knows what he is doing and I think this is how you win the AFC east.

 

We beat them once last yr but got our asses kicked in NE.

 

I think that loss woke us up.

[1B4IDie]

Really you can say this whole offseason has been directed to stopping Tom Brady.

 

Buddy knows what he is doing and I think this is how you win the AFC east.

 

We beat them once last yr but got our asses kicked in NE.

 

I think that loss woke us up.

 

Plus beating the Jets and Fins, a few times will help too.

[Bufcomments]

I predict the Jets will be a mess this season, drama city with Tebow starting by week six.

 

If we can't beat the Fins with Matt Moore at QB we don't deserve the playoffs.

Edited May 1, 2012 by Bufcomments

[Fan in Chicago]

Really you can say this whole offseason has been directed to stopping Tom Brady.

 

Buddy knows what he is doing and I think this is how you win the AFC east.

 

We beat them once last yr but got our asses kicked in NE.

 

I think that loss woke us up.

Not sure about the waking up part, but in general if our D is good enough to stop Brady and his accomplices, we should be fine against the majority of the league's offenses.

[bearc012]

START THE SEASON!!!

 

Can't wait.