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Could Ed Oliver play DE


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2 hours ago, richardb1952 said:

I am not an expert in this at all, but I see that Gerald McCoy might be available, and if so, would it be possible to move Oliver to 

DE sometimes and have a lineup consisting of Oliver, Totulelei, McCoy, Hughes.  Oliver is quick off the snap, I think he could hold his own on the edge and can certainly bring the pressure.  If such a lineup were possible, it would certainly add versatility to the lineup.  McCoy is interesting in that his salary for the next 3 years has no dead cap, he's still highly productive and would definitely make the DL better.  I think he could have been a target if the Bills didn't get Oliver.  If Oliver could play some DE, it might solve one of the areas of concern the FO has concerning a pass rushing DE along with Hughes.  

 

Even without McCoy , McD used 4 DT fronts last year , on 4th and 1 or less and Goal line situations. I do believe Oliver offers quite a bit of flexibility along the line

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3 minutes ago, richardb1952 said:

My real hope is that Lawson and Murphy play lights out and there would not be a reason to consider moving Oliver sometimes to DE.  It appears to be a concern to the Bills organization as they appeared to be real interested in Ansah.  Getting McCoy and having Oliver play DE sometimes in obvious passing downs was just a thought to maybe get  the best four on the DL on the field, especially when McDermott like to apply pressure from the front four.  Obviously, without McCoy, there would be no reason to move Oliver to DE because no one else on the team right now can generate the kind of pressure that Oliver can at the 3 tech.  With someone like McCoy, who is a 6 time pro bowler, we would have a 3 tech that could generate pressure up the middle and if Oliver could rush the passer from the DE position, Bills could make it very difficult for opposing offenses.  Just my thoughts.  Also, McCoy would cost 13 million this year but Bills could afford that and there is no dead money involved so if it doesn't work out, he can be released with minimum cost to Bills.

I like your out of the box thinking. 

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3 hours ago, BuffaloRebound said:

Not sure why we’d mess with our prized rookie.  Let Oliver play where he projects best.  And the almost universal consensus is his best position is 3 Tech DT.  

 

This.  Why is it that so many fans seem to think that moving high first round draft picks to other positions, especially before they've even seen real NFL action, is in any way desirable?  If these guys can't play the positions they were drafted for all that well, then the team may decide to try them elsewhere to see if they do better there, and sometimes it works, but usually it just delays the inevitable conclusion that the team drafted a bust.   If a team has a pick in the top ten, that pick ought to be used on "made" player -- one who can be expected to come in and start as a rookie at that position -- not one who is some kind of project who needs to learn a new position.

 

The Bills made this mistake when they drafted Mike William #4 in 2002 and tried to make him into a LT when he'd been a RT in college.  In that era, LTs and RTs had much more defined roles, and Williams simply didn't have the skill set to be a LT.   Playing at RT as a rookie, he did well enough but moving him to the left side where he struggled badly helped derail his career. 

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4 hours ago, Florida Bills Fanatic said:

I agree with you.  Given his salary, I doubt that the Bills are in the market for Gerald McCoy.  I envision the D-line in passing situations being Hughes, Oliver, Lawson at d-tackle, and either Murphy or Alexander at D-end.  The price to acquire and pay McCoy is probably too high when there may be more pressing needs.  I was in Indianapolis last week and there is talk there that the Colts may have an interest and a need for McCoy.  They also have the cap space to take him.  If he is made available, it could develop into competing bids which would drive up the cost to get him.  I don't see Beane being interested in that scenario.

i've mentioned this as well and the added bonus is rushing lorax along with this. i think it will be very effective and even downright scary. hopefully murphy has a major comeback year.

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I say yes he can....which is what made him such a valuable player in this draft.

 

You can move him around and disguise your defenses/match up against offenses

 

but...I still say that his prime position is the 3 tech....where he literally can get past Offensive Linemen before they can get out of their stances

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2 hours ago, Houston's #1 Bills Fan said:

Is he available?

As long as the ‘twin devils of deception’ (Whaley and Brandon) aren’t around to counsel the Pegulas, I would say ‘no’.  I fervently hope he isn’t doing anything more than acting as unpaid advisor to the Gase administration.  ?

Edited by Ridgewaycynic2013
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Physically he's capable of playing any position on the defense other than CB.

 

Moving him to the outside on a regular basis would probably be unwise - better to put him where he's most effective - but you could put him out there in certain rotation packages or if injuries necessitated it.

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