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If you could keep just one TD draftee . . .

Orton's Arm

By Orton's Arm
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If you could keep just one TD draftee, which would it be?  

101 members have voted

  1. 1. If you could keep just one TD draftee, which would it be?

    • Willis McGahee
      6
    • Lee Evans
      36
    • JP Losman
      7
    • Roscoe Parrish
      1
    • Kevin Everett
      0
    • Aaron Schobel
      4
    • Angelo Crowell
      2
    • Nate Clements
      1
    • Terrence McGee
      43
    • Other
      1

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eball Hall of Famer

eball

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Posted

<YAWN>

 

So this is what it has come to. Posts about rumors about people who think they might know who could possibly be hired as HC, or polls asking inane questions.

 

Please, Empty Podium, give us some news.

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Orton's Arm Veteran

Orton's Arm

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<YAWN>

 

So this is what it has come to.  Posts about rumors about people who think they might know who could possibly be hired as HC, or polls asking inane questions.

 

Please, Empty Podium, give us some news.

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If you stopped to actually think about my question before posting your reply, you'd realize it wasn't inane. Basically, I'm asking which of TD's draft picks people think has the most to offer the team going forward. Obviously older picks like Clements or Schobel have had the chance to prove more than younger guys like Losman or Everett. By asking which player people would keep, I'm trying to level the playing field a little.

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Fake-Fat Sunny Veteran

Fake-Fat Sunny

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I'm surprised (though I guess knowing the fickleness of Bills fans about players I shouldn't be surprised) that a lot of folks seem to have given up on WM already.

 

This seems particularly odd to me given the facts that:

 

1. After his second season he got to 2,000 yards rushing quicker than any player (and this includes Thurman and OJ) in Bills history.

 

2. He was productive on the ground in the final game of the season lowering the concern that his mid-season power outtage was due to injury.

 

3. He did produce like crap from an early start which was very impressive and concern about this and mental commitment is legit. However, his yards per carry was fairly high during much of this cumulative downturn indicating the problem was in many ways play calling as the braintrust went away from him.

 

In addition, its not like you can say that his OL was all that good and the QB play of Losman and the playcalling really meant that there were few alternatives for him to play off of.

 

Figuring he is done due to some alleged character flaw ignores the fact that he has already shown some great character in his rehab and in his off-season work at the U where he bulked up even more. I;m not overly concerned that this extra bulk has cost himsome breakaway speed because given the sturdiness versus speed trade-off, i think erring toward bulk is the smart move given that we use him as a workhorse and we are weak at back-up behind him.

 

I like Evans as well and his productivity his first two years in comparison with the production of Pro Bowl talent Moulds is not even close.

 

Hiowever, the upside that WM offers as long as he continues to produce at a rate similar to his first two seasons makes him the one guy I would keep of this bunch.

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Dawgg Veteran

Dawgg

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Haha once again, we get the patented FFS enumarated list. Last time I saw one of these, you were arguing in favor of Mike Williams. :o

 

I think it's a question of value. While I don't think this season is a true reflection of WM's ability, I think you have to take into account how replaceable these players are. The fact of the matter is good running backs who move the chains are much easier to find than explosive receivers and this has been a major trend of late. The Bills managed to get Travis Henry after the first round and he was a productive RB for quite some time. Backs like Larry Johnson and Kevin Jones were late first round picks. While WRs are in abundance in every draft, a smaller fraction of them end up performing the way they were touted to perform. Bottom line, productive running backs are easier to find. Teams often have a surplus of running backs. Baltimore had Jamal Lewis and Priest Holmes on the same roster! Carolina had Stephen Davis and Deshaun Foster. Pittsburgh has the Bus and Parker. Receivers like Lee Evans are hard to replace and for that reason, I have to agree with Holcomb's Arm here.

 

 

1. After his second season he got to 2,000 yards rushing quicker than any player (and this includes Thurman and OJ) in Bills history.

 

2. He was productive on the ground in the final game of the season lowering the concern that his mid-season power outtage was due to injury.

 

3. He did produce like crap from an early start which was very impressive and concern about this and mental commitment is legit.  However, his yards per carry was fairly high during much of this cumulative downturn indicating the problem was in many ways play calling as the braintrust went away from him.

 

574196[/snapback]

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Orton's Arm Veteran

Orton's Arm

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I'm surprised (though I guess knowing the fickleness of Bills fans about players I shouldn't be surprised) that a lot of folks seem to have given up on WM already.

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It's not that I've given up on him, but I admit to entertaining doubts. I think Lee Evans has a better shot at becoming the next Steve Smith than Willis McGahee does of becoming the next LaDanian Tomlinson. Also, a WR's career lasts longer than a RB's, so that makes a young receiver more valuable than a young RB.

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eball Hall of Famer

eball

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If you stopped to actually think about my question before posting your reply, you'd realize it wasn't inane. Basically, I'm asking which of TD's draft picks people think has the most to offer the team going forward. Obviously older picks like Clements or Schobel have had the chance to prove more than younger guys like Losman or Everett. By asking which player people would keep, I'm trying to level the playing field a little.

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It's inane because it's irrelevant and useless. The Bills don't have to keep just one of these picks.

 

Sorry, it's just a stupid poll. Or maybe I'm a little cranky. Not sure which.

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Fake-Fat Sunny Veteran

Fake-Fat Sunny

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Haha once again, we get the patented FFS enumarated list.  Last time I saw one of these, you were arguing in favor of Mike Williams.    B-) 

 

I think it's a question of value.  While I don't think this season is a true reflection of WM's ability, I think you have to take into account how replaceable these players are.  The fact of the matter is good running backs who move the chains are much easier to find than explosive receivers and this has been a major trend of late.  The Bills managed to get Travis Henry after the first round and he was a productive RB for quite some time.  Backs like Larry Johnson and Kevin Jones were late first round picks.  While WRs are in abundance in every draft, a smaller fraction of them end up performing the way they were touted to perform.  Bottom line, productive running backs are easier to find.  Teams often have a surplus of running backs.  Baltimore had Jamal Lewis and Priest Holmes on the same roster!  Carolina had Stephen Davis and Deshaun Foster.  Pittsburgh has the Bus and Parker.  Receivers like Lee Evans are hard to replace and for that reason, I have to agree with Holcomb's Arm here.

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My response does stem from the fact that it is a false question since in reality we do have to leep just one of them. By forcing folks who choose to answer a non-reality question (I;m not sure who is foolishly wasting their time more, those who waste it by answering or those who waste it by answeing to say yawn its a waste of time) I think it really is asking who has more upside.

 

Here I think that it does come down to a choice between Evans and McGahee. The thought that recently great pivotal RBs are more easily replaced that great pivotal WRs is a very compelling argument.

 

Particularly with the MFL and its rules becoming more pass-happy in response to D's becoming better and more sophisticated, a good team seems to need not only a productive #1 WR but actually a good #2 that draws or exploits coverage to make the #1 effective. If Evans were gone, the Bills would need to find a quality WR to make the #1 WR productive or to replace Moulds if he leaves via FA.

 

On the other hand, if WM goes down it would be bad, but if one's OL plays adequately (which our OL has not done) even a journeyman could fill his role on a short-term basis or have a shot at becoming a star.

 

However, looking purely at the player, I am compelled to vote WM here because I think his upside is still untapped by the Bills (in part because of our balky OL) He really has not put together 16 games of reasonable productivity yet and if he does, look out/

 

His first season was a PUP bust/ His second season saw him take the starting role around the 5th game and he ended up putting up over 1000 yards. His thrid season saw him get to 2000 yards on the ground faster than any Bills, but in the second half of the season he lapsed into a period of non-productivity for several games.

 

Even the best player can expect to have a couple of games where he is stifled by the opponent, but the 5 or 6 games which were not productive for WM this year were troubling.

 

 

He bears part of the blame for this because I think after he bragged publicly about being one of the best RBs in the league and in the very next game was shut down (I think by Oakland) he let this get to him a bit, However, over the course of the rest of the season, I think his lack of productivity is correctly attributed to Clements and MMM not running him enough (his yards per carry even in these ganes where he did not accumulate yardage like he did in the first half of the season was still over 5 yards per carry). It also can be correctly attributed IMHO to some bad OL play.

 

I think WM still has some upside that an O can really be built around him much as Larry Johnson had shown in KC or LaDamian Tomlinson has done in SD. I just do not see Evans becoming another Steve Smith who is an example of an O being built around him even at his best.

 

As fatr as frontrunner in this poll McGee goes, if you instead asked me the question who is the most valuable Bill on this team McGee gets my vote. he really does special things on KR and tied for the team lead in INTs as well.

 

However, I view this as a different question than the one asked as to who would I keep.

 

As we saw with Dante Hall after his extraordinary KR year and also saw this year with WM getting far fewer KRs for TDs if necessary a teaM can adjust to take a good return guy out of the game. In the long run if I have to keep one player it is probably going to be one who can help you score points as a position player. McGahee probably has two years left to really put up 1800 yards or more rushing in a season and then time will see him playing out the clock. I thinl he still may develop into the player who can do this so he is my one keeper.

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