Tod Flanders Posted November 15, 2006 Share Posted November 15, 2006 For what it's worth and a change of pace from the I hate/love JP threads here's pre-season preview of the Bills t compare to where we are. Other than the record I'd have to say it's pretty accurate espeically about getting the ball into the hands of our playmakers. Bills Preview This off-season there has been much wailing and gnashing of teeth about the direction the Bills have taken under first year GM Marv Levy and new head coach Dick Jauron. I however say a pox upon those nattering nabobs of negativism, there is ample evidence that shows the Bills are on the verge of reversing their losing ways. I predict the Bills will go 11-5 and make the playoffs in 2006 and here’s why. The Offensive Line The previous administration was roundly criticized for ignoring the offensive line, plugging it with journeymen free agents while wasting draft picks on skill position players only. However this is contrary to the facts Donahoe did in try to improve the offensive line when he drafted Mike Williams with the 4th overall draft pick. Williams was a colossal bust and the lesson was learned, if trying to improve the line fails then the opposite action of not trying must be the correct solution. It is gratifying to see that Levy has continued this trend and I expect it’ll pay dividends shortly. In addition the sage Levy stated that the game has changed that “what worked in the past won’t work today”. If you look at the past success the Bills had in the 90s you’ll see a dominant offensive line – that was a decade ago and the NFL has changed you win in the new NFL not by opening holes for running backs and protecting the passer but by having your running back consistently stopped for a 3 yard loss and your quarterback hit on every passing attempt. The Bills are in the vanguard of the new NFL. Playing to our strengths As much as the game has changed one thing remains constant: you win by giving your best players as many chances as possible to make plays. The Bills have two pro bowl players, our long snapper Schenck and our punter Mohrman and our new offense looks primed to give these players plenty of opportunities to make plays. You don’t win in the NFL by using players like Jerry Rice or Barry Sanders as decoys you give them the ball and let them make the big play. If our offense can manage more three and outs then turnovers our difference makers should be a major factor this season. The Draft At first I was upset with the direction the Bills took in the draft I didn’t think they did enough to address our most pressing needs at the safety position and quality depth at the long snapper position. With only one free agent safety signed in the off-season it seemed unwise to only draft 3 safeties to add to the other 3 we had on roster from last year. In addition who’s our backup long-snapper? I didn’t know who the starter was until he made the pro bowl so my guess is that nobody knows. However looking back at the draft I now understand why they made the picks they made. In the later rounds despite the fact that plenty of safeties were still available there were a few terrible offensive linemen left on the board. As these offensive linemen are terrible they already know the Bills system and fit their scheme therefore there is a real chance that they can become immediate impact players. Any time you have a chance to draft an immediate impact player you take it especially in the late rounds. There is plenty of time to sign some undrafted free agent safeties so we can go into camp with 30 and all we need is to sign one reserve long snapper, make a big deal about it: i.e. hold a press conference, make it the lead article on BuffaloBills.com so that I know his name and we’ll have had an outstanding draft and addressed our two most pressing needs. The Improved Defense The Bills retained Nate “Playmaker” Clements while adding several speedy sure-tackling safeties to their roster. The playmaker certainly lived up to his moniker last season as several big plays were made by the receivers he was covering. When a wide receiver looks across the line of scrimmage and sees Clements lined up across him he knows it’s going to be a long day of running up and down the field and inventing clever endzone celebrations. This will wear the opposition’s top wideouts out until the opposing offensive coordinator realizes they can run against us just as easily. And this is where those new safeties come into play. With their speed they should be able to cut down on all of those long runs we gave up. Forty yard runs will be thirty yards and twenty five yard runs and mere fifteen with the new Bills D. What this translates to is that opposing offenses will have to run 2-3 more plays on each scoring drive. This will eat up precious time on the clock resulting in fewer possessions, less points against and closer games – no one will beat us by more than 50 this season I guarantee it! The Non-Stop Motor Factor Buffalo fans have always appreciated a hard working team that always give 100% and this Bills team is loaded with those non-stop motor types that we love. Who cares if we lose by 30 points so long as we know that our guys are willing to run a 10K after every shellacking? Superbowls and wins are old man’s football, I’ll take a high effort team that’s willing to do whatever it takes, aside from playing football well, any day over overpaid spoiled athletes that score touchdowns and win games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ganesh Posted November 15, 2006 Share Posted November 15, 2006 Following players were drafted by TD for the OL: 2001 3 95 Jonas Jennings T Georgia 2001 5 144 Marques Sullivan T Illinois 2002 1 4 Mike Williams T Texas 2003 5 151 Ben Sobieski G Iowa 2004 7 207 Dylan McFarland T Montana 2005 4 122 Duke Preston G Illinois 2005 6 197 Justin Geisinger G Vanderbilt That is a total of 7 players on the line in 5 years... Other than Jennings none of them have panned out. In the same period, Patriots(5) : Matt Light, Kenyatta Jones, Dan Koppen, Logan Mankins, Nick Kaczur, with Logan and Nick in 2005. I definitely think COACHING has a big input to their success on that OL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tod Flanders Posted November 15, 2006 Author Share Posted November 15, 2006 Following players were drafted by TD for the OL: 2001 3 95 Jonas Jennings T Georgia 2001 5 144 Marques Sullivan T Illinois 2002 1 4 Mike Williams T Texas 2003 5 151 Ben Sobieski G Iowa 2004 7 207 Dylan McFarland T Montana 2005 4 122 Duke Preston G Illinois 2005 6 197 Justin Geisinger G Vanderbilt That is a total of 7 players on the line in 5 years... Other than Jennings none of them have panned out. In the same period, Patriots(5) : Matt Light, Kenyatta Jones, Dan Koppen, Logan Mankins, Nick Kaczur, with Logan and Nick in 2005. I definitely think COACHING has a big input to their success on that OL. 838148[/snapback] Only 2 high picks though, a 3rd rounder and a 1st. One worked out than got at $800Mil /yr over from the Santa Clara 49ers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jahnyc Posted November 15, 2006 Share Posted November 15, 2006 What about Mike Pucillo? I think he was a TD draft choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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