Senior Bowl

[RU5781]

I've been touting Leonard for the last year.

Brian is going to be a GOOD player. He is one of the nicest kids you will ever meet.

[AKC]

Looks like Patrick Willis brought his stock up to me...

 

"Patrick Willis of Ole Miss lead all defenders with 11 tackles and was named the South's defensive player of the game."

 

He showed great range, no doubt. But he was pushed around and let runners slip his tackles- I thought he probably hurt himself overall on Saturday.

 

The North dominated possession and ran 70 plays during the game. 5 of the tackles Willis made were only after the North had gotten first down yardage. Another was on Special Teams.

[bluenews]

Lifetime

 

 

no need for a remote control when you have Lifetime network....

[C.Biscuit97]

It's tough to project him at his sub 290 weight. It seems there should only be about 4 or 5 teams in the league who might covet a DT his size enough to spend a #1 on him.

 

No offense but this is a horrible line of thinking. So because he's not Rosie O'Donnell's size, he's not gonna be a good player???

 

The kid is 19 and there's a chance he could pack on some lbs. But the fact that he's not a fat @ss should be in his favor, not against him. The thing people are missing is that this kid doesn't need to be a savior. He just needs to be part of a rotation. Yo can never have enough DTs. It all starts up front and this is the first guy in a long time that I really want the Bills to get. He's a ball player.

[tennesseeboy]

unfortunately, I think Okoye may have played himself into a top ten pick, and after he puts back on about ten pounds for the combine, I think he may get into the top five. Gruden loves him and his former coach may take him. In his interview he indicated he was putting on weight as advised by scouts, and he played in the 315 level all season. He was the player of the game and if available he is the guy we need at number one. My only concern is that he will be off the board. Leonard looked terrific and the Miami DT on the South team looked pretty good. Okoye is our number one though.i

[34-78-83]

He showed great range, no doubt. But he was pushed around and let runners slip his tackles- I thought he probably hurt himself overall on Saturday.

 

The North dominated possession and ran 70 plays during the game. 5 of the tackles Willis made were only after the North had gotten first down yardage. Another was on Special Teams.

 

Range, tackling ability, and reading the play were all positives for him. He did get moved a couple times at the point of attack and the one pancake, but there are really only 2 or 3 MLB's in the big leagues who can shed a pro OG to me.

 

I liked what I saw from the Okoye kid too.

 

These guys all have something they need to work on at this point.

[AKC]

No offense but this is a horrible line of thinking. So because he's not Rosie O'Donnell's size, he's not gonna be a good player???

 

You'll have to take the line of thinking up with the GMs around the league. Most teams are looking for 310-330 pound interior DLinemen. It's very unlikely teams playing in gap control defenses would take a guy who showed up at the Senior Bowl weighing 287 pounds as their first round pick. There are a few teams like us playing in one-gap schemes who will not necessarily be turned off by that weight since the job of our DLinemen is so much different than playing in the Raven's scheme, for instance.

 

I don't know where you get from my post anything suggesting he won't be a good player- what I actually suggested is that he appears to be a most ideal fit in the type of defense we run and hence he is most likely to have a first round pick used on him by a Tampa/Cover 2 team. That limits our competition for his services, and that's to our advantage.

[Bill from NYC]

You'll have to take the line of thinking up with the GMs around the league. Most teams are looking for 310-330 pound interior DLinemen. It's very unlikely teams playing in gap control defenses would take a guy who showed up at the Senior Bowl weighing 287 pounds as their first round pick. There are a few teams like us playing in one-gap schemes who will not necessarily be turned off by that weight since the job of our DLinemen is so much different than playing in the Raven's scheme, for instance.

 

I don't know where you get from my post anything suggesting he won't be a good player- what I actually suggested is that he appears to be a most ideal fit in the type of defense we run and hence he is most likely to have a first round pick used on him by a Tampa/Cover 2 team. That limits our competition for his services, and that's to our advantage.

 

Hey Buddy! Tell me, do you think that the Bills can shore up their defense with another smallish DT?

 

I am NOT making a statement here.....just asking a question.

[AKC]

Hey Buddy! Tell me, do you think that the Bills can shore up their defense with another smallish DT?

 

I am NOT making a statement here.....just asking a question.

 

The defense we're trying to play would benefit hugely by adding a premier one-gap defensive lineman to the role players we already have under contract. And can that be a 295 pounder? Absolutely. Could Okoye be the guy? His play on Mobile suggests he has a shot at being the next great Cover 2 interior lineman.

 

You won't find me disappointed come draft day if his name is called for us. We play in a division where we will be rewarded greatly if we can get the interior push the defense offers to it's best executors. We saw flashes of if during our 2006 campaign, in games where we had some of the best QBs in the league making uncharacteristic mistakes. If we can get consistent in running it we can have an advantage in the AFC East, and when you're building a winner the best strategy is to focus on your division first.

 

If our fans can begin to accept some of the realities of the D scheme- it will give up big running plays, it's simply an inevitable consequence- but it also can be a deadly defense against good running teams because of the negative yardage plays that come with shooting gaps. When you can get a power running team to 2nd and 14 or 3rd and 9, you've taken them off their game. So you have to bite the bullet a few plays a game where a runner gets into your third level, but as Indy has shown this postseason if you get very good play from your safeties you can more than make up for the big runs with situations your opponent isn't used to.

 

And having a premier interior pass rusher puts anyone trying to beat you with a spread offense at a disadvantage. In 2007 I hope we are able to better execute our scheme and gain the advantage the Cover 2 offers against the offenses in NY and NE, and simply allow the awful quarterbacking in Miami to continue to cost our 3rd divisional rival games. Win the East- everything else will fall into place. Best way to win the East- make this Cover 2 work with a premier interior lineman being worked into our rotation. John McCargo is not that guy- certainly not at this point. Waiting to find our whether he ever can be is not a good strategy.

[Beerball]

no need for a remote control when you have Lifetime network....

Yer forgetting about logo aren't you?

[tennesseeboy]

Okoye will be in the 300 range by the time the combine rolls around, and, if drafted by the Bills will be playing at the 210-315 range. 287 was an anamoly for him and people are acting like that is his normal weight, even though he actually played last season at the 315 range. He's not all that smallish. In his interview after the game the first thing he said was that he was going home to put on weight for the combine. Cut to the chase....this guy can play football with the best of them and is a leader at 19. God knows what he'll be like at 21.

[Beerball]

Okoye will be in the 300 range by the time the combine rolls around, and, if drafted by the Bills will be playing at the 310-315 range. 287 was an anamoly for him and people are acting like that is his normal weight, even though he actually played last season at the 315 range. He's not all that smallish. In his interview after the game the first thing he said was that he was going home to put on weight for the combine. Cut to the chase....this guy can play football with the best of them and is a leader at 19. God knows what he'll be like at 21.

It's a really really bad thing for a fan to fall in love with a specific player before the draft, but, I really really hope we land this kid. For someone to hold their own against college competition at 16, and dominate at 19 is in itself amazing. Throw his intelligence into the mix and add a dash of strong character and you have the perfect pick for the Bills. I'm sure he is working with a nutritionist (perhaps responsible for him losing 'bad' weight) and strength/conditioning coach. Together they will get him bulked up for the combine.