Pyrite Gal Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 The Bills have seemed to make two clear statements with the FA moves: 1. The OL is a priority (and big time given the scratch given to Dockery and Walker). 2. They have decided to build the OL through FA as the lead mechanism rather than the draft. In the big picture this seems like a good thing to see because it simply is a real world validation of the approach Marv and the Bills have been talking about since Marv got here. A. Marv has always said things start with running and stopping the run and though they did not implement this priority immediately as the chose an SS to fill that hole with their #8, they did spend resources to trade up to the 1st in order to get the DT they wanted and in fact drated 2 DTs last year. B. Having focused on the D last year, they made their major FA expenditure on the OL this time and were unwilling to lock up resources on a CB and complained about not getting enough attacking run pursuit as a reason they likely did not spend to keep Fletch. Its nice to see them walk their talk a little bit with spending which reflects improving in the trenches. In the smaller picture, I am quite happy to see them reject reliance on the draft as the main mechanism for rebuilding the OL. Though in a perfect world I agree with theory espouse by some that drafting OL players is the way to go for rebuilding the OL, the world ain't perfect. Perhaps if we had a top 10 pick like the Jets last year, one can pick a D'Brick and then roll the dice in the draft crapshoot for a late 1st like Mangold one can make it work, but this really was a low chance gamble that worked out and is not a strategy I would have endorsed as having much of a chance of working (you got to hand it to NYJ for it working out well for them last year, but particularly since even a #8 was not a high enough pick to get a D'Brick a draft OL strategy would have been even a larger crapshoot for us. Instead, I am pleased to see us attempting to replicate the strategy which JMac implemented well for NYG in 2001 where he built a line capable of making the SB using FA as its base. The really good news is that this effort actually represents a better set of talent than the NYG JMac crew as it really utilized moderate amd lower grade FAs like Glenn Parker and Dusty Z while both in terms of hitting their prime pick-ups like Dockery and a base relying on UDFA acquired prospects like Peters, we may be using FA to acquire an OL which will last a few year. JMac has used FA to get lead talents with some good prospects and used our draft to get some good potential back-ups and I am psyched. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuckincincy Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 If you build your OL through the draft, you not only save $, but get recognized as being astute. Nothing wrong getting a decent FA to fill a spot. Going out and purchasing 3 of the 5 spots...hmm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doza Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 Like the Pats Light Mankins Koppen Neal O'Callaghan All except Neal were draft picks. (Neal was a UDF, former wrestler, great story) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBilliever Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 Simply put Mike Williams has left a horrid taste in the mouths of Buffalo fans and staff. Although cheaper and younger, drafted players are unproven on the NFL stage. Dockery, Walker, and Whittle know what it's like to push the big men, they know how to block for NFL calibur players, and they know the significance that this is, in fact, their form of income. Multiple millions of dollars? Not a small price to pay, but a price that is well worth the income this team can generate if they become a .500+ team with the upgrades. Defense was targeted last year in the draft, and it will be this year too, unless a miracle trade pushes through. God speed Marv. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly the Dog Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 Like the Pats Light Mankins Koppen Neal O'Callaghan All except Neal were draft picks. (Neal was a UDF, former wrestler, great story) Very true. On the other hand, Howard Ballard (street free agent), Kent Hull (free agent), John Davis (free agent). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Britbillsfan Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 Very true. On the other hand, Howard Ballard (street free agent), Kent Hull (free agent), John Davis (free agent). Ballard was drafted (in the 11th admittedly, but drafted none the less). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly the Dog Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 Ballard was drafted (in the 11th admittedly, but drafted none the less). You're right. I forgot about that. My bad. I always think of him as a street free agent because the draft is only seven rounds now, and he surely would have been one, and not a highly sought after one at that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 Very true. On the other hand, Howard Ballard (street free agent), Kent Hull (free agent), John Davis (free agent). Ballard: 11th round, 1987. Still a valid point, though, since the 11th round dosn't even exist any more... (Edit: oops. See that's already been covered.) Sure, I'd love to see homegrown talent on the OL... but in the era of free agency and salary caps, the Pats are the exception to the rule. Check the starting OL of this year's Super Bowl participants: the Colts drafted Tarik Glenn, Jake Scott, and Ryan Diem, but Ryan Lilja and Jeff Saturday were FA. As for the Bears? Kreutz is their only drafted player; Ruben, Fred Miller, Roberto Garza, and John Tait were all FA acquisitions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ganesh Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 Like the Pats Light Mankins Koppen Neal O'Callaghan All except Neal were draft picks. (Neal was a UDF, former wrestler, great story) Unfortunately, we don't have good enough coaching on the OL to turn 5th and 6th rounders into capable starters. Mankins was the 1st 1st round pick on that line in a long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRW Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 Unfortunately, we don't have good enough coaching on the OL to turn 5th and 6th rounders into capable starters. Mankins was the 1st 1st round pick on that line in a long time. How do you account for Peters, then? Not all 5th and 6th rounders are created equal, and it takes a good scouting department in conjunction with good coaching to find late-round gems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apuszczalowski Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 It all depends, right now the fans aren't willing to sit through a complete rebuilding that they would have to go through right now to build the team through the draft. The front office decided to build the defence through the draft and the offence through FA. Once the team starts rolling, I think more replacements will come from the draft as the FA's move on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albany,n.y. Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 The only reason Ballard was an 11th round pick was because there were questions about his eligibility to play because he was looking for another year of college eligibility (& got it). We waited a year for Ballard, who could have gone back in the draft if he didn't sign by draft day & would have been no worse than a 5th rounder according to the draft experts back then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ganesh Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 How do you account for Peters, then? Not all 5th and 6th rounders are created equal, and it takes a good scouting department in conjunction with good coaching to find late-round gems. Actually we just have one good OL to show for in the last 5 years and that too a UDFA...That does speaks volumes about McNally and his assistants. McNally is an OK coach and is not a superstar as some make him out to be. I agree that it is more than the coaches that is necessary to get a good player, but then it is up to the coaching staff to mold them into good players. All I was pointing out was the ability of the Pats organization as a whole to be able to convert 5th and 6th rounders into starters on a dominating OL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuckincincy Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 Actually we just have one good OL to show for in the last 5 years and that too a UDFA...That does speaks volumes about McNally and his assistants. McNally is an OK coach and is not a superstar as some make him out to be. I agree that it is more than the coaches that is necessary to get a good player, but then it is up to the coaching staff to mold them into good players. All I was pointing out was the ability of the Pats organization as a whole to be able to convert 5th and 6th rounders into starters on a dominating OL. This organization booked a 75M debit. Out of the blue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ieatcrayonz Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 The Bills have seemed to make two clear statements with the FA moves: 1. The OL is a priority (and big time given the scratch given to Dockery and Walker). 2. They have decided to build the OL through FA as the lead mechanism rather than the draft. In the big picture this seems like a good thing to see because it simply is a real world validation of the approach Marv and the Bills have been talking about since Marv got here. A. Marv has always said things start with running and stopping the run and though they did not implement this priority immediately as the chose an SS to fill that hole with their #8, they did spend resources to trade up to the 1st in order to get the DT they wanted and in fact drated 2 DTs last year. B. Having focused on the D last year, they made their major FA expenditure on the OL this time and were unwilling to lock up resources on a CB and complained about not getting enough attacking run pursuit as a reason they likely did not spend to keep Fletch. Its nice to see them walk their talk a little bit with spending which reflects improving in the trenches. In the smaller picture, I am quite happy to see them reject reliance on the draft as the main mechanism for rebuilding the OL. Though in a perfect world I agree with theory espouse by some that drafting OL players is the way to go for rebuilding the OL, the world ain't perfect. Perhaps if we had a top 10 pick like the Jets last year, one can pick a D'Brick and then roll the dice in the draft crapshoot for a late 1st like Mangold one can make it work, but this really was a low chance gamble that worked out and is not a strategy I would have endorsed as having much of a chance of working (you got to hand it to NYJ for it working out well for them last year, but particularly since even a #8 was not a high enough pick to get a D'Brick a draft OL strategy would have been even a larger crapshoot for us. Instead, I am pleased to see us attempting to replicate the strategy which JMac implemented well for NYG in 2001 where he built a line capable of making the SB using FA as its base. The really good news is that this effort actually represents a better set of talent than the NYG JMac crew as it really utilized moderate amd lower grade FAs like Glenn Parker and Dusty Z while both in terms of hitting their prime pick-ups like Dockery and a base relying on UDFA acquired prospects like Peters, we may be using FA to acquire an OL which will last a few year. JMac has used FA to get lead talents with some good prospects and used our draft to get some good potential back-ups and I am psyched. Do you cook too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R. Rich Posted March 6, 2007 Share Posted March 6, 2007 Very true. On the other hand, Howard Ballard (street free agent), Kent Hull (free agent), John Davis (free agent). Davis was a Plan B free agent (like the late Reggie White was for Green Bay), wasn't he? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG Posted March 6, 2007 Share Posted March 6, 2007 Davis was a Plan B free agent (like the late Reggie White was for Green Bay), wasn't he? Yes he was, along with Don Smith (another trivia answer) I didn't think Reggie was Plan B. Plan B's were usually 2nd tier guys. I think a special free agent class was created just for Reggie after he won the lawsuit vs Eagles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsVet Posted March 6, 2007 Share Posted March 6, 2007 I think Marv has been pretty clear that you shouldn't expect much from rookies. He rarely played his rooks as a coach and had there not been the injuries we had this season, I don't think they'd have played much this past year. Of course, in the era of free agency and players changing teams so frequently, rookies have been asked to play more. It may develop them faster, but there's a price to pay in that they'll make more mistakes. I don't care if you play at the big schools in college, there's nothing that can adequately simulate the NFL. That said, I think the front office had their gameplan and didn't let go of the guys who came here. That's a good sign that players have a good feel that the staff in Buffalo are good people. Picking up guys like Ballard, John Davis, et al, that was a few lifetimes ago in NFL history. Each year new amazing things happen in free agency. Staying ahead of the trends is where teams win and lose. Everyone said NE wouldn't do much in free agency, but they've done something and upped the ante. I like the fact we strengthened our weakest part of the team. It shows they're a little ahead of teams in that department. I'll take a strong OL before anything on a football team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kgun Posted March 6, 2007 Share Posted March 6, 2007 Do you cook too? Ummm....The poster is a dude...dude. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kgun Posted March 6, 2007 Share Posted March 6, 2007 I am glad we did not go the draft route. It would have taken at least a year to see any positive results & I do not think most fans would be willing to sit around and wait for young rooks to learn how to play NFL football. It will be nice to see Willis running through gaps and gaining more than his typical 3.5 yds per. I just hope he is in shape and ready to take any carry to the house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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