Wagon Circler Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 What is the great fascination with tight ends on this board? Did we lose games because our tight ends only combined to catch 50 passes or because Kawika Mitchell led the team in sacks with 5 and most of the time there was no rush to speak of? A defensive end is the first and last priority in the offseason. I would not be adverse to drafting 3 in the hope that we could find one to rush the passer. I also rate free safety and o-line as a bigger need than tight end. Tampa-2 has no shot to succeed without a pass rush. Otherwise it is just a slow steady march up the field. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBlackMamba Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 exactly...the last two super bowl champs have shown that you draft on both lines and your LB's. If you have a a great oline, dline and lb's than youre on the right track to building a contender Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJBuffalo Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 I hear ya. Derek Fine looked serviceable to me. I think that we will either bring in a mid-level free agent or mid round draft pick at tight end, but there is no way we spend a first round pick on that position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 If you want the offense to flourish a grreat TE makes this offense very good. We also need a very good DE opposite Schobel and I agree that is priority number one. An OLB as well will help. But if you add three positions in this offseason that will make a big difference you add DE, TE and OLB and this team is a contender. I really like our secondary. I like Stroud in the middle with SChodel coming back and Mitchell and Poz. But a playmaker DE with a playmaker OLB and I think you can see this deefense as great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2003Contenders Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 While I certainly believe that we could stand to upgrade the TE position, I think an offensive improvement that would go much further is finding a stud Center -- one that can handle the big 3-4 DTs in our division. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WannabeGM Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 How much money would you allocate to paying DEs? We pay Scho-ver the hill, I'd rather be at Denney's, and Kel-sux lots o' dough. If we cut one of them, then I could see spending 1rst round $ on one. I'm not saying DE isn't a priority, but could any more money be spent on a lack of pass rush? Add up the totals, and I'd be very curious what we pay per sack (even per tackle) from the DE position. We need an upgrade, but we also need to cut the cash at that position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBlackMamba Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 How much money would you allocate to paying DEs? We pay Scho-ver the hill, I'd rather be at Denney's, and Kel-sux lots o' dough. If we cut one of them, then I could see spending 1rst round $ on one. I'm not saying DE isn't a priority, but could any more money be spent on a lack of pass rush? Add up the totals, and I'd be very curious what we pay per sack (even per tackle) from the DE position. We need an upgrade, but we also need to cut the cash at that position. VERRRY original...i think you spent more time on the name pundits than you on putting the post together... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WannabeGM Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 Is this better? Kelsey got $3 mill for two sacks, Schobel who I do understand was hurt, but not impressive anyway got 7.1 mill for one sack, Denney got 3.1 mill for 4 sacks, Bryan got 374,800 for one sack, and no other DE (by my research) got one. So that's roughly 13.5 million for 8 sacks. Our overall payroll was ~113 mill, so about 10 percent of all payroll for 8 sacks. That's around 1.7 mill a sack. Hardly a bargin. Factor in a first rounder at 11, Mckelvin got around 8 last year at his #11 spot, and you got an overpaid and underproductive squad of DE's. We need the upgrade, I'm not saying we don't, but we also need to cut cash at the spot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertpaul49 Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 The Bills focus should be the following: 1st Veteran Quarterback through free-agency. Someone who won't lose games. 2nd Defensive End - first draft pick, maybe both first and second to create competition and ensure that at least one won't be a bust. 3rd Center through 2nd round pick or free agency 4th Legitimate FB through mid-round draft pick - big body who can block 5th Veteran wide receiver through free-agency. Someone on the downside of their career but is a known commodity like Marvin Harrison or like James Lofton. 6th Tight End through either the 2nd round draft pick if a center isn't available or a late round draft pick, who is strickly a pass-catching tight end like Jay Riemersma. 7th Playmaking outside linebacker - if a DE not available, the Bills could get a playmaking linebacker who can rush the quarterback with the first pick. Personally, I Crowell will be back. They could also get one through FA, but this is more of nice to have instead of must have, unless they can't get DEs. 8th Playmaking Strong Safety - draft round three or four. Someone good against the run and can hit, or a quality free safety. 9th Run stuffing Defensive Tackle - fifth draft pick. Basically, a player without pass rush ability, but is a wide body for running downs or the goal line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timba Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 I agree that the pass rush is the biggest problem on the team and needs to be addressed first. DE is definitely my number 1 position that needs to be addressed. Second I would go with OLB. We need somebody FAST and physical. Mitchell has some pop but seems just plain slow half of the time. I'm on the fence about poz... he hasn't had that impact play that stops a RB in his tracks but he always seems to be around the ball. Third I'm moving towards the O-Line. I'm absolutely sick of watching whoever we have at center get beat over and over again. That being said, Preston did look serviceable by the end of the season against both the Jets and NE*. Fourth I'd say is the TE position. People have said it before, and it's 100% true - nothing helps a young QB like a reliable TE. I'd love to see that seam route be effective again... oh to dream Fifth and Sixth I would put as interchangeable - Free agent signings of an experienced qb and wr. Edwards has had Losman to talk to (I bet that was insightful) and having some experience on the opposite side of Evans would be awesome (I'd like to keep Reed in the slot - he seems to have found his niche there) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperKillerRobots Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 As I said in another post today, the defense has to be the priority this offseason. I don't think a TE is going to make the difference that a DE or DT or even an OLD would make, assuming they were all of the same caliber player. At this point, the Bills oculd probably get away with filling the TE position with a guy that primarily catches and use him in that fashion primarily. We played with fullbacks last year that didn't block anybody most of the time - why can't they put a TE in there that can't block anybody, but at least has a chance of catching a ball and going the distance. Especially if we could run away from his side of the field when running. Then he might wind up open on the play action. I don't see the need to have a guy who can do both well at this position ahead of the defensive needs. I also agree with the poster saying that some one will need to be cut if they add DEs. I would caution though that Kelsey might fetch a low round pick in trade - we've alrady paid the expensive part of his salary (he's only owed about $3mm per year over the next two). Coaches have commented on how he plays non-stop (i.e. high motor) and might be willing to take a flyer on him for a 5th or 6th round pick. He might not be the best player, but he is a leader (I guess), has starting experience at DE, and plays hard. Not saying that this trade will make or break the team for the next few years, but I think he could get something back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Days Lois & Clark Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 The Red Zone offense needs to get better again. The Quarterbacks have to a better job at hanging onto the football (too many fumbles) The offensive line needs to play more consistantly well. The Bills need to bring in a new & better starting Center. The Bills need better pass rush. Chris Kelsey is not worth the money he makes. A quality DE should be a top priority for the Bills in the offseason The Bills need a starting SLB. Bringing back Crowell for a 1 year deal at a reasonable price may be a good idea. The Bills could use better play at the TE position & more TD's. They certainly could use a more impact player there. The Bills will need a quality backup QB. Edwards cannot be counted on to stay healthy. An Upgrade at FB should be in the Bills plans this offseason Trent Edwards needs to throw the ball downfield more. He needs to keep defenses more honest. There needs to be more big plays instead of checking down over & over again. The offense needs play better against 3-4 defenses. They need to study why they struggle so much against 3-4 teams. The should look at films of teams that do well against the 3-4 & try to use that to improve. The defense needs to create more turnovers I love that the Bills special teams is excellent but i sometimes wonder if there are too many players on the team that are there specifically for special teams instead of offense or defense. Maybe getting a red zone specialist or adding a pass rushing specialist would help the team more instead of having so many special team specialists on the field Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts