BLZFAN4LIFE Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 The article I read from Tim Graham said that GH is 6'5" and 315# and will definitely play center, as this is his preferred position. He's also looking forward to the challenge of facing Wilfork, Jenkins (his former teammate), and Ferguson twice a year. There's a video clip on BuffaloBills.com where Hangartner says he weighs 315. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Jose Bills Fan Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 My point wasn't so much on size but on technique ...... and maybe the lack of that "type" of center is why the 3-4 defense is so sucessful. Mawae is a GREAT example @ 289 not one of the biggest centers in the league, but he's one of the best (or at least he used to be) stopping the inside rush. I knew what you were saying dude. I was more addressing the ridiculous number of people who get obsessed about size. And I'm not only talking about the center position. This also goes for people who think Laveranues Coles isn't big enough and that (for instance) we have to draft Michael Johnson or Tyson Jackson because the other DEs (Maybin, Brown, etc) are too small. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VOR Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 I'm happy that center is all set. Now they need a LG, and OLB, and a #2 WR in FA. Then fill-in the holes on the DL and add a TE in the draft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apuszczalowski Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 They still need a backup to play OC, remember, they lost both Fowler and Preston so they had no Centres prior to this signing. I think it would be a good idea to draft a guy that can sit and play behind the new guy until he can beat him out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VOR Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 They still need a backup to play OC, remember, they lost both Fowler and Preston so they had no Centres prior to this signing. I think it would be a good idea to draft a guy that can sit and play behind the new guy until he can beat him out. Maybe a 4th rounder on center? And what about LJ Smith at TE? Nothing huge for a contract, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tcali Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 I vote for some pass rush with the first round pick. DE is a glaring need to me, and now that we've signed a center, getting a potentially better center is a "moderate need". If the opposition's QB doesn't have 6 seconds to throw each pass, our CBs, LBs and Safetey's will all be better. so true Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cody Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 They still need a backup to play OC, remember, they lost both Fowler and Preston so they had no Centres prior to this signing. I think it would be a good idea to draft a guy that can sit and play behind the new guy until he can beat him out. If the Bills do not get anyone they like in the draft, they should still have thier choice between Preston or Fowler. I do not see either of those guys being signed by May 1st. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanInSouthBuffalo Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 I bet we sign Kendall Simmons to play guard He was still here Saturday afternoon. A co-worker saw him having lunch with a couple of Bills in O.P.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonidas Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 Some of you guys are on drugs. Did you watch the Bills last year? Regardless of this signing, DE is most important, bar none. Center was behind DE and TE going into the off-season, it's now behind OLB, G, and hell, another DE. Kendall Simmons would be a great signing. It doesn't mean we can't a) pursue other OL's in free agency and b) draft linemen on the SECOND day. Every team needs depth, and competition is one of those "rising tides" situations that we could use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fewell733 Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 we need at least 2 more interior lineman, one of which needs to be a starting caliber guard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apuszczalowski Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 Some of you guys are on drugs. Did you watch the Bills last year? Regardless of this signing, DE is most important, bar none. Center was behind DE and TE going into the off-season, it's now behind OLB, G, and hell, another DE. Kendall Simmons would be a great signing. It doesn't mean we can't a) pursue other OL's in free agency and b) draft linemen on the SECOND day. Every team needs depth, and competition is one of those "rising tides" situations that we could use. Did you? Cause if you did, and not just follow Stats or the opinions of some posters, you would have noticed that the Bills defence was not the best last year, it wa notwhat held them back. THE PROBLEM LAST YEAR WAS THAT THE OFFENCE COULD NOT SCOREPOINTS AND KEPT THE BILLS FROM WINNING GAMES. The defence was good enough to keep the team in games, but the offence couldn't do anything when they got the ball back. DE is not the biggest priority, fixing the offence so it can get in the endzone is the bigger need, unless they change the rules and give 7 points for a sack, or change the rules so that the way you score is not by getting into the endzone, but by applying pressureto the QB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonidas Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 Did you? Cause if you did, and not just follow Stats or the opinions of some posters, you would have noticed that the Bills defence was not the best last year, it wa notwhat held them back. THE PROBLEM LAST YEAR WAS THAT THE OFFENCE COULD NOT SCOREPOINTS AND KEPT THE BILLS FROM WINNING GAMES. The defence was good enough to keep the team in games, but the offence couldn't do anything when they got the ball back. DE is not the biggest priority, fixing the offence so it can get in the endzone is the bigger need, unless they change the rules and give 7 points for a sack, or change the rules so that the way you score is not by getting into the endzone, but by applying pressureto the QB What are you, eleven? Yeah, I watched 13-14 of their games last season. I'm sure that you understand football. You realize we run a Tampa 2 with very limited blitzing, correct - meaning that you need to get pressure with your front four (remember the Buccaneers team that won the Super Bowl? They don't even make the playoffs if you replace Simeon Rice and Warren Sapp with Chris Kelsay and Ryan Denney)? And that we were 28th in the league in sacks last season? And that our entire defensive line had fewer sacks than Julius Peppers had on his own? Did you watch the Giants/Patriots Super Bowl?? Look, our offense needs work, certainly. But there's a reason every analyst in the world has us taking a DE with our first pick (with the exception of the fools that think we should stretch for Pettigrew). A TE is second, but DE is a game-changing position. If you can get to the QB you make life easier on your DB's, you can get the ball back for your offense and give them more opportunities to score. Remember: "offense wins game, defense wins championships." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Numark Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 What are you, eleven? Yeah, I watched 13-14 of their games last season. I'm sure that you understand football. You realize we run a Tampa 2 with very limited blitzing, correct - meaning that you need to get pressure with your front four (remember the Buccaneers team that won the Super Bowl? They don't even make the playoffs if you replace Simeon Rice and Warren Sapp with Chris Kelsay and Ryan Denney)? And that we were 28th in the league in sacks last season? And that our entire defensive line had fewer sacks than Julius Peppers had on his own? Did you watch the Giants/Patriots Super Bowl?? Look, our offense needs work, certainly. But there's a reason every analyst in the world has us taking a DE with our first pick (with the exception of the fools that think we should stretch for Pettigrew). A TE is second, but DE is a game-changing position. If you can get to the QB you make life easier on your DB's, you can get the ball back for your offense and give them more opportunities to score. Remember: "offense wins game, defense wins championships." I agree, DE is the biggest weakness on this team, and a great DE would make this team better than what would would happen if we upgraded any other position. But, oddly enough and I know it sounds like I am contradicting myself, but DE is still not our biggest need. We could have a top 5 Defense, and we wouldn't go anywhere. Our offense is that incapable at this point. They just are. It is true what they say, offense wins games, defense wins championships. However, you must win games, before you get to the playoffs/championships. Which is what we cant do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fan in Chicago Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 I agree, DE is the biggest weakness on this team, and a great DE would make this team better than what would would happen if we upgraded any other position. But, oddly enough and I know it sounds like I am contradicting myself, but DE is still not our biggest need. We could have a top 5 Defense, and we wouldn't go anywhere. Our offense is that incapable at this point. They just are. It is true what they say, offense wins games, defense wins championships. However, you must win games, before you get to the playoffs/championships. Which is what we cant do. I agree. Schobel will be back so we have at least one good DE. The biggest need is on the offense and most would agree it is at the C and G positions. Yes, we need a very good DE opposite Schobel but we lost more games due to the lack of production on O than due to inadequacy on the D. I think given the (lack of ) talent on the DE side, we did more than we can reasonably expect. Damn our O could not score or stay long enough for the D to get enough rest. Most drafts have us pick on the D because, arguably, the D line is the most likely place where you can get immediate impact from a rookie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanInUticaTampa Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 We need to improve on offense and defense. DE is a bigger need because that is the one thing the defense needs to be very productive. Ideally we would like another upgrade at LB or another upgrade at DT. But DE is the only glaring weakness on the defense right now. It would make every other player on the defense a lot better. As in the offense, it is going to take several players to improve that. You can add 2 players to the offense and it will still go nowhere. when FA began, The offense needed another recieving threat, center, and a guard, at least. Now, we have our center. We still need a TE/WR and a guard. The offense needs help on other things as well that are questionmarks. Such as QB. We might still have an issue there. All in all, the offense is a mess and it isn't easy to fix. The defense is an easy solution. But we need to make more turnovers on D. The D is good at stopping teams from scoring points. But they are not good at turning over. If we get turnovers, our odds for winning just went up a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billsfan714 Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 Also, while I like this signing, wasn't the biggest complaint about Fowler that he wasn't big enough to handle the massive NTs we face in the division? If that's true, Hangartner isn't much of an upgrade in terms of size. Fowler was 6'3" and 310. Hangartner is listed at 6'5" 301. I realize that leverage means a lot on the line of scrimmage in terms of size, but he's basically the same build as Fowler. Does anyone else see this as a problem? Either way, I think Buffalo must still get another OL in FA, and certainly should draft a G or C in the third round as this class is pretty deep for OL. Were you hoping for a 350lb center? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsaikotic Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 even if they do sign Simmons, I think they might bring back Preston to back up the C/G position...as of right now Brandon Rodd and Marvin Phillip are the only depth players on the roster...I know they have Kirk Chambers to back up G...Rodd I dont think even makes the team, practice squad at best, but then again I dont know much about him...I guess they could keep Phillip to back up Hangartner....I guess it all depends on if they grab a C and/or G in the draft... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spartacus Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 Maybe a 4th rounder on center? And what about LJ Smith at TE? Nothing huge for a contract, though. maybe they should actually spend a top pick on the OL so we aren't continually playing free agency roulette. we signed a C who was good enough to be taken in the 5th round and cut loose by the team who watched him every day. he's better than nothing (which is under contract), but only time will tell if produces any better than the pretenders we have been using for the last 15 years. I would seriously doubt that this is the permanent answer to C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spartacus Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 Some of you guys are on drugs. Did you watch the Bills last year? Regardless of this signing, DE is most important, bar none. Center was behind DE and TE going into the off-season, it's now behind OLB, G, and hell, another DE. Kendall Simmons would be a great signing. It doesn't mean we can't a) pursue other OL's in free agency and b) draft linemen on the SECOND day. Every team needs depth, and competition is one of those "rising tides" situations that we could use. Kendall Simmons would be another blind hope. a name people have heard of but seriously damaged goods. tearing an Achilles tendon is a huge injury, especially for a player who must use his legs to take on 350 lb monsters. Bills would be fools to rely on Simmons as the answer at LG. sign him for the upside, but you better have plan B ready to start on day 1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trader Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 we need at least 2 more interior lineman, one of which needs to be a starting caliber guard Yes and a Pass rusher and a TE and a LB. We cut 4 OL and signed one - lots of work to do here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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