Tenn. DE Robert Ayers visiting Bills

[Steely Dan]

Second round? Ha! He dominated Andre Smith when they played against each other, and he is a fast rising player.

 

Mike Mayock has his top 20 out.

 

Mike Mayock's top 20 players for the 2009 NFL Draft

Rk Player Pos. School Pro Day workout

1 Aaron Curry LB Wake Forest March 23

2 Eugene Monroe OT Virginia March 19

3 Michael Crabtree WR Texas Tech Brandt: Crabtree sits out pro day after surgery

4 Jason Smith OT Baylor Brandt: Smith attracts many scouts

5 Robert Ayers DE Tennessee March 11

6 Knowshon Moreno RB Georgia March 19

7 Brandon Pettigrew TE Oklahoma State Brandt: Pettigrew's workout put on hold

8 Matthew Stafford QB Georgia March 19

9 Jeremy Maclin WR Missouri March 19

10 Brian Orakpo DE/LB Texas March 25

11 B.J. Raji DT Boston College Brandt: Raji participates in positional drills

12 Mark Sanchez QB USC April 1

13 Andre Smith OT Alabama Brandt: Smith turns in poor times at pro day

14 Vontae Davis CB Illinois March 18

15 Percy Harvin WR Florida March 15

16 Peria Jerry DT Mississippi March 26

17 Malcolm Jenkins CB Ohio State Brandt: Jenkins tries to improve 40-yard dash times

18 Josh Freeman QB Kansas State Brandt: Freeman is a hot prospect

19 Brian Cushing LB USC April 1

20 Larry English LB Northern Illinois March 27

 

First let me say I don't know a lot about the kid I've only watched the Youtube video that has been linked here but I'm not at all that impressed with the kid. IMO, he's not first round material. The only way I'd want to see the Bills take him is if he was still available in the fourth round, which obviously isn't gonna happen. JMO

 

 

The draft is a complete crap shoot. There is no such thing as a reach. If you could redraft players after seeing them play in the pros a couple of years a few things would probably be different -

- Jason Peters would have actually been drafted

- Mike Williams would have not (and he was considered a good pick at the time and Levi Jones was a reach)

- Tom Brady probably would have gone before the 6th round

- Marques Colston may have been drafted slightly higher than 4th last

 

Less than half of 1st round picks become successful starters. If the Bills "Reach" to take someone who will immediately start, so be it.

 

Peters 3rd due to being a project, Williams would have been a UDFA, Brady would be the #1 pick, Colston would've been a first rounder.

 

Dude's going to be picked in the first round, so you can forget all about that third round scenario.

 

I don't think he's saying he thinks he'll be around then. I think he's saying that in his opinion he's no better than a third round talent.

 

 

The Bills brought in Leodis McKelvin in late March last year.

 

That was when nobody expected him to be at #11. I don't know if that makes a difference or not.

 

 

our next Eric Flowers,boy I hope not!!!!!

 

I agree this guy has Flowers written all over him. From the SI link;

 

After spending most of his career as a backup, situational defender, Ayers finally broke into the starting lineup this past season and recorded 49 tackles, 15.5 for a loss and three sacks.

 

The Bills are in the market for a pass rusher, after they finished the 2008 season tied with the Washington Redskins for the third worst sack output (24) in the league. Even though Scout.com currently rates Ayers as the fifth best defensive end available in draft, he’s a bit of an enigma who, after his senior season, was projected as a mid-round prospect. But after a standout showing at the Senior Bowl and a quality performance at the Scouting Combine, the 6-foot-3, 272-pound Ayers has worked his way to being a borderline first round prospect.

 

Some questions I have but am too lazy to look up. Who was he behind when he was a backup. The guy is right that the Bills would be looking for a pass rusher. Ayers had three sacks. He was projected as a mid round pick until the Senior Bowl and Combine. IIRC, Bill Polian said that he drafts by the players college film because that's the most important thing. Late risers = Erik Flowers. JMO

 

I didn't watch the game. I saw the YouTube "Ayers vs. Alabama" video. It's 3 minutes and 36 seconds and it shows a total of 15 plays.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccuoGx3A6t4

 

I audited the plays:

 

1) Pass play, lightning-quick inside pass rush past statuesque guard. Ayers whacks the quarterback (you can hear the hit) who dumps off for a short completion.

2) Slomo replay of above.

3) Same, different angle.

4) Run play, unblocked, crashed down the line, buries ball carrier unassisted for one yard loss.

5) Run play, Ayers beats Andre Smith (345 lbs) off the snap pushes him back one yard to set the edge, ball carrier runs inside and is tripped up by pursuit.

6) Run play, Ayers lines up wide, surges inside, meets and plays off the tight end, stops ball carrier for no gain.

7) Pass play, Ayers lines up uncovered blows through the running back block (like a fly on the windshield, you can hear this too), pressures an incompletion.

8) Pass play, lines up at tackle, blows past guard, QB throws ball away to avoid sack.

9) Run play, takes inside angle, spins off guard block and gang tackles ball carrier (5 yard gain).

10) Run play, lines up wide, delayed rush, blows up tight end to set the edge, ball carrier cuts inside and is stopped by pursuit (2 yard gain).

11) Pass play on 1st down, lines up against Andre Smith, blows past him, QB checks down and completes pass under pressure.

12) Run play, destroys tight end and piles on ball carrier, 1 yard loss.

13) Run play, dances around Andre Smith (no contact) and takes inside angle, ball carrier bounces outside for 10 yard gain.

14) Run play to opposite side, no involvement.

15) Run play at Ayers, drives Andre Smith backwards to set the edge, redirects towards sideline in attempt to catch ball carrier who has a full head of steam, ball carrier turns corner on Ayers pursuit for 1st down.

16) Run play, lines up wide, destroys tight end and blows up ball carrier for 2 yard loss.

17) Run play, drives Andre Smith backwards 3 yards to set edge, ball carrier cuts inside, no inside-out pursuit by defense, ball carrier lunges into end zone.

 

Fifteen plays. At times it looks like he has little help. On 11 run plays he could possibly be faulted on two plays (13 and 15) for being overly-aggressive in his assignments. That would be quibbling. One play was away from him. On the other 8 run plays he was excellent.

 

On four pass plays he had 4 pressures.

 

It's a small sample size but he was generally dominating in those 15 plays. Here's 6 minutes and 18 seconds more of Ayers:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAR9Qb3liRs

 

Play one was horrendous guard play and not much from Ayers IMO. Ayers goes in unblocked. He never has to take on an offensive lineman at all.

 

Play two he was unblocked again.

 

Third play he doesn't do much and the guy makes decent yardage.

 

Fourth play is the first one there on a running play to stop the runner and then the runner is gang tackled (good play)

Fifth play Ayers gets a lot of pressure on the QB. Very good play.

Sixth play Ayers fakes out the guard who couldn't block my grandma on that play.

 

Seventh play Ayers stop comes with a lot of help from 55.

 

Eight play. I have no idea why this play is even in the Ayers highlight reel.

 

Ninth play. Excellent run stuff.

Tenth play. Another why is this even on the highlight reel play.

 

Eleventh play. Why is this in the highlight reel. He chases after the RB but into the arms of other players. I may be looking at the wrong guy because I can't tell if it's 94 or 91 on the jersey.

 

Twelfth play. Why is this on the highlight reel?

 

Thirteenth play impressive stop of the RB.

Fourteenth play. Why is this on the highlight reel?

 

So my analysis of the highlight reel breaks down into four good plays out 14. Five that shouldn't even be on the highlight reel and the rest he's pretty much unblocked. I didn't see him double teamed at all during that game. Maybe I'm missing something but I'm pretty sure I saw that. The guards and tackles he'll play against in the NFL won't be as bad as those guys were on that day. There is very little evidence he break blocks effectively in the NFL. In fact he looks like he'll be eaten alive by those guys. He's a better LB prospect because if the guys up front open a hole for him he could do some damage. JMO

 

 

The LSU guy is almost 300 lbs and would almost certainly be a defensive tackle in our system. He's a 3-4 defensive end pretty much exclusively. He isn't nearly the athlete or the pass rushing threat of the top 4-3 defensive ends. Our problem is pass rush.

 

What he said.

[iinii]

I am guessing Ayers is our first pick

if he is great i take all the credit, as i was the first to mention him here, if not i never said a word

[BillsCelticsAngelsBama]

The LSU guy is almost 300 lbs and would almost certainly be a defensive tackle in our system. He's a 3-4 defensive end pretty much exclusively. He isn't nearly the athlete or the pass rushing threat of the top 4-3 defensive ends. Our problem is pass rush.

And we are looking great at DT !!