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Bills Draft Luncheon Today


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The team is having their draft luncheon today, and I imagine the Bills official site will post a transcript or video of what transpires. Modrak is not one to blow smoke, so we may get a better gauge of how the team has players ranked based on his comments. For example, last year, he referred to McKelvin as a top ten player. The year before that he couldn't say enough nice things about Lynch. I expect that he will break down the strengths and weaknesses of the various DE/OLB that I've seen us projected to take at 11. He may also give us an indication of whether or not the team would seriously contemplate taking a TE (Pettigrew) or OL that high.

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FWIW, draftcountdown.com has us taking Pettigrew, Unger, and Kruger with our top three picks. They said that ideally we get Pettigrew by trading down. I could live with that.

 

On Sirius yesterday, they were raving about Pettigrew and that he is just a darn good football player. They also seemed to think that Billy B would love to get him.

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I read a rumor awhile back that said Robert Ayers was Modrak's number one DE. Wonder if he ends up commenting on him.

 

As someone else posted, Mike Mayock loves Ayers and thinks that he will end up being the best or one of the best defensive players in the draft.

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As someone else posted, Mike Mayock loves Ayers and thinks that he will end up being the best or one of the best defensive players in the draft.

Yeah, he even went as far as to say that in 2-3 years, he thinks people will look back and call Ayers the best defensive player in the entire draft. I really like Mayock, so Ayers has become pretty intriguing.

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Yeah, he even went as far as to say that in 2-3 years, he thinks people will look back and call Ayers the best defensive player in the entire draft. I really like Mayock, so Ayers has become pretty intriguing.

 

When Mayock or Gil Brandt comment on the draft, I pay attention. Both those guys know how to evaluate players.

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I really think Ayers is going to be the pick. He just seems like a solid player which I think honestly is more important right now than finding someone who can possibly rush the passer. The DL is a mess. It doesn't need a situational pass rusher right now(I know that we have a tough time bringing pressure but that's because our ends are absolute garbage all together). It needs a 3-down stud who can play in all situations. Ayers reminds me of a player that we passed on back in the '04 draft: Will Smith.

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I really think Ayers is going to be the pick. He just seems like a solid player which I think honestly is more important right now than finding someone who can possibly rush the passer. The DL is a mess. It doesn't need a situational pass rusher right now(I know that we have a tough time bringing pressure but that's because our ends are absolute garbage all together). It needs a 3-down stud who can play in all situations. Ayers reminds me of a player that we passed on back in the '04 draft: Will Smith.

 

 

Yep. Ev Brown seems too small to be a DE, more of 3-4 OLB to me. Glad there is one player emerging as our logical choice at 11. He should also be there for the Bill;s to take, nlike, say, Curry, who would be great but long gone.

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Yeah, he even went as far as to say that in 2-3 years, he thinks people will look back and call Ayers the best defensive player in the entire draft. I really like Mayock, so Ayers has become pretty intriguing.

 

 

But he's also concerned that Ayers might be just a one-year wonder. Mayock was pretty enamored with Tyson Jackson, DE from LSU. Any concerns with that guy?

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Brandon at the luncheon on Peters, as per Chris Brown:

 

“Obviously we’ve talked about this ad nauseam, but we value Jason greatly as a player,” said Brandon. “He’s a player that we developed and signed to a contract early in his career. Obviously Jason has done a great job and played very well. At the conclusion of the year we talked to Jason and we’d obviously like to have him on this team and will continue to work with his representatives to get something done.”

 

When asked if he needs to come to a resolution or definitive answer as to where things are headed with Peters in negotiations prior to the draft, he offered the following.

 

“We’re going to see how the situation plays out with Jason,” said Brandon. ”We value him. We want him on this football team. We expect him to be on this football team and we will continue to work with him and his representatives.”

 

Very different from last year when he was publicly critical of Peters. Clearly a well crafted statement that appears to answer the question but pretty much says nothing. I think it pretty much reflects the difficult reality in play here, that this negotiation is tougher than most. You just don't see guys outperforming their contracts by this degree. I can see why the team wants some discount for letting him out of his existing contract and I can see why Peters might feel he isn't being treated fairly, especially in comparison to how they treated Schobel. Isn't it the worst of both worlds for us? We are overpaying a fading vet who, after his huge raise has had the two worst years of his career. On the other hand we are about to lose a young player who has risen to be among the top 5 in the league at his position. Oh how I wish we could move that money from Schobel to Peters.

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Brandon at the luncheon on Peters, as per Chris Brown:

 

“Obviously we’ve talked about this ad nauseam, but we value Jason greatly as a player,” said Brandon. “He’s a player that we developed and signed to a contract early in his career. Obviously Jason has done a great job and played very well. At the conclusion of the year we talked to Jason and we’d obviously like to have him on this team and will continue to work with his representatives to get something done.”

When asked if he needs to come to a resolution or definitive answer as to where things are headed with Peters in negotiations prior to the draft, he offered the following.

 

“We’re going to see how the situation plays out with Jason,” said Brandon. ”We value him. We want him on this football team. We expect him to be on this football team and we will continue to work with him and his representatives.”

 

Very different from last year when he was publicly critical of Peters. Clearly a well crafted statement that appears to answer the question but pretty much says nothing. I think it pretty much reflects the difficult reality in play here, that this negotiation is tougher than most. You just don't see guys outperforming their contracts by this degree. I can see why the team wants some discount for letting him out of his existing contract and I can see why Peters might feel he isn't being treated fairly, especially in comparison to how they treated Schobel. Isn't it the worst of both worlds for us? We are overpaying a fading vet who, after his huge raise has had the two worst years of his career. On the other hand we are about to lose a young player who has risen to be among the top 5 in the league at his position. Oh how I wish we could move that money from Schobel to Peters.

 

I interpret this as a no progress answer.

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Allegedly... B-) ... Modrak said this...

 

I better try to avoid not trying to have some wiggle room, i'm not sure if there's ever a time for somebody to step right in and play left tackle. i mean it happens and people do it occassionally. but that's a difficult process for any rookie. everything's accelerated now at this time.

 

Is it a good year? yeah, we'll make it be a good year. that doesn't mean we'll reach. and it doesn't mean we'll go out of where we think the value is. but if we go down that direction, hopefully, we'll get a solid player, who'll eventually get on the field."

 

That could mean they are going after a LT. And could mean just what he says, "if we go that direction".

 

I'm sure they are keeping all LTs on their board though, just in case they need them. They would be not doing their due dillies if they didnt look at LT as hard as any other position until the Peters situation is solved.

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The more time goes on the more I am warming up to Ayers......

 

Schrobel will be back....Everett strikes me as a guy that would be better served in his spot. The other side of our line is a disaster.......Ayers is a monster who appears to be getting better

 

We could do worse. The kid has sound fundamentals and wants to get better. I'm impressed by any player who comes out of the program with his head screwed on straight. The last player I remember from UT as being someone who had it together was Peyton.

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For what it's worth, I don't think the Bills have come close to determining their draft strategy just yet. Those meetings are just starting, and should go on for a week, or so.

 

You can choose to believe that, or not.

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For what it's worth, I don't think the Bills have come close to determining their draft strategy just yet. Those meetings are just starting, and should go on for a week, or so.

 

You can choose to believe that, or not.

I'll take your word for it that they haven't yet put together an overall strategy, but I've gotta think they've got an opinion (or a "grade") on all these players at this point. So assuming you're right, you can still learn something by hearing what Modrak has to say about individual players.

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I'll take your word for it that they haven't yet put together an overall strategy, but I've gotta think they've got an opinion (or a "grade") on all these players at this point. So assuming you're right, you can still learn something by hearing what Modrak has to say about individual players.

 

 

Sure, I agree with that. I'm just saying, right now, the Bills don't know who they are targeting. I'm sure individual members of the team have their own ideas, though.

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I really think Ayers is going to be the pick. He just seems like a solid player which I think honestly is more important right now than finding someone who can possibly rush the passer. The DL is a mess. It doesn't need a situational pass rusher right now(I know that we have a tough time bringing pressure but that's because our ends are absolute garbage all together). It needs a 3-down stud who can play in all situations. Ayers reminds me of a player that we passed on back in the '04 draft: Will Smith.

 

 

I think you are correct. The Pass rush needs to be addressed. Ayers seems to be the 4-3 DE with good potential and low risk. If Ayers is not there then I think the Bills pass on DE and go to a LB who is known as a very good pass rusher.

 

Matthews would be that pick possibly Barwin. Hopefully in a trade down. Matthews would help in Two areas they need an OLB and he is a great rush linebacker. The next player they could target in round two would be the Richmond DE Sidbury.

 

The addition of Mathews and Sidbury with a Healthy Arron Schobel hopefull will get us some pressure.

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I think you are correct. The Pass rush needs to be addressed. Ayers seems to be the 4-3 DE with good potential and low risk. If Ayers is not there then I think the Bills pass on DE and go to a LB who is known as a very good pass rusher.

 

Matthews would be that pick possibly Barwin. Hopefully in a trade down. Matthews would help in Two areas they need an OLB and he is a great rush linebacker. The next player they could target in round two would be the Richmond DE Sidbury.

 

The addition of Mathews and Sidbury with a Healthy Arron Schobel hopefull will get us some pressure.

 

 

I was under the impression Ayers wasn't really a pass rush specialist, but a solid DE. That's fine with me, but I'm not sure he helps the QB pressure, that much. Again, I haven't seen a lot of him, and I'm going by what I read on a number of sites.

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I think that teams like the Bills have a very good handle on what will transpire on draft day. The trade down philosophy I hear about the most is a team will "target" three players it covets, and calculate the possibilities of whether or NOT they can move down and still acquire their guy. NFL Network had a segment and the Seahawks brass was in their War Room and they stated that they, as a rule, will NOT trade down any further than 6 spots to insure that they land the player they want.

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For what it's worth, I don't think the Bills have come close to determining their draft strategy just yet. Those meetings are just starting, and should go on for a week, or so.

 

You can choose to believe that, or not.

 

 

I think the Peters situation will certainly affect the strategy.

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Anyone else really disappointed with the draft luncheon video on buffalobills.com? Usually they have an hour of video, they have Marc Ross and some scouts there and take many questions on individual players. This year it was just Brandon and Modrak for 15 minutes.

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Anyone else really disappointed with the draft luncheon video on buffalobills.com? Usually they have an hour of video, they have Marc Ross and some scouts there and take many questions on individual players. This year it was just Brandon and Modrak for 15 minutes.

I have been told that the entire session only lasted 24 minutes.

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I have been told that the entire session only lasted 24 minutes.

 

Thanks. I forgot Marc Ross is with the Giants now. It still would have been nice to have heard from Doug Majeski, Buddy Nix and some of the regional scouts. I think the regional scouts could have given more info on players like Maybin and Pettigrew than Modrak did.

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Anyone else really disappointed with the draft luncheon video on buffalobills.com? Usually they have an hour of video, they have Marc Ross and some scouts there and take many questions on individual players. This year it was just Brandon and Modrak for 15 minutes.

 

Actually, while their answering questions does feed our curiosity, you can't really expect them to tip their hand. Anything heared from these types of media/fan availabilities should be taken with a grain of salt.

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Sometimes you can learn something at the Lunch. A couple of years ago Marv asked members of the media who they thought the bills would draft in the 1st round. Most of the media offered up the obvious, Bunkley and Huff. Marv told the media that the bills pick could suprise people. At the time I thought he was bluffing. When the bills were on the clock Mortenson reported that the broncos, vikings, and eagles were all interested up to Buffalo's spot. This indicated that Marv really was targeting a suprise player. When the bills decided not to accept the broncos offer of the 14th overall, the 36th overall, and a 4th, I thought they the suprise pick was going to be Cutler. I was shocked when they took Whitner. Even though I was expecting the unexpected, I was in complete shock. Was there anything said that this year that could provide a clue to this year's draft.

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I remember the year Rashean Mathis came out Modrak made a reference to Bethune Cookman. I know the Bills didn't draft Mathis, but it seemed like too much of a coincidence for him to mention a school that produces so few nfl players and it be a year where one of their players be drafted.

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