We really dont know yet but If...I say IF this draft played

[John from Riverside]

I kept saying as the picks came off the board that it was going to get really hard for the bills brass to screw up this draft.......I dreaded a possible pick of Oher but conforted myself that Ralph Wilson was not going to want to put out even the possibility that trading Peters was a mistake....and sure enough they took Wood an interior linemen for now and you just know will be our center in the future.

 

I am wondering just how much Buddy Nix had his imprint on this draft.....it just doesn't seem like drafts of years past because the make up of the players drafted is different.......mean, nasty, cusses who JUST LIKE TO PLAY FOOTBALL

 

Maybin.....forget the first step and pass rush that everybody else is clamoring about. The thing I am looking at is this is a guy who WORKS TO GET BETTER AND PLAYS HARD TILL THE WHISTLE.

 

Wood.....likes hurting defensive players......nuff said

 

Levitre.....same.....everyone talks about his technique and athletism because he can play all the line spots......I like him because he is also a mean nasty football player

 

Byrd.....SEVENTEEN INTERCEPTIONS and loves to hit

 

Nick Harris.....folks dont be shocked if this guy angles him into that OLB spot.....he is going to get bigger and is already bigger then Ellison. All of his speed deficiencies as a safety will all become glowing attributes as a linebacker

 

Shawn Nelson......I was home alone when this pick was made but I swear to god I could hear a collective YESSSSSS across the internet and bills land at that pick.....I mean when he came up on the board he was the top rated guy on Kipers top 10......it was absolutely ridiculous that he was there for us to take and for that matter it was ridiculous that Cooke went in front of him. Cook might be slightly faster but doesnt block worth a lick and has questionable work ethich.....this guy will at least TRY TO BLOCK......and of course is the gifted reciever that Edwards needs AND you need when the weather gets cold....pass recieving tight ends shine WHEN IT GETS COLD because they get harder to tackle......

 

I love this draft....and if the bills are not going to be big time players in free agency then this is the only way our team will improve.

[gordong]

there is a lot of if's; but I love the potential.

Best single draft (collectivity) in my opinion by the bills in many many years.

[Tcali]

there is a lot of if's; but I love the potential.

Best single draft (collectivity) in my opinion by the bills in many many years.

we still need some front 7 help...but I think this draft could be brilliant...we are 1-2 yrs away in my opinion...next year we need to draft more D line ,OLB,QB

[The Dean]

I don't see it as a "turning around", but as one of the final steps to the post TD rebuilding. Most of the units have been improved, over the past three years, and this offseason looks to have shored up most of the few remaining pieces. This team has gotten progressively better from year-to-year since the TD was ousted. It may not have been fully reflected in the Bills record, but it is fairly obvious upon close inspection of the team.

 

Of course, as you mention, there is a giant IF...and it remains to be seen if these guys can play. Also, don't forget the team still has DJ as the head coach, and that really doesn't give me the warm fuzzies, based on what we have seen to date.

[Tcali]

I don't see it as a "turning around", but as one of the final steps to the post TD rebuilding. Most of the units have been improved, over the past three years, and this offseason looks to have shored up most of the few remaining pieces. This team has gotten progressively better from year-to-year since the TD was ousted. It may not have been fully reflected in the Bills record, but it is fairly obvious upon close inspection of the team.

 

Of course, as you mention, there is a giant IF...and it remains to be seen if these guys can play. Also, don't forget the team still has DJ as the head coach, and that really doesn't give me the warm fuzzies, based on what we have seen to date.

7-9 isnt good enough for ya??

[The Dean]

7-9 isnt good enough for ya??

 

 

It was in 2006, but not for the past two years. The team's record has not reflected its incremental improvement. But, I think it actually has displayed itself, on occasion. Can you imagine the 2005 or 2006 team starting the season 5-1? I can't...even if they played the Lions 6 times in a row.

[Lofton80]

We'll never know until they go live but I agree completely. Toughness is a constant with the selections. I like that Byrd had 200+ tackles as a cb in a tough conference. Harris is a sure tackler as well. I don't expect Harris to start but he can add some toughness to special teams.

 

I expect Bowen to emerge as the OLB. Pull up a youtube of Bowen at Iowa St. before he was hurt. He is one tough tackler as well. Ellison is a poor tackler who gets targeted in the run game. Just moving Ellison and Simpson off the field improves the defense.

 

I like the toughness of Hangman, Wood and Levitre. Maybe we could actually convert a third and 1. Butler and Walker worry me on the outside as pass blockers. You know speed rushers like Joey Porter are going to be a challenge.

 

This draft is a step in the right direction even if we need another one like it in 2010. The light finally went on in Orchard Park.

[VOR]

Looking back, if the Bills had gotten the Eagles' 3rd rounder instead of their 4th rounder, I would have been fine with them taking Nelson with it. And it's possible the Bills might have taken him there anyway.

[nodnarb]

Nice post, John! I'm with ya. I really liked this draft. I'm thrilled that we got the consensus #1/1a rated center and consensus #1 rated guard. We have needed that for so long. Duke Preston was all talk and no production, while Fowler had the brains but no brawn, so it worked until he faced a 3-4 nose. Never could get anything resembling a push.

 

And like you, I had both arms up, Touchdown-style, when I saw Nelson's name on the board. I was saying, "It's gotta be a tight end, it's gotta be a tight end, it's gotta be a tight end..." Bam.

 

I had read a lot about the TEs in this draft, and watched a lot of their plays. All the mocks had him going in the 2nd, almost all of them I think - Even Gosselin, the most accurate predictor of the top 100 players year after year. Had him at 50. I was really surprised, and could not believe he was still there. I also liked James Casey and Bear Pascoe a lot, and was really surprised to see Casey last until the 5th, Pascoe the 6th. This was a great year to need a TE in the draft.

 

Even coming off a shockingly disappointing season, I do have a different feeling about our 53 this year. Even though we're likely starting 0-1.

[atlbillsfan1975]

I love this draft. Got two of the best interior guys in the draft. Already had Butler, and Walker. Plus Hangartners addition, i feel this line will be a heck of a lot better in the long run from what we have seen.

Maybin sounds like he should be a very good pass rusher for the Bills from day one. Byrd steps in and plays safety, and K.O is gone. Nelson sounds like he is willing to improve on his blocking, and already was probably the best pass catching TE in the draft.

The rest of the draft is 50/50. While i do like the fact that they came back and got Harris in the 5th, i hope he will be able to transition to the OLB. If not they atleast got a guy that could be very good on special teams.

But the key to the whole draft was Woods and Levitre. If both those guys pan out, then this draft will be great. Nelson to me seems like a lock to be good. He will if nothing else turn out to be an oversized reciever, that will present tons of miss matches for a D.

[TPS]

JfH,

As I read about this draft I was reminded of the year we took Mike Williams (assuming my memory serves, and that's big ASSumption). I was desperately hoping we'd take the safety R. Williams because he would supposedly be a wrecking machine in the backfield. After that draft I was doubly dissapointed because the Boys also drafted a lineman I wanted A. Gurode--he was described as a mean SOB. After Wade left, we stopped drafting mean SOBs, rather we went for finesse players. I am extremely happy the front office realizes we need a tougher attitude on the lines. I am optimistic again.

 

Postscript: while Roy Williams hasn't been the safety most thought, we would've been better off with him instead of that miss USA Williams at RT...Also, while our #2 pick has turned out to be ok, the boys took that mean SOB Gurode with the next pick. I wanted the Cowboys draft that year...

[Tcali]

It was in 2006, but not for the past two years. The team's record has not reflected its incremental improvement. But, I think it actually has displayed itself, on occasion. Can you imagine the 2005 or 2006 team starting the season 5-1? I can't...even if they played the Lions 6 times in a row.

I think the 06 team was better than 07 or 08..But I do think we'll make a leap forward this year.

Our 5-1 record was a farce--obviously.the Raider and the rams had us on the ropes.Get real deano.

[2020 Our Year For Sure]

Can you imagine the 2005 or 2006 team starting the season 5-1? I can't...even if they played the Lions 6 times in a row.

I think we lost to the Lions one of those years, actually.

[Rustado]

I think we lost to the Lions one of those years, actually.

weres roscoe going??

[Buftex]

I don't see it as a "turning around", but as one of the final steps to the post TD rebuilding. Most of the units have been improved, over the past three years, and this offseason looks to have shored up most of the few remaining pieces. This team has gotten progressively better from year-to-year since the TD was ousted. It may not have been fully reflected in the Bills record, but it is fairly obvious upon close inspection of the team.

 

Of course, as you mention, there is a giant IF...and it remains to be seen if these guys can play. Also, don't forget the team still has DJ as the head coach, and that really doesn't give me the warm fuzzies, based on what we have seen to date.

 

 

Wow...I hope you are right The Dean... I can't say that I think this team is much better, except the skill positions, than it was in three years ago. To me, Trent Edwards is marginally better than Losman (I am still optimistic with him), Lynch is better than McGahee, and, obviously, as much as I detest Terrell Owens, he and Lee Evans are a better pair of starting WR's than we had anytime recently. I don't see any unit on this team, outside those, that I can say we are definitively better off than we were three years ago. Drafts always look good on paper, but to expect all those draft picks to pan out, and contribute the way we all hope they can, is pretty unrealistic.

 

I love the optimism of that everyone has for this draft, but I think lots are forgetting how high most everyone was on the 2006 draft, the first without TD at the helm. Remember, that was the year, where the Bills supposedly laid the foundation for what was supposed to be a great young, agessive defense, kind of the defensive equivalent of the offensive draft we had this year?

 

Three years later, and it looks to me (granted I am a jaded prick at this point) that the Bills are still trying to address the same issues all over again. The Bills have gone beyond "cleaning up TD's mess", and are no trying to correct the mistakes of the "Levy era".

 

The 2006 draft, with the cliche three year retrospect, looks like a pretty bad draft. Donte Whitner and Kyle Williams are the only guys from that draft that aren't pretty much busts, and neither is all that great.

Ashton Youboty has fianly shown signs of being a decent player, but can't stay healthy long enough to make any impact on this team. Ko Simpson has been pretty bad...and I don't need to get into the whole McCargo thing, do I?

 

I think you are giving the Bills way too much credit, as if they had some great design on how to build a new team. They haven't been 7-9 three years in a row by coincidence...

[Dawgg]

I love this draft....and if the bills are not going to be big time players in free agency then this is the only way our team will improve.

After Marv's shoddy drafts, this draft is a breath of fresh air. They got value at every single selection.

 

- Best pass rusher in the draft.

- Best guard in the draft (Levitre)

- A top-notch center (Wood)

- Tight End with receiving skills

- Durable performers from big-time, winning programs (Nic & Cary Harris, Byrd)

 

Nice work Russ.

[Dawgg]

Three years later, and it looks to me (granted I am a jaded prick at this point) that the Bills are still trying to address the same issues all over again. The Bills have gone beyond "cleaning up TD's mess", and are no trying to correct the mistakes of the "Levy era".

That's the truth.

[DazedandConfused]

John, I'm with you that MAYBE these individual things COULD happen (and as a Bills fan I hope they do). However, as someone who visits the real world sometime (usually not on Sunday) I know that it is pretty impossible that all these things are gonna happen.

 

Up to a point I think 2 things are key: A Coaching as our coaches need to squeeze everything they can out of every player and good coaching and competition will be key plan Bs when some of these dreams fail will be huge, B: The team still lacks enough vet leadership that has been to the big game before (Mitchell is not nearly enough) and/or has achieved success in the NFL (Lynch and Schobel are about it and each has big ? after their name after the past year.

 

I also go completely off the track with the Nelson pick as he is a year or more likely two away from being a balanced starter adequate at both the block and the catch and nobody on the roster is a credible full replacement if he goes down and we have to wait anyway. I hope your wish comes true but probably will not.

[Mark Sanchez]

An 8 win season next year isn't really much of an improvement.

[ganesh]

John, I'm with you that MAYBE these individual things COULD happen (and as a Bills fan I hope they do). However, as someone who visits the real world sometime (usually not on Sunday) I know that it is pretty impossible that all these things are gonna happen.

 

Up to a point I think 2 things are key: A Coaching as our coaches need to squeeze everything they can out of every player and good coaching and competition will be key plan Bs when some of these dreams fail will be huge, B: The team still lacks enough vet leadership that has been to the big game before (Mitchell is not nearly enough) and/or has achieved success in the NFL (Lynch and Schobel are about it and each has big ? after their name after the past year.

 

I also go completely off the track with the Nelson pick as he is a year or more likely two away from being a balanced starter adequate at both the block and the catch and nobody on the roster is a credible full replacement if he goes down and we have to wait anyway. I hope your wish comes true but probably will not.

 

TO is the veteran WR....Will he be a leader...Sure ....Leadership comes in two forms...One is you show up on the field and others will follow....TO has ability for both....Will he be destructive on the field....Yes he can....Will he be on the Turf in RWS...May be...but hoping for the Bills he does not...

 

I also think Edwards is going to emerge as a true leader....BTW sometimes leadership is also overrated...If the team starts winning, lot of these leadership crap shows its head, but never when the teams are not winning...It is sort of media created.

[Mickey]

I kept saying as the picks came off the board that it was going to get really hard for the bills brass to screw up this draft.......I dreaded a possible pick of Oher but conforted myself that Ralph Wilson was not going to want to put out even the possibility that trading Peters was a mistake....and sure enough they took Wood an interior linemen for now and you just know will be our center in the future.

 

I am wondering just how much Buddy Nix had his imprint on this draft.....it just doesn't seem like drafts of years past because the make up of the players drafted is different.......mean, nasty, cusses who JUST LIKE TO PLAY FOOTBALL

 

Maybin.....forget the first step and pass rush that everybody else is clamoring about. The thing I am looking at is this is a guy who WORKS TO GET BETTER AND PLAYS HARD TILL THE WHISTLE.

 

Wood.....likes hurting defensive players......nuff said

 

Levitre.....same.....everyone talks about his technique and athletism because he can play all the line spots......I like him because he is also a mean nasty football player

 

Byrd.....SEVENTEEN INTERCEPTIONS and loves to hit

 

Nick Harris.....folks dont be shocked if this guy angles him into that OLB spot.....he is going to get bigger and is already bigger then Ellison. All of his speed deficiencies as a safety will all become glowing attributes as a linebacker

 

Shawn Nelson......I was home alone when this pick was made but I swear to god I could hear a collective YESSSSSS across the internet and bills land at that pick.....I mean when he came up on the board he was the top rated guy on Kipers top 10......it was absolutely ridiculous that he was there for us to take and for that matter it was ridiculous that Cooke went in front of him. Cook might be slightly faster but doesnt block worth a lick and has questionable work ethich.....this guy will at least TRY TO BLOCK......and of course is the gifted reciever that Edwards needs AND you need when the weather gets cold....pass recieving tight ends shine WHEN IT GETS COLD because they get harder to tackle......

 

I love this draft....and if the bills are not going to be big time players in free agency then this is the only way our team will improve.

We hear these same descriptions every year. I have yet to hear, of a draft choice, that "he doesn't really care for football" or that "he doesn't like to hit people", etc. You rate a player by the results he produces on the field, not by the quality of his post draft interview or the accolades heaped on him by fans, coaches and columnists. Right now it is all talk and hope.

[Lofton80]

You just defined a message board= all talk and hope. That's why we come here.

 

 

We hear these same descriptions every year. I have yet to hear, of a draft choice, that "he doesn't really care for football" or that "he doesn't like to hit people", etc. You rate a player by the results he produces on the field, not by the quality of his post draft interview or the accolades heaped on him by fans, coaches and columnists. Right now it is all talk and hope.

[Steely Dan]

You just defined a message board= all talk and hope. That's why we come here.

 

What he said.

 

Can you imagine a goal line stand with Lynch, Owens, Hardy and Nelson?

[The Dean]

We hear these same descriptions every year. I have yet to hear, of a draft choice, that "he doesn't really care for football" or that "he doesn't like to hit people", etc.

 

 

It's true that it is all talk, until they hit the field, but players really ARE described differently, especially before the draft. If you read the draft profiles, many players are described as having poor work habits, lacking passion on the field, etc. Others are described as playing with a mean streak, ultimate competitors, etc. I'd look at those, instead of what the GMs and Coaches say about the guys they drafted, if you want to try to make some predictions.

 

Again, it's all speculative, but it looks as though the Bills drafted guys with a lot of toughness and drive.

[ax4782]

We hear these same descriptions every year. I have yet to hear, of a draft choice, that "he doesn't really care for football" or that "he doesn't like to hit people", etc. You rate a player by the results he produces on the field, not by the quality of his post draft interview or the accolades heaped on him by fans, coaches and columnists. Right now it is all talk and hope.

 

I'm pretty sure they were saying that about Matt Leinhart before he was drafted. Just saying.

[DazedandConfused]

TO is the veteran WR....Will he be a leader...Sure ....Leadership comes in two forms...One is you show up on the field and others will follow....TO has ability for both....Will he be destructive on the field....Yes he can....Will he be on the Turf in RWS...May be...but hoping for the Bills he does not...

 

I also think Edwards is going to emerge as a true leader....BTW sometimes leadership is also overrated...If the team starts winning, lot of these leadership crap shows its head, but never when the teams are not winning...It is sort of media created.

 

An interesting strategy, banking on TO to become he spiritual guide and moral leader of a team. As I was thinking through the recent and current Pro Bowlers on this squad looking for the accomplished leaders this is where I began to realize that a concern I have long had about the relative youth of our Bills simply gives us little on field leadership. Jauron in theory is a nice guy and strong moral guide. This may be true (if one ignores the factual occurrence that the Jauron W/L is simply recent historical adequacy tending toward mediocracy) but it takes a mix and good coaches and good players are essential elements of a winner.

 

I thought about TD and maybe there is some epiphany about to happen, but honestly I am a pro-TO rooter that believes he can go for a year without a meltdown and after that all bets are off. And I am an optimist about this. The conventional wisdom is that he will demonstrably divide the team this year and your view of him is the contrary that he is going to in fact be a positive.

 

I think the middle ground is not where you are on this and though I expect one solid year with minimal problems I do not expect two and I think we will be lucky to have him not be a negative and I am not sure why you would have some expectation he in fact is going to be a positive. There is no experience with TO that backs this up.

[billybob]

TEs And DEs usually don't make a huge difference in their rookie year- so I'm not counting on big things from Maybin and Nelson their first year.

 

Rookie guards can come in and play well right away but are they going to dominate Wilfork, or Jenkins

 

where I could see big improvement in the defense is if Byrd and Harris can play- If these guys can increase turnovers 6+ it could win us a couple of games - add a game for TO and that's 10-6.

[Flbillsfan#1]

TO is the veteran WR....Will he be a leader...Sure ....Leadership comes in two forms...One is you show up on the field and others will follow....TO has ability for both....Will he be destructive on the field....Yes he can....Will he be on the Turf in RWS...May be...but hoping for the Bills he does not...

 

I also think Edwards is going to emerge as a true leader....BTW sometimes leadership is also overrated...If the team starts winning, lot of these leadership crap shows its head, but never when the teams are not winning...It is sort of media created.

You are SO WRONG about Leadership. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were a LOSING team when they made the BEST Free agent signing in Franchise history. They signed Hardy Nickerson away from the Steelers. They then drafted the likes of Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, Rhonde Barber, John Lynch, Mike Alstott......... All of those players have credited Hardy for his LEADERSHIP in helping them become the HOF worthy players they became. Sapp was like Bruce Smith in his Rookie year........LAZY. He earned the nickname FATSO. By his 2nd year thanks to Hardy's LEADERSHIP he was playing at a Pro Bowl level. By the time the Bucs became successful, Hardy was GONE, with Brooks taking his place. The Bucs will tell you to a man that they would not have become the players they became & the Bucs as a team would not have gone on to have the success they did without the LEADERSHIP of Hardy Nickerson...................when the Bucs were LOSING.

[Williams+Williams+Williams]

I really like the fact that we addressed our interior line. The AFC east is full of pro bowl caliber nose gaurds. Ferguson, Jenkins and Wilfork all wreacked havoc last year on our O-line. TO is going to make a world of difference when it comes to opening up the field.

 

Our draft looked good. Are young guys like Mckelvin, Poz and Trent going to step up to the plate? The bell is ringing, who is going to answer?

 

Only time will tell.