Demetrius Bell. From the Bears game.

[TC in St. Louis]

Just for fun, I looked at a bunch of plays from the Bears game. Bell was solid, effective on every play. On a td run, he peeled off and took Chicago's LB out of the play...resulting in the touchdown.

 

Maybe he's healthy, and that's why they made the move.

 

He's a big guy with a lot of talent. I'd rather see him on the field than Walker, who looked slow most of the time.

[ThereIsNoDog]

I didn't see the game, but reportedly Walker looked horrible against the Lions. Which was one of the main reasons they made the decision to cut him.

[The Jokeman]

Just for fun, I looked at a bunch of plays from the Bears game. Bell was solid, effective on every play. On a td run, he peeled off and took Chicago's LB out of the play...resulting in the touchdown.

 

Maybe he's healthy, and that's why they made the move.

 

He's a big guy with a lot of talent. I'd rather see him on the field than Walker, who looked slow most of the time.

By most accounts Langston Walker was viewed as a RT and the position he played his first two seasons here in Buffalo so that's why he looked slow at LT because they are two totally different positions. I hope to the man upstairs that Bell proves to be a good LT but if look at our recent draft history heck even O-line history things don't look so good.

[Sisyphean Bills]

By most accounts Langston Walker was viewed as a RT and the position he played his first two seasons here in Buffalo so that's why he looked slow at LT because they are two totally different positions. I hope to the man upstairs that Bell proves to be a good LT but if look at our recent draft history heck even O-line history things don't look so good.

Same brain trust that thought Walker could make the switch from RT to LT this year, made this recent cut of Walker and re-sign of Chambers, as are making the call on Bell. That aught to inspire some confidence.

[Hossage]

I think Walker mailed in the preseason, thinking his spot on the team was secure.

[The Jokeman]

Same brain trust that thought Walker could make the switch from RT to LT this year, made this recent cut of Walker and re-sign of Chambers, as are making the call on Bell. That aught to inspire some confidence.

The biggest I have with said brain trust is the man running the show isn't a football guy but a salary/money guy and thus we've seen many of the decisions made of late, Rhodes and Walker have been about money which seems to be ringing truer and truer each day as we get closer to the season. It also goes to show that perhaps Levy as GM wasn't such a great idea.

[Sisyphean Bills]

The biggest I have with said brain trust is the man running the show isn't a football guy but a salary/money guy and thus we've seen many of the decisions made of late, Rhodes and Walker have been about money which seems to be ringing truer and truer each day as we get closer to the season. It also goes to show that perhaps Levy as GM wasn't such a great idea.

I don't think it was only money. Rhodes and Walker mailed it in this pre-season, and they were outplayed by 2nd year guys. Camp Jauron was not getting them ready for whatever reason. It will be curious if anyone else picks up these 2 players.

[billybob]

I'm not angry that they finally realized that Walker couldn't play LT I'm angry that they put him there in the first place- and Butler better be at least as good as Walker was last year at RT or you really have to look at what criteria this organization uses to judge who stays and who goes.

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

I didn't see the game, but reportedly Walker looked horrible against the Lions. Which was one of the main reasons they made the decision to cut him.

 

I thought Walker looked good in pass protection all pre-season, including in the Lions game-- but terrible as a run blocker. I don't think he was much of a run blocker even as a RT.

 

Of course, during the Lions game, I saw that the Bills tried to pull Walker a few times--why would you run a counter, pulling a somewhat slow 370 pound LT?

[The Jokeman]

I'm not angry that they finally realized that Walker couldn't play LT I'm angry that they put him there in the first place- and Butler better be at least as good as Walker was last year at RT or you really have to look at what criteria this organization uses to judge who stays and who goes.

Butler's going to look great at RT and when he does we can shift him to LT then we can say let him go. See Jonas Jennings, Jason Peters and Langston Walker.

[Steely Dan]

OT but, how many embarrassing comments will be made about Karl Malone during the Bills broadcast? Will they not mention it? Will they leave it at he's Malone's son or will they mention Malone disowned him and his mother is only 13 years older than him? I hoping it's the last one. The douchebag deserves to be shamed before a national audience.

[The Jokeman]

OT but, how many embarrassing comments will be made about Karl Malone during the Bills broadcast? Will they not mention it? Will they leave it at he's Malone's son or will they mention Malone disowned him and his mother is only 13 years older than him? I hoping it's the last one. The douchebag deserves to be shamed before a national audience.

Shamed? Please anything from the mainstream media will be totally PC and if anything they'll give kudos to Bell for showing some good footwork or something and then say t's due to Karl Malone being his dad and that's it.

[Mike in Syracuse]

Ya know what I don't get. Walker is 6'8" and weighs 366lbs. How is it possible at that size to not just bury everyone you play against. ESPECIALLY LB's. I outweigh my 10 year old son by 100lbs. I'm fairly certain I could block him with relative ease and my days as an athlete are long gone.

[BillsVet]

Walker was losing first team reps at GB earlier in the pre-season with Bell taking his spot.

 

Some on this board wondered aloud if Walker, after learning he'd be the LT when Peters was dealt, would take off some weight. Apparently that wasn't important to him, although I don't think it would have mattered. He's not nimble or particularly strong.

[Paup 1995MVP]

The biggest I have with said brain trust is the man running the show isn't a football guy but a salary/money guy and thus we've seen many of the decisions made of late, Rhodes and Walker have been about money which seems to be ringing truer and truer each day as we get closer to the season. It also goes to show that perhaps Levy as GM wasn't such a great idea.

Jokeman that is ridiculous. Did you watch Rhodes play against Detroit or in the other preseason games? He is SLOW!!! He has absolutely no burst, and he can not pick up the blitz. To me he looked pretty soft and lackadaisical on the field. I think Oman and McIntyre give us a whole lot more at the position than Rhodes.

 

As for Walker, the guy is marginal at best. He has no foot speed to play LT and did not dominate at RT. Why everyone is so up in arms about getting rid of an average Olineman at best is just plain stupid. The negativity towards the Bills is just unbelievable. We haven't played a game yet and the majority of you just HATE this team beyond reason. I for one am just happy that the NFL season is upon us. We have a LOT of great offensive players and a defense that looks to be quite solid. If our QB can become a man and step up like an NFL team should, than this team will be very good. Most of you just seem so miserable. If you are that bumbed out by getting rid of Rhodes, Schonert and Walker go root for another team.

[Bufcomments]

OT but, how many embarrassing comments will be made about Karl Malone during the Bills broadcast? Will they not mention it? Will they leave it at he's Malone's son or will they mention Malone disowned him and his mother is only 13 years older than him? I hoping it's the last one. The douchebag deserves to be shamed before a national audience.

Malone should be ashamed of himself. His own seed is making a name for himself he has nothing to do with him. They should mention it but if I was Bell I would smile and let it go. He is his own man and I for one am proud of him, not matter how he plays.

 

Bell has come along way I just 1 year. This just proves that no matter where you come from in life you can make it with hard damn work, no matter if you parents are involved in your life or not.

[DarthICE]

Just for fun, I looked at a bunch of plays from the Bears game. Bell was solid, effective on every play. On a td run, he peeled off and took Chicago's LB out of the play...resulting in the touchdown.

 

Maybe he's healthy, and that's why they made the move.

 

He's a big guy with a lot of talent. I'd rather see him on the field than Walker, who looked slow most of the time.

 

Has he faced Mario Williams yet? How about Julius Peppers? No? Well he has to this season, so I guess we will see.

[Captain Caveman]

Ya know what I don't get. Walker is 6'8" and weighs 366lbs. How is it possible at that size to not just bury everyone you play against. ESPECIALLY LB's. I outweigh my 10 year old son by 100lbs. I'm fairly certain I could block him with relative ease and my days as an athlete are long gone.

 

It's been said that if Walker gets a hand on you,. you're pretty much done. The problem is, he can't always get a hand on some of the quicker DEs and LBs, especially with the Bills running a quick tempo offense.

 

Comparing 180 - 80 lbs is not quite the same as comparing 370 - 270.

[Orton's Arm]

The biggest I have with said brain trust is the man running the show isn't a football guy but a salary/money guy and thus we've seen many of the decisions made of late, Rhodes and Walker have been about money which seems to be ringing truer and truer each day as we get closer to the season. It also goes to show that perhaps Levy as GM wasn't such a great idea.

Both Rhodes and Walker were overpaid. Getting rid of their high salaries will, hopefully, free up enough money to extend guys like McGee. But if not, I'm sure the Bills could find one or two other overpaid, expendable players to get rid of, if they look hard enough.

 

I agree with your statement that Levy as GM wasn't that great an idea. Let's look at the long-term answers (or potential answers) that were brought in under his tenure:

 

OL: Brad Butler

QB: Trent Edwards

WR: nobody

TE: nobody

RB: Lynch, Jackson

DT: Stroud, Williams, Johnson

DE: nobody

LB: Poz

CB: nobody

S: Whitner

 

So that's a total of nine guys. But Kyle Williams and Spencer Johnson are arguably quality backups rather than starter-caliber players. So that leaves you with seven. And Fred Jackson is a backup as well, leaving you with just six starters. Of those six, one (Trent Edwards) has a lot of questions he needs to answer before he's considered a bona fide starting quality QB; leaving you with five. Of those five, Brad Butler is an okay player, but nothing special. Marcus Stroud is good, but he was already getting on in years when we'd traded for him. The age factor makes it a little more difficult to classify him as a long term solution, when he might not be around for the long term. So that leaves just three guys. Of those three, Whitner clearly hasn't lived up to his draft status, and some might make the same argument regarding Lynch and Poz. If the only way Marv can find solid, long-term solutions to positions is to use first round picks (or a very early second round pick in Poz's case), and if few or none of Marv's early picks live up to the expectations associated with their draft status, then you have to wonder about his ability to be a good GM.

 

I guess you could argue that he made up for that with his, um, excellent coaching hires? Oh, wait, never mind!

[Bill from NYC]

Ya know what I don't get. Walker is 6'8" and weighs 366lbs. How is it possible at that size to not just bury everyone you play against. ESPECIALLY LB's. I outweigh my 10 year old son by 100lbs. I'm fairly certain I could block him with relative ease and my days as an athlete are long gone.

 

Good question Mike. I suspect that Walker weighs a lot closer to 400. Jmo. I also think that Dockery was closer to 366 than his listed weight. These guys are obviously strong, but maybe no so much by NFL standards.

I heard Dockery in Sirius talk about how strong Jason Peters is. He kept stressing it. Now, throw in speed and athleticism and there is the difference. Another good example is Albert Haynesworth. He might weigh 75 pounds less than Walker, but I am guessing he is much stronger, as is a guy like Kris Jenkins.

 

Guys like Dockery and Walker appeared to be more big and sloppy than particularly strong. I am betting (at least hoping) that Wood is already stronger than our 2 departed elephants.

[John Adams]

Good question Mike. I suspect that Walker weighs a lot closer to 400. Jmo. I also think that Dockery was closer to 366 than his listed weight. These guys are obviously strong, but maybe no so much by NFL standards.

I heard Dockery in Sirius talk about how strong Jason Peters is. He kept stressing it. Now, throw in speed and athleticism and there is the difference. Another good example is Albert Haynesworth. He might weigh 75 pounds less than Walker, but I am guessing he is much stronger, as is a guy like Kris Jenkins.

 

Guys like Dockery and Walker appeared to be more big and sloppy than particularly strong. I am betting (at least hoping) that Wood is already stronger than our 2 departed elephants.

 

Peters has his sights set on being a major bust Bill. He has looked simply awful in pre-season.

[ganesh]

The biggest I have with said brain trust is the man running the show isn't a football guy but a salary/money guy and thus we've seen many of the decisions made of late, Rhodes and Walker have been about money which seems to be ringing truer and truer each day as we get closer to the season. It also goes to show that perhaps Levy as GM wasn't such a great idea.

 

If the difference in the level of play between the two guys is marginal (Rhodes, Oman and Walker, Bell), then wouldn't it make a sound business decision to let go of the higher paid guy. That is a natural business decision in any walk of life. I don't think the Bills are any different.

[Steely Dan]

Malone should be ashamed of himself. His own seed is making a name for himself he has nothing to do with him. They should mention it but if I was Bell I would smile and let it go. He is his own man and I for one am proud of him, not matter how he plays.

 

Bell has come along way I just 1 year. This just proves that no matter where you come from in life you can make it with hard damn work, no matter if you parents are involved in your life or not.

 

I didn't mean to Bell in an interview just the announcers doing the game.

[Bill from NYC]

Peters has his sights set on being a major bust Bill. He has looked simply awful in pre-season.

 

Some guys get the money and stop working. It remains to be seen wrt Peters, and I am willing to accept the trade at face value. The guy does have talent that is very rare, but if he doesn't want to play, that's up to him.

 

That said, we have to replace him at some point and it won't be easy. I am going to watch Bell very closely on running plays. He is agile enough to be a pass blocker. Is he strong enough to open holes for backs on cold WNY Sundays? Like you said before.....all we have is hope.

[sac bills]

Ya know what I don't get. Walker is 6'8" and weighs 366lbs. How is it possible at that size to not just bury everyone you play against. ESPECIALLY LB's. I outweigh my 10 year old son by 100lbs. I'm fairly certain I could block him with relative ease and my days as an athlete are long gone.

 

 

Does your son weigh 245 pounds and run the 40 in 4.6?

[Dan]

I think Walker mailed in the preseason, thinking his spot on the team was secure.

I've been wondering about that as well. Maybe cutting Walker and Rhodes is the team's way of sending a message that just mailing it in is no longer acceptable? Everyone can be cut, veteran or not.

 

??