San Jose Bills Fan Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 Alright, all of the NFL teams have played either 5 or 6 games so far so it's a good time to assess how the 2009 crop of rookies is looking so far. Many of us had personal favorites that we wanted to see the Bills draft. Here's the players I wished the Bills had drafted and how they're doing very early in their NFL careers: Tyson Jackson: Jackson was drafted 3rd overall so he was gone before the Bills drafted. People here generally didn't like him because of his lack of elite pass rush skills. I felt he was the next Richard Seymour, a great all-around DE. Jackson became an immediate starter playing the 3-4-5 technique DE in Kansas City's 3-4 defense where he has not put up numbers but has generally played well. Remember that DEs in this scheme are asked to hold the point of attack. Jackson is fairly immovable. Robert Ayers: I wanted the Bills to draft Ayers instead of Maybin. Denver took him 7 picks later. I felt Ayers was a classic rush DE, but also solidly built and used his hands well, stout against the rush. The Broncos asked him to lose 13 pounds and play linebacker in their newly installed 3-4 scheme. Ayers is currently backing up Mario Haggan at LOLB and is also listed as the primary backup to ROLB Elvis Dumervil who is having a great season. I've seen a few Denver games this year. It appears that Ayers gets about 20-25 snaps per game and is used in pass rush situations. He has zero sacks so far but has looked good as an overall defender. I feel he's being played out of position but he's part of the pass rush rotation on a team which is #1 in scoring defense and #2 in yardage defense. Ziggy Hood: Hood was taken with the final pick in the first round. He was an interior lineman in college but the Steelers have him playing DE in their 3-4 scheme (similar to Glenn Dorsey playing DE in KC). Due to the injury to starter Aaron Smith, Hood is expected to see quite a bit more action going forward. We had an opportunity to draft Hood but chose Eric Wood at #28 and I'm perfectly happy with the Wood pick. In the 2nd round we selected Jairus Byrd at #42. At the time I wanted to see the Bills stack pass rushers by selecting either Everette Brown or Connor Barwin. I don't know how many snaps Brown is seeing...we get to watch him on Sunday, but he does have 1 sack and two forced fumbles so far. Brown also had 3 sacks and a forced fumble in the preseason. Connor Barwin is another edge rusher who is outperforming Aaron Maybin at this very early point. Barwin had 2 sacks and 2 passes defensed in preseason and has 1 sack and 2 passes defensed as a substitute. He looks very promising. I like Jairus Byrd and think he can become an excellent safety but if Brown and Barwin develop into excellent pass rushers, I'll likely be sorry we didn't draft one of them. Good pass rushers are so hard to find. By the time we drafted Andy Levitre at #53, both Brown and Barwin were gone. The final player I really wanted the Bills to draft was DE Lawrence Sidbury. He was available when we drafted Shawn Nelson in round 4 at #117. The Falcons took Sidbury 4 picks later. Both he and Nelson slid a bit and were considered great values where they were drafted. Because we had chosen Maybin in round 1, I wanted us to draft Sidbury because again, I wanted for the Bills to stack themselves with pass rushers. Pass rush was our one glaring defensive need going into this draft. So far, Sidbury has been playing sparingly, backing up John Abraham. Like Nelson he was considered a diamond in the rough...a project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Vader Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 I wanted Brian Cushing, how does he look so far? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Jose Bills Fan Posted October 24, 2009 Author Share Posted October 24, 2009 I wanted Brian Cushing, how does he look so far? Well Mark, you and lots of people here wanted to see us draft him. And he looks like a stud so far. Cushing was drafted four picks after we took Aaron Maybin and he looks awesome. So far, Cushing has started all 6 games for Houston. He has 28 solo tackles, a half a sack for a safety, 5 passes defensed and 2 forced fumbles. Wow. BTW, I had reservations about all the USC guys because they were such a star studded team (Cushing, Matthews, Maualuga, Moala) that it was hard to evaluate the players because they tended to dominate the opposition and there wasn't a lot of video on Youtube. It's easy to look good on a dominating team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billsfan89 Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 From a Bills stand point I liked what Wood and Levitre have shown to me they have potential and are playing at a capable level as rookies. Maybin is developmental and hasn't shown much but its early and we shall see how he turns out but the early returns are meh. Byrd has played well even though I want a OLB or trading that pick away for Carolina's first next season but so far he has come in and made plays with what little time he has been given. So the Bills have seen 3 out of their top 4 picks given them something so far this season. Maybin and Nelson are both developmental guys who are boom or bust but no one was realistically expecting them to come in and make an impact early. To me Maybin needs to get a handful of sacks by seasons end while Nelson just needs to get more and more playing time and just get a feel for the pro game. Either way good draft for the Bills so far but Maybin will tell if long term this draft was a good one for the Bills. Also how has Brian Orakpo been playing with the Skins (I have heard not good because he is mostly at linebacker). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John from Riverside Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 I know it is not the question asked but I think the DL in the draft are playing out exactly as I thought they would......they dont contribute heavily in their first year...... I would really like to revisit this question next year at this time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill from NYC Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 I was all over Levitre. I had no knowledge of Wood until right before the draft and heard rave reviews but Levitre I had seen a bit. I'll take those 2 on my team any day of the week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Jose Bills Fan Posted October 24, 2009 Author Share Posted October 24, 2009 Agree with you guys. It looks like a pretty good draft so far. The only thing is, the one player I didn't want, Aaron Maybin, is the guy we drafted. That's the only real criticism I have. And it is very early albeit. But all my fears about his game seem to be true: undersized, one-dimensional, over-reliance upon speed... As someone else posted in the "why the broncos suck" thread, with the 11th pick overall you need to find someone who can help you immediately, not some project. I really don't care if the "braintrust" think he has a huge upside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chilly Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 I really wanted Orakpo, who is doing awesome for WSH so far. He has 20 tackles and 3.5 sacks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BILLZ4LIFE Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 LETS GO FITZY!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bills_red Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 I wanted Orakpo or Raji at 11. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Jose Bills Fan Posted October 24, 2009 Author Share Posted October 24, 2009 I wanted Orakpo or Raji at 11. Well Raji went at #9 to the Packers so that's a big "what-if." Currently he's backing up veteran nose tackle Ryan Pickett who's had a good year so far. Pickett has 14 solo tackles. Raji has 3 solo tackles and has been slowed by injuries. Like many others here I wonder whether the Bills would have taken him if he'd slid. He's a classic 3-4 nose tackle and there were a few concerns about his weight and attitude. I'd personally have welcomed him with open arms. A rotation of Stroud, Raji, and Williams would have made us very stout up front. It looks like Orakpo and Cushing are two guys that look very good so far that the Bills could have had at #11. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John from Riverside Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 I personally think the Orkapo production is contributed to two things: - He was simply older and more NFL ready - He plays on a defense that has good players all around him.......the offense is designed to account for those guys not for Orakapo AND He is playing a position he can actually contribute at in his first year....(wait...thats 3 things) Anyway.......I am more curious to see what these guys look like NEXT year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bills_red Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 Well Raji went at #9 to the Packers so that's a big "what-if." Currently he's backing up veteran nose tackle Ryan Pickett who's had a good year so far. Pickett has 14 solo tackles. Raji has 3 solo tackles and has been slowed by injuries. Like many others here I wonder whether the Bills would have taken him if he'd slid. He's a classic 3-4 nose tackle and there were a few concerns about his weight and attitude. I'd personally have welcomed him with open arms. A rotation of Stroud, Raji, and Williams would have made us very stout up front. It looks like Orakpo and Cushing are two guys that look very good so far that the Bills could have had at #11. I know he was pick before 11. but those are the 2 guys I wanted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
....lybob Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 When Raji was picked at 9 I would have tried to trade down for Oher or Mathews but of course you need someone who wants to trade up- at 11 I would have taken Orakpo just because he seemed more physically ready than Maybin and I wanted to take a shot at the playoffs now- Maybin may be the better player long term (he's so young he could get bigger and stronger just from maturing) maybe the Bills knew with the way the OL was going to be blown up they probably weren't going to do anything this year anyways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papazoid Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 i didn't like Maybin then and i feel even stronger now.....this guy is going to be a bust !....you need a combo of speed and power to be a dominant DE......he has the speed but really lacks in power. I think the Bills blew this pick. I am satisfied with all their other picks. For the record, i was predicting/hoping that the bills would "trade down" at this spot and get an extra pick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Vader Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 Agree with you guys. It looks like a pretty good draft so far. The only thing is, the one player I didn't want, Aaron Maybin, is the guy we drafted. That's the only real criticism I have. And it is very early albeit. But all my fears about his game seem to be true: undersized, one-dimensional, over-reliance upon speed... As someone else posted in the "why the broncos suck" thread, with the 11th pick overall you need to find someone who can help you immediately, not some project. I really don't care if the "braintrust" think he has a huge upside. I was very upset when the Bills took Maybin. Not that I do'nt think that Maybin is a bad player, I just knew that he was going to be a project and not an instant impact player. I was'nt big on the DE's in the draft, except for Tyson Jackson, which is why I wanted Brian Cushing. I know that we needed a DE, but Cushing could've replaced Ellison in a heartbeat. Having said all of that, I am very impressed with the remainder of the Bills draft. I think Wood & LeVitre could be fixtures on the O-Line for the next 10 years. I knew very little about Byrd, but I love what I am seeing so far. I think Nelson has a lot of potential to be a good weapon on offense, unfortunately injuries have slowed his development. Finally we have Nic Harris & Ellis Lankster waiting in the wings. So I am very pleased with this year's draft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bizell Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 it should be noted that cushing has been hurt several times so far his rookie year and is no stranger to the injury report, a big concern against him coming out of usc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DIE HARD 1967 Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 I wanted Maybin and unfortunately he dropped to the bills Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steely Dan Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 I wanted Brian Cushing, how does he look so far? Great, but the reason I thought they should pass on him is his extensive injury history. (missed three games as an high school senior due to a sprained ankle, as a true freshman he missed five games due to a shoulder separation, had offseason surgery on the shoulder, had a strained hamstring for spring practice in '07 and missed most of spring practice, had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee after the practices ended, in season opener of '07 he sprained his left ankle and missed the next two games, he re-sprained the leg during the Washington game and missed three more games, had arthroscopic surgery on his ankle prior to the 2008 spring practices and he broke a bone in his hand against Oregon State in '08) Six games into his first NFL season he hasn't had a significant injury but it's way too early to tell about something like that. Right now he has a foot injury that he's playing through but he's listed as questionable for Sunday's game. I don't like to call players busts based on injuries, unless they have an extensive injury history going into the draft. Cushing is in no way a bust right now, but I'll reserve judgment for a couple of years. Agree with you guys. It looks like a pretty good draft so far. The only thing is, the one player I didn't want, Aaron Maybin, is the guy we drafted. That's the only real criticism I have. And it is very early albeit. But all my fears about his game seem to be true: undersized, one-dimensional, over-reliance upon speed... As someone else posted in the "why the broncos suck" thread, with the 11th pick overall you need to find someone who can help you immediately, not some project. I really don't care if the "braintrust" think he has a huge upside. I do. If the kid is a stud pro-bowler at the end of his third season or hopefully the end of his second then I'll be happy they waited, especially if he's a Bill for the next eight years. Kelsay and Schobel are playing well enough the Bills don't have to crowbar him into the lineup. After playing sparingly in six games he still has three sacks. If that trend continues he'll finish with eight sacks on the season. That's not bad for a rookie backup, IMO. Ask me at the end of next year if I think he's a bust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Jose Bills Fan Posted October 25, 2009 Author Share Posted October 25, 2009 I do. If the kid (Maybin) is a stud pro-bowler at the end of his third season or hopefully the end of his second then I'll be happy they waited, especially if he's a Bill for the next eight years. Kelsay and Schobel are playing well enough the Bills don't have to crowbar him into the lineup. After playing sparingly in six games he still has three sacks. If that trend continues he'll finish with eight sacks on the season. That's not bad for a rookie backup, IMO. Ask me at the end of next year if I think he's a bust. Steely, are you talking about Maybin? Cause Maybin has zero sacks right now I believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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