Captain Hindsight Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 Personally i think our Line is fine. D Bell Will get better. Hes very athletic and he wants to work hard, i beleive he will be our left tackle. The FO wanted him to start eventually IMO. Thats why they didnt draft one and hoped they could get thru a year with Walker but Walker couldnt cut it so they had to hasten his development. As for QB I'd be happy to see Bradford, Tony Pike or Dan Leflouver (sp) from Central Michigan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billsfan89 Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 If I where running the team the LT next year is D-Bell I think he is going to show enough improvement to warrant hanging on to him for another season (remember he wasn't the starter and injured in preseason as well as never having played a game in the NFL before what did you expect form him?) to me if he can show progress as the year goes on keep him there let him go get a full offseason of training and prep and see what he has to offer. Its not that I like D-Bell so much its just that I think we need a QB more and D-Bell has enough potential for me to spend picks on a LT when there are just so many other needs. As for QB 1st round pick is where I go. Tebow just isn't a pro QB IMO. Colt McCoy I don't know enough about him to say if he is a true pro prospect. Bradford maybe if he falls to the second round take him and don't look back BUT I wouldn't spend a 1st on him. I know you wanted more specifics on the situation but there is still so much more to look at as far as QB draft prospects. But I spend a 1st round pick on a QB let the 3rd and 2nd round picks go towards improving the defense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BamaBills Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 we should go after jason campbell in the off-season. seriously has a qb with a career 80 QB rating ever been dogged as bad as this guy? he has no weapons in washington. let's get him here and see what he can do with to and evans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coach Klein Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 Personally i think our Line is fine. D Bell Will get better. Hes very athletic and he wants to work hard, i beleive he will be our left tackle. The FO wanted him to start eventually IMO. Thats why they didnt draft one and hoped they could get thru a year with Walker but Walker couldnt cut it so they had to hasten his development. As for QB I'd be happy to see Bradford, Tony Pike or Dan Leflouver (sp) from Central Michigan For future referance it is LeFevour. haha I had trouble the first few times too. But yeah I think LeFevour has the potential to be a very good QB in the NFL. A lot of people are skeptics with him playing at a MAC school so he doesn't get the toughest competition. But he's got a strong arm, knows what to do with the ball and he's mobile. I'm not big on Bradford. I don't know why but I just have a gut feeling that he isn't going to succeed in the NFL. If I HAD to choose between the high profile QB's it would be McCoy or Clausen. Possibly Locker but I havn't watched him play enough to judge. Between McCoy and Clausen I would go Clausen just for the fact that he is used to playing cold weather games. Oh and he has a cannon for an arm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coach Klein Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 we should go after jason campbell in the off-season. seriously has a qb with a career 80 QB rating ever been dogged as bad as this guy? he has no weapons in washington. let's get him here and see what he can do with to and evans. you do realize TO is no more after this year right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orton's Arm Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 Not just "draft a QB and a LT" To me there appears to be 3 real needs going into the next offseason: LT - I am hoping this drops off the list as D. Bell gets more playing time....still very raw....still needs work on his strength.....but I am basing it on NO improvement from what we are seeing now.....I think the interior linemen are set and I think either Meradith improves or Butler returns to fill the RT spot. QB - If anything has been shown to me over the past two games is that Edwards is either not the answer because he never had it or because he has been ruined by our coaching staff......regardless you see things from Fitz that you hope you would see with a more talented QB at that spot......not only the willingness to throw downfield but the smarts of when to do so and the accuracy to make it happen. And keep in mind in all of this that we are woefully needing another DT to pair up with Stroud.....but our defense is playing heads and shoulders above our offense right now. I know you may not want to hear this, but it's not like the free agent market is flooded with first-rate QBs and franchise LTs, in their primes, ripe for the signing. Even if it was flooded with guys like that, it's not like the Bills are exactly primed to win a bidding war against higher revenue franchises like the Cowboys or Redskins. We could always try to fill those holes by signing second- or third-rate free agents. That strategy got us guys like Derrick Dockery, Melvin Fowler, Langston Walker, Tuten Reyes, Trey Teague, Chris Villarrial, etc. Frankly, I'd rather not go down that road, as we've seen time and again that it leads off a cliff. If we want a solution to the problems at LT and QB, that solution is going to have to come through the draft. Our best chance to fill those holes successfully is to use a first round pick on each of them. That would require using our second and third round picks to trade back into the first round. That's a price this team should be willing to pay, because getting the QB/LT holes filled really is that important. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geno Smith's Arm Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 I think the Bills need to sign a QB who has a stronger arm. Edwards can't make all the throws. I think Tyler Thigpen is the best choice of any QB in the NFL right now, but it's too late to trade for him. Maybe this offseason, trade with Miami. If Jake Delhomme falls out of favor in Carolina, I'd give him a look. His repaired elbow seems to have given him some problems (he's lost some accuracy) but I still think he's got some milelage left and he's been to the Superbowl and several playoffs. His TD to Int ratio is pretty good over the length of his career and he loves the game and he'll play on any team in the NFL. In the short term, Jeff George wouldn't be a bad option. Although he lacks some arm strength, Jeff Garcia would also be a good choice. He's a gamer. Andrew Walter could be had off the street and he's got great physical prowess to throw a ball. He's only started like 12-16 games and there's plenty of upside. Barring all the above, I think it's time to look to the draft an keep an eye on the UFL, CFL etc. Oh my God! How do you block a poster on this board? I don't mind this guy posting, I just don't wanna see his posts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LynchMob23 Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 I honestly think that our run defense problem is more a matter of lack of talent at LB and scheme. Stroud, Williams, Schobel, Kelsay are all strong against the run. I wouldn't mind though going 3-4, so long as Williams and Stroud could play ends in such a scheme. I think even if we got a bigger Nose to go with Williams and Stroud, we just need a more stout lb corps and the 4-3 would be fine. Heck, at this point if we went 3-4, we'd need bigger thumpers anyway - why not just add one more and set the backers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vincec Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 I would like to see the bills trade for Rogers to fill the DT void..... I think that Rogers and Stroud next to each other would fix any interior running problems I think we'd be better off trading for Manning first, then Rogers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoName Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 This is an easy one.....Teams are built from the inside out......it really doesn't matter who we have for our QB......the offesnive line needs more talent.....people ask, why is it that the Bills looked so good against the Pats for week 1....the biggest reason is because, our starting offensive line played the whole game ......this was the first and only time our projected starting ol played together for an entire game.....looked at how our offense looked in that game....we were all ready to tip our hats to Van Pill .......having said that, the most recent draft was the first I time I can remember since I've been a Bills fan (1990) that we drafted two offensive lineman in the first two rounds of the draft.......Think about it, in the last 10 years, we drafted one lineman in the first two rounds of the draft (not including this years draft)......we absolutely must invest in the OL, we need to walk away from next years' draft with a stud tackle drafted in the 1st or 2nd round....also, if we could get anothoer stud OG in the first or second round so we can move Wood to Center that would be even better......until the offensive line gets fixed, we will suck......we have talent at every skill position, we just need OLine talent.......the only way I would draft a QB is if Sam Bradford falls to us in the first round...other than that, I wouldn't think of drafting a QB early in this draft...... I dont think the Bills should get rid of T Edwards.....who else can we "realistically" get thats going to be substantially better....I just think we need a change of offensive philosophy....Edwards, should be more of a game manager....we are asking too much out of our QB's.....our style of offense should be more of a smash mouth / play action pass attack...this would allow us to play to the strength of our offense (RB's) and get Evans more action in the deep passing game..drafting two stud OL's in next year's draft will go a long way in establishing that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astrobot Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 It depends on who's available. If Claussen is on the board when we pick rd 1 it seems like a no brainer. In the 2nd round in this scenario I'm looking at Corey Wootton the DE from Northwestern. Then if need be trading back up into the 2nd to grab Jason Fox the OT from miami. Or conversely go best DT available rd 1 whether its Suh,McCoy,or Cody. Rd 2 grabbing a guy like Fox once again,and then Rd 3 Max Hall QB BYU. I believe your 2nd draft scenario is the most sane. LB is a free agency fix as there are some good ones, LT is already on the team (DBell), and taking a DT first rounds out depth there. QB's at our pick in RD#2 include Pike and Snead, neither shaking up college football right now. Incidentally, OT Fox right now is #103 on DraftTek's Big Board and Colorado's Nate Solder leapfrogged him. If Solder comes out for the draft, Solder would be a good tackle pick in RD#3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanInSouthBuffalo Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 OL: I'm fine with the LT position and the rest of the OL (when Butler is back). The Bills are 3-4 but not likely going anywhere so the off-season will be important for the OL to get stronger and better. QB: This is all about the coaching staff. Even though IMO the Bills QB have plenty of time to complete passes, both QB's are erratic. We have plenty of competent WR's (Evans, Reed, T.O.) and some up-and-coming talent like Johnson and Hardy. I think one of the things that holds the Bills offense back is the TE position. Nelson is a step in the right direction, but the rest of the crop are not NFL caliber TE's, not for starters at least. The Bills do not have a #1 TE on the roster right now and haven't in YEARS. My suggestion: Keep Edwards and have him compete to be the #1. Fitz stays for the rest of his contract as a backup. I think Brady Quinn would be a good option (maybe a 4th round pick?, that I would gladly spend). Spend the early draft picks instead on LB and DT/DE and sign an experienced TE to compete with Nelson. Oh, yeah and none of this works unless you REPLACE THE COACHING STAFF!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjjr Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 First, the Bills should tweak the offense to be based on the talent at RB. Make it a run first team. QB: Look at veteran free agents to be like Jason Campbell, Tavares Jackson, Orton or Pennington. Other QBs like Hasselbeck or Delhomme could be there as well if those teams rebuild. Also look at a QB in the drafts middle rounds. Guys like C. McCoy, D.LeFevour or Jarret Brown might be decent fits. Let the guys who come in compete with Edwards and Fitz for the 3 roster slots. OT: Let's see how Bell develops along with the rest of the line. They should get better each game and be much better next year. Potential 1st rd picks like B. Bulaga from Iowa or T. Williams from Oklahoma would be big tackles that could play either right or left. Let them compete with Scott, Bell, Meredith and Butler. Butler is injury prone though. The Bills need to continue to build a young line that can play together for many years like the Cowboys or Giants have now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanInSouthBuffalo Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 we should go after jason campbell in the off-season. seriously has a qb with a career 80 QB rating ever been dogged as bad as this guy? Campbell=Losman to the effect that he's had multiple coordinators and head coaches. He may be ruined already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John from Riverside Posted October 28, 2009 Author Share Posted October 28, 2009 I know you may not want to hear this, but it's not like the free agent market is flooded with first-rate QBs and franchise LTs, in their primes, ripe for the signing. Even if it was flooded with guys like that, it's not like the Bills are exactly primed to win a bidding war against higher revenue franchises like the Cowboys or Redskins. We could always try to fill those holes by signing second- or third-rate free agents. That strategy got us guys like Derrick Dockery, Melvin Fowler, Langston Walker, Tuten Reyes, Trey Teague, Chris Villarrial, etc. Frankly, I'd rather not go down that road, as we've seen time and again that it leads off a cliff. If we want a solution to the problems at LT and QB, that solution is going to have to come through the draft. Our best chance to fill those holes successfully is to use a first round pick on each of them. That would require using our second and third round picks to trade back into the first round. That's a price this team should be willing to pay, because getting the QB/LT holes filled really is that important. But who would your picks be for those 2 first round picks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John from Riverside Posted October 28, 2009 Author Share Posted October 28, 2009 This is an easy one.....Teams are built from the inside out......it really doesn't matter who we have for our QB......the offesnive line needs more talent.....people ask, why is it that the Bills looked so good against the Pats for week 1....the biggest reason is because, our starting offensive line played the whole game ......this was the first and only time our projected starting ol played together for an entire game.....looked at how our offense looked in that game....we were all ready to tip our hats to Van Pill .......having said that, the most recent draft was the first I time I can remember since I've been a Bills fan (1990) that we drafted two offensive lineman in the first two rounds of the draft.......Think about it, in the last 10 years, we drafted one lineman in the first two rounds of the draft (not including this years draft)......we absolutely must invest in the OL, we need to walk away from next years' draft with a stud tackle drafted in the 1st or 2nd round....also, if we could get anothoer stud OG in the first or second round so we can move Wood to Center that would be even better......until the offensive line gets fixed, we will suck......we have talent at every skill position, we just need OLine talent.......the only way I would draft a QB is if Sam Bradford falls to us in the first round...other than that, I wouldn't think of drafting a QB early in this draft...... I dont think the Bills should get rid of T Edwards.....who else can we "realistically" get thats going to be substantially better....I just think we need a change of offensive philosophy....Edwards, should be more of a game manager....we are asking too much out of our QB's.....our style of offense should be more of a smash mouth / play action pass attack...this would allow us to play to the strength of our offense (RB's) and get Evans more action in the deep passing game..drafting two stud OL's in next year's draft will go a long way in establishing that I am not knocking your submission......I just want to clarify what you are saying.... Are you saying that even though we drafted Wood and Levitre at the OG positions in this past draft we should go there again in the upcoming draft? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoName Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 I am not knocking your submission......I just want to clarify what you are saying.... Are you saying that even though we drafted Wood and Levitre at the OG positions in this past draft we should go there again in the upcoming draft? Assuming talent is a constant: 1st round LT 2nd round Guard or Center Unless there is an opportunity to get Bradford at a value Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 Well, to borrow a Levyism, I think the answer is easy, but it would be difficult to implement. Easy, because every outside observer of this organization realizes the changes in the front office, coaching staff, and scouting department need to happen first. What good is a #4 overall pick if Modrak goes goo-goo over another Mike Williams, or JP Losman, or John McCargo? You may soon be able to add Donte Whitner in that category. What good is it to draft a QB, with no competent, proven offensive philosophy in place? And as much as I am glad he is gone for his now obvious disharmony within the team, you can't detract from Schonert's parting shots at Jauron wanting a 'Pop-gun offense'. After 6 games, the Bills don't use motion, just discovered the slant, and have opposing defensive coordinators yawning over their approach. This needs to change. So, a different identity is needed. Something aggressive. Someone who is quick to put a boot up someone's a$$ if they play like garbage. I like Gruden. He is the antithesis of Jauron. Last year, there were reports after the Cleveland loss that Jauron doesn't have the Bills practicing in the snow. Excuse me!??!?!? Last time I checked, The Ralph is outdoors, and it tends to snow in Buffalo in say, November. Edwards and Lynch played in sunny California, where last time I checked it does not snow very often. And is it any surprise that Edwards and Lynch has trouble with ball handling, throwing, catching, and footwork in the snow? DUH! It has been rumored that the former Bucs GM was attached to the Bills. He did build a Super Bowl team. That would be a great place to start. I think that Modrak's replacement is already at OBD- that being Mr. Buddy Nix. Though he handles the SEC, I would promote him to head of scouting based on his previous success in San Diego with AJ Smith and in Buffalo with the late John Butler and Bill Polian. I don't know enough about professional scouts to suggest John Guy's replacement, but I am sure that some team can be found that successfully recruits, signs, and keeps contributing free agent players and will not compete for their professional scout. Gruden can be allowed the freedom to assemble his staff, Allen at GM can work with Nix to fill out a renewed scouting staff, and then, ONLY then, can we begin to contemplate what should be done with the LT and QB positions. That is where the difficulty comes in. I was extremely excited to read that gossip about Allen being linked to the Bills as a possible GM. Gitty, even. But at 91, does Ralph have the b@!!s to pull the trigger and do what must be done? I don't think that the players are all bad. There are some gems and recent draft picks worth keeping, as evidence by 3 (and possibly more upcoming) consecutive seasons of 7-9. They are not that far off. Evans, Lynch, Jackson, Wood, Butler, Reed, Moorman, Lindell, Schobel, Williams, Stroud, Poz, Mitchell, Bryd, McGee, McElvin, Florence, and Corner are pretty good to build around. The special teams with an emerging Wendling and Jenkins looks pretty solid. I am not throwing the towel in on the O-line just yet. Or Edwards. But something big does need to happen with the entire front office to put in place an effective, winning, and aggressive STRATEGY to build a winning franchise. With all of the blunders in drafting and free agency (Royal, Dockery, Walker, Peters), this team seems to constantly be playing catch-up with itself. That has to stop, and having an overall concept and plan of what they want to achieve, how to get there, and to actually go get it is the only answer IMO. Allen at GM, Gruden at HC. Send Modrak, Guy, and Jauron walking. Promote Nix. Then let's stand back and see what happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tennesseeboy Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 First...get Jared Gaither, a free agent from the Ravens. He was their starting left tackle and a good one before a minor injury and will be playing right tackle the rest of the season, not because he's bad but because they are so impressed with Michael Oher at left tackle. (I'll avoid pointing out that we might have solved this problem by taking Michael Oher in the first place in the draft, but I'm not the kind of guy to say I told you so...so I won't.) Gaither is too good for RT and is ready to get a passle of money in free agency. Second...get a right tackle from the free agents available. We have little if any hope of any of the tackle turning out to be starters. Third...Draft a quarterback, but we go next season with Edwards and/or Fitz. Final exam for both of them. I don't see any realistic alternative in free agency Kitna, Garcia or some journeyman may come available before the next season starts, but I think we'll have to grow our own replacement out of what's available in the draft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orton's Arm Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 But who would your picks be for those 2 first round picks? A good question. I haven't followed college football closely enough to give a definitive answer. I've heard some good things about McCoy (QB); who could possibly be the first of those two first round picks. What I'd suggested is just a Plan A. Something could easily go wrong with that Plan A. Maybe there would be no QBs/LTs worthy of being picked, where I'd like to pick them. Maybe no one would want to trade their pick in the lower part of the first round for our second and third round picks. We'd obviously have to have a Plan B and a Plan C ready to go, in case something goes wrong with Plan A. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry Jabber Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 First, fire the entire coaching staff. Second, bring in someone like Schottenheimer or Cowher (an experienced head coach with a winning record). Third, trade with Baltimore for Troy Smith. Even though Smith isn't a huge guy, he's mobile and accurate. Fourth, draft another T in the first round. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tennesseeboy Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 oh..the draft... First pick is going to probably be fairly high and defensive tackles dominate, and I don't see any tackles in the top ten so if we are in the top ten I would go for ndamukong suh dt nebraska We don't have a lot of depth, Stroud is no spring chicken and he's definitely a legitimate top 5 pick. The alabama guy, Mount Cody is getting lots of notice so this guy may be seen as the #2 buy by the time they pick. If our season turns around and we are picking after 18 or so, I think we try to address the tackle issue with: Bryan Bulaga*/T/Iowa: The Hawkeyes left tackle has the size and footwork necessary to be a first-round pick and blindside protector in the NFL SEcond with case Keenum qb out of Houston or Gabe Carimi, left tackle from Wisconsin If we have Gaither at left tackle and Bulaga at right I think we will have addressed the starting line issue. Keenum is a stud and may not last to the second round...if not Jimmy Clausen might be available at that spot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VADC Bills Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 How to fix the LT and QB..easy..Draft some quality players at the positions or sign quality FA's. Before that we have to take some strides in improving the way we evaluate talent. I don't think we are far off as some may think but we can improve in many areas. - QB could be in the first round depending on if we make any free agent moves. Keep in mind Matt Shaub and Drew Brees were FA acquisitions. Maybe we can get lucky here andfocus on a Kyle Orton or Kevin Kolb. - Draft a Tackle and Guard with some size and mobilty, move Woods to Center his natural position. - Draft a DT to play beside Stroud if ther is a quality FA out there get him. Kyle Williams is not the answer. - LB's we need to upgrade the Poz and Ellison spots to faster and more physical hitters. Look at Willis, Beason and Harris out of the same draft that Poz was drafted. Our LB's can't compare. We have to decide do we want potential pro bowlers that play with a high level of intensity or fan favorites that give up 200 yards a game on the ground. Maybin could be part of the solution here...if so add a DE to the mix. - Our secondary has good potential and depth...no need for changes here we just need to find the right combination of personnel from the people we presently have. Lets not assume that Witner is the automatic starter in this equation. Our draft could look some thing like this, 1 QB / OL 2 OL / DT 3 DT /LB 4 LB /DE 5 OL / DL Best Available 6 OL / DL Best Available If we could get more picks they will probably fall in the middle rounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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