Archives for April 26, 2003

Has good athleticism with above average speed, quickness, body control and change of direction agility for his position…Has explosive acceleration off the snap… Plays with proper knee bend and leverage, flashing the ability to jolt the offensive linemen coming on the pass rush.

Positives: Has good athleticism with above-average speed, quickness, body control and change-of-direction agility for his position. Has explosive acceleration off the snap. Plays with proper knee bend and leverage, flashing the ability to jolt the offensive linemen coming on the pass rush. Will flatten and squeeze vs. down blocks and fights pressure well on reach blocks. Shows good hand usage to keep blockers off him while maintaining separation. Aggressive hitter who will square up and wrap, bringing his hips properly to drive behind his hits. Consistently finds ways to bring the ball carriers down. Plays on his feet, using his hands effectively to protect his legs vs. low blocks. Has good back side chase quickness and a solid burst to get to the passer. Flips his hips properly and shows good rip-and-swim moves when bending the corner. Plays with all-out determination and effort. Displays good take-off quickness generating the pass rush. Adequate dropping off in pass coverage and will come off in a two-point stance in blitzing situations.

Negatives: Lacks the top-end speed to consistently beat blockers around the corner. Has very good pass rush instincts, but lacks the power to hold ground vs. run blocks directed right at him. Lets the blockers get into his chest too much when trying to move through the pile. Does not do an effective job handling low trash, struggling with agility to keep his feet moving when redirecting inside. Has good hand usage, except when engaging blockers (can’t free up as he allows blockers to lock on to him). Does not have the leg drive to take on pulling offensive guards on the traps. Does a nice job of chasing down the ball when left unblocked on the back side, but when he has to defeat a blocker, he will generally lose that battle.

Buffalobills.com has been on a mission, searching for the best Bills fans across America.

Over the course of the next few weeks we will be featuring the fans who have been selected to represent their respective state.

"There are still good football players on the board. A lot of times people make the bad assumption that after the first round the draft is over. It's not over. We have a long way to go with six more picks, college free agents and there are a lot of things that our team will be able to address. This is the opportunity for our football team to get a football player that we think was one of the elite players in the draft."

‘“They caught me off guard with the pick, but I’m very happy,” McGahee said. “It was never guaranteed that I would be a Top 5 pick so I never took it and ran with it.”’

‘The reality is that our medical people, who do a great job, have thoroughly looked at the situation.’

‘It’s uncertain whether he’ll play next season. ”We’ll play it by ear,” said Bills president Tom Donahoe. ”We’re prepared. If he can’t play this year, we’re fine.”’

‘ESPN’s Jeremy Schaap has been on the Willis McGahee case for the past three days. Schaap, who is working on a piece on the former Miami running back for Outside The Lines (Sunday at 9:30 a.m.), met McGahee in New York for a full day of activities Thursday, followed him to Miami on Friday and will shadow him again during the NFL Draft today. McGahee, who is coming back from a knee injury, is the most interesting story in this year’s draft and ESPN is all over it.’

Has good upper body muscle development…More quick than fast, but can make cuts at the holes and has the hip swerve needed to avoid defenders slashing through traffic.

‘In one of the most eagerly anticipated selections of the NFL draft, the Bills used the 23rd selection on McGahee, the star running back from Miami who tore up his knee in the Hurricanes’ Fiesta Bowl loss to Ohio State.’

Positives: Has good upper-body muscle development. More quick than fast, but can make cuts at the holes and has the hip swerve needed to avoid defenders slashing through traffic. Instinctive runner who sets up and uses his blocks well. Very creative and strong inside runner who plays at a low pad level, carrying defenders on contact and breaking arm tackles consistently. Has an above-average short burst to cut back or bounce outside and the acceleration to run away from defenders. Will usually improvise and create when the hole is clogged. Shows good ball security and will cut sharply while finding a way to get open on pass routes.

Negatives: Not asked to block and needs work on his technique, as he will overextend and lunge when trying to cut-block in pass protection. Can set up a defender, but seems to struggle a bit running in space. Used mainly on flares and screens and needs some pass-route refinement, but his hands appear natural.

Last year's first round was the longest in NFL History at 5 hours 48 minutes, an average of one pick every 11 minutes or so. At that same pace, this year's 23rd overall pick would come at about 4:10 PM. Buffalo's second round pick (48th overall) is projected to take place at 7:25 PM.

Be sure to check out Buffalobills.com's up-to-the-minute coverage of this weekend's NFL Draft. Presented by Tops Friendly Markets, the online Draft Central will provide complete player biographical information on each of Buffalo’s draft picks as well as live audio and video of the post-pick press conferences with President/General Manager Tom Donahoe, Head Coach Gregg Williams and other key team personnel.

"Anytime you look at your football team you are trying to add quality big people. It's a game of big people and if we can add some to either side of the ball we are going to try to do that. We need depth on our team at several positions. We could still use some depth in the secondary, at wide receiver and at running back so there's probably not any area of the football team that we can look at say we probably won't look at anyone there. We are going to look at everything. Based on who is there we are going to try to make intelligent decision that will help our team." – Tom Donahoe

Here's a look at Buffalo's All-Time First Round Draft Picks