abqmarko

Does anyone know what numer of draft picks that the Bills currently have going into the 2010 draft? I believe we did gain an additional 5th rounder for Peters but did we lose any trading back into the second to take Jarius Byrd? Thanks

All of these issues reflect coaching and or managment decisions: 1-Drafting failure to provide adequate backups-This may be a basis of to little to late-For the first time the Bills drafted OL and DL in the first few rounds. Wood and Levitre should be good solid players (for another coach). Maybin hopefully comes around time will tell. If the Bills did this the last few years they would be in much better shape-But hey we have Roscoe Parrish if you give him the ball. 2-OT-Langston Walker the last three years provided the coaching staff ample time to figure out if he was even a moderate starting caliber LT, they didnt figure this out until prior to the first game and provided no backup alternative, they were wishing on a star with D.Bell (who if he's not injured has played decently). They also rolled the dice with an oft injured Brad Butler to start the whole year and again provided no possible backup through the draft a trade or anything. The play of the OT in the Miami game was pathetic-The Bills staff will be contemplating this mistake from the unemployment line. 3-LB-Forseight and failure to provide insurance-POZ is good when he plays but reality is he was injured at Penn State and injured his first rookie season-his backup is horrible, run D has been pathetic. Good pic with Nic Harris, they at least recognized a need and he may be a starter in a year or two but again a case of to little to late. 4-Strength and conditioning-It seems the Bills have a higher than average number of back injuries, especially the OL-have these guys ever heard of core exercises, bracing or accupuncture which believe me, for back injuries its proven to work. Depends on the accupunturist skill much more than an MD who fills prescriptions off the PDR. 5-To little to late- -I think Jauron has to see his mistakes of the past which are now going to force his exodus. the Bills are now living in an enviornment where they created a failry solid core but missed with consistency and foresight. -Poor drafting in the past. I did like this 2009 draft except I would have taken Eben Britton instead of Jarius Byrd based on OT need. I think Byrd will be a good player though. Plus Levitre and Wood and Hang (if he gets over the back injury which I hope is casuing his poor shotgun snaps)-gives the next coach a solid core. Again if they drafted these types of players the last three years Jauron may not be in this situation. But wait we have Roscoe Parrish! -Waffling about a starting LT and OC who worked for you the last few years and took you until the first game to figure that they were not up to the task-priceless! My opinion is that its difficult to give negative grades to the RB, QB' and WR's with this hodge podge O-Line, especially in the Miami game. Edwards played poorly-no excuse. He did not get help from the OTs who got mauled and made Jason Taylor look like he found the garden of youth. I do not see this getting better.

On SEVERAL shotgun plays(lost track at 7), especially in the fourth quarter, Hangartner literally slid the ball on the turf to Trent Edwards-Edwards lost at least 1/2 of his time locating the ball and then had to reestablish his field vision. Edwards actually did a great job on all of those plays not resulting in a turnover. I realize Hangartner may have an injured back (Hangartner also struggled in both run and pass blocking) after this game I realize how valuable a decent experienced centeris needed for the Bills young o-line. PS: Bills coaches-no more shotgun plays unless the football can make it into Trents hands via the air not the turf.

I agree with your assesment, after watching the first 5 balls skid across the turf the coaches should have considered using him under center. Hangartner was mauled by rookie Sedrick Ellis on several plays in conjunction with skipping the ball to Edwards leads me to believe his back may be injured-lets hope not. If Hang goes out for a few games does A) Eric Wood get moved to center using Kirk Chambers at Guard or B)McKiney at center keeping Wood at guard? Again I hope this is all nothing but I havent seen consistently poor snaps like that in ages.

Hey I like Hangartner, much better than the centers we've had recently, but did anyone notice (especially in the 4th quarter) that almost half of his shotgun snaps literally skidded off the turf. How Edwards managed to pick them all up without a turnover is in and of itself impressive. To watch him lose at least one solid second trying to find a ball on the ground practically nullified any attempt at a pass completion. Comments?

Just a few random thoughts on some coaches-players 1) Jauron put together a good gameplan, the no huddle worked, the Pats defense DID seem to slow down as the game progressed. Kudos to Jauron for having the guts (a little late, but better thanb never)to pull the plug on the Turk and hand the reigns over to Van Pelt. Also for cutting Walker and allowing Bell to take the reigns. Risky move, it paid off. 2) OC-Van Pelt-great job! the Bills O looked as good as it has looked since Jaurons been the coach-Give him a little more time to work things in and lets see what happens. 3) C-We finally have a center-Great job Hangartner! It felt good to see Vince Wilfork no longer dominating games. Give him more time with the rookie guards and look out. 4) OG-Levitre and Wood-great job against a strong defense that always come in with solid game plans. I'm sold on the combo of Wood, Levitre and Hangartner being the building block for the interior line for years to come. 5) OT's-Bell, take the penalties away and the guy played solid, great upside and he's athletic enough to handle the edge rushers. Butler-solid game. 6) RB-Fred Jackson-solid as always. 7) QB-Trent played very well and seems in sync with Van Pelt-light years away from the preseason-it shows what impact the OC has. 8) DE-Schobel, say what you will, the guy played VERY well. Maybin needs to develop a different move than just exploding off the ball (which he does very well) he was consistently just ridden out of range. Give him some time and look out. 9) LB's-decent but no big plays, Poz was very solid first half, I'm not sure on Ellison, he lead the team in tackles but it seemed like the Pats seemed to focus on exploiting him after Poz left it seemed like he played as the MLB-I wouldnt mind seeing Nic Harris a little more. 10)DB-Didnt get beat deep and played decently, no big plays even though the DL seemed to bring some pressure causing Brady to have some passing inaccuracys. McKelvin had some problems as I'll expalin below. THREE BIG PLAYS WE MISSED 1) Owens dropping the ball in the first half that would have been a needed third down conversion. 2) McKelvin missing the open field tackle on Kevin Faulk on a third down conversion-totally whiffed. 3) McKelvin A) taking the ball out of the endzone-which I can live with but B) Struggling to pick up an extra yard with three defenders trying to strip the ball-fall down and the games over with a Bills win.

This country is in a recession anyway, no one is getting any type of INCREASE in pay, sign the contract, no sympathy for these millionaires! Go work a day at Burger King, you'll sign by the next morning.

Disagree-sure its not game mode but if a guy plays very solidly against solid opposing players in scrimmages etc it has to equate to the field to a degree.

Name me the last player who was killed, I dont have alot of sympathy they are paid ridiculous sums?

My opinion 08 LT Peters 09 Walker - advantage Peters 08 RT Walker 09 Butler- slight advantage Walker-I do think Butler will be good (more upside than Walker) he's very tall 606 for a OG and played Tackle in college. 08 OG Dockery 09 Wood- slight advantage Wood I really think Woods a blue Chip talent with tremendous upside and will give the Bills a needed tough nasty side. 08 OG Butler 09 Levitre- advantage even- I think Butler would be a better tackle, most of the top OG's are 605 and under, Levitre is the top rated college OG and like Wood brings a needed nasty blue collar attitude and higher upside than Butler at the OG spot. 08 C Fowler/Preston 09 Hangartner- huge advantage Hangartner-another tough, blue collar no nonsense player the Bills need. As a Bills fan this is a little optomistic but I feel the Bills have ALOT more upside in almost all of these positions. Peters was an underperforming OT that performed like a slightly above average starter last year, I dont see a huge drop off with Walker. The interior will be stronger and nastier, there was no real personality to the Oline the last several years other than an underperforming, dont care attitiude. I think we will see a change. It hinges alot on the development of the rookies but these guys SHOULD be able to transition well.

Nice piece-thanks

It would be nice to see the OL actually get ticked off when Edwards or whoever was the starter gets hit and more importantley gets hit late. The old OL had about as much fire as a wet match.

Tim, Whats your thoughts on rookie interior lineman (Levitre and Wood) success level? There were certainly some decent rookie OT's that have started and done well-Ryan Clady, Jake Long, Joe Thomas, you dont see much with OG and C's though. Because the Bills success hinges to some degree on the above mentioned players i'd be curious on your thoughts.

I realize maximum bench presses do not mean immediate success but they do give you a basis. If Bell goes from 8 reps to 20 or 25 I would say he's putting the time and effort into the gym and some of that "new" strength should be transferred to the playing field. Still no guarantee he's a starter, or even a decent backup, lets see him play a snap or two in preseason and decide.

As a Bills fan I hope you are right. The Bills hit the mark on Peters (as overrated as he is), I feel that thats the exception and not the rule, the odds of it happening twice in 5 years would be astronomical. The Bills say they like Bell, they say that about every player until they cut them. Immediately after the draft Jaron hinted that Butler can play OT-Whats alot more realistic is Walker-LT and Butler RT. Give me some actual game film on Bell at least in the preseason and we'll see.

Big question for you, what have you actually SEEN of Bell to think he would be a starting LT in the NFL? I do not understand the infatuation with a practice squad player who did not have an above average college career. I think your accurate that a young line can succed, but I cant figure out why Bell is slated in as a starting LT. I think he needs major work-8 reps of 225-not that you need t bench 500lbs to be succesful but there is a basic correlation between being at least minimaly strong and successful-I speculate he would be the weakest LT or OL in the league.

Great post, I agree the only thing I could see POSSIBLY occuring is signing Jon Runyan to a one/two year max contract to compete and likely start at an OT position. He had microfracture surgery but if he gets a clean bill of health may be a good pickup for a year or two. Love the fact cheap shot Wilfork may actually pay for the late hits on Bills QB's.

Good post and well thought out! I believe in Chambers alot more than all the posters talking about Bell when there is 0% body of work to support that claim-unless you analyze the practice squad

He is, the only knock on him is seperate knee injuries requiring surgery. I'd love to see Britton and Mack in Bills blue

I agree, brings more picks and outside of the first few picks the talent level is quite even.

#11-Trade down to anywhere from 17-22 (pick up a third) and take OT Eben Britton #28-Best defensive player available-Pettigrew could slip 2nd-Best OC/OG-Alex Mack or Eric Wood 3rd-DE/DT 3rd-Safety 4th-QB Rohmar 4th-OG/OT

Good post except for the Bell comment, let the player do something beyond the practice squad before we pencil him in as a starter-potential sure but nothings proven-meaning he didnt even play that great in college

Peopl get off Bells bandwagon until he actually does something beyond sitting on the freaking practice squad. Give me a break

I agree with most except Walkers been fairly solid and not injured I wouldnt mind seeing this line: LT-Jon Runyan (signed for a one year contract) or Rookie Eben Britton-should be there until mid twenties of the 1st round-Chambers backup LG-Rookies (2nd-3rd round)Andy Levitre, Greg Isdaner or Alex Mack/Eric Wood-who can slide to C when they learn the calls switiching with Hangartner-Seth McKinney backup OC-Hangartner-Mack/Wood back up RG-Butler-McKinney backup RT-Walker-rookie Britton-Chambers