Astrobot

Clay is big. We have him #237 on our Big Board. Right now, the Analyst from Philly is grabbing him in RD#5, which is a reach. Delone Carter is your low center of gravity back (#144 on our Big Board), great leverage, with Pittsburgh taking him in RD5#160 14 picks later.

For the lazy here were my reviews: RD1---Spiller finished the season with 74 rushes for 283 yds, 3.8 avg, 5 fumbles, 1 TD, and a zillion missed blocks. Kick return is a better story. C.J. averaged 23 yards per return, exceeding the 1000-yd mark and returning one for a touchdown. Gailey has said that Spiller must improve on his pass-blocking skills to see more playing time. Right now, he's an expensive special teamer behind Fred Jackson. RD2---Troup had 2 starts but saw action in 15 games. He amassed 11 tackles, 12 assists, and blocked 2 passes, mainly in relief of Kyle Williams. Those breathers on the sidelines likely enabled Williams lead all DT's in stops and QB disruptions. Troup has the quickness; he needs two things to happen to see more playing time -- a D-line of Williams-Troup-Carrington (or Dareus), and more muscle. RD3---Carrington had 8 tackles and a sack, not numbers we expected after the Senior Bowl he had. Looks like DE might be an early pick yet again. It hasn't helped that the Bills scouts have been pitiful in selecting difference-making DE's (Flowers / Maybin RD1, Denney /Chris Kelsay RD2, Ellis RD3) in 10 years since Schobel (RD2 in 2001). Carrington better show it in 2011. RD4---Easley: Bills fans loved what they saw from Easley in training camp, but he encountered a left knee injury and was placed on the long IR list. Had Johnson, Nelson, and Jones not stepped up, we'd have missed him more. Hopefully he'll be back to impress us again at St.John Fisher and make a spot at a deep position. RD5---Wang, who lost 2/3 of the year dealing with his thumb surgery, actually attended meetings and practices from game 1 on, and saw special teams playing time in the last 6 games, as well as playing Guard in the Minnesota game.Gailey likes his versatility, and he'll likely back up Bell next year. RD6---Moats is the pass rusher the Bills wished Maybin was. His 2nd half of the season was impressive, especially compared to the underwhelming Bills draft class. Moved to OLB in the middle of the season and showed glimpses of good things to come. Appeared in 15 games & started final 4. Played 402 snaps on defense & racked up 33 tackles & 2.5 sacks, including one that ended Favre's career. RD6---Batten: After 4 years at SDSU as starting DE, Batten was lined up as an OLB in the spring and training camp, and has now been learning the ILB position while rehabbing his surgically repaired shoulder. I applaud the switch because I especially like Batten's ability to play off blocks in the run game, and am convinced he could be a starter next to Poz within two years. [next player drafted: James Starks] RD7---Brown: Levi didn't show much in preseason and the Bills waived him, then brought him back when Trent Edwards was released. He's green, but a gamer, and learns from Fitzgerald. Brown will need far more reps, and Brohm will have to do even worse, before Bills coaches and fans will anoint Brown the backup. Results of Combined Rounds: Cum Rounds 1-7 Total Picks Ave Green Bay 1175 7 168 Tampa Bay 1325 9 147 Oakland 1300 9 144 Kansas City 1000 7 143 Denver 1150 9 128 Arizona 875 7 125 Chicago 625 5 125 Jacksonville 750 6 125 Carolina 1100 10 110 New England 1300 12 108 St Louis 1150 11 105 Philadelphia 1325 13 102 Tennessee 800 8 100 San Francisco 710 8 89 Miami 675 8 84 Indianapolis 650 8 81 Cincinnati 650 9 72 Atlanta 500 7 71 Detroit 425 6 71 Cleveland 460 8 58 Seattle 525 9 58 Dallas 300 6 50 Houston 410 9 46 Pittsburgh 450 10 45 New Orleans 250 6 42 Baltimore 275 7 39 Buffalo 350 9 39 NY Giants 200 7 29 Minnesota 225 8 28 Washington 100 6 17 San Diego 75 6 13 NY Jets 25 4 6

I think BJ Raji is the difference for the Pack defense, up against Legursky. I think Donald Driver is the difference for the Pack offense.

Herzlich, a 4-3 OLB, is going to the Browns in RD#2; otherwise good draft.

+1

Yeah, I know. But that's what Nix said... Linky You could be right. Nix has said he's "looking for a couple more". Linky Watch at about 3:28

Some of Nix's most recent comments about the draft, and who fits that description IMHO: "I liked the DE's at the Senior Bowl"---Cameron Jordan, DE/LB, California (probably best week); Ryan Kerrigan, DE, Purdue (beat Solder several times). "We need a couple more" [DT's]----------Stephen Paea (injury and all if he drops to RD2), Phil Taylor from Baylor, DT Jarvis Jenkins, and Drake Nevis from LSU. "Demeanor...Toughness"------------------DT Fairley, DT Jarvis Jenkins "I feel good [about OLB's]; need ILB's--Casey Matthews, Kelvin Sheppard "[Wannstedt] has coached, and coached against these guys": --->Teams Wannstedt coached against, and the defensive players I like in their available round: Oregon State---DT Stephen Paea (RD1)in 2008 Sun Bowl Notre Dame--TE Kyle Rudolph (RD1) Nebraska---CB Prince Amukamara (RD1) Louisville---CB Johnny Patrick (RD2) Utah---CB Brandon Burton (RD2) Miami---DE Allen Bailey (RD2) West Virginia---FS Robert Sands (RD3) Rutgers---SS Joe Lefeged (RD6) Connecticut---LB Lawrence Wilson (RD6) Syracuse---OLB Doug Hogue (RD7) Florida Int'l---CB Anthony Gaitor (RD7) North Carolina State---OLB43 Nate Irving (RD4-5) Pittsburgh player Wannstedt recruited: SS Dom DeCicco (RD4); Greg Romeus (RD4-5)

A free agent RT would be a great signing because IMHO, it frees you up to draft a RD#2 player at another position. I could see Clabo or Yanda letting us pick Defensive players like so (from DraftTek Simulator, unedited results of changing RT from P2 to P9): 1-Robert Quinn OLB34 North Carolina 2-Adrian Clayborn DE34 Iowa 3-Luke Stocker TE Tennessee 4-Sione Fua DT34 Stanford 4-Josh Bynes ILB Auburn 5-Pat Devlin QB Delaware 6-Mario Butler CB Georgia Tech 7-Deunta Williams SS North Carolina

Great post, dog! It was fair. It was balanced. Most importantly, it matches my opinion!

We're doing the same at DraftTek. We are having each of the analysts do their team, then having the boss look over the grades. Check it out. See if you think I was fair on the Bills' selections. We have the first 4 rounds up already.

We are doing some evaluation at DraftTek. We're up to Round 4 for each team. See what you think. We had each Analyst submit commentary, a grade, and points based on round, then had the head of DraftTek pasteurize the scores a little so that one wasn't too severe a grader. Astro

Trade for San Francisco's 7th, get 2nd rounder. I'm not buying the word from 1 Bills Drive about sticking with our LB's. 1 7 Ryan Kerrigan OLB34 Purdue 2 34 Martez Wilson ILB Illinois 2 45 D.J. Williams TE Arkansas 3 68 Christian Ponder QB Florida State 4 99 Casey Matthews WILB Oregon 4 121 Cedric Thornton DE34 Southern Arkansas 5 130 Lee Ziemba OT Auburn 6 164 Mike Blanc DE34 Auburn 7 195 Delone Carter RBF Syracuse

I think the ribs are still bothering him. He's sailing his passes even more than he was, and it was a problem before. He has footwork problems that could be fixed. He's a risk that the Bills can't afford to take. They need to take sure things in this draft. I think the surest thing is to take defensive line, RT and tight ends until RD#4, then see who's left. By the way, I got static when I said the South was going to win. Everyone was saying that the North had the O-Line. 24-10!

RD4, how about #103 to Philly.

Sherrod's stock went up, Love's went down, Kerrigan, Acho, and Von Miller's stock is way up. Boling looks like he can't handle bull rush, Hudson's good OG despite his 292 lb. stature, Cameron Jordan at DE looks strong (liked Kerrigan better). Stanzi looks like he raised his stock a bit. Ponder didn't look bad. Hankerson is the real deal at WR. Watkins looks like a good Guard, Fua played well as a 4-3DT, Phil Taylor could be a great NT, but has character issues.

That's a fun one! You have one more RD4 pick to make if you want, so make Quinn-Sturdivant-Austin-Carter your first 4 picks (we have Carter going at #77 because he's a 4-3 OLB and drops 80 picks if he's used as a SILB, he's too lightweight for a RD1-2 pick) and take WR Greg Little a little early at RD#4B. Take Deunta Williams SS at RD#5, Burney CB at RD#6, and Houston as our bruiser RB in RD#7.

LongBall posted these notes on our board. I'll keep adding them in the same post: North Practice (Tuesday Morning) Jalil Brown (Colorado CB) looks good in passing drills Jaiquawn Jarrett (Temple FS) plays too high, needs to bend knees to come out of breaks with the WR’s Titus Young is making himself some money these first two days – DeSean Jackson starter kit. Once again, Vincent Brown gets in and out of breaks quickly for a long-strider, and there’s no questioning his hands. First Full Squad: Interesting OL – Castonzo (LT), Carimi (LG), Moffitt (OC), Schilling (RG) and Pinkston (RT) OL/DL Individual Drills: Ballard beats Castonzo, Jordan beats Brewer & demolishes Schilling, Solder holds Kerrigan, Carimi whips Allen, Moffitt whips Williams, Ballard beats Schilling and then gets inside Solder, Beal flew by Kowalski, Brewer pushed Allen past QB, . . . Second Full Squad: Next OL – Carimi (LT), Moffitt (LG), Fusco (OC), Castonzo (RG) and Solder (RT) – Brewer comes in for Solder and promptly gives up what would have been a sack – Solder is back in for next play (never mind, they’re rotating – Brewer just moved inside to RG and Castonzo is at LT). DL is winning the full squad scrimmage, would have had a sack on a screen pass – nobody can block Jordan consistently and Ballard is just a half-step behind him. LOL Moment: Marvin Lewis having a “donkey barbecue” with Cameron Jordan after sacking Stanzi – “QB is gold, stay off him unless you want a one-way bus ticket out of camp!” LOL! South Practice (Tuesday Afternoon) OL/DL Individual Drills: Love does a good job on Jenkins. Taylor gets under Kirkpatrick on first go, but Jake handles him on the second rep. Watkins has his legs too wide, got extended and down on his knees. Carpenter has excellent position and handles Acho twice – feet of a LOT! Hudson overpowered by Bailey first rep, but gets his anchor on the second. Jenkins whips O’Dowd twice, first move is straight up, loses leverage and is losing money! Ziemba is another OL that gets too high – the difference between him and Brewer is that Brewer is stronger. Boling is probably going to have to move inside – gets by on smarts. Taylor got by Love twice – Love too high. Kirkpatrick is coachable – if he gets beat the first time, he listens to the coach and stonewalls the DL the second. Watkins is one mean SOB – needs to be coached up in technique. Sherrod is the real deal – Carpenter needs to set his base. Ziemba gets too high and is not strong enough to play OG – if he can’t play ROT, maybe he can block FG attempts. Phil Taylor is showing well in drills – but trust me, he has no stamina. He’s a 2 down NT. Only got to see 1 rep for Marcus Gilbert, damn it! Sissy Positions Shareece Wright is bringing it. Kerley and Salas are putting on a show. I can’t tell for sure, but it appears Ponder’s elbow and/or shoulder is still bothering him – not much zip on that release. Curtis Brown looks good lining up on the receiver – after that, he gets faked out of his jock. Andy Dalton has “it” – whatever it may be. Wednesday Notes: Greg Salas looks like a good slot guy. Precise with his cuts. Really like the way he moves in and out as well. Solid hands. Patrick attempts to press, Salas knocked a bit off but didn't lose focus. Great adjustment by Salas on the ball in the air. Knows how to catch a ball. DJ Williams is a great runner. Fast, smooth. Made an easy catch and didn't see much else, but I thought he moved really well. Preston Dial moves pretty well, but it looks like a lot of work for him. Not a natural runner like DJ Williams. Hankerson is just a real smooth receiver. Like New Orleans, he's the Big Easy. Big, strong guy who moves well. Solid hands too. Looks like he's tough to tackle. I would take him over Jon Baldwin anyday. Twice on Sunday. Courtney Smith looked awful today. Doesn't not move well. Tried a stop n go double move and it looked really awkward. He looks like he's trying way too hard. Two drops in three passes and no catches. Jeremy Kerley showed off some great hands today, plucking a badly thrown ball. Great cuts too. 2nd try vs. Shareece Wright he ran right past him. 3rd try, hemade some great cuts. Love the way he moves. 0-60 very fast. Probably the #1 slot guy right now. Von Miller moves real well. Doesn't have natural hands, which is to be expected out of a linebacker. However, he didn't make one clean catch in the basic drills and had a drop. Not sure I like him in coverage despite his fluid movement and is probably limited to a 3-4. Needs to bulk up to be most effective but can't lose speed/quickness. Noticing the linebacker list and we have things a bit different than my favourite analyst, Mike Mayock. Likes Houston a lot better than Wilson. Not an actual observation on the field, but an observation nonetheless. Out of the 3 QBs, I liked McElroy's release the best. Dalton looked good. Had a couple stinker throws but also had a couple nice ones. Ponder has a weak looking release. I don't like it. Arm strength doesn't seem an issue though. Lee Ziemba is fine when he's moving forward as he seemed to get to the next level well, but he gets WAY too high in pass pro. He will get dominated in the NFL if he can't fix that. Phil Taylor looked great in drills today. Dominated Jake Kirkpatrick on his first try. Got hands underneath and drove him backwards. Taylor looked fast when facing DeMarcus Love on the 1st try. Very quick for a big man. Love was too high on second try and Phil pushed him back. After getting bullied on the first attempt, Jake Kirkpatrick did much better the second time. Better use of the hands, held his own and anchored well. Did well vs. Chris Neild as well. I'm not just saying this because he's Canadian, but Danny Watkins impressed me today. He stays nice and low and has good leverage. Moves pretty well. Like his hands. Stays in position. Solid anchor. Allen Bailey looks like a classic DT-DE tweener. From the inside he took Hudson on the first try. Hudson gets the leverage and shuts him down on the 2nd try. Later on, I didn't see who the OT was, but he didn't look like he had the edge burst to be an effective 4-3 RDE. Maybe a LDE where run stopping is more important. Kristofer O'Dowd was overpowered left and right today. He couldn't handle Jarvis Jenkins. Slow hands. Seemed a little light. Not a good anchor. Will likely be limited to a zone scheme based on what I saw today. I thought Clint Boling did well in individual drills. After taking him up the field on the first try, Brooks Reed tried to go inside/under on Boling and Boling directed him away. Better feet and positioning on the second try. Reed did well to try to change things up, but I thought he could probably run around Boling all day. Boling moved pretty well vs. Allen Bailey. He definitely moved better than I expected. Sam Acho is REALLY fast, but I don't think he has any technique when rushing the passer. Sherrod handled him. Carpenter handled him as well. Needs to figure out that he can't just run around linemen in the NFL. Might be best if he figures out how to play SAM. James Carpenter had a great block on Sam Acho after he was beat on the first try. But that was about all I saw out of him. At one point I think the coaches were trying to tell him something and wanted him to run the drill again but he wasn't even paying attention. Not what you like to see. He was also beat both times by Brooks Reed. Big Uglies that made money today: Moffit - didn't know he could play OC, draft him and cover all 3 interior positions with one mean SOB that has excellent technique. Carpenter - excellent footwork, will have to reconsider his LOT ranking. Brewer - still comes out high, but a helluva lot stronger than I anticipated. Ballard - will have to move him up, 2nd most impressive DL to Jordan. Big Uglies that lost money today: Schilling - what a wuss! O'Dowd - of course, I wasn't that high on him but his reputation took a beating (literally) today. Ziemba - played LOT at Auburn, don't know that he can play ROT or OG in the NFL . Defensive Line: Jenkins - along with Taylor, were the two most dominating DL for the South. North Practice (Wednesday Morning) Kendall Hunter can pass-block! Took on Mason Foster . . . so can Helu . . . and Scott ain’t bad . . . Murray lunged on the first rep and dropped his head, but much better on 2nd . . . Marecic has some work to do. Squaring up on blitzing linebackers and keeping short, choppy steps is paramount in this drill. Greg Jones is small! No questioning his production, but at least Sam Mills was thick. I am slowly but surely becoming a Ricky Stanzi fan . . . Pierre Allen is losing money today . . . non-factor against Carimi. My buddy Zimmer is getting after the DB’s (same doctor performed our eye surgeries). Pinkston needs to play OG, got beat outside on a speed rush . . . Solder got beat, held again . . . Castonzo had an excellent rep . . . Moffitt handled Fua . . . Schilling just ain’t got it. Ryan Kerrigan displayed an ability to play standing up – OLB34 increases his value. South Practice (Wednesday Afternoon) Ziemba is too damned upright – gets overpowered, off-balance, as McPhee gets leverage on him . . . Sherrod is quite the technician, perfect form in handling Bailey . . . Hudson gets a good base (squatting) on 1st rep, drops his head on the 2nd rep, 3rd rep handled Jenkins pretty well . . . O’Dowd is too high and gets pushed straight back, both reps . . . Watkins is a battler, handled Thornton but still has his legs spread too far apart – I do like the way he sets his butt (I know, that sounds bad LOL!) . . . Love looks good, handled K.J. Wright and Bailey on consecutive reps . . . Kirkpatrick and Watkins double-teaming NT’s – even Taylor had no chance . . . Ponder’s arm is just not right . . . don’t know whether it’s elbow, shoulder or both but he is floating some passes. Impressive WR’s: Hankerson, Salas, Kerley, D.J. Williams (yes, I know he’s a TE, but he runs routes well!) Courtney Smith (The tall WR from North Alabama) is not taking advantage of his opportunity. Gilchrist is making some money today. Derrick Locke is quick . . . the only question on him is can he stay healthy? North Practice (Thursday Morning) OK let’s get started . . . Red Zone Drills: Whoops – red zone interception, bad choice by Stanzi – should have gone to the back of the endzone. Locker throws an interception – I gotta tell ya, he is not a 1st round QB! Stanzi nice back shoulder fade to Titus . . . Kaepernick throws a high fast ball over Titus (tell me the QB’s haven’t noticed who’s catching the ball as to their choices in the red zone drill). Locker’s taking practice snaps from Moffit on the side. 2 fumbled snaps. 7 on 7: Kendric Burney has 2 INT’s today thus far . . . still think he’s small. Geez, there hasn’t been a completion yet – without pass rush! Finally, leave it to Titus – even though the pass from Locker was high and behind him! Line footwork drill: Basically, OL staying in front and placing hands on DL (remember, no pads). Castonzo and Solder dance well. Come on Locker, stick that ball into Hunter’s mid-section! Wildcat??? Oh yeah, I forgot – the Bungles coaching staff! Followed up with a double reverse – must be drawing plays in the sand with a stick! Locker gets a screen pass attempt knocked down . . . and threw the next screen pass high where the back had to jump, another pass tipped, nice deep ball to the 20 yard line. The line. No receiver. South Practice (Thursday Afternoon) Well, I discovered another NT prospect – Chris Neild of WVa, what a fireplug! Ponder is still floating some throws . . . no zip on the follow-through. 3rd throw should have been intercepted in the endzone in 7 on 7. Dalton has looked good, but every now and then there’s a “head-scratcher” pass. Watkins footwork is a lot better today, not as wide-spread (of course they’re not in pads today) . . . O’Dowd got beat again . . . Hudson looked good both reps . . . Gasp! Sherrod got beat by Brooks Reed (started outside, spun inside), handled Acho on the next rep . . . Then Acho pulled Reed’s move on Carpenter, got inside. News Flash! Courtney Smith finally caught a pass (nice throw, Andy Dalton)! Well, that’s a wrap . . . based on what I’ve seen, the North should win (unless Locker gets stupid).

Love will likely be there at RD#2; Sherrod definitely won't (we have him going 9th overall to Dallas). When Nix says he'll take the best players available, it puts Green back in there. I think Peterson's in play too. Hope for a trade with San Francisco.

I gave Spiller the C+. It's my job at DraftTek, as some of you know. When you read commentary on our Consensus Mock Draft, that's my commentary. Spiller's grade is brought UP from "D" for exceeding 4.7 yards per carry 7 out of 14 games in his rookie year. It's for his 23 yard kick return average, with 28 kick returns of 20 yards or more, including a 95 yarder for a TD. It's for his performance behind a line that needs at least one more player, and more consistency than 8 linemen (including Wood) to Injured Reserve and 5 Right Tackles. BTW, I teach for a living, so I know full well that those that are whining the loudest all graduated Magna Cum Laude.

The good news this year is that there is a limited number of NFL QB's in the draft, and a cluster of teams right below us who may want to leapfrog each other. Buffalo is sitting pretty. Look: Pick #3-Buffalo Pick #4-Cincinnati - Carson Palmer wanting out of Cincy, will grab Gabbert, the most NFL ready QB Pick #5-Arizona - QB is P1 Need, wants Gabbert, needs to leapfrog Cincy (500 pts. on trade chart=RD2 pick) Pick #7-San Francisco - QB is their P2 Need, (700 pts.=RD2 and either 3rd or 4th rounder) Pick #10-Washington - Rumor is that Snyder wants Newton. (900 pts. =RD2's this year and next) Pick #12-Minnesota - QB is their P1 Need, prefers Gabbert to Newton (1000 pts. = RD2 this year, RD1 next) The most conceivable leapfrog is Arizona, and I'd drop to pick 5 for their 2nd rounder. The simulation of that trade is something like this: 1-Marcell Dareus DE34 Alabama 2-Martez Wilson SILB Illinois 2-Jason Pinkston OG Pittsburgh 3-Luke Stocker TE Tennessee 4-Casey Matthews ILB Oregon 4-Lee Ziemba OT Auburn 5-Colin Kaepernick QB Nevada 6-Mike Blanc DE34 Auburn 7-Julius Thomas TE Portland St

Simulated Here!. I'd do it. It's a no-brainer! Incidentally, Dareus fell to us anyway: 1-Marcell Dareus DT/DE 2-Martez Wilson SILB Illinois 2-Justin Houston OLB34 Georgia 3-Luke Stocker TE Tennessee 4-Sione Fua DT34 Stanford 4-Josh Bynes ILB Auburn 5-Orlando Franklin OT Miami (FL) 6-Chris L. Rucker CB Michigan State 7-Alex Linnenkohl OC Oregon State

Link?

http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/LSU-cornerback-Patrick-Peterson-to-meet-with-Panthers-tonight.html

Gailey will have a good look at Von Miller this weekend. He's on the South squad.

I got Carl Johnson, OG Florida, moving Wood to center. So Sherrod, Johnson, Wood, Levitre, and Love? I'm still hoping for NT Stephen Paea in RD#2. He was this year's PAC10 Pat Tillman Defensive Player of the Year, and co-winner last year of the Morris Trophy, given annually to the league's top defensive lineman as voted on by the league's offensive linemen! Use 4-3 with Kyle Williams, Troup, and Paea taking turns.