obie_wan

they also had the fewest passes attempted. The OL got help from TEs and backs probably 95% of the time - and also benefited from having most passes thrown under 10 yards. But if you liked the offense last year - more power to you. The true indication of a good OL is the abiltiy to pick up short yardage on a consistent basis. The Bills OL was consistently over-matched and pushed back - which is shocking considering their size advantage.

which numbers would those be. The ones for the worst offensive production in team history , or 30+ in the NFL in 3rd down conversions, or 30th in overall offense, or 30th in passing I guess that $75 million was well spent

with or without Hardy, the Bills passing game will be much improved simply by upgrading to NFL level pass routes and packages. Running WRs down the seam, on crossing routes and slant patterns and actually calling plays that throw the ball down the field will do more to improve the offense than any personnel changes.

you will be seriously disappointed. Reed will continue to start until Hardy proves he can block better than Reed

You must be talking about players such as Merz, Pennington, Youboty, Dwayne Wright etc that looked good initially. Less than 2 years later, players that made the front office look good are either gone and the Bills wasted more picks on their replacements. The Bills would get better faster if they didn;t spend so much time spinning their wheels on trying to fill the same slots. At least with the OL, they have just given up trying to draft players.

U 1. As weak as Fowler was last year, at least he did not get hurt forcing Preston of the Yukon onto the field. Not sure how you know if Preston is adequate at C since we have not had the pleasure of watching him get blown at anywhere other than G. 2. Whittle may actually be able to backup at C. However, it is a big risk that a 33+ year old recovering from a hamstring torn completely from the bone will be able to return to his prior skill level and survive the season. But if these 2 can't do it, then just bring up those unanmed practice squad guys - I 'm sure the OL won't miss a beat. 3. Kirk Chambers is a world class turnstyle who manged to not post horrendous sack totals because the team was forced to abandon the offense and shift the TEs that usually hide Walker's flaws to the left side to protect Chambers. He is not enough of an athlete to handle speed rushers.. If any of the starters is out for an extended period, Trent Edwards development goes on hold and the offense becomes even more conservative than last year. Since the run blocking of the starters was not very good, the ranking of worst offense in team history could be in jeopardy. But maybe those practice squad guys will surprise.

What's made up? Fat Mike never played LT in college - yet Teflon Tom knew better that he could convert him to LT. the best OL plays LT because the best pass rushers come from the left side. Hence you put your best OL on the left side to take on the more agile and better pass rushers. RDEs don't much care which arm the QB throws with. Fat Mike did not play LT because he did not beat out Davis when Applewhite was there and the couches did not move him to LT after Davis left.

we have no qualified backups but OL never get hurt so the backups don;t matter

Every NFL team simply overlooked his tremendous skill. Don;t worry about that NFL playbook, this guy is the exception to the 3 year rule - which is why he could start ahead of Hardy.. Too bad he's not taller. In fact, the Bills could cut both Reed and Parrish before training camp because Johnson is so good and will need all the reps for himself.

you are correct. DCs will be living in fear of trying to defend the awesome height of Hardy. They will have to rotate 2 or even 3 DBs to contain him for fear of him catching even "a pass or two". Lee Evans will be able to run wild since there will probably be plays where he is not covered at all due to the mere presence of Hardy. Happy times are here again.

by the time the Bills picked Fat Mike, DAvis had already proven that he could not play LT for the lowly Cards (his college position). Yet the Bills were confidant that Fat Mike could make the switch at the NFL level when the Longhorns did not bother moving him over in his senior year? Simms may have been left handed, but the best pass rushers still play RDE. Fat Mike was no better than a RT and was a waste at #4 when they could have had McKinney to play LT.

or we couid have drafted someone else in the 2004 draft instead of Losman.

if you're just throwing names out - none better than Carlester Crumpler

No matter how tall Hardy is, unless he actually makes big plays down the field, he will not take any more focus off Evans than Reed or Parrish. AS you say, Reed or Parrish in the slot, will probably do more to help Evans than Hardy will in 2008. Even better would be a TE that can be a threat going down the seam. As to Peters getting hurt, most teams may not have a stud as a backup, but they have options that provide more hope than an UDFA turnstyle who will rquire a a lot of help.

and for 2008, the Bills did neither to maintain the OL. Yet they spent 2 picks on WRs and 3 pcikson CBs plus added free agents. Maybe a little attention to the OL on a continuing basis would prevent the meltdowns they have experienced which required panic free agent signings.

From your other post, you expect Hardy to be effective if he puts 40 / 600 @ 15 yards per catch. 1. Hard to see how catching 40 balls is so much better than Reed's 51 catches or Parrishes 35 catches last year. Unless hardy has a Colston like year, he will do nothing between the 20s to draw any more coverage than Reed and Parrish did last year. 2. Although you claim hardy just needs to show up to help out Evans, you have him averaging 15 yards/ catch -- which is what Evans averaged as the big play deep threat. Hardy could be the second coming of Jerry Rice, but if Peters gets hurt - nobody wil be catching very many passes.

Unless Hardy proves dangerous and requires double teams (which is not your argument), how does "having him on the field" free up Evans anymore than Reed or Parrish or anyone not in a wheel chair that will occupy a single DB? And if they aren't goiing to rely him , why the critical need to draft a WR over an OL?

Nobody is talking about big money for a #2 WR or CB. Bryant Johnson for a 1 year contract for $2 mil would have provided a #2 WR at a cheap price for 2008, freeing the Bills to take the best players in the early part of the draft. The pick could have been a WR, knowing that WRs typically take 3 years to become funcitional in the NFL, with Johnson as the transition. Or it cuold have been an OL. The bills could have moved around in the rounds, as they have in the past to get the player they wanted. The front office forced themselves into a corner (and a WR) by what they did in free agency before the draft. They coudl have easily fit an OL into the top of the draft if they had chosen to not ignore the OL completely.

NO we tried him at TE - then we cut him

CB and WR are also 2 of the easiest positions to fill with veteran free agents - to eliminate the weak leak WR especially makes sense to sign vets since rookies take so long to develop. The bills could have solidified their WR by siging Wilford or Johnson - and then not been obligated to draft a WR high in the draft just to fix a weak link.

maybe a free pass is not justified because the key players identifying and acquiring the college and pro talent are still the same- just covered with Teflon. their crappy decisions on acquiring OL are the main reason they had to bite the bullet and spend $75 million on 2 free agents - that don;t play LT. The current regime has spent even fewer high round picks on the OL than the previous regime.

yeah - I can see how the Bills broke the trend in 20078 and 2008

Hopefully the defenses the Bills face this year will use CBs and S in place of their normal DL so OMan will look just as impressive. running against Div 2 quality defenders was just a bit easier than the NFL Oman will be on the practice squad until he proves he can block and pick up the blitz.

sucker!!! you need the gas credit to fill the tank at 10 miles per gallon.

That's a really good plan. Everyone on the line will know in advance that Fowler will get blown up on running plays for teh next 5 years. and if Peters gets hurt, then 2 TEs and a back will be kept in to help Chambers not be embarrased I hope that continuity helps.