obie_wan

You do realize that the Simms the left handed QB only started during Fat Mike's last season. Major Applewhite, the career passing leader started the previous years when Fat Mike wasn't considered good enough to play LT. The "blind side for a left handed QB" nonsense was a media creation started by Teflon Tom to justify the pick after panicking when Detroit took Joey H. Fat Mike proved conclusively he couldn;t play the right side, let alone the harder left tackle slot.

he sure could if you like 240 lb OTs too bad Schobel plays on the same team, there probably aren;t any lighter DEs in the league that he could block at OT

So who after McKelvin and maybe Hardy, which of the othr picks are not going to be backups in 2008?? Your argument has no foundation. How does drafting backups at TE,FB,LB, etc take priority over finding a STARTING C and a future starter at OL that can backup at LT right now?

whatever his pedigree, he is still the 2nd best LT on the team - which is the whole point of proactively grooming a real backup at LT

I made the same argument then, I make now. You don;t waste #4 money on a RT, no matter how quick his feet- especailly when he is overweight and has a motivation problem. I guess McKinney playing "reasonably well" at LT is a whole let better than "out of the league"

case in point is the Colts who took 3 centers in the mid-rounds. We have a liability at starting C and nobody in the pipeline and we totally ignore the position. The Bills ability to draft OL left with Polian.

Mike Williams was a stupid pick at #4. You don't spend huge money on a fat RT when a bonafide LT who is rated just as high is sitting there as well.

what do you mean?? we got Duke Preston in the 5th round and he backs up 2 postitions (badly- but still)

not to wory - they picked up an undrafted free agent OG AND a 7th round project. There are not enough roster spots for all of this OL talent.

The probelm with your plan is the Bills just don't ever feel compelled to make the OL a priority in the draft. and the one year they spend a 1st round pick, they draft a fat, unmotivated slob who has never played LT and pass up a bonafide LT from a major college program. The ability to find and develop OL is systemic to the the Bills organziation. Although they are good at finding CBs, they have been generally horrible (except for Peters) over the last 10 years of recognizing OL talent - either in the draft or free agency. Even with Peters, they did not know what they had and ended up cutting him before bringing him back later.

The Bills have actually been more successful with undrafted free agents than guys picked in rounds 4-7

when Hilary wants the companies making money to pay her taxes

out of hand?? it's not like they have 12 roster spots tied up with the OL. The Bills have 4 NFL caliber OL on the roster with a marginal C. They do not have an NFL calbier backup on the roster, especially one that can play LT effectively - which means not having to keep in 2 TEs and a back to cover up his shortcomings (which means Walker will get exposed on the other side) The Bills were lucky last year that there were OL to overspend on. With the increase in the cap, the ability to use free agency as a means to cover up for drafting ignorance will disappear. the Bills will be left with signing Bennie Anderson & Tuten Reyes quality players to plug holes

they should have asked Trent or Marshawn that question

yet with an all scrub secondary, the Bills still won 7 games. If Peters goes down, they won't win half that many - and Trent's progress will be severely hindered. Fewest sacks but worst in the league in 3rd and 4th down conversions. The OL still has to prove it can pass block without keeping in 2 TEs and a back. but ignoring the OL for teh last 10 years has worked well for the Bills - so why not continue with a winning strategy

did not see any confirmation of blitz recognition and pickup which is what will keep him seated squarely on the pine.

They have missed the playoffs for the last 10 years because they have ignored drafting and developing the OL over the same time frame.

I'm fine with that. why not take a OL to develop in round 3 - 5 that might actually have some talent? If Felton is so good, why did 32 teams forget to draft him? Picking up scraps and hoping you catch lightning in a bottle is not a real high percetnage way to build and maintain your OL. After lucking out with Peters, the Bills are even more convinced they can find undrafted players to become functional OL. Theyu will be back in the market signing Bennie Anerson's and Tuten Reyes after their latest crop of undrafted and 7th round porjeucts washes out.

you are correct how productive he is in the NFL will depend solely on how hard he works and pushes himself to correct all of thoee deficiencies and learn the playbook inside out. He has the size and speed - chances are though that his tools do not translate to mch productivity on the field in 2008. It' all up to Hardy

the reason we have so much money tied up in the OL is that we failed to build the OL thru the draft for 10 years - and we continue to do ignore it.l They finally overspend big time on 2 players - who signficantly underperformed their huge contracts - so this means we can go back to ignoring the OL in the draft for the next 10 years? It's not asking for much to spend 1 out of 10 draft picks above the 7th round on the most important group on the team.

After the QB, LT is the most important position on the team. It's the one position that it is excusable to not have a bonafide backup at.

Kirk Chambers is an undrafted free agent who spends his time as a revolving door at LT. Look at his play in 2007 and how Edwards was running for his life. Why they could not have drafted someone in the middle rounds who they could have groomed at LT highlights the continuing short sightedness of this front office as it relates to the OL. Even if they had drafted a bona fide G they could have moved Butler to LT in an emergency. Taking a project in the 7th round who may be ready in 2010 does not deal with the problem in 2008.

so what are these misunderstood rules ruining my appreciation of the game? other than the ones that limit goal scoring to less than 2 and scoring chances to a handful - for 90 minutes of play.

Hardy is taller than all of the Big 10 CBs he faced, so he better come down with those passes. However, his ability to be effective outside of the endzone is a much bigger question mark. The issues I noted above are real and his production outside of the endzone will be further limited by the typical rookie WRs difficulty in adapting to the Pro game. Hardy's speed is more staraight line and he hasn't converted it well to getting off the jamb and running sharp patterns. Your problem is for your point of reference is that you are using Justin King as an example of a good CB -- not quite what hardy will be seeing on Sundays - which is why he will have trouble adjusting in 2008

how you can not have find a bonafide backup LT and C on your list of improvements bafflers me. Even with A+ on your list, if Peters goes down, the season is over. pretty much the same with Fowler, and that's with him as a liability in the run game when he does play