Turbosrrgood

You don't have a problem with what? Morrison getting snaps at MLB? Neither do I, I think it's a great idea and agree with what the coaches are doing now. And yes obviously we are all armchair QB's, none of us work for or in the NFL to the best of my knowledge. I'm not sure what your point was with that statement... Of course they aren't talking about Shep like that NOW, since he has been struggling. Go back and look at what Gailey, Nix, and Wanny were saying about Sheppard during and right after the season. Heaping on praise that he didn't deserve. There is no greater evidence of that than the fact that they simply handed him the starting job, as the unquestioned starter for this year with no thought of competition. Dr I usually agree with most of what you say, but come on, you've watched Shep play to this point in his career right? You honestly don't have any concern? I watched Poz in the Jags game, and I found myself wishing Sheppard played more like Poz.

I'm not sure I get how you are using that phrase, how did we "put all of our eggs in one basket with Fitz"? We signed one of, if not the, most highly regarded backup QB's, who already has a winning record at QB. We also had the biggest free agent signing this year, changed coaches and defensive schemes, ect... Fitz is one piece, and it's pretty clear that the Bills wanted to have a starter quality backup behind him (Even though I personally don't think VY is good).

I'll do it as often as I like. However if you focus, read carefully, and stop inferring things. You will realize that I said the coaching staff has been treating Sheppard as their franchise MLB. I never said, that anyone else said that. I already explained where I came up with that. The coaching staff's god like treatment of Sheppard, as a guaranteed starter since he was drafted. Again, just take a little more time to read what I have already stated, and all your questions will be answered... Also it's clear you have some sort of allergic reaction to the word franchise, I'm sorry for your affliction.

Please stop putting words in my mouth, and read posts more carefully. I never said Sheppard was good (I've been down on him throughout this thread), let alone that anyone was making a bust for him in Canton. There was a reason why I quoted "franchise" (clearly you couldn't pick up on that). The coaching staff has been in love with Sheppard, and have been treating him as the Bills new "franchise" MLB, that was my point. Hence their appointing him to be the starter at the end of last season despite doing nothing to prove he could start in the NFL. I never said I thought he was a "franchise" anything. Personally I don't think Shep will be in this league for very long without some major improvement. Also, I'll use whatever words I like in my posts, deal with it.

Morrison is virtually guaranteed to make the team, his salary is minimal, and he is the only LB on this team with real 4-3 MLB experience. I think the thought behind this thread is that it appears Morrison is being looked at as a possible replacement for Shep, who has struggled significantly so far.

Working with David Lee doesn't magically turn a brainless QB into Peyton Manning.... The problem has never really been his athleticism, arm power, or even accuracy...It's been that mushy brain controlling that athleticism, it just doesn't get the job done. A QB coach can't fix that...

I liked Keuchly too, but like Newton, Willis, and all of the other guys it would have been nice to have...They were drafted BEFORE we picked, moot point. Even if we had drafted Keuchly, then we would have a big hole at CB with McKelvin probably starting. People would have been saying, aww man, we should have taken Gilmore....The grass is always greener... Plus, the Bills thought (mistakenly) that they already had their "franchise" MLB in Sheppard....whoops....

Well said, my thoughts mirror these...Except the VY part, I'm not expecting him to ever be the Bills starting QB... WR and LB are big holes right now, and we are very much unproven at OL and CB. We are much closer, but we still need some more pieces, and we need to know that our young guys are for real.

I'll tell you if we are still in "rebuilding" mode after the season... Have you watched him throw? He would be an interception machine if turned loose (see last year, on a much better offense). Vince Young will never have the brainpower and decision making to lead a team on playoff runs. Too bad, considering his athletic talent.

This is more about Sheppard than anything... He has been simply awful, no other way to describe it. I think this is a sure sign that the coaches are worried about it, why else would you give another potential starter reps at a new position right before the season starts? Also, I think Moats has been by far the best LB so far this off-season. He looks fast, powerful and seems to finally be grasping the LB position. He has even looked good in coverage. A complete 180 from what we have seen in the past. He is also looking like a tremendous 4-3 Blitzer, something Morrison is not. I think Morrison is decent, but Moats has outplayed him, and every other LB to this point. I certainly think LB is our biggest weakness so far on D, so hopefully they get it figured out. It would be a shame to waste our great pass rushing D-line, because teams can just run all over us.

I think Barnett is a great LB for us, but at 228 lbs I don't think he would be right at MLB in this system. You need to be able to shed blocks, and be stout at the point of attack. Something neither he nor Carder can do. Their game is speed and coverage. Morrison and McKillop are really the only guys other than Sheppard on the roster that could play MLB IMO. The other nice thing about Morrison is that he already has success and experience at the position. He's a solid tackler, and while not spectacular, I'm sure he could get the job done behind our D-line. One thing is for certain though, Sheppard has looked absolutely awful so I'm glad to see the coaches recognizing that and trying to adjust. Side note: If it wasn't for Moats's surprisingly good play at OLB so far this camp, this move wouldn't be possible. I was a big Moats detractor, but so far he is proving me wrong.

I've been worried about this O-line since the first time I saw them this offseason...Not so much the interior, as the outside... Pears was solid last year, and is coming of injury. It seems likely he won't be an early contributor this season. That puts Hairston at RT, I thought he would be great there, but so far it seems he's really struggling. At left tackle you have Glenn, a big promising LT, but one that was thought of by "experts" as a guy that wasn't suited to LT in the NFL. So far he has been up and down, which you would expect for a rookie. With so much uncertainty at the two most import positions on the line, I think it's reasonable to be a little concerned...This is where it's really nice to have Fitz at QB though, he has one of the quickest releases in the game and is probably best suited to make the best of any issues. The other positive, is that these guys are young, so you would expect to see improvement as the year goes on.

So the Bills will start the season with two injured CB's on the roster? I'm skeptical...

And make sure you play them at every position, such as LB and DE...

Yeah, I actually think 9 is the number. 5 CB's, 4 Safeties. It's possible the Bills could even go with just 3 safeties, but I doubt it in this pass happy league. Potter will likely take an extra roster spot, and don't forget Bryan Scott is almost assured a roster spot as a LB (Even though he is really a safety). So I don't think 10 DB's is really an option. I think it will look like this...CB: Gilmore, Williams, Brooks, McKelvin and one of the young guys (probably Rogers, maybe Green). Safety: Wilson, Byrd, Searcy, Howell. Sorry, McGee fans (including myself) he just isn't healthy enough to contribute, I just don't see him making the team. By his own admission, the recovery isn't going well for McGee.

I really have to question your player evaluation here. I just couldn't disagree with you more. Rogers has seen no playing time at starting CB in the NFL, so I don't see how you could say he would make a better option than AW. Rogers showed flashes of being decent depth for a 7th round pick, but he got beat plenty of times playing out of the dime and nickle spots. He has never been matched up against against top WR's. He was a 7th for a reason. Also, as many others have stated (even though you don't agree with it for some reason), Williams played pretty well towards the end of last year, especially considering he was a rookie, with no training camp, and was injured for half the season. Most importantly to this conversation, Rogers may actually be a long shot just to make the team this year. He has had injury problems, and some of the other young DB's in camp have played very well. And while I am no McKelvin fan at CB, he is all but guaranteed to make the team. His return skills alone make him worth it. McGee also a long shot to make the team, like Rogers, he is still recovering from injury, and supposedly that recovery is not going well. If AW does struggle, the next name that comes to mind is Brooks. He has been the most impressive DB in camp so far, with Howell the sleeper safety coming up a close second.

No, the Bills are a perennial leader in that category. John McCargo actually played, and in fact still plays in the NFL. Bills fans won't admit it, but he wasn't completely with out skill (hence his ability to stay in the league). He was chastised because he was drafted in the 1st round, but clearly did not have first round talent. I never hated McCargo, I hated Modrak and company for wasting a 1st rounder on a 4th/5th rnd talent. Troup never showed the slightest flash of talent, then suffered what is likely a career ending injury. The only connection you could make between these two guys is that we were both taken way too early, and for that they cannot be faulted.

Don't worry, they will. And he's not even close to being a Merriman, he's way worse. Troup was selected far too early, then played very poorly, then got hurt. Now it is all but certain that he cannot come back from that injury, let alone play at a high level. He will be gone soon enough.

With Gailey's desire to spread them 5 wide on many occasions? I doubt they only keep 5 wide, with none of them being good ST'ers (coverage)... Figure at least one of Easley, Roosevelt, Martin also makes the team.

He punts too?

Haha, I like this topic. Clowney would be my initial thought. He hasn't played well with the Bills so far, and I don't think he makes the team. He is a former Jet though, and they are badly in need of WR's. The main reason for the signing would be for input on the Bills offensive plans... On the defensive side, it could be Merriman, or Batten. This definitely seems like the logical roster at this point, unless the Bills pickup a late cut. I also think the Bills have been working Roosevelt pretty hard on ST's, as a possible replacement for Martin. He's a better receiver and has the best hands on the team behind Nelson. Certainly Martin is the better ST'er at this point.

Agreed, Tank needs to hit the gym, bulk up, and learn how to tackle big NFL players before he can consider being an NFL MLB. I know the Tank fans will moan, but so far Tank has looked like a boy playing a mans game. He has great instincts and good speed, but he just simply can't match up with NFL players at this point. I think he shows some skill, and could be a good player if he can become more stout at the point of attack. He's pretty much at the point you would think a 5th rnd prospect would be at this point in his career. I'm guessing he will be on the practice squad this year. I also agree with what others have said about Shepp, and never understood why he was "guaranteed" the starting job by Gailey last year despite proving nothing. He plays opposite tank, he's got the size, but he plays slow and doesn't get to the ball. Seems its impossible for him to break off a block, he just stops and wrestles with the blocker. So far McKillop has looked like the best MLB on this team, and I'd be ok with Morrison getting some looks there as well since he's the only one with experience there (Barnett played in a 3-4 for the last decade). It's going to be a problem if we don't shore up the middle. It's going to be really easy to neutralize our big pass rushers, if teams can just run it up the gut.

I don't think there is any doubt that the long ball is not Fitz's strength. Having said that, there is no reason he shouldn't be able to use Graham's speed both deep and underneath. I'd expect to see him on plenty of screens. I believe its very doubtful that Graham will ever start as a wide out, he simply lacks the physicality and polish necessary. However he could be a good "special weapon" used out of the bills spread formation. He's the type of guy that needs to be wide open to do his thing, and I think Gailey will try to put him in that position.

Byrd, he could be a potential star with a decent pass rush. Levitre is above average, but nothing special, and a tad undersized at guard. I like Levitre, but some of you guys are talking about him as if he were a probowler. I see a solid producer, not a "top 10 guy". If it was wood we were talking about, that would be a different story. Tackles and centers are the guys that are hard to find on the O-line, Guards can be replace without much fanfare. Bottom line, Safety is a more skilled position, and it would be harder to find an equal replacement for Byrd. As others have said though, there is no reason we can't resign both. I also doubt we would use the franchise tag on either of them (unless Byrd has 9 interceptions again).

I don't know how you could make much of a judgment on that. He threw primarily passes of 10 yards or less, mostly screens, and he only completed 50%. I didn't think he looked bad, but he wasn't really given a chance to show much either. Also, keep in mind he is playing in a system that made a bum like Cassel look good. Also, I thought the O-line gave him pretty darn good protection all things considered. The 2nd/3rd stringers seemed to struggle. I never understood the Bell hype to begin with. When did he do anything to make people think he was good? I only ever saw a guy that struggled consistently against speed rushers. He probably benefited more than anyone from Fitz's quick release. I can definitely understand why they are going with Dunlap regardless. That guy is a freaking monster, nearly 6-10 and seemed to move well enough to play the position. Supposedly he just hasn't been able to stay healthy to this point.