Turbosrrgood

I've often thought the same things. We Bills fans have to look so hard for top talent to root for, we often settle for the "best we have". Which usually isn't that good.

Have you been watching practices? Who else has been lining up at OLB? Batten/Moats/Torbor/?... Obviously Merriman is the starter if healther, just not sure about the options on the other side.

So he's not big, not strong, not tough, not fast, and now we have conformation that he is not smart as well? Sounds like the perfect player! What team wouldn't try to trade for him?

I guess it's good to hear he's doing good things, but I hope they plan to use him as a backup OLB. The Bills have such little depth that he has to be at least a backup OLB. I will be concerned if they still want to use him there as a starter though. He looked good as a fresh 4-3 pass rusher, lets just hope he is nothing more than that...Or that he can make a miraculous 3-4 OLB improvement, it was his first year after all. But that seems doubtful.

Apparently you were. Your comments might have been accurate for the first 12 weeks of the season, but once they went to a 4-3 Kelsey was in the backfield on a regular basis. Obviously you had already made up your mind on him, and ignored his play at the end of the year. I support Kelsey ONLY as a 4-3 end, he should never have been playing outside LB since he can't cover or play in the open field.

This is where having a good rep like the Patriots comes in handy. Guys like this are willing to sign low end contracts for the chance to win a SB. The Bills would probably have had to offer him a crap load of money to sign. Clearly the Pats are stocking up on the D-line this year, I think that is aimed specifically at the Jets. For those clamoring for a OT (right/left, whatever), I am all for that as well. It is a big need. The problem is there has to be someone of value to sign. The Bills went after Clabo, and from what I have heard offered him a better contract than what he ended up signing in Atlanta. He was good and would have been worth it. What we DON'T want, is to throw huge contracts at more mediocre guys just because it's a need (Remember Dockery and Walker?). There are no great OT's available IMO that I am aware of. Also, I'm not sure if we want fat washed up guys like McKinnie or especially Flozell. Minnesota fans have been ripping McKinnie hard, and were saying he was by far their worst OL last year.

IMO, he is a pass rusher. He was never a sack artist, more of a Phil Hanson type. He plays ok against the run in the 4-3, but he gets blown away in the open field (3-4). And as you mentioned, cant really cover. Last year I thought he looked surprisingly good rushing the QB when they put him back at 4-3. He was a disappointment for a 2nd round pick, but he definitely fills a role for the Bills now. If the end of last season was any indication, he might end up being fairly valuable. All in my opinion of course.

The Bills picked up Wannstedt, a pure 4-3 coach. Expect the Bills to use 4-3 formations on a regular basis. Other than Kelsey the Bills really don't have any experienced 4-3 DE's. Like it or not, they need him. What he said ^. Pretty reasonable IMO.

This is the key here, Kelsey is not, and SHOULD NOT be an OLB. Last year he started playing a position he NEVER played before, and struggled. This is where the hate comes from. The reason you saw that marked improvement last year, is because Kelsey went back to playing 4-3 where he belongs. Kelsey is not and will not ever be a superstar, but he is a solid hard working player. He should be very effective for the Bills this year in situational 4-3 work. I highly doubt you will see him playing much OLB barring injuries.

Unfortunately, it doesn't matter what size Maybin is, he simply doesn't have talent. To top it off, Maybin isn't even that quick either. What you have here is a one year wonder in college, who was drafted in the first round, that simply ISN'T A PRO QUALITY FOOTBALL PLAYER. I don't hate Maybin, I actually feel bad for him that he was drafted so early and asked to do something he wasn't capable of. Luckily for him he got paid.... Credit for this move can be given to the perfect storm of Jauron, Modrak, NO GM, and Ralph's personal buddies that he lets run the organization. There is good news here though. While Nix and company had a very shaky first draft IMO (Modrak was still here) and they signed George Edwards, I think they have made very solid moves since then. Over this last year I have had this unfamiliar feeling that our FO might actually know what they are doing. Things like signing Merriman on the cheap, picking up Barnett, drafting Dareus, and quickly recognizing that George Edwards was not a capable DC and signing Wannstedt, are solid moves IMO. They have made this team stronger, and addressed weaknesses, all while keeping cap space available just in case we are ever competitive.

People LOVE to bash Kelsey, mostly unfairly. Kelsey was forced to play 3-4 OLB for the first time ever last year, a position he NEVER should have been asked to play. It was fairly obvious that he did NOT do well playing that position. Did he argue or speak out? No, he did whatever the coaches asked of him, no matter how clueless George Edwards is.... However, Kelsey was arguably our BEST defensive player over the last 6 games of the season. Why? Because they put him back at 4-3 end where he was our most effective pass rusher. I am not talking about sacks necessarily, but being in the backfield and pressuring QB's/RB's on a consistent basis. Anyone who watches these games objectively will recognize this. It is highly unlikely that Kelsey will play 3-4 OLB this year (barring injury), and he should see a lot of time in the Bills hybrid 4-3 formations. With KW and Dareus also on that line, Kelsey should get a lot of one on one blocking. I personally am happy to have him on our team. Plus, he is signed to an extremely incentive laden contract. This means if he produces, he was worth the money, if he doesn't produce, he gets a relatively light salary.

While I hold my breath and cross my fingers every time they mention a player leaving practice, things could be a lot worse right now. We have had a bunch of players injured, but so far (knock on wood), none that have serious injuries or are expected miss a lot of time. I definitely understand the reaction to the early injuries though, when you have a team with as little depth (let alone actual starters)as the Bills, they simply don't have the talented players to fill in. Other teams with greater depth can brush injuries off without being too concerned. The Giants lost Prince Amukamara to a serious foot injury, Fairly is in the same boat, imagine how these boards will react if that happens to Dareus...

While our O-line is weak enough to begin with, I don't see a huge drop off between Bell and Wang. It's not like Bell was some superstar, he was another average at best player. Who knows, maybe Wang can impress. On the plus side, the immature part of me will enjoy cracking up every time the announcers talk about "wang".

Whoa, this thread is making me look like an optimist...

I agree that we are heading in the right direction, but I think there are still a lot questions on this team. I have to say I like what Nix is doing though (except that pesky first draft).

Haha, +1. Miller would have been nice, but other than that no one really stands out to me, including Boss. So I guess everyone is abandoning ship on Nelson huh?

I get the pessimist label sometimes, but this is just off. If you hate the Bills so much, and consider them the worst franchise ever, why watch?

I am cheering for Troup, just not expecting much from what I have seen. Everyone seems to think he will make a miraculous improvement this year, I hope they are right. While it would be sweet if Jasper could actually turn into a dominant DT, he's still a long shot too. I just hope he makes the team to start. I think we all have very high hopes for Dareus, he is a freaking monster. Exactly...If he can transform himself into a dominant player this year like everyone seems to expect, that would be great. I am just commenting on what I saw last year. I know everyone is saying "he looks great in camp!", but sorry that doesn't mean very much to me. We hear that every year about guys, only for them to disappear come game time. Everyone was raving about how Spiller looked in camp this time last year.

No argument here, I wasn't necessarily suggesting that Davis was a lock to make the team (although that might have been inferred from the way I structured my post), just that Namaan has a lot of competition. Of the "bubble" WR's, I would certainly concur that Jones has the best shot of making the team. I would be pretty shocked if Namaan makes it this year, if injuries knock someone out, well that's a different story.

Appreciate it...I was so happy when I heard they signed him, IMO LB was by far the Bills biggest position of need. If they can stay healthy, the Bills now have two proven ones on the outside... The Packers and Steelers know how to draft LB's, can't go wrong with their throw aways. Yeah Barnett is hands down better, in a 3-4? No question. Plus we got him on a $12 mil contract, as opposed to the ludicrous $42 mil that the Jags handed out. I liked Poz and wish him the best don't get me wrong, but he doesn't fit in a 3-4. He also never ended up being that difference maker we were looking for.

With Buster recently signed, Roosevelt is going to have one heck of a time trying to make this team. I doubt it will happen. Evans, Johnson, Nelson, Parish, Easley, Smith, Davis, In the mix, guys like Jones, Huggins, Roosevelt, udfa's..

Lol, good question. But the Raiders haven't been any more successful than the Bills, and now they are in cap trouble? At least in theory the Bills have some room to work...If they chose to...

Yeah I hear you there. I think Wood looks really solid, Levitre is Ok, after that it's a little scary.

Thats a hefty contract...

Yeah, Gailey and Nix love Ubrik but he has done little to impress so far. The weak Steelers O-line was quick to discard him as well. I wouldn't be surprised to see someone else starting there. I don't see any situation (baring injury) that Wood is not our starting center, so Hangartner is a possibility I guess. I think we have a number of options there though, just none that are proven.