maryland-bills-fan

I would love that. Do you think that Lewan will still be available in the 7th round?

I changed the font, but it won't let me undo the underlining or the bold at the end of the posting.

Look at where the weaknesses are (before the start of FA) and where the signings are. ..........We invested in FA's at cornerback, tight end, linebacker and running back. (new players and resigned players). We gave a mulit-year contract to an OG, who many say was poorly coached and may be a better than he has appeared. (We will not know the answer to this before the draft). Previous years we went heavy at wide receiver and it is still too soon to say that these guys will not develop into good players. We have not addressed offensive tackle or free safety. I think its a combination of these two positions, BPA and "make me a trade offer I can't refuse" for the 2014 draft.

Good thought.

Draft him. Provide him with a translator for the training camp and the first year. Have him give snowshoe classes to draft picks from the SEC. Also "how to find out where your car is after a snowstorm" and "why healthy women are more fun in the sack".

I like a team that has a butt-kicking offensive line. I would love to have Matthrews or Robinson (who I'm guessing might be well above average LOT's) playing ROT for the Bills.---- If I didn't have to balance that wish off against how else we could use that draft position to improve the Bills. I mean, those guys would be super on the right side and we would have bookend o-tackles,,, for 2-3 years maybe. ...... Imagine what other teams would give up to have drafted Robinson or Matthrews to solve their LOT problem......Imagine what other teams would give up to have drafted Robinson or Matthrews to solve their LOT problem......Imagine what other teams would give up to have drafted Robinson or Matthrews to solve their LOT problem.....................Get the idea. ......... We could use the luck of one of these falling to our #9 slot to get draft picks to get much more in total for the Bills. We could possibly get the top ROT and the top OG in the draft and fix those positions with guys who could be top 5 at the position for a decade. .... As well as maybe a 2nd or 3rd round pick in the 2015 draft. Nailing down a couple of positions for 7-10 years with superior players is how you build from a bottom dweller to a consistent contender.

What do we do if both running backs get hurt? What do we do if EJ and Lewis go down? What do we do if .... The first thing in rebuilding is to get good starters at all positions or at least adequate starters. Then go after depth. If we lack good starters and are getting beat every game with our "A" team out there, I don't care hearing about how such a plan got us good backups at positions where we had a good guy. The weak links are where you lose games.

You are right that he would not get top 5 LOT money for that. Remember that the highest paid ROT would be #13 on the list at LOT. If he plays well for 3 years, there will be a lot of film on him at the pro level. He will not be a happy camper. He will probably go elsewhere and get maybe #7 or so LOT money and insist on a one year contract. Then he will go looking for top 5 money. IN ANY CASE, he will be out of Buffalo as soon as he can and we will have wasted a first round pick and have to use another high draft pick to replace him. The revolving door starts all over again. I think we could draft the ROT in the range #20 to #60 and pay him $4M or so he is a bookend on the o-line for a decade and one of the best ROT in the league during that time.

I don't agree. What do you suggest paying the guy, once he is past the rookie contract. $5-10M to play ROT, where the next highest ROT is going for $3.5M? There are 32 NFL teams that don't agree with your approach. A $4M offer? If he is a top 9 pick and one of the rare people who can play LOT well, he is out of here in a heartbeat.

Many of the mock drafts have the Bills taking one of the top three offensive left tackles in the draft. This has me mystified since we already have a top left offensive tackle in Cory Glenn. Some would argue that, well we could switch Glenn to the right side- I’ll counter with the wise statement that if something isn’t broken, you shouldn’t fix it. Or they would argue that we could really have a buttkicking o-line if we draft a guy good enough to star at LOT and then switch him to ROT. Both of these arugments are very faulty in my view because we would be wasting resources and creating a roster & player problem at ROT. Let me explain. What is true is that the elite or you top offensive tackle is put on the left side, the blind side for the QB, whereas your 2nd best guy plays on the right side. This is because of the fact that a pass rushing DE is less dangerous coming in from the right side of the offense, where the right handed QB can see him and react to him better than if he is coming in from the QB's left side. All things being equal, you put the better guy on the LOT and yes the defenses best pass rushing DE/LB can then move over and attack the weaker ROT, and force the offense to counter with a helper to the ROT. Of course you don’t want the ROT to be the weak link and there is some appreciation that this is becoming a concern in general in the league and with Pears for the Bills. (http://www.buffalobi...e7-7115c5066dea) Okay then, why shouldn’t the Bills draft the very best OT from the top 3 canidates and stick him at ROT? My answer is that the pay scale discrepancy between the LOT and ROT is so large, that you would have to pay that ROT at the prime player LOT rate- something that teams do not do. A better choice to replace Pears is to take a genuine ROT, lower in the draft and pay him well. This means that he would be happy and not doing a Byrd/Peters act on us ASAP and we would pick up another first day draftee and be a stronger team. This year's draft is very well stocked with extra players. We can get a very good ROT lower in the first or at the top of the 2nd round, and ALSO get another first day draft pick. Here are two scenarios: Scenario #1: draft a top 3 OT with pick #9. What you get is a guy who will definitely be able to handle the job. You also are under utilizing this guy and will probably not be paying him LOT money. He will be underpaid and as soon as he can, he will be holding out and wanting to test the market. The average salaries for left and right tackles are $4.7M and $2.4M respectively. (this is for guys on the roster). However for the top players (and you expect one of the top three ROT draftees to be a top player- or you have failed in your draft pick) the situation is that the LOT is much more expensive. http://www.spotrac.c...ackle/limit-25/ shows the following CAP salary hits for the positions; LOT Thomas ($10.9M), Okung $8.7M, Clady $8M, Long $8M..............and the 13th LOT Baker comes in at 3.25M. at ROT the pay scale is different- in order from the highest: Free $3.5M, Loadhold $3.4M, A. Smith $3.0M, Howard $2.8M, Pears $2.75M..... So the top ROT is paid the same as the 13th LOT. If the guy is very good, he will want to be paid for his ability to play LOT and he will want to get to free agency ASAP to be paid value for his work. A solution would be pay him top 5 LOT money- Got an extra $5M and you might keep him happy, but be financially and CAP stressed elsewhere on your roster. Scenario #2......We trade our first round pick (#9) so we don’t get one of the top 3 LOT there. We trade down to the 18th pick in the first and get that pick in both the first and the second round. (I know it doesn’t come out that simply, but anyway for purposes of discussion……)We use pick #18 to get the ROT and the 18th pick in the second round to get the 2nd or 3rd best offensive guard in the draft. We might get players like Zack Martin and Gabe Jackson out of this, rather than an unhappy misplaced LOT.

He never started. He was hurt. There is not much film on him. Teams can get the same performance, with a potential upside by drafting a player in the 3rd round AND will pay low rookie contract rates and have a 3-4 year contract. He has a butt-hole as an agent, and if he does good, there is a chance for an "injury" with failure to live up to the contract, al.la. Peters and Byrd. No thanks. It costs too much and there are question marks and risks. Parker just has to hit on a couple of big paydays to live fat and happy. The "misses" don't hurt him.

DON'T DRAFT A LOT TO PLAY ROT!!!!! What is still true is that the elite offensive tackles go on the left side, the blind side for the QB, and very good ones can play on the right side. What is always true is that a pass rushing DE is less dangerous coming in from the right side of the offense, where the right handed QB can see him and react to him better than if he is coming in from the QB's left side. This year's draft is very well stocked with extra players. We can get a very good ROT lower in the first or at the top of the 2nd round, and ALSO get another first day draft pick. Here are the two choices as I see it. ...................... Scenario #1: draft a top 3 OT with pick #9. What you get is a guy who will definitely be able to handle the job. You also are under utilizing this guy and will probably not be paying him LOT money. He will be underpaid and as soon as he can, he will be holding out and wanting to test the market. One source says the average salaries for left and right tackles are $4.7M and $2.4M. Another source http://www.spotrac.c...ackle/limit-25/ shows the following; LOT Thomas ($10.9M), Okung $8.7M, Clady $8M, Long $8M..............the 13th LOT Baker $3.25M. Whereas at ROT the pay scale is different: Free $3.5M, Loadhold $3.4M, A. Smith $3.0M, Howard $2.8M, Pears $2.75M..... Okay, do you think if we can keep and have a happy LOT guy and stick him on the right side unless we pay him less than $7M?............................. Scenario #2......We trade down to pick #18 or so and in return get the 18th pick in the first and the second round. We use pick #18 to get the ROT and the 18th pick in the second round to get the 2nd or 3rd best offensive guard in the draft. We wind up better with scenario 2, I think.

Yes, it is old and from Jimmy Johnson's estimate of getting a starting QB. Funny thing is that nearly every trade that you see out there comes close to following it, so it still is the best first approximation. Usually, this years X round pick is worth next year's (x-1) round pick.

The Bills did the right thing. They decided on Byrd's worth to the team and stayed with that figure. Byrd figured that he could get more as an unrestricted free agent if his new team did not have to trade something for him. That "value" of a second or third round pick got turned into money in Parker's and Byrd's pocket. Goodbye, but don't expect any love from me. The Bills have since taken that saved money and turned it into two quality linebackers, a starting dime defensive back and a veteran pounding running back. Instead of scrubs or waiver wire players, we have quality FA's at 2 starting positions and 3 package positions. We are better off. Give the Bills a shout for using this saved $$$ to improve the team rather than, as some would blame, keeping money in the owner's pocket.

Trade down. Pick up more linemen and safeties.

If you look at the FA signings and the signing/qualifying offers for our own players, then several things stand out. Several positions have been reinforced (CB, OG, LB, RB, TE) and several have not (safety (no Leonard), ROT (no backup for Pears), weak side LB (who is the 3rd down LB behind Alonso?). I think that there will be a lot of smaller, good coverage linebackers available in the 3rd round and later. The big program, +230pound, pass rushing OLB seem to get all the attention in the draft publications, but most people are smaller, so there are a lot of tweener safety-LB players out there playing college ball in smaller schools. I'm hoping for the Bills to do a trade down in the first round, get a ROT with the lowerer 1st round pick, and then go safety & guard in the second round. After that, I am expect a "WTF" player in the 3rd or 4th to fill the light LB role.

I agree. I always like big galoots on the line of scrimmage. If you control there, grandma with a walker can get 4 yards a carry. http://www.buffaloru...ial-depth-chart has an unofficial Bills depth chart as guessed after the recent free agent signings. Looking at it and thinking about where the problems were thought to be at the end of last year, the following seems to jump out at me. Most of the holes have been addressed, even before the draft, but Right Offensive Tackle still looks as if it needs immediate help from the draft. Chris Williams is penciled in at LOG and the Bills appear to be high on Unga as quality depth or someone to push for a starting spot. Spikes and Rivers should shore up the linebackers. The promotion and extension of Aaron Williams as well as bringing in Corey Graham strengthens the defensive backfield. Dixon adds depth and a pounder to the running backs. Resigning Chandler brings a favorate target for EJ back and an improved backup will come from the competition between Smith, Gragg and Moeaki. Pears at ROT looks like the neglected position, with a below average starter and no depth. http://msn.foxsports...-tackles-031314 2014 Cowboys Draft Weekly Notebook - Episode 8 - Offensive Tackles (bob Sturn) has a good evaluation of the top tackles and I will go with that for my judgment on their value. They rank the top three as (no surprise), Mathews (top for them because of polished pass protection), Robinson (also can’t miss and a generational run blocker), and Lewan. All are top LOT guys and should be gone by #9. We have a LOT so if Lewan drops to us and we need a ROT, it might be a good time to think of a trade down because these 3 are much better than the next guys for the high need LOT and we have a bargaining chip for trading down at a premium. The next guy down is Zack Martin (Notre Dame), who would be a very solid ROT and run blocker. Bob Sturn likes him, but not at the Cowboys pick (#16), so if this is a real estimate of his value, we might be able to trade down in the first to ? #20 and still pick Martin up as our starting right offensive tackle as well as the equivalent of a high 2nd. (there would be 500 trade-value-points, which could give us the {{{{ #8 in the 2nd round }}}}}} or {{{{{ #20 in the 2nd round AND and another a low 2nd round #28 pick }}}}}. That would give us our starting ROT from the first round and three 2nd round picks(no 3rd round) or two 2nd and two 3rd’s. We get our guy as a starter and pick up another good pick in a draft year where there is high quality in the first 3 rounds. Lower rated tackles are Kpiamdijo (Alabama), who Sturn can’t see as a 1st round pick, (big, slow and bad knees), Antonio Richardson (Tennessee), (not quick enough and already at his ceiling). For second rounders, he likes big Morgan Moses (Virginia) or Billy Turner (N.Dakota State) (a mauler for low 2nd or high 3rd rounds). Both of these would fit as ROT, but maybe would take a year or two to come up to speed. That is what I see as the "FOR SURE" part of our draft strategy- several scenario but all having us get a ROT somewhere in the draft region as the 20th to 50th player chosen.

I agree. Do you think that Spikes and Dixon and Graham are worth a Bird?

Go with a sure thing.

We ll, the Bills did get screwed by Eugene and Byrd and honestly there is nothing they could do about it. The system is not perfect and they took advantage of a hole in.it. A fact is that the Bills made a handsome offer to Byrd, (I think it was too high an offer) and he refused it because he felt he could/might get more elsewhere. The franchise tag (or transition player tap) works for the league and the players, if the tagged player is ethical and will honestly play for the pay that he gets. Many of our posters here come up with arguments about ways for the Bills to have traded Byrd, but those are all inoperable if Byrd does a strategy of not signing the tag until the last moment, and then taking nearly the entire year off from playing due to a bogus injury. Just play enough at the end of the year to show that he is not hurt, wink wink. The Bills would have lost ~$9M for a few token games at the end of the year, a roster spot, and any ability to plan the players on the team. Byrd/Parker basically stole some assets that belonged to the Bills and put it in their pockets. Let me explain. In a trade for Byrd, there should be two major costs to the receiving team. One is the salary/cap space that that team needs to spend and the second is the draft pick/exchanged player/cash that they give to the player's former team. This second part was a Bill's asset that they invested in drafting Byrd, coaching him, paying him while he gained experience, as well as all the investment in other players who never made it big time or the roster. Byrd/Parker was insisting on unethically working the system so his new team would get this second part for free- and could then put part of that cost into contract dollars for Byrd. The means for doing this was his refusal to play for his pay last year and the unwritten but obvious intension to do the same or worst this coming year. It's that simple. There are a lot of Byrd lovers who can't see anything wrong with their golden boy, and I suggest they start rooting for the Saints. There are also some Bills "fans", who view the entire sports world though a lens of "the Bills are stupid" and find their happiness that way. I look at Byrd as a sleezy guy who was a good safety, but who also has a lot of shortcomings. Remember all the long passes completed against the Bills, with CB's on an island without safety help. Remember how any decent tight end ate our lunch, when Byrd was playing safety. Remember that Byrd never put the fear of God to wide receivers by popping them and giving them short arms. Remember that Byrd's interceptions were mostly bunched up in games where the opponent's QB was severely battered or shellshocked. I rather spend the money on extensions of good young players or bringing in solid veterans for some of our weak spots.

He was greedy for more money.

Stop making sense. You will be unsettling to the zoo inmates. Did Byrd stop the long passing game used against us? Did Byrd smother the opponents tight ends from running wild on us? Did Byrd snonk teams that tried to run against us?

We should try to get the best right offensive tackle in FA that we can. That frees up a 1st or 2nd round pick and we can use a 3rd round pick for a development player. Ditto for a LOG. Then our draft can do best available player at WR or TE (if a top 2 guy is there after a modest trade down), defensive back and linebacker. Time to rock and roll!!

My hope is that in FA, we get a proven, road-grading veteran right offensive tackle and avoid having to use a high draft pick for that position. Second and third are a left guard and a two-down, run stuffing MLB. If we get these then we can trade down a little in the draft and use the first two rounds for tight end, and defensive backs, and for the 3rd (2 picks?) and 4th go after fast linebacker and offensive linemen. Not sexy, but the team immediately gets upgraded at 5 positions.

Is this an injury settlement type affair?