Bob in STL

All of those teams had guys who could block and tackle. We still do not have enough good players in the trenches. If we do they have not emerged yet.

The old staff did not demand excellence. "It is hard to win in the NFL" said Coach Jauron The players did not push themselves because expectations were low, losing was ok. Lots of close games were losing efforts. The players and the coaching staff were used to losing and seemed ok with it. Many games where lost by inaction or the wrong action at halftime. The players loved Jauron because he is loyal and fair. He was missing the key intangible ingredient that demands the most from every player and then gets it. On the flipside many New England players dislike Bellichek, but yet the play for him .

Agree. The pendulum was swung back to olympic style lifts. Technique is important. Sounds like the coaches are watching the players for a reason. We have two strength coaches, each has a different specialty. Thank you Chan for getting us out of the dark ages. Chan also took the TVs down in the training rooms. Club Dick is over.

I was in complete amazement when I read that. The squat and other olympic strength training is essential to core strength. This is fundamental. They did this stuff, at some basic levels, as far back as the 50's. Gailey and his people are going to turn this thing around.

I doubt it on Evans. What have we seen to say he is even average at route runing? Most of his plays come from straight out fly patterns. He can run past a CB but other than that he is not open very much.

From what I can tell from comments on this board --- Johnson smiles a lot and had cool dreds. Otherwise there is nothing that has happened on the football field to justify it.

Very true. Trent called his statement naive, that does mean he meant is is always naive on all subjects. Jimbo may have been a great QB but his statement about California QBs was wrong. Naive is a nice way of putting it. Stereotyping a QB by the state he played in makes little sense.

Stop making sense. Gaither for a 2nd rounder is just too high a price. He can be an excellent player but history says "handle with care". There are reason why Baltimore drafted Oher and why Oher is moving to LT. Gaither would be a great pickup for the right price and he may turn things around in Buffalo. I would love to get Gaither but only at the right price.

I am not a fan of going into the season with Bell as our #1 LT but to say he is small and weak and prone to penalties? Let's be fair. He has ideal size for a LT and he can train to build up his strength. He has agility, good feet, long arms and other such intangibles, he can easily get stronger. Prone to penalties -- Let us consider the situation. He was thrown in as a starting LT just weeks before the start of the season when the Bills inexplicably cut Walker and fired their OC. He had no experience as a starter in the NFL. He was a seventh round project that played very little football prior to college. He was playing next to a rookie guard. He had very little blocking help from the TE. He was expected to start in a "no huddle" offense where experience, conditioning, and most importantly the ability to read defenses is key. On top of that he was starting his first NFL game on Monday Night Football, on the road, against New England. I think in the right situation, with the right coaching he will settle down on the penalties. I cannot tell you with any certainty if he will be a good LT. Nix and Gailey need to handle that one.

He went to the Rams and played very well until injuries got him and finished his career too early. They liked his toughness and leadership.

Do you know every guy we "should have drafted" from every round of every year? Conlan had an excellent career.

I just want you to know that your comment is childish and shameful.

Yes but they must be good because I heard of all of those guys.

Rotating offensive lineman is not a good practice. Keep one cohesive unit in there as long as possible. Playing together, timing, and knowing what the guy next to you will do is extremely important on the OL.

If we are offering a second and a player we are offering too much in my opinion. If I am Buddy Nix a second straight up is plenty, and maybe too much, but I would do it. A 3rd and a player such as Youboty, who fills a big need for them, is a good trade. If the Ravens don't bite you move on. I think he moved on.

Disagree. Larry called it as he saw it. Sometimes negative and critical to be sure but not all the time. Whe Larry was negative and critical it made an impact. I think Sully goes out of his way to be negative and confrontational.; sarcasm is his norm. Today the media ia much different so its hard to compare. The one thing I do know is that Larry was, and still is, well respected among his peers. Not sure the same can be said for Sully at this stage of his career.

I think Roscoe might make it because we lack experience at WR. Kelsay may not fit into the 3-4. If he gets cut he will be snapped up in a hurry. McCargo shows nothing and I don't see him playing the 3-4 at any position.

I still laugh at the idea of a no huddle last year. Jauron has to be the worst offensive mind ever to coach this team. That is really bad because that list includes John Rauch, Jim Ringo, Harvey Johnson, Kay Stephson and Hank Bollough.

True, and that was with 6 different OT's including the likes of backup Meredith (off of Green Bayts PS) , Jonathan Scott (cut by the Lions) and Curt Chambers (cut by the Bills) , and Andre Ramsey (Bills PS). The interior of this line is good and getting better. Levitre is very smart and solid and will be getting better. He has great upside. Hangartner was solid. He had a fine season playing inbetween two rookies. Every center in this league is going to have some bad plays playing in the AFC East against the NT's in our division. Every center will lose a battle or two in every game. I don't understand all this Hangartner was below average stuff. He did a good job, not a Pro Bowler by any means but solid. Wood was excellent and looked like a stud. He is recovering from the injury. Tackle is the problem. RT could be OK with either Green of Meredith. Green is a servicable vet. Bell is not my favorite choice at LT and I hope Nix can bring in Gaither or at least some other veteran. Wang and Calloway need to develop and should be backups. Summary - this line is one LT away from being very good. Depth is a concern but hey, we are rebuilding, like it or not.

Is this about the time when someone says "why do we need another thread on this topic?"

Relax, Ralph probabay does not even know who he is. Buddy Nix is the boss of football operations now.

I saw Maybin in the third video, working on shedding blocks. He is there. What do you expect to see in 3 minutes of non-contact drills?

You slimed me. (Remember Ghostbusters?) Donahoe got owned by Rosenhaus on the McGahee deal. I can't see Buddy playing that game. He will look elsewhere if Drew is unreasonable.

Grading the draft is stupid period, especially when none of the players have ever played a game in the NFL. I think the point he is making is that MAYBE Nix passes on an OT in the draft because he was working the Gaither trade and MAYBE that allowed him to focus on other areas of need. So, if we do pick up Gaither (or any other experienced LT) then that improves the overall body of work done in the off season and it adds more credibility to the draft and the postions they addressed in it.

OK I care. The coaches are sending him a message. He really needs to wake up. Once the pads are poppin' we will see. Until then they can line up Deacon Jones on the third team and it won't matter. Over and out.