CosmicBills

So we can take more running backs!

The truth is that RBs are overvalued. And when you have two 1,000 yard rushers on your roster already and a ton of holes all over the roster, you don't waste a 9th round pick on a player who isn't an every down back. It's a stupid move regardless of how talented the RB picked is because you don't need super star RB to win games in the modern NFL. You can get as much, if not more, production from cheaper, less costly RBs. Spiller didn't improve the team -- he's a splashy pick. Just like Willis was. Like Henry was. Like Lynch was ... see a trend? It doesn't matter how good he is. And that's the point. He could be the second coming of Walter Payton, but I'd argue that you get more from having two cheaper backs on your roster and a better passing game in today's game than you would if you had Sweetness and scrubs surrounding him. Back in the 70s, 80s (and maybe) 90s, Sweetness with a bunch of scrubs could still win a handful of games and make your team a playoff contender. Not so much anymore. Put it another way, who are the top 3 RBs in the league based on pure talent? Johnson, Peterson and Gore, right? All three are highly productive, they put up huge highlight videos, great yardage and are great RBs. Now, how many playoff games have they played? How many have they won? How many super bowls have they led their teams to? And, in all three cases, the Niners, Titians and Vikings have far better rosters than the Bills. Now, if the Bills had 3 holes to fill and they took Spiller. Okay. They could afford it. If they were one playmaker away, sure, then it's a great pick. But they're not even close to that. They have giant holes on their O-Line (now the worst in the league by far heading into pre-season), no QB on the roster who can win a super bowl, outside of Lee, no tested WRs, a terrible LB corps, and an unknown defensive front which will be largely manned by rookies in key spots or veterans playing in a brand new 3-4 scheme. Sorry, factoring all that into it, wasting a valuable 9th pick on a RB is beyond stupid. It's catostrophic. Even if he pans out like Johnson, Gore and Peterson, the Bills won't go to the playoffs, won't get out of the bottom of the AFC East. They may go from terrible to just bad, maybe okay. But that's about all a RB can do for a team in today's game. You don't need to be a draft guru to understand that. You just have to understand the modern game and its economics.

Shhh. Don't bring logic into this. The lemmings see a fancy new toy and think, "he's Chris Johnson! Yay!" I wonder what they thought when we spent 1st rounders on Antwain Smith. Then a high second rounder on Travis Henry. Another first on Willis and then, not more than 2 years ago, the number 11 pick on Lynch. How did all those first round RBs work out for us? ... Right. 0 playoff games in a decade. RBs are the most overrated players on the field in the modern NFL. You no longer need a superstar running back to win games. All you need are 2 serviceable backs. Like the two already on our roster (who are actually well above serviceable). And spending even MORE cap money on a first round RB, let alone wasting a high pick on one when there are multiple holes on the roster is just proof that this front office is the same as the last two regimes. But Spiller is "fast". And a "home run threat". Awesome.

Try reading my post, I never once said this draft wasn't "splashy enough" for me. The Spiller pick was ALL splash. This front office once again went with flash over substance. Just like they did with Willis, just like they did with JP and Travis Henry before them. I'm sorry, but when your team is as bad as Buffalo is and you have so many holes to fill, you cannot waste a pick on the one position where you already have two 1000 yard rushers. Not one. Two. If Nix cared about building the team, he would have traded back, picked up more picks, addressed the OLine in the later stages of round 1, kept the rest of the draft the same (with 1 or 2 extra players from the trade back) and the team would be in far better shape. But instead, he went flashy, just like Donahoe did, just like Levy did. The Spiller pick was a bad pick no matter how "fast" he is.

And yet ... this is exactly what Nix and Gailey tried to do. They tried to trade for McNabb. The question is whether they know how to build a team. Based on the off season so far, the answer is cloudy at best, no at worst.

From Gailey's lips.

Obviously they need another RB.

I don't think any (rational) fan of the Bills ever thought this years team was going to be a playoff contender or even a .500 club. Fact is this team has a serious dearth in talent, a brand new offensive and defensive scheme\philosophy. It takes a good team a season, if not two to completely buy into a new scheme -- so expecting a very raw and untalented roster to do it in one off season is unrealistic and unfair. However, the question you should be asking is whether this rebuilding project has better architects than the past three or if its just more of the same. The Spiller pick to me is a huge red flag that this front office is just the same as before -- ie clueless about how to properly build a wining foundation. Taking a RB, no matter how good, at 9 is stupid. I'm sorry. Its even worse when that RB isn't going to be an every down player and will split carries with not one, but TWO other 1,000 yard rushers. The rest of the draft was muddled for me. It appears they focused on shoring up the defensive front 7 which was long over due. However, I don't claim to know enough about the players they picked to say that they upgraded with Kyle Williams type talent (yes, he had an awesome year last year) or if they got a bunch of Chris Ellises and John McCargos. If they hadn't blown the first pick so spectacularly I'd be willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. But now I'm a bit suspect albeit optimistic. Still, the utter failure to address the OLine (not impressed with Wang or the other G they got) is silly. Especially when they could have traded back from 9, picked up one of the better OTs (like the guy who went at the start of round 2 to the Rams) AND gotten another pick is just sheer stupidity to me. I'm fine with not taking a QB if they didn't feel that there was a legit franchise guy there. That's fine. But you can't convince me that Wang is going to be a day one starter which means our starting OLine is perhaps the worst in the NFL now. In fact it got worse over the off season w Butlers retirement. Bell, Levitre, Wood, Handgarter, and Green? Awesome. So now, best case scenario the Front Office has fixed the defensive line this off season. That's all. That still leaves huge holes on the OL, WR corps, LB corps and a franchise QB. I know its impossible to fix everything in one off season but I don't think its unfair to expect the front office to try to fix TWO or THREE of the issues. The only way we are going to find a Franchise QB is to have a top 3 pick in the draft. I doubt that will happen. But even if it did, they'd still need serious help at OT, LB and WR meaning they'd have just as many holes to fill NEXT year. I'm sorry that's not pessimism. That's the truth. So I can't blame people who are upset with this offseason. Not because they expected to win now but because they expected the front office to address more than just one of the dozens of holes on this team. They simply can't go one hole at a timr.

The best thing that Russell can do is to shake Pavarti's hand and admit that her move was friggin' genius. His ego is going to get the best of him and Sandra is going to exploit that to get him out. He's the next out. And it will break my heart. If he could check his ego, he Pavarti and Danielle could make it to the final 3.

1000% true. But since McCoy and Tebow are going to be scrubs, that's not saying much.

That could very well be true. I wouldn't doubt it. And yes, that is the most important thing. I just think people are way too harsh on Marshawn. He's a kid. He's had mistakes and paid for them. But the dude flat out plays hard every snap. That's all you can ask from a player.

Sure they do. But you're assumming he's going to get suspended based on the fact he was suspended once before. He's a kid. A good kid by all reports from those who know him. And his teammates like and respect him. I've never heard one person in the locker room bash the guy. And the people I know that are in that locker room every day during the season say the same thing. The most important thing is what they do on the field. The only exception I make is for the Leonard Little's of the league. And yet -- he is probably a hall of famer when all is said and done.

False.

Who cares. It's all about the player on the field. Not off. I'm sorry. Character is the most overrated thing in football. As long as they play hard on the field, who cares who's a better "person".

How many probowl RBs come from a 3 or 5 win team? None. That's not even factoring in the fact they have no passing game, no OL and no WRs to catch the ball. So teams will load up to stop Spiller. Plus, he'll be splitting carries with Lynch and Jackson. He's not going to be an every down player. But yes. He's fast.

You're dreaming.

Based on the first round it sure as hell seems like they're the same ...

Any of the OL, DL, LB, WRs still available. All of which are far bigger holes than RB. Think Dez Bryant couldn't be just as big of a playmaker? I am not claiming to be a draft guru.

I'm saying Spiller shouldn't have been on their board. Thus, trading back for more picks would have been far better than taking him because he was BPA.

I love the tebow fanatics failing to grasp reality.

But to me, that's when you trade back and get more picks because this draft is far deeper than next year's draft. I think, based on the speed of their pick, Spiller was their man from day one. Which is scary.

Well you say I'm a moron, so what do you care? And if you could read you'd see I've said who I would have taken several times already.

More proof that this new front office is a !@#$ing joke. If that's true of course.

This is why I'm so upset by this pick. I wanted to believe in the front office and was giving them the benefit of the doubt during this whole coaching search, free agency etc. But the fact that they picked Spiller TO ME shows that this will be the same as the old regimes. And that's what's so painful. Because if I'm right, we're locked into 3 more years of blundering on the sidelines and in the front office .... then they'll have to clean house and rebuild AGAIN. That's what is at the root of all of this.

My mistake, I DID say I like Williams yesterday (and earlier today) but I also said that I don't really care (and don't) who they picked. I'm sure I'll love Spiller. My passion here has nothing to do with his skill or him. It's just about how to properly build a super bowl winning franchise. And, in my opinion, this pick is indicative of a franchise that has sunk to Oakland's level of ineptitude.