Rockinon

Or it just could be that the ILB coach was not communicating with the Defensive Coordinator or the Defensive Line Coach. With the team trying out different kinds of fronts last year, I can see how something like that could easily be a problem. I think Gailey still has faith in Edward's abilities but saw a problem with linebacker play, hence the Wannstedt signing. All indications so far appear that everyone is now on the same page as far as resolving to work together. In Wannstedt's latest interview, he seemed pretty sure that the run defense would be fixed. He's been around long enough to know, so I don't doubt that he understands the responsibility and accountability involved. His signing as Assistant Head Coach is relevant but so is his signing as ILBs Coach. But it is also nice to have Wannstedt as an added security blanket if things don't work out with Edwards. Maybe the signing of Wannstedt is also a message to Edwards that he is expendable. Who knows? I'm not sure I buy that scenario though. I honestly think that management is simply trying their best to get the most out of product on the field and is working toward a common goal.

If you are looking for a QB of the future, you better believe he can come right in and start. If you don't believe that, the risk is too high. Besides the defense is what needs the most help. At #3 no way. Round 2-4 maybe.

Can any of these guys come right in and perform better than Fitz? If you don't think any of them can what do you do?

Hplarrm: Nice, well thought out post. The problem with the Buffalo's defense has a lot to do with gap responsibility. Defensive linemen such as Kyle Williams and Marcus Stroud are both penetrating defensive tackles. That is simply what their strengths are. The defensive line tried a number of different fronts to correct their inability to stop the run. The problem is that while the scheme changes may have actually been correct, everyone has a gap responsibility and did not do what they were supposed to do. Take a look at recent comments by Paul P. Linebackers often were not covering the correct gap because our defensive linemen are very much nontraditional 3-4 defensive linemen. They were penetrating instead of creating an immovable wall leaving the linebackers to guess too late what their gap assignment should be. Bringing in Wannstedt to coach the inside linebackers should really help here. This team tried a lot of different things while trying to figure out where player strengths are. The result was a bleeding run defense. There was improvement in the second half of the season but our linebackers had a rough time. When you have Kyle lined up directly over center for instance and he could hit the left A gap or the right A gap, this leaves the linebacker in the compromising position of trying to figure out which gap he needs to fill. People keep saying that we are not big enough up front but that simply was not the case. Dwan Edwards at 290lbs, Marcus Stroud at 310lbs and Kyle Williams at 310 is pretty damned big. The problem is not size or talent. It's gap responsibility and coaching. This defense has talent but yes, could still use some key acquisitions. People think that adding a big DT or DE or LB is the key but I am going on record and saying that the coaching was inadequate more than anything last year. The overall defense will see a huge improvement with the addition of Wanny. Watch and see. As for the draft, I expect some picks that no ever saw coming once again. The coaching staff has now had a full year to evaluate players. Now we get to see what the next phase is. When Nix and Gailey talk, they do not at any time sound like they are going to hold 100% to any given scheme. They sound uncomfortable when asked directly what their base package is going to be. People have to understand that everything is not in black and white(3-4 or 4-3). The coaches have to utilize player strengths and figure out who has to play what gap. It's an interesting challenge and I don't think there is only one way to fix our problems defensively. Who knows how they are going to do it? Time will tell.

Stroud is also a 4-3 DT that lost weight and converted to a 3-4 DE for us last year. He got 3 sacks from that position too. This team is actually still closer to a 4-3 than a 3-4 depth wise even after one year of trying to switch. The 3 man front usually just creates a wall of big guys so the LBs can do the rest. With the 4 man front big guys play a gap and penetrate while the LBs play the gaps left over. The problem with the Bills last year is that the DL were penetrating instead of creating a wall leaving the linebackers to guess what gap they needed to play after the fact. This is big problem because great linebacker play requires them to know their assignment. Defensive linemen and LBs need to know what each other are doing. It's not just DL talking to other DL. Its DL talking to LBs and LBs talking to DL as well. Adding Wannstedt to coach these guys is exactly what this team needed. Hopefully he can figure out how to get these guys to play to their talents. And I am tired of people saying there is no talent. KW and Stroud have made the probowl. I think there are others that can get there too. This team needs to get an identity and stick with it. Whether its 3-4 or 4-3 doesn't really matter as long as everyone is on the same page. Our defenders last year had talent, but any idiot can see that they didn't know where they were suppose to be.

Not a bad idea. I don't really think QB is going to be a big priority given what we have to work with this year for any team in the top ten. Though someone may bite on Newton.

He was a special teams standout and he has played a backup role for Whitner. A message to Whitner?

Check the website's security settings. Message boards are notorious for attracting spammers. Often a bot is used to auto register. Usually this can be defeated by implementing a captcha(that little extra field used where you have to type in random numbers and/or letters). I can't remember if TSW has one. Anyway it might just be that now the Superbowl is over people are looking toward the draft now.

If you don't have confidence you don't belong in the NFL.

We need all LBs we can get inside and out. Kelsay and Maybin need thier walking papers handed to them.

we have 2 nose tackles now. one a probowler and the other drafted last year. not going to happen.

I like Miller but Quinn is not fat.

I have been very pro Von Miller because his performance alone speaks for itself. Many are very critical of his size and I can see the logic but when people say he cannot play the run, they are plain and simple wrong. Everyone is aware of his sack totals but does anyone realize that he also has 21 tackles for a loss as a junior? As a senior he had 17.5 tackles for a loss, in a 3-4 defense and he missed 4 games that year. That being said, I am also warming up to the idea of having a guy like Quinn. Yea, yea I know he missed his entire Senior season but damn his junior season was impressive. Does size matter? Of course it does, but people need to look a little deeper into that aspect. Take a look at our roster last year at the DE position. Dwan Edward listed at 6'3" 290lbs and Marcus Stroud listed at 6'6" 310lbs are huge DEs. I ask how is it possible that our run defense was so poor with all of that beef up front? These guys are big, strong and slow. Size can be a problem not just from a "too small" point of view but also from a "too big" point of view. These big guys must not only be able to play "north and south", they also need to be able to shift laterally to make a play and they were absolutely terrible last year at that. In those positions a combination of strength and speed are very important.

If he is there at #3 I'd be all over that pick.

Claussen fell because everyone new he was not a lock to begin with. Von Miller is a considered "the" best 3-4 OLB in this draft something that is very hard to find. He had 21 tackles for a loss in his junior season and 17.5 in his Senior season so don't go pontificating about how he can't play the run. I'm not even going to talk about how many sacks he has rung up. Point is, he will go very early. No one in this draft is going to rush to get a QB because there just isn't much talent there. There are some very good Defensive linemen but this is the deepest draft I have seen in a while. Some teams will go that route but Von Miller has proven many many times that he is a gifted athlete and will not be overlooked by any team. No later than 6th pick.......that's my story and I'm sticking with it. We can revisit this thread if you like.

Miller will be off the draft board before the 6th pick. Just who do you think we're going to trade back with?

I know! But can you blame us.

Yes but the $64,000,00 question is who is that guy? A lot of varying opinions and while I like Von Miller, I am also not 100% sold either. It is good to learn about other prospects and not get caught up in the hype surrounding a single individual. The 2 picks this high that scare me the most are CB and WR for some reason. Maybe I should be a bit more open minded in that regard. I would really like to see a good 3-4 DE at #3 but so far I just don't see any that have a higher ceiling than Miller at this point. A lot of it has to do with the difficulty of grading a 3-4 DE. Statistics can be deceiving and tape is not easy to find.

I'm glad you can see that there are varying opinions but you are right. You can beat a subject to death. I thought the OP had a reasonable question though when asking about 3-4 and 4-3 alignments.

He's a linebacker not a CB. He isn't going to be asked to cover WRs often but he will be responsible for cover TEs and RBs. That's what CBs are for.

Confucius?

I would be very happy with Von Miller at #3 because he has such a tremendous track record. And he has looked very good against very big left tackles. He covers well, has the ability to close fast on QBs and RBs and he is very difficult to block. Unlike Maybin, he has multiple pass rush moves and can even drop into coverage, duties that are very important for an OLB. However, on this team as it currently stands, he is likely going to struggle. We have some very good talent at the Nose Tackle position but we have some mediocre talent at DE. Without a premium product at that position, Von Miller will be a wasted pick. The Bills need to stock up on all LB positions to run a 3-4 effectively. That's why I'd like to see Miller at the #3, a Top 5 3-4 DE in round 2 and another LB in the latter rounds probably ILB. As far as all of this talk about 4-3 and hybrid, I seriously think that the people managing this team are trying to get away from that. They want a 3-4 defense and are going to draft for that.

Easy there. There was no disrespect intended. Can't a guy have a little fun with a post? What your supposed to do is come back with something better and more clever to make it a challenge. Again, don't get your panties in a bunch over it.

They just don't know how to judge talent. You shouldn't get your panties in a bunch over it.

That sounds an awful lot like we are going to go DE first to me.