BillsVet

No, interior DL is not an area of need after being the 32nd ranked team in the NFL against the run at more than 10 yards worse than Denver at 31. Perhaps Buddy missed some games last year or just plain forgot how bad that defense was. After all, the season ended more than 2 months ago.

The Bills seem more about the entertainment factor than most of their competitors. Winning and profitability are essential in any sports team, but some favor the latter in favor of the former. Buffalo is a stark example of that, both now and since Day 1. The results are what they are: a team with 41 NFL seasons, 13 playoff appearances, and one man there since the beginning. He pushes away or actually fires his best leaders, interferes in personnel, and makes knee-jerk decisions that ultimately hurt the team.

This. Buffalo Rumblings Nix v. Wilson Re: QB Drafting a QB, specifically Newton, would cast doubt on whether Nix is really the man in football operations. Of course, RW overruled coaches and GM's before, so I guess it doesn't matter anymore.

Bus Cook is the agent for Newton. That's just awesome, maybe Nix can ask about Favre's availability next season.

The old cap (and probably future one) forces RW to pay players. There's never been a requirement to pay for the highest caliber coaches and best front office talent evaluators. John Butler, while not perfect, left because of money. The owner fired and then subsequently sued Wade Phillips, which has to be in the back of the mind of anyone interviewing for a HC job in Buffalo. And just last year, 4 possible HC candidates declined interviews with another, Leslie Frazier, pulling his name from consideration. RW won't just pay people, now his reputation has made it so the organization as a whole can't even attract top guys if they were willing to pay. RW may pay some players, many of whom we wonder why, but when it comes to investing in the manager to pick and coach those players, he's notoriously frugal. And that's how you go 11 years without a playoff appearance.

You and I don't agree on much, but I'm willing to trust Belichick more than anyone at OBD for obvious reasons. We don't know the details of Stroud's contract, but it's for 2 years. A team doesn't give 2 years to a soon to be 33 year old unless A) they see something the player can do B) the deal is reasonable or C) It's Buddy Nix looking for an OT from the Raiders The point to all of this remains that Buffalo doesn't have a good track record in anything while NE does in almost everything. Until the Bills prove themselves capable of winning in the regular season by making smart moves, they're going to be questioned. It didn't help that Nix got off to a rousing start signing players like mid-season cut Cornell Green and then drafts a RB 9th overall who gains 440 yards from scrimmage.

It's hard to be positive when you've got 1 winning season in 11, the GM hypes a 1st round RB who gains 440 yards from the LOS his rookie season, they don't know which defense they're running, and they've won 31 games in 5 years. A fan can be and should be critical, unless they're casual fans or started watching within the past few years. NE can and does play a 4-3 at times. Marginalize them all you want, but they are improving with Mayo, McCourty, Warren, Meriweather and of course Wilfork along with having Belichick. Then again, you've never been wrong on this board, so I'll just bow to your omniscience.

Because even Buddy isn't dumb enough to sign a guy who told the HC to go to another place in front of the team.

Since when has Buffalo signed quality free agents since RW installed his friends and employees at the GM position? The Bills aren't pursuing name guys in the prime of their careers because they just don't believe in it.

Nix and crew hosted Bob Sanders and saw him go to SD. They made it known they were interested in Atogwe, and he went to Washington. Last year they hosted a few lower cost players and couldn't sign them, eventually getting two lost cost options at the end of their careers in Davis and Green to go along with a guy with injury concerns who played OK in Dwan Edwards. Building through the draft does not mean building exclusively through the draft. When the CBA gets hammered out, you'd think Buffalo would be able to fill some holes with quality free agents. If not, I question their commitment to building a winner. Buffalo hasn't made a slam-dunk move in Pro Personnel in forever.

Good thing Peterson is 220# to take on those TE's and guards in run support. Bills were 3rd in pass defense because no one runs against them and some think a CB is going to help the team as a whole. This whole speed thing is overrated. Spiller was one of, if not the fastest out there last year and he did nothing. These skill players need the support to be of great value, and yet we're talking about taking a CB higher than one's ever been taken. Buffalo doesn't have the luxury of taking BPA this year because they've built nothing on either side of the ball. At least there's no top safety to consider like Marv and Dick did 5 years ago.

I presume, based on the quoted post below, that your point is that RB is more important than every position on the field but QB, DE, and LT, correct? How is a RB's rushing production directly related to the QB, other than taking a hand-off? Huh? Teams can draft BPA all they want, but it's a luxury afforded to only the best clubs. Buffalo isn't one of those franchises. We can debate draft strategy all we want, but unless Spiller can block for himself and make people miss 3 yards deep in the backfield, I don't see the point of picking a RB without a solid OL. The Bills have done this now with 3 RBs in 8 drafts and it still hasn't worked out. Spiller was set up to fail, and he did just that in his rookie season. Theoretically, what you're saying is you take BPA no matter what. So AJ Green ought to be the pick at 3 because the experts have him as the most can't miss prospect? It makes no sense given Buffalo's better than average WR corps. Sure, every position can be drafted in later rounds. But what's the chance that player goes on to be Pro Bowl caliber? At RB, I'll venture to say it's a lot higher than say, DT/NT, CB, or LB. And let's not marginalize my argument by saying that chances are better of finding top players in early rounds. If a team has limited picks (unless you're NE), I'm using the high picks on harder to find positions. Replacement value being what it is, I'll take less production from a RB if I can use my top picks on a DE, OT, or perhaps a DT. A team as thin as Buffalo needs to begin rebuilding with the proper pieces. As it stands, they have no more than 1 starting caliber NFL OT, no legit OLB to rush the passer, a transition QB, no all around TE, and may be hurting at CB. It wasn't much different than last year, and they picked a RB. Buffalo's been sticking to their philosophy of picking WR's, DB's, and RB's for years now and clearly it doesn't work without the horses up front. This isn't a Spiller argument. It's a team building concept which has been re-hashed time and time again. If RB's were so valuable, teams would be taking them high every year and yet 6 of the top 10 rushers in 2010 were not first rounders.

7 years ago Washington traded Champ Bailey for Clinton Portis. Who's gotten the better of that deal? Portis has been ineffective and was cut this week; Bailey was re-signed because he's still a very good CB. RB remains the easiest position to acclimate to in the NFL (unless you're the 9th overall pick) and found in abundance. Only the Bills spend multiple first round picks on them. A freaking men. This franchise has no vision, on or off the field, for where it wants to be in 3-5 years. Seems every year is the next one year plan.

I used Tyson Jackson to illustrate a larger point: that top 5 picks should be spent on the marquee positions of QB, LT, and 43DE. Typically, a team is drafting this high because they're bad at all or 2 of these positions. This year, it's a deep draft for defensive lineman, but in a 34 scheme, the DE's are found more easily than a RDE in a 43. What's the difference taking the top 34DE over the 3rd best in a draft this deep at the position? Probably not much and so I'd prefer to use that 3rd on a harder to find position consistent with my team needs. My argument relates to getting the most impact out of the position. Teams don't draft LB's 3rd overall, because the likelihood of finding one later is higher whereas finding a franchise QB, top LT, or great RDE is generally in high demand and taken higher. Unfortunately, there aren't any top shelf LT's or Matt Ryan's to take at 3 this year. They're in no-man's land, which is why I can see them taking Gabbert considering how much the 3rd pick will get paid.

The problem a 3-4 team faces taking a DE this high is return on the investment. KC took Tyson Jackson 3rd a few years ago, and while's he's OK, what kind of impact does a really good 3-4 DE make? Considering the salary, it's not worth it unless you're getting a Bruce Smith. Third is too high for a rush LB, and there aren't any top OT's going third either (not that Nix likes taking OT's). Nix/Gailey/Wannstedt know they don't have the horses to be a 34, nor can they rush the passer with their existing 43 DE's. And as much as Nix says they're drafting for a 34, they used 2 top 75 picks last year on players to fit that scheme. Taking a DE this high is using premium resources on a position they've theoretically already drafted for. This is not an anti-Cam Jordan thing as much as it is a staffing issue. It'd be nice if the Bills were a 4-3 defense and/or there was a QB worthy of the third pick. They might be the former, but there isn't any QB to fit the latter.

I don't think Nix values the OT position like most NFL teams do, but even if he does, it seems like every year Buffalo has more important needs somewhere else on the field. And let's be honest the reason for this is moving from a 4-3 to a 3-4 last off-season. When you look at a guy like Mike Tomlin, he was a 4-3 guy who went to Pittsburgh and kept the 3-4, which is what the Steelers were built for. The Bills created additional needs by deciding they absolutely need a new defensive scheme, which precludes them from improving the 2 most important OL positions: LT and RT. It's one thing to have a huge rebuild ahead of you as an incoming GM and HC. It's another to add to the task, which is my major criticism of the new regime because rebuilding doesn't have to take 3 off-seasons.

Most teams use higher picks on OT's and find their interior OL via the later rounds or even UDFA's. Buffalo's done just the opposite and finds itself with only late round picks, UDFA's, and street free agents for OT's. Erik Pears, Colin Brown, Cordaro Howard, Ed Wang, Jason Watkins and Demetrius Bell all arrived via these routes. They really don't have a starting caliber OT on the roster right now, and that includes Bell. The Bills wanted to be a running team last year and could not do so, in large part due to very little talent at OT. If it weren't for (once again) having so many other positional needs, this team should go OT within the first two rounds. As much as I'd like to see them pick up Tyson Clabo, I agree that Nix isn't high on spending a lot of resources on OT's, draft or free agency.

Not watching the combine?

The point is not Rogers' ability to play as a 3-4 NT, it's Buffalo and what they're doing on the DL. In the span of 1 off-season, they signed or drafted 3 defensive lineman for their new defense with only Dwan Edwards getting regular minutes until hurt in 2010. If they were so high on Carrington and Troup based on their draft position, I'd expect those two to be starting at LDE and NT respectively in 2011. If not, and they've used more high picks or free agent dollars, then those players aren't developing as quickly as they should. It's not "trot out the same DL and hope for a better result."

Why would Williams be a "beast" in the 3-4? As a full time member of the DL, Buffalo yielded 170 yards rushing per game with him playing the nose or almost a 3 tech. He lacks the arm length to handle taller OT's who he'd line up as a 5 tech against. Shaun Rogers, OTOH, while unmotivated at times, is a true 3-4 NT who has played the position 3 seasons and went to a Pro Bowl in 2008 with Cleveland. Not saying Buffalo needs to sign him, but that's the type of player they need. I would guess they're hoping Troup can be the NT, which displaces their best defender in Williams. Either way, the defensive line is a mess of players who are 3-4 or 4-3 types. Buffalo invested some serious resources into their DL last year by signing Dwan Edwards to a 4 yr 18M contract, and then using a 2nd and 3rd on Troup and Carrington respectively. To go back there and use more free agent dollars and/or a high pick is neglecting other areas (OT, LB, TE).

Lonnie Harvey was 342 and he didn't even last through training camp. There's more to playing NT than being the biggest guy on the DL.

Didn't the government finish the census? There's no consensus right now about much of anything. Teams still have a long way to go in determining their draft board, especially with free agency probably not starting as normal this season.

If Bell struggles to run block at LT facing RDE's, how we he fare against stouter LDE's as a RT? Bell is not a powerful blocker in the mold of a Jon Runyan type RT who moves people. He's more of a finesse blocker, and even at that not strong at the point of attack.

San Diego's draft history includs all of 1 pick (Marcus McNeill) used on an OT within the top 3 rounds from 01-07 while Buddy was there. It makes no sense to draft a RB 9th overall and then put former practice squad types, UDFA's, and late round picks at OT blocking for him. A lot of people here said Jackson and Spiller had to fight for their yards, as evidenced by their paltry YPC average. Well, if they're serious about improving the run game, they'd better find a way to upgrade the OT situation. But this is a common theme in Buffalo: add a player at a skill position and then not support them with the linemen to help them. It's happened on both sides of the ball for better than a decade. There may not be a top flight LT available, but this year's crop seems deep from the mid to late first into the second. It's a good time to find a RT and then they can replace Bell next season.

Well, we read a lot on TBD about Nix being a top 5 talent evaluator, which isn't something I've read from NFL folks . Clabo was cut by a few teams, but I'm making the point that the GM isn't as flawless in talent evaluation as many would like him to be. Attributing all the personnel success in SD must include the poor moves, such as signing David Boston and missing on guys they signed off the street, like Clabo.