BillsVet

I like going back and doing a mini-retrospective every now and then. As much as most of us like Posluszny, Patrick Willis is amazing. Unfortunately, he's been buried on a bad to mediocre team, although I think the 49ers are going to break out in 2010. I'm not a fan of taking skill players when the team can't win at the POA. In this draft there wasn't much at 9 other than some skill guys. As I recall, some were thinking Poz at 12, but he fell to 34 and Marv traded up.

Ah, Uncle Sam's Misguided Children. It was nice saving their butts in Najaf and Fallujah back in 2004. They have the best PR in the entire US Military.

Amazing how many boom or bust picks there were in this draft: 1. OAK JaMarcus Russell, QB. May go down as the biggest bust of all time, given his status as a #1 pick. All sorts of issues, overweight/bad work ethic, needed babysitting, and of course, his addiction to lethargy. 2. DET Calvin Johnson, WR. Perhaps the most physically impressive WR in the NFL. Slid back a step last year, although he was working with a rookie QB and a new coaching staff. One of the most talented WR's in the league and a tough matchup for any DB. 3. CLE Joe Thomas, OT. Has played at a high level since entering the league. Fell off a little last year, but Browns were terrible through most of the season, winning a few games late. A top notch NFL LOT and does not yield many sacks. 3 time Pro Bowler and 1 first team All-Pro. 4. TB Gaines Adams, DE. Passed away in January from heart ailment after having been dealt to the Bears for a 2nd round pick. Really never could get it going in TB, but CHI thought they could get something from him now that Rod Marinelli is the Bears DL coach. 5. AZ Levi Brown, OT. A classic reach pick by the Cardinals to protect Matt Leinart's blindside. Hasn't lived up to expectations and it's unclear if he ever will. 6. WAS Laron Landry, S. Physically touted as another superbly gifted safety but is a liability in coverage. More of an in the box SS than a FS. 7. MIN Adrian Peterson, RB. One of the most physically dominant RB's in recent memory but has become somewhat fumble prone. This became evident last season, most notably in the NFC Championship game. A gamebreaker when he holds onto the ball. Three time Pro Bowler and 2 time first team All Pro. 8. ATL Jammal Anderson, DE. Not much of a pass rush threat: 2.5 sacks in 44 games started. 9. MIA Ted Ginn, WR. Widely panned pick was recently traded to 49ers for late pick. Good in the return game, but is not a receiving threat considering his draft status and will shun contact. 10. HOU Amobi Okoye, DT. One of the youngest picks ever, surprised in his first season with 5.5 sacks on a DL with plenty of first rounders. Has somewhat underachieved since then. 11. SF Patrick Willis, LB. One of the fastest and most productive LB's in the NFL. Is a 3 time Pro Bowler and 2 time 1st team All-Pro. 12. BUF Marshawn Lynch, RB. Buffalo fans already know. 13. STL Adam Carriker, DT. Traded to Washington for a late pick last month. Missed much of 2008 and the entire 2009 season. 14. NYJ Darrelle Revis, CB. One of the top cover men in the game, is a two time Pro Bowler and was 1st team All Pro in 2009. 15. PIT Lawrence Timmons, LB. Became a starter at ILB in 2009 and played well. Probably overshadowed by 2nd round pick LaMarr Woodley. 16. GB Justin Harrell, DT. Not one of Ted Thompson's better picks. Had back problems going into the draft and has not overcome them. Only played in 13 games through 2009. Other busts: DEN DE Jarvis Moss, JAC S Reggie Nelson, SD WR Craig Davis, CLE QB Brady Quinn Solid picks: SF OT Joe Staley, CIN CB Leon Hall, KC WR Dwayne Bowe, BAL G Ben Grubbs, CAR LB Jon Beason, NE S Brandon Meriweather, TEN S Michael Griffin, NYG CB Aaron Ross

The Manchurian President himself. Who's running that tele-prompter anyway? Buddy Nix? J/K.

Hey, the President referred to a Navy corpsman as, well, a corpse-man. So there is a precedent.

The more question marks a team has after FA and the draft, the lower a team will be thought of. Several fans questioned the OL last year with the upheaval and lo and behold it didn't function well. This year those OL questions remain along with the conversion to a 34, and of course the QB. It also doesn't help that the AFCE will be extremely competitive in 2010.

Very true fearless leader. I take that into account when stating where I think the line falls and it would be hard to get worse than last year. 46 sacks allowed (a subjective stat occasionally) and an inability to convert in short yardage were the factors in my mind. Someone wrote this as well, but I see the LOT spot being manned by someone who's not played the position or Bell who's returning from a semi-serious injury. The position requires great agility, and it's no guarantee he'll handle it. Levitre acquitted himself well considering he was a rookie, but the kid was a 2nd round pick as well. Hangartner is mediocre, nothing more and nothing less. Wood's injury was serious and 310 pound men don't recover quickly from that sort of break. Cornell Green will be 34 on gameday, which is about 7 years older than Butler would be. No one could anticipate Butler retiring, thereby opening another hole, but Green isn't even a stopgap in my mind. The offense is a mess, and they chose to draft another skill player. It doesn't get better until they upgrade the OL, specifically at both tackle spots and project players don't count.

Easy to say when a 255# OLB or 280# DE aren't running full bore at you. Also helps if the WR are allowed to release off the LOS without a CB pressing them. None of BUF's receivers are outstanding at beating that sort of coverage. That said, Edwards was clearly lost last season. The OL is as bad this year as it was last season.

Brohm was placed on the PS his 2nd season, thereby exposing him to any team that wanted to add him to the active roster. If GB did this, it's safe to say he didn't make much progress from 2008 to 2009. Basically, a well-respected team led by a decent HC in McCarthy and good GM in Ted Thompson said he's not good enough. I'd take their word over anyone.

Guy by the name of Tim Ruskell is out of a job as GM of Seattle because he re-signed Shaun Alexander to a long term contract after he ran for 1880 yards at age 28. Johnson is younger, but it's extremely risky to re-sign a RB to a huge contract no matter the age. The propensity for injury is huge.

Have the Titans paid their fullback a 7 year 49m contract? As great as Johnson is, replacing RB production is not comparable to finding a new quality LOT. CJ's a special player, but he's not as valuable without Michael Roos, Eugene Amano, and David Stewart leading the way for him.

Gailey has more experience, and I'd assume he's better than Schonert and Van Pelt. I'd even go so far as to say he's not going to hamstring the offense with unimaginative play-calling like Jauron demanded of Fairchild, Schonert, and Van Pelt. That said, he has one proven WR, a crowded backfield, a QB who couldn't keep the job in 2009, and finally, a very bad OL that is particularly weak at OT. I would expect to see a lot of three step drops, a heavy dose of running behind the interior OL, and a fair amount of Spiller.

Bill Parcells. Guy had a huge hand in rebuilding the Giants, Patriots, Jets, Cowboys, and Dolphins. Builds up the OL and DL with big strong guys first, then finds skill players.

I don't think there's anyone who doesn't like Spiller the football player, media or on this board. It's simply that the team is building a running offense without the OL and has used 2 out of their last 5 1st rounders on RB's. To make matters worse, the pass blocking was sub-par in 09 (46 sacks allowed), which means no matter who's running the ball, the passing game won't keep defenses honest. I think Gaither is a ruse, and many have pointed out that this was probably a ploy by Ozzie Newsome to "motivate" his player. No team deals a top notch LOT, right?

This is the best line in their assessment. Those two are the most penalized OT's in the NFL last season, one of whom is coming off an ACL tear while the other was not re-signed by the bottom dwelling Oakland Raiders.

Polian also found his starting RT in the 4th round of 2001 in Ryan Diem. While Tony Ugoh (2nd/07) and Charlie Johnson (6th/06) may not be long term starters, it's clear that it's not how many picks are devoted to a position, but in which rounds and whether or not those guys are starting level. Most starting NFL tackles are 1st or 2nd rounders. My research indicated that only 4 teams since 2006 have failed to use a 1st or 2nd on an OT. They are PIT, DAL, OAK, and BUF. PIT and DAL both have quality QB's who make plays outside the pocket. Both also had decent OT's on the roster during that frame, though Flozell Adams regressed mightily. OTOH, BUF and OAK can probably be grouped together given their lack of success. Peters is the only decent OT either team had in that stretch, and we know how that worked out. At least Oakland least took Jared Veldheer in the 3rd this year. Buffalo believes low cost UFA's and late round draft picks will suffice.

It helps when your DC is Mike Nolan, who may not be a great HC, but can coach and scheme the 3-4 quite effectively. Buffalo has a first time DC who's never been more than a position coach in the NFL. The entire coaching staff, save DeHaven, Sanders, and Catavolos, is quite inexperienced in their current positions. That includes the HC.

Either Jim Overdorf (who still hasn't been fired) couldn't negotiate two contracts at once or Ralph/Littman wouldn't pay both Peters and Evans. I'd say the latter, and then ask when was the last time this team handed out a large contract besides Evans in 2008? It was Schobel during Marv's failed tenure. Besides, OT's are overrated anyway. We can find those guys in the 5th round and take more RB's, WR's, CB's, and S's in the top rounds. That's worked well this decade, and we'll keep trying.

Peterson runs a 4.4 at 220 pounds. Spiller is a tick faster but weighs 195. Minnesota did nothing with Peterson in the playoffs until Favre came along. Buffalo's QB situation is unsettled going into camp. Minnesota has invested a lot of resources into their OT's (McKinnie and Loadholt) while signing G Steve Hutchinson. BUF has Cornell Green and Demetrius Bell as probable starters at OT and hopes Eric Wood returns to pair with Levitre. Minnesota has good receiving threats to keep opposing defenses honest like Sidney Rice and Bernard Berrian. BUF has Lee Evans and little else. Spiller has yet to play a down, but he's not going to get 20 touches a game. Chances are, he'll play a role more like Percy Harvin in Buffalo's offense.

Excellent post. At the heart of everything is the mercurial owner, who insists on playing a large role in football decisions, rarely hires quality football minds for GM and HC, and still cannot assure fans where this team goes after his passing. This off-season, three well-known (despite what people feel about them) football personalities declined Buffalo's offers to be here. Shanahan, Cowher, and weeks ago Donovan McNabb said thanks but no-thanks in the span of about four months. Catching lightning in a bottle is not a strategy for rebuilding, and each franchise that's rebuilt in the past few years followed a method that Buffalo goes directly against. If there's one constant this decade, it's their missing on top OL/DL while drafting a surplus of skill players who as a result cannot succeed with little to no support. That has not changed for 2010, and assuming that project players and bad UFA's will fit the void on the OL is foolish.

There are two differences 25 years later: 1. The owner isn't in his mid-60s, but a nonagenarian 91. 2. Contrary to some homer fans, the Bills have not hired arguably the best personnel man in the past 25 years as their GM. This is a 2-3 year rebuild and there's no guarantee they'll have that time, particularly with a strike looming after the 2010 NFL season.

Good thing Denver drafted all those RB's in the first round. And it helps to have Alex Gibbs as your OL coach. Buffalo has another guy who's never been anything but an assistant OL.

No? If it's not fair to say Buffalo will bottom out in 2010, you can't realistically say MIA won't compete in the AFCE. They've added two established stars in Dansby and Brandon Marshall, already have a strong OL, and get excellent coaching from Sparano. I wouldn't count them out. Do you think Ralph Wilson shares this perspective? If you're not trying to win soon, you're not trying especially with this franchise. How long should fans plan on waiting? No one's demanding this team with the SB in 2010 or 2011 (provided they have one). Problem is, 30 other NFL teams have demonstrated some degree of success since Buffalo last was in the playoffs. And BTW, the stadium lease ends after the 2012 season, the owner is 91, and no one will talk about a succession plan. How exciting is reality?

Reading through this thread, it's a study in analyzing everything in absolutes. As in, either one says you take an OT (given the need) or you're wrong. It's not that simple, and there's so much more to it. Each team has varying needs, strengths, and is developing or continuing their team's plan. The Bills just so happen to be rebuilding again, and had few building blocks on either side of the ball, outside of their secondary, an ILB, a WR, and their running backs. Looking at teams that rebuild, OT's are taken frequently in the early stages of the team reshaping. BAL, ATL, MIA, and TEN chose to acquire their OL first, then focus on skill players. I'd say it's worked well for all of them. Meanwhile, BUF insists on skill players and trusts their developmental OT's to allow them to continue taking skill players and 34 DL. It used to be RB's were the marquee picks, because they could run by everyone. Now, defenses are much faster, and I don't care how fast they run, without an OL even the RB with the best vision will be challenged.

The irony in this sentence is thicker than Buddy Nix' accent.