The Senator Posted December 9, 2009 Posted December 9, 2009 I still have no clue why you brought up his size in comparison to Kelly's size. Because, believe or not, some posters have opined that Sam Bradford (6'4"/223) is too small.
Orton's Arm Posted December 9, 2009 Posted December 9, 2009 I see what you're saying. But, that's wy I'm not as sold on switching to a 3-4 defense. Do we really want to switch to a defense that needs 4 LBs when we barely have 2 good ones? Plus we need a new NT and RDE? Seems like we could see much better improvement just by tweeking the 4-3 we currently play for a year by dropping all this soft zone, everyone run away from the LOS defense. We need to ask ourselves two questions: 1) Who are the younger, good players who deserve to be included in our future front seven? and 2) Is there room for them in a 3-4? A 4-3? Most of the guys in our front seven are either on the wrong side of 30, mediocre, or both. A guy like Kyle Williams seems like a good fit in our current system, but I think he could either be a LDE or a backup NT in a 3-4. Poz would be a perfectly good ILB in a 3-4. Maybin doesn't necessarily have a role in our current defense, but could be a good OLB/pass rushing LB in a 3-4. I don't really see any young, good, front seven guys who'd get left out in the cold if we switched to a 3-4. Which means that this transition won't create any holes that wouldn't have existed anyway. Plus we'd have a better chance of getting use out of Maybin, which means one less hole. The thing I like about a 3-4 is that it gives you more chances to create unpredictability than a 4-3. With the 3-4, you know that the three down linemen are going to be rushing the passer. It's generally the case that at least one LB will also rush, but the offense won't necessarily know which LB it will be. Unlike a 4-3, a 3-4 gives you the benefits/unpredictability of a blitz without forcing you to rush more than four guys. (Or having to drop a lineman into coverage.) That unpredictability is a big part of the reason why you can have a very good 3-4 defense without necessarily having top level players at every position. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts. The Bills benefited from that in the '90s, and the Patriots have benefited from it during their Super Bowl years. In both cases, the teams had very good defenses despite having mediocre athletes at a lot of their positions.
The Senator Posted December 9, 2009 Posted December 9, 2009 Awesome post!!! Statistics always tell the whole story.... In my opinion, Locker is the best QB prospect for the Bills by a wide margin. I don't think most of you understand how bad his supporting cast is. He plays on a team that won zero games without him last season. This season they won 5 games in the best overall conference in the country, and they came very close to winning several more. There is no doubt his game needs more refinement, but the strides he has made in only 1 season playing in a pro-style offense is amazing. He has elite physical tools and is also a tremendous leader. His accuracy issues are overblown. When you have no line to block for you and WR's that drop a ton of passes, you will not have a great completion percentage. If you have any doubts about the kind of player he is track down a copy of the Cal game from last weekend. Your questions will be answered... Super. Then, by all means, based on the film from that Cal game and your opinion and vast experience as a pro scout, let's definitely forget about a our needs at LT, RT, DT, linebacker, etc., and burn a high first-round draft pick on the guy with a 74 QB rating who's played 28 college games and lost 19 of 'em - a guy with the least experience and worst stats of all the QBs that are projected to go in the first round - then, after a lengthy, protracted negotiation and likely holdout thru at least part of camp, give him a multi-year $10-15M/year contract with at least $25M guaranteed in the hopes (and extreme unlikelihood) that Lone Wolf knows how to spot a future star QB.
Lone Wolf Posted December 9, 2009 Posted December 9, 2009 Super. Then, by all means, based on the film from that Cal game and your opinion and vast experience as a pro scout, let's definitely forget about a our needs at LT, RT, DT, linebacker, etc., and burn a high first-round draft pick on the guy with a 74 QB rating who's played 28 college games and lost 19 of 'em - a guy with the least experience and worst stats of all the QBs that are projected to go in the first round - then, after a lengthy, protracted negotiation and likely holdout thru at least part of camp, give him a multi-year $10-15M/year contract with at least $25M guaranteed in the hopes (and extreme unlikelihood) that Lone Wolf knows how to spot a future star QB. So where exactly did I say to neglect those other needs? The most important position on the team is the QB. The Bills badly need a QB and will be picking in the top-10. This is a good time to finally solve this problem the right way, especially in a year when the OT crop looks pretty weak. And you can throw all the stats out there that you want, but Locker has had to do it alone against good competition. Do you really think Bradford or Clausen would have been better than he was in his situation?
Trader Posted December 9, 2009 Posted December 9, 2009 I need to be convinced that there is a quarterback worth the Bills number one this year. So far one has not surfaced but I will retain an open mind on it. The Bills very high priority needs are QB, OT, and defensive front seven. Not in any particular order. A great Linebacker, who can rush and stop the run could get my attention at number one. A LT, or a DT even a very solid DE. They need to get the best player available at those positions or trade into position to get one. Let's see how the Bowls, and all star Games go and of course the Combine before anointing a QB at number one. Re Claussen, I will admit I only saw a few of his efforts this year and ND lost those games. Does he have a strong arm? The passes I saw had a lot of air under them, the kind that are college completions and pro interceptions. I have been impressed with the resilience that Pike has shown. I like Tebow a lot he will find a place to play.
John Cocktosten Posted December 9, 2009 Posted December 9, 2009 Re Claussen, I will admit I only saw a few of his efforts this year and ND lost those games. Does he have a strong arm? The passes I saw had a lot of air under them, the kind that are college completions and pro interceptions. I have been impressed with the resilience that Pike has shown. I like Tebow a lot he will find a place to play. If you can handle the song that is being played on this video, watch the throw around 1:33. A 15 yard out/speed cut in pretty good man coverage and Clausen puts it on a rope and hits his WR in stride. A good friend of mine is a college offensive coordinator and he DVR's all ND games because of Weis and Clausen. He thinks Clausen's mechanics are impeccable and he's also said that his arm strength is unreal. He always talks about his throws to the opposite hash which are much wider in college and says the guy throws em like no one else (below 2:58 should should convince you). He says that he can tell how much confidence he has in his arm because he will make any throw. Watch the throws he makes on this video, the defenders are in their positions but he beats them with his arm strength and accuracy. 2:29 over the middle. 2:43 on the run. Actually, watch the whole video if you have time or any game Clausen played in this year because he's been pretty much perfect.
Flbillsfan#1 Posted December 9, 2009 Posted December 9, 2009 Awesome post!!! Statistics always tell the whole story.... In my opinion, Locker is the best QB prospect for the Bills by a wide margin. I don't think most of you understand how bad his supporting cast is. He plays on a team that won zero games without him last season. This season they won 5 games in the best overall conference in the country, and they came very close to winning several more. There is no doubt his game needs more refinement, but the strides he has made in only 1 season playing in a pro-style offense is amazing. He has elite physical tools and is also a tremendous leader. His accuracy issues are overblown. When you have no line to block for you and WR's that drop a ton of passes, you will not have a great completion percentage. If you have any doubts about the kind of player he is track down a copy of the Cal game from last weekend. Your questions will be answered... I don't know just how good Locker will be, but John Clayton who knows him well living in Seattle, thinks he should stay in school another year. By the way, the SEC is BY FAR the BEST Conference in the Country there is NO debate about that.
Flbillsfan#1 Posted December 9, 2009 Posted December 9, 2009 Because, believe or not, some have posted that Sam Bradford (6'4"/223) is too small. I think what has been questioned about him is his build, & the fact that he has injured his shoulder TWICE this past year.
The Senator Posted December 9, 2009 Posted December 9, 2009 So where exactly did I say to neglect those other needs? The most important position on the team is the QB. The Bills badly need a QB and will be picking in the top-10. This is a good time to finally solve this problem the right way, especially in a year when the OT crop looks pretty weak. And you can throw all the stats out there that you want, but Locker has had to do it alone against good competition. Do you really think Bradford or Clausen would have been better than he was in his situation? Well first of all, Locker has yet to declare for the 2010 NFL draft... Seattle Times - Percentages say Locker should return to Washington Second, as the article states, 73% of high profile QBs who leave college early, fail in the NFL. Third, no matter who lines up at QB for the Bills next season, they'll get killed unless we shore up the O-line - and the pressure Locker faced in the PAC 10 is nothing compared to what he'll face from bigger, faster, stronger, meaner NFL defenses. Fourth, every mock draft shows Locker 'off the board' by the time the Bills pick anyway. Two mock drafts show us taking OSU OT Russell Okung, which seems like the smart move. Personally, I think the mock drafts that show Clausen, Bradford, and Locker all going in the top 10 picks are way off, but we should probably pass on all of 'em, even they're there when we pick. I'd take my chances with Brohm, Fitzpatrick, and - if he's still in the league next season - Fanning Fan Edwards at #3. Injuries and the level of pass protection and blocking have proven that the Bills need OTs, guards, DTs, DEs, and LBs more than they need to roll the dice and break the bank on an inexperienced, unproved junior QB.
Mr. WEO Posted December 9, 2009 Posted December 9, 2009 Nah...trust me - Pete Carroll would have found a way to !@#$ it up. That's right---Pete Carroll is a huge !@#$ up and will never succeed as a college HC.
Lone Wolf Posted December 9, 2009 Posted December 9, 2009 I don't know just how good Locker will be, but John Clayton who knows him well living in Seattle, thinks he should stay in school another year. By the way, the SEC is BY FAR the BEST Conference in the Country there is NO debate about that. In general the SEC is the best conference, but this year the Pac 10 is the best overall conference. The SEC has 2 very good teams and not much after that. As for your point about Locker: I agree that he should stay in school for another year, but with the o-line he plays behind and the potential for a new rookie salary scale, it is probably best for him to come out. I think it is 50-50 at this point.... I am hoping he does come out because this year would be the only chance for the Bills to get him, unless they somehow manage to be even worse next year. I just think he is an excellent prospect and is a great fit for the Bills in every way. I will leave you with this from the chat this afternoon with everybody's favorite ESPN "expert": patrick (STL) Mort- Do the Rams draft QB in 1st round or take the dominant Suh at DT. What would you recommend the Rams do to rebuild this franchise?? Chris Mortensen (11:02 AM) If the Rams have the first pick, I believe Suh will be the likely choice, unless there's a strong conviction about Sam Bradford, Jimmy Clausen or Jake Locker. I am told that NFL personnel folks who attended Locker's UW game vs. Cal on Saturday were blown away by his performance. Someone told me, "Taller Steve Young."
WordByrd Posted December 9, 2009 Posted December 9, 2009 I'm still all about getting an impact lineman or two. QB's do not make football teams, lines do.
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