Buffaloed in Pa Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 We all know we are set with the secondary. But I say we grab the best player at our turn. This team has so many holes on both sides of the ball. Who would you pick ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albany,n.y. Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 We all know we are set with the secondary. But I say we grab the best player at our turn. This team has so many holes on both sides of the ball. Who would you pick ? You have to rank the positions we need the most & see if the best player at these positions are close to the best player left on the board. 2 holes at 2 of the most important positions stand out. QB is the most important position on a team. If you have a franchise grade on a QB and one is available at your spot, you have to draft him. If there's no franchise QB, but there is a franchise LT, then you draft him. One thing you can't do is lose the franchise QB you targeted & then take the next guy on your board as the QB of the future like Donahoe did in 2004 after Pittsburgh took the player he coveted, Ben Roethlisberger. If your top rated player is a RB or WR, you don't pick him, because your glaring needs are elsewhere and you can get away with a journeyman RB or WR a lot easier than a journeyman QB or LT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brand J Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 Albany for GM. Good points and I sincerely believe that a lot of people on this board could have and would have drafted better than the FO in most of these past drafts. BUILD THE LINES FIRST - OL and DL. For some noted picks, I personally would have selected LT Bryant McKinnie over RT Mike Williams, DT Haloti Ngata over S Donte Whitner, never would have selected WR Roscoe Parrish with my first pick in the draft, never would have traded up for McCargo, never would have traded up for Posluszny, never would have traded up for Losman, and would have had QB Aaron Rodgers fall to my pick the following year. For the record, I also would have drafted Maybin, so this might have been my biggest draft day mistake. Then again, with my previous drafts, I may not have been in the position to pick 11th. Who knows though, it is still early and Maybin may come around... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1billsfan Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 You have to rank the positions we need the most & see if the best player at these positions are close to the best player left on the board. 2 holes at 2 of the most important positions stand out.QB is the most important position on a team. If you have a franchise grade on a QB and one is available at your spot, you have to draft him. If there's no franchise QB, but there is a franchise LT, then you draft him. One thing you can't do is lose the franchise QB you targeted & then take the next guy on your board as the QB of the future like Donahoe did in 2004 after Pittsburgh took the player he coveted, Ben Roethlisberger. If your top rated player is a RB or WR, you don't pick him, because your glaring needs are elsewhere and you can get away with a journeyman RB or WR a lot easier than a journeyman QB or LT. To me, there are no clear cut franchise QBs in this draft. There are a couple that might turn out to be franchise QBs (and how do you grade that?), but the question is are they worth the gamble of passing up an interior lineman. I say that none of them are worthy enough for this team to take that kind of big gamble. I hope the Bills weigh their options and either pick a tremendously talented OL/DL prospect or try to trade back multiple times to get more picks in the early rounds. BTW, with trading back you can possibly gamble on a QB in the third if you have multiple picks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fingon Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 To me, there are no clear cut franchise QBs in this draft. There are a couple that might turn out to be franchise QBs (and how do you grade that?), but the question is are they worth the gamble of passing up an interior lineman. I say that none of them are worthy enough for this team to take that kind of big gamble. I hope the Bills weigh their options and either pick a tremendously talented OL/DL prospect or try to trade back multiple times to get more picks in the early rounds. BTW, with trading back you can possibly gamble on a QB in the third if you have multiple picks. Some of the best prospects in this draft are QBs. There are never any "clear cut" franchise QBs in the NFL draft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albany,n.y. Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 To me, there are no clear cut franchise QBs in this draft. There are a couple that might turn out to be franchise QBs (and how do you grade that?), but the question is are they worth the gamble of passing up an interior lineman. I say that none of them are worthy enough for this team to take that kind of big gamble. I hope the Bills weigh their options and either pick a tremendously talented OL/DL prospect or try to trade back multiple times to get more picks in the early rounds. BTW, with trading back you can possibly gamble on a QB in the third if you have multiple picks. I'm hoping the Bills get some new scouts with the new front office, because with our current guys, I don't trust them to put a franchise grade on anyone. Assuming we get some front office talent that we can trust, if they put a franchise grade on a QB and then draft him, I'll be all for it. One thing you can do a lot easier is get top talent on the O & D lines (except LT) via free agency, where it's virtually impossible to get a franchise QB that way (Brees was the exception)-but you have to be willing to pay top $ and not have some GUY who has a horrible track record keep choosing bums & paying them big $. PS: Gambling on a QB in the 3rd when we had multiple picks worked so well the last time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat7s Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 Personally I want the top offensive or defensive tackle. I'm with 1billsfan in terms of I'm not sold on any of the QB's in this draft. What is the point of drafting a QB when you have no one to protect him? One of the biggest problems the Bills have had is they throw young QB's out there with poor O-Lines, they ultimately make bad mistakes under constant pressure, which screws with their confidence, and the ultimate outcome has been we get captain check-downs. We really have to build the lines on this team first, then draft our QB. In the mean time, I would rather try Brohm and/or keep Fitz until we get a solid O-Line. Or just sign a veteran QB in Free Agency or even trade for one who can at least compete until we get the o-line puzzle solved and can draft a top flight guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. WEO Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 Albany for GM. Good points and I sincerely believe that a lot of people on this board could have and would have drafted better than the FO in most of these past drafts. BUILD THE LINES FIRST - OL and DL. Didn't they try that last year? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sisyphean Bills Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 Didn't they try that last year? Well, sort of. They did draft OL and DL, but the situation at OT is a disaster and Wood has a long road of recovery ahead of him. Butler, who is the most experienced, has shown he cannot be depended upon to stay in one piece. On the DL, they chose a small, weak LB/DE hybrid who has a quick first step and nothing else. (Frankly, by the time he has actually matured enough physically, his first contract will likely be up and the Bills could well decide to head in another direction.) The defensive front 7 is 32nd best in the NFL at stopping the run. So clearly, there is a lot of work to do there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 We all know we are set with the secondary. But I say we grab the best player at our turn. This team has so many holes on both sides of the ball. Who would you pick ? A GM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 We all know we are set with the secondary. But I say we grab the best player at our turn. This team has so many holes on both sides of the ball. Who would you pick ? Ok, once a GM has been selected, and he has hired his staff, then I would assume that a complete overhaul of the defensive philosophy is in order. Since both of our lines have been the afterthought of Modrak and Guy, and Donahoe (Levy atleast- mistakenly- realized that we need a line when he went out and got Walker and Dockery), they would be my priority. I think we need to see who is available to us when we pick. We have alot of players on this roster that could be traded, and combined with picks may help us move up. I love Suh. Apparently, so does everyone else. I'd probably got with the best LT or DT depending on who was around when we picked, and see if we could get back into the 1st round without mortgaging the future to help out with either the lines again or LB position. In other words: 1a: LT/ DT 1b: Offensive/ Defensive line/ LB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fingon Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 If Bradford, Locker, or Clausen fall to us... you have to take one. No question about it. QB is by far the most important position on a football team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sisyphean Bills Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 If Bradford, Locker, or Clausen fall to us... you have to take one. No question about it. QB is by far the most important position on a football team. So, are you saying that you believe all 3 of these QBs will be Hall-of-Famers, win Super Bowls, or be great long-term franchise QBs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsVet Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 The Bills have a tendency of late to draft for need, unless of course DJ saw a nice DB he couldn't avoid. You could argue all the picks in rounds 1-2 from 06-09 were need picks aside from Byrd. Teams that draft for need are teams that draft high. If there isn't a QB on the board (and it's 2 months from the combine) then go with the best big man. OT is a black hole, and DT needs an infusion of talent. Buffalo needs to find some players in UFA to supplement their draft. And I'm not talking about the cheap Hangartner type players who are marginal NFL players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brand J Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 So, are you saying that you believe all 3 of these QBs will be Hall-of-Famers, win Super Bowls, or be great long-term franchise QBs? Not a fan of Bradford - comes from a predominantly one read offense, spent too much time in the shotgun formation, and has injured the same shoulder twice.. I think Clausen has the tools and background to contribute the fastest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sisyphean Bills Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 Not a fan of Bradford - comes from a predominantly one read offense, spent too much time in the shotgun formation, and has injured the same shoulder twice.. I think Clausen has the tools and background to contribute the fastest. What would concern me about Bradford is the injuries as well as the way the injuries happened. Your franchise QB is going to get hit when you are a bad team trying to build a better future. Do you really want to risk your future on a kid that you may have to teach basics to on how to protect himself when he goes to the ground? I don't generally like Notre Dame QBs because of the hype factor. Clausen hasn't established himself as a big-time winner, despite playing for Weis; and, I'm not convinced he has the sort of gun that is needed to play well in the Ralph. He may be the most NFL-ready guy out there though. We'll see. Locker hasn't declared yet, has he? My point though was that if the Bills really want to turn this thing around they need to stop bypassing better players at positions were they may have a couple of average players to reach for a guy that fills a dire need. Start by stockpiling talent, regardless of position, and try to accelerate the competition and talent overall in the building. It's a process, not a wave of a magic wand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fingon Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 So, are you saying that you believe all 3 of these QBs will be Hall-of-Famers, win Super Bowls, or be great long-term franchise QBs? No, but you need a franchise QB to win in the NFL... period. There have already been more 300 yard passing games this year than in league history. The winning percentage of teams with a 100 yard rusher is at an all time low, and the old saying "run and stop the run" is no longer true. The new axiom is pass and stop the pass. What would concern me about Bradford is the injuries as well as the way the injuries happened. Your franchise QB is going to get hit when you are a bad team trying to build a better future. Do you really want to risk your future on a kid that you may have to teach basics to on how to protect himself when he goes to the ground? I don't generally like Notre Dame QBs because of the hype factor. Clausen hasn't established himself as a big-time winner, despite playing for Weis; and, I'm not convinced he has the sort of gun that is needed to play well in the Ralph. He may be the most NFL-ready guy out there though. We'll see. Locker hasn't declared yet, has he? My point though was that if the Bills really want to turn this thing around they need to stop bypassing better players at positions were they may have a couple of average players to reach for a guy that fills a dire need. Start by stockpiling talent, regardless of position, and try to accelerate the competition and talent overall in the building. It's a process, not a wave of a magic wand. Bradford is an ultra accurate QB that makes great decisions, and has a strong arm. I'll take a guy like that any day. Bradford's accuracy has been compared to Peyton Manning's. You should also remember that Jim Kelly missed almost his entire senior season with a shoulder injury, and you should also remember that Bradford has only been hurt 1 year in his college career. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheChimp Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 This coming Draft Day, the Bills could essentially blindfold themselves and pick names out of a hat and still improve their team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sisyphean Bills Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 No, but you need a franchise QB to win in the NFL... period. There have already been more 300 yard passing games this year than in league history. The winning percentage of teams with a 100 yard rusher is at an all time low, and the old saying "run and stop the run" is no longer true. The new axiom is pass and stop the pass. Whoopty do! You failed to register the actual point. Just drafting a QB in the 1st round does NOT mean you have a franchise QB or even a passing game. In fact, drafting JAG that happened to be a college QB can set your franchise back another 7 years. Bradford is an ultra accurate QB that makes great decisions, and has a strong arm. I'll take a guy like that any day. Bradford's accuracy has been compared to Peyton Manning's. You should also remember that Jim Kelly missed almost his entire senior season with a shoulder injury, and you should also remember that Bradford has only been hurt 1 year in his college career. Nice attempt at a sales job. But, I'm not sold. Maybe Bradford is hiring someone as a press agent though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fingon Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 Whoopty do! You failed to register the actual point. Just drafting a QB in the 1st round does NOT mean you have a franchise QB or even a passing game. In fact, drafting JAG that happened to be a college QB can set your franchise back another 7 years. Nice attempt at a sales job. But, I'm not sold. Maybe Bradford is hiring someone as a press agent though. Doesn't change the fact that Bradford is a top 10 prospect in the draft. In fact, there are 3 QBs in the top 10. But we can stick with Fitzpatrick as our QB... that will get us somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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