Fox Sports Grades Bills Draft a "C"

[EC-Bills]

Who gives an F what Fox says.

 

People hoping for someone to validate their opinion on how things went.

[syhuang]

Of course you can't really judge what will happen in the future. Does that stop people from doing eight million polls leading up to the presidential election? From predicting the number of wins their team will have? From putting down money on horses, football, baseball and craps games? So why not try to do your best and predict how good the drafts are, how they match your needs (very easy to diagnose) and whether your team got good value or not.

 

It's your freedom to predict future or trust any prediction. However, it's just not smart to base on it to make judgments on players before they even play a NFL game by arguing Fox Sports have the best crystal ball or Kiper's guide is the standard to decide reach or value picks.

[Joe Fergy]

fox sports = fox news = crap on rye with fried baloney

 

Yeah another Demy from NY= highest property tax=most people leaving state=Union loving= watch CNN with your blinders on. Good Luck 40 years of going down hill.

[San Jose Bills Fan]

After day one I was very skeptical...then I was skeptical again when the took Torell Troup as high as they did...day two I still was questioning whether or not we were going to have a good draft...not that I don't think Spiller is probably the best RB since Thurman to come to Buffalo...but, just because of our crowded backfield...and I didn't know anything really about Torell Troup....

 

Day three these guys showed why they were scouts for so damn long...Nix and company blew my mind in day three...

 

Wang is a special kid...along with beefing up our front seven with solid guys that give us depth and special teamers...I was really impressed...then to grab Levi in the seventh???...just a good all around draft...really...I think we are alright...I give our draft a B maybe B plus

Very impressed with the day three picks. Particularly the 6th round. Moats and Batten.

[Rob's House]

A few ?s that will have to be answered over the next few seasons will determine how successful this draft was.

 

- Will spiller dominate at the NFL level and make big plays like he did in college?

 

- How good is Torrel Troupe? Does he turn out to dominate the line in a more consisten fashion than guys like Cody or Thomas?

 

- Can Wang translate his athletecism into solid line play?

 

- Do any of the LB prospects develop into quality NFL starters?

 

I say if you get three solid starters out of the draft and a couple of competent backups, it's a good draft. A reach is only a reach if he busts.

[seq004]

I would have to agree. That's what most outlets are giving us.

[first_and_ten]

Didn't Fox love the Maybin pick and pan the Byrd pick (a reach they said, i think) Who cars what TV idiots think? Let's see if we can run the ball, stop the run and score some damn points next year.

[PS 56]

Only Jacksonville was worse with a C-. Outside of Cory Chavous I've seen no above average grades for the Bills so far.

 

I have to agree with them. I see nothing special with this draft except Spiller. I might say that Levi Brown was a good value pick in the seventh. Other than that nothing really stands out as a coup.

 

I still don't understand why we didn't trade Lynch to Seattle. They apparently really tried to get him. What is Nix thinking?

 

The only draft grade I am interested in is the one a year after the draft. Until then the sports prognosticators can say all they want. It doesn't mean squat.

[SF Bills Fan]

Syhuang nailed it. You can't really grade a draft until at least 3 years out. Right now, everyone is merely speculating.

[BADOLBILZ]

Yeah, For the last decade. But I guess some are just happy to smile and lose.

 

Losers don't mind. There are just too many Bills fans that don't feel that they even deserve mediocrity. No playoff appearances in a decade is terrible.

[Kelly the Dog]

Losers don't mind. There are just too many Bills fans that don't feel that they even deserve mediocrity. No playoff appearances in a decade is terrible.

What did you think of the draft, Badol?

[BLZFAN4LIFE]

This is a team with many, many holes. This is a team trying to reshape their defensive roster so that they can install a 3-4. There was only so much they could do. Like Buddy said, if you draft a guy that can't play just to fill a need, you have only compounded the problem.

 

I didn't look at Spiller much because I was so sure it was going to be an OT or NT. But looking at him now, all I can say is WOW. This guy has Don Beebe like speed and is an academic all american. He will never do anything to embarass himself or this franchise. This guys is special, maybe the best player in this draft. They took the best player on the board and a guy every team in the league would welcome on their roster. So I am good with that.

 

The rest were guys we absolutely needed. You can't play a 3-4 without a NT and we don't have a single one on our roster, not one. Troup was the best one on the board when we picked him. I don't think he would have been there in the 3rd. Given Kelsay's performance and Schobel retiring, maybe, we clearly need some help with the DL. The 3-4 requires lots of LB's so we got some good prospects. We even picked up a long shot QB prospect just to have a plan "C" waiting in the wings down the road.

 

The OL is obviously a real issue but again, you only have so many picks. We are in a rebuilding process and that is going to take more than one or two drafts.

 

Dead on, I'm in complete agreement with you on this one.

[Webster Guy]

It's Meaningless. Drafts need 3 years before you can grade them. Nobody has any clue right now.

[BADOLBILZ]

What did you think of the draft, Badol?

 

I was underwhelmed like most, but in all fairness I didn't follow the prospects as closely as I have in the past. It's been futile to project players to the Bills, in part because they have lacked any identity offensively and defensively for what seems like forever.

 

You certainly can't say for certain how hirings, free agents or draft picks will work out. But over the long haul, there are some simple objectives I would have in mind. Most of your important hirings should have a successful background in that particular job. If you hire guys who have failed in previous stints, you are very likely to lose. If you hire guys who aren't experienced and/or in demand for their special skill, then you will again fail more often than not.

 

 

As for the draft, IMO, If you don't have a QB, you should be willing to go off of your board to get one. A decent QB is worth much more than a great RB.

 

In all honesty, I don't regret the Rob Johnson trade if it meant not getting the great Fred Taylor. All things being equal, the Bills still would not have made the playoffs this decade with Taylor. RB's are an easy evaluation and a relative dime-a-dozen compared to QB's in terms of availability AND impact. If Johnson had panned out, there would have been multiple playoff appearances this past decade and it would have changed the entire dynamic of the organization. Despite his fine play for a decade, Taylor would have had little overall impact on the Bills organization.

 

This is what troubles me about the Spiller pick. Flash over substance has long been a problem with the Bills drafts and the repeated use of a #1 pick on a RB every 3 years is somehow acceptable because it's a different GM pulling the trigger? It really wouldn't hurt in the long run to always say no to first round RB's. Just like hiring coaches who have been repeatedly fired usually equates to more losing, drafting a RB in round 1 almost never changes the fortunes of an organization in the modern era.

 

Additionally, if over the course of time you don't use a lot of your early picks on big people, you are either good at finding them late or you are a perennial loser. The Bills are not surprisingly the latter. Now the past 2 seasons they have spent some early picks on their lines. Time will tell if they took the right ones, or in particular if they reached for a NT and DE in this draft because of a scheme change.

 

I didn't bother to watch the draft, it gets tiring watching them draft low impact postions or reaches in round 1. But I can tell you I would have preferred a trade back into the late first round even if it were just for an extra third rounder and taking a chance on Claussen over taking Spiller. And I don't even like Claussen that much. Give me an OT, a OG or even Pouncey. But a RB? I honestly don't care if he rushes for 1800 yards, the RB position is arguably the easiest to fill and least impactful long term.

 

There are always exceptions to the rule, but when you repeatedly go against the grain of success the odds are against you and that is just how the Bills do it.

[RealityCheck]

Only Jacksonville was worse with a C-. Outside of Cory Chavous I've seen no above average grades for the Bills so far.

 

I have to agree with them. I see nothing special with this draft except Spiller. I might say that Levi Brown was a good value pick in the seventh. Other than that nothing really stands out as a coup.

 

I still don't understand why we didn't trade Lynch to Seattle. They apparently really tried to get him. What is Nix thinking?

Can you define "really trying"? And what bearing does a C grade have anything to do with reality come September? Right now we are in the realm of perceptions, not reality. Reality is a few months away.

[Mr. WEO]

DarthICE gave the Bills draft a "solid A"!

That the same DarthICE that said this is a QB driven league and that we have to get a good QB in here and agreed that "run and stop the run is gone from this game"?

[Mr_Blizzard]

Only Jacksonville was worse with a C-. Outside of Cory Chavous I've seen no above average grades for the Bills so far.

 

I have to agree with them. I see nothing special with this draft except Spiller. I might say that Levi Brown was a good value pick in the seventh. Other than that nothing really stands out as a coup.

 

I still don't understand why we didn't trade Lynch to Seattle. They apparently really tried to get him. What is Nix thinking?

 

He may be worth more to us on the roster than what we could get for him. Unless a Seahawks insider spills his guts, we'll probably never know what they offered. I don't like the guy off the field, but he does have talent. Maybe Nix is keeping him in his back pocket for future options.

[Throwback Bills]

I looked up the rating of all the draft picks and our draft picks on CBS sports.

 

Here is the way I see it:

 

Projected Actual

 

CJ Spiller 8th Rd 1 9th Rd 1

 

Torell Troup 66th Rd 2 41st Rd 2

 

Alex Carrington 60th Rd 2 73rd Rd 3

 

Marcus Easley 91st Rd 3 104th Rd 4

 

Ed Wang 97 th Rd 3 Rd 5

 

Arthur Moats Rd 5 Rd 6

 

Danny Patton ? Rd 6

 

Levi Brown Rd 4 - Rd 5 Rd 7

 

Alex Calloway Rd 6 Rd 7

 

 

If we were New England they would be saying how great we did by not reaching and gettting good players of need at the right value. Isn't that right Jamie Dukes!!!!!!!!!

[dave mcbride]

I was underwhelmed like most, but in all fairness I didn't follow the prospects as closely as I have in the past. It's been futile to project players to the Bills, in part because they have lacked any identity offensively and defensively for what seems like forever.

 

You certainly can't say for certain how hirings, free agents or draft picks will work out. But over the long haul, there are some simple objectives I would have in mind. Most of your important hirings should have a successful background in that particular job. If you hire guys who have failed in previous stints, you are very likely to lose. If you hire guys who aren't experienced and/or in demand for their special skill, then you will again fail more often than not.

 

 

As for the draft, IMO, If you don't have a QB, you should be willing to go off of your board to get one. A decent QB is worth much more than a great RB.

 

In all honesty, I don't regret the Rob Johnson trade if it meant not getting the great Fred Taylor. All things being equal, the Bills still would not have made the playoffs this decade with Taylor. RB's are an easy evaluation and a relative dime-a-dozen compared to QB's in terms of availability AND impact. If Johnson had panned out, there would have been multiple playoff appearances this past decade and it would have changed the entire dynamic of the organization. Despite his fine play for a decade, Taylor would have had little overall impact on the Bills organization.

 

This is what troubles me about the Spiller pick. Flash over substance has long been a problem with the Bills drafts and the repeated use of a #1 pick on a RB every 3 years is somehow acceptable because it's a different GM pulling the trigger? It really wouldn't hurt in the long run to always say no to first round RB's. Just like hiring coaches who have been repeatedly fired usually equates to more losing, drafting a RB in round 1 almost never changes the fortunes of an organization in the modern era.

 

Additionally, if over the course of time you don't use a lot of your early picks on big people, you are either good at finding them late or you are a perennial loser. The Bills are not surprisingly the latter. Now the past 2 seasons they have spent some early picks on their lines. Time will tell if they took the right ones, or in particular if they reached for a NT and DE in this draft because of a scheme change.

 

I didn't bother to watch the draft, it gets tiring watching them draft low impact postions or reaches in round 1. But I can tell you I would have preferred a trade back into the late first round even if it were just for an extra third rounder and taking a chance on Claussen over taking Spiller. And I don't even like Claussen that much. Give me an OT, a OG or even Pouncey. But a RB? I honestly don't care if he rushes for 1800 yards, the RB position is arguably the easiest to fill and least impactful long term.

 

There are always exceptions to the rule, but when you repeatedly go against the grain of success the odds are against you and that is just how the Bills do it.

Interesting. A couple of things: I take this as a roundabout compliment to Butler for at least trying to solve the QB situation in '98. Donohoe did the same with Bledsoe. Levy, however, didn't have the cajones to listen to Modrak and draft Cutler in 06.

 

Re: this year's top pick, yeah, he's a running back, but he really is a cut above the previous two (McGahee and Lynch). They wanted Peterson in 07 from what I heard, but settled for Lynch. W/regard to McGahee, he was never as fast after the injury, and I remember you saying multiple times that he wasn't as good as Frank Gore before Gore's college injuries. Spiller also doesn't seem to be the complete lunkhead that Henry, Lynch, and McGahee proved to be (although I'm reserving judgment on this because I heard the same propaganda about Lynch after he was drafted). At any rate, Spiller is blindingly fast and ridiculously quick, and seems to have the same skill set as Gale Sayers (I'm not exaggerating) - a great RB, a great returner, and an excellent receiver. I admire the fact that they took the best player, which they haven't done in a long time (and certainly not in 06 (e.g., Cutler)). I do think there are exceptions re running backs, and I'm hoping he is one. He's certainly the best of this year's crop by a long shot. Then again, the Bears never won with Gale Sayers. The Lions did become a winning team with Barry Sanders, though, so I'm holding out some hope.

 

I thought you would have had some love for the fact that they drafted guys who didn't get hurt over long college careers. I know you're a believer in the injury-prone label.

[Spillerwich]

why do you agree with them? because they drafted a few players you dont know? sure seems that way because the only two players you mentioned are the ones most have probably seen play but the rest that you probably havent seen you say dont really stand out

 

they added size and speed to the front seven that desperately needed it

 

people need to let the Lynch thing go..there isnt anything wrong with having 3 good RBs and in fact its a good thing...all 3 can catch and lineup wide but each can bring something different to the table as well

 

it is also still only April correct? they can still trade him but trading or keeping him isnt going to make or break this season anyway so please, stop cryin about it

Thank you for adding some much needed reason to this board. Doom and gloom has to end at some point. I agree, I think they added depth and good size to our D front. As far as Spiller is concerned, Look at the Titans. Everyone said that Johnson couldn't get it done without the bruiser back White. Well, how did he do last year running by himself? Give our draft class a chance to get on the field and prove themselves