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With the 58th pick in the 2010 UFL Draft...


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Good Lord - the guy was our starting center 3 seasons ago and played 15 games for us 2 years ago and now he's drafted in 12th and final round of the UFL - with 5 teams he still ends up being 2 players away from Mr. Irrelevant in that draft. If this doesn't speak to the dearth of talent Buffalo has had in their last decade of fail I don't know what does. We all knew some of those lines were sub-NFL caliber quality, but being sub-UFL quality is rediculous......

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Good Lord - the guy was our starting center 3 seasons ago and played 15 games for us 2 years ago and now he's drafted in 12th and final round of the UFL - with 5 teams he still ends up being 2 players away from Mr. Irrelevant in that draft. If this doesn't speak to the dearth of talent Buffalo has had in their last decade of fail I don't know what does. We all knew some of those lines were sub-NFL caliber quality, but being sub-UFL quality is rediculous......

 

Any given year a player can show flashes of brilliance and/or reach their potential. Saying that the longer your in the league with out reaching said potential, your chances decrease dramatically. I think any player can tank and any player can succeed. It was just a bad guess for the Bills to try their luck with Fowler... I guess.

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Good Lord - the guy was our starting center 3 seasons ago and played 15 games for us 2 years ago and now he's drafted in 12th and final round of the UFL - with 5 teams he still ends up being 2 players away from Mr. Irrelevant in that draft. If this doesn't speak to the dearth of talent Buffalo has had in their last decade of fail I don't know what does. We all knew some of those lines were sub-NFL caliber quality, but being sub-UFL quality is rediculous......

 

 

He also started for the Vikes and Browns.

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Any given year a player can show flashes of brilliance and/or reach their potential. Saying that the longer your in the league with out reaching said potential, your chances decrease dramatically. I think any player can tank and any player can succeed. It was just a bad guess for the Bills to try their luck with Fowler... I guess.

 

That's the problem - we "guess bad". How many guys, both college kids and vets, have we "guessed bad" about? We've had some pretty terrible talent evaluation in the last decade, and that leaves us with some really terrible talent on the o-line.

 

The fact that Fowler had been cut from 2 team prior to the Bills perhaps should have been an indicator that he didn't have what it took to play in the NFL, but somehow we thought he was good enough to start and anchor the middle of the o-line. After the Bills he never played another NFL game - didn't make any squad, even as a backup! He's 31 now and being drafted almost last by the UFL - that's one hell of a bad guess by the Bills and unfortunately it was just one of many....

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That's the problem - we "guess bad". How many guys, both college kids and vets, have we "guessed bad" about? We've had some pretty terrible talent evaluation in the last decade, and that leaves us with some really terrible talent on the o-line.

 

The fact that Fowler had been cut from 2 team prior to the Bills perhaps should have been an indicator that he didn't have what it took to play in the NFL, but somehow we thought he was good enough to start and anchor the middle of the o-line. After the Bills he never played another NFL game - didn't make any squad, even as a backup! He's 31 now and being drafted almost last by the UFL - that's one hell of a bad guess by the Bills and unfortunately it was just one of many....

 

Well don't get me wrong, I agree with you on Fowler. I was just trying to show that, that's not always the case in the NFL.

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He also started for the Vikes and Browns.

It's true he started for the Browns. But that team--which had more than a few holes--nevertheless decided to use an early draft pick on Fowler's replacement. To me that suggests they regarded his position as an even bigger hole than any of the others.

 

After Fowler's time with the Browns was over, he evidently couldn't get a starting gig anywhere. The NFL had apparently--and correctly--realized he wasn't starting material. He was therefore signed as a backup on the Vikings. Allegedly he played well when Birk went down with an injury. But that said, I'm not aware of any NFL GM--other than Marv Levy of course--who pursued Fowler as a starting-caliber center even then; or who thought of him as a long-term answer at center.

 

In the first round of the 2006 draft, Marv chose to reach for players based on "need"--first at SS at 8th overall, and then again at DT later in the first round. I guess the thought was that a good SS and a good DT were necessary to keep the Tampa 2 defense as a whole competitive; and that a competitive Tampa 2 defense could keep the team as a whole competitive.

 

Cutler was drafted shortly after Whitner. Even if you're not a Cutler fan, you have to be a fan of what Denver got for him in that trade. But of course Marv chose not to draft Cutler because he had Losman on the roster. Nick Mangold was taken shortly after the Bills took John McCargo. Mangold is now the best center in the league. But of course we couldn't possibly consider drafting him, because we had Melvin "I am your 'solution' at center" Fowler on the roster, and because we "needed" a DT for the Tampa 2 right away!!! :thumbsup::unsure: angry:

 

The 2006 draft was a perfect case study as to why it's generally not a good idea to reach for players based on perceived need. Especially not if you're a rebuilding team!! :unsure::lol:

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The 2006 draft was a perfect case study as to why it's generally not a good idea to reach for players based on perceived need. Especially not if you're a rebuilding team!! :thumbsup::unsure:

 

Of course the flip side of that is to do what the Bills did this year and draft the best available player regardless of position, even if it's one of the very few places where you actually have decent talent/depth - I'm not so sure I like that strategy a whole lot better.

 

Regardless, in the end of comes down to talent evaluation and it's pretty clear to me that has been an area where the Bills get their a$$es handed to them year after year. Unfortuantely, I'm not sure we've seen enough change here from the past and I fear getting the same sort of results going forward - can we sink any lower?

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It's true he started for the Browns. But that team--which had more than a few holes--nevertheless decided to use an early draft pick on Fowler's replacement. To me that suggests they regarded his position as an even bigger hole than any of the others.

 

After Fowler's time with the Browns was over, he evidently couldn't get a starting gig anywhere. The NFL had apparently--and correctly--realized he wasn't starting material. He was therefore signed as a backup on the Vikings. Allegedly he played well when Birk went down with an injury. But that said, I'm not aware of any NFL GM--other than Marv Levy of course--who pursued Fowler as a starting-caliber center even then; or who thought of him as a long-term answer at center.

 

In the first round of the 2006 draft, Marv chose to reach for players based on "need"--first at SS at 8th overall, and then again at DT later in the first round. I guess the thought was that a good SS and a good DT were necessary to keep the Tampa 2 defense as a whole competitive; and that a competitive Tampa 2 defense could keep the team as a whole competitive.

 

Cutler was drafted shortly after Whitner. Even if you're not a Cutler fan, you have to be a fan of what Denver got for him in that trade. But of course Marv chose not to draft Cutler because he had Losman on the roster. Nick Mangold was taken shortly after the Bills took John McCargo. Mangold is now the best center in the league. But of course we couldn't possibly consider drafting him, because we had Melvin "I am your 'solution' at center" Fowler on the roster, and because we "needed" a DT for the Tampa 2 right away!!! :thumbsup::unsure: angry:

 

The 2006 draft was a perfect case study as to why it's generally not a good idea to reach for players based on perceived need. Especially not if you're a rebuilding team!! :unsure::lol:

 

 

Dude, the Vikes made went something like 7-1 with Fowler starting and made a crazy playoff run. He was pretty young and seemed like there was some upside. Marv filled a need before the draft. Hindsight makes it pretty obvious to draft Mangold. Unfortunately, in the real world, you don't have the power of hindsight.

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Dude, the Vikes made went something like 7-1 with Fowler starting and made a crazy playoff run. He was pretty young and seemed like there was some upside. Marv filled a need before the draft. Hindsight makes it pretty obvious to draft Mangold. Unfortunately, in the real world, you don't have the power of hindsight.

This isn't a case of hindsight, at least not for me. Before that draft, I really wanted the Bills to stay put at #8 and draft Cutler, or to trade down and take Mangold. As it turns out, they could have grabbed both players!

 

I think this is a case where the Bills' front office may have lost perspective a little bit due to too much emotional involvement leading to wishful thinking. Wishful thinking involving Losman, Fowler, Whitner, and McCargo. It's a lot easier to be objective when your career isn't on the line even if things go poorly.

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