Chalkie Gerzowski Posted October 24, 2010 Share Posted October 24, 2010 Night and day. http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/bills-nfl/article229286.ece Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hapless Bills Fan Posted October 24, 2010 Share Posted October 24, 2010 Night and day. http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/bills-nfl/article229286.ece I saw that too. Here's a part that struck me especially: "The Ravens do their scouting a little differently than most teams. They are one of seven teams that are not affiliated with one of the two large scouting services that provide a packet of basic information on draft prospects during the year. Perhaps more significant is the fact the Ravens generally train all their scouts themselves." Does anyone know who the other 6 teams not affiliated with the scouting services may be? How do the Bills train and develop their scouts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted October 24, 2010 Share Posted October 24, 2010 The Ravens make their draft success sound uncomplicated. They don't reach for workout warriors or one-year collegiate wonders. "I think we don't try to really stretch it too much," said coach John Harbaugh. "We're not trying to outguess everybody and come up with a guy who we project to be a player. I think we do a good job, and it starts with Ozzie, of looking at guys for what they are. And what they are is what we think they are going to be. There's going to be times we might be wrong. But more often than not we look for guys who play well on the field and produce in college." And that's the crux of the problem at OBD. McGahee, McCargo, Losman, Mabyin in particular all follow this same "we're going to outsmart everyone" mentality. And that is why we see bust after bust. This is also why Mike Williams ranks far down my list of bad draft picks. Sometimes you miss on a guy, but at least Williams was a guy that should have been picked at the top of the draft based on all available evidence, as opposed to any of the guys mentioned above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted October 24, 2010 Share Posted October 24, 2010 How do the Bills train and develop their scouts? The Bills don't train or develop their scouts. They make decisions based on what their guts tell them. Without a doubt it is a less costly way to do business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.Biscuit97 Posted October 24, 2010 Share Posted October 24, 2010 And that's the crux of the problem at OBD. McGahee, McCargo, Losman, Mabyin in particular all follow this same "we're going to outsmart everyone" mentality. And that is why we see bust after bust. This is also why Mike Williams ranks far down my list of bad draft picks. Sometimes you miss on a guy, but at least Williams was a guy that should have been picked at the top of the draft based on all available evidence, as opposed to any of the guys mentioned above. You make a good point about outsmarting people. And while I never thought Spiller was going to end up here, I think it can give us hope for the future. McCargo and Losman were at least the 4th best rated players at their position. Does it seem like a good idea to spend a 1st rounder on the 4th (or worst) player at a position? Regardless of what you think about how feel about drafting another rb, Spiller was the #1 back in the country. If you draft enough #1 guys at their position in a draft, your team will stockpile talent. Hopefully, the days of blindly drafting to fill needs are over. Just get really good football players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scraps Posted October 24, 2010 Share Posted October 24, 2010 And that's the crux of the problem at OBD. McGahee, McCargo, Losman, Mabyin in particular all follow this same "we're going to outsmart everyone" mentality. And that is why we see bust after bust. This is also why Mike Williams ranks far down my list of bad draft picks. Sometimes you miss on a guy, but at least Williams was a guy that should have been picked at the top of the draft based on all available evidence, as opposed to any of the guys mentioned above. My problem with the Mike Williams pick was that we needed a left tackle and Bryant McKinnie was the best left tackle available. In that sense, Williams was more of a "we're going to outsmart everyone" pick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted October 24, 2010 Share Posted October 24, 2010 My problem with the Mike Williams pick was that we needed a left tackle and Bryant McKinnie was the best left tackle available. In that sense, Williams was more of a "we're going to outsmart everyone" pick. That's a fair point (and a regrettable decision), but they were at least comparable. Good to see you back! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabe Northern Posted October 24, 2010 Share Posted October 24, 2010 The Bills don't train or develop their scouts. They make decisions based on what their guts tell them. Without a doubt it is a less costly way to do business. Tom Modrak epitomizes outsmarting people. He drafts tackles to play guard, centers to play guard, cornerbacks to play free safety, defensive ends to play inside linebacker, and on and on. It's always about where guys "project" in the NFL. Unfortunately he's about as good at forecasting as the weatherman. Baltimore drafts guys to play the same position and basically assumes that what you see is what you get. It's not a complicated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lets_go_bills Posted October 24, 2010 Share Posted October 24, 2010 When the Bills pass on good prospects (see Ngata, Oher), the Ravens pick them up and turn them into Pro Bowlers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chalkie Gerzowski Posted October 24, 2010 Author Share Posted October 24, 2010 I saw that too. Here's a part that struck me especially: "The Ravens do their scouting a little differently than most teams. They are one of seven teams that are not affiliated with one of the two large scouting services that provide a packet of basic information on draft prospects during the year. Perhaps more significant is the fact the Ravens generally train all their scouts themselves." Does anyone know who the other 6 teams not affiliated with the scouting services may be? How do the Bills train and develop their scouts? I like that idea, of molding your own scouting staff. The Bills probably wait till Jamey Eisenberg sends them drafting material. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsVet Posted October 24, 2010 Share Posted October 24, 2010 Here's the tale of the tape: Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome (with owner Steve Bisciotti) versus Marv Levy/Russ Brandon/Buddy Nix (with owner Ralph Wilson) One proven GM who drafts well each year with an owner who doesn't micromanage. The other team featured 2 GM's who had no business being GM followed by a formerly retired Pro Personnel Director with a micromanaging owner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San-O Posted October 24, 2010 Share Posted October 24, 2010 Tom Modrak epitomizes outsmarting people. He drafts tackles to play guard, centers to play guard, cornerbacks to play free safety, defensive ends to play inside linebacker, and on and on. It's always about where guys "project" in the NFL. Unfortunately he's about as good at forecasting as the weatherman. Baltimore drafts guys to play the same position and basically assumes that what you see is what you get. It's not a complicated Ans this guy has been here for HOW long? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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