Pro Football Weekly

[OldTimer1960]

Im sorry man but I think you are off here. the distance from an A Dlineman and a B Dlineman is much greater than at DB. That is because the NFL has fundamentally changed the rules as to what a DB is even allowed to do. I watched Revis allow catched after catch after catch this year despite being the est CB in the game by most in most peoples opinion. Now figure that a guy like K Williams was completely unblockable at times and single handedly kept us in that Pittsburg game, while Troup was a big nothing most of the year.

 

My point is the rules do not allow CBs to do much, so a great corner wont be able to cover the same way a bad corner wont be able to. But a top Dline guy is still unblockable and a B rate guy is just another guy.

 

The O and D line are where the true talent of the football team is (and QB too).

 

Way too early to give up on Troup (or any rookie). Just a couple of my recollections:

1. Eric Moulds looked like a bust after his 2nd year and he turned out OK

2. Pat Williams hardly played his first 2-3 years and then turned into a top DT

3. The Bills got Ted Washington after he washed out in Denver (or was it SF?). He

was an after-thought when the Bills signed him.

 

These are just a few examples of guys who it took a few years to get "it".

[qdawg in philly]

The only way we can CB in the first is if we pick up Miami's NT or someone like him. PS, Shaun Rogers is not like him. We have good guys at DT is BS. We have guys that have no forward push and cannot stop the run even if Troup improves to an average player. We are too light and too weak.

You're absolutely correct!!! I was preaching that all last year. They are WEAK! That's why the dline can't maintain gap control because they're pushed off the ball and out the way. Its not just getting off blocks, but being blocked completely by olines. And yes we need to be huge up front. That's were it all starts for an effective 34d

[Hapless Bills Fan]

Just by looking @ the top 10 picks of the past ten years, here's the D linemen that were chosen:

<...>

So, while there were a number of players you could label as busts, there were plenty of others who became Pro Bowl players, All Pros, and a few who were key to their teams' Super Bowl championships. And this is just the top 10. Imagine some of the guys who escaped the top 10 (Ngata, Tommie Harris, Vince Wilfork, Tamba Hali, and Charles Grant, to name a few) who also won accolades and helped their teams win championships. I dunno if I'd shy away from drafting D linemen in the first round, whether it's an early, mid, or late pick.

 

This is a great post, very solid research. Thanks!

[Hapless Bills Fan]

DTs are NOT a dime a dozen in the NFL. They are the building blocks to great defenses. The Bills don't have anything like a good rotation. They also are in need of a pass rushing DE. When running a 3-4 you need a LARGE run stuffing DT and a DE that can get after the QB. We have neither. Great defensive lines make CBs look better, not the other way around.

 

What he said. See post I just made (new thread) researching DL by draft round for 10 year period.

 

Way too early to give up on Troup (or any rookie). Just a couple of my recollections:

1. Eric Moulds looked like a bust after his 2nd year and he turned out OK

2. Pat Williams hardly played his first 2-3 years and then turned into a top DT

3. The Bills got Ted Washington after he washed out in Denver (or was it SF?). He

was an after-thought when the Bills signed him.

 

These are just a few examples of guys who it took a few years to get "it".

 

For that matter, Kyle Williams would be an example of a guy who took several years to "get it".

[Chas56]

I've been reading a couple different posts this morning. This post and the one on LB by dave mcbride are really good ones. Taken together, I've changed my mind about the viability of taking a LB at #3. I still think they Bills need to go D at #3, and it should be be DL.