Juror#8 Posted November 9, 2011 Posted November 9, 2011 (edited) The above isn't set in stone. If Aaron Williams turns out to be the next Revis, he could always be bumped up to CB#1. But as Juror#8 pointed out, QBs like Brady are getting the ball out in a real hurry. You need a good defensive secondary in order to be able to put a stop to that. Thanks for the shout-out. Unfortunately though, I'm not sure that Bill from NYC sees the advantage of a strong secondary vis-a-vis a strong edge rush. This despite the fact that I've referenced and given examples why the former *could be* favored over the latter in today's NFL. Obviously, having both unit's strong would be ideal. However, if one had to be considerably strengthed first, and in our division, I think the secondary should be the priority. My overall wish list for the Bills' first round draft picks is the following (in a particular order): 1. Franchise QB 2. Pass rushing OLB 3. Antoine Winfield-caliber CB 4. LT (depending on how Bell develops) 5. ILB 6. NT (depending on how Jasper, Troup, and Heard develop) 7. A game-changing WR (depending on how the existing Bills' WR corps develops). I realize this represents a lot more wishes than the Bills will have first round picks over the next two - three years. But that's okay--whenever a team becomes locked into taking a player at one particular position, it will generally overlook better players at other positions. (As the Bills did in the 2006 draft, when they went in with the mentality that they had to take a SS and DT with their first two picks.) That would be a fantastic draft. In my ideal universe I'd select: 1. Dre Kirkpatrick (CB, Alabama) 2. Robert Griffin (QB, Baylor) 3. Nick Perry (OLB, USC) 4. Nick Toon (WR, Wisconsin) 5. Xavier Nixon (OT, Florida) 6. Best available 7. Best available Edited November 9, 2011 by Juror#8
Orton's Arm Posted November 16, 2011 Posted November 16, 2011 Thanks for the shout-out. Unfortunately though, I'm not sure that Bill from NYC sees the advantage of a strong secondary vis-a-vis a strong edge rush. This despite the fact that I've referenced and given examples why the former *could be* favored over the latter in today's NFL. Obviously, having both unit's strong would be ideal. However, if one had to be considerably strengthed first, and in our division, I think the secondary should be the priority. That would be a fantastic draft. In my ideal universe I'd select: 1. Dre Kirkpatrick (CB, Alabama) 2. Robert Griffin (QB, Baylor) 3. Nick Perry (OLB, USC) 4. Nick Toon (WR, Wisconsin) 5. Xavier Nixon (OT, Florida) 6. Best available 7. Best available One clarification: in my earlier post, the seven positions I mentioned were positions which could each justify the use of a first round pick. Looking back, I can see how it might have been viewed as a seven round draft, but that wasn't my intention. Instead, I felt that, when deciding how to use their first round pick, the Bills should look first for a franchise QB (position number one on my list). If none are available, they should look for a pass rushing OLB worthy of their pick (position number 2 on the list). And so on. Earlier, you mentioned that in their game against the Patriots, the Steelers often rushed four and dropped seven back into coverage. That seemed to be an effective way of smothering the Patriots' passing game, and is a good example for the Bills to follow. If you're rushing four players and dropping seven back into coverage, a key factor is the time it takes for your four pass rushers to get to the quarterback. If he only has three seconds to throw, it creates a much different dynamic than if he has five or even six seconds to throw! Currently, the Bills have one pass rusher who requires a double-team (Dareus). That number would increase to two if Kyle Williams fully recovers from his injury. If you could add an elite pass rushing OLB to that mix, then suddenly three out of your four pass rushers will require double teams to be stopped! Granted, sometimes teams will have an elite OL or two--a player who can deal with an elite pass rusher one-on-one. But if you have three elite pass rushers, one can cancel out the elite OL, one can use up a double team, and the third can get to the quarterback in a hurry. I'd also like to see the Bills add a very good CB--a guy who could reliably cover the other team's best WR one-on-one, and keep him under control throughout the game. But if it was a choice between a very good CB and a very good pass rushing OLB, I'd choose the latter.
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