Howard Simon's Article

[OCinBuffalo]

yup. And everyone in the world except Bill Belicheck thought Tom Brady was a bum too.

Yeah, so much so that he waited until the 6th round to get him.

 

Will the cognitive dissonance on this issue ever end?

 

Go ask Chiefs fans if "The Patriot Way" is a real thing. I did once. It was hilarious. I did it right after we blew them out for the 2nd year in a row, said I wasn't trolling, and they bought it!

 

The best answer I got was: "The Patriot Way is a farce. Always has been. The Patriot Way is Tom Brady."

 

That's right. But...they wait until the 6th round to establish: The Patriot Way?

 

No. The Pats got damn lucky, and their draft history since has done nothing other than prove it.

Edited April 8, 2014 by OCinBuffalo

[thewildrabbit]

In his article he stated that the Bills should still go with receiver/Ebron at 9 and that the Bills don't necessarily have to take an OL there because of the fact that the Bills were able to land a talent like Cordy Glenn in the second rd. I personally believe that they should direct their attention back to the defensive side of the ball at 9. With the off season moves so far, they've addressed many areas of need on their roster. One area the Bills got torched last year was on 3rd and long.They need to be dominant in that area. Teams can't think that getting a 1st down on 3rd and long is a possibility. That's why I think they should get one of those pass rushing OLBs. If Khali Mack somehow slides to them then Whaley better have "Flash" Goodwin run the card to the podium. If not, they better consider Anthony Barr at 9. Before you say "Aaron Maybin" I say stop, not even close. Barr is 30 lbs heavier, more athletic(former running back) and has been causing a terror for QBs for more than a year. OLB is also another position we need young depth. If both are gone then trade back and snatch Dee Ford from Auburn and acquire more picks to help fortify our OL. This draft is deep at the WR position, considerable talent at the TE/OL, but not many "pass rushers". The Bills win the AFC East by decreasing their opponents effienciency on 3rd and long.

The Bills currently have 9 of 11 first or second round draft picks on that defense. So, they need another first round pick to rush the passer or stop the run? They have more then enough talent on that D already, and what they really needed is better coaching. They now have a DC in Schwartz who has coached elite defenses in the past.

 

I'm a heckava lot more concerned about the Bills offense being able to compete with every team they play vs that Bills D that improved greatly with some better coaching under Pettine.

[thewildrabbit]

So sick of getting torched on third and long that it doesn't even bother me that much any more, just kind of expect it. If it was an easy fix it would have been done by now. We've tried fixing it with the pass rush (Williams and Anderson in 2012), first round corners (Gilmore and McKelvin), run stuffing tackles (Williams and Dareus). Nothing seems to work. To compete in today's NFL we just need to be able to outgun the opposition.

Nothing worked because the team employed morons for defensive coordinators from 2010, 2011, 2012.

 

Last season the D finally played up to their talent level somewhat. Last years DC was so intent on rushing the passer he let that defense forget about stopping the run. This year that defense should be a whole lot better with better coaching, and the free agents they added.

 

 

A big reason as to why last years defense wasn't more spectacular was because they were on the field way to often. The Bills offense couldn't control the line of scrimmage or the clock on offense. They were #25 in 3 down and out percentage. 29th in 3rd down efficiency. 30th in 4th down efficiency. 31st in first down efficiency. I mean good lord was that offense bad news. Is it any wonder to anyone why the defense wasn't better? Those players had to be exhausted by the 4th quarter because the offense couldn't stay on the field.,

[machine gun kelly]

Unless Mack falls I don't see a defensive player worth taking over Evans or Ebron. Ebron would add a big possibly dynamic target to an already decent WR core (Not to mention Chandler still in the mix as a backup). Evans is a really good talent too but with the Williams trade it would clog up that position. I think the Bills are going to go defense heavy in rounds 3-5, build depth for the secondary and front seven while the first two picks try and plug up some key holes on offense (RT and Tightend being good holes to plug).

 

If Ebron, Evans, and Mack aren't there I could honestly see a trade down which would be even better as picking up picks would be a really good idea.

 

We won't need to worry about Evans as he will end up in Tampa now that they lost Williams. So it's either Ebron, RT, or DE. As long as the one they pick will end up as a hit like Glenn, or Gillmore, i'm fine with any one of those positional needs filled. Part of me would like Ebron to load up the offense so EJ is set up for success, and a RT in the second round as there will be a good one there at 41. We can use Hughes and Lawson as DE, but you'd like to see both of them put 10 lbs. of muscle to make it work.

 

Hughes only weighs 254, and Lawson is only 240 lbs. That is just not big enough to get around OT in a 4-3 line up.

[Tintonfallsbillsfan]

As far as Ebron, I have to go back and find the article for the actual number but his drop rate is very high. Just saying I am not taking a tight end at nine unless he is a sure fire pro bowler. To me Mack somehow falls I would be extremely happy

[Solomon Grundy]

The Bills currently have 9 of 11 first or second round draft picks on that defense. So, they need another first round pick to rush the passer or stop the run? They have more then enough talent on that D already, and what they really needed is better coaching. They now have a DC in Schwartz who has coached elite defenses in the past.

 

I'm a heckava lot more concerned about the Bills offense being able to compete with every team they play vs that Bills D that improved greatly with some better coaching under Pettine.

 

Half of the 1st or 2nd rd picks came via FA for one. Pettine have coached some pretty good defenses in NY as well. Secondly, I think with the addition of Mike Williams that the Bills have more than enough talent on the offensive side of the ball to compete against anybody. Speaking of coaching, many of the posters on here think that Nate Hackett isn't any good so what would more talent on offense do? Sure, it's nice to score a lot of touchdowns like Peyton's Broncos did last year but DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS!

[White Linen]

lol.

 

admittedly I have seen much of him personally either. But I love his highlights. Of course you could make a case that he'll be the next Maybin. But he's much bigger than Maybin was and to me, shows more availability to pack on some extra weight. Whoch is something Maybin was never able to do or show that he could. The weight he out on for the combine was always his topped out weight and it never materialized. Barr looks like he can grow more to me.

 

But everyone has their own opinion. I have no problem eating it when I'm wrong. I've been wrong before. (I was a believer in Maybin at first) but I personally tho I Barr will not only be the best defensive player in this draft but Mack and Clowney will be huge disappointments.

 

Yeah I don't dispute your hunch/feeling that he's going to be great, he very well could be. Heck I thought for sure Maybin could put on some weight to only find out his metabolism was out of control. You could feel Barr can put on weight - but maybe he's a former RB that has already put on as much as he can. Then there's players like Jason Peters that went from a TE to a mauling dominant LT. No one really knows not even those that do this 80 hours a week for millions of dollars. I think it's cool you picked a player you like and you're sticking with it.

[aristocrat]

I;m thinking the bills go with a cb with the first pick to really get our defense going. gilmore, leodis, first rounder to slow down the pats, and keep intercepting geno and tannehill. spikes helps our run game but a cb will solidify our secondary and possibly bring us in line with what the seattle defense brings. We play the pats, packers, bears, detroit, san diego...all teams in the top 10 of passing offense last year. we will need secondary help to stop them.

[Solomon Grundy]

I;m thinking the bills go with a cb with the first pick to really get our defense going. gilmore, leodis, first rounder to slow down the pats, and keep intercepting geno and tannehill. spikes helps our run game but a cb will solidify our secondary and possibly bring us in line with what the seattle defense brings. We play the pats, packers, bears, detroit, san diego...all teams in the top 10 of passing offense last year. we will need secondary help to stop them.

 

That's why I stress a pass rushing LB! Opposing QBs can't throw the ball when they're on their back.

[aristocrat]

That's why I stress a pass rushing LB! Opposing QBs can't throw the ball when they're on their back.

 

wr's covered means the rush gets to the qb.

[KOKBILLS]

The Bills currently have 9 of 11 first or second round draft picks on that defense. So, they need another first round pick to rush the passer or stop the run? They have more then enough talent on that D already, and what they really needed is better coaching. They now have a DC in Schwartz who has coached elite defenses in the past.

 

I'm a heckava lot more concerned about the Bills offense being able to compete with every team they play vs that Bills D that improved greatly with some better coaching under Pettine.

 

I completely agree with this take...But more importantly I think Whaley and Marrone agree...The team needs balance...They need to be able to sustain drives and run more effectively, especially when the opposing Defense knows they want to run it...They need to keep adding weapons and blockers...A couple more sustained drives in each game last year and the results would have been surprisingly different...We're close on Defense, especially with the additions this off season...We need to get better on Offense around EJ so we can figure out if he's going to be the answer long-term...That's why I believe the Bills would prefer to upgrade the RT position first and foremost...If they can't do that at #9 I think they look to trade down, or they just go ahead and take Ebron...