[closed]Dough Whaley interview- candor or smoke and mirrors?

[maryland-bills-fan]

I think the Bills have worked free agency pretty well to pick up known-quality players at LB, TE, LOG, and DB, which relieves them of being forced to reach at those positions. They also drafted heavily at WR recently and this group may have high potential that cannot be fully realized and evaluated because of our young QB last year. I would say that our highest needs from the draft are LEFT offensive tackle (Pears needs replacement and at LOT, you don’t fix what ain’t broke) and Defensive End (we need someone opposite Williams as well as a third guy for depth). We can get one DE from veteran roster cutdowns, so we need only one DE. The Bills need an overall upgrade at a number of other positions, and with the deep draft, we want to increase the number of picks in the first 4 rounds. The draft is deep at a lot of positions (offensive tackle and WR), so we can let other teams burn their picks on WR and take a good starting RIGHT offensive tackle within the first 50 picks. There is no crying need for a shiny toy at the #9 pick. We will use this pick to generate an extra starting player from the first 2 or 3 rounds.

Here is my take on this interview from my perspective. #1 We want to give other teams as many reasons as possible to trade up to take our #9 pick. #2 We don’t have to draft a RIGHT offensive tackle at #9, but want others to think we would.

 

http://www.buffalone...two-bills-drive

 

" The Buffalo Bills believe they’ve positioned themselves to draft the best player available when their turn comes up next month in the first round of the NFL Draft We can go any position,” General Manager Doug Whaley said Friday during the Bills’ annual pre-draft luncheon. If a guy is there with our pick, whenever that pick is – be it one, eight, nine, if he is the guy we think can get us to the playoffs, there's nothing that will preclude us from taking that guy. That’s the beauty of how we set it up this year. [red](So the message is that we might be trading up (#8) or trading down [/color]

 

[red]Whaley said not having a position crying out for an upgrade makes the job easier and makes the Bills more unpredictable, so other teams cannot assume the Bills are going to take player X, rather than their heart-throb pretty boy)[/color]

 

When you have a pressing need, guys tend to get pushed up the board. When you push guys up the board, that’s when you have a greater chance of making mistakes.

 

While stopping far short of giving any concrete clues as to which way the Bills might be leaning with the No. 9 pick in the first round, Whaley did make it clear that giving quarterback EJ Manuel every bit of help possible is a high priority. [red] (Opps, well if you want the top TE or that top one or two WR, you better jump!!)[/color][/b]

 

The perceived notion that the draft is deep at both wide receiver and offensive tackle is accurate, according to Monos.

I think both positions have high-end talent and depth, he said. Those are good positions in this year's

 

Fisher said the top tackles available in the draft Auburn's Greg Robinson, Texas A&M's Jake Matthews, Michigan's Taylor Lewan and Notre Dame's Zack Martin have the flexibility to play either left or right tackle.

 

In this league today, you're getting the same pass rusher from both sides, so it really doesn's matter what side they're on, Fisher said.

 

Whaley further explained why the traditional thinking that left tackle is more important than right tackle is changing, by using an example from the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks.

 

[red]So the Bills are willing to draft one of the top 3 LEFT offensive tackles and stick him at RIGHT offensive tackle. With the rookie salary slotting scheme, they would be paying him top 10 LEFT offensive tackle money on his rookie contract, and probably more than that after his contract year. But if you want a LEFT offensive tackle, who might have been a overall top 5 pick last year or next year….get in line with a good trade offer!!)[/color]

 

Whaley cited the need for more depth at defensive end and linebacker after the switch to a 4-3 base scheme. [red](TRUTH)[/color]

 

"We could use more defensive end depth, but we signed some guys that are unproven, so we're excited and we just have to wait and see there", he said. Linebacker we have a lot of guys that will give us depth, but they're still a little unknown because they haven't been out and shown us what they can do on the field.

[red]I don't know who these defensive end guys are, but I would expect that in the coming year if they don't grow a red cape, tights and learn to fly, we will see offenses doing audiables away from Mario and doubling him and running over the unproven new de.[/color]

 

Let's examine another "smokescreen" You Should Trade Up with the Bills ploy, which is the cornerbacks that the Bills have brought in for visits. Here I have extracted from a recent Walter's Football mock draft the pick at which cornerbacks were taken and detailed both where the Bills pick is AND the cornerbacks that the Bills have brought in for a visit. What caught my eye, was that the Bills have brought in CB's for a visit who are around all of their first 3 round picks. I just cannot see the Bills going CB that early with those other needs and I think they are just sending out the message, "if you want this guy, better trade with the Bills or they are going to pick him up". (note that it looks like a CB in the 5^th for sure)

 

The list of where CB’s might be drafted, the Bills picks and the Bills CB visiters:

1/11

..................................................#9 a Bills pick

1/13 Roby(Ohio State)....BILLS BROUGHT HIM IN

1/24

2/46

2/34 Fuller(V Tech)....BILLS BROUGHT HIM IN

..................................................#41 a Bills pick

2/51

2/56

3/73 Breeland....BILS BROUGH HIM IN..............#72 a Bills pick

3/86

3/89

3/90

3/99

.....................................................#105 a Bills pick

4/125

4/126

4/134

...........................................................#137 a Bills pick

5/159....Aikens (Liberty)....BILLS BROUGH HIM IN

5/168....Cockrell (Duke)...BILLS BROUGH HIM IN

..............................................................#169 a Bills pick

5/174

5/176...Gaines (Rice).....BILLS BROUGH HIM IN

 

 

 

Well that is my rant. I expect the Bills to trade down once or twice in the first round and even again in the first 3 rounds. I expect them to draft (maybe not in this order) RIGHT offensive tackle, Defensive End, Linebacker, and then offensive guard, running back and cornerback in the 5^th.

 

Comments?

Edited April 26, 2014 by maryland-bills-fan

[Best Player Available]

I guess my only thought before this thread is merged is. How can you say the complete bust LG they signed is a known quality player? That's absurd.

[Johnny Hammersticks]

I guess my only thought before this thread is merged is. How can you say the complete bust LG they signed is a known quality player? That's absurd.

 

How can you say definitively that Williams is a complete bust? Almost as absurd.

[maryland-bills-fan]

How can you say definitively that Williams is a complete bust? Almost as absurd.

Williams is a bust? Uh? Please read before you type. What I said is that they would work the side away from Mario Williams all the time unless we have a good DE on the other end. They can see which side Williams lines up on and run to the other side or have an extra blocker work to Williams side.

[Sisyphean Bills]

[This is an automated response]

 

This subject matter is being currently being discussed or has already been discussed in a previous thread.

 

Please consider using the "search" function before starting new topics.

 

Thank you.