ChanOverChin Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 Whaley has done a great job rebuilding the Bills' roster, but I hope he doesn't think that he's done. Some interesting things could shake out with the UDFAs that we sign (although I think if any of them make the final 53 man roster they will mostly be ST/depth players). The position that Whaley didn't address at all that I thought he should have is a 4-3 DE. We have Mario Williams, Wynn, Hughes, and Lawson. Williams and Wynn has the body type to play the 4-3 DE position, but Hughes and Lawson don't carry the weight that is needed to defend the run. In R3 of the 2014 Draft, DE Crichton was taken one spot in front of the Bills' R3 pick, which is a shame because I think Whaley may have jumped on him at that spot. Instead, the Bills selected ILB P. Brown, who was a good pick, but he's not going to help us much at DE. I think we have a definite weakness at one DE position at this point and there doesn't appear to be a lot of options to fill this need. Dallas' DE Anthony Spencer is a FA so he is a possibility. Where do you think our biggest weakness is at this point?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorkington Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 After rookie signings, we'll only have $3-4 mil left in cap room. So if we do pick up any new bodies, they will need to be cheap cheap cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoloinOhio Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 Whaley has done a great job rebuilding the Bills' roster, but I hope he doesn't think that he's done. Some interesting things could shake out with the UDFAs that we sign (although I think if any of them make the final 53 man roster they will mostly be ST/depth players). The position that Whaley didn't address at all that I thought he should have is a 4-3 DE. We have Mario Williams, Wynn, Hughes, and Lawson. Williams and Wynn has the body type to play the 4-3 DE position, but Hughes and Lawson don't carry the weight that is needed to defend the run. In R3 of the 2014 Draft, DE Crichton was taken one spot in front of the Bills' R3 pick, which is a shame because I think Whaley may have jumped on him at that spot. Instead, the Bills selected ILB P. Brown, who was a good pick, but he's not going to help us much at DE. I think we have a definite weakness at one DE position at this point and there doesn't appear to be a lot of options to fill this need. Dallas' DE Anthony Spencer is a FA so he is a possibility. Where do you think our biggest weakness is at this point?? The Bills said Manny Lawson and Jerry Hughes will be playing that position. There will be different packages but Branch will be in there as well as Jarius Wynn based on what the offense is showing. However - I agree that there are opportunities for upgrading and remember there will be a slew of cuts around the league in June and in training camp, some of which will make you say "Wow" - I have no doubt that Whaley would pull the trigger if he feels he needs to sign another guy based on what we start seeing in mini-camp. After rookie signings, we'll only have $3-4 mil left in cap room. So if we do pick up any new bodies, they will need to be cheap cheap cheap. Many teams are in the same boat - there are always trades as well and Whaley is not afraid of those as we have seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green Lightning Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 (edited) We may also have some cap space created if there are more trades. DW has shown he's not shy about moving anyone if the return is right. Also it's good to be focusing on one need instead 5 or 6 needs! Edited May 12, 2014 by Green Lightning Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
machine gun kelly Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 If it's accurate that we will have only $3-4 mil. after we sign all of these rookies, then we won't do anything. Teams always keep about that amt of money in reserve as they'll need it when players get hurt. When we had to pick up Thad last year and a couple of others, they needed the money to sign them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Hindsight Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 A guy that was playing well at the end of last year Was Corbin Byrant. Keep an eye on him Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoloinOhio Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 A guy that was playing well at the end of last year Was Corbin Byrant. Keep an eye on him He is a DT, though, correct? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsVet Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 Many teams are in the same boat - there are always trades as well and Whaley is not afraid of those as we have seen. You've conflated the argument. Teams still have areas to improve, but Buffalo has almost nothing at one of their 40 front DE positions. Hughes and Lawson are not every-down types and I wonder if the latter even fits into the new defensive scheme. Wynn is depth, which makes one wonder who'll line up there in week 1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSaint Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 a couple things i suppose --- 1) is 3-4m really accurate? I know stevie added some dead money with his trade, but by bar napkin math wouldve guessed more than that 2) 3-4m can translate into a 15-20m signing bonus, so you dont have to be CHEAP, not that there is a 20m signing bonus type of end out there You've conflated the argument. Teams still have areas to improve, but Buffalo has almost nothing at one of their 40 front DE positions. Hughes and Lawson are not every-down types and I wonder if the latter even fits into the new defensive scheme. Wynn is depth, which makes one wonder who'll line up there in week 1. a few things here 1) we ran a lot of 40 fronts with these guys, so its not totally unreasonable to think we may have a plan that could be functional 2) schwartz has traditionally used his d line to get after the qb. when you hear what an aggressive scheme he has, its not blitzing - its linemen selling out on pass rush assignments. so a guy that is well rounded or stout against the run may not be a priority Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
voodoo poonani Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 (edited) I think another serious need is 3-down LB. Someone to pair with Kiko in the nickel package. I was hoping for CJ Mosley but perhaps that would be too many CJs. Edited May 12, 2014 by voodoo poonani Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John from Riverside Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 You cant have a pro bowler at every position...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChanOverChin Posted May 12, 2014 Author Share Posted May 12, 2014 Hughes/Lawson could be a big weakness vs the run on 1st/2nd down. They're just not big enough to go against 325 lb OTs/OGs in the run game. They will get run over. They will do fine in obvious passing situations. The Bills need to recognize this deficiency and do something about it before it gets exploited to the hilt. The good news is that they have filled most of their other needs very well. They could still use more speed at TE (preferably a veteran) and one would assume that Graham takes over as the FS with A. Williams as the starting SS. I'm also surprised that the Bills feel like they're fine at QB after the debacle that was their QB situation last year. Manuel needs to stay healthy and really make a strong leap forward this year for the Bills to have a chance to make the playoffs. Talk about putting all of your eggs in one basket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John from Riverside Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 Can....we didnt run a true 3-4 defense LAST year....so now all of a sudden its a major concern? We did in fact bring in the best run Stop LB in the league in Spikes....then we followed it up in the draft with another MLB thumper in Preston Brown I still maintain that Moeki is a complete TE who if he can stay healthy is a true number 1 wide out It looks like the bills really did believe in the TE's they had on their roster........Gragg could suprise as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChanOverChin Posted May 12, 2014 Author Share Posted May 12, 2014 John, I have high hopes for Moeaki, who could become the starter at TE if he can get all the way back to where he was prior to the injury, bu that may be asking a lot at this point. I'd rather see the Bills stick with Pettine's version of the 3-4 from last year, but I'm sure that Schwartz doesn't know how to run that defense. I expect that we'll see much more of a standard 4-3 defense from him, which means that the front four will be a big key to our success. I hope we don't play the 4-3 like Wannstedt did because that was pathetic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragonborn10 Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 On paper the run defense may be worse than last year. All teams will need to do is use three and four wide reciever sets and force the Bills to choose between Spikes and Kiko at MLB and Hughes or Lawson at DE. Then you motiion a TE and run right at Kiko or Hughes or throw crossing routes against Spikes. Obvioulsy a gross oversimplification but DE could be a huge problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simpleman Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 Lack of cap space is a poor excuse for not signing players that can help the Bills make the playoffs. Whaley has already shown a willingness to sacrifice the future for what he needs this year by giving up a first and 4th next year for Watkins. DE needs to be dealt with if we want a playoff run this year. Eric Pears 3 million + Doug Legursky 1 million can be cut if cap space is an issue. We have over 11 million to sign our draftees, even with 3-5 million for Watkins. The Bills chose their right tackle with their 2nd round pick. Paying 3 million to Pears does not make sense. We are paying 2.4 million to Williams to play guard. We drafted Richardson as a guard and also took a flyer on Henderson .Legursky is no prize at an extra 1 million, if we need cap space. As someone mentioned, multi year contracts can be structured to move cap hits into future years. We have almost 20 million dead money expiring next year from SJ & RF. So plenty of cap next year is available for extensions of CJ & Dareus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
34-78-83 Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 I think the 40 fronts will be much more similar to last season's 40 fronts than most people think. LOTS of assumptions going on about Schwartz's defense but he has never said he's going to a traditional 4-3 - he said there would be SOME tweaks and a lot of what was already working last year from everything I have seen at least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luxy312 Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 My biggest question mark is still linebacker. Last year, we saw a lot of Bradham and Moats lining up with Alonso and it just wasn't very effective against the run. This off season, the Bills went out and got Keith Rivers and Brandon Spikes both presumably to shore up that weakness. To boot, they drafted Preston Brown, who should see some playing time in his first year. On paper, all these guys look to be upgrades over what they had last year versus the run. The question mark for me is whether they will be any good in the passing game. I doubt they will have Spikes in on any clear passing downs, and Brown is very similar in terms of his strengths and weaknesses. Bradham and the other new rookie provide limited depth at the position as well, and Moats signed with the Steelers. I would also put a question mark on the secondary as a whole. Positionally, I don't have much of a problem with the base defense with McKelvin, Gilmore, Williams, Searcy. Where it gets hairy for me is when you get past the nickel packages to dime. I just can't envision who the 6th DB will be. Graham is a no brainer for nickel packages, but then are we talking about bringing in Nickell Roby or now the new rookie Cockrell? They're pretty thin on depth there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John from Riverside Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 My biggest question mark is still linebacker. Last year, we saw a lot of Bradham and Moats lining up with Alonso and it just wasn't very effective against the run. This off season, the Bills went out and got Keith Rivers and Brandon Spikes both presumably to shore up that weakness. To boot, they drafted Preston Brown, who should see some playing time in his first year. On paper, all these guys look to be upgrades over what they had last year versus the run. The question mark for me is whether they will be any good in the passing game. I doubt they will have Spikes in on any clear passing downs, and Brown is very similar in terms of his strengths and weaknesses. Bradham and the other new rookie provide limited depth at the position as well, and Moats signed with the Steelers. I would also put a question mark on the secondary as a whole. Positionally, I don't have much of a problem with the base defense with McKelvin, Gilmore, Williams, Searcy. Where it gets hairy for me is when you get past the nickel packages to dime. I just can't envision who the 6th DB will be. Graham is a no brainer for nickel packages, but then are we talking about bringing in Nickell Roby or now the new rookie Cockrell? They're pretty thin on depth there. Luxy....all they can do is bring in players which they did....both free agency and draft in both the linebacker and secondary areas..... Whaley brought in veteran guys....and guys that gave the top draft picks on offense fits By my count......4 linebackers between draft and free agency and 2 new secondary? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bills1960 Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 The fact Scott Crichton went one pick before us... Either way, I am slightly concerned about our depth (or lack there of) at DE. We take for granted that Mario was healthy for 16 games this past year. The two years before that injuries plagued him. Don't get me wrong, that is by no means a criticism (I love Mario) but it's just the facts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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