LOVEMESOMEBILLS Posted May 11, 2014 Posted May 11, 2014 Of course it is my opinion, and it might end up being wrong, just like all the other opinions on this board, including your opinion that it was a great draft. I thought this was a place for discussion. For what it's worth, I liked this draft, especially adding o-line depth, but I think OBD continues to have a blind spot WRT the QB position. And I probably would not have traded up, even though I think Watkins is going to be a really good player. You just like everyone absolutely have the right to your own opinion, but you would think you would have been better prepared for this. Whaley has been saying they were set at QB for at least a couple months. Now thinking about it he did backpedal just a bit a week or two ago
mannc Posted May 11, 2014 Author Posted May 11, 2014 You just like everyone absolutely have the right to your own opinion, but you would think you would have been better prepared for this. Whaley has been saying they were set at QB for at least a couple months. Now thinking about it he did backpedal just a bit a week or two ago Just because Whaley says in advance that they did not intend to draft a QB, doesn't mean I have to like it. Nor does it make it a sound strategy.
klos63 Posted May 11, 2014 Posted May 11, 2014 yes it can happen to any player. QB is the most important player. Should we not be prepped for an instance that can happen, to any player? Lewis and Dixon are veteran backup QB's. So what is the problem. Lewis actually led the team to a couple victories last season. Can't really expect too much more. Most teams don't have good starting QB's, let alone backups.
gobillsinytown Posted May 11, 2014 Posted May 11, 2014 The draft is ultimately a crap shoot. For all the time and effort that teams spend on scouting, evaluation and metrics, luck still plays a big role. If I'm in Whaley's position, I go with what I think is the best strategy. Obviously he feels the team is set at QB with what they have. They're taking a gamble on EJ, but that's what they get paid to do. Is he right? We'll find out this season. If he's wrong, he will likely be out. This team has some real talent. The biggest question mark going into the season is EJ, but I'm not sure that drafting a late round QB would have been any kind of insurance policy. Anyone in the late rounds is going to be a development project, and that takes time that Whaley doesn't have. Every team takes a gamble at some point. Jacksonville going all in on Blake Bortles is a good example. All the experts had Johnny Football and even Teddy Bridgewater going before him. Anyone that's unhappy with the Bills' draft strategy won't have to wait long is it doesn't work out.
Sisyphean Bills Posted May 11, 2014 Posted May 11, 2014 Bet the farm. Time will tell if it is ballsy or career-killing.
mannc Posted May 11, 2014 Author Posted May 11, 2014 The draft is ultimately a crap shoot. For all the time and effort that teams spend on scouting, evaluation and metrics, luck still plays a big role. If I'm in Whaley's position, I go with what I think is the best strategy. Obviously he feels the team is set at QB with what they have. They're taking a gamble on EJ, but that's what they get paid to do. Is he right? We'll find out this season. If he's wrong, he will likely be out. This team has some real talent. The biggest question mark going into the season is EJ, but I'm not sure that drafting a late round QB would have been any kind of insurance policy. Anyone in the late rounds is going to be a development project, and that takes time that Whaley doesn't have. Every team takes a gamble at some point. Jacksonville going all in on Blake Bortles is a good example. All the experts had Johnny Football and even Teddy Bridgewater going before him. Anyone that's unhappy with the Bills' draft strategy won't have to wait long is it doesn't work out. Hard to disagree with this. There is risk no matter what you do. The question is whether the risk is reasonable under the circumstances. Different people see it different ways. I guess we'll see.
Rocky Landing Posted May 11, 2014 Posted May 11, 2014 The draft is ultimately a crap shoot. For all the time and effort that teams spend on scouting, evaluation and metrics, luck still plays a big role. If I'm in Whaley's position, I go with what I think is the best strategy. Obviously he feels the team is set at QB with what they have. They're taking a gamble on EJ, but that's what they get paid to do. Is he right? We'll find out this season. If he's wrong, he will likely be out. This team has some real talent. The biggest question mark going into the season is EJ, but I'm not sure that drafting a late round QB would have been any kind of insurance policy. Anyone in the late rounds is going to be a development project, and that takes time that Whaley doesn't have. Every team takes a gamble at some point. Jacksonville going all in on Blake Bortles is a good example. All the experts had Johnny Football and even Teddy Bridgewater going before him. Anyone that's unhappy with the Bills' draft strategy won't have to wait long is it doesn't work out. Like many who are suspicious of EJ's potential, I have made my peace with the "All In" strategy they are applying with EJ. I don't agree with the strategy, but if they chose the strategy, and then only went "Half In," I think it would be a bigger mistake. So, I am glad they didn't use up one of their picks on a QB, and instead worked at getting EJ more tools in this draft. The one thing that does bother me, is that we lost next year's first round pick. If EJ doesn't work out, we're in even tougher shape next year.
Thurmal34 Posted May 11, 2014 Posted May 11, 2014 (edited) Knowledgable posters (and other experts) projected McCarron, Mettenberger, and Murphy as second or third rounders. This is the greatest reply of all time. Edited May 11, 2014 by Thurmal34
mannc Posted May 11, 2014 Author Posted May 11, 2014 And they are a model franchise who're regularly held in high regard... Well, the Jets regularly draft later than the Bills do, and for their organization and their fans, the postseason is more than just a hazy, pre-internet era memory. So keep flaming away.
Just in Atlanta Posted May 11, 2014 Posted May 11, 2014 (edited) Let's be honest here. You aren't searching for a solid backup QB. You have already moved on from EJ and are looking to find the next diamond in the rough. If EJ got injured again, are we really expecting 5th round rookie to come in and what? Win games until EJ gets back? Not that fans matter or anything when it comes to decision making but the Tuel fiasco last year is proof fans can't be trusted to wait patiently. More than a few people argued with me (in person) that we should give Tuel a shot after that preseason game. "What do we have to lose". Quite a bit actually when developing a QB on the fly. Honestly, I haven't moved on from EJ. There's nothing to move on from. He hasn't shown anything, positive or negative, other than his penchant for injuring himself on mundane plays. All he has is potential. And that is why the sane thing is to bring in a stud -- as a backup or as a competitor. If "all in" means cashing all your chips on one square, I'm all out -- that's a bad strategy in any game. Edited May 11, 2014 by Just in Atlanta
BuffaloBillsMagic1 Posted May 11, 2014 Posted May 11, 2014 Honestly, I haven't moved on from EJ. There's nothing to move on from. He hasn't shown anything, positive or negative, other than his penchant for injuring himself on mundane plays. All he has is potential. wasn't he a dissappoitnmet at college also?
eball Posted May 11, 2014 Posted May 11, 2014 Amazing how many fans can't come to grips with Whaley's and Marrone's assessment of the roster. They think they have their franchise QB in EJ, and they think Lewis showed enough last season to be a competent backup. Both are very young (and they have Tuel to develop) so there is no need (in their minds) to get another young arm in camp. You may not agree with their assessment, but it's not difficult to understand.
PromoTheRobot Posted May 11, 2014 Posted May 11, 2014 Amazing how many fans can't come to grips with Whaley's and Marrone's assessment of the roster. They think they have their franchise QB in EJ, and they think Lewis showed enough last season to be a competent backup. Both are very young (and they have Tuel to develop) so there is no need (in their minds) to get another young arm in camp. You may not agree with their assessment, but it's not difficult to understand. Plus Dennis Dixon.
Clutchwarfare Posted May 11, 2014 Posted May 11, 2014 Im more surprised they didnt nab a TE at some point. Manuel / Lewis have been given their chance, time to prove the doubters wrong.
Kelly the Dog Posted May 11, 2014 Posted May 11, 2014 I obviously hope EJ does well, and I think he has a pretty decent shot. I liked a lot of what I saw from him but I am not sold on him at all. The problem, perhaps, with this approach, is that they really did stock the roster around him so he easily could become a tease and not an answer. It's hard not to like our running backs this year, and our WR corps. The OL got significantly bigger and better. He's very likely to look pretty good, or good enough, or have enough flashes where you say he is not a bust and we give him another year, and then what you have is Chad Pennington or a poor man's Andy Dalton (and Andy Dalton is a poor man to begin with). Not the same kind of player at all but a guy who is very likely not good enough to win it all for you, and that is the name of the game. I really like Whaley a lot, and I don't mind Marrone at all at this point. But it's not a black and white thing. I like those guys but would like them a LOT more if I had confidence in their ability to evaluate QBs, which so far has proven to be a problem. Kevin Kolb wasn't a horrible choice simply because there weren't any good ones but he was an injury waiting to happen and it happened instantly and they had a terrible back up plan and then didn't do enough to ratify it. I'm sorry, but Jeff Tuel stinks. He wasn't good in college at all, no one drafted him, and he flat out sucked when he played. I'm sure he showed flashes in practice and yes I saw the preseason games, I saw every play. But the guy is not an NFL QB and I think they're crazy that someone would have picked him up off the PS if they cut him and put him there. No chance in my mind. Thad played better than I thought he would, and I am okay, I guess, with him being the backup. But I very, very much doubt any of the good teams in the league would go into their season with EJ, Thad, Tuel and Dennis Dixon (I thoroughly hope Dixon beats out Tuel but I'm afraid that they won't give him a chance). Again, I love Whaley as our GM. He seems like an astute talent evaluator. I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt on this because it's all opinion, no one knows how it will turn out, and he knows 100 times better than me who is a good nfl player or not. But I have watched a lot of football, and he has built a pretty damn good roster to me, but his evaluations of QBs so far, has been iffy at best. I still think EJ could be very good. I don't think it was a bad draft choice at all. I'm willing to give him time. But Our foursome does not instill any confidence whatsoever in me. So I would not have minded picking up a QB late in the draft who could beat out our #3, although granted, very few of them ever pan out. Still, a better player than Tuel could have been the difference in two games last year.
KOKBILLS Posted May 11, 2014 Posted May 11, 2014 Just because Whaley says in advance that they did not intend to draft a QB, doesn't mean I have to like it. Nor does it make it a sound strategy. It depends if you are buying what they are selling...If you are...It is clearly a sound strategy...If you're not...well...It's not... And what they are selling is simple...They are selling the fact that Manuel, Lewis, and Tuel were basically all 1st year QB's in a brand new system that they expect to take a BIG leap in their 2nd year now that they understand the Offense...They are also selling the fact that any Rookie they would bring in is going to go through the same rough patches those three went through last year and they don't feel that's a good idea...They feel very strongly that these three will be much better at executing the Offense now that they fully understand the playbook and the philosophy of what Marrone and Hackett are trying to do...Marrone said it in the final Draft Presser...He said it's like night and day with the three of them understanding the playbook and what is expected of them to run the Offense... We'll see if they are right...That is absolutely debatable at this point...But they are giving valid and logical reasons to stay put in order to move forward and get better...
Kelly the Dog Posted May 11, 2014 Posted May 11, 2014 We'll see if they are right...That is absolutely debatable at this point...But they are giving valid and logical reasons to stay put in order to move forward and get better... That is easy to understand, and I think everyone knows that QB is the toughest position to learn, but it's also saying that no one is a better QB to have on your team that Jeff Tuel. And that simply cannot be true. And when does that strategy stop? If no one would have a chance to beat these guys out because they have a full year under their belt, who would possibly have a chance next year when these four guys have two years in this offense? What they're saying is a rationalization or an excuse, not a valid and logical reason and strategy, IMO.
What a Tuel Posted May 11, 2014 Posted May 11, 2014 OMG - now there is no other QB that could come in and do better than EJ/Thad/Tuel....so the conversation on QB should be closed and anyone tha tdisagrees is a whiny b-tch? Everywhere else in the NFL, unless there's a true franchise incumbent starter, the QB position is a competition. Here we spare feelings and protect our 1st rounder. OK.....let's throw a scenario out there.....Preseason Game 3: EJ goes down with a knee injury and will mis the first 4-6 weeks of the season. NOW WHAT? (cue the EJ excuses, FO excuses and Thad looked pretty good except for all the fumbling threads) I guess in your dream world our 5th round rookie would step in and take us to 4-2? A veteran signing makes more sense if that is what you want.....
Rocky Landing Posted May 11, 2014 Posted May 11, 2014 I guess in your dream world our 5th round rookie would step in and take us to 4-2? A veteran signing makes more sense if that is what you want..... Personally, I was wishing we would have picked up a veteran already. But now, is there even anyone noteworthy left in FA? Or if there is someone on the trading block, what do we have left to trade? CJ? More of our picks from next year? Doesn't seem likely to me. When Whaley said, "all in," he meant it, for good or ill.
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