Wasn't Andy Levitre a Bill

[nedboy7]

Most players don’t seem to fit our scheme.  That’s why we are so dominant. We tailor the roster perfectly to our scheme. 

[Bill from NYC]

  On 9/7/2018 at 12:36 PM, hemma said:

 

I remember that game vs the Jets. 

A few bags of sand would have been better.  

 

I think he was released later that week. 

Colon was Brown remains the worst starting OL I have ever seen.

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Are you old enough to remember Marcus Spriggs or Greg Jerman?

 

Jerman was SO bad at left tackle that I actually was worried about someone getting killed on the field.

[John from Riverside]

  On 9/7/2018 at 1:37 AM, BADOLBILZ said:

 

Letting him go was the wrong move by management.

 

It was wrong at the time........because they had plenty of money and had invested a second round pick in him and he was good.    If your early picks pan out and you let them walk without a solid replacement you don't understand how to build.    At the time,  that is what the Bills were.    We all know this now......let's not defend the dumb things they did in the past.

 

It turned into a disaster when the season started and Colin Brown had perhaps the single worst season by a Bills starting OL.    He was literally altering the outcome of games and very possibly the single difference between missing the playoffs versus stealing a very up-for-grabs playoff spot.

 

And in the long run it was wrong because he's been very good for a long time and is still going strong.    

 

And fwiw.........future HOF'er Jason Peters is playing tonight as well.......and there were clowns on here who FOR YEARS swore trading him was the right thing to do.   Part of that argument was the Bills were getting younger with the drafting of Eric Wood........but as I said in response to that......Peters will be playing when Wood was out of the league.

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Never understood letting Levitre go

 

We had the money to resign him

He can play multiple postions

While undersized....he was a solid guard

 

There are a lot of moves that former front offices have made that contributed to our drought...this was one of them....along with letting Pat Williams go amongst others

[BillsGuru4]

  On 9/7/2018 at 1:20 AM, ShadyBillsFan said:

You don’t remember the jokes 

 

Levitre gives you wood

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Didn't Peters give us Wood?

[MTBill]

I honestly think a lot of the problems we have had (and maybe continue to have with Castillo?) have been with the coaching/scheme.   We had such a revolving door of HC/OC/OLC - so we had a few pretty good linemen who we let go (Peters/Levitre come to mind), however for whatever reason they did not pan out here.

 

We really know zilch about 2018 yet.  We had injuries in the Preseason along with trying some other configurations.  I am sort of hopeful that we're going to see improvement with experience as a group.  I think the offseason changes this season are all pretty well inevitable.  Cordy was going to be an expensive luxury as a 3rd Tackle (who has injury concerns anyways).  Wood had a medical condition show up which forced his hand.  Incognito had a nervous breakdown or something and needs help.

 

We have what we have - and I just hope they jell enough that when we transition to Allen he won't get murdered or develop bad habits due to the OL.

[Big Turk]

  On 9/7/2018 at 1:11 AM, Watkins90 said:

Wasn't he on our team and we just released him?

 

He is the sixth-ranked guard by PFF.

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We didn't release him, he was an FA and got stupid money for a guard.  Nothing you can do...some team is going to vastly overpay with FA's

[Nanker]

OJ Simpson was a Bill too. What's his rating?

[ColoradoBills]

  On 9/7/2018 at 5:54 PM, BuffaloSol said:

Thin OLine FA next year. He married a buffalo girl, maybe a reunion is in store for the right price?

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Yep, I looked at the future 2019 OL FAs and it is not all that great.

Factor in teams resigning their own FAs and 31 other teams with potential signings may not leave Bills fans getting the OL

they hoped for even with 90 million.

 

Lets hope Beane can work some magic!

[GreggTX]

  On 9/7/2018 at 1:45 AM, pimp on da' net said:

Did you read the article? 

 

Levitre was not a fit for the system & coming off a 2nd surgery in the off season. The Bills still wanted to keep him but NOT a $8M / year.

 

He was labeled as underperforming with the Titan who in turn released him...the GM's job is to find the talent required for the HC style of play.

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Plenty of blame for 17 years of futility, but few fans questioned the move at the time. I say let's stick to the more valid criticism if we must go down that path.

[Buffalo86]

Over the years I've come to believe that if a player doesn't fit the Bills' scheme, he's probably pretty good.

[SoTier]

  On 9/7/2018 at 1:15 AM, billsbackto81 said:

He was a FA and got a boatload of money from the Titans. Wanted to keep him but it was the right move by management. 

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Ah, yes.   The Bills ALWAYS want to keep the best young players from the draft or as UDFAs that they develop, but they can't "afford" to keep them, so they let them walk rather than re-sign them or trade them away because the Bills "wouldn't have been able to re-sign them anyway" , and Bills fans applaud Bills management for making "the right move" ... again and again and again. 

 

[SoTier]

  On 9/7/2018 at 1:45 AM, pimp on da' net said:

Did you read the article? 

 

Levitre was not a fit for the system & coming off a 2nd surgery in the off season. The Bills still wanted to keep him but NOT a $8M / year.

 

He was labeled as underperforming with the Titan who in turn released him...the GM's job is to find the talent required for the HC style of play.

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Are you implying that Levitre wasn't healthy?  That seems to be a favorite excuse that some fans make for the Bills' questionable move, but the fact is that Levitre started every Bills game during his four years with the Bills.   He then went on to start 32 more games in 2 seasons with the Titans and another 32 more games in his first 2 seasons with the Falcons.  In fact, the three games that Levitre missed in 2017 were the first 3 games he missed in his entire career ... and he's back to starting for the Falcons once again.  He started 128 straight games for three teams.

 

Most successful teams have a GM who's more than a glorified scout and scapegoat for a string of mostly less than competent HCs, which has been what the Bills have had since Tom Donahoe was fired in 2006 and Russ Brandon took control of the team.

[John from Riverside]

  On 9/8/2018 at 3:47 AM, SoTier said:

 

Ah, yes.   The Bills ALWAYS want to keep the best young players from the draft or as UDFAs that they develop, but they can't "afford" to keep them, so they let them walk rather than re-sign them or trade them away because the Bills "wouldn't have been able to re-sign them anyway" , and Bills fans applaud Bills management for making "the right move" ... again and again and again. 

 

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Examples?  With this mgt group in place of course.

  On 9/8/2018 at 12:24 AM, Buffalo86 said:

Over the years I've come to believe that if a player doesn't fit the Bills' scheme, he's probably pretty good.

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Because so many of those players go on to be pro bowlers for other teams....please feel free to provide examples.

  On 9/7/2018 at 11:33 PM, GreggTX said:

 

Plenty of blame for 17 years of futility, but few fans questioned the move at the time. I say let's stick to the more valid criticism if we must go down that path.

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Lets also stick to the moves of current management and not former management.......as it is really not fair to the guys now in place.

[SoTier]

  On 9/8/2018 at 4:10 AM, John from Riverside said:

Examples?  With this mgt group in place of course.

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In 2017, Stephon Gilmore, Robert Woods, and Marquise Goodwin all walked away in FA with McDermott as HC.  Beane traded Sammy Watkins the year before his contract would have expired, and Ronald Darby 2 years into his rookie contract.   In 2018, the Bills failed to re-sign  Preston Brown and Seantrel Henderson, who while only a backup, was better than any of the scrubs the Bills currently have pretending to play LT except for Dion Dawkins.

[John from Riverside]

  On 9/8/2018 at 4:23 AM, SoTier said:

 

In 2017, Stephon Gilmore, Robert Woods, and Marquise Goodwin all walked away in FA

 

I said recent

 

with McDermott as HC.  Beane traded Sammy Watkins the year before his contract would have expired, and Ronald Darby 2 years into his rookie contract. 

 

Sammy Watkins is now with his 3rd team and he did take a very high salary contract.    I personally would not have had a problem with Sammy being on the team but at the time he had a QB throwing to him that was not going to get him the numbers to validate that contract...he then went to a high powered offense who promptly did the same thing and let him go to the Chiefs.

 

Ronald Darby started out great.....then faded....currently he is playing well but he is also playing in the defense that he played well in his rookie year with that DC......the traded of Darby netted amongst other things Horrible Harry......who looks like he could be a pretty good player in his own right.  Sometimes you trade talent at one position to gain talent needed at other positions and this is probably Kyle's last year.   If there is one thing that Beane and McD have seemed to be able to do it is put together a decent secondary.

 

  In 2018, the Bills failed to re-sign  Preston Brown

Preston Brown does not have the range in order to play MLB in this defense.....in this defense he is simply a band aid as a starter.   The bills are moving players out that do not have the strengths to play the McD defense that was played with the panthers......this is why they used a 1st round pick on a MLB that DOES scheme fit the defense in Edmunds.

 

and Seantrel Henderson, who while only a backup, was better than any of the scrubs the Bills currently have pretending to play LT except for Dion Dawkins.

I know that we like to change things that actually happened as time goes on to fit narratives....but the fact is Seantrel was a lazy player when he was not threatened by the play of another player to take his spot AND he actually suffers from a affliction that forces him to take a NFL banned substance in order to be able to play which makes him UNRELIABLE......when you are the GM of a team you have to do what is best for the TEAM not just because some unsilent minority's like a certain player......if you cannot stay on the field....it does not matter how talented you are.

 

At the end of the day....just because bills management doesnt biuld the team the way you like it does not mean they are wrong.....we traded core players for draft picks last year and were STILL COMPETATIVE......we are in the middle of a rebiuld......the team does have a vision and it is obviously working.   Results....all that matters is results.

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[billsbackto81]

  On 9/8/2018 at 3:47 AM, SoTier said:

 

Ah, yes.   The Bills ALWAYS want to keep the best young players from the draft or as UDFAs that they develop, but they can't "afford" to keep them, so they let them walk rather than re-sign them or trade them away because the Bills "wouldn't have been able to re-sign them anyway" , and Bills fans applaud Bills management for making "the right move" ... again and again and again. 

 

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Armchair GMs always look at situations like this with a blank check and no future repercussions. They could afford him, they chose not to. Andy was a very good, not stellar Guard. Never an All Pro or Pro Bowl if I recall correctly. To his credit just like Preston Brown he was dependable and always in the line up. But there was no way the FO was going to give him 8 per year because of his steady play and dependability coming off a knee scope to boot. Weren't they trying to work out a deal with their Pro Bowl/ All Pro Safety at the time? Maybe he should have got the contract the Saints gave up for him? Woof! That was a bullet dodged right there.

Hindsight is beautiful...

[Fan in Chicago]

  On 9/7/2018 at 5:54 PM, BuffaloSol said:

Thin OLine FA next year. He married a buffalo girl, maybe a reunion is in store for the right price?

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I wouldnt mind trading a low pick for him NOW, 

[iinii]

  On 9/7/2018 at 7:21 PM, Bill from NYC said:

Are you old enough to remember Marcus Spriggs or Greg Jerman?

 

Jerman was SO bad at left tackle that I actually was worried about someone getting killed on the field.

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Mike Williams was THE bust. 

  On 9/7/2018 at 9:14 PM, John from Riverside said:

Never understood letting Levitre go

 

We had the money to resign him

He can play multiple postions

While undersized....he was a solid guard

 

There are a lot of moves that former front offices have made that contributed to our drought...this was one of them....along with letting Pat Williams go amongst others

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Pat Williams was great. Losing him was the beginning of the dark state.

[bobobonators]

  On 9/7/2018 at 10:28 PM, ColoradoBills said:

 

Yep, I looked at the future 2019 OL FAs and it is not all that great.

Factor in teams resigning their own FAs and 31 other teams with potential signings may not leave Bills fans getting the OL

they hoped for even with 90 million.

 

Lets hope Beane can work some magic!

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Trade down in 1st round and get an extra second round pick. 

 

Draft 2 OL with the first 3 picks. 

[bobobonators]

  On 9/8/2018 at 1:58 PM, billsbackto81 said:

Armchair GMs always look at situations like this with a blank check and no future repercussions. They could afford him, they chose not to. Andy was a very good, not stellar Guard. Never an All Pro or Pro Bowl if I recall correctly. To his credit just like Preston Brown he was dependable and always in the line up. But there was no way the FO was going to give him 8 per year because of his steady play and dependability coming off a knee scope to boot. Weren't they trying to work out a deal with their Pro Bowl/ All Pro Safety at the time? Maybe he should have got the contract the Saints gave up for him? Woof! That was a bullet dodged right there.

Hindsight is beautiful...

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If I was GM id dedicate a huge portion of the salary cap to the lines. Id never draft a corner, safety, rb, LB, or TE in the first round until my Oline and Dline were set. A great Oline makes an average QB better by giving him more time, it makes an avg RB better by giving him wider lanes, and it makes receivers better bc they have that much more time to get open. 

 

A great DL makes the entire defense better for the exact opposite of what was stated above. The best corner in the world cant cover even an avg wide receiver if the QB has 5-6 seconds to throw the ball. Great Linebackers are useless when there are gaping holes at the LOS and they have to make tackles 8yds down field. 

 

Its a simple saying but it really does start at the LOS. Yes, you need talented skill players to make plays, too, but man the overall talent of the team increases exponentially when the o-line and d-lines are dominant. 

 

Unfortunately, i think a lot of GM’s are caught in that trap of wanting to sign or draft the exciting skill players that bring speed and size and generate buzz in the media. It’s harder to get excited about overweight linemen that are slow and look like they just ate a small calf. Everyone wants to drive a Ferrari around; but its the Honda Accord or Toyota Camry that will ultimately get you where you need to go everyday for years. 

 

Id retain proven good/great o-linemen and d-linemen at all costs.