The absolute best case scenario at Left Tackle

[John from Riverside]

Frankly...the idea of a TE converting to a starting left tackle scares the hell out of me.......

 

I thought McFarland looked lost at the beginning of the year....but was holding his own in the final games.....

 

What is impressive about him to me is his wingspan......if you are a Tackle with decent feet AND a long wingspan you can "wall off defend" a lot more easier....

 

Jonas Jennings was a fricken T Rex

[Alaska Darin]

Maybe I'm nuts here, but I was shocked when McFarland actually made the roster.

The few times I saw the guy he was painfully stiff with limited alteral movement and minimal strength. The Bills can address the strength aspect but I doubt if there's much they can do to cure his terminal case of lumberitis.

If you gave Lurch an eight-ball, he'd look like McFarland.

Did y'all notice something from this guy that I missed or are we just whistlin' past the graveyard?

Cya

 

P.S. If anybody is hiding in the weeds waiting to play LT for the Bills, it's faaaarrrr more likely to be Jason Peters, imo.

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I agree on all counts. Shocking.

[Bill from NYC]

Yep. Some servicable guards for the Bills were from the lower rounds - Lacina was a 6th pick, Ostrowski was a 10th,  Nails a 4th.

 

Last year's acquisition, Villarial, was a 5th.

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Serviceable? You just listed some of the worst players in the history of the NFL.

[John from Riverside]

Bill....that is kind of overdoin it....

 

Ostroski....a VERY servicable player....just not a pro bowler

Lacina.....did ok if you didn't ask him to do to much

Nails....when he lost weight for Miami played well for them

[Bill from NYC]

Bob Dylan?  That would be a weird choice at LT!   Althought I guess he could talk in the crazy way he does and confuse the opposing DE.

282231[/snapback]

 

I think that a better choice would be Cat Stevens. Could we sign him to play LT?

 

He could sing "Moonshadow" to the defensive ends and probably have a better season than McFarland.

[Mark VI]

I cant imagine why people are clamoring to put a 7th round pick at LT.

282418[/snapback]

 

Clamoring ? LOL ! Because 4,5 people mention him in a thread, we're clamoring ?

 

He could be the biggest stiff in the world, as Simon mentioned. I'm just saying some lower round picks do make it. Most do not.

 

I don't even remember watching his play last year. I did notice Peters and was glad we got him back. He's strictly a project.

 

Come on TD, go get Shelton.

[Bill from NYC]

Bill....that is kind of overdoin it....

 

Ostroski....a VERY servicable player....just not a pro bowler

Lacina.....did ok if you didn't ask him to do to much

Nails....when he lost weight for Miami played well for them

282600[/snapback]

 

My Friend............

 

Ostroski: A bag of sh--. He was the worst OC in NFL history, and cost the Bills in the neighborhood of 5 mil to cut.

 

Lacina: Light in the ass. Also, I like OGs to do something.

 

Nails: A fat, worthless scumbag who would stand there as RJ was bleeding on the ground after a late hit. Out of the league.....garbage.

 

Other than Ruben Brown, CV is the first good OG on the Buffalo Bills since Davis. CV is a monster RG, and the improved play of MW directly reflects his presence.

Jmo.

[John from Riverside]

My Friend............

 

Ostroski: A bag of sh--. He was the worst OC in NFL history, and cost the Bills in the neighborhood of 5 mil to cut.

 

Lacina: Light in the ass. Also, I like OGs to do something.

 

Nails: A fat, worthless scumbag who would stand there as RJ was bleeding on the ground after a late hit. Out of the league.....garbage.

 

Other than Ruben Brown, CV is the first good OG on the Buffalo Bills since Davis. CV is a monster RG, and the improved play of MW directly reflects his presence.

Jmo.

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I agree that Villy is a very good OG....was all too happy when we signed him....

 

If we had a young Jerry Ostroski playing LG right now.....I would be ok with that.....he wasn't worth what we paid him....but hey....who is nowadays

 

Lacina....I would take him over Pucillo.....

 

Nails was a fat slob when he played for us....he went on to miami and was actually servicable for a little while...then got hurt

[Fake-Fat Sunny]

I love this thread because the various possibilities for LT it presents as a response to J from H.

 

Many of them are unlikely possibilities but there is a lot none of us has seen in terms of the work and practice of players on our roster. Add even other rosters- for example, I would not have guessed that someone off the Ravens PS was a better option than the lowly Pucillo at LG. I'm not saying Smith was an adequate LG starter since he wasn't last year but how did JMac know he was a better option than Pucillo? It suggests fans are panicking way to early because we were unwilling (unable) to overpay for Jennings or buy some expensive LT.

 

Most of these options will not work out, but options at include:

 

1. Follow J of H suggestion and develop McFarland.

2. Follow Simon suggestion and develop Peters.

3. Follow a player etc's suggestion and flip MW to LT.

4. The trade for Shelton is still alive (if you believe Henry) so make the deal.

5. Cap caualties do suddenly appear on the market even at LT as Seattle just demonstrated.

6. Re-sign Marcus Price who filled in well for JJ last year and is still on the available FA list.

7. Try Gandy at LT as he started 14 games there in 2003 for the Bills.

8. Try David Pruce who is on the Bills roster there as he made the All-world team at LT playing for Frankfurt in NFLE.

9. Trade up (if we are really stupid and desperate) and use the draft.

10. Flip Teague to LT.

11. Something else since I have not done this for living and even despite my overly long posts there are ideas from the professionals I haven't even tought of yet.

 

I'm not saying that any of these 11 ideas will work but one of even two of them might work and this is reason enough for us not to feel doomed at LT or to get our panties all up in a wad or feel panicked about this.

 

Breathe and relax.

 

Just to comment as I have a little time until an appointment at 9pm.

 

1. J of H's McFarland idea is interesting but seem unlikely to work to me (but hey would do I know as I would have felt it was unlikely for a player from the Ravens PS to even make our roster or at best be an awful back-up, but instead Smith made it all the way up to inadquate starter in his first year). Yet I do not share the seeming wholesale indictment of McFarland as a player of Simon and others, The Bills demonstrated with both Denney and Edward they are willing to sit draft picks (even more highly touted ones) who they judge to be not good enough to play even at need positions. McFarland not only made the roster bu was active and played so JMac clearly sees something there to work with. Perhaps just as Denney and Edwards improved their games enough to start (thank gosh we got better players to push them out of their starting roles) it is not impossible that McFarland can also improve his game as a second year player. In fact, if McF or any of the other prospects improves his game enough to be trusted at RT (with Villarial next to them to teach them) this would be the less difficult goal than trusting them to guard the QBs blindside as it allows JMac to flip MW to LT if he think his game is improved.

 

2. I doubt Peters is our answer at LT (or even RT) despite the rumblings coming out of OBD that he is a special athlete. He was drafted, was moved on to the roster to protect him from PS poacher, and even scored a TD on ST because of his speed, athletic abilities, nose for the ball and soft hands. If he is such a special athlete and gangbuster blocker, why not put him at TE (where inuries have created a need) instead of at tackle and take the ball out of his hands. I think the Peters at LT talk is all smoke and mirrors to confuse the enemy.

 

3. I think flipping MW sounds like a better possibility, but the problems he had last off-season must be gone with a far more professional attitude from MW that he is going to watch his teammate's backs and not let down this region. This is possible because his play improved tremendously last year (thanks to a combination or praise like giving him a gameball when he played well last season and threat when JMac got MWs attention by fooling him and ICE into thinking they would move him to LG. If JMac feels he can revive MW further to connect his play to the old days when he guarded a lefty's blindside at Texas, this one may work this year.

 

4. It appears to me that part of Shelton's downfall was not his play but not hitting it off with Denny Green. He was injured last year which provided and opening, but over his career has answered the bell 16 times in a season at LT a couple of times and got the nickname the "Last Man Standing" in AZ when he was the only major player there to bes the injury bug so I'm not bothered by an episode of injury (unlike JJ who had several different episodes of injury). If this deal can be done I think it is a great one for the Bills and the chances are still rough but higher today after Henry said TD is in the driver's seat for making this deal.

 

5. I don't think Terry is the answer but this shows that the cap casualty option (maybe even before June 1st) is an option.

 

6. It interest me that Price does not have a deal yet and perhaps he remains a fall back option for the Bills if the market does not knock down his door. I see him as less of an option as our LT starter, than as a reliable back-up who makes me much more comfortable taking a flyer on another starter.

 

7. Starting for the Bears does not strike me as making Gandy answer at starter. However, he has started at both tackle and guard and might actually fill the Price role if Price is a goner.

 

8. Pruce is an interesting propect but the emphais for me is prospect. Yet he could easily be a player who if his play improves can become a valuable back-up on this team.

 

9. I think the draft (particularly the 1st roun slots) are overrated by many fans who like me are involved in too many fantasy leagues and too stat conscious. The draft is an important tool, but it is not the key to building a winner as shown by the NE Patriots who signed roughly 25 players fortheir 50+ man roster after the cap cuts June 1st. Draftees were critical though it was actually late rounders like Brady rather than #1s like Seymour who proved to be quite repaceable by less regarded players last year. When one adds in UDFAs and trades to the FAs. the draft was merely a very important sideshow to NE building a winning squad. Its the mix that is the real deal here and FA signings like Rodney Harrison and the cast of back-ups who signed cheaply to replace high draftees like Seymour even wounded FAs like Colvin were the lead of this mix for NE.

 

The only semi-reasonable way I see the Bills using this draft on the OL is to draft a player who can start at C so we can flip Teague to LT.

 

19. Flipping Teague to LT strikes me as the lead option for the Bills filling the LT gap, but even this best option is not a likely option given the combination of ALL the other LT options (both possible and bad) we have. Flipping Teague must involve getting a center and maybe JMac views, Tucker as the man, maybe this is the cap casualty or trade we see, or maybe there is some rookie we can get in the draft (I hope not), who knows for sure.

 

11. Some other unknown.

 

At anyrate I think you can comfortably ignore post which claim we are doomed because we did not overpay DeMulling. As DeMulling's agent says if we wanted him we could have got him and as TD says if we want to create cap room we can get a player we want.

 

Whew, I am thankful my 9:00 conference call to the left coast got postponed to 9:30.