Some Random Thoughts

[Mike F]

OK.....I took a couple of days to digest this past weekend, and all of the opinions on this board (as well as in the media). To say there is a wide range of opinions is an understatement!

 

1) The Bills entire roster was pretty much set, before the draft. Yes, there are some question marks (DT, how JP plays, Teague at C or LT, who plays the spot Teague doesn't ), but how many starting positions were open that we could address with draft picks? The starters on this team are established, making our lack of a first rounder, less of an issue.

 

I look at the draft as addressing depth, ST and the future, as most people probably do. We picked JP last year, at the expense of this year's #1 pick. In a way, we used our pick a year early.......a good move considering the lack of "superstar talent" in Round One. Not to mention, a young QB with a year under his belt is a better option to start the following year, instead of a true rookie. Would you rather have JP Losman or Aaron Rodgers at this point?

 

2) Are any of the picks after the first round or two, more guaranteed then UDFA's? I think we can all agree that player ratings are less reliable as the draft moves on. With so many schools and so many players, there are diamonds in the rough, everywhere. Look at the haul the Bills brought in as UDFA's this year, already. Look at the succes TD and Co. have had in year's past, with UDFA's! I am confident that the Bills will find a group of young players from this year's class that will have an impact. And when they do, does it really matter if they were draft picks, or not? (like Pat Williams, for example)

 

3) We did not deal Travis! I, for one, am not panicking. What could we have received for him leading up to the draft? LJ Shelton? The Bills brass was not overly impressed with him. Not to mention he was benched by the CARDINALS! (not exactly the model NFL franchise) Just because Shelton is a player at one of our perceived "need positions" does not make him the right player for us.

 

Oh wait, how about a mid-round pick, instead? OK, that's fine, but review item #2 above. In a weak draft, how valuable would that have been? (even if it was offered, which is seems it was not). Why not hold onto Travis? Maybe he gets traded for more, later (a better player then Shelton, or a 2006 pick). Maybe he reports on time and provides solid depth at RB for one more year. Or, worst case scnenario, he holds out and we don't pay his salary.

 

Either way, he only costs 1.25 million on the cap (not bad in this day and age). Even losing him at the end of the year for "nothing" is not the end of the world. Not much different then getting a marginal OT (Shelton), or a mid round 2005 draft pick, that is not guaranteed to work out. Keep Travis and look at UDFA's!

 

4) Why did we pick a WR and a TE when we needed help on the OL? I think the Bills have a large group of linemen to pick from already, and McNally thinks the pieces are aleady in place (not a major need, then). Parrish could be a monster in the slot as a #3 WR, not to mention on KR and PR. And, he becomes the #2 WR when Moulds decides to retire in a couple more years. Everett could be a stud TE, and he adds depth in case Campbell and Euhus don't come back fast enough. Long range, he becomes the starter in a few seasons (see item #1). Smart drafting, IMO.

 

5) Did our draft go as the "expert talking heads" (Clayton, Kiper) said it should? No, but that is why they work in the media and not for established NFL teams. They don't know any more then we do about the future. If they did, they would have other jobs and there would be fewer "busts" (for fun, look up some recent first rounders and their "draft grades" at the time they were picked.....Ryan Leaf for one).

 

 

Overall, I like the new group of players coming in (regardless of where they were taken). I will continue to have faith in TD and Co., based on their past performance.

 

But, JP Losman's development pending, we are in really good shape.

 

Mike

[EC-Bills]

I agree. Good points and good post.

[stuckincincy]

Nice to hear from you, Mike - been a while since your last post.

 

Who knows about the draft? I would have gone in different directions, but here's hoping for a good '05 season! I do hope that G Doug Buckles from Miss is one of their FA contacts. When a few scouting reports mentioned him as a "Conrad Dobler type", I was intrigued.

[MarkyMannn]

3)  We did not deal Travis!    I, for one, am not panicking.  What could we have received for him leading up to the draft?    LJ Shelton?  The Bills brass was not overly impressed with him.  Not to mention he was benched by the CARDINALS!  (not exactly the model NFL franchise)    Just because Shelton is a player at one of our perceived "need positions" does not make him the right player for us.   

 

Oh wait, how about a mid-round pick, instead?    OK, that's fine, but review item #2 above.    In a weak draft, how valuable would that have been? (even if it was offered, which is seems it was not).    Why not hold onto Travis?  Maybe he gets traded for more, later (a better player then Shelton, or a 2006 pick).    Maybe he reports on time and provides solid depth at RB for one more year.    Or, worst case scnenario, he holds out and we don't pay his salary.

 

Either way, he only costs 1.25 million on the cap (not bad in this day and age).  Even losing him at the end of the year for "nothing" is not the end of the world.      Not much different then getting a marginal OT (Shelton), or a mid round 2005 draft pick, that is not guaranteed to work out.  Keep Travis and look at UDFA's!

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Keep Travis for this year!! If he goes you have an immediate depth problem at RB. He doesn't cost much. Picks after 3 rarely ever make it so really we would have got nothing for him. Lastly, he has no choice as to where to play, and has to play hard too. We hold all the cards. If he dogs it this year, he only hurts his own free agent bonanza next year. BTW, Shelton sucks

[bobblehead]

That was a clear analysis.

 

As far as DT goes, The plan is, and has been, to start Tim Anderson or Ron Edwards. I doubt that Buffalo either targeted, or thought they could, change that in this year's draft.

 

As far as LT goes, This is the one position on the team that does not have a definate answer, but the draft was not going to address that, either. At 8:00 Saturday night, there was no one on the board, available, that was going to start at Left Tackle this year.

 

So, to answer your first point, I think the 3rd WR is the only starting postion on the team that could have been filled with this year's draft by the time Buffalo made thier first pick. And trading up is not something that you can just do at a snap of a finger, either.

[Mike F]

Thanks, man! Work has been a bear of late.

 

I would take another Conrad Dobler in heartbeat!

 

Mike

 

 

 

Nice to hear from you, Mike - been a while since your last post.

 

Who knows about the draft? I would have gone in different directions, but here's hoping for a good '05 season! I do hope that G Doug Buckles from Miss is one of their FA contacts. When a few scouting reports mentioned him as a "Conrad Dobler type", I was intrigued. 

319941[/snapback]

[jarthur31]

Our line is pretty much set except for LT but Trey can man that spot for one year. Anderson needs to stuff the run just like Pat did--anything else would be just gravy.

 

The fact of the matter is our WR corps last years sucked with the exception of Evans. Moulds embarassed himself by dropping lots of balls--as did the others but he's the vet of the group and needed to set an example. TD saw Reed as a bust only because he couldn't separate from defenders and became convinced we needed better speed at the 3.

 

All we need is a backup for Milloy now and the D is set for quite awhile. Wire is dead to me.

[brihs2005]

Great Post... Makes a lot of sense and they are thoughts that i have been having as well. My only comment would be that i don't think Parrish could step in and fill the void when Moulds retires. I know that he will be the #2 and Evans the #1, but then we just have two smallish receivers. I wouldn't put it past us to draft another receiver next year with some height and bulk to be the #2 while parrish remains as the #3 in the slot. I think that will be his spot to remain for his tenure as a Buffalo Bill.

[Campy]

I agree with you Mike.

 

FWIW, my takes on your points:

 

1. JP over Rodgers for sure.

2. UDFA or 1st round pick - doesn't matter in the least.

3. I've been saying that for awhile. Doesn't stop the doom-n-gloomers from telling us how badly TD screwed up though.

4. Exactly. Just because fans and the pundits declare the OL as a "need-area" doesn't make it so.

5. The only thing they bring to the table that a good percentage of us fans can not is that they do have some contacts around the league. But experts? Not hardly.

[deep2evans]

great post

 

agree on your assessment on the oline 100%

 

big mike, chris v, tucker, teague, benny anderson, jason peters, duke preston, the 6th rounder, and the monster OT from albany we got as an URFA...mcnally can get 5 starters out of that group