MadBuffaloDisease Posted July 26, 2005 Posted July 26, 2005 Damien Woody was popular in FA. He was a horribly overpaid. Wait and see first.
HurlyBurly51 Posted July 26, 2005 Posted July 26, 2005 Fred Grandy? Yes. Mike Gandy? Remains to be seen. 390512[/snapback] OMG. Have you ever seen Gandy play? What makes people think he'll be any good other than blind faith in McNally. JMac tried this same type of reclamation project last year with L. Smith, so he is not failproof. And yes, I've seen Gandy play plenty, and to think he would be compared to Verba is laughable.
Sound_n_Fury Posted July 26, 2005 Posted July 26, 2005 Well then TD clearly lost his touch upon arriving in Buffalo, because we're heading into year 5 of his perpetual rebuilding project that is the OL, and both projected starters on the left side were even less popular on the free agent market than currently is Verba. 390595[/snapback] Let me get this straight. We've had one Pro Bowl RB who was recently traded and another one on the verge, yet our OL is complete bupkis? TD has lost it? Seems to me no one was complaining about the OL when Willis was racking up all those 100+ yard games.... Would I like some upgrades for OLT and OLG? Sure. But tell me who is available and at what price and I'll let you know if TD has lost it by going with Gandy in June before they even strap on the pads.
jad1 Posted July 26, 2005 Posted July 26, 2005 Well then TD clearly lost his touch upon arriving in Buffalo, because we're heading into year 5 of his perpetual rebuilding project that is the OL, and both projected starters on the left side were even less popular on the free agent market than currently is Verba. 390595[/snapback] If Gandy and Anderson were less popular than Verba, wouldn't they be hosting Vegas champagne parties while Verba was in an NFL camp somewhere? By your logic, James and Alexander must be less popular than Henry, because Henry was traded and those two weren't.
MadBuffaloDisease Posted July 26, 2005 Posted July 26, 2005 OMG. Have you ever seen Gandy play? What makes people think he'll be any good other than blind faith in McNally. JMac tried this same type of reclamation project last year with L. Smith, so he is not failproof. And yes, I've seen Gandy play plenty, and to think he would be compared to Verba is laughable. Have YOU seen him play LT? Probably not. I think it's truly laughable to write-off a guy because of how he looked over 2 years ago, playing LT in his 2nd year with crap coaching and players around him. And what makes YOU more of an expert than McNally?
Bill from NYC Posted July 26, 2005 Posted July 26, 2005 Have YOU seen him play LT? Probably not. I think it's truly laughable to write-off a guy because of how he looked over 2 years ago, playing LT in his 2nd year with crap coaching and players around him. And what makes YOU more of an expert than McNally? 390618[/snapback] MBD, I for one do not "write off" Gandy, but it is NOT unreasonable to be skeptical of a LEFT TACKLE who was cast aside by a team with such a poor OL that a shrunken, washed up Ruben Brown is a member of. Left Tackles are worth their weight in gold. Verba has 2 pretty serious allegations and is supposedly in Vegas, parting his ass off, right? Well, the Bills have made an inquiry and the Texans an offer. This speaks to just how much teams want a quality LT. Nobody will trade you a LT, and many are drafted in the top 10, if not top 5, year after year. The only thing we have going for us wrt Gandy is that McNally appears to like him and this is big, but mistakes are sometimes made by the best of those who evaluate football players, no? Bottom line? I wish that I could be as positive as you. Personally, I hope that he is the next Orlando Pace, but I am not convinced that he will even survive camp.
Alaska Darin Posted July 26, 2005 Posted July 26, 2005 Well then TD clearly lost his touch upon arriving in Buffalo, because we're heading into year 5 of his perpetual rebuilding project that is the OL, and both projected starters on the left side were even less popular on the free agent market than currently is Verba. 390595[/snapback] The only thing Donahoe is guilty of on that front is not getting rid of Ronnie Vinklaidiot after his first season (which was probably hard considering we had a 4300 yard passer, two 1200 yard receivers, and a 1400 yard rusher - so the OLine must have totally sucked ) . He's remedied that by hiring one of the 3 most respected OLine coaches available. As far as the "projected starters" not being popular, the Patriots offensive line through their SB run has been regularly populated with the exact same kind of players. Go take a look at their current depth chart heading into the season. 2 drafted players and a slew of "where's Waldo's." There's nothing wrong with our offensive line that a decisive QB can't fix.
MadBuffaloDisease Posted July 26, 2005 Posted July 26, 2005 MBD, I for one do not "write off" Gandy, but it is NOT unreasonable to be skeptical of a LEFT TACKLE who was cast aside by a team with such a poor OL that a shrunken, washed up Ruben Brown is a member of. Left Tackles are worth their weight in gold. Verba has 2 pretty serious allegations and is supposedly in Vegas, parting his ass off, right? Well, the Bills have made an inquiry and the Texans an offer. This speaks to just how much teams want a quality LT. Nobody will trade you a LT, and many are drafted in the top 10, if not top 5, year after year. The only thing we have going for us wrt Gandy is that McNally appears to like him and this is big, but mistakes are sometimes made by the best of those who evaluate football players, no? Bottom line? I wish that I could be as positive as you. Personally, I hope that he is the next Orlando Pace, but I am not convinced that he will even survive camp. Being skeptical of him is fine. I myself am not expecint Orlando Pace, but someone who doesn't get JP killed and can open some holes in the running game. Anything more than that is gravy. I just can't see screaming and yelling over a guy who hasn't had much help in becoming a better player the last few years. I will say that he seems injury-prone, but so too was Jonas.
Bill from NYC Posted July 26, 2005 Posted July 26, 2005 Being skeptical of him is fine. I myself am not expecint Orlando Pace, but someone who doesn't get JP killed and can open some holes in the running game. Anything more than that is gravy. I just can't see screaming and yelling over a guy who hasn't had much help in becoming a better player the last few years. I will say that he seems injury-prone, but so too was Jonas. 390642[/snapback] I hear ya! I never thought Jonas to be dominant, but he was good, and look at the obscene contract he got! My beef is less about Gandy and more about the Bills taking more than a decade to put together a strong OL. That said, I do credit TD for doing a better job than Mr. Butler wrt bringing us blocking.
richNjoisy Posted July 26, 2005 Author Posted July 26, 2005 MBD, I for one do not "write off" Gandy, but it is NOT unreasonable to be skeptical of a LEFT TACKLE who was cast aside by a team with such a poor OL that a shrunken, washed up Ruben Brown is a member of. Left Tackles are worth their weight in gold. Verba has 2 pretty serious allegations and is supposedly in Vegas, parting his ass off, right? Well, the Bills have made an inquiry and the Texans an offer. This speaks to just how much teams want a quality LT. Nobody will trade you a LT, and many are drafted in the top 10, if not top 5, year after year. The only thing we have going for us wrt Gandy is that McNally appears to like him and this is big, but mistakes are sometimes made by the best of those who evaluate football players, no? Bottom line? I wish that I could be as positive as you. Personally, I hope that he is the next Orlando Pace, but I am not convinced that he will even survive camp. 390638[/snapback] Hey Bill - I started this mess didn't I ? I agree with you that to be concerned (your word was skeptical which is a bit more negative than I am at this point) over Gandy's skill level is absolutely valid. It IS intersting that there are some other FA OT's out there STILL (RT Scott Craig and RT Chris Terry for example to my knowledge). The Bills also failed to sign Shelton even when he could be had for vet min. This certainly suggests the Bills LIKE Gandy. As per usual, I will admit I am not the expert and that McNally is. Might he be wrong? Sure, but I still would urge you to raise your emote/think level from "skeptical" to "concerned". On the Verba front, it has been suggested the Bills were simply "checking in" with his agent. Maybe, but one would think that they would only do that if they were truly interested (for the right price of course) in the guy since he could be signed at any moment by someone else (or not!). As to the continuing condemnation of Verba for his actions in Vegas - if they are true, then he won't be signed (o.k. , maybe Miami or oakland will sign him ) If they are unfounded (WHICH THEY MAY WELL BE FOLKS)), then someone sure doesn't like the guy, do they? These reports are pretty condemning of his view towards women (if true, ie Abusive behavior and teenage-like "call girl" stuff practically) -RnJ
Typical TBD Guy Posted July 26, 2005 Posted July 26, 2005 If Gandy and Anderson were less popular than Verba, wouldn't they be hosting Vegas champagne parties while Verba was in an NFL camp somewhere? By your logic, James and Alexander must be less popular than Henry, because Henry was traded and those two weren't. 390606[/snapback] No need for the " ". If you define popularity by how much $$$ each player can command on the market, then my logic is sound. Verba is still a more attractive player than either Gandy or Bennie, but the reason why Verba isn't signed is because he's asking for WAY too much. In other words, if Verba was asking for the same contract as Bennie or Gandy, then there would probably be a large number of NFL team suitors. Same logic for James vs. Henry and Alexander vs. Henry. If James and Alexander had the exact same salary situation/demand as Henry, they'd have at least half a dozen teams vying for them.
Typical TBD Guy Posted July 26, 2005 Posted July 26, 2005 Let me get this straight. We've had one Pro Bowl RB who was recently traded and another one on the verge, yet our OL is complete bupkis? TD has lost it? Seems to me no one was complaining about the OL when Willis was racking up all those 100+ yard games.... Would I like some upgrades for OLT and OLG? Sure. But tell me who is available and at what price and I'll let you know if TD has lost it by going with Gandy in June before they even strap on the pads. 390602[/snapback] One could make the argument that last year's OL was just mediocre in the run game, and that Willis would have been even more productive if he wasn't hit in the backfield so often. Furthermore, last year's OL pass coverage started out awful and got better, but this was against cellar dweller teams in the second half of the season. When it counted against legit teams, the line folded badly (yes, Drew was a big part of this problem too).
Typical TBD Guy Posted July 26, 2005 Posted July 26, 2005 There's nothing wrong with our offensive line that a decisive QB can't fix. 390640[/snapback] I guess most TBD'ers here seem to agree with you and don't share my OL doom and gloom forecasts. Nevertheless, I think we fans are banking too much on Drew as THE problem and McNally as THE solution.
Alaska Darin Posted July 26, 2005 Posted July 26, 2005 I guess most TBD'ers here seem to agree with you and don't share my OL doom and gloom forecasts. Nevertheless, I think we fans are banking too much on Drew as THE problem and McNally as THE solution. 390712[/snapback] Oh, I'll believe Gandy is the solution when he proves he is. I'm just willing to give the benefit of the doubt because I know how bad Bledsoe was.
Typical TBD Guy Posted July 26, 2005 Posted July 26, 2005 Oh, I'll believe Gandy is the solution when he proves he is. I'm just willing to give the benefit of the doubt because I know how bad Bledsoe was. 390732[/snapback] That's cool. My only hope is that the apologies for TD end if - by December - the OL and offense/team in general have shown no noticeable improvement from last year's 9-7 finish. In this day and age in the NFL, 5 consecutive years without playoffs are grounds for firing. OK, I'll shut up now in this thread
Sound_n_Fury Posted July 27, 2005 Posted July 27, 2005 I guess most TBD'ers here seem to agree with you and don't share my OL doom and gloom forecasts. 390712[/snapback] I think the OL was (and will be) quite average. That's all they need to be, IMO, however. A lot of average lines--that play well together as a unit--have had a lot of success over the years. The Giants last SB line comes to mind....
HurlyBurly51 Posted July 27, 2005 Posted July 27, 2005 Have YOU seen him play LT? Probably not. I think it's truly laughable to write-off a guy because of how he looked over 2 years ago, playing LT in his 2nd year with crap coaching and players around him. And what makes YOU more of an expert than McNally? 390618[/snapback] Actually I have seen him play, both guard and tackle. Their line was horrid, and he was regarded as the worst of the worst. I didn't say I'm writing him off, but some folks seem to think that because McNally seems to like him we can just discount his horrid play in Chicago, with all kinds of excuses to boot (poor coaching, etc.) I've heard this song before with L. Smith last year, which proves that JMac can't necessarily turn all his reclamation projects around. I'd hate to see us scrambling again if Gandy proves he's not up to the task.
MadBuffaloDisease Posted July 27, 2005 Posted July 27, 2005 Actually I have seen him play, both guard and tackle. Their line was horrid, and he was regarded as the worst of the worst. I didn't say I'm writing him off, but some folks seem to think that because McNally seems to like him we can just discount his horrid play in Chicago, with all kinds of excuses to boot (poor coaching, etc.) I've heard this song before with L. Smith last year, which proves that JMac can't necessarily turn all his reclamation projects around. I'd hate to see us scrambling again if Gandy proves he's not up to the task. So would I. However who should one believe? Gandy's work several years ago with a bad team, or McNally? Again I'll wait and see how he looks before starting to freak out.
Sound_n_Fury Posted July 27, 2005 Posted July 27, 2005 Actually I have seen him play, both guard and tackle. Their line was horrid, and he was regarded as the worst of the worst. 390924[/snapback] Funny, most Bears observers felt he was a pretty serviceable OG who's biggest negative was an inability to stay healthy. He was always nicked up and that was the reason for his release, not his performance.
MadBuffaloDisease Posted July 27, 2005 Posted July 27, 2005 Funny, most Bears observers felt he was a pretty serviceable OG who's biggest negative was an inability to stay healthy. He was always nicked up and that was the reason for his release, not his performance. My 2003 Lindy's said that Gandy was a "smart, versatile technician who was a pleasant surprise at LT in '02." The next year however it said he was "out of position at LT the past 2 years." In any case, as I said, I think it's unfair to judge him based on his time with an (IMHO) inferior team, and if McNally likes him, who am I to disbelieve him?
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