dave mcbride Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 the fate of this team for the next four or five years rests on the decisions that have been made and will be made between the end of the season and the beginning of May. 1. to my mind, they have signed a guy who they think might be the next brunell/hasselback/brooks/warner - nall. whether he is the guy, i don't know, but i'll be very surprised if he's not the starting qb next year based upon statements made by jauron and levy. could he be the longterm solution? dunno, but quite possibly. if not, then the bills will have failed at nailing the most important position yet again, which they've done every time since the 45th pick in the 1995 draft. 2. assuming the trade with houston goes through and they get a 4th, they'll have 10 picks overall and 5 in the top 100. If they trade down from the 8 spot, they'll probably have 6 picks in the top 100. this is best draft in years, and if they draft well, they'll be good for a while. whatever they do, they really need a defensive lineman who can a) stop the run and b) get to the qb. richard seymour is the prototype, but as far as i know no one matches his potential in this year's draft. perhaps i'm wrong though. they also need a force at LT and at center -- not necessarily the best players in the world, but someone as good as, say, barret sims or john jackson or jeff saturday or mark stepnoski or mark tuinei in their primes. they're undoubtedly out there. 3. franchising clements: this was a huge (albeit quite easy) move, because it gives the bills a premier corner for the forseeable future. given that mcgee is quite serviceable, they're in good stead at the cornerback position. it's hard to win in the nfl with mediocre/bad cornerbacks. 10 picks in a great draft -- that's huge. plus the possibility of finally being right on a young qb. the fact that nall has great size, decent, productive experience in mopup duty and in europe, and a really strong arm is very enticing. of course, he could turn out to be the next kent graham, but somehow i doubt it. he sounds like an ideal cold weather qb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drnykterstein Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 and as far as nall goes... for those who will compare him to RJ, at least we picked him up for almost free instead of trading a 1st rounder for him. if he is a bust we've lost nothing. his contract isn't even that expensive. smartest move by marv yet, and it definately outdoes anything td ever did for the qb position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajzepp Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 the fate of this team for the next four or five years rests on the decisions that have been made and will be made between the end of the season and the beginning of May. 1. to my mind, they have signed a guy who they think might be the next brunell/hasselback/brooks/warner - nall. whether he is the guy, i don't know, but i'll be very surprised if he's not the starting qb next year based upon statements made by jauron and levy. could he be the longterm solution? dunno, but quite possibly. if not, then the bills will have failed at nailing the most important position yet again, which they've done every time since the 45th pick in the 1995 draft. 2. assuming the trade with houston goes through and they get a 4th, they'll have 10 picks overall and 5 in the top 100. If they trade down from the 8 spot, they'll probably have 6 picks in the top 100. this is best draft in years, and if they draft well, they'll be good for a while. whatever they do, they really need a defensive lineman who can a) stop the run and b) get to the qb. richard seymour is the prototype, but as far as i know no one matches his potential in this year's draft. perhaps i'm wrong though. they also need a force at LT and at center -- not necessarily the best players in the world, but someone as good as, say, barret sims or john jackson or jeff saturday or mark stepnoski or mark tuinei in their primes. they're undoubtedly out there. 3. franchising clements: this was a huge (albeit quite easy) move, because it gives the bills a premier corner for the forseeable future. given that mcgee is quite serviceable, they're in good stead at the cornerback position. it's hard to win in the nfl with mediocre/bad cornerbacks. 10 picks in a great draft -- that's huge. plus the possibility of finally being right on a young qb. the fact that nall has great size, decent, productive experience in mopup duty and in europe, and a really strong arm is very enticing. of course, he could turn out to be the next kent graham, but somehow i doubt it. he sounds like an ideal cold weather qb. 648304[/snapback] I think this is a good post...except for the very first thing you say. To attribute the fate of this club over the next 4-5 years to what happens this offseason?? And not even the entire offseason, but only up until May? I really hope I'm reading that wrong, cause that's ridiculous. A team can change dramatically in ONE offseason. This is not the pre-1993 NFL where there would be some truth to that statement and teams were much slower to change their winning or losing ways. In the era of parity and free agency, things can change on a dime. I think this is an important draft, and we do have to address the issues you - and everyone else - have pointed out. But this entire draft class could be GONE in 4-5 years when their rookie contracts expire and other teams take a shot at them in free agency. The future is NOW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave mcbride Posted March 31, 2006 Author Share Posted March 31, 2006 I think this is a good post...except for the very first thing you say. To attribute the fate of this club over the next 4-5 years to what happens this offseason?? And not even the entire offseason, but only up until May? I really hope I'm reading that wrong, cause that's ridiculous. A team can change dramatically in ONE offseason. This is not the pre-1993 NFL where there would be some truth to that statement and teams were much slower to change their winning or losing ways. In the era of parity and free agency, things can change on a dime. I think this is an important draft, and we do have to address the issues you - and everyone else - have pointed out. But this entire draft class could be GONE in 4-5 years when their rookie contracts expire and other teams take a shot at them in free agency. The future is NOW. 648373[/snapback] i disagree. the bills have the greatest ability to change in this particular offseason than in the ones that will follow. why? because a new regime is in that isn't wedded to the past, and is therefore willing to make big changes. like it or not, coaches/gms tend to stick with their guys once they've acquired them. witness donohoe in year 1 v. year 5 of his tenure. plus the fact that this draft is really good and the bills have a ton of picks makes it necessarily more important than most drafts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajzepp Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 i disagree. the bills have the greatest ability to change in this particular offseason than in the ones that will follow. why? because a new regime is in that isn't wedded to the past, and is therefore willing to make big changes. like it or not, coaches/gms tend to stick with their guys once they've acquired them. witness donohoe in year 1 v. year 5 of his tenure. plus the fact that this draft is really good and the bills have a ton of picks makes it necessarily more important than most drafts. 648406[/snapback] I think TDs regime is an example of the exact opposite, actually. TD didn't come in here, pick his guys, and then stick with them until year 5. He uprooted the thing. From GW to MM, RJ to Drew to JP, etc....There was a lot of change on this team every year, and we did NOT end up the better for it by year 5. In my opinion, it's very difficult to determine when the right mix of talent and coaching will come together to form a winner. I remember in 2001 when the Pats made the superbowl....I considered them nothing but a sacrificial lamb who had really just gotten lucky against a much better Raiders team in the AFC championship. Go back and look up the line for that Superbowl. The Pats had no chance in hell..... Now how many components of that Pats team had REALLY changed? One main one for sure....no need to mention his name again, but that was the kind of person they needed behind center. The rest of the team really wasn't THAT different from the previous year or two IIRC. I think our upcoming draft is very important, and I hope Marv and the boys nail it. But I still think this is a one-year-at-a-time league, and what we do this offseason has just as much of a chance of being irrelevant 4-5 years down the road as it does being significant. We don't know what sort of position we'll be in next year, let alone the years following that. For all we know, we could find ourselves an Anthony Gates, JP can pull a Drew Brees act, and all of a sudden we're atop the division again and challenging for a Superbowl. You just never know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BackInDaDay Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 Trading the 1st round picks for multiple 2nd and 3rd rounders not only helps us stock up on available young talent, but it keeps 1st round contracts and bonus money off the table. As long as we keep the costs down by making prudent FA signings, releasing big salaried players, and trading down in the drafts, the Bills could be a nice little team by 2010. Maybe that doesn't excite anyone but me, but I have my reasons. I'm no longer rooting for the Bills. I'm now a Ralph Wilson fan! For 40 years, while I've been rooting for his losing football teams, I could have been rooting for Ralph Wilson! Even when the Bills are losing, he's winning! I could have been a winner. What the heck was I thinking? GOOOOOOOOOOOO RALPH WILSON! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayFinkle Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 and as far as nall goes...for those who will compare him to RJ, at least we picked him up for almost free instead of trading a 1st rounder for him. if he is a bust we've lost nothing. his contract isn't even that expensive. smartest move by marv yet, and it definately outdoes anything td ever did for the qb position. 648372[/snapback] There is a QB on the roster who reminds me of RJ, but it isn't Nall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fixxxer Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 There is a QB on the roster who reminds me of RJ, but it isn't Nall. 648552[/snapback] Craig Ochs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pine Barrens Mafia Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 Trading the 1st round picks for multiple 2nd and 3rd rounders not only helps us stock up on available young talent, but it keeps 1st round contracts and bonus money off the table. As long as we keep the costs down by making prudent FA signings, releasing big salaried players, and trading down in the drafts, the Bills could be a nice little team by 2010. Maybe that doesn't excite anyone but me, but I have my reasons. I'm no longer rooting for the Bills. I'm now a Ralph Wilson fan! For 40 years, while I've been rooting for his losing football teams, I could have been rooting for Ralph Wilson! Even when the Bills are losing, he's winning! I could have been a winner. What the heck was I thinking? GOOOOOOOOOOOO RALPH WILSON! 648536[/snapback] I'll be amazed if the corpse in a suit lives to 2010. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerball Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 I'll be amazed if the corpse in a suit lives to 2010. 648601[/snapback] You are a bitter, bitter man. But you're right in this case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BackInDaDay Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 I'll be amazed if the corpse in a suit lives to 2010. 648601[/snapback] Please don't put the 'kiss of death' on my boy. I've finally got something to root for - a sure thing - and I don't need you screwing it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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