Are the Bills really better or worse at this point?

[Buftex]

Did Mortenson really say the Bills were an "embarassment"? If so, I have lost what little respect I had for him. I would think some of these guys, like Mort, who have been around, and have made their name as NFL jock sniffers, would realize that the Bills have a plan, they are not just willy-nilly letting everybody go.

 

Being objective, of all the guys the Bills lost, the only one that I really question, is Clements. That was purely a money move. The team lost a very good player, going into his prime who could have been a huge contributer. I am one of those who doesn't have a ton of sympathy for Ralph Wilson's monetary excuses.

 

While I wasn't delighted to see Fletcher and Spikes go, the pragmatic aspect of those moves are hard to ignore. McGahee, taking all of his comments and emotion out of the mix, just was not worth the money he wanted, and there was no gurantee his production/motivation would have been any better next year than this past. He wasn't happy where he was, and doesn't appear to be mature enough to see the "bigger picture". I really don't know how the Bills can be faulted on that move.

 

As for Spikes, as much as I hated to see him go, the critics seem to be ignoring the fact that we actually got a starting calliber player, at a need position, in return for a guy with serious injury concerns.

 

That being said, I do think the Bills, at this momnt, 6pm eastern time, 3/28/07 are worse off than they were at the end of this past season. However, I don't think they are that much worse off, and they could end up being much better.

 

Only the most optimisitic of fans would have seen this team as a playoff team in 2007, but, Marv and company are building a team (we/they hope) that will have a period of about 6 or 7 years of sustained success in the not too distant future. I think (and I think even the most marginally knowledgable Bills fans) would agree, the trade off, of, possibly a "one and done" playoff team that would have fallen apart anyways through age and free-agency after next season, for an up and coming, young, exciting team, is well worth it.

[Astrobot]

Purple Twinkies aside, on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being best,

 

OL = 9 (were a 4 last year, add Dockery-Peters as a wall of blindside protection, 2 more linemen via FA, more experience)

QB = 8 (was a 6, but hurried throws and no 2-man WR threat, no TE in pass patterns brought him down )

TE's =6 (6), but will profit from the O-Line by being able to go out in pass patterns more

RB's =5 (7), but will profit from the O-Line and a Day 1 draft pick (sooner than later)

WR's =6 (6), and will benefit from JP's getting extra time to throw, more targets (TE), and a bona fide #2 WR in draft

Totals: 34 (up from 29)

 

DL = 8 (were a 5 last year); McCargo and Darwin Walker make this so

LB = 5 (8); Lose lots of experience with LFB and Spikes but pick up speed, and a Day 1 pick (at least one)

CB = 5 (8); Lose a shutdown corner but add a year of experience and pick up a Day 1 draft pick (at least one)

FS/SS = 9 (8) Gain a year of experience each

Totals: 27 (down from 29)

 

I think it's a wash at this point, but we start up in better shape than we'd think.

[LynchMob23]

For those talking about whether or not we've regressed, do the following sway your opinion?

 

McCargo - Checked in weighing 307, up from 295 last year

Williams - Checked in weighing 306, up from 295 last year

and my "favorite" DT, Timmah Anderson - 328, up from 305-306 last year

[dave mcbride]

For those talking about whether or not we've regressed, do the following sway your opinion?

 

McCargo - Checked in weighing 307, up from 295 last year

Williams - Checked in weighing 306, up from 295 last year

and my "favorite" DT, Timmah Anderson - 328, up from 305-306 last year

 

 

Depends on what kind of weight it is. That said, fat has never really hurt a defensive tackle.

[BillsFanM.D.]

we have to be worse off because we have lost several established players without clearcut established players to replace them.

As a curveball of sorts, however, you also have to factor in which positions are a premium. We have upgraded our offensive and defensive lines which to me is more important than anything. I firmly believe we can get a decent running back in the draft to go with AT. We don't need man coverage corners though he clearly is a talented guy. LFB is on the wrong side of his career. Spikes is a real question mark. I'd rather spend the cash on the line and have solid skill players as opposed to spending premium funds on wr and corners with no "beef" up front. Having said all that...I concur that it is impossible to "measure" at this point.

[Oneonta Buffalo Fan]

Better. We are much younger which means that we are faster.

[The Dean]

Dunno, OBJECTIVELY

 

Subjectively, they have the POTENTIAL to be much better. Better lines (which most of us agree is the most important part of the team), more draft choices and more $ to make future moves to improve the positions they lost to FA moves, to date.

 

If you think this management is capable to make good decisions and use the choices and the $ they now have, they are in BETTER shape now.

[BillsVet]

On paper we're not better. Then again, the Sabres were picked dead-last for the 2005-06 so that doesn't mean much to me.

 

Youthful teams are an enigma. They can either play good football or make terrible mistakes. That's quite a dichotomy, but they'll be better in the long term. When that is I don't know. They've purged so much this season, but I can understand the moves. I only wish they'd have added some more talented and experienced players at CB and perhaps LB. I say that knowing Free Agency didn't offer much. Guys like Nick Harper and Cato June were available, but with cap issues (to fit into cash to the cap) we aren't going nor were we planning to spend more than we did.

[Pete]

Dunno, OBJECTIVELY

 

Subjectively, they have the POTENTIAL to be much better. Better lines (which most of us agree is the most important part of the team), more draft choices and more $ to make future moves to improve the positions they lost to FA moves, to date.

 

If you think this management is capable to make good decisions and use the choices and the $ they now have, they are in BETTER shape now.

what he said. It all comes down to the draft and staying healthy

[Dan]

I also agree, several nice posts above, but I will once again make the arguement that to structure the debate around are we better or worse at this point is a flawed approach, imo. Going by this logic, which attempts to establish some objective scale for measuring "better" or "worse", we have to be worse off because we have lost several established players without clearcut established players to replace them. But this is a shallow analysis and does not take into account the myriad of factors that will only play out when we play the games next season, many of which have already been mentioned in above posts already.

 

This is what got BADOLBILZ into trouble with his thread, imho. There is no objective criteria (i.e. field performance) to make such a conclusive judgment in March about a season several months away. I guess I'm trying to be a little more civil now about expressing this opinion but my opinion does stay the same

 

So, by the approach set in this thread, yes, we are worse off because there is really no other logical position to hold, imo. But I don't think that means much at this point with so much to be played out even before the season starts.

Well said and completely accurate. I think the idea of pondering are we better or worse ...at this point.. is a little like turning a game off because someone ran the opening kickoff back for a touchdown. Sure, the one team is at a disadvantage and you could only conclude that they now ...at that point... have a decreased chance of winning the game. However, we all know there's a lot of game left so we watch the rest.

 

Certainly, at this point we're worse off because even if all these guys we picked up are great; they don't know the playbook yet. So, put them in a game and we'd look miserable. But its a long offseason. We still have players to acquire and release. The existing players have a chance to improve. In short, there's still plenty of time left for the Bills to become a better team in 2007. Patience is not a four letter word.

[The Dean]

On paper we're not better. Then again, the Sabres were picked dead-last for the 2005-06 so that doesn't mean much to me.

 

Youthful teams are an enigma.

 

 

Ann enigma, wrapped in a riddle...covered with a tangy habanero sauce.

 

YUMMY!

[BillsVet]

Ann enigma, wrapped in a riddle...covered with a tangy habanero sauce.

 

YUMMY!

 

Is that you Jimmy? You're restaurants aren't really that good. And those meals you feed the military people aren't good either. If you have some habanero, I suggest putting it on that excuse for sausage you make.

[The Dean]

Is that you Jimmy? You're restaurants aren't really that good. And those meals you feed the military people aren't good either. If you have some habanero, I suggest putting it on that excuse for sausage you make.

 

 

Clearly you've never tasted my sausage, BV (and I don't mean that in a gay way)

[BillsVet]

Obviously you've been feeding Tim Anderson this off-season if he weighed in at 328. Good initiative, bad judgement. Now his pizza places will suffer. Why didn't you give some to Keith Ellison, everyone's favorite undersized OLB.

[Captain Hindsight]

JP will be better next year +

We will have a runner who will play hard reguardless of whos on defense +

Holcomb is gone +

D Line is upgraded +

O line is much better +++ (about time)

Lee is a top 10 reciever +

 

Spkies who IMO didn't really fit our system, he came froma blitzing system in Cinci and the Jerry gray years, hes not a pure cover linebacker IMO +

Fletcher although i loved his attitude and leadership needed to go, he was on the wrong side of 30 and we needed an attacking linebacker for this defense, he couldn't shed a block +

 

4 picks in first 3 rounds +

marv got great value out of late picks last year (simpson,ellison, pennington) i imagine similar things this year +

 

my only negative is clements. i think the bills defense will be fine without him but he was still the best corner on this team last year and his playmaking ability will be missed --

 

12+ 2 - = +10 overall

 

I'd say were better

[Fan in San Diego]

Another thing is, fans of all teams think that promising second and third year players are automatically going to improve on their rookie seasons but the fact is, they don't. Or almost as many of them don't as do. There are of course injuries. There are a LOT of sophomore slumps. There are a lot of guys who got away with things early because no one had seen them before and now don't work so well. A lot of guys that had a few TDs or INTs early on simply don't repeat it. A lot of guys just reach a plateau and their physical limitations have a ceiling on their play. That said, I too expect guys like Ellison, Williams, McCargo, Simpson and Whitner et al to improve a lot, but the chances of them all doing it are slim.

 

On the flip side, old guys like TKO, Fletch only get older and slower. Who's to say if Fletch and TKO repeat their performance, they may slow down and production be lower.

[Sketch Soland]

we have to be worse off because we have lost several established players without clearcut established players to replace them.

I hate it when you make sense.

 

you no good rotten dirty scoundrel!