RuntheDamnBall Posted April 10, 2007 Share Posted April 10, 2007 The above is anything but a given, unless one views players such as Merz and Preston as unstoppable forces who must stay. I was at the NE game and thought that Merz was OK for a rookie. As for Preston, nothing I have seen him do on the field indicates to me that he is a good player. To put it in another context, what do you think we could get for him in a trade, maybe a 7th? Also, injuries do happen, and it looks to me as if we need some depth at OC. I know that LB and RB are bigger needs right now, but there is almost never a bad time to strengthen lines on both sides. I'm with you. It's always the right time to draft for young depth on the lines, particularly when you have extra picks. You never know when you might get a gem, and you also never know if the guys you have are necessarily the right ones. I thought we saw improvement with Preston in there but only because Villarial was such a stiff at the end of his tenure. Addition by subtraction. But he might be gone or he might be motivated. No reason to not fortify with more talent, IMO. On the other side, with a rotation you have a possibility of holding onto a fifth DT and that guy is Tim Anderson right now, or Jason Jefferson. Again, no reason to not look for better if you can find it. Is a fourth-fifth round LB at this stage of the game going to give us better than Stamer or Ellison? Probably not. We do need to draft a starter but I'm not sure we need more guys of the caliber of the ones we already have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill from NYC Posted April 10, 2007 Share Posted April 10, 2007 You know I'd love to see a great line on this team, but I do have to wonder if they'll so easily give up on players they just took (like Pennington, Merz, and even Preston) in recent drafts, especially for guys who will probably be there mainly for depth. Your point is valid, but for all we know they might have already given up on one of these guys. Even if they have not, the OL seems very unbalanced to the left in terms of talent. While this is OK (and certainly not unusual), if grabbing Josh Beekman could fix us at RG, I say go for it, providing of course our coaches and scouts think he can play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apuszczalowski Posted April 10, 2007 Share Posted April 10, 2007 You know I'd love to see a great line on this team, but I do have to wonder if they'll so easily give up on players they just took (like Pennington, Merz, and even Preston) in recent drafts, especially for guys who will probably be there mainly for depth. That could lead to disaster down the line, cap wise. The Bills have addressed the line in free agency, something I really didn't think they'd do. Now, we have to see what these guys can do. Thats exactly the point I'm trying to make. The lines won't be rebuilt and a dominate force from just one offseason. When your trying to build an entire team the right way, you can't focus on one position and leave others to be upgraded later. Do I expect Merz and preston to be great players, would hope they do, but for know they are pretty much depth/backup guys so I hope I never see them on the field. Maybe we should use the #12 spot to get the best LT available, what if Peters is injured this season? Our SB hopes are over then The Bills are happy with their choice at LT and C, and now have a LG to go with the LT, and spent heavily for a RG/RT (which ever Walker ends up playing) and have options for the other remaining spot (Merz/Preston/Pennington/Whittle) Preston is a backup C, and they have a seperate long snapper who I'm sure if it came down to it, could handle the C duty if they have a rash of injuries (also they say Whittle can play any spot oin the o-line). Preston has not really impressed me yet, but he has played C and RG so he's versatile, but right now, he just hasn't gotten up to playing at an NFL level. Drafting another linemen only forces the Bills to have to cut a player that is already on the roster, which in my opinion, is a wasted pick for depth. Until the Bills holes (RB and LB, and maybe CB but thats more of a small pothole then a full hole) are filled, then they can make the luxury picks like o-line and d-line picks (picks that will require them cutting a player currently on the roster. Right now, 3rd string QB is more of a need then O or D linemen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apuszczalowski Posted April 10, 2007 Share Posted April 10, 2007 I'm with you. It's always the right time to draft for young depth on the lines, particularly when you have extra picks. You never know when you might get a gem, and you also never know if the guys you have are necessarily the right ones. I thought we saw improvement with Preston in there but only because Villarial was such a stiff at the end of his tenure. Addition by subtraction. But he might be gone or he might be motivated. No reason to not fortify with more talent, IMO. On the other side, with a rotation you have a possibility of holding onto a fifth DT and that guy is Tim Anderson right now, or Jason Jefferson. Again, no reason to not look for better if you can find it. Is a fourth-fifth round LB at this stage of the game going to give us better than Stamer or Ellison? Probably not. We do need to draft a starter but I'm not sure we need more guys of the caliber of the ones we already have. But is adding a 4th or 5th round linemen going to be any better then what they have now? As it Stands right now The Bills need 1-2 starting LB's and a starting RB to fill gapping holes in their roster. The lines might not be dominating this season, but they will be much more improved over what was there last season, which is all that is needed right now. Tim Anderson as a #5 DT in a rotation that has 4 players before him in a position that only has 2 on the field at a time, and a roster that includes Hargrove who can play both DE and DT, I don't see a need for another one this year. Next year maybe. McCargo could become a bust (or injury prone), Tripplett could fall out of favour with the coaches, they guy from Philly could also be a bust. But they won't know until next offseason. In a year where theres some big holes to fill, that need to fill those holes first before they go looking at players to upgrade other positions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROCCEO Posted April 10, 2007 Share Posted April 10, 2007 FYI...not that it means anything, but I found this interesting... 1. ILB Patrick Willis, Ole Miss 2. CB Tarrell Brown, Texas 3a. RB Chris Henry, Arizona 3b. DB Tanard Jackson, Syracuse 4. OLB Zack DeOssie, Brown 6. OLB Kelvin Smith, Syracuse 7a. RB Jon Cornish, Kansa 7b. CB Darius Vinnett, Arkansa Chris Henry? Blah no thank you. Another back that I'm not wanting in this draft. WORKOUT WARRIOR and nothing more. He didn't do squat on that football field. 3 things: 1-We wont take the CB from Texas: Character issues. 2-Wont take Henry: never produced at the college level, Director or Pro Personnel John Guy , Coach Studesville AND marv both place a lot of value on production and less on projection. 3-I agree with Bill about it always bveing a good time to add quality depth on the lines. I also agree that drafting more second day guys to replace earlier second day guys probobly isnt the answer but if one of the better guard prospects falls into the third, I say, "take em". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarmanuscg07 Posted April 11, 2007 Share Posted April 11, 2007 That's all well and good, but... no linemen, defensive or offensive? No 3rd-string QB to groom? All LBs, RBs and CBs? NO LINEMEN???? Which Bills team are you refering to? We dont need any linemen this year we need the other aforementioned positions plus maybe take a shot at a WR too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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