Who thinks drafting a CB in 1st is pass D priority?

[Sisyphean Bills]

The original post did not claim that the Bills did not need CB depth (in fact it specifically says we need more depth at CB).

I just did a search on the post and it turned up the word "depth" exactly zero times.

 

The original post merely made the point that we should spend our first rounder at a position other than using it to get a depth player at CB. It makes the point in torturous detail

I can agree with the torture part.

(again since I still see posts and hear pundits that just do not seem to get it and claim that CB is a first round need for us) that the main reasons folks offer up for the need for a CB is to improve our lousy pass D stats when actually DL, LB, S and even O improvements do more for the pass D than picking a CB early.

Is it not a need on this team? I know it's popular to claim that because of the defensive system the Bills play, they don't need any talent; but, can we keep it real for a nanosecond, at least? How the phugk does having a real shutdown corner hurt this team? What does "making do" with scrap heap talent prove anyway? Does it prove Dick is a top-notch head coach or something?

In fact the only thing sillier than the notion that better CB play is the key to us doing better against the pass is the notion that somehow or other a rookie CB is going to be the key to us stopping vets like Moss and Welker. It simply does not work that way in the game of football the way we play it.

Do you have a link to this or is it just a straw-man argument? I'd like to laugh at the moron that claims a single CB is going to stop the Patriots offense. That's as asinine as believing adding a single DT is going to make your QB better.

[Pyrite Gal]

I just did a search on the post and it turned up the word "depth" exactly zero times.

 

You are correct that I did not use the word depth. However, I did say in the original post that > Don't get me wrong, getting better CB play is important to this team as we actually are pretty thin here as both Webster and Thomas are gone < Perhaps one cannot take my call for better CB play as being important to this team as not being a specific call for depth (though I did then site the acquisition of James as moving us toward that goal. Either way. If you feel the important thing is that I did not use the word depth then touche and like Hilarious Clinton I did misspeak. If on the other hand the meaning and logic of what I am saying is what is important to you then I do want more depth at CB it just ain't worth passing up a improvement of our pass rush, LOS run stopping, true downfield coverage from better safety play or even an improved ability to move the sticks and keep the D off the field than taking a 1st round stab at a CB.

 

 

Is it not a need on this team? I know it's popular to claim that because of the defensive system the Bills play, they don't need any talent; but, can we keep it real for a nanosecond, at least? How the phugk does having a real shutdown corner hurt this team? What does "making do" with scrap heap talent prove anyway? Does it prove Dick is a top-notch head coach or something?

 

It is not at all that in the Bills system one does not need talent. The Bills system though works well in the NFL because it often is hard to find top flight talent at CB (as shown by a player like NC who was barely in the top 5 CBs in our conference commanding the biggest contract ever given to a defensive player when he hit FA.

 

Getting real about the NFL for a nanosecond means recognizing that though of course one wants talented players at every position if you can get them, that the Cover 2 is all the rage at D because one can get by with somewhat talented but not the most talented players at CB. What this ability to take players off the scrap heap (if you want to call it that) to play the CB role in a Cover 2 is that a team like Indy can let both CB walk and still make the playoffs and even a team that fails to make the playoffs like the Bills actually can go down to plan D (Greer) to fill the second CB slot and though us fans were not satisfied with the poor pass D stats, it generally is felt like Greer at least filled in well for those ahead of him on the depth chart

 

Do you have a link to this or is it just a straw-man argument? I'd like to laugh at the moron that claims a single CB is going to stop the Patriots offense. That's as asinine as believing adding a single DT is going to make your QB better.

 

I'll look for someone making the point that the precense of Moss/Welker makes CB a primary need for us. I agree this conclusion is asinine as nor rookie CB first round or otherwise is gonna solve the problems they create.

[Sisyphean Bills]

Getting real about the NFL for a nanosecond means recognizing that though of course one wants talented players at every position if you can get them, that the Cover 2 is all the rage at D because one can get by with somewhat talented but not the most talented players at CB. What this ability to take players off the scrap heap (if you want to call it that) to play the CB role in a Cover 2 is that a team like Indy can let both CB walk and still make the playoffs and even a team that fails to make the playoffs like the Bills actually can go down to plan D (Greer) to fill the second CB slot and though us fans were not satisfied with the poor pass D stats, it generally is felt like Greer at least filled in well for those ahead of him on the depth chart

 

Getting real for another nanosecond: I'm not leading the parade to draft a CB at #11. I don't know who is, but it ain't me. Overall, I'm not blown-away impressed with lots about this Bills team, so I don't really see the point in hard-core pimping one position over another. This team has needs virtually everywhere. (Yes, even the only position that matters, QB , is distinctly unproven at this point, and I find it interesting so many want Edwards to go into camp with no competition ... the eerily familiar wheel of past experience be damned.) (As far as WR, it's one of the deepest positions in football - along with RB - and talent can be found, literally, off the street at WR. It takes time for any WR to learn the NFL game - even the greatest rookie WRs don't put up stellar numbers. Supposedly, all the Bills need are 2nd options. None of the receivers in this class seem to have clearly set themselves apart regardless of position as dominant superstar caliber players.)

 

As far as the Tampa-2 scheme: The scheme does not simply mean you can get away with having sub-par CBs and make the playoffs. Please watch the Patriots game from last year as a demonstration of how "scheme" is not the answer.

 

"The Lord giveth and He taketh away." Sure, one can build a defense that puts 6, 7, or 8 guys back in a zone in a loose coverage scheme (because, well, those guys are sub-par and not good enough to cover NFL receivers one-on-one), but if that is the plan then you absolutely positively have to bring it with the front 4 and generate quick pressure. Freeney and Mathis are vital to the Colts defensive scheme and without the pressure they can bring on the QB, the Colts secondary can and does get exposed as below average. (The Colts have another advantage in that their offense is prolific and puts a ton of points on the board and can do it quickly. That papers over a lot of holes. If one is a Dungy fan, then it should be noted that the famed Tampa-2 defense never won a championship while he was down in Tampa. It was a great defense with All-Pro caliber players at every level, but the scheme did nothing until Jon Gruden brought the West Coast offense to town, installed it, and got the Bucs offense clicking to a point to complement that defense.)

 

In short: if one attempts to play zone and have no pass rush, you get the Bills vs. Patriots game, with John Madden chortling about how the "Bills are helpless, powerless, and clueless. There's nothing they can do to slow them down." And, a team that is powerless and hopeless is not a real playoff caliber football team and nowhere near being championship contender football team, no matter how much some may want to click their heels and wish it were so.

[Trader]

I don't think we have to draft a DB number 1. I do think we need another quality DB. I think we could do it number at number 11 and I would not complain if we did but we don't have to do it.

 

IF DRC is there i take him Or I trade down. If D Harvey is there I take him or trade down. Same with Ellis. We have a lot of options at 11. I am not married to any of them. I do think that if the only option is a WR we should try to trade down and if no trade is there then we take the best player we can.

[stewy23]

I agree with most on the board about the importance of drafting a Corner this year. We do need a corner, and a Wide Receiver, and a Defensive End, and a Tight End. Where I differ in opinion with everyone else is the importance of where we draft each one of these positions. The only position that I know for sure won't be worth the #11 pick in the draft is the Tight End. Other than that, I think the team should draft the best player available at the other three positions. When Round 2 rolls around, we do the same exact thing (obviously eliminating the position filled in round 1.)

 

No one knows who will be available at #11. DRC might be there, Derrick Harvey might be there, Malcolm Kelly and Limas Sweed will most likely be there. What the team needs to do is address whichever position that would give us the most value for the pick. I agree with the poster that the Defensive Line is just as guilty as the Defensive Backfield for our poor pass defense last season and that both need to be addressed early in the draft. I think it will all come down to who is there when we pick. We don't NEED a Wide Receiver at #11 just as much as we don't NEED a Defensive End or Cornerback. We'll have to wait and see.