bills-fan in arizona Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 Not sure if this point has been made - but I would have loved to have seen Martin Rucker as a Bill in the top of the fourth. Why would Cleveland move up so aggressively to grab this guy when they are sitting on Heiden and Winslow Jr.? P.S. Really liked the strategy, patience and results of this years draft - but would have loved to see Rucker fall to us and then made our move on Corner in the bottom half of the round. I haven't seen enough film on Fine to pass judgment, but Rucker was an extremely productive receiver and IMO will be a solid TE at the next level.
In space no one can hear Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 Not sure if this point has been made - but I would have loved to have seen Martin Rucker as a Bill in the top of the fourth. Why would Cleveland move up so aggressively to grab this guy when they are sitting on Heiden and Winslow Jr.? P.S. Really liked the strategy, patience and results of this years draft - but would have loved to see Rucker fall to us and then made our move on Corner in the bottom half of the round. I haven't seen enough film on Fine to pass judgment, but Rucker was an extremely productive receiver and IMO will be a solid TE at the next level. Welcome to the board! Cleveland must have felt he would have been gone if they didn't move up. I have to admit I was disappointed to see teams with All-Pros at the position Cleveland(Winslow) and Washington(Cooley) pick tight ends before we did. I guess some teams just prioritize the position and some don't.(like Buffalo)
Pete Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 Modrak said he was not happy to see Keller go to the Jets and he was glad that Fred Davis went to the Skins. I think those two were probably the top two TE's on our board, and after they were selected Fine was our guy all along
Mikie2times Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 Modrak said he was not happy to see Keller go to the Jets and he was glad that Fred Davis went to the Skins. I think those two were probably the top two TE's on our board, and after they were selected Fine was our guy all along Thats what I figured. Buffalo probably had a couple of guys targeted high, but one Bills scout has already indicated that he thought Fine was the best overall TE in the class. They probably said we won't trade up because we know we can get Fine, but if one of our guys falls to us early we will pill the trigger.
Geno Smith's Arm Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 Welcome to the board! Cleveland must have felt he would have been gone if they didn't move up. I have to admit I was disappointed to see teams with All-Pros at the position Cleveland(Winslow) and Washington(Cooley) pick tight ends before we did. I guess some teams just prioritize the position and some don't.(like Buffalo) Maybe they are just setting themselves up so that if Kellen "Spoiled" Winslow Jr. wants a huge contract they will have a TE ready to go, or at least some leverage.
Horus Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 you might have to look it up but during the draft they interviewed coaches from the teams and when they interviewed Browns coach they talked about why Rucker and whats up with JR...Browns guy said they weren't really happy with Winslow but didn't really elaborate on it...looks like Winslow may be June cut or trade or whatever maybe..I know one of you guys recorded the whole draft so if you could find the Browns interview on sunday that would be great
OCinBuffalo Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 Another take: Winslow has been hurt, a lot, and they probably need to make sure they can get a guy to back him up. If they base their O on strong TE play, but they lose that guy to injury, they better have a back up plan.
Dennis in NC Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 Not sure if this point has been made - but I would have loved to have seen Martin Rucker as a Bill in the top of the fourth. Why would Cleveland move up so aggressively to grab this guy when they are sitting on Heiden and Winslow Jr.? P.S. Really liked the strategy, patience and results of this years draft - but would have loved to see Rucker fall to us and then made our move on Corner in the bottom half of the round. I haven't seen enough film on Fine to pass judgment, but Rucker was an extremely productive receiver and IMO will be a solid TE at the next level. I liked Rucker, too, and thought the Bills might get him. Some of the reports said Rucker never (or rarely) had to block because Missouri ran the spread offense. Rucker just caught a lot of passes that way. I trust the scouts to know who the heck the complete players are. They have scouted these guys for a couple of years. Fans might think we know the good players, but like the Owen Schmidt obsession, we probably only saw these guys in their big 2007-08 bowl games a few months ago.
ganesh Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 Maybe they are just setting themselves up so that if Kellen "Spoiled" Winslow Jr. wants a huge contract they will have a TE ready to go, or at least some leverage. You should never go into a draft with the mindset that the team is full at any position.....You can never have enough of good players..... THe steelers had an outstanding TE in Heath Miller who was such a comfort zone for Ben during the superbowl post season. However, the Steelers still went and picked Matt Spaeth who had an outstanding 1st quarter rookie season before getting hurt.
buckeyemike Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 Maybe they are just setting themselves up so that if Kellen "Spoiled" Winslow Jr. wants a huge contract they will have a TE ready to go, or at least some leverage. That is part of it. The Browns are unhappy that Winslow wants a new deal after only two good seasons. I'll give Winslow this: he does play hurt, and he does play hard. He seemed to have grown up quite a bit since his accident of 2005, but I think he should live up to the terms he signed for. The Browns are on the cusp of some great things, and I would think Winslow wants to be a part of it, but I may be wrong.
Fewell733 Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 teams design offenses around certain types of players - Cleveland's offense utilized a defense splitting TE that doesn't have to do much blocking. If Winslow gets hurt they don't want to have to totally change their offense.
stuckincincy Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 That is part of it. The Browns are unhappy that Winslow wants a new deal after only two good seasons. I'll give Winslow this: he does play hurt, and he does play hard. He seemed to have grown up quite a bit since his accident of 2005, but I think he should live up to the terms he signed for. The Browns are on the cusp of some great things, and I would think Winslow wants to be a part of it, but I may be wrong. All the more important for CIN not to knuckle under to Ocho Dinko. I'm surprised at those that criticize the B'gals for their stance - if that dink gets his way, the floodgates might be opened far more than that by TO's bratty snit a few years back.
bills-fan in arizona Posted April 29, 2008 Author Posted April 29, 2008 I trust the scouts to know who the heck the complete players are. They have scouted these guys for a couple of years. I trust our war-room as well, just seemed like if Rucker fell to us - he would be a Bill. I know there was questioning around his blocking capabilities - but it's hard to argue with his production as a receiver, NFL bloodlines and red-zone presence. I was more intrigued by Cleveland giving up a 3rd round selection to grab Rucker with Winslow and Heiden on their roster. I just did a little research and learned that Heiden is older than I assumed (31) - so I guess that answers my question.
Kelly the Dog Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 Modrak said he was not happy to see Keller go to the Jets and he was glad that Fred Davis went to the Skins. I think those two were probably the top two TE's on our board, and after they were selected Fine was our guy all along It's also possible that they liked Rucker and would have taken him had the Browns not moved up. You can't fault the Bills for not protecting against that and moving up themselves to that position, as no one thought the Browns would be looking to trade up for a TE then.
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