OCinBuffalo Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 This idea has been "plaguing" me for the last few days. I can't help but envision some ESPN draft special a few years from now when they ask: "How in the hell did the rest of the league sit by and let the Bills draft 6 pro-bowl level guys in two straight drafts?" (Of course I am going to leave the Whitner, McCargo, Youboty, Ko, Ellison, Butler, Williams draft out of this, although that's looking pretty good now too, isn't it?)Before you even start, I know it's way to early to say any of this. Hence the title of this thread. However, let's take each pick one at a time and look at the details, not the big stuff: 1. Lynch. We know about the run game, and he caught the ball well also, but did you see that blitz pick-up on the first Pitts TD? He hit the blitzing LB, not the other way around, which means he can stay on the field every down(unlike McDumbass), which means more options that include him. He has the potential to be the most complete back since Marshall Faulk. He has the potential to be at the level of Thurman Thomas or Roger Craig = the two guys who invented the concept of "complete back". 2. Poz. From what I saw at camp and on TV, we haven't even begun to see what this guy can do in games. He is so quick, it looks like what he is doing is effortless. He makes MLB look easier than it really is. That's why it's hard to notice him, he's in the pile stopping the run(or making the RB cut again so somebody else gets the easy tackle) and you don't see him make the tackle, as opposed to him making the tackle 3-5 yards after the LOS. I think about the screen play Pittsburgh tried to run. The called a good play and they "had us", but he had their guy after only 3 yards, coming from the middle of the field to the sideline. Big plays will come in time. For now, it's highly entertaining to me just to see him do the small stuff so well. He's going to be a good one, he has the potential to be great. 3. Edwards. We honestly have no idea what we have with Edwards. We know he is at least serviceable. But, is he going to be another practice hero = Chad Pennington? Or is he going to be...I can't even begin to hope, a Montana type player? It's enough to make me nervous with daring expectations every time I think of the Bills or this season. I don't think anybody can doubt his potential. There is much to work on, but I honestly don't see reaching those goals as out of his grasp. In fact, I think most of it depends on Trent himself. If he does well, he faces a whole new level of scrutiny, every milestone he passes, so we'll see. But, somehow based on what we've seen so far, he has the potential to deal with it, and even jokingly revel in it. Joking about the turf and Big Ben is the detail I, and others here, picked up on. He clearly has the confidence to lead, and say the right things at the right time in a meaningful, not contrived, way. 4. McKelvin. We already know without doubt that this guy is a "big-play" guy on ST. I have seen him go about 50/50 on defense so far, which is pretty darn good for a rookie, since most elite CBs only ever get to about 80/20 anyway. It's really exciting to know that we have barely seen this guy play and we already have a lot of positives from him. He is confident, sure, but I don't see cocky, and I want confident CBs. Deion Sanders was the most confident CB ever, and he was also arguably the best cover corner ever, never mind his ability on ST. He gets better every play, and he makes mistakes once, not twice, as evidenced on the return this week vs. last week. 5. Hardy. He is going to be a great utility/situational player at the very least. He has already proved that. We have no idea yet where he "fits" or how complete his game might become. We do know that he is learning quick and his progress from the Skins game to the Pitts game was clear. I didn't see him miss a block(in fact he crushed a CB on a run play and blocked/sealed LBs 3 times on the second drive ), mess up a shift/motion or not run the right rout last game, where he did all of those things at the practices I saw and the Skins game. The simple fact is that Evans/Parrish/Lynch/Jackson torched the Steelers on those two drives, and that is because they couldn't focus only on them. Hardy blocked for/drew coverage away from them, which is what we wanted in the first place. Hardy already = problem solved. He clearly drew enough coverage for Royal to take that second TD into the end zone. I honestly don't care if he catches anything all year if he takes away our opponents' ability to lock down on people. But, does anybody doubt that he will be catching a lot of balls, especially in the end zone, this year? Hell, he was open in the end zone on both drives, and teams that don't cover him will suffer the consequences. 6. Ellis. Perhaps the biggest surprise for me. It's not just his 2 sacks or the forced fumble = clearly demonstrated ability to rush the passer. I saw him(so did the announcers, anybody who watched that game, Holy God) blow up a running play against the Steelers and allow Corto to get an easy tackle for no gain, which is just as, if not more, important. We need DEs that can stop the run(we need any and everything that can stop the run after last year), and as a rookie he clearly demonstrated that ability last game. It's too early to say that he can do it all consistently, but nothing so far shows he can't, and everything so far shows he can. I'm sure I'm going to get accused of rose-coloring here. But, I always color outside the lines anyway. You actually have to be very detail-oriented to do that properly. Therefore that's the thing that I've picked up on that impresses me most about these 6 men: they have clear command of the details and they get them right a lot more often than not. Sure there's room for improvement, but, as we saw with JP, the details are where the devil is, and unfortunately I don't see him ever getting control of some of them. The fact that these guys have so many details under control so quickly is why I see each of them as having the potential to be a pro-bowl level player. How funny would it be if we do see that ESPN special a few years from now? Either one of these draft classes has the potential to make the all-time list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apuszczalowski Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 My prediction Bill, Mickey, and Obie will still complain that the FO has no idea what they are doing and that they wasted picks by not drafting O and D linemen with all those picks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VOR Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 My prediction Bill, Mickey, and Obie will still complain that the FO has no idea what they are doing and that they wasted picks by not drafting O and D linemen with all those picks Don't forget AKC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayFinkle Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 My prediction Bill, Mickey, and Obie will still complain that the FO has no idea what they are doing and that they wasted picks by not drafting O and D linemen with all those picks They won't complain for another year or two. First they have to wait to see which 1st, 2nd and 3rd rd players pan out, so they can scream that the Bills should have taken them instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill from NYC Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 My prediction Bill, Mickey, and Obie will still complain that the FO has no idea what they are doing and that they wasted picks by not drafting O and D linemen with all those picks Look at it this way.....if the Bills are to play well this year, much of their success would seem to hinge on day 1 of the 07 draft. Can we at least agree on this? Now, what was it that made the 07 draft different than 06 and 08? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R. Rich Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 Now, what was it that made the 07 draft different than 06 and 08? I was sober? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill from NYC Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 I was sober? Do you swear to that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R. Rich Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 You should know better than to ask that question, William. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VOR Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 What if they all end up as Pro Bowlers? That would suck. Can you imagine all the holdouts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Senator Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 What if they all end up as Pro Bowlers? Dawgg would have to admit that Marv & our current front office were capable judges of talent. (After which, his head would explode...) Link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apuszczalowski Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 Look at it this way.....if the Bills are to play well this year, much of their success would seem to hinge on day 1 of the 07 draft. Can we at least agree on this? Now, what was it that made the 07 draft different than 06 and 08? They drafted a RB instead of a DB? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramius Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 My prediction Bill, Mickey, and Obie will still complain that the FO has no idea what they are doing and that they wasted picks by not drafting O and D linemen with all those picks They would claim that we won in spite of drafting a CB in 08, not because of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VOR Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 Dawgg would have to admit that Marv & our current front office were capable judges of talent. (After which, his head would explode...) Link Well then, I hope they do become Pro Bowlers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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