Bflojohn Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 I'll admit one thing here, I'm transitioning into offseason mode (Yes, I'm going to watch the last two games!) and wondering if the team really needs to be "blown up" as I believe some would want. My contention is that a core of players are available to Dick Jauron or whoever coaches next season. I know that posters ALL seem to have their own "master plan" for success, but what really is needed and how do they go about it? I'd guess that the free agency period will, in my mind, yield defensive reinforcements and the draft will bolster the offense. When I look at who is available as opposed to who gets franchised and so forth, the pickings look slim. My feeling is that the Bills could venture into the OLB ranks and nab a guy like Mike Peterson. The DE position is bleek for March, so maybe the Bills will find their DE in the VERY early rounds. I don't think that they are too far from contending, so here is my layout for a playoff push (legitimate one) in 2009. Free Agents: OLB Mike Peterson OG Jahri Evans Draft: 1st round (pick #8) Brian Orapko, DE, Texas Trade 2010 first rounder and 4th rounder this year, 2009 for later first round pick 1st round ( say pick # 25) Alex Mack, C, California 2nd round (pick # 41) Chase Coffman, TE, Missouri 3rd round (pick #74) Evander Hood, DT, Missouri 5th round ( ? ) Graham Harrell, QB, Texas Tech 6th round ( ? ) Javorskie Lane, FB/RB, Texas A&M 7th round ( ? ) Terrill Byrd, DT/DE, Cincinnati Personally, I don't want to start over when the possibilities of putting this type of team together exists!! Side note: For the members who might be aware of CFL players, are there any QB's that would warrent a look? Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billybob Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 Free agency: Julius Peppers DE, Jason Brown C, Chris Kemoeatu G, Collin Coles DT Draft 1st- Aaron Curry OLB, Rey Maualuga ILB, James Laurinaitis ILB in that order - LBs can come right out of college and play well. 2nd Tyrone Jackson LDE could be a run stuffer on the left side. Trade for Vernon Davis TE he's been immature and not too productive but he has physical talent - he might have worn out his welcome in SF and be gotten cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alphadawg7 Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 Free agency: Julius Peppers DE, Jason Brown C, Chris Kemoeatu G, Collin Coles DT Draft 1st- Aaron Curry OLB, Rey Maualuga ILB, James Laurinaitis ILB in that order - LBs can come right out of college and play well. 2nd Tyrone Jackson LDE could be a run stuffer on the left side. Trade for Vernon Davis TE he's been immature and not too productive but he has physical talent - he might have worn out his welcome in SF and be gotten cheap. No way we get Peppers...just not gonna happen with him having the pick of any team he wants really, besides I just dont see Carolina letting him go. Dont get me wrong, I would love to get him, just dont see how. Vernon isnt not a very good player to this point, so he would have to come CHEAP to warrant getting him. I would prefer say Chase Coffman, but if we dont draft a top TE than picking up Davis cheap in hopes he can fullfill some potential would be ok, but I say again, only Cheap as he has shown very little to this point in his career in terms of work ethic, discipline, route running, etc. I would also like to see us make a run at McNabb if he is made available via trade. He could be a monster difference maker here and is young enough to give us at least another 4 years of high caliber QB play. He would fit in great here with his style of play, the talent of Lee Evans and Lynch, has a real strong arm which is needed in buffalo, and would even make the Oline better as he throws on the run. Picking up McNabb (if made available like a lot of people believe, although I still am not sold this will happen) would be the single biggest pickup this offseason we could make. I would take McNabb hands down over Peppers because he would have a greater impact on our team. A trade with us and Philly makes the most sense for Philly too because we can not only offer the best draft picks of the likely teams interested in him (that he is willing to play for), but we are also in the AFC and the other rumored landing spots for him are in the NFC. I am sure Philly would prefer him to go to a small market and to the AFC versus going to a NFC team that could become a major NFC power with him like Minn or Chi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsObserver Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 There's no reason to blow up this team. Perhaps the front office. Just look at the Dolphins, look how quickly they turned things around in ONE YEAR!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billnutinphoenix Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 Free Agency...C Brad Meester or Jeremy Newberry at Center, Trade 2nd ROunder to Cleveland for TE Kellen Winslow; WR Anquan Boldin; LB Karlos Dansby 1st Rounder - DE Michael Johnson - Georgia Tech 2nd Round - DT Jerai Jerry - Ole Miss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bflojohn Posted December 16, 2008 Author Share Posted December 16, 2008 Billsnutinphoenix, where are you in the city? I'm in the south end bumping against South Mountain. How long have you been here? By the way, I like your thinking, but Peria Jerry is sounding an awful lot like a bonified first rounder in the scouting I'm reading! Personally, I'd be fairly happy with any of these approaches, so far.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marauderswr80 Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 Javorski Lane.......I thought he was a TE? no? Like the mock..... Im a huge Brian Orakpo fan! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robkmil Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 Free Agency...C Brad Meester or Jeremy Newberry at Center, Trade 2nd ROunder to Cleveland for TE Kellen Winslow; WR Anquan Boldin; LB Karlos Dansby 1st Rounder - DE Michael Johnson - Georgia Tech 2nd Round - DT Jerai Jerry - Ole Miss wow you expect a lot in free agency I would take winslow though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NavarreFL_Bills_Fan Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 No reason to blow anything up...they have some stuff to build around: Edwards will be good Lynch, Jackson, and Evans are extremely dynamic Peters is a solid O-lineman On defense, they have Poz, McLovin, Whitner, McGee, and Mitchell.... They just need to beef up the O/D line with some studs. This is the foundation. Look at how Parcells rebuilds. He builds the O/D lines and gets smart skill players. I equate the Bills current organization to a rusted out Crown Vic, but with a decent soundsystem, and some rims....they need to put their rims and soundsystem into a solid new car Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pozitive51 Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 We definitely dont need to rebuild. We have a great up and coming core of talent with a potential Pro Bowl player at every key position. With the addition of a few key additions. I disagree with with Wilson, its not the players its the coaching. My only hope is that Brandon the marketing genius realizes that if he keeps the coach he must spend in free agency to keep the fans interest. Pro Bowl Caliber players Offensive Line - Peters RB - Lynch QB - Edwards WR - Evans TE - Winslow ( free agency ) D line - Stroud LB - Poz - Peterson ( free agency ) DB - McCelvin S - Whitner Add Peterson and draft Orapko and we have a the makings of a great defense. I think the Oline will continue to improve and have played well this year. We need another threat and Winslow gives us that. He needs a change of scenery and is a talent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alphadawg7 Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 LB - Poz - Peterson ( free agency )DB - McCelvin I agree we dont have to rebuild...but did you just refer to these two as pro bowl caliber? McKelvin absolutely on special teams, but I am not sure he starts next year with McGee, Greer and Youboty there. I can see him maybe winning the nickel spot, but Youboty and Greer were playing pretty darn good until they got hurt. I would love to see Mckelvin develop into a pro bowl CB, just dont see it by next year. Poz is showing to be mediocre at best...so how he is in there as a potential pro bowler is puzzling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apuszczalowski Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 There's no reason to blow up this team. Perhaps the front office. Just look at the Dolphins, look how quickly they turned things around in ONE YEAR!!!! They also turned over about 50% of their roster Its easier to turn around a 1-15 team then a 8-8 team cause you can make moves at almost every position and its an upgrade, plus you have your choice of almost any player in the draft Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apuszczalowski Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 I agree we dont have to rebuild...but did you just refer to these two as pro bowl caliber? McKelvin absolutely on special teams, but I am not sure he starts next year with McGee, Greer and Youboty there. I can see him maybe winning the nickel spot, but Youboty and Greer were playing pretty darn good until they got hurt. I would love to see Mckelvin develop into a pro bowl CB, just dont see it by next year. Poz is showing to be mediocre at best...so how he is in there as a potential pro bowler is puzzling I would say Poz has just as good of a chance as being a Pro Bowler as Edwards. There are alot of good pieces here to build around, and they are all young players still developing. The offence needs some big upgrades this offseason though to be a playoff team next year. On the oline, getting a OC to bean upgrade to Fowler/Preston would help the most. Adding some depth to the o-line would be good too. There has to be a backup plan at QB. Trent has not looked good this year, and they will need someone in case he goes down again ( ) A solid veteran backup would be nice. Someone to carry the team for a game or 2 A TE is a must. They need a great TE since trent is usually looking for a safety valve,they need someone who can be another weapon in the air attack. As for the WR's, they either need to start calling more plays to Lee, he should see the ball 10x's a game. A good TE can take the pressure off Lee, along with a decent #2, which hopefully Hardy can become. The defence is good enough to keep the team in games, but if they want to make the playoffs now, and not have to wait for a #1 ranked defence to carry the team, they would be better off building an offence that has the potential to score TD's, and not just a dink and dunk offence that is content with FG's on every drive, hoping the defence or special teams put the ball in the endzone. Thisdefence has held many teams to around 20 points, but they lose games cause the offence struggles to score. Upgrades to teh defence at this point would be a luxury until the offence is improved Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drinkTHEkoolaid Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 im sure they will try to continue their tradition of continual never ending rebuilding. they have been rebuilding for over a decade... makes me sick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ans4e64 Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 I love how people just look up the top players at the positions we need and say we should draft them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thurman#1 Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 I'll admit one thing here, I'm transitioning into offseason mode (Yes, I'm going to watch the last two games!) and wondering if the team really needs to be "blown up" as I believe some would want. My contention is that a core of players are available to Dick Jauron or whoever coaches next season. I know that posters ALL seem to have their own "master plan" for success, but what really is needed and how do they go about it? I'd guess that the free agency period will, in my mind, yield defensive reinforcements and the draft will bolster the offense. When I look at who is available as opposed to who gets franchised and so forth, the pickings look slim. My feeling is that the Bills could venture into the OLB ranks and nab a guy like Mike Peterson. The DE position is bleek for March, so maybe the Bills will find their DE in the VERY early rounds. I don't think that they are too far from contending, so here is my layout for a playoff push (legitimate one) in 2009.Free Agents: OLB Mike Peterson OG Jahri Evans Draft: 1st round (pick #8) Brian Orapko, DE, Texas Trade 2010 first rounder and 4th rounder this year, 2009 for later first round pick 1st round ( say pick # 25) Alex Mack, C, California 2nd round (pick # 41) Chase Coffman, TE, Missouri 3rd round (pick #74) Evander Hood, DT, Missouri 5th round ( ? ) Graham Harrell, QB, Texas Tech 6th round ( ? ) Javorskie Lane, FB/RB, Texas A&M 7th round ( ? ) Terrill Byrd, DT/DE, Cincinnati Personally, I don't want to start over when the possibilities of putting this type of team together exists!! Side note: For the members who might be aware of CFL players, are there any QB's that would warrent a look? Thoughts? This year's first rounder for our NEXT year's first rounder and our this year's fourth is a trade nobody will make. If you can get it, do it, but nobody will make that trade. I also have serious doubts that Orakpo will still be around at #8. DEs who can really rush the pass generally go earlier than you think they will, and Derrick Harvey was a good example of that. It's such a hard position to fill. If we want Mack at around 25, we would probably have to trade this year's 2nd and 3rd, something like that. Or next year's first and this year's second or third. Next year's picks are discounted because they don't help you this year and you don't know where in the round the pick will be. I don't see us drafting a QB. That would leave us with Trent who has shown that he is a bit fragile, and Hamdan and a rookie. I see us trading for a vet, someone to compete with Trent, or picking up someone in FA. I agree that rebuilding is not necessary and that we might yet go places with this nucleus. Interesting post. And yeah, it's time for this kind of talk to officially begin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DazedandConfused Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 No reason to blow anything up...they have some stuff to build around: Edwards will be good Lynch, Jackson, and Evans are extremely dynamic Peters is a solid O-lineman On defense, they have Poz, McLovin, Whitner, McGee, and Mitchell.... They just need to beef up the O/D line with some studs. This is the foundation. Look at how Parcells rebuilds. He builds the O/D lines and gets smart skill players. I equate the Bills current organization to a rusted out Crown Vic, but with a decent soundsystem, and some rims....they need to put their rims and soundsystem into a solid new car I also agree that their is a core of talent and potential talent here that will profit from adjustment rather than blowing up the team. However, rather than getting some studs in FA who will be the players to put this team over the top, the adjustment that I feel we need is to pick up several FA leader types as one of the big shortfalls I see on the current team is simply a lack of on field leadership, maturity, and record of past success. The FO seemed to believe that if they had good character in the HC (which I think they have as Jauron is a high character guy whose main failing is that he has no record of winning or being a competitive threat to consistently get a team to the SB or even deep in the playoffs)they could somehow mold a bunch of youngsters into a winner. Nope, it does not seem to work that way. They did make a point of going out and getting Kavika Mitchell and the vet Stroud, but Stroud is a good player with no real record of team success and Mitchell simply proved not to be be enough to develop a refuse to lose stud player attitude for the youthful team to be inspired by. 20/20 hindsight is more perfect so these comments are made to exhibit a point rather than prove any predictive wisdom (my screename states my quality predictive analysis for this team) however, in retrospect if this team had put up more than market rate bucks to a get a proven stud like Gonzales or made the even more outlandish move of getting a past winner (though a talented knucklehead) like Favre this would likely be a very different team. The Edwards situation is interesting. I agree he is a talented player, but I define injury prone as a player losing PT 3 times in a short period of time to injuries to 3 different parts of his body. By my definition, Edwards having lost PT last year to a wrist injury, this year to a concussion, and again this time to a groin pull simply strikes me as a talented player whom one would be foolish to count on being your starter. Its ironic and horrible since who would have thunk it as the season started and after 4 games that the Bills would end up with clearly the worst QB situation of any team in the AFC East. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chilly Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 Javorski Lane.......I thought he was a TE? no? Like the mock..... Im a huge Brian Orakpo fan! Nope, Lane is a RB, well, supposedly a RB. He had been benched somewhat this year for lack of performance, and has been at odds with A&M coaches. I wouldn't touch him. I also would grab Jermaine Gresham with that 2nd 1st round pick, and hit up the best overall O-lineman in the 2nd round. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DIE HARD 1967 Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 Your first round selection will require a trade up to get him. I believe he goes in the top 3 selections Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RShirley Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 Javorski Lane.......I thought he was a TE? no? Like the mock..... Im a huge Brian Orakpo fan! Here is an Orakpo video http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/...videoId=3650227 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts