timba Posted April 21, 2009 Posted April 21, 2009 It seems like the Bills 2 major areas that need to be addressed are the lines on either side of the ball. Which is further in the hole and should be addressed first in the draft? On offense, 3 starters are now gone 2 of which have been "replaced" with Hangartner(sp) and McKinny. The right side of the line is still intact with Walker and Butler but could be shuffled now that everybody else is gone. On defense we have the beast Stroud, an older and recovering Schobel whose effectiveness is coming into question, Kyle Williams who is either penetrating or getting blown up, and Kelsay who is overpaid and underproductive. Neither is in great shape so I'd like to hear what everybody else thinks.
scribo Posted April 21, 2009 Posted April 21, 2009 I have more confidence in Walker taking over the LT spot than I have in Kelsay remaining a starter. Plus, the offensive tackle position is much deeper in this draft than is the defensive end position. Thus, it seem very logical for the Bills to address the DL before they do so for the OL. Of course, logic is not always seen in these parts.
timba Posted April 21, 2009 Author Posted April 21, 2009 I feel like we have more proven talent on the D-Line than the O-Line which is why I'm not so convinced. I'm not as confident with Walker at LT despite the good performance that he showed early last season. He's big and not all that fast. I can just picture Joey Porter flying by him (much like peters this past year) and nabbing about 5 sacks. I'm a fan of Butler, and from what I've heard of Hangartner he's done well against big guys. I don't know if a lot of people are banking on Bell and Chambers but I really consider both of them unproven as well. Chambers would fill in now and again all throughout last year and did OK, but it wasn't an every down situation. Will he wear out by mid season if he's playing every offensive down? With the D-Line i can see us surviving with the Williams and Johnson rotation next to Stroud (although Henderson would make me giddy) with the biggest hole needing to be filled where Kelsay is. With Kelsay you know you're going to at least get a guy who can play against the run, but on O I still see ?'s at G and T. I don't think anybody on our roster can handle full time assignments at those positions.
The Big Cat Posted April 21, 2009 Posted April 21, 2009 O-LINE- no questions asked. Last year's defense was not a "problem." The unit kept us in games, often longer than we should have been. More of last year's losses fell SQUARELY on the offense. Specifically: CLE, SF, NYJ2, MIA1--we win those games we're 11-5.
flomoe Posted April 21, 2009 Posted April 21, 2009 D-Line This team is lacking game changing playmakers on both sides of the ball but you would be pretty hard pressed to find a game changer on the O-Line. Sure, the defense "kept us" in games last year but they did very little to stop anyone when they needed to. For that matter, they did very little to change the course of a game. The DB's were on their heels all year long because of ZERO pass rush and were picked apart by just about every team. This team needs a playmaker or two on the D-Line and definitely another LB.
The Big Cat Posted April 21, 2009 Posted April 21, 2009 D-Line This team is lacking game changing playmakers on both sides of the ball but you would be pretty hard pressed to find a game changer on the O-Line. Sure, the defense "kept us" in games last year but they did very little to stop anyone when they needed to. For that matter, they did very little to change the course of a game. The DB's were on their heels all year long because of ZERO pass rush and were picked apart by just about every team. This team needs a playmaker or two on the D-Line and definitely another LB. By my memory, this assertion (which gets thrown around a lot) is a complete myth. Please name a specific game that came down the defense failing to get a stop late.
timba Posted April 21, 2009 Author Posted April 21, 2009 This team needs a playmaker or two on the D-Line and definitely another LB. Do you mean two additional playmakers to go with Stroud or am I off in my assumption that he is one of the two you refer to? If that's the case if Raji would fall would you be a fan of the Raji(DT)/ Larry English(DE) first round or if Raji doesn't fall Orakpo(DE)/Jerry(DT) combo? With the mocks that have been thrown around it's possible that Mack might still be available in rd2 for us to grab. If that was the case and I wouldn't mind that situation (especially after reading the article from http://www.stadiumwall.com/index.php?showtopic=87418).
flomoe Posted April 22, 2009 Posted April 22, 2009 Do you mean two additional playmakers to go with Stroud or am I off in my assumption that he is one of the two you refer to? If that's the case if Raji would fall would you be a fan of the Raji(DT)/ Larry English(DE) first round or if Raji doesn't fall Orakpo(DE)/Jerry(DT) combo? With the mocks that have been thrown around it's possible that Mack might still be available in rd2 for us to grab. If that was the case and I wouldn't mind that situation (especially after reading the article from http://www.stadiumwall.com/index.php?showtopic=87418). I was referring to at least one DE and possibly another DT to pair with Stroud, plus a playmaking LB considering that Bowen's injury might keep him relegated to a backup. I'm not saying get all of them in the first couple rounds or even in the draft but the point was that this team is dying for a playmaker on defense. A player that other offenses have to account for on every play.
Bill from NYC Posted April 22, 2009 Posted April 22, 2009 By my memory, this assertion (which gets thrown around a lot) is a complete myth. Please name a specific game that came down the defense failing to get a stop late. It isn't only about late stops; we were horrible at 3rd and long situations. I saw stats that showed us being not so bad, but they are meaningless imo. There are circumstances (blowouts, etc.) where the play matters a lot less than others. When it seemed to count, the Bills couldn't hold their opponents, but how can you when 4 sacks leads the team?
Brandon Posted April 22, 2009 Posted April 22, 2009 The defensive line is easily in worse shape. Its quite possible that they don't have a single starting caliber DE on the roster at this point, plus, Kyle Williams is adequate at best at DT and the depth at that position is virtually non-existent. They've got problems on the OL, too, but that group isn't entirely hopeless. Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating going with what they already have, but the Bills have fielded worse OLs on opening day during this decade than the one they currently have.
LabattBlue Posted April 22, 2009 Posted April 22, 2009 The defensive line is easily in worse shape. Its quite possible that they don't have a single starting caliber DE on the roster at this point, plus, Kyle Williams is adequate at best at DT and the depth at that position is virtually non-existent. They've got problems on the OL, too, but that group isn't entirely hopeless. Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating going with what they already have, but the Bills have fielded worse OLs on opening day during this decade than the one they currently have. The question I have is where is the bigger drop off... Monroe/J. Smith/A.Smith/Oher(#11) versus Beatty/Britton(#28) or Orapko/Brown/Maybin/Ayers/Jackson(#11) versus Sidbury/Barwin/Johnson/Kruger/etc...(#28)
Brandon Posted April 22, 2009 Posted April 22, 2009 The question I have is where is the bigger drop off... Monroe/J. Smith/A.Smith/Oher(#11) versus Beatty/Britton(#28) or Orapko/Brown/Maybin/Ayers/Jackson(#11) versus Sidbury/Barwin/Johnson/Kruger/etc...(#28) That's a reasonable question, but on draft day, I think it'll be irrelevant. I believe all four of those OTs are going to go in the top 10.
Recommended Posts