John Adams Posted July 6, 2009 Posted July 6, 2009 http://www.buffalonews.com/opinion/columns...ory/724105.html The football team, after virtually ignoring its offensive line for most of the last decade, drafted a couple of offensive lineman known for their toughness, the sort of thing which pushes the ball over the goal line when it has been moved deep into the opposing red zone. That hits the nail right on the head with the Bills offensive woes for a decade. There's a reason you can plug any also-ran into the Denver backfield and they go to the Pro Bowl for a decade and it's not because of the high altitude. That line has been nothing short of amazing--but also a priority. A commitment to the line--in this case a smart commitment that doesn't involve overpaying for useless sacks of excrement like Dockery--will yield great results. It will take time and doesn't sell season tickets but with a stud line, you get a stud RB just "because" and you will likely get at least a good QB. Anyone man enough to disagree with me to my face?
Beerball Posted July 6, 2009 Posted July 6, 2009 http://www.buffalonews.com/opinion/columns...ory/724105.html Anyone man enough to disagree with me to my face? Not about this, but I do hate your hair.
DrFishfinder Posted July 6, 2009 Posted July 6, 2009 Not about this, but I do hate your hair. I hate his face, too. Hey, somebody had to say it.
C.Biscuit97 Posted July 6, 2009 Posted July 6, 2009 http://www.buffalonews.com/opinion/columns...ory/724105.html That hits the nail right on the head with the Bills offensive woes for a decade. There's a reason you can plug any also-ran into the Denver backfield and they go to the Pro Bowl for a decade and it's not because of the high altitude. That line has been nothing short of amazing--but also a priority. A commitment to the line--in this case a smart commitment that doesn't involve overpaying for useless sacks of excrement like Dockery--will yield great results. It will take time and doesn't sell season tickets but with a stud line, you get a stud RB just "because" and you will likely get at least a good QB. Anyone man enough to disagree with me to my face? I agree with everything but I still think Dockery was a good gamble. He played on a very good rushing team in Washington and seemed like he would be a great partner with Peters for years. By a lot of accounts, DD became soft after he got his payday. It is best to get players who are young and hungry and trying to prove themselves.
BLZFAN4LIFE Posted July 6, 2009 Posted July 6, 2009 http://www.buffalonews.com/opinion/columns...ory/724105.html That hits the nail right on the head with the Bills offensive woes for a decade. There's a reason you can plug any also-ran into the Denver backfield and they go to the Pro Bowl for a decade and it's not because of the high altitude. That line has been nothing short of amazing--but also a priority. A commitment to the line--in this case a smart commitment that doesn't involve overpaying for useless sacks of excrement like Dockery--will yield great results. It will take time and doesn't sell season tickets but with a stud line, you get a stud RB just "because" and you will likely get at least a good QB. Anyone man enough to disagree with me to my face? Sure, in hindsight you can criticize the Dockery signing, but at the time, it was indisputable that the Bills addressed the O-line. The Bills continued their aggressive free agency push this afternoon. Only hours after signing Jason Whittle, the Bills have added two more offensive linemen; Langston Walker and Derrick Dockery. On paper the Bills now have a very formidable offensive line held down by some very big guys. The best news is that these two are still quite young; 27 and 26 respectively. Suddenly the Bills offensive line is shaping up to be one of the best in the NFL. So, saying that the Bills have not addressed the O-line in the last decade is bulls6!t. You could say that the O-line has been mismanaged but not ignored.
tennesseeboy Posted July 6, 2009 Posted July 6, 2009 http://www.buffalonews.com/opinion/columns...ory/724105.html That hits the nail right on the head with the Bills offensive woes for a decade. There's a reason you can plug any also-ran into the Denver backfield and they go to the Pro Bowl for a decade and it's not because of the high altitude. That line has been nothing short of amazing--but also a priority. A commitment to the line--in this case a smart commitment that doesn't involve overpaying for useless sacks of excrement like Dockery--will yield great results. It will take time and doesn't sell season tickets but with a stud line, you get a stud RB just "because" and you will likely get at least a good QB. Anyone man enough to disagree with me to my face? All of our great teams were built from the line of scrimmage outward. Look at the AFL years, the Simpson years and the Kelly years and you see "electric company" or studs on the O Line. The next best thing is a stud D. Line. I think we sink or swim depending on a very unknown commodity this year.
John Adams Posted July 6, 2009 Author Posted July 6, 2009 Sure, in hindsight you can criticize the Dockery signing, but at the time, it was indisputable that the Bills addressed the O-line. So, saying that the Bills have not addressed the O-line in the last decade is bulls6!t. You could say that the O-line has been mismanaged but not ignored. What I said was that the line should be built by making SMART moves. While some loved the Dockery signing, the guy had a reputation as a soft lineman. Am I an NFL scout? No. Could I have told you he was soft before he came to Buffalo? Beats me. But the fact is that the people who get paid to make those types of judgment did a horrific job signing DD and even worse, paying him an exorbitant salary that no one projected he was worth.
JohnC Posted July 6, 2009 Posted July 6, 2009 What I said was that the line should be built by making SMART moves. While some loved the Dockery signing, the guy had a reputation as a soft lineman. Am I an NFL scout? No. Could I have told you he was soft before he came to Buffalo? Beats me. But the fact is that the people who get paid to make those types of judgment did a horrific job signing DD and even worse, paying him an exorbitant salary that no one projected he was worth. As you smartly noted the people who get paid to make personnel decisions have made a mountain of bad decisions in the draft and in free agency judgments. So there shouldn't be any surprise that over the past decade the Bills rank 29 out of 32 (third from the bottom) in their record. Tom Modrak (college scouting) and John Guy (professional player scouting) have been in their respective positions during the past decade. Rewarding ineptitude may be perverse in most organizations, but it certainly is the norm in Ralph Wilson's dysfunctional organization.
Sisyphean Bills Posted July 6, 2009 Posted July 6, 2009 What I said was that the line should be built by making SMART moves. While some loved the Dockery signing, the guy had a reputation as a soft lineman. Am I an NFL scout? No. Could I have told you he was soft before he came to Buffalo? Beats me. But the fact is that the people who get paid to make those types of judgment did a horrific job signing DD and even worse, paying him an exorbitant salary that no one projected he was worth. It does seem that the current regime often takes fliers on lower tier free agents in the dream that they will develop into better players. (Click your ruby slippers, Dorothy.) Unfortunately, that has not really been the reality. (Aside: I keep seeing claims that Stroud was a great free agent signing, which he wasn't of course.) There has been some discussion of coaching in other threads: the usual stalwart arguments that the "players play hard for Dick" not withstanding, the fact that virtually every free agent brought in to Buffalo has become an worse player and ended up getting cut by the Bills, often on a slippery slide right out the league, isn't exactly in the same mold of coaching as, say, the Patriots.
BLZFAN4LIFE Posted July 6, 2009 Posted July 6, 2009 What I said was that the line should be built by making SMART moves. While some loved the Dockery signing, the guy had a reputation as a soft lineman. Am I an NFL scout? No. Could I have told you he was soft before he came to Buffalo? Beats me. But the fact is that the people who get paid to make those types of judgment did a horrific job signing DD and even worse, paying him an exorbitant salary that no one projected he was worth. Time will tell. How will Dockery perform in Washington and Peters in Philly? You may like the selections of Wood and Levitre, but player acquisition is only the first step of the process. How will they be coached, developed, and implemented? I'm hoping for the best because much of the success or failure of this season will depend on the O-line.
Lori Posted July 6, 2009 Posted July 6, 2009 Just curious. Did people who feel compelled to point out the Walker/Dockery signings miss the headline of Felser's column? Sabres and Bills draft tough to fill needs The entire column is about the various leagues' entry drafts. He didn't write about Walker and Dockery because their signings were completely irrelevant to his point. While I'm on the topic of the draft, the two best o-lines in Bills history are the Electric Company and the Super Bowl-era group. Let's see how they lined up: EC: Bruce Jarvis (3a-1971), Donnie Green (5a-1971), Reggie McKenzie (2-1972), and Joe D (1b-1973) were all drafted. Dave Foley (Jets) and Mike Montler (Pats) arrived via trade. TE Paul Seymour (1a-1973) was an unofficial "third tackle." SB: The Bills used No. 1 picks on Jim Ritcher (1980), Will Wolford (1986), and John Fina (1992), and got lucky on House Ballard (11-1987), who would have been a UDFA under the current setup. Kent Hull and John Davis were the only FA acquisitions. And when Davis was injured, 1990 third-rounder Glenn Parker stepped in. Crunching the numbers, each group contains at least three Bills draftees selected in the top three rounds. (FWIW, Foley was also a first-round pick.) To compare, in the 14 years between the selections of Ruben Brown in 1995 and Eric Wood and Andy Levitre this past April, the organization selected a TOTAL of three first-to-third-round o-linemen: Robert Hicks (3-1998), Jonas Jennings (3b-2001), and Mike Williams (1-2002). Marv Levy ditched the last one, Williams, shortly after taking over as general manager ... and yet Brad Butler (5b-2006) was the only OL the Bills drafted before the seventh round in Levy's two seasons in the job. If you're trying to cobble together a line via free agency instead of building through the draft, be prepared to spend a lot of time patching holes.
Beerball Posted July 6, 2009 Posted July 6, 2009 If you're trying to cobble together a line via free agency instead of building through the draft, be prepared to spend a lot of time patching holes. But, ya gotta admit he should lose the wig, right?
BLZFAN4LIFE Posted July 6, 2009 Posted July 6, 2009 Just curious. Did people who feel compelled to point out the Walker/Dockery signings miss the headline of Felser's column? Sabres and Bills draft tough to fill needs The entire column is about the various leagues' entry drafts. He didn't write about Walker and Dockery because their signings were completely irrelevant to his point. While I'm on the topic of the draft, the two best o-lines in Bills history are the Electric Company and the Super Bowl-era group. Let's see how they lined up: EC: Bruce Jarvis (3a-1971), Donnie Green (5a-1971), Reggie McKenzie (2-1972), and Joe D (1b-1973) were all drafted. Dave Foley (Jets) and Mike Montler (Pats) arrived via trade. TE Paul Seymour (1a-1973) was an unofficial "third tackle." SB: The Bills used No. 1 picks on Jim Ritcher (1980), Will Wolford (1986), and John Fina (1992), and got lucky on House Ballard (11-1987), who would have been a UDFA under the current setup. Kent Hull and John Davis were the only FA acquisitions. And when Davis was injured, 1990 third-rounder Glenn Parker stepped in. Crunching the numbers, each group contains at least three Bills draftees selected in the top three rounds. (FWIW, Foley was also a first-round pick.) To compare, in the 14 years between the selections of Ruben Brown in 1995 and Eric Wood and Andy Levitre this past April, the organization selected a TOTAL of three first-to-third-round o-linemen: Robert Hicks (3-1998), Jonas Jennings (3b-2001), and Mike Williams (1-2002). Marv Levy ditched the last one, Williams, shortly after taking over as general manager ... and yet Brad Butler (5b-2006) was the only OL the Bills drafted before the seventh round in Levy's two seasons in the job. If you're trying to cobble together a line via free agency instead of building through the draft, be prepared to spend a lot of time patching holes. I don't know why you are taking issue with this. Felser made no reference to the draft or FA when he wrote: The football team, after virtually ignoring its offensive line for most of the last decade, So, I simply pointed out that the O-line has not been ignored in the past decade. If Felser meant in the draft, he should have been more specific.
John Adams Posted July 6, 2009 Author Posted July 6, 2009 Great information as always Lori. It seems to me that few positions are harder to fill through FA than O-line where teamwork with the guy standing next to you is so critical. It's easier to tell a DB to play man on his WR or drop into his zone. He has to develop teamwork with his mates but the same level of cohesion is not necessary. With that in mind, imagine (in my best Bill in NYC voice) if the Bills had signed DBs and drafted lineman over the last decade. Grr. To someone who implied that Levitre and Wood may not work out, that's a possibility but at least they picked a couple lineman early in the draft and neither of them was a reach.
K-9 Posted July 6, 2009 Posted July 6, 2009 I don't know why you are taking issue with this. Felser made no reference to the draft or FA when he wrote:The football team, after virtually ignoring its offensive line for most of the last decade, So, I simply pointed out that the O-line has not been ignored in the past decade. If Felser meant in the draft, he should have been more specific. Psst! Check the headline. Huge clue. GO BILLS!!!
Lori Posted July 6, 2009 Posted July 6, 2009 I don't know why you are taking issue with this. Felser made no reference to the draft or FA when he wrote:The football team, after virtually ignoring its offensive line in the draft for most of the last decade, So, I simply pointed out that the O-line has not been ignored in the past decade. If Felser meant in the draft, he should have been more specific. Considering that both the headline and the vast majority of the piece discussed drafting, does it really need the above edit for clarity? Eh, whatever. Were I Felser, I'd hope that my own readers would be able to arrive at that conclusion on their own.
BLZFAN4LIFE Posted July 6, 2009 Posted July 6, 2009 Psst! Check the headline. Huge clue. GO BILLS!!! Big deal. Ignoring the O-line for a decade means ignoring the O-line for a decade. If Larry meant "in the draft", he could have used THOSE THREE WORDS to avoid any confusion, but he didn't.
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