Maddog69 Posted September 22, 2009 Posted September 22, 2009 This guy is exactly what I expected the Bills to go after. A young, athletic, energetic OT with potential. He fits in perfectly with the line we have. This line has the potential to be a strength of the team for a good long time. I am excited for this group to get more game experience. I don't expect this kid to make the probowl, but it sounds as though he fits what he are looking for on the line. Yes, he is cheaper than some of the veteran options, so people will bash the move. But he is also younger, more athletic and moldable/coachable into what the Bills want. Kugler commented on how the young group we have wants to work. That is something noone said about Dockery and Fowler and even Peters in the last year or so (I have to give JP credit because he worked hard to get from Undrafted TE to Probowl LT but then he litterally got fat and happy). GO BILLS.
damj Posted September 22, 2009 Posted September 22, 2009 Off of Green Bay's PS ... what ... does Chicago not have a PS this year for us to raid from?!?
bills_red Posted September 22, 2009 Posted September 22, 2009 http://insider.espn.go.com/nfldraft/draft/...le&id=24372 Overall Rank: 66 Position Rank: 8 Overall Football Traits Production 2 Meredith appeared in just one game and NCAA later granted him a red shirt year with the stipulation that he sit out the first two games of the 2008 season. He started four games at right tackle in 2005. Meredith started all 13 games seven at right tackle and six at left tackle in 2006. He started all 12 games at left tackle in 2007. Meredith started nine of the 11 games he appeared in during the 2008 season and lined up at left tackle and left guard. Height-Weight-Speed 2 Adequate bulk, adequate height and above-average top-end speed. Durability 2 Injured ankle during 2008 preseason and re-injured it later in the year. Ankle injury limited him in three games but he didn't miss any games. Intangibles 1 Presented the Andrew Sorensen Scholar-Athlete Award for Football during the 2006 spring game. Named the Outstanding Offensive Lineman in the spring of 2007. An ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District selection in 2007. Earned the Harold White GPA Award for the offense in the spring of 2008. Graduated with a degree in Sports Management and a 3.7 GPA in August of 2008. Has shown a willingness to line up at different positions. Offensive Tackle specific Traits Strength/Toughness 3 Plays with an edge, appears to have adequate lower body strength and flashes the ability to finish blocks though inconsistent in this area. Shows above-average upper body strength in the weight room but rarely delivers a violent initial punch. Agility 2 Overall agility is not elite but better than average. A quick, balanced athlete with good lateral mobility for size. Awareness 2 Excellent experience playing at the highest collegiate level. Knows assignments and rarely shows hesitation. Especially skilled at recognizing blitzes/stunts in pass protection. Pass Protection 2 Gets set quickly and gets excellent hand placement. Adequate arm length, locks arms out and can ride edge rushers past the pocket. Good balance and shows above-average body control but overextends on occasion and going to have a harder time recovering at the NFL level than did at the collegiate level. Doesn't always sink hips low enough and struggles to anchor working against powerful bull rushers. Run Blocking 3 Rarely takes false steps and generally gets into excellent initial position but doesn't always stay lowing coming out of stance and has some problems rooting defenders off the ball when plays too high. Takes sound angles to downfield blocks and flashes the ability to get into position at the second level. However, base narrows and doesn't show the same body control in space as he does in the short area so he has some problems sustaining downfield blocks. Trait Scale 1 = Exceptional 2 = Above average 3 = Average 4 = Below average 5 = Marginal
Welcome To Pegulavilla Posted September 22, 2009 Posted September 22, 2009 ''Attention all K Mart shoppers'', lol, just kidding, I love the signing. Merideth can play all positions except center, athletic(5.03 40yd dash- second fastest time among all O-linemen), strong(31 reps on the bench press- 8th overall among linemen) he's young, and we got em cheap. During the draft I found myself screaming at the tv for us to pick this guy up. I didn't know much about him (other then the combine) before the draft but from what I read in the draft magazine it had him projected to go as early as the 2nd round. Good pickup FO.
Ramius Posted September 22, 2009 Posted September 22, 2009 Also Chad Clifton, Green Bay's starting OT just went down this Sunday with an ankle injury. He is expected to miss an extended period of time. Can't think too much of Meredith if they let him go with all the problems they are having. Of course, to sign him to their active roster, GB would have to cut someone. So if Clifton isn't going to be out for an extended period of time, who do they cut? Maybe they'd simply go with 1 fewer OL for the couple of weeks that Clifton is out.
bills_fan_in_raleigh Posted September 22, 2009 Posted September 22, 2009 Of course the have a choice. They could have signed him to their active roster with all the issues/injuries they have been experiencing. But we beat them to it.
Chandler#81 Posted September 22, 2009 Posted September 22, 2009 Meredith played left and right at South Carolina, so he's a valuable swing-man at tackle. You can never have too many swinging Cocks on the OL. I'm sure the ladies would agree.. So, if he ends up starting some time this year, he'll be the 6th or 7th rookie from this draft class to do so? On a Jauron coached team?? Wow.
jreed82 Posted September 22, 2009 Posted September 22, 2009 Pretty excited over this move....He may not be able to play at a high level right away but I am certainly excited about his long term potential. This guy could very well be our RT of the future with Bell, Hangartner, Levitre, and Wood. For the first time in a long time I think we could be setting ourselves up for an extended run at being a contender. If Edwards continues to develop and Nelson is what we expect, we could see something special on offense. GO GO BUFFALO!!
Thurman#1 Posted September 22, 2009 Posted September 22, 2009 here's a really good write up on him from CBS sports http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players/518588 its long but there is a lot of interesting analysis in there. some highlights - he was considered the smartest play on South Carolina. He's self motivated. He's a good athlete. He's been durable. He has a lot of room for improvement. One thing here cracked me up. The guy says he is built like a power forward. Yeah, there are a lot of 6'5", 305 pound power forwards around.
damj Posted September 22, 2009 Posted September 22, 2009 Plus we saw him in the pre-season, so the Bills obviously saw something in him that they like ... it's worth a look.
cfbillsfan Posted September 22, 2009 Posted September 22, 2009 Who did you want them to spend big money on? Runyan? Levi Jones? Bring Langston Walker back... none of them will fit the no huddle. Not to mention what's the problem with our line right now? Our offense through 2 games is performing better than it has in 10 years. I'm fine with the youth movement. Agreed, all of the negativity, 'figures', 'still trying to save money' makes me want to vomit. Heck, if I listened to all of the nay sayers on this board, I should have given up on the season before it started and just quit being a Bills fan. Good Grief! Go Bills!
mrags Posted September 22, 2009 Posted September 22, 2009 And Steve Tasker couldn't make the cut for the 85 Oilers. He got beat out by Herkie Wells, Tim Smith, William Drewery, Steve Bryant and Drew Hill. What is your point? Pretty sure Chris Carter was cut rather early in his career as well. He only turned out to be one of the best receivers this game has seen. Its also not far off from what was expected out of J. Peters and look how he turned out. The 2nd coming of Bruschi on this board. I agree with you Pete. It is a good pickup and someone that is young and has a ton of potential.
phillyrich Posted September 22, 2009 Posted September 22, 2009 I like the move. I believe that Runyan could have added a veteran presence, but since we didnt sign him right away, I think the FO realized his age and coming off an injury may not be a good fit. Remember, Modrak brought him to Philly, so if there was afit, modrak would have lobbied hard. i dont necessarily believe money was the main issue here. i believe that the FO looked at the core of young guys in the locker room and decided that they want to groom together those young guys into eventual leaders, TO excluded of course. This is a nice fit.
BeastMode54 Posted September 22, 2009 Posted September 22, 2009 guys, the Packers could NOT STOP us from signing him. its not that the necessarily didnt want him. that's exactly my question. Can any team sign any player from their practice squad? does it need to be agreed to? how does it work?
nucci Posted September 22, 2009 Posted September 22, 2009 I can not believe they did not sign an All-Pro RT to come in and start right now. Incredible!! There are so many available.
damj Posted September 22, 2009 Posted September 22, 2009 Pretty sure Chris Carter was cut rather early in his career as well. He only turned out to be one of the best receivers this game has seen. Its also not far off from what was expected out of J. Peters and look how he turned out. The 2nd coming of Bruschi on this board. I agree with you Pete. It is a good pickup and someone that is young and has a ton of potential. Yes, Chris Carter was released by Buddy Ryan in Philly
nucci Posted September 22, 2009 Posted September 22, 2009 that's exactly my question. Can any team sign any player from their practice squad? does it need to be agreed to? how does it work? It is the players choice but who would turn down a contract offer for a regular salary as opposed to PS wages?
DrDawkinstein Posted September 22, 2009 Posted September 22, 2009 that's exactly my question. Can any team sign any player from their practice squad? does it need to be agreed to? how does it work? this has kinda sorta been answered through a few posts here. but as far as i can tell... Any team can go to any Practice Squad and make a guy an offer, but that player must be put directly on the active 53 man roster. The original team can keep him but they have to move him up to the active roster as well. Meaning, they have to have a spot available for him. The player can choose to not sign the offer and remain on the original team, as a Practice Squad player.
DrDawkinstein Posted September 22, 2009 Posted September 22, 2009 How does that work? Can any team sign any player from any other team's PS? Doesn't the team he belonged to have the chance to match or move him to active roster? gotcha by about 30 seconds Pooj. The original team cant really "match", but they can move him to their active roster. Other than that, it's open season on Practice Squads. (again, as far as I know, which isnt a lot)
Red Posted September 22, 2009 Posted September 22, 2009 Why can't we just clone Eric Wood and move the clone to RT?
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