Nance Could Have a Chance

[MVP]

http://www.buffalobills.com/news/news.jsp?news_id=3791

[patmoran2006]

I think he makes the PS as a rookie, unless he's REALLY Impressive in which case he'd put Aiken out..

but long term he could be a good WR..

I dont see them carrying 7 WR's into the season
Evans, Price, Reed, Davis, Parrish, Aiken
Nance- Practice Squad.

[Kerr]

If he can show them he can still be a redzone target, he'd more valauble than aiken at this point.

[patmoran2006]

What he has going for him is that he's a big possession WR that the team doesn't have any of.

But unless he not only makes the team, but he plays REGULARLY I'd rather have him on the practice squad as a rookie, and keep Aiken. Aiken is VERY valuable on special teams and I don't want to mess with that unit, unless the player taking his spot is going to be a consistent contributor offensively AND there is a player of equal value to take that guy's spots on our very-important Special Teams unit.

IE- Bye Bye Coy Wire as Bowen is better at safety coverage than you AND he's good on special teams.

Now of course, there could be in an injury to another WR, but if everyone can stay healthy I'm thinking he's going to the PS as a rook.

[Marvelous]

I think most fans just want the upside that a rookie with promise brings. Esp compared to Aiken who has been around for some time now and is still the last on the totum poll.
I say Aiken > Davis though. What's that kids name who was tearing it up last year in the pre-season? We still have him too :)

[patmoran2006]

When I evaluate Aiken it has nothing to do with WR it's about special teams.

4 WR's who actually run routes and catch the ball should be plenty.

Aiken is one of the best special teamers in the NFL, so I think he sticks, unless someone behind him (like Nance) just plays TOO good to keep out of the lineup.

We'll see how camp unfolds naturally, but right now I have Nance on the P.S. barring injuries, and we'll see how Price and Davis perform this year to see if they are a long term solution or simply one-and-dones.

Point being.. Aiken stays on my team; special teams are important here and he's as good on that unit as anyone.

[TigerJ]

I agree with Pat on this. The fifth and sixth receiver on a team simply doesn't get enough touches to be a difference maker on a team. The one risk of putting him on the PS is the fact that another team can sign him to their regular roster from Buffalo's PS. That doesn't happen a lot, but if a team that has scouted Nance and likes him has a sudden string of injuries at the WR spot and doesn't have their own PS WR, Nance could be an attractive signing.

If you all recall, George Wilson had a really solid preseason last year. It didn't matter. There was just no room for him on the regualr roster. He's back for another try. Nance has one big advantage, and that's his height. They also have Chris Denney who has similar size and speed. Chris's disadvantage is his alma mater, the U of Nebraska Omaha instead of Miami of Ohio.

[Marvelous]

We have alot of youth that will make the pre-season very exciting. Including two nice backup fullbacks.

IMO Sam Aiken gets a special roster spot because of his ST play. And we could still carry our usual # of WR's + Aiken.. That would rock..

Also, Davis might not fit the system come the pre-season etc.

George Wilson was the wr i couldn't remember.. Thanks for mentioning Tiger :)

[LifetimeBillsFan]

I agree with Pat and Tiger on the value that Aiken has to the team as a STer--in fact, I think that is the only reason that he will probably make the active roster this season.

That's because I also agree with Pat about Coy Wire likely being gone by the end of the preseason. I just don't see him having the coverage ability to make the team as the back-up SS, who may have to play a bit more than most back-ups if the rookie, Whitner, struggles at all early on. I think Bowen is a lot better in coverage and probably isn't much of a drop-off, if any, from Wire on STs.

Still, I think that Nance has a very good chance to make the team: if he is fully healthy, he has the potential, with his size, to be a pretty good possession receiver at the very least and, at full speed and health, could be even more than that. The key for him, at least initially, though, is going to be what he can contribute on special teams--he must bring some game in that area for the Bills to give up what Aiken brings to the team. And, I have no idea what Nance might be able to do on STs. That's going to be something to watch for in the preseason.

Unlike a lot of people here, I like Davis: if he's healthy, I think that he can be a very dangerous WR. Before the Bills signed Price, I thought Davis had a really good chance to be the # 2 WR or at least play a lot because of his speed and size (he is 6'1", so he's not a "smurf"). But, now I'm not so sure what his chances of making the team are because I don't know what he can bring on special teams that the Bills might need. Davis did have some very long KO returns for the Browns early in his career (if I recall correctly, I think one of the injuries that sidelined him for awhile came on a KO return), but the Bills have the best in the business right now in McGee and plenty of others who can return kicks as well, so it is likely that Davis will have to do more than that on STs to make ST play an asset in his favor. One thing he does have going for him is that he knows Holcomb well and there have been reports that he and Holcomb have already reestablished the rapport that they had in Cleveland...for whatever that is worth, though.

I think the battle for roster spots at the WR position going into this season is going to be fascinating because at this point, other than Evans, I don't think that any of the other receivers is necessarily a lock to make the team (although I do think that with Price already being listed as the # 2 WR right now, he probably is pretty close to being one). Because we really don't know what the passing game in this offense is actually going to look like yet, I think it is going to be very interesting to watch what happens with the WRs in training camp and the preseason...very interesting.

[Jan Reimers]

I like Nance's potential in the red zone, where we have struggled so mightily in recent seasons. We need at least one big effective receiver to avoid being the latest version of the Smurfs.

[mysticsoto]

I think people are missing the fact that if Nance is put on the PS, another team will grab him easily. WRs with such size don't grow on trees and no doubt, someone won't mind making him their 4th/5th receiver while he hopefully learns and develops into a 2nd or 3rd WR. People will grab someone and keep them on the team based on potential. Luke Lawton was grabbed out of our PS and made a backup FB - based on his potential...and Nance has far more potential than Lawton!

I'm willing to bet that Nance could probably already come close to what Reed can do on the field. If Nance catches 50% of what is thrown at him on the field, he is already tied with Reed...

[justasportsfan]

I think people are missing the fact that if Nance is put on the PS, another team will grab him easily. ... I wonder why Cowher didn't try to snag him especially since Buress and Randll El are gone.

[mysticsoto]

I wonder why Cowher didn't try to snag him especially since Buress and Randll El are gone.

Well, they did pick up 2 WRs in Santonio Homes and Willie Reid in their 1st and 3rd rounds.

[TigerJ]

I agree with Pat and Tiger on the value that Aiken has to the team as a STer--in fact, I think that is the only reason that he will probably make the active roster this season.

That's because I also agree with Pat about Coy Wire likely being gone by the end of the preseason. I just don't see him having the coverage ability to make the team as the back-up SS, who may have to play a bit more than most back-ups if the rookie, Whitner, struggles at all early on. I think Bowen is a lot better in coverage and probably isn't much of a drop-off, if any, from Wire on STs.

Still, I think that Nance has a very good chance to make the team: if he is fully healthy, he has the potential, with his size, to be a pretty good possession receiver at the very least and, at full speed and health, could be even more than that. The key for him, at least initially, though, is going to be what he can contribute on special teams--he must bring some game in that area for the Bills to give up what Aiken brings to the team. And, I have no idea what Nance might be able to do on STs. That's going to be something to watch for in the preseason.

Unlike a lot of people here, I like Davis: if he's healthy, I think that he can be a very dangerous WR. Before the Bills signed Price, I thought Davis had a really good chance to be the # 2 WR or at least play a lot because of his speed and size (he is 6'1", so he's not a "smurf"). But, now I'm not so sure what his chances of making the team are because I don't know what he can bring on special teams that the Bills might need. Davis did have some very long KO returns for the Browns early in his career (if I recall correctly, I think one of the injuries that sidelined him for awhile came on a KO return), but the Bills have the best in the business right now in McGee and plenty of others who can return kicks as well, so it is likely that Davis will have to do more than that on STs to make ST play an asset in his favor. One thing he does have going for him is that he knows Holcomb well and there have been reports that he and Holcomb have already reestablished the rapport that they had in Cleveland...for whatever that is worth, though.

I think the battle for roster spots at the WR position going into this season is going to be fascinating because at this point, other than Evans, I don't think that any of the other receivers is necessarily a lock to make the team (although I do think that with Price already being listed as the # 2 WR right now, he probably is pretty close to being one). Because we really don't know what the passing game in this offense is actually going to look like yet, I think it is going to be very interesting to watch what happens with the WRs in training camp and the preseason...very interesting.

I'm also pretty high on Davis. In one sense people think he's been something of an underachiever because with his size/speed blend he's got superstar numbers. Still, when not bothered by injuries, he's put up solid numbers, and has shown he can catch the ball. It could be that he simply needs a chance to start with a solid QB to show what he's really capable of being. He may not have that just yet with the Bills, but he should still be productive, and will catch the ball when the QB gets it to him.

[justasportsfan]

Well, they did pick up 2 WRs in Santonio Homes and Willie Reid in their 1st and 3rd rounds.But his qb has had huge success with him in the past. It wouldn't hurt to bring himin as a URFA.

[TigerJ]

The risk of losing Nance to another team from the PS is real, but it's not huge. First, the formation of the PS is about the last thing that happens before the regular season starts. Every team in the NFL already has their 53 man roster. If Nance had been that coveted coming out of college he would have been drafted. It is very unlikely that a team is going to cut a player who has already made the team so that it can pick up Martin Nance, whom it did not bother to draft. If, however, as I said in an earlier post, a team loses some receivers to injury (or jail time etc) and felt like they had a pretty weak compliment of WRs going into their training camp, and furthermore had followed and liked Nance, they might at some point in the season be tempted to sign him away from the Bills. It has been known to happen with other players.

[patmoran2006]

I like Davis to the point I think if he can stay healthy he's beating Price out..

Sorry I am not convinced Peerless isnt done. Whether I'm right or wrong (of course I hope I'm wrong) I think DAvis is going to be an asset to us, again if he can stay healthy.

[ShadowHawk7]

I think Nance will get snatched if we try to sneak him on the PS.. I say cut Aiken and Smith while Wilson makes PS. We have plenty of ST aces.

[G. Host]

I think Nance will get snatched if we try to sneak him on the PS.. I say cut Aiken and Smith while Wilson makes PS. We have plenty of ST aces.

If Nance was sooo good why did he go undrafted? Only way he gets picked up from another team from PS is if he shows something in a preaseaon game for a team would have to cut one of their prospects who spent a lot of time in their camp.

[LifetimeBillsFan]

If Nance was sooo good why did he go undrafted? Only way he gets picked up from another team from PS is if he shows something in a preaseaon game for a team would have to cut one of their prospects who spent a lot of time in their camp.

Nance and the Bills have speculated that the slowness with which he returned from his injury and the fact that he seemed to be noticeably slower this season than before the injury are the reasons that he was passed over. According to the article on BB.com, Nance ran mid-4.5s at the combine which is faster than I thought he looked in the couple of games I saw him play this season, but not that great for a top WR. Also, as his position coach with the Bills points out in that article, because Nance is so big and such a big strider, he needs to learn how to get in and out of his breaks faster to play in the NFL.

This last weakness is something isn't as much of an issue on the college level as it is in the NFL, but it is also something that Nance can learn to overcome. It could land him on the PS if he is slow to learn how to correct the problem.

What I think will be the bigger issue that will determine whether Nance makes the team or not will be whether he can demonstrate that he has (or is close to) regaining the speed he showed prior to his injury. The reason that I think that Nance will be able to show the team that he has enough of that speed back is Lee Evans. IMHO, Evans looked worse, especially at the beginning of his last college season, than Nance did in the games that I saw Miami of Ohio play last season when Evans was coming back from his injury. But, Evans gradually regained his speed through the course of his last college season and leading up to the Combine and is now considered a major deep threat in the NFL as a WR. While Nance isn't and may never be as fast as Evans and appears to be a bit behind Evans in terms of recovering his speed at the same stage, it does appear that Nance is beginning to show the kind of speed that he will need to be able to show to demonstrate that he is making the kind of recovery that Evans made and that Nance needs to have to make it in the NFL (according to C.Brown on BB.com, Nance made a very good catch in the OTA session today on a ball from Holcomb that no one thought he would be able to get to). If Nance is healthy and regains his speed, he has the potential to be a pretty good possession receiver in the NFL, but I think that a lot of people doubted that he could get fully healthy and regain his speed because his initial recovery from the injury seemed to be so slow.

If Nance shows that he has regained his former speed in the preseason and then goes on the PS, the Bills will definitely be running the risk of losing him because big receivers with speed are hard to find. Still, Nance is going to have to show that he can block and contribute on special teams in order to overcome the advantages that some of the more experienced WRs on the roster have over him.

For example, as much as I liked J.Reed coming out of college and as much as he showed improvement last season, I can see a fully recovered and healthy Nance being able to offer more to the team if he is able to correct the problem that he has with getting in and out of his breaks. The problem that Nance faces is that he will have to be a fast learner and answer all of the questions about his health and speed affirmatively in order for him to overcome the advantage in NFL game experience, etc. that a guy like Reed has over him. Nance, like G.Wilson, will have to fight for a roster spot, but I don't see that as being such a bad thing because, at the very worst, that will force the other WRs who, right now, are probably ahead of him on the depth chart to work harder and get better in order to keep their jobs. And, if the Bills' WRs can become better than they would be without Nance challenging them, that can only make the team better in the long run.

The thing that's good about Nance is that his size and hands in the red zone are qualities that give him the potential to actually make the team and contribute during the season and will allow him to seriously push the others even if he doesn't make the squad. He has a shot...I don't know how good of one just yet (without having seen him play or practice at this level...but, IMHO, he certainly does have a legitimate chance to make the team.

[mysticsoto]

If Nance was sooo good why did he go undrafted? Only way he gets picked up from another team from PS is if he shows something in a preaseaon game for a team would have to cut one of their prospects who spent a lot of time in their camp.

Why did Jason Peters go undrafted? Sometimes people just fall due to injury concerns or other. It doesn't mean they don't have potential...