FootballOutsiders.com AFC East Report

[patmoran2006]

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/2006/06/21/ramblings/four-downs/3970/

EXCELLENT read about our draft as well as the entire AFC East Draft.

And this confirms something I've already heard about Donte Whitner. The St. Louis Rams were extremly interested in him with the 11th pick. With Whitner off the board the Rams traded down four spots with Denver.. So can we PLEASE end all the "Buffalo could've traded down 6-8 spots and still got Whitner" comments.

I dont like what is said about Watson following our draft.. This dude better step up in Buffalo, though losing Euhus wasn't much of a "risk"

[!Papacrunk!]

Wait, I thought the general consensus about the media, from reading posts from others in the past, is that the media doesn't really know much of anything. Wait, this was a somewhat positive article. My bad, carry on.
j/k

[patmoran2006]

I may not be known as "positive" on this board, but I've ALWAYS been positive about our draft.

[Goobylal]

The bottom line is that there was enough interest in Whitner that the Bills didn't want to risk losing him in the HOPES that no one would draft him before they could take him with a traded-down pick. And the Rams being interested in him makes sense, since they lost Archuleta over the off-season.

[Bling]

A little late to be commenting on draft stuff?

[JoeMama]

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/2006/06/21/ramblings/four-downs/3970/

EXCELLENT read about our draft as well as the entire AFC East Draft.

And this confirms something I've already heard about Donte Whitner. The St. Louis Rams were extremly interested in him with the 11th pick. With Whitner off the board the Rams traded down four spots with Denver.. So can we PLEASE end all the "Buffalo could've traded down 6-8 spots and still got Whitner" comments.

I dont like what is said about Watson following our draft.. This dude better step up in Buffalo, though losing Euhus wasn't much of a "risk"

It's true.

The funny thing is, if Donte Whitner becomes a total stud, it's not like anyone is going to remember -- or even care -- where he was drafted.

Ultimately you want good players in the draft.

Just because OBD didn't follow Mel Kiper's blueprint doesn't mean they did a bad job.

[ublinkwescore]

Maybe you should tell people to stop after they've read the draft part.

[LifetimeBillsFan]

Good post, Pat. And, an excellent comment JoeMama.

As you know, I felt very strongly that the Bills had reason to believe that Whitner would not fall to them if they took any of the trade-down offers that they were discussing on draft day. And, while it wasn't mentioned in the article, the evidence strongly suggests that the NY Giants would have taken McCargo at # 31 if the Bills had not traded up to get him first. And, I said both of those things on draft day and in my post-draft article for the BZ front page.

Their take on Watson is also not surprising. When the Bills acquired him, I pointed out that he had been a major disappointment and underachiever in New Orleans. Since it appears that Euhus was not going to make the Bills' final roster this season anyway, Watson essentially did not cost the Bills anything, but I agree with the article that Watson will have to turn his game around significantly if he is going to be a major contributor in Buffalo. The fact that his unhappiness with the Saints' defensive scheme was reflected in his level of play is not a good sign, but we will have to see if a change of scenery and playing in a scheme that he feels is more suited to his talents will finally result in Watson living up to the hype and potential that he had when he came out of Notre Dame. I certainly hope so!

[Mudflap1]

My take on the draft is that if it was up to me (and it wasn't -- I'm just a guy at home like the rest of us), I wouldn't have taken Whitner at #8. However, overall I don't have a problem with them taking Whitner and McCargo, they are talented guys that fill needs. It's simply too early to overhype or write off high draft picks. We have to see what these guys can do, probably for a couple years.

It's nice to see that it looks like the early read is Whitner will be an immediate contributor though, and a solid one at that.

Jon

[bigbub2352]

Good Post PAt, I said it before and i will say it again, it wont matter who we took were, if they are good it wont ever be an issue, I have read numerous reports that Whitner would not have been there if we traded out of 8, Anyway i think this could be one of the most potetially good drafts he have had in 5 years, we could very well have some serious depth and starters come from this draft, and i really like Nance, i seen him play in person, he catches everything and i am guranteeing he beats out someone (Aiken) for one of the 5-6 slots at WR, he has way to much talent not to have been drafted,
I like how the article called him slow, 4.55 isnt slow, it just isnt blazing speed, and with his size and the other receivers we have he doesnt have to have that speed, what about Stovall from Notre Dame and Hagan from AZ State, those guys ran 4.6's from what i read and nobody said anything about that, very weird this year alot of prospects fell , and others were taken early
I think we give way to much credit to Mike Mayock and Mel Kiper,
We will see

[OpIv37]

It's true.

The funny thing is, if Donte Whitner becomes a total stud, it's not like anyone is going to remember -- or even care -- where he was drafted.

Ultimately you want good players in the draft.


Well you're right about that. But when you're 80 year-old rookie GM that's supposed to save the franchise makes a draft pick that gets a collective "what the ****" from virtually everyone who knows about football, it doesn't exactly inspire confidence.

[Stewie]

Well you're right about that. But when you're 80 year-old rookie GM that's supposed to save the franchise makes a draft pick that gets a collective "what the ****" from virtually everyone who knows about football, it doesn't exactly inspire confidence.

Supposed to "save the franchise" by making a draft pick?

Maybe in Madden 06.

[OpIv37]

Supposed to "save the franchise" by making a draft pick?

Maybe in Madden 06.

I didn't say he was supposed to save the franchise with a single draft pick. He's the guy who's supposed to rebuild this team and get it back to the winning ways of the early 90's. My point is that one of his first major moves was a questionable draft pick- it creates doubt in his ability to do what he's here to do, and as fans we have reason to be concerned.

[THATHURMANATOR]

The more I think about it the more I LOVE our draft.

[LifetimeBillsFan]

I didn't say he was supposed to save the franchise with a single draft pick. He's the guy who's supposed to rebuild this team and get it back to the winning ways of the early 90's. My point is that one of his first major moves was a questionable draft pick- it creates doubt in his ability to do what he's here to do, and as fans we have reason to be concerned.

I understand what you are saying, Op.

I think the thing that threw everyone is that Marv took an approach to the draft that was so different from what people have become accustomed to seeing teams do in recent years that it drew the kind of response that you described.

But, for those of us who have been around a long time and remember how things were done "back in the day", it wasn't totally "off-the-wall" because what the Bills did was what a lot of teams used to do and how a lot of great franchises were built before the idea of "value based drafting" came into vogue 10-15 years ago. The fact that it was so different may have thrown a lot of people for a loop, but it may have worked somewhat to the Bills' advantage as well--because they identified and targetted people who they felt would fit their system and fill some of the holes on the team immediately rather than drafting for "value" and trying to fit square pegs into a round hole (which may have been what the previous regime did with some of its players). And, they still ended up being able to draft for value when Youboty and Simpson fell to them later on. That's what I tried to explain in my post-draft article for the BZ front page.

But, you're right, given the way teams have drafted in recent years, what Levy did is a gamble and it looks pretty crazy. Unless you have been around a long time and following drafts closely for a lot of years, it certainly didn't seem to make sense, so I can fully understand how it might undermine your confidence in Levy's ability to lead this team back to respectabily. No doubt you are justified in having such concerns.

And, even though I understand what Levy was doing and my confidence in him was not shaken by that, still, there is no guarantee that it will work out for the best in the long run. We will have to wait to see how things shake out. But, at the very least, it does look like the team did acquire some players who will fit what they are trying to do on defense and have the potential to be pretty good. And that appears to be pretty good news. Personally, I think that they are going to need more such players on both sides of the ball before they will become serious contenders--which, for me and I suspect a lot of Bills fans, is the bad news. But, at least it appears that they have made a start in the right direction. Now we just have to see how the team performs on the field in games to see if that turns out to be true.

[HHURRICANE]

Well you're right about that. But when you're 80 year-old rookie GM that's supposed to save the franchise makes a draft pick that gets a collective "what the ****" from virtually everyone who knows about football, it doesn't exactly inspire confidence.

Your comments are true. And I was one of those people that was really ticked about our first round. But if Bunkley is struggling as much as I have read than Whitner looks like a great pick. Especially if it meant getting rid of Milloy. As far as McCargo, I'm still not nuts about the pick and what we gave up to get him. But overall the draft was alot better than what we have seen out of TD but only time will tell for sure.

[HAMMER]

I am not concerned that a bunch of message board posters are concerned. I am happy that we have one of the smartest men in the entire NFL, a man with HOF coaching credentials, a man with 50+ years of pro football experience running this team. I believe in Marv Levy, not Marv Wannabe's.