Before reading any further, know that this isn't a thread to bash Marv Levy. To be perfectly honest, I thought his hiring at the time was little more than a marketing gimmick. To his credit, you could see already how he's putting his stamp on this team, and that's by building team chemistry with an emphasis this year on defense. While the jury is still out on his free agent moves, the draft he led has the makings down the road of being one of the better ones in team history. From the first round pick down to the sixth, his rookies are already contributing and not coincidentally, all on the defensive side of the ball.
I'll be honest again--- I'm not sure how much credit Levy gets for the draft, because none of us really know if these draft picks were more his doing or Tom Modrak's. However, when your team sucks and the GM takes the fall for it (his fault or not), when the team does something well the GM deserves the credit-- so in this case with the draft I have to take my hat off to Marv.
A real brief draft review and we're only into week two.
* Donte Whitner- Forget about him being eased into the lineup, this guy is now a STARTER, and he already showed against NE why. THis guy is a major PLAYER.
* John McCargo- Impossible to evaluate after just one game, but he's going to be a good addition. Not quite sure he was worth trading up and picking him in late-first round-- But I've seen enough out of him in camp to give Marv the benefit of the doubt.
* Ashton Youboty- Hasnt played enough-- But if the college listed on the back of your rookie card says "Ohio State" and your a DB-- you're going to be a good player.
* Ko Simpson- As much as I like Whitner (a lot) I like Simpson even BETTER. This guy has a NOSE for the ball. He might get beat a lot as a rookie this year but trust me, 2 years from now this guy is a top 10 safety in this LEAGUE--He's THAT good.
* Kyle Williams- Possibly the steal of the draft for Buffalo, this guy has Chris Hovan written all over him. F Tim Anderson this guy starts for good by mid-season.
* Keith Ellison- solid backup and could (and now has to) start in spots. He's getting better too.
* The OL- If they work out they work out--who cares. When you have six rookies already contributing you already did your job.
So for the draft-- I give Marv a SOLID A+.. F the media around the league on draft day, Marv did a wonderful job.
HOWEVER
The free agent moves (and we made a ton of them) are still up in the air. We'll have to see how things play out-- But I think Marv dropped the ball early and often on the FA moves (sorry guys). And I DO UNDERSTAND its still September-- but I see what I see (not just what they've done to this point, but what I feel the future holds)
A quick examination
* Peerless Price- I dont see much. Occassional big game but inconsistent.
* Josh Reed- Yes, he played well at NE.. We'll see if that continues (doubt it)
* Melvin Fowler- I dont see much upgrade over Teague.
* Tutan Reyes- Anyone's better than Anderson was for us.
* Matt Bowen- Waste of money with the DB's we drafted and the club obviously liking wire on ST's to keep him.. Bad signing.
* Robert Royal- lets hope NE game was a one-time thing, he did a lot to cost us that game. The penalty and dropped first down pass were huge. and at least in that game, I didnt see this great blocking I'd been hearing about.
* Andre Davis- Who cares signing.
* Craig Nall- When you give a guy a $1.3 million signing bonus and he is your 3rd string QB, you HAVE to call the signing a stupid one.
But the undisputed (IMO) worst move Marv made
* Bringing back Nate Clements- While I dont hate Nate, he has GOOD ability and he's a GOOD corner-- ON this kind of team he was NOT worth $7.1 million dollars. couple that with the fact everybody in here and OBD pretty much KNOWS he's gone after this year (no franchise label agreed upon) and this was a horrible move. That money would've been so much better spent elsewhere. Off the top of my head-- Darren Howard (DE) or Stephen Neal (G) would've costed barely half that money and those are two spots we desperately need upgrading at. I didnt understand bringing back Clements at that rate then, and seeing how young and raw this team is, I see it even less now.
To Marv's credit on the FA front: A-Train was a great signing who gives the Bills a reliable backup behind Willis (who you fans treat like ****, and its apalling).
Now while I love the groundwork that Marv is laying right now, this next off-season is going to be even MORE critical. I said it before the season and I'll certainly say it now-- this is a 4-12 team this year. BUT (important) these young guys will get better--making next year's FA and draft even more important.
I now have confidence Levy will draft well-this year proves that. But I hope he makes a bigger impact in FA, even if it means less bodies but better players.
This year's FA class stressed quantity over quality to me.. Hope thats not the case next year.
I'll be honest again--- I'm not sure how much credit Levy gets for the draft, because none of us really know if these draft picks were more his doing or Tom Modrak's. However, when your team sucks and the GM takes the fall for it (his fault or not), when the team does something well the GM deserves the credit-- so in this case with the draft I have to take my hat off to Marv.
A real brief draft review and we're only into week two.
* Donte Whitner- Forget about him being eased into the lineup, this guy is now a STARTER, and he already showed against NE why. THis guy is a major PLAYER.
* John McCargo- Impossible to evaluate after just one game, but he's going to be a good addition. Not quite sure he was worth trading up and picking him in late-first round-- But I've seen enough out of him in camp to give Marv the benefit of the doubt.
* Ashton Youboty- Hasnt played enough-- But if the college listed on the back of your rookie card says "Ohio State" and your a DB-- you're going to be a good player.
* Ko Simpson- As much as I like Whitner (a lot) I like Simpson even BETTER. This guy has a NOSE for the ball. He might get beat a lot as a rookie this year but trust me, 2 years from now this guy is a top 10 safety in this LEAGUE--He's THAT good.
* Kyle Williams- Possibly the steal of the draft for Buffalo, this guy has Chris Hovan written all over him. F Tim Anderson this guy starts for good by mid-season.
* Keith Ellison- solid backup and could (and now has to) start in spots. He's getting better too.
* The OL- If they work out they work out--who cares. When you have six rookies already contributing you already did your job.
So for the draft-- I give Marv a SOLID A+.. F the media around the league on draft day, Marv did a wonderful job.
HOWEVER
The free agent moves (and we made a ton of them) are still up in the air. We'll have to see how things play out-- But I think Marv dropped the ball early and often on the FA moves (sorry guys). And I DO UNDERSTAND its still September-- but I see what I see (not just what they've done to this point, but what I feel the future holds)
A quick examination
* Peerless Price- I dont see much. Occassional big game but inconsistent.
* Josh Reed- Yes, he played well at NE.. We'll see if that continues (doubt it)
* Melvin Fowler- I dont see much upgrade over Teague.
* Tutan Reyes- Anyone's better than Anderson was for us.
* Matt Bowen- Waste of money with the DB's we drafted and the club obviously liking wire on ST's to keep him.. Bad signing.
* Robert Royal- lets hope NE game was a one-time thing, he did a lot to cost us that game. The penalty and dropped first down pass were huge. and at least in that game, I didnt see this great blocking I'd been hearing about.
* Andre Davis- Who cares signing.
* Craig Nall- When you give a guy a $1.3 million signing bonus and he is your 3rd string QB, you HAVE to call the signing a stupid one.
But the undisputed (IMO) worst move Marv made
* Bringing back Nate Clements- While I dont hate Nate, he has GOOD ability and he's a GOOD corner-- ON this kind of team he was NOT worth $7.1 million dollars. couple that with the fact everybody in here and OBD pretty much KNOWS he's gone after this year (no franchise label agreed upon) and this was a horrible move. That money would've been so much better spent elsewhere. Off the top of my head-- Darren Howard (DE) or Stephen Neal (G) would've costed barely half that money and those are two spots we desperately need upgrading at. I didnt understand bringing back Clements at that rate then, and seeing how young and raw this team is, I see it even less now.
To Marv's credit on the FA front: A-Train was a great signing who gives the Bills a reliable backup behind Willis (who you fans treat like ****, and its apalling).
Now while I love the groundwork that Marv is laying right now, this next off-season is going to be even MORE critical. I said it before the season and I'll certainly say it now-- this is a 4-12 team this year. BUT (important) these young guys will get better--making next year's FA and draft even more important.
I now have confidence Levy will draft well-this year proves that. But I hope he makes a bigger impact in FA, even if it means less bodies but better players.
This year's FA class stressed quantity over quality to me.. Hope thats not the case next year.
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