Bills have cap in order, but talent may have evaporated

[Don't Panic]

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/bills/2007-03-31-offseason-recap_N.htm?csp=34

Basic recap from Maiorana... agrees that Youboty get's a shot to start.

[OpIv37]

While Clements was overrated, he's still better than anyone else we have by far and there will be a talent gap, at least initially- who knows where Youboty will end up? But on Opening Day of 2007, we will be weaker at corner than we were at the end of 2006.

Fletcher and Spikes had both lost a step, but they're also both better than the guys behind them. You can make an argument that Ellison can replace Spikes, but then who replaces Fletcher? We're short a LB no matter how you do the math.

As far as RB, the drop in talent may be high but the drop in production won't be. McGahee has more natural talent than anyone on our roster, but he's lazy and unmotivated and doesnt' do what needs to be done to translate that talent into yards and points. I have little doubt that we will get equal or better production from the RB spot in 2007 than we did in 2006.

And if McGahee lights it up in Baltimore, who cares? He didn't want to be in Buffalo and he would NEVER have put up good numbers in the city because he wasn't motivated.

At this point, though, it's impossible to argue that we've improved our team. We improved at OL- that's it.

[Ultra Chimp 1]

Fletcher wasnt that great....he only got a lot of tackles because he wasnt doing his job properly

[Jan Reimers]

It's always sad, but sometimes you just have to move on. Spikes was never going to fully recover; Fletcher was in decline and didn't really fit our D; McGahee didn't want to be here; and Clements is not worth anywhere near what we would've had to pay him.

We cleared some very expensive, underperforming deadwood, in order to make room for better, younger players. How many times did we make the playoffs with the guys we let go?

The media just doesn't seem to get it.

[Don't Panic]

On paper, Youboty+A-Train+Draft Pick+Ellison does not equal Clemetns+McGahee+Spikes+Fletcher, but I don't think it needs to. In order to be successful, we are going to need to learn a great deal about chemistry, but at least we're trying something to be successful. As has been said so many times in here, all the talent we ammassed never got us into the playoffs.

[feelthepain]

Fletcher wasnt that great....he only got a lot of tackles because he wasnt doing his job properly

He is a MLB, he got a lot of tackles because that's his job!! Amazing how he was the third best LB in the league last year and since he's no longer a Bill, he wasn't that good. Whatever!!!

[Don't Panic]

The media just doesn't seem to get it.

To Sal's credit....



In breaking down the decisions general manager Marv Levy and company have made, you can see the logic.

[OpIv37]

We cleared some very expensive, underperforming deadwood, in order to make room for better, younger players. How many times did we make the playoffs with the guys we let go?

The media just doesn't seem to get it.

younger, yes. Better? That remains to be seen, and they definitely won't be better on opening day of 2007. We lost 4 starters with no proven replacements for any of them. In the long run we may be better off, but in the short run we're hurting.

[ddaryl]

He is a MLB, he got a lot of tackles because that's his job!! Amazing how he was the third best LB in the league last year and since he's no longer a Bill, he wasn't that good. Whatever!!!


However if you look at the stats of the best D in the league and there top MLB's you will notice that they don't have as many tackles, and they have a higher percentage of tackles for no gain or a loss.

London is a rock solid MLB, but the fact is/was we could do better. the reason he has such a high tackle stat is because the Bills D wasn't stopping opposing O's much. This happens when you are constantly allowing 4-6 yd runs on 1st and 2nd down, and that can be attributed to the DL and LB's.

The real reason besides what I mentioned above is the fact London is getting older/slower and the Bills are rebuilding/retooling.

London is a warrior and Wash got themselves a great player/person. I don't think any Bills fan thinks differently. We just can ackowledge that he did have some short commings.

[Meathead]

We lost 4 starters with no proven replacements for any of them. In the long run we may be better off, but in the short run we're hurting.
maybe but i dont know about that being a certainty

if the bills braintrust was correct in the guys they hand picked to bolster the ol that could make a huge difference. they basically have four starters set there with the rg spot open for competition, plus i agree with ddaryl that all the time put in by last years guys on the ol gives the bills excellent competition for the backup spots. a strong ol can make all the difference in the world and with losman poised to continue improving on his solid play later in the season the offense could end up quite strong and ready for whoever they get to plug in at tailback

granted im worried about the linebackers because we certainly lost a lot there and the backups dont inspire much confidence so thats a big question mark right now. but again they appear to have a good rotation set up on the defensive line and enough talent in the defensive backfield to be able to concentrate on the lb spot in the draft and/or fa'cy

any team that has quality at both lines and at qb is about two-thirds towards making the playoffs. right now i feel pretty good about those spots and if they can adequately address lb and rb i would expect they would challenge for a wc spot very late in the season

[feelthepain]

However if you look at the stats of the best D in the league and there top MLB's you will notice that they don't have as many tackles, and they have a higher percentage of tackles for no gain or a loss.

London is a rock solid MLB, but the fact is/was we could do better. the reason he has such a high tackle stat is because the Bills D wasn't stopping opposing O's much. This happens when you are constantly allowing 4-6 yd runs on 1st and 2nd down, and that can be attributed to the DL and LB's.

The real reason besides what I mentioned above is the fact London is getting older/slower and the Bills are rebuilding/retooling.

London is a warrior and Wash got themselves a great player/person. I don't think any Bills fan thinks differently. We just can ackowledge that he did have some short commings.

Why would you look at Fletchers short comings and not the Dline?? Your Dline is the first line of defense. The better they play, the better the LB's play. No one is calling Fletcher a Superstar or the best in the league, but the guy is a lot better then Bill fans want to admit, for obvious reasons.

[OpIv37]

maybe but i dont know about that being a certainty

if the bills braintrust was correct in the guys they hand picked to bolster the ol that could make a huge difference. they basically have four starters set there with the rg spot open for competition, plus i agree with ddaryl that all the time put in by last years guys on the ol gives the bills excellent competition for the backup spots. a strong ol can make all the difference in the world and with losman poised to continue improving on his solid play later in the season the offense could end up quite strong and ready for whoever they get to plug in at tailback

granted im worried about the linebackers because we certainly lost a lot there and the backups dont inspire much confidence so thats a big question mark right now. but again they appear to have a good rotation set up on the defensive line and enough talent in the defensive backfield to be able to concentrate on the lb spot in the draft and/or fa'cy

any team that has quality at both lines and at qb is about two-thirds towards making the playoffs. right now i feel pretty good about those spots and if they can adequately address lb and rb i would expect they would challenge for a wc spot very late in the season

The pass rush should be marginally better but our run D still sucks. And Youboty is going to get toasted at CB- all fresh corners do.

[Don't Panic]

Fletcher got a lot of business playing behind last year's line, there's no doubting that. That should be expected in this defense. MLB is the point man.

[ddaryl]

Why would you look at Fletchers short comings and not the Dline?? Your Dline is the first line of defense. The better they play, the better the LB's play. No one is calling Fletcher a Superstar or the best in the league, but the guy is a lot better then Bill fans want to admit, for obvious reasons.

because even with the DL short commings , and IMO from watching Fletcher play, he lacks the size and ability to get off of blocks consistently and be a the force that stops RB's for losses and 0 gains semi-regulalry.

He is also getting older for a MLB and of course slower. The Bills are a year or 2 off from any type of serious superbowl/playoff run and Fletcher at that time will be even older and probably a tad slower. Yes I do agree he would be a better MLB if the Bills had a better DL during his years here, but he'll be a player with declining skills over the next couple of seasons, and The Bills weren't going to pay what Wash paid him.

I just agree with move and although it weakens us some at this point, the LB position can get better, younger, and faster over the next year or 2 years which coincides with the Bills rebuilding and our being ready to truly compete at a playoff level.

is it a gamble, yes, but one that needed to be done now IMO.


I have no ill feeling for Fletcher, he deserves praise for his years as a Bill, he always played with heart.

[OpIv37]

Why would you look at Fletchers short comings and not the Dline?? Your Dline is the first line of defense. The better they play, the better the LB's play. No one is calling Fletcher a Superstar or the best in the league, but the guy is a lot better then Bill fans want to admit, for obvious reasons.

well there's a lot going on in this post.

First, it partially has to do with the defensive system, which requires smaller DT's being disruptive in the backfield rather than taking up space or blockers. That puts more pressure on the MLB to make tackles on running plays. I agree that the DL wasn't very good against the run last year and isn't looking much better this year, but the MLB is required to do more in run support in the system, hence the emphasis on Fletcher.

Second, Fletcher isn't a good fit for the D. We need someone faster who can react more quickly.

Third, Fletcher has lost a step- he still has something left in the tank but he's not the force he once was (which goes back to the previous point about him not fitting the D).

That being said, he's better than anyone we have behind him, and at the very least his leadership and experience will be missed.

[Don't Panic]

I think the people who understand the scheme we're running, both here and in the media, understand the moves we've made, at least defensively.

[OpIv37]

I think the people who understand the scheme we're running, both here and in the media, understand the moves we've made, at least defensively.

Well, Nate was purely a monetary decision. While I'm worried about Youboty, I fully support not giving Nate $80 million.

I understand why Fletch and Spikes don't really fit what we're trying to do, but what I don't understand is why we let them go without confirmed or proven replacements.

Consider this: London Fletcher, Nate Clements and Takeo Spikes are gone, with either no one or completely unproven players behind them. Yet Tim Anderson remains on this team because we don't have a replacement yet. The only thing I can say about that is: wtf?

[Meathead]

The pass rush should be marginally better but our run D still sucks. And Youboty is going to get toasted at CB- all fresh corners do.
when we met with coy wire he specifically hinted strongly that the problems of rush defense could lie mainly in the lbs. course he wants one of those starting jobs now and prolly wont get it but i found that very interesting

and i gotta admit yobooty is a concern considering he hardly played at all but im keeping my fingers crossed he really applied himself in practice and in study and will surprise us. theyve got some options if he doesnt step up but until its set i admit that spot could be a prollem

[Jan Reimers]

younger, yes. Better? That remains to be seen, and they definitely won't be better on opening day of 2007. We lost 4 starters with no proven replacements for any of them. In the long run we may be better off, but in the short run we're hurting.
Better is certainly the goal, and with wise choices on day one, I wouldn't be surprised if we had a better RB than McGahee, and a better LB than Spikes to open the season - and players to make Fletch and Clements just a distant memory by 2008.

I don't think you can get better by keeping shop worn, or bad attitude, guys in the lineup. Time to move on.

[gr8slayer]

I'm more excited about the team we have now than I was this time last year. At least we have a freaking QB now.