shelby
05-01-2009, 07:58 AM
A BillsZone original by Lifetime Bills Fan. Enjoy!
While the Buffalo Bills generally received positive grades from draft experts for their selections in the 2009 NFL Draft, time and again the analysts took such a narrow view of the Bills’ roster and the team’s needs that they failed to see the Bills’ draft picks in the larger context of what the team is apparently trying to do, especially on the offensive line.
Even though many draft analysts duly noted the Bills’ need to bolster their pass rush prior to the draft, the moment that the Bills traded Jason Peters to Philadelphia, the assumption was that the Bills would have to draft an offensive tackle with one of their two first round draft choices. The fact that the Bills did not do that has led many to question their draft strategy, if not the sanity of the Bills’ front office.
That response, however, has ignored several critical factors that, had those analysts truly done their “homework”, would have easily explained why the Bills chose to make the picks that they made in the draft.
Perhaps the easiest of these factors to understand relates to the relative value of pass rushing defensive ends and left offensive tackles. Both are extremely important positions, possibly ranking as two of the three most difficult positions to fill. A quality left tackle is essential to protecting the quarterback and making the passing game work on offense, while a pass rushing defensive end who can consistently get to the quarterback and disrupt the passing game is almost equally valuable on the defensive side of the ball. That is why franchise left tackles and elite level pass rushers are amongst the highest paid position players behind quarterback in the NFL.
It is because left offensive tackle is such an important position that most analysts assumed that the Bills would use their top draft pick or, if not, certainly their second first round pick to draft a replacement for Jason Peters. That assumption ignored the fact that defensive end is just as important a position in the Tampa 2 defense that the Bills employ and that it can actually be harder to find a player with the potential to become an elite pass-rushing defensive end than it can be to find a player capable of providing quality play at the left offensive tackle position. Moreover, a look at the Bills’ roster would show that the Bills went into this draft with a greater need at defensive end than at offensive tackle.
more.... (http://www.billszone.com/mtlog/archives/2009/05/01/as_i_see_it_the_draft_experts_dont_get_it.php)
While the Buffalo Bills generally received positive grades from draft experts for their selections in the 2009 NFL Draft, time and again the analysts took such a narrow view of the Bills’ roster and the team’s needs that they failed to see the Bills’ draft picks in the larger context of what the team is apparently trying to do, especially on the offensive line.
Even though many draft analysts duly noted the Bills’ need to bolster their pass rush prior to the draft, the moment that the Bills traded Jason Peters to Philadelphia, the assumption was that the Bills would have to draft an offensive tackle with one of their two first round draft choices. The fact that the Bills did not do that has led many to question their draft strategy, if not the sanity of the Bills’ front office.
That response, however, has ignored several critical factors that, had those analysts truly done their “homework”, would have easily explained why the Bills chose to make the picks that they made in the draft.
Perhaps the easiest of these factors to understand relates to the relative value of pass rushing defensive ends and left offensive tackles. Both are extremely important positions, possibly ranking as two of the three most difficult positions to fill. A quality left tackle is essential to protecting the quarterback and making the passing game work on offense, while a pass rushing defensive end who can consistently get to the quarterback and disrupt the passing game is almost equally valuable on the defensive side of the ball. That is why franchise left tackles and elite level pass rushers are amongst the highest paid position players behind quarterback in the NFL.
It is because left offensive tackle is such an important position that most analysts assumed that the Bills would use their top draft pick or, if not, certainly their second first round pick to draft a replacement for Jason Peters. That assumption ignored the fact that defensive end is just as important a position in the Tampa 2 defense that the Bills employ and that it can actually be harder to find a player with the potential to become an elite pass-rushing defensive end than it can be to find a player capable of providing quality play at the left offensive tackle position. Moreover, a look at the Bills’ roster would show that the Bills went into this draft with a greater need at defensive end than at offensive tackle.
more.... (http://www.billszone.com/mtlog/archives/2009/05/01/as_i_see_it_the_draft_experts_dont_get_it.php)