Big Mike to LT?

[Earthquake Enyart]

We have to see this at least a little bit this preseason, don't we?

If Jennings continues to play there and play well, he'll be due a big payday down the road. Maybe it's time to switch now.

[Pride]

it will happen by week 8.

You dont pay Big Mike's Salary to a RT, when you have a LT, making jack squat.

[lordofgun]

I hope they don't switch if it's only for Salary reasons. We need cohesiveness on the line. If they can switch and be just as effective, fine, but don't do it at the expense of hurting the team.

[The Spaz]

Who cares how much he gets paid as long as he is doing his job well. If Jennings leaves when his contract year is up then move Mike to LT. I don't want mike to move there now and just play ok at LT while he is dominating at RT. Go Bills!

[Tatonka]

jennnings was a better RT that LT.. and he was actually a dominant RT his rookie year.. he struggled a bit last year at LT, but part of that was due to injuries he played through.

i actualy think jj was a better RT in his rookie season than MW was.

[WG]

I totally agree w/ you T!!

If I'm not mistaken, the mindset when we drafted big Mike was that he would eventually be an LT after a season of "getting used to" the NFL. That time has arrived.

IMO, the better tandem on the ends would be MW at LT and JJ at RT. JJ did play better at RT and MW would be awesome at LT.

I'm not sure making the switch will save us bucks in the long run however. If MW is as good as we think he would be, his contract would likely be bigger than the one that JJ would get only a year or two earlier.

We should make whatever switch makes sense for chemistry along the line and for protection for Drew or whomever our future QBs would be.

Remember, Big Mike only played RT in college b/c he had a lefty QB and for no other reason.

[Tatonka]

good point about the lefty qb.. i had forgot that.

[EDS]

Not to mention a LT at Texas named Leonard Davis.

[THATHURMANATOR]

Originally posted by Tatonka
jennnings was a better RT that LT.. and he was actually a dominant RT his rookie year.. he struggled a bit last year at LT, but part of that was due to injuries he played through.

i actualy think jj was a better RT in his rookie season than MW was.

I agree with you and WYS on this. JJ was a dominant RT his first year and struggled somewhat last year(playing through injuries probably had something to do with that). I say if we can make the transition and it wouldn't hurt the cohesiveness of the line I would do it.

[WG]

Originally posted by EDS
Not to mention a LT at Texas named Leonard Davis.

Yeah, but he wasn't there in MW's senior season, was he?

Also, LT w/ a lefty QB isn't as important as RT anyway. So the point stands.

[THATHURMANATOR]

Good point. I forgot they had Simms at texas.

[Doc]

It's true that Big Mike played RT in college initially because Davis was their LT. However at that time, Simms wasn't the starting QB: Applewhite, a righty, was. When Simms began to get more time and Davis left for the NFL, they decided to keep Big Mike at RT to protect Simms' blindside.

[The_Philster]

Originally posted by THATHURMANATOR


I agree with you and WYS on this. JJ was a dominant RT his first year and struggled somewhat last year(playing through injuries probably had something to do with that). I say if we can make the transition and it wouldn't hurt the cohesiveness of the line I would do it.


That's the only way we make that kind of switch.
Personally, I don't see what the issue is with the whole money thing. He's a #4 overall pick. That's why he's getting what he's getting...not because he should be a LT. If he keeps improving on his pass blocking, I'd say go for it. Otherwise, keep him at RT where the best run blocker is supposed to be.

[yle]

They should keep it the same unless JJ plays poorly at LT. Chances are at some point injuries or free agency will give them a reason/excuse to try MW at LT. I don't see them making the switch unless they believe it will be a significant upgrade.

[venis2k1]

JJ and Brown started to play very well together late in the year. cant hurt to try switching it in preseason, But if we really wanted a LT, we should have taken Bryant McKinnie.

[Tatonka]

F Mckennie.

[venis2k1]

McKennie is very good(much better pass blocker than MW, but not half the run blocker...but then again, who is?), and if he had gotten a decent offer from the Vikes, he wouldnt look like the jerk he does now. (when the 3 guys that got picked behind you get more money than you do, its not a good deal) All McKinnie wanted was to get what he is worth.

[The_Philster]

McKennie hates Buffalo...he said he would have rather taken lesser money to go to San Diego

[TigerJ]

If Buffalo wants to experiment a little in preseason with switching JJ and MW, I'm OK with that. I'm not in any huge hurry to make it permanent unless it becomes immediately obvious that it's the right way to go.

Regarding McKinnie, I'm glad we got MW. He's a full year ahead of McKinnie in terms of pro development because of McKinnie's lengthy holdout. Since McKinnie hates Buffalo, I can imagine the holdout being much longer if Buffalo had drafted him.

[The Spaz]

Screw Mckinnie! Go Bills!