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I think Brian is spot on with his assessment that Buffalo cannot transition to a 3-4 completely this off-season. A switch to a 3-4 Over is a good interim move. George Edwards has been a 4-3 guy...
As he also wrote the excellent article on different types of defences, I think his thoughts are worth taking note of
I'll throw this part of the article out here just for future reference...
UFA that we should be considering
Note: I anticipate that Casey Hampton, Vince Wilfork, Richard Seymour, Karlos Dansby and Aubrayo Franklin won’t hit the market. And Ryan Pickett, while a good fit, won’t be signed. I don’t know why, just going off information Brian has mentioned.
Jason Ferguson: Not the best NT, but better than who we have.
Dwan Edwards: Solid rotational 5 technique end.
Nick Eason: Depth 5 technique end.
Alfonso Boone: Depth 5 technique.
Ian Scott: Reserve DT with NT experience.
Danny Clark: Veteran that could be a backup OLB.
Larry Foote: Best strong side ILB on the market. Needs to be a priority target for the Bills. Jeff Ulbrich: Strongside ILB. Getting long in the tooth. Adalius Thomas: A force for the Ravens that tailed off in New England, that we could sign if we aren't happy with our OLB's.
Jimmy Kennedy: Big man that has underachieved but has become a good reserve for Minnesota. Might be able to transition to NT.
Bryan Robinson: Another priority on the free agent market. Has played in the 3-4 Over scheme as the NT the past three seasons.
Chike Okeafor: OLB that could be signed if we don’t think we have the right OLBs. 3-4 Over strong side OLB experience.
Scott Fujita: OLB who rushes in the Saints’ scheme. Starter if we don’t think we have the right OLBs.
Tully Banta-Cain: Easier to get than Porter or Merriman if we don’t think we have the right OLBs.
YardRat Wall of Fame #56 DARRYL TALLEY #29 DERRICK BURROUGHS#22 FRED JACKSON #95 KYLE WILLIAMS
OLB: The strongside (Sam) and weakside (Jack) OLB’s in a 3-4 are much more interchangeable than in a 4-3, though the better pass rusher tends to line up at the Jack, and the LB more stout at the point of attack tends to line up at the Sam.
ILB: The strongside (Mike) and the weakside (Will) are very different. The Mike needs to be prepared to take on the interior lineman that the NT did not occupy. He won’t be the best athlete (think Jeff Ulbrich) but he can stack and shed effectively. The Will can be smaller, but not much, and needs to be able to flow to the football faster, and will also drop into deeper zones.
Poz is a WILL as is Mitchell ... as is McClain. We need to go for a MIKE ILB in the draft.
First thought is that Mitchell may become expendable. Unless Schobel retires and we feel he can fill in at OLB. McClain seems less logical, as he was seeming already.... although I don't completely get why he can't be the Mike (or why Willis couldn't be a Mike).
I think Stroud has a place in this D... same with Johnson. I think we're one starter away on the D line, NT or DE, depending on where Stroud lines up. Williams may serve as the backup NT this year, so we are going to have to look at DEs ASAP (FA preferred).
So it looks like we need a Mike LB and one more D lineman to be considered adequate for next year. If we can get one of those in FA, we may still have the flexibility to go LT at #9 (and get our Mike in round 2).
First thought is that Mitchell may become expendable. Unless Schobel retires and we feel he can fill in at OLB. McClain seems less logical, as he was seeming already.... although I don't completely get why he can't be the Mike (or why Willis couldn't be a Mike).
I think Stroud has a place in this D... same with Johnson. I think we're one starter away on the D line, NT or DE, depending on where Stroud lines up. Williams may serve as the backup NT this year, so we are going to have to look at DEs ASAP (FA preferred).
So it looks like we need a Mike LB and one more D lineman to be considered adequate for next year. If we can get one of those in FA, we may still have the flexibility to go LT at #9 (and get our Mike in round 2).
I think we can go after a MIKE on Day3 - they simply need to tie up blockers and let the WILL make plays. Guys like Jeff Ulrich are MIKE ILBs and I think we can pick them up later
I think we can go after a MIKE on Day3 - they simply need to tie up blockers and let the WILL make plays. Guys like Jeff Ulrich are MIKE ILBs and I think we can pick them up later
Could be a fix... hard to expect too much of a 3rd rounder starting on day one though, no?
If we did go that route (maybe with a FA fill-in to compliment), we would have a lot more flexibility in the first two rounds, which I am hoping for.
Could be a fix... hard to expect too much of a 3rd rounder starting on day one though, no?
If we did go that route (maybe with a FA fill-in to compliment), we would have a lot more flexibility in the first two rounds, which I am hoping for.
Gary Guyton went undrafted in 2008 but by the end of season was starting and played full time alongside Mayo
A guy like Ryan D'Imperio of Rutgers will fall because he's not an ultimate athlete, but at 6ft3, 245lbs has the size to be a MIKE. The same goes for Vincent Rey of Duke
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