I see the potential of some of these players. Do you?

[BillsWin]

I haven't posted a thread in a while. I have been pretty busy with work. But, it seems to me that there is a lot of doom and gloom going around the message boards. Not just this one.

The general feeling amongst some Bills fans is that we have little to no talent on the roster. I agree to an extent, as in: We have many needs to fill. But, I disagree that we have very little talent.

In fact, I see talent all over the roster.

Starting with the offensive line:

Eric Wood: Played very well as a rookie. Showed improvement, agility and strength. If not for that horrible leg injury, I truly believe he'd be on course for the pro bowl. If he comes back at 100%, then he may still be on track for that honor. He struggled with the blitz early, but seemed to adjust on the fly. I think he will be the face of our offensive line eventually. If it were up to me, I'd move him to center and Hangnarter to guard, or first interior rotational player. Wood has talent.

Andy Levitre: Another player from last year's draft showing talent. He showed promise as a guard and showed he can kick outside to tackle if need be. Levitre has talent.

Geoff Hangnarter: He wasn't all world, but he is an intelligent player with the ability to play center or guard. As a backup, he is one of the better ones out there. As a starter, he is solid.

Shawn Nelson: There is a whole other thread dedicated to Nelson right now, so I won't waste time talking about him. But go read some of those posts. Nelson has talent.

Moving on to the back field.

Fred Jackson: A fan favorite who can run the rock very well. He is fast, strong and shifty. Took over the starting job because he earned it. Jackson has talent.

Marshawn Lynch: Love him or hate him (and the feeling on the boards is shifting towards the latter), he is still first round talent and is a year removed from a good season. Bottom line is he is a talented back who fights for extra yardage. With Chan Gailey's run-oriented state of mind, and Buddy Nix's love affair with big, strong, run blocking lineman, it would appear that Lynch could thrive. If Lynch is in shape, he has talent.

At QB, there is little to no talent, which people already know. We need to address this spot once and for all (At least until this next franchise guy retires) either this year or next.

At wide receiver we have talent. Evans is a great player, who needs a QB. Hardy and Johnson are unknowns from lack of playing time. This is a position that will be addressed with the losses of Reed and Owens. But there may be hidden talent there already.

On defense, we have talent.

Jairus Byrd: This board is in love with him. I don't need to say much more. As a rookie, he was an absolute ball hawk. He is one talented kid. AND HE WAS PLAYING HURT.

Poz, is a good linebacker. I don't know what his haters are smoking.

Maybin is an enigma, but moving to his "natural" position. Let's see if he has talent.

Dwan Edwards is a new infusion of talent at a position of need. If anything, he helps ease the transition to a 3-4 scheme.

Leodis McKelvin is evolving into a solid corner back. McGee is not a weakness, he has some talent. Florence showed his talents off last season. Reggie Corner is getting there.

Lindell is accurate. Moorman is a beastly punter.

There is talent on this roster. You just have to dig to find it. If we can just have a solid draft or two, and finally get lucky on a quarterback, then we could be building something special here.

We are going to suck this season. That is set in stone. We have too many needs and not enough picks/ free agents to fill them and make them solid. We have no franchise QB, or offensive line and we have completely revamped our style of front office, coaching staff and scheme.

However, if we fill in some spots with bodies this year, draft good, solid, talented players in this draft and draft well next year, we are looking pretty good.

Well, the jury is still out on Gailey and co.

I just hope we don't miss on a QB again. IF and its a big IF, we pick Clausen at nine, I really pray that we did our homework.

That is one position that has lacked talent since Bledsoe, and Bledsoe was on the tail end of his prime anyway.

Cheer up Bills fans, there is an opportunity here to rebuild right!

-BillsWin

[Ed]

I would add Jamon Meredith as a talent on the O-line. I don't know if he has what it takes to piece everything together to become a good player, but I think the talent is definitely there.

I'd also add Stroud to the list. I'll admit that I wasn't enamored with his play last year, but I also didn't realize how banged up he was all year long. He also seems pretty excited about playing for Edwards. He may not be the player he was in his prime, but if he can come into this season healthy and motivated, he's still a very talented guy.

[Don't Panic]

I agree for the most part. I think one thing Bills fans have forgotten or lost sight of is that it's not necessarily all about how much talent you have, but how you use it... especially on game days. If Gailey outperforms his predecessors when the lights are on and the cameras are rolling, the talent will look a lot better. But I agree that we are not completely devoid of talent on this roster.

As to the QB... I say there is no better situation than to truly see what you have with Edwards than this one. Chance with a new, high level offensive mind... end of a contract... still some unknown qualities. With the issues we still have to address, I say you definitely pass on a high pick QB and see what you've got with what's here. Plus, it's another year of development for Brohm, who may be the heir apparent down the road anyway.

[Mr. Pink]

The Bills are one of the least talented teams in the NFL and have been for a few years.

Simply put, they have overachieved the past 5 years.

When you have no QB, no Oline, Weak passrush and even weaker run defense...you simply aren't that talented or good.

[DraftBoy]

I see warranted potential in;
Wood
Levitre
Byrd

I hope for potential in;
Maybin
Johnson
Hardy
Ellis
Meredith

Other than that the rest all suck ass.

[Beebe's Kid]

Love it.

No talent is an old, tired argument. Mike Schopp and Bullfrog use the same thing all the time. There is a lot of talent on the roster. It has been misused or neglected for years.

The previous coaching staff was trying to bang the round square peg into the round hole. Every successful team is built around the strengths of it's best players. Offensive, defensive and ST game plans are written to get the most out of what the team has to offer. DJ and crew couldn't see the talent, or else they just weren't smart enough to write a game plan that...see Dick trying to run a no-huddle with Trent at the helm!

It is easy to hate, whatever. That is fine, then negative bull**** will never go away. That is how some people are wired. It is kind of sad that they have to look at life that way. It is also fun to complain when a player underperformed here and subsequently flourishes in another city where they recognize and utilize his strengths.

Good take, BW.

[Dujek]

I see warranted potential in;
Wood
Levitre
Byrd

I hope for potential in;
Maybin
Johnson
Hardy
Ellis
Meredith

Other than that the rest all suck ass.

Bull****. Poz is a solid LB, our entire secondary is capable of playing at a high level, even Whitner, and Lee Evans is still a talented receiver.

As for lumping Fred Jackson and Marshawn Lynch into the bunch that suck ass, well it's obviously your dickhead showing today rather than your genius.

[Tourettes Guy]

I see warranted potential in;
Wood
Levitre
Byrd

I hope for potential in;
Maybin
Johnson
Hardy
Ellis
Meredith

Other than that the rest all suck ass.

McGee doesn't suck. McKelvin didn't suck, except on one major play. Poz has never sucked. Stroud doesn't suck, Kyle Williams doesn't suck. That was an over the top assessment right there/

[YardRat]

I'm more optimistic about the team this season than I was last.

[BertSquirtgum]

Cheer up Bills fans, there is an opportunity here to rebuild right!


BillsWin: the thing that bothers me, is that is took ralph 3 gallons of drool and a 10 years to figure this out.

[DraftBoy]

Bull****. Poz is a solid LB, our entire secondary is capable of playing at a high level, even Whitner, and Lee Evans is still a talented receiver.

As for lumping Fred Jackson and Marshawn Lynch into the bunch that suck ass, well it's obviously your dickhead showing today rather than your genius.

I also call bull****. I disagree Poz is an average LB and in our new man scheme only McKelvin is worth a damn outside of the previously mentioned Byrd. McKelvin was an omission.

Jackson is one of your dime a dozen style RB's. He can get 1000 yd yes, but only at a 4.5 ypc average (17th in NFL amongst RBs with at least 100 carriers). Call me crazy for wanting a game breaking back not a guy who is just mid level of the league. Please don't even mention Lynch a #8 pick who has yet to live up to the billing and one doobie away from getting his ******ed ass suspended.

My dickhead may be showing but so is your bias. This team has serious talent issues.

[PECKERWOOD]

Players to watch:

I think Kyle Williams is a terrific fit at DE for us, I'm not sure exactly how Stroud fits into our new scheme, but I'd like to see him traded.

Andy Levitre showed awesome potential last year, he excels at getting to the 2nd level and for the most part I think he was our best linemen last year.

Shawn Nelson started to make some plays midway through the season last year, I think that he fits Gailey's offense well, he has tons of potential in the spread offense and he should blossom under a great offensive mind.

Freddy Jackson proved that he was the best RB on our roster last year, I'm looking for him to show up big again for the 2nd consecutive season, he should be Buffalo's version of Kevin Faulk for the next 3-5 years.

Donte Whitner obviously never gets any love, but I truly feel that he can be a success at SS in the 3-4, hopefully he sticks around and does not get traded, I see tremendous potential in him & Byrd.

Players who I think will disappoint:

Lee Evans has never had a real QB throwing him the football, with that said he has still put up solid numbers over the years, but that still doesn't change many fan's observations that he is nothing more than a good #2 receiver. He is an awesome target to send deep, but other than that I question his route running ability and his lateral burst and fluid movement.

Marshawn Lynch is a physical running back, but at times he is too much of a hot head and he looks for contact instead of finding a crease to hit. We drafted him with the 12th overall pick a couple years back and he still has yet to establish himself as one of the better backs in the NFL, personally, I'd love to see him get traded for a late 2nd to mid 3rd.

Marcus Stroud is best known for his career in Jacksonville, but thus far he has been outplayed by 5th round pick Kyle Williams. I don't think that Stroud fits in the 3-4, he is another player that I would like to cut tides with.

[Eventually]

Geez Draft Boy... I really could have sworn that Lynch was not drafted as a #8 pick. I am not going to look it up but I am fairly positive he was a #12 pick. I know nickels and dimes there, I'm not a big Lynch guy either and tend to agree with your assessment of him based on this past season keeping his off field history in mind, but with a new run based offense he could return back to form. Anyhow just thought I should correct the draft positional error you made.

But you did get me thinking though. Who was the eight pick in that draft? Was it Ted Ginn? Can't remember and really don't feel like looking it up either.

[JCBills]

Geez Draft Boy... I really could have sworn that Lynch was not drafted as a #8 pick. I am not going to look it up but I am fairly positive he was a #12 pick. I know nickels and dimes there, I'm not a big Lynch guy either and tend to agree with your assessment of him based on this past season keeping his off field history in mind, but with a new run based offense he could return back to form. Anyhow just thought I should correct the draft positional error you made.

But you did get me thinking though. Who was the eight pick in that draft? Was it Ted Ginn? Can't remember and really don't feel like looking it up either.

Lynch was the 12th pick, Jamaal Anderson was the 8th.

[Eventually]

thanks. Couldn't remember. Anderson was so highly touted coming out and now I hear people on sirius calling in talking about drafting his replacement already. Guess we're not the only team that drafts guys that fans don't get enamored by quickly or fall out of favor with even quicker.

[JCBills]

thanks. Couldn't remember. Anderson was so highly touted coming out and now I hear people on sirius calling in talking about drafting his replacement already. Guess we're not the only team that drafts guys that fans don't get enamored by quickly or fall out of favor with even quicker.

He's been stout against the run, but hasn't been able to get to the QB.

[DraftBoy]

McGee doesn't suck. McKelvin didn't suck, except on one major play. Poz has never sucked. Stroud doesn't suck, Kyle Williams doesn't suck. That was an over the top assessment right there/

Mcgee is an anverage CB, I admit I missed McKelvin and I dont hold the stupidity of what happened in NE against him. Poz is average at best and is very limited range wise, not to mention he can't stay healthy. Stroud is on the wrong side of his career and has to enter a completely new system where he will likely have to switch positions. Im not uber confident that he will just be amazing at it like other posters. A guy on the backside of his career who has lost a step. Kyle Williams is a great effort guy but he doesn't have a high skill level, and I dont think we'll see him on this team much longer, he fits nowhere.

[DraftBoy]

Geez Draft Boy... I really could have sworn that Lynch was not drafted as a #8 pick. I am not going to look it up but I am fairly positive he was a #12 pick. I know nickels and dimes there, I'm not a big Lynch guy either and tend to agree with your assessment of him based on this past season keeping his off field history in mind, but with a new run based offense he could return back to form. Anyhow just thought I should correct the draft positional error you made.

But you did get me thinking though. Who was the eight pick in that draft? Was it Ted Ginn? Can't remember and really don't feel like looking it up either.

You are right I missed that one. Thinking about Whitner and got confused.

He could return back to form, but one simple mistake and he's gone for four games. He didn't appear to take the backup role very well or even close to seriously last season so I dont see any reason to think going into next season he'll all the sudden be ok with it. He's not better than Fred Jackson at this point, who is only a middle of the road NFL RB. 15th (+/-2) in rushing yards and 17th in ypc amongst backs with atleast 100 attempts. Not stellar numbers.

Another guy I did miss though was Shawn Nelson, I do really like him.

[DraftBoy]

He's been stout against the run, but hasn't been able to get to the QB.

He needs to add 10 more pounds and move to a 3-4 team to play end...hey wait a second...

He's strong at the POA and holds up well, he's just not a penetrator.