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
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
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