im confused on moats?

[NOT THE DUDE...]

is arthur moats going to play inside for us but rush the passer on 3rd down... similar to what lawrence timmons does for the steelers?

also i think batten might be our replacement for schobel...

[The Spaz]

Yes I believe they said he's playing inside LB.

[T-Long]

Gailey said they see him inside and Batten outside

[Ron Burgundy]

I imagined that they liked Moats as a rush linebacker, but I guess not. He was a DE with the Jimmy Dukes.

I've seen him and McGee play in person a couple of times. Moats has been a badass forever for those guys. You never know how those small school prospects will turn out, but he was always around the ball for JMU. I think it's awesome we drafted him.

Nix is really bringing the Southerners to Buffalo, too. We'll see how they pan out.

[DrGraves]

training camp hasn't even started...

[BillsWin]

I see Moats cracking the starting lineup pretty quick at inside linebacker.

I see any of our picks with a chance at cracking the starting lineup.

We have a ton of scrubs on our roster. All the new guys coming in deserve as much a shot as the hangovers.

[Oaf]

If he's known for edge rushing at DE, what's the sense playing him at ILB?

[NOT THE DUDE...]

what im asking is will we use him at all as a speed rusher on 3rd down?

[DraftBoy]

I believe you'll see Moats play as a 2 down ILB but then flex out in obvious passing downs to OLB and become a rush guy. That's not how I imagined he'd play but I do think he can be successful in that role.

[Ron Burgundy]

I don't think he'll be a starter anyways. I guess you never know, but he's a guy from a small school moving to a new position. It'll take some time for him to learn the defense and to get used to the level of competition.

[YardRat]

I see Moats cracking the starting lineup pretty quick at inside linebacker.

I see any of our picks with a chance at cracking the starting lineup.

We have a ton of scrubs on our roster. All the new guys coming in deserve as much a shot as the hangovers.

I don't see him beating out the POS, Davis or Mitchell too quickly.

[DraftBoy]

I don't think he'll be a starter anyways. I guess you never know, but he's a guy from a small school moving to a new position. It'll take some time for him to learn the defense and to get used to the level of competition.

Given his competition is Mitchell, its not like he has to do very much to beat him out.

[DraftBoy]

I don't see him beating out the POS, Davis or Mitchell too quickly.

I think he could beat out Mitchell by the end of TC being the top backup and 3rd down pass rush guy. Thus letting us release Mitchell's whiny ass.

[Ron Burgundy]

Given his competition is Mitchell, its not like he has to do very much to beat him out.

True...but to steal a phrase, he's rawer than sushi.

I wonder where they see undersized guys like Nic Harris and Ashlee Palmer in this defense?

[DraftBoy]

True...but to steal a phrase, he's rawer than sushi.

I wonder where they see undersized guys like Nic Harris and Ashlee Palmer in this defense?
Im going to guess Harris will get a shot at OLB and Palmer at ILB??

[mysticsoto]

Let's also keep in mind that even the veterans on the team are going to be looking at a whole new defense. As such, they may be slightly above the new rookies, but not by that much. The rookies will get a chance to contribute and may adapt faster than some of us think.

[more cowbell]

ashlee palmer is on the lions

[better days]

True...but to steal a phrase, he's rawer than sushi.

I wonder where they see undersized guys like Nic Harris and Ashlee Palmer in this defense?

Maybe they move Harris to SS?

[Ron Burgundy]

Im going to guess Harris will get a shot at OLB and Palmer at ILB??


Maybe they move Harris to SS?
Possibly. I'm guessing that's the best place for him. That puts Whitner, Scott, and Harris at SS...unless they plan on using Scott as a LB.

Actually, a lot of these guys might just get cut 'cause they don't fit the new D.

I didn't know Palmer was on the Lions, either. He's still listed on the depth cart at BB.com.

[DraftBoy]

Possibly. I'm guessing that's the best place for him. That puts Whitner, Scott, and Harris at SS...unless they plan on using Scott as a LB.

Actually, a lot of these guys might just get cut 'cause they don't fit the new D.

I didn't know Palmer was on the Lions, either. He's still listed on the depth cart at BB.com.

Harris as a SS in the NFL would be a disaster, his cover skills are below Roy Williams.

[Ron Burgundy]

Reckon it's OLB, then. I can't wait for football. I'm ready to see how they're going to piece this D together.

[psubills62]

Reckon it's OLB, then. I can't wait for football. I'm ready to see how they're going to piece this D together.

Agreed.

I was a little surprised that they plan to use Moats as an ILB, but you do need good blitzers from the inside spot too. If he's a good tackler, could be a good fit. I figured they'd bring in an ILB later in the draft for Andra Davis to mentor. Wouldn't be surprised at all to see him as the 3rd ILB, with a decent amount of rotational work towards the end of the season.

The good thing for this team is that even Wilson and co. will now admit that it's a rebuilding season (as opposed to the last two years). So now once we have enough losses that we're guaranteed to not make the playoffs, I could see Gailey getting all our young developing players some experience. Unlike what Fewell did last year and Jauron did previously.

[Ron Burgundy]

Moats is a good tackler. He hits hard and frequently tries to strip the ball, too.

[BertSquirtgum]

6'0 246. he could be either in, or out, but will be a linebacker for sure. to start, i would say that he will be a special teams star.

[jamze132]

Palmer was released weeks ago.


And I loved the Moats pick. Kiper was right about one thing, he could be the steal of the draft.

[DraftBoy]

The most interesting thing about this move is that they are flip flopping where Moats and Batten played in All-Star games.

In the Texas v. The Nation games Batten played MLB while Moats played OLB, but now in the NFL Gailey wants them to flop. I wonder if thats a 3-4 move more than anything else.

[TigerJ]

is arthur moats going to play inside for us but rush the passer on 3rd down... similar to what lawrence timmons does for the steelers?

also i think batten might be our replacement for schobel...I don't think we've heard any indication from the Bills that Moats is going to have a dual role. All Nix and Gailey have said is that they see him inside. Whether he blitzes sometimes from the inside, I don't think they're going to move him to the rush linebacker spot on any kind of regular basis. Most DCs will move players around occasionally just keep offenses thinking, but Moats will be an inside backer, period.

[methos4ever]

And as for the move to inside linebacker, Roth believes while that might be his best fit he has the versatility as a pass rusher to play on the edge as well.

“Initially, I think he’s going to be inside,” said Roth. “Right off the bat he’s going to be on coverage teams until he gets more familiar, you know, with the inside position. But he has pass rush ability too. He’s got all the tools to make it.”

http://www.buffalobills.com/news/article-3/LB-Moats-a-decorated-player/9e1984d1-1491-411d-8f59-aedc24bf4f9a

[psubills62]

I think the Moats/Batten picks are good signs for our scheme. Both of these guys seem like they could be inside or outside, thus giving our schemes quite a bit of versatility.

[madness]

im confused on moats?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moat

[methos4ever]

Bills head coach Chan Gailey’s initial plan is to have DE/OLB Arthur Moats move to ILB in Buffalo’s 3-4 defensive scheme. As far as Moats is concerned it’s fine by him.

“It’s one of those things where I’m going to do everything I can to help the team win,” he said. ”If they want me inside then that’s where I’ll be playing. I’ll be giving them the best of my abilities and I’ll be really productive on special teams. I’m straight with it.”

Part of the reason the Bills plan to move Moats inside is because 3-4 teams like to have taller and longer players on the outside. At 6 feet even Moats doesn’t have the prototypical height for OLB in a 3-4. That’s not to say he won’t be used out there on passing downs to rush the passer. He did have 22.5 sacks in his last two seasons at James Madison.

In fact that might be his best chance of getting on the field on defense as a rookie. If he shows some pass rush promise he could factor into some pressure packages.

http://blogs.buffalobills.com/2010/04/27/moats-cool-with-moving-inside/

[NOT THE DUDE...]

we are going to use him like lawrence timmons...