Bills miss out on tackle; take luxury pick in Spiller

[T-Long]

Here is an article written by a friend of mine that also writes for the Blog Blitz. Let me know your comments on it. I've already shared mine with him...

read here (http://networkedblogs.com/3oQjf)

[TigerJ]

page wouldn't load

[NoVabillsfan89]

Some fantastic reporting and research in that column.

I had no idea the Bills were lacking in offensive line depth.

[The Spaz]

Some fantastic reporting and research in that column.

I had no idea the Bills were lacking in offensive line depth.

lol

[Night Train]

Fred Jackson is " More Than capable ". :rolleyes:

There were LT's a plenty when our pick came up ? Bulaga may be a RT or G for GB. Do we overdraft Saffold ?

Once again, it's actually knowing what's out there and not waving the broad brush. His argument fails.

[Luisito23]

His argument fails.



Actually the whole article fails...

[EricStratton]

Haven't we read this article by 12 other writers in the past week?

[Thief]

Well OK, allow me to agree 100% with that writer. I even used the word "confused" myself when I discribed my reaction.

[TedMock]

The writing is decent, but I hate the premise. Taking the best player available is a great strategy - well, except if you're the Bills. Nonsense. You do not build a long-term winner by reaching for need regardless of how gaping the hole is. Anthony Davis? Brian Bulaga? Good picks later in the round, no doubt. Two problems. Davis, who may be the top 1 or 2 OT's in terms of athleticism has had repeated problems with conditioning, motor, discipline and respect. He may mature, but that's quite the risk, no? Bulaga is a classic overacheiver. I like this kid a lot, but I like him exactly where he went in the draft. Low first, early second. He's a tough kid who works hard and will always give 100%. He's also a limited athlete with short arms who is never going to be a great left tackle. He will be decent if he continues to work hard and he will always struggle against a wide edge rusher because he lacks the quickness and reach to get to him. You don't take that guy at number 9. I wouldn't be shocked if Bulaga has a nice career as a right tackle. Every year, the Colts get a bad draft grade, overall. Every year the Colts are good. Polian knows how to draft and build a long-term team. Ron Wolfe did it the same way. Bellichick has a different philosophy, but has also had success. His philosophy, however, is not to reach for need. A pro scout once told me that New England literally has 30-50 guys on their draft board. That's it. Literally. They take exact heights, weights, playing speeds, attitudes, etc for their system. If a guy doesn't fit almost exactly, they don't put him on the board. If they pick a guy and he fails, it wasn't because he didn't match the system. They just mis-judged his talent. They do the same thing in free agency. The only caveat is if a guy is a true special talent. Randy Moss, for example, does not fit the WR they typically like, but he is a special talent. Buffalo went best player available FOR THEIR SYSTEM on every pick this year. It was obvious because every pick took about 20 seconds. What I mean is that Linval Joseph was the higher rated DT, overall, I'm sure, but Joseph isn't a true 0-technique NT. He's big enough, but that's just not his strength. Troup and Cam Thomas fit that position better. Buffalo just happened to have Troup a bit higher. I had Thomas a bit higher, but I like Troup and it's not my decision. I also trust Nix's resume as a talent evaluator. Troup reminds me of Smerlas, so we can see what they were looking for. There was also no screwing around with "we need this" or "we haven't drafted an....yet." I commend the new strategy. If we drafted Davis or Bulaga at 9, Russ Brandon and Dick Jauron would have been in the room and everybody would have complained, rightfully so, about us reaching. The results may or may not work out, but at least the approach was different. I needed this change and I just absolutely hate the premise of "we needed a LT and blew it" that some fans are basing the draft on. It's mind boggling to me. The fans should be smarter than that. I guess 10 years of losing will screw up the brain a bit. Hopefully, the team and fans get their heads back on straight and we move forward. I still see only 5 wins this year, but it's early.

[Ron Burgundy]

The best thing about amateur writers is that they just can't keep their personal lives out of their writing.

I think Brandon married a slut and got burned.


Spiller was the sexy pick and the Bills were desperate for sex appeal as the TO signing last year proved. Bringing in Spiller was like replacing Raquel Welch with Brooklyn Decker.
But sometimes scooping the sexiest chick isn’t the best way to build a family. She probably can’t cook and is too pretty to clean. Your house falls to ruin and she leaves you for someone with more money who’s willing to cater to her high maintenance needs. After sitting at home devastated, mesmerized by her splendor, you realize that maybe the cute girl who used to wear the baseball cap and smiled at you in math class may have been the better option. But you couldn’t resist the voluptuous curves.

Just replace "Spiller" with "my ex-wife" and "Bills" with "Brandon."

It's alright, B. You'll find the right one someday. Maybe even that cute girl with the cap who smiled at you in math class. :up:

[jamze132]

I don't really like his reasons for us not taking O-line or Clausen. When you are in the top 10 and there is a bonafide homerun hitter sitting there, you ****ing take him! Why would you let this guy slip past you and take the 3rd or 4th best OL available, or much worse take Jimmy Clausen? The guy fell all the way to the middle of the 2nd RD!

Yes we have hole to fill, yes we need a LT, and yes we need a QB. But our O-line wasn't as bad as everyone makes it out to be. I noticed he did not do his homework at all on our O-line. If he did, he would know that we could and we did run the **** out of the ball. He made the comment about who will be blocking for Spiller... eh... the guys last year did a hell of a job for Jackson and considering Spiller is a little smaller and much faster, I think he will be able to slip some holes that Jackson wasn't able to.

The Spiller pick was absolutely 100% the right pick at the time, regardless of what our "needs" were.

[BoyILuvLoznStupidly]

Sorry T, this article sucks.

[Ron Burgundy]

Here is an article written by a friend of mine that also writes for the Blog Blitz. Let me know your comments on it. I've already shared mine with him...

read here (http://networkedblogs.com/3oQjf)

Any way you can get your boy to register here? I'm fascinated by his story.

[Bill Cody]

The best thing about amateur writers is that they just can't keep their personal lives out of their writing.

I think Brandon married a slut and got burned.

Just replace "Spiller" with "my ex-wife" and "Bills" with "Brandon."

It's alright, B. You'll find the right one someday. Maybe even that cute girl with the cap who smiled at you in math class. :up:

So Spiller is a slut?:confused:

[Bill Cody]

The writing is decent, but I hate the premise. Taking the best player available is a great strategy - well, except if you're the Bills. Nonsense. You do not build a long-term winner by reaching for need regardless of how gaping the hole is. Anthony Davis? Brian Bulaga? Good picks later in the round, no doubt. Two problems. Davis, who may be the top 1 or 2 OT's in terms of athleticism has had repeated problems with conditioning, motor, discipline and respect. He may mature, but that's quite the risk, no? Bulaga is a classic overacheiver. I like this kid a lot, but I like him exactly where he went in the draft. Low first, early second. He's a tough kid who works hard and will always give 100%. He's also a limited athlete with short arms who is never going to be a great left tackle. He will be decent if he continues to work hard and he will always struggle against a wide edge rusher because he lacks the quickness and reach to get to him. You don't take that guy at number 9. I wouldn't be shocked if Bulaga has a nice career as a right tackle. Every year, the Colts get a bad draft grade, overall. Every year the Colts are good. Polian knows how to draft and build a long-term team. Ron Wolfe did it the same way. Bellichick has a different philosophy, but has also had success. His philosophy, however, is not to reach for need. A pro scout once told me that New England literally has 30-50 guys on their draft board. That's it. Literally. They take exact heights, weights, playing speeds, attitudes, etc for their system. If a guy doesn't fit almost exactly, they don't put him on the board. If they pick a guy and he fails, it wasn't because he didn't match the system. They just mis-judged his talent. They do the same thing in free agency. The only caveat is if a guy is a true special talent. Randy Moss, for example, does not fit the WR they typically like, but he is a special talent. Buffalo went best player available FOR THEIR SYSTEM on every pick this year. It was obvious because every pick took about 20 seconds. What I mean is that Linval Joseph was the higher rated DT, overall, I'm sure, but Joseph isn't a true 0-technique NT. He's big enough, but that's just not his strength. Troup and Cam Thomas fit that position better. Buffalo just happened to have Troup a bit higher. I had Thomas a bit higher, but I like Troup and it's not my decision. I also trust Nix's resume as a talent evaluator. Troup reminds me of Smerlas, so we can see what they were looking for. There was also no screwing around with "we need this" or "we haven't drafted an....yet." I commend the new strategy. If we drafted Davis or Bulaga at 9, Russ Brandon and Dick Jauron would have been in the room and everybody would have complained, rightfully so, about us reaching. The results may or may not work out, but at least the approach was different. I needed this change and I just absolutely hate the premise of "we needed a LT and blew it" that some fans are basing the draft on. It's mind boggling to me. The fans should be smarter than that. I guess 10 years of losing will screw up the brain a bit. Hopefully, the team and fans get their heads back on straight and we move forward. I still see only 5 wins this year, but it's early.

paragraphs are your friend:2cents:

[T-Long]

Any way you can get your boy to register here? I'm fascinated by his story.
He is a HUGE NY Giants fan. You can post your comments at the end of the article. I did.

[Ron Burgundy]

So Spiller is a slut?:confused:

No, his ex-wife/ex-girlfriend is. I don't think this article is really about Spiller.

[THATHURMANATOR]

I stopped reading after the first couple sentances. We did have a hole more glaring than Offensive line. Nose Tackle.

[Bill Cody]

No, his ex-wife/ex-girlfriend is. I don't think this article is really about Spiller.

I was making a funny. Oh well.

[Ron Burgundy]

He is a HUGE NY Giants fan. You can post your comments at the end of the article. I did.

I tried, but they didn't show up.

[Mike in Syracuse]

I am so sick of hearing about Bulaga. The guy has arms that are slightly longer than a T-Rex's.

He's going to get eaten alive by NFL DE's and will wind up at guard just like Gallery.

[mrbojanglezs]

davis and bulaga would have been terrible value picks at number 9

we had almost the worst run d in the league we addressed that

we added a dynamic playmaker on an inept offense

our rookie lineman have competition and have a year under their belt and will be better if there aren't so many injuries.

this guy is overreacting

[Griff]

pretty much the standard cut and paste outsider article.

[wmoz11]

Haven't we read this article by 12 other writers in the past week?

Yeah, but not this poorly written.

[ghz in pittsburgh]

In all honesty, I don't mind people criticise us for the Spiller pick. I understand their argument, even along Nix's line of thinking: we want someone who can contribute right away.

Spiller will contribute right away. But even Nix admitted that he's not an everydown back. That's what I think some people have problem with it.

Truthfully I think the Bills were a little bit in a bind: we didn't have a slam dunk no brainer like a Suh. Much like the Taxens had during the Reggie Bush was coming out, the question is do you spend that high a draft pick on a non-everydown player? Texans chose Mario Williams, which would've gone 2nd overall if Bush were picked first. The Bills' choices are between Spiller and Dan Williams, who ultimately went in the mid-20s, obviously not rated as high as Spiller by almost everyone.

There is no denying the talent of Spiller at #9 for everyone. Ultimately it's in how we use him this year and the development of himself.

I see him as a regular 20 carry guy as a RB which means we need someone else to carry the ball the other 15 times. In the ideal world, that person would be Lynch, not Jackson type of back.

Some people will point to Miami's pick of Ginn and note the similarity here: offensive minded HC who think they can use a midget multi-threat speed guy. Well Ginn is was far from consensus top 10 guy and WR's impact is far less than a RB as far as a dominant player goes. That's why I feel pretty good about this pick.

[NOT THE DUDE...]

if bell never would have got hurt and he progressed throughout the year, i dont think lt would be a major need....

[WeAreArthurMoates]

if bell never would have got hurt and he progressed throughout the year, i dont think lt would be a major need....

If I won the lotto I would be able to pay off all my school loans and debt, move to florida and still not give up my season tickets cause I'd fly up every home game.

[Beebe's Kid]

If I won the lotto I would be able to pay off all my school loans and debt, move to florida and still not give up my season tickets cause I'd fly up every home game.

If my aunt had balls, she'd be my uncle.

[YardRat]

If my aunt had balls, she'd be my uncle.

Whoa. Bet you had to dust that one off a little bit before throwing it out there.

[Thief]

Screw Buluga, at least take Campbell in the third!

[NOT THE DUDE...]

If my aunt had balls, she'd be my uncle.

I SWEAR TO GOD I WILL STOMP U!!!!!

[Mr. Pink]

There's a reason this a common perception of anyone who isn't a Bills fan....

It's true.

[Novacane]

Did we have bigger needs? Yes. Big enough to reach for the players he suggested? :rolleyes: Tell him to stick to writing about teams he knows something about/

[Griff]

I SWEAR TO GOD I WILL STOMP U!!!!!

Yordad?

[BertSquirtgum]

who did your friend copy and paste this article from?