I think most of us are finally coming to grips with the high probability that Andy Levitre will no longer be a Buffalo Bill in a couple weeks. Only a year after FINALLY stabalizing the offensive line, we will once again have a gaping hole that needs to be filled.
This is exactly why it's so important for us to draft well, and why it's a direct indictment of how poorly Nix has done in adding talent through the draft.
I have no problem with us being a big player in free agency, and I was a big supporter of the Mario Williams signing last year. But in today's NFL, a team absolutely CANNOT afford to pay for high-priced free agents year after year. A team can pay big for maybe 3 or 4 players, but after that, they MUST get cheap production out of young players who are still on their first contracts.
We did a great job of locking up Stevie and Fred last year. We paid big for Mario and Mark Anderson. But as one can see... we are already paying the price by creating holes elsewhere on the roster. Levitre is the first casualty. But he certaintly won't be the last. Before long, players like Wood, Spiller and Dareus will be free agents. Byrd is only on a franchise tag and still doesn't have a long term deal. Mario's contract continues to escalate every season, making it tougher and tougher to retain our other good players.
As I mentioned in another thread, Nix has only managed to add a starter or two through the draft each year. And NONE of them have been late round finds. Although finding positions like quarterback, cornerback and left tackle can be tough late in the draft - there are LOTS of starters found on the interior offensive line, at linebacker and safety in rounds 4-5. Nix hasn't managed to find even ONE decent player after the second or third round. That is extremely alarming. I can't blame our front office if they don't want to pay $7-9 million per year for a guard. But we SHOULD already have drafted a replacement for Levitre who was ready to play. Going into this draft, we already have holes at QB, WR, LB and S - at the very least. Next year, you can probably add C to that list.
I'm not saying all this as another criticism of Nix. I'm saying this as a warning to anyone who gets excited about potential progress being made with this team. We have a VERY LONG way to go. A team cannot have drafts like our last three and really expect to compete. Because eventually the salary cap catches up to us and we HAVE to let people walk. Unfortunately, we've done a terrible job at filling those spots with cheaper young talent.
This is exactly why it's so important for us to draft well, and why it's a direct indictment of how poorly Nix has done in adding talent through the draft.
I have no problem with us being a big player in free agency, and I was a big supporter of the Mario Williams signing last year. But in today's NFL, a team absolutely CANNOT afford to pay for high-priced free agents year after year. A team can pay big for maybe 3 or 4 players, but after that, they MUST get cheap production out of young players who are still on their first contracts.
We did a great job of locking up Stevie and Fred last year. We paid big for Mario and Mark Anderson. But as one can see... we are already paying the price by creating holes elsewhere on the roster. Levitre is the first casualty. But he certaintly won't be the last. Before long, players like Wood, Spiller and Dareus will be free agents. Byrd is only on a franchise tag and still doesn't have a long term deal. Mario's contract continues to escalate every season, making it tougher and tougher to retain our other good players.
As I mentioned in another thread, Nix has only managed to add a starter or two through the draft each year. And NONE of them have been late round finds. Although finding positions like quarterback, cornerback and left tackle can be tough late in the draft - there are LOTS of starters found on the interior offensive line, at linebacker and safety in rounds 4-5. Nix hasn't managed to find even ONE decent player after the second or third round. That is extremely alarming. I can't blame our front office if they don't want to pay $7-9 million per year for a guard. But we SHOULD already have drafted a replacement for Levitre who was ready to play. Going into this draft, we already have holes at QB, WR, LB and S - at the very least. Next year, you can probably add C to that list.
I'm not saying all this as another criticism of Nix. I'm saying this as a warning to anyone who gets excited about potential progress being made with this team. We have a VERY LONG way to go. A team cannot have drafts like our last three and really expect to compete. Because eventually the salary cap catches up to us and we HAVE to let people walk. Unfortunately, we've done a terrible job at filling those spots with cheaper young talent.
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