V.COACH Bills signed OL Mike Gandy, unrestricted free agent

[Pride]

www.buffalobills.com

[R. Rich]

It's better than nothing. (http://www.buffalobills.com/news/news.jsp?news_id=3122)

[Dr. Lecter]

http://www.buffalobills.com/news/news.jsp?news_id=3122

[Pride]

http://www.buffalobills.com/uploads/homepage_story/E01A693D46A948B9891E31F9B7F00B0A.jpg

Orchard Park, NY - The Bills today announced that the team has signed OL MIKE GANDY, an unrestricted free agent. In accordance with club policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed.

The 26-year-old Gandy has spent his entire four-year NFL career with the Chicago Bears and has appeared in 32 games, starting 30 over the course of his career.

Last season, Gandy played in and started five games at RG and in 2003; he started 14 games at LT. In 2002, the Rockford, IL native played in 13 games, starting 11, and saw action at both guard and tackle.

A graduate of Notre Dame in 2000, Gandy finished his career with the Fighting Irish by starting 26 consecutive games before being drafted in the third round in 2001.

[The Natrix]

Any good?

[Pride]

our replacement for Jonas? if so.... oh gawd!

[OpIv37]

woohoo- an ND guy. But I had two reactions-

1. Who?
2. Great, there goes our last $650k in cap space.

[mysticsoto]

For all those panicky people, maybe they'll shut up now. TD is the type to keep things under wraps until everything is all set. He doesn't advertise to all what he's going to do.

So...anybody know much about this guy?

[Pride]

threads merged

[Crisis]

Are we raiding the Bears OL?

[Ebenezer]

woohoo- an ND guy. But I had two reactions-

1. Who?
2. Great, there goes our last $650k in cap space.
I am betting this is the replacement for Marcus Price....

Also, I still say the stuff by Clayton has got to be a mistake. The Bills were going to pick up Shelton. I don't think they would be able to do that without the immediate cap room.

[Crisis]

He's young, started, probably cheap- pretty good signing.

I like the idea of bringing players like him in since we have McNally.

[Bmax]

The question has to be where will he play og or ot ? I say they will have to move him to lt first and go from there he's young at least 26.. I wonder what mcnally thinks of him.....?


Bmax

[Devin]

yeah i dont know anything about him, so if he fits in great wouldnt mind seeing:

Gandy|K.Vincent|Teague|Vill|Williams

Likely not a bad line, weak left side but if we got Shelton for henry and moved gandy inside wed be good.

[juice]

The Bears starting LG was the run blocking stud last year.. Gandy had an OK year.

[ParanoidAndroid]

Like Marcus Price but a little better, I think. Versatile and inexpensive. At least TD is doing something.

[Crisis]

The Bears starting LG was the run blocking stud last year.. Gandy had an OK year.

He beat out Brown!

[Mr. Miyagi]

Like Marcus Price but a little better, I think. Versatile and inexpensive. At least TD is doing something.
TD came back from his Mexico vacation and said "OH CRAP! Free Agency started already? Who's left....THIS GUY. Sign him now." :whew:

[Sportsuser101]

He's an average player. Certainly not a starter. Gave up 2 1/2 sacks last year in 5 games. Gave up 8 sacks the year before in 14 games.

[DaBillzAhDaShiznit]

He appears servicable...and you can bet he was cheap....so I am all in favor of it. Good insurance move if nothing else.

[Crisis]

He's an average player. Certainly not a starter. Gave up 2 1/2 sacks last year in 5 games. Gave up 8 sacks the year before in 14 games.

He played for the Bears.

[lordofgun]

MAybe we gave him 5 mil/year and that's why we're only 600K under the cap. :D

[Pride]

ROFL!

[Bmax]

Average player on a poor line ...But with mcnally who got good play out of dusty and porky parker....Who knows .....? I bet he just fills the void until big jason peters comes along in 2006......

Bmax

[Mr. Miyagi]

I just talked to a diehard Bears fan about him.

He said, "Decent for a 3rd stringer."

:mad:

[Forward_Lateral]

Is this guy made up? I can't find him anywhere on NFL.com, Yahoo! sports, or the Bears official website. Anyone have a profile on this guy? His height, weight, etc.?

[tomdonahoe]

He's young, started, probably cheap- pretty good signing.

I like the idea of bringing players like him in since we have McNally.

Exactly! McNally can make guys like this play much better than they are.

[Forward_Lateral]

Exactly! McNally can make guys like this play much better than they are.

I disagree, McNally can coach players into being better. He brings out the best in players.

[Hamilton Billsfan]

Started 5 games last year then was claimed by Carolina off of waviers in Nov, released 2 days laterfor failing a physical, I hope he's better

[Ickybaluky]

Gandy is a guy who struggled with injuries through his career. The Bears cut him last year.

[Hounds]

I would like to hear what Villareal thinks of him.

[Mr. Cynical]

I would like to hear what Villareal thinks of him.
I assume that TD consulted with him prior to the signing. At least I hope so.

[Romes]

Well, its something...we needed more players for our OL and we got one. I want to hear something from TD about their thinking behind this. Is he depth, or are they looking to start him at LG or LT?

[Romes]

Scouts Inc. rates him as a good starter. Here is their scouting report on him.


Gandy has experience playing both tackle and guard but is a much better fit on the inside and is currently the favorite to start at right guard. Has good size and can engulf undersized defenders at the point of attack. Excels at driving his legs after contact and does a nice job of pushing the pile in the running game. Plays with a very good base and has great lower-body strength. Has the size to anchor against the bull rush and rarely gives up ground at the POA. However, Gandy lacks agility and struggles to re-direct in pass protection. Doesn't show the ability to change directions quickly and will struggle to pick up any stunts or games upfront. Lacks great initial quickness and needs help working against explosive one-gap pass rushers. Overall, Gandy is a strong run blocker and will benefit from the move back inside where his weaknesses as a pass blocker can be hidden.

You need ESPN insider to check the link.
http://proxy.espn.go.com/nfl/features/scouting#key

I'd say we did alright with this signing. I'd feel much better if he were our LG rather than our LT.

[Kerr]

Great, now we've got some more depth.

[Philagape]

Sounds like our new left guard

[YardRat]

Maybe he will be a guard...maybe the Shelton for Henry deal isn't as dead as some have made it out be.

[jamze132]

Yeah, uh... I've never heard of him.

Anyone know if he can kick?

[Kerr]

Sounds like he'll be competing with Larry Smith for LG in camp.

[Dozerdog]

<iframe width="600" height="800" src="http://www.billszone.com/dozer/guards2005.html" frameborder="yes" scrolling="yes">
Sorry, you need inline frames to fully see this page.
</iframe>

[lordofgun]

Nice one, Doze. :chuckle:

[Kerr]

More scouting on Candy Gandy.


http://www.tsn.ca/nfl/teams/player_bio.asp?player_id=1794&hubName=BUF

[Romes]

if it means anything to anyone scouts inc. rates Gandy a 70 and Shelton a 69.

The key is
100-90 elite player
89-80 outstanding player
79-75 solid starter
74-70 good starter
69-65 adequate starter...

the rest doesn't really matter.
So maybe we got a sleeper here. Maybe with McNally's work he can become something pretty solid.

Just trying to be optimistic about this. :idunno:

[Philagape]

Sounds like he'll be competing with Larry Smith for LG in camp.

Like I said, sounds like our new left guard :snicker:

[Samphin1]

Good Gawd Dozer. Gandy is a depth guy only I would think. I wouldn't o**** on him to be anything else but. Perhaps McNally could work his magic, but I think he will be the sixth man of the line, filling in for injuries and poor play by others, if need be.

If it was Wayne Gandy, you guys would be in business...

[Dozerdog]

<iframe width="600" height="800" src="http://www.billszone.com/dozer/guards2005.html" frameborder="yes" scrolling="yes">
Sorry, you need inline frames to fully see this page.
</iframe>
I fixed it...:mad:

Their rankings do puzzle me-


Villarrial #2 overall?

[LifetimeBillsFan]

Their ratings puzzle me a bit, too......they have Gandy with a higher grade than both Hochstein and Andruzzi.

It's going to be interesting to see what Coach McNally does with the O-line.

I hope that the Bills didn't overpay for him. The numbers that the O-linemen are getting in their contract this offseason are stupid: K.McKenzie, a RT, got an even bigger deal than J.Jennings, $ 37 million with a $ 12 million signing bonus from the N.Y. Giants according to WFAN in NYC.

[Albany,n.y.]

Here's Frank Coyle of Draft Insider's Digest opinion of Gandy:

"Tough wide body lineman has played both guard and tackle for the Bears makeshift line over recent seasons before his release. He gained valuable experience in his short career and is a lineman with some upside if he proves healthy and settles into a position. The Bears cut him loose at midseason and made him a street free agent. He is still a young 26 years old with extensive experience and capable of being a big surprise in the right situation. He is only a stop gap tackle and needs to play guard where he excelled at Notre Dame as a collegian. "Boom or bust" addition with the tools to be a major FA steal"

[Jan Reimers]

Sounds like he could battle Smith/Tucker for the LG job. If not starting caliber, he's probably a better backup O lineman than Pucillo. At worst, we've added veteran depth.

[mysticsoto]

I'm not sure about Gandy being a backup. Didn't someone here say that he beat out Brown to hold his position last year on the Bears O-line before he got injured?

I'm thinking they might actually want to use him at RG and move Chris? How flexible is Chris on the line - can he be moved or is he RG only?

[Michael82]

I don't know about you guys, but I trust McNally's thoughts of linemen more than the media. If McNally likes him, then so do I. :D

[The Spaz]

I like the signing but would prefer him inside at LG.

[The Spaz]

Good Gawd Dozer. Gandy is a depth guy only I would think. I wouldn't o**** on him to be anything else but. Perhaps McNally could work his magic, but I think he will be the sixth man of the line, filling in for injuries and poor play by others, if need be.

If it was Wayne Gandy, you guys would be in business...

Shutup he would start on your o-lin ein a heartbeat?!:snicker:

[TigerJ]

I was on the thruway when I heard the news. WGR's Mike Shoop and the Bulldog talked with the Bears color man, who happens to be a former NFL lineman. I think he was being frank in what he said. In essence I heard that Gandy is very smart and an excellent technician. He's also pretty athletic. He's played every position on the O-line at various times, but is probably most natural at guard. The drawback in his career is that he has had a number of injuries. It's not the same injury over and over again, but a different one each time. Sometimes guys like that have injury problems their whole career. Other guys seem eventually to outgrow it to have extended periods injury free. Let's hope Gandy is the latter.


As to why Buffalo is getting players from Chicago: It seems the Chiicago offensive line coach is from the Jim McNally school of offensive line coaching. I don't know if he's a protege exactly, but he teaches the same system and the same techniques. When a Chicago lineman comes to the Bills under McNally, he can almost be plugged right in. It makes for much quicker development of chemistry on the line.

IMO, based on what I heard on the radio, this can be an excellent value pickup, if (and it's a big if) Gandy can stay reasonably healthy. He will start, probably at left guard, and he will be an upgrade. Fortunately, with Tucker and Smith, Buffalo has some solid depth now on the interior of the line, pending what the Bills decide to do at center.

While Gandy can play left tackle, my guess is that Buffalo has other thoughts (a draft choice?). We'll have to wait and see.

[Dozerdog]

Who knows. Maybe even Tucker to center and Teague to LT?

[Dr. Lecter]

If Teague is at LT, I am scared. Very much so. I woudl rather see Williams at LT and McFarland at RT.

[Dozerdog]

Teague played LT in Denver if I'm not mistaken- during Terrell Davis' best seasons- Including a 2000 yarder.

[Crisis]

Since this has a good guard list in this thread, does anyone have anything on Kendall Simmons (Pitt OG). Someone offered me a trade in a GM League (on finheaven, I'm the Colts) and he's the centerpiece. I need to know anything about him.

[ScottLawrence]

Like some people have mentioned, I think he will be our starting LG next season.


Not exactly that great of an upgrade, but it is an upgrade over Tucker.

I just hope we don't move Teague to LT, or draft a rookie to start there.


FINISH THE SHELTON DEAL.

[Kerr]

There are no true left tackles left on the free agent market. At least any that are solid. We need to get shelton. I keep hearing his strengh is pass protection.

[The Spaz]

The Cardinals just signed a tackle in Ross so maybe the Shelton deal is almsot complete.

[Tatonka]

spaz.. check your pms.

[billsburgh]

former first round pick 3 or four years ago. hasnt played the last 2 seasons hurt his knee in camp last year and diagnosed with diabetes in camp the year before

Since this has a good guard list in this thread, does anyone have anything on Kendall Simmons (Pitt OG). Someone offered me a trade in a GM League (on finheaven, I'm the Colts) and he's the centerpiece. I need to know anything about him.

[Dozerdog]

http://media.theinsiders.com/Media/NFL/50_Gandy-2.JPG

[Sabre Ally]

69, eh? At least he had a good number. :chuckle:

I trust McNally to use Gandy in a position where his best abilities are allowed to shine. The guy has starting experience, that's a major plus. It sounds like he could be either a starter or an immediate backup, depending on how things pan out/who else we sign. And hey, anything's better than Puccillo.

[jamze132]

Shutup he would start on your o-lin ein a heartbeat?!:snicker:
Lindel could start on Miami's line.

[ShadowHawk7]

30 starts in 3 years, a former 3rd rounder, he'll be our M Price at the least. Hopefully McNally will be able to make him into a good LT. Still hoping for Shelton for Henry though.

[Samphin1]

Shutup he would start on your o-lin ein a heartbeat?!:snicker:

You shut up, actually, we have pretty good guards in Jeno James and Rex Hadnot. Plus, I think eventually you may see Carey move inside an dHadnto to the center position. If Gandy could play center, then yes, he could start. McKinney isn't very good. If we are stuck with him, hopefully Houck can work some magic on him or something.

I simlpy said that Gandy isn't a world beater, which is fair to say. He will probably be that sixth man, imo.