Is Shelton really the answer?

[ShadowHawk7]

I read ESPN Insiders Bio on him, and it isn't the best. Pass blocking against edge rushers is probably his weakest point, and that's definitley a bad thing when you play in the AFCE, with a righty rookie QB. Maybe TD knows something we don't and won't trade Henry staight up for LJ for a good reason? I think Adam Terry would be an excellent pick and would be a upgrade at LT over LJ anyways IMO. I am pretty confident Clements will stay a Bill. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe McNally can make a solid player out of LJ. What do you guys think?

It looks like the trade will happen soon now, and I won't complain about LJ till I see him play consistently bad, so who do we draft? I think we should draft best player available, and that should be Baas.

"He does an excellent job in terms of his hand placement in pass protection. He runs extremely well for a lineman his height and he actually is a mobile and fluid second-level run blocker."

-- ESPN Insider on Adam Terry.

"In our opinion, Bass is a better center prospect than he is guard prospect. He has the ideal measurables and intelligence to quickly develop into a starting center in the NFL and we think he's this year's best prospect at the position."

-- ESPN Insider

"Shelton is a good athlete for his size, he has tremendous upper body strength, he shows a good initial punch, he extends his arms, and when he is locked onto a defender, he can be very effective. At left tackle, he does not have what you are looking for athletically but he can be effective if he can get his hands on the defender, lock on with his long arms, and simply ride the speed rusher past the pocket. However, if you put him on an island and ask him to be an athlete and to handle double moves or great first-step quickness, he is going to be in big trouble as he is simply not very good in space"

--ESPN Insider on LJ (not whole bio)

How would this be for a day one?
2. Baas (or Terry if Shelton doesn't get traded somehow.)
3. Luis Castillo

BTW, what's the diff between a one and two-gap DT? What system do we use, and will it hamper the development of a DT if we make him change? I still think we should probably pick a DT round 2. Thanks much.

[gobuffalo2007]

TD knows what to do, Im confident he will make the right decision.

[OpIv37]

right now, we have no capable starting LT. The draft is a crap shoot- I'd rather get a player with some experience. McNally will help, and Henry's useless to us at the moment. Why not get rid of him and fill a gaping hole at the same time?

Shelton isn't a superstar and adding him won't give us an elite line, but it will give us an above average line and he's infinitely better than what we have.

[ShadowHawk7]

Good point, but I don't think Henry is useless to us, he'll have to play for us if he's a Bill next year.

[colin]

shelton looks like he could be a good RT, and we would just move mike to LT.

i know i keep banging this drum, but that is what i see happening.

[carybillsfan]

We can't move bir Mike to LT he's been a RT all his life from high School through the pro's no sense to move him. Shelton will be fine, IMO he's even if not better than that P.O.S. Jennings we've had the last few years. Mcnally will squeeze that lump of coal into a diamond if we get him.

If we don't get him don't be surprised if we take Chris Colmer in the 2nd, he's had injury problems but he is a solid LT.

[TheGhostofJimKelly]

Didn't Mr. Miyagi make this post last week?

[Charlieguide]

shelton looks like he could be a good RT, and we would just move mike to LT.

i know i keep banging this drum, but that is what i see happening.

I don't see that happening. From what I've seen and read, the Bills think Big Mike's skills are much more cut out for RT (if a RH QB) in that he's better at run-blocking. It's not just his experience, it's his whole skill set. Maybe McNally can teach him, but he apparently wasn't there as of week 17, 2004.

[Kerr]

BTW, what's the diff between a one and two-gap DT? What system do we use, and will it hamper the development of a DT if we make him change? I still think we should probably pick a DT round 2. Thanks much.

Sam Adams is a two gap Dt. Pat Williams is a two gap Dt. Big bodies that can occupy min. two blockers are considered two gap Dts. Two is better than a one becuase it frees up everyone else.

I think with our 2nd rounder we could draft anyone other than OL if we land Shelton. A surprise pick.
3rd a DT A two gap and possible replacement for Adams.
4th a WR-In case aiken and reed can't cut the mustard.
5th OL Depth Versatile players who could possibly be future starters
6th OL Depth See above.

[DMBcrew36]

Villarial and Williams feel comfortable next to each other. Why mess with a good thing?

[gr8slayer]

Perhaps he is not the answer but he would be a huge upgrade from (Teague/Peters?) any other tackle we currently have on the team.

[SoCalBillsFan]

He is AN answer, and maybe the ONLY answer available, for the problem we have: we don't have a LT on the roster...

[LifetimeBillsFan]

A Cardinal fan who made a number of posts here over the past week regarding this trade--arguing that D.Green doesn't have to cut or trade Shelton if the Bills won't meet his price--posted the following comparison of LJ Shelton's stats vs J.Jennings' stats:

"JJ and LJ Shelton are about the same level. Both 'good' LT's but not great.

LJ's best year's where in 2000 and 2003 where he gave up 3 sacks starting 14 and 15 games.

JJ's best years where 2003 and 2004 giving up 2 and 4 sacks in 11 and 14 games."
(URL: http://www.billszone.com/fanzone/sho...7&page=3&pp=20)

These numbers would seem to indicate to me that Shelton has been roughly comparable to Jennings thus far--as the man said, good, but not great. I suspect that part of the reason that Shelton has been considered somewhat of a "bust" while Jennings hasn't--even though they have put up comparable numbers at the LT position--may have to do with the fact that Shelton was a 1st Round draft pick while Jennings was drafted lower: the expectations for a 1st Round pick are simply higher than they are for a 3rd Rounder and, just as Bills fans have expected more from M.Williams than they have gotten thus far, I think that Arizona and its fans have expected more out of Shelton than they have gotten to this point (I recall that there were some draft "experts" who predicted that, with his size, bloodlines, etc., Shelton would become a star and, while solid, he has not yet achieved that--so, hence, he has been something of a "disappointment"--but, by the same token, because he was not coming out of a big-time college program, there were also those who said that it would take time for him to develop--which it has).

M.Williams came to the Bills with the reputation of being a better run-blocker than a pass-blocker, with the potential to become a "road-grader" for the team for many years. After a promising rookie season, he seemed to regress as GW shuffled O-line coaches. Despite getting a late start due to the family problems that he had (which resulted in him coming into camp out of shape), after working with McNally last season, Williams began to finally look like the kind of player that he was projected to be by the end of last season. While he is getting LT money to play RT (something that also has to do with how high he was taken in the draft), I believe that the Bills do not want to move him now that he is finally on the verge of becoming the player that they thought he would become--especially after the way he struggled when they switched O-line coaches in the past.

Shelton is a guy who had 1st Round talent coming out of college who has struggled to become a "decent" LT thus far in his career and has, obviously, taken some time to develop, as some predicted. But, he has never had an O-line coach in the NFL comparable to McNally--who has not only developed some pretty good O-linemen with far less talent than Williams or Shelton and has finally gotten Williams on the right track.
While I agree with Coach McNally's self-assessment that he is not a miracle worker (hey, I saw the guys he had to work with and the O-line he ended up with his last year with the NY Giants 16 times and he couldn't turn that sad-sack bunch into a competent unit no matter how hard he tried!), I know that he is a terrific O-line coach (I also saw him get the most out of cast-offs, retreads and guys off of the street time and again as well). Even though, for all of his talent, it is possible that Shelton may not ever become more than just an average LT, I believe that, if the Bills get him, at the very worst, he will play about the same for them as J.Jennings and that, it is equally or even more possible that, working with Coach McNally, he could develop into close to the kind of player that he was expected to be when he was drafted--perhaps not a star or a dominant player, but a very good LT.

As a football player, LJ Shelton reminds me a lot of the kind of basketball player that his father was: a guy who was raw coming out of college, a little lackadaisical and undisciplined at times, who took some time to develop as a pro. A coach like McNally might be just the kind of guy that can get through to him and get him to be consistent and refined enough to fulfill his potential on the pro level. It can sometimes take a big, raw, but talented offensive lineman--guys like M.Williams and Shelton--a few years to develop. But, then again, on the other side of the coin, once they do develop, a offensive linemen can continue to play effectively for a long time--into his mid-30s.

At the very least, Shelton would bring some physical talent and experience to the Bills offensive line for the next couple of seasons at a decent price, giving the team time to develop an upgrade in the future. He should be able to pretty much the kind of play that they were getting out of Jennings, for less money. And, with McNally coaching him, he might be able to develop into something approaching the kind of player that he was expected to be when he was drafted. Considering T.Henry's attitude about playing for the Bills, I think that Shelton would be worth what he would cost the team--especially if TD can convince the Cards to swap 2nd Round picks in this year's draft.

[alohabillsfan]

Lets see Shelton gaave up 6 sacks with Plummer (mobile) and JJ gave up six sacks with bledsoe (cement shoes)? HMMMMM

[mysticsoto]

Perhaps he is not the answer but he would be a huge upgrade from (Teague/Peters?) any other tackle we currently have on the team.

We don't know what Peters is capable of at this point - except that he's big, strong and fast. If they settle on keeping him at one position so that he can practice constantly doing the same things - who knows if he'll be ready by game time... As for Teague, I think Teague is very capable of handling the LT position just fine. If the FO think highly enough of him to switch to Center and now think highly enough of him to move to LT, I will go with their decision. They know more than any of us do on what exactly are their capabilities...