LifetimeBillsFan
04-16-2005, 02:25 AM
The BillsZone front page has a link to an excellent article by P.Kirwin on the NFL.com website that not only details his assessment of some of the offensive linemen available in this year's draft, but also contains a very interesting reference to Coach McNally and his philosophy regarding the obtaining of O-line talent that I think everyone concerned about the state of the Bills O-line will find of interest:
NFL offensive line coaches are a breed all to themselves. These men have to manage the largest group of starters in a game and they never situation substitute like other positions. There's a whole group of these O-line coaches who don't want any high draft picks. Renowned line specialists like Alex Gibbs and Jim McNally would prefer second-day picks that they choose themselves. Other coaches complain the front office and head coaches pass over them when top draft picks are under consideration. To say the least, it is critical all the decision-makers at every club need to have a clear understanding of what kind of offensive line coach they have and just what their offense is trying to accomplish.
In addition, considering the kind of relationships that TD and McNally have had with certain members of the media, like Kirwin, it would not surprise me if McNally was one of the sources refered to in the article.
As much as I have been saying that I think that the Bills need to use their first pick in this draft (or a trade for Shelton) to improve the talent level of their offensive line, after reading this article, I'm not so sure that they will do that. I don't know if this is another "smoke screen" being put up by the Bills to mask their intentions or not, but, if McNally really doesn't want the Bills to use any high draft picks on an offensive lineman, we Bills fans are just going to have to live with the fact that this is the kind of offensive line coach that the team has and that, in spite of this, over the long haul he has been very successful with that approach. That may not make me very comfortable or the "nervous nellies" here--who want the Bills to have a first round draft pick Pro Bowler at every position--very happy, but it's something that we are going to have to live with and try to understand as long as McNally is the Bills' offensive line coach. :nervous:
This article and G.Brandt's assessment of the O-linemen in the draft (URL: http://nfl.com/draft/analysis/expert/brandt/ol) are well-worth the read. I'm not a fan of Brandt, but a lot of people in the NFL (coaches and GMs, etc.) seem to agree with a lot of things that he has to say about talent.
NFL offensive line coaches are a breed all to themselves. These men have to manage the largest group of starters in a game and they never situation substitute like other positions. There's a whole group of these O-line coaches who don't want any high draft picks. Renowned line specialists like Alex Gibbs and Jim McNally would prefer second-day picks that they choose themselves. Other coaches complain the front office and head coaches pass over them when top draft picks are under consideration. To say the least, it is critical all the decision-makers at every club need to have a clear understanding of what kind of offensive line coach they have and just what their offense is trying to accomplish.
In addition, considering the kind of relationships that TD and McNally have had with certain members of the media, like Kirwin, it would not surprise me if McNally was one of the sources refered to in the article.
As much as I have been saying that I think that the Bills need to use their first pick in this draft (or a trade for Shelton) to improve the talent level of their offensive line, after reading this article, I'm not so sure that they will do that. I don't know if this is another "smoke screen" being put up by the Bills to mask their intentions or not, but, if McNally really doesn't want the Bills to use any high draft picks on an offensive lineman, we Bills fans are just going to have to live with the fact that this is the kind of offensive line coach that the team has and that, in spite of this, over the long haul he has been very successful with that approach. That may not make me very comfortable or the "nervous nellies" here--who want the Bills to have a first round draft pick Pro Bowler at every position--very happy, but it's something that we are going to have to live with and try to understand as long as McNally is the Bills' offensive line coach. :nervous:
This article and G.Brandt's assessment of the O-linemen in the draft (URL: http://nfl.com/draft/analysis/expert/brandt/ol) are well-worth the read. I'm not a fan of Brandt, but a lot of people in the NFL (coaches and GMs, etc.) seem to agree with a lot of things that he has to say about talent.