lj shelton

[Billsouth]

i still think that there is a good chance of us getting him. now that everyone knows denny doesnt like him and that he was trade bait, coupled with the fact that they signed oliver ross and drafted a guard.... he will be cut. if he really liked us then there is a good chance td will sign him and probably for much less than 3 million a year. IT aint over yet boys


also, I LOVE the EVERETT pick. i think he is going to be a stud. he is a great blocker and can be utilized to pass and run block. i read somewhere that he raced kellen last year and beat him. GREAT PICK.

i also think adam terry will be like marquis sullivan.

finally, no one is giving jason peters any props. does anyone remember mark campbell who went from TE to LT and was pretty good. i think peters may be even better. he is a natural athlete.

instead of *****ing and moaning we should have some faith. this reminds me too much of the wm draft.

[Novacane]

I don't think the Bills are interested in Shelton.

[jeffhcb]

I had faith 4 years ago when TD came in. I'm sick and tired of giving him the benefit of the doubt as he has ruined our team into mediocrity.

[ddaryl]

I think between Teague, Gandy, Peters, Mcfarland, and Gudmudsen we defintely have players that will be better LT's then Shelton.

With FA, draft and undrafted FA sigingings I thhink our OL is better then last year and has more depth then it has had in years

[LifetimeBillsFan]

I don't think the Bills are interested in Shelton.
After reading Clayton's article in the related post, at this point, I don't think that the Bills would be interested in Shelton even if they can get him for the vet minimum and nothing else.

I don't know what it is, but there must be something that makes Coach McNally think that the guys he already has here are better suited to what he wants from his LT than Shelton.

I know that posts that say that J.Peters either will be or is being groomed to be the Bills' starting LT have generated a lot of sarcastic responses here over the last couple of months, but, everything that I read and every action that the Bills have taken since the end of the season, leads me to believe that this is true.

While it is true that M.Gandy and T.Teague have experience starting at LT in the NFL, it has been pointed out in many posts that Teague will be a FA at the end of this season and is not a long-term solution at the position. Neither is Gandy, although he might be able to compete for the starting job. However, both Teague and Gandy appear to be merely short-term solutions at LT. In all likelihood, over the long-term, Gandy will be a "swing man" who will replace M.Price in that role, while Teague, if he plays well at LT, will want to be paid accordingly and will likely leave.

Now, if I know this, I am quite sure that TD, MM, and Coach McNally know it as well. They didn't get to where they are by being stupid men. So, then, why haven't they done anything to secure the team's future at one of its most important positions?

The only answer can be that they believe that they already have the player that they believe can fill that position on a long-term basis on the team's roster already. And, if that is the case, there are only five candidates for that job on the roster at present: T.Teague, M.Gandy, J.Peters, D.McFarland, and D.Pruce.

While Teague or Gandy might surprise us all and be not only able to fill the position, but also willing to stay with the team for the next several years, it is more likely that it will be one of the other three--Peters, McFarland and Pruce--that they think will be the long-term answer to the team's needs. All three are developmental projects who have the potential to develop into solid starters, but, of the three, Peters is the more physically gifted and the more likely to be the kind of physical talent that you would want to have in that position over the long-term.

We know, from comments that MM and McNally have made in the off-season, that McNally likes Peters' talent and that the main problem that the coaches see with him, at this point, is whether he will be able to learn the position well enough to be able to use that talent. With similar comments about McFarland and Pruce not having been made by the coaches, it would, then, appear that Peters is the one that is most likely to be the player out of these three that they feel can be the long-term solution at LT, but that there are concerns still about how soon he will be ready to assume that role as a starter.

And, that's where T.Teague and M.Gandy come in and what would explain why the team is talking about replacing J.Jennings as the starting LT with someone who is entering his FA year: Teague or Gandy will be the starting LT until Peters, a notoriously slow learner, is ready to step in and take over. When Peters is ready, he will be the starter at LT and the team will have as physically talented a LT as any team in the league.

Now, I will admit that it might not be Peters, but one of the other two young OTs that they are looking to as the long-term solution at LT: they are not as physically gifted as Peters, but they have more experience at OT and have been considered players who could develop into quality OTs in the NFL--McFarland, in particular. McFarland played LT in college and was very effective at the D-1AA level. When he was drafted, he was considered to be someone who would take time to develop, but had the potential to become a starter in the NFL. He was not someone who would be ready to step in to the starting line-up right away--he would need time to develop. Well, again, like Peters, the coaches may feel that he is developing and just needs some time before he is ready to step in--and Gandy or Teague will provide that time.

While I would have liked to see the Bills draft a LT or sign or trade for a LT who would be ready to step into the starting line-up this season, they didn't. And, there must be a reason for that. I don't know what it is, but, then again, I am not an offensive line coach or a professional evaluator of offensive line talent and skills--they are. I am just a fan--a fan who recognizes, from their resumes, that they know what they are doing and is desperately hoping that they are right in their thinking and what they are doing to address the Bills' LT situation. For all I know, they just might be.