Best available outside LB's that have expirience in some sort of cover 2

[jimbohastle51]

1)derrick brooks (this guy isnt coming to buffalo, but he is the best available cover 2 LB, my guess is he ends up back in tampa with ruud, crowell and brooks being the starters. the difference will be he will get vet league minimum instead of his hefty salary he would have gotten had he not been released and play because he wants to play another season and is a buc for life, if jason taylor can go back to the dolphins and plays for 1 million dollars, do not think for one second that derrick brooks wont be welcomed back with open arms on a team that is in dire need of a player at his position at a modest salary with no other options out there. he is their best case scenario, as well as ares, unfortunately i dont see him living the only state he has ever lived in for a HUGE culture change at 36 to play one season on a team that really might not even make the playoffs, he can stay in florida and not make the playoffs.)

2)donnie edwards (he can play in any defense and be good, question is can he stay healthy at 36, my opinion he is an upgrade over ellison but big risk cause of injury)

3)marlon greenwood (at worst the guy is as good as ellison and a servisable backup, at best he puts together a decent season and is a stop gap while our young LB learn or we draft a LB next year high)

4)jaime winborn (buffalo already had him in for a visit and could have him for peanuts, the problem never has been talent with this guy as he was draft reasonably high. its work ethic, but last year he put a decent season together for denver, and he is a solid special teamer)

5)rocky boiman (was solid for indy whenever they needed him in there cover 2, he is a notre dame grad and a very high character player which our front office covets, again he is a solid special teamer as well)

6)marcus washington (this guy at 32 probably couldnt beat ellison out as he is pretty slow but would be a solid reserve and has a boat load of expirience if needed to play)

i am not predicting the bills to sign any of these guys, i am just showing what is the best available free agents out there right now and giving my spin on them. if we were to bring one in i would think it would be winborn though because we already had him in for a visit and this late in the process these guys are just looking to get into a camp from the beginning and winborn really can only play in a cover 2 as he is a smaller LBer. what is your opinions guys? please dont say bowen. maybe he will be our starter but i swear more forum people have preached about this guy like he was a top 10 pick and has already been to 5 pro bowls LOL! lets get him through a training camp before we even consider him starting material.

[Jan Reimers]

I'd take Marlon Greenwood in a heartbeat. He has been a very productive player throughout his career, and is still only 30 or 31.

[Horns]

Greenwood doesn't make many plays if any. He makes tackles, but many are when he is hanging on rather than a physical presence. He's decent in coverage, but I'd pass unless I had to.

It might be better to ask this question in about 6 weeks, there may have been some more roster moves since they, and most teams will be close to training camp.

Picking the unsigned players list isn't like it used to be in FA, teams are better organized than they used to be - leading to fewer quality FA at this time of year. We should have done more in the draft............we had chances to bring in someone.

[ddaryl]

I think its safe to say the Bills are going into the seaosn with what they have at OLB

Hopefully Bowen is ready

[jimbohastle51]

remember guys, there were no june first cuts this year. so it is very unlikely an OLB better than the ones listed will be available this summer, or if they are it will probably be at the end of camp at the end of august or beginning of september which is alittle late to get them into our system which requires alot of film study because of all the coverages and not just hitting gaps.

[OpIv37]

alright people, time to face cold, hard reality.

Barring injury, our starting LB's are Ellison, Poz and Mitchell, unless we get lucky and Bowen or Harris can beat out Ellison in camp.

It sucks, but we might as well accept it because it's not going to change.

[TigerJ]

I think its safe to say the Bills are going into the seaosn with what they have at OLB

Hopefully Bowen is ready

Yup. Safe to say.

[Lexwhat]

alright people, time to face cold, hard reality.

Barring injury, our starting LB's are Ellison, Poz and Mitchell, unless we get lucky and Bowen or Harris can beat out Ellison in camp.

It sucks, but we might as well accept it because it's not going to change.

[TheMan08]

They should sign jaime winborn. But they won't.

[Jan Reimers]

Bowen appears to be a player. He was very productive in college, and has apparently been hitting the weight room and is bigger and more muscular, while not diminishing his speed. Although he'll be a virtual rookie, he may win the strong side battle.

[ServoBillieves]

Lord send us a Bowen!

[Horns]

If there are injuries, is there any chance Maybin is asked to moonlight at OLB? He was considered as a 3-4 OLB by many teams, and he looked pretty fluid when he worked out there.

Just for the hell of it, think it happens if we get hurt a bit?

[OpIv37]

If there are injuries, is there any chance Maybin is asked to moonlight at OLB? He was considered as a 3-4 OLB by many teams, and he looked pretty fluid when he worked out there.

Just for the hell of it, think it happens if we get hurt a bit?

3-4 OLB's don't have to cover the pass as much as cover 2 OLB's. He's really not good in pass coverage, so my guess is that this won't happen.

[X-Era]

alright people, time to face cold, hard reality.

Barring injury, our starting LB's are Ellison, Poz and Mitchell, unless we get lucky and Bowen or Harris can beat out Ellison in camp.

It sucks, but we might as well accept it because it's not going to change.

In early June we need to say that?

I was sick of Ellison 3 years ago, its only getting worse.

[Horns]

3-4 OLB's don't have to cover the pass as much as cover 2 OLB's. He's really not good in pass coverage, so my guess is that this won't happen.

Yeah I figured, but a strong side OLB does do a grea deal of dropping back in coverage on the tight end or the short flat looking for the back. Are they man to man guys, no, but there is a difference between the strong side and weak side linebacker in a 3-4. But, with that being said, I don't think Maybin would have been considered a strong side player anyways.

Regardless, as i said, just for the hell of it I thought I'd throw it out there.

[HurkeyNuts]

is this thread serious? if the bills wanted to sign any of these guys they would have already

[tampabay25690]

I will tell you for 150%%%% sure that Brooks will only sign for the right situation and I don't think Buffalo is 1 of the choices. I heard from a former BUC that NEW ORLEANS is a possibilty right now.....

[DRELOVESBills]

Greenwood doesn't make many plays if any. He makes tackles, but many are when he is hanging on rather than a physical presence. He's decent in coverage, but I'd pass unless I had to.

It might be better to ask this question in about 6 weeks, there may have been some more roster moves since they, and most teams will be close to training camp.

Picking the unsigned players list isn't like it used to be in FA, teams are better organized than they used to be - leading to fewer quality FA at this time of year. We should have done more in the draft............we had chances to bring in someone.

setttle down!! lol if we signed this guy it would clearly be for depth and to challenge the LB's we have now for the starting role.

[OpIv37]

In early June we need to say that?

I was sick of Ellison 3 years ago, its only getting worse.

FA starts in March (actually end of February this year). Draft is in April.

OTA's are almost over.

So yeah, if we haven't replaced him by now, chances are we aren't going to replace him. The Bills FO looked at several LB's including Pisa and that dude from Indy (name escapes me at the moment), but they weren't willing to throw enough money at them to get them here. That means 1 of 2 things- either a) the Bills are happier with Ellison than the fan base is, or b) the two guys they were pursuing weren't THAT much better than Ellison anyway.

Even if they are convinced that they need an upgrade for Ellison, the chances of finding one at this point are slim to none. Every obvious upgrade has already been signed, and the Bills chose to address other needs in the draft.