Oher, Bills could've been big

Glad to see ESPN's Tim Grahm finally say what I have said all along with other Rumblers who feel the same.

over 2 years ago The Buffalo Kid 11 comments 0 recs |

Comments

Hindsight is 20/20. But we would have had to pass on Maybin, Levitre, Wood, or Byrd to get him. If we had passed on Maybin there would have been anarchy because they didn’t address the pass rush. The Bills didn’t address every need but they got better in April. I don’t think Tim is being particularly relevant right now because of that. It’s like saying “The Bills could have used a couple extra draft picks” or “Matt Warren could use a few grand to help pay the Bills.” Duh.

Playing Realistic Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008.
"Matt’s pretty valuable to y’all. Cherish him." - BG

by MattRichWarren on Nov 14, 2009 8:12 AM EST reply actions

I agree Matt, and back in April, when we were on the verge of the draft, I remember everybody agreeing on the Bills selecting a pass-rusher, as our pass-rush was just disgusting last year. We chose Maybin with good reason and I’m confident he’ll turn out to be one solid football player for us for years to come, as will Michael Oher undoubtedly. It’s, however, just so easy to look back and say what we should and could and would’ve done…

by BillsfanfromDenmark on Nov 14, 2009 3:58 PM EST reply actions

I said we needed to draft an LT and wanted Oher......I am not that smart and don't have a crystal ball

I like Maybin, but for a coaching staff that didn’t have the luxury of waiting for a DE to develop, it was a bad pick. Oher might have saved their jobs.

"Are the Bills better than we think, or do they just suck the life out of most teams they play and drag them down to their level? - oompaloompa

by Joe P. on Nov 14, 2009 5:24 PM EST reply actions

And maybe without the extra body at the DE position that Maybin is providing, one of our other pass rushers would’ve gotten exhausted and injured for the year, putting that unit in a tailspin. I hate the maybe game. Maybe if Peters hadn’t whined his way out. Maybe if Walker had actually tried to excel at LT instead of getting discouraged and regressing. Maybe if Butler hadn’t gotten injured for the season. And on and on and on.

The fact is that the pass rush needed to be addressed and it still does. It would be great if we could fill every hole every year. I agree that the coaching regime didn’t have luxury of waiting, but if a couple things had broken our way instead of against us, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.

As a side note, the thing that really kills this team is the complete inability to get top-end free agents. I blame a lot of things, but a major one is bad talent evaluation at the pro level. For that reason alone, I think John Guy needs to be out when things change in the offseason.

Official ledge-talker-offer of the Buffalo Bills.

by WhyBillsWhy on Nov 14, 2009 8:57 PM EST up reply actions

And maybe without the extra body at the DE position that Maybin is providing, one of our other pass rushers would’ve gotten exhausted and injured for the year, putting that unit in a tailspin.

Well it wasn’t Maybin or nobody at the DE position in the draft. The Bills could have very easily drafted a DE with the #28 pick or in the 2nd round…

~K
"As the governor of Louisiana once said, the only way Chris Kelsay can lose his job is if he got caught in bed with a dead girl or a live boy."

by Kurupt on Nov 16, 2009 1:42 AM EST up reply actions

As a side note, the thing that really kills this team is the complete inability to get top-end free agents. I blame a lot of things, but a major one is bad talent evaluation at the pro level. For that reason alone, I think John Guy needs to be out when things change in the offseason.

Disagree.

You don’t need top end free agents to be successful. Who is the last Colts big time FA? How about the Pats? Steelers? And so on.

The thing that has killed this franchise is the inability to find a franchise QB, build a consistently good OL, build a good defense, build depth and find top end talent….in the draft. The pro personnel department has indeed done a horrible job, but it’s not because the team couldn’t lure any big name FA’s. They can’t evaluate players worth paying big bucks for on this roster, mid level FA’s and players who improve depth.

~K
"As the governor of Louisiana once said, the only way Chris Kelsay can lose his job is if he got caught in bed with a dead girl or a live boy."

by Kurupt on Nov 16, 2009 1:45 AM EST up reply actions

You don’t need top end free agents to be successful. Who is the last Colts big time FA? How about the Pats? Steelers? And so on.

Adam Vinatieri (literally, the only name FA they have signed in like a decade), Adalius Thomas for the Pats and in 2002, the Steelers signed James Farrior.

The Bills problem is that the mid level FAs they do end up signing get cut two years later as the fans start to think the late round pick from the year before is a better option as a starter.

I signed up for Second Life about a year ago. Back then my life was so great that I literally wanted a second one. In my Second Life I was also a paper salesman and I was also named Dwight. Absolutely everything was the same. Except I could fly. - Dwight Schrute

by kaisertown on Nov 16, 2009 3:47 AM EST up reply actions

When I said “top end”, I didn’t necessarily mean those with a big name or big price tag. Bad word choice on my part. I meant above average. Stroud has flashes of great play and he’s probably our best FA acquisition in recent memory, though he’s not perfect. Hang, Mitchell, Dockery, Walker- these guys all have proved or are proving to have some serious flaws. The Colts and Steelers are two of the best drafting teams right now and are “exporters” of talent. But the Patriots make tons of FA and trade moves and they do it way better than we do, which makes up for some average drafts. I agree with what you’re saying about things that kill us, but some of them (good OL, good D) are from a lack of quality vet leadership, which we pretty much have to go outside of the organization for.

Official ledge-talker-offer of the Buffalo Bills.

by WhyBillsWhy on Nov 16, 2009 11:38 AM EST up reply actions

We traded for Stroud. He wasn’t a F/A.

Playing Realistic Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008.
"Matt’s pretty valuable to y’all. Cherish him." - BG

by MattRichWarren on Nov 16, 2009 3:07 PM EST up reply actions

And with that very true point from MRW, my point is solidified. We suck at that.

Official ledge-talker-offer of the Buffalo Bills.

by WhyBillsWhy on Nov 16, 2009 5:05 PM EST up reply actions

Yeah. The Bills don’t bring in many top tier free agents. Not many teams do. Free agents are generally a big disappointment for the amount of money you pay them.

Playing Realistic Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008.
"Matt’s pretty valuable to y’all. Cherish him." - BG

by MattRichWarren on Nov 16, 2009 8:43 PM EST up reply actions