All good points. i think that what folks are primarily concerned about is the concept that we’re getting away from what these guys do best (i.e rushing the passer). My counter argument is that we’re not going to be getting away from it as much as you think we will.

The first thing is, this would put a lot more pressure on the O-line to identify and properly account for rushers. Ellison scares no one. Crowell, should he come back, is a step up but still not upper echelon. It would give the Bills two high quality rush talents from the LB position (along w/Mitchell). The more multiple we are in our looks, the more confusion we can create and the more free men we will get to the QB.

Also, we send our D line out in coverage frequently. Just because Brown/Maybin/Orakpo has his hand on the ground at the start means he’s going after the QB.

Third, we would again be subbing them to the line in obvious passing situations/third downs and say, 4 or more. I suspect that between all of that, our potential pick would be rushing the QB very frequently, and from a wide variety of angles.

…is what worries me about this idea. Again I’m not saying that this is a probable scenario, based on the factors involved, but I think that there’s something to be said for re-thinking the way we’re thinking about players/schemes/etc… My argument against you I suppose, is that Fewell has shown a willingness to move personnel around to try and get them into the most advantageous position, and I suspect he would do the same with any of players. Let’s not forgot that he’s tried a lot of looks/packages in his time here, but often been hamstrung by personnel/injuries.

That said, I think at the end of the day, both Brown and Maybin will playing 4-3 REs and Orakpo will be outside in a 3-4 scheme.

I guess if the draftee played LB and DE, he would be ‘inside the box.’

And its not that these guys haven’t played any coverage. They used a lot of zone blitz last year at Penn St, and Maybin was fairly frequently in coverage. I don’t necessarily think its the case where they wouldn’t help immediately either.

Let’s think about the scenario in which they’d be brought in. All of these guys look to be candidates for RE, a position at which we still have Schobel (and he will be the starter) and where we also drafted a kid last year. Essentially that leaves the bulk of the playing time coming in two ways: As either a LE or as a situational pass rusher/rotation guy.

If you’re asking them to play LE, you’re asking them to take on a larger, road grating RT, and more frequently have to deal with double teams. Can it be done with an undersized guy? Sure, Robert Mathis has done it. But then, playing the run has never been a strong suit of his. And whatever you think of Kelsay and Denney, they play the run fairly well.

If you’re asking them to be a rotational guy, then you just spent the 11th overall pick on a guy who will see the field 20 plays a game. This scenario could admittedly be worse (you can make a lot happen in 20 plays a game), but still, you’d like these guys to come in and start from day one at position that has been acknowledged as a weakness.