Projecting the Buffalo Bills' final roster, V3.0

I just want Youboty to get and stay healthy!

Here are some things I liked:
1. I am glad you got rid of Ellis – I saw he led the team in tackles during the preseason game but he looked awful whenever I saw him out there. Once Maybin signs I think they cut Ellis. He just looks like a guy without a care and we need guys out there that are hungry for a victory.
2. Definitely agree with you on Stupar. Besides Fine, we don’t have a TE that can really block well – Stupar can and on top of that showed he can catch the ball. I don’t see how they can cut him, especially if they get rid of our lone FB.

However I have a couple things I don’t think will happen.
1. Even with Youboty being injury prone unless he gets placed on IR I think he makes the roster. Youboty is too skilled for them not to, and let’s face it, Lankster is too inexperienced to make it.
2. Lankster will take over Harris’s spot on the PS. I havn’t been impressed with Harris at all and Lankster did have some promising plays, but I think they picked Lankster just like how they picked Bell the year prior – store him and let him grow in the system.

If the DB position is as important as the Bills staff thinks it is, then Youboty should have plenty of value for a trade. If he isn’t making this team I would prefer to see the Bills get even a 7th rounder for him in return, rather then just out right cutting him.

Im back after a few months away…been trying to keep up with whats been going on with the bills. did i mention this is my favorite site on the net? anyways i have an off subject question? Is anyone else scared that Andy Livitre might be a bust?

Everyone else who makes it or gets cut is in the real relm of possibility. And Youboty has a world of talent (to match his world of injuries) and I’d really hate to see him go. But Corner did impress me in the little bit of the second half than i did see last night (the pick 6 helped his case too), so cutting Youboty is not outside the realm of possibility.

Personally if we are going to cut him I’d like to see us try to trade him first. I’m sure that we could get a third or a fourth for him if we act quickly (and before anyone figures out that we might cut him).

How was an 11 carry, 36 yard performance from Omon that impressive? He looked okay against backups but definitely didn’t prove worthy of a roster spot last night…

It is tough to find good DE and DL players. They take a few years to develop at their positions. Ellis will get a lot of playing time this preseason to prove himself. Also the potential for Ellis to replace Denny or Kelsey next year when they are free agents is a lot more greater than having a 2nd string LB who plays special teams this year.

Is keeping 2 RBs really a risk? Will Omon actually be active on Sundays, because if he isn’t, how is that different from putting him on the PS?

Even looking at the run heavy teams, only a handful really used a 3rd RB. Buffalo needs somebody on the PS just in case, but I see no reason to keep 3 guys if Jackson and Rhodes are both 100% healthy heading into the season. I guess we have to cut somebody when Marshawn comes back anyways and I don’t have a problem keeping Omon as a placeholder, I just don’t think there’s risk involved.

And what about keeping 8 offensive lineman is risky? Keeping 8 is pretty typical. You only keep 7 active on gamedays and with versatile backups like McKinney and Chambers, I’m not sure what the harm is in only keeping 8. You would need somebody on the PS who could be useful on special teams in case two players went down, but when was the last time the Bills had two offensive lineman miss the same game with an injury?

I still think Youboty is too talented to cut loose. And he’s got plenty of camp time left to get healthy and impress. He’s more of a wait and see type of bubble player than anyone else.

It would be a shame to have to cut a 3rd rounder like Ellis so early, but it looks like it might have to go down that way. I think it happens more often than most of us realize too.

I’d hate cutting Wendling. He’s in a really tough spot though. Not only does the depth at safety hurt, but the emergence of Lankster puts him in an even tougher spot. It would be a pretty big surprise to keep 11 DBs.

Why no Brandon Rodd on the PS? Is it as simple as you think Denman is better? And why Smith over Huggins? Is Smith a more viable special teamer or something?

Here’s the disagreements I personally have in regards to your prediction of who makes the Bills final roster:

- I don’t think Jonathan Scott makes the roster. We haven’t kept more than 8 O-linemen the last three years, and I don’t think – based on Scott’s mediocre play – that they’ll make the exception this time.

- I certainly believe Chris Ellis, who has had a very good training camp, makes our roster. Keeping only 8 D-linemen is a man too short, especially when McCargo is as a inconsistent as he is.

- I think Bowen makes the roster over Corto. We all know April and Jauron has a thing for their hard-working white boys, but don’t for one second think you can persuade me into believing that Corto is a better football player than Bowen. Bowen is by far the better defender and is a bigger and better athlete and can do more on ST therefore.

- I don’t think Marcus Buggs makes the roster. He adds nothing we don’t already have and is way too small and weak to ever be a good LB in the NFL.

- We certainly keep Ashton Youboty on the roster, and there’s zero reason why we shouldn’t. He has the second-most talent of all our CB’s (with the exception of Leo) and is at this stage a much, much better CB than Lankster, which is why I’m telling you he’ll make the roster.

I sincerely hope Ellis isn’t cut, and it’s not because of anything I’ve seen from him at this point. By cutting Ellis, we’d go into 2010 off season with 1 DE under the age of 30 on our roster (ya know, assuming Maybin is signed by then).

And it’s not as if there’s a dearth of talent at the position either. We don’t know what we have in Ellis yet. He came in last year needing to add a ton of strength to his frame. He’s had one off season to do that. He’s going to need more time to develop. He might turn out to be a waste of a pick, but it’s far too early to determine that. We know what we have in Kelsay and Denney, and it’s pretty much garbage. God only knows what Schobel has left in the tank. I’d venture to say that Kelsay gets cut in the off season, leaving us with a raw, very young Maybin, the underwhelming Denney, and a shell of the former Schobel. Unless the Bills FO is planning on changing their draft day process from “draft, at minimum, four defensive backs” to “draft, at minimum, 3 defensive ends”, they better plan on keeping Ellis around for at least another off season.

Must not be serious, whats his status?

These guys will not get cut. Chris Ellis was a 3rd round pick last year and the coaching staff still thinks he is going to be a really good player. Alvin Bowen just got healthy and played a great, yes great, game against the titans. Also, Bowen is a solid special teams player.

I would be shocked if either Chris Ellis or Alvin Bowen got cut.

I think either Ko Simpson or George Wilson will get cut. Buggs would get cut before Bowen. I think Ashton is a good player, but the guy is a complete wimp.

They’ve cut mid-round picks before

Yea…but I said a 3RD round pick. How many 2nd year 3rd round picks have the Bills cut Brian? I mean, the fact that they have even kept Youboty for this long would suggest they will not cut Ellis.

where is the evidence that what you say about the coaching staff’s opinion of him is fact?

Bills Focus: 2008 Draft Recap with Tom Modrak
(6:24) Posted 02/12/09. This is on buffalobills.com

I’m not surprised to see Youboty on here but I am surprised to see Simpson on the roster.

I really hope Ellis wakes his butt up and does the work.