FanPost

KGun BROP


These seem to be popular right now so I thought I'd throw my hat in the ring. I'm going to start with where we are right now, so the entire coaching staff that is in place is still in place in my theoretical off-season. While I don't love going back to the 3-4, as I think our front seven is the strength of our team and it is better suited to a 4-3, but I also think some of the whole 3-4/4-3 debate is semantics. Rex Ryan is a proven winner, he took under talented teams in Jersey to very high levels. I believe he and Roman will instill a culture that we need, Buffalo is a tough blue collar town and I think we finally have a tough blue collar head coach who will embrace his surroundings and give us a team that fits our personality and fits our cold weather climate.

First thing on my docket is re-signing our own FA's. In a surprise to no one I do everything in my power to get Jerry Hughes back in the red white and blue. After QB the most important position in football, IMO, is pass rusher. Hughes is young and dynamic and should, with Super Mario, give Rexy the best pair of pass rushers he has ever had in his coaching career. I'm not a huge numbers guy, but I know most people have Hughes somewhere in the 5 year 50 million range. Fine by me, well worth the money. I'd even go up close to 60 mill depending on the structure. Just can't let a talented young pass rusher walk away, especially when you don't have any really big money guys on offense.

Only other guys I want back are Easley, who should command around a mill a year, again well worth it; also Jairus Wynn, while I know Jairus is a better fit as a 4-3 guy, I have a feeling we still play some 4 man fronts and at 280+ lbs its not like he's super undersized as a 3-4 end. He played great last year, lets reward him.

Spiller, Spikes, Smith, Pears, Searcy are all let go. Spiller's time here just needs to be up, he needs new scenery, sucks it didn't work out - but sometimes you just gotta cut your losses (how horrible was Buddy Nix's first draft? Still no idea why that man still gets love around here, he was a pretty crappy GM IMO). Spikes is redundant, and wasn't all that good last year. Searcy is a good player, but I expect he will price himself out of our range and I just don't think he's worth a big money deal. I like Duke Williams, his athleticism intrigues me and I want to see him on the field more. Lee Smith is my man, but Roman will want more dynamic options at TE.

I'm also cutting Chandler and Chris Williams and Manny Lawson. Williams was a giant waste and maybe Whaley's biggest mistake (depending on who you believe made the EJ pick). Chandler just makes too much and does too little. TE needs an overhaul stat. Lawson may technically fit our new defense, I just don't like him, I thought he was supposed to be a good edge setter, and yet I saw lots of times where he did a crap job of setting the edge this past season. He makes too much and he's not very good - so he's cut too. Urbik sneaks through thanks to positional versatility and that I think we will use more man to man OL schemes this year which fit Urbik better.

On to the FA signings. My goal in FA is to fill the holes we have that we won't be able to fill in the draft. I also don't want to make any splashy signings, as we need a number of depth players and I don't think we are anywhere near competing for super bowls - so why spend big money in free agency.

My "big" signing is gonna have to be at right tackle. Seantrel was graded as the worst starting RT in football by PFF last year, so yeah its a priority to upgrade this spot. Really stinks Kouandjio has been such a disappointment, I liked him a lot coming out of school, I thought he had a lot of DJ Fluker in him. He's still young though, so hopefully he turns it around. In the meantime we need someone who can block at RT.

I think Doug Free will command big money and his career has been too up and down for me to feel comfortable in paying him big money. Orlando Franklin and Joe Barksdale are both guys I would love, but I think they are younger players and will likely command pretty good loot on the open market. The guy I secretly covet and think we can get for a good deal is Derek Newton from the Texans. Here's a guy who is still relatively young, had something of a breakout year last year and shouldn't cost an arm and a leg. He has the requisite size and pop that Whaley and Roman want in their OL, and at 27 has time to grow with the team. 3 year deal at something like 4 mill a year, again I'm not really a cap guy.

Now the signing that everyone will call stupid and call me stupid for… we need a QB, no surprise there… the surprise is that my choice is… Jimmy Clausen. Yes, that Jimmy Clausen. Im aware of the jokes, but I think that writing him off for his early blunders is short sighted. I watched a game last year between the Bears and Lions and Clausen got the start, while his numbers weren't impressive, he was working w/o BMarsh and his 2 starting OGs were out - and yet he out played Matt Stafford that game. He looked the part to me, he was working through his progressions quickly and efficiently and then was delivering really well thrown balls. I was super impressed and made a note of it for this offseason. With him only being 27 he still has upside that guys like Jason Campbell or Shaun Hill just don't have. We also have Aaron Kromer on staff who knows Clausen well and can help him assimilate the new offense. I think he gives us an option that potentially could be our starter going forward and at the very least gives EJ the competition he needs. While he is not as proven as some of the older guys, I don't see any sexy options at QB, so why not take a flier on a guy who still, IMO, has upside. Not sure of the cost, but if he gets a chance to compete for a starting gig, I think he comes fairly cheap.

Next signings I wanna make are at TE. The position needs an overhaul and we need dynamic guys who fit Roman's offense. Delanie Walker had great success in San Fran as a move TE or H-back and I think we need a guy like him who can create match-up problems and do a little of everything. The guy I target is Lance Kendricks. I don't think St Louis ever used him to his capabiltites, he is athletic and can be a move guy or an in line guy. I'm thinking 3 year 2+ mill a season.

But we still need more help at TE with me cutting Chandler and letting Smith go. So I also bring in Anthony Fasano. A veteran TE who has bounced from team to team Fasano brings leadership and the ability to block at a very high level. Always liked him, not sure why he couldn't find a long term home. Shouldn't cost more than 1.5 a season.

Last offensive free agent, John Conner. In your best Rex Ryan voice everybody say, "The Terminator". Rex loves this guy, I love thing guy, Roman and the RBs will love this guy. He blocks like a linebacker, just annihilates the defender. He should come cheap as he will love following his coach to B-town.

On to the defensive FAs. First up is finding someone to pair with Kyle and MD in the base 3 fronts. Kyle played a lot of nose tackle the last time we ran a 3-4, but I think with his advancing age and our desire to let him penetrate more and do less 2 gapping, we should go after a big nose tackle who can come in on run downs and clog up the middle.

The market for nose tackles is pretty barren. I make a stop gap signing and bring in Barry Cofield. He's old and won't be with this team for a long time, but he serves a purpose. He's been a very successful 3-4 NT in this league as recent as 2013. He dealt with injuries last year and now is not a sexy name by any means, but he could be a very good role player who comes in and makes stops in the run game. I'm thinking 2 year deal with lots of play time incentives.

We now need to help Mario and Jerry out on the edge. We need at least 1 run defending OLB who can give these guys some time off. We target Brooks Reed from the Texans. A very versatile player who has lined up everywhere in their 3-4. Reed gives a guy who can rotate with Hughes and Mario and give us insurance if either of them gets hurt. 3 year deal 2+ mill a year.

My last free agent signing is a versatile DB who can play all over the secondary and can push Duke for a starting gig. Ron Parker from the Chiefs has nice size and has played virtually everywhere in their secondary and has had some success at it too. He is somehow still an under the radar guy, but I like him a lot. 4 year deal 2.5 a year.

On to the draft:

2nd round pick - Jalen Collins DB LSU - Much like Parker he is a versatile DB who can play all over. He has a super duper high ceiling as he has great size and athleticism and if he ever puts it all together could be a really good DB in our league. Rex loves DBs and will find a way to use him right away. Also imagine him and Easley as gunners, our coverage units will be scary.

3rd round pick - Tre Jackson OG FSU - I love Tre. I am a Seminole alum and watch all of our games and Tre was just a stud. He has a crazy looking body in that he holds up to 340 LBs depending on you talk to, but he has little 'bad weight". He looks like a monster. But he also is a very good, very consistent OG. He played 40+ games at FSU and can count on one hand how many times he botched a play in his FSU career. He is a plug and play starter and a guy who fits what we want in our OL.

5th round - Jeff Heurmann TE OSU - An awesome athlete who never really showed what he could do at OSU. I think he's a late bloomer, as he didn't come to football til late in his life. But he has upside dripping off him. He may not do much in year 1 or 2, but we just signed a couple vets who can hold things down while he learns the ropes.

6th round pick - Ellis McCarthy DT UCLA - 6'5" 340. He's a biiiiig boy! But he also has good athleticism for a guy that size. In keeping with a common theme throughout Whaley's time we take a guy who was a big time recruit out of high school, but never lived up to it in college. His ceiling is super high and in the mean time he should give us some depth on our DL.

7th round - Michael Dyer RB Lousiville - Another big time recruit who never quite achieved his potential in college. He still is super talented, to the point that I think he could work his way into the rotation as a rookie. He is a bit of a red flag guy, and is a 25 year old rookie. But he is also super talented and could potentially be a starter in this league. Watching film I don't see a huge difference between Tre Mason and Dyer.

This offseason plugs holes and keeps JHughes in town. We add some young talent that fits our new schemes without breaking the bank. I think we use a high draft pick on a QB next year (I'm a big Christian Hackenburg fan), and then in 2017 is when we are really ready to compete for the playoffs.

Just another great fan opinion shared on the pages of BuffaloRumblings.com.