What an off season it has been for the Bills!! It has been one of the best in recent years and the best I can remember in some time. Back in the early to mid '90s when the Bills had great seasons and offseasons, I was too young to understand and appreciate it. Now after a 12-year playoff drought, I've really grown to appreciate and enjoy this off season. It just got better with the extension given to Fred Jackson.
The first thing the Bills really did to kickoff this off season was the contract extension of wide receiver Stevie Johnson. Johnson was set to become a free agent unless the Bills used their franchise tag on him, but thankfully they got the job done. Johnson has been a big part of Chan Gailey's offense the last two years as he is the first player in Bills history to record back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving seasons. Not even the great Andre Reed did that. Johnson has been a number one wide receiver and yes, he does crazy touchdown celebrations which have drawn fines and penalties and criticism. But he makes up for it on the field. By the way, Johnson is the lone wide receiver whom Darrelle Revis struggles with as Johnson has caught more passes for more yards against Revis than any other wide receiver. Had they let him go and figured he wasn't worth the money for his immature celebrations, then this off season would have probably just sucked. They would have had to probably draft a wide receiver in the 1st round to replace him and it would have been a joke. Johnson's signing set the tone for this fabulous off season so far. Of course one could argue it really all started when they gave Ryan Fitzpatrick a contract extension last October as they have their QB and receiver locked in.
The Bills went out and surprisingly were one of the most aggressive players in the free agent market. I heard they were talking a big game but I wasn't impressed until they landed a big player or two. They tried after wide receivers Vincent Jackson and Robert Meacham, but both signed elsewhere. Then they began going after the biggest free agent out there (not named Peyton Manning) in Mario Williams. Williams visited One Bills Drive first before any other team which was amazing. But again, if they fail to sign him, then it was a disappointment. Thankfully, the Bills managed to get Williams to sign before he even had a chance to visit elsewhere to a six-year, $100 million contract with $50 million guaranteed, most guaranteed money to a defensive player. Suddenly, the Bills became a contender as they were the talk of ESPN and all major networks for signing perhaps the biggest free agent out there. The Bills need Williams so bad because they need a pass rusher and they need as many great players as possible. In addition to Williams, the Bills also sign defensive end Mark Anderson, perhaps the second best defensive end free agent behind only Williams. The Bills went from one of the worst defensive lines to one of the best. Even though they couldn't get a big free agent wide receiver opposite Stevie, it was still a great off season.
Then came the draft, which the Bills seemed to pass with flying colors. They addressed their needs at corner back by taking South Carolina's Stephon Gilmore with the 10th pick and also took offensive tackle Cordy Glenn in the 2nd round, a player the Bills really seemed to like and were perhaps going to take him in the 1st round, but thankfully he fell right into their laps at 41. There were some who thought the Bills should have moved up to get USC offensive tackle Matt Kalil and give up their 2nd round pick, but I'm so glad they didn't. I don't value the tackle that much to move up and give up an early 2nd in the process, especially considering we got a potential shut down corner and hopefully a starting left tackle. I would only move up for a franchise QB. We will see how the other picks pan out. I wish they could still get a wide receiver, but there could be a guy available down the road and I am interested in seeing what TJ Graham could do. Like I've said before, the draft and off season would have been pointless had they not signed Williams as he was the key pickup.
Then there's the Fred Jackson contract extension Monday. I am amazed they were able to get Jackson an extension this early, I thought it would have lasted into training camp. But this team, that used to screw around with contracts, are prepared and willing to get their key players taken care and ready to go. You know the story about Jackson, undrafted out of tiny Coe College, played in both arena football (not the Arena Football League or even af2) and in NFL Europe. Jackson made the Bills in 2006 and had been a very good running back since. He became the first NFL player to have over 1,000 rushing and kickoff return yards in 2009. Last year, Jackson was among the NFL rushing leaders with 934 yards in the first 10 games before breaking his leg and ending his season. Jackson was such a huge part of the Bills offense during the 5-2 start. Even though he is 31 and generally running backs' careers end after 30, the Bills believe Jackson can still give them plenty in the next couple of years plus its a reward for all his hard work the last 6 years. There is also possible contract extensions for Jairus Byrd and Andy Levitre on the way.
The Bills in the past, maybe 3-5 years ago, were reluctant to give players contract extensions and sign free agents. When they'd sign a free agent or acquire someone in the off season via trade, it was usually a no name player or someone who was past his prime (IE Terrell Owens). The not resigning players and/or trading them away because they wouldn't resign them really bugged me. In order to win in this league, you need to have good players and you need to keep them. The Bills would be reluctant to not re-sign someone because they feel they could spend their money better, in other words, they were cheap. But they would pay a big price for being cheap. Anytime a player was a year away from their contract expiring, they would trade them away for a draft pick. Rather than re-sign a free agent, they'd let them walk. The solution: they would just draft their replacement. So instead of keeping good players and trying to fix holes and/or add depth, they would just keep creating more holes as if a rookie could replace the outgoing player. Here are some examples of players the Bills have let go: Pat Williams, Drew Bledsoe, Antoine Winfield, Nate Clements, Peerless Price (the first time), Willis McGahee, Marshawn Lynch, London Fletcher, Jabari Greer, Jason Peters to name a few. They are all pretty good players whether you loved all of them or not. Had they kept these players and signed and drafted others, the Bills wouldn't be on a 12-year playoff drought.
At least now giving Fitz, Stevie, and Freddy contract extensions along with the signing of Williams and Anderson and the last two drafts can hopefully give this fan base a playoff appearance. There should be no excuses for at least 9-7 or 10-6. Injuries can be a huge part. I don't want to sound like a jerk, but stay healthy. Trainers, do whatever you can to get these players to stay healthy and not get hurt. Go Bills!!!
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Why I Would Want Vince Young to Come to Buffalo
So the Buffalo Bills recently worked out former Tennessee Titans and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Vince Young to be a backup quarterback for them. Make no mistake, he will be a backup as Ryan Fitzpatrick is the starter so please don't be like "Young can't start and it makes Fitz worse." According to Buddy Nix and Chan Gailey, Fitz is their guy. It's his team. But they do need a competent backup in case anything happens to Fitz, like last year when he suffered a broken rib and played poorly as the Bills lost 8 of their last 9 games after a wonderful 5-2 start. If they knew about the injury and he was playing poorly, why did they let Fitzpatrick continue to play and why did they not play Tyler Thigpen, who they gave a 3-year and played under Gailey in KC? It couldn't have worse than an injured Fitzpatrick, right? Maybe they didn't think highly of him, which is bad. That's why I would want Vince Young here, because I believe he can win a game or two if anything short term happened to Fitz and it wouldn't just destroy our team. Even if Young played terrible and lost, what's the difference? We would lose with a lesser backup QB or an injured Fitz playing through the pain. And if Young played great and won, well we all benefit from wins.
I loved watching Young play at the University of Texas, where he started for three years and made many highlight plays with both his arm and his legs. Young was a winner and led Texas to a National Championship in 2005 in a win over #1 USC. He also led the Longhorns to a Rose Bowl win over Michigan in 2004 and was the Rose Bowl MVP both times. In the win over USC, Young put on a show for the ages by recording a Rose Bowl record 467 yards of total offense (267 passing and 200 rushing) and three rushing touchdowns in the 41-38 win over a USC Trojans team that hadn't lost in over two years. Young scored the winning touchdown on 4th down with just 19 seconds to go. Young finished the season with over 3,000 yards passing and 1,000 yards rushing with 26 touchdown passes to just 10 interceptions along with 12 rushing touchdowns and completed over 65% of his passes. He also led the nation in passing effiency with a 163.9 QB Rating. Young finished his college career at Texas with a 30-2 record and completed 61.8% of his passes. Also as a junior, Young improved from being just a running quarterback to a consistent and precise pocket passer who could run. He left college after his junior year to declare for the 2006 NFL Draft as he was considered to be a very high pick.
It appeared that his hometown Houston Texans would select Young 1st overall in the draft. There were still some concerns about his throwing motion, but some thought he could be a better pocket passer and more accurate than Michael Vick, who is more of a running quarterback and has made numerous plays and won games in the league. Young's arm and his running ability was intriguing to many scouts. As a Bills fan, I wanted the Bills to move up somehow to acquire him, that or sign Drew Brees, who eventually signed with the New Orleans Saints. I thought Young could be what Cam Newton is now, a big powerful thrower who could run. But Young has shown he doesn't quite have the arm like Newton does or the throwing ability like Newton does in the NFL. Houston passed on Young to take defensive end Mario Williams with the first overall pick, a pick that many, including myself, criticized the Texans for passing on Young for Williams. Of course the Williams pick turned out to be great.
The Tennessee Titans took Young 3rd overall in the draft. After a disappointing 0-3 start, the Titans put Young in to be the starter. After two more losses dropped the Titans to 0-5, Young led the Titans to an 8-3 record over the final 11 games, including six wins in a row, as the Titans barely missed the playoffs with an 8-8 record. The Titans trailed the New York Giants 21-0 in the 4th quarter before Young led the Titans to 28 unanswered points to defeat them 28-21. The next week against Indianapolis, Young brought the Titans back from a 14-0 deficit to win 20-17 as Young became the first rookie QB in NFL history to lead his team back twice from 14+ point deficits. Then in the game here in Buffalo on Christmas Eve, the Titans trailed by nine points and scored 10 in the 4th quarter to win 30-29. I was so impressed with Young and his ability to make plays and win games even though he might have been putting up pedestrian numbers, like his lowly 66.7 QB Rating, but the team was better and they were winning. Young was named Offensive Player of the Year.
Young struggled a bit in 2007 as his passing numbers weren't very good as he threw for over 2,500 yards, nine touchdowns and 17 interceptions and a 71.1 rating. Unlike his rookie year where he had four 4th quarter comebacks, Young did not have any 4th quarter comebacks. Young was in the bottom 1/4 of the major passing statistics, but despite struggling passing, Young led the Titans to a 10-6 record and a playoff berth. Critics called Young a manage the game quarterback where they felt their defense and running game carried the Titans. That was somewhat true, but Young still made plays when it mattered the most to win games. As a Bills fan, I wouldn't care if my QB completed 0 passes and recorded a 0 QB Rating as long as we won. We've had terrible QBs who played awful and didn't win. I'd take a QB who struggled passing as long as we won (boy that sounds an awful lot like Tim Tebow. There was immaturity issues coming out on Young. Young was injured in the opener in 2008 and was replaced by Kerry Collins. After the game, Young left without telling anyone and people were worried as he was depressed. There were some reports Jeff Fisher and the Titans were worried that Young might take his own life, which was reported false. But Young was very upset and hurt both inside and out, according to his mother anyways. Fisher named Collins starter the rest of the season as the Titans would go 13-3. Young was the backup.
Young came back in 2009 as Collins was still the starter. However after an 0-6 start, there was pressure by owner Bud Adams to Fisher to play Young as Adams was paying him a lot of money and didn't want him on the bench despite Fisher wanting to play Collins. Young was rejuvenated as he led the Titans to a 5-game winning streak and won 8 out of 10 starts as the Titans finished 8-8 after an 0-6 start. Young completed 58.7% of his passes for 10 touchdowns and 7 interceptions and recorded an 82.8 rating. Again, pedestrian numbers, but the record speaks for itself. He also recorded three 4th quarter comebacks and three game winning drives. Young reclaimed his starting job and led the Titans to a 5-5 record in the first 10 games and threw for 10 touchdowns, just three interceptions, and a career-best 98.6 rating. But Young injured his thumb and was taken out of the game. Young threw his shoulder pads into the stands after the game was over and had an altercation with Fisher in the locker room. Young was benched for the rest of the season and did not appear in another game for the Titans. After the season, Bud Adams, a supported or Young, decided he would release Young from the Titans as well as fire Fisher as head coach. Young was 30-17 as the starter in Tennessee and they were 15-18 without him.
Young was signed to be the backup to Michael Vick in Philadelphia for 2011, a move I thought was very good as they needed a backup to Vick, who is injury-prone. Young declared the Eagles as the "Dream Team" and was criticized for it and fairly I might add. Young started 3 games for an injured Vick and went 1-2 with 4 touchdowns and 9 interceptions and played awful. After the season, the Eagles decided not to re-sign him and instead went with Trent Edwards to be backup. That's not a good sign when a team wants Trent Edwards over you. I really don't know what's up with that. Criticize Young all you want, have you seen Edwards play? Really? You want Edwards more? Maybe Young fell out of favor with coaches and I can see that.
Young has completed 57.9% of his passes for 46 touchdowns, 51 interceptions, fumbled 40 times, lost 12, and posted a 74.4 rating for his career. Very bad numbers. But his record is tremendous, 31-19. How can a QB win 31 out of 50 starts with those numbers? He must make plays to win games or else there is no explanation. I don't think he should be the starter here, but I love him as a backup. Fitz is the starter and his numbers are a slightly more TD-to-INT ratio and his rating and completion percentage are very similar to Young. But the record is much more in favor of Young. Maybe it is because Fitz was on more lousy teams than Young was. Maybe Young has more of an "It" quality. I like Young a lot, but Fitz is suited much more for this offense. Young can make some plays too in this offense. I still like Young a lot because of his record. Don't get me wrong, he's not Brady, Rodgers, Manning, Brees. He's not even Vick. But when you need a guy to win a game or two, he's the guy. The team still believes in Fitz and he's the starter hands down.
I loved watching Young play at the University of Texas, where he started for three years and made many highlight plays with both his arm and his legs. Young was a winner and led Texas to a National Championship in 2005 in a win over #1 USC. He also led the Longhorns to a Rose Bowl win over Michigan in 2004 and was the Rose Bowl MVP both times. In the win over USC, Young put on a show for the ages by recording a Rose Bowl record 467 yards of total offense (267 passing and 200 rushing) and three rushing touchdowns in the 41-38 win over a USC Trojans team that hadn't lost in over two years. Young scored the winning touchdown on 4th down with just 19 seconds to go. Young finished the season with over 3,000 yards passing and 1,000 yards rushing with 26 touchdown passes to just 10 interceptions along with 12 rushing touchdowns and completed over 65% of his passes. He also led the nation in passing effiency with a 163.9 QB Rating. Young finished his college career at Texas with a 30-2 record and completed 61.8% of his passes. Also as a junior, Young improved from being just a running quarterback to a consistent and precise pocket passer who could run. He left college after his junior year to declare for the 2006 NFL Draft as he was considered to be a very high pick.
It appeared that his hometown Houston Texans would select Young 1st overall in the draft. There were still some concerns about his throwing motion, but some thought he could be a better pocket passer and more accurate than Michael Vick, who is more of a running quarterback and has made numerous plays and won games in the league. Young's arm and his running ability was intriguing to many scouts. As a Bills fan, I wanted the Bills to move up somehow to acquire him, that or sign Drew Brees, who eventually signed with the New Orleans Saints. I thought Young could be what Cam Newton is now, a big powerful thrower who could run. But Young has shown he doesn't quite have the arm like Newton does or the throwing ability like Newton does in the NFL. Houston passed on Young to take defensive end Mario Williams with the first overall pick, a pick that many, including myself, criticized the Texans for passing on Young for Williams. Of course the Williams pick turned out to be great.
The Tennessee Titans took Young 3rd overall in the draft. After a disappointing 0-3 start, the Titans put Young in to be the starter. After two more losses dropped the Titans to 0-5, Young led the Titans to an 8-3 record over the final 11 games, including six wins in a row, as the Titans barely missed the playoffs with an 8-8 record. The Titans trailed the New York Giants 21-0 in the 4th quarter before Young led the Titans to 28 unanswered points to defeat them 28-21. The next week against Indianapolis, Young brought the Titans back from a 14-0 deficit to win 20-17 as Young became the first rookie QB in NFL history to lead his team back twice from 14+ point deficits. Then in the game here in Buffalo on Christmas Eve, the Titans trailed by nine points and scored 10 in the 4th quarter to win 30-29. I was so impressed with Young and his ability to make plays and win games even though he might have been putting up pedestrian numbers, like his lowly 66.7 QB Rating, but the team was better and they were winning. Young was named Offensive Player of the Year.
Young struggled a bit in 2007 as his passing numbers weren't very good as he threw for over 2,500 yards, nine touchdowns and 17 interceptions and a 71.1 rating. Unlike his rookie year where he had four 4th quarter comebacks, Young did not have any 4th quarter comebacks. Young was in the bottom 1/4 of the major passing statistics, but despite struggling passing, Young led the Titans to a 10-6 record and a playoff berth. Critics called Young a manage the game quarterback where they felt their defense and running game carried the Titans. That was somewhat true, but Young still made plays when it mattered the most to win games. As a Bills fan, I wouldn't care if my QB completed 0 passes and recorded a 0 QB Rating as long as we won. We've had terrible QBs who played awful and didn't win. I'd take a QB who struggled passing as long as we won (boy that sounds an awful lot like Tim Tebow. There was immaturity issues coming out on Young. Young was injured in the opener in 2008 and was replaced by Kerry Collins. After the game, Young left without telling anyone and people were worried as he was depressed. There were some reports Jeff Fisher and the Titans were worried that Young might take his own life, which was reported false. But Young was very upset and hurt both inside and out, according to his mother anyways. Fisher named Collins starter the rest of the season as the Titans would go 13-3. Young was the backup.
Young came back in 2009 as Collins was still the starter. However after an 0-6 start, there was pressure by owner Bud Adams to Fisher to play Young as Adams was paying him a lot of money and didn't want him on the bench despite Fisher wanting to play Collins. Young was rejuvenated as he led the Titans to a 5-game winning streak and won 8 out of 10 starts as the Titans finished 8-8 after an 0-6 start. Young completed 58.7% of his passes for 10 touchdowns and 7 interceptions and recorded an 82.8 rating. Again, pedestrian numbers, but the record speaks for itself. He also recorded three 4th quarter comebacks and three game winning drives. Young reclaimed his starting job and led the Titans to a 5-5 record in the first 10 games and threw for 10 touchdowns, just three interceptions, and a career-best 98.6 rating. But Young injured his thumb and was taken out of the game. Young threw his shoulder pads into the stands after the game was over and had an altercation with Fisher in the locker room. Young was benched for the rest of the season and did not appear in another game for the Titans. After the season, Bud Adams, a supported or Young, decided he would release Young from the Titans as well as fire Fisher as head coach. Young was 30-17 as the starter in Tennessee and they were 15-18 without him.
Young was signed to be the backup to Michael Vick in Philadelphia for 2011, a move I thought was very good as they needed a backup to Vick, who is injury-prone. Young declared the Eagles as the "Dream Team" and was criticized for it and fairly I might add. Young started 3 games for an injured Vick and went 1-2 with 4 touchdowns and 9 interceptions and played awful. After the season, the Eagles decided not to re-sign him and instead went with Trent Edwards to be backup. That's not a good sign when a team wants Trent Edwards over you. I really don't know what's up with that. Criticize Young all you want, have you seen Edwards play? Really? You want Edwards more? Maybe Young fell out of favor with coaches and I can see that.
Young has completed 57.9% of his passes for 46 touchdowns, 51 interceptions, fumbled 40 times, lost 12, and posted a 74.4 rating for his career. Very bad numbers. But his record is tremendous, 31-19. How can a QB win 31 out of 50 starts with those numbers? He must make plays to win games or else there is no explanation. I don't think he should be the starter here, but I love him as a backup. Fitz is the starter and his numbers are a slightly more TD-to-INT ratio and his rating and completion percentage are very similar to Young. But the record is much more in favor of Young. Maybe it is because Fitz was on more lousy teams than Young was. Maybe Young has more of an "It" quality. I like Young a lot, but Fitz is suited much more for this offense. Young can make some plays too in this offense. I still like Young a lot because of his record. Don't get me wrong, he's not Brady, Rodgers, Manning, Brees. He's not even Vick. But when you need a guy to win a game or two, he's the guy. The team still believes in Fitz and he's the starter hands down.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Looking at the Bills Draft
It's hard to predict the success or failure of a team's draft for at least a couple of years so I'm not going out on a limb and saying this year's Buffalo Bills draft was either a success or a failure. It doesn't make sense to. But I see a lot of positives though in this year's draft. I will look at each pick individually and give my assessment. Again, if I don't sound too negative and seem a little too positive, it's because it's the thing to do because it doesn't make sense to be too bitter or down on a pick unless they show me. Some people have been too critical of each pick without seeing them play. I do like their first couple of picks a lot and everything else beyond that is hit or miss. I want them to hit on their first 2-3 picks. I'm also not down that they did not take a QB as it is pointless to me to take a QB after round 1 for the sake of taking one (Check out my blog on this topic:http://buffalosportsbeat.blogspot.com/2012/04/quarterbacks-taken-in-2nd-and-3rd-round.html). Of course it is easy to 2nd guess the Bills' drafts as they have been pretty lousy the last decade. But I feel Buddy Nix and Doug Whaley seem to have their heads in the game.
1st round pick (10th overall) - Stephon Gilmore - CB - South Carolina
The Bills went cornerback with the 10th pick in the draft and took South Carolina's Stephon Gilmore. He is considered to be the 2nd best corner in this year's draft, behind only LSU's Morris Claiborne, and it's not even that wide of a margin. Gilmore can be a shut down corner, capable of matching up with the best receivers in the game. He has matched up well against some of the top receivers in the SEC in A.J. Green, Julio Jones, Riley Cooper, and even teammate Alshon Jeffery in practice. He has great speed and size. Gilmore is also a very phyiscal corner, who is a great tackler and can help out against the run. Gilmore will be helped by the additions of pass rushers in Mario Williams and Mark Anderson. This is a huge need for the Bills as Leodis McKelvin is not in the future cards for the Bills at corner and Terrence McGee and Drayton Florence are both 31. McGee has been injured the past few seasons and Florence can't keep up with the best receivers. Also, Aaron Williams and Justin Rogers showed flashes of brilliance as rookies last year, but are both raw. Buddy Nix says "you can never have enough corners" and "corner back is the toughest position to play outside of quarterback." Plus Gilmore seems to be a very high character guy who isn't cocky and doesn't go out and party his "you know what off." He is pretty serious about being a great football player.
2nd round pick (41st overall) - Cordy Glenn - OT/G - Georgia
This is what I call a "value pick" as the Bills liked Cordy Glenn a lot and were even considering taking him with the 10th overall pick. But he thankfully fell to them at 41 in the 2nd round. Glenn had been a guard in his first 3 seasons at Georgia before switching over to left tackle for his senior year because of injuries and played quite well in the very tough SEC. But some scouts believe he is only going to be a guard in the NFL while some think he will be a right tackle, but not a left tackle. The Bills will try him perhaps at left tackle, even though Chris Hairston is there right now, maybe he'll go to right tackle. Good thing he is a 2nd round pick because if he is only a right tackle or guard instead of a left tackle, then the price won't sting as much as if he were taken in the 1st round. But hopefully, he can be a left tackle in this league for 10+ years.
3rd round pick (69th overall) - T.J. Graham - WR - N.C. State
This is a pick that kind of stunned many Bills fans and this pick drew a lot of criticism from Bills fans. They were probably like "who?" Some people believe he was too high and some even think he should have been a 7th round pick. The Bills traded a 7th round pick to move up two spots to take Graham. Graham is a little undersized at 6'0" 180 lbs and could be pushed around by corner backs. But make no mistake, he is a burner with a 4.29-4.30 40. Put him opposite Stevie, who runs quick slants, and 6'4" David Nelson, who is a slot receiver, and let Graham run down the field to draw defenses to him. His speed will draw plenty of attention from the defense and will open up this offense. This team needs a deep threat bad. Some think he is Roscoe Parrish Part II and I say no. They are similar in weight but in height, Graham is a little taller and is a better receiver. You saw what Parrish did under Chan Gailey's offense the last two years when he was healthy.
4th round pick (105th overall) - Nigel Bradham - LB - Florida State
Continuing with the picks from the South, the Bills get linebacker depth in Nigel Bradham as they fill their four most critical positions of need. Bradham has the size and physical tools to be a linebacker and is a very physical tackler. He does need to improve his football IQ and instincts, but if he does, he can be a very good linebacker in the league. Bradham will be an outside linebacker and could be a starter.
4th round pick (124th overall) - Ron Brooks - CB - LSU
The Bills go corner again and take LSU's Ron Brooks, another corner from the SEC. Plus he went to LSU, which has turned out pretty good corners in recent years. Brooks is a little small at 5'10", but he is very quick and will be an asset in the punt and kickoff return game as well as add corner depth on defense. Brooks did pretty well despite limited playing time as he has been behind Patrick Peterson, Morris Claiborne, and even the "Honey Badger" Tyronn Mathieu, and all have been great at LSU. He could push Leodis McKelvin for playing time.
5th round pick (144th overall) - Zebrie Sanders - OT - Florida State
Again the Bills stick with players from the South and the SEC and ACC. They add more offensive tackle and O-line depth with Zebrie Sanders. Sanders needs to bulk up and add some strength and he could be a good depth guy.
5th round pick (147th overall) - Tank Carder - ILB - TCU
The Bills are still in the South, this time in Texas. Tank Carder is the person Bills fans will come to love. I think those who desperately wanted the Bills to take Luke Kuechly in the 1st round, will not be disappointed in Carder. Carder is an interesting cat as he was a BMX champion and was involved in a very serious car accident where he was thrown from the car and was seriously injured. Carder defied the odds to be a starting linebacker. Carder was a great linebacker at TCU, where he was the 2011 Rose Bowl Defensive Player of the Game. Carder is an ideal 4-3 linebacker as he is good in pass coverage, covering receivers and tight ends. I think he can be a starter down the road.
6th round (178th overall) - Mark Asper - OG - Oregon
The Bills add more offensive line help and finally get out of the South and travel out West to select Oregon's Mark Asper. Asper is athletic, but is 27 about to be 28 as he had been away for a couple of years on a religious mission.
7th round (251st overall) - John Potter - K - Western Michigan
The Bills are looking to the future on a kicker as Rian Lindell is 35 years old and isn't getting any younger. Potter has a big leg and is very accurate. The Bills are considering using him on kickoffs as he can boot the ball out of the end zone, that is assuming the Bills want to use a roster spot for him.
Undrafted Free Agent - Aaron Corp - QB - Richmond
The Bills signed an undrafted free agent QB in Aaron Corp. Corp was originally recruited to play at USC by Pete Carroll. Corp was the starting QB going into the 2009 season after Mark Sanchez left to go to the NFL. But an injury cost him the starting job as Matt Barkley took over and the rest is history. Corp transferred to 1-AA Richmond, where he started for two years. Corp was not overly productive for Richmond and should have dominated the Division 1-AA competition. Of course if he did, he'd been drafted. This is just a project as he won't compete for the starting job.
The Bills' draft was impressive as they seem to finally have things going well like last year when they drafted Marcel Dareus, Aaron Williams, and Kelvin Shepherd. This draft along with the additions in the offseason make the Bills a legitimate playoff contender. Of course, the Bills draft is exciting mainly because of the signing of Mario Williams. Had he not signed here, I really don't think the Bills would compete for the playoffs and would not be exciting.
1st round pick (10th overall) - Stephon Gilmore - CB - South Carolina
The Bills went cornerback with the 10th pick in the draft and took South Carolina's Stephon Gilmore. He is considered to be the 2nd best corner in this year's draft, behind only LSU's Morris Claiborne, and it's not even that wide of a margin. Gilmore can be a shut down corner, capable of matching up with the best receivers in the game. He has matched up well against some of the top receivers in the SEC in A.J. Green, Julio Jones, Riley Cooper, and even teammate Alshon Jeffery in practice. He has great speed and size. Gilmore is also a very phyiscal corner, who is a great tackler and can help out against the run. Gilmore will be helped by the additions of pass rushers in Mario Williams and Mark Anderson. This is a huge need for the Bills as Leodis McKelvin is not in the future cards for the Bills at corner and Terrence McGee and Drayton Florence are both 31. McGee has been injured the past few seasons and Florence can't keep up with the best receivers. Also, Aaron Williams and Justin Rogers showed flashes of brilliance as rookies last year, but are both raw. Buddy Nix says "you can never have enough corners" and "corner back is the toughest position to play outside of quarterback." Plus Gilmore seems to be a very high character guy who isn't cocky and doesn't go out and party his "you know what off." He is pretty serious about being a great football player.
2nd round pick (41st overall) - Cordy Glenn - OT/G - Georgia
This is what I call a "value pick" as the Bills liked Cordy Glenn a lot and were even considering taking him with the 10th overall pick. But he thankfully fell to them at 41 in the 2nd round. Glenn had been a guard in his first 3 seasons at Georgia before switching over to left tackle for his senior year because of injuries and played quite well in the very tough SEC. But some scouts believe he is only going to be a guard in the NFL while some think he will be a right tackle, but not a left tackle. The Bills will try him perhaps at left tackle, even though Chris Hairston is there right now, maybe he'll go to right tackle. Good thing he is a 2nd round pick because if he is only a right tackle or guard instead of a left tackle, then the price won't sting as much as if he were taken in the 1st round. But hopefully, he can be a left tackle in this league for 10+ years.
3rd round pick (69th overall) - T.J. Graham - WR - N.C. State
This is a pick that kind of stunned many Bills fans and this pick drew a lot of criticism from Bills fans. They were probably like "who?" Some people believe he was too high and some even think he should have been a 7th round pick. The Bills traded a 7th round pick to move up two spots to take Graham. Graham is a little undersized at 6'0" 180 lbs and could be pushed around by corner backs. But make no mistake, he is a burner with a 4.29-4.30 40. Put him opposite Stevie, who runs quick slants, and 6'4" David Nelson, who is a slot receiver, and let Graham run down the field to draw defenses to him. His speed will draw plenty of attention from the defense and will open up this offense. This team needs a deep threat bad. Some think he is Roscoe Parrish Part II and I say no. They are similar in weight but in height, Graham is a little taller and is a better receiver. You saw what Parrish did under Chan Gailey's offense the last two years when he was healthy.
4th round pick (105th overall) - Nigel Bradham - LB - Florida State
Continuing with the picks from the South, the Bills get linebacker depth in Nigel Bradham as they fill their four most critical positions of need. Bradham has the size and physical tools to be a linebacker and is a very physical tackler. He does need to improve his football IQ and instincts, but if he does, he can be a very good linebacker in the league. Bradham will be an outside linebacker and could be a starter.
4th round pick (124th overall) - Ron Brooks - CB - LSU
The Bills go corner again and take LSU's Ron Brooks, another corner from the SEC. Plus he went to LSU, which has turned out pretty good corners in recent years. Brooks is a little small at 5'10", but he is very quick and will be an asset in the punt and kickoff return game as well as add corner depth on defense. Brooks did pretty well despite limited playing time as he has been behind Patrick Peterson, Morris Claiborne, and even the "Honey Badger" Tyronn Mathieu, and all have been great at LSU. He could push Leodis McKelvin for playing time.
5th round pick (144th overall) - Zebrie Sanders - OT - Florida State
Again the Bills stick with players from the South and the SEC and ACC. They add more offensive tackle and O-line depth with Zebrie Sanders. Sanders needs to bulk up and add some strength and he could be a good depth guy.
5th round pick (147th overall) - Tank Carder - ILB - TCU
The Bills are still in the South, this time in Texas. Tank Carder is the person Bills fans will come to love. I think those who desperately wanted the Bills to take Luke Kuechly in the 1st round, will not be disappointed in Carder. Carder is an interesting cat as he was a BMX champion and was involved in a very serious car accident where he was thrown from the car and was seriously injured. Carder defied the odds to be a starting linebacker. Carder was a great linebacker at TCU, where he was the 2011 Rose Bowl Defensive Player of the Game. Carder is an ideal 4-3 linebacker as he is good in pass coverage, covering receivers and tight ends. I think he can be a starter down the road.
6th round (178th overall) - Mark Asper - OG - Oregon
The Bills add more offensive line help and finally get out of the South and travel out West to select Oregon's Mark Asper. Asper is athletic, but is 27 about to be 28 as he had been away for a couple of years on a religious mission.
7th round (251st overall) - John Potter - K - Western Michigan
The Bills are looking to the future on a kicker as Rian Lindell is 35 years old and isn't getting any younger. Potter has a big leg and is very accurate. The Bills are considering using him on kickoffs as he can boot the ball out of the end zone, that is assuming the Bills want to use a roster spot for him.
Undrafted Free Agent - Aaron Corp - QB - Richmond
The Bills signed an undrafted free agent QB in Aaron Corp. Corp was originally recruited to play at USC by Pete Carroll. Corp was the starting QB going into the 2009 season after Mark Sanchez left to go to the NFL. But an injury cost him the starting job as Matt Barkley took over and the rest is history. Corp transferred to 1-AA Richmond, where he started for two years. Corp was not overly productive for Richmond and should have dominated the Division 1-AA competition. Of course if he did, he'd been drafted. This is just a project as he won't compete for the starting job.
The Bills' draft was impressive as they seem to finally have things going well like last year when they drafted Marcel Dareus, Aaron Williams, and Kelvin Shepherd. This draft along with the additions in the offseason make the Bills a legitimate playoff contender. Of course, the Bills draft is exciting mainly because of the signing of Mario Williams. Had he not signed here, I really don't think the Bills would compete for the playoffs and would not be exciting.
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