The 12 Man Report

By Rick

While attempting , in vain I might add , to enjoy our Bills take on the visiting Jets , I found myself musing about what's gone so terribly wrong in the world of One Bills Drive . Most of the answers are so obvious to us fans that I'm almost embarrassed to pass along my own thoughts on the subject . It seems to me that we have five basic areas in urgent need of serious upgrade . As I see it , they are Offensive Line , Defensive Line , Linebackers , Quarterback and Tight End . See ....recognizing the needs isn't so very difficult , is it ? But " WHY " , is the question that I kept asking myself . If it's so easy to see the problem , why is it still a problem . The answer , of course , is that we're paying the price for the sins of ineptitude committed be the various General Managers of the Bills and anyone with input into our Draft process . In the decade since the year 2000 there have been eleven NFL Drafts . In those Drafts the Bills have selected a total of ninety three ( 93 ) players , Here are some examples listed by the position groups that I named earlier .

Offensive Line . An area of dire need that has screamed for help for the entire decade . In the face of that obvious need the Bills have selected only fourteen ( 14 ) Offensive Linemen , out of 93 total selections . Out of that fourteen , only three ( 3 ) were chosen before the Fifth Round . One of those was OT Mike Williams , and we all know his story . The other two high picks were Eric Wood and Andy Levitre , selected just last year . The other twelve were selected in Rounds # 5 through # 7 . By the way , of the fourteen linemen selected only four are currently with the team , Wood , Levitre , Demetrious Bell , and Ed Wang , picked just this spring .

Defensive Line . Just a tad more attention has been given to this group . In eleven Drafts we've selected eighteen ( 18 ) potential pass rushers and run stuffers . Of that number eight are still Buffalo Bills , three of which are from this year's draft alone . But , don't by any means think that maybe we're stocking up on Defensive linemen . No , no . Four out of those eight men have been converted to Linebacker , with varying degrees of success .

Linebacker . Yeah , let's talk about the LB's , shall we ? This Unit of the Buffalo Bills just plain stinks . There's no other , nicer , way to say it . They might be the worst group of LB's in the NFL . If you disagree , just think back to any of the first four games . In eleven drafts we've addressed that need by selecting a total of eleven ( 11 ) players . Seven ( 7 ) of them were chosen in later rounds # 5 through # 7 . Only three of them still remain Bills today .

Tight End . No wonder the Bills have no clue how to cover a Tight End . We haven't had one on our roster worthy of practicing against since Pete Metzelaars left in 1995 . The decision makers have endeavored to come up with a serviceable TE by drafting a total of six ( 6 ) over an eleven draft span . Only one was deemed worthy of being picked earlier than Round # 4 Just one of these men is still with the team . The bad news is that he's been serving a suspension for using banned substances .

Quarterback . We've searched high and low . We've wrung our hands and wailed . Why , oh why can't we find the next Jim Kelly . Why can't we come up with a Quarterback to lead our team out of the NFL wilderness and return us to football respectability ? I'll tell you why . It's because in spite of the glaring , screeching , dire need for a competent QB , the deep thinking football men at One Bills Drive have selected only three QB's in eleven drafts . The latest being a 7th Rounder just this past April . At this point I'm going to a bit of an apologist for the other two men who have tried and failed to be " the guy " . Personally , I believe that both J.P. Losman and Trent Edwards were intelligent , physically talented QB's who were victimized by the incompetence surrounding them . Granted , neither one is the second coming of Jim Kelly , but they could both have played if not for their shared inability to overcome the problem . Which problem you ask ? The one that comes from attempting to pass from behind our virtually non - existent offensive line . Compound that with what can only be described as a constantly chaotic coaching mess . Suffice to say that just one of the three " Chosen Ones " remains a Bill . And he's only a Bill because of being resigned upon the release of Trent Edwards . He had been cut before the start of the current season . Do you suppose that they brought him back only because they already had jerseys with his name on them ?

So , do you see what I mean about paying for our sins of incompetence ? An age old adage of how to build a football team is that you do it from the inside out . In other words , build those lines before you bother addressing the so called skill positions . And make no mistake , LB's are to be considered linemen . A succession of decision makers , namely John Butler , Tom Donahoe , Marv Levy , Russ Brandon and now Buddy Nix , have had the final say at the Draft table . They've brought in what seems a constant stream of Defensive Backs , Running Backs and Wide receivers . It's as though they all learned Drafting 101 at the knee of Matt Millen . Of the ninety three players selected in the past eleven drafts , there were fifty two at the position groups that I've discussed . A whopping seventeen ( 17 ) are Buffalo Bills today , and six of those came from this years' draft . That leaves a sum total of eleven players to show for eleven drafts . Only six of them are starters on this totally dysfunctional team .

Well , there it is . Granted it's only my opinion , but I suspect that a few of you agree . If not , I'd welcome your input . just write your thoughts to this site and I'm certain that they'll appear in the next newsletter . Like all Bills fans everywhere , I anguish over not just the losses on the field , but also the continuing sorry state of the team we love . Now , at least in terms of some numbers we can see why .

I hope to see all of you at AlliGators next Sunday for the 1:00 PM kickoff against the Jacksonville Jaguars and the return of Trent Edwards .

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