It Takes Just One Team (To Fall in Love) (1 Viewer)

[Bob_Magaw]

i was struck by the pick, too...

but it does lead to some questions...

what do you do if you think consensus grade is wrong? what if they think he could be ten year pro bowler & future HOFer...

the cliched rejoinder is they could have gotten him later, & they should have traded down (few teams like DEN & MIN wanted cutler)... did they KNOW he would drop 5-10 or more picks?

whitner is similar to huff, who went at 1.7

the teams right after, all had multiple needs... INCLUDING SECONDARY... whitner could immediately start for DET, ARI & STL... clayton said that DET wanted sims, but did BUF KNOW who they would take? sure, probably ARI would want leinart, but you never know, & rams could have been looking at hill, bunkley, greenway, cromartie... but they were thought to like huff best (better than anybody except vernon davis among the prospects thought to be targeted)... & whitner is almost dead ringer...

in theory, warr rooms are supposed to be compartmentalized & on a good day, not alerting the media who their ONE pick will ultimately be at a slot, if they have multiple needs to fill...

if whitner becomes a good one, it may take a few years to play out...

its not like taking claude wroten at 1.8

* safeties that can hit AND cover are all the rage now... he will help cover ben watson & randy mcmichael in afc east...

if you are the team that fell in love with a player... it might be more likely that team is paranoid other teams may see what you see... since you think you have identified some neglected & underappreciated qualities that surfaced after more film study... don't know if bills were targeting him all along, or came to realization late in process... if latter, they might logically think same thing could happen to another team...

that said...

i would have taken cutler or bunkley... or maybe traded down... but bills were obviously higher on whitner than i...

 

[Sigmund Bloom]

I compare Whitner to Bob Sanders, a player I know Bob and I both love. Everybody at the draft agreed that A) he was a reach B) he was a terrific option at a big need position for the Bills.

My theory is that the Bills were expecting Huff to fall and were flummoxed when Oakland grabbed him. The Bills fans at the draft felt they had good info that both Detroit and St. Louis were very interested in Whitner, and that they were convinced he wouldnt last long enough for them to land him in any trade down scenario.

Donte + Ko Simpson could be a scary safety combo in the long run.

 

[msommer]

They got "Bungalow'ed"

ETA: see original draft thread for details. void where prohibited. no purchase necessary

 

[Bob_Magaw]

interesting, bloom...

a lot of mocks running up to draft had VY & huff going to OAK a lot, so they may not have been totally blindsided by OAK pick...

good info about DET & STL being interested... didn't know (i'm more in the loop about rams), but it just makes sense they MIGHT have been & probably were at least LOOKING...

nice hitman comp... is whitner better in coverage? (that may not be saying a lot? )

can't wait for your draft notes, observations & thoughts... id' pay for em (oh yeah, i work here )...

when you gonna throw them down...

* caus i can't wait, what were three best picks/moves for you

& maybe worst, if they occur to you... thanx...

: team that is going to OWN you in game breakers for next DECADE :

we put the OWN in owner

** while i have you on horn... important IDP question... GB has barnett... they add hawk & hodge... how do they get deployed?

bfore hodge, i would have thought barnett MLB & hawk WLP (or flip)...

but i don't know if hodge is agile enough to play OLB... probably too stiff for SLB even, let alone WLB...

is he depth... future starter for barnett... shuffle the deck with hodge starting at MLB, most likely barnett at WLB & hawk & SLB... he is 250 & can blitz & cover effortlessly...

hawk would be best LB no matter where, including MLB or WLP, but hodge at MLB, barnett at WLB & hawk at SLB might (would) get three best GB LBs on field at same time, be best OVERALL deployment of internal resources & put them in best position to win right away & later, imo... hope thats what they do (not just barnett homer pick, though i do like him better at MLB than WLB... hawk at SLB could be bummer, but he is still top 20 LB, maybe top 10 upside, like DJ williams... it would turn hodge instantly into one of more covered rookie IDPs)...

 

[Aaron Rudnicki]

I like Whitner...just think the #8 pick in this deep draft was too steep of a price to pay for him, especially if Denver and Minnesota were making good offers to move up.

The Bills had a glaring needs at both OT and DT. By taking Whitner that early and then trading up into the first round, they made it very difficult to address both needs on day 1. They made huge upgrades to the secondary with Whitner, Youboty, and Simpson. I also think McCargo will be a nice addition to the defensive line and the Bears may have gotten too little in return for that trade down. I can respect the Bills moving up to get a guy they really wanted, especially since they felt there was a huge dropoff after him to the rest of the DTs available.

The biggest potential problem with the Bills draft, however, is that it looks like they failed to add anybody who can compete for the starting LT job right away. A trade down in the first definitely would have increased the risk that they might miss out on the player they wanted, but it also would have given them a chance to fill all their needs on day 1. It's definitely a tradeoff and I guess the Bills braintrust decided they would rather get a guy they felt was a sure thing at one spot rather than possibly winding up with two guys at two spots who they were less certain about.

Let's face it though. This team isn't expected to be very competitive this year, so filling any needs they have may not be as important as just upgrading the overall talent and adding players who can become key building blocks for the future. I don't really hear anybody saying anything negative about the 3 players the Bills took on day 1. All 3 definitely seem like good character guys with very high ceilings who should contribute to the team right away.

I guess the Bills can continue to look for upgrades at LT on the waiver wire, or maybe add one next year via the draft or free agency. Jason Peters looks like a keeper at RT, and they should also be much better off at LG and C than they were last year. WR remains a potential problem area but I guess we'll have to wait and see how Josh Reed, Peerless Price, and Roscoe Parrish do before we know how big of a problem it is.

 

[Aaron Rudnicki]

** while i have you on horn... important IDP question... GB has barnett... they add hawk & hodge... how do they get deployed?

bfore hodge, i would have thought barnett MLB & hawk WLP (or flip)...

but i don't know if hodge is agile enough to play OLB... probably too stiff for SLB even, let alone WLB...

is he depth... future starter for barnett... shuffle the deck with hodge starting at MLB, most likely barnett at WLB & hawk & SLB... he is 250 & can blitz & cover effortlessly...

hawk would be best LB no matter where, including MLB or WLP, but hodge at MLB, barnett at WLB & hawk at SLB might (would) get three best GB LBs on field at same time, be best OVERALL deployment of internal resources & put them in best position to win right away & later, imo... hope thats what they do (not just barnett homer pick, though i do like him better at MLB than WLB... hawk at SLB could be bummer, but he is still top 20 LB, maybe top 10 upside, like DJ williams... it would turn hodge instantly into one of more covered rookie IDPs)...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

some good discussion on GB linebackers starts here: http://forums.footballguys.com/forum/index...dpost&p=4736036more info here as well: http://forums.footballguys.com/forum/index...dpost&p=4739647