SB Nation - Larry Tripplett

Seattle Works Out Centers Cory Withrow and Grey Ruegamer

John Morgan — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 19:57:12 -0000

Adam Caplan is reporting that Seattle is hosting centers Cory Withrow and Grey Ruegamer today. This is mostly interesting because both are centers, and at 287 and 299 respectively, neither are ideal candidates for other positions. Seattle is stacked at center. Chris Spencer is a former first round pick and now a seasoned veteran. Max Unger is this year's second round pick and considered a top prospect. The team also has Steve Vallos as depth and Mansfield Wrotto as emergency depth. Withrow and Ruegamer are career journeymen with 17 career starts apiece. Each could probably play guard in a pinch, but less capably than most of Seattle's roster.

Bottom line is that these tryouts are most likely indicative of the instability in Seattle's offensive line. The team wants to push its young guys, but understands the unit has holes and needs some veteran stability. Seattle did something similar to this last season at defensive tackle, but when the regular season started, it kept its players and shed Larry Tripplett.

UFL Orlando drafts 3 former Colts

Colts Homer — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 02:11:00 -0000

The UFL draft was held on Friday, June 19, 2009, and a few former Colts were taken (first posted by Endo). Bo Schobel, Larry Tripplett, and Mike Doss were all taken by the Orlando franchise, which still does not have a nickname. Here's some more info on these players and their Colts careers.

Mike Doss, safety

I've already said what I can say about Doss, so here is a recap on him from my last post.

Doss is not with the team anymore. Like Peterson, Washington, and Tripplett, he played four years with the team. He had his fair share of successes and failures. Doss' second, third and fourth seasons all were successful with two interceptions and at least four starts. In his final year with the Colts, he only played six games but was off to a hot start before he tore his ACL. The Colts had some sixth round pick named Antoine Bethea who Coach Dungy apparently liked, and Bethea took his starting job. After Bethea ended up being pretty damn good, Doss was no longer needed and was cut. However he was part of the Super Bowl team, so that's something.

I was always a Mike Doss fan. He wasn't great, but he was a fun player to watch. He had his problems, including a time when he shot his gun outside of a restaurant. However he was a decent player. After his injury it was clear that he was no longer needed, especially with future Pro Bowler Bethea on the team.

Doss also played for the Bengals and Vikings after his Colts career ended. The other defensive backs taken by Orlando are former Bears, Saints, and Bucs practice squad man Greg Fassitt, former Steeler Grant Mason, former Ram and Falcon Darius Vinnett and former Bengal TJ Wright.

Larry Tripplett

Like Doss, I also did a profile on Tripplett for my 2nd round picks blog. Here it is.

Tripplett's career ended up being pretty short. In what seems to be a trend, he played four years for the Colts. He was forced into the starting lineup almost immediately. He had just 21 tackles but was a nice rotation player. However, he lost his starting job in 2004 to everyone's favorite DT Josh Williams. In his final year with the team he had a nice 4 sacks and 30 tackles. However, the Colts parted ways with Tripplett because they had the greatest Colt ever Corey Simon along with Montae Reagor. Tripplett went on to have two mediocre years with the Bills before ending his career.

Tripplett never panned out. He had a good 2005 season, which was the Colts best defensive season under Polian. However, he didn't have enough success to warrant a spot on the team once his first contract was over. Tripplett ended up being like all of the other Colts defensive tackles who disappointed.

Tripplett last played for the Seahawks and also played for the Bills. He will play alongside another Colt taken by Orlando in the UFL draft.

Bo Schobel

This name didn't ring a bell at first, but after looking him up I can remember him. He wasn't as big of a contributor as Doss and Tripplett were. He only played one year for the Colts, but he got a ring from it. Schobel played for the championship Colts team, and he even got playing time in the Super Bowl. He had 29 tackles and half a sack in 14 regular season games, and he got half a sack in the Kansas City playoff game. Most people would recognize his brother Aaron Schobel, the star defensive end for the Buffalo Bills. He last played in 2007 for the Arizona Cardinals.

One thing that should be made clear is that they are not already on the teams. They will be contacted and seen if there is further interest in playing for the new franchise. All of these players attended a combine for the league, so they must have some interest in playing. Also, when training camps end, each team is assigned to a certain division group in the NFL. So if Orlando is assigned with the southern divisions, they will get first dibs on players cut from the Colts, Titans, Jags, Texans, Bucs, Saints, Panthers and Falcons (Michael Vick maybe?). If Orlando is assigned with the southern divisions, we could see more Colts on this team. So if you want to see former Colts starters like Tripplett, Doss and maybe some more former Colts, UFL Orlando will be the team. I have a keen interest in this league, and I will be paying attention to how the season goes once it gets started. Personally, I think they would be wiser to play from the weekend after the Pro Bowl to right before MLB opening day instead of from October to the end of November, but if they want a closer relationship with the NFL, they are going the smarter route.

J.P. Losman, two other ex-Bills moving on to UFL

Brian Galliford — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 10:00:20 -0000

Losman will play for the UFL Las Vegas club for former Giants head coach Jim Fassel. (photo source)

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In April of 2004, the Buffalo Bills traded their second-round pick in the NFL Draft - as well as a first-round pick in the following year's selection meeting - to the Dallas Cowboys for the right to select Tulane QB J.P. Losman in the first round.

Flash forward 62 months. His flash-in-the-pan career with the Bills is over, and Losman - unable to land a roster spot with another NFL team, even as a third-stringer - is moving on to the nascent United Football League.

According to UFL Access - which reported the news on Tuesday, two days prior to the UFL's premiere season draft - Losman is set to take the reigns of the league's Las Vegas franchise, head coached by former Giants coach and Ravens offensive coordinator Jim Fassel. The UFL - which has not even provided nicknames for its four franchises at this point - is expected to announce starting quarterbacks for the four teams on July 1.

If this isn't the low point of Losman's disappointing professional career, I don't know what is. It's not terribly uncommon to see first-round draft picks out of the league, but folks are quick to forget that as recently as 2006, Losman had the Bills fighting for playoff contention as late in the season as Week 16 while rating out as the eleventh-best quarterback in the NFL. Since that point, he has been injured, lost his starting job to a rookie, and flamed out as a backup, checking out mentally for his final season in Buffalo.

Still, this move makes a degree of sense for Losman.

He'll play six games (that's the length of the UFL's regular season) under an established offensive mind in Fassel. To say he'll be playing against lesser competition is an understatement. No one has ever questioned Losman's raw talent, which allowed him to make some truly outstanding plays at the NFL level - even if his wild inconsistency and maddening ability to play terribly are his current calling cards. Losman has a chance to put up excellent numbers in the UFL - and doing so under Fassel could earn him another shot at the NFL in 2010. Let's not forget that Losman is still in the prime of his career at just 28 years of age.

I know one thing: I'm curious to see how this unfolds.

DT Tripplett, DE Powell get "drafted" to UFL, too
Losman isn't the only ex-Bill to get a look in the UFL. Two more former Bills defensive linemen were drafted by the UFL Orlando franchise.

When Dick Jauron brought the Cover 2 defensive scheme to Buffalo in 2006, then-GM Marv Levy quickly went out and signed DT Larry Tripplett of the Colts - a player with experience in said scheme. Tripplett spent two years in Buffalo, picking up 68 tackles, 3.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and an interception in 32 games. He was released prior to the 2008 season and eventually replaced by Marcus Stroud; he was signed by the Seattle Seahawks prior to the 2008 season, but did not make it out of training camp. He was drafted by the UFL's Orlando franchise.

Joining Tripplett at UFL Orlando is DE Eric Powell, who played exactly one game in Bills career - the 2007 season-opening loss to the Denver Broncos, a game known in Bills lore as the final game of TE Kevin Everett's career. Powell has not played in any NFL games since. The Orlando native will play for his hometown UFL franchise, coached by another man with ties to the Bills organization - former linebacker and Saints and Rams head coach Jim Haslett.

Poll

Are you interested in following J.P. Losman's UFL progress?

Yes

603 votes

No

605 votes

Undecided

46 votes

1254 votes | Poll has closed

Polian-Era Colts Draft History: Second Round Picks

Colts Homer — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 00:42:09 -0000

More photos » by Tom Strattman - AP

Fili Moala looks to become one of the all-time great Colts 2nd round picks, joining players like Bob Sanders, Kelvin Hayden, Marcus Washington and Mike Peterson. (AP Photo/Tom Strattman)

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The second round has given Polian some of his best players. Like almost every other round, Polian consistently finds gems in the second round. Defense has been a priority in round 2 in the past, and it continued into this past draft. Many starters and even a Pro Bowler have been drafted in this round. His first pick was a small wide receiver out of Washington, and his most recent pick was a big defensive tackle from Southern Cal. Let's see the steals Polian got, and some he may have missed on.

1998: Jerome Pathon/WR/Washington

College: Pathon was born in South Africa and grew up in Canada. It wasn't until his college days at Washington did he live in the states. He played at Acadia University in Nova Scotia for a year before he transferred to Washington, and he had a great year with 44 receptions and 868 yards. In 1997, Pathon had one of the best years in Huskies history when he had 69 receptions and 1245 yards. This earned him first team All-American honors.

Draft: The Colts had already taken the QB of the future for the team, so they then looked for talent to surround him with. The team already had a solid receiver in Marvin Harrison, but there wasn't a great second target for Peyton to go to. Other receivers that we left on the board were Jacquez Green and Patrick Johnson.

Today: Pathon is no longer in the NFL. He played for the Colts for four years then went to New Orleans for two and ended his career with a season in Atlanta. Pathon had a great rookie year when he started 15 games and had 511 receiving yards. He only started 2 games in 1999 and played in 10 due to the rookie Terrence Wilkins. However, Pathon had a career year in 2000 with over 600 receiving yards and looked to be a rising star. However, he hurt his foot in Week 3 and never fully recovered. He was looking like he was bound for the Pro Bowl. He had an amazing 168 receiving yards in Week 2, but the injury derailed his season and his career. With Harrison, Wilkins and Reggie Wayne, Pathon was the odd man out. He had two solid years with New Orleans and one year with Atlanta where he only had one catch.

Review: This pick turned out bad because of circumstance. If it weren't for injury, Pathon was looking like a star. However, 2001 was one of the worst years in recent Colts history when it seemed like everyone was getting hurt. However, 2001 led to Jim Mora's firing and the hiring of one Tony Dungy. Pathon was picked over Pro Bowlers like Flozell Adams, Patrick Surtain and Samari Rolle.

1999: Mike Peterson/LB/Florida

College: Peterson played under coaching great Steve Spurrier at the University of Florida. He started 24 of 42 games and had great success for the Gators. He was 1st team All-SEC and had 249 tackles in those 42 games. He was one of the top linebackers in the country playing for one of the top programs in college football.

Draft: In the first round the Colts took running back Edgerrin James, so with Manning, James, Harrison and Pathon, the Colts were settled at offense. They looked for a defensive playmaker to help strengthen a poor defense.

Today: Peterson last played for the Jacksonville Jaguars and was a mediocre linebacker at the end of 2008. He was cut and later signed with the Atlanta Falcons. Peterson played four years for the Colts and was a great linebacker. He had 3 sacks in his rookie year and had 2 seasons with over 100 tackles, including 2000 when he had 158 tackles. He was not resigned after 2002 and he went to the Jags. Peterson became a notorious douchebag who even another notorious douchebag Jack Del Rio couldn't stand and had to get away from. Peterson was a loudmouth and became a locker room cancer with the Jaguars. He often spoke out against the Colts for not resigning him, showing his limited knowledge in Bill Polian's history and the way the league runs.

Review: Peterson was a great linebacker with the Colts but didn't last long. Usually Colts linebackers don't stay too long, so his departure is not a different situation from Cato June or Marcus Washington, other great Colts linebackers. Peterson was the star Colts linebacker during his four years. His status fell because of his stupid grudge against the Colts, but he may be the best Colts linebacker in the Polian era.

2000: Marcus Washington/LB/Auburn

College: Washington went to his hometown college Auburn for four years. However, he was not a linebacker at Auburn. He was actually a defensive end who got seven sacks in his senior year. Like some other old Colts defensive players, he had to adjust to a new position when he came to Indy.

Draft: In 2000 the Colts took linebacker Rob Morris in the first round. However, the defense was still getting looked at. The Colts ended up taking two linebackers in the first two rounds with Morris and Washington, making the linebacking corps Peterson-Morris-Washington. That locked up the position for the next few years.

Today: Washington, along with Cato June, Gary Brackett and Mike Peterson, is one of the great Colts linebackers. With the Colts he had 18 sacks in just four years. No other Colts linebacker has been able to get to the QB as well as Washington. Like Peterson, his Colts career lasted just four seasons and he went on to become a star linebacker for the Redskins. He made the Pro Bowl in 2004, his first season as a Redskin and had 100 tackles in 2004, a feat he never accomplished with Indy. He is now unemployed.

Review: Washington was the most prolific pass rushing linebacker in Polian era history. Philip Wheeler is supposed to be the next Washington. Wheeler will have his chance as he is the favorite for the SAM linebacker spot. It would be nice to have Washington back in 2009, but Clint Session, Tyjuan Hagler, Brackett, Adam Seward, Wheeler and Freddie Keiaho give the Colts enough strong linebackers.

2001: Idrees Bashir/S/Memphis

College: Idrees Bashir was a solid safety for the Memphis Tigers. For his first three years, he was a strong safety, but he moved to free safety for his senior year. He was one of the leading tacklers on the team for his junior and senior seasons.

Draft: In the first round, the Colts took Reggie Wayne, but the Colts decided to work on their weak secondary in the second. Bashir was a great safety at both pass defense and run defense, so he was supposed to be the strong safety of the future.

Today: Bashir plays for the Detroit Lions now, but he did enjoy four seasons with the Colts where he started every game he played. However he was battling injuries and never became as productive as the team would have liked. His rookie year was his best when he had 77 tackles and an interception. He never matched his tackle number, and that is why he plays for the Lions and not the Colts right now.

Review: Bashir never panned out, but he was fun to watch. I wish he would have been able to have any major effect on the team, but it just didn't happen. It's as simple as that.

2002: Larry Tripplett/DT/Washington

College: Like Pathon, Tripplett played for the Washington Huskies. Also like Pathon, he was a great college player. He was a third team All-American and had 11 tackles for a loss. He only played one game at nose tackle and played the rest at defensive end even at 300 pounds. He was a great special teamer with 3 blocked kicks. His pass rush was his greatest asset. He had 6.5 sacks in his senior year.

Draft: It's clear that the Colts were going after defensive line in this draft. They took Dwight Freeney in the first round and took Tripplett over offensive stars like Clinton Portis, IU's own Antwaan Randle El and Antonio Bryant.

Today: Tripplett's career ended up being pretty short. In what seems to be a trend, he played four years for the Colts. He was forced into the starting lineup almost immediately. He had just 21 tackles but was a nice rotation player. However, he lost his starting job in 2004 to everyone's favorite DT Josh Williams. In his final year with the team he had a nice 4 sacks and 30 tackles. However, the Colts parted ways with Tripplett because they had the greatest Colt ever Corey Simon along with Montae Reagor. Tripplett went on to have two mediocre years with the Bills before ending his career.

Review: Tripplett never panned out. He had a good 2005 season, which was the Colts best defensive season under Polian. However, he didn't have enough success to warrant a spot on the team once his first contract was over. Tripplett ended up being like all of the other Colts defensive tackles who disappointed.

2003: Mike Doss/S/Ohio State

College: Doss was another future Colt who just dominated in college. He was a major part on the 2002 Ohio State team who the refs decided to give the national championship to. Doss had an amazing career with 3 Sporting News All-American spots and three All-Big Ten spots. He did it all. He had 8 interceptions, 8 fumbles recovered and 6 sacks in his career. He was a two-time finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, named after one of the greatest defensive backs in history and the greatest all-around athlete in American history.

Draft: This was the first draft I really followed. I remember how excited I was that the Colts got one of the best safeties in Big Ten history. They already took Dallas Clark in the first round, and they went secondary in the second, an area that really needed some help.

Today: Doss is not with the team anymore. Like Peterson, Washington, and Tripplett, he played four years with the team. He had his fair share of successes and failures. Doss' second, third and fourth seasons all were successful with two interceptions and at least four starts. In his final year with the Colts, he only played six games but was off to a hot start before he tore his ACL. The Colts had some sixth round pick named Antoine Bethea who Coach Dungy apparently liked, and Bethea took his starting job. After Bethea ended up being pretty damn good, Doss was no longer needed and was cut. However he was part of the Super Bowl team, so that's something.

Review: I was always a Mike Doss fan. He wasn't great, but he was a fun player to watch. He had his problems, including a time when he shot his gun outside of a restaurant. However he was a decent player. After his injury it was clear that he was no longer needed, especially with future Pro Bowler Bethea on the team.

2004: Bob Sanders/S/Iowa

College: Sanders is the second player taken out of Iowa in recent Colts history. At Iowa Sanders was a little bit of a legend for his murderous hits that separated a running back's shoulder. Sanders was held out of tackling drills because of that. Bob Sanders appeared on 3 All-Big Ten teams and was a second team All-American in his senior year.

Draft: The Colts traded down twice to take Sanders. Sanders ended up being the second safety taken in the first two rounds in the past two drafts. It represented a complete change for the defensive backs that occured once Dungy became head coach. The unit went from being one of the weaknesses to one of the strengths in just a matter of years.

Today: When healthy, Sanders is the best safety in the NFL. He is up there with Ed Reed and Troy Polomalu. However, he has only had two healthy seasons, and those were amazing. In both 2005 and 2007 he made the Pro Bowl and the All-Pro team. In 2007 he was the Defensive Player of the Year. His nagging injuries have kept him from becoming one of the best players in the league. It seems that it is every other year, so hopefully he is healthy in 2009. His style of play puts him in a position where he is always going to be put in dangerous situations. He is a hard hitting safety who also is great in pass defense. He is the leader of the defense.

Review: This could be the best pick in Polian history. Everyone loves Bob Sanders. He could easily be the most popular player on the team. I'll take every other year of Bob Sanders in a big contract over a decent safety every year for a lesser contract. The 2004 draft really sucked, but Sanders is the bright spot. Hopefully he will still be playing for a while, but his injury history seems to point to a short career, so enjoy it while it lasts.

2005: Kelvin Hayden/CB/Illinois

College: Hayden represents another Big Ten defensive back taken by the Colts in the second. It was three in a row at this point. However Hayden didn't play all of his career at Illinois. He played two years at a junior college in Joliet where he was the best wide receiver in junior college. He led Joliet Junior College to 21 straight victories and a national championship. After his two years at Joliet JC, he went to Illinois and became the team's best wide receiver. He led the team in yards and receptions in his junior year; however the team switched him to corner for his senior year. He transitioned well, leading the Big Ten in interceptions.

Draft: Hayden was the second cornerback taken in the 2005 draft by the Colts. Marlin Jackson was taken in the first. That means that four defensive backs were taken in the first two rounds over three years. All of them became starters at one point in their career, and only Mike Doss isn't a starter for the Colts anymore.

Today: Hayden is the best corner on the team, surpassing the first round pick Jackson. Hayden will always be remembered first for his interception return for a touchdown in Super Bowl XLI that clinched the win. However Hayden has just been amazing the past two years. He is the prototypical corner for the Tampa-2. He is big, a good tackler and has sure hands. Over the past 26 games of his career he has 6 interceptions and 125 tackles. He signed a long-term contract this offseason and will be a Colt for a long time.

Review: Hayden is one of the most underrated cornerbacks in the game. The Colts are so lucky that they locked him up longterm because he is only going to get better. I predict that he makes the Pro Bowl next year and has more than 3 interceptions, his number of the past 2 seasons.

2006: Tim Jennings/CB/Georgia

College: Tim Jennings is considered to be one of the best, if not the best, cornerback under longtime Bulldogs coach Mark Richt. He was a three year starter for the Dawgs and had ten interceptions, ten tackles for a loss and 170 tackles.

Draft: In the first round, the Colts took running back Joseph Addai, but the team decided to go defense next. They knew that Jason David and Nick Harper were about to go, so Jennings was supposed to replace one of them.

Today: Jennings did an alright job filling in for Marlin Jackson and Kelvin Hayden when they were down with injuries, but I am still not a fan. I don't like small cornerbacks because I do not trust them if a running back is coming their way. However, Jennings has the speed to be a decent nickelback and he has experience now. I prefer TJ Rushing, but Jennings wasn't awful last year. I'm hoping that Rushing or Jerraud Powers comes on strong and gives the Colts a bigger nickelback, but I will assume that Jennings has the job for now.

Review: Jennings hasn't impressed me, but many people seem to be a fan. I prefer cornerbacks to be bigger than 5-7, 185, but size won't matter if he can perform on the level of a Marlin Jackson. Jennings is definitely not my favorite player on the team because of his style. I like cornerbacks that I know can take down any big bruiser that comes towards them. Speed has never been a big deal for me, especially in the Cover-2 where corners are playing short zones up front.

2007: Tony Ugoh/OT/Arkansas

College: Ugoh got hurt in his freshman year, but just the fact that he was playing as a freshman offensive lineman early in the year showed how good he was. After his medical redshirt season, he became the best blocker for the crazy Wildhog the Razorbacks used. Ugoh paved ways for future NFLers Darren McFadden, Felix Jones and Peyton Hillis while having to protect these guys while they attempted to pass. Ugoh ended up being a third team All-American as a senior.

Draft: The Colts traded up for Ugoh. They had just taken Anthony Gonzalez, a replacement for Brandon Stokley, and Ugoh was taken to replace Tarik Glenn down the road.

Today: Well, the whole "down the road" thing was a lot quicker than we all would have thought. Glenn surprisingly retired right before training camp, and Ugoh became the starter at left tackle almost immediately. When healthy, Ugoh was great. It seemed like Tarik Glenn never really retired and just started having less false starts. However injuries have plagued our friend Ugoh. He has missed six games in his short two year career and struggled with injury for a few more games last year.

Review: BBS pretty much said it all. Ugoh has come under fire after being called out by Irsay, but that only shows how important to the team he is, and the Front Office would not leave an important position in the hands of someone they think is lazy. Plain and simple.

2008: Mike Pollak/OG/Arizona State

College: In 2007 the Arizona State line was just dreadful. The team had the talent, but the line was the Achilles' Heel of the team. Pollak was considered the only bright spot for the awful unit. Pollak was the starting center for the team and led the line much like Saturday leads the line today. Also like Saturday, the failures of the offensive line was not Pollak's fault. Pollak did the best he can with a bunch of untalented linemen on his sides.

Draft: The Colts traded their first round pick to the Niners for Tony Ugoh in 2007, so you could say that the Colts decided to work on the offensive line with the 2008 NFL Draft. Remember that they also drafted Steve Justice and Jamey Richard, so one day we could very well see 80% of the offensive line coming from this draft. Pollak was expected to replace Jake Scott at right guard.

Today: Pollak is the starting right guard, but he did not have the best start to a career. Pollak did not have a preseason because of injury, and he missed the playoff game against San Diego because of injury as well. When he did play, he wasn't very good. Hopefully he can work past it.

Review: I think it is hypocritical to label Pollak a bust but defend Ugoh. Neither of them are busts. Both of them have battled injury. However, Pollak had to make a position change without preseason. That is what I need to stress. I bet if he was healthy last August, he would have had a fine year. He is very talented. Polian wouldn't touch him if he wasn't. He had to learn on the fly and Mudd did all he could do. We saw what Mudd could do with a 7th round pick in Jamey Richard. I bet he can do wonders with Mike Pollak.

2009: Fili Moala/DT/SCum

College: Fili Moala played for a team that claims a make believe championship. His teammates were paid. His coach makes Bill Belichick look like Tony Dungy. I hate the University of Southern California and all it stands for. Fili Moala is the first player I really like to ever attend that wretched university.

Draft: Like in 2007, the Colts traded up for Moala. However, they only had to spare their second and third round picks, so the Colts still have their first rounder for next season. Moala was worth it.

Today: Well, it hasn't even been two months since the draft, so nothing has changed. I will say that he is looking like a starter and that's what I expect him to be come September. He is so talented. He can rush the passer and stop the run both at levels that no other defensive tackle on the team could do last year. I am psyched about him.

Review: USC sucks.

2nd round pick rankings

9. Idrees Bashir
8. Larry Tripplett
7. Tim Jennings
6. Jerome Pathon
5. Mike Doss
T3. Marcus Washington
T3. Mike Peterson
2. Kelvin Hayden
1. Bob Sanders

20/20 Hindsight: Re-examining the Bills' 2006 off-season

Brian Galliford — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 04:15:10 -0000

TE Robert Royal joined the Bills in 2006 (photo source)

To say that the current front office regime of the Buffalo Bills has taken a lot of criticism over the past three-plus years is an understatement. The group - featuring GM Marv Levy (for two years), COO Russ Brandon (for two years), head coach Dick Jauron and VPs John Guy and Tom Modrak - has made several bold personnel decisions through four off-seasons of re-building, and the result has been three consecutive 7-9 seasons. When finger-pointing, most Bills' fans fingers - we'll leave you to speculate on which fingers are used - are pointing directly at this group.

As hindsight is 20/20, we thought it would be prudent to take a look back at the regime's initial off-season in Buffalo, transitioning between 2005's 5-11 group (led by GM Tom Donahoe and head coach Mike Mularkey) and the '06 Bills that would finish 7-9 under the leadership of Levy and Jauron. How did the Bills get there? More importantly, looking back three years later, do we perceive the season as one of progress or recession?

Here's how the 2006 off-season (with a bit of in-season dashed in) unfolded in Buffalo. Your homework? Tell us whether or not you like what happened.

+ Jauron chooses - then sticks with - QB J.P. Losman
When Jauron arrived in Buffalo, he inherited a murky quarterback situation. The 2005 Bills, behind Mularkey and his desperation to field a winner, split QB duties between Losman - a first-year starter - and veteran Kelly Holcomb. Jauron held an "open competition" during training camp for starting quarterback duties, but it quickly became apparent that Losman would beat out Holcomb - which, of course, he eventually did.

Far more importantly, Jauron stuck with Losman, even after the team started 2-5. Jauron's patience paid off a bit, as Losman would go on to enjoy his best season as a pro, finishing the season with an 84.9 quarterback rating, 3,051 yards passing, 19 TD and 14 INT. The Bills closed out the season 5-4, with a Christmas Eve loss to the Tennessee Titans permanently derailing their playoff hopes. Clearly, we all know how Losman's career finished in Buffalo, but Jauron gets a thumbs-up for this move - in the midst of re-building, he got a full year out of his inherited young quarterback, found out what he had in the asset, and nearly pulled a playoff appearance out of the decision.

+ The mid-season O-Line shuffle
Buffalo started the season 2-5; during their Week 8 bye, Jauron elected - rather boldly, I might add - to re-shuffle his offensive line. Mike Gandy moved from left tackle to left guard. Jason Peters flipped from right tackle to left tackle - a position at which he would earn two Pro Bowl berths in later seasons. Rookie seventh-round draft pick Terrance Pennington took over at right tackle; while starting C Melvin Fowler and RG Chris Villarrial (with Duke Preston as an injury fill-in) remained, Tutan Reyes found himself on the bench.

By all accounts, Buffalo's offense functioned better during a stretch that saw the team put up a 5-2 record to reach 7-7, on the cusp of the playoffs. The Bills improved their per-game scoring average to 22.2 points per game over their final nine games (5-4), as opposed to just 14.3 points during their 2-5 start. Again - a bold, in-season move by the Bills' coach that paid dividends.

There were some good moves made, clearly, but not all was peachy keen during '06 - the initial season for the current regime. Head on in past the jump for other important developments during the 2006 season.

+ Finding five rookie contributors in the Draft
In an off-season in which the team rid itself of some veteran roster fat (see below point), the Bills did well to find five rookies that were able to contribute positively in 2006. S Donte Whitner (Round 1), S Ko Simpson (Round 4), DT Kyle Williams (Round 5), LB Keith Ellison (Round 6) and OT Terrance Pennington (Round 7) all started games, with the first three on that list emerging as full-time starters. Three more players - DT John McCargo (Round 1), CB Ashton Youboty (Round 3) and OT Brad Butler (Round 5) have contributed as well, though the rookie season impact of each player was largely minimal.

+ Shedding veteran roster fat
The first thing Jauron and the current regime did upon arriving in Buffalo was get rid of overpriced and/or underachieving veterans. Household names such as WR Eric Moulds, OT Mike Williams, DT Sam Adams and safeties Troy Vincent and Lawyer Milloy were let go. TE Mark Campbell, OG Bennie Anderson, C Trey Teague and LB Jeff Posey joined them. The Bills didn't have salary cap issues at that point in time, but losing these players didn't exactly hurt them in the long run - not even Adams, a pretty good player in his heyday, was productive post-Buffalo (23 tackles and 2 sacks in his final two seasons).

- Weak free agent class
Perhaps the most frequently-referenced and noticeable downfall to this initial off-season was the lack of impact found in the free agent class. Take a look at the veteran players brought in:

RB Anthony Thomas
WR Peerless Price
WR Andre' Davis
TE Robert Royal
OG Tutan Reyes
C Melvin Fowler
DE Anthony Hargrove (trade)
DT Larry Tripplett
CB Kiwaukee Thomas
S Matt Bowen

Tripplett was the "big" signing of the group, yet he lasted just two unspectacular seasons in a Bills uniform. Royal became notorious for dropped passes and key fumbles. Fowler was a major flop as the starting center, eventually being replaced by the aforementioned Preston - who also is no longer with the team. Perhaps the best player of this group is Davis, a speedy wideout that saw little playing time offensively, signed with Houston in 2007 and promptly put up solid receiving numbers (33 receptions, 583 yards, 3 TD) while returning 3 kickoffs for touchdowns. The sad reality is that of the names on this list, only Royal and Fowler lasted more than two seasons in Buffalo, and neither is with the team any longer.

- Lack of big-play impact
This ties into the free agent group listed above, but also counts for the nine players the Bills drafted (all of whom have been mentioned aside from seventh-round OG Aaron Merz) - Buffalo was unable to find a single long-term impact player during this critical first off-season. Not even Whitner - widely considered one of the NFL's best young players at the safety position - nor other starters from the draft class (Williams and Butler) have earned the "difference-maker" label. Buffalo did well to find a few starters in this draft class - Williams and Butler in particular were excellent picks - but the overall lack of play making from their rookies and, more importantly, their free agents really hamstrung a young team playing behind a young quarterback. Which leads me to my last point...

- Where is the help for Losman?
Any time you're building around a young quarterback, you need to surround him with weapons. Maybe Jauron knew at that point in time that Losman wasn't really his guy; maybe he just wanted to address the defensive side of the ball first (his first five draft picks in Buffalo were defenders, after all). Either way, Trent Edwards wasn't in the picture at that point in time. Losman was the future then. We gave him three late-round rookie linemen, two journeyman veteran linemen (Fowler and Reyes), Peerless Price and Royal. Losman didn't even have a full season's worth of starts under his belt at that point in time; Lee Evans and Willis McGahee were effectively all he had offensively. The offense was productive at times, sure, but is it any surprise that teams eventually figured out that to stop the Bills, all you had to do was double-team Evans?

There's a lot to like about this initial off-season - in particular trimming veteran fat, getting a deep (if unspectacular) draft class, and committing themselves to one quarterback. Those were good moves; so was the mid-season re-structure of the offensive line. But the lack of impact from the rookie class and what many might consider one of the worst free agent classes in team history considerably weakens any positive that emerged from Year One of the Jauron regime in Buffalo.

The poll question is self-explanatory, and the comments section is open. Before you ask, the answer is yes - we'll be doing this for 2007, 2008 and even 2009 as well.

Poll

2006 Buffalo Bills off-season approval rating, three years later - cast your vote!

Approve

135 votes

Disapprove

208 votes

Unsure

71 votes

414 votes | Poll has closed

State of the Bills Roster: Tight Ends

Brian Galliford — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 18:02:46 -0000

Royal provides little to offense (buffalobills.com)

The "State of the Bills Roster" series trucks on! If you're new around these parts within the past nine months or so, this series is an off-season progression of posts in which we'll break down Buffalo's roster in-depth. From these discussions, we'll put together a "Community Needs List" in priority order, then begin researching potential free agent and draft acquisitions that will satisfy all of the Bills' needs as we perceive them.

Hey - at least this way, we're doing the job right. Right? Unlike a certain front office we're forced to support.

And now, we continue our foray into heavy-duty off-season work at Buffalo Rumblings. It's our "State of the Roster" series, off-season mode, and we'll continue the discussions by breaking down the situation at Buffalo's tight end position.
Previous installments: QB :: RB

Opening statement
How long has it been since the Buffalo Bills had a true impact player at the tight end position? If you're looking for relevance as the underlying means to impact, we'd have to venture back as far as 2001, when Jay Riemersma caught 53 passes and scored three touchdowns in a season in which Rob Johnson and Alex Van Pelt started eight games apiece at quarterback. Yes, it's been that bad at this position. This is one area offensively for Buffalo where making improvements this off-season should be the easiest.

#84 Robert Royal (starter)
6'4", 255 pounds
Age: 31 in May 2009
Contract status: 1 year remaining (UFA after 2009); owed $1.44M in base salaries
- Yuck. There are a handful of players whose play and demeanor represents the trifecta of 7-9 records this regime has put up, and Robert Royal is one of them. The little that he does provide to the offense - slightly above average run blocking - is negated by his stone hands and utter inability to make a difference in the passing game. With only one year left on his contract and a modest salary, Royal is one of a handful of players that have "release" written all over them as the Bills enter an off-season in which impact is a must. Needless to say, upgrading over Royal at starting tight end would be a "fresh of breath air", indeed.

#80 Derek Schouman
6'2", 233 pounds
Age: 24 in March 2009
Contract status: Exclusive Rights Free Agent
- I like Derek Schouman. Really, I do. He's one of those players that makes teams better simply because he's a role guy. He does whatever coaches ask of him, he's athletic enough to be passable in any phase of the game, and when he gets the ball in his hands, he's not completely inadequate. As an ERFA, Schouman will very likely be back at an extremely modest salary.

#86 Derek Fine
6'3", 245 pounds
Age: 26 in August 2009
Contract status: Entering second year of undisclosed, multi-year contract.
- When Derek Fine is your most athletically gifted tight end, you know you've got issues. That's not a knock on Fine, however; he's proven himself to be a very polished blocker and an underrated short-area receiver as a rookie. He'll never be a starting tight end in this league, but as a role player in this offense, he actually has the ability to be outstanding.

#87 Jonathan Stupar
6'3", 254 pounds
Age: 25 in July 2009
Contract status: Undisclosed.
- Pulled up to the active roster on November 29, Stupar's contributions were limited to special teams work. Still has practice squad eligibility, so he might be back for training camp next summer.

The Breakdown
Keepers: Fine, Schouman. Neither is an ideal tight end prospect, but ideally, they shouldn't have to be. Both can be contributors in subdued role situations, with Fine potentially being an elite second tight end option.

Extendables: None. Schouman should be re-signed, but he's not considered a guy who would get an extension instead of a tender.

Expendables: Stupar. He hasn't established himself with the team, so the team isn't going to hesitate in kicking him to the curb if a better option comes along.

Questionables: None.

Goners: Royal. If the Bills can cut Larry Tripplett, they can cut Robert Royal. Think happy thoughts!

What we need: How about a pass catcher? A young quarterback's best friend is his tight end. That's a cliche for a reason. Where would Tyler Thigpen be in Kansas City without Tony Gonzalez? Exactly. This Bills regime has to make the playoffs in 2009. In order to do this, Trent Edwards needs to improve by leaps and bounds. In order for him to do so, he needs an impact tight end. Did I mention that an impact tight end would free things up for players named Evans, Reed and Johnson? I don't want to sway your opinions - OK, maybe I do - but I'd place a receiving tight end amongst our top three biggest needs this off-season. Schouman and Fine take care of young, talented depth; let's go get impact.

That's it. I'm done with the easy stuff. Now it's on you, folks. Got any more tough love for Robert Royal to spew? Want to talk more about what a pleasant surprise Fine has been? Have any names of potential additions you'd like to throw into the ring? Have fun with this, and let's get brainstorming.