The Bills head into the final game with a 5-10 record and are in the #6 spot for the draft. Kansas City and Jacksonville will have the first two spots locked up. Oakland sits third, seemingly solidified in that spot while Philadelphia and Detroit (both, surprisingly) occupy the fourth and fifth slots, respectively. The Bills sit "atop" a bevy of teams with five wins but hold the "top" spot because of a weaker schedule. (For more on their present position via WGR, click here.)
At present, the Bills could reach as high as 3rd with a loss or drop down to as low as #10 with a win, so the issue at hand for the GR boys--Jeremy White and Sal Cappaccio--was whether the Bills should tank in the last and final game.
The answer here is a definitive....yes.
The argument for "integrity," "playing for the coach" and/or "playing to win" are always there and would hold the team and individual players up to lofty standards. But, in this instance one should say, "the hell with it."
Stuff like this happens all the time and one could make a strong case that the Indianapolis Colts--who were probably losing their Hall of Fame quarterback in Peyton Manning after a career threatening neck injury in 2011--tanked the 2011 season in order to secure the top pick in the draft. The #1-overall pick just happened to be a quarterback touted as one of the best college prospects since...well...Peyton Manning in Andrew Luck. The Luck pick allowed the Colts and Manning to part ways this past off-season.
Surprise!!! The Colts went from a 2-14 team to the playoffs with Luck at the helm even though he has not been Hall of Fame calibre this season (although he's has been pretty solid and will probably end up #2 or #3 in Rookie of the Year balloting.)
Also, from Wiki: "The Colts were the first team in NFL history to come off nine straight playoff appearances, and then start the following season 0-13. The Colts were the first team to start 0-13 since the 2008 Detroit Lions; it was the worst start in franchise history. The Colts also had the worst record of any AFC team since the Kansas City Chiefs in 2008."
Anyway, a Bills loss in the final game coupled with a win by either Philly or Detroit--or, better yet, both--would move them up another spot or two. And, ideally, that would land them in the #4 spot of the draft. Not only would that give them the fourth overall, but they would also have the third pick in the 2nd-round.
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| Notre Dame's Manti Te'o should be a top-five pick in the 2013 NFL. Hopefully, it will be the Buffalo Bills. |
That player being Manti Te'o of Notre Dame.
Yes, all the boys at WGR, are clamoring for a "franchise quarterback" and a point could be made that the Bills could use a significant upgrade at QB. But it would be pure nonsense to waste a high draft pick reaching for what they, and fans, really want--a savior. The drop-off from the consensus top QB, Geno Smith (likely #1 overall pick) to Matt Barkley (a reach anywhere above the middle first round) to a group of second to third rounders like Mike Glennon, Tyler Bray and Tyler Wilson makes for a very thin QB pool.
Te'o is considered an easy top-five pick in the draft who could immediately have an impact on one of the worst defenses in the league. He's a three-down middle linebacker with football smarts. He's also a ball-hawk who's improved his pass coverage and is a leader on the #1 college team in the country--a team that overachieved all season, especially on defense.
Would you rather draft that, or go for a quarterback with deficiencies that may or may not be corrected?
Just too many question marks with the latter.
An argument can be made that the most glaring weakness on the 2012 Bills, was not at quarterback, it was at linebacker. Average at best is the proper term when describing this group and one could easily make a case that they need at least two linebackers--including middle--more than they need a quarterback right now.
Throughout the history of the Bills, there have been relatively few impact players at linebacker: Cornelius Bennett, Shane Conlan, Jim Haslett, and Darryl Talley come to mind.
But the best middle linebacker in Bills history is from their AFL Championship seasons back in the 60's--Mike Stratton.
Some background.
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| The 2013 edition of the Buffalo Bills could use a difference maker on defense like Mike Stratton was during their AFL championship seasons. |
1st team All-pro, 6-time Pro Bowl selection
"The Hit Heard Round the World" (from the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame)
'Otherwise known as “The Hit Heard Round the World”, Stratton’s indelible moment came early in the 1964 AFL Championship game at War Memorial Stadium. The opponents, the defending AFL Champion San Diego Chargers, scored easily in four plays the first time they touched the ball, and four plays later it was back in their hands. Chargers quarterback Tobin Rote floated a swing pass to star halfback Keith Lincoln in the left flat. At precisely the instant Lincoln reached up for the pass, Stratton arrived like a locomotive. Stratton timed the hit perfectly, driving his right shoulder into the ballcarrier’s rib cage and driving him to the frozen turf with both arms. The hit not only separated Lincoln from the ball, but also cracked three ribs, driving him from the game.
From that moment, the Bills seized the momentum. The Chargers, already minus star receiver Lance Alworth, had lost their other star offensive performer, and their offense was out of business for the day. The Bills roared back with 20 unanswered points to claim the title, a title they successfully defended the following year on the Chargers’ home turf as Stratton and his defensive cohorts pitched a shutout.
Buffalo players and other observers cited “The Hit” as a turning point not only for one game, but for the fortunes of the franchise. The play was a springboard to the consecutive titles that established the Bills as a dominant team in the AFL; it was also a statement by the swarming, physical defense that paved the way for the team’s success.'
Nothing would help an offensive transition to the quarterback of he future, like a physical defense to pave the way and take pressure off of the QB--whether it be a free agent, draft choice or present quarterback, Ryan Fitzpatrick . Having a Stratton-like difference maker would go far and that piece of the puzzle could be within the Bills reach this draft in linebacker Manti Te'o.
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