The case for Bryan Bulaga (Trading Down, and the ZBS)

[angel2]

No a technician is a nice way of saying he's good at the details of his position which is absolutely essential to success for an OT. It means he already understands his scheme, leverage, footwork, balance, hand technique, etc. It's definitely a compliment. Go watch Bulaga play dude.

Dude, he has short arms. I didn't make this up, Dude.

Talk about getting bend out of shape because your boy has short arms, holy cow.

[angel2]

His arms are almost the exact same length as Chris Samuels' and Jason Peters', and probably less than half an inch shorter than Joe Thomas'. They are 33.25 inches long. That's long enough.

But, according to Mike Mayock, he is three-quarters of an inch below the norm. Why are you people getting on my case about his physical shortcomings?

[Orakpophobia]

My arms are 27" from the armpit.

[angel2]

I agree with you Ryko. This is the best season to trade down considering there are like 50 guys that are predicted to be 1st round grade talent. So the more picks we can get the better. If we could get two of the top 8 Tackles and the 2nd best OG then our line will be pretty solid.

Tis the season to trade down, oh that's Xmas.

[VaBeachRedskin]

Dude, he has short arms. I didn't make this up, Dude.

Talk about getting bend out of shape because your boy has short arms, holy cow.

Chris Samuels arm length was 33 1/2 inches.

Pizza just got here, but there is a long list of really good OTs that have arm lengths under 34 inches. Will post it in a little bit.

[angel2]

Chris Samuels arm length was 33 1/2 inches.

Pizza just got here, but there is a long list of really good OTs that have arm lengths under 34 inches. Will post it in a little bit.

Spare us, please. But enjoy your pizza.

[angel2]

My arms are 27" from the armpit.

And mine are 34 inches. Tell Bulaga to grow longer arms.

[Ryko]

I dont think they should avoid Bulaga because he has "short arms." People avoided London Fletcher because he was short... More importantly CAN HE PLAY? I think everyone believes the answer is yes.

[HAILSKINSNYC]

if the lions take Okung and Suh or McCoy are there at 4, do we take them?....the ideal situation would be to trade down

if we can't trade down, do you take the DT or Bulaga/Trent williams?

I'm very intrigued by the 2nd rd pick..I def. think we're gonna trade down in the 2nd rd...especially if we don't trade down from #4

I hope we don't take Tebow or McCoy in the 2nd rd.....here are the guys I would look at...in no particular order...

1) Dexter McCluster

2) Rodger Saffold

3) vladimir Duccasse

4) Jon Asamoah

5) jerry hughes

6) koa misi

[HoggLife]

J best is far better then McCluster. Best was the best RB in college last season and could have won the Heisman if he didnt get hurt.

[HitStickTaylor21]

As long as Bulaga doesn't end up like Robert Gallery, I'm cool with him

[HAILSKINSNYC]

Jahvid best is injury prone.....McCluster is more versatile....he can play RB, slot WR and kick returner.

[The Tris]

Daniel Jeremiah:

http://www.movethesticks.com/?p=1395

__

http://twitter.com/MoveTheSticks/status/10188443769

While were on the subject of Daniel Jeremiah, consider this tweet from last week:

@MoveTheSticks Half the teams I've talked to have faith in Bulaga as a LT and the other half believe he will end up at RT 12:54 AM Mar 24th via TweetDeck

Yikes. His high floor is the fact that if he can't cut it at LT, which some people believe, he will be a great RT. Nothing like spending the 4th pick in one of the best drafts in years on a RT!

The fact that any NFL teams doubt his ability at LT should be a huge flashing sign that this is not a guy we should take at #4 and should be wary of in the top ten.

[KingGibbs]

Nice thread E-Dog. I so bad want to stockpile picks and draft as many corn fed OL'men as possible. Bulaga just oozes nastiness and love the part where they say he's not just satisfied with blocking his man, but looks to the next level to find the LB.

Hope your scenario pans out.

[SkinzFan007]

J best is far better then McCluster. Best was the best RB in college last season and could have won the Heisman if he didnt get hurt.

except he did get hurt...and it wasnt his first time...and it surely wont be his last.

[RemoveSnyder]

Daniel Jeremiah

@MoveTheSticks Half the teams I've talked to have faith in Bulaga as a LT and the other half believe he will end up at RT

http://twitter.com/MoveTheSticks/status/10966101847

Was waiting for this to show up. It counterbalances Jeremiah's previous affirming statements, by himself no less. It's good for every candidate to be placed under scrutiny. Anyone worthwhile should be, I should say.

The quantitative phrase in that sentence: "I've talked to"

I guess history will be the true judge.

[Going Commando]

Hey don't pick on me, Steve.:cool: I can see why Mike Mayock made his comment and you can't. Just saying, give me the best draft pick at number four. If you getting upset with his arm length, so be it.

Am I missing something here? I honestly don't understand what you're saying.

[Going Commando]

The fact that any NFL teams doubt his ability at LT should be a huge flashing sign that this is not a guy we should take at #4 and should be wary of in the top ten.

They say the same thing about tackles every single year. Anyone who plays with power and is a competent run blocker but has less than perfect foot speed gets that evaluation. They said the same thing about Andre Smith and Michael Oher last year, and that was all they talked about with Jake Long the year before that. Fast forward two years and he's one of the best pass-protecting LTs in the business. The only reason they don't say the same thing about Okung this year is because he lacks a powerful base making him an unlikely fit at RT. His foot speed certainly isn't any better than Bulaga's. If anything, it's slightly worse.

Bulaga is about as good as Okung in pass-pro right now and his potential is just as high. Trust your own eyes at this point because there are conflicting reports and evaluations everywhere. He looks and plays like a LT and that's what he'll be in the pros unless a team like San Francisco drafts him.

[SkinsTerps26]

god, i wish we had 2 first round picks in the top five like we had when we got lavar and samuels.

if bradford is there, it'll be incredibly difficult to pass up on him and have so many top OT's there for the picking. This will be an interesting draft.

[angel2]

Am I missing something here? I honestly don't understand what you're saying.

I was responding to your earlier post:

Originally Posted by angel2

IMO, trading down is not an option for the Skins. We need a LT who is regarded as the best LT. Trouble with Bulaga is his short arms. Not good to have a short arm LT.

His arms are almost the exact same length as Chris Samuels' and Jason Peters', and probably less than half an inch shorter than Joe Thomas'. They are 33.25 inches long. That's long enough. __________________

Let's put this issue to rest.

My position is simply this: I would keep the fourth pick and draft a LT. If Okung is not on the board, I would pick Trent Williams. My thoughts on trading down as a wrong move is based on the fact that the best rated LTs would be available at the fourth pick, make the pick-don't trade down.

I did a search of Mike Mayock's blog and noticed that he had a negative note on Bulaga. That negative was/is his arms length. Some non-experts consider this negative issue as not an issue at all. If Bulaga has good mechanics then his short arms are not something to worry about. That is their opinion and I respect it.

The term "short arms" became a comical side remark, not taken seriously by me and others posting to this thread.

Again, my serious contention is: take the best LT available to us with the fourth pick - don't trade down, keep the pick. Those who want to trade down for more picks, see Bulaga as the alternative to my thinking. In trying to dissuade them, I mentioned what Mike Mayock's critique was of Bulaga - he has short arms. And then all hell broke out with the importance or non-importance of having a given arms length.

I think I understand where Mayock's sees that it could be a negative in pass blocking and run support - his wingspan is not as wide as his competition LTs in this year's draft. The two other LTs I mentioned also have good mechanics with longer arms. Does that really matter? I think so.

By pointing out your disagreement, maybe you don't see the importance (if it is important) of what Mike Mayock is suggesting.

Is this explanation better?

[Skins Fan 2932]

E-Dog Night and SteveMcQueen are dead on in their posts. Angel2 keeps referring to Mike Mayock for the short arm label. But it is angel2 that can’t see past the 2” difference. As far as Bulaga is concerned, I feel more comfortable with him than I do with any other OT in this draft. Angel2 speaks of arm length like it is the end-all-beat-all for the position. We aren't playing touch football where that extra 2" is going to matter.

Dude, you are seriously fixated on arm length! It's one tangible. One. If that's all that mattered, then that's all you'd have to look for and drafting would be easy.

I like Bulaga for a number of reasons.

• Runs similar OL system in college to what the Redskins will run

• Iowa has a history of turning out quality, NFL-ready linemen

• Shows a great deal of intelligence and confidence in interviews

• Moves in space/pulls & traps better than Okung

Played well against top competition in college.

Bulaga not only pass blocks well, he also run blocks well. If you take a look at Iowa's schedule this year, Bulaga had to block against 4 players that will be drafted in the first 3 rounds, (Derrick Morgan GT, Brandon Graham MI, Corey Wooten NW, Alex Carrington ARK St). Before O'Brien Schofield hurt himself at the Senior Bowl, he would make it 5. Bulaga held his own against these guys and his supposedly short arms didn't hinder him.

You've said this over and over but it isn't true. FWIW, 33 inches is actually considered the magical cutoff, but plenty of left tackles have succeeded with shorter arms than that. There were about 8 starting left tackles with arm length in the 33 inch range in 2008 which is a quarter of the league. A list of tackles who have been to the Pro-bowl recently with 33 inch arms:

-Joe Thomas

-Jason Peters

-Chris Samuels

-Chad Clifton

-David Diehl

-Matt Light

-Jordan Gross

33 is fine. It's not a negative, I don't know where it got started that it's a negative but its not. I'll take a guy with 33 inch arms that's got quick and heavy hands EVERY SINGLE TIME over a guy with 36 inch arms with slow hands and a lame punch if that's all you were evaluating. That is essentially the difference between Bulaga and Okung--Watch Bulaga play and you see him occasionally level defenders with his punch alone. Ditto for Anthony Davis. Watch Okung and you'll never see it. For all those BP reps he put up at the combine Okung doesn't play with any where near the base or even upper body strength that Bulaga and Davis do.

In order to block you have to bend your elbows to apply pressure on the other guy. Technique, ability and heart matter more than arm length!!! Angle2 talks as if Bulaga has mutantly short arms. His arms are 33 1/4". Other than Charles Brown, Campbell, and Okung, everyone else has about the same arm length as Bulaga.

They say the same thing about tackles every single year. Anyone who plays with power and is a competent run blocker but has less than perfect foot speed gets that evaluation. They said the same thing about Andre Smith and Michael Oher last year, and that was all they talked about with Jake Long the year before that. Fast forward two years and he's one of the best pass-protecting LTs in the business. The only reason they don't say the same thing about Okung this year is because he lacks a powerful base making him an unlikely fit at RT. His foot speed certainly isn't any better than Bulaga's. If anything, it's slightly worse.

Bulaga is about as good as Okung in pass-pro right now and his potential is just as high. Trust your own eyes at this point because there are conflicting reports and evaluations everywhere. He looks and plays like a LT and that's what he'll be in the pros unless a team like San Francisco drafts him.

On top of all this, Bulaga has already played in a zone blocking system so his learning curve to the NFL will be shorter. Collectively I like Bulaga because at worst he will be a great RT. I believe that he has the potential to be a great LT as well. If we draft another player that can play LT or RT like Saffold in the 2nd, we will increase our chances of at least getting the blindside covered and possibly some much needed help on the strong side of the line as well.

[Skins Fan 2932]

Angle2,

That was better. And you have your right to your opinion just as we have a right to ours. Thanks for voicing it.

A few months ago, I was in the camp of trading down from #4 to get Bulaga. Now that the value I see in him is recognized by more experts, I don't feel comfortable trading down now to get him. I do like him better than Okung.

Again thanks for an interesting discussion.

[Ryko]

I agree with everything Skins Fan 2932 just said about Bulaga, given I haven't had the opportunity to watch him play this past season but all of those tidbits seem to be pertinent for a lineman to be succesful. Arm length to me seems like just a measure unless its crazy abnormally short arms.. which hes not. Steve Smith (CAR) is a "short" receiver and he wins jump balls... measureables are just that. measured. they don't always translate to on field.. so I'd say take Bulaga when Okung is gone.

[[[ghost]]]

I would LOVE Baluga.

Besides the obvious fact that he's perfect for our system, Baluga is easily the meanest OL in this draft. His tenacity would be fantastic for our run game. I would absolutely love to land him here, especially if we go QB with our 4th. Even if we have to trade up from 37.

[36HAMMER]

actually the word is anything less than 33 inches is supposed to be bad news,and Balaga is a 331/4.As usual depending on who you read Okeung is better or he has a better upside but Balaga is the more nfl ready right now.i aslo like his nasty streak.something the Skins have sorely lacked sense Tre Johnson.If we can trade down and still get Balaga i would do it yesterday.Okeung is a very good Lt but Balaga is right there.And Trent williams has drawn comparason to Walter Jones ,the old tackle of the Seahawks from Florida state.To me we need a tackle soo bad and this years draft outside of the two DT's theres no clear palyer that stands above the crowd.so go need and if you can trade down and still get a very good lt then its a no brainer.Russel Okeung is number the 1 LT on most boards but not all.alot have Balaga who has the technical aspect of the blocking game down more than Okeung and his nasty streak is also much more ready than Okeung.If the write up on LT Trent Williams from the Sooners is correct than there are 3 LT than can fill our needs.there is also the LT from Rutgers as well.Then second rd we can either go lb or RT or Guard or safety.but the fact is this team has a really slack fa group to look to to get help and they don't have picks to spare to trade for players.i would say get Otogwe but we can't offord to give up a pick unless the Rams are willing to wait until next year.The fa pool next year will be much better.I also think the Skins should wait until next year for a QB.We here in redskins land have seen twice first hand the folly of picking a Qb before you have a Oline thats squared away.Casserly did it twice ,once here and once in Houston.WE aslo drafted Campbell and he has never had an oline that could stay healthy or succeed for him.i believe he could have done what Eli has done with the line Eli has had.