bourbonboy

OK - what really gets me is that this is the first time he had heard that....if you are the Bills FO, negotiating a contract, aren't you ging to bring that up, and say "hey Jason, I know you made the pro-bowl and all, but you did give up WAY too many sacks last year, and this affects the value of the contract that we or any other team will be giving you"? Not that this would've changed things, but this SHOULD HAVE been part of the Bills stance during any offer discussions. That's business! Makes me think that the Bills weren't trying all that hard (or that Parker shielded JP from the details).

?? Denver was professional with Cutler? Washington has been professional with Jason Campbell? Cleveland has been professional in trying to dump every offensive weapon they own? And don't get me started on Detroit - they easily win the prize for leagues most dysfunctional FO. I don't claim we have the best FO, and sure there have been mistakes, but give some credit where credit is due. If they immediately gave in to Peters and Jackson, then they are viewed as soft, and suddenly you have half the team holding out for more money because they figure they can easily get it. It's a business, and the FO still has time on their side.

Per ESPN via Rotoworld, its now official - Paulus will be at Michigan: Former Duke point guard Greg Paulus will join Michigan's football team and be given an opportunity to compete for the starting quarterback job this fall. Paulus, an All-American quarterback in high school, will graduate from Duke in June. He has one year of football eligibility and will enroll as a graduate student at Michigan. Paulus recent worked out for the Packers. Source: ESPN.com

?? I was with you up until that point....I'll take a Blue over a Bud/Coors/Miller/etc any day of the week! If there's one thing Canadians know, it's their beer (lotsa time sitting inside over winters to perfect it)

Former Gatorade Football Player of the Year in New York, offered scholarships at Notre Dame and Miami, and instead chose basketball at Duke, where many think he was the best QB in the ACC, even though he never played football! The kid picked basketball and screwed up his future big time. He never had a chance at turning pro in basketball, so yes, I think he made an absolutely HUGE mistake that probably cost him millions of dollars. I don't begrudge him a last shot at playing QB for a year - hell, he could come home and grab the SU spot very easily, but that's not likely to get him as much exposure or chance to flash (and definitely wouldn't get him into a bowl game!).

Per Rotoworld: Jim Leonhard is expected to replace Leon Washington as the Jets' primary punt returner this season. Washington will stay on kickoff returns, but the Jets hope to keep him fresher for an increased offensive role. Leonhard will likely also start at safety, although it remains to be seen if he's at the free or strong position. Source: New York Daily News Call me crazy, but this doesn't strike much fear into me....I thought the Jets were over-estimating Leonhard's safety skills when they signed him, but if they want him to return punts too, that's fine by me...hope he still has the job when they face the Bills! P.S. - I've always kinda liked Leonhard from his Bills time, but he just didn't strike me as quality starter material.

I'd love to play them 16 times this year, if we could.....if we lose to them again this year, I'm moving to Canada and becoming a curling fan....

The big stink last year was that we lost weather advantage by playing a warm weather team in the dome. So the NFL schedules a cold weather team this year, and we start complaining about it being a divisional game, and a closer team that will fill Toronto with unfriendly fans....in reality, there will be complaints with any game scheduled there, and there will always be less Bills-cheering fans than at the Ralph, regardless of opponent (and especially if they play as lousy as they did last year). And besides, the true football fans in TO are Argos fans, and they are not likely to change allegiance easily, so they'll be quick to boo the Bills whenever things go bad. Money wise, its a good move to play in TO, but that's about it....

?? Me thinks it is true (more likely than any other position): 4 picks = secondary 2 picks = DL 2 pick = RB 2 picks = WR 1 pick = OL 1 pick = QB What really pains me is that we need help on both lines, and we do NOT have a good track record with the 1st pick linemen! Flowers, Williams and McCargo - ouch!

Interesting....checking out this link, and compared to other positions, 1st and 2nd round picks have a pretty high percentage of panning out; 3rd round picks are hit or miss; and anyone taken in 4th or lower has almost no chance of having any real impact (so much for Derek Fine!). Although I agree that we should not use #11 on Pettigrew, we realistically will not be able to improve at TE with anything but a relatively high pick.

Yep - Freeney....

Nice analysis, and I'm not disagreeing with your conclusions - you can't compare JP to Brett - but I think that your 11+ yard stats are for 2008 only.....and I'm not sure where you could get this data easily, but looking at all pass completions of 20+ yards, under all situations (not just when needing 11+ yds) might be more appropriate (?) and would be interesting to see.

The only possible reason to sign someone now is if they do not expect to keep Omon....as you say, lynch will be out a game or 3 (I'm hoping a single game with appeal, but who knows), and we all know the #3 RB hardly saw the field last year. Neither Lynch or Jackson are what I would consider fragile, so why waste money (even vet minimum) on a guy who'll be sitting on the bench the whole year? I'd rather wait and react only when the actual need is there to do so...

I totally agree - as good as Ayers may be, he doesn't fit a strong need on our team. If the sackers are gone, then one of the stud OT's will probably slip to us, and I think you gotta give them serious consideration as well.

Definitely stay away from the end zones, and also pick your opponent carefully - Raiders games are a real no-no (not that they're coming this this year anyway), and heated rivalries can bring more trash talking and language. Closer teams (like Cleveland) can also result in more opposing fans in the stands, which always leads to less family-friendly atmosphere, shall we say. Higher seats are also good, but if you can swing it financially, and your son knows his football, getting as close to the field (on the sidelines, away from the end zones/corners), does make it special. I took my son to his first game when he was 9, and splurged on some front row seats at about the 15 yard line on the Bills side. He loved watching all the sideline stuff that you don't see on TV - Losman checking all the game balls to find one he liked best, etc. - and we had a nice view of the goal line for a few touchdowns. Enjoy - definitely a cool father-son outing!

OK - this is an extreme view, but the man may have one point that I agree with - JP could possibly have done better (NOT top 5 mind you, but a quality starter) on a team that had two strong WR's and a stout OL to allow time for longer passes. JP could toss a nice long ball when allowed time - you gotta give him that. Even before I read this post, I was thinking to myself that if JP could sign with Denver as a #2, then maybe get a chance to show his stuff at some point if #1 goes down, he could probably do well. No defense, no real running game, but a great OL and he could put up long balls all day to Marshall (when he isn't suspended), Royal, Scheffler & company. With Orton and Simms, that's never going to happen, but that would've been fun to watch!

Very sad to hear this....I grew up in Philly, and started watching the Phillies soon after he started broadcasting them. He and Richie Ashburn were second to none as a broadcasting pair! You'll be missed, Harry - may the Phils repeat in your honor!

Agreed - but IMHO, these improvements would not make the Bills significantly better as a team, at least not this year while we have T.O. as a receiving threat. Using T.O., Evans, our RB, and Reed as our WR #3, there is not a big need for a receiving TE (teams with two stud wideouts seldom use the TE as a receiver often); and if we're looking for blocking, I'm not sure how much of an upgrade Pettigrew is over our current TE's or others that would be available much later in the draft. Picking at #11, we can and should get more of an impact player for our team. I like spot #11, because even if the top DE's that you mentioned are all gone by #11, then this means that there should still be a stud OT available. Or, at the worst case, Sanchez will still be there, and I still think there would be takers for Sanchez. We could trade down and pick up a valuable extra 2nd or 3rd round pick, then maybe we take Pettigrew or Ayers with a lower 1st round pick. Barring trades, no team after us is likely to take Pettigrew before the Eagles at #21, and this is the only scenario that I could see that makes sense for the Bills (and this is only an emergency plan B if we can't get a top talent at DE or OT at #11).

I fully agree - though I would also add OL to the list of needs that are higher than TE. Bottom line - why would we reach for Pettigrew at #11 when TE is not even in our top 3 list of needs? And no, he won't be there for our 2nd round pick (he likely won't reach the 2nd round period). Let's address our priority needs first, then take a TE with upside potential on day 2. With T.O., Evans, Reed, and Lynch/Jackson, we have plenty of receivers already.

Exactly - for better or worse, he is a Bill, and he is extremely talented, so let's give him the benefit of the doubt and hope these are learning experiences that help him mature. Personally, the first infraction did not really bother me that much - that was not a "thug" infraction. So in my book, he's got one bad strike against him, and I'm not going to write him off for that. What he does with himself from here on is what matters most.

I agree that this is not a priority - Lynch will probably only miss a game or two after he appeals, so there is no real urgency here. It's no different than Lynch getting dinged up and missing a game or two in the middle of the season. If you have confidence in your #2 and #3 backs, you don't panic and hire another RB as soon as you hear that your stud will miss a game or two. Jackson can easily handle the job, and if Omon can show anything in the preseason, you go to war with the guys we have. I know we're not talking big $$, but there's better ways to use the cash, and if we need to add someone later, there will always be a temp-filler FA available.

1. Raji will never be available at pick 11. 2. Ayers is the most complete all-around DE, but what that means is that he is not an exceptional pass-rusher, and would be a Kelsay-Denney steady every-down type. And a definite reach at #11, IMHO. We already have those types, so why get another, even if he is an upgrade? Given our current roster, it makes more sense to get a pure pass-rusher and rotate him in.... 3. Brown is arguably the 2nd best pass rushing DE in the draft (after Orakpo, who will be long gone) - I've seen him falling to #11 in quite a few mock drafts, so it is possible, but I'm hesitant to get my hopes up, and watch him get picked at #10. In reality, more than likely he is not there at #11. 4. If Brown is not there, Maybin is growing on me, and would not be a bad pick (unless we need to go with a LT because the Peters experiment ends with a trade).

Per Rotoworld: Free agent Rex Grossman recently changed agents from Eugene Parker to Drew Rosenhaus. Grossman hasn't received a sniff since a false report that he was scheduled to visit the Bucs, but Rosenhaus says he "should get him a deal soon." Too bad undrafted TE-turned-linemen aren't as smart as QB's.....

Plus, last I heard the stubborn Cinti owner wants to keep #85, and like Ralph, his is THE final word.

I've got no problem with this - Stroud can still plug the middle and stop the run.....and Jackson's deal won't be a bank-breaker, regardless of what they settle on. But it does make me wonder if they aren't giving up on JP, and figuring that they have some $$ to spread around without his new deal.