LGB

Dareus makes everyone better. The biggest positive for me is Fitz and the maturity of the OL. Everyone likes to say that the new staff @ OBD knows what they are doing...well here is the chance to prove that they have a clue with QB and OL.

good post...the draft is over...most all the pundits have had their say...the NFL is locked-out...nice somewhat football related post.

Maybin and McCargo are in the complaint box because they were first round picks that are flat-out just eating up roster spots and this is a major problem with defense right now. The fact that high draft picks have not contributed like high draft picks should (with all that high draft pick money thrown at them) has been a systemic problem of the Buffalo Bills and their ability to evaluate/train/coach talent. At some point the Bills need to take advantage of their long run of less than .500 seasons that has put them closer to the top in draft order and Marcell Dareus looks to be the right medicine in this department.

"Adrian Peterson bounces to the outside and sprints 43 yards for a TD in the fourth quarter vs. the Bills" C'mon he was just jogging past Kelsay and and the rest of the Bills... I get that Kelsay is a stand up guy and the kind of player you want in your locker room, but he really did look more clue-less than helpful in most of his playing time last year trying to be an OLB.

If a new retractable multi-purpose stadium for the Vikes comes in around a billion dollars and the NFL is willing to contribute 1/3 of the costs; yeah it is still a steep price tag, but if the Bills were to get government contributions from some of the other nearby areas in WNY...? Move the stadium to Darien Lake - so that there is an added draw and support for it through most of the year from Niagara Falls, Ontario, Buffalo, Batavia, Rochester and Syracuse - right down the thruway. Add extra toll booths and maybe train service for an easy commute. Besides Concerts and the Winter Classic, Training Camp could be there with the Amusement Park and camping still open. The parking and roads are already there for the most part - especially during the fall when the park is closed - what do you think?

Bad DL & LBs and only one person that even when double-teamed could occasionally make a play in Williams puts you near or last against the run. This is nothing new...as the Bills have been among the worst at defending the run ever since Pat Williams went to the Vikes. What is different this year? Maybe some players more determined and skilled than Maybust or MaCargo-bust - plus Dave Wannstedt should help. prediction: last in the league to maybe 24th against the run.

This is surely proof that the Bills will not be locating. that is unless of course they become the Batavia Bison

Looks like the NFL is willing to contribute to the Vikes construction project? What could this kind of support bring Buffalo's 30+ year old RWS?

The obvious difference here is that the Bills play in the AFC East (not the NFC West) which means that they need about 7 more wins to even get a whiff of a wild card birth.

I would just add that besides the questions with RT, does anyone think that the OL that was on the field most of the time (i.e. injury replacements) had any sort of continuity as an offensive unit? edit: many fans wanted help on the OL. Well, it turned out there must have been more needs for the Bills on D than even Nix would admit to.

Why just tax from Erie County...shouldn't all of the Bills viewing area (NFL blackout zone) be taxed within the 75 mile radius of RWS? This includes all of Buffalo, Niagara Falls, Batavia, Rochester, probably Syracuse and some Canadian cities. Think of all the money that would bring in - if the Bills get millions of dollars from just Erie County now.

The Kansas City game I remember the most is when there was all kinds of hope for Trent Edwards and the Bills back in 2008.

There has been talk about building a new stadium in Niagara Falls, but maybe the Bills could move down the thruway to Darien Lake - closer to Batavia/Rochester/Syracuse.

The Bills will roughly have about the same amount of space at Fisher that they do at the field house in OP. Maybe less because the practice area that used to be over two football fields side by side is now reduced to the infield of a track. Also, it looks like some of trees might have been taken out that provided a buffer from the expressway next to the field. This had to be a tough decision for SJFC and one that might have the Bills looking at other locations in the future unless they also plan to use the artificial turf that was used for night practices.

The Bills have been really bad with first round picks, but have been okay in the later rounds. top first round round disappointments from 2002: 2009 - Aaron Maybin 2006 - John McCargo 2002 - Mike Williams 2004 - J.P. Losman 2003 - Willis McGahee Honorable mentions: 2007 - Marshawn Lynch 2006 - Donte Whitner too early to tell: 2010 - C.J. Spiller biggest 2nd round disappointment: 2008 - James Hardy

Put him the backfield as a blocking back or give him the ball. Other teams will be gasping - so we could call him Gasper?

Bills fans familiar with attending training camp at St. John Fisher College in Pittsford, NY will notice some rather big changes this year. The two grass fields that the Bills normally use are being transformed into the new Polisseni Track & Field Complex with grandstand seating for 1000 fans and an eight-lane, 400-meter competition track. The grandstands are going up now, but the photos linked here are from late winter. This is good and bad news for fans attending training camp. It’s great that there will be grandstands, but the players will likely not be as close to the fans as before and some of the old school feel might be lost (fans used to line up near the grass fields and watch end zone drills 10 yards from the action). Anyway, Russ Brandon recently said that the Bills would consider canceling training camp at Fisher if a settlement is not reached by late June or early July.

The 2011 home opener (hopefully) will provide us with some indication of possible improvements with our run defense - against a very good running offense (Darren McFadden and Michael Bush).

It would be great to see more of Spiller and Roscoe was improving before he got hurt, but I agree with others that it is likely the Bills come out with a couple more wins this year.

'bout freakin' time! There have been way too many draft failures over the years per Modrak's recommendations.

Looking at the 2011 schedule, nothing really jumps out as being a somewhat easier game for the Bills. Maybe the Bengals before the bye and the Broncos or Titans after? at Kansas City Chiefs Oakland Raiders New England Patriots at Cincinnati Bengals Philadelphia Eagles at New York Giants Bye Washington Redskins New York Jets at Dallas Cowboys at Miami Dolphins at New York Jets Tennessee Titans at San Diego Chargers Miami Dolphins Denver Broncos at New England Patriots

I agree that the Bills seem to be under the impression or have the idea that you don't need a quality experienced LT to protect your QB's blind-spot and really haven't gone out of their way to help Trent Edwards or Fitz. In Edwards case, you had a guy that held the ball too long behind a bad OL. This scenario could have been made into another TV series like "the most dangerous job". Edwards just got pummeled in Buffalo and is now probably only one Pat LaFontaine hit away from another concussion and out of football for good with the Jags.

Despite the fact that Buddy Nix recently mentioned that the Bills don’t have as many needs and most people think, it remains to be seen if the Bills have enough talent to improve to the point where Chan and Buddy will keep their jobs and not be another exit in the Bills staffing carousel. Every NFL team seems to have deficiencies or areas of improvement on offense, defense and special teams. But sometimes it comes down to two things to be successful and overcome deficiencies: how good your QB is and if you have a pass-rush. Take care of these two positions and it takes some of the pressure off the other areas. Green Bay is an example of this - as they were not a perfect team last year (could not run the ball), but look at what they were able to do with a great QB and pass rusher in Aaron Rodgers and Clay Matthews. Historically, he Bills have only been competitive when they have had a better than average “franchise” QB and have been able to put pressure on the opposing QB. This formula for winning is nothing new. Put just enough talent around a great QB to allow your team to score a lot of points. This forces the other team to take more chances to keep pace, which in turn, allows you to take more chances with a good pass rushing defense. This is the design for many teams like New Orleans, New England, Green Bay and San Diego to name a few. Ralph Wilson said last year: “Quarterback is the top priority. We have to get some talent and the search for talent begins at quarterback.” Well, the Bills have not had much success finding the type of QB that can take a team on his shoulders and move the chains down the field. The Bills haven't had a “franchise” quarterback since Jim Kelly and since that time, nine different QBs have started at least eight games. And besides Aaron Schobel, the Bills have not had much success generating a pass-rush. Yes, the Bills have been plugging holes like they did this year, but they seem to be just treading water without building around the two major ingredients. The Bills have not been able to benefit from their many years of sub-500 play that has put them closer to the top in draft choices (of course, they have not been helped with flameout high draft choices like Maybin and McCargo) and missed on Trent Edwards and JP Losman. The other thing that does not help the Bills is that they have been changing their coaching staff every three years since Marv Levy. Just when one regime has “their” players in place, another staff comes and starts the process over again. Ralph Wilson also had two words for Bills fans last year: “Pain and Patience”. I’m good with the patience part if Ralph, at 92 years old, or whoever might buy this team will do the same. If we now have football savvy people running the Bills instead of marketing guys and clueless coaches on game days, then let’s try to give this staff the chance to assess the QB position and more than three years to get this thing headed in the right direction. Go Bills!

After a few years of Bills fans expecting an impact return on a first round pick, Donte has been a disappointment and probably will not be resigned. The thing is Bills fans should be more disappointed with the return on first round picks Maybin and McCargo who took the cash, but haven't been a factor in improving the Bills at all.

Right, once that type of player fell into their laps, there is no way they could not take him - but they might have done something after that to move up?