Never NEVER Give-up

Not really a stupid question. They sometimes assign the + or - in confusing fashion - usually because of the over/under. Buffalo +5 means add 5 points to the Bills final score - we're a dog here. Against the Browns, it says Buffalo -1. Here we are the favorite "giving" a point to the Browns - or deduct 1 point from the Bills final score. The rule of thumb is take the final scores of the game and add/subtract the betting line to whichever team gets/gives points. The result is the final score for betting purposes. So in week one, add 5.5 points to the Bills final score. If we lose 25-20, you still win the bet because after adding 5.5 points you get Jets 25 - Bills 25.5. Similarly, if we beat the Browns by 1, 20-19, the betting line is a push/tie as you need to deduct 1 point from Buffalo's score, making it 19-19. Hope this helps.

Um, yeah. Me too.

WOW - from near-last in the league to #1, huh? Unprecedented!! Our offense went from near-last to middle of the pack last year. I'll be thrilled if the defense can do the same.

Agree - they should bring Dixon for a look see - he's more coachable than VY; and if VY could benefit from Chan's coaching (if he would listen), then Dixon would most certainly benefit from the experience.

I believe we beat Houston after our bye and agree we'll lose to the Pats after their bye (again!). We'll also lose 1 more game among the 1st 7 weeks. That would mean 11-5. Or possibly 10-6. Despite being irritated by it, I hope the media keep underestimating the Bills, so no one gets too full of themselves at OBD. Remember last year, we were beating Cincy (there) and tried to cruise in the 2nd half. They used it as a springboard to a very good season and we never recovered as the season went into a death spiral. Let's hope it's a lesson learned.

During Wednesday mornings Vince Young workout at One Bills Drive a handful of players on Buffalos roster ran routes for the free agent quarterback. Wide receivers David Nelson, Donald Jones, Naaman Roosevelt and Marcus Easley all participated and caught passes from Young. (Per Chris Brown) No other word . . Question is - is he still here - perhaps negotiating a contract? Or has he left OBD for the airport - if he left right after the workout, I'd guess it was WITHOUT a deal. The longer he stays, the greater the chance they sign him.

Let Metzelaars advise if Clark has anything left . . .

I think he's done - I thought the same when he played for the Pats. Stick a fork in 'em!

He's an undeniable talent. We need to trust CHIX to meet with him and assess if he's ready to be serious about playing on a Football TEAM. In the past it's always been about Vince. Has he matured? Can he lead? Can he accept blame for things that don't go right? I trust CHIX to assess this and more when they talk to him. If they sign him, I'll be thrilled - it'll mean they think he can do it!

http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial-page/viewpoints/article833545.ece?twobillsdrive

I couldn't agree more, but I read it on-line and there was also an editoial that was totally refreshing and you should read and share with everyone you know - the ideas put forth it could help the Bills locate downtown and become a major impetus for regional growth funded by the state, federal and canadian governments. I will also post this as a new topic - it is such a refreshing approach for Buffalo's morass for the last 50-60 years. http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial-page/viewpoints/article833545.ece?twobillsdrive

Shoretalk said - - "When he grades a team he is grading them against the KIPER pre-draft insight. So teams that do not pick the way Mel wanted them to pick get lower grades and those foolish enough to buy into all of his picks get the higher grade." I wholeheartedly agree. I was watching when C. Glenn was drafted and Kiper said we needed a Tackle, not a Guard - so right there we received demerits because we didn't address our need (per Kiper). When the NC State WR was taken, both Kiper & McShay had him as a 7th rounder - demerits vs value (per Kiper). The problem with Kiper's evaluation is that is presumes his valuations are the standard by which all teams draft. If that were true (AND IT ISN'T) then he would have a point in his "Draft Grades". I'd rather we go by the pros - Buddy CLEARLY and RATIONALLY explained what they did and why - this is why I love the guy and say - if Buddy says so - it is so. I drank his kool-aid shortly after he got the job. He doesn't presume to know more than the next guy and he explains himself freely - stopping short ONLY when his answer could compromise a competitive advantage. Did the draft go perfectly - no - because there were 31 others taking talent we liked. But we were still able to address need positions and we got bigger and faster. Now, just as we signed Nick Barnett, we wait for June when teams shed veterans for one reason or another and maybe we can addresss another need at that time. I am very optimistic about the Bills. Undeniably, they are improving and trending in the right direction. We haven't been able to say that since the 90's!!

I'd wait till Saturday, after Rd's 2-3 are over and offfer them one of our 7th round picks - he's an upgrade over Thigpen and with a full year as starter under his belt, he may actually make a jump and be better than he was and fulfill some of the promise he had coming out of college.

NE picked 2 "name" guys who had excellent college careers. HOWEVER, these guys are tweeners and it will be difficult to scheme so these guys can excel. Will they each be able to play all 3 downs? I don't think so, but we'll see. More often than not, as of late, Belechik has been missing on his picks - not nearly as successful as when Scott Pioli (KC Chiefs) was there. The only thing to fear in NE is Brady and if you can't tell, we're loading up to stop that!!

Dead on! I swear these guys aren't grading the quality of the pick, they are grading the pick vs their mock draft - as if they know what we need!! We had one of the fewest sacks-against totals in the league last year AND there were no tackles worthy of a pick @ #10. Prisco's bruised ego is obvious. Yep - and they all had Gilmore off the board when we picked at #10!!

Buddy & 2 scouts went to Notre Dame to interview hm and work him out. So a OBD visit wasn't necessary. At this point they know if they love him or not - the decision on Floyd has been made. Now it's a question of whether he is available to us at #10, and who else is available to us (Kuchley, Tannehill, Kalil, CB's, Barron, Richardson etc) - they will all make the choice more difficult - and if 2-3 of these guys are available - a trade down scenario will present itself - THAT would be the best scenario!!

Not so sure that he's not injury prone. Both his injuries were roll-up injuries - that happens every week to OL-men. He seems to get injured when it happens. I love the guy, but he needs to play out a season. He would have been a Pro Bowl-er last year. Let's hope all goes well this year and he achieves that - then we can concentrate on Super Bowl-ers!! Go Bills!! I feel the same way about Terrence McGee - I love him and he's our best corner (and probably kick returner) - but he can't stay on the field. I feel bad for him, but if he gets hurt again this year, I believe the Bills wil cut him loose.

AND don't forget to factor-in the Notre Dame quarterbacking!!!

Mallet - maybe. If he's clean and if Chanix like him as a franchise QB than go for it. Maybe a 4th Rd pick, this year's 4th Rd'er if they like him that much. Remember, just because they have Brady, doesn't mean they are great judges of QB talent - otherwise they'd have drafted Brady earlier in the draft. So don't assume Mallet is trash just because they are dangling him.

Kiper's 'Grade A' Draft: Mel plays GM of every AFC team in picking Rounds 1-3 of the draft When I do mock drafts, I'm not simply giving my opinion on where players will go. In fact, I disagree with some of the picks I'm putting down. But the mocks are based on a combination of where players are being valued across the league, how I feel those players are valued by individual teams, what the top needs for each team are, whether they value need over the best player available and so on. It's not an editorial. For this, I was asked, "What would you do if you were picking?" So I gave it a shot. I've listed what I see as the top needs for each team, and I've gone ahead and made the picks that fill needs based on where I have players ranked. A few ground rules: 1. At each spot, I'm making the pick best for that team at that spot. I won't pass on an ideal pick for the Bills at No. 10 just because that player would be a great fit at No. 11. 2. There are no duplicates anywhere. 3. I will suggest good spots to trade down, but I won't rearrange the board. 4. This is for fun! One pick can derail a whole draft, so in no way do I think this is how it might look. With that in mind, let's go through it. I'll discuss motives for each team in the analysis. AFC East Buffalo Bills Top needs: LT, WR, OLB, CB, QB Rd 1 (10) WR Michael Floyd Rd 2 (41) OT Jonathan Martin Rd 3 (71) LB Mychal Kendricks Analysis: Not in order, but I've hit my top three needs if I'm Buffalo. There are front offices that have Floyd as the top wide receiver in the draft, so getting him at No. 10 is pretty fair, given I've had him at about that spot on my Big Board. Floyd is a big target who will pick up the route tree quickly and give Ryan Fitzpatrick a much-needed new option. Martin is a guy who once carried a solid first-round grade and could be a total steal at No. 41. Kendricks has immense physical talent and could be plugged in immediately, something the team did with Kelvin Sheppard last year. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I am all for taking Kalil at #1. Now that you acknowledge that I am dreaming because he'll be long-gone, I would say the other tackles are not top 10 material. Reiff is physical, smart but athletically limited. Martin is athletically gifted, but his heart/desire are in question (can you say Mike Williams??). No thanks!!!! With Kalil gone, and Luck,RG3 & Blackmon gone too, the next guy we should take is Floyd (WR - Notre Dame). No other pick in the draft will have as much of a positive impact on the team - he would immediately upgrade our offense. If we take one of the Tackles - MAYBE they start, MAYBE they don't. Same goes for the LB's out there. D On the other hand, DeCastro (Stanford G) would be an intriguing pick - would that mean CHIX plans to move Levitre to Tackle?

Did YOU ever play football at the HS or college level? Overcrowed locker rooms and a great # of guys you don't like - because they're jerks. I remember all too well. We look at the Bills and almost unconditionally love them. But sometimes there's a real jerk or a troublemaker and many call for that guy to be shipped out of town (Whitner, Lynch are the 1st guys that come to mind.) Then there's all-around good guys that seem to be our core - Fitz, Kelsay, Kyle, Stevie, Andy, Eric, Dareus, Barnett, Mcgee, Sheppard and Florence. These guys are the reason we love the Bills. We love them and want them to win so bad - for themselves - we want to see them get the accolades.

Generally speaking, approximately 50% of 1st round selections are marginal or busts. If they find a way to identify football intelligence, desire, drive and heart, they'd never miss on a pick. The problem is they project the circumstance of the draft pick onto themselves and not the person selected. What I mean is they look at a prospect, say to themselves we're gonna give this guy all this money, we'll coach him up and with all that money he'll want to go thru a wall for us - so it'll all work out. But all those 1st round picks prove otherwise.

Excellent point - this supports what I said in my preceding post. The #22 rank in QBR is directly correlating to the # of picks. The number of picks was due to his pressing and trying to do too much. With improvements, better health and (hopefully) ND WR-Floyd, he will show what he is - closer to the top 10, between 10 - 15 probably.

I guess they can't rank him higher based on our record last year, but if you read why espn's james Walker picks the Bills as his sleeper next year, then there is reason enough to rank him higher. I think Fitz is closer to top 10 than he is to the bottom ten. 15 sounds about right - trending upward. We'll see. If Fitz has a bad year this year, look for Buddy & Chan to really look for a new alternative.