Punch

I'm not suggesting he'll be over the hill at 30, but the Bills simply won't be an OT away from competing this year or next year. They cannot realistically invest $10 million/year for the next 3 years as they muddle through a major rebuilding project. If he were 26 or so, then that would be a worthwhile and realistic investment for the future stability of the offensive line. I agree wholeheartedly in regards to musical chairs style roster moves being detrimental and utterly destructive to properly building a team; but I think committing a boatload of money to a 29 year old OT when they are first tearing everything down prior to building it back up correctly would be exactly that--- musical chairs.

He's 29 now, but how old will he be when the Bills can make good use of him? They likely won't be competing for a playoff spot next year, either, even if they make a big jump.

If the Bills hadn't made so many mind numbingly head scratching roster moves and draft picks in the previous 5 years they wouldn't even have been in a position to take Whitner at 8 nor need to trade up for a reach DT. That's what makes all of these disasters worse--- each hot mess is really just piled on top of the previous one. Now the organization is buried in it and the digging out process is going to take awhile. Word, W-Byrd.

It's a shame Green Bay didn't pony up for him--- I'm sure he would've racked up a ton of fantasy points there! If he did become a Packer I was going to start planning my championship parade. I'm still amazed that I have the luxury of keeping both Lynch and Vincent Jackson on my bench, but my starting group and other reserves are pretty strong. If only the real Bills were good enough that I wouldn't care a lick about fantasy football.

Even when his brief tenure in the "minors" is taken into account, he's probably remarkably fresh. 1 year in NFL Europa and 2 in the United Indoor Football league are not equivalent to even 3 part-time NFL seasons. Fred should be good for at least 3 more years of good productivity if he is not ridden into the ground. I'm sure he was aware of the possibility of Lynch being moved since the offseason. But he's certainly a man in a league full of boys, maturity wise.

Of course. I didn't want him either, but he's here now. If this rebuilding process takes more than a year the Bills would be wise to at least be patient with him. We can't just trade away or unceremoniously dump our 1st round picks

A pile is exactly what comes to mind when I think of Kelsay's play on the field...

I had him on my ff bench in case of a trade, but I was planning on waiting to see how he'll be used before I start him. Even if he's Seattle's #1 RB their offense isn't exactly going gangbusters, with so many injuries on the offensive line, so he may not be all that valuable.

He's paying attention to the box scores. If Donte is putting up big tackle numbers it's because he's doing it downfield after our front 7 collectively whiffed or after he piles on. Kelsay is our leader in solo tackles (though it's a particularly weak figure) for no other reason than the fact he is targeted repeatedly by the opposing offense. Kelsay and Whitner may lead the team in solo and total tackles respectively but they also lead the league in embarrassing whiffs. Being targeted so often they're bound to snag a few in the process.

Wow. Extend him, indefinitely.

He may not have caught any passes, but he is certainly responsible for drawing coverage away from the other targets. One reason Danny Woodhead was so open and the middle of the field was cleared out on his TD catch Monday Night is because both Moss and Welker were double covered. Don Maynard didn't catch a pass in Super Bowl III but his ability to draw deep coverage is as big a reason the Jets won that game as anything else. Having said that, I'm sure the Pats can find a way to win without Moss. But his contribution was not insignificant.

Modrak wanted Cushing and Nix was on record as having wanted Orakpo. Of all the guys mentioned as possibly going to the Bills at that spot, the only one I absolutely did not want is Maybin. But we're stuck with him, for the moment. Wishin', hopin', prayin' that he may one day pan out. Another unicorn in the stable when what we need are horses.

I can't see the Patsies paying Jackson. But, there is at least one big difference between the two: Randy Moss is 33 years old and Vincent Jackson is only 27. The Patriots are always looking to the future and that 6 year gap is a pretty big one. Plus, I think Moss was a much bigger question mark at the time New England traded for him than Jackson is now, and another team's headache is always more palatable than your own.

Levitre played tackle in college and also played quite a bit at both LT and RT due to injuries last year, but he may not be suited for the RT spot, fulltime--- at least that's what the consensus opinion seems to be. Urbik has very little game experience, but Cordero Howard has looked good to my eyes at both tackle positions and inside as well in spot duty. I'm surprised Wang is practicing at guard--- I thought one of the knocks on him is that due to his athleticism and lack of real bulk/strength he is really only seen to fit in at LT. Regardless, I fully expect changes to be made as they have alluded to doing so all along as the season progresses, and the Trent release and Marshawn trade have made it evident nothing is set in stone.

He is so young for an NFL player that his body has not yet gotten up to speed, physically. It's the only reason I'm holding out hope, at this point. His maturity is an issue, however, and I'm not thinking so much about off the field stuff. His propensity to ignore his responsibilities in the run game and pass coverage and not properly read the QB is something that may improve over time but it's also possible he's just not capable of it. It's not unlike a QB that cannot read defenses. Considering the need to be patient with so many other facets of this team, Maybin has the time to prove one way or another if he can grow into an NFL player.

The contract details may not be as obscene as it appears at first glance. This article from the paper of record, the Niagara Falls Gazette, made me feel simultaneously better and worse about the Kelsay extension: http://niagara-gazette.com/buffalo-bills/x1864897670/An-endorsement-of-losing-by-extension Other than that, I got nothing.

It's Charles Romes in the pic, a pretty good DB for the Bills in the late '70s-mid '80s. It was one of my favorite Bills football cards as a kid in the golden '80s. Gailey's assistant hires are pretty par for the course seeing that they are longtime colleagues of his--- that's usually how it goes, but it's always disheartening when they are not of a very high caliber as now appears the case. If you remember, though, it was thought that he didn't exactly have the pick of the litter when he was hired. I think he tried to get Mike Nolan as D coordinator but I may be misremembering. Gregg Williams was a strange case where the GM (Donahoe, of course) was responsible for bringing in a number of the assistants, which is how we wound up with Dick Lebeau as our, like, 3rd in command on defense. It wouldn't be crazy if other coaches were eventually brought it, maybe next year. Turnover happens.

I loved BeastMode early on... but I wouldn't be shocked if he were out of the league sooner rather than later.

He coached at North Carolina or NC State, right? He definitely sounds intelligent when discussing the intricacies of the game. I love listening to Joe D. As far as the Bills not hiring him, I think the head coach is more often than not responsible for the assistant hires. Even if the organization was open to it, the coach would need to agree.

I'm not debating the merits of the majority of your post, as I don't necessarily disagree, but on this one point concerning the "countless experienced offensive line coaches to choose from"--- name them.

WGR mentioned it as having come from an Indianapolis radio station. It seemed plausible (a potential trade relationship) considering we traded McCargo to the Colts and also that Kyle Williams is not exactly a household name, but it may only be a rumor.

Entertaining and informative--- both in short supply at WGR! He actually knows of what he speaks, whereas 550 comes off more like children flailing and writhing for attention.

"Shoptalk with the Lapdog"? That's hilarious.

It's only speculation but I would hope that the hiring of Doug Whaley as Assistant GM (while his name is always mentioned as a potential GM whenever the topic is brought up) means he is actually part of some kind of succession plan to replace Nix. Buddy cannot possibly stay around for much longer than 2 or 3 seasons and it would be pretty negligent of the organization to not plan for the future--- then again, it's the Bills. When was the last time their front office was handled responsibly?

Bill Walsh was 2-14 his first year in San Fran. I would think it's fairly common with teams that are essentially starting over. There's basically zero chance Nix fires Gailey though, right? Aren't they on the same page at this point? It's entirely possible Ralph makes an ill advised move out of desperation, though.