Punch

This explanation doesn't hold water, at all. Having the "national stage" doesn't add quality to a broadcaster's skills. FWIW, Rick has been wooed by national networks over the years and refused because he prefers Sabres' broadcasts. His calls are so well regarded by ESPN that they've been regularly included in highlights, despite the fact he is "only" a local PBP man. He is also an unquestioned Hall of Famer in his sport (ie, the Elmer Ferguson award) whereas Gus Johnson is not in that conversation, at all. Perhaps he will be someday (I personally doubt it) but certainly not now.

It's really disheartening that Allen Wilson of the Buffalo News cites Walterfootball and some dude from Bleacher Report in the same article he quotes Draft reactions from the likes of Don Banks, Rich Gosselin, Kiper, McShay, etc... As if Kiper and McShay weren't unqualified as it is to accurately "grade drafts" while the body's still warm, we need to give validation to know-nothings like Walter Cherupinsky? http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/bills-nfl/article411134.ece

That's true, but like Joe the 6 pack mentioned earlier in this thread, there was a huge clamor for the Bills to get a a big physical receiver. Desean Jackson was seen as another Smurf, of which we were loaded at the time. Obviously, he turned out better than Lee, Roscoe (whom I really like, especially his role in the offense in 2010) or Peerless.

This assessment rings true. Adding up the grades, it comes out approximately a D-, which sounds pretty close.

WOW. Donte's been generally disappointing, particularly considering where he was picked... and that's not his fault, per se, but he's definitely not making the defense any better while he's out there. Having said that, the crybaby act has worn thin. In fact, it was already worn thin about a year or so ago. That pretty much makes his dismissal a slam dunk. Good for Buddy to speak plainly.

Anyone willing to pay Donte "top 5" safety money is crazy. Even at a reasonable price I'd prefer the Bills upgrade the position if they can. Searcy is projected as a starter at SS in the NFL--- it doesn't mean he will be nor does it mean he'll be better than Whitner; time will tell. As others have noted, I think they'd like to re-sign Florence. That group would look pretty good going into training camp, IMHO.

@DonteWhitner TWHITNER I'm gone... And happy :-) http://twitter.com/#!/DonteWhitner/status/64719009362354177

It sounds like a child wrote this assessment. He clearly has no sense of the Bills' overall needs... nor does he have any clue what other draft analysts actually feel about the Bills picks. He makes it sound like all the "experts" agree with his opinion that Buffalo again screwed up royally, which is obviously not the case. It looks like a terrific draft, the day after... we'll know for sure over the course of the next few years. The only thing I can say for absolutely certain right now is that I can't wait to find out!

Interesting notes on Jasper by Tim Graham--- a Bills scout had been tracking him for a year, and it was the Bills that asked him get below 400 lbs. Seems that all this hard work and training for the draft was initiated by the Bills' interest: http://espn.go.com/blog/afceast/post/_/id/28617/bills-draft-pick-weighed-448-in-january

Remember a week or two ago when SI's Peter King referred to the Bills as a "black hole" of draft information? I bet it's possible the Bills not being included may have something to do with their reluctance to communicate more openly.

Why?

????

Agreed with all of this. Trying to peg all the blame on the goaltender is difficult; Patrick Roy had a losing record in Game 7s--- in fact, he holds the distinction of having the most Game 7 losses in history, with 7. Hardly means he's not an elite player. I highly doubt Roy ever went into a Game 7 with the team Miller went in with tonight, either.

Miller was pulled to spare him from the onslaught. Due to injury subs and being generally gassed overall, the team put on the ice for Game 7 was inferior to the team that started the series--- and the team that started the series wasn't as good as Philly to begin with, talentwise.

I agree. I just think that was the inference being made by Nix--- whether that reveals they're true intentions or not is up in the air.

If neither the 1st nor 2nd pick is a QB, then they'll have the pick of the litter at #3 of any QB. The only guarantee of which players will be available are the QBs. You've got it backwards, I think--- the Q posited to Nix was what if the first 2 picks go by and neither of them are QBs.

All of the posts deriding the original subject line for being misleading were made before it was edited to a more appropriate wording. Originally... and for a few hours... the subject line said "Uniform Announcement". Which reads as though the post contained information about when an announcement would be made, not a question. That's all.

Is it necessary for you to post that information every single time or is it possible for us to, like, you know... remember stuff? It's not exactly hard to deduce why you hold such an opinion considering your ballwashing for Leach (which I'm sure you realize invalidates all of your football opinions)--- you participated in an earlier thread where a link quoted that Leach "hadn't seen enough" of Luck and was sure Mallett was the best of the bunch. Why anyone would take you seriously is beyond me. Not from me you haven't, and your crusade is embarrassing. No other poster is trolling threads (or starting new ones) the way you have been to argue about Luck/Mallett. No one is seeking you out to "prove you wrong". If there's a clown in the TSW circus it's The Senator and his copious use of smileys, bold/italics. It makes your posts neither more interesting nor does it disguise the flaws in your ****ty football logic. Your arguments don't even hold water. It's laughable that Luck has enough experience to be drafted in the NFL? But Mallett's brief playing time in 2007 at Michigan (where he struggled mightily) proves he's a stud worthy of the 1st pick. Yeah, nice bull **** phantom argument.

Are you suggesting that Ryan Mallett has substantially more playing experience than Andrew Luck? His 141 passing attempts way back when in 2007 with Michigan were not further examples of his NFL potential and hardly add to his resume. Mallett may turn out to be a better QB than Luck, but this particular argument is beyond embarrassing. The fact that your crusading opinions on Mallett/Luck parrot verbatim those of Mike Leach says it all--- in fact, your man crushes on Leach and Harrell say a lot in regards to the validity of your opinions. And yes, you think Luck likely won't declare in 2011. We all heard you the first 1,000 times.

Is it actually confusing that different people have different opinions? Wait, you like Ryan Mallett? I'm totally stunned with confusion now because there are completely different posters on this message board that like Andrew Luck How is that possible???

Knowing what we had in Edwards was pretty much a dead heat for not exactly knowing what might've been with Vick, prior to the season--- I can't imagine why anyone would pick Edwards to Vick purely on football, though, because it seems obvious the "push" would go for Vick. Still, it was purely 100% speculation that Vick could even return to his previously mediocre QBing, and absolutely no one could have expected him to play Tecmo Bowl level football this year. If you attempt to suggest otherwise you are flat out lying. Plus, it's kind of pathetic that you're posting on a message board at midnight on a weekday that you "can't wait" to prove how right you were by... posting a message board thread in the morning. Christmas Day for the lonely football fanatic? WRONG. Still no prize for metzelaars_lives

I generally dislike McShay, but his comments about Jamarcus' workouts make sense when considering his physical talents alone. Even Jamarcus' college coaches stated that he'd need to commit to putting in practice and film study work to make it in the NFL--- which he admittedly never did. Michael Vick didn't work hard in Atlanta, is doing so now in Philly, and it shows. Russell had all the physical tools to succeed in the NFL, but he didn't dedicate himself to it, which was his downfall.

Why would you bother? Haven't there already been a million of those threads? The people that "preferred" Edwards to Vick have more than likely not changed their minds (even after this season's first 9 weeks) because that preference was never about football in the first place. Also, you don't get a prize or special recognition from the Message Board Gods for... whatever it is you're trying to do.

He still posts as dog14787 at The Aud Club on Sabrespace.com, if anyone wants to check down--- I mean, check in with him and see how Trent's balls are doing.

I don't think Maybin wrote the lyrics or is actually doing the rapping--- it's by a Baltimore area rapper named Caddy da Don, which is how it's credited on Maybin's website. Uhhh, not that there's any justification for it's existence. That's true enough, but Stevie's raps were pretty good, even when he wasn't playing. I think it's just that we'd all prefer if Maybin didn't commission "theme music" boasting of his NFL pass rushing prowess while his website's "highlight" video is so heavily padded. Heavily padded yet still unimpressive. He's just a kid, trying to live the dream. It's not really his fault he was so grossly overvalued as an NFL prospect.