timba

Didn't miss much asked about moving to a playoff team - said he was excited for the opportunity asked about blocking for McNabb - he said he would continue to do what he's always done and block - upon further prompting compared blocking for Losman to block for McNabb. asked about Philly Cheese Steak - said he's not really a fan but would give it a try - laughed at the prospect of becoming addicted as Golic subtly suggested asked about the Philly fans being tough on players - said he could handle it

heads up!

I realize they are under no pressure to sign the guy; however, he has consistently exceeded all expectations from both the franchise and the fans! At some point they need to step up and pay the guy what he's due instead of being stingy and alienating players from wanting to come to Buffalo. I think it makes a statement to anybody who would consider coming to Buffalo. On the other hand you are right - it is a business. Freddy is bound by the rules of the business and should go about it as a professional as well. It just seems like they're making an issue out of something that should have been done at the end of last season.

I really hope they end up paying Fredy but I'm not all that convinced the FO will.

I read that and it STILL doesn't justify the contract he has. His play has been at about the same level as Denny and I doubt we'd see much of a drop off in the D-Line performance without him there. If we can get rid of him and open up some cap room for some players who DESERVE that money, I'm all for it.

I would be giddy to see this team get out from under the huge contract they gave that wacky waiving inflatable arm flailing tube man. If we could trade him for a bag of popcorn I'd be psyched!

They also know who's fun at a party and who is not

I'm not upset that Peters is leaving, but I thought we would have gotten a 1st and 3rd for this years draft as opposed to the 1st and 4th. We'll just have to wait and see how the third pick we got falls - hopefully get something decent! This definitely changes draft priorities. A team can't function without blindside protection on the QB so that has to be addressed at 11. There was a lot of talk about not wanting to draft a TE or C as high as 11 (and I agree) - would this be the ideal spot to try to make those picks? Pettigrew, Mack, or Unger COULD still be available.

1. Cushing OLB 2. Coffman TE 3. Caldwell C 4. Some form of the D-Line

1. We will see T.O. give his 'beaming' smile. 2. Dick Jauron will be as lively and charismatic as a rock. 3. We will get a field goal when we should get a touchdown. 4. There will be this one really awesome punt that we can all talk about. 5. Bellicheat will call some ridiculous play that would only work against against a 5th grade rec defense and it will work.

I'm loving the 'Of Mice and Men' references! Deadstroke - always good to have new members especially one that's so fiery about the team! Unfortunately this a a fairly down to earth (that can also be read as pessimistic) board in regards to the Bills. OP - Skippy can hope for the Pats blowing out the Bills, and I hope he gets punched in the face. We all hope a lot of things. It's a BIT too early to be calling the game let alone a score.

I haven't seen much of the guy, but he seems to be a better return man than a WR... we have plenty of return men. Looking at those highlights, there were maybe 3 catches (1 of which wouldn't count in the nfl) where there was somebody near him. He won't have that kind of room in the NFL. Can he make the catch in traffic? I saw a few routes that were run over the middle. Can he take the big hit?

I could not agree more with this post. Lets get ourselves a proven Vet on the line to show these money grubbing slobs what it means to play on the line!

The Bills could use an upgrade at QB. In fact every team would take an upgrade at QB if one was available. Actually every team would take an upgrade at EVERY position if they could. Even if it were Peyton Manning or Tom Brady, if the team knew they had somebody better they could get, they'd go for it... if it were a priority. The quarterback is NOT the position we need to upgrade this offseason to see the most results next year. Take the bullet this year and pass on your glamor picks. Lets fix the lines and work from there. If replacing a QB was the solution to all problems, the Lions would be the reigning champions for forever.

As opposed to scared I would say doesn't trust his teammates on the field. Inexperienced and injury prone, well only 2 seasons in the NFL and got injured both years, so yeah.

It comes down to which will give us a better shot, having a pass rush so the defense can get off the field or improved blocking so our offense can stay on the field. I started this offseason on the DE side of the argument but I'm beginning to sway towards the Center position. The offense has simply been stagnant for the past few years and I wouldn't mind seeing them put up some consistent points. No more of this 3 points vs SF and the Fish... but then a pass rush can lead to more 3 and outs, turnovers, being able to get off the field when it counts.... d*mn i'm back on the fence.

I'd move Hardy to the practice squad for a year. It would give him some time to develop some real skill in the position as opposed to relying on his physical ability, which we didn't see too much of in year one. Furthermore, he wouldn't rush himself back and potentially make a bad situation worse.

Watch us be able to trade down and somebody else moves in in front of us and grab him! I would rather we take one of our need positions (DE,C,TE,OLB) and whoever we have rated highest of those positions on the board when we pick we take... There are WAY too many cases where a player is slotted to be drafted at x position and turns out to perform like a y position. There is no sure thing in the draft so why risk losing an opportunity to get a player that you really like and fills a position that you really need? Sure getting an additional draft pick and moving down a few spots would be nice, but is it worth the risk to not get a player you covet?

How many 4th quarter wins did Trent have to start the year? Question posed, I agree that a more cut throat QB [EDIT - wow me way to finish a thought...] would be great; however, the OP is about whether or not QB was our biggest problem.

I did watch the games, and it was the lack of consistency that killed us. That includes the O-Line, it was anybody's guess who would miss a block on the next play. They did have their stretches where they looked solid, but most of the games? who are you trying to fool? Our 'pro bowl' tackle gave up something like 11 sacks this year and he's supposed to be our best lineman. I'm not trying to defend the QB play and say there is no fault on them, the Cleveland game gave us all plenty evidence there is work to be done. I am saying that if there were some guys that the QB could actually rely on, we could really see what we've got. That is the very reason that the loss of Josh Reed was so big - Trent lost the guy he could rely on.

I'm pretty sure that's why they've remained crappy for so long. They keep looking for the one position fix, the QB, when they needed to spend the money and draft picks on decent linemen! For example, you pick up a rookie QB who, over the course of his first nfl season, has less than 2 seconds to throw on every down due to virtually no blocking. He's not going to have very good numbers. It will lead to the defense not respecting the pass because receivers don't have time to get open. Which in turn can lead to defenses stopping the run by packing a bunch in the box as there is no pass offense. That sounds kind of familiar doesn't it? The entire offense seems to be in disarray, but the line is the problem! Poor QB play is a symptom of the bigger problem.

Has quarterback play been an issue? Absolutely. Is it the main reason our offense has been suffering? I don't think so. I think our biggest problem has been consistency. It seems on any given play offensive play there is somebody who misses an assignment. Whether it's a lineman missing a block, a receiver not making a hard cut, a qb missing a read, a tight end dropping a pass. It also doesn't help that there were plenty of questionable calls. All of those things go back and reflect on the qb. If the qb is worried about getting whacked on his blind side, he loses confidence that he has time in the pocket (even when he does). A receiver drops a ball or hasn't been getting open all game, the qb isn't going to look that players way as much any more. You hope that your QB is mentally tough enough to forget these things as the game progresses, but after a point (perhaps 7 weeks or so in?) you can't help but start to question the people around you because that's what you've been doing for 6 weeks straight. Is it the QB's fault for getting out of rhythm with the offense? It is. He needs to be able to forget. Should he get more consistency from his team and be able to rely on them to do their jobs? Yes he SHOULD. Has he been able to? No. Where does the blame with that lie? I think some of it comes down to the player drive - but most of it comes from the coaching. They need to make sure the product they are putting on the field is synchronized and it just hasn't been.

while signing the names thrown around here would be great (oh to dream) i'm not very optimistic. It's more likely that we'll sign some fat guy who has a great defense when he plays madden for DT, a sprinter from kenya for our SPEED RUSH, and a golden retriever to play opposite of evans.

I agree that the pass rush is the biggest problem on the team and needs to be addressed first. DE is definitely my number 1 position that needs to be addressed. Second I would go with OLB. We need somebody FAST and physical. Mitchell has some pop but seems just plain slow half of the time. I'm on the fence about poz... he hasn't had that impact play that stops a RB in his tracks but he always seems to be around the ball. Third I'm moving towards the O-Line. I'm absolutely sick of watching whoever we have at center get beat over and over again. That being said, Preston did look serviceable by the end of the season against both the Jets and NE*. Fourth I'd say is the TE position. People have said it before, and it's 100% true - nothing helps a young QB like a reliable TE. I'd love to see that seam route be effective again... oh to dream Fifth and Sixth I would put as interchangeable - Free agent signings of an experienced qb and wr. Edwards has had Losman to talk to (I bet that was insightful) and having some experience on the opposite side of Evans would be awesome (I'd like to keep Reed in the slot - he seems to have found his niche there)

Detroit HAS to be the biggest letdown... not winning a SINGLE GAME?! sure you don't really expect much of them but to get nothing?