ColdBlueNorth

Damn it - slipping in my old age. Corrected twice in the same thread. You are right - I forgot that Ted was let go after their 95 season where they lost a close one to the Steelers in the AFC Championship game. It was their subsequent tanking for the next two years that paved the way for them to draft Peyton #1 overall in 98.

<br /><br /><br /> Yeah - improper use of "combination" More appropriately, the combination I would have liked to have seen.

While Wanny has had some really good defenses, I am not sure if he has ever had a number 1 defense. The best offensive defensive combination I could think of would have to go to: Marchibroda and Wade Phillips Ted had the benefit of working with Jim Kelly and later Peyton Manning; some could argue he his career suffered from outright luxury and the QB skill position:) I was never a big fan of Walt Corey's bend don't break defenses because they kept the other offense on the field and ours on the sideline, but Walt had a tough assignment with the K-Gun often going 3 and out in 30 seconds so his defenses were on the field quite a bit. Gailey gets a bit locked into his short passing game when Jax is running well*, and at times shows an inability to adjust, I am not sure about Wanny right now. It has been a while since he called the shots from the sideline, but he did a really good job with halftime adjustments last year. Let's hope he continues the streak from the sidelines that he did from the booth. *Now I believe that Gailey did call a lot of plays where the play was right there for Fitz, but he simply missed on the critical throws or the ball was dropped. I hope that was just the rib issues with Fitz, and that Stevie (the source of the lion's share of critical drops) focuses on catching and securing the ball rather than what attention starved end zone antic he will perform after his TD. Stevie just needs to look at the careers of those receivers who were addicted to the lime light and attention to see where that road leads... not a good place and as their careers wind down they become more and more pathetic in their attempts to gain the attention they crave. Hopefully we find that other receiver who can take some of the critical throws and provide some balance to Stevie's ego.

I'm not a hater, but I am not a Peters' fan. I had to stand with the Bill's brass on that one. Peters was an undrafted free agent TE who was too big for that role. An oddity that, unless the Bills picked him up, may have very well ended up stocking shelves because he just didn't fit scheme-wise anywhere. With his size and freakish speed he was a Special Teams wrecking ball, but Mouse and the o-line coaching staff at the time coached him up to play tackle at an NFL level. They saw the talent and offered to lock him up for 5 years, he agreed to the contract in good faith and then a few years into it held out for more money... and then more money. Skipping camp each time and showing up to play out of shape and winding up getting hurt. The iggles can have him, and what comes around goes around. All that being said, I was not sure the front office would do right by Jackson; NFL business can be cut-throat. Glad they sent the right message there.

I have only watched a few clips of this kid in action and one immediately correctable thing I saw was that he was not switching the ball to the side away from the pursuit. That is pop-warner coaching, and our coaches will straighten that out in a hurry. The kid is raw, and folks have admitted as much, let's see what he does if he even makes it onto the field this year. He is also someone who tries to cut upfield as fast as possible, but he is going to learn really quickly that he has to make sure that he secures the ball in traffic. Both Belicheat and Ryan have always had defenses that thrive on knocking the ball loose and creating turnovers.

I just think that a missing element to our passing game was not a tall possession-type receiver (we have a few of those), but rather the Evans factor of being able to stretch the field with speed. From all accounts this was the fastest receiver with hands, a bit raw but Gailey knows that safeties were sitting on our routes because we did not have a true deep threat to stretch the field in the vertical. Do I think he panicked a bit to grab him....maybe, but it was a key element missing from his offense and with Chan taking the backseat to a lot of defensive personnel upgrades the last 2 years, Buddy just made sure he got his man. I am sure they received good intel that another team was going to "reach" for the kid later in that round before they got to the fourth. I am alright with this pick.

Interesting that they had Devon Still ranked as the second best overall NT/DE and he didn't get a sniff in the first round - I have to look into why that kid's stock dropped so far, could be a 2nd round steal on 3-4 defense or there may be a good reason folks are running away.

Liked the pick. We needed starting-calibre value at that spot and we needed help in our secondary. Early in the draft discussions I thought it would be Kirkpatrick, but when Buddy tipped his hand talking about how Kirkpatrick was a good zone corner who benefited from a very strong Bama DLine I really felt Gilmore was the corner they wanted. I do think they might have been tempted to grab Barron if he was there, but who knows? Next up? I have no idea - Buddy could still go for another defensive player if there is one high on their board who has fallen through the cracks - OT or an OG that can project to center (I worry about our depth there a bit if Wood cannot hold it together for a year and that would be a damn shame - I like that kid).

If one were to pick nits, one could say that Floyd is also an unproven NFL commodity. I have not forgotten that Easly at one point had convinced our coaching staff that they had their number 2 WR. I hope he can return to form, but this draft is deep in big, fast receivers. Buddy will get'er done.

I don't think they will pick OT or WR at 10. I think they will go for DB, and if he is there Dre Kirkpatrik. The reason I believe this is because I believe that they have not entirely given up on Easley, and I believe there are too many question marks around the prospective LTs and any WRs at that number 10 spot. I could be wrong, but unless Buddy really covets a player early and is willing to part with a bunch of picks to move up, or finds someone that is willing to trade picks to move up to 10 so we can move down... both scenarios not likely, then I don't see him reaching in either of those directions when similar talent can be found in the 2nd and 3rd rounds of the draft. Not only similar talent, but less pressure to reach and pay 1st round money to someone who does not really separate that well from the pack. We will see, but I think that a top end DBs is the most sure value at the 10 spot.

I would agree with that argument, if we tallied all the drunk driving related deaths, or druken homicides one could make a good argument that alcohol is the more harmful of the two drugs. Don't get me wrong, I have a fully stocked bar with top shelf supplies. I keep in my father-in-law's good graces with 15 year old scotch, but I am under no delusions that alcohol is not a drug. My wife and I adopted a baby a few years ago and the of all the recreational drugs an unborn child could be exposed to, alcohol was by far the one that had the most permanent negative effects in the form of fetal-alcohol syndrome. . I guess I am just saying, as adults we should be allowed to pick our poison as long as we are not hurting anyone else. If someone wants to fill a pipe with Captain Black for a nicotine buzz and for what I think is a terrific aroma and I no one else is forced to breath the second-hand smoke, go for it. On the other hand if someone else wants to fill his pipe with weed for the calming effects, I am not sure in the grand scheme of things how those two things are so different other than some arbitrary laws that were made a long time ago using dubious data.

I heard someone comment at one time that Buddy is not a believer in picking up offensive linemen in the 1st round. I took it at face value at the time, but with the upcoming draft I figured I would do some of my own digging. I looked at Buddy's "recent" history of draft picks 2000-2011, during that time I figure Buddy was either calling the shots on drafts, or at least very influential in the San Diego war room. It turns out to be true, that he has not taken an offensive linemen in the 1st round, but he has taken some fairly early... I will let folks draw their own conclusions, but percentage-wise he leans towards DB. 2000-2011 1st round picks by position: S, RB, DB, DB, QB, OLB, DB, WR, DB, DE, RB, DT 2000-2011 Draft position of first Offensive Lineman taken: 3rd, 5th, 2nd, 3rd, 3rd (2nd of 2 - 3rd round picks), 5th, 6th, None, 7th, 2nd, 5th, 4th.

I am usually on the same page here - love the big nasty D-Line and I think with question marks still on Kyle and on Troup we have needs there, that being said 4-3 defensive tackles are pretty deep in this draft without a whole lot of separation in the pack, and none of them scream top 10 pick. If Dre Kirkpatrick is there we should take him. He has rare size and speed for a corner, and would match up well in our division against the TE's we see with pass-happy NE. That pick would still leave plenty of quality defensive tackles in the early second round where most of them should project any ways. The draft is also pretty deep with Offensive Tackles and WR's with size. QB's drop off fast, but if they are not all in for the top talent then they can grab a project well back in the later rounds. The thin pickings are the same with TE's and Centers (or Guards that project as Centers) and the Bills may just take a pass this year on those positions since they worked so hard to lock up Chandler, and Fitz has been pretty durable. I really hope Wood comes back strong, he just is such a hard worker and plays with so much passion you hope he can make it back fully. If he does we will have a very solid interior line with very good depth. All in all this should be a great draft for the Bills to retool and add depth to a lot of positions.

I liked Upshaw, but as an OLB not playing with a hand on the ground. With his speed and ball awareness he just projects better at OLB playing in space, but shows the ability to rush the passer. I was concerned that the Bills would reach for him as an End and he just did not have the prototypical build - height and arm length for anchoring the line. I think the Bill's may just go with another big D-tackle there is no guarantee that the back spasms that have sidelined Troup (who I still think was a mistake to pick over Cody) will subside, and they would do well to keep Dareus rested with a solid rotation. The only problem with that thinking is that there are a lot of D-Tackles in this draft that are ranked pretty close. I am not sure any of the top 10 have stood out other than Poe's combine, but I believe you have to look more at the body of work they did in college more than having a good showing at the combine. Or they could go offense with either Martin or Reiff, but that would be counter to the way Buddy has traditionally operated in regards to selecting offensive linemen. So other than Upshaw, is there an offensive player or defensive player left on the board at 10 that is worthy of that high of a selection? May be a great year to trade down and collect more picks if they can find a buyer who wants to move up.

Was just about positive the Bills brass would reach for a second round DE talent at the 10th spot. Now they can focus on the best player available...now the draft gets interesting. The Bills could use a QB (just not sold on Thigpen as a backup), corner (McGee can't stay healthy), and although the D-Line looks pretty good a top-flight D-tackle to rotate in with Kyle (will he be 100%?) and Dareus would allow us to jettison one of the more marginal talents. Wood has been hurt twice so a quality Center/Guard as insurance could be in order (remember how much line shuffling the Bills did last year). Easley may come back and prove to everyone the Bills were right in retaining him through all his ailments, but then again he may not so a quality receiving talent could be the choice. The Bills let Bell walk and got rid of Wang last season, so they are running thin at tackle. I would bet that they would go tackle, but Buddy has a reputation for picking up serviceable O-Line prospects in the later rounds. Like I said, it gets real interesting.

Really, how many Maybin posts do we have to endure.... Average, to below average situational pass rusher (3rd and long, and 4th and long passing downs) on a team that has lock-down corners. There are a plenty of OLBs around the league that would eclipse his numbers with how long opposing QB's have to hold onto the ball against Revis and Cromartie.

Stevie has a lot of growing up to do. It was a selfish "look at me" penalty from a guy on a team that is struggling for respect. Too many men who have never had to grow up and take responsibility for their stupidity playing in the NFL right now...not just Stevie, but you would hope he would act like he has been there before when he gets a TD. We have enjoyed his antics before, but Stevie has to be smarter about what the game situation is, and if he wants to pop off he better be more clutch than he has been or folks might come up with a celebration or two to mock his key drops.

I guess it is ok to run into the kicker if you play for the Jets

touche` you have a good point; I think Chan may have gotten a bit too enamored with his spread offense. You need the right horses to win that race and right now there are too many key players hurting or out, he needs to adapt to the players he has left and come up with a simple workable offense that can eat up some clock and keep our porous defense off the field. He may (did) suck as a head coach, but I believe his average defensive ranking was usually around 10th, and in Miami his defense over the 6 years overall average ranking was around 6th for total yards. He is no Wade Phillips, and he does not have Ryan family connections, but his defenses have been respectable. No one is asking for him to be HC, just turn a 31st ranked defense into something that resembles an NFL defense.

He said as much. He said he focuses on the offense and does not get involved with the D-Coordinator's game management. I don't mind a head coach who knows how to delegate, but he has to make sure that the person he is putting his trust in can get the job done. Edwards has had two years to show some progress and so far his unit is stinking up the joint.......again.

Thanks Bill - needed that. I don't think that Spiller is all that bad - just not all that good to justify where he was picked. He may end up being a great insurance policy if Freddie can't go next week. Our defense is horrible, but there are some signs of life. Darius, Sheppard, Searcy, Bryd, and hopefully Williams may make up a decent foundation for a solid defense if we can get a few more pieces (another impact d-tackle, OLB, some better DBs) and hire a coordinator who can game plan. Too bad Troup has been a waste of oxygen this year - totally blows our d-line rotation. You are right that Spencer and some of the other scrubs we have just don't get any push. Is our secondary that bad, or do we just have a terrible coach? I think it was a mistake to retain George Catavolos as a defensive secondary coach - he was years coaching a Tampa-2 zone, and now they ask him to coach up our DBs and safeties to play more bump and run man coverage. At the very least, he needs to go as a matter of principle because the amount of blown coverages each and every week. It's inexcusable, he should resign and hand in his last few checks. Chan and Wanne should look at trying to lure the defensive back coach from either the Texans, or the Browns who both have pretty good secondaries. The Texans nabbed a young coach from the 49ers Vance Joseph who did a great job turning around a 49ers defensive secondary (a position he held for 5 years) - he's a younger guy who may relate better to the youth movement we are going to need at DB soon and he just sounds like a better direction to me than sticking with George. Last year's pass defense ranking was just a mirage; any of us could have told folks on the outside that teams did not pass on us because they could run through us. This year our line does a better job of stopping the run so teams are going through the air and our secondary makes just about every scrub and rookie QB look like a all star. The one pass defensed against Marshall was another blown coverage and Marshall just failed to put the ball away. Hairston looked bad out there today and Pears not much better - our O-line is in shambles and they should have kept Hangartner around for depth at center and guard, but Ralph and the Bills FO was too cheap. Levitre tried his best, but is not a center; Chan will move Urbik inside and we will all get to see how that goes. One thing that has really bothered me is that some of the line did not play to the whistle. True, Fitz held the ball for a long time on some plays, but a freakin 3-man rush should never get to your QB... pathetic watching a 37 year old DE outwork a young rookie and guard. Stevie Johnson has played hurt all year and it shows; the rest of our WRs with the exception of Chandler did not show up today. We need some better, bigger receivers next year to run this spread, and a burner with hands would not hurt to stretch the field. I had such high hopes for Easley. Donald Jones is not an NFL calibre receiver, I would rather see them get Naaman more involved; at least he doesn't alligator arm his catches even if he knows he is going to take a shot. Brad Smith almost single-handedly killed this game... I know he made some catches, but he also let that guy run right by him on the blocked punt and didn't even bother blocking anyone. From his interviews and effort on the field he just doesn't look like he is into playing for the Bills and he is a wasted roster spot and who knows how he affects the locker room. He is also slow on kickoff returns so I would much rather see McKelvin and Spiller back there. Quality depth is definately a problem on this team and we are seeing the result of that. Too bad about Wood, at least there I felt like the team had found that anchor for the line for years to come. Fitz was not very good today, but his receivers didn't help much. Stevie is a shell of his normal self, and Jones tipping the ball was a killer. I think Jones has done that before so I am not in a hurry to see him back. I really felt that Chan excelled at getting guys in a position where they could succeed and game planning for an opponent. He has lost his mojo and is going to have to work some miracles to get it back. The defense giving up TDs in just about every 1st half possession does not help, you can tell it affects the psyche of the offense and they start to press because they know those guys cannot stop the other team from marching down the field. We need a lot of help on this team still, but I saw an offense that laid down today... interesting to see if they have the character in the locker room to find the grit and heart to play tough after these last 3 beat downs.

Reminds me of the time when all we could root for was our punter...our free agent kicker came to play today......something to get excited about. This team has too many holes to run Gailey's spread offense, but he is too damn stubborn to adjust.

His defenses weren't that bad, he was just a nightmare offensive coordinator. I wish we had Wade, Billick, Labeau... anyone other than Edwards. 2 years and several draft picks to make a dent and we are still scrapping the bottom on D.

Why when Jackson picks up 4 the announcers make is sound like failure and when Miami picks up 4 on the run, they are a juggernaut???

Another rookie QB is going to look like an all star