ColdBlueNorth

There is that X-factor, Hopkins was amazing in college and with that groin injury we simply do not know what we have - I like Carpenter, but having a kicker that can do both duties exceptionally well would best.

I don't really follow other teams, but if I were to pick a least repulsive team I would lean towards the Chargers. Simply because they have a history of bringing on the castoffs from the Bills organization and giving them another shot. Those castoffs were more often than not successful at making that team competitive while the Bills gradually sank into obscurity. The Colts (see above and insert Ted Marchibroda and Bill Polian).

Thanks for the clarification - not sure where I saw the 32nd ranking, but 23rd is not exactly rock-star status:) I am trying to figure out the relevance of the stat measurement you provided and the one below. One being the number of times per game and the other being the average per kickoff. The X factor being the number of times a team kicked off in the course of a game. Still think there would be a benefit to having a kid like this on the roster. http://www.teamranki...hbacks-per-game where it indicates only Atlanta was worse. I am not as bad as Marrone is rumored to be regarding stats, but one that I really would like to see is average drive starts per team. Do you know of any sites that provide this info?

The Bills ranked dead-last in touchbacks this year, and although Carpenter is a ringer when it comes to field goals and XPs, he rarely gets it deep on kickoffs. The Bills should take a flyer on this kid Aaron Jones from Baylor and maybe dedicate a roster spot for a kickoff specialist: http://www.wacotrib....2f43f85cdc.html He is not the accurate field goal kind of guy, but he is a lanky soccer-type that has a big leg to force touchbacks. Now the Bills were not very good punting the ball either and Moorman's punting was very erratic - particularly early on. I do not have the stats to support this, but I felt like he pulled it together a bit more towards the end of the year. I like Moorman enough that they should give him a shot to compete in camp with some new guys for an extension, but I oppose just handing him an extension.

I disagree. In the right situation he certainly has the tools to excel. My worry is more about all the distraction and extra-curricular that comes with the Manziel package and there is no way he would be happy being in a small market IMO.

The thing that is not clear is does he have elite speed - he does not "seem" to be running that fast or have quickness, but his 6' 3" frame and stride may be deceptive. He does outrace defensive backs and they used him on some reverses and such. It will be interesting to see what his 40 time will be from the combine. If he lights it up, he will move up the food chain.

Another poster turned me on to this prospect - Jordan Matthews out of Vanderbilt 6'3", has a large catching radius and he catches with his hands or one of them at times. Was productive against decent SEC competition and came on in big games. Not sure if elite qualifies, but he sure was productive. This draft is pretty deep in areas that the Bills will likely address. I do think that it would be best for the Bills to move on from Graham and Johnson - Graham has speed, but lacks the hands needed to be a real threat (Goodwin is similar in abilities and has hands - just needs to prove he is not injury-prone). I do not see Stevie handling his move from #1 WR to the slot well and although he is just about the best there is at avoiding the jam and getting off the line, I don't see him being able to physically handle the punishments that come with working the short middle of the field. He is not as elusive open-field as say a Welker who excelled at avoiding the big hit. He may need to move on to try to bounce back and leave those game-killing drops and memories behind him. A true play maker at WR with decent size, and a TE that can stretch the field are both there for the taking this year.

Marrone should ask if we can talk to the Jet's Ben Kotwicath. I believe the Jets were around 10th in the league in regards to special teams rankings and with the number of times their offense fizzled out they must have punted a lot. Maybe Pettine can persuade him to jump from the insanity in NYC to the relative peace and ineptitude of the Ralph? I also like the idea of weakening your opponents by raiding talent on their rosters - a time-honored tradition.

Meh - nice try, but not worth the effort.

I have to admit, he was not really on my radar. I took a closer look and there is a lot to like about the kid. You are right. He has the size and is not only productive he really comes on in bigger games. I like that he comes out of Vanderbilt too - not really known as a thug-elite school (no offense to those that think only criminal players are worth picking).

Yeah.... that's not a good record. His best unit was apparently one he inherited. In my opinion, this is truly Marrone's first big mistake and does eat at his credibility. I do not see Crossman pulling out of his nose-dive next year as he has not done that elsewhere and fingers will definitely point back to Marrone and his apparent cronyism.

I like this approach. I have advocated grabbing a true 3-4 run stuffing NT like Pettine has used in the past with the Jets to truly implement the defense he would probably like to use here. Nix may fall after off-season knee surgery and he was the top rated NT - after that the drop-off in ranking of available NT's is pretty steep with a log jam of them projected as 2nd to 4th round talents. If they miss on Nix or think there are too many risks physically they can pass on this need till later. Earlier in the draft I like the elite WR's because after the top 2-3 (Watkins, Evans, and Lee) there is a pretty good drop-off in talent there - Watkins is awesome, but I like Evans size better. If we can acquire another 2nd rounder for a team moving up then it would be great to grab a TE like Ebron or Amaro. After that it is a deep draft of quality OG and we can stock up and still pickup a gap-hitting linebacker to challenge for that weakside spot where our current crop of linebackers seem more suited to coverage and rushing the passer off the edge. The wild card is Safety with ?s around Byrd. Clinton-Dix is a legit ball-hawking safety and will go in the 1st. If the Bills feel they have to replace Byrd and tagging him will not keep him in the fold then they may have to stay put to have a shot at Dix although 9 is a bit early for him - most have him going in the mid to late 1st round. They could drop back and miss him although I think they would be safe trading back 3-4 spots, after that it is a crap shoot. I have heard the arguments about drafting a QB so why engage in them - aint gonna happen early, but they may pick up someone later particularly with the injuries and depth issues we have had this year. And for all of those who go nuts when I say we should draft a NT fairly early, our run defense is anywhere from stinks to inconsistent and either way it is not where it needs to be to be a true championship defense - particularly against quality teams. Also, I have more faith in Pettine fielding a top-flight defense than I do that the offense will be top-flight any time soon so we should give him what he needs first. When you think about the defensive family tree Pettine comes from (the Jets and the Ravens) they have always had a wide-bodied run stuffer in the middle of the defense to compliment their risky attacking style of play particularly when he goes with a 3-man front and we lack that player with the bills - Dareus can fit that role in a pinch, but he is probably a better fit as a penetrating 3 technique DT or DE. I know folks have advocated more run-stuffing linebackers, but that sounds more like LeBeau's defense than a Ryan defense - although we do seem to have a run-stopping need on the weakside. Flame away folks.

Now we know why Marone searched so hard for someone who could boot it out of the endzone early this year...he knew their special teams blew at covering kicks. Carpenter has been rock solid with field goals, but does not have the biggest leg for kickoffs. They should just bite the roster bullet and carry a kickoff specialist on the roster. The alternative as we have seen time and again are returns that are back breakers in crucial games.

ok do we not practice fumble drills? Our players are probably too professional to stoop to such childish college drills. That is 3 balls on the ground and 0 recovered and that one close to their 5.

Not so much - I see defenders on the line where they need to be, but they are not strong enough. They are getting pushed to one side and the other creating huge holes to allow Blount to get a head of steam. He is hitting the secondary running downhill. A big 2-gapper does not get moved and forces the ball carrier to stop and try to bounce it outside and it is easier to take running backs down in that situation - just look at Spiller.

And folks get on me for wanting a big 2-gap run stuffer.

Not defending Woods because the team comes first and that was a purely selfish act, but at the initial block it looks like the safety he locks up with has his hands up under Woods facemask and keeps pushing after the whistle...and Woods flips out and finishes with a takedown and a nice cross face. It probably felt good to Woods, but be ended up costing the team 15 yards and his services when they were already down 2 WRs.

Pitching a shutout will at least silence some of the talking heads next year when they talk about the AFC East. We can build a solid run if our defense plays this tough. A solid defense that gets off of field and creates turnovers - something we have not seen since Wade left. As I recall, that was also the last time we saw a post season.

Buffalo's Defense is serving notice today... helps when you get a team in throw-only mode.

To be "clutch" you gotta have some hands

I love it when they let Summers bang it up in there... at least soften the defense a bit with lead blocks for Fred and when the LBs start avoiding his blocks you slip him the ball.

Nice... 15 yarder.

3 trips to the red zone and 9 points... it ain't just an EJ problem. They need to get some better blocking up front a dominating road-grader of a guard in the draft.

Well well...obviously someone who has not seen what the old man has done time and time again for this team.

Leonard... he's too old to play too