ColdBlueNorth

I like the steely resolve approach and the longer view - just because reaching has NEVER worked well for the Bills. I like either Wilson or Dysert in the 3rd or 4th respectively this year. I believe Wilson arguably had a better supporting cast and Arkansas had a better overall team than the pathetic Miami Ohio squad that Dysert stuck with. That is the reason I still think that Dysert as a gambit could have a higher upside with better talent and coaching around him. Neither QB had the luxuries at receiver that the underperforming Barkley had at USC and Bray in Tennessee and both went through coaching changes their senior year. I would be happy if Buddy could find someone willing to give up some picks to move up to 8. The Bills have a lot of holes to fill and only 6 picks to use - next year has an arguably stronger QB class and they could go for another QB prospect then as well and have two young QB's to push each other for the starting spot. Anyone that thinks that this franchise is going to turn around in one year is kidding themselves even if we find the next great young QB talent. It is going to take at least a year just to get some traction on the changes to defense and none of us have any idea if Marrone's college K-Gun offense will translate over to the pros successfully...

Just read that he received a clean bill of health from a cardiologist and had a great pro-day workout. This will definitely shake up the top ten picks of the draft as this kid was at one time slated as a possible number 1 overall pick ahead of the star left tackle from Texas.

This... and I have to take a longer look at Wilson and Bray. Out of those two, I like Bray's gunslinger mentality to win at all costs, but I do not see Marrone getting along with someone that has some character issues and goes off the reservation and plays outside the system, Wilson would probably be a better fit. The Bills plan to do private workouts with 6 QB prospects so far they have done so with Smith and plan to do another with Manuel. I think the field will narrow better after we see the order in which they look at other QB's. They did attend Dysert's pro-day and it will be interesting to see if he is in the mix. If not, then I think they will not go that route - 2 down four more prospects to go. I still think if they pass in the 1st round the best remaining QB options will be: Manuel (arguably the best athlete but probably would not fit the k-gun system Marrone is implementing) Dysert (obviously I think he would fit the up-temp offensive system nicely and has upside) Wilson (I have to look at more, but I think he could be coached up) Bray (I don't see Marrone going this route with the off field issues, but who knows Buddy loves the SEC) After that, I see a real rocky road of projects

Dysert partially tore his hamstring gearing up for the combine, but has run 40's in the 4.6 range up to 4.8. He is a bit bigger now at 6-3 230 so I would expect numbers up around 4.8. He is not going to outrun a corner or safety, but if anyone watches tape of this kid you see someone who does a very good job sliding and avoiding pressure in the pocket because that is all he had at Miami of Ohio. He gets comparisons to Big Ben because he has a pretty big frame and does a really good job extending plays. Not sure where the arm strength comments come from. Probably one source that gets parroted over and over again. Well here are some other sites and "professional" opinions on his arm strength. http://www.sbnation....scouting-report http://www.nfl.com/d...sert?id=2539258 http://www.draftbrow...ile-zac-dysert/ That last one from a Cleveland Brown's analysis actually says that he may possess the best deep ball of the all the draft QBs though he rarely had time behind his line for such a route to develop. What I have seen on film is a kid that has a quick tight release who is forced to make quick decisions and get the ball out of his hands in a hurry. If Dysert had played at USC with that supporting cast of receivers and offensive line that Barkley had to work with folks would not even be questioning whether he can get the ball there. Some other poster actually compared him with captain checkdown which is ridiculous because if Edwards was checking down to 20 and 35 yard passes I think we would have been happy. Personally, I would rather take a QB that gets rid of the ball because he has defenders in his face or hanging off him and still aims for the sticks, than a Glennon whom folks say has a cannon arm, but panics and rarely throws it over 10 yards with no pressure on him.

My take on Barkley, He's not terrible and would make a passible QB in most systems, but as a four year starter you get a feel for where his ceiling is going to be. You wonder where some of the other prospect QB's would be if they had the likes of USC's Marquis Lee and Robert Woods catching the ball and the hulking Grimble as an outlet at TE? One could make the argument that out of all the QB's Barkley has had an embarrassment of riches to work with. He seems like a good character kid who works hard, he is smart and coachable, knows where the ball should go with his reads and when and where to dump it off. He steps into his longer throws and puts a lot of body torque into pushing the ball downfield so you really do not see that quick-snap release of the bigger-armed QB's; That being said, the throws are still accurate - although there is a good chance those rainbows would be eaten up by most NFL defensive backfields. He does seem to have a good touch on sideline and comeback routes. I can see why folks think he would do well in a West Coast scheme he probably would, but great QB's have to have that ability to make you pay with the homerun strike if you play their short passing spread offense with man outside and zone underneath I don't see that HR ability in Barkley. I see an average QB who will do an average job if surrounded by good talent. If his arm is healed he would be a safe pick for the Bills and could be groomed into a decent caretaker QB till they find a QB that has the tools to win games with his arm alone when needed. Maybe technique-wise there are correctable things to improve the velocity and tighten up his throws, and his ceiling may be much higher than I am giving him - we have all been wrong before about prospects.

Round 1 Smith Round 2 Dysert, Manuel, Barkley (yes, in that order and I would not reach for any of them at 8) Round 3 Brey, Nassib, Scott, Glennon Next year: Rinse and repeat. Try for the next best QB and have a real competition and some depth at young QB on your roster in case your first option gets his eggs scrambled and loses his mojo.

That CBS evaluation kind of cracks me up, although I am sure they did not mean to. This comment, "Highly inconsistent accuracy on the move, often forcing his receivers to adjust their routes"... so when this QB is running for his life his craptastic receivers actually had to adjust their routes. Seriously? Good receivers come back to their QB when he is forced to run out of the pocket, or at least adjust their routes to be a better target - that is just football 101 for receivers. Then again, I would not expect any of the Miami of Ohio WRs to be on anyone's draft board as none of them even made any of the top 300 draft prospect lists that I have looked at and some of those lists include prospects from such WR factories like Rutgers and Army.

Not so fast.. with the whole idiotic thing. They are both big boys out of the same school that have some similar traits like being able to make strong throws while moving around. Anyone that goes over film from this kid's games and sees one perfect throw after another being dropped doesn't just throw around a "regardless of the talent" comment. Saying things like that is actually idiotic. Football is a team sport and any evaluation of a prospect has to take into account significant coaching changes at that program, the team defense (how many times did the offense get the ball back), key injuries, attempts vs. completions and how many of the incompletes were catchable. There are numerous other individual factors like is the kid a head case that cannot stay out of trouble, maturity, is he coachable or did the OC have to dumb down the offense, can he work well under center or in a shotgun or both, does the prospect look like he can be successful in the kind of offense you want to run, can he read defenses and does he know where to go with the ball, does he read the whole field and check down when appropriate, what does he do under pressure, can he take a hit, is he durable, can he make all the throws, etc... etc...

Another one that gets it. Some of the best acquisitions for the Bills recently (at least players that have been able to contribute right away and do a decent job filling in) have been players picked up off of the waiver wire. Look at Scott Chandler, arguably the best all around TE we have had for years (too bad about the knee though), he was not picked up during free agency rather he was claimed off waivers. I guess in a year where it looks like the Bills are on a rinse and repeat cycle, and with the Sabres stinking up the joint folks feel they have to invent more things to complain about - I don't get that.

Not saying Manuel cannot play under center. He actually looks pretty comfortable under center or shotgun. Was just saying he was the only QB prospect that looked like he could run a read option offense, basically he has the wheels and has pretty good run instincts. I do not think that he has the size or strength of Kapernick which would make his durability questionable. The 49ers also have good blocking and mobile guards that can execute the run blocking up the middle or sell the fake to Gore and still do a really good job coming back with some nasty kick out blocks on the OLB and DEs to free Kaepernick.

The sky is falling I am sure that they have tried to land a few others free agents, but what does getting skunked entail? I am pretty confident that they simply refuse to get into a bidding war on average talent and there is always the possibility of free agents wanting to sign elsewhere regardless of pay. I just don't get the yearly ritual of panic around the free agency period it makes no sense, and clearly the recent past with the Bills shows that getting the best FA talent available at a need position does not automagically translate into improving your team or noticeably improving that need position for that matter. As I stated before, they will round out the roster when other teams trim their own later in the year and they will do so without breaking the bank.

I agree these are need positions, many of which will be addressed via the draft, and as cap and camp casualties later on. If you are a front office with a lot of holes to fill you do not jump in and overpay for average players. They did grab a linebacker they coveted for their defense, and they will address more when teams trim their rosters and depth charts. Hitting the panic button and selling the farm will certainly show a lot of activity at OBD, but more easily associated with the activity level of lemmings. How many of us strutted around and told friends how we broke the bank and made the biggest free agency splash last year with Mario and Anderson?? If it helps, I will admit I was one of them too - crowing at my fantasy draft about how things were going to turn around and taking the Bills' defense early....yeah, how did that turn out again? Jeez folks, it is like dealing with collective senility. Do I groan at the cycle that I have become all too familiar with over the years? Of course, but it is a necessary one for a new group of coaches trying to fill a lot of holes yet find (and have enough $$ to sign) players that fit their schemes.

Could be because the FA pool is loaded with overpriced veterans that they do not feel is a good fit for what they are trying to achieve. I always marvel at folks that act like rabid women shoppers on black Friday. My wife comes home with 50 things we don't need because they were on sale, I feel the same way about the FA rush each year.

I agree that Manuel is the only read-option capable QB if that is the direction Marone goes with his offense, as a pure pocket passer I think that Dysert is a good bargain in the later rounds. Arguably one of the strongest arms that can hit all the throws, got the snot beat out of him but was durable and mentally strong, and had probably the worst supporting cast of receivers I have ever seen at a quality college program. We disagree on the BPA approach, but the Bills front office has not had a penchant for finding and developing the BPA so that could be a wash - but there are some new faces in the war room this year. Most talent evaluators have this drafts prospects heavy on talented defensive players and offensive linemen. Can you develop later round offensive linemen? Sure, but the Bills lost much of the o-line coaching staff that was successful when they fired Gailey. We seem to have short term memories when it comes to how bad our offensive lines were before Gailey's coaching staff came in and seemed to perform miracles with linemen off the FA scrap heap, and Gailey instituted a quick read and throw offense. When I watch Manuel against a strong rush and better defenses (like Notre Dame's) he breaks down and runs, if we do not have a good line in front of any rookie QB he will not check down, nor look downfield for options. Rather he will not develop into anything more than a shell-shocked mess.

Not sure your stance on this SHBF, I would have to go back and look at more of your posts. I am in the camp of taking a QB in the 2nd or 3rd unless Geno falls and they want to reach for him there and that would still be a reach - after Geno the talent separating the rest of the pack is negligible and folks forget that Zac Dysert and EJ Manuel (QB's generally mentioned after all the usual suspects) were the two QBs that had the best Senior Bowl showings. It does nothing for this team to reach for a 2nd or 3rd round talent QB at the 8th overall pick. Shoring up the line and defense however will help this team and any rookie QB in the long run. A GM cornered into reaching ends up picking a Maybin in a draft weak with edge rushers, or a McCargo in a draft weak with Defensive Tackles - that is the danger of drafting simply for need - you have to look at the class coming out.

I think it is a key loss, but with all the money locked up with Mario it was going to be difficult to keep Levitre from testing the market. I am upset that they did not appear to make him an offer as he has been the most stable lineman of the group and I thought he improved each year - particularly his leverage and strength. I do think that if they had pulled the trigger on letting Fitz go earlier they would have made an offer to Levitre, but there is still a good chance he would have tested the market - who wouldn't. He was rated on many sites as a top free agent acquisition and it was his time to cash in. He has been through a lot of coaching changes and disappointment here so I am pretty sure we were going to lose him one way or another. There is no way the Bills were going to match what he was going to get on the open market, but if there was a year to hit the refresh on o-linemen via the draft this would be it. There is a good crop of quality young guards and tackles coming out of college and we should be able to nab one unless we go all in reaching for a quasi-talented QB. I wish him continued success and thank him for all the solid play. I have absolutely no negative things to say about Levitre time here, that is really a rare thing for me when a player walks away from the team for more $$$, and says everything that needs to be said about Levitre's time as a Bill.

Nice guy, good family and community man, great football offensive mind (knew where the open guy was), but a professional making the amount of money given to Ryan does not bounce balls off the turf. When they do, they should be willing to look at their play and take a cut for the team. Either way the writing was on the wall that the Bills felt they needed to go in a different direction so he was simply being slotted for a backup or rookie grooming role and that would be a kick to the nads for any QB. Being a guy who obviously is a student of the game someday he may make an awesome coach, but the physical tools just are not there (at least consistently enough) for him to carry a team. He would make a decent caretaker on a team with a top tier defense and running game (we are not that team), but I do not see him leading a team to the promised land of SB win. This is the right move to free up money - now they need to shore up the O-Line and defense because you can never develop a rookie QB if he is getting shell-shocked and planted into the turf behind a slip-shod offensive line.

Just a hunch old timer, but I think you may have those attempts and completions for Colt backwards

I thought Moore did a good job on creating pressure on passing downs. He would get too high on his outside rush technique and had a tendency to be ridden out of the play or give up contain on the edge. I think those aspects of his game are correctable with the right coaching.

I respect Polian's knowledge and access to those with good scouting skills so this is a great article. My biggest reservation around Barkley is the shoulder - not known for having the strongest arm before the injury does he come back from that 100% and does the injury become something that is easier to re-injure or nag him down the road? Risky.

If Smith (the only QB ranked in the top 30 or so) does not fall to 8, then I think the Bills could pick up a quality tackle or an impact guard like Chance Warmack. You may be right though, if Smith is not there at 8 the Bills may be able to swing a trade for a team desperate for one of the top O-Linemen and pick up a late 1st and an additional 2nd rounder. With the number of holes to fill and what little separates the 2nd round talent, it would be nice to have some additional picks, but I do not recall a Buddy draft where he did a lot of wheeling and dealing (assuming Buddy is actually at the controls of this upcoming draft and that he does not take more of a back seat). I wonder about the Star kid and his heart condition - is there any interventional procedure to repair it? Was a 1st or 2nd pick talent till that issue was found - it's a shame if there are no options for this kid who you know has worked hard to get to the level he did.

We will see, it was a rather flippant comment on my part just because it seems a bit out of fashion these days to reach into the pile of NFL retread coaches for a solution, but if he is just focusing on OC duties he may do well in that situation.

I don't get the Weeden negativity. I watched more than a few of the Brown's games last year and he has a good arm and can hit any spot on the field. If there is a problem with the Browns it is their protection and receiving core. Bad routes and drops plague that group, and Weeden was always under pressure. If they shore up the LT position and Guard positions, and select a quality target or two for Weeden then they are not too far off as they already have a quality RB and a decent defense. They were really close last year and I think they only had two losses where the games got out of hand and became blowouts, other than that they hung tough with just about every team they faced. They are a tough team that just can't get over the hump. Personally I think that Weeden is as good if not better than any of the QB's in this latest crop. Not sure if Norv is the guy to get the Browns over the hump offensively - seems a bit of a dud selection as he did nothing for San Diego.

Sabre's losing and Bills rebuilding again - folks get a bit cranky around this time of year. You learn to ignore the trolling, the topic-sniping, and tread very carefully. If (I mean when) our boys start winning again, it will lighten up. It is all guess work and opinion at this point. I don't mind saying that my opinion is that Dysert would make a serviceable QB in a draft that makes most scouts sick if they are looking for 1st round QB talent although I do think Gino has the raw tools that are NFL vogue (everyone is going to be looking for the next Kapernick) and Smith will go higher than his measurables will grade out.

I too think that Dysert in the later rounds would be a steal if he falls that far. The kid had arguably the worst supporting cast around him and literally carried his team on his back (watch some film on this kid and count the dropped balls and the time he had to get rid of the ball). Has enough mobility to slide around in the pocket and throw on the run. For the most part he has a very strong and accurate arm. Does not have the raw athletics of Gino or Manuel, but seems to have the QB IQ that could run the kind of offense that Marrone would like to install pretty easily. The Bleacher Report has done probably the most complete breakdown and assessment of him that I found. I tried to link to it and got an error, but search on Bleacher Report and Dysert and they have a breakdown of why they feel the Jets should take him at #9 as Sanchez is not the answer for that club.