JESSEFEFFER

Some of my opinions on things I've read in this thread. 1) Chan's failing was not about his ego it was more about loyalty which is not really that much of a character flaw at all. 2) Buddy Nix' Legacy is yet to be defined. It hinges largely on EJ Manuel and how his picks perform in the Mike Pettine defense and less so on Doug Marrone. So its silly to dump crap on his tenure as the history is yet to be written.

Factor in an aging, weaker legged kicker attempting into the wind, a defense that had been historically bad at times but was succeeding this particular day (would not want to give the Rams a jump start with a missed kick and would later fail in the clutch--again) and a patch work offensive line that was having protection issues and had been characteristically poor at the short yardage run game. Add to that the chance that said punt might get downed inside the 5 (and it was) and you get a decision that, no matter what the consensus of opinion wants to make of it, had little negative impact on the game.

In defense of idiot Mayock, he did put EJ @ #2 in his revised rankings after not having had him in his top 5. Said something to the effect that if he was going to make a mistake on a QB, it might as well be the be the one with the best combination of size, speed and arm talent and having the most upside. He really liked him more after his FSU pro day which he attended. The other idiot you were thinking of was McShay, I do believe.

Add Oliver, Neutz and maybe Carlson and that could be 2 or 3 more from the offense that get drafted next year.

Look at Eli Manning's career development. That was almost 5 years of suckitude. The fans and press were on him much of that time. Good thing for him that David Tyree held on to that ball because it bought Eli some more patience. Brees played with just enough inconsistency to have the Chargers draft Manning and then bring in Rivers. It's going to be harder to be patient with a young QB given the recent history of Newton, Kaepernik, RG3, Luck, Wilson and even Dalton, but that used to be the norm. I think as long as the o-line protection is good I'd like to see him play. If it's like it was against the Rams last year then he's better off not trying to learn the job under that kind of duress.

Keith McKellar?

I think a trade down with a QB/WR or WR/QB in the first two rounds is the most likely scenario and I would like/love to see it happen. Buddy expressed some admiration for the Bengals taking Green/Dalton (when he could have had them earlier) and I thought he was being honest there. These are their two biggest needs that I see so it's just a matter of whom they prefer. Trading down gives them a chance to add some defensive help in the 2nd round. Austin is not the type of receiver they have been claiming to want. I take them for their word on that. They been saying it for three years now and still haven't done it. Same with the QB position. They are overdue with adding young, premium talent at both positions. I'll guess Hopkins/Nas-anue-ley

Pats beat reporters are very underwhelmed by what Mallet has shown thus far in his two camps/exhibition seasons. Can't see how that translates into more than a 3rd round pick.

I have asked the question a few times. What made Kaepernick, Locker, Gabbert, Ponder, Taneyhill, Dalton or Weeden any better of a prospect than Smith, Barkley, Nassib, or Manuel? What they have in common is that the new CBA's rookie wage scale and the need for elite QB play makes taking a top of the draft flyer on a guy with "potential" much more attractive than ever before. What it will also mean is that a higher portion of these types will be cut loose before they ever get a 2nd contract with the team that drafted them. I think that OBD has been slow to recognize this new reality and they were still slotting them under the old criteria and were surprised to see QBs they liked go much earlier than they were projecting. BPA and drafting a QB are not compatible concepts. They weren't married to Fitz they just thought they had the luxury of being patient.

Wow. 1560 posts on this guy. I guess this is 1561 or maybe someone else will beat me to it as I type this. The thing I like most about Nassib as a pick is that he knows the offense well enough to run it. This Bills has tailored it him and seen him succeed in it. This may give him an overall advantage on Kolb and Jackson and make it more likely that he will get meaningful snaps in the 2013 season. If the Bills can get him later, 2nd round or trade down, all the better. Then they might know whether to invest a top pick on a QB in the 2014 draft without having to wait around for their 2013 QB pick to learn the offense in order to better evaluate him.

He does fine with tracking punts and kickoffs. Fielding punts on a windy day is not easy at any level. Where he does have trouble is when tracking the ball when running up the sidelines. Specifically on the defensive left side when his back is to the ball and the vision from his left eye is the most critical. He might be severely right eye dominant. That's my totally uninformed hypothesis. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocular_dominance

As I recall, he threw multiple picks and had a throw where McKelvin was in perfect position for another but Rice(?) went right over his back for the TD. The Bills could not block Jared Allen and the Bills 2nd and 3rd choices at center had problems executing snaps. That was an ugly game.

My point was that the list of names I provided were deemed worthy of a 1st round pick. I through Weeden in because of his age and the others because they were in the top half of the 1st. Some team decided to "roll the dice" on them. I am asking what made these guys better prospects than what we see in this year's group. Maybe no one at the very top (Newton, Luck, etc.) but still a group of guys that warrant a shot.

If anyone can tell me what made Gabbert, Locker, Ponder, Tanneyhill and 28 year old Brandon Weeden so much better prospects than Manuel, Nassib, Barkley, Smith and Wilson, I'd like to hear it. Flawed college QBs that have potential to be winners are there most every draft. Tom Brady is still an unathletic, girly man. Being successful is more about developing a skillset that can overcome flaws and less about eliminating them.

When considering Ponder, Locker and Gabbert all went in the top 15 of the 2011 draft, I am of the opinion that we'll see something similar this year. Were these guys so much better as NFL prospects? I think not. I suspect, the Bills liked Ponder but were stunned to see him go so early. Same with Kaepernik, Wilson, and Cousins. The rookie wage scale has rewritten the rules about when they get drafted, how soon they should step in, and how much progress they should show. It will be much easier to kick Gabbert to the curb than Bradford. Ryan Fitzpatrick was never Mr. Right, he was Mr. Right Now and the Bills thought they could be patient and make a choice with which they were comfortable but they have been slow to realize that the rules regarding drafting and developing QBs have changed. Show me a quick, athletic QB but who takes a lot of sacks and doesn't break many plays on his feet and I can't help but think that they are "slow on their feet" thinkers. Maybe that is why Geno is #4 four in Al's ratings.

I am puzzled with the interest they showed. The guy had 4 drug test violations. One came after the lockout and all those that failed this got a mulligan (some sort of fairness issue.) Then he was one of two players to fail the retest and gets a 4 game suspension. Would the Bills draft a college player with that kind of record? Maybe the details would have helped it make some sense but I'd put him in the "too stupid to play on my team" category.

Scott Chandler has been the best down field receiver the Bills have had the last two sesons. Although not fast, he gets into his route early and plays the ball well when above his head. Even when covered, Fitz liked throwing it to him especially if the defender was in chase mode with their back to the ball.

They want another veteran QB on the roster to add to the mix during training camp but at a certain price. They wanted it to be Fitz but he was not comfortable with the setup and decided it was time to move on. Thus, they have to look elsewhere to find this other guy. So, I don't find any of this strange. I'd be OK with them drafting two, ala the Redskins. Nassib and Scott for instance. When the Seahawks went to camp with Wilson, Jackson and Flynn I doubt that they had any idea which of the three, if any, would take control of the position.

Seems to me that they might draft two. That's why they would be interviewing both top of the board candidates (likely 1/2 rounders Smith, Barkley, etc.) and down the board guys (Scott, Dysert, etc.) The Redskins taking Cousins last year worked out OK for them and the Bills have only two on their roster at present and they will go to camp with at least 4.

Or maybe just a "high" player. Failing 4 drug tests, two after the lockout, sounds like a man with a drug problem to me. I'd really need to know the details before I could like such a move.

I'd say the CBA is working. Instead of paying stupid money to college players they can now spend stupid money on players that have some NFL pedigree. They have game tape and work history to build their resume. It's a better system, IMO.

It makes sense. I think George Wilson and Fitz can help them win. We all know that the two of them combined to get them one of their wins last year. Seriously, both are good men with a professional attitude to match. I just wish they were better clutch performers.

Why yes I have. No human being covers 7 yards in .5 seconds (~28mph) from a standstill. Yusain Bolt tops out there between the 60th and 80th meter marks. So I reject your exaggeration. Cutler holds the ball too long and is slow to make a decision but he is quick to chew out his teammates when he's on camera. He's not the guy to have back there when there are serious protection problems. The week two game against GB was a memorable one. 7 sacks and 4 picks and he's chewing out his teammates left and right as he's heaving balls downfield into triple coverage. All that and the Bears still lost by only 23-10. I've never seen Fitz show up a teammate via on camera tirades for the viewing public's consumption. When TJ Graham owned up to making the wrong route adjustment in the Pats game, Fitz said that he "didn't need to do that." Many people who are inclined to direct blame at him and him alone figure the protection never breaks down early and receivers never run the wrong routes. It's all on Fitz which is ok with him. It's part of his leadership style. I've read some here put Cutler in the top 10 of NFL QBs. As for me, I'd hate to have a QB like that starting for my favorite team. Cutler's on field results are in Ryan's territory. That's Fitzpatrick not Matt.

The turnovers are a problem but to state it the way you do is misleading. How many QBs have 45 or more starts over the last 3 years. Answer not many. Who is in 2nd place? I think it's Eli Manning who is one behind (with 48 starts.) Turnovers are often a function of being behind and forcing plays. The way the Bills defense has played the last 3 years, being behind is more the norm. Why not do turnovers/game start and get back to us. You could give Fitz some credit for starting 45 games even though, as most QBs do, he has taken a beating. There are those that would have come out. Speaking of Jay Cutler, Fitz has provided as good as or better production than Cutler has over the last 3 years and the bonus is that Fitz is not a jerk. People love the idea of a strong-armed, 1st rounder like Cutler but what has that gotten the Bears? They've actually had a decent defense the last three years. The crunch time failures of 2012 are most troubling to me. Fitz had been a 50/50 kind of guy to play well in the clutch in the two years prior. Last year was a big step backwards.

He has trouble finding the ball and reacting to it when looking over his shoulder thus allowing the receiver to make a better play on it. This could be a peripheral vision, right eye-left eye dominance or the like. Otherwise he covers well and is an elite return man and seems to have a good team first attitude. He handled his demotions by becomming a better return man, for instance. This is a good signing. It's less than Terrance McGee signed for two contracts ago.