tomc702

Does the suspension of vincent jackson drop his trade value even further? how much is any team willing to part with for a suspended wide receiver who is holding out for more money and has management so upset they will not consider even dealing with him anymore? this lends credence to the argument of going with the guys we've got - for the most part - and not picking up other people's problems; they are problems for a reason. AJ Smith can play hardball all he wants but jackson's value just dropped considerably. http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=5345629

great pick-ups from everyone on here......i was shaking my head at that article too; larry felser is a true gem for us here in WNY; one of the original beat reporters covering the NFL; but he's ancient; he retired for a reason and his columns frequently prove that people's skills decline with OLD age, not necessarily with just age...... but having said that, it's really more about the decline of the Buffalo News as well; they are in a total cost-cutting mode, getting rid of senior reporters and going with short-term and inexperienced replacements.....also part of the "newspapers are dying" and they don't know what the new business model is scenario.......the fact that they have to make felser produce an article nearly every sunday is a shame, and something they think is good reporting. i'm sure larry's flattered to still be in print, but they're using each other for different purposes...... from a huge felser fan and a huge bills fan, its terrible to watch the buffalo news decline to the point of a near-pennysaver type of publication. maybe local government can mandate better coverage, create a new department for the mandate, and hire a staff to study this......that's about the only solution we ever get to a problem. and actually, the solution has become twobillsdrive.com; it's got the best bills coverage anywhere and hopefully the new business model will allow for press passes for people from twobillsdrive so we can get some first-hand coverage......that would be a free and quality solution.

plus, this guy has the 49'ers ranked not that far ahead of us; the 49'ers are everyone's darling sleeper for great things because of singletary and the great drafting they've done. while 21 doesn't seem like much, a few bounces (or injuries) here and there and we're 31 or 15 so to speak.......a very encouraging look at this years season.....many thanks for the link!

i agree......great info and very much appreciated. thanks.

Trent may never make it as a star quarterback in the NFL; but other than that, he's pretty much a class act. he's not complaining, he hasn't had good coaching but we never hear him complain. and he stated it perfectly when he said jim kelly is a living legend and has earned the right to state whatever opinion about the buffalo bills he wants...... touche trent; no story here. compare that to marshawn lynch saying he's playing for 32 different GM's right now and someone will want him etc.......

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/stor...&id=5207239 about the instability of offensive lines in the league now a day's......the bills had 9 different o-line combo's and 11 starters last year. turns out that was the highest by far of any other nfl team......injuries are surely a part, but it's also got to fall a bit on jauron and his no-offensive-coordinator BS...... anyway, good work by espn......

c'mon, seriously, isn't the wizard of oz theme park building the next stadium????

can't we build it alongside the OZ theme park?

i completely agree that i've read better stuff on this board......clayton has to act like he knows all 32 teams and then right about them constantly......it's a tough job......but as for the 100% commited and concerned bills fan, there is nothing better then the info on this site......not always accurate, but a better batting average than espn.

great post....thanks the bills have me looking forward to this preseason......no more fancy packages and intellectual bull........they've brought in some large, strong and tough players who the rest of the league desires also......and they are going to put them through their paces.......might as well find out if someone is injury prone in august rather than october right? this made me feel like we're at least playing football again!

exactly.....well put......we've got what we've got and we're going to camp with it. this group has no idea what they possess yet, so paying anything else for kyle orton would be a waste, no matter how small. this is like that show about hording.....we don't need any more mediocre QB's......no matter what the cost.....FREE is different, ala jamarcus russell - not that i want that - but it's free........don't part with any draft choices for more backups

great report....thanks for posting.....what were they all doing in NYC together? i might have missed that part. the center of our O line sounds solid.....next year's top picks might be all O lineman and the two-year rebuilding will be complete!

this is exactly what i meant when i asked about reed......i always thought we didn't use him right...and feared that the pats* or someone else would figure out how to get the ball to him on quick slants etc, as we were never successful on......those are the pats* bread and butter.....so i was kinda surprised when he didn't get signed AFTER meeting with the pats*..... but yes, it's all very early, but i would think reed wouldn't demand a ton of money and would have been snatched up quickly......he always kept himself in awesome physical condition and was a great blocking receiver......just a great locker room guy and hard worker......

that's one of the things that surprised me....he had a tryout with the pats* and i thought "oh no, here we go again, they know something we don't and josh reed will kill us over the middle for a few years" etc.....but they never signed him, which is a bad sign for his career. the pats* seem pretty astute talent evaluators and if they didn't like him as a possession receiver, with welker down......just thought that was a red flag also.

no no.....not putting anyone down.......just looking for info and noticing how quick you can go from player to unemployed.....merely looking for info and insight...... many thanks.....

Another poster talked about the ESPN article about T.O. being washed up and nobody picking him up......but i'm kinda shocked josh reed is out there....he can't be asking for much more than the minimum.....i thought the bills didn't resign him because they were going in a different direction, not because he was incompetent......if he is that bad, how sad is it we've clung to him for the past few years? anyone have any insights into josh reed's status or visits? thanks

chris brown is a paid bills employee; there is NO objectivity. that's not an indictment of him in any way, but he writes what the bills want him to write, and if he doesn't they will find someone who will. this is like the sunday sports announcers; they work for their team, or the NFL, not the fan. that's why they use such glowing terms in describing everything. they cannot be objective, they are paid by the team! i am a huge sports fan, but sometimes it's just a business. chris brown is part of the business; take whatever he says as such.

well put.....we're fans, not owners or managers. while mistakes are always made, a good effort and an intelligent plan is all you can hope for. here's to hoping we've got football men in charge of the organization for the first time in a few years.

been trying to fix the lines for years? i completely disagree......we've ignored the lines for the most part, thinking we can buy poor performing overpriced replacements from other teams and ignoring the draft; it's time they pick a QB if they feel they have a good one there, and then spend the other 6 picks on both lines; forget everything else for a year; this is football, bring in some big men who can dominate. we have not been trying to fix the lines for years, otherwise they'd be fixed!

so how does this shake up the draft boards, if at all?

the offensive line has been neglected for years in ALL draft positions 1 through 7......that doesn't mean we need to draft an offensive lineman #1 just to prove we're serious about upgrading.......i'm okay with clausen if he's the real deal in Nix's eyes; then draft 3 offensive linemen and 3 defensive linemen and call it a success.........this isn't a one-pick draft; running back, however, would be a luxury pick for us; even ladanian thomlinson didn't bring a super bowl to san diego, so don't fret the running back slot or a receiver slot.....get a field general, build the lines and go after it...... but, QB still rules the league so if clausen is there and Nix thinks he can succeed, then that's the call.

great post......i love intelligent thought.....so thank you.... the fact that most of us feel strongly the first AND second round picks will be big linemen or linebackers who know how to hit people is very encouraging.......there almost certainly will not be any roscoe parrish or tiny cornerbacks selected......if they're going to bomb on a pick - and hey, it happens - at least we all feel fairly certain it'll be some big lineman.....even after mike williams a few years ago, i'm more okay with this concept than with another donte witner or receiver who takes 3 years to pan out, if ever...... so, from this aspect, this draft should at least be different than the past few years...... again, thanks for the great post......it could be complete hogwash, but it was very well thought out.

i'm predicting - sadly mind you - that the possibility of bill cowher coaching here has just ended. ralph opened his mouth and took a shot at cowher in the media; i would think that actually means cowher turned them down; remember why polian, butler and many others have left buffalo - because ralph has some quirky trait about himself that he just can't stop meddling. when things are going too well he does something to offend people. there has to be some reason that tennessee owner gave him the finger on national television. ralph just isn't liked OR respected.... anyway, my point is, with ralph going on ESPN to say: owner unsure about cowher it just about signals that cowher has turned us down or, if he hasn't and was just thinking about things, after reading ralph's attitude he would be well-advised to remember how ralph treated bill pollian...... bill cowher to buffalo could have died with this report....... ___________________________________ Bills owner Ralph Wilson confirmed the team has spoken to Bill Cowher about the team's coaching vacancy. Wilson isn't sure whether the former Steelers coach is interested in the job. "I don't know," Wilson told The Associated Press during a brief interview from his home in suburban Detroit on Friday. "You'd have to ask him." then...... "We want to hire a coach who wants to come to Buffalo and be a part of the community, you know what I mean?" Wilson said. "We're looking for a guy with a lot of passion."

this says just as much about the culture of WNY than it does about lynch......anyone making a complaint about something gets dealt with this way - no harm no foul, here's your money back - from the authorities!!!!!.........that entire hamburg police department should be fired; i'm sure they made that woman feel like the victim for even reporting this...... and yes, get rid of lynch; although his trade value has gone down considerably after this story; only team that might take him would be the 2007 bengals

the only hang up to this is the mike holmgren is now in charge; this could have been a serious trade discussion under the old brown's regime that dumped players like crazy and made trades constantly......but i fear holmgren knows donte witner as well or better than we do.......from buffalo's perspective i would LOVE this trade.