vincec

Shaub is gone. Fitz will start next season while they groom their new #1 overall pick QB. Then Fitz moves to backup. It's a good plan but who knows how it will all play out.

How often did Ray Lewis and Terrell Suggs come off the field for Baltimore? Or Urlacher and Briggs in Chicago? If you have to play people that are either weak vs the run or the pass then versatile offenses will be able to exploit it. Also, if you're going to play a 4-3 defense then the MLB is the key position and apparently Alonso is moving to OLB so to have a role player as your MLB doesn't sound too promising.

Exactly my opinion as well. I think he would be a good fit for Pettine in Cleveland as long as his injury didn't set him back athletically.

Not if the other linebacker is also a 3 down guy, like Luke Kuechly for example.

The difference between playing a slot CB like Graham, who plays the run like a safety, and using 3 safeties with someone like Aaron Williams, who used to be a cornerback, covering one of the slot receivers seems academic to me. It does seem like a way to try and cover for the loss of Byrd to some degree by allowing A Williams to sit back at safety most/all of the time while Graham takes the coverage role.

If CJ is not in the plans then they should fire Marrone. CJ is more valuable to the Bills than Marrone is.

Bridgewater is going to the Texans at #1. Bank on it. Also, I wonder what they see in Moats? It seems like he was one of the few players who regressed under Pettine's leadership.

Good coaches fit their scheme to their talent. It's why Pettine can come in here and help half the defense have career years by changing the scheme around, while Marrone/Hacket can come in and make even guys who were top league talents like Spiller look bad. What the Bills need is an OC who finds ways to use his players effectively not one one trades them because they "don't fit" into what he is trying to do.

How did it work out for the Lions the last few years? This makes me wonder about Schwartz a little to tell you the truth.

It'll be interesting to see how the fans respond to this guy. I certainly am not buying and Spikes shirts. Maybe while they're at it they should look into Richie Incognito. He fills a need and would fall right into to the dirty, low character mold that everyone seems to love. Don't play dumb. Don't play dirty.

Please pass on Spikes. The guy's a dirty player. It's hard for me to forget his flexing at the Bills sideline after he injured Fred Jackson a couple of seasons ago. Taking him will only make it harder for me to root for this team. Besides that, he's not really that good. He's a liability in coverage and what the Bills really need is a big time, full time MLB to anchor what looks to be a base 4-3 defense next season not some guy that plays 10 downs a game and not at all vs opponents that spread the field all the time. Try to draft one. Forget Spikes.

I agree with this. Does he really have less potential than Lewis or Tuel? He certainly has a lot more playing experience while still being young enough to develop. I think he'd be a substantial upgrade for the backup position.

Just draft a guard. If he becomes good then let him go via FA to save money. If he becomes mediocre then you've hit on a long term Bills starter.

So the Bills don't sign Andy Levitre to a new deal because they don't think guards aren't worth the kind of money he was asking but then turn around and sign a different FA guard the following year for a similar salary? And the new guy wasn't even a full time starter with his previous team? Seems very unlikely.

These are really bad. Way too busy and cluttered. Can you image an entire team wearing one of these at the same time?

It's impossible to assess the WRs based on last season given the mediocre QB play. And the season before he was a rookie so I'll give him a pass.

If you read the report on the bullying incident then it should be obvious that neither Turner or O'Neill could possibly keep their jobs. Turner knew about and even participated in the belittlement of one of the offensive linemen, then kept sending Tweets to Martin to try and get him to recant his story and was hostile to the NFLs investigation. O'Neill knew about and laughed along with the players demeaning his assistant.

This is one of the rules used to determine who is an eligible receiver on offense. Unless you are going to say that anyone can catch a pass anytime he is in a eligible position, including offensive lineman, then it is required.

I agree 100%. What kind of teammate would be speaking out in a way to reduce the amount of money that you could make? And how would you feel about him being a "leader" of the team? Actually, after reading the CBA excerpt that was provided in the article I think that it's pretty clear that he would be considered a wide receiver by the language of the agreement. If the CBA says that "the franchise player be tendered at the position at which [he] participated in the most plays during the prior League Year", and a tight end by definition is a player that lines up tight to the tackle on the LOS, then how could anyone say that Graham played most of last year as a TE when he only did this on 33% of the snaps? Just because a guy is big and can block some, that doesn't make him a tight end.

I see what point you are trying to make, but consider that of the 14 Super Bowls you listed, 10 were won by likely HOF QBs. Also, you probably need to throw out the last one with it being to early to tell with Russell Wilson. So 10 out of 13. Now if you want to get to the SB and lose, then you can have Kerry Collins, Rex Grossman, Jake Delhomme, Colin Kaepernick and Rich Gannon at QB. But if you want to win then you'd better have the goods behind center.

I don't want to rain on everyone's parade, but I offer a few items for thought about Schwartz. 1) His defenses in Tennessee were not as good as people are making out. During his time as Tennessee's defensive coordinator, his defenses ranked 11th, 13th, 30th, 29th, 31st, 8th and 2nd. Average ranking of 18th overall. 2) Any defensive success he had in Tennessee has to partially be attributed to Jeff Fisher, IMO. That was Fisher's defense in many respects. 3) He never produced great defenses in Detroit. During his time as HC, his defenses ranked 32nd, 19th, 23rd, 27th and 15th. Average ranking 23rd. This is why I say I'll believe he is greater or equal to Pettine when I see it on the field. Pettine took over the defense and virtually every player had a career year, the unit set a franchise record in sacks and showed marked improvement in almost every area (except run defense); and this was in his first season with a relatively complex scheme.

I'll believe this when I see it on the field. I hope it is true but by gut tells me that this is wishful thinking/sour grapes by fans.

How'd you do that so fast? Looks pretty good in Bills gear. btw- the quote in your sig about not confusing effort with results actually belongs to John Wooden. Pettine was a good DC and I expected a big jump in play going into year 2. I don't think there was anybody that they could hire that would make me feel good about a 5th DC in 6 years, especially after the first season showing defensive promise in a long time. Schwartz is as good as anybody I guess.

I disagree completely. Unless the Bills luck out in finding a new DC with similar ability, I think you'll find that those great draft picks don't look so good after all and the "loaded" defense starts to resemble the 2012 version again.

Pettine takes over the defense and multiple players have career years, including several players that were previously bordering on being "busts". In addition, they find promising young rookies like Robey and Alonso. That's good coaching. It's unlikely that the Bills can bring in someone who performs as well and the transition alone will probably cement Byrd's determination to leave, but hey it's the Bills.