NickelCity

I like this move simply because we won't be playing Shep. Good guy, hopefully he fits in well in the new system, but I like this move. More time for Kiko on the field.

Did anyone else notice how much longer Kolb held on to the ball than Tavaris during voluntary workouts? It concerns me.

I honestly expect us to have a good defense, top 12. Our record all depends on QB play.

Doug Marrone on the Offensive Line: Q: As a former offensive lineman, are you disappointed you did not draft one? DM: No, I actually like the group that we have here. I think that we will be able to add when this draft is over some free agents for that competition. I think that we have some guys here that really, that I am really looking forward to working with. I am actually planning on trying to start next week and get myself involved with it, Coach Morris and Kurt (Anderson), working with our offensive line. EDIT: Well, shucks. Last year this got a better response. Now I'm embarrassed for putting the "2nd Annual" haha.

Chibane will be interesting to watch. Three year starter in Hackett/Marrone's system.

Dang, Chase Thomas to Saints

We got 'em

Once again, I rarely start threads, but I like this approach to evaluating our drafts. People like to toss out letter grades, but I find these are usually based on one or two picks that they love/hate. I'm interested in your opinions, pick by pick. 1. E.J. Manuel - My take on EJ was interesting prior to the draft. I started low on him because I had heard "inconsistency" was an issue. I then became very high on him after watching footage, eventually placing him at the top of my list. In the ten days prior to the draft, I moved Barkley ahead because of his (perceived) NFL readiness. There is no doubt that as far as physical ability, no one comes close to EJ in this draft, and that goes for Geno as well. He is also one of the few prospects that can legitimately impress you with his his interviews, though they're not usually indicative of on field performance. Also, his bad games aren't as atrocious as some would leave you to believe. His good games are spectacular. That being said, my feelings boil down to this: He has a good head on his shoulders and is a legitimate physical specimen. If he pans out, he has the potential to "take us to the dance" as Buddy put it. If you're going to gamble on a QB, this is a smart gamble. It's impossible not to like him as a person. Maybe I've already had too much kool-aid, but I like his odds to succeed. I like the pick a lot. 2a. Robert Woods - Would have loved to take Ertz here, but he wasn't on the board. As such, this was the perfect pick. Does anyone not love this pick? He is one of the few receivers in the past few years who I think could start and produce immediately. That's not the case for the vast majority of receivers in my opinion. 2b. Kiko Alonso - When they announced it, I wasn't sure who it was. Within 10 seconds of watching some footage, you better believe I remembered who he was. You cannot have watched the PAC12 (I'm a Stanford fan) and not seen him stand out when Oregon played. He's a beast and another day 1 starter in my opinion. I honestly expect him to become a star. 3. Marquise Goodwin - As I expect is the case for many people, this was the first pick that left me wanting. At this point in the draft, we appeared to be going down our needs list, and many thought a TE, CB, or OG was the direction to go. That being said, I'm not necessarily "upset" with the pick. World class speed and I hope he can produce. What sticks out to me is my general ambivalence about this pick. It would be great if he works out, and I had several friends from Texas text their congratulations at our selection, but I can't say I'm expecting a ton of production in the near future. He does have the "high ceiling" factor though. 4. Duke Williams - Like the attitude, and I watch a bit of the Wolfpack so I wasn't as in the dark as many. I hope he keeps cool (to a degree) at the next level. I wouldn't want flags for "vicious" tackling in this new NFL. At this point I was thinking of another position, but Safety was a reasonable choice. I expect he will eventually compete for a good amount of playing time, and has the potential to eventually challenge for a starting role. The experts on TV appeared pleased with this choice, though they're often wildly inaccurate so this really has no relevance. 5. Jonathan Meeks - I predict (unless you hate EJ as a prospect) that this is just about everyone's least favorite selection. It is mine as well. Was he in a scheme that hid his talents? Sure, I'll buy it. Hell, he might turn out to be a good player. But I couldn't help feeling like we reached, and that we should have gone for a CB or OG. I'm big on OLines though. 6. Dustin Hopkins - I actually called this pick about 30 minutes before to my girlfriend. I said "I wonder if we'll take Hopkins from FSU. I hope we do." She of course had no idea who or what I was talking about, but it happened. I think this is a fabulous pick, and he's the best kicking prospect out there. While Lindell seems like a good guy, everyone knows his leg (which was never a cannon) is diminishing, or at the very least he didn't have the last regime's total confidence. Hopkins has the potential to make us as confident in our kicking as we were with Christie. I see him starting immediately. 7. Chris Gragg - It's the 7th round. I'd love to get excited about this pick, and their are real reasons to do so, but I am going to try to stay more reasonable here. I like that we took a TE, especially one that would have gone about 4 rounds earlier if he had not had an injury, but we all have our late round "guy" that we'd like to see the Bills take. Chase Thomas or a big bruiser of an OG would have made me (probably unreasonably) happy, but I have no problem with this pick. Overall, it's pretty clear we got who we wanted (in the early rounds at least), and that the new FO thinks our starting LG is on our roster. I know FA is out there, but from what they've said and the complete ignoring of OLine in the draft, I think we'll see someone who was buried behind Levitre and Rinehardt end up starting on opening day.

Who better than the football coach at the best university in the world to give his opinion on our draft? http://www.buffalobills.com/media-center/videos/Evaluating-Buffalo-Bills-draft/a3846487-6d30-4813-8679-488a74cfd27f

I came on here to post this.

Love love LOVE this pick. Exactly who I wanted. Big impact for a late pick too. Awesome.

Man I hope we lock Byrd up. He's just fantastic.

lol

Eagles are putting together a hell of a draft.

As I think about it more, I'm convinced we won't take an OLineman in the draft, or at least until round 6 or 7. I'm thinking the next three picks are CB, TE, S. Hopefully we nab Toilolo

Guard, DB, or TE....please. Jones would be awesome.

Am I the only one who likes him even more after hearing the interview?? This guy is rad.

I bet they told Pettine he was allowed one pick on the second day. I love the speed kiko plays at. Does anyone know if he's completely sober now?

Fantastic pick. Last year Lane told Barkley to target lee as well. Woods has the potential to contribute right away.

Like the way he plays. Hope the DUI was a college thing. Breaking into and sleeping in someone else's place? Nice.

Press conference: http://www.buffalobills.com/media-center/videos/EJ-Manuel-Introductory-Press-Conference/63373ccb-ad49-4e31-9c19-5f8bf213d322 Jimbo talking about EJ: http://www.buffalobills.com/media-center/videos/Jim-Kelly-on-EJ-Manuel/41f382f2-df4f-4072-8930-95998c443e22

Ok I've watched about a half of the Florida St - Florida game so far, and it's not anywhere near as bad as it's been made out to be. Is it good? No. But I've seen a rushing touchdown and a TD pass that was beautiful. The fumble was a vicious hit, but he does need to tuck it tighter. The first interception should have at least been contested by the wideout, who was not looking. I need to look at the next two interceptions (and additional TD run), but so far I was expecting much worse. This isn't rose colored glasses either. Nassib's USC game, for example, was also not as bad as advertised. But who knows, maybe the footage I haven't yet seen will be as abysmal as I have been led to believe, it's certainly possible.

It's funny, many of the talking heads listed Manuel as a 1st rounder, and even entertained the possibility that he'd be the first QB off the board. Then when the draft begins, it's like they revert to the boilerplate magazine rankings and act "shocked" when the draft doesn't follow said rankings. Again, I was pushing for Barkley, but with the trade and grabbing my 2nd rated QB, I'm reasonably pleased.

I want a TE and a either a WR or LB. I think one of our picks in the 2nd will be a DB, however.

In our defense we played like garbage that entire game.