PDaDdy

I'm with ya pretty much 100%. I think even if we do resign Bell we still need a reliable starting caliber LT. The only place we differ is whether we attempt to draft someone that could be that guy at #10. We have a need but I don't know if that guy is there at #10. I think there are some WRs and LB/DE prospects that are a better values than the LT prospects at #10. Maybe Buddy thinks otherwise.

If we go defense we probably need a starting OLB with the 10th pick unless a starter is already on our roster somewhere. We had been gearing up for the 3-4 the last couple years so I'm not sure which LB we already have is really well suited to the position not just a guy that will be ok. Other than that I agree with what you've said. Maybe Ingram can play that spot but I would prefer someone who is projected to be a OLB in the draft that is worth it at #10 not just a talented 4-3 DE that "might" be able to make the switch. If Ingram TRULY is that guy I would be ok with the pick.

He needs to improve on his pass protection and he will. FJ is better at it. He's had 31 years of experience. All year people played pass defense against us. His number are not to be dismissed nor are FJ's.

Actually Floyd is an excellent blocker. LOL. Don't fret. Everyone's favorite Demetrius "because I'm not Jason Peters" Bell will be back in the fold. The longer he is out there and nobody signs him the more likely it is he will realize that Buffalo is probably the best place for him. Now, that being said it also means he isn't that good and nobody else thinks he is that good which I have been saying all along. People blinded by hate can't see that Bell is really nothing special and the rest of the league is confirming it for us. Sadly we probably do still need a LT even if we do get Bell back

I'd say this can get you to the play offs. Please see through the coach speak about how many carries a game he can handle. He averaged 11 carries a game as the starter. He also averaged 4 catches a game the last 5 games as well so we are talking 15 touches a game. Anything less than 15 touches is idiotic in my opinion for such a talented young man. Five more touches a game is minimal compared to all of the practice, workouts, drills and scrimmages these guys go through. Believe me I hear what you are saying though. Spiller is 5'11" 197lb not a 5'11" 230 bruiser. At his size he is still slightly bigger than Chris Johnson for reference. I do agree you need one bruiser on the team somewhere just for those occasions but I would rather have a Thurman Thomas type than a Brandon Jacobs type if you have to have one or the other. If FJ had just retired, Richardson was coming out AND we were more of a running team I would be fine with getting Richardson. With the current reality...not so much.

Unlike Lynch are we getting rid of Fred Jackson and nobody knows it? Despite everyone's hate and luxury pick bust label that they have tried to slap on him before he was ever given a chance Spiller is a REALLY good RB and is more versatile and faster than Richardson. Spiller is so versatile that he actually played WR for us this year with all the injuries. Richardson can catch out of the backfield but he doesn't have THAT kind of versatility. Richardson is NOT slow but he is not nearly as fast as Spiller timed or in game play. Give Spiller a hole for once and he is GONE!!! His 7.1 YPC in the last 5 games of the year and 5.2 ypc for the season prove that he is a rare talent. Unlike FJ he also did this without our near probowl center Eric Woods by the way

Indeed it is pretty simple. Ralph, Nix, Gailey and Fitz's teammates have all expressed that they think that Fitz is "the guy". He has the constant verbal support of all of those mentioned and the contract to prove it. Agreed, the answer is simple. You don't draft Tannehill with the 10th overall pick to "groom" behind someone you think is "the guy" when you have plenty of other REAL needs to make this a play off team in 2012. Fortunately it seems that our football minded people running the show don't have the "messiah/savior" complex that many fans on this board have that if you don't have one of maybe 4 QBs in the league you are doomed. DOOOOOOMED!!! It's plain as day and all these take him if he is there discussions are useless but it wouldn't be the first time we started thread after thread on something that won't happen

If Trent Richardson falls to us you let him keep falling if nobody wants to trade up.

So out of your 5 options: 1 is a QB we don't need and can't waste a pick on making a play off push this year 1 is a WR who will never drop to us 1 is a trade that won't happen So basically the only realistic options are Floyd vs Reiff. Of the realistic options...I'll take Floyd.

Usually, LOL but I have said quite a bit. I can define a franchise QB using another brave poster's idea who had the stones to suggest a simple one. Completing 65% of your passes and a 2 to 1 TD to interception ratio. Sounds pretty decent to me. The only problem is that only 4 QBs satisfy that criteria in the entire league and some aren't who you think they are. What if you relax that criteria? Now more and more QBs qualify as franchise. The problem is that once you put individual performance statistics to it not TEAM wins and losses or super bowl appearances it shows you that some QBs you think are franchise AREN'T and some QBs you think aren't franchise ARE. Even using individual QB statistics is difficult because it doesn't take into consideration the team around the QB. Is Aaron Rogers Aaron Rogers if he isn't on the Packers? Matt Flynn has outplayed Rogers on the same team. Is Matt Flynn franchise because he can put up the same kind of numbers Rogers could in Green Bay? Is it possible that the talent that GB has on that side of the ball helps to MAKE a decent QB look franchise? That's how we ended up with Rob Johnson. That is how Kevin Kolb's job is not a sure thing in Arizona. That is why Matt Cassel who looked like Tom Brady lite just looks "lite" in KC even with Dwayne Bowe who is one of the best young WR in the league. Again you illustrate my point. Not every team has the cap money to sign a Drew Brees for one. How franchise was Drew Brees when San Diego was drafting Phillip Rivers and Brees lost his job? Really. Seriously. Think about that. Everyone judges a franchise QB in HINDSIGHT! Apparently you're only franchise if you have gotten to or won a super bowl like say a Trent Dilfer or a Jeff Hostettler. I guess I understand some of the fear that other people have you bring up exactly the point to address it though. We know what Fitz is capable of in this system when people are healthy like ...oh say...his near probowl center Eric Woods, maybe a consistent starter at LT for a few weeks in a row and maybe a WR or two that could run faster than a 4.5 and wasn't just plucked off the street or out of the stands to play that day. Just sayin'. I wasn't worried one bit about the offense when we were healthy. Everyone forgets the high scoring games and the come from behind last minute victories that Fitz captained. The team went to hell when the injuries struck and an over matched Edwards' defense gave up on average 27.1 points a week.

You have proven my point more perfectly than I ever could. HILARIOUS! Prior to last year there were people still questioning whether he should be the starter in NY and whether Coughlin would lose his job mid season or not. The "elite"/"franchise" questions is such a joke. I guess Eli stood alone on the field facing the Patriots all by himself. Let's completely ignore the fact that football is a team sport and the Giant's defense played their backsides off in that game and got the Patriots off their game enough for the team to win. Thank you for so beautifully illustrating my point. Whether you are 1 or 1,000,000 it has nothing to do with whether you are right or wrong Usually the more complex something is the fewer people there are that truly understand it and the more people there are that think they know everything but couldn't be more wrong.

WOW...LOL.

GREAT point. The 4-3 scheme, the additional talent and hopefully health SHOULD help the run defense. A little expected help at OLB can't hurt either. Nobody brings up run defense because all anyone cares about anymore is the QB and recently "getting" to the QB on defense. Many have gone all in on the savior messiah concept that your team is absolutely worthless unless you have a mythical creature called an elite QB. Nobody can define or quantify what one is but EVERYONE knows what one looks like. I laugh to no end on that one. This is exactly why the "elite", "franchise" QB argument can never ever ever be resolved. If you can't define it statistically it is ONLY A MATTER OF OPINION. You know what they say about opinions? Just like you know what everybody has one and their all full of you know what. Teams still run the ball and we may see an increase in running sometime in the future. Yes the NFL has made it harder for DBs and they allow some QBs to wear dresses and want to keep them upright, clean and pretty. Football constantly evolves and is cyclical like fashion. As soon as colleges start cranking out enough pass rushers and teams load up on lighter faster guys that go after the QB some genius will remember that running the ball and playing good defense used to win championships. Then you will have teams scrambling to get huge O-line guys that can blow 235 -280lb pass rushers off the line and they will hit you with a 1-2 RB punch from hell. Others will follow and all of a sudden we are back to "running the ball and playing good defense wins championships". Believe me I know that passing is more than just a fad but the pendulum has nearly swung about as far as it can go imo. Unless colleges start producing these undefinable "elite" QB like they were printing their own money teams will realize that there are only an incredibly small handful of them that actually exist. There aren't more than 5 teams that have one and it's certainly not possible for half or even all 32. It might be 2 - 10 years but coaches will get back to running the ball more. It't easier to put together a mauling line and get a few RBs than it is to wait for the chosen one to arrive to lead your team to the promised land.

In order of priority 1) Health 2) Health 3) Health 4) Defense that doesn't give up 27.1 pts a week 5) Health 6) Starting LT 7) Health 8) Starting #2 WR 9) Health 10)Health Yep....that about covers it. LOL.

I disagree completely. Look at CJs numbers for the last 5 or 6 games when he was the starter. Keep in your mind he did this on a team that was decimated by injuries. These injuries include our should be probowl center, our starting LT and any WR we had with speed that could help keep 8 men out of the box on offense. Add in the fact that our defense gave up 27.1 pts a week and we passed constantly his numbers are nothing short of GREAT. When I say great I mean Fred Jackson GREAT! CJ also had a knack for scoring more TDs per touch than Fred did which people don't seem to notice. Ya know...those things that put points on the board Project CJs numbers for a year and you have a back that will get you 1,500 - 2,000 combined yards and 14+ TDs. What RBs in this league are better than that????? Very, VERY few. Only Adrian Peterson pre injuries, Chris Johnson pre hold out and coaching change and Arian Foster. CJ puts up similar numbers to Fred Jackson and Matt Forte. Basically he would be a starter on almost ANY team in the NFL based on his production. Fred is a better blocker no doubt which is important. Unfortunately it seems to be too important in your eyes. It's the offensive line and the QB's job to prevent sacks. Fitz got rid of the ball the fastest of any QB in the NFL. CJ's "blocking" was not what got Fitz killed. It was losing our best offensive lineman and center, Eric Wood, LT Bell being fragile and the rest of the guys and depth being OK.

The entire game is based on speed. You have to be fast enough at your position to be effective. FJ is fast enough but we get slower with every passing day. His game IS built on being a smart veteran do it all RB who also runs very physically. That is not usually a recipe for longevity. Not saying he is just a bruiser because he has plenty of moves and sets up his o-line well...but Fred brings plenty of thump to get those yards when he needs it. I really just find it amazing that people are so willing to discount Spiller's performance when the team had no other choice with it's best lineman our center going down and wild cat QBs and guys off the street playing WR. I am befuddled that people could even suggest getting rid of a 24 year old for a 31 year old. I understand people's heart are with Fred but as a GM that is a dumb, Dumb, DUMB decision! Thinking FJ is going to produce like last year ever again is likely a fantasy. RB rarely repeat that kind of performance and doing so over the age of 30 would likely be unprecedented. Him doing it for 2, 3 or more years at 32, 33, 34+? Wake the hell up! He would be the biggest freak of nature ever to play the RB position in the history of the NFL.

I beg to differ. Speed is one of the first things that you lose with age and it has nothing to do with how many hits you take. FJ is still fast enough no doubt. He makes some tough yards and takes and delivers a good number of hits. We will disagree on the mileage because he has a lot of miles. He has played football his entire life. Just because it wasn't in the NFL and because he wasn't always the starter doesn't mean that the "mileage" is low. The reality is that RB's bodies and human beings for that matter start to break down in most cases in a players later 20's. FJ is a tough runner so it't not like he is avoiding hits and going down to prevent contact. Some RBs are lucky enough to be productive into their early thirties but this is not the norm. FJ seems to be one of these players. Two years left of this level of performance? Perhaps. I hope so for our team's sake but having him take the lion's share of the carries with a really good YOUNG RB on the bench is a waste. This is a two RB league and the good teams have and use more than one. There are very few traditional 1 RB teams left in the NFL and those RBs are usually WELL south of 31. There are problems caused purely by age whether a man plays football or not. If you really are a fan of FJ as I am we need CJ to get a lot of carries to keep him healthy and fresh and not run him into the ground. If you are making a GM decision it's literally a no brainer. You keep the 24 year old RB and you deal the 31 year old RB. These is no discussion about that.

My comments on Blackmon vs Floyd. Floyd might be available at the #10 pick. Blackmon won't. If we go offense Floyd is probably the best pick but I still don't know what you do about the LT position. Even if Bell resigns we would be rotating an undrafted FA and a 2nd year 4th round pick at the LT spot because of the injuries that Bell suffers every year. We need to fix that spot somehow. Maybe it doesn't have to be in the first round but if you are looking for a day 1 starter the first round is the best place to look.

No matter how many times guys like us say it some just don't get it. They think Fred was in a hyperbaric chamber and never took a hit and didn't age until he finally broke into the NFL. The guy has been playing FOOTBALL a long time. On top of that he is 31 years old whether he played 1 down or a 100,000.

Shawn "Good Gamble" Merriman? He is ready to light it up! Merriman is secretly back to 2007 form and we are just keeping it quite. Other teams were fools to think that he wouldn't return to form! It is such a big secret that he hasn't done anything statistically relevant in 4 years. Gravy indeed.....expensive gravy...but gravy. It's been pretty obvious that the only one that had any faith in Merriman was Buddy before the 2012 FA offseason. If Merriman was coming back you don't need Mark Anderson. At this point they know they can't count on him and we likely wasted $10+ million over the last 2 years. That being said we could have saved ourselves about $1 million in bonus money if we cut him last week or two. Maybe that says something and maybe he can contribute in some sort of rotational role which keeps his fragile body healthy. I really hope we can get something out of him. I'm just incredibly skeptical.

THAT IS A GREAT QUESTION! I have always thought that the franchise or restricted free agent rule favored teams with good records that draft later in the first. A first round pick is a first round pick for all intents and purposes. If we could trade down, get some extra picks and only have to give away say the 30th overall pick in the draft while still satisfying the first round pick criteria I would do it in a heartbeat! Mike Wallace is a known commodity that is possibly better than anything we could get in the draft at #10.

How fast were Peterson and Richardson respectively? Adrian Peterson isn't Adrian Peterson without his speed. That is what made him special. Plenty of guys are that big. Almost none were that fast.

Haahahahhah Troll! Still pissed we selected Spiller? LOL.

Basically all these stats say is that QBs drafted early are given more time to see if they are any good. As another poster pointed out it really says nothing about the success of the QB just that they started 3 or more years. All it speaks to is on average how long teams are willing to wait and see if he is THE guy.

Wasn't Levitre's first game at LT the Redskins game where Fitz got wrecked? Seem to recall London got past Levitre.