starrymessenger

I could easily see the rook and TE on the roster. No need to serve up your franchise QB on a platter before the O-line is settled. The rook can sit for a year. TE is in the last year of his contract. He should be motivated to do well. Got to think Chan can do something with that boy.

The bad news: being truly competitive in a very tough division may well take years. The good news: you will see immediate and palpable improvement in 2010. Look for the Bills to be a much better team by the end of next year than when they break camp.

Love my Buddy.

Hope you are right Billy, but with the Rams, Skins and esp the Seahawks all looking for a QB....

It ain't braggin if you can back it up. He can. It then gets called leadership.

Cry me a river Tony. I don't think you would know a good football coach if you fell over him.

J. Clausen is the real deal. A true franchise quarterback. #1 overall would not surprise me. Too bad for us. He is exactly what we need.

If you believe what you just said, that 91 year old RW is and remains fully in control of football operations and decisions, with predictably disastrous results, and that the recent management and coaching changes are no more than window dressing, I can't imagine why you bother following this team. Its sorry fate would then be hopelessly sealed during Ralph's lifetime. Without hope, in our case hope of beneficial change, there is no point to any of this. I have a different view. I believe that Nix, Gailey, whaley etc...are self respecting, quality individuals and football professionals who would not let themselves be used in this way. I also think that Brandon is quietly facilitating the changes we are seeing and is now the real insider and power broker at OBD. If you and I are smart enough to know what is needed to turn on field performance around, and it is not rocket science, just common sense, I'm sure Brandon has figured it out too. There have been far too many positive developments, involving too many quality individuals, for all this to be an elaborate RW magic trick designed to once more dupe the fans. I also believe that Brandon & Co made legitimate efforts to recruit Cowher and Shanny. Do you really think for a moment that either one of these guys was going to serve as a RW puppet? RW has really been all over the lot. He has given up control before. You might say he had some bad luck there. Personally I fully expect this team to greatly outperform TD.

Contrary to what McShay seems to believe, unfortunately for us he will be off the board at # 9. Also, although you need both a QB and an O-line, you don't necessarily "build" the line first. All depends whats expected to be available in consecutive drafts. If the franchise QB is there you take him. Doesn't mean you have to start him immediately either A Rodgers sat for three years. You can at least wait until you land your tackle and the line improves.

Child, please. Kyle Bowler can throw the ball 70 yards from his knees. Jamarcus Russell can throw a strawberry through a wall. JP Lossman has a howitzer.

Thanks. Tailor made for this franchise. Too bad we won't be able to land him. I'm sure Shanny has seen the tape (and spoken to Weiss).

If by the grace of God Claussen is there at #9, I don't see the Bills passing on him, whether Trent remains on the roster or not. If Bradford is there I would hesitate. Concerns about durability and more of a risk than Claussen with respect to transitioning to the next level. Claussen is not an attractive personality, but he has the "it" factor and has proven his grit by playing through injury and dominating even as a junior. He is certainly the most NFL ready of the two top guys. With the Rams, Skins and Seahawks all in desperate need of a QB, I doubt either will be there for us. I would pass on the rest of this year's class.

HaHa. Love it.

No to Joey. He is at the wrong end of his career. Low in tackles in 09. Lousy against the run. Ranked 22 out of 28 3-4 OLBs in 09. Will not "groom" Maybin. Will throw him under a bus (like he did Cam Wake). Always ran his mouth. Difference is now he can't back it up anymore. Let someone else pay him, not us. The Finn we sould have gotten was Matt Roth.

Gailey has said he wants an experienced veteran QB. If there is any credibility to this pistol thing looks to me like maybe they are targeting VICK, and not some college QB. Not that I want the pistol or Vick. Just sayin.

I think, in the case of Brohm, it is necessary to temper our enthousiam with a measure of realism. True, given the circumstances in which we acquired him, he is a low risk proposition (but for the roster spot and the resources expended in attempting to develop him). But it is also the case that he represents a low probable reward proposition at this point in time. He has the physical tools. His arm, despite conflicting reports, is plenty strong enough. Sure he had a serious injury but he has reovered and the Cardinals difficulties his senior year were more on the defensive side of the ball, not the O (his numbers were good). Although people say that he played in a pro-style offence in college, implying I suppose that he is therefore more pro-ready, the truth is that Louisville's offence was 2/3 spread 1/3 power 1. More importantly, under both coaches it was essentially a "one read" scheme for the QB. In other words he knew exactly where he was going with the ball on every snap. This is light years from having to deal with the complexities that NFL defences bring to the equation, requiring progressions, anticipation and good, quick decision making. Brohm's problems therefore actually have much less to do with his physical skills than with transitioning mentally to the pro game. Hence his time in GB was characterized by an inability to read and react to pro defences, an inability to go downfeild (despite the weapons) and inevitably an abundance of checkdowns. Sound familiar? (BTW checkdowns are fine, as long as you can also go downfield, like Brees and Manning. Its when you have no choice but to check down that you are dead meat). I wish Brohm every success, and that whether he pursues his career in Buffalo or elsewhere. Like I said, the challenges he is facing are however considerable and we need to be sensible in our expectations.

I realize its a highlight reel but ...oh my goodness! Just can't see us taking a WR as our # 2 pick. I could be wrong though. Chan is an O guy.

Right. And he's so dumb he figures people can't see that. What a loser.

In his junior year 28 TDs 4Ints. It is just not possible that he is only throwing it up for grabs. I agree he is a goof and a dick. But there are some goofs and dicks that just have "QB" stamped on their foreheads, like Jay Cutler (whose decision making is however well below Clausen's).

Clausen is good to go at the next level. Lined up in a pro-style offence with a mostly lousy offensive line (unlike Bradford) and showed near unbelievable decision making and grit. IMO he is the real deal. Doesn't matter. He won't be there at 9.

To me, it depends who that QB is. If Clausen falls to us at #9 (which he won't) I'd jump on it.

Agreed. Who said you can't teach an old dog. I think he has learned a lesson. Looks to me that there has been a sea change. Just my opinion, but I suspect Brandon is a real power broker who has facilitated a lot of this.

Disagree. What's in a name? Sometimes not very much. I'm more interested in solid football professionals and I am sure that there are a number of such individuals operating below the radar screen of public awareness, even relatively informed public awareness. You really have to be close to the game to know who they are, "close" in the sense of working in college and pro football ranks on a daily basis, which even the most avid and knowledgeable fans of course do not. Chan Gailey said his hires would not be headliners, but would be good coaches. We can't know for sure, but he and Buddy Nix probably know better than we do. Some of them by the way come with very respectable credentials, such as the S&C coaches, as does the Asst GM. As for the OC, it was always clear that the offence would be Chan Gailey's brainchild. That is his specialty after all. Probably worth mentioning however that Modkins stint with the Cards cannot be graded as a fail. Looks to me like they finally started to find a running game under him. With respect to Gailey himself, since so much turns on this hire, no one has ever credibly questioned his acumen on the offensive side of the ball, and the Bills are in dire need of improvement there. Doesn"t surprise me that "philosophical differences" with Todd Haley led to his KC departure. Not unusual for the loser of the top job competition to leave the organization. We see it in all walks of life every day. And who is Todd Haley anyway. Maybe Scott Pioli wishes he had gone with his gut and stuck with Chan. Look, only time will tell how all of this will play out, because only time can tell. Call me a crdulous fool if you like but my strong sense of it is that all of the important appointments, beginning with the GM, are very sound football decisions (especially when compared with what we have had to endure in recent years). My gut tells me that in the years to come we will see significant improvements on both sides of the ball to the point where we may eventually again be competitive even in a very tough division.

Great thread. All of the posts have merit, even where they disagree.

No. And I would not necessarily hold it against them even if we failed to have a winning season. A lot has to do with the directions they take in approaching free agency, trading and the draft. If they look to be competitive right away and trade draft choices for someone like Donovan McNabb or pay for proven vets in free agency I would consider their year a failure if they did not at least have a winning record and be in position to earn a playoff bearth towards the end of the year. If they adopt a more patient rebuilding approach a Jauron like record could be quite acceptable provided that it was clear by year end that they were beginning to achieve their goals. In DJs case a losing record was a ceiling. In their case it would have to be a floor. A positive sign in this type of situation would be a young and improving Bills team destroying one or two serious playoff contenders towards the end of the year.