OldTimer1960

Yes, but the Bills have said a number of times that they are looking for taller/bigger players. Upshaw does not fit the prototype of the player the Bills are after. Might he be the best player available? Yes, but this regime has shown that they very much value size. Look at the transformation of the OL since they got here and look at the selection of Dareus last year. I am not saying that they should not consider Upshaw (or Ingram for that matter), just that he doesn't exactly match the measurables that they seem to be after in an OLB or DE.

I think even more to support your point, I don't think many thought Aaron Curry was a pass rusher. He was supposed to be this fantastic all-around OLB, but not necessarily a dominant pass rusher.

The Big 10 is known for big strong OL, not necessarily elite athletic LTs. Yes, I know Jake Long was from the Big 10. Remember, Aaron Maybin put up a lot of sacks in one season of Big 10 play.

Ugh, I don't like ANY of the players that you listed in round 1. Floyd drops a lot of passes and has lots of off-field red-flags. Mike Adams would be a reach (based on what I know so far) and hasn't been characterized as a try-hard guy from what I've read. Brandon Weedon isn't good enough to be a 1st round pick, even ignoring that he is VERY over-aged for a rookie. Well, I guess I don't know anything about A.J. Jenkins, so MAYBE he is worth the 10th pick.

Why? Because he has a cool nick-name? He isn't even the best DB on his college team.

If you take a QB in the later rounds (after the 1st and *maybe* the 2nd), it is not to "groom" them to become a starter. If a QB has obvious starting potential, he'll be off the board by the middle of round 2 at the very latest. If a QB lasts past that, it means that every team in the league thinks the guy has *some* redeeming qualities and might be a good backup. If the guy turns into a good starting QB, it isn't because he was "groomed" into it, it is because the team got very lucky in the draft. Don't think for a minute that the Patriots drafted Tom Brady in round 6 with the idea of grooming him to be Bledsoe's replacement. He was targeted to be a backup/camp arm. When he got there, they realized that they had gotten lucky and he was better than they thought.

What exactly was he supposed to do? The team's cupboard was truly bear when he arrived. You can't seriously expect him to solve every one of their myriad problems in one or two offseasons. I am certain that Nix knew that Merriman was a gamble with a reasonably low cost (in NFL terms). He didn't like the LTs or DEs/OLBs available in round 1 of the 2010 draft and he desperately needed run stuffing help. He felt that CJ Spiller was the best player available and would help the offense to offset the defense's deficiencies. And he took Troup to shore up the abysmal run D. Now, the jury is still out on the Spiller pick, but he certainly looked good at the end of this season. Troup has been injured - could happen to any draft pick. I guess my point is, I think you are off base to think that Nix didn't realize the team needed more pass rushing help.

Maybe not, but Tannehill isn't a can't miss super star QB, either.

How many backup QBs turned starters on new teams have really panned out? I can't think of very many. I guess you could name Matt Cassel (OK in KC). Matt Moore hasn't done too well in Miami, Fitz is nothing special here, Kevin Kolb has been decent in Arizona. You could maybe count Brett Favre (2nd round pick in Atl traded to GB), but he was very young at the time of the trade.

I can't argue with your assessment, but I think it is a function of the overall situation of the game/season. I think Rob Johnson suffered from the same thing. They both desperately wanted to win and they both decided that they needed to take big chances to make plays to keep their under-talented teams in games. While I think that Fitz is a middling (at best) starting QB, I think that if he had two TEs like Gronkowski and Hernandez with Wes Welker too, he'd be more than adequate with a good defense. Football is a team game and Fitz is far from the weakest link on this team. Still, they could surely use a more talented QB than Fitz.

Because Fitz is not a good QB. No harm if he gets hurt. (Do not read that as I hope that Fitz gets hurt - I completely respect Fitz' effort, intelligence and leadership)

I would normally say "NO, do not throw away draft choices that are needed to upgrade the LB, OT, WR positions, but for Fitz to be a winning NFL QB, he needs a DOMINANT - once a decade D and a LOT of talent around him on O. I think the gamble to find a dynamic offensive weapon like RG 3 might be is worth it - DEPENDING on what it would take to move up to get him. I could get behind trading this year's 1 &2 and next year's 2. I wouldn't be worried about spending MUCH more, as Griffen is no sure thing. That being said, the Bills need to get to #2 ahead of Cleveland if they want to get RG3. I am pretty sure that would take a king's ransom for a not-sure-thing in Griffin.

Any QB that would have to "compete" with Fitz is not the answer. Fitz isn't remotely close to good enough. The Bills either need someone who is MUCH better than Fitz or they need a truly dominant D - and it is abundantly clear that the Bills are about 9 starting players away from having a decent defense.

This game is the college varsity vs a bad H.S. JV team. Who on earth are the WRs the Bills have trotted out? Scott Chandler has been a huge upgrade at TE over what the Bills have, but he'd be at best 3rd string on the Pats. The Pats' second TE has more than 2x the number of catches that Chandler has.

I don't think Sheppard is that small. At NFL.com, he is listed at 6'2" 248. He is likely to be able to add a bit more strength with an NFL-offseason training program.

God, they are just AWFUL.

Fitz has to go. He has completely come apart.

Now let's try to run the damn ball with Spiller.

No, we saw that on Denver's first drive and are about to see it again. That's what we are missing.

One drive and the game is already about to be completely out of reach. Our defense is SO HORRIBLE and the offense is very weak. The team has no fight and little talent. They don't even come close to stopping anyone.

I don't for a second believe that Fitz is mailing it in because he got paid. The guy is smart and a strong competitor. His struggles are (IMHO) a combination of the following: 1. OL troubles due to injuries - the OL has actually held up better than I would have expected for losing their best player and leader in Wood, and losing both their 1st AND second string LTs. I don't know if you can over-emphasize how much Wood getting hurt has hindered this offense. Besides the drop-off in talent, they now have an OG trying to play C and who is making the OL calls now? 2. Stevie Johnson is injured and is a marginal #1/good #2 WR when healthy. David Nelson is a nice #3WR. There is no dominant #1 WR - or if you count Johnson as that, then there is no good #2 WR. 3. Scott Campbell was WAY better than the weak excuses for NFL players that the Bills have trotted out at TE in the past several years, but he is hurt and even when healthy is still a bottom-half (maybe bottom third) of the league starting TE. There is absolutely NO depth at TE, on top of that. 4. Fitzpatrick is smart and tough, but is very marginally (physically) talented to be a starting QB. He MUST excel with his intellect and leadership and be surrounded by some MUCH better receiving talent and a better OL and running game. IF the Bills insist on staying with Fitz next year, they need to find some MUCH better receiving options and get some OL depth. They need to make better use of Spiller and keep using Fred Jackson. UNFORTUNATELY, they HAVE to find at least 2 pass rushers, too.

I wouldn't bet against Cleveland taking a QB. McCoy hasn't been very good this year. TB could also consider one as Josh Freeman has been pretty bad, too.

Well, all that they need this offseason to be competitive next year is: 1. starting caliber QB 2. pass rusher 3. pass rusher 4. #1 WR 5. good TE 6. outside LB 7. outside LB 8. NFL caliber defensive coordinator 9. haven't even talked about the OL... Now, that should be very doable - UGH

I am pretty sure that Fitzpatrick is now worse than Trent ever was. It is so bad, I wish we had JP Losman back.

Cut F*ing Fitzpatrick right NOW! He is ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE!