OldTimer1960

I don't think it is accurate to say that Nix and Gailey think they can win... as is. I think it is more accurate to say that they chose to use their limited draft choices to improve the woeful defense. You can't have everything in 1 or even 2 offseasons. Beyond Clabo, who they went after hard, WHO is/was available at OT that would have helped much? Now, I would agree to some extent that they maybe could have gone after an OG since this Kraig Urbick experiment is going very poorly.

Man, I don't see why everyone hates Spiller SO much. When he is given the chance, I think he has done reasonably well. Is it disappointing that with his speed he doesn't turn every play into a long gain? Yes, sure, especially with where he was picked, but it is also unrealistic to think any back could do that. I agree, Fred Jackson is a more polished runner now. I do think Spiller is far from being a bust, though. The OL, though, that is another story.

I have no problem with Woods' play. The center is at a disadvantage vs. big NT/DTs as he has to snap the ball with one hand and block the defender with only 1 hand until he can get the snapping hand back. Wood is big and plenty strong, IMHO. I also have NO idea what they seem to think Levitre is doing wrong. I re-watched every snap he played from the first game and I thought that he made every block. Now, I don't know what his assignments were, but he made solid contact and moved people in the run game and pass blocked effectively from my point of view.

I agree. I think the talent is there, I don't know if he is durable enough.

I agree with most of your post, but in my opinion, Barry Sanders may have been THE BEST RB of all time. It is an EXTREMELY rare RB who can make yardage on his own. Even the great (but evil) OJ Simpson struggled until the BIlls built a good OL.

I think it is WAY too soon to call Spiller a bust. A RB with his speed relies on some space to operate in and the Bills' offense provides anything but that. 1. The OL is weak. They do not open "average" size holes. Jackson is a veteran who excels at picking his way to a few yards when nothing is there. That wasn't what Spiller was used for in college and that doesn't play to his strength which is speed and open field moves. Jackson and Spiller are different kinds of RBs. 2. Spiller needs to be involved in the passing game. I applaud Gailey for stubbornly refusing to play Spiller in passing situations in an attempt to force him to learn how to pass block. However, Spiller should be out in pass patterns, not blocking in the backfield. How about taking one of the slow, no-name WR off the field and leaving Jackson in the backfield to block and sending Spiller deep? 3. With little to know deep passing game because of injuries to Evans and Parrish and the generally poor OL play, that allows the defense to cheat up against the run. See #1. Now, I don't KNOW that Spiller will be a break out player, but I do think that the talent is there to be a big-play maker if there are some weapons around him and solid OL play. That may not happen this year, but I don't see this as the same kind of situation as Maybin where he was undersized-underpowered for his position.

I don't know. I was at camp today and he doesn't look that athletic to me. Has kind of a big gut and his arms don't look that big in proportion to his torso. It's a little hard to get a read on a G in training camp where they don't go full out and I don't really know their blocking scheme (ie, who his responsibility is on any given play). I know, a lot of OL don't look very athletic, yet they are good. My impression is that he isn't really that much competition for Levitre, unless Levitre is a lot worse that I thought. However, I do think that they (like many teams) are concerned about their OL and are scrambling to find a set of 5 competent players to put together. From what I could tell, the defensive line really dominated the OL again today.

Based on my view of the first preseason game, Jasper has his work cut out for him to even make the team. In my view, Kellen Heard outplayed him by a lot.

No, Levitre is being demoted. AND Merriman got hurt in practice. Had to know that couldn't last.

Why do so many people here hate Kelsay? He isn't a great player, but he does work extremely hard and give it everything he has. He doesn't get in trouble off the field and doesn't seem like an arrogant a** , as far as I can tell without knowing him. It seems like he ought to be well regarded by fans, but he sure is some folks' favorite whipping boy.

These aren't exactly cast-aways. Most/all left as free agents. It isn't like the Bills just couldn't recognize that they were any good and cut them (other than Leonard). If I could have two "take backs" it would have been Pat Williams and Antoine Winfield.

Jasper is a nice story and I am pulling for him, but from what I think I saw tonight, Kellen Heard outplayed him.

I might speculate that they will use CJ Spiller's speed to stretch the D, too. I think we'll see him split wide or in the slot some to get him into space as well as send him deep to open up underneath routes.

I am excited about the dedication that both Troupe and Carrington showed this offseason. Both reportedly came back much stronger - in a year when they had no oversight from coaches - very commendable. I think that bodes well for both of them maximizing their talents. I don't think that Spiller is a slacker at all. I kind of think that the trade of Evans opens up some pass routes for the electrifyingly fast Spiller. I am cautiously optimistic that Moats, David Nelson and Donald Jones will build on their promising rookie performances. I am hoping very much that Naaman Roosevelt is a true success story and can develop into a solid contributor.

Just speculation, but perhaps Evans was traded as a favor to him. No matter how much we want to believe otherwise, this team is AT LEAST a year away from being a contender and Evans is near the end of his career. He should do well in Baltimore for a year or two and he wouldn't have had that much impact here when the staff wants to get the young guys game experience. Does this make the Bills better this year? No, but I don't think it is a big downgrade, either and it does get young guys on the field to see what they can produce.

I would have been on-board with not paying Poz $7M/year IF they were going to use that money to sign a better player, but to not pay him and be left with the sad lot of ILBs they have now is not at all satisfying. The LBs were the weakest spot on the worst defense in the NFL last year and right now, the LBs are even worse than last year.

is this the Andrews brother that has depression issues or the other broken-down one? I don't think that is the way to do this. The way the Bills are trying to build is with highly dedicated, blue-collar, try-very-hard guys. I don't think either of the Andrews fit that description (likewise Gaither). Move on to another position (TE maybe or LB) as there isn't an OT worth a cr-p left in FA. The Bills have cast their lot with Eric Pears/Wrotto/Wang/Hairston at RT. They are very thin at LT with only Bell, but at least he has athletic ability IF he has worked hard at getting stronger this offseason.

I agree, but I do not think that Jared Gaither is a good option. Poor attitude and work ethic (at least reportedly). That does not fit what the Bills are trying to build, regardless of how talented he might be.

I'm not seeing it. Last year Smith had 4 (four) catches for 44 yards and ran the ball 38 times for 299 yards. That is worth almost $4M/year???? I don't care if he can return kicks, the Bills have more than enough returners and NOBODY will be returning kicks with the change in the kickoff position - there will be lots of touchbacks.

As long as they don't over-pay for him, OK, I guess. I don't understand the interest at all, unless Chan wants to maybe run the wildcat sometimes. I think Smith was a college QB. I don't think he is any more than a decent backup WR - nothing special....

You forgot Too untalented I don't want to be glib, but most of those guys are late round draft picks or undrafted FAs. Our one "pedigreed" LB is Maybin and he is the worst of the bunch.

The worst defense in the league just got worse with the loss of Poz. Why would anyone be upset with that? I try to be optimistic, but this team doesn't seem to want to win. They now have ZERO starting-caliber NFL LBs on a defense that needs 4. I am as hopeful as anyone that Kelvin Shepard can show that he is a starting NFL LB, but the reality is that he is a rookie who hasn't had ANY offseason coaching or NFL strength and conditioning. The LBs as of today are: Akin Ayodele (are you kidding?), Andra Davis (ugh), Shepard, Kelsay (out of position and not quick enough), and some 5th and 6th round wanna-bes in Moats, Batten and White. MAYBE one or more of the young guys will show that they have some talent, but that isn't a bet I'd want to make right now. Compounding the lack of talent at LB is the DL. I think Dareus was a great pick, Kyle Williams is a good player and I have hope that Torrell Troup will be better in year two (he supposedly worked very hard at gettting bigger and stronger) - BUT nobody could confuse this group with a dominant DL (at least not at this point).

He is also an immature, sulking player who (per reports on NFL Network and his former coach) has not figured out that he needs to put a lot more effort into being a pro QB. In my opinion, that isn't the type of player that you want on a Bills team that seems to want tough scrappy players who will try to win with extra effort (as opposed to trying to win with talent).

LB, LB, ORT, OLT, TE, CB. LB is in a sad sad state when people are looking to Whatever-his-name-is Batten and Moats to make a major impact. Losing Poz would be devastating. RT: There is no NFL-calibre backup RT on the roster, let alone a bona-fide starter. LT: I think D. Bell has the athletic ability to be an OK starting LT. Does he have the work-ethic and strength? TE: Ugh! CB: Sadly, there are not even enough on the roster to fill out a team. They really NEED to re-sign Florence. If they can keep Florence, McKelvin, McGee, Corner and add Aaron Williams, they might have enough to get by given that Byrd could probably play CB in a pinch.

With Poz saying that it would be irresponsible to not test free agency, I say that he is as good as gone. Too bad, because it will leave yet another gaping hole in an already putrid defense. Their LBs are the worst group in the NFL, UFL and possibly even the Arena League. Losing their only NFL-calibre LB would be a huge blow and there are no viable replacements available (that I see) in FA. The Bills really need to make a BIG push to re-sign Poz before the FA period hits. Just my $.02 worth...