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I made a comment recently about how glad I am that our team is looking at these small school stand-outs, and that if their measurables are comparative to the higher drafted players, then just because they played against inferior talent doesn't mean they can't succeed in the NFL. When a team needs to fill as many holes as we supposedly do, these "chances" could turn out nicely for us, as opposed to teams that are stacked with talent, who don't have the room to give "potential" guys roster spots. Anyway, when I look at all the players we've brought in these past few weeks, I really like a handful of UDFA's and the linebackers we snagged in the latter rounds look promising, too. But, it looks like we'll have to get rid of some veterans who have been o.k. in order to make room for guys who could be better. Our linebacking, running back, and wideout groups all look like there might have to be some sacrifices in order to keep these rookies - and if that is the case then I'm all for it. Still, I can't look over our roster right now and see how they're going to trim it down to 53 without losing some of the talent they've been bringing in lately.

I'm really pleased with the team "mining" these small schools, too. The way I see it, if the guys have the same build, the same strength, the same size - sure, the small school guys might look better next to the lesser competition, but all these rookies are shocked by the speed of the pro game. If the small school guys can run as fast, move as smoothly, then there's no reason some of them can't succeed. I think that is where teams can really catch up - the UDFA market. A team can carry only so many guys, so when the roster isn't full of top end talent yet, you can flood it and give the little known's a chance. Once the roster is full of guys we're sure of, there'll be less room for "potential".

If our guys are all learning a new system, regardless of whether or not they're veterans, and we're planning on moving our previous DE's to OLB spots, then I'm thinking that some of the latter DE/OLB picks and even Coleman will only be limited by their skills - in other words, I wouldn't be surprised if Schobel or Kelsey gets ousted by one of these youngsters. I like our defense as a whole now - where it was thin before it is heavy with potential.

As of yesterday Tony Washington was still available - the rookie free agent who had a second or late 1st round grade... I really can't believe, considering our particular need, that we haven't gone after this guy. Imagine this late getting a potential lock starter at LT, with our young interior... we could go into next year just needing that QB spot, and being able to trade whatever to get the best one.

If the Bills ever did relocate I'd rather see them go to Canada than anywhere else outside of Western NY. As for the draft - Spiller was a good, safe pick. Had they gone for Clausen most Bills fans would've been happier, yet look how far he fell. Many people forget how we've struggled with injuries over the last few years and still have been two or three games out of playoff contention. If we can stay healthy, play good defense, then our offense should be good enough to let us play with most teams. The one thing that bothers me thus far this offseason is how Nix has repeatedly said how many holes we have and how they couldn't fill them all - almost as if he doesn't expect us to compete, or as if it would be an excuse not to compete.

I like the look of Brown. He's tall enough, yet he's stocky - he looks like one of our old tampa 2 linebackers - maybe not well defined, but it looks like he can take a hit. He's got a good arm, he's smart, throws a good spiral. If we have good coaches then given that skill set, they should be able to make it work. That's my opinion of how they should do with a few of our QB's, though. I don't like Fitzgerald, and Trent might have lost too much nerve to bounce back, but between Brohm and Brown they should find a game manager, at the least.

What difference does it make where Evans lines up? Shouldn't the coaches put him wherever he has the best chance of succeeding? Move him around some. I don't understand why number one wideouts are supposed to line up outside... look at New England and Wes Welker. They move him around - and as good as Welker is, I'd take Evans over him anyday. Imagine how productive he could be with the right offensive mind...

It was either Batten or Moats - one of them had quicker times in the short shuttle and is quicker off the ball than Maybin was coming out - so I read. That might be a damn fine outside combination. I like the potential of these defensive picks. We knew our secondary was good and capable. Now we've got beef on the line and quickness. If we can shut down the run we should be able to pin our ears back and rush the QB, causing more opportunities for picks. I think our offense will be improved enough to capitalize on short fields - at least, that seems to be the model their hoping for this year.

Our team is now such a mystery - we don't really know what we'll see. I'd say, though, that if you took our stable of QB's and sent them to New England the last few years, and they sent us theirs, that Brady would've performed way worse here than he did there, and that New England would know how to maximize the talents of Edwards and Co. I believe that with the right coaching, the right team mentality, and the right system, we can have a successful attack. If only our line plays better than it looked last year, we could be surprised. Either way, we'll find value with what we've got, or we'll grab a new guy next year.

There are recent examples of teams turning it around in the win/loss department by as many as 10 wins in a season. In fact, the turnover in the NFL is so great that the playoffs see, I believe, on average of half the spots taken by new teams every year. Players get hurt. Not only do we have a large number of players coming back from injury to add to our F.A. signings and rookies, but we've got new coaches and new systems. Look at what Green Bay did in one season with their switch on defense. So, although I think this year is a "lets see what we have and go from there" year - and most coaches and G.M.'s would take that approach - Look at Denver last year, we could field a competitive team that plays teams tough, that wins some games that people didn't think we'd win, and that finishes, as they say, "on the rise". An afterthought, though, is that it does suck that every year we finish not good enough for the playoffs but too good for the franchise QB's. So, if we are drafting in the middle again next year I just hope they'll trade whatever - all their picks, if need be, to merely secure a good LT and franchise QB. I'd call that a successful draft.

I know a draft can't be evaluated properly for a few years, but from where I'm sitting - and I know people who sold their season tickets just yesterday after watching the draft - I have to wonder what the Bills actually wanted, or what group of players they were hoping to get, this weekend. It's hard to believe they were thinking "this is a deep class, lets target Wang, Carrington, Easley..." If these guys end up good then I'm well aware that I could be wrong here. But I get the impression that as a team they accept that they aren't good enough to compete yet, that this year is just to see what they've got, almost that they don't know who to target even... I mean, they couldn't have gone back up to get some of these guys that were falling in the second, third rounds? Are you telling me they couldn't have grabbed Clausen and Troup in the second by trading back up? It just seems like they've got no skill at moving around the draft boards to take advantage of who's falling, and instead are just sitting there and accepting what ends up in their laps.

McCoy would be nice. There are some good players left to start round 2... I'd like to see Cody, too. We'll have to wait and see how they end up putting it all together. It sure seemed like they had Spiller in their sights all along, so it makes me wonder if they have a pretty solid tier of players planned for the remaining rounds.

I'd guess Brandon would be there, with Nix, Gailey, the coordinators, and the scouts. Doubt Ralph is there. I wouldn't be surprised if Ralph gives Nix final say and trusts him with it.

I don't think it makes much sense - and I certainly wouldn't make the pick - but when I watched the Bills Draft luncheon Modrak and Nix were grilled on the players, and I noticed Modrak responded a little different, facially, to Pierre Paul. Just on that, that would be my surprise pick, Pierre DE at 9. I hope its a LT, though.

I don't think the Bills can draft Spiller without FIRST trading Lynch. If they don't have him traded and they pick up Spiller, then they've got no leverage for a trade, and will only make Lynch more disgruntled, more prone to screwing up and or not showing up or not playing hard (ala Jason Peters) and then what? We've lost all value in a recent 1st round pick. So, if we are planning on picking up a high round running back we've got to trade Lynch before the draft. If we trade him before the draft it is a good sign we will pick up Spiller. As for the value, positionally, of our high picks - I agree that our previous Bills teams of late couldn't get off the field. They couldn't stop people from running all over us. However, considering the unique nature of this draft, I could see us taking an elite pass rush OLB in the first and still getting a solid NT by the third round. The difference between Dan Williams and Troupe or Joseph or Cam Thomas isn't that much, but the difference between Morgan, Kindle, and the third round OLB's is much higher. So, I say you draft for a set - which set of people adds up best for your needs - and go, in order LT, QB, NT, OLB with their first four, or, OLB, QB, NT, LT - but, in that last scenerio I think they have to trade back up to get a LT in the second or third round - I like that guy Washington from Abeline, who, if it weren't for a bad decision earlier in life would be a first rounder - man, if we could steal him in the third we'd be soooo lucky.

I've never seen him play (that I recall), but if New England let him go... they aren't perfect. There are always a few cases of guys bouncing around the nfl for a few years before they light it up somewhere, and people say, Wow, how did that team, that team, that team miss on him? Maybe the light turns on. At least they are being thorough - it looks like they are going after players they believe could help them.

There's also a guy named Deji Karim - he's like 5'10'' and 210lbs, but runs a 4.37 forty. That's like a Sproles or Turner... and he's projected to go in rounds 5-7...

Last year I would have said Roscoe should get us a 4th, at the least, because of his amazing return abilities. Now, after his last season and after seeing players like Santonio go for a 5th, Marshall, and Boldin... I guess we'd be lucky to get a sixth for him. Now, depending on who's available there... he can be very good as a return guy, so I wouldn't want to give him away. As for a running back - you need to have thickness to be an NFL running back. Short is one thing, but you need stockiness, then. As for a quick back - I know Spiller gets all the attention - and I'd be pumped about him - I also like Best from Cal. They are very similar, and Best might actually be quicker.

Sounds like the perfect back-up QB. You need a back-up to be able to come in and actually win for you, maybe be called upon to play a few games here and there... I could see him very good that way. I wonder how prohibitive his contract would be?

I agree, also. He did good in college with completion percentage, with winning, and with scoring. His accuracy isn't a problem, it's his delivery. Well, he can adjust that to a point where it can work. Even if it isn't great, he can learn to compensate for it. But the drive to win, the willingness to work at it until he gets it, and not just gets it, but is great - if that could rub off on many of the teammates then it is worth it. That attitude alone, if it could spread around, would be worth a first round pick, because it'd make everyone better. I say, if our coaches think he can be successful, then take him when they are sure they can.

As much as we know N.E. will remain good - because they have Tom Brady and Bill B., and because they still have talent and have quite a few draft picks, and Miami and the Jets will be good, too - because they have good coaches in place and their teams are beginning to show identity. We don't know what the Bills will look like. We know we need some talent at certain posititions, but this draft is deep in places we need depth at, and there are four very promising QB's and three or four other mid-round options that could develope or surprise us. If the dice fall right for us, we could field a decent, competitive team this year. It will be young, it will show it's youth my making mistakes, but at least by the end of the year we'll know where we are and who, and what we have to look forward to. It's not a lock that we'll be terrible. What if Clausen fell to us and he turned out to be sensational? What if we grabbed Bulaga or Trent Williams and our O-line really plays good and T. Edwards starts the year looking like the 2008 Edwards? Or Brohm? I know if we spent the majority of our picks on defensive front seven help and found a capable starting LT, we could field a dominant Defense and a good running team. Who hasn't seen teams with that MO make it to the playoffs? So, we'll just have to see - and that is why we love this time of year.

In many positions it doesn't make a great deal of difference if the player is good or if he is great. In the context of trading up or down - if you're just building up a team as the Bills mostly are, trading down to aquire more picks in the 2nd and 3rd round might give us a few more quality starters. There are positions and players that are so good you don't pass up the opportunity to get them - a great QB, LT, DE for example. You don't pass on Peyton Manning, on Bruce Smith... and if there is a Lawrence Taylor type linebacker or Ed Reed type safety then you get them if you can, too. But, if the talent isn't great - once in a decade great, then trading down and picking up extra picks suits us fine. What is better for us - getting a top 3 Lt that might make the Pro-bowl every few years, or trading down and getting, say, the 5th rated LT and the 3rd rated RT, who are good players and aren't going to make the Pro-bowl, but are going to do what you need them to do most of the time? To me, I'd take the two players and fixing our line in one shot, as opposed to having the better player at LT, but still needing to spend another pick on the RT spot. I guess we could argue forever about it - when the picks are there it is easier to say what should be done. And, a little luck helps - especially when trading down.

You could argue that 75% of nfl teams are four to six players short of contention. What separates teams, I think, are coaching - fitting the style to the team, making the identity match the talent and building and maintaining that until a system emerges like in Indy where they are almost entirely built from the draft and are contenders every year. The right coach can make a mediocre team good, and the wrong coach can make a good team bad. You need a QB. And, you need to have the General Manager know how to keep bringing in talent. Hopefully we've got the last one resolved. Buddy will prove that this year and next. Chan seems to acknowledge the mentality needs to change - and he's making it a tough, business first, committed environment. They brought in a lot of coaches - the two strength coaches I think will pay dividends and will be the beginning of a trend. If we don't have a QB after this year then I'd bet they do whatever they need to for one next year. So... my thinking is that this year will be spreading talented youth around at most of the positions, seeing what we have with the youth, and then really fixing the problems next offseason. Next year or the year after before we can duke it out with the big guys... Unless we get lucky this year and the right players fall to us in the draft.

I can't see any sense in that... other than having the fear that Lynch won't be able to play due to suspension, Lynch is very capable of gaining tough yards, especially near the end zone. It's like he becomes twice as strong and determined when the Bills get near the end zone. The only thing I can think of that White has over Lynch is maybe 30 - 40 lbs.

There are always draft day surprises when teams pick players way ahead of everyone else's ratings - but it would be nice to find a trade partner and move down and pick up an extra second. We could probably fill four starter positions if we had a 1, 2, 2, and a 3. Who knows, Buddy might hit some later round home-runs - they're certainly there every year to take. As for a guess - if one of the top two or three LT's are there I'd guess that, but if not, - and I know this is out there - but, after watching Modrak talk yesterday I noticed he blinked a ton when discussing Pierre Paul... so, as much as I haven't thought about that guy, I have a gut feeling the Bills have him on their radar as an OLB.