BillsPhan

Good points and, from a personnel stand point, I agree on all but Marshawn Lynch. Lynch should have been dealt before the draft, and they should have gotten better value then a 4th round draft pick. In the case of Marshawn Lynch, guts had nothing to do with the fact that Buddy Nix was in fact the dumbest guy in the room. And I don't care how bad Lynch played against the Bears. How many running backs in the NFL have had good games against the Bears this entire season, anyway? Despite his stupidity off the field, and his 4 game suspension served that ruined his '09 season, Lynch is still very young and his best years are still way in front of him. The guy Nix kept, Freddy Jackson, may be a better running back right now, is a much better person, and blocks better too - now. But nothing can change the fact that Jackson is 5 years older then Lynch. Besides, I don't think Nix should have traded Jackson instead of Lynch anyway. I think that if Nix could not have traded for better value for Lynch before the draft, he should have kept him on the team, and not drafted C.J. Spiller with his number one pick! Lynch managed to run for almost 800 yards and score 6 TD's combined with Buffalo and Seattle this season. How does that compare to Spiller's rookie season?? On the other hand, Lynch could have had an even better season knowing he was staying in Buffalo sharing carries with just Freddy, and Nix could have gotten a much better rookie season out of the best OT, DL or DE or even LB on his board if he would not have drafted Spiller with that high first round pick!! I predict Marshawn Lynch will have a fine NFL career, always running for around 1,000 - 1,300 yards per season, always scoring 10 or more TD's per season barring serious injuries. No one in his right mind can predict C.J. Spiller will do that or better after watching him get eaten up by NFL defenses one season after dazzling the country against college defenses. You might strongly disagree with me about Lynch, you might think he will never run for 1,000 yards or score 10 TD's in any season again, or you might think he will do more stupid stuff off the field and just get tossed out of the NFL all together. Well we all have our own opinions. I just wish I had more faith in C.J. Spiller becoming the "super star" the Bills envisioned when they took all of about 5 seconds to sprint up to the mike and give his name to Goodell.

I know that "the old boys network" is the biggest reason every NFL team hires coaches and GM's. Even when a team goes out and hires a young coach or GM out of nowhere, like perhaps when the Rooney's brought in unknown Mike Tomlin in to replace Cowher, Tomlin will then most likely bring in assistant coaches from his own "old boys network" to work under him. It may never change, and maybe it shouldn't change. Why not hire people you've worked with in the past and feel comfortable with when you get hired to a brand new high profile position in one of only 32 jobs like that in the world?? I've used the Chiefs as a great example of a head coach going outside his comfort zone to bring in both a new experienced OC and DC in Charlie Weiss and Romeo Crennel. But, and this is a very big but, head coach Todd Haley's boss is Scott Pioli, who worked with both Weiss and Crennel and won multiple SB's with them when they all were in New England. So the idea of bringing them both in at the same time may very well have been all Pioli's with Haley having no choice in the matter what so ever. So the "old boys network" still existed. Here in Buffalo, ever since Nix hired Gailey, I've hated Gailey's choices of assistant coaches he brought to Buffalo with him from within his own network. Nobody has any idea what Gailey's "OC" does, and I bet most of us can't even remember that his name happens to be Curtis Modkins. (I think). And George Edwards....wow, he may have had experience as a DC in college and for perhaps a year or two in Washington, and we all know Florida had all but hired him to be their DC before Gaily stole him away. However, if there was one coordinator in the NFL this past season who performed like his job was way over his head, it was our George Edwards "leading" his defense to levels of incompetence rarely seen in Buffalo for the past 30 years or so. I was certainly vocal among those of us out here who were calling for this guy's head, but never really expected Chan to replace him because to me, he seemed way insecure and firmly entrenched within his circle of "old boys" surrounding him. Then all of a sudden Dave Wanny agrees to come to Buffalo as Chan's "Assistant Head Coach" and linebackers coach. And I have to say wow yet again. Talk about making a move, be it Buddy Nix telling Chan to bring him in, or be it just Chan bringing in an old friend well within his "old boys network" to help him speed up his massive rebuilding project, to shock the hell out of me! Yes it could be just another "old boys network" hiring. But like Scott Pioli and Todd Haley in KC, bringing Wanny in was more impressive then the usual hiring, in that Wanny has done it all in the NFL, and his teams he was head coach of were at least competitive (Chicago) to playoff teams (Miami.) So now I feel much better about the direction Buddy and Chan are moving in to rebuild the Bills. No matter how close Chan and Wanny are, it still took secure guts for him to accept him coming in, and / or it took secure guts for Nix to tell Gailey Wanny was coming. Either way, I'm glad they brought him in, and I'm sure the Bills defense will improve vastly as soon as next season with Wanny helping make the decisions. As for George Edwards staying on as DC? Let's just say he can lean on the best "Inside Linebackers Coach" in the history of the NFL to "help him out."

What do you expect when the coach of a 4-12-0 NFL team and his staff are invited to coach one of the teams?

OK Dr. freakin' Seuss, we get it. You probably were the biggest mocker of Tebow before last year's draft too, right? Fine, I'm sure the Bills will draft the next Tom Brady in the 6th round this year, so they won't have to waste their money in the 1st or 2nd round. Or....if we take a breath and realize that drafting a Tom Brady in the 6th round or drafting a Joe Montana in the 3rd round happens once every 30 years or so for lucky NFL teams, Buddy Nix cannot go on too much longer ignoring his glaring need for a franchise QB! It's been lets see now, 14 years since Jim Kelly retired, so unless Nix drafts one of the top QB's this April in the first couple of rounds, his Bills will begin their 15th consecutive year without a young franchise-type QB at the helm. That simply amazes me. Cam Newton will become a franchise QB for some team in the NFL within the next few years, that is my humble opinion / prediction. Take if for what it's worth. He could become the Bills next franchise QB if Nix has the guts to take that chance.

Of course I would. But you are dreaming. The Pats would most likley offer the #32 and their 7th round pick in 2014 or some arrogant crap like that, since they think they are the smartest team in the NFL. And if they were so desperate for a major talent at WR, maybe someone who could have stretched the field during that God-awful 7 minute drive in the 4th quarter that produced zero points, why on earth didn't they simply hold onto Moss all year???

Yeah sure, I'm a communist because I would like the fans whose taxes pay for the vast majority of the stadiums NFL teams play in be able to afford to attend the damn games, right? I'm a communist because I would like to see the owners cut the ridiculous amount of money they pay the players in half, and use it to cut the fans' cost to watch their teams play in half. In other words, because I want Chris Kelsay to only earn 3 Million dollars a year instead of 6 Million dollars a year, that makes me a communist. Think about that. Chris Kelsay would have to scrape by playing in my "Soviet Union NFL" on only 3 Million Dollars per season.

The players will always be the huge winners. The owners are already multi million or billionaires without the NFL. The players come from all kinds of back grounds, some with and some without legitimate college degrees, and earn millions of dollars. That is crazy. I don't care if they are "entertainers" and all elite "entertainers" earn millions. I don't care that they put their lives on the line, and in many cases risk major injuries and have major problems after their careers are over with their health. You can say the exact same thing about fire fighters, police officers and military soldiers. I wish the 32 owners of the NFL would shut the whole thing down and start it all over again. The goal would be to cater to the average fan instead of television and corporations. Every major sport should do the exact same thing, especially in today's economic times. Here is what should happen: 1) Every NFL team should sign a 50 year irrovocable lease with their current cities and should go back to paying those cities and counties good money for the right to play in those publicly funded stadiums, including going back to paying those cities and counties parking and concessions money. (The very few owners that paid for their own stadiums with zero public funding can be free to negotiate more favorable leasing terms, but they should still sign a 50 year lease.) 2) PSL's should be banned. (However owners could still charge for their luxury suites whatever their individual markets will bear) 3) All ticket prices for seats in every NFL stadium should be cut by at least 50%. 4) Screw Los Angeles. The NFL should not allow any current team to move there, but instead force them to start from scratch as an expansion team - and in fact add another expansion team from another city that has never had NFL football to keep the number of teams even. So how on earth do the owners afford to take these 4 fan-friendly steps you might ask? Very easy - reduce the money they pay the players. Cut the salary cap in half - at least. What is it now, (or what was it before this past 2010 uncapped season) - about 125 Million dollars per year per team? Are you freakin' kidding me? Cut that in half, and each team will immediately save 62.5 Million dollars. Per year. Gee, that means Tom Brady and Peyton Manning will only earn 8 Million dollars each instead of 16 Million per season?? How on earth will they ever survive?? And the last guy on the team - the 53rd guy to make the roster, will have to "get by" on only $100,000.00 per season instead of $200,000.00?? Are you telling me that some 7th round draft choice or rookie free agent that over-performs and beats the odds to make the roster at the final cut, won't think it's worth "his trouble" to earn $100,000.00 per season? What are his other options, a sweet $30,000.00 a year entry level marketing job in the real world - if (and that's a huge if) he earned a bachelors degree in college?? I say shut it all down owners, and start it up again from scratch. Every major sport should cut it's payroll by half at the end of their current seasons, and give that money back to the average fans who cannot afford to even attend any of the games anymore. But first and foremost, the NFL needs to do that. They won't of course. But I would love to see it because really....what could the players do??

Before I list anything, the Buffalo Bills are already a "legendary franchise". Since 1960, they are one of only two NFL franchises that are still owned by the same MAN, not just "family", that originally started the teams. (Wilson and crazy Al Davis out in Oakland, but Ralph has kept the Bills here since 1960, while Al has taken his Raiders down to L.A. and then back up to Oakland again.) They are the only NFL team in the history of Super Bowls to play in 4 consecutive ones. They are the only NFL franchise to ever play regular season games in Canada. That makes them pretty legendary as far as I'm concerned, although losing all 4 of those SB's and taking home games out of RWS certainly is not the type of "legendary" for we fans that I know you really mean. So here is my list of things to do so to speak, for the Bills to become "legendary" in the hearts and souls of we die hard Bills fans: Long Term Goals: 1) Dump the games in Toronto after the original contract is up - forever. Let Toronto get their own team into the NFL if it thinks it would be such a great city to add. 2) Sign another 25 year lease with Erie County to remain here and play in RWS and then eventually in a new stadium to be built ONLY in downtown Buffalo - WITH a retractable roof like Indy has. 3) For #2 to ever happen, Western New York must come up with an ownernship group that will buy the team from the Wilson family after Ralph dies. Short Term Goals for these Buffalo Bills to start winning again: 1) Sign at least TWO high quality free agents for the OL or the DL or at LB - THIS March, if the new collective bargaining agreement gets done. (If it doesn't get done by March 1st, the first day of UFA signing period, there most likely won't be a season in 2011.) 2) Draft a franchise QB....Gabbert, Locker or even Newton, this April. 3) Bring in Dave Waandstadt or another qualified defensive coach to replace or "oversee" George Edwards.....NOW....this off season. 4) Draft the very best available OT and DT along with the franchise QB this coming draft, with that high pick in each round.

....Roethlesberger (1st Round pick), vs. Sanchez (1st round pick) in the AFC Championship. Cutler (1st round pick) Vs. Rogers (1st round pick) in the NFC Championship. Gee, these teams that seem to be winning with all "defense" certainly have some pretty damn good QB's too, huh??? The Bills can go right ahead and draft a QB with their 1st round pick (3rd overall), if they feel he will grow into a franchise QB within a year or two. It's obvious that you really do need both a franchise QB and a great defense to win Championships in today's NFL!

That's my choice - Packers-Jets. First, I picked Pats over Saints when the playoffs started. Next, I picked Pats over Packers after the WildCard Games. Now, I have Packers over Jets after the Divisional games. And you're right, both road teams would have to win, but here's a first....and I doubt anyone would have to look it up to prove it although I have not done that: How about both number 6 seeds playing eachother in the SB?? Jets (6) Vs. Packers (6) You know what this proves to me? It's time to scrap divisional winners getting home field advantage throughout the playoffs over Wild Card teams with better records! Obviously, it was ridiculous for the Saints to have to travel to Seattle after finishing 5 freakin' games better then them during the long arduous regular season. And both these WildCard teams with zero chance of playing a home game this season - Jets and Packers, are rounding out as the very best teams in each conference anyway! Starting next season, sure, give the crappy divison winners their division championship banners and of course let them make the playoffs. But heading into Wildcard weekend, the two division winners and two wildcards should get re-slotted based on regular season records, and then the division playoffs and Championship games need to follow suite as well. The Bears brought Seattle back to earth in a big way yesterday. But how pathetic would it have been for the Packers to have to travel out to Seattle for the NFC Championship game with a solid 12-6-0 record and two great road playoff wins under their belts, against the loudest crowd in the NFL, that roots for the team with the 9-9-0 record???

Yeah, not only is he "on the field", but he's the starting right tackle for the AFC Championship bound Steelers. But according to Buddy and Chan, he was not good enough to even make the cut for the 4-12-0 last place Buffalo Bills. Now for all you Buddy and Chan and Bills' apologists out here, I understand that Scott is a back up only playing because both the Steelers starting tackles are out with injuries. And Big Ben has gotten roughed up and sacked more then usual. But come on now, he's still playing well enough to keep the starting job over other back ups on the team, and they are the damn Steelers. How on earth does this guy not even make the Buffalo Bills? It really makes me wonder about the personnel decision making process starting off with of course Tom Modrak, and on down. Modrak without Nix drafts Aaron Maybin number 1 and Maybin ends up not even strong enough to play - for his first two seasons in the NFL. Modrak with Nix drafts C.J. Spiller number 1 and he can't figure out how to run against NFL competition or block against NFL competition in his first NFL season. Nix cuts Scott, and keeps the big Chinese American rookie on the active roster, when that kid was injured the entire freakin' season. He could have kept Scott for valuable depth on the line, and simply put the rookie on injured reserve right out of training camp. I can only hope things improve now that Nix and Gailey have had a full year on the job.

What a shock, Cam Newton is the most "not wanted" draft pick at the number 3 overall spot. Fine, although I would love to see Nix draft him there, I'm sure 70-something year old "lifetime football guy" Buddy Nix agrees with the majority and he won't draft him there anyway. Hey I know Newton's only had one amazing season, but he did if for the number one team in the nation at the highest level of college football against the best teams playing in the best conference. Then he played well enough to finish off the season with a big win over a very good Oregon football team. I predict he will get drafted in the top 5 - 10 anyway, and why not the Bills?? This kid may need a year or two to work on his overall QB skills, but come on, he's a bigger, younger Michael Vick! Everyone on this board loved the idea of Vick the football player coming to Buffalo. (Although there were plenty of us who hated the idea of Vick the person coming to Buffalo.) If the Eagles don't lock him up and the collective bargaining agreement gets done by free agency time, people on this board will probably start crying for Nix to sign Vick anyway. I say forget him and his 30 million dollar debts to pay back meaning he will need a 100 million dollar deal. (And of course some owner will hand it to him.) Nix should roll the dice on the big kid from Auburn at the number 3 pick in the draft. Imagine what Chan Gailey could come up with for him - even if he only comes in as the "wildcat QB" on special sets his entire rookie season while he learns the pro game. He ran the Auburn offense from the line of scrimmage so he has good football intelligence, and his arm was good enough to pile up TD passes. Finally, I could be wrong on this, but I heard that the collective bargaining agreement expires before the draft. That means that either they will have a new rookie cap in place for the Bills not to have to break their bank signing Newton, or they may even cancel the whole draft if they don't have an agreement in place.

So why would this be a stupid "egotistical" move by Jones to get this blue cheap possible "shut down" corner at number 3? I would not be upset if the Bills took this kid at 3, if he is that good. How can drafting a great CB, the best in the draft, and one that might be the next Derrelle Revis, ever be considered a reach or a "luxury" pick, when as you say, the Cowboys are desperate for CB help, and the Bills are not exactly set there themselves with an aging injury prone McGee on one side and young inconsistent McKelvin on the other. The best overal CB on the Bills might be Drayton Florence who is set to take another dive into FA this off season. So I'm not sure what your point is supposed to prove.

Yes one can hope, and I hope that Buddy does draft someone different. Someone like Cam Newton, Jake Locker or Ryan Mallett.

Of course the Bills should draft Cam Newton with the 3rd pick in the draft to be their QB of the future. At some point this team has to draft a QB. If Newton does in fact declare for the draft (as if he won't), and he falls to number 3, the Bills would be insane not to draft him. I predict he will be a high first round draft choice, perhaps top 5 and certainly not fall below top 10 anyway. One of other 5 to 10 worst teams will take a shot at Cam Newton as their QB. And why not?? The guy is a bigger, stronger younger Mike Vick! Maybe he does not have Vick's natural arm strength, but he looks good enough to me to be able to start in the NFL within a year or two at QB. Of course I could be wrong. Nobody is guaranteed to be worth a number 3 pick in any draft anyway. But I also think it's crazy to start listing all the best DT's and DE's and LB's Buddy will surely draft at number 3 if he does not draft Newton. Nix proved to me in just his first draft for the Bills that he does not see things the same as the "draft gurus" or we fans do. Nobody thought he would or even should have taken Spiller at Number 9 overall, and then he followed that up by drafting two guys in the 2nd and 3rd rounds from small colleges that were not on anybody's draft board, so of course they were considered reaches. Pretty strange top 3 draft picks for somebody who we all considered was a top college scout and life time "football guy", don't you think? The big major college DT's and DE's and LB's names are being tossed around on this board already, in everyone's mock drafts. Nobody thinks the Bills should even draft Newton at all, even if he was there in the 7th round. Well here's what I think: I'd rather see Nix take Cam Newton at number 3 overall, then to see who he would draft if he even keeps that pick without trading down out of it anyway. And don't compare a Newton choice to a luxury pick like Spiller last year. Newton is a QB, and even if he groomed behind Fitzy for the entire 2011 season if they play it, and becomes the starter in 2012, he will still be worth the number 3 pick overall! Spiller, as a scat back RB too small to be the every down back, was not even close to being worth the #9 overall pick. Anyway, Nix may draft a player from a smaller school or a different position we all think he would not draft with that number 3 pick, and then won't everyone be whining on TSW.

If Lynch is that stupid, then there may be some laughing and some feelings of satisfaction from Nix and Brandon and the gang at One Bills Drive. But considering the new lease on life Marshawn is feeling participating in this strange playoff run with his new team, I don't think even he can be that stupid. I wouldn't count on him getting into any more trouble while playing in the NFL. Just my humble opinion. And unacceptable. Divisions became less important when the NFL went to eight (4) team divisions anyway. With only four teams, only six of your 16 (and soon 18?) games are within your division. OK, fine. Of course each division winner deserves to make the playoffs. But that is where divisions should stop being special. Seattle should have immediately been placed as the number 6 seed in the NFC, and been guaranteed zero home games with that pathetic 7-9-0 record. On top of that, 3 of the 4 Wildcard games featured teams with better records on the road because of division winners being held in such high regard. In my humble opinion, this should be changed this coming off-season.

Marshawn Lynch is only 24 years old, and has just finished only his 4th season in the NFL. After 4 seasons, he has run for 3,338 yards with a 3.9 YPC and has scored 23 rushing TD's. He has 115 catches for 808 yards receiving with 1 TD catch. He started strong with the Bills, gaining over 1,000 yards rushing both of his first two seasons. His third year was a bust, starting out with a 4 game suspension for his off the field problems, and the excellence of Freddy Jackson taking his place. But this past season of 2010, despite being in an impossible situation competing with two other "starting" backs for carries in Buffalo and then being traded to the Seahawks, with possibly an even worse offensive line then the Bills, he still gained 737 combined yards with the Bills/Seahawks, with a 3.6 YPC and still scored 6 TD's. That is one more TD then Freddy Jackson scored for the Bills this season. Looking at the rest of the 2007 draft, Adrian Peterson was taken before Lynch at #7 in round 1, and of course he is headed for a HOF career with the Vikings, as he has compiled over 5,700 rushing yards in his 4 seasons. But after Lynch taken #12 and his 3,300+ yards rushing so far, no other RB is even close, including RB's drafted in the 2nd and 3rd rounds. In fact, you need to check all the way down to the 250th player taken in the '07 draft, Ahmad Bradshaw by the Giants, to find a 3rd RB from the class of '07 to have even run for more then 2,000 total yards in their first 4 seasons. Bradshaw just had his first season over 1,000 yards including a whopping 4.8 YPC Avg, and what an amazing value pick so far down in the 7th round. But he's totaled just over 2,500 yards so far in his 4 year career. So Marshawn Lynch is far from a bust draft pick as the #12 overall player drafted in the first round in 2007. He was the second RB drafted of his class, and he's gained the 2nd most yards rushing so far in his 4 year career, by over 800 yards more then #3. If he stays out of trouble during his off-seasons in Seattle or where ever else his career may take him, and stays away from serious injury, there is no reason to expect any less of him then 1,000 yards minimum per season behind even a decent NFL line. And at 24, he may have another 8 or more seasons left to play at that level or close to it, if he works out hard. My point is that Buddy Nix gave him away for almost nothing. Unless Nix lucks out in the 4th round and drafts a special diamond in the rough type player who can eventually make the same type of impact that Lynch is making right now in Seattle and started making for Buffalo his first two years, then Buddy will have been a fool for making that deal with Seattle. And when you have a re-building job as huge as Nix has in Buffalo, you cannot afford to give away your valuable assets for anything less then equal value. OK, I'm dreaming to think any NFL team would have traded Buddy a 1st round pick straight up for Lynch, and that's not what I'm talking about here. Nix should have tried to trade Marshawn during the off-season, and he should have traded him for a need-position player of equal value and not just a draft choice. If no team would have been willing to do that, then no way should he have drafted Spiller at that #9 spot last April! He should have drafted the best QB, OT or DT on his board and left Lynch on the team to play with Freddy as a good 1 - 2 punch.

Oh really? The Mississippi State recruiter claimed all that? Now there's a shock, no chance he was outright lying due to a case of sour grapes, huh? And even if that cheating you are "allegedly" claiming Newton of doing is true, would he be the first student-athlete from Florida to try to get away with that??? Florida, with all of those amazing athletes that have played there the past 10 years and beyond, winning multiple National Championships lately, never had an instance of their players doing any type of "cheating" to stay on the field from week to week?? Surely you don't believe that, I hope. Maybe Newton wasn't mature enough for the big time in Florida when he transferred to the junior college, if that's what Binn College is. Or maybe he did get caught when others didn't. Whatever the reasons, he landed on his feet at another big time program and led Auburn to the National Championship this season, and he looks like a big Michael Vick out there. Imagine what Chan Gailey could do with that kid. If he's there at #3, I hope the Bills take the "risk" and draft him, because he sure the hell won't be still on the board in round 2. I predicted a team would draft Tim Tebow in the 1st round before last year's draft, and hoped the Bills would be that team. I got flamed pretty well, since the majority of experts on this board thought Tebow might go late in the draft, or perhaps not get drafted at all. Denver drafted him in the first round, and by the end of the season, he was their starting QB. Time will tell if he turns out as well as I think he will, but as for Newton, I'd be shocked if he made it past pick 10 in the first round, with the lousy QB's starting in the NFL today. Some experts may accuse the Bills of "reaching" for a bad character player who is not polished enough a QB to deserve the #3 pick. B.S. I say, and drafting Newton would be a great move forward for Nix and Gailey, in my humble opinion.

Yes it was the crowd. Half the tremor was caused by them wildly jumping up and down as Lynch sealed the win by "Beast Moding" over the Saints. The other half of the tremor was caused by the fans laughing hysterically at the fact Buddy Nix traded the former number 12 overall pick in the draft, still in his mid-20's, for a measly 4th round draft pick in April's draft.

Good original point about the draft being hard to nail! But man, did you ever pick the wrong team to prove your point with when bringing up New England Patriots misses in the draft! The following is a list of draft picks since the last season the Bills made the playoffs, 1999, thru 2009 (I'm not counting rookies who played their first season in 2010.) from the Bills & Pats. The list is broken down into two types of picks: (1) Players still on the their teams. (2) Notable players not still playing on their teams. Take a look at this comparison over 11 of the past 12 drafts, and then tell me you can lump the Pats organization into the same category of "hit and miss" as the Bills! Players with * are still playing for their respective teams. 1999: Pats *Kevin Faulk - 2nd Round 1999: Bills None 2000: Pats *TOM BRADY-QB-6th Round - (COULD BE THE VERY BEST LUCKIEST DRAFT PICK IN NFL HISTORY?) 2000: Bills Sammy Morris-RB-5th Round (But Playing for the Pats the past 4 seasons!) 2001: Pats Richard Seymour-DE-1st Round (played 8 Pro Bowl level seasons for Pats, but now playing for Raiders) *Matt Light-OT-2nd Round 2001: Bills Nate Clements-CB-1st Round (6 Good To Pro Bowl level seasons for the Bills, but now in San Fran) Aaron Schobel-DE-(BEST BILLS' DRAFT PICK OF THIS CENTURY? - 2nd All Time in Bills' Sacks, but now retired.) 2002: Pats Deion Branch-WR-2nd Round (Played 4 years with Pats, 5 yrs with Seattle, now back with Pats) Jarvis Green-DE-(Played 7 solid years for Pats, but now playing for Houston) 2002: Bills Mike Williams-OT-1st Round 4th overall - WORST DRAFT CHOICE EVER IN BILLS HISTORY? 2003: Pats *Ty Warren-DE-1st Round Asante Samuel-CB-4th Round (Played 5 good to Pro Bowl level seasons for Pats but now in Philly) *Dan Koppen-C-5th Round (has started at center for Pats all 8 seasons) *Tully Banta-Cain-LB-7th Round (239th player picked that year - still playing for the Pats. 2003: Bills Wills McGahee-RB-1st Round 23rd overall - SECOND WORST CHOICE EVER IN BILLS HISTORY? *Chris Kelsay-DE-2nd Round *Terrence McGee Ben Sobieski-G-5th Round (Had to mention this obscure guard that played 3 years in the NFL, cause the Bills drafted him 14 picks ahead of Dan Koppen in the 5th round.) 2004: Pats *Vince Wilfork-DT-1st Round Ben Watson-TE-1st Round (Played 6 good seasons for Pats, but now with Browns) 2004: Bills *Lee Evans - WR - 1st Round (2ND BEST BILLS DRAFT PICK OF THE CENTURY?) JP Lost-man - QB - 1ST ROUND (THIRD WORST CHOICE EVER IN BILLS HISTORY?) 2005: Pats *Logan Mankins OT- 1st Round *Nick Kaczur OT - 3rd Round *James Sanders-SS-4th Round Matt Cassel-QB-7th Round (Seems that the Pats can find damn good QB's in the 6th & 7th rounds, don't you think?? - Cassel is obviously starting for the AFC West Champs Chiefs.) 2005: Bills *Roscoe Parrish - 2nd Round Kevin Everett - 3rd Round (Might have been long term answer at TE, but tragic major spine injury ended his career way too soon) 2006: Pats Laurence Maroney-1st Round (You used him as an example of a bust, but he had 3 very productive years out of his 5 with the Pats, in which he scored a total of 21 TD's, before being traded to the Broncos this year. Chad Jackson-WR-2nd Round - (OK, A DEFINITE BIG TIME BUST FOR THE PATS.) *Stephen Gostkowski-K-4th Round (Nice value for the guy who replaced Vinitieri, huh?) 2006: Bills *Donte Whitner-SS-1st Round *John McCargo-DT - 1ST ROUND - (4TH WORST CHOICE EVER IN BILLS HISTORY?) *Ashton Youboty-CB-3rd Round *Kyle Williams=DT-5th Round (Proving to be right up there with Schobel & Evans - especially as a 5th rounder!) Brad Butler-OT-5th Round - May have been the best OT drafted this past decade, but decided to retire after only 4 years, to go into politics?? Only a Buffalo Bills draft choice, right? *Keith Ellison-LB-6th round. 2007: Pats *Brandon Meriweather-SS-1st Round 2007: Bills Marshawn Lynch-RB-1st Round (12th overall pick - another HUGE BUST for the Bills! - But he may not be a "huge bust" for the Seahawks, eh??? Buddy got a 4th round pick for him while Marshwawn "Beast Moded" Seattle past the Saints in the playoffs last week. Typical Buffalo Bills "trade-off" this century.) *Paul Posluszny-LB-2nd Round 2008: Pats *Jerod Mayo-LB-1st Round *Jonathan Wilhite-CB-4th Round *Matt Slater-WR-5th Round 2008: Bills *Leodis McKelving-CB-1st Round *Reggie Corner-CB-4th Round (Good value) *Demetrius Bell-OT-7th Round (EXCELLENT PICK -EXCELLENT VALUE) *Stevie Johnson-WR-7th Round (SEE DEMETRIUS BELL) - This has to be the best 7th round of any draft in Bills history, perhaps??) 2009: Pats *Pat Chung-FS-2nd Round *Ron Brace-DE-2nd Round *Darius Butler-CB-2nd Round *Brandon Tate-WR-3rd Round *Rich Ohrnberger-G-4th Round *George Bussey-T-5th Round *Julian Edelman-WR-7th Round *Darryl Richard-DT-7th Round 2009: Bills *Aaron Maybin-DE-1st Round (If he doesn't start lifting weights soon, he will be right up there with Mike Williams and Willis McGahee in Bills' draft busters history) *Eric Wood-C/G-1st Round (Should be Bills' center for the next 10 years) *Jarius Byrd-FS-2nd Round *Andy Levitre-G-2nd Round *Shawn Nelson-TE-4th Round *Ellis Lankster-CB-7th Round So there you have it. Look at both of these teams since 1999. I'm not even listing any free agents. Pats have won 3 SB's and the Bills have not made the playoffs. Look at all these players (Lord knows it took me long enough to write this post), and ask yourself just how "random" the drafting process really is.

You're welcome, Seattle Seahawks fans. "Beast Mode" is the what that run is called. And to think their Seattle had a Dick Jauron 7-9-0 and ended up winning a home playoff game. Somewhere Dick is either laughing or crying. He replicated that 7-9-0 record 3 consecutive years and did not get one damn AFC East Championship out of them! And talk about getting the last laugh. Nix took a former first round draft pick in only the fourth year of his still promising career, and traded him away for a whopping 4th round pick in this coming draft. And as if that wasn't bad enough at the time, Marshawn made Nix look like a bumbling old man in front of a national TV audience in the biggest game of his career, kicking it into Beast Mode when the Hawks needed him the most. Yes sir, gotta love these moves our Bills' managment make year after year after losing year. Hey Buddy, maybe you could muster up a 3rd rounder for Kyle Williams next year, huh?? As you can tell, I never thought the Bills should have traded Lynch at all, and of course I thought the Spiller pick was beyond stupid. Oh well, maybe Lynch will do lousy the rest of the playoffs, and get arrested during the off season and Buddy will be vindicated for dumping him for nothing. But my guess is that Marshawn will go an and play well the rest of these playoffs, clean up his act out in Seattle, and have a fine NFL career. Talking about beyond stupid, what's up with the 7-9-0 division winner getting a freakin' home game against the 12-4-0 wildcard team? Absolutely inexcusable. When the NFL dropped these "divisions" down to 4 teams each, that should have been the year the division winners' records became less important. I'm not saying the Hawks didn't deserve to make the playoffs, but that game should have been played in the Super Dome, not in Seattle where the team with the first losing record to ever play in the playoffs had such a huge 12th man advantage - especially during those last few drives of the Saints late in the game. Reverse the stadiums and leave the games exactly the same. Now imagine Brees starting deep in his own territory behind by 4 points, but with the crowd absolutely silent this time. You think that would not have helped them at all? It's a very simple and logical rule change that needs to be made before next season. You win your division with a 4-12-0 record? Fine. But you will play AT the wildcards' stadium if they have at least a 5-11-0 record. If they can change the OT rule that was unchanged for 75 years, they can certainly change that one.

You have this all wrong. Sure drafting Newton may be a risk for any team that needs a franchise quarterback. Shades of Akili Smith and Ryan Leaf are still hanging over Cincinnati and San Diego over a decade after they drafted them. But Nix would never draft him anyway! While Buddy tries to come off like the "good ol lifetime football guy" chewing his chaw and telling us in his country drawl that he is not the smartest guy in the room, I personally think he does have the biggest ego in the room. Drafting Newton would be awesome for the Buffalo Bills heading into "year 2" of the Nix-Gailey era. Chan loves offense, and he would love to have an athlete like Cam Newton to plan an offense around. Look at how well Cordell Stewart did when Chan was the OC for the Steelers years ago. The buzz would be back in Buffalo about 10 times more then the one year T.O. blessed us with his presence. You think Mike Vick would have been big here, imagine this young kid coming in signed for 4 or 5 years with Gailey to coach him and Fitzy to mentor him. And that is exactly why I know Nix won't draft him. After watching Nix in last year's draft, he reminds me of a slightly more conservative Tom Donahoe. Nix seems to look around for the "unique" unexpected draft pick. Nobody thought he would draft Spiller number 9, and who in Bills nation knew who the hell Terrel Troup or Alex Carrington were?? No, instead of taking any of the top players rated on all the draft guru's boards at number 3, guys like Cam Newton or Ryan Mallett or Jake Locker, or the best DT or DE or LB or even OT - guys that the experts will be touting as good solid picks for the Bills at number 3, won't be good enough for our Buddy. But since the number 3 pick is so coveted and high profile, no way could Buddy reach for one of his small school "finds". So my prediction is that Nix will simply trade down for extra picks. Safe way to go, and nobody will blame him since the Bills have so many holes to fill.

Wrong. It's not worth looking up, but both Alex's combined have to rate around number......32 in the NFL, but Jim Harbaugh took the money from SanFran, ego be damned.

No, I don't agree the comeback game against Houston represented the greatest day in Buffalo Bills history. It's sort of sad & pathetic being a life long Bills fan, but to me, the greatest day in any franchise has to include winning a Championship....being the winner the very last game of that sport's season. So as the Buffalo Bills franchise goes, there have only been two Championships won on the last day of the league's season, and that was way back in 1964 and 1965, as members of the AFL. I was too young to remember watching either of those games, so as a participating fan, the greatest moment in Buffalo Bills history, for me, was of course the 51-3 blowout of the Raiders in the AFC Championship game January 1991, representing the Bills' first trip to the Super Bowl. Your game, if I were to rank it myself, would be the 7th best all time game: 1) 1st AFL Championship win against San Diego in Buffalo 1964. 2) 2nd AFL Championship win against San Diego in San Diego 1965. 3) 1st AFC Championship win against Oakland in Buffalo 1991. 4) 2nd AFC Championship win against Denver in Buffalo 1992. 5) 3rd AFC Championship win against Miami in Miami 1993. 6) 4th AFC Championship win against Kansas City in Buffalo 1994. 7) Wild Card comeback win over Houston in Buffalo 1993. Now I realize that comeback was the greatest comeback in NFL history. I realize Frank Reich played the entire game for injured Jimbo, and that Kenneth Davis played most of the game for injured Thurman. I even realize that Biscuit Bennett was out for that one too. But for me, it's about winning Championships. At least games 3 - 6 were AFC Championship wins, and to date, those Buffalo Bills teams are still the only ones to win 4 consecutive Conference Championships and play in 4 consecutive SB's in the SB era of the NFL. With the current state of FA and the salary cap, and who knows what the brand new collective bargaining agreement will do for even more parity in the NFL, those Bills may end up being the only team to ever play in 4 consecutive SB's. So that's why those Championship game wins are more impressive to me then the comeback game.