BigBuff423

I agree, and keep in mind, the BILLS really don't need a LT, they NEED a quality RT, meaning their value could well be in the 20's of the 1st round, allowing the BILLS to trade far back and pick up more picks....I hear people wanting to have play-makers, and so do I...but, one of the many - but IMO one of the few valid - complaints has been the lack of depth of good players...this year's Draft is deep in the two areas the BILLS need to significantly upgrade that depth: O Line and WR...so if the BILLS trade back, I could see them going with a quality OT in the 1st and then WR in the 2nd, along with LB and DE to round out the 2nd and 3rd rounds with the additional picks....I actually would like to see the BILLS re-sign Carrington because I think he has the potential to be a good D Lineman if he can stay healthy, he just hasn't yet, consistently....

To your last point, I agree. There are the rare Brady exceptions, but for the most part, if you want an upper echelon QB, you have to go 1st or 2nd Round. Kaepernick being a recent 2nd rounder but Brees would also fit that mold, but still there are very, very few. And in today's NFL and with all the information and technology, you almost HAVE to invest a 1st round Draft pick at the most important position on the field, when the team and Franchise are ready....and, due to the college game, you can only give these QBs a year or two to demonstrate if they have the talent, intelligence, and work ethic to succeed in the NFL.....for me, 2014 it is all on EJ, regardless of reason, i.e. injury or poor play, if he doesn't prove he can be that Franchise QB to lead this team, 2015 is sell all the Draft chips to get THAT guy, no matter what you have to do...this team is poised to make a real case for being a contender..and with this year's Draft, if Whaley et. al. can duplicate last year's success, there's real promise for that happening. +2

That may or may not be true re:Murray. I agree that all signs point to his full recovery, but in my mind - between his questionable NFL chops and his injury, 3rd round is just too much of a gamble, let alone in a Draft when arguably the two deepest positions are of the greatest need for the BILLS, at present. To your other question about 3rd rounders "ready to play", Goodwin comes to mind...in 2013 Tyrann Mathieu and Keenan Allen also come to mind 2012: Russell Wilson, Nick Foles and T.Y. Hilton to name a few from that Draft...are they usually counted on to be Day 1 starters? No...but that doesn't mean you can't find them if Drafting intelligently and carefully....as opposed to 6th or 7th round talent, that is far more likely to end up on STs or in back up positions to begin their career.

3rd Round is way too high for a guy who may or may not fully recover...6th, fine...but given the BILLS dogmatic commitment to EJ, it would seem foolish to invest any Draft pick this year when there is already Thad, Dixon, and Tuel on the roster and whom Whaley has said they're quite comfortable with...plus, the Draft is deep in O Line and WRs, two things the BILLS are in dire need of for depth and elite talent...

Agreed on all counts...because beyond the Player is the Man...and if, big if, Dareus is producing ON the field but struggling OFF the field in some personal way, I would rather the BILLS continue to encourage his ON field performance but take him under their wing and have a guy like Marrone who may have a bit of a father-figure type of role with the guys in the locker room and sort of "coach" him through some tough times....none of us are perfect, we all have our flaws and character deficiencies and I would hate to see the team dismiss both the Player and the Man because of some personal struggles that are not illegal or dangerous to others, just challenging to him....

In addition to the BILLS nearly guaranteed to take at least one top WR that can play outside and is bigger, I also think they take a late Rounder 6th/7th and that's not counting guys like Kevin Elliot and Ramses Barden who are currently on the roster. The team seemed to really like Elliot, if I remember correctly in their post-season comments. Also, what would serve this team better at this point: trading SJ for a 2nd or 3rd Draft pick in a year when not only WR but OT is quite deep and using that pick for a LB or Guard to help two areas of serious weakness when you have Goodwin and Woods developing and probably their 1st or 2nd round Draft pick in WR?? Just a question...no one needs to take that personally...sometimes when I suggest SJ move on to greener pastures people take it like I'm attacking their family....what is best for the BILLS....that's the question.

If he has another year, or better, like the one he did in 2013, the BILLS would be hard-pressed to NOT go after Dareus with appropriate money...that said, I didn't realize he's already making $5 mill for the season, so even if you give him top DT money, it won't send the CAP into the stratosphere...and given how the man has played and done his business while with the team despite some really tragic circumstances, I would loathe the idea of Dareus leaving this team...but, I do think they wait to see if the Dareus of last year can replicate his effort and results

Not to nit-pick, but why? The BILLS already have a faster guy in Goodwin with similar styles and long-range ability while being a better blocker and younger, obviously (to borrow Marrone's term)....just wondering, considering he would just be another smaller WR with speed, which I think the BILLS already have enough of...JMO

To your second point, I agree whole-heartedly. In another thread I made a long-winded statement that essentially says this: in 2014 the BILLS, and us fans, find out if EJ has the chops to be that Face of the Franchise QB or not, if he's injured for any portion of signficance of the season or simply can't play the QB position effectively, the BILLS *NEED* to go all in on a QB in next year's Draft! Because, while some injury issues can be attributed to bad luck or poor timing, a GOOD to GREAT QB, and certainly one that is the Face of the Franchise, is absolutely a HEALTHY one! No good to great QB has ever been one that can miss four or more games each year and still lead his team to the promise land...it simply is a matter of continuity and experience....so, EJ in 2014 for the future, or QB "X" from 2015 Draft IMHO....all...or nothing

Well, the issue is as you stated, you're only picking if it's between those two at 9, if we're trading back, your voting scenario doesn't allow for that...and, b/c the BILLS just signed Chandler, and have Moekai through next season, not to mention a fast TE in Gragg and Rookie TEs, except for an extremely rare few, take a couple years to develop and Ebron would be asked to do things he hasn't done in college, I think Evans is the better bet plus, he doesn't have to carry the receiving workload for a group of WRs...plus, and this purely speculation, but I think the BILLS trade SJ at some point during the Off-Season, maybe during the Draft, and cut ties with Graham...

I'd say no, under any circumstances....however, for me this is EJ's year to sink or swim...I know he was an injured Rookie QB, but this Franchise is quickly becoming more and more relevant and despite last year's record, I have more faith in where this team is heading as a whole than anytime in the last ten years....there is depth and "almost" every position and the best talent is rising to the top...this team should push for the playoffs in 2014 with EJ making huge strides toward being the Franchise caliber QB...if he is not, whether that's due to injury or simply incapable of being the QB - REGARDLESS OF WINS / LOSS RECORD, then next year, JMO, the BILLS **NEED**, I say **NEED***, to go ALL in on the QB..so if that would mean trading every pick for the next three years to get the 1st overall pick if there is a QB truly worthy of it....if not, trading whatever is necessary to get to that Draft position that would mean getting your Franchise QB, your Face of the Franchise - IF EJ can't prove it next year....nothing against EJ, but this team is just about ripe for being a real playoff contender, not there yet, but another good Draft and the very last, and most important, position of question will be QB....and I don't want to hear at the end of next year he was injured for five games, or had knee issues, or his back spasms kept him from running.....NO! A successful QB in this league is just as much a healthy one as he is anything else...it's 2014 or there's the clipboard for the rest of your career in Buffalo...and to be clear, IMHO, if the BILLS went 19-0 and won the Super Bowl but EJ's play was poor (unlikely I know - but I'm making a point), then back-up it is and we're all in on getting the Face of the Franchise QB.....but, hey, that's me...

The problem I have with signing a FA WR at this point, is the BILLS just invested 2 Draft picks last year and almost certainly a top Draft pick this year, that's 3 young, emerging WRs, and SJ, so I don't think WR will be a top priority...not to mention, WRs like Safeties are for the most part a dime-a-dozen....I havea feeling the BILLS Draft a WR high, i.e. 1st or 2nd Round, and probably a 7th given the depth at that position, maybe trade SJ and cut Graham....despite the likes of Dez Bryant (who like Jimmy Graham with NO, will never make it out of Dallas) WR just isn't that *POSITION* to pay top dollar for.....

Thank you...for posting an appropriate, well stated response to the often malcontents on this board...it was descriptive and confrontational without being insulting or ridiculing... Look, everyone can have a negative opinion of the BILLS, their players, their FO, or anything for that matter and you are entitled to it...but for the love of Jesus-Mary-and Joseph, can we please stop immediately dumping on every - single - decision made by the BILLS?? Not for nothing, but based on last year's Draft and FA success overall - and yes, they screwed up not signing / drafting a good LG - I think we should all take a step back and let this thing evolve and unfold before we start burning this team to the ground... Btw, how'd the Fins do last year? Or Redskins year after year? Or Cowboys?....exactly, signing a bunch of high-priced, big named FAs doesn't equal wins....so, let's just keep the baby in the bath water before we decide to throw it out....

Good information and a healthy insight to the woes of that Offense, not just the Offensive line and not just the QBs, but the unit as a whole. Because, while the QB holding the ball too long is without a doubt the largest looming factor, it also begs the question how often were the WRs not getting open, getting off the jamb, or running the right routes - see Ike Hilliard's departure....so, that tells me that while Pears, by the numbers pointed to above and by anyone watching the games, had difficulty getting an open running lane to the right, and while LG seemed to have real issues in pass protection, it all says that the Offensive Line is not "as bad" as us fans would think....so, signing Williams might have actually been a really smart thing by the FO...imagine that! Furthermore, this Draft is really deep at two positions: Offenisve Line and WRs, two areas the BILLS need to address, so the BILLS ink a run-thumping MLB, add veteran depth to the Offensive line, bring back their most clutch player - Carpenter, and spend some real coin on good Defensive staff while augmenting their Offensive Coaching staff with Hostler and Downing....sounds to me like this ship is headed for a new destination, instead of getting caught in the same currents of yearly redundancy....

But, in your signature you have the BILLS getting Saffold who couldn't even pass a physical...had that been the BILLS, this board would have been lit up by the malcontents and whiners about how the BILLS don't know what they're doing, or if they did what the Rams did and brought him back with a hefty pay raise despite failing a physical with another, more objective team...look, will Willaims be a great signing and good OG? Who the hell knows...but what I DO know is that in the last two years the FO has proven they can find and mine for talent, so if THEY think he can play LG, even if it is to hold the spot for a young Drafted OG in the middle rounds, so be it....

And you may be right, but this is also the team that kept 2 Kickers on the active roster, and if they truly go BPA and Williams from B.C. is there in the 4th, I just don't see the BILLS passing on him, they will let him learn behind the two vets and grow into that position next year, when they truly need him...JMO

Well, I suppose it depends on how you define "impact starter" because those two words can be separately evaluated...for example, was Jerry Hughes an "impact" player?? Not many would think he wasn't, in that he performed and had an impact as requested...but he wasn't a "starter" per se...look at Branch, he wasn't a "starter" either, but he played himself right into a new contract and rightfully so....Lawson was a starter and also played well, but was he an "impact starter", I suppose that's a subjective opinion...personally, I really, really like what the BILLS have done...one could also argue, the most "impact starter" the BILLS have gotten back into the fold, was Carpenter - given his success and how many games for the BILLS were decided by just a few points....to that end, I think people get too hung up on PFF stats when evaluating a player...should they be taken into consideration? In my mind, yes - but NOT to the point that it overrides your own personal insight and evaluation...and if Williams was one of the first guys on the plane to Buffalo in a blizzard, I'd say the BILLS got exactly who they wanted and given their recent success in finding and mining good talent to play a role on this team, I'll sit back and trust Whaley on this one....

You're leaving out a RB, which I do think the BILLS take a run at in the 4th....nothing against Skov, just the BILLS trying to plan for next year when Fredex and maybe Spiller are no longer on the team, FJax to retirement and Spiller to trade...

Just because they have the money to spend, doesn't mean they will....not at all complaining, as I think the BILLS have done well thus far in FA, between Spikes and Graham and the starter LG Williams, I like what I've seen...Dixon will be a nice addition to the short yardage gains and the STs, plus even though I think Gragg will have a much better year, I understand the signing of Chandler, even though I also think Moeaki will end up being the blocking / receiving combo for the BILLS at year's end with Gragg being the seam stretcher....all in all, except for spending money for the sake of it, I just don't see where there is a FA the BILLS MUST have, Spikes was it to me...and actually, I would have like a three or four year deal for him, but hey, if he plays well and Buffalo wins him over, maybe he does a three year deal next year....

Based on FA and what I've heard some of the "experts" say about the depth in the Draft at WR and OT, I'd say that's exactly their plan...they got who they think is their starting LG and now, i think they have the focus of OT in 1st or 2nd, depending on where they actually end up Drafting and who is available...

Better idea would be to trade him to San Fran, they're looking for WR help and have a ton of picks to give....as for trading SJ, for the right price, sure...right price being...well, anything that includes a heartbeat

I'm more concerned that since the BILLS continue to be at or near the top of leading the league in injuries, the BILLS keep the same training staff...and I know there was a report a week or two ago about the difference in philosophy with the new FO staff and Coaches and the old regime, with the new guys wanting to go in a new direction with more advanced training techniques and the old regime not getting on board with that plan....to me, that's the greater concern and that playing one extra Pre-Season game for any average team, whose starters would most likely line up once and dust off the cleats, shouldn't be an issue, but for this team....it is!

I agree, I think all the FA signings have been for 2 things: OT and WR...1st and 2nd round respectively, unless they trade back, and then I could them reversing that order but still those 2 positions...especially if they sign a big, run-thumping LB - Spikes or not

How ironic that Buddy Drafted him for that specific role back when there was the "switch" to the 3-4....circle of life

whiny, little pansy b*tch....can catch a ball in wide open space though, so there's that...