ChanOverChin

Veteran NFL writer, Pat Kirwan, visited the Bills' training recently and came away with these observations: 1. EJ Manuel will start from Day 1. - I think that is a very good thing. He will develop faster the sooner that he can experience the real bullets flying around. 2. OG A. Caldwell will win the starting LG spot. - Brown/legursky/Caldwell will battle it out for sure. 3. Byrd will sign with the Bills one week before the season starts. - I hope it's sooner than that. 4. While the Bills's defense blitzed the least amount last year, expect to see plenty of blitzes from them this year, especially from the LB and S positions. - Finally, the Bills have caught up with the rest of the NFL. 5. Mario is fine. - That remains to be seen, but it looks like the media was making a mountain out of a mole hill. 6. Four rookies will start: Manuel, Alonso, Woods, Hopkins. - I guess that means that he thinks they'll all make the final roster as well. If Hopkins unseats Lindell it will be a big deal. 7. He expects to see solid contributions from Goodwin at WR and from D. Williams and J. Meeks on ST. - I would expect the same, although there are still many doubters regarding Goodwin's route running ability. 8. The Bills' offense will run the "No-Huddle". They already look good running it in practice. - That's good news. 9. There could be as many as NINE new starters in 2013. He expects the Bills to get better as the season moves on rather than fade as they have in the recent past. - We can only hope that the rookies get better with more experience. 10. He expects Alonso to be in on 90% of the defensive plays. - I think it's pretty clear that the Bills expect Alonso to be a three down LB. 11. He likened WR D. Rogers to a young Randy Moss. - Wow!! 12. He expects the Bills' offense to use a lot of two RB sets with Spiller and Jackson plus three WRs (likely SJ, Woods, and Graham). - Hackett has said on numerous occasions that he plans to play the five best offensive players at the skill positions as much as possible. I'm sure Chandler will be mixed in a lot as well. 13. F. Jackson is the leader of the team. - And a darn good one at that!! 14. He was pleasantly surprised by LB K. Brown's pass rushing ability. - That seemed like news to me. 15. He liked what he saw from LB J. Hughes as a pass rusher. - We need him to be. 16. He expects the Bills to finish 7-9 in 2013. - That may be about right with so many rookies playing key roles, especially at QB, but it does give us hope for the future, which is not something that we had last year. The article: http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/blog/pat-kirwan/22951661/bills-observations-in-qb-battle-prepared-rookie-manuel-looks-to-get-nod. Your comments??

Beerball, thanks for that read. I also took notice of the Rogers comment. It would be really nice for the Bills to have a lil good fortune for a change.

If A. Williams ends up being a top five player for the Bills this year then we're really going to have a great defense this year. I'll say this, he has really stood out in practice thus far and that may be because he's much better suited to play Safety than CB. Give Pettine and the new coaching staff for recognizing his strengths and weaknesses and putting him in a position where he can excel. He's only been an average CB to this point, but seems to be playing at a much more confident, higher level as a Safety. He's not better than Byrd at this point, but he's really coming on. I fully expected some to put Byrd at #1 overall.....he's that good!! I'm excited to see what Pettine does with Mario Williams. I really like the idea of moving him around so that opponents can't key on him and double team him. He likes to rush from the LDE position, but matching him up against a smaller/weaker TE, slower OT or smallish RB is going to give him the best chance to be the most disruptive. It may also free up other guys to get into the backfield for a sack or a tackle behind the LOS. The Bills moved B. Paup and B. Smith and C. Bennett around for the same reasons back in their heyday and their pass rush was absolutely dominant.

AlphaDawg, if Alonso, and even more so, Manuel, are able to crack the Top Five the Bills may actually make the playoffs.

.................Based upon past performance and future potential in either Marrone/Hackett's fast pace West Coast offense or Pettine's highly aggressive, blitz-happy defense, I would have to say: #5 - DT M. Dareus - His time has come. With a clear head he's ready to dominate. #4 - CB Gilmore - He has made the leap to shutdown corner. #3 - FS J. Byrd - The franchise player/Pro Bowl player/ball hawk should have a field day in Pettine's aggressive scheme. #2 - DE/OLB Mario Williams - Since Pettine will very wisely move him around so that opposing offenses can't key on him he should be a major disruptive force on defense this year. #1 - RB CJ Spiller - Just too quick for quick. With Marrone/Hackett ready to increase his touches to about 250 this year the stage has been set for Spiller to have a banner year. I expect him to challenge A. Peterson/A. Foster for the most all-purpose yards in the entire league. Who are your Top Five??

really....is that all it takes??

Rubes, Do you mean ILB Bart Scott?? If so, yes, he's still available. The only problem with him is that he's a lil long in the tooth (over 30). I think Whaley/Marrone are favoring the youth movement at least to the extent that they're not looking to sin vet FAs over 30. For instance, they signed Legursky as opposed to B. Moore (33). With 23 yr old Manuel ready to take the reigns of this team very soon the Bills are looking to bring in guys close to his age (certainly not over 30) so that they can grow together. The few Bills vets that are over 30 (Lindell/Pears/B. Scott/B. Smith/FJax) will be scrutinized for sure to determine their value to the team. The Bills already released 30 yr old TJax (one of the six players on the roster that are 30 or over). I think FJax is safe as well a B. Scott, at least for another year. However, Lindell/Pears/Smith are not safe. If they're competition plays equally well they could be gone. I, myself, would not cut Smith (he just too good on ST and too versatile, especially when injuries hit hard) or Pears (not a lot of high quality depth at OT).

After what I've seen thus far and the people that I've talked to here's my updated projection for final 53 man Bills roster (subject to change): QB: Manuel/Kolb RB: Spiller/FJax/Choice (could really use a big back) FB: Summers (not a shoe in; V. Leach is available) TE: Chandler/L. Smith/Dickerson/Gragg (could be improved and then reduce 4 to 3) WR: S. Johnson/Woods/Graham/Rogers/Goodwin/B. Smith (watch out for Hogan says an insider) OT: Glenn/Hairston/Pears/Young/Sanders OG: Urbik/C. Brown (watch out for C. Scott says an insider) OC: Wood/Legursky K: Hopkins (not a shoe in) P: Powell LS: Sanborn DT: K. Williams/Dareus/Branch/Carrington/Troup (could use another athletic big man; R. Bernard and R. Seymour are both available) DE/OLB: Ma. Williams/Lawson/Anderson/Hughes/Br. Scott (Pough and Blatnick are both good players who make the PS) ILB: Bradham/Alonso/Moats/Dowtin SS: A. Williams/Searcy/Meeks (Meeks is on the bubble; AW is the fashizzle) FS: Byrd/D. Williams (DW can play S and CB) CB: Gilmore/McKelvin/Brooks/Rogers/Robey/Butler (only an average group; could use at least one vet CB addition; Robey can really cover the slot)

TJax was released to give Manuel maximum reps. Maximum reps means that the Bills will have a much better opportunity to evaluate Manuel (and also Kolb). But the bottom line is that........IT IS ALL ABOUT MANUEL!! The Bills would like for him to start from Day 1 if possible. he will develop much faster if that is the case. Tuel is a good prospect (he's better than most people think), but he may not even make the final roster. Right now I only have the Bills going into the season with Manuel and Kolb (with Tuel on the PS).

PFW had projected Blatnick as a 4th round pick in 2012, but his "tweener" label ultimately left him undrafted.

I really just wanted people to known that Blatnick is not a camp fodder player. He can play. In the right defensive scheme he can contribute as a pass rusher and as a player who can set the edge. He's competing against MW, Anderson, Lawson, Hughes, Pough. I see Dowtin and Moats being used as ILB primarly, although both can play OLB. Moats has always seemed to me to be a good pass rusher, but the Bills seem to prefer him inside. Blatnick is obviously not going to beat out MW, Lawson or even Hughes, but he could beat out Anderson (if not full recovered) and certainly Pough who doesn't set the edge quite as well as Blatnick.

OLB/DE Jamie Blatnick is flying under the radar. Most fans don't even know that he's on the Bills' current roster. Blatnick is currently 6'-3" 253 lbs down from 273 lbs a year ago when he played for the Broncos as a first year player from Oklahoma State. He was viewed as a "tweener" coming out of college (i.e. too big to play OLB, too small to play DE in the NFL) so he had been thrown to the scrap heap. At his current height and weight he has the ideal size to play in Pettine's hybrid defense as an OLB/DE. He is quicker and more agile at the lesser weight as well. See some of his college highlights below. He has been a standout in OTAs thus far with the Bills and just may be a very pleasant surprise for the defense. The link: .

If Kyle Williams can recover fully from his foot injury he could have a shot. I can't list him ahead of M. Williams/Dareus/Gilmore/Byrd until I see evidence of that.

This year it will be Spiller on offense. He is going to have an absolute monster year. On defense, I think Mario Williams, Dareus, Gilmore, and Byrd all have Pro Bowl years in Pettine's aggressive scheme. Anyone of the four could be our best defensive player this year.

P. Hillis would be a nice pickup on the cheap. He can run over people, catch the ball out of the backfield, and also be a pretty good blocker. He wouldn't have to be used all that much with Spiller and Jackson carrying most of the load. He would garner most of the short yardage and goal line carries. I really think the Bills need a big back with his experience to handle those duties. I remember Spiller trying to score against Wilfork at the goal line last year and Wilfork absolutely pummelled him. That wouldn't happen to Hillis.

RB J. Battle is still young (29) and is 6'-2"/238 lbs. He carried the ball for SD at the goal line and in short yardage situations. He would complement Spiller and Jackson wel and should be able a cheap signing. CB S. Brown is 34, but is still a pretty good cover CB. I say throw him into the mix of CBs that already includes: Gilmore/McKelvin/Brooks/Rogers/Butler/Robey/A. Williams/D. Williams.

Take a look at this list. The Bills already snapped up former Steeler OG D. Legursky. Could they be looking at signing one or more of these guys at a reasonable price prior to their July 2013 training camp?? OFFENSIVE PLAYERS OG Brandon Moore RB Jackie Battle (big back) RB Peyton Hillis (big back) RB Cedric Benson (big back) TE Dallas Clark DEFENSIVE PLAYERS CB N. Clements CB Sheldon Brown SS Madieu Williams SS C. Hope (former Steeler) LB Keith Brooking LB Leroy Hill DT Sedrick Ellis DT Rocky Bernard DT Richard Seymour NT Ma'ake Kemoeatu http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/06/05/teams-pass-on-chance-to-squat-on-160-ufas/

I would still be inclined to take Peterson or even the young guy from Tampa Bay (Martin) over him (because Martin plays all three downs and gets a ton of touches), but Spiller would be right there at #3 overall for me. Spiller's upside is off the charts so that's why I would slot him so high, but he's a more risky pick than Peterson and Martin. The fact theat the Bills will run an up tempo offense could get Spiller more touches and that would be crazy good for whomever owns him.

...............DT Alex Carrington. See link below. I know that he really started to distinguish himself toward the end of last year and blocked a whole bunch of FGs/EPs. The new regime has him almost exclusively working inside http://blogs.buffalobills.com/2013/06/05/why-carrington-could-have-big-year/ A big year from Carrington will do wonders for our defense. K. Williams/Dareus/Branch/Carrington............that's a pretty darn good D-line group. What other non-rookies or non-first year players do you see having a break out year this year?? I expect the following non-rookies/non-first year players to break out this year: 1. Spiller - He was good last year. This year he becomes a top 3 RB. An absolute stud in your FFL. 2. Wood - Lots of injuries have held him back. This year he becomes a team leader and grabs the reigns as our best O-lineman. 3. Graham - He's quicker/faster and more experienced. He has also been a standout in OTAs for the Bills. 4. Dareus - The death in the family and the injuries have held him back. This year he becomes the dominant player leader of the defense that we expect him to be. 5. Bradham - He showed signs of being a real player in short spurts last year. With a full year under his belt and brand new responsibilities he let's his athleticism take over and becomes a full-time starter at ILB. 6. Mario Williams - He had a decent year last year, but nothing close to being commensurate with what he is being paid. This year, under a DC who will move him around quite a bit so that offenses can't game plan against him, i expect him to have a very productive year. More talent on defense will also help his cause. 7. Byrd - If he resigns soon, which hopefully he will, I think he'll have a big year because of the ballhawk that he is. More pressure on the QB means more takeaways for the defense and Byrd is sure to be a big part of that. 8. Gilmore - He was solid last year as a rookie. This year he makes a name for himself as one of the top five CBs in the league.

Gotta love that name......Legursky. I don't think there's any doubt that the Bills are on the look out for a replacement for Levitre. B. Moore is who they want, but they're not going to pay him the $3M/season that he's holding out for. His demands will eventually come down, but the Bills may not be able to wait him out while other viable options pass them by. Sanders/Young/Brown are all OG experiments. C. Scott (another former Steeler) may actually be the best OG of the bunch I've been told. I look for Whaley to rob the Steeler cubbard early an often both this year and in future years. He knows their personnel and greatly respects their talent evaluators. FYI, SS Palomalu is said to be on his way out of Pittsburgh as well. Just sayin'..............

The Bills have real needs this year. They need to sign some vet FAs to fill at least the CB and OG positions. TE might also be a definite need if Chandler can't get to 100%. Sign Byrd for $6M. Sign Manuel for 5 yrs at about $1.75M per year or whatever the going rate is and then snap up some of the vets that will inevitably be released after June 1st.

Bills R2 2013 draft pick Kiko Alonso has been all the rage at the OTAs and rookie mini camp sessions. He has even surpassed N. Bradham as the top ILB and has drawn comparisons to Houston Texanas LB B. Cushing by Mario Williams. i know it's early, but the first impressions on this guy have been through the roof.

This thread is ridiculous. Why are we talking sabout next year already?????????????????

The new pressure scheme should greatly help the CB play. I think Gilmore will prove to be better than many think now that he's no longer a rookie. Pettine's scheme will put a lot more pressure on the opposing QB than what we're used to seeing, which means that the opposing QB won't have the time to dissect our defense like we saw last year. That will make the CBs much more efficient. Gilmore we know can hold his own against top flight WRs. The jury is still out on McKelvin and Brooks, but both are very fast and athletic and should be much more effective if they don't have to provide coverage for as long as they have had to in the past. Wannstedt's defense was a joke. It required our CBs and Safeties to provide coverage for as long as 5 seconds or more on a regular basis. That's not going to be the case with Pettine's scheme. In fact, in Pettine's scheme you're going to see guys like McKelvin use his speed to rush the passer. My projections above are based upon how are CBs are likely to fair in Pettine's scheme, not in Wannstedt's scheme. I think Gilmore, McKelvin, and Brooks are our top three CBs and I believe that all three will fair well in Pettine's pressure defense. After that, it's anyone's guess. That's why I think the Bills really need to add a vet CB after June 1st.

I disagree regarding Byrd. I think the Bills will eventually sign him this year. It's a business from both ends. Byrd is just playing the game. He's a great player and the Bills simply cannot afford to let their young, stud players leave for other teams. We are a much better team with Byrd than without him. I really want to see what he can do in Pettine's scheme since he is always around the ball and more pressure on the opposing QB would most likely mean more "balls up for grabs". I think that it's conceivable that the Bills are just being patient and waiting for the June 1st date to arrive to see where they stand with the salaray cap. If they do end up having as much as $9.5M to spend on FAs after June 1st then I do expect them to spend some of it to help fill some of their obvious holes. No. 1 on the list would be CB for me. No. 2 would be OG. They obviously think they need help at TE (not knowing how Chandler's knee will hold up) as well as knowing that they tried to sign vet TE F. Davis. Lastly, they have Bradham/Alonzo/Moats/Br. Scott/C. White/Dowtin at ILB. Having Bradham and Alonso is exciting. I think both players have a high upside. I have high hopes for Moats, but I'm not sure he's ready to compete for a lot of playing time at ILB. I've always viewed him as more of a pass rusher. Scott is only in the mix because he can cover the big TEs. White probably won't make the team. Dowtin is an enigma at this point. Thus, obtaining a vet ILB might be a good idea.