mike oxhurtz

If there's no new agreement until August or September, then at some point in the season, I could see Williams and Shepherd coming in and getting snaps, but it will be much harder for the rest of the group. Last year, the Bills had 4 UDFA's come in and have an impact (or a role on the team). If there's no agreement in place until later on in the year, I don't see that happening again.

I think what the article is getting at is normally fans could expect the draftees to have an impact, have little or no impact, get hurt or land on IR, land on the practice squad or get cut. If the OTA's & camps start on time, that's what we can expect to see, but if not, then most of the draftees will be so far behind the learing curve, that they will have little or no impact. The only one I could see having an impact in that scenario is Dareus.

In 2009, I gave Evans a pass due to the instability at coaching that year. But, Fitz showed last year he is willing to throw the ball to anyone on the team (veteran or UDFA). There was no excuse for Evans' pathetic numbers last year. Parrish was an afterthought with Jauron and look how well he performed under Gailey, he outplayed Evans until he landed on IR. Back to the topic, I like D. Nelson and I look forward to seeing him as a starter this year. He is the redzone threat that Jauron was hoping to get w/Hardy. I just hope Nelson packs on more muscle, so he won't be injury prone (looks skinny, IMO). I was glad to see the chemistry between him & Fitz last year.

Here's the info from the Buffalo Rumblings article on Evans: "According to Allen Wilson of The Buffalo News, Gailey came right out and said that Evans needs to become more consistent as a route-runner. That's rather harsh commentary for a receiver entering his eighth professional season. Gailey is also concerned about broadening Evans' horizons within his offense. "He's been more of a deep threat," Gailey said Tuesday. "I've got to get him to do a better job of becoming an underneath threat. I've got to do a better job of that." Evans finished the 2010 season on IR - his first NFL injury - and with just 37 catches (a career low), 578 yards (a career low) and four touchdowns (the second-lowest total of his career). Aside from one game in Baltimore (6-105-3), Evans was an also-ran in Buffalo's offense, while unproven teammate Stevie Johnson put up Pro Bowl-worthy numbers (82-1,073-10)." http://www.buffalorumblings.com/2011/3/23/2067266/lee-evans-chan-gailey-buffalo-bills I don't know if Evans packed it in after signing his fat contract extension, is mad that his boy Losman is no longer on the team or lost motivation since the Bills have sucked since he's been on the team, but somethings up with the guy. Evans used to make great, athletic plays (such as tipped-toed catches in the endzone), but over the last two years, we've seen him drop numerous passes and not look like the same player he once was.

Oh, but wait now Jerry, Evans hasn't been playing with Manning, Brady or Brees, he needs one of those QB's to succeed again! Evans hasn't had a O-line that could block long enough to give the QB 5 minutes in the pocket. Evans hasn't had the best offensive coordinators in the league to help him out with his route running, so it's the coordinators fault, not Evans. Don't the Bills coaches know that Evans doesn't need to run a route, all Evans needs to do is run straight and deep, and all the QB has to do is throw him the ball. I just don't know how the Bills offensive coordinators and QB's haven't figured that one out already?

Saw this in the comment section, appears the author did forget about LCB position. "Sorry I forgot about McKelvin and R. Corner. At the moment McKelvin appears to be the starter, but Buddy Nix is hoping to be able to resign Drayton Florence. If Florence is resigned, then he would be the starter on that side of the backfield followed by McKelvin & Corner. McKelvin has shown flashes that he could be the dominating CB that the Bills were hoping for, while other times he looks very average and gets beat in coverage. Can McKelvin finally start playing at a high level consistently this season (which is expected of him being a former 1st round draft pick?)" I hope Florence is resigned. He's not the best in the league, but he was the Bills best playmaker in the backfield last season. Looks like Whitner is gone. While everybody has been down on him, because Levy & Jauron royally screwed up taking him over Ngata, I wish Whitner was still with the team. Granted, he wasn't worth the #8 pick, but he was huge in defending the run and was a hard hitter. Whitner had to come up and make a lot of tackles in the run game, because the Bills run D has sucked since Pat Williams was not resigned. Maybe if the run D wasn't so horrible, maybe we could have seen how much more effective Whitner could have been. Granted, nobody likes his offseason attitude and antics, so I wish him the best of luck. If Aaron Williams proves to be better than Whitner, then Nix & Co did a great job with replacing Whitner.

No kidding about Youboty & Ellison. "WR: L. Evans, D. Nelson, D. Jones, F. Huggins and P. Hubbard Lee Evans is given another year to perform better and improve on his route running. If Evans doesn’t make significant improvements by the end of the season, this will be his last year in a Bills uniform." Evans needs to show something this year. Cooter called him out on his route running, so Evans needs to not only perform better, but more consistently. "JLB: S. Merriman, A. Moats, A. Maybin (D. Batten) The Bills are expecting Shawne Merriman to be healthy and be back to his pro-bowl form from when he was on the San Diego Chargers. But after three unproductive, injury laden seasons, can Merriman finally put together a solid season for the Bills? If so, then that’s huge for the Bills pass rush, if not, then expect to see Arthur “Don’t cross the” Moats getting the start at JLB. With the addition of Dareus, plus having Kyle Williams up front, Aaron Maybin could possibly benefit from this. If players on the offense are double-teaming Dareus and Williams, this could give Maybin a clear shot at the QB. With Maybin’s speed, he should be able to close in on the opposing QB very quickly. But, this is likely Maybin’s last season with the Bills if he does not improve as the team has expressed their frustrations publicly about Maybin. Let’s see what Dave Wannstedt can do with Maybin this year." While I think the Bills are taking a big gamble on Merriman, considering his health, the author is right if Merriman can even come close to his level play at SD. While I've been down on Maybin, I do hope that Wanny can get some production out of him. I hope Maybin doesn't turn out to be another McCargo.

+1

If the Bills can grab OT Gabe Carimi and another defensive player with those two picks from the Pats, then I would have no problem if Boss Hogg (Nix) made the trade.

That would be great if the Bills could draft Carimi. Maybe this stuff about trading back up for a QB is just a smokescreen.

Actually, you are very close. In the Bills 50 year history, they've made the playoffs 17 times. 1 time in the 70's, (if I'm not mistaken) 2 times in the 80's and zero times in the 2000's.

Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. While we're at it, let's bring back James Hardy and Larry Triplett!!

Ralph did say during the year that it will take about three years for the Bills to turn around, and he doesn't expect to be around for it. So, does this mean there is a transition plan in place? Does Ralph make his niece the new owner of the Bills (or someone else)? IMO, once Ralph is no longer the owner of the Bills, it's possible more good/quality FA's will want to come here. Right now, it's hard to attract anybody good given Ralph's reputation.

ROFLMAO!!! That video makes Eninem & Fred Durst look so silly!! I don't know much about Mallet, but that video was funny as hell, thanks for posting it!!!

I completely agree, I've been saying this about Evans all along, but there are those on here that flip out when you bash Evans and give every excuse in the world for the guy. Now that the head coach is calling him out, that's all the proof in the world.

You have sex with an underage prostitute and see if you get probation.

L.T.'s broke? He was broke enough to get a prostitute...then hire an attorney. Plus he gets retirement money from the NFL. So, you're saying O.J. and Robert Blake didn't buy their ways out of their murder trials? So any John/Jane would have received the same sentence as those two?

Just goes to show you, if you got the money, you can by your way out of jail (O.J. & Robert Blake were able to do that). I remember Bob Nelson's football routine, that was funny as hell! Thanks for posting it! Both LT & the pimp are at fault and should both be charged. LT shouldn't have looked for an illegal prostitute. Second, the girl was under age, L.T. didn't even bother to think "This girl looks way too young"?, he should have said "hell no", but he was too stupid/horny and went through with it anyways. He's a dumb ass and got off easy!

Here are two good recent articles about the Sabres. Seems like with the sale of the team taking place, a lot of stuff is starting surface: http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/sabres-nhl/article330374.ece http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/columns/bucky-gleason/article330388.ece "It was Regier, I'm told, who in the days after Chris Drury left town after the Sabres reneged on a verbal agreement, and Daniel Briere was kicked to the curb even though he wasn't asking for a raise, worried most about people viewing him as a dishonest man." It baffles me that Sabres fans boo Drury & Briere whenever they come back to play at the HSBC arena, especially when they wanted to stay in Buffalo and were shown the door by Regier & Co. I don't blame Ruff for turning down a contract extension this past year when Sabres management keeps letting good quality players go and expects him to work miracles by recycling new players.

LMAO..."That's not what your girlfriend said!"

Here’s the thing with Whitner, Whitner’s main focus was laying in a hard hit first. Rarely did anyone see Whitner try to defend the pass, go for the INT or even try to wrap up the person he was trying to tackle. He always lead with his shoulder and relied on that initial smack to do the job. Still can't believe he would challenge this guy to a boxing match...who does he think he is Jay & Silent Bob? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjAajDJfdWA&feature=fvst (fast forward to 1:04)

Nix was right when he said (something along these lines) when you're picking at #3, that means you need help everywhere because you're not a good team. While I hope Nix picks an impact player on the defensive front 7 (and hopes he doesn't pick a CB), the Bills only have 1 dominant player on the team, and that's Kyle Williams, the Bills need all the help they can get. If you look at the Bills top draft picks up from the start of the Donahoe era up until 2009, does anyone consider any of those players (that are left) dominant? (Don't say Evans, because he hasn't been dominant since Losman left). The way Nix is building the Bills (through the draft) is going to take some time, expect another 2-3 years before the team gets good again.

3. Could switching Aaron Maybin from DE to OLB make him more effective? Does a former Drill Instructor make a terrible therapist? “You know what makes me sad……..(Enter Aaron Maybin’s name here). That's awesome, yet so true!!

Nice write up & great research! I knew there were going to be some growing pains with switching from the 4-3 to the 3-4, but I never expected it to be as bad as it was. I think you nailed everything right on the head. The Bills need bigger and better LB's. I like what Moats showed this year and hopes he continues to improve his game. If Merriman comes back healthy and can stay healthy (that a big "IF") then those two along with Kyle Williams gives the Bills a decent pass rush. Like you, I want to see the Bills add more good, quality pass rushers.

How would Demetrius Bell and Eric Wood perform this year after suffering season ending injuries? Eric Wood had his best statistical performance as a Bill this year and looks to take over as the Bills permanent Center. In run protection, Wood had: 73 Good, 209 Decent, 23 Bad, 4 Killed plays for an overall grade of 78.4%, which was 2nd behind Andy Levitre at 78.7%. Pass blocking, Wood had: 17 Good, 431 Decent, 24 Bad, 6.5 Killed, 1 Sack pass plays and an overall grade of 74.7% which is the highest grade on the O-line. Bell on the other hand struggled compared to the other O-linemen, but did manage to play all 16 games for the Bills. Bell’s run blocking stats were: 33 Good, 295 Decent, 25 Bad, 6 Killed with an overall grade of 75.5%, which was 2nd lowest from the O-linemen that finished the year. Pass protection: 7 Good, 514 Decent, 45 Bad, 17.5 Killed, 8.5 Sacks and 43 in which he got help on, giving him an overall rating of 73.7% Here’s what’s Gailey had to say about Bell’s play this season: "I thought Demetrius (Bell) had an OK year. I didn’t think he had a great year. And I know the injury, he couldn’t practice Wednesdays at all the whole year, and again I’m not trying to make excuses for anybody but I’m just stating facts, he didn’t practice on Wednesdays. I think a year of strength and core development I think will help him tremendously. He missed all of that last year because of the shoulder, he got no upper body work, he got no lower body work and he gutted out the season. He and Eric (Wood) gutted out the season for us and you’ve got to like that about a guy that will do that. But I think his upside is tremendous.” Looks like Bell will get another year to show if he can improve and become a good LT in the league. I agree with this 100%, Wood rebounded better than anyone expected after his horrific leg injury. I'm glad Wood had a chance to show what he can do at Center and looks like he will be back at his original position (from college). I like that Bell was able to play all 16 games and hopefully he can fully heal up his injuries and build up some lower & upper body strength.