WickedGame

I agree that Chris's primary job is as a "Company Journalist," meaning he's never going to stray too far from the corporate message. He's given enough leeway to remain credible, but his job is still a PR function. That said, I think his access to information is an asset. Sure, maybe it's to be expected that he'll have more of a scoop than national reporters, but that's the point of this post, isn't it? That when we're starving for insights on what the Bills are thinking, maybe Chris's reporting isn't such a bad place to start. Even a guy with direct access is gonna be all over the map during the pre-draft guessing game, but I thought he provided a fairly true-to-life perspective on what the Bills game plan was. If anything, this story has me impressed with Buddy and the coaching staff. They had certain players targeted and they got their guys.

Gotta give Chris Brown some credit here: His post about talent available at the start of Day 3 spotlighted three players the Bills ended up picking: Zebrie Sanders, Nigel Bradham and Tank Carder. Link

Chris Brown said he thought the Bills would have taken Barron over Gilmore if he was available. FWIW.

Luke Russert's Mom just Tweeted she saw the draft get in a cab headed "in the general direction of an airport." Great. There goes the draft.

I like the idea of Bowe plus a pick (3rd? 4th?) for our #10. I guess it depends how serious Bowe is about holding out, how worried KC is, and what deal Bowe wants. We still have vets left to cut (Edwards? Spencer Johnson?), so we'll save cap room. Speaking which, think KC wants either of those guys?

Too funny. This is the same board that wanted Nix to grab Bowe as a free agent. Now a proven commodity...and scorer...isn't preferred over unproven Floyd?

Since its baseless speculation day, here's an idea: Buffalo trades #10 to KC for Dwayne Bowe, who is refusing to sign his franchise tender. Buffalo works out a contract, KC drafts Floyd. Buddy DID say we might surprise people with our pick and that we need an impact player.

NFL schedulers have conspired to give the Bills an unfair advantage. Five of the team's last seven games are at home during the crucial playoff push. What's more, three of Buffalo's games this season will come against teams they've already played earlier in the season, giving them a chance to scout those teams. In fact, the Bills play six games against AFC East teams -- only the Patriots, Jets and Dolphins play as many games within the division.

We know that today. Sure, we call it common sense today, but was our awareness of concussions and their long-term impact so common in the 70s? It's one thing to know banging your head isn't a great idea, it's another to understand the difference between a hard knock and a concussion, or to know what the long-term impact of repeated concussions is. I'm as big an advocate for personal responsibility as anybody, but I also see a need for compassion. A lot of these guys seem to truly be suffering.

Chris Brown following someone on Twitter shouldn't be taken as a sign we're meeting with that player. It's not a sign of anything. Maybe it's as simple as Chris Brown following A whole bunch of top draft prospects so he can do his research an see what those players are Tweeting about. Draft day can't come soon enough. The wild speculation of the under-busy will all be over soon. Right?

Mayock thinks he's one of the best LBs in pass coverage he's seen in a while. FWIW.

Nice catch. I'm curious to see which other connections we can find.

I was looking for info online tonight about Peerless Price...recalling the days when Eric Moulds and Price were our #1 and #2 receivers...when I came across these connections: Price, a second-round pick, was traded to the Atlanta Falcons for a first-round pick in 2003. That pick was used to draft Willis McGahee, who was later traded to Baltimore for a third-round pick that got us Trent Edwards. Moulds, a first-round pick, was traded to the Houston Texans for a fifth-round pick in 2006. That pick was used to draft Kyle Williams. No real point to this, other than it's funny how things work out.

I'd trade our #1, #2, and #5 for Kalil. Maybe even our second #4 instead of the #5. We get a without-question impact player at a position of significant need, rather than two might-work-out players at positions of moderate/high need. Make the trade and grab your OLB and WR in rounds 3 and 4a.

I feel your pain. The Bills don't visit Carolina until 2017. We get the Panthers at home (next year, I believe). I saw Bills-Panthers in Charlotte a year or two after I moved here, but it's a while 'til they're back. The closest away games for me are Jacksonville (saw that one in 103 degree heat a few years ago) or Tennessee, which we might get in the next few years. Atlanta would be close, but it's not on the schedule anytime soon.

Floyd is nowhere close to Calvin Johnson territory. Sure, if Calvin Johnson's there, you take him and your other receivers take on new roles, but Calvin Johnson isn't an option. And while I appreciate your point about having talented players on your roster to push each other, that player doesn't have to be the #10 pick. Heck, look at Stevie "7th round" Johnson who pushed Lee Evans out of a job. I agree with you that we need two starting caliber WRs, but you can get a starting caliber WR in rounds 2-4 and he'll be an upgrade over David Nelson. We'll debate the Round 1 pick (and probably picks 2-4) up until and after draft day. We have multiple needs, there are multiple talented players, and no "obvious" picks for us at any point in this draft. But the notion we'd take two receivers with the top two picks is just silly.

The Bills are looking for a #2 receiver, not a #1 receiver. It doesn't matter that many on this board think Stevie J. isn't a #1 receiver...he's the guy, and we're looking for a #2. If you pick a WR at #10 and he's the second WR off the board, you're taking him to be your #1 receiver. I don't see the Bills in the market for that player. Better fits are Randle, Sanu, McNutt, etc. in round 2-4. As much as I'm not crazy about the pick, I think we're looking at either Reiff or Kuechly. And there's NO way we go WR with first AND second picks. This isn't Madden.

I've been on the fence about Reiff, but if Nix's philosophy is truly "Take an OT, if they don't work at tackle, shift 'em to guard," wouldn't Reiff be the ideal pick? He's widely believed to be the 2nd best tackle, he's a stellar run blocker, and his one weakness (short arms) isn't an issue at guard. And, if we're not able to resign Wood and Levitre, our replacement is already on the roster. DeCastro, while a stud at guard, doesn't offer the versatility to slide out to tackle.

Please take this advice as well-intentioned, as I don't mean to discourage you. Is your podcast brand new? Has it launched yet? How many episodes have you done? Who listens to it? Thanks to easy self-publishing tools, anyone can call himself a member of the media today. Setting up a blog, podcast, YouTube channel or Twitter account is easier than ever. So if we're all media, should we all get a media badge? As one of the other commenters said, you'll need to prove your chops first. Produce a high-quality program, build an audience, and make connections. It takes a combination of those things to attract top guests. Start small and work your way up if you can't land the big fish. Consider interviewing other bloggers, fan club presidents, local reporters, etc. Offer something of value to them in return...help promote their shows, columns, blogs or organizations. By all means, if you want a player interview, go after it! Just have realistic expectations and work on building a solid foundation in the meantime. (P.S. I've been in media and PR for about 10 years, FWIW).

I think most fans agree Buffalo's D-Line has the potential to be sick. And while much of the focus has been on how the pass rush will help our DBs, I'm excited to see how it'll help slow down TEs Gronkowski and Hernandez in New England. If your O-Line doubles on Mario Williams, you leave Kyle Williams and Dareus with one-on-one battles -- which was dangerous BEFORE Mark Anderson joined the team. The O-Line will need help from a TE or a RB. That'll force the Pats to keep Gronk or Hernandez back a little longer before.

Seems to me Jasper was tried at tackle last year, not guard. I can't remember. Guard would be a much better fit, IMO. Levitre to LT isn't a great idea. He was a desperation fill-in. He was awful at center. Levitre needs to stay at guard, Wood at center, and we need to find our tackle, be it Bell or someone else.

In his 3/21 recap, Chris Brown had a photo of Mike Jasper from his visit to a local elementary school. The caption listed him as a guard. Whatcha think? There was a lotta love for Jasper here last year after we picked him up. He's obviously a large force with some athletic ability...the trouble was finding a position he'd excel at. A back-up guard seems like a good fit. More O-Line depth...and a mountain of a man at that...isn't a bad idea.

I'd take an easy road to the Super Bowl and a dogfight in the big game any day! Heck, even a smoother path to the playoffs would make me happy.

Obviously, free agency is far from over, but I'm pleased to see most of the top talent migrating AWAY FROM our our AFC foes and landing with NFC teams. WR Vincent Jackson leaves San Diego (AFC) and lands in Tampa Bay (NFC) CB Brandon Carr leaves Kansas City (AFC) and lands in Dallas (NFC) CB Cortland Finnegan leaves Tennessee (AFC) and signs with St. Louis (NFC) WR Pierre Garcon leaves Indianapolis (AFC) and signs with Washington (NFC) WR Brandon Marshall traded from Miami (AFC East) to Chicago (NFC) QB Peyton Manning leaves Indianapolis (AFC) and potentially to Arizona (NFC)...but who knows??? Who's the biggest NFC-to-AFC transaction? Meachem? I like our AFC rivals losing pieces, especially when its not to the betterment of other AFC teams.

I've always thought the "Buddy's sleeping as free agency kicks off at midnight" meme was off-base. Everyone knows he goes to bed at 5pm, just after Matlock.