hammie65

Horrible selection of FA QB's this year. My money is on Thigpen just because of his connection to Chan. Possibly a good fit and he will push Fitzy for the starting job and at minimum be a decent backup in case Fitzy gets hurt. I'd like to see them take a shot at UDFA Pat Devlin or Jerrod Johnson (or others if they have potential) as well for the 4th spot they say they want to get. It all depends on what each would cost us. If we have to give up an early round (1st or 2nd) to get Thigpen then pass on him. Come on NFL, get this CBA and lockout settled!!

This board howled when "the pundits" were predicting no more than 4 wins last season. Well, they were right. Lay off the "victimhood" shtick. It's not victimhood, it's opinion based on what I see and hear every gameday. You can't blame everything on losing. How often do they talk about Pittsburgh (arguably the winningest franchise in the league's history) the last few years compared to other teams unless it's about players getting into trouble or Polamalu who is hard to ignore? Also, I don't believe it is all based 0n bias, just too much of it and not all commentators, just too many on the two major networks. They don't seem to do any real hard research into teams and players and just seem to shoot from the hip about most subjects. It gets old fast and I would simply like to see more guys like Mayock on there that take football and their jobs more seriously. I also wasn't shocked at the 4-11 record. It's gonna take time to turn this around after the last few regimes. The highlighted names were guys who never played a down for the Bills or simply sucked anyway (Ellison)--so how on earth can their injuries affected the play of the Bills or their 4-12 record? All injuries affect a teams play and throw off different parts of the game, even if it is the guys who "suck". When lines, chemistry, and timing are changing regularly it is hard for a team to find consistency and a "stride". It is just a "part" of the reasons why the Bills had a bad record. Getting rid of the bad players is what the Bills are starting to do with Chix and hopefully the replacements will be winners. Great teams like the Steelers have built and maintained great depth which is why they survive injuries. P.S. Did you consider the total amount of players injured and how many of the other ones were key players? It happens to teams every year. Some get lucky and some don't like the Bills the last few seasons.

I can't understand when people say they don't get why this young man has gotten so much attention. What else is there to talk about for one, and if he ends up being able to play well at the NFL then the Bills will be huge winners with this pick. Doesn't every fan hope and cheer for their team to find that "Tom Brady" pick? He seems well grounded in his faith and sounds pretty driven, and after seeing this video he looks to be really getting into great shape for his size, even better than I would have expected. He really would make the perfect 3-4 nose tackle if developed properly. Wannstedt and Edwards have a golden opportunity here. Go MJ!

Can't do much til there's a CBA in place but if\when there is: I hope they try hard to get tackle Tyson Clabo. Vince Young, Seneca Wallace, Dennis Dixon, Kerry Collins, Tavaris Jackson and if we don't have to give up an early round pick then Thigpen makes sense. I'd rather take a chance on VY without losing draft picks for Thigpen. Resign Poz, he's worth keeping if he doesn't pull a Whitner and demand too much. Not a quality year for free agancy either way, so keep him. Charlie Gantt is a UDFA that many had going in the middle rounds. He may be worth the gamble. Otherwise if we use the guys we have properly, our TE group is pretty good or better IMO. We have a lot of young guys who have been forced to gain playing time and experience due to injuries, and I believe this will start paying off big time for the Bills this year.

Yes, at 4 and 11 and with the long stretch of losing seasons some of the criticism is deserved As per this statement, I don't disagree completely but they do go out of their way to find ways (Dareus at NT) to critcize the Bills. The only way the Bills will ever come close to shutting these guys up is to win, win, win. Agreed here as well, but Indy is the exception and with Peyton and Wayne it should be. If you watch and compare they will single out the Bills. Try watching for this and you'll be surprised. Also, watch to see if they ever give the Bills any airtime for clips unless they're screw up type clips. Go back to the early 90s, nobody was denigrating the team. It is a different era and a different NFL and crew. They have their favorites and they stick with them no matter what. If the Bills start winning again and I see the bashing decline and the highlights and airtime for Bills clips increase, I'll concede defeat.

In my personal opinion, the NFL and ESPN commentators are completely biased towards small market teams, especially the Bills. I'm the first to criticize the Bills when they screw up but these guys go out of their way to find fault with and bash this organization. Yes, at 4 and 11 and with the long stretch of losing seasons some of the criticism is deserved, but when 90 percent of the football world gave the Dareus pick an A rating (not the entire Bills draft) is it earned? Then, they go out of their way to constantly pump up teams like Dallas when they are performing badly? Come on. The only way the Bills will ever come close to shutting these guys up is to win, win, win. Even then they will find ways to denegrate this team, just u watch. If Denver had taken Dareus and we had taken Miller, they would have found a way to rip us apart for that one too and praised Denver for the Dareus pick. Get used to it and, as I recommend, change the channel when these guys start the bashing.

He is one of five TE's listed on the Bills Roster along with: Shawn Nelson, David Martin, Jonathan Stupar, and Mike Caussin. He is 6'7" and 272 lbs, 25 yrs old. The reason we haven't heard much of him or the others is because, IMO, they haven't used them very much in the offensive passing schemes and have used them more as blocking TE's. Gailey NEEDS to change this in 2011-2012 to be more competitive. If the O-Line improves and gives Fitzy a little more time and the defense gets us on the field more, then I hope to see and hear more from these guys catching passes. I like Stupar and think between him, Nelson, and Chandler we could actually have a pretty darn good bunch of TE's if we just used them properly. There is also UDFA Charlie Gantt who we could consider when the lockout is resolved. Hopefully the play calling will get even better this next season and these guy will make an impact on offense.

I agree! You nailed it short and sweet. David Nelson will be one heck of a receiver as well if\as this team continues to improve overall. Hopefully Shawn Nelson will be that tight end we need. I am also hoping that Scott Chandler can step it up and contribute at TE as well, I just hope there's a season to find out.

If I ever meet Mr. Dareus or Mr. Jasper I'll be calling them "sir". I did get a kick out of the Boss Hogg and Cooter ones though.

I almost feel like puking now every time I hear the term "franchise Quarterback" it has been so abused by analysts and critical fans (ever notice the first half of that word fits really well?). Yes, we need more help at QB and no, there isn't much to choose from in this years free agent class IMO, but Chix will get it taken care of if at all possible. The one guy that was worth the risk went #1 so you suck it up and go with plan B like they did. Fitzy gets one more full year (hopefully) to show what he's got and if he doesn't then we know what to do with the first round pick in 2012, which will hopefully be more concrete year wif there's a CBA in place. If the QB's we passed on become stars, join the rest of the teams that passed on them as well. It happens every year without a crystal ball. Cornerback is a position that historically needs to be a first or second round pick to get one of the best at CB, or the pick is usually wasted. We can't do it all in one draft, there just isn't enough talent to go around so you take the best players you can and either fix other needs in FA or the next draft. The Bills filled several holes based on BPA and need and that's all any team with many holes can do each draft. If last years and this years rookies can add depth, versatility and many of them can contribute consistently for this team, we will hopefully, and most likely, continue to get better.

+1 One more draft at minimum and then maybe wild card\playoff spot.

Hope springs eternal, especially when you've been in an eleven year playoff\good winning season drought. Everybody wants something extra to be excited about so why not this young man, who by the way appears to be a very likable and high character kind of guy. The Bills have been on the wrong end of so many deals it is only natural to hope that they might be on the winning end of one for once (other than the obvious pick of Dareus). Here's to Jasper and the high hopes (good name for a gospel group, eh?).

Wow, at least give him a second year to decide if he is that bad or not. With an offensive line in disarray and a defense that couldn't keep opposing offenses off the field so that our offense didn't have to always play catchup or hold on for dear life, it's not surprising his rookie year was unspectacular. Chan himself said part of it was his fault for the way he used Spiller (and he called last year a "getting to know you" year for everyone. If they work on his ball control and blocking and the team as a whole does better this year, Spiller will very possibly contribute much more this season than anyone expects. The fact is, all of last years rookies will have to make a marked improvement in their play in order for the Bills to start winning more games. If they don't, we'll face another long losing season. I think they will and look forward to seeing how it all goes.

Looks like the only way to get past Jasper is fall to your knees and crawl between his legs and hope he doesn't sit on you. If he grasps the NFL playbook and can adapt to the NFL level of play this young man could be a huge steal. Very little risk and a huge upside if he pans out. How can you criticize that? Give Troup this season to show what he can do along with Spiller and the other rookies. Please. Depth was mentioned in an article on www.patspulpit.com as one of five reasons the Patriots will win the Superbowl this year, so it matters to others. I still want to see if Levi Brown wins the backup QB slot when we get a couple other QB's in.

Chan and Buddy have a plan and are executing it the right way. We as fans can only trust that it will lead to success. There is still free agency and a CBA to be ironed out as well as another season (hopefully) to continue to evaluate players and find out where we stand before next years draft. I agree that they still need to get another good Offensive Tackle as well as another QB or two somewhere this year, and I believe that they will, but mark my words, they will take a QB in the first round next year.

Anything is possible but this is highly improbable. They stock pile picks to get players they want after trading down, then this insures that they get who they may want the next draft if need be. Mallett is IMO more than capable of taking over for Brady in a couple of years so why go after Luck unless he does some really stupid things by then. If he doesn't, he will be the next pocket passer of the future for them and look out if this happens. I'm always amazed at how people pull stuff from their behinds with little or no logic or facts to support it. The Pats will rebuild their lines and get a no. 1 wide receiver over the next draft or two (and FA), not go for broke on Luck. Bill ain't no sucker, unfortunately.

Hey, didn't you know that according to several posters on this board, the Bills are supposed to pick first round starters in all seven rounds of the draft and each one must contribute right away? Thus explains the projections for Jasper. Seriously though, he is an interesting prospect who may eventually end up being that late round steal of the year but I agree it is way too early to predict what any of the picks will perform like. There's tons of work left to do and we still need a CBA and free agency. If we get these early enough and we get a few wise FA signings then I will be a little more at ease with the "enthusiastic" optimism. One step at a time please, one step at a time, and as long as the steps are in the right direction. P.S. Merriman and a couple of others are unproven, wait and see guys and it could go either good or bad.

Devlin, Kendric Burney DB, North Carolina, best OT or OG, and Charlie Gantt TE, Michigan State. I think the Bills have a QB in mind in free agency and am anxious to see who it may be if they do, whenever the CBA is resolved and FA is opened again.

Very happy with the approach and the picks. Hope we can get at least a few of these, TE Charlie Gantt, another OL, QB Pat Devlin, DB Kendric Burney, and\or LB Mark Herzlich off of the UDFA list. I think we will have a good shot at getting a better QB of the future in the 2012 draft and think this was\is the plan all along. They are rebuilding the right way and as others have said, if we can have some of last years rookies turn the corner and "get it" and start producing on the field then this team will be on the rise very soon. Only time will tell, I just hope they have a season to watch.

I hope you're kidding. Hoping we will "improve but still lose enough games to draft Andrew Luck no. 1 next year" is really bad or desparate thinking for any fan. One draft can't do it all (especially after inheriting another regimes team) and no matter what our record is for 2011 we should still have a shot at a quality QB from a better class in 2012. Since so many teams went for broke on QB's this year, there should be quality QB's in the later part of the first round and even early in the second round in 2012. Even the Pats didn't do much in this draft because, I think, they knew there was next year's draft class to look forward to. Yes, there is still going to be a free agency if there is a season this year and the Bills will address other neds there as well. Will we make the playoffs this year? Possible but not probable. Let's just start by improving and maybe beating the teams in our own division more first. Ya gotta learn to walk before you can run.

None of this matters until the Bills start winning more games than they lose and start to consistently get better. I believe it was a very good draft but we won't know right away, probably not until next season (2012), just because most of these picks (I think Dareus will be the exception) won't contribute substantially until their 2nd year. I am however happy with the approach that Chix took in building the defense first and not going QB in the draft. With so many teams taking QB's in this year's draft, when 2012 rolls around we will have a really good shot at a better class of QB's because there is a good chance that there won't be as many teams picking QB's early next year. This also gives them one more year to settle the defense down and to see what Fitzy can do with a full off-season and better players added to the team. They took players that from what I've read should\could have gone earlier and who all seem to have versatility as far as positions they can play. They also filled several positions of need and gained players for depth at other positions. For all of those who've complained about them taking Corners where they did I say this. Everyone says the NFL is a passing league when talking about needing a franchise QB but if this is the case, and it is, teams also need to make sure they have enough quality corners (and safeties might I add) to cover the WR's as well as protect against end sweeps. Every team needs good corners! I am very anxious to see Dareus and that monster of a 7th rd DT pick Jasper on the line as soon a possible. If our run defense doesn't vastly improve in the next year or two then there is no hope at all for the Bills. My bet is that it will.

Trading back for more picks is never a bad way to go for teams with so many needs like the Bills, especially when there are no clear cut leaders in the first round. Look at Belichick's history. Colin Kaepernick is a smaller school version of Cam Newton with as much, if not more, upside. His numbers steadily improve the whole FOUR YEARS he played at Nevada and his athleticism, smarts, accuracy, arm, leadership, etc all are close to or better than Cam or Blaines. They can all be busts but if we can get Kaep in the 2nd I'd do it. 1. Brooks Reed OLB 2. Colin Kaepernick OT 2. Kyle Rudolph TE 2. Marcus Cannon RT I'd love this scenario and that's just the first few added picks!

Until our defense can keep our offense on the field a lot more and the O-line can protect our QB (whoever it may be) much better, and until we get a decent tight end, picking Green at #3 would be another luxury "BPA" type of pick and shouldn't (although it could) happen. Green and Peterson should be on the low end of the top five or six guys on the Bills board. That being said, if they do take Green he should be an impact player on the offense. I just don't see it happening, based on positions the Bills truly need to fill. We already have a really good receiving corp that will only get better.

Both will be special players IMO. Just not for the Bills.