BoozeCruise

We will likely not be very good this year. I think that is not news to anyone here. BUT! I have a plan........... We will no longer be referred to as a sad-sack doormat with my theory in place. And we shall reannoucne our presence on the league stage, as bad, rotten scoundrels. Here is the plan. And the Giants are involved. They had it coming for some time now. Step 1...Pretend like you dislike drafting in the top 10 and move your pick immediately. Get picks 31, 34, and 61 from the San Francisco 49ers for pick 8. According to the Draft Value chart this works. And it also works for the 49ers because they have so many picks and so few rosters spots. Step 2...Sign Victor Cruz to an offer sheet. He is a restricted free agent, meaning that we would have to surrender a first round pick if the Giants did not match the offer. Which brings me to... Step 3...Make a ridiculous offer. Front load the contract and the Giants will not be able to deal with it because of their cap situation and contracts that need to go out to JPP and Hakeem Nicks in the near future. Victor should be willing to sign this because of the small amount of money they Giants have paid him thus far. He'd jump at the chance to break the bank, like most would. Step 4....Now sit back and watch Jerry Reese lose his grasp on reality along with the Mara family. They would have their most celebrated player leaving for BUFFALO, of all places. Happily, paid, and gone. And no pick 8 for them. We give them the crap pick or the crappiest possible pick we could secure and send it their way. It announces a new era for the Bills. We are now those guys. Sons of blank-blank-blank that steal players in the middle of the night with absurd offer sheets and 31st picks and a smile, in exchange. Bud Nix works better as a villan. And wouldn't it be nice to be the a-holes for once? Pop a ciiiigar and and get into character, boys. "Make way for the bad guy." Be bold One Bills Drive, be bold.

Actually Casey Hampton is one of the best Nose Tackles in the game for Pittsburgh. Same with Wilfork in New England and Raji in Green Bay. Fans and announcers like to talk about the 'backers, but none of them get it done without studs up front. Let's forget all this talk about pass rushers at #3. That's not going to change the league's most hapless run defense. It's gotta be one of the lineman. Bowers, Dareus, or Fairley. Our team is just too small for the 3-4 as is.

He just visited the Jags also. Heck of a talent if he's there for the right price. We have the luxury of having George Wilson sitting there if he hits a rough patch, also. I think he's as guy that needs to have his snaps limited, but there's no doubt he's a beast when he's right. Gotta give the team credit for being one of the few aggressive ones in the league right now. Most aren't even setting up visits. http://football.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/20706/20110226/sanders_passes_physical_with_jaguars/

This is new how you do things as a general manager. You let sources say you're interested. It's a way to build up trade value. It's also a possibility that you do this and then actually take him. Lay your cards on the table and basically say, "talk me outta this with the right package, otherwise this guy is gonna be a Buffalo Bill." Can even trade him after the fact if you want. That Giants package to get Eli Manning certainly worked out for San Diego. Bottom It's something for other teams to think about. That much is for sure. Definitely new ground for the franchise.

Plain and simple, we just need better scouts. Whether that be for the 3rd pick or for the undrafted free agent pick. Here's an example (per Rotoworld)... Packers scout Alonzo Highsmith has been named NFL Scout of the Year for 2010. As Evan Silva of Rotoworld and Profootballtalk points out, Highsmith is the scout who recommended Pro Bowl CB Tramon Williams to the Packers after the Texans cut him back in 2006. Williams has been a difference maker in Green Bay whereas none of the cornerbacks kept over him in 2006 remain with the Texans. Also, the Packers are now starting Howard Green at D-End. This is his 10th team. He was most recently cut by the Jets. Eric Walden, the Packers new starting Insider Linebacker (who they just extended) was most recently waived by the Dolphins. The list goes on and on for the Packers and Steelers. We need a revamped scouting department. We're relying a lot on luck these days I think.

I think it's just about extending a play. Not enough good offensive lines league-wide to be taking sacks and curling up in the face of pressure. Big Ben, Vick, McNabb, Rodgers, Freeman, Romo, Matt Ryan and Sanchez all do this. They can throw on the run, they step up in the pocket, and they bounce out of the pocket to make big plays. As for Newton, I don't think he's some organization savior. I don't think really anyone is. But let's remember, that Big Ben began his career as a game manager when he got his first Super Bowl ring. He just handed the ball off and threw it 15 times a week. He very well may have struggled without that stacked team around him. And he was an early first round pick. So let's not act like there's any quarterback that's gonna walk in here and make us a contender by himself. None of these franchise quarterbacks would have done that immediately. They basically all struggle or sit the bench at first. I'd wouldn't mind Newton coming here if he were to hold the clipboard for a little while. And we learned to block in the meantime. We need a system and for our new quarterback see it and study it. Otherwise, you're looking at a year like Peyton or Josh Freeman had to start their careers or worse - David Carr and that list of slappers. It's all irrelevant though if we can't draft better. I do think our offense is a right tackle, a center, and tight end away from being dangerous, but our defense is a different story. Edge rushers and 300 pound down-lineman aren't that easy to track down. Then there's inside backers. I mean, that's all of our draft picks with a need at starter at every one. That's a bit daunting. Without free agent help, it's just about impossible. If we could only go one way, I agree that it's straight defense. Defense and a quarterback. Those are the keys to winning. The last 6 Super Bowls have been led started by Kurt Warner, Big Ben, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, and Big Ben again. Young teams are not fun to watch unless they have a potential franchise quarterback. How excited must Tampa Bay fans be with that crew of 1st and 2nd year guys that are on the brink of the playoffs? A young franchise QB could push us a few wins in that direction. Just 5-6 more big offensive plays would have meant 3-4 more wins last year, as we know. Hopefully we can get a guy that can step up, avoid the rush, and make those plays.

Tyrod Taylor from Va Tech should be there in round 5 to 6 it seems. 66% completion percentage and he runs a 4.5 40. He may be a guy that Gailey could turn into a player.

I just think Lee would be more motivated if he was playing for a sure fire contender. He could easily latch on with Baltimore or Kansas City and help them at the #2 spot. And for us, as much as Lee's done here, the money would be better spent on the defense or O-line. This reminds me of the decision the Patriots made when they let Deion Branch go. The only problem is that players that aren't on good teams don't fetch first round picks. They get 4th rounders, even if that's below their worth.

Barry Coefield and Jeremy Trueblood would do the trick. Neither should be absurdly priced and both fill huge holes (Right Tackle and D-End). That would set us up to draft an outside backer to start the draft. That or Cam Newton.

QB's go early. Ask Alex Smith. I don't think the call will be entirely Ron Rivera's either. That offense is putrid as is and their D is not as lowly as ours. I think any CBA agreements would go into affect in the 2012 draft, also. That is the reason a lot of juniors have come out early supposedly. That is part of the reason Luck got so much flack for going back.

We can argue about DC names, but let's just go give whoever it is some more talent. Ray Lewis has had quite a few different defensive coordinators and I don't see a lot of difference in their approach and performance. Big time players set the tone. We don't really have any on that side of the ball. Merriman is a long shot, but at least an effort has begun. I like the idea of Casey Matthews taking over Poz's spot if he's sitting there in round 2. Time for some playmakers.

I think we target a trade with a Washington. They're picking 10th and they may very well want to leapfrog AZ and San Fran. Harabaugh and Shanahan probably want the same type of QB. To move back 7 spots, we'd likely pickup the 41st pick to go along with the 10th. That looks pretty good to me. 3 picks in the top 41. We could rebuild our front 7 before we even made our 3rd round pick. I see this more as a deep draft than I do a high-end talent type anyways. I'd go defensive end, inside linebacker, and outside linebacker unless a big time O-tackle fell to us at some point.

D-line all the way unless one of these offensive tackles puts on a show at the combine or senior bowl.

I say this turns VY into a better player. It should light a fire under him. Then to sit in the film room with a coach that actually wants him would have to be a boon to his dedication and plain 'ol enjoyment of the game. Tyler Thigpen lit it up for Chan Gailey. Kordell Stewart went to the Pro Bowl with this guy. VY could be in for a Michael Vick-like transformation in the right situation. I just hope the Bills will pony up the cash and convince him to come here. Sadly, I think a team like Washington would have an easier time winning him over. Trade seems necessary to get him here. He makes the offense a whole lot scarier from Day 1. He could really light it up for us. Best arm we'd have back there since our heyday. Toss him maybe Plaxico and his buddy Bo Scaife and scheming for the Buffalo Bills would be a whole new story.

Luck plays in an ideal conference for putting up numbers at QB (especially this year). He also had a pretty rough game against the Ducks who don't sport any kind of killer D. I'm thinkin' the hype train is getting carried away on this kid. I'm not seeing the kind of arm on him that Bradford and Stafford have. Also, if you watched the Orange Bowl last night, you know he's not going to be getting those kinds of pockets in the NFL (where ever he goes). I'll be interested to see where Mike Mayock has this guy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqJrjwjf55c There's that Quinn link.

I'd prefer Barry Coefield from NY. He's a free agent and I think he's do well in the 3-4 at End. Then we could go rush linebacker with that first pick of ours. Robert Quinn comes to mind. We could probably even move back a few spots to snag Quinn with an extra pick or two. Let a team in the lower part of the top 10 move up to get Dareus or Newton. Watch this beast against Anthony Castonzo (a 1st or 2nd round NFLer himself).

I think talent trumps scheme. How much can you do with these slappers? John Fox is a great D coordinator, too, but he couldn't make his bunch play well. Let's get a legitimate NFL roster before we worry too much about the coordinators.

Here's an article detailing Scaife's feelings about the Titans. http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/01/04/bo-scaife-leaves-titans-with-ill-will/ Looks like he is as good as gone. He can't be franchised again, so he's a free agent, at the very least. Be nice to a have a real tight end in town if his price tag doesn't go through the roof. I'd give him a good chunk of what Whitner wants or what Stroud currently pulls. What do you guys think?

Chad Greenway and Tavaris Jackson are both free agents. I'm thinkin' both would be welcome additions to One Bills Drive. Pop Greenway in Pozluzny's spot. He's headier and far better in coverage. Tavaris could compete with Fitzpatrick and at the very least provide much better depth than Levi and Brown. I think they'll be relatively reasonably priced also. I think we couldn't discount the chance that Tavaris could become a pretty good QB in Gailey's system. Fitzpatrick certainly showed less before putting up points here.

Lee Evans is making 8 and a half mil next year. That's too much, in my opinion. While, I wouldn't cut him, I say we trade him to a contending team. That money would be better spent in the trenches.

If Buffalo isn't interested in Newton, I think they'll be a team willing to trade up for him. Arizona, San Francisco, and Minnesota all come to mind. With Merriman on board, I think the first pick looks to be an End. Dareus is the guy I'm looking at. The Patriots have had pretty good luck with going D-line early (Wilfork and Seymour).

Plaxico Burress will be outta jail soon. He'll need a team and he makes a lotta plays. The draft, in my opinion, needs to be entirely defensive front 7 with a right tackle in there somewhere. If you look at a team like KC, it shows how quickly you can turn it around with a decent D and run game.

Seems to assure that Kelsay is gone. He's not a fit in this defense. And he gets paid like he's great for it.

I say it's gotta be D-End or Rush Linebacker with that 1st pick. Although trading back into the first is something we tried last year at the Tebow spot and it's something I'd like to see again. Love to see 'em move to 15-20 if Mallet is still there. Has anyone heard Andrew Luck speak, by the way? I know he plays well, but I don't think he's an academic All American.