Dorkington

That number will likely go up with a couple of releases too. Now the question is, will our FO actually spend money to build this team to contention? Or will they build it up just enough to sell hope to the fans, while maximizing profits? I lean towards the latter.

From what I've seen of Decker, he doesn't actually create open space for himself. He's benefited from other players breaking a defense down, so he runs to a space much like Chandler or David Nelson, and then catches the ball and runs a bit. Him as a #1 on a team facing bump coverage against an opposing team's #1 CB will surely mess with any productivity he's valuable for. SJ on the other hand regularly goes against opposing team's #1 CB, and creates space for himself to get plays. I'm not of the opinion that SJ is some top tier WR, but he's proven that he can get open against the best, whereas Decker benefits from not being the focus of the opposing team's defense. I'd much rather have an "always open" WR/TE to complement SJ and Woods.

I think Hairston is a mediocre starter. It'd be nice if he's healthy simply for depth purposes, and saving us a spot to fill via FA/Draft. That all being said, since the Bills have said nothing about it, I assume he's "done".

Wait... wait.. now the Bills should replace SJ with a guy who is worse than him AND more expensive? That does sound like something we would do, but boy oh boy would it be !@#$ing stupid.

I'd be happy with (big WR from draft), SJ and Woods as my usual three on the field. Goodwin as the occasional field stretcher.

I'm pretty ok with this draft... But yeah, we would need to find a ILB in FA, then.

I thought the following was a good post... wish it would have been merged here instead of simply locked. Hopefully Wing Man doesn't mind me copying his post to here. http://forums.twobillsdrive.com/topic/165943-ej-manuel-v-the-greats/ I think the last sentence is very accurate.

I don't think it should be a priority, personally. If he happens to be there, then maybe...

We should hire Marino to backup EJ.

What does "commit to" in this discussion mean? All of the above guys had like 2-3 years max to prove they could get it done. Are we now expecting a QB to come into this **** show and perform like a hall of famer in his rookie year?

THAT is all logical. But that has not been the discussion around here. It's generally been "(Player X) sucks! Cut his ass!" I'm not suggesting that we overpay mediocre players. But rather work from an interest of building a good team with good depth as a starting point. You allocate what you are willing to pay certain players to stay, and if they demand more, you look into other options. But the general discussion around here is generally from the starting point of removing said player, period. To me, that is counterproductive and creates more holes than anything. Regarding Hughes, I'm not comfortable shipping him off for a draft pick, not when he provides a service we need (pass rush on the opposite side of Mario). If we happen to sign someone who can do that during FA, then sure, ship him off. But just saying "oh, he might leave next year, so we should get a draft pick for him now" is essentially throwing away productivity this season.

I'm hopeful that either Moeaki or Gragg can be a surprise this season. But I'd still like us to take a clear playmaker TE in the draft (or a big fast WR).

Using SJ and Chandler as examples, as both have been mentioned. Why can't both* be our #2s at their respective positions? Why not have them, AND get a true #1 at both positions? We have decent cap space, don't we? Especially if we're drafting those #1s... (Understanding, of course, that Chandler might get a big offer to be a #1 elsewhere)

...why? I don't understand our fanbase. We seem to want to get rid of Stevie, CJ, Chandler, Hughes, Dareus and Byrd. These guys are all quality NFL starters. We don't have the talent on the roster to replace them. And replacing them via FA/the draft would be near impossible. Why are we so quick to start rebuilding while rebuilding? Why not keep talented players and add more talented players? Why not add depth and quality rotation? Am I missing something here?

How do we already know that Hughes doesn't fit our new system?

Man... So we've gone from "EJ isn't a sure thing, so we should probably look at other options just in case" to "EJ sucks, it doesn't matter if anyone coaches him, he'll never improve." Well, I guess we'll be using our first pick on QB this year... heh

If the Bills cut him, then we are essentially confirming that the FO has no interest in winning. If we trade him for anything less than a 1st round pick, we're just stupid. He's extremely productive for us. We need to add another good to great WR to complement him.

I don't see how getting rid of Stevie makes us better. But as a whole, our WR corps is still without a defense busting option (whether that be at WR or TE), and until that changes, we'll have offensive struggles. If we can get one of those "always open" guys that demands a team's attention, we'll be in great shape. Just because we have SJ13 on our team, doesn't mean we can't or shouldn't get one of those guys. Stevie is a great underneath, move the chains, possession sort of guy. He's not a guy that demands double teams and can break every catch out into 80 yard TDs.

He'd be a fine backup, but he'd never come back, and I doubt we'd ask.

We haven't won with any of our players. Cut them all.

Some of the statements/opinions in this thread are incredibly disappointing.

I really like hearing that EJ is a film junkie. No guarantee that the study pays off, but at the very least it's good to hear he's got his head in the right place. I feel like Pepper Johnson said a whole lot of nothing

James Earl Jones is pretty funny in those Sprint commercials.

TE, ILB, OG Those are the only big weak spots in my opinion. If the Bills can't fill those spots between free agency and the draft, then the FO has to go. That being said, no clue if we have the right coaches to get the job done, heh.

That says we only have $1.2m in cap space