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It really depends on the assessment method. The margin of error is really quite wide...again depending on the method. Like everything in the NFL, individual measurements are used to compare against a population. Each team may use different methods which makes consistency/accuracy a challenge. Case in point, Jeff Burris routinely was calculated as having almost 0% body fat using the Bod Pod. With a margin of error of 5%-15%, BMI is best used (and, to be fair, usually is) as a complement to other metrics.

Well done...this is interesting. I like Davis and I really think the Bills will go D-Line in Round 2...QB in Round 3...Best OL available and then BPA. Davis is a good guy to have on special teams in the kicking game, too.

From a team perspective, there is absolutely nothing beneficial to a pre-season game. The game action is about as realistic as pro wrestling - the teams do talk about the "rules" of engagement and what their goals are going in. That's why you see a lot of teams play each other in pre-season year after year. From a league perspective it gives them a chance to get the refs, replay, camera crews, etc.. ready before the games really count. The benefit is skewed to league agenda items.

The lost point in this thread is the Sam Adams playtime bonus. Teams can impact bonus pay outs by simply benching a player or, less obviously, limit their play time. Every play is tracked and if a team is going nowhere their focus turns to play time incentives. Play time incentives are indirectly linked to overall team performance since, logically, if the team is doing well it will want the best players in the game. However, once a team is eliminated from the playoffs for example, the fiscal watchdogs start auditing the play time very aggressively.

It takes a Saint to resurrect the dead.

Yes...and I was hoping to see him active for the SB. He was not active but was right next to Carroll most of the game just taking everything in.

Why is it assumed that Jeff Tuel will make it past the June 1st cuts this year? Tuel could easily be cut based on what happens during the draft process (rounds 1-7 and the UDFA rush that follows) this year leaving room for a QB prospect. It seems like every thread I read accepts that Tuel will be part of this team going forward. I view him currently as the clear #4 QB that could eat reps at training camp or just as easily be cut to make room for the next guy. I am on the record that the Bills will draft a QB this year likely in the 5th/6th round area unless something absurd happens.

My avatar is BJ Daniels, not Russell Wilson...look closely. :-) I like him for the same reasons the OP likes Taylor. Daniels was drafted by SF and played under Harbaugh and Roman after being drafted in the 7th round in 2013. He was ultimately released with the emergence of Colin Kaepernick and picked up off waivers by Seattle. He is currently under contract in Seattle after having been promoted to their 53 man roster in January. He was inactive during the Seahawks playoff run but he was always in on the sideline discussions. With TJax making the rounds (recently visiting Miami), it's possible that Daniels could be competing for Wilson's backup next year in Seattle. Anyway...as improbable as it may seem I believe Taylor has a better shot than most outside observers would give him at this point. Given the fact that Rex tried to get Taylor when he was coaching the Jets, and that he fits Roman's "type", it appears that Taylor was acquired for more than just training camp "competition". The friendly relationship between Taylor and Manuel also adds some drama to this competition. The Bills now have an Alex Smith type in Cassel, a Kap type in Taylor, and someone in between in Manuel. The game plan would change based on who is playing QB but Roman has proven he can successfully adjust to maximize the QB's strengths.

There is no "owner" in Green Bay. Football guys running a football team. Recent success in GB traces back to Ron Wolf. Hired as GM in 1991, he hired John Schneider (current Seattle GM), Ted Thompson (current GB GM), John Dorsey (current KC GM), Scot McCloughan (SF GM during recent success and now GM of the Redskins), and Reggie McKenzie (current GM in Oakland). Holmgren took Schneider with him to Seattle. You need the right FOOTBALL guys in the personnel department evaluating players and fitting them together. Besides Bill Polian and John Butler who has ever left the Bills personnel department and had success elsewhere? It was refreshing to see Whaley given the green light to shake up the personnel department this offseason. The foundation is being built.

Fitz to start season, if healthy, and then Jets move on to Mariota (I cannot see them passing on him in the draft if he is there) after the bye (assuming a week 7,8,9 bye) - similar to what Houston did last year after acquiring Mallett.

I trademarked "Por qué tan serio?" So...the T-Shirts are on the way! :-)

You may be on to something...any time there is a Pittsburgh (Steelers or Panthers) connection Whaley seems to swoon. :-) Grayson strikes me as the guy that some team will panic on and take very early - late 1st, early 2nd. OK, Cleveland. "Uncle Danny Grayson was an All-American linebacker at Washington State and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the seventh round of the 1990 NFL Draft."

I agree with everything except the comparison to Vernon Davis. Comparing Clay to Davis is an insult to Clay. Clay is a self made 6th round pick from the Univ. of Tulsa. The nicest thing Roman could say about Davis last year was how great his blocking was. Davis had his worst year statistically (to be fair, he was hurt as well) in 2014 and Roman was basically using him as a decoy and a blocker. Let's hope Roman does not forget to use Clay. He is not supposed to be good...because he is not stage diving or trying to be a WR to get more cash...and is often forgotten when people publish "rankings". You don;t hear anything about Charles Clay except on game day. That's a good thing. He is right for the Bills...for sure. And his financial hit will basically be for this year. I love the fact that the team is fully utilizing the cap and sometimes you have to seemingly overpay to get a guy to move from South Florida to Frozen Tundra East.

I have stated that this years draft will be geared toward depth and Best Player Available (BPA). I really think the D-Line will be addressed for depth. The Williams' (Mario 30.75 and Kyle 32.25 when the season begins) are not getting any younger (or cheaper - Dareus). 1. Whaley will draft for depth in the trenches - OLine and DLine. This year will be a DLine year. 2014 was OLine. 2. Something tells me they think TEs Williams and/or Walford will fall to them in the 2nd round. If so, that's the pick. 3. They will draft a QB late. If Petty or Mannion are available in the 6th I could see them grabbing one of them. There is literally no one else for the Bills besides these two. Boring draft focused on prime TE (if available) and trench depth and that's a good thing.

I would agree. If the base offense is going to include Felton as a lead blocker I think that can only help the O-Line. Clay is an effective blocker as well so the defense must respect him when he APPEARS to stay in to block which should enable him to be effective on center screens...again, helps the o-line. I really think this entire team was playing scared under Marrone. Players seemed to play like they were one mistake away from the waiver wire or remain healthy and inactive, even more embarrassing. There will be less reacting to the defense and more dictating their game plan. Confidence is key and it seems like there is way more than there used to be.

Average pass blocker helps the screen game. Since the Bills might be running 82% of the time and running screens to Watkins and McCoy 13% of the time I don't see a problem. NOTE: The other 5% are ST's plays and kneel downs.

If Nick Jonas can make $100,000 for singing three songs at a kid's party I am pretty sure the Pegulas could make anyone...including Garth Brooks...a decent offer to sing the National Anthem. Pure speculation but if the Bills do play on Monday night in the opening week and let's just say the NFL makes Brooks the new "Are you ready for some football?" voice for MNF it would be a natural tie-in. Kind of cool to speculate even if it never happens.

Overdorf is very good at his job. Period. Littman controlled the purse strings for Ralph Wilson Enterprises...of which the Bills were just one piece. Littman was introduced at the dawn of the free agent/salary cap era and was in a no-win situation. Some of Ralph's large personal expenses were also routed through Littman's office and sometimes he was even told "no". Littman's job was to keep RWE solvent and there is a lot of saying "no" that is involved when 4-5 entities are asking for the same dollar. To complicate matters, in the days before the salary cap football guys had no clue how to justify a request for cash and most did not think they should have to. Why do you think Bill Polian struggled? His access to Ralph was blocked by a "bean counter" and he had to explain himself. Littman took the emotion out of financial decisions relating to football. A lot of NFL (and other pro sports) teams have historically ran their operations on lines of credit and then paid those debts off when the $140MM+ TV shared revenue check came in each year. Then started over in the new league year. That's why the salary cap is so closely tied to the shared TV revenue check each team gets. "Other" money for "regular" tickets is shared while premium seats, etc. are not - which is how teams pay for non-player overhead - staff salaries, travel, etc... In a lot of cases, staff bonuses are even tied to extra revenue generated by playoff appearances - so if you don't go to the playoffs you don't get a bonus no matter how much you killed yourself that year. "TV channels see sports as vital to their lineups because 97% of all sports programming is watched live, according to securities firm Jefferies Group LLC. CBS, 21st Century Fox Inc.'s Fox, NBC and Walt Disney Co. 's ESPN have committed to pay $5 billion a year to air NFL games through the 2021 season." The 2015 salary cap is ~$143MM. ($143M x 32 Teams = ~$4.5B) In the past, Overdorf stood on the OBD side of the fence interpreting and following fiscal policy set by Detroit. Things have changed a lot in recent years due to the imminent sale of the franchise to include the addition of a Financial Controller at OBD, for example. Financial controllership had occurred in Detroit for decades at RWE HQ and reported in to the Treasurer - Littman. While Overdorf has carved out (and earned) a very nice niche for himself he does not make personnel decisions based on "on field" criteria. His job is complex - trying to turn the personnel desires of the Football Ops dept. into reality while explaining how the past, present, and future obligations to the cap may impact the team's ability to fit players in. He does not have unilateral power to overpay or underpay free agents, initiate trades, or draft players. He is, however, the guy in the middle who speaks to the agents and reports back to Whaley/Ryan and the Football Ops leaders. It's quite possible he is the one person at OBD that knows the most about EVERYTHING that is going on and ironically is the guy you hear the least from directly. He started as an intern in the scouting department, worked his way up, survived many regime changes (which should speak volumes for how well he is respected around the league), and does all the little things that keep things moving. Fans should expect Overdorf's disciplined approach in managing the cap to not change much - and that's a good thing. By design, the NFL does not make it easy to turn access to cash in to sustained success on the field. You still have to have football people that can pick the right players and professionals that can manage the salary cap to maximize roster value. Those two functions should remain separate to ensure proper checks and balances with ultimate decision making power left to the Owner. It's a great thing that Whaley, and those before him, respects and trusts Overdorf enough to let him manage the contract negotiations. The Bills have very good people in key roles AND a good young "next generation" with long tenures that can take over when the current leadership retires or moves on to other opportunities. I don't see anyone of importance - least of all Jim Overdorf - getting "fired" at this point - again, a good thing.

McCoy and Dixon are a lock to be 1 and 2 in 2015. Dixon is a FB and his special teams effectiveness makes him valuable. The draft will dictate where Brown and Jackson will be. Because of the RB depth in the draft they still could pick one late in the draft if the value is there. 2015 will be a "best player available" in areas of need for the Bills. The draft will focus on depth and development as there will likely not be an impact player of need available at the Bills CURRENT draft position in Round 2. TE is the most likely position to be drafted first. They will draft a QB. The priority will always be on keeping the inside strong so beyond the obvious needs on the OL some may be surprised by the focus placed on the D-Line. David Harris is a lock at LB and Revis or McCourty will likely end up in Buffalo. I really think the Bills will go after Iupati and continue to develop last year's draft picks on the OL. You do not trade for McCoy and not spend to maximize his value by getting buys to open holes.

Any team's first priority is to win the division. The Patriots are the team to beat in the AFC East. The Patriots know Cassel better than anyone. Cassel is a nice player but he is weak and very well known by the key divisional opponent. I thought there was a rule in Buffalo against SoCal QBs since Rob Johnson? At this point it looks like he will be brought in to mentor EJ but if he has to start due to injury, etc., and say beat the Patriots it could be tough.

What if Kiko fails his Eagles' physical? Then everyone is boo-hooing because their fears were confirmed - Kiko is not healthy. I am sure Whaley knows McCoy very well. Both went to University of Pittsburgh. Whaley is as much a PA guy as McCoy. The Pittsburgh connection goes even deeper in that Donohoe is a special advisor in Philadelphia so it would make sense that Whaley and he had some conversations about McCoy's availability, etc... (Whaley and Donohoe were together for a short time with the Steelers before Donohoe came to Buffalo)

I don't understand why some people think the Bills were "shopping" Kiko. All indications are that the Eagles were shopping McCoy to teams that would benefit from his services. The fact that the Bills had something to trade that Chip Kelly was interested in is a beneficial coincidence. RB was a position of need...LB was not... McCoy is/was the best option to address the RB position. IMO, this move does not change the plans for free agency or the draft. The Bills took advantage of an opportunity when it presented itself.

I will save you the effort...David Harris now has room to join the Bills. :-)

The trade will free up room for someone else on the FA list...good bet that the Bills have targeted a LB in FA - David Harris is for sure a lock to be a Bill now!

The Bills just got better. The draft and the Free Agency plans change slightly. OL, TE, QB. As I have stated previously, trades are fluid and unpredictable - even rare when it is player for player. I personally do not trust Alonso to stay healthy and McCoy is a proven stud. The last player for player trade Whaley pulled off was pretty good - Hughes for Shepperd. Time will tell. On another note...Chip Kelly is drunk with power. The Eagles will be fun to follow.