2003Contenders

I also do not think we can overestimate the poor play from the safety position this year. Everything went downhill once Aaron Williams went down. Also, Graham appears to have lost a step and become a liability in recent weeks. As much as many here love NRC, aside from making the occasional big play, he is also a liability in coverage -- especially against big, physical receivers.

He was a welcome addition on Sunday -- and the DL was hardly responsible for the loss. Had MD managed to make the comeback the week before, I am pretty confident that the outcome of the Miami game would have been quite different.

Or -- maybe,just maybe -- DW has hit the jackpot again with amother n'er do well from another team (a la Jerry Hughes) in Justin Hunter.

Not sure if the original intent was to troll -- or if the OP as simply ill-informed. The fact is that over half of Tyrod's yardage came on the 2 long TD passes. The first was on the very first possession, and the 2nd was on the first drive of the 2nd half. The first one put the Bills ahead 7-3, and the second one brought them to within a score. Oh, and the Jets turned it over on their very next drive -- and the TD return put the Bills back in the lead. Hardly garbage time. Look, the offense really struggled against the Ravens. Against the Jets, they struggled to sustain drives; however, they did make good on those big plays, which should have been enough to win the game if the defense show up. Despite all of the wailing, think about this: if Darby doesn't drop a pick six, and Tyrod doesn't underthrow a wide open Watkins (and instead tosses an INT), the Bills are probably 2-0.

Except... Terry and Kim inherited Whaley but brought in Rex on their own.

Uh no. While he had all the necessary physical tools, Rodgers was most certainly NOT a polished QB coming into the league, which is why he fell so far in the draft (coming from a Tedford offense). I remember back in the 2006/2007 timeframe when the Bills and Packers held joint practices and scrimmaged, the consensus was that the Bills had made the right choice trading away that 2005 #1 for the ability to get the 2004 #1 for JP, given that Losman looked so much better at that time than Rodgers did. Doh! History -- and superior QB coaching, or course -- would eventually tell us otherwise. While recent history has shown that Rodgers' back-ups have failed to amount to much, Favre had a steady string of back-ups that went on to become starters around the league: M. Brunell, M. Hasselbeck, A. Brooks, and of course Rodgers himself. It is silly to think that having the opportunity to play behind Favre for 3 years did not have an impact on the QB that Rodgers is today.

When Tyrod leads a late 4th quarter drive to seal a victory, I will consider moving him into the top 12.

Rankins, although he will likely be gone by 19.

Interesting. That is not my evaluation of him. While he lacks a cannon for an arm, I think his arm is good enough. The issue with his deep passes is more mechanical in terms of his footwork and delivery rather than arm strength.

I think Hogan is a real sleeper in this draft. The only real knock on him appears to be his unorthodox delivery, which may or may not be correctable. My suspicion is that he can very easily be a solid, system-style QB that can win some games if everything around him is up to snuff. His experience in a pro style offense -- one that Greg Roman helped to institute no less -- will enable him to be serviceable right away. I would draft him as a solid backup -- with the possibility that he could someday be a starter in the Matt Hasselbeck/Andy Dalton mold. Not bad at all for a guy that we can probably get in the 4th rounder or later. If nothing else, I think he projects to be an upgrade over EJ Manuel -- and insurance in case Tyrod lays an egg this season or bolts afterwards for greener pastures.

I've been saying repeatedly that I hope the Bills actually grab 2 QBs in this draft, one that may be developmental but has tons of upside (say, Cardale Jones) -- and one that has a high floor but possibly limited upside like Hogan. In Hogan I see a guy that is probably going to be a career backup -- but who you can trust and rely on to know his playbook and execute an offense. He's the type of guy who can likely fill that #2 role from day one. In essence, Hogan would be EJ's replacement (recall EJ is a free agent after this year). The developmental QB would be a guy you groom and work with for a couple of years as the #3 -- if he shows no progress then you drop him and find another one.

Call me crazy, but considering that C. Jones is such a boom-or-bust option -- a guy unlikely to even be the backup for at least a year or so -- I would be all on board with the Bills taking a Kevin Hogan IN ADDITION to Jones, say in the last round or two. A guy like Jones has a much lower ceiling but could probably serve as a backup from day one. Meanwhile, in 2-3 years Jones is either starting or out of the league.

The talent is so tempting, I really think some team will take him sooner than he is currently pegged to go. In the right situation, where he is given time to develop, I think Jones could eventually thrive. I will say that with Roman, Palmer, etc. on hand and Tyrod the starter for a year or longer, this may not be a bad situation for him as long as the Bills are patient. Team patience will be key. I would be fine with the Bills reaching for him a bit in the 3rd -- but do not want them taking him in the 2nd (as some draftniks believe he may go now).

Would be happy with either one -- and you know Rex has all the intel on both given the Clemson connection.

Yea, the time frame is quite arbitrary. For example, I dare say that if you looked at the 10 years prior to this (86-95), the Bills likely had one of the BEST draft track records.

So said a scout hoping he falls a little further in the draft than currently projected.

First, let me say that I don't buy what is presented in the article. For one thing the premise is simply wrong: the Bills control Taylor's whereabouts for the next 2 seasons, as he is under contract this year and they could franchise him next year if he plays at a high level in 2016. Honestly, if he plays at such a level, they will likely be all in favor of giving him the big contract he wants after this season. Tyrod's presence, in fact, buys them plenty of flexibility at the QB position -- as they could roll the dice with a high upside QB in the draft who may not be a 1st rounder because he is not NFL-ready for a year or two. Now, lets hypothetically assume for a moment that the trade possibility is true. In essence, what the Bills would be doing is trading a 2nd, future 3rd and Tyrod to move from 19 to 2. We have seen what the price tag has been for some teams to merely move up a couple of spots in the draft -- remember that Washington gave up multiple first rounders to just move from 6 to 2. So the compensation is actually VERY reasonable to make this move. But here is the problem. If this were a team all set everywhere except the one glaring hole -- OK. Or if this was year one of a new regime, where the coach and GM wanted to trade the farm to get their guy at QB, OK. But that is not the case here. Rex and Doug are on a short leash to make it to the playoffs. They need all the impact players they can find in the draft to bolster the front 7 and offensive line. That doesn't happen with the first round pick gone for a rookie QB and no 2nd round pick at all. It also puts the team in the position of starting either a rookie or EJ Manuel at QB. So it is HIGHLY unlikely that either Rex or Doug would be on board with such a trade.

I like to keep old draft magazine publications and look back with the view of hindsight to see how close the "experts" were. Was just looking at an old Sporting News 2006 edition. On the cover was Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart and Vince Young. I know the Bills probably would have been much better off drafting Ngata (as conventional wisdom suggested they should), Cutler (whom they had rated as their top QB prospect in the draft) -- or trading down (as there were supposedly multiple opportunities for them to do). However, they could have done MUCH worse with that pick. Whitner was at least a decent starting safety.

I think if by some miracle the Bills came away with Dodd and Jones after the first 2 rounds, I would consider this to be a GREAT draft regardless what they did in the later rounds.

On a related note, it sounds like Bobby April (Sr.) will be available. Our specials teams were top notch when he coached them several years back.

I think we are on the same page here, as long as the QB we draft is in the mid-to-late rounds rather than an early selection.

Correct me if I am wrong, but didn't the Bills beat the Jets in their one face-to-face match-up this year? In the Jets' house. In prime time. The Jets also had the benefit of playing a 4th place schedule this year, which meant playing the Raiders (before they started playing well) and the Brown Stains as opposed to the Chiefs and Bengals as the Bills had to play. The Jets also did not have to deal with the mounting injuries like the Bills did. Imagine if Geno Smith had had to step in for a significant period of time as EJ did! Timing was also not on the Bills side most weeks this year; they probably beat the Jags if they play them any other week this year, for example. If the Jets lose to the Pats next week and then lose to us at home in Week 17, this will all be moot.

Week 2 vs Pats Week 7 at Jags* Week 11 at KC Week 12 at NE Week 14 at Philly Those are 5 games this season in which the Bills took over on offense trailing and with enough time to tie or win the game. The team was 0-5 in such situations. I placed an asterisk next to the Jags game because EJ was the QB there rather than Tyrod. The offense failed to do what they needed to do in these games for various reasons: poor clock management, bad play calls, lousy execution, etc. Failing to finish in any ONE of these games is one key reason why they aren't going to the playoffs again this year.

Yesterday around this time, I was about as angry as I have EVER been watching a Bills game. 24 hours later, I have calmed down a bit. Rex had one of his worst games ever as a coach yesterday. The blown challenges (or non-challenges), the mishaps on defensive calls, and more. Still, it is hard to compare him this year to Marrone from last season who had already had time to place his imprint on the team after a full season. Rex's team just lost a heartbreaker to the Chiefs; Marrone's teams lost similar games in 2013 and 2014. Remember that Marrone's team finished 6-10 in his first season. This 2015 team will likely finish with 8-10 wins. I think many factors entered into Marrone's decision to quit on the team: not the least of which was questions about the QB position and worries about an aging defense. As frustrated as I am with Rex, I am willing to give him one more season to pick up some additional players that are more in keeping with his defensive scheme -- and see where it goes from there. BTW, this discussion is moot if somehow the Bills go on a tear and win their last 6 games -- which is not an impossibility given the favorable schedule from here on out. Sadly, with the loss yesterday they no longer control their own destiny -- but all they need in conjunction with winning out is a loss from the Steelers somewhere along the line.

Add to that we probably also beat the Jags on any other Sunday this year -- and I believe that the game against Cinci would have been different with our current healthier roster than it was the week we played them. Oh, well. Them's the breaks.