2003Contenders

That's a lot to give up for a guy in his 12th year in the league who has had trouble staying healthy recently.

And... if Willie McGinest doesn't intercept a Kelly pass and run it back for a TD with a minute or so to go, the Bills -- and NOT the Patriots -- win the division in 1996.

One piece of that franchise that gets overlooked is Bob Kraft himself. I believe that he is hugely responsible for much of the success of the Pats over the last decade. No, not in the Jerry Jones sense. Rather, just the opposite. He lets the football men make all the decisions -- and trusts them to do whatever they need to do. Whether than means trading away an icon like Drew Bledsoe, cutting a player's player like Lawyer Milloy or trading someone like Randy Moss. Every player in the organization knows that BB has cart blanch, so they know it truly is his way or the highway. It is thanks to Kraft's trust that the team has developed such a culture over the years. The main thing I came away with from those shows is his attention to detail and his fearlessness. Everyone remembers the failed 4th and 2 against the Colts, but if the Patriots make that conversion the game is over. Note also that the day after the game he stood before the team and took accountability for the play call -- but made no apologies for it. I agree that in these shows BB didn't seem to say anything especially profound -- certainly nothing we haven't heard another head coach say. Of course, I am sure that he spoon-fed the media exactly what he wanted to, conveniently leaving out crucial Xs and Ys. The Xs and Os are only part of it. In fact, Wade Phillips was one of the best football-minded coaches that we have seen. He already has the Texans' defense ranked #1 in his short time there. But there is far more to being a good head coach than being able to draw up plays. It just seems like BB has the ability to get the players to buy what he is selling -- and that is what makes him so great. Part of that is thanks to the scouts for getting him the right kinds of players who WILL buy in. Part of that goes to Kraft for fostering an environment in which the players know that they MUST comply. And part of that is because BB simply has that knack. I can't stand him... but you have to give credit where it is due.

The Bills darn near beat the Bears, who wound up winning the NFC North, in Toronto last year.

There are guys like Mike Williams who can actually play some ball -- but are nowhere near worthy of being selected where they were in the draft. Let's not forget that Big Mike did a pretty good job as a rookie playing RT, protecting Drew. We actually got pretty good production out of him for a year-and-a-half. He had trouble keeping his weight down and didn't have the ridiculous threshold for pain that is required for a guy to play OT in the NFL. I call that one classification of a draft bust. Then there are guys like Maybin, who simply cannot play football for whatever reason. They have no business ever being drafted in the first place. Shame, shame on the Bills for having drafted this guy! The verdict is still out on C.J. He clearly has talent and has already shown that he can play some football. So he may not be a bust at all. And if he is, he will be more of a "reach" kind of bust than a horrible misstep like the Maybin selection was.

Let's see... In 2007, the Bills trade Willis and Marv spends all winter talking about what a special player Fred Jackson, who hails from his alma matre is. Then the team turns around and drafts Marshawn Lynch in the first round. In 2008, Jackson clearly outplays Lynch. Then Jauron inexplicably hands the starting job to Lynch after coming off his suspension in 2009. After Jauron is fired, Perry Fewell has the good sense to reinstate Freddy as the feature back. Fred has a career year. In 2010, the new regime comes is -- eschews trade possibilities for Lynch and drafts Spiller. Spiller isn't ready for prime time, and the Bills do everything they can to showcase Lynch for a trade. When they finally trade Lynch to Seattle, Fred finally gets the carries he deserves -- and produces. Now entering 2011, he faces the possibility of losing his starting job again to Spiller, who still hasn't proven anything. So, no, he is not being a baby.

First, I have to wonder if the fact that he is a registered sex offender and must identify himself as such wherever he goes plays a role in his ability to travel with a professional franchise. I would suppose not because I doubt that this situation is completely without precedent. For as much as we think we may know about Tony Washington, there are decision makers at all 32 teams around the NFL who know infinitely more about him and his past than we do. During the pre-daft period, the scouts leave no stone unturned and delve much deeper into prospective players' backgrounds than any of us can imagine. After doing all this leg-work, 32 NFL teams did not feel that Washington was worth drafting. None of these 32 teams were even willing to take a chance on him as a relatively risk-free undrafted free agent. Personally, I suspect that the notoriety that has followed this young man, has perhaps blinded many from his actual football playing abilities. That is to say, I have a feeling that if some NFL team really thought that this kid was the second coming of Anthony Munoz (or even Demetrius Bell), then I doubt that his past indiscretion would have chased them away. The bottom line is that I have a feeling that real NFL scouts do not see the sort of upside in him that would merit the risk that goes with signing him.

A bit unfair. Because of the labor situation and 2010 being the final year of the existing CBA, all FAs who had fewer than 6 years of tenure in the NFL were no longer unrestricted. Thus, there were very few options in the market at any position last year. The Bills actually signed one of the top UFAs in Dwan Edwards.

What is the opposite of "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em"? The Bills have OWNED Palmer his entire career. Let's hope he winds up with a team that we play often (like Miami).

I always thought that Reed was the classic case of a guy being mismanaged by blundering coaches. He came into the league as a prototypical slot receiver: tough, good hands. I actually loved that pick at the time that the Bills made it. When he played that role as a rookie (in Bledsoe's single magical season with the Bills) he was quite effective. However, the following year, when the Bills asked him to replace Peerless Price, they essentially placed a square peg in a round hole. He had a couple of high profile drops that year -- and I think it ate at his confidence (Similar to what that that Pittsburgh game did to Steve Johnson last year).

Interesting that the Bills drafted the former Long Horn early in the second. Wasn't it Orakpo who said that his agent told him the Bills were not going to draft him because they didn't like former Texas players? Maybe it was silly hard-and-fast rules like that that cost Modrak his job?

Here is my thought: in the high stakes poker game, Buddy officially called DW's bluff -- and Buddy has the winning hand. That is to say that I believe that if the lockout were to be lifted that Whitner would quickly sign the last offer that the Bills made to keep him in the fold. And I suspect that Buddy would be willing to take him back, no hard feelings.

Forget about Hasselbeck. He is going to want to be a starter, and there are several teams around the league that are in worse QB shape than the Bills and will be able to give him what he wants.

I am cool with the Bills having stayed put. Moving down from 3 to 27 is a major nosedive, and as such there would have been no way of evaluating who would have still been on the board at that time. By staying put, they assured themselves of drafting a blue chipper, which is what they did with MD.

Someone should explain to him that if the following things happen: 1. The appellate court upholds Judge Nelson's ruling that the NFL cannot proceed with a lockout 2. The owners and players do NOT come to an agreement Then there is a good chance that the rules that they played by last year will be in place again in 2011. That means that Whitner would be a Bill whether he likes it or not. (Unless, of course, some other team was willing to cough up a 1st rounder for him.)

It is always better to look at a draft as a sum of its parts rather than on a pick-by-pick basis. For example, how many 6th or 7th round players even make the final roster? Not many. Hence, to grade such a player (like Cox or Omon) with a less than passing grade is a bit misleading. It doesn't really matter to me in what rounds they were drafted. (Think any Patriots fans are complaining about misses that the Pats may have made in the first 5 rounds of their 2000 draft?) The bottom line is that the Bills came away from that draft (to date) with an up and coming play-maker at WR, a decent starter at LT, a fringe starter at CB, and a nickel CB. So the overall C- sounds about right to me. Also, does anyone know if the Bills picked up any decent UDFAs after the draft that year? They normally do.

Every Bills fan should welcome this pick by the Patriots. Billy B's tastelessness and lack of respect for his veteran QBs is well-documented. Remember how he did Bernie Kosar and Drew Bledsoe? We all know what is going to happen. He's going to get wowed by Mallet's big arm -- then start blaming everything that goes wrong on Tom Brady. Then he's going to start using the term "diminished skills" when describing Tommy Boy. This is the Belicheat MO. Then Mallet will get the starting nod. Mallet will alienate his teammates, and the Pats will begin their downward spiral. Maybe pretty soon I'll start believing this myself.

Here is how I look at it: There are 4 consensus Blue Chip players in this year's draft in Dareus, Miller, Peterson, and Green. If the scenario unfolds where Carolina passes on Newton and decides to take Dareus/Miller and Denver takes the other, then that means that the Bills will be have to choose between Peterson and Green (provided that they do not believe that either Newton or Gabbert is a franchise QB). In that scenario, I would HOPE that they go Peterson over Green.

One thing I liked that Mayock said about him (regarding his mock and going to the Bills) is that he is versatile enough to play 3 positions -- and for the Bills he would be an upgrade at all 3 positions.

Nothing wrong with that. They should do their due diligence to: A.) Maintain trade possibilities. B.) Scare a team that really wants him to trade up with Denver so that they get first dibs at their defensive player of choice with Newton/Gabbert both gone. C.) Make sure that they are not by-passing a credible franchise QB in their own right. I just hope this doesn't have Ralph's fingerprints on it... Remember, he is the one who sent Buddy out on the road to scout college QBs last fall.

Regarding Dalton, I remember a quote from Nix a few weeks back explaining what all the Chargers liked about Phil Rivers when they indirectly drafted him back in 2004: highly productive, smart, leader, appeared in numerous Bowl games and came up big in all of those games. The Chargers were willing to overlook Rivers' questionable mechanics and less-than-elite arm strength because of the other traits he did possess. I wonder if Nix has a similar view of Dalton. Depends on what they meant by the comparison. Did they mean that he has many of the same traits (intelligence, ability to get of the ball quickly, etc) but could be a better version of the real Fitz (more accurate, etc.)? Or, do they believe that his upside is to be like Fitz? If it is the latter, then I agree with your sentiments.

I agree with you 100%. If they do not see a franchise QB in this draft, why bother investing even a 2nd or 3rd round pick on a guy who is unlikely to ever be any better than Fitz? Considering that Levi is the only other QB on the roster, I believe that they do need a backup. Of course, they can probably address that in free agency. Otherwise, I would be OK with them taking a heady/polished/career-backup type (like McElroy) in the last couple of rounds. That's what the Pats thought they were doing when they selected Brady in the 6th round back in 2000.

The only problem with that is that the latest reports are that many teams are talking about trading up to the end of the first round to try to get Ponder. I doubt that Andre has any inside knowledge anyway. Obviously, Ponder played well at the Senior Bowl, so Chan undoubtedly has positive things to say about him. Doesn't mean they draft him. I just hope that if they are set on drafting Ponder that they don't freak out and waste picks to move up to get him.

Remember when Ryan Leaf blew off the Colts when it became clear that they were targeting Manning?

The Bills did OK from 1988-1993, the years immediately BEFORE the salary cap.