2003Contenders

Actually, I do see similarities between Bradford and Pennington (when he was coming out of Marshall): both are heady, accurate QBs -- but neither has/had a cannon for an arm.

There is no denying that Brees is a fine QB, but I wonder if New Orleans (which plays all of their home games in a dome -- and all of their division games in warm climate) would have been as eager to sign him to a contract coming off that shoulder injury if the playing conditions had been like Buffalo's?

Funny enough, the scenario is VERY similar to what we saw back in 2006, the year after TD was fired. The Bills had a new coach GM (Marv), head coach (DJ), and serious doubts about whether their annoited QB of the future (Losman), who had most recently lost his starting gig to a journeyman backup (Holcomb), was the answer. The team made a decision that throwing a hot shot rookie into the mix at that juncture was NOT the way to go. Thus, they by-passed Cutler in the draft and went with Whitner. Ironically, Losman went on to have his best year as a pro that year, passing for over 3000, taking every snap, and finishing with a decent QB rating. Now, the question is: whose philosophy was it to NOT draft a young QB that early? It doesn't sound like it was Modrak, given that word has circulated that Modrak was very much in the corner of folks who wanted to draft Cutler. If this was from the very top (i.e. Wilson), then obviously nothing has changed, although I do get a sense (as of today) that Ralph is more willing to let Buddy and Chan do their thing. I will say that if the current decision makers are presented with an honest to goodness trade-down scenario as Marv supposedly was back in 2006, I would tend to believe that Nix would welcome the additional draft picks. Buddy saw first hand in San Diego that drafting a QB, when the existing starter has been underwhelming (i.e. Rivers and Brees) may not be a bad move. That is to say, that it would NOT surprise me to discover that Trent Edwards is the opening day starter -- AND the Bills make a move early in the draft to take a QB. In fact, an early QB selection probably says more about the team's opinion of Brohm than it does Edwards.

Remember, there are 7 rounds in the draft -- and the Bills have a couple of extra picks. Just because they don't get a QB at #9, doesn't mean that they don't target one later.

If the Dolphins release Thigpen, then the Bills should give him a look. Otherwise, I would say pass on trading for him. I may be the only Bills fan on the planet that has the confidence that a sound offensive mind like Gailey will find a way to make one of the guys we currently have actually somewhat productive.

For me, I thought the tide of the game shifted right AFTER the failed 4th and goal for the Saints at the end of the 1st half. The Colts had all the momentum -- and then went into an offensive shell, going three-and-out and punting the ball away to allow the Saints to move within field goal range to end the half. Reminded me of the Bills' inability to do anything with the ball immediately after the safety in Super Bowl XXV.

Look, the Bills have made many personnel mistakes, but letting Hargrove leave wasn't one of them. Remember, they traded for him, hoping to get a diamond in the rough after a history of problems in St. Louis. The Bills were very patient with him, hoping that he would eventually bear some fruit. When he was healthy (and actually eligible) to play, he did show some flashes. However, his off-field issues really left the Bills with no other choice.

Given the Holmgren association and Cleveland's ability to provide better draft picks, I would presume that they are the favorites to land him.

I don't know. The dude's been around forever -- he just finished his 12th season in the league. He's the guy the Bills probably would have drafted back in 1998 if they hadn't given up their 1st for RJ.

Obviously the book is out on Hardy. He struggled as most WRs do in his rookie season and pretty much lost his entire second season recovering from the knee injury. Ironically enough, his downward spiral coincided with Edwards' in the sense that Hardy was the receiver who caught that clutch 3rd down reception early in the Arizona game, when Edwards showed the cajones to hang in there and complete the pass -- only the get concussed by Wilson. As we've said ad nauseum, Edwards was never the same after that. Nor was Hardy. And, indeed, in the ill-fated Cleveland Monday nighter, it was an early interception that Edwards threw (which appeared to be Hardy's fault), which totally shot Edwards' confidence -- and likely Hardy's as well. It will be interesting to see if a competent offensive coach (which I believe Gailey is) can help Hardy rise to the next level.

I do wish him well in future endeavors (beginning in Philly) because he really is a good guy. It's funny how some posters see the world as black or white with no hints of gray. DJ wasn't all bad: he genuinely had his team well prepared, got his players to play hard for him and did an outstanding job of building our secondary. However, he had many problems that he just couldn't overcome: poor game-day decisions, poor player personnel decisions (and I do believe that the draft picks were mostly on him) -- but his biggest downfall was his complete and utter disregard for the offense and refrain from hiring a top notch OC to run the offense. If the offense had even been competent (say ranking around 15th rather than 30th in the league) during his tenure, he would STILL be here.

3rd stringer for Miami? Didn't he also come in cold off the bench in the season finale -- and darn near beat the Steelers in a game that the Steelers were desperate to win?

He wrapped everything up with this quote: "It's just so hard to win in the NFL." ;-)

That does make it sound like he is indeed waiting on a staff member from one of the Super Bowl teams for the DC position.

What about a staff member from one of the Pro Bowl teams (Dallas or San Diego)? Dave Campo, for example, still coaches in Dallas, and we know he and Gailey have ties. Also, has the organization ever formally specified what Sanders' specific role will be?

1. As a DC facing a premiere QB like Manning, you most certainly would love to say that QB knocked out of the game. 2. As a coach, you should NEVER admit this to the press Classic Gregg and evidence once again that he simply doesn't get it. That's why he came to Buffalo, inherited a pretty good defense, dismantled it (because he knew better than anyone else how to best assemble a team), rubbed all the veteran players the wrong way -- and was asked to leave after 3 years. Then, goes to Washington, where he effectively plays the bad cop role to Gibbs' "aw shucks" good cop. But once Gibbs is gone, gets passed over for the head coaching job largely because of his inability to get along with others. And it is stuff like this which makes Williams a fantastic DC -- but a terrible HC.

The way I look at it, the only one of the three QBs that we can draw a serious conclusion on is Fitz. That is, he has proven to be exactly what you want in a backup: a solid performer, who is capable of starting a few games here and there, but not consistent enough to be the starter. (Think: Frank Reich) With Edwards I keep going back to how he played, not just in those first 6 back in 2008, but even how he looked in his rookie year. Remember, the word we kept hearing about him was "poise". He didn't get flustered, made quick decisions, and unloaded the ball quickly. Well, that is what really seemed to be missing from his arsenal the past two years. Can the dude get his mojo back? I don't know, since he certainly regressed over the last year and a half. But he went from having Fairchild (lousy and overly conservative) as his OC as a rookie to Schonert (even worse than Fairchild) to AVP (whose play calling was overly predictable to say the least). Obviously, we have no idea what we have in Brohm. I don't think you can draw any conclusions from that Atlanta game last season, as he certainly didn't embarrass himself behind a patchwork OL -- but he certainly didn't open eyes either. Barring a trade for a top shelf QB (like McNabb), I think we may have to be content with what we have. There is no free agent that I prefer over what we have now. I don't especially like any of the QBs in this year's draft -- at least not as an instant starter. And I believe that early emphasis on fortifying the offensive line (BOTH in the draft AND free agency) would go further toward fixing the offense. I would like to see a serious 3-way open competition for the starting QB position in the off-season. If Fitz wins that comepetition, then I think we know the answer about Trent for once and for all.

John, may the Good Lord bless you and your family during this trying time. May He also send angels to help guide the doctors to the correct path for a full and speedy recovery!

It was a known fact that the Bills were on on a tight leash headed into that first Super Bowl against Dallas. In fact, the leash may have been too tight, as many observers thought they entered the game very tense.

Perhaps bringing him back would allow us to exorcise the demons of "Touchdown Throw Forward".

I would treat it like a situation in which I have one of my fantasy players going up against the Bills in any given week. That is, I would hope that my son has a great game -- but that the Bills wind up victorious!

Let's also not forget that Edwards has sustained two (that we know of) serious concussions in the past two seasons. Knowledge of that HAS to factor into Gailey's evaluation, since Trent could very well be one more concussion away from having to retire from the sport. Note that Gailey did get an up close look at Troy Aikman's final years, which were also plagued with concussions.

I agree with the OP's sentiments. Locating a solid LT (possibly even in free agency) would go a long way toward cementing the OL. I think we will also discover that if we get a competent QB back there, that the OL will also look much improved.

When Shanahan took over and hired Haslett to be his new DC, did the Redskins can Greg Blache? If he is available, he could be worth a look. As bad as Washington was last year, their defense was pretty good.

I'm actually cool with Modrak. I suspect that many of the misses that have occurred over the years (especially the first round blunders) were NOT his fault.