simpleman

I wouldn't read too much into EJ's comments. If I was going into a job interview I would not say, "Boy this job is tougher and more confusing than anything I have ever done". I would go into it and say "I get it, I am so excited about doing this job, and I am positive I will do great in this job". EJ is not the starting QB yet, he has 2 other competitors for the job, 3 if you want to be literal. He is a smart guy who wants to win the job of starting QB. He will naturally say things that will win him the job, not make public comments that might instill doubts in the minds of the people that will decide if he wins the job.

http://espn.go.com/n...act-deal-change “The new deal, according to the report, adds a clause, which reflects that the team has purchased an insurance clause should Manning suffer a serious injury. The insurance would both compensate the Broncos and provide a cap credit if Manning can't play.” Okay, someone please explain to me what “cap credit” means. Or is the article just written confusingly and did they simply add an insurance policy to his contract that pays him 20 Million next year if he is hurt somewhere else other than his previous neck injury and can not play? And does this really have any effect on his NFL cap figures?

Since the whole purpose of having a draft is an attempt to promote parity within the league, how is this not defeating the purpose of the draft? :wallbash: This is not a fantasy league game played for all the entertaining intricacies behind the scenes, this is a real life "SPORTING EVENT". The purpose of parity is to have all the games played be exciting and entertaining to the fans. The outcome should be in doubt the minute the clock starts. The plan is that no team should have a better chance of winning the game before the clock starts. Each team ideally should have a equal chance on the field on any given day, in every game of winning the game by their play on the field while the game clock is running. What you mention is the opposite of achieving this goal. I would hope most fans ultimately care most about what happens on the field during the game. What the FO does to win the game is not what football is about, it is all about what happens on the field while the clock is running.

I understand about getting rid of players that don't fit the team's current schemes, or players that don't justify in performance and benefit what they cost. But,since we don't have any worry about cap issues this year, shouldn't we call them potential money saving casualties or roster slot casualties, not cap casualties?

I'm really not sure why we would need to get rid of anyone due to the cap. Yes, you could save money, but why would you think we need cap space this year. If you gave Byrd 8 Million a year that would only be an extra 2 million cap hit this year. It is not like we signed Dansby or any FA to a big contract this year. And it does not look like the Bills plan on signing any more free agents to big contracts. We already have plenty of cap room, and if Lindell is replaced we have his cap room. We will have even more room when we cut down to possibly 6 WR. It seems it would be more about Roster space than cap space this year. Just cutting B Smith would take care of any additional cap space required for a reasonable contract for Byrd for this year. As it is already we have plenty of available cap space after our draft signings.

Love that idea. Would definitely be entertaining, kinda like the entertainment of watching "Professional" wrestling on TV back when they used to do all the acrobatic and timing tag team stunts instead of beating each other with chairs and 2 by 4s.

Yes I agree about Rogers. It has not been about talent with him. He has as much potential as Woods, but it is drama about whether he has the attitude and heart to do something about that talent that makes his selection such an interesting story.

I see a lot of people on here are really hitting the Kool-aide pretty heavy. I do agree that of the bunch of flawed QBs in this year’s draft, we got one of the better ones in EJ. But even if he turns out to actually be the best, I don’t seeing him ready to contribute any better than Kolb could this year. He is a project this year and if our O line, weakened by the loss of Lev with no legitimate replacement, does not protect him, he too could turn into another Captain Checkdown if he is thrown in too soon and not mentored and coached to try to correct his flaws first. There has been no real upgrade on the Dline from last year. We still have no credible additions at CB. We have a couple of late round draft picks at S to replace Wilson. We all know how poor the odds are that a late round pick steps in their rookie year and becomes a quality starter. We have one possible pick and LB and one solid, if not spectacular veteran addition at LB. We still have great need at LB. We have an unremarkable TE who is injured and probably won’t start for half a season. We have an unproven coaching staff with no NFL experience at their positions. We have no full time QB coach to groom our rough rookie QB. We have a rookie draftee to challenge our kicker, time will tell if he can deliver or not. The Oline is definitely weaker. The right side of our Oline is even weaker than it was last year. Losing Lev and not getting a credible replacement makes the left side weaker. I see Woods as one the best shots as an upgrade at WR. Da’ Rick could be an upgrade if he has the desire and attitude to actually work in the NFL, but that huge question is why he was undrafted. Goodwin reminds me of TJ. A speedster with an unsure translation of that raw speed into being a good NFL receiver. I see Kolb as a slight upgrade at QB. Woods as a good bet at an upgrade at WR. The other rookies I reserve judgment until they prove themselves on the field. On paper I see Miami as a huge upgrade all around over last year. The Jets are even a worse mess than we were last year. NE a little weaker, but they still have the man at QB to pull them through their weaknesses. For this season I see us overall weaker, till I see all the question marks in the rookies and the coaching staff actually prove themselves on the field.

I think you are being a little too optimistic looking back at last year. Maybe an 8-8 season with a few more lucky bounces and no lousy coaches helping the players lose the game (Titans & Rams) , but not 10-6. The team stunk last year. We really have no idea what the coaches will be like this year. They are like rookie draft picks, they have never even coached a down in the NFL regular season before at their positions.(Marrone at HC and Hackett OC) They are total unknowns at this point just like the rookie players. As you say, they have an actual coach at defense with experience, but not the two most important positions for the offense and EJ. And we don't even have a separate QB coach to bring EJ along, since Hackett is filling in at QB coach as well as OC, rather than bringing in a specialist to fill that important position of QB coach for an admittedly raw rookie.

Comparing Luck, probably the best sure bet at Franchise QB since the Colts drafted Manning, to Manuel is like comparing a Lexus to a Kia.

I see the team winning 4-8 games. 4 games on the pessimistic side and 8 on the optimistic side. Probably a 6-10 season. Probable losses: Falcons Saints Steelers NE NE Miami Miami Jets Ravens Possible wins: Jets Panthers Chiefs Bengals Browns Bucs Jags I see us splitting with the Jets, Loosing twice to NE and an improved Miami. I think there is a possibility we could sneak one win out of the Probable Losses column. And loose a couple out of the Possible wins columns. That makes the spread between 4 and 8 wins. How the team grows and gels determines our record this year. We just did not add enough talent in the draft to win this year. Rookies take time to develop. And we just did not add much in FA to counter our loses (especially on the OL, and our questions at TE). I just hope that unlike last year we are at least competitive in our loses, instead of pathetic and embarrassing.

That list is an illusion. Most of the players on the list are camp fodder or guys with injuries that will make their performance questionable. I believe Boss still hasn't been cleared after a series of concussions. Some have not played, or hardly played in over a year. Many have major knee injuries. A couple have stated they would only come back for their previous teams, preferring retirement over changing teams. I believe the only one who posted acceptable stats last year was Clark. And he is is a step away from retirement. He is the only one I would sign to a one year performance incentive based contract. At this point it looks like getting a vet on a one year contract and drafting a TE high next year is the only really option. Which is sad considering the talent that was available at TE in this years draft. For some reason the Bills are still TE adverse. With our only serviceable TE also questionable with injuries it looks like TE will not be a gadget used in our offense very much except for being a blocker for our RBs.

He could be a star in Canada. If he didn't already say he would not play any position but QB I would be all in for trying him out at TE, although not sure how he would be at catching.

Can someone explain the cap mechanics here? If he signs his Franchise offer for 1 year, then later in the year signs a multi-year deal. How does that affect the cap this year? Is guaranteed money immediately assigned to this years cap even though the year is part over? Just wondering if the Bills need to leave cap room before the season starts to apply to a later signing, or can a contract be structured so he just gets his Franchise money this year and the remaining guaranteed money only starts next year and beyond? Just wondering how much of the available cap space the Bills have to spend on needs this year (IE Moore and Dansby) VS what they might be forced to account for by the NFL this year for a long term signing of Byrd after the actual season starts. Can they structure a deal so all the guaranteed money applies starting next year, if Byrd agrees to wait till then to start to collect it?

TE......OL..CB

I guess I'm one of the few who didn't drink the kool-aide. Manuel probably had the most potential upside of all the QBs in a weak class. The rest of the QBs actually went about where they actually deserved to go afterall. I don't see Manuel being the starter for a while, he needs some serious grooming. Nice choice, just a big reach in the mid 1st, should have gone about the same time as Smith. Not a sure thing by any means. But it means we will not be selecting in next years QB sweepstakes, even if he ends being an epic fail, since he was selected with our 1st round pick. Loved the Woods pick, the only one I actually liked. I will give Alanso the benefit of a doubt, we will see soon. I feel the same about Goodwin that I did about TJ. WTH! I still feel that way about TJ. He has proven me nothing to change my view about him. And Goodwin is even more raw and questionable a talent. For the rest, well, they are later round picks and you just roll the dice and hope for a lucky roll anyway. Love the ballsy choice of Da'Rick in UDFA more than any pick beside Woods. Either he pays off HUGE, or he crashes and burns. Would have preferred to use the 7th on Matt Scott, I still think there is something about the guy. Really would have taken a TE earlier in the draft, for the team to really be competitive they need a top quality TE. But since I have low expectations this year anyway, they better take a TE in the first two rounds next year.

Just showing how that lack of competency in the Front Office affected the quality of the draft. Another year where the Front Office held back the team. Nothing seems to have changed in Buffalo. Yet another sub-par draft that stops the fans from having a competitive team to root for on the field.

If it is true that Nix passed on a 2nd trade down in the 1st , most likely it was SF. SF gave this deal to Dallas. We probably would have gotten an additional 6 or 7th as well for an earlier pick . We could have gotten our pick of QBs at best, or at worst we would have gotten our pick of QBs minus only one. Unless you believe Manuel was the only Franchise QB in the bunch, and Nix said he believed there were 2 or 3, we would have gotten one that he believed was a Franchise QB By the end of the 3rd round we would have filled all our needs like this. With the 4-7 round picks left to fill OL, DL, S and CB with developmental and depth players if we wanted. 1st round QB #31 2nd round WR Woods # 41 2nd round LB Alonso # 46 3rd round WR Williams or Allen # 74 3rd round TE Jordan Reed #78

At least one good pick in this years draft. Should be a day 1 starter this year. As far as he rest of the draft, :sick:

I would be happy with our round two if we came out of it with a TE and a WR from your above list, although we all have personal favorites

We have a passable TE that probably won't play for half the season due to injury. TE is a need as well

I agree with the doubts about Mathieu having the needed commitment to play pro football, but with his talent how could you not take a big gamble in the 4th on him. A majority of 4th round picks never work out anyway. He has the talent, skills and tools, just not sure about his mental commitment to the game.

Well, at least they traded down and got a great extra 2nd round pick. Now that the Bills disappointed me and reached in the first for 2nd round talent, how could they make me happier in the rest of the draft? Round 2 ,1 Minter or Ertz # 41 Round 2 ,2 Big WR with great hands with # 46 Round 3 BPA from LB or TE, if not selected in 2nd Round 4 Mathieu if still available in 4th, or OLine Round 5,6 BPA at position of need Round 7 Who cares, really not that much different than UDFAs

thanks for saving me from doing the math!