R. Rich

Interesting. I guess, if it were me making the decision (don't I wish), I'd have to see what else was available and what type of impact the player would have. Kiwanuka is nice, but I'm not as certain he'll be as dominant as a guy like Julius Peppers or Dwight Freeney. He's clearly the class of the DEs in this draft, but does he deserve to be mentioned w/ some of the best DEs to come in the league in the last decade or so? From what I've read about Ferguson, he does compare to guys like Pace, Boselli, and Ogden, so I would be inclined to go in that direction. Wouldn't that be a great situation to be in, though? How do you lose if you had to choose between Kiwanuka or Ferguson?

If D'Brickashaw Ferguson or Marcus McNeill are available w/ the Bills' first round pick, they had better take him for many of the same reasons we drafted McGahee even while we had Travis Henry. Ferguson is a franchise LT and while I don't think McNeill is of the same caliber, he's very close. Either would be a significant upgrade from Gandy.

I hope that Clements trade of yours gets the Bills a top 3 pick, because after Boston College's Mathias Kiwanuka, there's a huge dropoff @ DE. To pass up a stud OL for a DE other than Kiwanuka would be wrong.

I might agree w/ that too, depending on where our draft position is. If we end up w/ a high draft pick though, we'd better use it on one of the top OT prospects available, either McNeil or Ferguson (I'd rather see us get him). Now, if they're long gone, and one of the top DTs is still on the board, then maybe, but I'd see about trading down first (if we do have a high pick), because there isn't a Top 10 talent @ DT that I've seen yet. Rodrique Wright of Texas is close, but he'll be around after the Top 10, more than likely.

What's wrong w/ our lines?

I had a feeling he was half centaur...

Your guys should come to play a little harder from here on out. Yeah I know, this was the toughest part of their season and they have injuries (as opposed to the other 31 perfectly healthy teams), but they just don't look that great right now. Maybe they'll put it all together against the Colts, but they'd better do so quickly. Nobody up in Beantown should be busting their arms patting themselves on the back for having to come back @ home to beat the Bills. Seriously.

Bentley is a pretty solid interior lineman; certainly better than what we've got now. Thing is, the Saints' OL has been underachieving all season (gave up another 6 sacks last week), and many people seem to believe that Bentley isn't worth signing to a huge salary. I've read and heard things from Saints fans about how they feel RT Jammal Brown, their first round pick this year, is actually the putting forth the best effort this season of all the linemen. LT Wayne Gandy, LG Kendyl Jacox, and RG Jermaine Mayberry have just been getting blasted as being awful this season for the Saints.

I'm just getting back from NYC, where I went to watch the game @ McFadden's w/ the NYCBBB (thanks to G. Host for doing the driving and for finding a cheap place to crash after the game). Nice place. The wings were okay, but @ least they had Sam Adams Octoberfest on tap. That helped. Anyway, here's some quick takes... 1. The offensive line did a fairly decent job of protecting the QB and of opening holes for the RBs. 2. Shaud Williams is a gutsy little runner! 3. That 4th and 7 play flat out sucked. Tom Clements needs to revamp this offense so that they @ least try to throw the ball downfield. Isn't that why we drafted guys like Evans and Parrish? I hope that's why. 4. Nice rush out of our defensive line. We need much more of that. 5. Did Moulds drop a single pass? I don't think he did. Kudos to him! 6. Moving Milloy in the box so often put the CBs in single coverage a lot in this game. Sometimes they performed well, other times not so well. It did seem to help in terms of how physical the front 7 was in this game, as they laid some nice hits all game long. 7. The Bills gave the Pats all they could handle in a PRIME TIME game!! Hey, it's a start. Much better than the last prime time effort against the Pats or the infamous KCM. 8. Rian Lindell does not suck, as some drunken idiot mumbled after his miss. If that's the case, Vinatieri must be "average" after his miss. (I wouldn't say he sucks, but missing that FG must make him not so awesome, huh? Yeah, right.) 9. Parrish needs to go up the field, much like McGee does on kickoffs. Make people miss after you've gone past the wedge. The alternative? Well, ask Antonio Brown... 10. I'm outta here. I've gotta be the supportive spouse tonight in Pittsburgh as Psycho Ward 86 and I will be in attendance when the Steelers meet (and, hopefully, defeat) the Ravens tonight on MNF. We'll be just 4 rows behind the Ravens bench; I'll try not to throw anything @ them. See ya when they free ya!

That's pretty spot-on, JR. When we were in San Antonio for the Bills-Saints game, a bunch of us were watching the Sunday night game (Cards vs someone-I forgot who-in Mexico) and we were cracking up @ Maguire's "Let me tell you..." routine.

What are you talking about? We have Anderson, Sape, and Bannan. What more could you ask for?

"Illinoise" (isn't that how it's said, Coach Zuck?) game notwithstanding, I have serious concerns about Robinson's accuracy and poise in the pocket. Maybe now that he has more talent around him, and he's been able to concentrate on one position, this will get corrected, but I just don't know. I still see him over/underthrowing wide open players @ times, and waiting a bit too long to release the ball instead of just taking off and using his God given ability. Hmmm.........holding onto the ball too much; where have I seen this before?

I'll defer to Sir Randy of Moss, or to his TBD herald, Hirly5, on this one:

Hahaha!!! Hey, we do have some great football discussions here. It makes you appreciate "the lost art" of the debate. Don't believe me? Go check out the Wall or PPP forums. High priase, indeed.

Minnesota has a HUGE problem @ LB, where Napoleon Harris, acquired in the Randy Moss trade from the Raiders, was a washout. Also, Kevin Williams, their All-Pro tackle, is having a rough year, as is high priced free agent acquisition Fred Smoot. Pat Williams is one of the few bright spots for their defense so far this year.

Thanks for the info. I watch more than just the Bills, so I don't mind the report @ all. All you did was take a few inches of space from one of the "JP sucks/Holcomb is great/Let's Move The Team Since We Suck" posts that keep springing up around here. Speaking of Shawn Andrews, I wonder how he's doing this year? I remember watching him in a preseason game last year (Philly vs Tennessee), and he was just manhandling people. He looked awesome! I wonder how he's bounced back from his injury.

Most people won't deny Donahoe's accomplishments while in Pittsburgh. The problem there, I believe, came when the Steelers started to go away from their "heavy on the running game" roots, and were successful in it (when Kordell was a Pro Bowl QB and when they could score points and gain yards through the air like crazy). That started a power struggle between Cowher and Donahoe, one which Donahoe lost. Now, do they miss Donahoe? Not really, because Kevin Colbert has done a terrific job of doing what the Steelers have done so well: continue to win games, manage the cap, evaluate/draft/acquire players that fit their scheme well, and replace losses due to free agency.

Um.......moving right along........

You don't think they need more help in terms of nickel/dime coverage than @ safety? They also could've used more of a pass rush against Pittsburgh. Odell took his lumps, but he's still going to be one heck of a MLB for them.

See you all in a couple of weeks (KC game).

I hope we keep Steve Hutchinson, Michael Boulware, John Henderson, and Odell Thurman.

Ticktes? If only we could overcome the grammer...

5-2? Doubtful. Denney, Kelsay, and Schobel have had their moments dropping back in coverage, but I wouldn't want to see them doing so on a regular basis, especially when they cannot generate a decent pass rush as it is. 3-4? No. Our DEs have looked pretty bad @ the point of attack against the run this year. If they play a 3-4, they'll be playing to the ends' weakness on just about every play. That, plus the lack of quality depth for the ILB positions make this a bad idea.

There's always going to be some teams feeling left out. The college basketball tournament goes through the same thing. Right after the selction committee makes public their tournament teams, the "who got screwed" rants begin. It's just going to happen. Nevertheless, you still get a much better result w/ the tournament than you do w/out it. Yeah, I do like the debates here. Nice and civilized. I must give props to the moderator here...

Depending on where the first round pick would be in this scenario, you may end up passing on some great OL to draft a DL in the first. If we were to have a top 5-10 pick (God forbid), we'd have a shot @ the top 2 OL in the draft in tackles D'Brickashaw Ferguson of Virginia and Marcus McNeill of Auburn. Both are very talented and would be better value than any of the top DTs available. I like the way you address the lines but, in your scenario, I'd switch the priorities @ the top of the draft (OL first, DL second).