syrcuse315

Interesting short article on where the bills and the other AFC east teams stand with $120 million salary cap. http://espn.go.com/blog/afceast/post/_/id/37447/previewing-afc-east-salary-cap

I would love this, we would spend to the cap every year without question. The Sabres have been just like the Bills in that they can NOT get anybody healthy. They have literally been playing with at times, half of an AHL team. But besides the point, although Leino is a bust can you imagine the thought of a Buffalo Bills owner aggressively spending money? I'd be so happy I'd do this:

There is no doubt McNutt is the more complete receiver but you have to build a dynamic receiving corps to be successful. Look at the Bills receivers they had this year. Steve Johnson, Marcus Easley, Derek Hagan, Kamar Aiken, all of them are 6'2" Donald Jones & Naaman Roosevelt: 6' David Nelson: 6'5" Ruvell Martin: 6'4" Roscoe Parish: 5'9" Hagan, Aiken, Roosevelt, & Martin won't play hardly at all next year (barring injuries) and some won't be on the team.. Parish might be gone very soon and rightfully so leaving Buffalo with this. Johnson, Easley, Jones, and Nelson. Nelson may be 6'5" but he isn't a big playmaker and is a slot receiver. Other than him buffalo's receivers don't break the 6'2" mark. Buffalo needs a big 6'3"--6'6" playmaker who can go up in traffic like burress or marshall to get the ball. We don't have that at all. We also need a smaller speedy receiver to throw off defenses in the slot. I like McNutt but adding another midsized receiver in the draft when we already have 3 doesn't make much sense to me. No teams fear our big receiver who can go sky high over the DB's and make the grab because we are one of the few teams that don't have one. We have to target a taller fearsome receiver because we have to have a dynamic receiving corps, not 4 guys who are all the same size out there at the same time. We need to create mismatches and have guys who work better for certain routes. Johnson is our best backcorner fade route guy and he is only 6'2". You need a guy with some serious height to go up and take the ball or that is too big to be pressed by a corner. None of our receivers stand out significantly from one another, they all pose a similar threat so it's easier to gameplan our passing game. Look at the pats, Gronkowski, welker, Ochocinco, Branch. One huge, one small, two others more mid seized. Jets: Burress, holmes, & keller. We have to have guys that pose multiple threats not a group of same sized receivers who tend to run the same types of routes all day long because they have similar skill sets. If I'm going to take a receiver in the 2nd I'm taking Dwight Jones or Tommy Streeter. Streeter lacks the bulk but at 6'4" and running a 4.49 40yrd dash, I'm a fan of that. Trainers will bulk him up easily. Poor guy had Jacory Harris throwing to him all season I want Roscoe gone so I want Jarius wright to be the small blazing fast receiver as a late round pick to fill his void.

Illinois also blitzed over 50% of the time on defense this year causing tons of 1v1's and free rushers to the quarterback. Whether it was one extra rusher or multiple, Illinois confused offenses by sending so many guys so often at the quarterback. When I watched them vs Penn State and their bowl game I was amazed. At one point during the Penn State game I think Illinois blitzed like 8 consecutive defensive plays, stopped for one or two plays and then did it again. All I'm saying is that when you bring that many blitzers people are bound to get free easier and have a chance for more sacks. I think due to this his stats are slightly inflated but he is still a great player from what I've seen. At pick 10? I'd lean toward no but things can always change.

Lets keep in mind stats aren't everything. McNutt - 6'2" 215lbs & runs a 4.52 40 yrd dash: 82 receptions, 1,315 yds & 12 TD Jarius Wright: 5'10" 180lbs & runs a 4.34 40yrd dash: 66 receptions, 1117 yds & 11TD Average yrds per play: Mcnutt: 16.0 Wright: 16.9 only had 1 less TD, higher average yards per reception, and only 198 fewer yards while having 16 fewer receptions. Also Wright played against SEC defenses that were exceptional this year. Just based on stats it would look like Wright might be the better player to take but is that necessarily true? Blackmon is at the top because he is an exceptional athlete and you can't simply put numbers to numbers and expect them to define each player. If stats were everything Brandon Weeden would be ahead of Luck. Weeden: 4727yrds 37TD 13INT Luck: 3517yrds 37TD 10INT And OK State beat them in the bowl game

When talking about college prospects for the NFL draft, size comparisons between the college players and the current NFL players is a crucial aspect when predicting a player’s possible success in the NFL. I’ve seen some people on here refer to a player’s size as to either why they want him drafted or not so this is just to show how they stack up against some of the better NFL players. List is pretty long but I tried to focus more on the players people think Buffalo Might take at OLB, OT, CB, and DE. All of them are earlier round picks. I apologize if a guy you wanted to see isn’t on the list I can always just add them after to make a more complete list. (sizes taken off of espn and CBSsports) Outside Linebackers: Ronnell Lewis: 6’2” 244… Lavonte David: 6’1” 225… Zach Brown: 6’2” 232… Courtney Upshaw: 6'2" 265… Melvin Ingram: 6’2” 276… Brandon Lindsey: 6’2” 250… Bruce Irvin: 6’2” 245… Travis Lewis: 6’2” 228 (Ingram is listed as a DE on some sites and OLB on others so I just put him here) NFL: James Harrison: 6' 242… Terrell Suggs: 6'3" 260…Clay Mathews: 6'3" 255…Jerod Mayo: 6'1" 245… Cameron Wake: 6'3" 260… Demarcus Ware: 6'4" 260… Lance Briggs: 6'1" 244… Shaun Phillips: 6'3" 250 … Chad Greenway: 6'2 242… Tamba Hali: 6'3" 275… Von Miller: 6'3" 245… Kamerion Wimbley: 6'4" 255 … LaMarr Woodley: 6'2" 265… Aldon Smith: 6’4” 258 Cornerbacks: Dre Kirkpatrick: 6’2” 192… Alfonzo Denard: 5’10” 205… Janoris Jenkins: 5’10” 182… Chase Minnifield: 6’ 185… Stephon Gilmore: 6’1” 193… Brandon Boykin: 5’10” 183… Trumaine Johnson: 6’2” 204 NFL: Darrelle Revis: 5’11” 198… Nnamdi Asomugha: 6’2” 210… Charles Woodson: 6’1” 202… Champ Bailey: 6’0” 192… Brandon Flowers: 5’9” 187… Aqib Talib: 6’1” 205… Brent Grimes: 5’10” 183… Joe Haden: 5’11” 190… Leon Hall: 5’11” 195… Cortland Finnegan: 5’10” 188… Jabari Greer: 5’11” 180 Defensive Ends: Nick Perry 6’3” 250… Whitney Mercilus: 6’4” 265… Vinny Curry: 6’3” 263… Andre Branch: 6’5” 265… Jared Crick: 6’4” 285… Billy Winn: 6’3” 300… Alex Okafor: 6’4” 260... Chandler Jones: 6'5" 265... Quinton Coples: 6'6" 285 NFL: Jason Babin: 6’3” 267… Jared Allen: 6’6” 270… Julius Peppers: 6’7” 287… Trent Cole: 6’3” 270… John Abraham: 6’4” 263… Jason Pierre Paul: 6’5” 278… Justin Tuck: 6’5” 268… Osi Umenyiora: 6’3” 255… Will Smith: 6’3” 282… Robert Mathis: 6’2” 245… Elvis Dumervil: 5’11” 260… Carlos Dunlap: 6’6” 289 Offensive Tackles: Reilly Reiff: 6’6” 300… Matt Kalil: 6’6” 295… Jonathan Martin: 6’6” 305… Mike Adams: 6’6” 320… Zebrie Sanders: 6’5” 307… Nate Potter: 6’6” 298… Andrew Datko: 6’6” 321 NFL: Jake Long: 6’7” 317… Joe Thomas: 6’6” 312… Ryan Clady: 6’6” 315… Marcus Mcneill: 6’7” 336… Eric Winston: 6’7” 302… Sebastian Vollmer: 6’8” 315… Chad Clifton: 6’5” 320 If there are any mistakes let me know

I have to admit I love upshaw's diversity. He is a great fit for any 3-4 or 4-3 looks and although his speed is criticized (myself having been one of those people not too long ago) he is explosive off the snap which is so much more important than top end speed for a guy in his position.

Honestly I think that will come down to a draft day decision so it's way too hard to predict that now. So much of it depends on what we do in free agency. If we are going to trade any kind of pick the only one I see happening is Buffalo trading back with the Bengals if Trent Richardson is still there at pick 10. (unlikely) Bengals have a 17 and I believe 21 picks in the first round so trading back and gaining an extra pick might be in the cards. Its an unlikely situation but hey, anythings possible.

I've noticed that very few mock drafts have any TE's going in the first round. If we manage to get a good pass rusher and WR before the second round of the draft I'm all for a top TE. If Dwayne Allen, Orson Charles, or Coby Fleener is there in the 2nd round it might be an interesting situation. I'm a huge Coby Fleener fan and I think he will put up great numbers in the NFL, he's undervalued imo

I want your drugs, mine aren't nearly this strong...

I've watched Chandler Jones all season and I have to say I loved the guy as our DE this year. The problem he will have is that he relies so much on an initial bull rush because he can out muscle many of the Big East OT on a regular basis, that won't happen often in the NFL. He needs to make some modifications to his pass rush but I do believe he has the ability to do so and will.

Melvin Ingram and Nick Perry would be my top 2 picks.. Ingram is one of the most athletically gifted DE I've ever seen, his stats aren't stella but he is a supreme athlete.

I would agree for the most part with that and that's how I see it as well. There isn't any standout elite pass rushers in this draft so if buffalo doesn't trade down for an extra 1st or 2nd pick then I'm all for best available player. A LT this year, given how our line is now could solidify our offensive line for many years. A pass rush is the biggest need no doubt and my dream would be that buffalo acquires one in FA so we can take reiff in the draft. A tackle as nix said can transition to a guard much easier than a G to a tackle and I agree 100%. I know the interior line is solid but an extra tackle say reiff who can start day one, allows guys like hariston and bell (if resigned) to not only be solid backups but to fill in for almost any line position. It could not only upgrade the line but provide serious depth all over. If Bell gets hurt again, not a problem we would have reiff and hariston, who knows maybe hariston or bell could transition to RT and play just as well on that side of the line. I'm truly hoping that buffalo can do something in free agency and w/e we get in free agency, we need to not focus on that in the 1st round of the draft.

agreed. An elite LT can give the TE enough time to get open and the TE would benefit greatly from his QB having more time in the pocket. Even if you have gonk, if your quarterback is constantly pressured and being sacked the tight end isn't going to be productive. An elite LT can benefit an offense more greatly than an elite TE, LT just are the unsung heroes of the passing game. Picking them isn't as appealing to many because it's not the flashy type of pick people want to see.

I think Buffalo needs to explore the Bengals draft ideas. Most people agree they are looking at Richardson and Benson is leaving. Most mock drafts(although they are speculation) project that a 10th pick stands a good chance at getting Richardson. Most top 10 pick teams have more concerning matters. The Bengals also have two first round picks at 17 and 21 (I believe)which wouldn't be good enough to land richardson most likely. A trade back to 17 could end us up with an extra first or even second round pick in the draft. It could be interesting for buffalo, I wouldn't rule it out

An interesting point that has been coming up is talk of the bengals possibly trading up to get Trent Richardson. They are going to part ways with benson and they hold two 1st round picks this year, both of which are too far back to land richardson.They most likely want richardson more than any other team and they have pick 17 & 21 and realistically might try to trade up to 10 to land him. If Buffalo was to trade back to 17 and land an extra 1st or 2nd round pick it might help having extra picks early.

If there is one thing to take away from these games its the pass rush. These quarterbacks could sit in the pocket all day so frequently that it doesn't matter how good your DB's are they will eventually get beat. A Pass rush makes everyone's life easier and forces turnovers.

Idk why the packers subbed in Ryan fitzpatrick to play quarterback today

I thought it was arrogant for sure. I can't imagine how frustrated the broncos D must have been and then to have brady punt one over your head on 3rd down just shows that they didn't respect you in a playoff game. I was glad to see the broncos players let the pats know how they felt about it.

Given our current line I'd say we have utilized un-drafted free agents to add to the line and off of waivers. I'll be honest I haven't looked at what free agent tackles there are this year so I wouldn't know if there is one worth going after. Teams don't often do trades in the NFL like in other sports but that is always a possibility. I have to agree with you on Hariston I like him a lot and I think he has some talent. The beauty of drafting an OT (not saying thats the way to go) is that you can get a multi year contract for much less money. I'd have to agree with Nix completely when he said that moving a tackle to a guard position is easier than the other way around. Adding a tackle that hopefully can stay healthy adds depth to not just the one position but allows him to utilized as a guard if need be with injuries and w/e else

Throughout all the talk of who to get in the first round of the draft I've always been for going after and OLB/DE for a pass rush. While I still do want that position badly watching how much of a difference these offensive tackles are making in these playoff games is making me lean more and more toward getting Reiff or Martin with the first pick. I've always valued OT highly but when in the Saints game the LT shut down Aldon Smith most plays during their one on one's really shows just how much of a difference it can make for a quarterback. These LT for these teams are shutting down some of the best pass rushers in the game like smith and suggs for a majority of the game. Just out of curiosity, is watching these games making anyone lean more or less toward an OT with the 10th pick in the draft?

The texans lost because of 3 ints and a fumble recovered by baltimore on the 2 yard line which resulted in 7 points. If you recall watching the game didn't the 2nd ranked D make one hell of a goaline stop that resulted in 0 points for the ravens as well as 7 three and outs for the ravens offense? If the Texans had shaub for that game they could have won. Due to one of the ints the ravens started already in field goal range and when Ed reed made an int at the end, the texans stopped them in another three and out to give yates back the ball with about 50secs to go. In the saints game the 49ers D stopped pierre thomas on the two yard line and got a turnover. On the ensuing 49ers drive they got a TD pass to vernon davis, thats a 7 point swing for the 49ers. If the Saints scored a TD on that opening drive and didn't give up the ensuing TD to the 49ers that could have decided the game. 49ers also had two INT's vs brees which doesn't come easy. I know Tim Tebow sucks but did you see how successful their D was against the broncos? only 10 points let up. The broncos D also got an INT off a brady mistake that resulted in their offenses' only TD and 7 of their 10 points. Last years superbowl the packers' pick six shifted the momentum of the game. I believe they had two ints and a fumble recovery that resulted in points for the packers every time. Defense wins championships. Sure the NFL is more oriented on high scoring offenses but if thats so, Stops on defense are still as crucial as they have ever been. Defenses may not make as many stops but if each team is going to put up points frequently, those stops and turnovers your defense can make can still decide a game as they always have

As you said I wouldn't expect Buffalo to sign more than one or two key guys given the cash to cap spending. With that said I believe buffalo will make an effort to get a guy they believe will make a difference. I'm very optimistic but you have to keep in mind not a lot of players want to come here, I think they will draw in a WR through free agency to go opposite stevie and I think thats the most realistic bet of free agency. I'd love a guy like meachem, garcon, robinson or even vincent jackson to come in and then look to defense in the draft but however it goes as long as we fill the needs with the right players I'm very optimistic about next season

he is a great college inside linebacker and he has the potential to be a good linebacker in the nfl. His problem is he is simply not a supreme athlete. He has good instincts but isn't very fast and that turns into a coverage concern with a lack of speed. With buffalo not as concerned with ILB as they are with a pass rusher, DB's, WR's and OT I don't think buffalo looks at him very much. He will go in the first round for sure and he put up great stats at BC but I personally don't see buffalo looking at him too much. Is buffalo interested in him to a certain extent, of course you can't overlook a guy like him but does he stand to be a good fit at pick number 10? Unlikely

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