The Dean

Perhaps Tom meant this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-5_Lightning It looks to be a P-38 that was modified. It is "a photo-reconnaissance version of the P-38 Lightning" it seems.

That's simply ridiculous. How they used him THIS year, and what they have in mind for him are two different things. Chan has said as much. You might want to try to think a bit further ahead than one (rookie) year. As for his size, he is almost exactly the same size as Chris Johnson.

I would guess every HC that is worth a damn has a lot of influence over the draft. If a GM didn't seriously consider the HC's opinion either the GM is a moron, or the HC isn't long for the job.

May I suggest glasses? No, seriously, I think Chan wants a multi-purpose weapon on offense. Fred is a nice back, but he isn't a home-run threat nor is he a long ball receiving threat. While CJ hasn't shown what many thought he could do, he can do things Fred simply isn't able to do. Fred is also 30. If Chan is looking at building a team that will be successful for years, it's easy to see what role Spiller fills, IMO. To see the need you have to see it through the FO's eyes AND you have to look past the next year or two.

Depends on the management structure of the team. Some teams, like some companies, have a strong top-down structure. That's great if the guy at the top is top notch. OTOH, you can go down in flames very quickly. A more team/consensus style of management tends to help protect against huge problems. It also can slow down a turn-around. IMO, more teams (and more companies) are moving to team/consensus oriented approaches. They tend to be more effective over time. Of course, if you have a Bill Belicheat* you let him make the decisions. But there just aren't that many guys that can autocratically run a successful team. As to who makes the final decisions for the Bills when there is significant disagreement, we just don't know. Clearly Tom Donahoe did when he was here (much to the Bills' detriment). After that (during the Levy/Brandon eras) it was hard to say exactly who made the final decisions when there was controversy. What many who have never worked with a true team management approach don't understand, is there are many ways to make a final decision. One usually considers who is most passionate about their choice, their reasons, etc. If the team is well-oiled, there is much disagreement and discussion, but in the end a group choice typically happens without a clear decider. There are tales that Ralph influences some decisions. (How many and which ones we really don't know for sure.) But I would guess that Buddy is the guy right now. Of course Buddy is smart enough to take his HC's input VERY seriously.

And the plane didn't crash? I'm SHOCKED!

Yup. With the caveat that "best player available" has to be in some context. If the player simply isn't right for your team, he's not the best player available for you. And, if there are two players who you have very closely ranked available, you probably take the one that fills the biggest hole on your team. Part of the problem is people don't understand (or at least acknowledge) every team has a draft board ranking the available players. These players are ranked with the team's needs in mind, but mostly driven by the quality of the player. "Best player available" typically means the player that was highest on that team's board. Sometimes a team has a player ranked so far above the next available player, it is a no-brainer in their eyes who to draft. Fans get pissed when the team drafts that player instead of another they think better fills a need.

Well I'm glad I waited to read any responses.

I'm not even reading the responses in this thread. Someone should teach this boy to pay attention when he is a plane. If the flight attendants had already come by and not done anything, they should be reprimanded. The old man should go to jail, regardless of the circumstances. If he wants to be a hall monitor, he should apply for the job. There are people who are paid to handle this situation and he isn't one of them. In any event, violence simply can't be tolerated in a situation like this. Go to anger management before you are allowed to fly again, you old POS.

Outstanding, Senator. RIP Mr. Taylor

Again, they may have fielded offers and had discussions leading up to draft day. You should have a pretty good idea of who is looking for what, and what they are willing to deal by then. Particularly with the 1st round pick. On draft day, I'd still prefer they take time and just pretend they are looking at all the options, even if they aren't.

I like the music (instrumental portion) quite a bit. I'm not so crazy about the vocals. I'm guessing they would sound great in person, though. One thing that turned me off a bit was the cheesy "get the audience to clap" shtick. That seems a bit out of place for a band like this.

Got it. Cool I have no problem with that. But that really wasn't what I was responding to. In this case, Detroit preferred Best, if that info is correct.

Damn Hefner!

You know this how?

Yes and that bothers me. Take some time, even if it's just cosmetic. But the truth is, the Bills could have been working offers for days. They knew they had the #9 pick. I would expect they took many calls, just not at that moment on draft day.

Ah. I see your issue, and respect it. Having never been married, I wasn't looking at it that way. "Marriage is a great institution, but who wants to live in an institution." -Groucho, maybe?

What brand? Trident Layers?

Really? What were the offers? I think you mean they "might have been able to trade down." Or, "could have traded down if they would accept a bad deal."

I agree. But I bet he is also charming (in the eyes of some), powerful, rich, worldly. Chicks did that. Even if she isn't physically attracted to him (I shudder at the very thought of it) she might really like/respect him. That's more than most people can say about their boss.

Most jobs where you work for someone else, other than a real prostitute, could be called non-sexual prostitute positions. This is a job for her. A good, high-paying job, with a built in glamorous lifestyle. Gold digger? I guess. But how is that different than if she modeled for the same money? She'd have to fight off agents and photogs hitting her. If she was an actress she'd likely have all the modeling issues AND have to have fake sex and kiss other men and women. This seems much easier. Of course she can still model, and act, if she wants. But now she has her fake relationship with Hef as a bit of protection, I suppose. And, she may actually LIKE Hef. That's something to consider.

While I agree with the bolded sentence, you can't really judge a man's ability to "build a team" based on one offseason.

The contributions of all the late round draft picks and UDFA's suggest Modrak is a genius. Typically the head scout has the least say about early round picks, and the most for later picks and UDFAs. Is that how it works for the Bills? I don't know, and I would bet you don't, either.

This team needed (and needs) to look to the future in the draft, not just the next year. I believe Chan and Buddy felt he NEEDED an offensive player like Spiller for this offense to work effectively. It may not have been the biggest need for this season, but you have to look further ahead than that when you are rebuilding. You can certainly argue Spiller wasn't the best choice, but your ideal of "need" seems far too narrow.

Marty's still looking for a job, it seems. Just kidding of course, Nix is considered a very smart talent evaluator.