paupmvp1995

I agree. Byrd is good, but he is not THAT good. If he doesn't want to sign his one year tender, and is thinking he should be the highest paid safety in the game, lets move him for quality picks before the draft. He still was part of a historically bad Defense. With a new coaching regime, anyone who is not on board from the start needs to be moved.

I like your line of thinking. If the QB class is very sketchy this year. I have no problem going WR and TE w our first two picks in either order. And I would like a trade down in the first round as well to gather more picks. I would actually really love to take 2 WR's and a TE w our first three picks. Why can't Kolb or TJax be decent in the right system? Everyone wants a stud QB. But w so many QB's looking shaky, it sounds like good business to bring in some explosive playmakers, which we r sorely lacking. See what we have in Jackson and Kolb for a year, and go from there. At the least I would go offensive playmaker in the first two rounds, and c what is left at QB in the third round. (I think Bray will be available there) We can continue to bring in free agents ( Dowtin, Chavis Williams, etc) on D to plug into Pettine's new system. Seriously, we need Offensive playmakers desperately!!

Tyler Bray has way more upside than Geno Smith. And look at the conferences they played in. Smith in the Big East and Big 12 (WVA switched last season) where the defenses are down rite awful. And Bray in the SEC, where defense is paramount. Smith is lacking in the intangible dept, based on what Mayock is saying and the other scouting report that came out earlier this week. If I am a GM, no way I am taking Geno Smith with a top 10 pick. Way too many questions about his game. If Bray is there in the second round we need to take him. He has a gunslingers mentality. And I like that he has some attitude. We have been missing that for a long time, especially at QB.

I like your opinion San Jose. I think the coaching will be dramatically improved this year. I expect us to be much more difficult to play against as well. Gailey was not a motivator in the slightest. I thought the effort (especially on defense) was piss poor last year. I don't believe that Marrone will stand for that from any player, including Mario Williams. Sure there are lots of holes on the roster. But I am sure that Marrone and co. have a solid plan to get the most out of the parts he will have at his disposal. It has been so long since we have had a competent coaching staff (circa 1998-2000 Wade Phillips) that I think most of us on this board have no conception of what a solidly coached football team is supposed to look and feel like. The ONLY thing keeping me going with any optimism for this season is imagining how our team will look playing under a tough, motivating, tactically smart head coach, who will not accept anything less than 110% every day on every play. (Marcel Dareus better be ready, because if he doesn't change his lackadaisical play, he won't be long for this team-a lot of you want to blame his lackluster play on the death of his brother. Sad thing, but when you put the pads on, between the lines you block everything else out. Just look how Torrey Smith played after his brother was killed at the beginning of the season) I root bigtime for the Michigan Wolverines. Under Rich Rodriguez from 2008-2010 we were a garbage team with no heart. We brought in Brady Hoke in 2011. Complete change of attitude in the program. With some better play at QB (Denard Robinson was a runner, not a passer) we will be challenging for National Championships for years to come. I expect nothing less from the Bills once Doug Marrone puts his stamp on the program. We have to find hope somewhere.

Totally agree. I have watched several games T Jack has played and he IS BETTER than Fitz. Nice post. Good to hear from someone who knows the current NFL.

Why do you have to put such sarcasm into your post? Do you hate life that much? It's stuff like this that makes this message board almost unreadable. Between the inmaturity of a lot of the posters combined with the nonsensical sarcasm of most of the rest, this place has become an absolute joke. Can't you just talk football in solid terms to show that you have somewhat of a brain, and that it actually can register to thinking about the great game of football? I sware that most of the crap on here is just that, crap!! The original poster is pissed like most of us that we have done NEXT TO NOTHING in free agency when we have tons of holes to fill on the roster. And this is the best you can come up with? And what the hell is a Nanker anyways?

The Wide Receiver position is a big mystery. We have one and a half NFL receivers on the roster. (Stevie Johnson and I will give Brad Smith a half) TJ Graham did not show that he is anything close to being able to get open down the field at the NFL level beyond catching the 5 yard slip screen w two blockers in front of him. Unless we draft two or three receivers, I guess we will be signing a bunch of street guys named Hagan and Martin or whatever come summertime.

I think it is quite obvious that since Brandon has taken over to run things, nothing has changed at Two Bills Drive from a front office perspective. We have a tremendous amount of holes to fill on this team, and we have signed one free agent. We have six draft picks. The numbers are just not adding up for having enuf NFL caliber players on the roster. Are we seriously going to bring in 25 UDFA to fill holes? That is comical. I think our coaching staff will be substantially upgraded this year. But we still need a LOT of players. We have ONE NFL receiver on the roster currently. And one TE who has a bad knee injury. Seriously, where are we going to get our receivers from? I am not sure that Graham will even make the team this year. He looked that lost last year w very marginal skills. Did he make even one noteworthy play last year? I am excited about Marrone and Pettine. But does management think the coaching last year was that bad that we have playoff caliber talent w minimal needs for upgrading? That is a risky way of building a team that has been so poor for so long. There just seems to be no solid direction coming from management. And that has to change.

That is the dumbest thing I have ever read on this board-or at least close. Buddy gets no rope, no benefit of the doubt, no slack. The guy has been the captain of a ship that is sailing in circles in the harbor, and has no clue how to get out into the ocean. Comparing Buddy and the Bills to the Ravens is ridiculous. They just won the Super Bowl and are a top team every single year. Ozzie Newsome does get the benefit of the doubt because he ALWAYS finds talent for his team. Buddy has found some talent, but no chemistry. He overpaid for Mario Williams, who is a talented player, but is not a leader nor someone who plays with any type of inspiration. The Bills did not do their homework particularly well before signing him. And they completely misevaluated Fitzie's ability as well. But despite Buddy's inability to build a team, I believe that Marrone will take whatever dregs he is given and mold them into a reasonably inspiring group. As for Levitre, I am not too concerned that we let him walk. He was a solid, but definitely not great player. The Titans will see that when he gets bulldozed back into Jake Locker at least 3-4 times per game. Watch film on Levitre. He very rarely dominates his man.

Why is anyone too expensive? Most of the people on this board worry about the dollars like they are coming out of your own pocket. If we want a player, we need to get him. Does it make you feel better when we get someone on the cheap? Starting CB's are not cheap anymore. NFL starters period, are not cheap. Lets hope we sign Smith or anyone else who is good for that matter.

It is a joke as to how many holes this team still has to fill. We have plenty of cap space. There is absolutely no reason that we don't sign a WR, TE, G, S and another LB and CB. You can not win without players. And right now we have one NFL receiver and no healthy NFL TE's. Does it matter who plays QB if we don't have any receivers to throw to? When was the last time we signed a free agent wideout other than that joke called TO? Bill Brooks and Quinn Early come to mind. And that is early and mid 90's under the Kelly era. The management of this franchise (not coaching mind you) makes me want to cry.

This is a good signing for us. Lawson is a solid NFL player, and we certainly do not have enuf of these. But the problem is that we have so many needs to fill. And by the looks of it, we are certainly not being aggressive enuf with our pursuit of top level talent. We have holes at pretty much every position on the team save RB. I would hope that we go after a WR, TE, CB, S and G over the next few days. As for all of you so concerned about our QB situation. I am ecstatic that we got rid of Fitzpatrick. I seriously think he was a cancer to the team. That kind of cancer is called a "loser". A lot of you thought he was a nice guy, and good to have in the locker room. Are you kidding? Who cares if he is a nice guy? He sucked. And everyone in that Bills locker room knew that except for Chan. We will draft at least one if not two QB's who will hopefully turn into studs. And combined w TJack we will hopefully have an effective QB situation going forward. Not sure why everyone thinks Jackson is so bad. He has way more athleticsm than Fitzpatrick. And a much better arm. Give him some weapons and we may all be surprised. And lets not discount the new coaching staff. I think they will be light years ahead of the past regime. But I will admit I get as tense as the rest of you when I see other teams signing good free agents, and the Bills doing almost nothing.

Wow man, I would expect a more astute analysis from you than that. What " amazing" throws are you talking about? All his TD passes are to wide open receivers. He never fits throws into small windows. And I can't think of any deep throws he completed all season other than the one to Stevie in Indy. And he finished that drive with two or three brutal incompletions inside the Colts 20. But what it all comes down to is winning. And Fitz while not embarrasingly horrible week after week is just not good enuf to beat anything better than the bad teams in this league. And he can not be counted on to beat the mediocre teams on a consistent basis either. (See games against Tennessee and St Louis) His two minute drill is as bad as any backups in the league, and that is just not acceptable for an NFL starting QB. He just needs to go. With no upside what is the point of keeping him around?

As far as Fitz is concerned, I don't think the determining factor in keeping him is his salary. I believe it is his lack of ability to play QB at the NFL level. I think the organization is coming to the conclusion that most of us fans have had for a long time, and that is that Fitz needs to go. If he does not restructure, he will definitely be cut. But even if he is amenable to a restructure, I think (and hope) that his days are numbered in Buffalo. As for Levitre, I am not sure why everyone is up in arms about letting him walk. Who in their right mind would pay an above average left guard at least 8 million a season? That is crazy. He is not a roadgrader, and gets blown back occasionally in pass protection. Yes he is durable, and can get out and block in space. But I think that Marrone wants a little different type of blocker on his line. And combining that with Levitre's asking price makes him expendable. I predict by the time training camp comes along most of us will have forgotten about Levitre. He is only a guard. He is emminently replacable by a less expensive player. Everyone stay calm.

A 6th round pick? Some of the logic on this board amazes me. Finley is an absolute stud. We have no receivers or TE"s with anywhere near his physical ability. He is worth AT LEAST a 3rd in my opinion. And what have you heard about him being a malcontent anyways?

What is Fitz a great mentor of? How to play horrible at QB? Seriously, why does everyone like a guy who was absolutely terrible for us mentoring a young stud QB? Makes no sense to me. You want a good mentor. Bring back Jimbo.

Did you actually watch the Bills defense play at all last year? Barnett was terrible. He was always out of position and lost his speed to cover any RB's or TE's in pass coverage. He is done as a starter in the NFL and probably won't be long for the league period. He had a productive career, but he hit the wall real fast last year. Bradham has some potential if he can make a sizable jump this year. But my god, what is there to love about Moats' game? We need to go hard after Ellerbee in free agency and than draft at least one if not two LB's-one inside and one outside.

I agree Fear that Levitre is not worth 8-10 mill either. And I think the Bills do too. But I would say he is an ABOVE average guard, but still not anywhere near dominant every single play. I like your idea of taking a top tackle in the first round. But I would than move Glenn to rt tackle where he can be more of a mauler. Pears and Hairston are terrible. Than I would bring in someone else to replace Levitre at a more reasonable price. I think with good coaching, any decent player we bring in to play left guard would suffice quite nicely. The problem is we have SO MANY holes to fill on this team at this point. It is ridiculous. We need another starting CB, at least 2 LB's, another Safety, some pass rushers, at least two WR's and probably two TE's w Chandler's injury. And that is not even discussing the O line or depth at all positions. My god Buddy Nix has done a HORRIBLE job.

Maybe Marrone (whose specialty is O line) is not crazy about Levitre. Andy is a good player, but he is not "all time" great. Maybe the team wants to spend its money on some gamechangers when free agency starts. Paying huge money to an above average guard when we need so many more game changers, just because he is a homegrown player may not be the smartest way to spend our money. Other than paying Logan Mankins, when have the Patriots ever spent big money on O lineman? With good coaching Levitre is emminently replacable. I would not mind him back at a reasonable price. But paying $8 mill per year to a player who does not have extraordinary talent seems ludicrous to me.

I agree w your thinking Tooth. No way this team is paying 8m per year to Levitre. He is good, but certainly not a great player worth that kind of money. How many games have we won because of Andy Levitre. Last I looked we won 21 games the past four seasons. If his price is too high, we move on. And for all you posters who are crying about how many holes we NOW have to fill on the roster. This roster has won 16 games the past three seasons. That is TERRIBLE!! The more guys shown the door, the better. There is still plenty of garbage left to be taken out. This has been a team of losers. The more change the better. We may finally get a real football team once Marrone molds things together. That is exciting to me, as it should be to all of you on here.

Ur post pretty much says it all regarding how Buddy has done building and stocking this team w talent. Pretty marginal results considering we could use help at just about every position on the roster. And that could include DT because Dareus and K Williams are both overrated. They both play well in spurts, but when your run defense is at the bottom of the league, and getting gashed on a regular basis, every player in the front seven bares responsibility for the mess. But lets hope some real coaches will bring some accountability to each player to play a whole lot harder, or they will be gone. And I think that will go for every player on the roster, regardless of where they were drafted. But back to my original point, Buddy can't retire soon enuf. Lets hope the Whaley/Marone era brings much better results.

I totally agree with your opinion on Fitz. We have seen what he can and can not do as a starting QB in the nfl. And it is painfully obvious that he does not have the abilities needed to make an NFL team even remotely competitive week in and week out. Anyone who disagrees with this conclusion is either delusional, or has not watched the Bills very much these past three seasons. Getting rid of Fitz should be a no brainer. The stench of all the Bills horrible losses the past three seasons can not fully be eradicated until Fitz is gone. And than the team will finally be able to cut ties from this horrific era, and move forward w hopefully much more success.

The Bills will not pay Fitz the $3 million bonus due in early March. They will make him restructure his contract, or cut him outright. I think Jackson or a rookie will be the opening day starter. I also think it quite possible that Fitz is not on the opening day roster. Once the coaching staff watches Fitz in person. And sees how poor his accuracy is even in the short zones, they will have no choice but to release him. And there is always the option of cutting Fitz, and bringing in another free agent QB next month to compete with Jackson.

I see Byrd as a priority as well. He was by far the best player on our defense last year. He is a good hitter, has good instincts for the ball and I think will only get better with a much better D coordinator, and some upgrades in the defensive players around him. Just because he is not 6'2 and 225 does not mean he can not be one of the best safety's in the league. And with Marrone being an O line guy, maybe he is not that impressed by Levitre. Levitre is a good player don't get me wrong. But he does not dominate his opponent constantly. He is definitely a bit undersized and is no Alan Faneca or Steve Hutchinson in their prime. I think we sign or tag Byrd and if Levitre wants to break the bank, we look elsewhere. I would rather spend big money on a LB, CB, WR and TE than on a left guard. I have a feeling the Bills are thinking that way as well.

Anybody who watched this past season's playoffs should realize that you need AT LEAST a very good QB to have a chance to win a championship. I think we all know that Fitzie is not that. But I am a little bit excited about seeing what TJack can do with a coaching staff that will give him an opportunity to compete. His arm is way stronger than Fitzies, and that in itself is an improvement because it will allow us to stretch the field a whole lot more. And the guy also has some mobility. Is he RGlll or Vick in his prime? Probably not. But he can move the chains w his feet. One of the worst traits of Fitz was that he could absolutely NOT make a play when the pocket started to collapse. He would usually kind of fall forward into the rushing D lineman, and never kept his head up to look downfield. Jackson is a bigger man, and should be able to make things happen a lot more in those type of situations. I am not saying that Jackson is any type of long term answer. But given how poorly Gailey was in evaluating his personnel, I think Jackson has more game than a lot of people on this board give him credit for. And in addition, I think that the odds of Fitzie making the opening day roster even with a restructured contract are less than 50/50. I think that unless Fitz dramatically improves his accuracy that Marone and staff will realize what most of us on this board know, that Fitz is simply not good enuf to win many games in the NFL.