Dan

I don't get it. The Bills' FO and scouts have spent countless hours going over every player they can to try and determine who they think are the best players, as well as who they think will best fit into our team and schemes. They prioritize these picks and make their board. Now, a day before the draft, you get upset that they're going to draft according to that board? Would we prefer that they just call ESPN and ask Kiper who they should pick when their time comes up? Do you think there's a GM/FO guy in the league that wouldn't say pretty much the same thing as that quote? Now, granted, maybe their board is wrong. Maybe they suck ass at evaluating talent. Maybe they take a CB because they really do think that's our biggest need. Maybe they should all be fired because they're incompetent. But, that's a completely different issue. Regardless, if Brandon came out today and said something along the lines of we really liked a few guys but lately Mayock is making a convincing case for this other guy... so we'll see. Well then I'd really be worried.

I'm not at all convinced that money was the issue with extending Peters. I think his attitude and posturing had far more to do with him being traded than the dollar figure.

Nice read. Thanks.

Bingo. A team doesn't try to impress draft picks, a team interviews draft picks. It's the responsibility of the kid to come to Buffalo and do all he can to impress the Bills so they want to pick him - not the other way around.

Totally should went to Applebees. Friggin Idiots!

Just curious but how are Macs less versatile?

No way the Pats* have to give up that to move up to the top 10. Complete crap story. We all full well know that all Kraft as to do is ask Goodell and he'll be granted a supplemental 3a draft slot and be allowed to retain all their current picks because the Pats* had to deal with the devastating loss of Cassel.

I fix/work on/set up computers in my spare time (which I really have none of). My wife and a friend have a Mac. In over 2 years, I've never once had to fix a problem with either one. Occasionally, I get a "how do you do this" question. At work, we all use Dell/HP machines. I'm currently finishing work on my 3rd machine this week. 1 standard malware/spyware issues and basic cleaanup. 1 - wipe/format and reload due to virut virus. 1 format and reload due to corrupt windows registry (they hadn't set any restore points). So, in one week, I've worked on 3 PC machines. In 2 years, I haven't had to do a thing to the 2 Macs (granted unequal sample size). Not to mention all the other times during the year, I have to fix/repair the PCs. So, for me, there's not much discussion as to which is a more stable machine with less downtime. However, when purchasing I always advise people to consider: (1) what you want to do with the computer, (2) how much can you afford in initial cost, and (3) what are you familiar with (if PC how quick a learner are you) because there is a little to learn switching to a Mac.

Considering Brown works for the Bills... is his final mock seen as highly accurate, highly misleading, or he has no more of a clue than I do?

Jason... is that you?

I really need to get a job doing graphic design for an NFL team. Apparently, these guys get paid to (1) do nothing or (2) do absolutely horrible work.

People need to just let it go...

Looks like something the Bills would do... Get the fans all excited about a uniform change. Have a big press conference/fashion show. Drop the curtain...... And everything looks the same. huh? All that for a pimped out helmet? I don't get... it

Very good point. The one caveat being that the current Bills aren't very good. So, can we still afford that luxury? Believe me, I won't be upset in any way if Parish remains on the team. He's great at what he does. But, I don't think its a bad idea at all to see what they could get for him either.

In quickly reviewing the drafts for the past 10 years for another thread, I would say it all went down hill with TD. Man, his drafts were horrendous. Aside from 2001, the drafts under his tenure were just plain bad. There's no way you can win consistently when you miss on so many draft picks for so many years. Sure, no one is perfect and all teams have draft busts. But, wow.

Agreed. I didn't want to seem too greedy. But, you're absolutely right. Johnson has shown as much or more promise than Hardy. Again, just illustrating that quality players can come from almost anywhere in the draft. I think sometimes we all get too hung up in the first and second round superstars and forget that a solid team is made up of a good percentage of role players that provide solid, consistent play week in and week out. And many of these guys come in the later rounds of the draft.

2003 - Terrence McGee - 4th round - current starter 2006 - Kyle Williams - 5th round - current starter 2006 - Brad Butler - 5th round - current starter 2006 - Keith Ellison - 6th round - current starter 2008 - Reggie Corner - 4th round - TBD 2008 - Derek Fine - 4th round - TBD 2008 - Demetrius Bell - 7th round - TBD I'm not sure I'd consider anyone on the Bills' roster (outside of the newly acquired TO) an IMPACT player. However, I think the first 4 in the list above can be considered solid draft picks. Given the amount of playing time each of these guys receives in comparison to Parish, I would argue that they contribute more to the teams overall production (or lack thereof) on the field each Sunday. The final 3 seem to have potential; hence, the To Be Determined designation. Again, I'm not suggesting that Parish be traded. I'm just saying that we're currently using a roster spot on a guy that has limited touches per game and I can understand why they might be entertaining offers. Could we get someone with a 4th round pick that would contribute more to winning? I don't know. That would largely depend upon how they use the pick. However, I do know that for several years Parish has been great at returning kicks and giving us great field position. And what has that gotten us? A whole lotta 7's and 9's. So, either we make a change to help ensure he scores on each punt return because the offense can't get it done. Or we make a change and try to get more playmakers on offense that can actually score. Either way something's gotta give if we want to improve from 7-9.

So only first round draft picks are worthwhile? Do 2nd round picks count? At what point do you just stop even trying to find a good player and say.. ahh what the hell pick that guy he has a cool name.

As good as Parish may be returning punts, how many Super Bowl teams dedicate a roster spot to a punt returner? Yes, he is exciting in the return game. But, wouldn't it be nice to have someone who can make the overall offense exciting? To think of it another way... how many times have we seen Parish rip off a 20-30 yard punt return and give the offense great! starting field position, only to have them try a field goal or punt from the 40? So, why not worry more about someone that can help move the offense and get the ball in the endzone. I'm not suggesting that Parish is no good, nor that we should trade him. I'm merely wondering at what point are we focusing on Special Teams to the detriment of the Offense.

.... first saw the dude in the late 90's. Kicks ass.

I use HTML-Kit for all my playing around. It's freeware, which is good. It has lots of plugins and just about all the features you'd want. IMO, its not a great graphical editor like Frontpage, but I prefer to work with the code mostly and check the layout periodically rather than the other way around. Another suggestion... If you're going to work with server side scripts, php pages, sql, etc., a great application is WampServer. It allows you to emulate an Apache server on your computer without being online. It's great for trouble shooting scripts and such! It's also freeware and well deserving of a donation.

If I were the owner of an NFL team, I would insist that I be the one that writes the guy's name on that piece of paper and hands it to the lackey that takes it downstairs. That way I could feel like I was involved somehow.

He plays for the Bills now. Hello.....

Much agree with much of this thread. The Bills have lacked any identity at all for quite some time. Furthermore, they've really seemed to lack a passion for the game the last couple of years. Add the 2 together and you have the pitiful mess that we watched week after week during the last half of the '08 season. What I don't understand is they currently have the tools and players to be a much better team. Sure, a few more pieces are needed, but I don't think we have nearly as many holes as so many think. But, we can be pretty good. Just look at the first 5 or 6 games of last season. Then look at the last 5 or 6 games. It almost looks like 2 different teams. I watched the Chargers/Bills replay this weekend and it was incredible. I couldn't help but think.. wow, what happened to that team? On Offense: they mixed the run and pass effectively; used play action regularly; found the tight end in the passing game; and moved the ball with a good tempo. On Defense: they blitzed when needed, disguised their coverage schemes well, and contained the running lanes effectively. In short.. they looked like a completely competent and well balanced team. But then they completely reverted back to the vanilla, predictable, let's try to outsmart people approach that we witnessed. So, I just don't get it. How can they look so competent in one game and then become so inept afterward? All I can figure is they have no identity and try to be all things all the time - sometimes they get it right, but most of the time they don't.