Brandon

Atlanta is 6-5 right now, has the 27th rated defense in the league and are 2-4 in their last six games, including a loss to a Carolina Panthers team the Bills beat just a few weeks ago. The Falcons are improving, but, much like the Dolphins, I don't think they're anything more than a marginal playoff contender at this time, despite their record last year. Its not going to be an easy game for the Bills, but I think it is very much winnable.

There are three teams on this schedule that probably won't finish above .500 and unless the Colts go into it 15-0, and I doubt they will, they will likely be playing backups. Aside from the Pats, that's a pretty weak schedule in my opinion.

Looking at this cream puff schedule, I think there's a decent chance the Bills could go 4-1 the rest of the way. The Jets and Chiefs are pathetic, the Falcons can't play defense and the Colts will probably be playing backups.

No, I wasn't worried. Maybe against a decent opponent, but the Dolphins are pretty pathetic in their own right. They're not going to come back from that.

I'd like to see him return, but I think the odds of that happening are just slightly better than zero. He's not going to want to take the chance that the Bills offense craps out yet again and that he's stuck with another mediocre statistical season. He'll be gone the first chance he gets and I can't say that I blame him at all.

And she has almost as much experience in pass defense as an OLB as Maybin does, too.

Its not really a mystery why Ralph hires his head coaches on the cheap, is it? The fans let him get away with it. I have nothing against Perry Fewell, but when the guy's resume is basically that a) he's not Dick Jauron and b) he's a better head coaching candidate than Alex Van Pelt, I just can't get too excited about the possibility that he might retain this job.

Billick isn't going to come here as an offensive coordinator. It'll almost certainly be a position coach; someone else's QB or WR coach, for example. How well has that worked out for the Bills in the last decade? Not very. That's ultimately my biggest concern with Fewell or any other defensive minded head coach they might select. I think the number one priority as far as coaching is concerned is to find someone who can install a competent, functional passing attack. It was their biggest need four years ago when Jauron was hired and I'm afraid they're going to make that same mistake all over again. If their offense doesn't make any really significant improvement, it won't be long before we're searching for yet another head coach.

For my part, he'd have to run the table. Its not so much Fewell that concerns me, but his ability to hire a quality offensive coordinator. As long as they continue to be one of the league's bottom feeders offensively as they have been for almost a decade now, they're going to struggle to avoid a ten loss season. I'm going to have to see some real evidence that he can turn that around before I jump on the bandwagon, and a 31 point outing against a team on pace to allow about 400 this year doesn't account for all that much. More often than not, the Bills beat the garbage teams and that's how they went 7-9 every year, even under Jauron. Lets see what happens against the Patriots and the Colts, when they have to play two strong playoff caliber teams.

1) Mike Shanahan 2) Jason Garrett 3) Brian Billick

Not really. Although Mallett gets all of the publicity, the Razorbacks run a balanced offense where Mallet takes about half of the snaps under center. They do use a lot of multiple WR sets, but its not uncommon to see them line up in a two TE formation and run the ball, either. Its probably the closest to being a pro style offense that any of these QBs play in with the exception of Clausen. I suppose I should also add that they're not one of those offenses that throws screen passes to the WRs all day, either. They're pretty aggressive in throwing downfield, and that's also part of the reason why Mallett is a 57% passer. He's not throwing many high percentage dump offs.

He didn't have his best game last night. His receivers were dropping passes and Mallett himself was off target for much of the game as well. I think he's actually a lot closer to being NFL ready than most probably do. His arm gets all of the attention, but Mallett is a smart QB, who has already mastered a complex Arkansas offense, knows how to read defenses, doesn't lock onto his #1 receiver, and despite having that gunslinger mentality, he very rarely makes a stupid throw. The only thing he lacks is consistency, which is more related to his passing mechanics and footwork and adversely affects his accuracy. He still needs some work, no doubt, and I'm not sure that he should declare for this years draft, but if he did, I would not pass on him, even with the 6th-10th overall pick the Bills are likely to have. I don't think his potential to bust is substantially higher than any other QB in this draft, but with a little patience and some good coaching, I think his potential is unlimited.

Its not just the completion percentage. I'd also argue that if he were so hideously inaccurate, he'd have thrown more than 15 interceptions in over 900 attempts as an SEC QB. That's not to say that I'd pick him in the top 10 or even the first round, but in my mind, he is pretty clearly the best of the 2nd tier QB prospects in this draft. Obviously, he's a good athlete, but I think he's undersold as a passer and has a pretty good arm and adequate accuracy. If he goes to a team that has a good QB coach who can help him refine the ability that he has, I think he could turn out to be a solid starter in the NFL, given a little time and patience. He's probably never going to remind anyone of Dan Marino, but I think he can be a good game manager type as a passer, but who can also give defenses all kinds of problems with his mobility as well. As an added plus, he's a leader who will never quit and never be content just collecting a paycheck, and is the type who makes the players around him try harder, too. I'd have no issue with the Bills selecting him in round 2, especially if they bring in a quality QB coach such as Shanahan or Jason Garrett to run this team.

All else being equal, I would prefer to draft the QB in round one and then follow up with an offensive lineman in the second round. I think the odds are a little better for finding a quality lineman in round two than a QB.

I can understand the questions about the offense he plays in, but I can't see how his being 6'3" 245lbs is a negative. He shouldn't go in the first round, but at this point, I think Tebow is almost underrated. I'd certainly rather see the Bills draft Tim Tebow than Tony Pike, Dan LeFevour or any of the other 2nd tier QBs in this draft.

Yeah, I remember that one. I think his name was Terry Ray and yes, he did return to play four more seasons, but with the Patriots.

On that I agree completely. I'm not at all encouraged by the 'progress' of at least a couple of our high round picks the last two years. They certainly don't deserve a free pass, either.

By the end of Bruce's second season, he had 21 sacks. Moulds was simply underutilized by a head coach unwilling to play young players. Don't feel bad, though. I'm sure Harvey will have a career day against these scrub OTs.

Jaguars win 30-17. The Bills can't stop the run, but the real problem is that their own offense is too weak to fully exploit a below average Jaguars defense. Oh BTW, for his pre '08 draft fan club...Derrick Harvey still stinks

I believe the last year for the 3-4 was 2000. If memory serves, Gregg Williams started converting to the 4-3 almost immediately when he was hired in 2001.

I can't really agree with you there. Shanahan actually had some very good defenses in his time in Denver. In terms of total yards allowed, they were 4th best in the NFL as recently as 2003 and 2004, and his defenses finished in the top 10 seven of his fourteen seasons and in the top half of the league eleven times in the same period. They'd struggled recently, but his overall track record on defense is pretty good.

I don't know where they got 220, but its wrong. He's probably in the 240-250 range, but at one point was over 270 at Michigan. I'd also add that I don't believe he'll declare for this draft. He's only a redshirt sophomore and is in a terrific situation at Arkansas.

Yes, but given this was not a prepared statement, I can forgive the fact that it wasn't phrased particularly well.

That's roughly the equivalent of 'no comment'. People are making WAY too big of a deal of that statement.

I think he'd be a great pick for the Bills, especially if they can find a coaching staff that can develop and utilize a QB properly. The only issue I have with Mallett is his lack of experience. He's only a redshirt sophomore and I have my doubts as to whether this team's fan base would have the patience for the mistakes he'll inevitably make. Otherwise, the talent is certainly there and just in terms of ability, I would compare him to Drew Bledsoe.