Chuck Schick

The whole "I will be happy when they win..." thing sounds good, but is probably not true. Any Red Sox fans might agree with me. For years and years, we trapsed along crying about our fate until finally winning in '04. It was nice, don't get me wrong. But I realized that some of the best times of being a fan had nothing to do with winning the World Series.

You can really see peoples' defeatist attitudes in some of these posts. If Mike Wiiliams had made the same catch that Benjamin did against - let's say Sherman- would Anybody be wondering if Sherman now sucks? Of course not. If we had 22 Gilmores on the team (skill level adjusted to the size and speed of each position) we would have one of the best teams in the league.

Think back on the offensive "talent" that Marrone had at his disposal for large stretches last year.....very thin at OL, WR, rookie and practice squad QBs, oft-injured CJ..... I actually think he did a pretty good job at managing the games, considering these obvious limitations and a D that was improved but by no means dominant or reliable enough to come up with huge stops. I am surprised at how so many people can't appreciate the positive- -and overdue- -changes the organization has made in the last couple years. The way they have handled coaching searches, activity during the draft, and even the way they handled Byrd, are all things that the old Bills would have stumbled and bumbled over for sure.

Wow-- imagine if somehow all of those things had happened on the same day, and maybe mix in RW's death and JK's cancer recurrence. At least the universe was kind enough to spread things out for us a little. For whatever that's worth.

Tasker's success was a great example of a guy and an organization creatively finding a way to gain a competitive edge. I don't think it parlayed over to playing the WR position though. He wasn't terrible, just didn't have that special gift a guy like Welker seems to have.

I like the Gragg pick... Gotta think he'll get some chances this year. I think someone on D will make the leap---I'm gonna say Bradham just in case something clicks between him and Schwartz's scheme.

College is obviously a different game, you're right. .. But even with that being said, the 2 long TD catches on their own would make for a very solid game at any level. And the screens just show he can catch and immediately become an RB very smoothly, which is not as easy as it sounds.

Yeah. Some nice routes, a couple deep balls for TD's, a lot of screens that went for first downs thanks to good moves and powerful running. Terrible video.

Based on what? I would say Sammy has very comparable credentials to Jones' at this point in his career.

So to break it down, according to the analysis we would have been complimented had we come out of the first round with Ebron/Matthews/Evans instead of freaking Sammy Watkins? And who is it that decides which teams are in the "win now" mode? Would you have classified Carolina at this time last year? Or KC?

Maybe you just need to find out his PIN number.

Yup....and the draft, as important as it is, is only one part of building/maintaining a good team. Seems like Whaley & co have a plan that they are working.

I think you're cherry picking your examples. If trading up were ALWAYS bad, no one would do it. As for the change in ownership, I highly doubt Whaley would purposely sabotage the team's future with this kind of move. The guy obviously did his homework, considered the options, and made his move. Now all we can do is sit back and see what happens.

You are dead on with this. Reality of options available at 9 is what made Whaley make the move I think. Whoever they picked at 9 would probably be 50/50 on becoming a star- or even decent. So if Watkins is viewed as cant-miss, why not make the move?

Joke.... Anybody watching recordings of GOOD Bills games/teams would have to rely on the available technology of that time.

I just can't buy into the outrage. If we've learned anything in the last couple of years, it's that's many "good" teams from one year end up sucking the next (Houston, Atl, Balt, NYG, Wash). And vice versa (Ariz, SD, Car). Who knows how difficult our December games will actually be when it actually comes time to play them.

Maybe it's the way Graham quoted him, but Smerlas sounds like a buffoon in the "interview". His disgust centers around Spikes' dehydration in one game....which he equates to him obviously being out of shape. He then blankets it with the whole character/coach killer rant.... Does he honestly think Peppers would vouch for this guy if he remotely thought he would screw the coaching staff over? And finally if the Bills would bring in Spikes for "the minimum and no guaranteed money..." OK....Way to have your finger on the free agency pulse Fred! This guy is obviously going to be paid nicely by somebody.

The Pats have lost Talib, and will lose Edelman (leading WR), Blount, and Spikes. Not sure the Revis pick-up is that big a deal when those losses are figured in.

I think what's missing from the conversation is the risk/reward of these free agents. Someone on the thread was trying to add up all the money we have paid and recommended we could have just applied that to Byrd. The system doesn't work that way. Teams that sink massive money on multi-year contracts (or in the case of the Pats and Revis a monster 1-yr deal) are REALLY screwed if that guy doesn't pan out. In fact, teams can still be left hurting even if the guy turns out to be very good (Dallas- Ware, N.O.- Brees, etc.) This is because of the crippling effect it has on the cap of course, not the actual money paid by the team. If the Bills swing and miss on a Rivers, Hughes, or some other mid-range guy, it doesn't have a lasting negative effect.

Im trying to figure out why so many are all of a sudden outraged and borderline suicidal about the Bills' past and future failures. The only thing of note that has happened in the last 24 hours is Byrd signing a monster contract that many experts would seriously question. If that's not the cause of the outrage, I'm guessing people think we should have maybe overpaid for Talib? Or TJ Ward? Or Albert? Etc. I'm just as frustrated as anyone, but right now they are playing their hand and I am glad the Bills aren't in the free agent headlines today.

Every team in the league botches up draft picks, loses players to free agency, and has to cut good players due to the cap. I seriously doubt the Bills are any worse off in these departments than any other team over the last decade+. But what they have sucked royally at is having solid management (esp. GM and HC) and developing a franchise QB. I would dare to say that they would be able to let a Jairus Byrd - type player walk EVERY YEAR (kind of like the Pats seem to) if they can get their acts straight in management and QB.

All joking about the ineptitude of the Bills' FO aside, do we honestly think Whaley and co. didnt know and weigh all their options? If it was a "no brainer" to tag and trade him for a high pick, why on earth wouldn't they? I am pretty sure they took all options into account and made what they figure will be the right move. Don't forget, the Bills will be rewarded a compensatory pick if some other team in fact signs him. So it won't actually be for nothing.

The reason Kiper is not only employed but making a ton of money doing, is that he is entertaining. You've got to admit, when he gives his opinions we all listen. And he obviously puts an awful lot of time in researching all these prospects. The dude can remember some crazy sh#t too!

Crazy how one of the (potentially) best trades in the last 2 decades can be classified as stupid. By your reasoning the Bills should have traded UP to get Manuel if they really really wanted him- pissing away later/future draft picks in the process.

Some real good arguments on both sides. I guess it comes down to whether or not this team is going the right way. I think our biggest disadvantage is how many variables we are dealing with: Ownership, GM, coaching staff, QB, roster depth, etc. Even though that last loss to the Pats really sucked, I lean toward a feeling that things are in fact going the right way. Big changes were made this year. Many of them worked out, which is all you can reasonably hope for. But until we win 9+ games a year, it's hard to bang the drum too loud about it.