Bocephuz

Even though the Bills have basically been inept as a team/organization the last 16 years or so... there have been a handful of laudable individual performances/careers over that time span that deserve to be memorialized on the Wall of Fame at the Ralph. Now that we've pretty much exhausted the Super Bowl era choices... it's time to pick from a new batch. Here's my list 2000's ERA Brian Moorman - fan favorite, class act, and arguably the best player on the team during the lost decade. Putting a punter up there would be a very cool.. very Buffalo thing to do2010s ERA Fred Jackson - another fan favorite, class act and the heart and soul of the offense for the last 5 years or so. Kyle Williams - team captain, locker room leader, class act and arguably the best defensive player since Bruce Smith Who do you think deserves to go up on the Wall from either current or recent players?

Good post OP... it is valid to point out that EJ has not had consistent leadership from a vet QB or QB coach to help in his development in his first 2 years. Cassel seems like the kind of guy who has good huddle presence and he'll be open to working with.. not against. EJ. EJ can only benefit. That being said.. may the best man win.

Certainly seems like he has good pocket presence and a good arm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Brady

I say yes... And I say it should be Brandon Bridge. From what I've seen and read he has elite physical tools but is very raw at this point. Looks like he has the potential to develop into a Kaepernick kind of player.. which obviously would be good for a Greg Roman offense. If we can get him in RD 6 or 7 and let him sit and learn the next few years he could be a gem. If not.. no big loss. Check out this writeup ... http://nflmocks.com/2015/02/03/brandon-bridge-2015-nfl-scouting-report/ What does everyone think? Is there a developmental QB on your radar we should know about?

Pick De La Puente up.. Move Wood to LG.. Urbik is swing guard/ backup center..cut Chris Williams.. Draft a RT to compete with Henderson / Kouandjio.. Best we can hope for at this point

I can understand that line of thinking.. Taylor's game is more suited for read/option kind of offense. Cassel is on the complete other end of the spectrum. Come to think about it... EJ being right in the middle may be the best fit. EJ seemed to be at his best when he able to play off the running game from under center and we were doing the I formation power run game thing. Once we abandoned that and went into predominately shot gun stuff he struggled

Wisniewski is probably the best target left.. better than any of the guards out there. We could probably move either he or Wood to guard if we signed him. However, after signing Clay and Harvin I'm not sure if we have the cap space to do it...I'm assuming we want to keep some cap space in reserve for June 1 cut opportunities etc.. Looking at Sportrac and Center salaries I'd guess we'd end up having to pay him between $3-4 mil per year. http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/contracts/center/ According to Pro Football Focus there are a couple of other lesser known FA Centers available that have graded out well ( Brian De La Puente and Will Montgomery) and would probably be much more cap friendly signings. https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2015/02/22/2015-top-free-agents-guards-centers/

Yeah.. after Cann and Tomlinson no Guards I see are worth 2nd round pick.

hah.. my thoughts exactly

I'd love to get Tomlinson in rd 2.. I think if he slips by the Giants at #40 and Rams at #41 we'll have a good shot to land him In that scenario.. Williams is probably still available in rd 3. I say bring 'em in and let 'em compete with the draft class from last year.. may the best men win.

BPA at this point... with one caveat.. any position except RB at #50 If I had to lean one way slightly it would be OL.. however.. there is no need to for the Bills overreach to draft an OL at #50. If the best player on their board is a LB, CB, DL, WR, QB and the next best rated OL is 5 or 6 notches below then don't pass up good players just to fill that OL hole. It's still up in the air whether or not Kuandjio and Richardson and Henderson will pan out as starters... but it is certainly too early to make a definitive statement that none of them will pan out. Whaley has stacked this roster quite nicely at this point, putting them in a position of flexibility in the draft

Like the OL focus I'd be very happy if Obguehi falls to us at #50... however..I think it's highly unlikely he falls that far.. I doubt he'll make it past Cleveland at #19. An alternative RT who will most likely be available at #50 that I like is Daryl Williams, OT Oklahoma - 6'5" / 327 lbs. Below is a scouting report from ESPN Insider for Williams Production 2 2010: Redshirt 2011: (9/1) ROT 2012: (10/10) ROT2013: (13/13) ROT (Started at LOT vs. Alabama) Height-Weight-Speed 3 Slightly below-average estimated height but appears to have long arms on tape. Also looks to have a thick frame with above-average estimated bulk. Estimated top-end speed is slightly below average. Durability 3 Suffered a sprained MCL in his knee against West Virginia in 2012 and missed the final three games of the season including the team's bowl game. Intangibles 2 Son of Lamesa and Jason Hindman. Accountable and handles his business. Strong work ethic and leadership qualities. Passionate and loves football. I like Marpet ..especially in the 3rd round... not sure I'd reach for him at #50 though.

Nice move ... at the very least he is a solid backup at G and C. It's also quite possible with the new coaching staff and fresh eyes.. he wins one of the starting G positions in training camp . Hopefully they sign / draft a plug and play starter at guard between now and then..in which case Urbik is the swing guard/C and maybe we can release Williams to save some money

The two Free Agents I'm suggesting to replace him are vets. I do agree that replacing him with a rookie center may be a step back... unless it was Reese Dismukes from Auburn I am certainly not an O Line coach and can only guess what Wood's assignment was on each play . With that being said, I watched every offensive snap of every Bills game on NFL Rewind in 2014 and focused on line play..often in slow motion. When you see plays where Wood is standing there by himself with no defender around him clueless after snapping the ball... or plays when he has a one on one matchup and gets bull-rushed into the QB's lap.. it's pretty easy to make a statement that he did not do his job. This is not to say that Wood is worse than Pears, Richardson, Willams , Urbik.. or whoever played guard last year. This is not to say that their poor play did not affect him. But I'm very comfortable making informed statements about any of the O Lineman last year because I put in the time to watch the film and observe. It's very hard to make these kind of statements from just watching the live feed on Sunday.. that's why I have NFL rewind.

Duke Preston? Yes Wood had crap guards on either side of him all year and there were times it hurt him.. but there were a few too many times where he was flat out beaten or bull rushed into the backfield and the guard play had nothing to do with those situations. I think his cache as a vocal leader and press corps favorite overshadows his on field play.

I would think it would be easier to switch from Center to Guard.. than vice versa. Center has a lot of responsibility calling out protections etc...

The pickings are pretty slim at Guard in FA right now ( Boling, Iupati, Carpenter have signed).. however there are a few good centers available. Wood really struggled at Center last year... I'm thinking we pick up either De La Puente or Montgomery.. plug them in at Center and kick Wood to Guard. What does everyone think? https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2015/02/22/2015-top-free-agents-guards-centers/ 3. Brian De La Puente 2014 Grade: +4.3 2014 Snaps: 501 Three strong seasons as a starter for the Saints only got De La Puente a backup gig with the Bears last season, reuniting with former line coach Aaron Kromer in the Windy City. Even strong displays to start the season (+8.2 through Week 5) with Roberto Garza injured didn’t see De La Puente maintain his place in the lineup, only returning at left guard when the Bears were shorthanded mid-season. Both with the Saints and Bears, De La Puente has excelled as a run blocker in the middle of the line earning a positive run block grade every season as a starter. De La Puente may be out of the limelight entering free agency as a backup but teams in need of a starting center could do far worse than look in his direction. 4. Will Montgomery 2014 Grade: +6.6 2014 Snaps: 665 Much like De La Puente, Montgomery is an underappreciated veteran who provided largely solid play off the bench for a new team last season. After an underrated stint with Washington, Montgomery put in a solid showing with the Broncos after a late season shuffle on the offensive line. Entering the Broncos’ starting lineup in Week 10, but for a poor fortnight against the Bills (-4.4) and Chargers (-1.1), Montgomery consistently earned positive grades surrendering only five pressures in his nine starts. He also played his part in the improved Broncos’ ground attack late in the season. At 32 teams are unlikely to look to Montgomery as their “plan A” at center but as he showed for the Broncos he offers valuable depth and competition off the bench in a zone scheme.

AJ CANN - South Carolina G - appears to be best of bunch.. likely 1st rounder but since he is a G maybe fall into 2nd round R. DISMUKES - Auburn C - not biggest guy but technically sound and stout enough.. would love to see us draft him as C and kick Wood to Guard L. TOMLINSON - Duke - G - looked good at Senior Bowl.. more likely to be there in 2nd than Cann L COLLINS - LSU - OT

http://espn.go.com/new-york/nfl/story/_/id/12454611/new-york-jets-agree-re-sign-rb-bilal-powell Boy.. for a marginal starting RB this guy sure stirred up an s storm in Bills land about him replacing Freddy. Is this good news? Should the Bills continue to pursue another FA RB?

Well.. hopefully this will nullify the worry for a while http://espn.go.com/new-york/nfl/story/_/id/12454611/new-york-jets-agree-re-sign-rb-bilal-powell

Good points.. the difference here is that Freddy's cap hit isn't ( adjusted for inflation of course) anywhere near what Thurman, Bruce Andre's impact was. Another difference is that the Bills are at the beginning of a winning cycle (hopefully) rather than the tail end of era. After 4 Super Bowl runs it was time for the Bills to cut bait and plan for the long term. This year the Bills are all in to make the playoffs and are rightfully in win now mode..

That's absurd.. what you're saying is the most popular player of the last 20 will not be on the Bills Wall of Fame

That certainly haunts Ray Lewis. Looking at the whole picture though..as a Baltimore resident I can tell you he had a huge presence in the community here, was heavily involved in local charity work and he is universally worshipped and respected in Charm City.. right up there with Johnny Unitas. Everyone in Baltimore knew Ray wasn't himself that last year.. but he was just good enough to get by and not "hurt" the team.. but almost everyone would admit that the intangibles he provided definitely helped the team win a Super Bowl. If Freddy can outplay Bryce Brown in training camp and outright win the #2 job.. I think he has a chance to provide that same type of role for the Bills this year.

Agreed.. not a #1 anymore.. but he still looked athletic enough to be a contributor.. ie.. if he's on the field he won't hurt the team.

That is a good point... in that light maybe Jeter wasn't the best comparison. I'm not advocating that we hand Freddy the starting job because of seniority. Perhaps Ray Lewis would have been a better comparison.