AKC

Here's the list of NFL teams who used a top 15 pick on a WR or CB since the 2001 draft: Lions, Vikes, Texans, Cards, Bills, Saints, Jets, Fish, Jags, Bears, Browns, Cowboys, Titans, Redskins, Chargers and the Seahawks. There's a lot of speculation on this board about using the 11 pick this year to bring in the player who could have the greatest impact on our record. No team has coveted the WR positon early more so that Detroit, with less than resounding results. It's safe to say that the majority of the teams on the above list also appear on every "worst front office" list. There's the effect of sustained periods of good ball keeping top teams off the list by virtue of having fewer top 15 picks, but when the franchises that have been favorites year after year for playoffs have gotten into the top of the draft, they've gone to other positions with the premium picks. Looking at some of the top teams who have NOT taken a top 15 WR or CB: Ravens- twice picked in the top 15, went for defense twice, a DT and a LB. Philly- with only 3 top 15 picks this century, the Eagles have taken a defensive linemen with each one, twice selecting DTs. Pats*- only 2 top 15 picks- both 300lb+ Defensive Linemen. Indy- one top 15, one Defensive Lineman. Green Bay- two top 15s, a DT and an LB. Or, to put it another way, the above teams have had a total of 10 top-15 picks since 2000. Not one of those picks was used on an offensive player. Fully 8 of the 10 picks were used on DLinemen. Let's hope our front office is able to recognize the trend here. Impact in premium picks comes far more frequently from quality Defensive players versus the other side of the ball. We have an opportunity in this draft to adopt the model the winners use- or we can follow the Lion's management playbook and end up acting excited whenever we get to .500 during the season.

"Honest" Matt Walsh an odd target for the Patriots* Sleaze Machine

Not as long as we're happy with being a 7-9 team year in and out like all the inept NFL franchises that think like that. On the other hand, if you look at the teams making the playoffs year after year with multiple DTs selected at the top of the draft mixed into rotations of 6 and sometimes even 7 interior DLinemen, we might want to consider throwing out the Detriot Lion strategy you are happy with and pay attention to how the good teams do it.

I think there's a good chance that will prove to be a fair assessment in this case. Our management clearly felt he had ability that suggested he might hold down the 2 spot for us effectively- but a part their interest was based upon whether he really had what it takes to desire holding up that responsibility. The best way to measure his desire was to offer a contract that wasn't stupid for a guy with his career to date, and see if he had the confidence in himself to prove that he could shine in the role. He exposed his desire level by walking away from a nearly absolute 2 role not just at WR but likely the #2 receiving option with the Bills and selecting instead an offense where he at best is the 4th receiving option and more likely the 5. I would like to trust that our management strategy in this case flushed out a guy who really doesn't have the level of desire we want in our 2 spot at WR.

I'm shocked to discover that the recovery date was from before VABills was added to my Ignore List. Guess I have some housekeeping to do after all.

Spygate*- Biggest Scandal In NFL History I think everything is back to normal now ;-)

Was it Jay again?

The clear answer to your original question and the above too- Yes.

Yes there is- the same bar as the Draft Party. It's at 3110 Santa Monica Blvd. The bar is named Busby's, and it has multiple Hi-Def screens for football. We have a 60" Hi-Def in the "Bison Dome", our own barternder and free wings at half time. We'll see you there- if you PM me your email I'll add you to our mailing list.

Feel free to invite any non-Bill's fan who's into the draft. We'll see you on the 28th.

You'll want to show- we need to twist some other local arms to get ChefJim/LarryPlayfair/JohninHemet/LABillzFan/brewski/BillsBackerInLA/etc. to come over and "play" too. The bar is about 2 miles west of the 405 on Santa Monica Blvd. at Berkeley in Santa Monica. It's a sports bar with plenty of distractions, and we'll be broadcasting some web analysis onto big screen throughout the property along with the coverage on NFL Network. Big Bob and his wife are coming up from San Diego and staying across the street at the Days Inn- here's a link: Day Inn Santa Monica! If you have any questions or get lost, give me a call at 310-963-7640.

You're there- the Dean would join on the pullout. The winner of an Indian Leg Wrestling contest between the two of you will have Chile as a sleeping partner.

Accommodations are in place, one block from the draft party ;-)

Who wouldn't want to see Big Bob Lamb, with his assistant (provided by St. Pauli Girl) handling the draft board duties on Saturday morning the 28th? Can Bob keep his big paws off the little buxom blonde? What happens at Busbys stays........ Real Buffalo recipe chicken wings, draft beer specials. The bar's at 3110 Santa Monica Blvd. and it opens that morning at 8:00 a.m. for the draft. It's a great opportunity for anyone to meet some of the family of current Bill's players- there are 5 player families with ties to LA who join us at this location for games, some have already confirmed they'll be there for the draft.

Short or long?

Even if as a kid I though Pollyanna was hot? It's working out this way: Held at our regular game spot; Busby's at 3110 Santa Monica Blvd. in Santa Monica. Big Bob Lamb will be managing the draft board with assistance from one of the St. Pauli Girls. (We'll get him a bib.) Buffalo Wing Specials and of course, St. Pauli draft specials. Kelly The Dog and myself will be setting up online draft reports on screens in the bar. A pin the tail on Joe Theisman contest at some point at least 4 hours into the event. Open to the public- and the crowd will definitely include Bill's player family members. If you want to make a run, there's still an unclaimed bed at our place 2 blocks from the bar. There's also a Day's Inn a block away. It might get ugly- but I guess that depends upon your threshold ;-) Oddly, I'll just be back earlier that week from New Orleans. We're just now using the credit for our last planned visit! I'll make sure to spend some time at the Acme Oyster House for you- mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

For some reason in the Senior Bowl, he seemed to get the most series of anyone on either team. And I thought he was FAR too easy to block inside by the players at that slower speed and skill level; if based on that game alone I'd have some real apprehesions about his name being called on the 12th pick in the draft. Plus he appears to be a natural 225 pounder.

The order of the top three here is debatable, but it's clear that these are the priorities. IMO filling out the DT rotation really allows the team to look at the better LB or CB at the 12 slot, and use the solid balance of our picks to get to everything else. The O attack we're setting up seems to be suited to adding another blocking TE- and there is usually a chance to do with some veteran help as rosters begin getting cut. If you look closely at other teams playing the same D scheme, the truth is that if when DLine rotation is solid, it's actually the second and specifically the third lines that impact run D the most. Indy went from among the historic worst run defenses ever to playoff powerhouse simply by adding their excellent SS back into the mix. It also has been made clear over the offseason that the Bill's felt LFletchers reading style is not a fit for the guy in the middle they really want to help against the run- instead they;re looking for someong who gets his helmet dirty right at the start of the game. The biggest problem among fans though will always be that the D we're building to play well will always give up occasional big runs. It's the trade-off forced by a penetrating D Line. At the same time the disruption of the opponents offense by having extra bodies in their backfield can make up for it in the best possible way, especially against 4 yard offenses like we face 4 times in our division each year.

I like what I'm hearing about Walker and the paper on him supports it. Over 5 sacks a year for the past 5 years playing from the middle, and a reputation for getting runners to the ground. Since there's little value in today's NFL at pissing away a #12 on a running back, the Walker Trade looks to me to give us tremendous flexibility come draft day.

Let's see- He's "only" averaged 5+ sacks from the interior each year over the past 5 seasons- And his tackle numbers match guys like Tommie Harris over the same span- Plus a Philly guy is writing that he can actually tackle runners, a skill until this morning that was a bit elusive amongst our defensive middle- As a fan all for drafting Okoye before this move, IMO we've just opened up that first pick to take the proverbial BPA instead of drafting need. We may truly be entering the draft looking exclusively at the quality of the guys we're adding to the team- both as football players and teammates. All we have to do now is brace for the next month of endless speculation in here about which running back we're going to draft in round 1!

Not a chance. My assessment is that he's played in a running back graveyard at TN, where even a guy who was one of the most incredible specimens at the position only lasted at best 2/3rds of a regular career compared to how EGeorge might have fared at most franchises. The TN attitude for RBs has been ride'em till they die. I say there's enough of a chance that this young kid could knockout 13-17 rushes a game and give ATrain a chance to grab his own 30 tough yards a game that in an assumed 3 man rotation the equation, and the risk associated, makes it all well worth it. Brown drops after 2 games it sucks- but Brown lasting to game 14 with a team best 950 yards would make it all very smart. Given his skillset and the fit I believe he has with our specific big body run blcoking Oline, I'm fine with the Bill's rolling the dice here.

If there's been one impression of Brown's style that is vivid in my mind, it's his decisiveness and ability to make a very slight amount of daylight work. I remember too many times thinking "how'd he ever get in and out of that hole", and for as tall as he plays his balance is pretty good. There'll be no complaints from me if he's signed and gets listed on top of our running back chart going into the first game of the regular season.

It's a shame if his 5th season follows the pattern. The biggest bummer is that his style might be a perfect fit with the OLine we've put together, a guy who runs skinny in the holes, does absolutely no dancing and has the burst to burn dishonest D's bringing their safeties up for run support. Add that to the great changeup ATrain makes to a runner like Brown- a grinder to beat up the D while the "deep threat" takes a blow. The other side of this statistically though is that he has run for an average of over 15 carries a game twice in 4 years. His duties with us might end up right in that range- with the 3 back rotation I expect this year under any circumstances. It's probably wise to consider how quickly the TN offense wore out a very, very good, physical and durable runner in Eddie George. They ask their runners to take a lot more punishment than most offenses.

Would you expand on that- I thought he had one limiting injury over his 4 years in the league, but I haven't really paid much attention to him. What can you tell me about multiple injuries and lost playing time?

Splitting line gaps and disrupting the offensive backfield is the most desired quality, and the best can also finish disrupted running plays by bringing down runners behind the LOS. The whole package is difficult to find. We've assembled a group of the role players you need for the defense without briging in the premium one gapper who makes the defense very dangerous while diminishing the difficulty of the players roles behind him. At least on paper and on the field during the Senior Bowl, Okoye looked like he might just be that next premium Cover 2 monster who can raise a defense immediately up a level.