TPS

thanks, sounds a bit like Trent Edwards. He was never the same after taking that hit in AZ(?).

what do you think of Ponder Bado? I recall Gailey liked him a lot coming out.

According to the bills' roster, Hairston is an RFA, so he's most likely back. He's a good swing tackle. Marrone said good things about Richardson at yesterday's PC. I won't be surprised if they move Glenn inside, Henderson to LT, and give kouandjio a shot at RT. With an unsettled QB situation, I doubt carpenter or iupati would come unless they throw a boat load of $ at them, which I doubt. Best bet is to grab a G in R2. Bills need to resign Searcy, Hughes, Easley, and Wynn. I'd like to see them go for a TE in FA too, someone like Clay from Miami. With the QB situation they need to have a power running game. I'm torn about CJ, but they might be better off finding a big horse at RB.

Christian Ponder is interesting. I recall Gailey really liked him at the senior bowl. He had one decent year with the Vikes. It's slim pickings though.

A nice article from an outsider's perspective gets ignored by the rabble looking to string someone up...

the bills have Gilmore, mckelvin, graham, Robey, and brooks in front of him.

I think it's the coaching on O, not the talent.After Stevie, who'd they have? Who did Evans have opposite? I recall they brought Peerless back, but he was average. Imagine what Gailey could do with these receivers? We had Spiller, FJ, Boobie, and Brown. the only time it was better was when they had Lynch for one year. I think the Oline issue is more about coaching. I assume Whaley brings in players to fit Marrone's system. the reason they let reinhart go and Urbik was in the dog house. Whaley did draft 3 OL in 2014. The D has more depth than it's ever had. Yes, at least 15 other teams need a franchise QB too...

I understand. 2016 is the crucial year for them with Gilmore, Dareus, Glenn, and Bradham coming up after next year. They need to make some big moves in FA for 2015 because they will most likely have to let some vets go to sign those 4 in 2016. They need a top flight guard and TE. They should make those splash moves this year and see how far they can go in 2015. If they went after Iupati, then I'm sure he'd be gone too. I'm not sure what he saves since he signed a 4-year deal.

I'm a long time UCLA fan and watched him often too. He seems too inconsistent to me. Biggest game of the year against Oregon and he did not play well.

I think they will let Pears, Rivers, Lawson, and Spikes walk. That frees up another $10 mil., and they are projected to have $17 m available in cap space prior to those moves. They'll need to sign Searcy, Bryant, Wynn, Easely, Hogan, and Hairston. That'll probably cost them around $4mil above their current salaries. Hughes has a $4mil hit this year, so what will it take to sign him? Another $5mil? That leaves a lot of space to sign some other FAs. I assume Iupati would cost about $7-8 mil?

Does Dareus need to be signed this year? I think they have him for one more? Regardless, I think they have the space especially if they let Pears go.

They don't need another EJ

Actually, Nix and Whaley combined made this roster better than it's been in over 10 years. Thanks to both. You can whine about a QB, but half the teams in the league have been struggling to find their own franchise guy.

It's his own fault for not getting double digit sacks letting Jimmy G escape two easy ones.

From my brief look at things, it doesn't appear to be a deep draft. It's the kind of draft to pick up some OGs.

Schwartz is a good DC to play for.

Lawson, Pears, and Rivers

I think Nix's first draft was 2010, and his first #1 was CJ. He was named GM on 12/31/09. If you give him credit for Wood et al, then he'd also get the blame for Maybin--but that wasn't him. His 2010 draft was the worst. You can say he hit 5/9 in 2011 if you count trading Sheppard for Hughes. There are 4/9 left from 2012. It's hard to judge Whaley this early, and 2013 is a mix of the two, but there are 7/8 on the team. All 7 draft picks from 2014 are on the team, and 3 are starters. Based on that alone, I'd say Whaley is the better talent evaluator. In fact, if Kuoandjio pans out, 2014 could be their best draft since Butler left town. Whaley's made some good trades, but he hasn't done well with FAs. That said, it would be foolish to let him go. If it came down to coach v GM, Whaley has the better track record imho. Yes, the D carried this team. The O and Oline stunk. A good coach would,vd had this team in the playoffs.

Too bad they didn't try to get him his 1000 yards.

here's another example of the interesting things going on in the city. We took the kids downtown to skate at canal side, but it was closed due to warm weather, so we ended up at this place. Hopefully the beer will get flowing the next time I'm there..http://buffalorising.com/2014/11/riverworks-complex-set-to-open-january-1-2015/

Yes, in the tradition of the 100 year anniversary of the German-British Christmas truce, Merry Christmas all!

http://www.buffalonews.com/city-region/crews-unearth-remnants-of-riverbends-past-at-solarcity-site-20141222

This policy brief suggests that 40% of the decline in the labor force participation rate is due to the baby boomers' impact, and their impact will continue through 2020. http://crr.bc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/IB_14-4.pdf

Compared to where it was, it's doing much better. There are more positives going on than negatives. There are actually smart people making decisions now vs the old boy network of the past 25-30 years. GBiD only posts the negative things--I suppose it makes him feel better about leaving? Re the Buffalo Billion, it is being spent over several years, and is just getting started. The impact won't be felt in any meaningful way until 2016 most likely. The state is taking some risks for sure, but their biggest expenditures support private sector development. Here's a pretty even-handed article about Buffalo and the #1 BB project from Bloomberg: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-11-19/how-elon-musk-can-make-buffalo-known-for-more-than-wings.html

Over the years I've learned to take it less seriously. See the post by Rob's House in the thread "My sad farewell as a Bills fan" over in Off The Wall, as he expresses how my sentiments have changed over the years too. I do watch them and attend games, but I've learned to chuckle when things go wrong. After the loss, I actually felt a sense of relief. In the end, it's just a game, and it is mainly about an industry that wants our money. Buffalo is luckier than most, as we have an owner that wants to use the team to make money but also help rebuild the WNY economy. So I'll continue to give them some $ because the overall game experience is still fun, especially the tailgating with friends. I went to the Browns and Packers games, and I couldn't remember the last time I saw them win before those games. They must be getting better...