Dawgg

Might be hindsight for both you and Mr. Modrak. For the rest of us – draftniks, personnel experts and casual fans alike – it was as obvious then as it is today: a standout player at a program like Texas (Lamarr Houston) is a superior pick to that of a small-school player like Torrell Troup. The irony of it is, even Troup himself was shocked at being picked that high, fully expecting to go in the 3rd round. Leave it to the Bills' brass to "follow their board" logic-be-damned!

and just take a look at Lamarr Houston. He's killing it for the Raders wreaking havoc on that line! He was the obvious pick at that point if you're going for a defensive lineman. Instead, the Bills choose Troupe.

It's a textbook case of the Bills' drafting philosophy. Rather than draft the obvious talent, one who has competed against the very best, the Bills reached in choosing a tackle who was considered a 3rd rounder at best and played for a smaller school. Lamarr Houston literally fell to their lap – he was dominant at Texas – and instead the Bills' took the lesser known, less capable talent. Asked why he didn't make the obvious choice, Modrak stated: “Those guys were in a bunch and the beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” said Bills Vice President of College Scouting Tom Modrak. “We liked Troup the best of the bunch, but that doesn’t mean that the other guys weren’t in the mix. It was a good group in that area.” Instead, Lamarr Houston has developed into a great young talent for the resurgent Raiders while Troup languishes on the Bills' sideline. Same story with McCargo, Whitner, and the bevy of wasted picks that have haunted this franchise.

If Chan would allow him to stay at that position permanently, develop his game and play guard consistently rather than jerking him around to be the backup tackle and de-facto center, then I would agree.

You're still 100% wrong. In order to remain in Buffalo he would have had to play for a grossly underpaid salary – so low, that he wasn't even in the top 2 offensive linemen on this team. The Bills ripped up Schobel's deal when he still had 3 years left because they recognized that Kelsay's new deal would make our best defensive end underpaid. The Bills should have extended a similar courtesy to Peters. Only after they refused to do so did Peters want out. If you interpret that has "not wanting to play in Buffalo," you're not particularly bright... but that's OK, you fit in great here

You're 100% wrong. The only reason Peters didn't want to be here is because the Bills didn't treat him fairly!!! He developed into a Pro Bowl caliber tackle and was widely recognized as an up and coming star. The Bills then proceed to bring in Langston Walker and Derrick Dockery, signing the latter to the richest contract in Buffalo sports history. It would be one thing if they had signed studs and paid them as such (like Steinbach, etc); instead, the front office, in typical fashion, grossly overpaid for mediocre talent. A little history lesson to offer you some perspective. When the Bills re-signed Kelsay to a rich extension back in 2006, they paid him more than Schobel. To accommodate that, they ripped Schobel's contract and signed him to an even more lucrative extension paying him like one of the top DE's in the league. Why didn't they offer that courtesy to Peters? Bottom line: Peters was mistreated and it's no wonder he wanted out. Had the Bills simply paid him what he was worth, he'd have happily signed the dotted line. Yawn. An injury-prone center a scrub Tight End and a scrub Linebacker. I'm sure Philly would make that trade any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

Jason Peters. And how did the Bills handle it? They spent a combined $70 million on Derrick Dockery and Langston Walker, leaving the team's best player grossly underpaid on his own line. A winning organization would never do such a thing.

He didn't want to play elsewhere, he just wanted to get paid like a top-flight offensive tackle. The Bills prefer to overpay mediocre players (Kelsay, Dockery, etc) hence his departure via trade.

No impact on the game, per se, but rather an indication of where a key player's head is during a big game down by 2 scores. Would such an act be tolerated by a winning organization? I highly doubt it. Quid quo pro, my friend. Depends on the opposing team. If other teams are stepping on Freddy when he's down without offering to help, there's no need to be extending favors to the opposition. It's a classic losers mentality.

Giving a ball to someone is a far cry from jogging around the entire field in the middle of the game, when your team is losing badly to have a little smooch with your girlfriend. Sack up and play the game and give her the ball afterwards. Bills are also one of the few teams I notice who actively help the opponent get up. When Freddy is knocked on his ass, it's comparatively rare to see the opposition lend a helping hand. Winning teams just don't do stupid stuff like that and that mentality needs to be shaken out. Love Nelson, hated that move.

And typical homer-laden, ignorant responses.

Figures the homers on this board would support a gesture of celebration when the team is in the midst of getting its arse kicked in. Was it "cute?" Yes. Is she hot? Yes. Was that the right thing to do, given the circumstances and the score? No. Get your ass back to the bench, fire up your teammates and figure out how to score again and get back into the game. Like I said earlier, I have a hard time believing that this would be tolerated in winning organizations like Green Bay, New England and New Orleans.

You're not the only one. It was a cheesy move bordering on childish. Had the gesture been made toward the end of the game with the Bills winning, it may not be so bad. But to run around the entire field in the midst of a drubbing at the behest of the Cowboys, on the road, is juvenile. Doubt Bellichick, Sean Payton or Mike McCarthy would not have tolerated that kind of thing.

You are absolutely correct. Down 21-7 that was a retarded, cheesy move. Sack up and play to win. Senseless to celebrate like that when your team is in the midst of getting beat down.

As we cross the midseason and lick our wounds from a nasty defeat at the behest of the Cowboys, one fact remains clear: the Bills have far exceeded expectations by any stretch of the imagination. Let's not forget that this is a team featuring a journeyman quarterback, a mediocre offensive line and a terrible defense, all led by a non-nonsense head coach. A few broader thoughts about this team. Not knee-jerk reactions from this game, but rather observations based on the entire season up until this point. 1. Defensive Problems Persist. Rebuilding the defense is a multi-year job and the team is undoubtedly feeling the effects of high picks on the defensive side that simply haven't panned out –- Whitner, Maybin, Poz, Troup, McCargo, McKelvin, Chris Ellis -- the list goes on. Drafting Dareus, Aaron Williams and Sheppard + signing Barnett & Wiliams were all steps in the right direction but the lack of pass rush and talent void at linebacker is simply crippling this team. The unit has been substandard all year, relying on a high frequency of turnovers to cover up what is now becoming apparent: HELP WANTED! 2. Offensive Line Instability. This team needs a blue-chip tackle in the worst way. Levitre and Wood were playing at an all-pro level at guard/center, respectively, and both should be left in those positions in perpetuity. When tackles go down, the team should sign fill-ins over moving an Levitre, an established centerpiece, to the outside. Demetrius Bell has shown signs, as has Hairston, but they seemingly get injured at every turn. 3. Special Teams have regressed. Love Bruce DeHaven, but it's clear that the attitude on special teams simply does not match that of the unit under Bobby April's direction. Is it a lack of talent? Poor scheme? To be perfectly honest, I'm not quite sure but my hunch is that continuing to build defensive depth through the draft will benefit special teams. 4. Receiving Corps - Too Young. Lay off Donald Jones. He's coming off an injury and quite frankly, needs to play in order to develop into the player that he can be. I saw enough of him in the Patriots game to know that he has potential to be a real player. That said, this unit is in desperate need of a dependable veteran presence (not Lee Evans) to round things out – someone like a Patrick Crayton, Santana Moss, or Cotchery. Not looking for a star here, just a dependable receiver who can make critical 3rd down catches. 5. Spiller -- USE HIM. Freddy is having an amazing year and deserves to get most of the touches. But jerking Spiller in and out of the offense isn't doing him any favors. Yes, he should have come down with that ball today but he needs to be involved in the offense a bit more before we can render snap judgments on his ability to play. Why not? When he was actually given a series of chances to run against the Raiders, he really showed some flashes. Why not involve him in the screen game? 6. Coaching. Gailey is simply doing more with less and it's hard not to like his no-nonsense style. I personally don't have an opinion on George Edwards because it's hard to place judgement on a guy that has no talent at his disposal. I remember cries for Jerry Gray's head during the early years of GW's era. As soon as the team loaded up on talent, Gray became a head coaching candidate around the league. Not saying Edwards is a similar case, just emphasizing that this roster is loaded with Areana League players on the defensive side of the ball. 7. Tight End = Solved! Love everything I see about Scott Chandler and it's great that the team was able to find a solution without expending a high draft pick to do so. That said, another athletic tight end should be a priority in the draft as we have seen in New England the value that 2 versatile tight ends can bring. OK I'm done.

Hurts to see Ngata and Harris on that list, as they are players the Bills had in their proverbial laps.

Practically speaking, half the earnings are taxable in NYS. Believe it or not, players must file state income taxes for each state in which they play throughout the course of the season.

I came away with a completely opposite impression. I was surrounded by Giants fans on all sides, all of whom were nothing but courteous, welcoming and good sports fans. I have been to many away stadiums rooting for the Bills and seen many poor excuses for human beings (ahem Oakland) but I came away feeling like Giants fans were among the classiest in the NFL.

I know him personally and he's a great kid... by far one of the most humble people I know. And he has no idea how good he is.

Are NYBBB heading over together from Manhatan??

Love that idea. Would love to hear from those interested in meeting in Hoboken early Sunday. PM me. Also, interested in joining Bills Mafia for a tailgate at Giants Stadium.

Oh man! It will be much easier to stomach with a Bills win, I suppose

thanks shane – do you know the best way in terms of public transportation to get to the stadium from manhattan?

Wonderful, thanks

Fair point!