Typical TBD Guy

Didn't last year's offense just set an NFL record for fewest yards in a 16-game, non-strike season? Surely the OL played a big part in that miserable stat! So whether we argue absolute worst or close to worst, it's a certainty that they're not good enough to take the 2006 Bills to where we want to go. No QB in the world could make this Bills offense average - let alone great - on his own. This "QB comes first" mentality of many around here is what has made the Bills a joke for the past decade. FIX THE !@#$ING OL. We still need about 2 more quality free agents and 2-3 quality draft picks on the OL...

They were. The list of names I provided is a list of names for the near future. Talking about the first 3 we signed would have been redundant, no? Sorry for the confusion. Yes, it's a damn shame that Edwards was re-signed. A damn shame. Next time Marv and I have our little meal rendezvous (he wants to try out Subway's new "buffalo" chicken sub now that he's back in "Buffalo"...), I will be sure to scold him on this mistake.

Check the date of my first post. All 3 were signed before then.

He may have an amazing memory, but memorizing numbers doesn't make you a math prodigy.

??? Explain yourself, please. Damione Lewis is the only name I listed who is now signed (right?), and he signed after I posted. Hey, I can't help it if Levy doesn't stick to his word at the dinner table. Maybe his judgement becomes clouded after a few rounds of free garlic biscuits?

Billy Brooks?! He was a solid pick-up. But onto your argument, it's too broad for my tastes. Free agency is essential, IMO. You can't expect to draft or trade for all of your starters. Some of them are going to have to be free agents. The key is to ALWAYS pick guys who fit your system (like the Pats). And OCCASIONALLY overpay, depending on the player (but NOT like Dan $nyder).

IMPORTANT UPDATE: I had dinner with Levy last night at Red Lobster. Here's a small update of his free agency list: QB Craig Nall, Packers (revenge for the Pickett steal?) C Mike Flanagan, Packers (more revenge for the Pickett steal?) LT Jason Fabini, Jets DE Kalimba Edwards, Lions DE Ryan Denney DT Russell Davis, Cards SS Tank Williams, Titans Also, Moulds will be kept and will be forced to STFU about his !@#$ing contract. Edwards will not be re-signed. Nor will Reed or Kevin Thomas or Joe Burns. Who will we draft with our #8 pick? It's currently a toss-up between Vernon Davis and Hawk! Ngata and Huff are still real possibilities, depending on the injury status of Tank and Russell and whether they sign with us. Look for a center or guard with our second rounder. PS: Levy (quite fittingly) ordered the Admiral's Feast platter, while I enjoyed some lobster. Tony Soprano was in the booth behind us, secretly taking notes. Tom Donahoe was our waiter - he did a good job, and was tipped quite generously.

I guess they could still market the draft! The ultimate marketing tool is obviously winning, but I don't think the draft and the remaining free agent pool can land us the minimum 5 quality starters (T, C, DE, DT, SS) we'll need to be a competitive team.

But at least he helped your hero, Bennie, right? The last 5 games Bennie was DOMINATING .

Coaching is the difference maker for teams of relatively comparable talent. Such is not the case for the Bills as of March 15, 2006. We are so devoid of talent at the moment - compared to the rest of the league - that it doesn't matter who's coaching.

I wonder if Dan $nyder paid LaVarr his bonus on the side? If so, it's unlikely Wilson will do the same for Moulds, given his cheapness (example: Coach Wade).

Our free agency plan: C Mike Flanagan (Packers, UFA) RT Jon Runyan (Eagles, UFA) DE Kalimba Edwards (Lions, UFA) DT Damione Lewis (Rams, UFA) SS - Tank Williams (Titans, UFA) WR Eric Moulds (restructure) CB Nate Clements (sign to long term deal) LB Jeff Posey (snip!) LG Bennie Anderson (snip!) FB Daimon Shelton (snip!) This plan allows us to plug all the roster holes BEFORE the draft, so we focus completely on the best player available strategy. PS: I had the Cordon Bleu. Marv had the standard roast beefer.

We still have holes at C (Mawae or Flanagan?), T (Runyan?), DE (Abraham, Howard, Edwards?), DT (Bernard or Lewis?), and SS (Tank Williams?)..... Plus we have to sign our draft picks. Plus we always carry about $1 million extra for injuries. Plus I'm not sure if Clump's figure includes the Clements tag (it probably does). So we could still keep Moulds, but the guy has to restructure. And the fact that he won't budge may mean that he doesn't even want to be here any more. As talented as Moulds may be, do you really want a player who doesn't want to be here? Note: We could also cut Bennie, Posey, and Shelton to save a little more!

I know this is more PPP than "Off-Topic," but may I ask why?

Do you think he has the potential to be a #1 WR? Looks like he has the size/speed combo for it, at the very least....

I kind of like an Evans-Davis-Parrish WR trio. Lots of youth and speed, at the very least! As for Moulds, he needs to go. Our offense has sucked with him for a long time, and we can certainly suck without him. But actually, we just might get better by devoting his $5.5 million savings towards a new center and tackle.

Neither pot farms nor violent video games should be the government's business.

Uh based on what I'm hearing from a friend of mine (big Skins fan), Gibbs didn't want Royal BECAUSE of his hands. So which is it? I personally have no idea. I've never seen the guy play before.

Ha, yeah the "dooomed" !@#$tards were doing the same thing last offseason...and it turned out we really were doomed!!!

The ONLY way this would be acceptable to me, LT: Peters LG: Gandy C: Hartwig RG: Preston RT: Runyan is if it meant we were going all out in fixing the DL (and then using the draft to plug in the OL gaps...Preston at RG? )

5? More like 10+. It's been going on here in Buffalo since the beginning of the free agency era. This organization iust isn't willing to spend big money on the OL. Ruben Brown, John Fina, Joe Panos, and Chris Villarial are the only free agent "name" linemen the Bills have ever signed . Now contrast our historical investments (free agency and draft) into the OL over the past 10+ years with other positions - like QB for example! See what I mean? Will this trend continue? It's only been one day into FA, so of course I don't know. But I do know that there was some free agent OL talent out there not named Bentley and Schaffer, and we'd be wise to talk to them now before it's too late. Bottom line: until the Bills begin to respect the OL and - gasp! - become willing to overpay (whatever that means) for quality linemen, don't expect a playoff season in the near future.

I think the NFL and NHL (along with the other sports leagues) allow for cross-league ownership as long as the owner comes from the same city. So for example, that Jeremy Jacobs guy couldn't buy the Bills because he owns the Boston Bruins. But Golisano would be OK because he owns the Sabres.

My understanding of Ngata is that many scouts consider him to be capable or playing either 2-gap or 1-gap. Am I wrong?

. Yes, there are 32 teams in the NFL, and many more than just the Bills who have holes along both lines. By my count, we have holes at both DT spots, one DE spot, one tackle spot, and probably LG and C as well. That's up to two-thirds of the starting positions along the lines! Sorry marck, but just because we want free agent linemen doesn't mean we'll get them. Also, your theory that a star TE is some sort of requirement for a top NFL offense is ridiculous. There are many proven variations among all the great modern offenses, but one constant throughout has been a very solid (if not dominant) offensive line. EDIT: I will say this, though: If Da Brick, Super Mario, and Ngata are all gone by our 8th pick (and if we can't trade down), then Davis would be my next favorite choice.

I bet almost everybody (90%+) here doesn't believe they're the same thing. A more interesting question would be to ask what people's opinions are on mid-term/late-term abortions.