Mikie2times

We will have the 8, 9, or 10th pick pending a couple games. My guess would be 9th at this point. For those that care had we lost the Bengals game it looks like we would be drafting 4th.

What Ngata will do is demand double teams in the ground game, and give you an occasional inside pass rush. The negative is he will take plays off, or give up pursuit on a play. Usually when he does this the play goes away from him, so it might not be a major issue, more him timing his rest appropriately. I know that comment might offend some but let's face it, not many people that big can fight 600 pounds of offensive lineman all game and not tire, that includes NFL players. He might not have had the flash to impress some but neither did our former DT we so desperately miss. This defense needs a Pat Williams, and if that is what Ngata can become then he would be more then worth the pick. I also feel that in this game, compared to the rest I've watched, Ngata appeared overly hesitant. He was still holding the point well, but he didn't show the burst I've seen out of him. The story of him going pro to help his family is well documented; perhaps injury was weighing on Ngata's mind his final game.

Did you see the screen recognition in the first half? He would have destroyed Peterson but the pass was low. He also showed good straight ahead speed as a lead blocker on a fake punt attempt. He successfully kicked out his man and sprung the punter for a first down.

He's doing exactly that, I mean what do people expect? I'm sure Pat Williams didn’t look super human either, but he let Sam free lance. Ngata is playing exactly like the player we need at DT right now.

Aren't we looking for a DT that can contain 2 blockers, and keep team from running up the middle? He seems to be doing a pretty decent job doing that. It's a little hard for him to show off his 5-10 yard speed against 550+ pounds of OL Oklahoma is throwing at him. He's has been one of the premier punt blockers in college football for several years so the burst is their, besides don't we already have Tim Anderson chasing guys down 5-10 yards downfield?

It's like that in every game he plays, always two guys and sometimes three. He's just so big and can still move (sub 4.9 40), plus he has strong character which is something we need to bring to this team. Any other year and he probably goes top 5, but this year he might just fall.

Reserve judgment if he's not all over the field, Oklahoma is doubling him every play so far.

I agree

Maybe he came back early to try and occupy his mind with football. I figured he wouldn't be back until the playoffs.

Seattle' opponents are a combined .436, good for the NFL's easiest schedule, and as you pointed out many of the good teams they have played have been under ideal circumstances. Of the 15 games they played so far 5 have come against teams with legit playoff aspirations as we enter the final week. Seattle ended up going 3-2 against those teams, but look how they won those three games. Dallas- Bledsoe INT at midfield with under 20 seconds in a tie game Giants- 3 missed game winning FG's Colts- First game following the death of Tony Dungy's son, and a Colts team with nothing to play for. The Bears SOS isn't much better, but that just illustrates how wide open this things is. The two teams getting the bye have played cake teams all year, and the rest of the teams in it don't appear like they can run off the three straight wins necessary to reach the SB.

I think he would be a great choice KO. Tressel's system and philosophies seem like a perfect fit for this Bills team. He might not be the best X's and O's guy, but he get's the most out of his players, and it seems like Ohio State is always winning the close games. Perhaps nothing else is a better indicator of this then the complete reversal of Ohio States fortune in the Michigan series. Cooper couldn't win, and Tressel can't lose, and for those that think it's because of talent those 90's Ohio State teams were dominant against everybody else besides Michigan. Tressel just knows how to get the most out of his players, and at the NFL level that’s usually the best quality a coach can have.

Really? Teams throw high picks with no experience in all the time over veterans. See Kitna/Palmer, Warner/Manning etc. We would see several more examples but not every team has a quality veteran to go with the 1st round QB. Again the amount of starts wouldn't be so troubling if he wasn't facing make or break status, a problem I contend MM and TD created. You can't play an injured QB, but if JP is healthy enough to play he needs to be playing. Part of the original problem with JP's implementation is what you pointed out. He was elevated to starter without the roster even being set. To even further complicate things this occurred at a time the locker room could have been divided on Drew Bledsoe’s release. The Bills probably had some veterans questioning JP Losman's credentials, and then he starts off slow. Gee a first year QB starting off slow, who would have thought that could happen? So the Bills knee jerk it and yank Losman, which is an action that would only seem to fuel the questioning of JP Losman by the players. As a young QB that support is what you need the most, and JP Losman doesn’t seem to be getting it the same way Kelly Holcomb is. All for what? So Kelly Holcomb might be able to keep the brass from losing their jobs? How does that benefit the franchise, or the Bills likelihood of finding the first QB since Kelly worth a crap? The point is Boller was under the gun entering his third year as a qb with 25 starts under his belt. Losman will enter the same situation with 8 starts under his belt. Who has a better chance at turning it around?

Bears 24 Colts 17

Kyle Boller ...................................................JP losman 6-3 ..............................................................6-2 220..............................................................217 Selected 1st Round 19th Pick..........................Selected 1st Round 22nd Pick First Year QB Rating 62.4................................First Year QB Rating 64.9 Year 1 Starts- 9.............................................Year 1 Starts-0 Year 2 Starts- 16...........................................Year 2 Starts- 8 Year 3 Starts- 8.............................................Year 3 Starts- Unknown Kyle Boller has looked great so far today, and was excellent last week. We always hear about the light bulb turning on at different stages for QB, and perhaps that is what’s happening for Boller right now. Regardless of whether or not Boller has turned the corner we do know players who have taken that long and then some for the switch to turn on. If Boller has turned the corner it took him until start 32 of his third season to make it happen. This number is relevant because like JP he's a QB who was playing poorly, and approaching make or break status in his 3rd year. He is also a player with many other similar measurables to JP, The main difference is JP will be approaching make or break status his third year with only 8 starts under his belt, while Boller had 25. The fact that JP hasn't started many games wouldn't be such a big deal if he had more time to prove himself, and that to me is a problem the Bills management and coaching created. Buffalo decided to draft a QB in the 1st round, they weren't forced into doing so. When you do that you can't constantly flirt with a veteran every five seconds because a veteran will probably outplay the green Rookie, and from then on many of the issues we have seen are a likely conclusion. Personally I don’t agree with drafting first round QB’s unless he’s a once a decade type player. It’s a costly investment that is unsuccessful more often then not, and almost always comes at the expense of a few bad seasons. Still if that’s the path you choose you must do what Baltimore has done with Boller, otherwise you pretty much guarantee the pick will be wasted. The only exception I could see is if this team was truly a contender, which is exactly how the Bills tried to spin it off.

Don't let Seattle fool you, the NFC is completely up for grabs this year and the Bears are looking more and more like a team of destiny. Their defense is vanilla but dominating, and they have a great ground attack. What's scary is they still could get a lot better as Grossman improves. Old Rexy has been injured every season he's played, but when he has played he's been good. If they can start scoring 20+ a game not only will this team win the NFC, but they might just take it all, and that’s not something I thought a NFC team could do a few months ago.

Only game on right now, and as the Packers are making a comeback DTV switched to Seinfield

Counting isn't difficult, it's trying to do the other million things coaches need to do that makes it difficult. If it was so easy why do these things even happen? Like you said it's not just Mularkey, the heralded Marvin Lewis did it. Most coaches will mess up from time to time, some more so then others. This is clearly the trend in the NFL regards to time management, especially when dealing with new coaches. I do agree that it's inexcusable for not one of the million other assistants to be keeping an eye on it. If that is happening and MM is still messing it up what a nightmare that would be. Personally I don't think they have anybody that does monitor the clock, because Mularkey thinks he can handle it. That's probably the problem at a lot of places, but regardless of what the problem is it needs to be addressed before 2006. .

Clock management is one of the most butchered areas in the league. Just like ST some coaches don't spend much time working on it, while the good ones either have the experience to multitask, or hire people to deal only with the clock. Mularkey is making the same mistake several inexperienced coaches make, namely underestimating how difficult managing the clock can be, and how much of an effect it can have on a game. I'm not making an excuse for Mularkey, but this is often a league wide problem coaches have, and the less experienced guys should all have people in charge of watching the clock.

Our DE's are small, and despite having talent at LB our depth is pretty thin. Those are the two main obstacles facing this team if they want to switch to the 3-4. The obvious benefit of a switch would mean we would need less DT's, and by the looks of our roster that could be a huge plus. I think this is a doable plan that the Bills can achieve by next season. It gives Buffalo a youth movement, depth, and versatility. If they want a 4-3 look these players would have no problem playing in that role. DE: Mario Williams (1st Pick)- Chris Kelsey DT: Grady Jackson, Sam Adams, Maake Kemoeatu FA (BALT) DE: Aaron Schobel OLB: Elvis Dumervil (2nd Pick), Posey Retained (He did well in a 3-4 for the Texans) MLB: London Fletcher MLB: Takeo Spikes (Injury makes him a better fit at ILB) OLB: Keith Adams FA (PHIL) Angelo Crowell (also backing up the middle) CB: Nate Clements, Eric King CB: Terrance MaGee, Troy Vincent FS: Pat Watkins (3rd Pick), Troy Vincent, Rashad Baker SS: Lawyer Milloy, This draft is nearly all defense, and why not? The problem on defense is that this team relies too much on if the call is right as opposed to being able to win straight up one on one match ups. We have some talent already, but why not draft some players that allow us to dominate teams instead of only making a play when the perfect blitz is called. The offense can be upgraded threw FA, which is good for a line that needs to get better in a hurry.

I see this draft class as being different then 2002, and an elite player being available. To me you have 4 major talents in Lienhart, Bush, Ferguson, and Williams, past that some players could also warrant top 5 attention in Hawk, Ngata, or Young if he declares. If we can end up at 4 or 5 a real chance exists that we land either Ferguson or Williams which happen to also serve need areas. Anything past 5 and your likely getting into Ngata territory if he posts a good combine, and East West game. This is one of the most heralded drafts in a long time, and while sometimes that amounts to squat in the long run, it is a much better year then 2002 was for picking top 5 or top 10.

I agree Think Aaron Brooks with even more talent but much of the same problems.

It could happen, in my mind his stock has dropped as Reggie Bush's went up. Still he's a QB with an incredible resume, and as Joey Harrington showed teams are so QB desperate a good bowl game can vault a QB into the top 3. Lienhart has already had that status for 2 seasons, and with a good bowl game will likely have teams like the Saints, Titans, Jets, and Lions pinning for his services. Perhaps even enough to try and trade up to get him. The more action the better for the Bills, and while I recognize the need for a DT, Mario Williams or D'Brick Ferguson seem like major steals if they manage to fall to us.

A few of those losses were just brutal, the Eagles and Cowboys games come to mind. SD is a bit unpredictable, and the loss to Miami was inexcusable, but they do have the talent to beat anybody in football, and have shown the past 2 years that they match up well with the Colts. I would consider them legit contenders in the AFC if they find a way to get in, probably even more so then Pittsburgh, or the Jaguars without Leftwhich. If the Jags can get Leftwhich back they have also shown the past two years they can hang with the Colts. Throw in NE and I think it would be a bit premature to anoint the Colts champions despite how impressive they have been.

If we lose to the Jets 3 or 4 looks possible, and remember some awesome talent exists in the first few picks. Lienhart and Bush might just pave the way for Ferguson or Williams to be available, when in other drafts they would be top 3 for sure.

I used to think a team was robbed at 10-6, but 11-5 and not making it is unheard of. I'm not going to look it up but I imagine no team has ever posted such a strong record and missed the postseason. In the AFC, NE, CIN, IND, and DEN seem to be the division winners, leaving PITT, SD, JAC, and KC to duke it out for the two Wild Cards. The Jags are already in the double digits, with SD and Pitt at 9 wins, and KC at 8. Pitt and the Jags remaining opponents are are a combined 15-41 , with SD having two difficult must win type games left. The talent exists for SD to win the final two, and if the Jags and Pitt plow threw the cake walk 3 teams will be 11-5, and one will be watching at home. Perhaps a more logical approach could improve the system, maybe not, I just know I would be pissed if the Bills missed out at 10-6, 11-5 would just be cruel.