Bob in STL

Right on. The switch to 3-4 has made the rebuild harder but maybe it will pay dividends soon? We did not have a great defense with the 4-3 either (although they were better than last years unit) I just hope we stop wasting critical draft picks on guys like McCargo, Maybin, and Hardy ... guys that cannot get on the field. Looks like we will be replacing Whitner so there goes another wasted #1 along with Lynch. The Rams loved Saffold last year. I heard Bill polian state that he should have taken him in the first round. (Yes, Bill misses on some picks too).

True. I really don't understand all the talk about our OL being "not that bad". The OTs are weaker now than anytime in franchise history. This showed in our running game YPC, our inability to pick up first downs in short yardage situations, and in our pass blocking against quality defenses. Bell is average at best and we have nothing at RT. That is not hard to see. I suppose Bell can get better with the injury now cleared up. The RT play by Green/Howard/Wrotto/Pears is not NFL caliber and Wang could not get on the field. Should they draft an OT and even in rounds 3 through 5 they are likely to upgrade on the cast of characters we have today. Nix and Gaily are correct in that the defensive front 7 should be the priority. Chan may not be "in tears" over our tackles but that is because our front 7 is so much worse by comparision. There is a lot of work to do to improve this team and to become competitive in the AFCE. It will take three excellent drafts and then some. I tend to agree. Lots of Moats love on this board and he seems like a great youung man with potential. Moats shows some promise getting to the QB but is has to improve against the run and in coverage. So far he is a good special teamer and a good backup/ ocassional pass rusher. He can improve and seems like a hard worker. Today he is not a solid 3 down LB but it will not surprise me if he gets better.

Good one. Unfortunately injuries prevented him from having more good years. His numbers are not as good as Cribbs either. Bad numbers for sure but all they wanted the rookie QB to do was hand off and learn. Back then a rookie QB held a clip board. His numbers are worse than I thought though.

Your lineup is missing a great pass rusher. Solai is the type of signing that would get more that he is actually worth. A very good player that will get great player money. Lets draft a few great players and grow our own.

All excellent choices. Shaw won rookie of the year. Byrd led the league in pics. Cribbs make a big impact. Bennett was an impact player from the start. Butler was great from the start. Some others: Joe Ferguson Shane Conlan, Nate Odomes, and Rueben Brown all had strong rookie seasons too.

Agree that Whitner is a good player but nothing special as he makes very few big plays. This situation is typical of the Buffalo Bills flawed mode of operation for ten years. Reach on a player like Whitner. Then lose him in free agency and have to replace another hole from yet another wasted first round pick. At pick #9 you should at least get a solid starter for years to come. Sanders is probably done if Polian is letting him go. I just hope the Bills do not overpay for him. Atogwe is similar in skill to Whitner. He will no doubt be less hated in Buffalo since he does not carry the #9 pick stigma.

Yeah, all those tackles at the LOS and pressure on the QB would be very odd. We drafted McCargo and Maybin because they "fit our scheme". Lets try drafting good football players instead and then worry about the scheme.

Isn't this exactly what the Bills did with the Whitner pick? Pick a player at 9 that you could have had at 15 was the knock. Solid starter but not a pro bowler like a 9 should be according to the experts? Sound familiar. If the Bills pick this guy at 3 this board will melt down.

In order of who I would keep. Keep: Williams, Troup, Moats, Carrington, Byrd, Florence, McKelvin, Poz, McGee, Scott, Corner and Wilson Maybe, it depends: Whitner, Johnson, Davis, Edwards, Merriman, Corto, Heard and Batten Lose: McCargo, Maybin, Stroud, Ellison, Youboty, Ayodele, Torbor, Kelsey

The owners signed a bad deal. Ralph Wilson knew it and they ignored him and listened to guys like Jones and Synder. Now they regret the deal. When Ralph told the media that they did not understand the deal he was right. They made it seem like Ralph was stupid. Guess not.

I don't know a thing about this guy but given our run defense we need to load up and improve our talent on DL and LB. They need to bring in better players. Now we have Williams and Troup, why not make DL an area of strenght? We have not had a really dominant DL since the mid 60's. That is sad.

Agree, it is getting more exciting and I like what I see from the Sabres lately. I want the Bills to adress the front 7 but they just might pick a DB in round 1. They could even pick a WR if they follow the BPA credo so be prepared. Last year I was at an Irish Pub in Chicago when I saw them pick Spiller. I was surprised.

I think you are right. Poz is the best of a horrible crew of LBs. I really think that last years LBs were the worst colletion in team history.

Very good points. In your 21 year view how many first round picks were QBs? I can think of only Losman (bust). How many were DL? How about Flowers (bust), McCargo (bust) and Maybin (bust so far). How many were OL? I can think of Fina (solid starter), Rueben Brown (Pro Bowler), Mike Williams (bust) and Eric Wood (solid starter). In 21 years and only 8 players taken in the first round from critical position QB, OL and DL. We can't find Kelly's replacement and we have hardly tried.

Yes all teams need role players I agree with you there and I sure hope I am not too negative. I try to be realistic while still being a fan at heart. I know Corto is a home guy and all that but he did hurt us numerous times with bad and unnecessary penalties last season. I just do not see the great plays that he makes to warrant wrapping him up to a new contract before the season starts. Is he one of our better ST players? Sure. But this signing reminds me of the many gimmick signings made by an incompetent front office to make the fans feel good about something. Since I am a fan, I really hope Corto does great and becomes the next Steve Tasker. I want to rally behind Buddy Nix. Before I drink yet another gallon of KoolAid I want to see some solid drafting and some solid player signings. I like that he brought in Whaley. I like Gailey and Wannestadt. Wrapping up Corto and Kelsey, taking a flyer on Merriman, signing Cornell Green as our starting RT. Hmmmmm? Maybe some of the bargain basement waiver pickups (Urbik, Rhinehart, Pears, Wrotto, etc) will develop? Last years draft looks promising and I will patiently cheer them on while waitng to see some results.

Yeah, that's the problem, the uniforms.

The player I want to draft is Fairly. We need to stop the run and pressure the QB and he can do both. I would not mind drafting Peterson but the expectations are going to be that he becomes a Pro Bowl shut down corner. McGee is aging, McKelvin is inconsistent, Florence might be going, Corner is a decent backup, Youboty is always injured .... CB could be a need. This is a passing league. I do not agree on the pass rusher comment. I don't think they are easy to find in any round at least not for the Buffalo Bills. Since 1985 we drafted Bruce Smith and Aaron Schobel ... how many other great pass rushers can you name that were actually drafted by the Bills?

Balogun will be picked up by Pittsburg and end up with 14 sacks next season.

Never liked the Titans, Bud Adams, or those crap uniforms.

Word is out that this is the place for accurate information.

More untimely special teams penalties to come ... I am underwhelmed by this guy.

To each his own. I love the white helmet and would be happy to see us return to that style. I always thought the red was too much. If you think the color and style of the uniforms translates into winning then we show go back to the 64 and 65 uni's which are considered our throwbacks. The new concept here is very close to those.

We have a player like Kyle Williams who makes the Pro Bowl at DT and we have a solid rookie DT with good upside. We also have a project DT in the guy we picked up from Oakland. Now look at our OTs, ILBs and TEs. We have nothing. Tell me there is no better signing we could make and that makes me laugh. Who is our RT? If we could sign Soliali I would be happy for sure, however, if I were GM I would be targeting RT, ILB and TE. We have crappy talent in all three positions.

Thank you. The guy is good but not better than what we have. Sign an ILB and a RT to plug two massive holes with proven veterans. Then we will have more options in the draft.

That is what I thought when the Sabres went back to blue and gold ... and we got the SLUG.