Bob in STL

Brett Favre, Please retire and go away. One day you will really retire for good and then you will enter the Pro Football HoF on the first time ballet. You will be called all sorts of great things. You were indeed a great QB. Not the best of all time, not even the best in your era. Please deal with that. I sure hope you do not get a job on TV as an analyst. Please just go way. Thanks, Bob in STL

Start of season List of Concerns: QB, LT, RT, TE (receiving and blocking TE), WR, DE, DT/NT, OLB, ILB End of season Status: QB - Fitz is doing a good job. I would not pick a QB in round 1 unless a great prospect drops to us. I would pick a QB somewhere in the draft. LT - Bell did a good job, not great. I don't like his run blocking as much as his pass blocking. He did not get as much help against top pass rushers because our TEs have to help the RT more. I would draft the best OT I can find I would not wait past round 4 to do so. RT - We really need to improve here. Draft and free agency should be used to improve talent and depth. TE - We need to draft someone that can be another weapon. We also need to look at free agency WR - Johnson had a breakout year. Parish looks like he fits into Chan’s plans. Nelson, Jones and Roosevelt all contributed and look good. Easley is still in the mix and has top end speed. The future looks good. Lee Evans may now be tradable if we can get a decent pick. (See Patriots) C/G - Wood played ok with the injury situation and should comeback even better next year. Levitre was solid all season. Hangartner was solid too. Urbik looks like he can help our depth. Howard and Rhinehart contributed. The middle of the line looks ok. Maybe add a late round pick to push them. DE - Stroud looks finished. Dwan is ok versus the run. Spencer is a backup at best. Carrington showed some promise at the end but is still a project. This is a very high area of need and I could see spending the first pick here. Also need to bolster with free agency. DT/NT - Williams had a great season and Troup looks promising. McCargo needs to go. We brought in the prospect from Oakland’s PS. Adding another good DT is always a good thing to do. Mid round pick and free agency could. OLB - Moats showed something but I am not convinced yet that is is a consistent every down player. This is the other area, along with DE, were I could see us drafting in the first round. An OLB that plays DE in the 3-4 is a premium need. Kelsey was bad. Maybin is bad. Ellison is too small for the 3-4. Most of the players we have are not good enough. Need to find free agent help too. ILB - Poz made a lot of tackles but questions arise on his overall effectiveness. Like Poz, Andra Davis was very poor in coverage. We lack talent at ILB. We need to address with free agency and with a top 3 draft pick. DB - Started the season as an area of strength and if we had a pass rush our corners would look better. If we had better LBs our safeties would look better. Even if we lose Whitner I don't see the need to draft high here. Byrd was disappointing to me. McKelvin does not look like a natural football player. He seems to lack football sense. Youboty did not contribute and will be gone next year. I could see using mid to late round picks to push the talent we have. RB - We are set for now. Draft late round RB and FB to push the talent we have. Top needs by priority: 1. DE and OLB (pass rusher) 2. ILB and DT (run stopper) 3. QB - if a good prospect is there 4. OT and TE

It is over. Let it go.

Your context on his being average was negative in that he is clearly a very good player, well above average. But OK, he is not a guy who dominates on every play. I agree with that. Vince Wolfork did not dominate on every play either and he played against a back up center. We played Baltimore and Hangartner did a very good job on Ngata, he did not dominant on every play against us. I think Williams had a Pro Bowl season, he seems to have earned the repsect of his opponents too.

You really have no facts just a simple theory. In the past ten years or more teams like New England, Indy, and Pittsburgh seem to do just fine with less "opportunity". They consistenly draft near the end of the round (OK - New England always seem to make creative moves to improve their selection position, more on that later). I think having a good draft starts way before draft day. Over time your draft board and player rankings (i.e. your scouting and talent evaluation) become much more important than your draft position. If this were not true then there would not be perenial winners and perenial losers. The losers would sieze the extra "opportunity" and draft the best players and become winners. The winners would be forced to take lesser players and eventually weaken. The Bills two biggest draft blunders were the trades up in the draft when they gave away an extra pick for Losman and McCargo --- their "opportunity" to find a Pro Bowler was better, right? Seems to me that drafting four players, as opposed to two at slightly higher positions would be a better bet? What I think has plagued the Bills for a long time are these factors: 1 - poor front office decisions (by the GM, Owner, and Coach) on the use of the first pick. The first round has been a disaster and there is no excuse for it. 2 - We have found some late mid and late round gems but overall the scouting department has not done the job, the player rankings have to fall on someones lap (see results) 3 - Trading up and trading picks has proven to be ineffective 4 - Free agency is not effectively used prior to the draft to plug holes, causing the Bills to reach on need picks rather than making the best pick. Last year Buddy Nix said he "slept" during the start of free agency. I want a guy on the phone, working hard to fill holes. Even if we have no intention on signing a first day, big name free agent, I want someone in the game. 5 - Changes and termoil in the front office and coaching staff have led to a lack of a cohesive, long range plan. Each new coach gets rid of the prior coaches players. As such, we continue to draft DBs and RBs in the first round and replace the same positions over and over. Last week Belichek was coaching against his 5th Bills coach sinced he started in New England. Five coaches and GMs for Buffalo, all getting better draft "opportunities" and yet the talent disparity was so obvious.

You could really see how bad Byrd is playing by looking at the New England game last week. That long TD run in the first quarter would have been his last play of the game if I was DC Edwards. I cannot think of a starter on any Bills defense that made less plays and had less impact than Byrd this year.

He is big enough and skilled enough. Do you evgen watch the games? He is by far way above "average", in fact he was dominant this season while playing with a weak supporting cast. He is one of the best DT's in the league. Pro Bowl or not. Is your life that harsh that you must always take such a negative position?

Not a great example. The Parcells drafts made up the core of their first Super Bowl Team, which are the players taken prior to 2001. Some names are: Bledsow (QB), Vrabel (LB), Bruschi (LB), Milloy (S), Law (CB), McGinest (LB/DE), Johnson (LB), Faulk (RB), Andruzzi (G), Woody ©, Vinatieri (K). Oh yeah, that Brady guy too. They actually did pick lots of LBs and defensive players. They didn't take LBs in the top rounds from 01 to 06 because they were stacked at LB for many years. There is no "formula" on what positions to pick --- other than drafting good quality starters with leadership skills and a strong work ethic. Players that make a difference and make big plays will be found throughout the draft. Some of that is luck, whether we want to believe it or not.

Ok Big Cat, I agree he did not make much out of his two punts did he? It sure seems like playing a 3-4 (or a 3-4 variant) with no high quality linebackers or defensive ends on the roster is more of an issue right now though.

I say our OL coaches are doing a great job. Look at what they have to work with? I would say the off season priority is defense. Better LB and better DE's.

Bill, My comments to your comments (in order) 1. Hard to argue with you when you look at our defensive front 7 and our OL depth. 2. Agree. 3. Agree. I want him cut next year. 4. Poz got creammed but were was the help? Jarius Byrd got sucked to his left and then took a bad angle. I blame Byrd for the TD. 5. Fitz is Fitz and that game comes with the territory. I question Chan for giving up on the run way too early and for calling so many deep passes on makeable 3rd down situations. Too many home run attempts. With our defense we need "ball control". 6. Agree 7. I did not see the monsters. I saw hard running and I saw NE over pursue and get burned on cutbacks. 8. Whitner will go were the money is .. and it is not Buffalo. 9. They need to sign a veteran OT and then draft one too. And I dont mean a 7th round project either. 10. Troup has outplayed Carrington all year. That said, neither of them were ready to contribute as rookies and, in retrospct, the whole idea of changing to a 3-4 in one year with the talent we have was just silly. Add in a rookie DC and you get the defense we have. 11. agree. 12. The season is coming to a merciful end. Players hate fans? That is a new one. I always hear the opposite. Fans pay the salaries.

Yeah, maybe somebody as good as Tyler Myers.

1. Hit Brady often and hit him hard. 2. Knock Brady senseless out of the game. 3. Play like a pack of crazed wolves. 4. Do not settle for anything but victory.

I just read a bunch of articles from the Boston and other New England papers posted on TBD. What a bunch of classless and arrogant people from that part of the country. I cannot stand those horrible NE accents on top of it all. Their writers take every cheapshot possible at the city of Buffalo such as: "no color in Buffalo so the game will be in black and white", "snow belt", "rust belt", 14-0, "0-4 in Super Bowls", "Smerlas on the wall next to OJ", "Brady is the best ever", ... I am so sick of the Pats* that I will root for their demise for the rest of my life. Never have I seen a franchise that has had more bizzare good luck thrust upon it. Something is wrong here and someday an major scandal will come out about this team. Bigger than Spygate and their tainted Super Bowl win against the Rams.

Horrible post and shame on you for judging others like that. Wilson has given so much to charity and he has bought tickets in these situations many, many times. Kudos to Russ Salvatore who beat Ralph to it this year.

Transition to RB is easy? Not sure I ever heard an "expert" say that but I read this folklore on TSW all the time. Running the ball is 1st one-third of the positon and that what most people think is easy and for some maybe it is? For Spiller and his style, runing the ball has not been so easy because he outruns his blocks. In college he was used to running past everyone and that is just not going to happen in the NFL. He has to learn patience to read blocks, and how to cut back and use the defenders pursuit against them. Receiving is the 2nd one-third. Spiller is learning here as well. Like the great Thuramn Thomas, he is not a natural receiver coming out of college. He can learn this skill as well and has great promise as a reciever due to open field speed and moves. Blocking is the 3rd one-third. Spiller really needs to work on this, especially his reads on blitz pick up. Watching Freddy Jackson's play by example would help. It will come with time if he choses to study and learn.

Trade down if possible and pick up some help at DE, OLB and ILB. Also, we need help at OT. Bell is ok but we need to improve at both tackles. TE ia a need but not in the first 2 rounds. Why is Stupar aka "Lee's ankle killer"?

Not a Fred Fan today but he was a good football player and I agree that he could have made a difference for us playing in SB XXV against the Giants.

I know where he grew up and what college he went to. That has nothing to do with it so you grow up and come up with something constructive. I have met Freddy numerous times and I have good reasons for my opinions. Knock off the cheap shots. Who said I hate Fred Smerlas? Glad to see you "grew up" and stopped "hating" players and teams. By the way, this just in, Fred Smerlas played most of his career for the Buffalo Bills.

The talk of Wood being an upgrade over Hangartner is discussed on this forum all the time. I think Chan is pointing out that as good as Wood was as a center prospect coming out of college, it is just not that easy to play center in the NFL. Another takeaway is that maybe Hangartner is not as bad as some posters here say he is?

Benedict Smerlas sounds like such an azz. What a waste of space on the Bills WoF.

Little difference in the two OLs? Ask Bill which RB he would rather have?

Center is a tough position. Lots to think about and many quality NTs in the AFC East on top of that.

Don't be sorry, he is 92 and he can probably beat you at tennis.

First time I have tried to post a link. Hope it works. My link Lots of talk about Wood being an upgrade at center. I think that will take some time.