Bob in STL

Should he have released Clements?

Wow, lots of sentences. I'll be brief. 1. Ralph is going to end up right. He is not crying wolf. 2. How do you know what kind of deal Ralph was talking about with Pataki? 3. In the later years of this CBA we will struggle to be competitve. 4. The Bills need a plan to survive in Buffalo in the future. Financial aid is part of the plan, as is finding the appropriate buyer for the team. 5. No matter who buys the team after Ralph, they will insist on a new stadium, one that brings in more revenue to the team.

Come on now. Is he supposed to react to every rumor? This was spinning out of control and probably was not good for JP. Marv's timing was fine and it shows another example of why players trust him and will play for him.

We are definitely rebuilding. This team has maybe 9 starting positions locked up (Peters, Evans, McGahee, Shoebel, Triplett, Spikes, Fletcher, Clements, McGee) plus Moorman/Lindall. Barring injury, there will be a dog fight for 13 or 14 starting positons plus key backup postions that are open (running back, 3rd wideout, short yardage, DT rotation, nickel and dime backs). We have no starting QB and a new coaching staff. I would call that rebuilding. Expect some surprising cuts as Marv purges the roster. If we win 6 games this year I would be happy. We are 2-3 years away from competing for the playoffs.

This press release was needed. Thank you Marv.

Back in the Super Bowl era, I met a young man at a sports bar watching the Bills with the local Bills Backers. The young man grew up in LA, graduated from Notre Dame and was living in St. Louis at the time. His favorite team was the Bills. I asked him why and he said "Ralph Wilson". He heard Ralph speak at one of his business classes and he said that ever since he has admired the man, his ethics and values, and how he runs a business. He told me some things about Ralph that I never knew. He is a great man from a generation that gave us many great men.

I think your analysis is missing a lot, it may be better to do this after free agency and the draft. What we have now is not the whole story. A few comments: 1. Bennie Anderson is a Guard, Tim is the DT. 2. Give Sape some due, you forgot Jason Jefferson on DT. 3. Disagree with comments on the "Denney/Kelsay merry go round". Denney is a good rotational player,. It is way to early to give up on Kelsay, he may emerge this year. 4. At LB the big issue is whether Spikes is recovered ... 5. CB - Nate is a big time player who had a so-so year. Good thing we tagged him. I think you are wrong on the backups too. King is promising. 6. Safety - true we need more talent here. Baker could emerge as a good safety in the cover 2. Let's give Bowen a chance to play a down. Nothing on the offense yet? Special teams -- they were ok, right?

Agree totally. Ngata could be an impact player and the force in the middle that you build your scheme around. In round 1 especially, I'll take players who get their rep on the field playing the game before any of the workout warriors. I can wait until round 2 to draft an OT and there should be some quality available at that point.

Well then .. its all settled. Call Marv and Jauron and give them the good news!

Bravo ... the support he needs should not be publicized in the media. Let him know that he will get a fair shot, tell him what the expectations are, and then see what he can do.

I think this is our pick at 8. Justice ot Bunkley are rising based on their workouts and potential ... Ngata was the best DT in college when evaluated on the football field.

You make some great points. I agree that Ralph must feel a sense of alienation. No HOF vote and now this. Many of his colleagues have passed. He must look around the room and wonder about the new breed. Synder and Jones will ruin this league while making a fortune and Ralph knows it. How hard would it have been for the owners to review that CBA material one more time to clearly understand the impacts and gain a consensus? We may have the same conclusion but at least Ralph would have been given the courtesy he deserves. I wonder why Lamar Hunt has not said anaything either way about this? I think Ralph feels that the cards are stacked against him but I am not sure he is going to fold either. More like reshuffle and play a new hand. That is where Marv comes in. Not to gaurd the estate but to advance it. The Bill have been cautious in free agency but I would not take that as a sign that they are not trying to improve the team. Marv will have a plan and he will execute it. He really is Ralph last chance at a title.

Good point, but the 3 or 4 down lineman all have to be very good. Warren Sapp made this defense work in Tampa. Not that he did it alone but he was the dominant piece of the puzzle. An anchor on the DL, even if he playes 70% of the snaps is critical.

I don't think anyone, including ML or DJ denies that we had two major holes to fill at DT. Triplett is a good player who fits the scheme. I don't believe they think that Tripplett alone is the answer. That is why the Bills made a run at Ryan Pickett. The Bills will likely draft a DT (Ngata or Bunkley) in the first round. If not, they will be players in round 2 and 3. DT will not be position of high confidence going into the season.

I am thinking we might drop down a few spots to take Justice or Bunkley and to acquire another first day pick. I sure hope we don't drop out of the first round altogether but anything is possible. I think the Bills have been active but careful in free agency. I still thinks he wants to win it all.

Give me a break. Adams should have given his Pro Bowl slot to Pat Williams. Pat tied up blockers so that Sam could free lance and make tackles. When Pat left Sam could not, or would not play that game, and that is what pissed off Mularkey and Co. Look what Pat did to help Minnesota. TD screwed up when he let Pat go and kept the selfish Sam Adams. Yes ... he will help Cinc, for awhile. Adams has talent but is not a team player.

I am so tired of all the one gap, two gap stuff. All I know is that on the football field Sam Adams did not pick up the slack with Phat Pat gone. Sam had problems with Meathead (I assume Mularkey) and others in the staff. I can'l totally blame Sam because many of the veterans had problems with Mularkey. Bottom line is that Sam is not a leader, he is a role player. Sometimes he is a very good role player. I won't miss Sam. It is time to draft our own players and play them.

... and for the record, Eric chose not to negotiate a new deal with us. His cap hit is outrageous. He wants to leave and publicly stated that he will never play for us again. So why should we keep him again?

No --- Teague came to Buffalo as a flop at left tackle for Denver. He was a promising backup and when the time came for him to start he failed to met the high standards of a Denver OL, so they let he go in free agency after one season as a starter. TD, being the almighty football guru, talked his first Stooge (Gregggggg) into moving Teague to center. TD, being the almight football guru, cut Dusty Ziegler (who went on to start in the Super Bowl for the NY Giants) and tried to replace him with Bill Conatry first, and then Teague. Teague was servicable at best, but never a strong center. I never remember him being an "up and comer". Ditto for Bennie Anderson or Mike Gandy. They were all guys that started briefly and then failed. Th only OL we have sign thus far is Fowler and we don't know if he is better than Teague or not.

We may have a generation gap here. I don't get it?

There is an inconsistency in evaluating Adams and what he did as a Bill. When Adams was a pro bowler he had Pat Williams as the two gap guy, tying up blockers so that Adams could go to the ball. Last year Adams could not, or would not, play the role of the 2 gap DT. He did not tie up blockers and was considered by the coaches to be ineffective against the run. In this new defense they say they want speed and people to go to the ball. Ngata has that. Adams had that. I don't get the agruement that Ngata does not fit? Scouts they say Ngata has speed, strength and size. That he can play 1 gap or 2. Bunkley - some say he does not represent ehough value at 8th. If he project as the best DT for our scheme, and is a better prospect than any of the OTs, then why not take him. Trading down is fine but it is always a gamble that you will lose your man. Huff- if he is there at 8 maybe we take him? Problem is I doubt we will find starters for both DT and OT in the 2nd and 3rd rounds. Recent draft history has not been kind to us on either of the lines. So it comes down to a trade-off of needs, value, and how hard it is to fill the many holes we have.

My prioity would be: round 1 - DT. Draft either Ngata or Bunkley. If we can slide down a few spots and still get Bunkley that would be great. The story about Ngata not fitting the scheme is crap. He could be an impact player. round 2 - Grab the best OT and hope that he can beat out Gandy this year. Then have Gandy compete with Fat Bennie for LG. at center have Preston compete with Fowler round 3 - draft a guard to push Villareal and draft a SS to push Wire/Bowen. Right OT - stick with Peters. stir it up and pray that a few of these rookies can play.

Mould's value is a 2nd rounder? That is debatable, especially when the Bills-Texans are talking 4th or 5th. T. Henry got us a 3rd rounder and he a lot younger than Moulds.

Good idea. I get the feeling that re-signing Willis will be difficult.

Disagree. Trey is a marginal player, he has not stepped up as a leader, and be has no upside. It is time to move on. This is a strong draft for OT. Draft a OT in round 1 or 2 and plug him in. We are going to take lumps this year so we might as well do it with rookies.