silvermike

I'd cut Kelsay. But I've learned that no matter who's in charge of the Bills, Chris Kelsay has a roster spot. That said, I'm happier with him as a 4-3 rotational DE than anything else.

Bleacher can have them wherever they want. Chan Gailey didn't have him in the starting lineup after the bye, and he was at best, 4th on the depth chart before we brought in two rookie DBs. He's relatively expensive compared to Brooks and Rogers, and has basically no trade value. He's probably not going to hang on as a punt return with Brad Smith's WR duties limited. I think he's gone.

Yeah, I think I could see us dropping an RB and a WR from this list for another DB and LB. Potentially another DT could make the team (Carrington?) also.

It goes without saying that this is worth virtually nothing at this point; the draft's not even over. But I needed to sort through all our talent mentally, and writing out was the easiest way to do it. QB (3): Ryan Fitzpatrick, Tyler Thigpen, Brad Smith RB (4): Fred Jackson, CJ Spiller, Johnny White, Tashard Choice FB (1): Corey McIntyre WR (6): Stevie Johnson, David Nelson, Donald Jones, TJ Graham, Derek Hagan, Marcus Easley TE (2): Scott Chandler, Mike Caussin OT (4): Chris Hairston, Erik Pears, Cordy Glenn, Zebrie Sanders OG (4): Andy Levitre, Chad Rinehart, Kraig Urbik, Mark Asper OC (2): Eric Wood, Colin Brown -- DE (5): Mario Williams, Mark Anderson, Shawne Merriman, Chris Kelsay, Robert Eddins DT (4): Marcel Dareus, Kyle Williams, Torrell Troup, Kellen Heard OLB (5): Nick Barnett, Kirk Morrison, Nigel Bradham, Bryan Scott, Arthur Moats ILB (2): Kelvin Sheppard, Tank Carder CB (5): Aaron Williams, Stephon Gilmore, Terrence McGee, Ron Brooks, Justin Rogers S (3): Jairus Byrd, George Wilson, Da'Norris Searcy -- ST (3): Rian Lindell, Brian Moorman, Garrison Sanborn Notable Cuts: Danny Batten, Leodis McKelvin, Spencer Johnson, Alex Carrington, Dwan Edwards. ---------------------- Somewhat optimistically, this has the first six rounds of draft picks make the team. For the 7th round, UDFAs, and future UFAs and other teams' cuts, I think the biggest opportunities are for a fourth safety (currently unfilled since Scott can play both positions), DL depth (although I think we're likely to shed a lot of veteran this summer, like Edwards, Carrington, Johnson), ILB, and potentially, TE. EDIT: Since this post was still on the first page when Florence got cut, I feel entitled to edit to reflect. But I'm disclosing here that I had Florence in and Moats out.

Great draft so far. See if a WR drops to us in the 3rd and we can go home happy.

We should avoid drafting players who will be so successful they draw big offers on the open market, yes. The only problem with Winfield was Donahoe letting him go.

If Gilmore has Antoine Winfield's career, nobody will complain about this pick.

Prisco's a real lunkhead, but he published the only power ranking I've ever seen with the Bills at #1 (2003, after our 2-0 start)

Also, he's really confusing a general trend (first round QBs are good) with specific team choices (should we take Brady Quinn?) If you figure you're going to need a QB in the next three years, yeah, you should budget a first round pick for it. If you're drafting in one season with a questionable QB set to start, you compare each option to that guy, not the general trend of, "Oh, our guy was a 4th rounder, so surely, we should replace him with a 1st rounder since those guys tend to win." He's also playing all sorts of other disingenuous games here. Three teams had no QBs on the roster that they drafted. So? We would have been out of this group if we kept Levi Brown around. Most teams with a drafted QB on the roster didn't make the playoffs either. It's hard to argue that it's a factor. And "on the roster" isn't starting. For what it's worth, the Giants didn't draft Eli Manning either, San Diego did, and then they traded for him. That's really neither here nor there. But just wait until the Redskins are 4-9 or something and Easterbrook notes that you should prize draft picks and never trade up, even for a QB who's only one player.

I've never understood the supposed purpose of a league-wide conspiracy to screw us. What dark secret would be revealed if the Bills ever went 10-6?

Are dishes always on the side of your house? Or are most of them on the roof and I just can't see them?

JaMarcus isn't on the list at all.

I'm voting for Janikowski. Time to put an end to this stupid contest.

I'm in until we hit a million views.

Note: Mario Williams has sacked Peyton Manning more often than any other defender in the league.

You count all money paid in the year it's paid - guarantees can still be spread out if they're paid in different years. Mario might get $12M guaranteed in each of the next four years, say, regardless of injury or talent degradation.

ALL HAIL NIX! LONG LIVE NIX!

You could tender all three with first round picks if you wanted. It's only a question of money.

The Bills never disclose contract details, for some reason. I guess they don't give up the details on tender offers either. I really wish the NFL maintained a full player salary database, with up-to-the-minute cap info for all teams and players.

I'm totally happy with Tashard Choice as the #3 RB on the team. Signing a guy who will want more than 25 carries a season would just cause problems.

We need to keep all three, order doesn't matter. And given Buddy's work this week, I'm confident we'll get it done.

Locking up Stevie Johnson, Ryan Fitzpatrick, and Kyle Williams already means the Bills are changing their tune. We'll have no significant free agent losses this year despite ample opportunities as of a year ago. That's something Nix deserves real credit for.

So the question, obviously is this: What if this was Buffalo? Nix's press conference today announced two big-money signings, Stevie Johnson and Marshawn Lynch. Same terms. Brian Bulaga mans the RT position here and CJ Spiller is splitting carries with Mike Tolbert in San Diego. Are you happy? Or would you rather have the relatively-cheap CJ and Erik Pears starting at RT?

Agree. I've been harsh on Buddy for quite a while, but this was a home run. His biggest test as a GM yet, and he passed. We know Stevie's worth that money. Next up: addressing the pass rush.

Speaking of rankings, here's Pro Football Focus last week: Run Rank 12th, Pass Rank 2nd, Penalties Rank 6th Quite the turnaround for a Bills line that did a great job giving it’s quarterback sufficient time, and making life easy for their running backs. The impressive thing is how well the Bills did despite suffering a number of injuries, cutting short the breakout year of Demetrius Bell (+6.8) and forcing a number of positional shifts. Best Player: It’s a testament to Andy Levitre (+13.3) that despite having to play center and left tackle at various points of the year that he still put forth such a strong season. One of the better left guards on the year, how good could he be if he was allowed to flourish in one spot? Worst Player: It’s always tough to pick on a rookie, but Chris Hairston (-8.0) was the weakest of links in his 475 snaps. He didn’t embarrass himself, but such was the quality of the line that he was the only candidate for this category. 4th overall: http://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2012/02/23/ranking-the-2011-offensive-lines-part-2/