jahnyc

If Brooks really has a broken foot, I wonder if he gets put on the new IR, or if they use it on McGee.

I think the situation with the corners (injury for Rogers and set back for McGee) is a complication for determining the roster. May also impact whether the Bills feel they can keep Potter as a kick-off specialist.

Not sure about that. Chris Brown had been reporting that Edwards was playing well. Carrington has been a non-factor at DE and DT. Gilbert seems pegged for DE and Heard does not seem to add much. I think that Edwards was an upgrade over what is left at DT, even if his more natural position is DE in a 3-4.

The Bills have no depth at defensive tackle other than Spencer Johnson, and Williams is coming off of a significant injury. Cutting Edwards is a mistake. Neither Carrington nor Heard should be on the regular season roster.

The reality is that we need Williams (and, for that matter, Sheppard) to step up and play well this year. Both are starters and play positions that can be easily exposed if they are not up to it. McKelvin may be a better choice as starting CB this year, but based on his past performance and given that he will be a free agent after this season, it does make some sense to see if Williams is the answer as a starter, as long as it does not hurt the defense significantly.

Kind of feel badly for Thigpen. He needed a big game tonight (in a positive way).

I know it was Megatron, but Williams looked really bad (not even close to staying with him). He has not played well this preseason.

We really need A. Williams and Sheppard to step up this year. Otherwise, the 2011 draft will be a bust other than Darreus, who was a no brainer of a pick.

Buffalobills.com notes that Morrison is going to get some time at middle line backer against the Steelers. May have nothing to do with the play of Sheppard, but who knows.

I like a lot that Nix has done as well, including hiring Gailey, picking up Urbick and Reinhart off of waivers, and signing Williams, Anderson and Barnett, but his drafts are not measuring up at this point. Darreus and Gilmore should be very good players, but Nix missed with Troup, Carrington and Easley. Williams and Sheppard need to step up this year since they will both start, but I have my doubts, particularly with Sheppard. If he is ineffective, there will be a big hole in the defense. Glenn also needs to perform well, which a lot of pressure for a rookie at a key position. Our first round picks have improved under Nix, but we still need better production from our draft picks to have success.

I would think that Troup and Carrington are in some danger of being cut.

1. The Bills continue to like college players from the South: South Carolina, Georgia and NC State are the schools we have drafted from so far in this draft. 2. Drafting Gilmore confirms what we all knew: McKelvin is a huge bust (joining Maybin and Lynch (at least for the Bills)). 3. The Bills always do something weird on draft day. This year it is T.J. Graham, who was a huge reach and makes little sense in the third round. 4. I hope the Bills re-sign Levitre. If Glenn cannot handle LT or RT, maybe he will be the replacement for Urbick and Rhinehart, who are both free agents after this season. 5. Some draft people have criticized Glenn for not having the football intelligence to handle edge rushers. Can someone translate and explain to me what this means? 6. We really have drafted for need rather than BPA, although I have no idea who we would have drafted if Gilmore had also been gone. 7. I hope the Bills take care of Fred soon.

Getting Kalil would be sweet. If this happens, what a great offseason. Top LT prospect in the draft, top DE in free agency, another experienced DE with pass rushing ability in free agency and the re-signing of Stevie and other veterans. Combine all of this with (I hope) a healthy Wood, Merriman, Fred and Fitz, and I think we can look forward to the start of the regular season with real excitement.

How do Refiff, Martin, Glenn and Adams compare to some of the recently drafted offensive tackles (such as Belaga, Davis, Williams, Okung etc.) in terms of pre-draft ratings?

We all understand that money is tight, but if the proposal comes in at $200 million, it is the most reasonable renovation of an NFL stadium in recent history. It would be great to build a new stadium, but I doubt the money would be available and, fortunately, the Bills are not demanding it. This is the next best option, relatively low cost to modernize the current facility.

The Bills will always need to show that the team is viable in Buffalo, including economically. I think the MW signing potentially helps for the following reasons: 1. The Bills need to stay in Buffalo after RW passes. Anything that shows how excited and committed our fans are will ultimately make it more difficult for the Bills to ever leave Buffalo. A better, winning team will also indirectly improve the chances that the Bills stay in Buffalo over the long term, including because of increased ticket sales as noted below. 2. The Toronto arrangement ends after this year and the Bills need to negotiate an extension. I know that many of us do not like the Bills playing any games in Toronto, but it is an important source of revenue for the team and plays into the efforts to regionalize the Bills 3. The Bills will be seeking money from NY State for improvements to the stadium. A winning team with strong fan support may help with this process and put pressure on Cuomo and the State legislature to deliver the necessary funding. 4. There has already been an increase in season ticket sales, and I would expect that the MW addition will lead to improved attendance (particularly if the Bills get off to a good start this year) and increased sales of Bills related merchandise.

Not enthusiastic about the free agent WRs that are left. The Bills can draft a WR, but WRs usually take time to develop. Others may disagree, but I think a #2 WR is a big need.

As someone else pointed out in another thread, I think that we are the only team that has been rejected by a free agent who visited with a team today.

I think the Bills really thought they were going to sign Meachem and Williams. With Bell not re-signed, I am guessing they were going to draft a LT if all of this played out as planned.

Seems like all of the top FA wide receivers have already signed with other teams. V. Jackson, Colston, Morgan, and Garcon are all gone. Lloyd is over 30 and Manningham is not much of an upgrade. A strong #2 WR is a big need.

A few points: 1. I know that $100 million plus is a lot of money, but the reality is that stadium costs for the Bills over the years have been very low compared to almost every other NFL city. There is no demand for a new stadium, rather improvements to an old stadium that would not be sufficient for the needs of most NFL communities, even if renovated. 2. If RW stadium is not improved, the Bills will leave. The combination of an old stadium, an expiring lease and uncertainty with ownership after RW is fatal. 3. At some point, irrespective of the lease situation or the ownership situation, the NFL will eventually force the issue. Minneapolis is a good example of this. Incredibly loyal fans in Minny, but the NFL would have been okay with a move if the stadium situation was not resolved. 4. If not used for RW stadium, the $100 million plus will not be directed to improve the City of Buffalo. This money would not otherwise be spent by the state, at least not all on Buffalo. 5. No community in the country (other than possibly Green Bay) needs to keep an NFL team more than Buffalo in terms of psyche and community well being. 6. Cuomo is an idiot if he does not recognize the importance of this to the local community and the state overall.

He makes a good point about the number 2 wide receiver. The Bills need to re-sign Stevie, but they also need a strong number 2.

I think we are all going to be surprised with the amount of money some free agents are going to receive this year. There are teams with a ton of cap space, and they are going to spend silly. You may think that KC overpaid for Routt, but we should wait to make that judgment until the free agency period is over.

If the Bills do not end up re-signing Stevie, they will sign a lower cost WR. You can argue that this may have worked with Nick Barnett after Poz signed with the Jags, but I really do not have any confidence in this front office. This would send a really bad message to the players.

Either the Bills have handled this incredibly poorly, or they do not have strong interest in retaining Stevie. If he is not signed before free agency begins, he will be gone. It feels like the Poz situation all over again, where the team makes noise about wanting to re-sign the player, and then gets outbid once free agency begins. The Bills will claim that the money offered to Stevie was outrageous, but the reality will be that he could have been locked up at a lower price at an earlier point in time (just like with Poz).