jahnyc

Tricks maybe, but no treats. You do realize that this is the same guy that signed Cornell Green to replace Butler at RT last year.

Now it is back to the mega frustrating Buffalo Bills organization. How can the GM of the Bills with a huge amount of free cap space tell the fans that the Bill will not be spending money on free agents? How is this even possible? Then the reporter for the Bills tells us that we will not be targeting any of the top 70 free agents. What the GM tells us is that we will sign our own players, but we lose Poz, a guy they badly want to re-sign and praised as a leader. He was the one starter that most experts said we needed to keep (and the experts are usually more right than our GM). It looks bad to lose him and I doubt we have a back-up plan. I did not think Poz was a pro bowl caliber player, but he is probably better than any other available middle linebacker. Please don't tell me that Sheppard will be able to step in. I agree that Poz chased the money, but we are left with yet another hole and the near certainty that it will not be adequately filled. Sorry for the negative post, but I continue to have no confidence in this organization.

No worries, Beerball. I do not remember my other points, but the remaining points allow for plenty of discussion.

Hopefully recent reports are accurate and a new agreement is on the horizon. Some thoughts (assuming a new CBA is finalized and approved): 1. It seems that the rookie wage scale will apply to this year's draft selections. This would be very beneficial for the Bills and will significantly reduce the amount of guaranteed money that will be paid to Dareus. That's fine I suppose, but for how long will they be able to sign him? I've seen reports that the max # of years is being reduced. 2. I don't think Poz will be back. Just a gut feeling. He says the right things, but I am not sure he means it or that the Bills really want him back. The recent article regarding our inside linebackers on BuffaloBills.com made no mention of Poz, which I thought was odd. Unless they see a better alternative out there in FA...just sign the guy. 3. Assuming there is a salary cap, I am wondering how much the Bills are under and how much they will be obligated to spend to reach the new minimum spending requirement. Will the new agreement allow cash to cap for the Bills? See the thread regarding the cap, I'm sure there is more to come, but right now it looks like the cash cap will be $120M. 4. From my perspective, a very successful free agency period would include re-signing Poz and Florence and signing a quality RT and TE. Unfortunately, we always seem to be disappointed after free agency and our lack of activity. We will be forced to be active IMO by the salary floor. 7. I really thought our WR corp was going to be a disaster last year and I was very pleasantly surprised how things unfolded during the season. I am excited to see how they play this season, particularly since Marcus Easley is healthy and will be added to the mix. Should be a team strength, eh? 10. I have to admit that I like Gailey and I am impressed with what he has done with the offense. Hopefully, Wanny can make significant contributions to the defense. SHOW ME THE BABY! OP--sorry I screwed up your thread...

I think that I have read that teams can trade for 2012 pick during this year's draft, but if there is no draft in 2012, a team cannot recoup the pick. At least Mike Williams started his first couple of years and played adequately at times. Cannot say the same thing about Maybin.

Some thoughts: 1. I think high draft picks will become much more valuable if a rookie wage scale is implemented and top ten picks become reasonable in terms of overall compensation. The guaranteed amounts that have been paid to top picks is ridiculous and has made these picks difficult to trade. 2. Miller may be a great pick, but if selected by the Bills, it will be confirmation that Maybin was arguably the worst pick by the Bills in the last ten years. 3. McKelvin needs to step up this year, particularly if Drayton Florence departs via free agency. McKelvin has been disappointing overall, Spiller is is a major question mark, and Lynch is gone. Our failure to draft quality players in the first round is killing the team. 4. Luck is the real deal and I expect a smart team will try to trade with a crummy team to try to get the crummy team's first round pick next year to be in a position to draft Luck. 5. I am getting the feeling that the Bills will not try to re-sign Poz. Nothing to base this on, just a gut feeling from some of the things that Buddy has said about needing to get a number of linebackers from free agency and the draft. 6. I know that Marcel Dareus is very highly rated, but where would he fit on the Bills? Do we need a defensive tackle (after last year, I think we do)? Can he play DE? Seems like the Broncos will take him, so probably will not worth worrying about. 7. I would love for the Bills to trade back into the first round to get Castonzo or Carini. We really need to solidify the offensive tackle position, and finding a quality RT would be a great start.

I have no idea whether Ralph is cheap, but I would note the following: (i) the other teams in our division may be paying out significantly more in bonus money (which can reduce base compensation) and (ii) there was a salary floor cap, and I believe paying money in base compensation helps with meeting that minimum threshold.

1. It has been 11 years since the Bills made the playoffs. Why is Ralph telling us it is going to be another two or three years before we make the playoffs again? That is poor marketing and makes no sense in a league where teams can turn things around very quickly. 2. Every offseason I am hopeful that the Bills will fill holes and improve the roster. The last number of years I have been disappointed, because each offseason the Bills create new holes and fail to fill the old holes or the new holes. I know that Stroud was probably overpaid, but do we really think that Carrington or Johnson is ready to fill that spot? Florence, Whitner, Wilson and Youboty will all be free agents and I doubt we will re-sign any of them other than maybe Wilson. It is fine if we have or sign replacements, otherwise, the Bills are just creating more holes. 3. Posters on the board seem to get excited when we cut a veteran that may be overpaid, particularly since they think that it means that the Bills will use the money for free agents. This has not been the case. If there was a salary cap, I bet we would be under the floor. Our payroll must be one of the lowest in the NFL. We have no stars and the Bills cut (or do not re-sign) veteran players. 4. Drafting a DE with our first pick in this draft will show why the Maybin pick hurts so much. 5. Will Poz be back? Is he a solid LB? 6. Can the Bills please draft a TE that can play? NE picked up two TEs in the draft that contributed significantly in their rookie seasons. 7. Can the Bills please draft some players that will contribute in their first year? 8. The Bills need a RT badly. I hope we use our second round pick to address the o-line. If Wood becomes the starting center, what happens to Hangartner? Would he play RG or would they need to find a RG? 9. I like Fitzpatrick and I think he deserves a chance behind an improved o-line.

After Williams, I think our DTs are terrible. Troup played poorly (yes, I know he was a rookie) and there is not much else at the position for the Bills with Stroud moving to end. Our defense was horrible last year, and I don't think the problem was in the secondary. That leaves the linebackers and the line, and it was a combination of poor play from both that led to our dismal defensive play this past season. Clearly, we need upgrades at DE, DT, ILB and OLB, and the Maybin pick has really hurt the team. Hopefully, Merriman will be healthy next season and that will be one less positional need.

Can't argue with Kiper on the re-grade of Buffalo's draft. As others have noted, other teams received strong contributions from their rookie classes (including New England). We did not, and we are lacking overall talent. Unless Spiller becomes an every down back and a pro bowl caliber player, this draft will never make sense to me. I thought Troup and Carrington were disappointing, but I understand it is premature to make any judgments about their long term prospects.

Seems like Whitner will be gone, and Florence and Youboty as well. The Bills will do what they always do: create more holes on a roster already lacking talent. McKelvin has not developed, and the Bills will be left with a weaker secondary after the departure of the three free agents. There is no way the Bills will sign Asomaugha. I don't see the Bills spending big money on free agents in the near future (and probably longer). One question I am wondering about is whether the Bills will (or want to) re-sign Poz. If it was possible, I would sign Mankins and David Harris. This would weaken two of our AFC East rivals. I would then move Wood to center and draft a RT with our second round pick.

Just to be clear, I was making an observation about our o-line based on what happened today with Brohm starting instead of Fitz. There are many problems with this team, including the inability of the defense to stop the run. We will have no success until this is remedied.

One thing that was clear today is that Fitz's quick decision making, pocket awareness, and mobility have masked the problems on our o-line. RT is a disaster and needs upgrading. I know many have praised Bell's play this year, but I am still not convinced that he is a starting caliber LT. The o-line needs to be addressed this offseason.

I think this analysis points to the biggest problem with our rookies: our draft picks did not contribute enough this year. Spiller has been very disappointing and Gabriel confirms what many of us have suspected: Troup and Carrington are developmental projects with upside. The Bills need to get better value with their picks and more of an immediate impact. I appreciate that not every draft pick can contribute in the first year, but the reality is that we received very little production from our top four picks in last year's draft. For a team that is lacking overall talent, it is a bad sign that our top picks did not make an impact this year.

Some thoughts below: 1. Not to state the obvious, but the Bills lack talent. RT, outside linebacker, TE, DE and DT are all priorities. The question will become how many holes can be filled this offseason with the draft and free agency, and whether the Bills will spend money on free agents. My concern is that the Bills will create a number of new holes by not re-signing certain players and releasing others that are well paid. In the first category are Whitner, Poz and Florence. In the second category are Stroud and Evans. The magnitude of the needs and potential holes will not allow the Bills to address all needs in one or two offseasons, unless the Bills make a significant number of free agent acquisitions. 2. Overall, the Bills offense was more enjoyable to watch this year. Fitz made some plays, and even converted on long third downs. Gailey did well with what he had when you consider the o-line, injuries, and lack of a starting caliber tight end. 3. The defense continues to be a disaster. Could not stop the run in many games this year and in passing situations applied no pressure. We do not have the right personnel for the 3-4 defense. Not sure if Edwards is the right guy as DC. 4. Williams had a very strong year. Also good to see Stevie Johnson develop into a strong starting WR. Moats seems to be a player, and I hope he develops. Troup and Carrington were somewhat disappointing, but some of this should be expected as first year players. 5. Spiller continues the trend of underwhelming first round picks. Granted, he is a rookie, but many rookie running backs have great first years. We will not have success if we continue to draft poorly with our first pick. Lynch, McKelvin and Maybin have all been disappointments. Maybin seems to be a complete bust. McKelvin has had three years to develop and still looks lost at times. 6. The secondary could go from a strength to needing additional players. We could potentially lose Whitner, Wilson, Flrorence and Youboty. 7. The play of Whitner and Poz continue to be a mystery to me. Should they be re-signed? I would love to get an independent third party analysis of their play. Whitner seems to have trouble covering TEs, although he made a lot of tackles this year. Poz has always seemed a bit slow, but also makes a lot of tackles. 8. Stroud seemed awfully quiet this year. I know that he switched positions (DT to DE), but did he make plays? 9. We need more production from rookies, meaning that we need to select players in the draft who can contribute immediately. 10. The bottom line is that it was another poor season for the Bills. It has been more than 10 years since we made the playoffs. We need upgrades, including at many of the same positions that we needed last offseason. I think many were thankful that we did not finish 0-16, but we need to communicate to the front office that the team's performance this year was not acceptable.

Agreed. I think that is why the current situation is so depressing and why it may take years for the Bills to be competitive.

The problem is that we lose players and we do not have the ability to adequately replace them either because we draft poorly and there is not a young player ready to step in or we are not active in free agency. At this point, our strategy of building through the draft cannot keep up with the holes that we have and the holes that are always being created, particularly when the replacements are usually worse than the players let go or not re-signed. If anything, the talent level is deteriorating. What we need are upgrades at almost every position other than RB, cornerback, K, and punter.

Way too early to make judgments about this draft but ... 1. We are not getting very good production from our picks in the current season; 2. None of our picks are stand-outs in their first season to date: 3. Other teams are getting more production from their picks in the last draft (i.e., the Chiefs and the Pats); and 4. The overall talent level on the team is so poor that I would have thought there would be more production and playing time for our first year players. Hopefully we will see more production and flashes from our first year players as the season continues.

Should the Bills extend Whitner and/or Poz? What about Youboty or Florence? It is a depressing thought, but one could argue that there are no players with contracts that will expire this year or next year that that should be extended. Our overall talent is very poor.

The troubling part of this is that he seems so far away from being a productive member of the defense. A project is one thing, but not being able to contribute at all in his second season (even to special teams) suggests that his long term prospects are poor.

This really is good news (for once)! I may hate that the team is terrible and has not made the playoffs in 10 years, but I would never want the team to move under any circumstances.

Three years of above average drafting would not be enough to fix this team. Clearly, RW does not care about the marketing of this team. How many other owners would say this when many teams have been turned around in one or two years? After 10 years of incompetence, Bills fans deserve better.

I see nothing positive in this season so far. Questionable moves, odd timing and a sense that no one is in charge. Some things that concern me greatly: (i) our young players seem to be regressing (i.e., Byrd, Levitre and Wood), (ii) replacements for players that were not re-signed or waived are not performing (i.e., Stevie Johnson), (iii) our rookies are barely having an impact, (iv) our defense is a disaster, and I am not sure if our defensive coordinator knows what he is doing, and (v) we do not have enough draft picks next year to fix this mess. We are not rebuilding this year. As others have stated, we do not even have a nucleus for future success.

For every Freddie Jackson there are five missed draft picks. Peters and Jackson were great finds as undrafted free agents, but our drafting has been horrible over the last number of years. After 10 years of ineptitude, this franchise, including the current front office, does not get a benefit of the doubt. However, Nix and Gailey are the guys, so they will be given an opportunity to fix things, whether or not we agreed with their hiring. Not much we can do at this time, other than hope for improvement and complain when things go poorly.

No one is expecting a turn around in a matter of weeks, but after 10 years of futility, it is reasonable to want to believe that our current front office is competent. I understand that rebuilding the Bills is a huge undertaking, but we are not seeing any signs of progress, particularly on the field. We all knew the weaknesses going into the season, and if anything, we have more holes to fill now. Wanting to hear from the GM or the owner after losing the first four games seems like a reasonable thing to me. When we speak of accountability, most of us are not talking about firing Nix or Gailey, but the desire to hear that about the plan to improve the team, even if it is a repeat of prior statements. We also want to hear that losing is not acceptable, and resources will be made available to improve this team. Ultimately, we want to know that someone is in charge and that they care about the direction of this team and tne franchise. Buffalo fans worry about things that other fans do not need to think about (i.e., RW and the future of the franchise). More communication from the front office and the owner would certainly help.