Ray

Hopefully he has a great year. He has had flashes but to date has been very mediocre. We could have had 15 other backs including TH give the Bills the same production. Many of us see him as possibly a very special back but he has not shown that so far. I think the problem many of us have is that an average back should be showing more of an interest in his team!

Willis did not have a great year by any stretch--he was mediocre. Yes, he was number 10 overall but it took him a lot of touches to do it! He was about 40 yards more than Willie Parker, but had 70 touches more than Willie! Hence if Willie got 70 touches more and averaged .6 yards per carry he would have eclipsed Willis. And Antowain Smith had a higher yards per carry than WM, if we want to compare former Bills. I think most of us like Willis, but question his dedication and desire to be a Bill and see him bolting for the door the first chance he gets. I think everyone sees his "potential" and just yearn for him to get there.

Lv-Bills--I agree, the kid looked good, ran hard, etc.. Maybe he really stinks vs better competition so they didn't play him. But if that's the case why did they keep him on the roster? I thought he looked quick, made quick decisions and ran hard. I'd like to see how he has developed over the past year. The less McGahee is around the more chances he gets. We'll see.

Smart, intelligent, hard-working QB. Who do you think of? Maybe a QB who was drafted in the 6th round and has three SB rings. Hmmmmm.....how about a "me" flashy QB for Atlanta. How many SBs has he won. I think Marv's point is that dumb, selfish players who are great talents do not consistently win. And he is right. Look at the Patriots, the model of consistency in today's NFL who stress a team concept and don't go after the Keyshawns, TO's, selfish players. You need talent---nobody is disputing that! But giving millions of dollars to college guys with a history of being lazy and not motivated is a big risk. Maybe MW rings a bell as well. Character to Marv means people who show up, are loyal, work hard, study hard, and play for the team.

Willis had a bad year last year and much of it was his fault. He was slow to the line and had poor acceleration. I hope he has a great year this year. I just find it hard to believe that a professional athlete has so much else going on that he is unable to make a three hour plane flight to be with his teammates! Regardless, it shows a lack of respect to his teammates and the new coaching staff. It gives the impression he is too good for the mini-camps. Taking three "days off" to come and practice with his team hardly seems like a big thing to ask. He is a very good back, but still has a lot to learn about the NFL. He is in the middle of the pack in terms of backs in the NFL and probably ranked as the 3rd or 4th best back in the AFC East. He has a long ways to go to be considered close to the top 5.

Maybe Gates will show something and get an opportunity. I'm sure Willis is working out hard and keeping himself in shape but with a new offense and new system etc it helps him and the team to be there. It also would help him relationship with the new coaching staff. Here is my question--what else does Willis have to do????? He is a professional athlete this is his job!!!!

I'm sure the Rams are impressed with Buffalo's no playoff teams in the past 5 years. They must also be impressed with the two number one draft picks spent on QBs that have yet to pan out. It boggles the mind how Mort and Lenny P still maintain that Tom D is one of the best GM's in the game when he is one of only two GMs not to get their team in the playoffs the past five years. If/when Marv fails to produce a playoff team in 5 years you can criticize him then! And if that's the case he still will not have been worse than Donahoe! One playoff appearance in the next 5 years will eclipse Donahoe's tenure!

Did we have other needs when we drafted Willis? Seems to me we had a very good back who loved being a Bill in Travis Henry. I like Willis in a lot of ways but when his contract is up do you think he wants to stay in Buffalo? His committment so far appears a bit sketchy.

Attitude and committment to the team is a huge thing---especially in the eyes of your teammates. Clements cuts away from a vacation to come back to Buffalo to practice. McGahee likes to hang out in South Beach and work out hard in Miami but not come back to practice. Do you think the Patriots veterans put up with that type of stuff? Brady (the best QB in the league) doesn't go back to California to hang out and work out. He goes back to the exciting town of Foxboro Massachusetts to work out with his team and stay committed to winning. He is at that stadium 6:15 every moring to work-out. That says something to the rest of your teammates about professionalism and your dedication to the team! It also makes others come in and see the importance of it.

Probably a big reason they took McCargo over Bunkley. Bunkley arrested for stealing a video, an underachiever, and lack of effort guy until last year. That's a big risk giving a guy with a history of being lazy a huge multi million dollar contract (anyone remember Mike Williams?). McCargo gives a great effort and is a smart kid. If you want to talk about value he is the 26th pick in the draft with a huge upside. We'll all just have to sit back and see in 2-3 years who is right. Maybe everyone will be if they all pan out!

Matt Light of the Pats was a reach---so much of a reach he was the starting LT for 3 SB teams. I wish/hope we have reaches like that!

Overall good draft. Not sexy like some might want. Leinhart? Are you kidding me? Our first round pick will do more for his team than Vince Young will in the next three years! The more I hear about these guys the more sense it makes. He would have been gone very likely with the next pick--Detroit and Baltimore both really liked the kid. We got 2 players in the first round who will contribute this year and that is all you can really hope for coming out of the draft. They went for people who are smart and work hard and are coachable. Not like DTs like Watson who get benched for lack of desire---we've had enough of that kind of player for way too long.

The more I read about these guys the happier I am with this draft. They needed major upgrading on the defensive side of the ball. It's hard to complain about smart, hard working, dedicated, talented players. I think they targeted guys with certain characteristics they like and went out and got them. I was disappointed at first too, but nobody knows how things will turn out and Whitner gives the Bills a lot of flexibility and is able to match up with talented TE. Our division has McDaniel and Watson remember! Just give the draft time to play out. Vince Young with the third pick and paying him 7M a year to sit is plain bad value! Do you think Tennessee goes to the playoffs with him in the next 4 years while at the same time paying him huge cap money? QBs are bad value in the first round for what you get for the first 3-4 years. Going defense is not sexy, but stacking this team with quality players will pay off big I think.

Doe anyone remember an undrafted freee agent we took in Pat Williams? He was pretty good.

Mr. Wegman was a great man who gave so much back to the community. He was such a refreshing person in today's business world. He will be missed by many. He created a great company that really is the model for the supermarket industry. May he RIP.

Yeah Detroit plays in a dome--but let's be honest. You are playing in bad weather maybe 3 games in Buffalo in December. 45-50 degrees in the fall is not cold weather. The weather in Detroit and Minnesota are the same as Buffalo. So they play in a dome, big deal. You still live in the cold and a whole 3 days out of 365 are different because you play in a dome not outside. I agree with finding guys who are not afraid of the cold weather. News flash--if you want to play in the NFL (3 NYS teams, New England, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Cinci, Phila, Chicago, Detroit, GB, Minnesota, etccc) odds are you are going someplace cold. You're season is over in January so go down to south Florida for the next 2-3 months. But it does seem these guys are ill-eqiped to deal with it and B word and whine about it. Find Big 10, ND,etc.. guys who can deal with it and are used to it.

What do you expect out of a fourth rounder? That is a round for depth and ST players. Occasionally you hit on a good starter like McGee, but overall expect a role player. Moulds for a fourth rounder who will maybe on the team for 3-4 years as a role player. Great trade.

How about a second rounder?

A lot of teams may be interested to pay him 3M/year. But they're not interested to pay him 7M/year.

If you think Belicheck is going to pay him more than 4M/year you are crazy. Belicheck is a master at assigning value to players. He would never pay a WR 7M/yr that Moulds would get in a trade.

Leinhart=instant success apparently. Miami with a very mediocre QB, who by the way was worse than Losman for the first half of the season last year. Relax people, it is MARCH!!! Watch some college hoops, relax and have some fun. I bet all you all picked Seattle last year to win the NFC and Cincinnati to have a good year.

Pats are in no way paying him 5M/year. He would likely get that from the Eagles an/orBroncos but not the Pats. The Pats have always had a very average group of WRs but they have the best QB in the league.

The big problem is cost! That's it--but cutting Moulds to pay an inferior receiver 5M/year makes no sense. We should just keep Moulds, he and/or his personal advisor should keep their mouths shut! And then pay him his contract or renegotiate it a little to lessen the cap hit. Seems pretty simple.

Givens for 5M/year? Wow, are receivers overpaid! The Pats will replace his production with some 4th round draft choice.

I like Ashworth as well. Maybe his price is too high. Living in NE they talked about him a lot as a reliable/good RT. Not great, but good and solid. From what I have heard, he hasn't gone anywhere to look. I don't know why or maybe they just haven't reported it here. We'll see---I like your line with the exception of Villarial. He was really weak last year. I think he personally is a great, great guy, but on the field he was manhandled consistently.