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Oh, I do, sue me. Much of what he says is GM-speak, you have to take it with a grain of salt. "we want to build through the draft", yet 5 of the likely defensive starters on D are FA acquisitions, 4 of whom were signed by Buddy. That includes 4 of the front 7. Name me a GM not named Snyder who doesn't want to build through the draft? You take what he says with a grain of salt. His whole "we'll take a guy in the draft or FA'cy if he's better than the guy we have" concept is kinda nuts as it is applied to the offensive line. No free agents in the last 2 years are better than Eric Pears and Craig Urbik? No one was available in the draft was better than those two? Really? Again, these "philosophies" are GM speak, it is a nice aspiration, but it is more of a guide than it is a hard and fast rule. I swear, if Buddy said something like..."We don't really want to be a playoff team, playoff teams are usually arrogant jerks", you'd have people saying.. "hey Buddy says we don't want to be a playoff team, what are you expecting? Quit your whining."

I don't know... he's gone through 2 drafts and 2 FA periods and hasn't improved the position. That's 4 separate opportunities to do so. I might hold out a slight glimmer of hope, say if a Vernon Carey is waived, but they aren't particularly high, based on his past conducts. I have little doubt he's going to bring in someone off the waiver wire, but I suspect it is going to be a Wrotto type rather than a starter.

Who are these "young" players you are referring to? Pears is 29 and is on his 4th team. He couldn't beat out Cornell Green in Oakland, and couldn't beat out Jordan Black for a back up role in Jacksonville. The Bills should hold off improving the position for that? This is a guy to say, "we need to see what he's got?" Many of his suggestions weren't too bright, especially a washed out Flozell Adams....but to say Urbik or Pears have somehow earned their shot...why? The sooner people understand that the Oline is far, far down on their list of priorities, the better off they'll be.

The guy's on his 4th team since 2007. I'm stoked.

Well, the right side consists of 2 starters that are questionable as NFL reserves; The LT needs regular help; There isn't a true blocking tight end. 2.5 out of 5 is one way to look at it in a positive spin. Having your right flank caved in on a regular basis in another way to look at it. A matter of perspective, I guess.

I wouldn't call it a trend, it is more of a matter of Belichick putting players in a position where they can succeed. He's not going to waste someone like Haynesworth by making him a two gap nose tackle. They've never been a strict 3-4 team anyways. They've always been able to shift to a 4-3 front, depending who they had on the field.

Sapp's no fool, not when it comes to talking about defensive linemen, at least. And he's a huge Dareus fan. Based on what you've posted, all he's saying is that Dareus' talents won't be maximized putting him head up on a tackle and telling him to hold his ground. He went through that himself when he was with Oakland and they switched to a 3-4 for a year. He's not a fan of using penetrating D-linemen as 5 techs. As he's pointed out on numerous occasions, how many 5 techs have more than 10 sacks per year? I think there are a number of arguments that can be made, especially in run defense, where Dareus will go a long way towards holding up one side of the line. And they're right, Dareus' speed-strength combo lends him to succeeding anywhere along the DL. But pairing him on the inside with Kyle Williams, if they decide to do so, could really cause problems on an interior OL. If Dareus is as good as I think he is, they could be the best DT tandem we've had since Pat Williams-Sam Adams, and quite possibly surpass them. But you have to use them correctly. At least at times, put them together, force an OL to double team one and leave the other with a single blocker. Good things will happen. All Sapp really seems to be saying is, don't waste the guys talent just holding the line. Or as Keith Jackson would say, "you have to let the big dog hunt."

Jammal Brown finally got his sports hernia, scar tissue out of the way in the second half of last year. He was a two time pro bowler at LT before his injuries. He's certainly worth looking into. Surprisingly, Sean Locklear led all RT's in Pass Blocking efficiency, per Pro Football Focus. http://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2011/06/13/2010-pass-blocking-efficiency-tackles/ Either is going to be a two year stop gap Of course, we'd have to draft someone in the meantime, and drafting OT's isn't something the Bills like to do.

Right side of the OL. We have none.

I don't know if it is about the money, or should I say only about the money. To me at least, it seems more of a lack of respect for the position and what it entails. I think there are some running the show with the attitude of "we can get anyone off the street to play there". Thus, Buddy's quote of "hey, we got Eric Pears, he's 6'8" and 315". If you don't have respect for the position, you aren't going to pay much for anyone, and you aren't going to waste high draft choices for someone. Of course, it isn't true, most in the league know that, that's why there are multiple tackles taken in the first round every year. But we're smarter than everyone. We'll see. Prove me wrong Buddy, show me the baby!

OK then, judge him on his own merits. He's had 2 drafts and one FA'cy period so far. 3 opportunities to improve. 1. He took over a team that he knew had lost 4 of 5 starters, including both offensive tackles. Those 4 were replaced with 2 draft choices. He further knew that this was a team that had neglected the Oline for years. 2. In those 3 opportunities for improvement, he brought in a RT who was far past his prime and who was losing his job with his previous team. It showed on the field in 2010. 3. In his 2 drafts, he passed over 10 and 11 OT's, respectively, waiting until the 5th round and the bottom of the 4th. That is 21 OT's picked in 2 years that he apparently didn't think were good enough. 4. He's publicly talked about guys being cut by other teams making our Oline better. (a really scary statement about the status of our O-line). The waiver wire pick ups as a means of improvement are very Donahoe-esque. The "we need to draft a DB every year" line comes right out of the Dick Jauron Book of Defensive Back Porn. He's shown no more of a commitment than his predecessors. It could probably be argued that Donahoe showed more commitment. He has a beautiful opportunity to do something in this FA'cy period. Will he? We'll see. Frankly, IMO, Buddy's at a show-me-the-baby stage as far as the Oline is concerned. He can tell me about the labor pains some other time...right now, he can show some form of commitment to do things different than the previous regimes. If he brings in some solid players, I'll be happy. If he does nothing, I'll know.

I can actually forgive them for the Spiller pick...but you'd think you would want to get some people around him to protect the investment. But it goes well be the first round pick(s). Until this draft, the Bills hadn't taken a tackle before the 5th round since 2002. That has to be a record. And they broke that dubious record by taking a guy at the bottom of the 4th. Someone elsewhere pointed out that around 105 tackles were taken in the top 4 rounds during that time frame. Out of all of those guys, we had "other needs" or "they didn't represent value", or "there are only so many picks" If this had been an Indy or Baltimore type line over the last decade, it would be one thing, but damn, it isn't like our line has been considered solid. Personally, it has got beyond the point of any reason or logic. I think they're refusing to upgrade the line out of spite.

The Pro Bowler has been starting with his team for the last 5 years. The other..was playing behind people the Bills ended up cutting. Pears has been in the league for 5 years, not 2. He's 29, not 24. One showed improvement, the other didn't. I'm sorry if you can't see the difference. Yeah, there's always that chance. A James Harrison pops up. A Tom Brady is drafted. You hit the jackpot on a scratch and sniff card. Do you rely on your scratch card to cover your mortgage payment? Cool, a guy drafted 25 years ago is your justification. I wonder if there is a 250 lb. fullback we can nab out of the CFL who can become our leading rusher. So how many times have we hit on these late round picks since then? Once, in 2004, with a UDFA named Jason Peters. That's once since 1987, 24 years. What are Terrance Pennington, Ben Sobieski, Aaron Mertz, Kyle Calloway, Jamie Nails, and that long, long list of others doing these days? Throw in the list of the scrub free agents over the last decade and this list gets substantially longer.

That's part of it. Mike Williams was 9 years ago. We haven't come close to drafting a tackle that high since then. Oh, sure they're definitely similar. One has started 48 games in the last 3 years, the other ... 5, due to injuries of starters. One was named to the Pro Bowl last season, the other...cut by 2 teams, couldn't hold a job as a back up on either team. You're right, the career paths parallel each other. They're both over 6'5" and over 300 lbs, too.

Actually, he wasn't. He started 2 games in Sept 09 when Gallery got injured and 2 games after that at LT when Green hurt his calf. He didn't start another game in 2009. Green started the remainder of the games at RT, except maybe one or 2 with Kalif Barnes. After being cut by the Raiders at the beginning of the 2010 season, he was signed by Jax for a week when Eben Britton got hurt. He cut a week later in favor of the extremely below average Jordan Black. This is his 4th team, except for some fill in duty in 2009 and 1 game last year, he hasn't been a full time starter for 4 years. I seriously hope Buddy's trying to play some type of poker game before FA, but I doubt most GM's are believing him.

Well, he wasn't good enough to beat out either Cornell Green or Langston Walker when he was in Oakland. And he wasn't good enough to win a back up job in Jacksonville last fall. I'm not surprised that this is how they feel. This is probably the same official newsman who said how happy they were with Bell and Kirk Chambers during the 2009 season. They really need to get someone who can evaluate an OL past the "he's 6'8" and 300 lb." stage.

At least he didn't mess with the beer tent. Damn, I miss those days.

QB- That's easy... LT- Pro Bowl QB's need protection. DE - 3-4, 4-3 who cares...All I know it I would have Kyle Williams, Dareus and Mario Williams on the same defensive line. You hear that Brady? MLB - Hmmm, behind Dareus and Kyle Williams I put Patrick Willis. Running lanes just became noticeably narrower. RT - To go with Levitre and Wood, I just added 2 Pro Bowl tackles. My pro bowl QB thanks me, FJ thanks me, Spiller especially thanks me. Now excuse me, I need to go and get a second job to pay for all of these guys.

This was one of Harvey's points....there is ALWAYS some skill player, or someone for the latest new defensive scheme, who seems to take precedence. It has been going on since before Buddy got here...he's just continuing the trend. This is the 4th "new" defensive scheme in a decade, and we seem to need 5-6 new guys to make it work. There is always the RB who is too good to pass up, or the "fits the scheme" offensive skill player who has to be taken before we get around to the Oline. But I'll put is this way...Woods and Levitre went in the 1st and 2nd round, respectively. How many people complain about those picks? How many think they weren't worth their position drafted? Compare that to some of the skill players, the supposed play makers we couldn't pass up. McGahee Lynch Maybin Whitner Hardy McLovin Parrish If we had used a third of those picks on quality OL, we'd have a kick ass Oline by now.

-When Lou Saban came back to Buffalo, he saw they had a superstar RB in the making. Reggie McKenzie was drafted at the top of the 2nd and the next year, Joe D and Paul Seymour (an OT playing TE) in the first the next year. He understood that if you want to get the guy in a position to make plays, you better have the people to do it. -When Knox traded Joe D, (I was in high school at the time), I was shocked. Apparently it was a personality thing. Replacing him with a declining Conrad Dobler seemed like a step back. But Dobler brought an attitude that immediately made those around him better. He brought a "he's our QB and we will protect him by whatever means necessary" attitude. He said himself, Ken Jones and Joe Devlin were very good players, they just needed an attitude. The Bills ended up giving up something like 16 sacks that year, and led the league in 3rd down percentage. Here's the thing with the present O. You just use a 1st round pick on a little scat back, someone who is supposed to be able to take it to the house on every play. Wouldn't you want to protect, or enhance your investment by getting some guys who can get him past the LOS? If he can break it on every play, wouldn't you want to increase his opportunity to so?

It wasn't under appreciated by me. Nor was his ability to make the line calls at the LOS. Hangman made a comment about it during the season. Fitz was so good at placing the lineman in the right area and on the right guy that he just let him go ahead and do it. Fitz did about as good as you can with what he had to work with.

Urbik is a bit like Meredith. Drafted realtively high (I think they were both 3rd rounders). But both were cut early in their careers by teams who needed OL at the time. (Urbik by the Steelers, Meredith by the Packers). Both teams subsequently drafted OL high after they were cut. You have to wonder why a team with a need cuts a relatively high draft choice early in their careers. It will be great if he works out, but I'm not betting the ranch on it. There are several things that come into play here, on the OL situation. Unless Hangman moves to guard, or one of these guys somehow shows more than they have...we need a RG also. Moving him to guard makes the most sense to me. But...Bell didn't give up a lot of sacks, but he needs help. Whoever is going to be a RT is going to need help. When both sides need help, you're really constricting your offense, due to the number of people who end up staying in. If they need help on a running play, you are taking away a guy who would otherwise be taking on someone at the 2nd level.

last year, the same talk was made about Jamon Meredith and Ed Wang. You can replace the names and the comments remain the same, year in and year out. I don't have a problem with bringing in other team's cast off's or low round draft choices. I agree, if you happen to hit on one... great. But the Bills bring these guys in an pencil them in immediately as starters. I can't think of a team that has consistently placed such a low priority on the O-line, for so long, as the Bills have.

Pears just turned 29. When he was with Oakland in 2009, he couldn't beat out our 2 previous RT's (Langston Walker and Cornell Green.). He's been in the league since 2005. He couldn't win a back up job in Jacksonville last year. Wrotto was drafted in 2007. He was with Seattle for 3 years before being cut last year. These are veteran players that are being discussed.