Tipster19

Using Cleveland for example, they pick 4th overall, Byrd is a great fit for Pettine's defense and Cleveland has two 4th rd picks and a 5th. It's not inconceivable for them to part with one of those picks to get a Safety of Byrd's stature. Just an idea.....

Why not trade UP to get a blue chip player at a need position AND get an additional pick (4th-5th rder)?

I don't want to start a whole thread over this seeing that it involves Byrd but if we can't come to terms with his camp then would swapping our 1st rd picks with Cleveland and also their first 4th rd pick be reasonable? I only suggest this if the Bills were highly interested in drafting one of these players, OT Greg Robinson, OT Jake Matthews or WR Sammy Watkins, and felt that they wouldn't be there at #9 when we would pick.

http://www.brobible.com/sports/article/32-nfl-teams-uniforms-redesigned/ All 32 teams were redesigned. I like the Bills' a lot except where they put name. Lol.

I checked earlier tonight and barring a trade up from another team, and I didn't see a team being able to move up that much, Oakland is the only team that would make sense to select Watkins. Could this guy actually fall to the Bills at #9??! If so then the Bills have a real decision to make here! This draft being so deep at the WR position makes me wonder if the Bills would actually pass on this guy because they think that they can get a more than adequate WR (Allen Robinson?), which they can, in the 2nd rd?? Matter of fact Watkins is the kind of impact player that would allow us to trade down with another team that is picking in the teens (Rams at #13 or Ravens at #17?). I fully expect the Rams to take OT Greg Robinson with the 2nd pick overall and the Falcons to take OT Jake Matthews with #6 pick. This leaves OT Taylor Lewan as the last viable OT left and at the #9 pick that might be too early to take him.

After hearing Marrone talk I now believe that Stevie won't get traded but if he did I think that a decent 4th round pick would be about the right value. As far as Byrd goes I'm hoping that we sign him but I'm not going to hold my breath about it. Unfortunately if we don't get him signed quickly that I expect him to be a goner. An early 2nd rder would be fair, especially in a deep draft.

I just wanted to respond to your post, it deserves it. I'm thinking that trading 1 or 2 of our players (Stevie?) might not be a hateful idea. This is suppose to be a very deep draft in years and reshaping our roster by trading a veteran or 2 that was from a whole other coaching staff just might be in order. I believe that our first pick in the draft (#9) will net us either a OT or a LB. After reading that the Bills are considering switching Kiko from a ILB to a weak side LB only leads me to think that OT will be our pick. I'm expecting the Bills to take Taylor Lewan, especially after watching his PC. His attitude, willingness and versatility is very appealing, not to mention his size, he's mammoth! Anyways here's to a successful draft. Go Bills!

In all the Byrd discussions I can't ever remember reading the reason why the Bills just don't pay him. Other than Byrd wanting to be paid as the top S, I just don't understand why they won't. The guy is a model citizen, probably is the top S or very close to it and I would think that if the Bills were to pay 8+ million that Parker and Byrd would be willing to be able to accept and work out the details. The top Safeties are getting that kind of money so why shouldn't Byrd??! As far as I'm concern the guy has done everything that was asked of him so just pay the guy. This stubbornness from our "brain trusts" is sending the wrong message to the rest of our players IMO.

Omg, this kid should be the poster child for all Bills' fans! How many times have the Bills made you feel like this kid ??!

I don't know how receptive he would be to a position change but Rutger's WR Brandon Coleman intrigues me. It's not uncommon, especially with the Bills, to have these college kids change positions. Coleman at the TE position would be that fast pass catching TE that seems so lucrative in today's NFL.

I have been consumed thinking about what direction the Bills might take once again. Let me now state a couple of disclaimers before I get started. The following names and speculations are only examples of what I believe we need to do. This post is designed for theory and philosophy, not specifics, meaning the names I'm using may not be the exact players that we obtain but the strategy is what I feel is important to us succeeding more than we did last year. Also as you can guess I'm not a "professional" writer so I'm just going to blow through some thoughts, even if it's not in the proper form. Warning! This is not a short post so if anyone is looking for a quick read then this post is not for you! So with no further ado here is my 2 cents worth. In the following scenarios I have us retaining Jairus Byrd by whatever means and the Bills trading Stevie Johnson to the Browns where he'll be a great compliment to Josh Gordon. I believe that we would only be able to get a 4th rder for him though. The guy was a 7th rder and has shown, at least to me, that he's not a #1 WR, Clearing the books of him would only be an added bonus as well. Not only will we draft his eventual replacement I also expect a very good year out of newly acquired Ramses Barden. Here's what would improve us in the draft imo, not only for the present but for the future as well. One thing I would like to mention is that I think that is important and I don't want it to not get recognized. I looked over the roster and man our team is young! Not only do we currently have some players and a solid foundation but we are also going to have a good team for years to come if we manage the salary cap properly.Here's my mock draft: Round 1- Pick #9 I've been anticipating for quite some time that the Bills will take a LB (Khalil Mack?) with their first pick (#9) if they don't trade up or down in the draft. After seeing how much Manuel has been critiqued this off season and thinking about his 3 knee injuries I now believe that it would be in the Bills best interest to try and protect him the best way they can and make their commitment to him being our franchise QB work. For this reason the Bills will draft a OT at #9. I also think that we have to reinforce this position (QB)better than we did last year. Although I love Thad Lewis' grittiest we still need to add more insurance. After Manuel and then Lewis went down I don't want it to ever come to relying on Jeff Tuel again, For this reason alone I want to see us add a veteran arm back there. I would like to see us add a veteran like Shaun Hill to our roster and send Tuel to the PS. Having him backing Manuel is a lot more secure in case of injury. Having Manuel, Hill and Lewis would be a very nice QB platoon in my opinion.Many of the draftniks are predicting OT Greg Robinson or Jake Matthews as our first selection but I expect them to be already taken by St Louis and Atlanta by the time we pick. This leaves Michigan's OT Taylor Lewan available and he's actually a better pick for us. First off he's mammoth and also has a nasty demeanor. I think that we need some attitude up on our OL and this guy will bring exactly that. What he lacks in technique, Marrone, being an ex-OL himself, will compensate for it. Round 2- Pick #41 Here's where we get our WR. As in Robert Woods it would be in our best interest to try and take a WR that is more pro ready. Penn State's WR Allen Robinson fits that bill, coming out of Bill O'Brien's offense will make a huge difference in his learning curve. He's big, he's agile and he's physical and anytime that we can tap into Belichick's coaching tree is an added bonus for us. Round 3- Pick #73 Here I'm sure is not going to be the most popular selection but referring to injuries once again I think that here is where we should find FJax's future heir. West Virginia's RB Charles Sims would be that big RB who can catch out of the backfield. Some compare him to Matt Forte and if we have the opportunity to get a RB like that then we should jump on it and never look back. Round 4- Pick #102 (Cleveland's) Buffalo has never been a franchise that went all in on a flashy TE and this year is no different. Here's where the Bills take a safe pick and select Iowa's TE C.J Fiedorowicz. He's a good solid blocker with up the field ability.Round 4- Pick #105The Bills continue to build their OL and protect EJ with their next pick. The Bills pair up newly drafted LT Taylor Lewan with G Dakota Dozier and solidify the OL. Here's a G that's quick off the snap as a run blocker and gets into the holes swiftly when asked to trap or pull. The biggest beneficiary to this revamped OL is going to be Spiller. Now this will complete the offense and they will be able to control the clock while still being able to make the splash plays. Round 5- Pick #169 It's time to pair up LSU's MLB Lamin Barrow with Kiko. His range is outstanding and has a frame that can put on weight. His versatility of playing inside or out is an added plus for a defense that is in a transition in philosophy. The last couple of rounds of the draft can be for whatever is deemed fit. CBs, LBs etc based on who is the best talent available.As far as free agency goes it has already been stated that we shouldn't expect for us to be big participants in it and I don't but I do expect some good depth kind of players to come in at a reasonable price. One being Arizona's FA DE Frostee Rucker. He can help hold down the left end in a rotational role. I'm sure that there could be another player or two that can be added but for now I think that if we were to execute most of the above that it would bring effective results all the while the Bills manage the salary cap.

If his contract goes with him and clears our books then trade him to Cleveland for their 4th rd pick.

Could the Bills be willing to move up in the draft so they can take Stevie's replacement with Watkins? If so the Falcons might be able to work a deal with. They desperately need an edge rusher and trading them our #9 pick overall with Hughes and maybe a later rd pick in this year's draft or next might get something like this done.

Oops, thanks for pointing that out, I shouldn't have assumed.

Dear Santa, please no more lumps of coal. This year I would like for the Buffalo Bills to do the following..... 1. Make a few big additions in free agency. Here's a list of the targets that I would like for the Bills to acquire. A. WR Eric Decker. Here's the big physical WR that Buffalo has been looking for. Regardless of his stats his presence alone would make the rest of the moving parts of our offense that much more effective. B. Sign San Diego's MLB Donald Butler and pair him up with Kiko. Here 's the beginning of stopping the bleeding of our run defense. C. Add another DE to help shore up our run defense. Enter Michael Bennett, his versatility and familiarity with Alan Branch should serve us well. We have plenty of pass rushers but we need to anchor that left side of our DL in Schwartz's defense. D. LT? Yeah. It wouldn't hurt. What the Bengals don't retain the Bills acquire. Pay LT Anthony Collins and get him in here. 2. With their first pick of the draft (#9) the Buffalo Bills select LB Khalil Mack. Time for the Bills to get back defensively where they were about 15+ years ago and that is having some big time LBs. 3. In the 2nd rd of the draft I would like for the Bills to finally make the TE position somewhat a priority and take a pass catching TE (Jace Amaro?) for a change! There 's more that I could add Mr Claus but I don't want to weigh you down. Keep in mind that I'm getting too to believe in you so make this year count and restore my faith in you! Yours truly, Tipster19

Imagine how Michael Sam must feel like. A person doesn't deserve such isolation, ridicule or hatred because he is gay. So far I haven't heard once that he has poor character or has been involved in criminal activity. Is this how we treat another human being?? This kid is someone's son and as a parent if my son was a good citizen and a decent human being and was treated like this simply because he is gay I would not only be furious but even more so heartbroken for him. Ha, talk about irony! As I'm literally writing this to post I get phone call from my friend right in the middle of it. He's calling me to ask me what I think about Michael Sam's father stating that he's uncomfortable about having a gay player in the NFL or something to that effect. I'm not quite sure exactly what it's all about but as soon as I post this I'm going to check it out and if there's any kind of truth to that then his father should be ashamed of himself for publicly denouncing what his son stands for. I'll end it like this, no matter what my children, and they are all adults now, have said or done or what they are it doesn't change the fact that I love them with all my heart and soul, regardless of how angry or disappointed they might have made me throughout the years. I love my children unconditionally and because of this mentality I don't believe that Michael Sam should be tortured or mistreated because he is gay.

We can debate this all we want but the bottom line is this country is built on freedom. This guy has the right to choose whatever lifestyle he wants, regardless who likes it or not. He is a football player, that's the only thing he should be judged on and that is if he can play or not. I'd like to think that that this country and our society has moved forward enough to be open minded about something like this.

You mean the Stevie of past years? If Decker were to put up numbers like that he would just about double what Stevie did last year. Furthermore I believe that we have a much better supporting cast of WRs than we have had years past, when Stevie was the recipient of more targets and more catches. If Decker were to get a 1,000+ yards and 6-8 TDs imagine what Woods and Goodwin would do. This offense would actually have to be considered high octane, with Spiller and Jackson in the backfield.

I have to ask, does Manning make Decker or is Decker the kind of WR that helps Manning look good? If it's all on Manning than we better quit wasting our time on EJ and go and get a better QB because Decker has proven that he can produce if the QB is any good., meaning that if he can't produce here than it must be our QB. Just saying.....

I'm doing this by an IPhone so I haven't read all 11 pages so if this has already been stated then understand why. First off I must say that Michael Sam sure does have some guy! Wow! Secondly, after the initial shock wears off, if he has the projected talent that's being discussed then I would have no problem if Buffalo were to draft him. Admittedly I have no knowledge of any college players because I only watch the NFL but with that being said I believe that Buffalo would be one of the franchises that could accept Sam for who he is due to our lockerroom and fan base. Buffalo strikes me as the kind of organization and community that once you are one of their own then not only would you be accepted but the fans would be very protective of you as long as you produced I the field. Anyways that's my take on it. I only hope that this guy doesn't get tortured or mistreated just for being who he is. Go Bills!

I like and agree with your thinking about trading back to pick up extra picks, regardless if it's San Fran or some other team. I think that we could afford to do this now because we do have a good core for a team and adding extra players versus just drafting 1 blue chip makes more sense to me. Go Bills!

Lol! That's the thing that I don't know what it means (belinda)! It's been driving me crazy every time that I see it in a post. What does it mean??!

Correct me if I'm wrong but I'm not so sure Pettine was a Marrone hire but more of a administration discussion about candidates and Pettine stood out. It wasn't too cloaked that the guy wanted to get out from underneath Ryan's shadow. As far as Pettine is concerned the Bills' opportunity couldn't have been more perfect of a situation for him. I don't fault him for wanting to become a HC one bit, sadly though I thought that we would have had 2 years+ with him. Oh well, good luck Mike, I wish you well! As for Schwartz, what makes you think that he's not doing the EXACT same thing??! What's a better way to get a HCing job than taking over this defense? ****, I might even apply for DC because this roster is LOADED with talent and we still have a quality draft in fromt of us to fill and/or add needed additional talent. I don't care if it's Pettine, Schwartz or even Buddy Ryan, we need more and better LBs to shore up our run defense and I'm quite confident that we will before the start of next season , whether it be the draft, free agency or possibly even a trade. Go Bills!

IMO Decker is exactly the kind of WR that we need. He's not only has great size but he's also seasoned. Here's a WR that has played with one of the greatest QBs of all time the last 2 seasons. What I really like about the Pepper Johnson hiring is his great experience and coming from a very successful system from, once again, one of the greatest coaches of all time. Our young WRs would benefit greatly from playing and learning from an experienced WR from a winning system. Nothing against Stevie but who mentored him? What QB did he play with that he benefitted from, Fitz??! No, if you want to soar like an eagle then you don't flock around with turkey's. Just saying.....

I do.