Bflojohn

If I were a betting man, I'd say that the most comfortable fit for Marv Levy might be Dan Reeves. Experience counts and Reeves has it and he coached against Marv with a little bit of success. The final thing is that Reeves is 62 and Marv started with the Bills at 61. Marv probably would think Dans' best coaching is in front of him!!

Dan Reeves is 62 years of age and Marv was gired in Buffalo at 61. He might think Reeves' best coaching is in front of him!

Quite possibly the biggest NON story in a while. He's been looking for an agent for a month now and is the "odds on" number one pick. He'd be brain dead to go back with his stock sooo high right now!

One important point in defense of Nate is that next year he'd look MUCH better IF we sign Grady Jackson and draft Mario Williams or Haloti Ngata. Suddenly, pressure up front provides less time for his man to break free. Also keeping teams in third and long after stopping the running game might help. Just a thought!

The final thing about Bill Tobin and Mel Kiper is this..... Tobin is long gone and Kiper is a highly paid member of ESPN! Now who gets it?

Well, for the one here who doesn't know who Mel Kiper is, here goes! He is an independant scout who publishes a yearly draft guide. Mel has worked for ESPN since 1984 on their draft coverage and now he has expanded to being a full time columnist, right around this time of year! Mel also has an "insiders" column that is subscriptioned based. I haven't had a Kiper guide for years now as I believe he's always looking for the " diamond in the rough" instead of just rating the best top to bottom. His Guy this year is Dwayne Slay, a safety he has hyped for nearly a month! One of his defining moments was a "pissing contest" he once had with the then GM of the Colts, Bill Tobin. He basically told Tobin that he didn't understand the draft and taking Trent Dilfer was the better pick over LB Trev Alberts! Tobin went on to say that his Postman knew more football than Mel Kiper! Hilarious stuff!!

In the issue, only two Bills are mentioned at all. The Miami Dolphins are said to have free agent Nate Clements on their radar. Eric Moulds is a target for the Philadelphia Eagles. First off, the Bills don't want Clements to end up in Florida unless it's with Tampa Bay after a trade. He MUST be franchised for trade or re-signed in February to stay in Buffalo. I'd dangle Moulds to the Eagles so that they wouldn't have to bid on Eric. In that way they get their big reciever and the Bills reap a draft pick... or say a third rounder!

I didn't read the news release, but here goes... 1.) Create cap room- restructuring or outright cuts will work 2.) Shop for two or three "top flight" free agents (OL and DL preferably) 3.) Hire coordiators who will help MM get over the hump! 4.) Get rid of any malcontents 5.) Focus on QB situation ( Get a new one or commit to JP) 6.) Set up a winning board for draft day 7.) Work the draft to their (Bills) advantage 8.) "Beat the bushes" and see if good trade possibilities exist 9.) Levy must avoid this seeming to be lame duck year for MM 10.) WIN in division (focus on Pats) and hold home field!

The list of players "coming out of nowhere" is a long one, but try Phillip Rivers lately and Dewayne Robertson to the Jets a few years ago. This years mover seems to be Jay Cutler, the QB from Vanderbilt. The "poster boy" for combine impression was DE Mike Mamula out of Boston College, who shot up the charts and was taken by the Philadelphia Eagles in the top ten! Mamula was a huge bust as a first rounder.

Maybe Brett Maxie is the only one who returned Mike Mularkeys' telephone call...

This year with the Bills and Packers ( Bets friends team) being top 8, I'm going to NYC! I recieve the package of scouting material from Ourlads Scouting Services and always buy The Sporting News' March draft guide (Scouts, Inc.) I'm also a subscriber to NFL Insider on ESPN. I also bounce around draft sites on-line... Greta Blue North, Draftnotebook, and draftshowcase are the sites I frequent.

A friend of mine is a Green Bay fan and he said that the Packers might look at D'Brickashaw. The wisdom here being that they'd move Chad Clifton to ORT and slide Mark Tauscher inside to OG. The Titans might have run out of time with Brad Hopkins too. I still say that if the Bills braintrust thinks D'Brickashaw is THE GUY then trade up....that goes for Mario Williams too (IF he's THE GUY!)

I recieved my latest copy and in a year where the Bills need OL help, they rate the positions of OT, OG, and C as being "Above Average". The report lists DT and DE as "Average" overall. It is also a good year to look at ILB and OLB as they list this group as "Above Average" too! Of some interest, EVER CB they listed as underclassmen have declared for this draft. there were five of these guys total. For skill position players, they list QB, RB, and WR as ALL "below average". TE's were "average" overall. Finally, on defense, CB, SS, and FS were "average"! The rating is derived by reflecting the quality of the position as compared to other draft years.

Actually, Ramius, I stay with ESPN's bottom line throughout my day and when they scroll NCAAF, I'm glued! I forgot a player and thats Anthony Fasano the TE from Notre Dame. By the way, sounds like you're a student, I'm a retired Veteran. That alone affords me more time. The news on Antonio Cromartie is that hes fully healed and ready for the combine and personal workouts.

You can also add Ko Simpson a safety from South Carolina along with his teammate Jonathan Joseph, DB. Ernie Sims, the LB out of Florida State and Kai Parham from Virginia also opted out of their Senior year. Ashton Youboty, CB from THE Ohio State University has joined the list. The list grows EVERY DAY!

For the football GODS that won't even read this thread....WOW, I'm overwhelmed by your acumen! Brilliant!! Now for the questions.... You might pay the $8 mil IF you have a dynamic trade proposal coming the other way, from Buffalo, under this scenario. In that sense, you still hold the rights and don't "lose" him for NOTHING! If you CUT him, what do you gain? As for where his head may or may NOT be.... MANY QB's have played well after being buried under a bad team/ offensive line. Jim Plunkett comes to mind as a #1 pick who was SOOOOO beaten, he was actually out of football awhile. The Oakland Raiders gave him a chance and the rest is history! Don't, and I mean don't discount the interest between now and April 29th in Houston that might grow to unfathomable proportions wanting Vince Young! Ask Philadelphia Eagles fans about the drum beat for Ricky Williams and the mighty boo let out when they took Donovan McNabb! Even the mucking Mayor got involved in that one! Lastly, I'm NOT saying that the Bills should DO THIS! As I stated, JUST FOR DISCUSSION!! NOW have your way.....

Assuming that the Houston Texans want a fresh start ALL the way around and find Vince Young too appealing to pass up (Houston born and bred), would anyone here trade for David Carr, hypothetically? He's due a roster bonus that the Texans would have to pick up and the Bills would only have salary to pay him. If the Bills acquire about him, you'd be getting a seasoned QB who has 3 seasons under his belt (experience factor). The cost would likely be this years first rounder and one of the third round picks. The jury on Losman, if you read this board, is wildly divided pro and con. This way, you gey your signal caller, who still has a tremendous future in front of him and solve the positional quandry that is Bills starting QB! Thoughts?

Show me a team that stops the run and can also run the ball, and I'll show you a playoff and Super Bowl contender! Stopping the pass and offensively throwing it become easier with proficiancy in the run game(s). The point is that BOTH lines are important!! Look what Carolina did, and they don't have their best lineman in Kris Jenkins! They run and stop the run...... 23-0!

Greta news for Bills fans. The 2,3, and 4 spots in the first round are occupied by teams DESPERATE for an elite QB. New Orleans probably takes Vince Young at #2, and the Titans follow that up with Matt Leinart at #3. The NYJ end up as odd man out unless they acquire Houstons' pick. Four players (only one of the four) the Bills may entertain at #8 will be on the board. I'm thinking of A.J. Hawk, Mario Williams, D'Brickashaw Ferguson or Mathius Kiwanuka! It's looking good....

If you want regression, try Eli Manning heading into the playoffs! Four turnovers today against the Panthers. It is his first playoff exposure, but Giant fans had been railing on him for weeks. They were winning in spite of Eli, not because of him. Can anyone say Tiki....

Priority? P-L-A-Y-O-F-F-S, plain and simple!! Oh, by the way, WAY too many awesomes!! In more realistic terms.... Losman is unproven to this point, McGahee is dogging it, Moulds may be the biggest lockroom malcontent, and Evans does have a future. Sam Adams is insubordinate, the LB's are questionable due to the Spikes injury, and the secondary has a player in a contract year who crapped himself while needing a BIG year! The true positives are Jason Peters, Aaron Schobel, London Fletcher, Terrence McGee, Angelo Crowell, Brian Moorman, and possibly Duke Preston. Those players mentioned are the ones to build around or phase out slowly, in Fletchers' case.

The real question is if the Bills think that Mario Williams is their guy, why is no one saying trade up to get him? When Travis Henry was moved, some here said that the Bills now had more ammo for the draft...... use it!

If I could lend a few Pearls of wisdom.... Be consistent, don't waiver! Don't ever stop lecturing your youth, you might think that they're not listening but you'd be suprised! Change your vantage point, get more involved with him and drag significant others with you.... Uncles, Aunts, Dad, Sister, Brother and finally get him help, if needed. My suggestion is Church youth groups. They come to realize that they are NOT in this thing called life alone! ALL of our kids go through it, another teenager sometimes offers up a better perspective ( In regard to good kids- Church groups). Parenting is NOT easy, nor does it come with an instruction manual. Do your VERY best and go to sleep at night knowing that each day you tried your best. From my point of view, I will offer up a prayer, but you must do exactly that if you are a Christian woman. Pray for yourself and your beloved son, ALL things in Christ are possible. He loves you and your son!

Has anyone on this board been to the NFL Draft? I'm going with a buddy and I'm going to finalize things in a week or two. Where is it held this April? I've heard that it's slated for the Jacob Javits Center. How soon do you need to arrive at this event? I also heard that the NFL didn't turn anyone away last year. True or untrue? I'm leaving Phoenix for NYC on the 28th of April, should I stay in Jersey and commute or go right downtown? I'm looking for some wisdom here....hopefully someone has attended and has a clue...

I totally whiffed on this post! I assumed that you were talking about Mario Williams. I think I read too much into this. Actually, I do believe that Marv will see hints of Bruce in Mario Williams, to complete my thought! Probably a case of looking ahead as opposed to looking behind....