Bill from NYC

As you well know, the game has completely changed due to the CBA and the rule changes. Draft picks are very cheap these days. For instance in 2006, our very own Donte Whitner signed a bigger and better contract than Andrew Luck did in 2012 6 years later.Think about this for a moment if you will.....no coach or GM on earth (save perhaps Levy/Jauron) would rather have Whitner than a young, star quarterback. Whiter if you recall successfully held out for a while to boot. Team are going to pay a million dollars or less for a second round pick before they give 5 million or so to an aging vet. There is no getting around this. And since this game resembles the Arena League, Joe Flacco, who I consider good but not at all great), makes more than 20 million per season. In a capped league, this money has to come from somewhere. Other than the dumb Revis signing, what CBs are making the huge buck as happened not so long ago? I heard on Sirius that Joe Thomas actually lost money by not accepting an earlier offer to stay on the Dolphins at LT. My point is that it is the vets who are taking the hit. It seems to me that today, the only way to build a winning team is to draft the right quarterback,and pay him pennies for 5 years as you build a team around him. And if he is good, break the bank to keep him. This leaves very little room to spend the big bucks on older guys whose bodies have already taken a beating. And yes, there are exceptions. Andy Levitre was one.

LOL!!! Guilty as charged wrt #18!!!!! How many times have you been at a party or a sports bar when the Bills blow a game? Countless times I am sure. When McKelvin fumbles, or Eli Manning goes RIGHT down the firld for a TD, people start looking at you. I am NOT going to give them an animated reaction, pain notwithstanding. It isn't so simple in my case. Defense mechanisms kick in.

How can one be a Bills fan without being at least a partial 9 and 10? Are people, after what this team has done, actually surprised when Stevie drops that last second pass, or the defense gives up that late TD? There is absolutely nothing to be surprised at when it comes to the Bills blowing games.

Wrt Fred Jackson and Pears, their careers will be determined by how their bodies hold up. If FJ loses, or has lost a step, he doesn't really have a step to lose and will not contribute very much. Again, I think more of Pears than most posters. He isn't great, but he is very strong. And while he's not very mobile, he moves better than Langston Walker did imo. If he is healthy, I think that he will be OK at RT. Good point. The world is not a very patient place these days. I personally would rather lose with a young qb. Remember when our starter was Alex Van Pelt? Things were much more hopeless back then.

How about Dareus?

As a Bills fan, it amazes me when people question skepticism, or even negativity. Last season, I thought that the OL was good. Not great mind you, but good. This was the first time I felt like this in close to 20 years. And, we let our (imho) best blocker walk in free agency. Think about it, if the Bills had a good offense and could block, the defense that Wade had with Bruce, Big Ted, Paup (NFL Defensive Player of the Year), and a slew of good lbs, would have been heralded as one of the top 15 or 20 ever. But they are not. The team fielded a semi-pro offensive line. This matters. Look, maybe Marrone is not just a crony of Brandon, and can coach a professional football team. And maybe EJ can play. He DOES have the talent, and he seems smart. I like the pick, given the fact that they got him and another 2nd. But they brought this kid in at the same time they gave away an extremely good LG. Now, they are struggling to sign a safety. This can conjure up bad memories to a Bills fan, no? I will always have an affinity toward posters like Promo who were around (like me and you) in the "good old days." But I do agree that criticizing posters who don't totally toe a losing party line will stifle the discussion that this board (imo) is about. I got my balls kicked in on a weekly post and was accused of crusading for NOT talking about Spiller. This is a bad tone to be set. Did we turn the corner with this draft? Tough to say. We still have holes in a lot of places. My point is that it is OK to say this. And most of all, I thank you personally for making this a better board. And btw, I think that the crew is coming back uo this season. I will keep you posted.

So would the hypothetical punch in the mouth also be considered a "gift?" I know that there are no easy answers. What I also know is that Mario is lucky. Yes, lucky. If he married this girl, had 2 kids and THEN got dumped, he could say "bye bye" to 25% of his gross income, and a judge would let him know when he could see his kids. And the odds of this happening are well over 50%. This woman, based on the info she appears to have released, is no joke. He needs to lick his wounds, get help, and move on. Jmo.

Does it SJB? How about this scenario: Boy meets girl, boy proposes and buys her a $785.000 ring. Girl says yes and takes said ring. Boy starts slapping her around, sleeps with her family members and her friends, starts drinking and drugging, etc. Girl breaks the engagement. Who gets to keep the ring? Btw, I am NOT in any way suggesting that this is what happend wrt Mario. I am his biggest fan based on his donations to the Houston PD. My point is that this is a case that if the parties cannot settle on their own, belongs in court. And btw it will probably never go to trial. The judge isn't going to wate his or her time on this b.s. The judge will order the ring to be sold, the money split in some way, and of course the lawyers will get their cut.

YOU ARE THE MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The most informative sports book I ever read was "Necessary Roughness" by Mike Trope, a former agent for dozens of NFL stars. In it, Trope describes what it was like to deal with some VERY strange clients. A chapter was devoted to Muncie. In terms of talent, Muncie was an all time great. The man weighed at least 235 and had corner speed. When he was able to turn the corner, square his shoulders and head upfield, he was nearly impossible to stop. His style resembled that of the great (imo) Franco Harris, but Muncie was bigger, faster and stronger. RIP Chuck.

I don't disagree with your post. My point is that finding secondary receivers is a skill, and today it's a necessity. Montana wrote the book on this. Brady, Brees and of course Manning are doing this in todays new version of football. And no, teams weren't beating down the door to draft Montana, Brees, or Brady. But what they did in the NFL speaks for itself. Manuel has a much better skillset in terms of his arm and athleticism. I hope that with good coaching he can become a complete quarterback and make the Buffalo Bills Football team relevant. And again, I like the selection!

Perhaps I am hung up on semantics, but I respectfully disagree. Montana could find his 3rd or 4th receiver in 3 seconds or so. Look at Manuel, he has a great arm. His deep balls require little effort, little air, and they still have zip in the last 5 yards. I believe that if GMs thought Manuel could see open receivers like Montana, teams would have been on line to trade up to #1 and draft him. The above is not to say that I don't think Manuel will be good. He will need to be coached up, and by all accounts he's a bright kid. I am very pleased with the selection, let alone the extra 2nd rounder.

Well, we had one criminal named "Darick" (Holmes) who I personally thought was pretty good. Maybe we will get some results from Da'Rick as well.

Pears, imo, could never be placed on the left side. He is a mauler, but not agile noe mobile. I don't know if he coud fill in at guard in a pinch. Limitations notwithstanding, I like him at RT. He is extremely strong, and he opened some very big holes for Spiller on that side.

Good point. Here is what makes me cringe: 1) Byrd is very good, but not dominant. The same things that were said about Levitre. 2) Ask yourself if he could be traded for a first round pick. If you have doubt, do you want to spend 9 million per year on him?

CBS Sports agrees with your figures, but other sites do not. In fact, CBS Sports says it is a 60 million dollar contract so who knows?

Take away #5, then add durability and versatility and you would be describing Andy Levitre, who as I recall only got 10 million or so guaranteed. If Byrd doesn't sign a reasonable contract, we are going to really regret the decision to let him walk, especially with 1 qb who is young, and another who is fragile.

No it is not, and I think that many Bills fans are starting to see this. The idea is to win football games. What difference does it make if a player is "good" if your team is losing game after game? That said, I am actually pleased with this draft. If we are going to miss (which is possible), let's miss while trying to get a quarterback. And, they gained a second round pick while doing so.

Not enough options.

I too think that Brown is a good blocker. But we will probably need him at Center after Wood gets hurt.

This would seem to imply that Manning accomplished absolutely nothing before he won the Superbowl. Glenn and Meadows kept him in one piece, and helped him win numerous games. And btw, I don't totally disagree with you. My take is that every single position on the field is becoming less valueable. Take away the idiotic contract given to Revis by a desperate GM, and how many big contracts were signed by corners in the offseason? And really, ithe Revis deal is only guaranteed for one season. With 4 wide sets, a corner can only cover 1 receiver. And these sets are often based on quick plays, such as Brady to Welker. It's a similar situation at LT. Brady needs less time than Cutler, who loves to air it out. RBs these days are almost an after thought. Look at the ypc numbers for Spiller. One would think that you could hand him the ball all day and coast to the playoffs, but it just isn't so. The rule changes have made this a passing, Arena League type sport. This is why teams are paying QBs 15-20 percent of their salary cap allotment. Think about it if you will.....If Russell Wilson was a free agent right now, how much do you think he would sign for, after 1 good season? My guess is that he would get 15-20 million per season, with at least 30 guaranteed. Luck would get even more. My point? It's really all about the QB. Other positions are forced to take a back seat, and many position players will make a lot less money, and this includes LTs. This is why I am glad that we signed a first round qb. If he is good, fantastic. If not, they can draft another one until they get it right. The new CBA makes this easier to do. Much easier.

Agreed, but let's not forget that the Colts (Polian) drafted Tarik Glenn and Adam Meadows, two bookend OTs, the year before they signed Peyton Manning.

I want to thank you for taking this courageous stand. Trust me, I know that it can be rough going against the grain here, but I appreciate the honest, and in your case intellectual dialogue. For the record, I am a bit less concerned than you. Imo if we are going to miss, let's miss on a qb, or even a perhaps nutty linebacker. We have ben striking out and losing games by allocating our best resources to defensive backs and yes, running backs. Even when these guys are "good," we lose, and many fans just don't get this. Keep the posts coming!!!

1995 was good and would have been great had not Covington and Kerner got injured.

While Byrd might not have been the primary factor wrt this selection, he HAD to enter into the equation imo. Levitre was only guaranteed 10 million or so by his new team iirc, and they let him walk. Byrd will make close to 7 mil. this season. The bar has been set. How much will, or should the Bills pay him? Neither of us really know, but my guess is that Byrd is gone next season. A huge portion of our cap space will be tied up with Mario and Fitz. Jmo.