Bill from NYC

Newton, or even Mallett (blast away) at #3 would not surprise me one bit. And for everyone who thinks these guys will fall, I VERY strongly disagree. If Palmer leaves Cincy, watch how fast the Bengals grab a quarterback. Either Newton or Mallett, starter or not, would excite the fan base and sell tickets. Mr. Wilson mentioned a qb months ago and I firmly believe that he was more concerned with ticket sales than building a football team, much like the Spiller pick. The thing is there is one HUGE difference..... This time it's the right move. At #3, if you think that a great qb is there, you take him, unless of course you have a great one on your roster. This would also apply to LT, but there is no Orlando Pace/Jonathan Ogden in this draft, or say they say. This btw pisses me off but I digress. The Bills, if they are serious, can pick up a TE or RT in free agency. LBers shouldn't be hard to find and they can stock the front 7 and both lines in rounds 2-7 if they draft well. It is possible for them to build a good team, unless they once again squander this pick on something stupid, like a cornerback or wideout. Would this surprise me? Of course not, we are the Bills. But, this time it would cost Mr. Wilson a lot of money. Peterson wouldn't sell 4 tickets. A qb (even if he isn't starting)would sell thousands immediately, and more in the long term. I hope it works; Bills fans deserve good things.

I agree, but there is more to it than snow. I attended a game on Halloween in which it was very hard for Bledsoe to throw due to swirling winds. This is not an isolated incident. Looking back, it would appear that Edwards really didn't have a strong enough arm for the elements WNY. Or, at least one could say that more arm strength would have helped him a great deal. Fitz gets off better throws because he is more athletic. And, he is aided big time by the fact that he is a good runner. Either way, when passing is less of an option, the Bills are not big and strong enough to pound out big rushing yardage, and they are too small and weak to stop teams from running at will. The losses will continue until this is fixed.

Even if I overstate the factor (which is of course debatable), it is obvious that the Bills do continue to forfeit their home field advantage by fielding a small team with weak lines and even LBs. And, their best resources have been allocated to "skill positions." QB is the most important position in football. This is a given. If Nix doesn't think there is a franchise qb available, I hope he drafts someone to make the team bigger and stronger, or else they will continue to lose. This too is a given.

There are exceptions. Cold weather teams play some games in which passing is less of an option. These teams should be better prepared to take advantage of their home field. The Bills are of course unable to do so, and this factors into their poor record year after year.

I am surprised that Dallas is only 16-1. They rank them the same as the Jets and Philly. Romo imo is vastly overrated, and I don't think that the Cowboys are very good at all.

I really thought that McClain would drop to us and that we wouldn't pick him. He was the player I was hoping for. After that I was hoping for Brandon Graham or Bulaga. I thought #9 was early for Bulaga because R.Rich and I projected him to RT, but a trade down for Bulaga would have been great, assuming one was available. We will never know this because they used approx. 2 seconds to rush the podium and draft Spiller.

I think you really do miss the point. It is sad how Bills fans cannot recognize, and sometimes even condone stupid moves. I never said, nor do I believe that Spiller was the BPA. He was the BTSA (best ticket seller available). Mr. Wilson commented how Spiller would "add excitement" to the team. As for the Lynch situation, the fact that he didn't want to be here was his problem, whereas he was under contract. Besides, even if they wanted to dump him, did you ever wonder why he HAD to be replaced by a first round pick, let alone a #9? They do the same thing in the secondary and it's just as stupid, perhaps worse. If Florence walks, must we draft Peterson? What would Peterson be, the BPA or a "need" pick? He has been called both on this board, as has Spiller. Our corners would consist of a #3 and #11. That is WAY too much to allocate to the secondary. And before you point to the Jets, they built a strong team (both lines and lbs) before they addressed the secondary. In fact, their starting safety is a Bills castoff, hardly the reference, right? This is how to win in the elements, or perhaps anywhere. Strong lines and good quarterback play wins. Knowing the Bills history, I think they will draft Green, with visions of him making acrobatic catches. This will draw fans, but the team will lose because it is small and weak. I hope that I'm wrong, because this would be a dumb move, BPA or not.

Not enough focus on the secondary. They also need to concentrate more on receivers and running backs.

Yes, as I recall. Levy said that there were numerous offers. Again, I heard this interview on Sirius after the draft. I don't have a link, and I don't blame you if you choose not to believe me, but I did hear Levy say this.

Levy said on Sirius Radio that he turned down a trade down offer of a second AND another pick in 06 in order to draft Whitner. Sorry, but the Whitner pick was far worse imo.

You speak of holes, but there is something far more important. The Bills are small and weak at almost every position. Kyle Williams, our best defender, is a small nose tackle and will never be able to occupy blockers ala Ted Washington. Bell is a small, weak LT. Sadly, the list goes on. If they keep using our best resources on skill positions, the Bills will remain small and weak. They will continue to forfeit home field advantage and lose. Sometimes we need to put stats aside and look at what is staring us in the face. You and I both know why this team sucks. Now is the chance to build a big, strong football team that can play in the elements. One that doesn't get shoved around at will. If it takes trading down so be it, but we have to strengthen the OL and front 7. If they draft Green at #3, it will be a ploy to sell tickets. If they draft Peterson at #3, they are just complete idiots and will never, ever build a winning team. It really is that simple.

Do ya think we need much better blocking and an NFL level TE? Maybe not.....perhaps Green is all we need to seal the deal!

Very good post! Doing the above sure worked with Spiller!!! We are winning so many games with this wonderful philosophy, why stop now?

Probably so if the team in question had weak sisters on both lines, poor linebackers, and room for improvement at qb.

I liked it after round 1. From the first day I hated the Spiller pick and was fairly satisfied with the rest, although I would have liked more blockers.

John, of all the drafts that I have despised, this one was just the worst imo. But it's hard for me to pin this one on Modrak (who I am not defending btw). The combination of Levy/Jauron was as bad as it can get in the NFL, with the possible exception of Rich Kotite running the entire show for the jets. At least Kotite did ok with Keyshawn, even though he followed up that selection with another wideout who sucked in round 2. Levy/Jauron were so horrible that it is hard to comprehend, and I am dead serious. They believed that teams are built through the secondary and special teams. Total idiots. It will probably take another 2 years to undo the damage, and this is assuming that Mr. Wilson doesn't exert control, AND that Nix is capable of building a strong team, a possibility that I cling to. Either way, April is a great chance for us to build a strong football team that is suited for the elements and our tough, blue collar fan base. I sure hope it works; we deserve it.

And perhaps another 2nd round pick, no? It is fitting that this post points to your avitar.

In all of our years of dialogue, I have never disagreed with you more. Respectable? How can you possibly think or even suggest respectability about a draft that virtually destroyed this team? On day 1 they had the #8, a second, and 2 early 3rds. They came away with Whitner, McCargo and Youboty. A mediocre player and 2 busts with 4 prime selections. Respectable? Seriously? If that wasn't bad enough, they took Simpson with an early 4th. OK, they scored with Williams in round 5. That was good, but not by any means good enough to render this draft as anything better than dismal. This doesn't even take into account the fact that this particular draft was stacked in talent at positions of great need to the Bills. My friend, I have no idea where you came up with "respectable." You know how much I appreciate your posts, but that's just nuts.

If one wanted to throw salt in this gaping wound, it is probable that the Bills at least might have had an offer to trade down and get another draft pick for Spiller AND selected Starks, a local talent. But, they ran to the podium as if they were selecting Joe Greene, Peyton Manning, etc. The truth is, this is what we face as Bills Fans. It's too late for me; I am in this thing forever.

You don't draft Leodis McKelvin when your OL sucks, and Ryan Clady and Branden Albert are sitting there.

Bro, I think that's how we got Whitner, Lynch, and to a lesser degree McKelvin, who came via Marv's "promise." Really, it's enough to make one sick.

JP Losman had big time talent. It takes more to excel at a professional level. JP Losman had talent, character and work ethic and was a full time player.

Sad and rather astounding.

Yes, this after going from head coach to defensive backs assistant. His philosophy was to play not to lose. This worked against a few awful teams but in the NFL a defense has to attack people and beat them up in order to beat the good teams, ala Pittsburgh. This is even more important in the elements.

I was not speaking in the hypothetical. This season we were last against the run.