Bill from NYC

Is this you Mr. Jauron? And btw, all of their lines are better than ours, as are both lines of every playoff team.

Again, we seem to agree more than it would appear. Here is a question: If half of the busts listed above were good players, do you think that the Bills would be a playoff team? I for one do not. They simply lack the strong, solid foundation. As for Newton, I have not seen enough of him to form a pertinent opinion. If they think that he will be great, I am not against them drafting him, Mallett, or any qb who could be a top 10 in this league. But after doing so, they have to find players who make the team bigger and stronger. That, or teams will continue to run all over us and dominate our OL, which is the blueprint for losing football games. This we have already proven.

The Spiller pick? Please. How about Losman, Evans, MaGahee, Whitner, McKelvin, and Lynch? History tells the story. Do you not see that the Bills used their best resources on small, skill players and it failed. Even Maybin loosely fell into this category as a 225 pound defensive end. Our receivers were ok last season under the circumstances, those being a poor offensive line, and a non-elite quarterback (and this isn't an attack on Fitz, who I would classify as good). Why go there with a #3. Are you of the mindset that Whitner was a good value at #8 because he makes a lot of tackles? Also, why do you think is the biggest reason for the Bills losing games for the last 10 or so years? And as far as the Spiller pick, yes, it was idiotic to select a part time, small player to run behind a weak offensive line. This with the #9 selection of a draft. To make things worse, they sprinted up to the podium and grabbed him as if he was Marshall Faulk sans the credentials. And, rb was one of the few positions at which they didn't really suck. Green Bay filled this position in round 6 with a player from our backyard. Again, the idea of a draft imo is to build a team that can win, not to seek out flashy ticket sellers who may or may not (ala Spiller) put up good numbers good and while the team is losing. Sorry, I prefer winning football games. I hope we can agree to disagree, and sadly, I would not be at all surprised if they go your way and draft Green or even Peterson. And of course continue to lose.

I don't necessarily agree with this. The idea is to build a football team that is capable of winning football games. If in 10 years Green has Larry Fitzgerald numbers and the Bills are still consistently losing, what difference does it make how great he is?

What makes you say that?

LOL thanks; I didn't see that. My apologies to the mods, and please feel free to merge this.

If the brass at OBD thinks that Peterson or Green is the bpa, should they select him even though corner and wr are not huge issues? If your answer is yes my question is, when shoud this end? If another cb, rb, or wr is deemed the bpa in 2012, do you pull the trigger again, year after year and continue to neglect the OT position and the front 7? The Bills have done this and the losing continues. We all know that the hardest players to draft are QBs, DEs, and LTs. Why in the world would a fan want this team to draft another wr or corner at #3? Even if they ARE great players (of which we know there is no guarantee), will it help the team win football games when the DL, LBs, and OTs are second rate? Of course not. What satisfaction is there in saying that a guy like Spiller is "good" when the team is losing football games year after freaking year? The Bills are a weak team that plays in the cold and was built as if they play in a dome. The run blocking is poor and they cannot stop other teams from running at will. The qb situation, while not terrible imo, is still iffy, and they need better pass rush. If the team wastes this kind of a beautiful draft pick on yet another db, rb, or cb, they will continue to lose, even if the player happens to be the bpa. It's time for Nix and co. to build a strong team that is suited for the elements, and the blue collar fans. If they do not, the losing will no doubt continue.

I respectfully, but strongly disagree with this post. Running backs are a dime a dozen. Part time gadget player scat backs come even cheaper. If you don't believe me, ask Green Bay who took their small rb in round 6, and he seems to be a much better player than Spiller, at least as of yet. Also, most rbs do not last 5 or 6 years. They have the shortest shelf life of any position. The Bills were ok at rb before the draft, but in a blatant attempt to sell tickets, and provide what Mr. Wilson called "excitement," they drafted Spiller. This to the detriment of positions of much greater need, such as OL and TE. The idea of the draft is to build a good football team. Gadget players are not the foundation of winning teams. Even if all hell breaks loose and Spiller scores a touchdown from scrimage next year, his was a stupid selection, in line with McKelvin, Whitner, Lynch, etc.

It would, but Spiller was such a stupid pick that it would be very hard to raise the grade of that draft. To his credit, Kiper called Spiller a luxury pick and he was spot on. The fact that he was a dumb selection was obvious then and is even more obvious now. I can't argue with the man. That said, production from Troup and Carrington could save this draft to some degree. Let's hope.

I agree with the bolded 100%. But, the need for improvement at the OT and TE positions is also absolutely crucial. I am about the Bills offering Kevin Boss a huge contract with lots of guaranteed money. And, if the Bills were able to trade down AND get a quality OT, the team would instantly improve. But, if they view someone like Mallett to be a franchise QB, I think they should grab him and not look back. Jmo.

They can man it, but it is highly unlikely that they can play well. Also, who knows what kind of shape the Wood is in after all of those injuries? If they get a shot at Mankins they need to sign him AND draft a pair of tackles.

The superbowl Chiefs belong in this conversation.

Good point. I should care how much Mr. Wilson pays good players. Agreed. As the draft approaches, the chances of stupid moves such as this become more and more likely. Maybe it will be a tossup between Green and Peterson.

Yes but it cost us a pro bowl left tackle in the process. Can we thank Jauron and co. for this as well?

Bell is not a bruiser like a proto-type RT. His best feature is his agility, but he is not strong enough. He doesn't provide a lot of push on the run. He is agile enough to handle speed rushers, but gets thrown around a bit too much. Offensive Tackle is a glaring weakness on this team, but OTs don't sell tickets, so this position is neglected year after year.

I am not in fundamental disagreement with you, however how many teams (or even message board posters for that matter) thought that we needed a gadget player at #9. To repeat my point, Bills fans have PTSD after watching them botch draft after draft.

Normally I would agree with you, but didn't they tip their hand last season wrt the Spiller selection? We Bills fans have PTSD entering a draft no matter when we select or who is available. Donte Whitner anyone?

If he is that good, I would have no objection to trading down just a few spots and drafting him. Remember, if he was thought of as Orlando Pace quality he would be flying off the board first in this particular draft. But, if he will have a career as good as say Brad Hopkins, he would still be well worth an early first round pick. That said, my gut tells me that Ralph is making the call and taking a qb. It makes SO much sense.

Just curious.....who do you think the other two were?

Absolutely.

Having confidence is admittedly hard, so what I try to do is look for scenarios in which we might make progress. For instance, if either Troup or Carrington turns out to be a good player, this would be a HUGE lift to the defense. If they both can play, it would be amazing. Think about it...most posters want to go DL in round 1. Troup and Carrington were brought along slowly and have a chance to be good players. And, they are already here. Next of course would be the possibility of not throwing away our best pick on a defensive back, rb, or gadget player. The Nix team followed this dumb trend last year, and this admittedly offers a built in reason for doubt. However, at #3 they will have a great deal of options, and we can only hope that they aren't stupid enough to do this again. Frankly, I think Ralph is going to make them take a qb, which wouldn't be the end of the world if they take the right one. Also, there seems to be many free agents out there at positions of need for the Bills. Kevin Boss, Jeremy Trueblood, and a host of linebackers seem to be available. One or 2 free agents could make an immediate impact on this team. Sure, I am hoping and grasping at straws. But isn't this really all have this time of the year?

Agreed. Right now I put him in a class with Fitz but as you say, he is young.

Great post Rich! Of those 3, the Jets did play in the AFC title game and the Giants were 10-6. The Vikes? They play in a dome. I completely agree about balance, and was alluding to this when talking about the Bills with Bryce, Bruce and Big Ted. This defense was great, but the offense was too weak up front (and qb). This resulted in not winning enough football games. The Jets did a good job of drafting and signing players who are well suited to play in the elements (although the jury is still out on Sanchez imo). The Bills can do the same. Or, they can draft some cornerback from LSU at #3 and continue to lose. I am thinking (and of course hoping) that this time, they won't do anything so stupid.

Why? Is Moran one of those idiots who doesn't think that everything about the way the Bills are run is great?

You know what else wins championships for cold weather teams? Running the football successfully. Big Ben only attempted 19 passes last night, and the Packers outran the Bears. The Jets out ran NE, the Ravens outran the Chiefs, Pitt out ran Balt., and so on. I'm not sure, but I think that the team with the most rushing yardage won every game played in the cold in the playoffs. This could be us, but this franchise tends to use top draft selections on running backs, defensive backs, and various gadget players to sell tickets. When Bryce Paup and Big Ted were here, our defense was as good as just about any, but we had no blocking. The need for a good qb goes without saying. After that, cold weather teams need to be able to sustain a ground game in the elements, and of course stop their opponents from running all over them. Green Bay is in the superbowl because of Rodgers, and the fact that they clicked on front seven defensive players and offensive linemen. They got their scatback in round 6. We got ours with the 8th selection, and there are weak OTs in front of him. This sort of tells the story too, wouldn't you agree?