Bill from NYC

It would be, whereas you are a long time, staunch defender of Levy, Jauron, the 06 draft, and Whitner as the #8 selection of a draft. Whitner gives up long completions and touchdowns. Then, he tackles people (often in the endzone) and sometimes draws penalties for doing so. He doesn't intercept passes, and Sammy Morris (not Earl Campbell mind you) flattened him like a pancake on a run. Were it not for the Bills propensity for wasting top draft picks on defensive backs (a philosophy lauded by you and The Dean), I would wish that the Bills would let him walk. Your hero, Donte Whitner, is a symbol of what is wrong with the Bills, and he was brought to town by the losers who you have defended as if they are your children. If you need support when Lil' Donte leaves town, feel free to send me a PM and I will try to walk you through it.

A great portion of his tackles do come after pass completions. Yes, this is true. Say about me as you will, but you remain consistent. You have defended Whitner since the day he was stupidly selected, as well as the entire 06 draft, right? Or, have you changed your mind about that stellar display of football savy by Levy/Jauron? Quite simply, do you think that Whitner is above average in pass coverage? Do you think he is above average in terms of intercepting the football? What exactly is it that he does SO well that drives you to label him as "far above average?" I can't wait to hear this......

WOW!!! Far above average? Yikes! Many of his tackles are on tight ends after the long gains that he gives up, because he is far BELOW average in coverage. Whitner may well go an entire career without having as many interceptions as Byrd had in 09. So let's see.....he gives up pass after pass, can't intercept passes, but he is "far above average?" Are you counting the way he tweets when you speak of this unseen versatility?

Coach, I must respectfully disagree. Fans CRAVE results from early 1st round picks, and are willing to grasp at straws in order to tell themselves that their favorite team didn't select a "bust" with its most precious resources. This has plagued the Bills for years, and Levy/Jauron buried us by wasting great picks on so-so players at positions of less importance. In the first round of 2010, Nix hit the ground running in this tradition of losing. McKelvin and Whitner, despite very low production (and in Whitner's case off field antics) get all kinds of slack. You can see it in this thread. Don't get me wrong, I would sign him if the price was right, but only to but the brakes on the first round defensive back merry go-round. That is it. He would not be such a great loss. Not at all. So is he so he should be comfortable.

I couldn't agree more!!!

Nice work as usual my brother!

This is completely true. Now, toss in the factor of where the Bills play. I don't know where you live, but I just came inside. It is freezing and the wind is high. Unless you have a Ryan Mallett/Drew Bledsoe arm, passing is less of an option late in the year in Buffalo. I doubt that that the Times article you spoke of takes this into account. The Bills play in an environment where they need to run and stop the run more than most other teams. Imo, they need to make a huge move for Kevin Boss, who is scheduled to be a ufa. He was made to play in WNY. He is a TE who blocks like an OT and is a huge target with good hands. He would help the passing and running game. Seriously, they should offer him a 5 year deal for much more than his market value if that is what it would take to bring him in.

I agree with all of the above, unless the highest rated player is a RB or a DB. I wouldn't care if the highest rated DB is thought to be better than Mel Blount or Ronnie Lott. The Bills need to get bigger and stronger up front. Period. The only exception I can see is if they think a particular QB will be great. At that point it wouldn't be wise to pass on him.

I don't begrudge Mr. Wilson a good living. I also am appreciative of the fact that he is charitable, and that he has kept the franchise in NY. That said, some of the Bills first round picks (the ones that sell season tickets) look more like marketing ploys than a valid attempt to build a football team. In his defense, maybe after trusting absolutely terrible football people such as Levy and Jauron, he figured that he couldn't do any worse.

I'm curious to what you consider a franchise quarterback. Would you say that Hasselback was a franchise qb for Seattle?

I would draft Mallett or trade down. I'm sure there will be many offers if Newton and/or Mallett is available.

Most people don't want to touch this issue.

Maybe, but imo some of the best posters are those who are the most fed up. Ya gotta admit, some of the screen names of the downtrodden fans are just so funny! After a loss, there was once a dialogue between posters called, "Tortured Soul" and "Pass the Pipe."

How much have you seen of Demarcus Love? I want to se more of Carmini before I come to a conclusion, but Love imo is a great prospect. He is a team captain and leader. He reminds me a bit of D'Brick. I think that he too will climb up the charts. As I vaguely recall it was down to approx. #14. Croations are some of the best Italian chefs in NYC. Try Capucines on 19th Street and 2nd Ave. It is my favorite place in the city. Old world, old fashioned Italian.

They will receive numerous offers to trade down, and be in the drivers seat should they be inclined to do so. It happened in 2006. Leinart and Cutler were still on the board at number 8, and Levy, who simply HAD to draft Whitner, said on Sirius that he in fact had many offers. One was reported to be a 2nd and a 4th. Looking around the league, a slew of teams need a quarterback. How many good quarterbacks are there in the NFC West and AFC West combined? Now, how good is Romo, assuming he comes back healthy? Or even an aging McNabb? Please feel free to expand on this list! If we select in front of Dallas, I fully believe they would give away the store for Mallett. Again, Jones is an Arkansas alum, and this kid would fill that new stadium up in 10 minutes. If we draft 4-7, is there really a DE or OT that will be SO much better than anyone else that we MUST draft him, especially taking into account just how much the pick might be worth? In 2004, the Bills surrendered their 1st round pick in 2005, along with 2nd and 5th round picks in 2004 to get the #22 from Dallas, in order to draft JP Losman. I point this out to stress just how much an early pick would be worth with the quarterback shortage that exists. For the record.....as much as I like Fitz, the Bills would draft Ryan Mallett if I was calling the shots. I view him at a potential Big Ben with twice the arm. This obviously goes against the grain of this board, but the good news is that we are here to discuss the Buffalo Bills, and that we all want them to win. GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You see, this is what the Bills have done for the better part of 15 years, and it resulted in losing football games.

No doubt, but the OL needs more of a physical presence on 3rd and short plays. Much more.

The Bills are 25th in the NFL in time of possession. Much of this is due to their weakness on the OL, especially at OT. This is unacceptable, especially for a team that plays in the elements.

You are making sense. It appears that this could be one of the rare years where a LT is not drafted early. http://www.drafthistory.com/positions/t.html I have said many times that Mr. Wilson will want to draft a QB with the first selection. He spent money on hotels, airline tickerts, etc. for Nix to scout QBs. I don't think he would throw away money like this, but who really knows? What I DO think is that this draft will make it yet easier to see who controls round 1. What do you think?

So are you of the opinion that wrt Spiller, Mr. Wilson sat on his hands and stayed out of it?

I mentioned in post #5 that it was hard to see Wood. Perhaps it was because I didn't watch on a large screen TV. Also, I was focusing on Bell on almost every play (I know, I need a life ). But, there was some room up the middle to the extent that Spiller didn't automatically bounce to the outside on every carry. Once again, I am hoping that the Bills devote important draft resources to OL. Will Mr. Wilson allow them to? Probably, but after round 1. This is merely my opinion.

Well Promo, does the above lead you to any conclusions? Why do you think we get decent results from ufas and late round picks, and we consistently bomb in round 1. Coincidence?

It was very hard to see what he was doing on TV, but there WAS more room than usual to run up the middle.

1) Hats off to Chan Gailey for staying committed to running the football. This team needs long drives to keep the defense off the field. 2) Speaking of running, Fitz is a superb running qb. I didn't realize that he has more than 200 yards this season. I looked it up and he had more than 300 yards for the Bengals a few years ago. 3) Bell continues to confound me. With 7:37 left in the first quarter, there was some pushing and shoving after the play. A defensive back (#26) shoved Bell and actually moved him a few feet. On the next play, he gave up the sack/fumble. After that, I focused on Bell on virtually every play. Well, he admittedly held his own, and was blocking well in space. His balance and agility are beyond question imo. But I'm telling you, he is NOT strong enough. At least not yet. 4) How funny was that when Royal dropped that pass? Once I was at a tailgate at RWS, and I commented to a football genius poster here about how Royal was able to get open a lot. He stated that it's because he drops so many passes that they rarely bother covering him. I watched and it was actually true. How is that guy on an NFL roster? 5) I would have liked to see more from Troup and Carrington. Now is the time, or so one would think. I mean, we already know what Spencer Johnson can do, no? 6) Absolutely great play by Moats when he beat Joe Thomas. Yes, Arthur Moats beat freaking Joe Thomas for a sack!!! 7) I noticed that Fitz doesn't often seem to want to put air under the ball, and prefers getting his fastball in there. I saw a play where he would have been successful if he lifted the ball just a bit. Speaking of Fitz, he and Stevie Johnson really have a chemistry. They also congratulate eachother after plays. They must have practiced a lot while they were second stringers. 8) How could one not be impressed by David Nelson? I wish this team could do as well in round 1 as they do with UFAs and late round picks. 9) A win is a win. Yes, I am familiar with that cliche. I am happy about winning but would be a little more psyched about it if Delhomme wasn't just that bad. Seriously, I would prefer Trent Edwards, or even JP Losman to Delhomme. 10) Delhomme or not, congrats to the secondary for a well played game. Whitner had a very important tackle to hold them on 3rd down, and McKelvin the pick and nice hit. 11) Speaking of congrats, Mr. Wilson, by virtue of this win, probably saved a few million on the rookie signing bonus. The rich DO get richer; ain't it the truth? 12) Yet more congrats? Sure.....here's to long suffering, perhaps even self loathing and masochistic Bills Fans on a rare victory. 13) GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If the Bills lose this game, it might cost Mr. Wilson several million dollars in terms of the draft slot. Money has a way of winning battles, so I think we are looking at 24-14 Bills. Mr. Wilson, a good man, is one of those people who can make money the way Babe Ruth could hit home runs. The above is just a hunch.