Bill from NYC

What I like about the "Spiller is a bust" crowd is that they bring about debate, and are making predictions. Btw, I think that Spiller was a dumbass selection and that he will probably be a huge bust. He wasn't as stupid a pick as Maybin or omg Whitner, but close imo. I won't go into the times I was correct about Bills draft picks, but I openly admit that I thought RJ would be a fine QB, and that the Bills were right to cut ties with Pat Williams. Either way, the dialogue is a good thing, ya know?

If you are referring to Evans, he was a decent pick but very far from a home run. It wasn't the greatest draft, but we passed on Wilfork and Carey. Posters on this board were screaming for both of them, particularly R.Rich and BADOLBILZ. It will never cease to amaze me how year after year, posters on a message board have better draft records than the Bills General Managers. It would seem impossible.

Coach, I can only answer for myself. I was pissed the day he was drafted. I viewed him a another TD ego pick. He was a situational player on whom the Bills used their first selection of a draft (Round 2, but their first draft selection) and the team was, as always, weak up front. Since he was drafted he, despite so-so production, has survived 4 GMs (if you want to count the jackass Brandon). Now, you are correct. It certainly isn't my money. Because if it was, I would have let him play out his contract, and taken the bonus money he surely will get and increased my offer to Clabo. We just spent 15 or 16 million dollars on a gadget player, who by the way I predict will be a much better and more productive player than Parrish. Why on earth are they giving Parrish yet another extension given team needs? The JS thread about fans being divided is interesting. I don't think that we are. We all want the Bills to win, and I have never seen conflict at tailgates between TBD posters. On the contrary, we seem to get along quite well and I have made personal friends from this board. But imo the thing is, how can one look at moves like this and not see what at the very least appears to be more of the same idiocy? Isn't he the player who was walking out of his apartment, saw snow, and ran back inside? He probably weighs less than Uma Thurman. Should he really be a player around whom we build?

Yet Lossman was benched for him, and he actually won a lot more games than JP in fewer starts. Scary, no?

Yeah Promo, what a smart move to extend an under productive gadget player! You are right; everything the Bills do is great. Our dismal record is a mere coincidence.

Who won more games?

Bell won't be cut because he makes about 50 cents per year. My "surprise" cut is Parrish. One would hope that even the Bills can carry just so many gadget players. Plus, Parrish makes a few bucks.

I didn't say it was a salary dump. I do say that good teams try to re-sign their best players under any conditions (Williams, Johnson, Fitz, etc.). If they can get a blocker with they money they saved they will have in essence picked up a blocker and a 4th for Evans. We need to build this team, not count pennies.

I don't dispute the above Promo, but they traded Evans for a 4th and saved a good deal of money. I am not seeing where money should be an issue if a player can strengthen us in a weak spot and perhaps even win us a game.

I hope you are right. I am optimistic about every player you mention. Again, my sights are higher for Merriman, for whom I think that the possibility exists for him to be a superstar. We shall see.....

Actually, my post was a mistake. I thought he meant LG.

Well, McKinnie was unemployed. The Ravens signed him. They took a gamble which could pay off for them over a period of time, or it may not. The Bills have the cap space and nothing to lose imo.

If the Bills defense is going to improve as much as I and others believe, I think that Merriman will be the biggest factor. I say this despite having high hopes for Carrington. I am very high on Dareus, but he is a rookie. Merriman is a potential superstar. He showed this against the Bears. He had problems and sort of faded out of the picture, but imo he has all world talent. If the Bills can improve their run defense (which Dareus will help big time), AND they can put up some points, teams will have to throw. Under these conditions, I can picture a healthy Merriman with as many as 14 or so sacks, along with blocked passes and a ton of pressure in general. He was a great signing by virtue of what he can possibly do. Now, let's take this to the OL (you knew I would lol). I hope that the Bills make a move at a UFA blocker. Brian Waters perhaps? If we can make the OL better, even for a season, it can open the door to winning football games. I subscribe to the Edwards Arm theory. If you can draft a franchise QB, take him. I add that if you can't, go grab a LT. Look at superbowl rosters and you will more often than not see very good to great LTs. Perhaps a player such as Waters can buy us time. We would be a better team this season, and be allowed bide our time to make a big time move at either a QB or LT next season. My point is that signing a vet such as Merriman is looking great right now. There is nothing to lose by going after a blocker who can potentially help us a great deal. The money is there and the time is right to take a chance. GO BILLS!!!!!!!!

I hope so.

Thank you.

You mean because of the life threatening violence on every play? Drunks are already escorted out of the stadium. Now, they will be joined by cigarette smokers who light up out of the walls of the stadium. And, hypocrisy abounds (not referring to you Joe). The Bills SELL 24 ounce beers to drunks. They stop at halftime? So what. People just stock up before the half. Drunks can find a way to get plastered. Brandon is am embarrassment. He is a self rightous loser who did nothing but harm this team. He would be better suited to be a shift manager at Burger King. The sooner they fire this pompous p&$%k, the happier I will be. As far as I am concerned, he can shove his slogan up his a$$.

The Bills have set a very bad precedent of letting players walk when they feel like it. It started imo when Levy made that idiotic "promise" to Clements. IF they still wanted him they should have kept him. A salary dump seems way more likely imo.

Actually, I was serious. I have been at games in which some of our gadget players had a very good and exciting play. Naturally, the crowd goes wild. Once I saw McKelvin return a kickoff for a TD. His speed was blinding, just unthinkable. I thought that he might be the next Mel Gray in terms of kick returns, until I realized that he has the brain of a flea, but that's another matter. If we lived close by, I would bet you a six pack of your choice that Spiller has some sort of amazing play in preseason. It's really gonna happen imo, and the board will quite naturally be happy. The good news is that I have a better feeling about Brad Smith than I ever had about any Bills gadget player. I think this kid can win us a game.

Good luck to Lee but fear not. Spiller will soon break an amazing TD run (or maybe a pass) and this board too will be ecstatic. I am sure of this. Then, we will see what both of them do in real games.

Straight up.

ERBF, I hope you are calmer now than when you posted this. We are all a part of the Bills experience. You may consider me a "basher," but I raised 3 girls as Bills fans, 450 miles away from RWS. I actually think that it helped tham in life in terms of being loyal and to persevere. This is a board that is founded and frequented by a lot of very smart people (myself not included lol). Speaking for myself, I care a lot about the Bills, the people I have met and interacted with from TBD, and the board itself. I sense that you feel the same way. Some people are going to gripe. Some are going to think everything is great. Then, there is everything in between. The bottom line imo is that we have great dialogue here. I have been bitching about blocking since the late 90's. Others have their own particular complaints. With all due respect, my suggestion to you is to not let other Bills fans bother you. They are suffering, but they love this team as much as you do.

I agree.

I disagree. Most Bills first round draft picks are similar to new car purchases. When you drive off the lot, the value goes sharply down. Think about it.....Maybin, Whitner, Losman, McCargo, Lynch. These players had little to no value once the league saw them play. It's nice to think Spiller is different, and he might be. But at this point he would only be worth perhaps a 4th or 5th. Might as well roll the dice and see if he will ever be any good.

Why doest the above mystify you? Seriously, I am not being a wiseass, but the reasons appear to be clear: 1) Nix/Gailey drafted Spiller. They took him despite other needs (we are told) because they thought he was the BPA. Maybe they still think he is great. It appears so, right? 2) If Spiller develops, he will be more "exciting" than Fred. After Spiller was drafted, Mr. Wilson himself said that the team needed, "excitement." And this sir is a good thing for ticket sales. 3) By naming these players co-number 1 backs, or something of this sort, it justifies not giving Jackson a raise. But, who are they saving the money for? Clabo? We don't know what he breaking point was to sign here. What we do know is that we didn't reach it. Boss? No, he was a proven TE there for the taking, but we are going with Chandler. I hope it works; we will see. 4) Spiller is being paid #9 money. My point is that the money they save on Jackson will simply be put right into Mr. Wilsons pocket, along with the savings from Evans. It's nuts, but these are our Bills.

My house was rocking. The worst part was that my 17 year old daughter is at Great Adventure in NJ and wasn't answering her phone. I was picturing the worst. I got through to their local police and they said there were only tremors. The good news is that she finally called and is OK. Things like this make our draft selections and offensive line seem to be of little consequence, ya know. It's rough to be a parent. Time for a heineken.