Bill from NYC

He probably will, I agree. But, at some point the Bills will have to make a decision whether he is big, strong, or durable enough to be counted on to play this very important position. He is given a lot of room because he is admittedly quite agile, and he is paid pennies. Bell has enabled the Bills to spend the big bucks on defensive backs, Spiller, etc. I think that if McKinnie is healthy, they should sign him today. Jmo.

Agreed. I was thinking the same thing.

I think that you and I are almost on the same page. I am full of praise for Buddy in terms of how he has devoted resources to the DL. Where I differ is your last sentence. In 2001, Steve Hutchinson (a guard) was drafted 17th. His teammate, Jeff Backus (a decent Left Tackle) was drafted 18th. http://www.drafthistory.com/years/2001.html I would much rather have Hutch on my team. My point is that IF there is a blocker out there who is going to protect your QB and open holes for the running game, you take him whether he is a LT, RT, OC or OG. Jon Runyon was a 4th round pick, but he was a great RT. His teams went to the playoffs and superbowl all the time. I make the case that if Runyon was picked in the first round, he would have been a worthwhile selection. As for RBs, it's easy to get one later in the draft. And, much of their success depends on the people up front. I hope Spiller is a superstar, but he is going to need blocking.

Actually, the above is laughable. Without good blocking, backs will not be successful. Drafting Spiller was putting the cart in front of the horse. But you know that right? Our record indicates that mistakes were made, as does our signing of yet another situational player.

Honestly, no. Nothing points to me and tells me that Spiller, even with good stats, is what the Buffalo Bills Football Team needs in order to win football games. Parrish, another gadget player, was our first pick of a draft. McKelvin was a #9. Lee Evans, a one trick pony, was a wasted pick as well in terms of when he was drafted imo. Spiller, a #9, sucked last season. His blocking hasn't improved and he is said to be stupid. What logical reason do either of us have have to think that he will be an impact player? Coach, I very respectfully urge you to remember that we did this before, in terms of building a defense. Butler/Wade concentrated heavily on defense. They signed Big Ted and Bryce. I make the case that they were both superstars for a period of time. But, the team didn't fully click because of players such as Ostroski and Fina. Do our current blockers really not remind you of these guys? The right side is stiff and Bell, like Fina, is agile but weak and undersized. In other words, nothing new. When the Bills decide to get strong and talented on both sides of the line, they will win football games. Until then, they will lose football games. Jmo.

It does, and I appreciate this. If you recall, I have often praised the 2010 draft other than the Spiller selection. If Carrington and/or Troup can play, this will mean a ton to this football team. Wrt Spiller, I am aware that he was highly rated. But, I am guessing that they could have traded down. Then, Bulaga would have been a steal. Marv could have traded down instead of taking Whitner. This year, Nix said that he had trade down offers in every round. I would have loved a trade down in round 2, but that's over and we will see what happens. My hope is that Nix will do as you said above for the offense. If he does, the Bills will be a good football team. Clabo and Boss would have helped a lot imo. It's a shame we missed out on these guys because again, imo they would have won us a coupe of games.

Exactly. Along those lines, I make the case that the 2006 draft was the biggest setback this team suffered since I have followed them. They drafted Whitner, spurned trade offers, and gave up picks for McCargo. They walked into that draft with the #8,a 2nd, and 2 early thirds on day one. They walked away with Whitner, McCargo and Youboty. Then they took Ko Simpson early in the 4th. So yes, I agree. It's not only about who you get. Who you pass up on counts too. We did get Kyle Williams in the 5th that season, and he is obviously a fine player. Still, this draft was stocked with very good players that we desperately needed, and we wound up with, for the most part, garbage. I agree John, but I submit that the Spiller selection was ill advised, and at the very least gave the impression of more of the same. The BPA philosophy about which you speak is sound indeed.....AFTER a team has a solid foundation. Jmo.

Look, that is a freeaking funny screen name!!! One who can play?

This is very sad news. 16 million? This is peanuts. We are talking about a big, strong tight end who could have helped cover our weakness at both OT positions. Oh well, what else is new?

http://aol.sportingnews.com/nfl/story/2011-08-02/nfl-power-poll-eagles-may-rule-offseason-but-packers-still-team-to-beat I for one disagree. They think the problem is at QB. I just don't think that Fitz is that bad and hope that he lasts the season.

You make one point that I strongly agree with. Hutchinson was one of the best guards I for one have ever seen. The rest..... Hutch came to Minnesota in 2006. This was the year that the Vikes ripped up McKinnie's old contract and gave him one for 48.5 mil., with a 13.5 mil. signing bonus. He was rewarded for his play BEFORE Hutch got there. And, good LTs are worth their weight in gold. They don't have to be on the level of Pace, Munoz and Ogden. Ever watch Brad Hopkins play? Or Tarik Glenn? They were very good players, even if they weren't all time greats. McKinnie fell into this category imo, or perhaps slightly below. Either way, you have to grab players like this early. The bolded above doesn't apply to the LT position. Generally, only morons like Levy/Jauron look past blockers to draft players such as Whitner, McKelvin, Lynch, etc. I know this is your brand of football, but it results in loss after loss. Bell only has a job based on hopes that someday he might be as good as McKinnie. If McKinnie (or for that matter Carey) is healthy, we should sign one of these guys and distance ourself from the Jauron method of losing.

Didn't we just draft a corner at the beginning of round 2?

I hear you my friend. But I am not at peace with the overall mindset of neglecting positions that matter so much. They will only spend so much, and signing Whitner lends itself to more of the same imo.

I see your point, but I hope that the Bills devote resources to OT and TE (Boss).

Thanks for this. I take this to imply that he is healthy.

I fully agree. The thing is, imo he is better than anybody we have, including Bell IF he is healthy. I will always believe that the Bills should use an early draft selection on an OT. Failure to do so (as well as the Mike Williams mistake) has left us hurting year after year at this extremely important position and has hampered the football team big time. Even if he is a stop gap player, he might win us a game or 2. If they don't sign him I won't get overly excited. It's a bit suspicious when teams get rid of top blockers. It almost never happens, other than the Bills trading Peters.

Not me. If he can pass medical tests, I would be all for taking a chance on him. If he is healthy, he is far better than any OT on our team.

How would you feel about this Dave?

Did he say why? Ownership? Wasn't he very fond of the Gailey hiring?

But this is revisionist history wrt McKinnie. He was nowhere near as bad as you portray him to be. He was a very good LT for many seasons. So good, the vikes re-signed him in 2006 to a 7 year/48.5 mil. contract. This included a 13.5 mil. signing bonus. You can continue to berate him and/or call him a bust, but it just isn't so. Please name me the players we have drafted since 2002 that are as good as McKinnie (not counting the 2011 draft). It shouldn't take too long.

Ya think? How about McKinnie, Henderson, L. Jones. Shockey, and C. Grant? Any of them are better than virtually any player we drafted since 2002.

Maybe so, but McKinnie was FAR from a bust. He never reached the Pace/Ogden level but he was a probowl LT, and a major part of any success that the Vikings had, including Peterson. With all of your criticism of McKinnie, will you be waving pom-poms if Nix does decide to sign him?

Or, overpay him a few million because this is such a drastic need. Guarantee twice what the Giants will, toss in some more money and our odds of getting him will dramatically increase.

Alabama!!!!! Teams will be lucky to average 7 points per game against them next year.

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/giants/2011/08/boss-still-unsigned-so-giants-ink-patrick Not that this necessarily matters, but it can be viewed as promising. Boss has stated that he wants to stay in New Jersey, but I am clinging to hope that Nix will make a big move at this player, who imo would be a perfect fit in Buffalo.