Reddy Freddy

I was wondering the same thing. I've been listening off and on today and haven't heard a peep. Weird.

I'm sure most people would agree with you. But the original question was intended to ask people's opinions on whether a Bills victory would be EASIER with or without Lane Kiffin as the Raiders coach. Not debating whether the Bills will win one way but not the other -- simply asking which way makes the Raiders a weaker team.

That was my thinking as well. People seem to be speculating as to whether and when Kiffin will be fired. My question was simply whether or not the Bills stand to gain more by having him remain as coach through our game.

Your pathetic, sanctimonious scolding about message board etiquette amuses me. Please, work harder to get a life. Maybe then you'll be less concerned about an extra thread being created on a message board.

With Lane Kiffin on the hottest of hot seats, do you think we're better off playing the Raiders before he gets fired or after? Since he hasn't been fired yet, it would seem he is safe at least until Sunday. And I tend to think this is better for the Bills, as opposed to Kiffin getting the axe before our game. It seems to me that the team is in total disarray right now, with the coach not knowing if he'll make it another week. I suppose it is possible the Raiders will play extra hard to save their coach's job, but that doesn't seem very likely given that the players have to know it's a foregone conclusion. If an interim coach like Ryan or Lofton were installed before our game, I think the players would be looser and relieved knowing the coaching situation was settled. Anyway, excuse my stream of consciousness post here, but I've been pondering this for the last couple days. Any thoughts?

There is absolutely no correlation between a team's preseason performance and its regular season performance. Anyone who thinks otherwise is misinformed.

270 lbs??? He'd have a better shot at tight end! I'm semi-serious -- I wonder what kind of speed he had at 270. Obviously he wouldn't be able to block, but more in the mold of a (bigger) Shannon Sharpe.

I want your life for one day where my big grievance is too many threads about the same topic on a message board. Get over it ...

I thought individual game tickets didn't go on sale until next month? Am I missing something? I am planning to go to this game.

Just 3 rookies by my count, which doesn't strike me as ridiculous given the overall youth of the team.

Good point. I forgot to factor in Butler when considering depth at tackle. We could move Whittle or Preston to RG and slide Butler to tackle.

To be honest, I forgot about our tight end acquisitions. That makes me feel a little better, but not much. At best they'll have to get the job done "by committee."

The draft is over, and for the first time we have a decent look at what next year's starting lineup might look like. Offense QB Trent Edwards (JP Losman) RB Marshawn Lynch (Fred Jackson) FB Mike Viti (Darian Barnes) WR Lee Evans (Josh Reed) WR James Hardy (Roscoe Parrish) TE Robert Royal (Derek Fine) LT Jason Peters (Kirk Chambers) LG Derrick Dockery (Jason Whittle) C Melvin Fowler (Duke Preston) RG Brad Butler (Jason Whittle) RT Langston Walker (Kirk Chambers) Some thoughts about the offense: 1. If Hardy can catch some jump balls in the end zone, we have a pretty nasty 4-deep receiving corps. 2. From what I have read already about Viti, I think he is the favorite to win the starting FB job. He seems like he has the kind of leadership and toughguy mentality that the coaching staff will want from the FB position. Sounds like he can play, too. 3. Unless Fine is a revelation or Shouman comes out of nowhere, our tight ends are pretty dreadful. 4. I still like our starting five on the O-line, but our lack of depth there is frightening, particularly at tackle. That will need to be addressed soon. 5. A couple potential "surprise" cuts this season (not predicting any of these, but none would shock me): Preston, Royal (if Fine and Shouman prove more athletic), and Dwayne Wright (if Xavier Omon surprises in camp). Defense LE Chris Kelsay (Ryan Denney) DT Marcus Stroud (Kyle Williams) DT John McCargo (Spencer Johnson) RE Aaron Schobel (Chris Ellis) SLB Angelo Crowell (Kawika Mitchell) MLB Paul Posluszny (John Digiorgio) WLB Kawika Mitchell (Keith Ellison) CB Terence McGee (Jabari Greer, Reggie Corner) CB Leodis McKelvin (Will James, Ashton Youboty) FS Ko Simpson (George Wilson) SS Donte Whitner (Bryan Scott, John Wendling) Some thoughts about the defense: 1. Top-10 potential for this D. There likely will be 4 new starters (Stroud, Posluszny, Mitchell, and McKelvin). We have added key depth at all levels of the defense. If the new additions pan out (Mitchell, Stroud, and McKelvin) and the young guys take the next step (McCargo, Posluszny, Whitner, Simpson), then this defense will be much improved and, by extension, it will improve the offense. 2. Now that he's in his second year at safety, it wouldn't shock me if Wilson beat out Simpson in the preseason. I could see Wendling being much improved this season and beating out Scott for the backup SS job. 3. I love our depth on the line and in the secondary, but surprisingly I think we're a little thin at LB still. Unless Alvin Bowen can contribute right away, we could probably stand to add a veteran before the season. I think I read that we are in talks with some LB whose name escapes me. 4. I see McKelvin winning the starting CB job just before the start of the regular season, much like Posluszny vs. DiGiorgio last year. Battle for the nickel CB job between Greer and James. Edge to Greer. 5. A couple potential "surprise" cuts this season (not predicting any of these, but none would shock me): Youboty, Scott, and maybe even Ellison if Bowen surprises people in camp. Any thoughts?

No, the best part is that guys like you think it is necessary for posters to scour the entire board to make sure there are no duplicate postings. Personally, I think it's easy enough to ignore duplicates. Plus, for people like me who missed the initial post about this, it comes in handy to have another person point it out. So, in a word, relax.

With all their reaches, I am annoyed that the Patriots are getting relatively good grades for their draft. I agree with most here that grading a draft a day after it ends is downright silly. But if you're going to do that then you can only base it on 1) whether the team got good value and avoided reaching, and 2) whether the team filled positions of need. The Patriots did terribly by the first measure and only adequate by the second measure, so the good grades they receive are solely on the basis of their track record and the media's lovegasm with the Pats.

Unfortunately, no one hit all three of the Bills' top picks. But congrats to MattyT for hitting the first two picks! Several people correctly picked McKelvin, and even more correctly forecasted Hardy, but only Matty hit them both. Hitting that third-rounder is tough, and no one predicted Ellis. I may have to up the prize next year considering how tough this is!

OK, VERY last chance! Bump!

One last chance for everyone, before I go out of town for the weekend ... BUMP!

You are correct, Lito wouldn't count. I'm looking for 3 names of college players to be selected in the draft. Current NFL players do not count.

For those who have not yet made their selections ... BUMP!

I'm offering up a little prize to the first person in this thread who correctly predicts the 3 players the Bills will draft with their first 3 picks in the draft. The winner (if there is one) gets a $25 amazon.com gift card (sent via email to you). This is admittedly a difficult task, but there's no harm in trying! A few rules: All you need to do is list three names (first and last). The order doesn't matter. Trading up or down doesn't matter. All that matters is that the 3 names you give me correspond to the 3 top picks the Bills make in the draft. Again, if more than one person hits it, then the gift card will go to the first person in the thread to get it right. Only one entry per person. If someone makes more than one prediction, their entry will be disqualified. Sorry the prize is minimal, but I'm not a rich man. Good luck to everyone! I'll start: Leodis McKelvin, Limas Sweed, John Carlson

I have a feeling we'll trade down and take Devin Thomas. Not sure why this guy doesn't get more press, except that he has only had one really good season. He has the size and speed that we need, and for some reason I feel like he has better football intangibles than Kelly or Sweed.

Drew Brees' stats from his third year in the league (second season as a starter): 11 Games, 57% completion, 2108 yds, 5.92 ypa, 11 TDs, 15 INTs, 67.5 rating In my opinion, JP's numbers stack up pretty favorably to Brees', and Brees had started all 16 games the year before. If memory serves, the surrounding casts were pretty comparable in talent. It's also worth noting that Brees was much more polished and experienced coming out of college; JP was very raw. In no way am I saying we should expect a huge, Pro-Bowl type breakout season next year from JP, but it's reasonable to say that it takes some QBs longer than others. In fact, 10 years ago it was generally understood that it took QBs three years of starting before you could expect strong play. I just don't understand why JP gets such a short leash, after just 15 starts in his NFL career. The only explanation I can come up with is that it is due to the immediate success of some of his peers (Roethlisberger, Eli, now Rivers, etc). But I still think these guys are the exception rather than the rule. Anyway, my 2 cents as I lick my wounds from A.P.D. (Another Patriots Drubbing).

Is a Bills win Sunday verus Brady, Bruschi, and Belichick. Bills 24 Pats 23

As a recent Maryland grad who has watched virtually every Terps game over the last 7 years, I posted a glowing assessment of Vernon Davis recently. I'd like to also throw in my 2 cents on Melvin Fowler, although I admit to having little to no exposure to him since he got to the NFL. Positives: Seen as a true leader of the offense throughout his Maryland career. Was a starter from very early on. Good character guy by all accounts. Moves very well for a lineman, which worked well with the Terps scheme. They would have him pull frequently on misdirection plays and option plays. Seen as the Terps best lineman while he was there. Negatives: Always seemed to me to be a bit small, and does not have an overpowering-type game. I understand he put on about 20 lbs since leaving Maryland, so he may have improved in this regard. Obviously hasn't distinguished himself so far in the NFL as an entrenched starter. In my view, given his contract size, he is our new starting center (barring something unforeseen). I'm excited to have him, not only because I was a fan when he was in college, but also because I believe he will be an upgrade over Teague and perhaps allow Preston to slide to guard permanently.