Lothar

we'd like a 3rd or 4th for the guy - I don't think we're deifying him - he's not Franchise material - especially at this point.

so is it future success or past glories that determine value?

hear me out - we get to keep a proven backup for this year, then I'm assuming we'd at least get a 4th rounder as compensation in 2007 (or does the league only look at the most recent past?) Not sure if that's much worse than trading him now for a 4th round 2006 pick. Obviously, we'd like happy players on the team but at this point I don't see how a trade buys us much unless a team loses its starter in preseason, gets desperate and actually gives TD a good option.

Very true, Kelly - that and the quick screen passes they design slow down the pass rush schemes of many blitz happy defenses like ours. Once they - and the running of Dillon - create doubt in the defense, it sure seems like Brady gets all day to throw.

yahoo afc draft rating He gave 2 C's in the AFC - one to the atrocious picks Denver made, the other to us. It's interesting how he gives some teams a lot of slack (i.e Dolphin picks a late round CB to replace pro bowler Surtain was smart) but doesn't feel we addressed O-line properly. Bottom line is that McNally knows the kind of linemen he can mold into his type of players. Reading about "The Duke', it seems as though there were a lot of teams interested - he probably performed much better at his individual workout than at the Combine + he gave up 1 sack total the last 2 years - I'm guessing they saw better production/potential out of him than some of the bigger name centers still available. I know there are several on this board who think OL is a major liability on this team - we've only drafted 2 as 1st ounders in 10 years, etc - but I don't think it's that bad. Just remember our last 2 starting QBs were RJ and Drew - they'll make anyone look bad. I still go to how the very same New England OL that many called a sieve while Drew was there evolved into a great OL with a bunch of mid and late round picks. QBs, coaches and gameplans make or break the line. I just believe that McNally and Mularkey are the right coaches. Here's to hoping our faith in JP isn't unwarranted.

Wilkerson from LSU was considered a solid 2nd rounder - but his patella injury has scared everyone. Likewise, Munoz - a solid technician with great genes - must have serioius problems with his rotator cuff. Both didn't work out at the combine ...

Greg Benjamin is a senior staff writer for On the Clock Draft. Greg Benjamin: This is Greg Benjamin from On The Clock Draft. I am speaking with two-time All-ACC cornerback from Wake Forest Eric King. How are you doing today Eric? Eric King: I’m doing good Greg. Greg: What would be your accurate height, weight, and 40 time? Eric: My height is around 5’9” and I’m about 185 and my 40 time is around a 4.44. Greg: Do you feel you have the height to compete against taller wide receivers in the NFL? Eric: I feel that I’m a good cornerback and that I have good coverage ability and with my competitive nature I feel that I can match up with anybody. Greg: What made you decide to attend Wake Forest? Eric: Coming out of high school basically it was down to Maryland and Wake Forest and withy both teams being in the ACC I wanted to go to a good school like Wake Forest and be able to get out of state. Greg: You played in the Gridiron Classic last weekend. How was that experience go for you? Eric: It went pretty well. I really enjoyed meeting a lot of the guys and some of the practices we had. I also enjoyed the Orlando sun. Greg: Do you have a plan for the offseason when it comes to preparing for the combine, pro day, and ultimately the draft? Eric: Yes right now I’m in Atlanta as we speak working out at Competitive Edge Sports with Chip Smith and just getting ready to get a little bit bigger, stronger, and faster so that I’ll be able to run a good 40 and test well at the combine. Greg: What would you say was your best football moment? Eric: I actually had two of them. One of them was a tackle on Greg Jones as a sophomore and my junior year my interception on Phillip Rivers of N.C. State to seal a victory. Greg: Who would you say is the best player you’ve ever faced? Eric: As a sophomore up in Wake Forest that year we played Florida State and Anquan Boldin was the best receiver I matched up on. Greg: What is it like to play against a guy like that then the next year to see him in the NFL breaking records and doing the things that he did as a rookie? Eric: (laughing) Well at the time I really had to look myself in the mirror and ask myself was I a really good football player and the following year when I saw him in the NFL breaking records and doing some of the same things to some of those pro guys, I realized I wasn’t too far off. Greg: What is your best attribute? I think my best attribute is my football sense as well as my hips and my feet and just using that to cover all types of receivers from big to small. Greg: Is there a particular type of coverage that you are more comfortable in? Eric: Personally I think I’m more comfortable with man to man coverage. The fact that I can get my hands on guys sometimes and during my training I want to work on getting a little bit stronger and a little bit bigger and faster so that I’ll be able to cover guys and I think that my ability to run and open up my hips and use my feet help me in man to man coverage as well. Greg: Is there an NFL player that you try to mold your game after? Eric: I try to take pieces of my game from a guy like Dre’ Bly who is a smaller guy like myself with his playmaking ability. And another smaller guy like Antoine Winfield and the way he’s able to cover and tackle as well. Greg: Is there anything about your game you feel you need to improve on to excel at the professional level? Eric: Yeah I would like to get a little stronger, as well as a little bit faster, and just work on all of my different types of techniques that I use. I think I’m still a little bit raw and I can get better in a lot of areas. Greg: How do you feel you stack up against the other corners in the draft? Eric: I think I’m right up there with everybody else. I think I’m a pretty good corner who comes from a good conference and I’m a guy who started 41-42 games so I have a lot of game experience and I think I match up well with anybody. Greg: Do you have any expectations as far as what round you think you will or should be drafted in? Eric: I don’t want to really give myself expectations that are too high. But I also set goals for myself and one of my goals is just to work hard and get better and go the highest round and the highest draft pick as possible. Greg: What will the team that drafts you be getting? Eric: They’re going to get a good guy first of all. They’re going to get a good person who wants to work hard and better himself. And somebody who is going to get out there and make plays and use his football sense as well as his speed and quickness in order to make plays for a professional football team. Greg: Ok Eric, those are all the questions I have for you today, I’d like to thank you for taking the time to answer them and I wish you luck in the draft. Eric: Thanks a lot. Transcribed by Greg Benjamin. Conducted on January 19, 2005

at this point, Miller would be a great pick.

Damn Doze - you guys do focus on football over there, dontcha? Very impressed.

uh oh - I hope DC Tom doesn't catch this little oversight ...

oh please VA ... I'm just pointing out your personal vendetta against Travis is akin to Weiler's against Drew. I like your football insights when you veer away from the non-stop Henry bitching - I just don't understand why you joined the dead horse beater's club.

New SAT question ... Drew Bledsoe is to Mark Weiler as Travis Henry is to: a. Britney Spears b. pet rock c. LJ Shelton d. VABills

this will go down to draft day. TD says Zona wants Henry + something ... we'll see who blinks first: Engelhard, who has the Bills' permission to discuss potential trades for his client with other teams, has said the Arizona Cardinals are prepared to send to Buffalo starting left tackle L.J. Shelton in a one-for-one deal. Donahoe denied that, saying the Cardinals want more, which is unacceptable for the Bills. ``Arizona understands our position and we understand theirs,'' Donahoe said. ``So probably, unless somebody wants to blink, it's probably not going to get done.''

I think the main detractors are the Bills (from NY and VA) and stevestojan who seem to have personal vendettas against Henry. Most of the rest of the board accepts Henry as having given his all as a Bill and who was simply replaced by a better back. Travis may have been the toughest player on the team but this is a "what have you done for me lately" league. I wish him nothing but luck in his future endeavors.

This thread is on it's way to becoming a classic - dual conversations are great for those for those of us with ADD - note, I didn't say AD.

The NFL Network did a profile during the combine and they were gushing all over his receiving skills - they showed iso's of him at the Senior Bowl practices schooling the top corners. He's big and he's fast and it was the first time he played wideout. Now admittedly, it was only a few plays they showed but for not having ANY experience, this guy has the look of a big, speedy H-back with decent hands. In college I thought he was a decent QB but it was amazing to see him outrunning DBs when he scrambled. A 6-6, 240 guy running a 4.4 - sheesh, that's Moss-like. Given that his measurables are freakish, it really is too bad that he wasn't asked to play wideout in college. I think he's jumped into the late 2nd or early 3rd round with his potential. If we didn't already have needs at tackle and kicker, I'd seriously consider him with our 3rd. But TD's somewhat of a riverboat gambler, so you never know ... p.s. Did I mention he looks like a fast tall Jeremy Shockey?

Kedrick Vincent, a 4th year FA backup guard from the Steelers is rumored to be on TD's list. No live sources, just being bandied about on message boards since all is quiet at OBD.

Not up-to-the-minute but you can search for candidates by position scouts.com

I think KJ would be a great fit as a #2a receiver - but seeing as he voided his contract, he may be looking for bigger bucks.

I've been in lurker mode during the offseason, but that is the funniest post I've read in weeks - I had to give kudos to the zeppman.

This discussion has already played out several times and we're barely a week out of the season. I said in an earlier discussion that I felt Bledsoe improved this past year - from decrepit to merely mediocre. Drew has been a good QB for the Bills for about 12 out of 48 games, mediocre for about 20 and flat out awful from about game 5 last season till game 5 this season. I'm not one who relies completely on stats but you can't ignore relative comparisons. Drew finished about the same or worse in nearly every measurable category this year when compared to his peers (see earlier post on similar subject started by FFS). Yet when he played bad teams, he avoided disastrous mistakes and relied on McGahee and the defense to carry the team. And that's ok. I give him credit for moderating his own tendencies and not giving most winnable games away. But if that's the best thing you can say about him - he's acceptable when they play bad teams, then you really don't expect much from the leader of this team. For Bill and others, Tom Brady in his first year as QB, behind the same line that Drew had - perhaps worse since they lost 2 starters during the year at different times - became an all-pro. That's right, he played with a much maligned group in front of him. Just go look at the Patriots boards from when Bledsoe was still QB till Brady took over. All of a sudden the group that couldn't keep Bledsoe upright was helping Brady become one of the least sacked QBs in the game. Gee, what could possibly explain that reversal? While I never thought the Bills OL was comprised of all stars, I think many people would have told you 3 years back that our OL was better than the Pats. But who did we have as QBs the last 5 years? Rob Frickin Johnson and Drew McQueen (yah that's his real middle name) Bledsoe. Those 2 would even humble KC's all-pro OL. Well, maybe that's a stretch .... The Drew lovers seem to be - by reflex - Travis haters as well. And to be honest, I have to admit that while Travis is a very good runner and an ok receiver, he is just not a good blocker. Seeing Willis pick up backers really highlights this difference to me. And no one can deny that Henry got off to an awful start this year, 2 slips, a trip, a couple missed blocks all led directly to a couple losses. But TH haters ignore he was the team's MVP 2 years back and a solid back in 2003. If I can expect more from our 2003 OL and our 2003 RB, then I certainly can expect more from our 2003-4 QB. I'm not a hater. I just think JP can be as mediocre as Drew (averaging out as the 26th best QB in the league each of the last 2 years in most categories) with at least the potential of becoming a good, if not great QB. I don't want Losman to be GIVEN anything next year - but I honestly believe he'll win the job by mid-season.

While Krumrie seems a decent coach and is beloved here (I myself loved the move to get him - if only because Sam Adams respects his skills.) However, on the Cincy board, they didn't really like him as a coach in terms of getting the most out of his players. Plus I heard in an interview a couple years back that he likes the hands-on approach of coaching DL as opposed to the bigger responsibilities that come with the whole defense. The name I've seen in a couple articles is - I believe - Blackmon who I think coaches either our secondary or LBs.

When you compare a QB's performance from 1 year to the next you have to look at a relative comparison since rule changes can affect yardage stats. I'm ok with PTR's idea of letting the best man win but the stats I copied from an earlier post back up starting Losman instead of Drew next year: - 2004 passing offense as compared to 2003 - 26th in yards per attempt vs. 26th 26th in completion percentage vs. 16th 22nd in percent passes intercepted vs. 10th 14th in percent passes for a score vs. 32nd 26th in sacks vs. 32nd 25th in passer rating vs. 22nd Drew was at best mediocre this year - and I was actually pretty happy with his performance. The thing is - our offense can win with a average QB - and I'll take the chance that JP will finish as good as 24th or 25th in the league by the end of the year in most of these categories. Given the caliber of our offensive playmakers and our improving OL, I'd be willing to bet that JP would do as well as Drew if he was asked to get rid of the ball in 3 seconds. But oh every so often go ahead and run around a little bit and see if you can find Evans or Moulds going deep. The fact that Green Bay scouts even likened JP to a young Brett Favre is enough for me to take the plunge.

oh please DCT - I didn't expect revisionist history from you of all people. Winfield was better than Clements last year, much less McGee. He was - and is - a great cover corner who is undersized and unfortunately, couldn't catch a cold. At the same time no less an authority than the Patroits best receiver called Winfield the top cover corner in the league last year. Most of us would agree he's the best tackling corner in the league, bar none. I watched a bunch of the Vikes games on Subday Ticket - with him injured the last several games, Minnesota's secondary became a true sieve. You could also tell that other offenses avoided Winfield - he being the only player worth a hill of beans in that secondary. He actually made several game changing plays early on in the season. All that being said, the Bills couldn't afford him. McGee is a decent corner right now and definitely has the athletic ability to become a solid player. This secondary has the potential to become great but let's not put the cart before the horse just yet.

I'm guessing those were Brady and McNabb? ummm - this was at our house in a "virtual" playoff game for us against their 2nd and 3rd stringers ... tiny, tiny difference, dont you think?