biggerdaddynj

Here's their take (if you want a distraction from the Byrd talk): 22. Doug Whaley - Bills Whaley has a major problem. His hand-picked quarterback, E.J. Manuel, looked nothing like a future franchise player as a rookie. If Manuel continues on his “bust” trajectory, it could be a mistake that ends the Whaley era in Buffalo before it ever really begins. That’s a shame, because elsewhere Whaley hit the right notes as a rookie general manager. Alongside Buddy Nix, Whaley oversaw an otherwise strong draft, and set an aggressive tone that’s been missing from one of the league’s most staid franchises for over a decade. As Manuel has already proven, if Whaley is going to go down, it will be swinging. Sometimes that’s all you can hope for when you’re a franchise that hasn’t made the playoffs since Bill Clinton was president.

Thinking back over last year's experience, a 4th round pick (or even a third pick for that matter) would not have been worth all of the protracted off the field distractions and related BS--though the players always say they don't begrudge another player for taking care of his business (bad pun not intended) you know this crap has an impact on the club at some level. Rip off the scab (pun intended) and move on. Regardless of any potential compensatory picks.

For the rest of you insomniacs (or bored early risers), here's a scouting report on this much scrutinized and highly controversial potential signee: http://www.thephinsider.com/2010/4/24/1432175/nfl-draft-2010-miami-dolphins. FYI he's the 31st ranked FA CB according to Rotoworld. BTW we signed Rotoworld's 6th ranked FA K!!! Can't wait for more blistering action tomorrow (it is already tomorrow). Sorry, should have expected a bad link from anything related to the "phins"--here's a cut/paste: With their fifth round pick, the Miami Dolphins have selected Maryland CB Nolan Carroll. Carroll measured in at 5'11, 204 pounds at the Combine and was a receiver before changing to cornerback in 2007. He is coming off of a broken leg that he suffered in Maryland's second game of 2009. He's raw but has good speed. In fact, he reportedly ran a sub 4.4 40 at his Pro Day. [update: Carroll ran a 4.42 40 at his Pro Day despite the broken leg that ended his senior season. He ran a 4.37 40 after his junior season, according to reports.] And yes - he was a team captain. Below is Carroll's scouting report from NFL.com: Strengths: Big corner with a muscular build. Possesses smooth hips and changes direction without losing momentum. Explodes out of his breaks and has an extra gear to close the gap in man coverage. Gets his hands on receivers at the line and re-routes them in press coverage. Vocal leader who pumps up his teammates. Weaknesses: A bit late recognizing routes and gets caught looking into the backfield too often. Over- aggressive at times and is susceptible to double moves. Does not have good hands and struggles to make plays when the ball is in the air. Misses too many tackles in the open field and is inconsistent in run support. Is he a potential safety prospect for Dolphins? Probably not. According to Carroll, Dolphins told him he'll compete at cornerback.

We had a short thread on Ramses about a year ago. Here's an article I posted about him back then: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/giants/barden-ready-move-giants-13-article-1.1276125 Still think he's worth a shot at that size with some speed. Of course, the fact that he disappeared last year might be telling but these futures signings are all about taking a shot in the dark.

Me too! If possible (need a partner to dance), slide down a bit and pick up an extra 3rd and grab Ebron (can't slide too far or he'll be gone--don't think you can get an extra 2 for a small drop down). Then grab an OLB in the 2nd and use your two 3rd round picks on a G and BPA (DB?). I also think we need to draft a RB at some point because FJ ain't getting any younger and I don't know how things will go with CJ when his deal ends (better to be prepared for the worst case scenario). After last year's draft, I have some (reserved) degree of confidence in the FO. Need to add a weapon or two and to tighten up the OL before you give up on EJ (I'm with those who think an offseason to refine his weakneses and some good health are needed before you can make an educated decision on whether or not he can be the guy). I'm excited about our future. Marrone and Pettine changed the culture of this team--that is something that can't be forgotten. We're on our way up!

Agree with the apparent consensus--he's got more work to do but he'll be interviewing at the end of year two. I think he will be gone in three years. We'll be lucky to keep him for four years. He's been a big part of helping to turn this culture around and that's something teams looking to make a change will be attracted to. But let's slow down and enjoy the guy, he's ours for a good number of games!!

maybe he could kearn to play tackle one day!

Touché, touché (that's why you're a "Hall of Famer" and I'm merely a struggling "Rookie"!!!). That said, from an "analytics perspective" I think my proofreading is still in the "+" range (I will begin to analyze the grammatical errors and typos from my past postings in order to predict the error rate in my future postings!). BTW, it's a a good thing you're not a baseball, they're born in Central America (moved up in the world and no longer hail from Haiti: http://raysrenegade.mlblogs.com/2012/01/29/did-you-know-rawlings-mlb-baseballs-are-not-made-in-the-u-s/); are stitched up at birth, forced to leave their homes and immigrate to the United States (legally as opposed to counterfeit designer jeans); and upon arrival are beaten to hell before they're discarded by society (though life as a Bills fan over the past thirty plus years has consisted of some awful beatings--the worst being an in-person mauling I witnessed at the hands of the "Dallas Cowpies" in SB XXVII--left in the 3rd Quarter because I was sick to my stomach!).

If you like ProFootballFocus.com and you're a baseball then you should check out this website: http://www.fangraphs.com It's a sabermetrics fan's "wet dream"--links to tons of articles and websites that are full of enough "analytics" to make your head spin! Regardless of whether or not they work (seems to me like they work more often than not but I'm not gonna debate that), the stats are fun to check out. It will be interesting to see them evolve in football and whether or not they work as well as they do in baseball...

Here is Pro Football Focus's analysis of Miami's O-Line v. our Pass Rush: Clabo and Martin vs. Williams and Hughes When the Dolphins let Jake Long walk in free agency and put Jonathan Martin in as the starting left tackle many people expected him to be the weak link of the offensive line. So far he’s been having issues in run blocking (-7.2), along with some ups and downs as pass blocker, but has still managed to have a positive grade in that area (+2.8). The liability isn’t at left tackle as expected, but at right tackle where Tyson Clabo is having a rough season, to say the least. Among the worst OTs in pass blocking, he has given up 23 total pressures — 12 of them in the past two games, grading out at -5.8. After years of ranking in the Top 15, things will have to change a lot if he doesn’t want to end up in the other end of the rankings this year. In front of the the Dolphins’ O-line will be two Top 10 3-4 outside linebackers in Pass Rush Productivity – Jerry Hughes, third at 14.3, and Mario Williams, ninth at 11.6. It’ll be interesting to see how the Bills use them, as they have moved around and rushed the passer from both sides of the line. Considering how Clabo and Martin are playing it should be expected to get more favorable matchups in the left side of the defense, where Williams has been more successful recording six sacks, two hits and 14 hurries in 138 snaps. On the other side, Hughes will provide a good challenge to Martin as he’s coming from his best games, grading at +3.3 in pass rush in the past two games. If you want the rest of their breakdowns here you go: https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2013/10/18/3tfo-bills-dolphins-week-7/

Freeman signing with the Bills never made sense (as many indicated)--he wants to go somewhere he can start for more than a few games and we're committed to EJ so that was never happening. Not sure why anyone really thought it was more than a (crack) pipe dream. The Vikes have obviously given up on Ponder. Pat White it is (scary, huh?). FO hits on last year's draft but f'ed up big time by not getting a serviceable, experienced backup when Kolb was lost--tough lesson to learn!

'bout time! Waiting until now was a VERY crafty move. I'm sure we can get at least a 4th round pick for a Pro Bowl safety who everyone knows won't sign with us next year (not sure if they want to go through the holdout drama and wind up paying him approximately 8.3 million--120% raise he would get for being tagged twice--if I'm not mistaken)).

Checking out the site (good source of "analytics") and found the grades for week 4--nice to see some Bills on the list, as you'd expect after a win (but not the ones you might think): https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2013/09/30/pff-team-of-week-4/

ProFootballFocus.com, a website with some football analytics has proof of something we didn't know about Colin Brown he sucks ... in an historical sense!!!! https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2013/09/27/3tfo-ravens-bills-week-4-%E2%80%8E/ What Can Brown Do For The Bills? Colin Brown is clearly the weak link along the Bills’ offensive line and continues to follow up poor performances with even worse performances (-7.8, -8.3, -9.6 Weeks 1 through 3). Considering that he already has the second-worst cumulative season grade for guards since we started grading in 2008, it is remarkable that he still has a starting job. His Pass Blocking Efficiency of 89.1 is the lowest for guards and he has accounted for 18 of the offensive line’s 35 pressures allowed. Brown has another difficult task ahead of him because Haloti Ngata (+5.4) will be on the other side of the line. Because the rest of the Bills’ offensive line has performed decently, expect the Ravens to put Ngata in position to face Brown as much as possible. There is plenty of the season left to turn it around, but if he continues to play so poorly, it wouldn’t be surprising if they start to consider other options.

Perfectly said!!! Our defense is crippled that's why they're hurting. Offense is a different story. Putting Hackett aside, which is asking a helluva lot, the o-line desperately needs help at guard. When our CBs get healthy, the defense will turn around. Do you think when Doug Legursky gets healthy he'll solve our problem at left guard? I don't!!!! Wish we could swap Byrd for a guard. We aren't getting a big pick for him.

Woods and Goodwin were better picks than Escobar/McDonald/Kelce and Goodwin ('cause we had to get our beast LB in Alonso with the other pick in the 2nd). Barring injuries, Woods has the tools and ethic to be. VERY SOLID 6-10 year WR2 who everyone loves (I think he's got about 2 Pro Bowls in him if all goes as expected--he's gonna be like Amani Toomer--a pro who produces year in and year out without hype-- let's hope he has a similarly long career). We're all going to love this kid (doesn't seem like he's gonna Byrd us). Sure we could have gone with Toilolo or Sims in the 4th and still nabbed a solid DB but I trust the new FO (yes I do) that Duke and Meeks were better fits for the scheme than the upside of one of those TEs over Gragg. Actually, I was PO'ed we didn't sign a veteran TE to a one year deal as insurance on Chandler while we wait for Gragg to develop (Mallett compares him favorably to Hernandez--minus the guns and with a plus on speed!). Patience, I like the new culture and the players' seem to be ready to be pros.

We still don't have a guy who is open when he's covered but we've got Easley this year :-)

I hope the Bills get Deja to town for her brother's first game as a Bill and make it even more special for a young lady and her family who deserve a special day. Marquise is clearly someone who "gets it". Now we know why he has accomplished what he has to date. Imagine what he'll do now that he can focus on football! Just a reminder that these kids are people too. We condemn them so damn fast, I'm happy too see the fans here who also get it showing some well-deserved "love".

Agreed as others previously noted, G and CB, and you aptly added TE. That said, we're really nit-picking!!! Between the draft and UDFAs we've changed ... I think for the better. I'm pumped (I was last year too but I think the difference is that this time we are changing the culture of the team--that was the most important move we made!).

It took an UDFA but Buddy finally got his open when he's covered WR!!! If Rogers can get his **** together this could be like a free lottery pick! These signings normally only happen for Bellicheat et al. Pinch me, I'm dreaming!

Arthur Brown!!! We better grab Khaseem Greene in 4. Need lots of LBs. What's up with Dansby???

Perhaps now that he can focus solely on football on a FT basis he can achieve his full potential. That said, why not Markus Wheaton (also fast and much more polished), Steadman Bailey, Quinton Patton or DaRick Rogers. All higher ranked. Know their games are different but going with surer picks seems smarter. This affirms Buddy f'ed up with Graham. And we passed on Jordan Reed for him who was the last truly talented TE--a position of need with a value pick available.

After reading that link, I can't wait for tonight. Regardless of where we go, we are gonna score BIG!!! I'm so excited---the options are all wonderful. THE TRADE DOWN RULES!!!! My favorite pick by Buddy--the trade down. Brilliant!!! Thank you St. Louis---made us better and screwed the Jets at the same time!

If we sign Dansby I agree and would be stoked!!! If not, Arthur Brown and then BPA at WR or TE (think we can get more value at WR in the 3rd). I LOVE THE TRADE DOWN!!!!!!!!! Thank you Buddy for leaving us with your best move yet!!! I thought you were ready for the old age home!!!

Agree 100%. Take BPA at 8. Take value and we can take need later when it is closer to actual value (though with QB we know you have to draft higher than actual value). Our only hope is if someone wants to move up (though latest word is there are more sellers, looking to trade down, than buyers looking to move up--figures, luck of the Bills!). On a different note, why is Buddy even drafting? Should have been shown the door with Chan, et al. Sorry--off topic!!