ax4782

We'll see, I suppose. I do think he'll be all right over on the left side. They have been using RBs to chip for years, so what's the difference if they do that now? The Raiders do stupid things all the time. Just see this years draft. Saying that if he was so good they never would have let him go is like saying if Robert Gallery wasn't such a bust why would he still be playing for them?

What? He started at LT against the Seahawks last year who have one of the best pass rushing DEs in the league on that side of the ball. Walker shut him down. Butler's natural position is RT, which he played opposite D'Brick at UVa. My guess is that Butler will be at RT to start the season and Walker and Chambers will split time at LT.

How is Hardy a bust? He was a rookie WR last year and at times showed flashes of what he can do. Most WRs have bad first seasons. Perhaps we should see what he has done after this year before we start calling him a bust.

Just noting for the record that Walker looked better at LT in his two starts their last season than Peters did the entire season. I don't think Walker is a bad fit at LT, nor is Chambers for that matter. Our line is already better now after the draft than it was at any point last season. No matter what this team does people on this board without fail will say it was a failure. I don't think this team is perfect. I have frequently complained along with others when they have done stupid things, but I don't see why people who find everything this team does to be wrong even stay fans. No one minds when a person wants to question what the team does, but when that is all you do, that becomes a problem.

Perhaps that had more to do with the fact that Hardy suffered a season ending knee injury in like week four and wasn't really even on the field? That being said, the new TE we drafted is supposed to be a decent route runner, but also has a solid skill set in terms of being able to block. He will very likely be able to create significant mismatches over the intermediate middle of the field on passing downs, giving Trent another solid option in the passing game. I have a feeling we are going to be throwing the ball a lot more this season.

Alpha, for the first time in weeks I think you and I are actually on the same page.

I'm assuming that you weren't suggesting that the Bills had failed to do this, considering that we drafted four players for the lines and also brought two OL in the offseason. The Bills have finally addressed the lines in a significant and important way. I actually see a lot of things to be positive about for the upcoming season, particularly in regard to our OL.

I saw it, and thought that perhaps is was best to get a solid veteran, top ten LB in here to play rather than insert another small sixth round draft choice to start on the weak side. Just a thought.

Or we could stick to the legitimate distinction the guy you quoted made, which is that CBs and Safeties have significantly different responsibilities in an NFL defensive backfield. Suggesting that drafting a FS is the same as if we had drafted a CB shows a clear lack of understanding about how and NFL defense functions, particularly that played by the Bills. The fact is, Buffalo has had a phenomenal draft, focusing on positions where our needs were desperate. Why do some fans here have to find ways to be negative no matter what? Why even put yourself through the ups and downs of being a fan if you never see an up?

LeRoy Hill would be an unbelievable addition to the defense and would suddenly give us one of the top 4-3 LB corps in the league. He'll be expensive, but the Bills saved a lot of money dumping Peters and he would be worth the money. Would also plug the gap not filled thus far in the draft.

Ricky Jean-Francois would be solid value in the seventh round as a DT. Hopefully he'll be there when the Bills pick.

Ricky Jean-Francois or best TE/OLB available.

I admit I was fuming mad when I saw that the Bills had drafted a CB instead of taking Everette Brown at 42. Then after taking a deep breath and actually looking into the pick, I realized that he was very much suited to the FS position in our D and was a solid playmaker. Certainly an upgrade from the million dollar man Ko Simpson. Right now, three of our four picks are day one starters, and Maybin is going to see more and more playing time over the course of the season as he gets better. I think he and Chris Ellis are going to surprise some people this year when they get their opportunities. Those two may be our future at the DE position, especially if Ellis shows solid improvement over his limited playing time from last season.

Brad Butler was the starting RT at UVa when D'Brickashaw Ferguson was there playing LT. He was projected as an RT/G for the draft and has experience at that position. That throws an interesting wrench into the projected starting lineup at the start of the season particularly if the two new Rookies play well at guard. In the press conference Jauron and Russ were pretty clear that they see Hangartner as our center, but I have a feeling Wood is going to outplay him and Hangartner will be moved to guard. Our OL to start the season could easily be as follows. Walker-Hangartner-Wood-Levitre-Butler And that my friends, is a pretty nast looking lineup. Jason who?

Yeah. We had already drafted Maybin, have TE, drafted a better C in Wood, and don't need a running back. I thought Brown would have been a terrific pick at 42, but after some consideration I understand why the Bills took Byrd to play safety. Since that was their consideration all along, and not to play him at CB, the pick made sense, particularly in light of the fact that they later reentered the second and drafted Levitre. Buffalo has actually had one heck of a draft so far. I'd say with the pick of Levitre, they are at a B+ right now.

Even when the Bills finally get it right and address actual needs on this team, people still find a way to be negative. Seriously. Wood is almost certainly going to play center for the Bills. Hangartner will be playing left guard. I fully suspect that Langston Walker will start the season at LT and they'll evaluate him during the pre-season and early on to see if he can handle it. Butler will start at RG and I suspect that Levitre will play some RT along with Bell. Levitre played T in college and his size and ability on that side of the line probably would be a good fit. This gives the team an opportunity to see what their two new young tackles can do. If Levitre isn't doing well at RT they can turn him into a guard and let Bell play RT or Chambers if it comes to that. The Bills have actually done quite a good job addressing real needs in this draft with very good quality players. Why all the negativity?

After the Jairus Byrd pick I was scratching my head, and had to stop watching the coverage because I had to drive home from work. I wondered what the hell the FO was thinking taking another CB in the second round. Seeing that we traded back up into the second and took one of the top three G prospects in the draft, I'm starting to think maybe the FO did know what they were doing. And if the plan was to play Byrd at safety when they drafted him, the Bills have addressed four positions of greatest need right away. G, C, S, and DE. This is turning into a pretty good draft. I just hope we didn't have to give up too much to get back into the second round to get our guy.

No, but he makes one good point. We do need more help on the OL. Particularly solid depth at T and G. Wasting a second round pick on a CB is really a poor decision.

In the greater scheme, I don't think that S was a great a need say as Tackle or TE or OLB. Right now, Ellison is still starting at WLB. Not good. The organization must really like Derrick Fine and Chris Ellis to make this kind of decision.

If it was just their second round pick I would say D. But Maybin and Wood are solid players, and Wood has the talent to be a Kent Hull type center. I'd say C+/B- thus far, though I'm shaking my head at that CB pick in the second, even if they are thinking the guy can play safety for us.

Things were going so well. I was beginning to think that the FO had finally figured out what we needed to get better and then they go and do something like that. Then we pass on a bunch of great OL that would really be able to help us and take a CB. Maybe the guy can be our new safety, but to me that's not a position of need. We're loaded in the secondary. We needed OL and DL and a TE. Now we're going to be scrammbling to find a person to back up Chambers and Walker in at the Tackle position, unless they're planning on trading back up into the second round and getting another player. Since we aren't a real trade happy club, that doesn't seem likely. Just frustrating. Ugh!

Another CB? What the hell. Things were going so well.

Like any of those first three guys you mentioned. I don't think we need to trade up into the third to get a TE. Coffman will be there when we pick early in the Third.

Coffman will be there in the third round and Schobel is getting old. Kelsay can't be counted on. This would set us up for now and the future. I really would love to see us take Brown or Barwin. Either one.