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Both Brown and Gaither have had injury issues, but Brown's down in NO seemed far more serious. I think Buffalo could get him for a relatively good price, but the problem lies with whether or not he is healthy enough and ready enough to be a starting LT for an NFL team. Bushrod replaced him and did a very good job, which is why Brown is expendable, but I think Gaither is the better, and more likely target. The most important reason for that is Gaither is a younger player with greater long term potential and upside.

Therein lies the problem. The Bills, I don't think, have heard from him one way or the other regarding his retirement or his participation as a player this year. As such, I think the only prudent thing to do would be to plan as if he is not going to be there this year and move forward. If he shows up and it works out, great. Another year for those new rookies to learn behind a veteran player. If not, you're ready for the worst.

Agreed. The Redskins make those kind of signings every year, filling up their roster with "name" players and huge contracts. How's that worked out for them over the last decade? Nix is right. You build through the draft and use FA to fill significant holes on your team that are left after that. Gaither is an example. If Buffalo does land him via trade, they get a very young, extremely talented player at a position of desperate need on the team who has twelve years of football ahead of him, barring a serious injury. That's a good move. Giving $100 Mil to Albert Haynesworth when the rest of your D is a complete disaster, is stupid. I'd prefer if Buffalo avoided doing stupid things like that.

A fact that PTR hinted at with the posting of the Pat Kirwan article.

Yes they are different. Agreements in principle means the teams have struck an agreement but that there are conditions that have to be met before the deal becomes final. I'm assuming that one of those conditions is the Bills and Gaither coming to an agreement on the terms of a contract extension that will satisfy both parties. If that can be done, I believe the deal will be done as well.

The stat is not misleading. The Bills averaged 4.3 ypc. The problem was, we didn't run the ball enough, and too many times, the Bills tried to get cute passing the ball on first down with plays that had little or no chance of success. The passing game is what killed this offense, the fact that we didn't throw at the right time, and the fact that we were too quick to get away from the running game killed our offense. And other teams knew it.

If this is true, it shows that Nix is a genius. You have to believe that this was something the teams were working on before the draft, and that Nix drafted defense primarily this year, knowing that he was very likely going to make a deal for Gaither. Explains why they didn't need to get a tackle in the first three or four rounds. This seals our biggest hole on offense, making the line go from mediocre at best to above average across the board in run and pass protection. This move makes Buffalo far more competitive offensively, even with TE or BB at the QB position. Gailey has done more with less than what we have if the line can be solidified. Great deal, and fills a big need with a future second round pick that likely would have been used to get a tackle that likely didn't have the talent of Gaither.

Actually, that Pat Kirwan link you gave makes perfect sense. The Ravens have desperate needs for help at the CB and S positions given Ed Reed's shaky health status. The ravens would very likley be willing to make such a deal considering that Oher looks to be a sufficient answer for them at LT. Such a deal seems very likely. I would expect that Buffalo has been working on this since before the draft, which is why we didn't feel the need to take a tackle in the first three rounds. Figure on a five or six year thirty five or forty mil deal to get the job done, with about 19 mil guaranteed. Just a hunch but that would be about in the right ball park for the average starting LT in the NFL salarywise.

For a minute, I was picturing the NFL being like a home game for the Leafs. I don't think it will ever go this far, but there is not question that the owners want more revenue, except for a few, like RW and Paul Brown who have fought to keep revenue sharing and against some of the owner first changes from coming about. With the owners having this kind of attitude, would it really surprise anyone if there was a labor strike next year, just to send a message to these guys?

If Buffalo trades for Gaither, we shore up our two weakest positions on the line. Gaither comes in at LT and move Bell over to RT where he can compete with Meredith and Green, both of whom would be fine on the right side. Our line would then be Gaither-Levitre-Hangartner-Wood-Bell/Meredith. That's a line that goes from slightly below average across the board to above-average across the board. The LT and RT position is what is hurting this team. They are solid in the middle. Gaither immediately upgrades that hole at T, assuming he can stay healthy, which is the primary issue I have with the guy. People who are whining about giving up a second round pick next year, I pose you this question. You are probably the type of person who stated that Buffalo HAD to take a QB and LT in this draft, both in the first two rounds, for the team to start getting better. They didn't do that and you railed. So, how is it that now, all of a sudden trading next year's second round pick, no matter what pick number it would be, for a top 5 tackle is suddenly such a horrible thing? Next year, you'll be saying the same thing. We need a QB and Tackle in the first two rounds. If we can get an LT now with that second round pick, they fulfill that need now, with a very young and talented player. What's not to like about that deal? You can still hope they take Jake Locker, Andrew Luck, or God forbid, Ryan Mallett next year in the first round. What's the big problem with using a second rounder to get a first round talent?

I think it's is way too early to read anything into this considering it is the FIRST day of ROOKIE Minicamp. The fact is, anyone here who thought that Maybin would have INSTANT success at any position was off their rocker. Many here felt that he was MORE LIKELY to have success at the OLB or RushLB position due to his size and speed, but he is a raw talent who came out of school early and has a lot of room to grow with upside. Can we please just leave the bust comments to a minimum until the guy has, I don't know, started a couple of games in the league? Many first round picks take two or three years to fulfill their potential. Expecting every first round pick to be an instantaneous success is like expecting to find gold and a leprechaun at the end of every rainbow. Let's get serious folks. Give the kid a chance to see what he can do at the position before the bashing and hating begin.

I would assume that the contract restructuring is the reason the trade didn't happen before the draft. I figure the Bills knew they were going to trade for Gaither so there was no reason to draft a tackle in the first three rounds. That allowed them to work on building the defense. Contract negotiations are always tough with top tier players. Within the next week, I'd bet Buffalo has traded for Gaither, giving them next years second round pick and a player on the roster at a position of need for the Ravens. McGahee is getting older. Perhaps Lynch might be heading to the Ravens as well.

He's got good size and looks fast off the left side. Playing at VT put him against some of the premier talent in college football week in and week out. I think with a little bit of work he could be a very good LT for us. Only time will tell, but he certainly appears to have all of the requisites to excel at the position.

Please try to remember that Dick Jauron isn't running this team anymore. We actually have a coach who knows what an offense is supposed to do on the field. There also won't be any mixed signals for the QB about which play he should run, because Gailey will be calling the plays. Get your head out of your rear and wake up. No one is saying the team is going to win ten games. I personally think they'll win six at best, but they'll be a heck of a lot more fun to watch. And I personally don't care if they check down every play. If they get a first down after three straight checkdowns, they can do that crap til the end of time.

Nix was getting the best player available who can make a huge difference on offense for this team. Spiller is Nix's LT here in Buffalo. Look at his picks in SD when he started there. His first choice was an RB. Bill, generally I think your opinions are well thought out and though I don't always agree, I respect them because you seem to have at least done some cursory research. However, here that seems to be lacking. Spiller was a between the tackles runner at Clemson. Go look at his stats. As for small and not an every down back, he's 5-10 199 lbs. Guess who else has those exact same measurables when he was drafted. THURMAN THOMAS. Watch the film on Spiller and you'll be surprised at how similar they are. Most importantly, Spiller is one heck of a receiver, especially down the field. I'm seeing a revisiting of the old days when Thurman used to split out wide and catch a thirty yard strike down the field. That's something Spiller did regularly at Clemson, if you watch the tape.

He though we had three steals in the draft. Three. Wow. Looking at this draft I thought it was solid, and that the Bills did a nice job drafting for talent and not drafting purely for need. Nice to see that some of the media do in fact think that we did a good job. Seems to be a growing concensus on the media outlets and on the internet. The only ones who seem to think our draft was only average were Mel Kiper and Todd McShay over at the "We Really Only Love Boston Sports" network.

Excellent post. I happen to agree with pretty much everything you said. I believe it is going to take two or three years to rebuild this team the right way, but then, we will be contending again. Nix and Gailey really seem to know what they are doing, and we have a lot of promising young guys in the FO, like Doug Whaley, who can take the reins when Nix retires in five or six years.

No, that was Jim Brown. Levi Brown was the godfather of soul.

Hate to burst your bubble Spartacus, as I know you'd love to see all three of these guys walk, but at the very least, the absolute minimum, Marcus Stroud is your opening day starter at RDE, partnered with Dwan Edwards at LDE and Torell Troup at NT. If Schobel doesn't retire, he'll either start at OLB or he'll be in the rotation. The only one I can actually see being gone with no role, at least in some possible universe, is Kelsay, and I also find that unlikely. He'll get his chance in the LB rotation in ceratin obvious running situations. Just saying.

I agree with you on the fact that I'm glad we didn't waste a pick to get Jason Campbell. The guy is average at best on a good day. Was not impressed with him in college and was really underwhelmed by his uninspired play with the Redskins. I also hope the Bills can trade Marshawn for a pick or two in next year's draft where the talent is again supposed to be pretty deep. However, I disagree about Whitner. Look, Whitner might not have been worth the number 8 pick, but the kid is a solid strong safety. He was playing hurt for most of the second half of the season last year which was why he was in and out of the lineup. The fact is, he is fast, and has good hands, he just needs a little bit better skill on the ball. Fortunately, that's why we have Jairus Byrd back there who is the more natural ball hawk. That allows Whitner to do what he does best. Tackle and cover. Trading Whitner is not a good idea as the depth behind him is good for three or four games, but I'd rather not have Bryan Scott or George Wilson as our starter for opening weekend. Not that they're bad. They're not. But they are not as good as Whitner.

How is that the SEC leader in TFL and Sacks, who played four years and was a senior at a program like Auburn didn't get drafted. Looking at that film on Antonio Coleman, he looks like he's going to be a beast of a pass rusher at OLB or DE out of a 4-3 look on passing downs. I'm certainly not complaining that we got him as a UDFA, and I bet he has a chip on his shoulder coming into camp. Dude can flat out play, and he made some of those top tackles in the SEC look foolish on some of those plays. Both sacks in the Alabama game were just burns. Good work by the FO to get a guy like that onboard. Our D is going to be really good in the next few seasons. Just hope the O can start catching up. Also, its good to see them signing some OL in UDFA as well. A couple of those guys could project well as depth players at interior OL for us.

Agree with all the comments here. There was no QB or Tackle worth taking at 9 so the Bills have to settle for the best overall player in the draft. Just terrible. Instead of reaching to fill needs we take BPA to put solid football players at positions on our defense to make us a hell of a lot better against the run. What I really think is going on is that the major guys critiquing the draft, didn't do as much homework on some of the top smaller school prospects and because they aren't the shiny toys people thought we should take, they pass us over. Again, being graded on not following Mel Kiper and Todd McShay. Not really being graded on what they did do. The guys analyzing the draft who seem to know what they are doing on NFL Network really seemed to love this draft. Just saying. Opinions are like butts. We all have them and they stink. Let's see the product play some downs on the field before we start making critical judgments.

No, I wouldn't have listed the RB position as one of need, but you take the best playmakers on the board when you are doing a total overhaul. As for not being able to win without a good QB, I give you the Ravens of 2002, and the Ravens last year. They beat the Patriots, at NE with Flacco throwing for 34 yards. The Tennessee Titans succeeded with VY, who can't hit the broad side of a barn, but they won seven of their last eight games.

I do, however, take the time to read about and watch the games of Buffalo history, and have a healthy respect for the glory days of the franchise and also the dark times. And people should know, that as bad as the times have been over the last ten years, there were times at the beginning of this franchise, when the teams we fielded were worse, and the drafts were horrendous. All in context people, all in context.

Sadly, I'm one of those whose first real memories of the Bills were from those great days of the late 80s and early 90s. I, however, must have become more reasonable, understanding that, like all franchises, there are ups and downs. People need to just take a deep breath and be aware of the things that the FO does. I'm not saying you can't be cynical. I'm just asking that people not be so cynical for the sake of being cynical. Racoons like shiny tin-made items. People look past shiny and do real analysis. Buffalo didn't pick the shiny toy at every turn as people might have liked, but they did have a solid draft.