ax4782

Oh yes, I forgot about the over 150 million dollars we have already shelled out to upgrade the O and D lines. I forgot about all those offseason moves that people were crowing about with Stroud, Mitchell, James and Johnson coming in. I forgot that Whitner has turned into one of the top eight safeties in the league in just two years. If forgot that the offensive line gave up the fewest sacks in a season in team history last year. I forgot that we have the SEVEN DWARFS playing at WR and as long as they work hard good things will happen. The reason teams like NE and the Giants can afford to draft six D-Lineman every year is because they spent drafts a few years before building up their offensive firepower and making smart additions in the offseason. So far, the Bills have followed that pattern and have been doing well since the change in administration. Yes, getting another pass rusher is important. Yes, adding talent at CB is a good idea. Those are important too, but if we don't take a receiver who can take some pressure off of Lee Evans, the offense is going to suck. Defense is important, but if you can't score points, you're going to lose the game. Or ten or eleven of them. When we took Whitner, we didn't draft the best player available. We drafted for need and that has, IMO worked out pretty well. Whitner has been very good at safety. We also drafted Ko Simpson and Ashton Youboty. The Bills needed help in the secondary that draft and they needed it badly. So they drafted for it, and two of the three haven't been bad. Simpson played well his rookie year, and looked great. We'll find out this year if those preliminary showings were the real deal. Youboty is at the make or break point, but he did start to show up at the end of last year, and that INT against the Giants was a heck of a play. If you have a need at position, it is NOT A LUXURY PICK. A LUXURY PICK this year would be the Bills taking Rashard Mendenhall at number 11. That would be the Bills taking Joe Flacco at number 11. We don't have needs there. We have a glaring need for a WR and taking one the first would be neither reach nor a luxury pick. And to compare this FO with Matt Millen if they take a receiver is just ludicrous. We've spent nine of our last sixteen picks on improving the defense and have only drafted on offense at positions of need, three of those picks being O-Line in later rounds. We need an infusion of talent at WR and TE and this is the year to do it.

Really? We have a bigger need than WR in this draft? Please, enlighten me. And just to pre-empt any DL suggestions, we've adequately addressed those in free agency. Bringing in Stroud and Johnson is exactly what they needed to do. Further, that talent in the middle will free up Schobel and Kelsay from double teams. That will likely move them back into the upper tier of DEs in the league as they were two or three years back. The team has also addressed the CB situation by bringing in James who is starting caliber talent. I'm not saying the Bills shouldn't use draft picks this year to address the DL or CB or the OL. In fact I think they ought to take Mike Pollack C in the third and Andre Fluellen DT in the fifth. The problem is, you can have a fantastic D and an offense that can't score, and still lose games. Buffalo will average 16 points a game again this year if they don't get a WR. Also, I don't think you can tell me with a straight face that if the opportunity arose where Buffalo, without moving up or down, had a chance to take BOTH Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly you could say that would be a bad idea. You would essentially be tripling the offensive firepower this team had. You now have legit #2 and #3 receivers on your team. Evans would no longer face the double team every down, thus making him much more effective. Other defenses can't stack the box against Lynch, thus freeing him up for bigger and longer running plays. Also, look at the Colts and Patriots. They each had, during their last Super Bowl runs, three highly talented receivers along with solid running play. That's what your offense needs to survive in this league. Kelly's stock has been dropping and there is certainly the possibility that he could fall into the second round. Also, James Hardy has consistently been available in the second according to many mock drafts. Take them for what their worth, but if either Kelly or Hardy is there in the Second, even if we have already drafted Devin Thomas, we would be fools NOT to take them. Further, that would make us Evans-proof. What I mean by that is, if he takes his ball and decides to leave at the end of the season, you don't lose much. You have a number one and a number two already on the roster with Thomas and Kelly. You still want to argue that drafting both of them is a bad idea?

I love how this thread suddenly became an attack on the head coach. Man, people will do anything to unleash their hatred. Buffalo's offense was anemic last year, there is no question. There is also no question that the Bills lacked a legitimate number two or three wide receiver to allow us to have any semblence of a passing attack. If you fix that, you can actually throw the ball and score points. Fairchild was the problem. First, he didn't trust JP enough to open up the playbook, and then when Trent came in, he was a rookie and they certainly weren't going to just open up the barn door and let the horses out. Now, with Schonert as OC, and with some stability at the QB position, I think they will open it up more. Jauron has said that he was very disappointed in the way Fairchild handled the offense last year and that things were going to change. I believe he is being honest and if the Bills get some more weapons on the O, particularly a legit receiver to line up opposite Evans, things are going to be much better. I agree with the two WR thing as well. Buffalo should take Devin Thomas or James Hardy in the first and see who's left in the second. If Malcolm Kelly falls to #42, it's a no brainer for Buffalo to take him there. If he does not, I say take Jerome Simpson in the Fourth. Either way, Buffalo should get two quality receivers in this years draft to help the offense. Getting a TE in the second, say Davis or Bennett wouldn't be a bad move either.

The logic behind drafting a receiver in the first round is that you NEED ONE! The proper response to people who say wait and see what's left after the first round is an analogy. If you're on a boat, and their's a hole in your cabin ceiling but also a huge hole in the hull, which do you fix first? You could plug the hole in the ceiling first and not get rained on, or the boat can sink to the bottom. You do your best job fixing the biggest problems first. If WR is your biggest need, you don't wait and do a terrible patch job with second rate material. You go for the best. A "Reach" is something experts talk about to try and justify their mock drafts and their opinions. Then, if the player turns out to be great, they go, oops, guess that guy had more talent than we thought. People claimed that Whitner was a reach at #8 two years ago, and I have to say he's turned out to be one of the best players on our D. I don't think that was a reach, particularly when our deep secondary had been so horrible for so long. This year there are lot of teams that have needs at receiver and if we fall back, we won't get the one we need. Take Devin Thomas or James Hardy at #11 and let the experts and the naysayers here whine and cry. If the guy pans out they'll be on the bandwagon in no time, or they'll be so stubborn they won't be able to see reason. In fact, just to throw fuel on the fire, I would suggest the following. The Bills take Devin Thomas at #11 and if our pick comes up at #42, and Malcolm Kelly or James Hardy somehow miraculously fall to that spot, we should take another WR in the second. That way you shore up the offense at that position, then you take a TE in the third, like John Carlson, then you draft BPA the rest of the way. That's how badly we need a WR this year. As to the suggestion that the class is deep and not very steep, I would say that is true for the top six guys. However, there is a clear drop off after that point. No way you can say with a straight face that Adrian Arrington is as good or better than Devin Thomas or James Hardy, or Malcolm Kelly. Sorry, but its true.

I wouldn't exactly call the offers "unsolicited." Assuming that you are referring to Chad Johnson, he has publicly and loudly stated that he wants out of Cincinnati and will not play this year unless he is let go. Therefore, teams like Wash. and Dallas have made offers to the Bungles to see if they are willing. They have rejected those offers. Boldin apparently also wants out of Arizona. These two guys don't like the teams they are currently on and want out. As far as I can tell, Evans likes this organization, a factor that clearly doesn't exist in the Johnson/Boldin situations. Thus, Evans is willing to stay with the Bills, but he is reaching his breaking point. Buffalo hasn't exactly done much on offense to give him opportunities to contribute. They don't have a legitimate number two who can take pressure off of him and allow him to make plays. They changed quarterbacks and coaches on him almost every year he has been there. I think he's been in four different offensive systems in the four years he's been here. Not a lot of stability for a guy you want to be your number one receiver. If Buffalo brings in another WR, be it in the draft or if they somehow land Anquan Boldin, I think Evans would be more than willing to stay and be a contributor, as long as the money is right.

I think you nailed it with this one. Hardy would be an excellent addition, and is perhaps the best upside prospect in the draft. Getting him at 19 and adding a pick in the second or third would allow us to get Davis, or Bennet and then grab Mike Pollack at center in the third. Your scenario is exactly what I am hoping for.

No problem on the response. I would point out, however, that while you might be right about the receivers, I do think there is a drop off after the top five or six in terms of talent. That being said, I also think that a rookie receiver or two would have an immediate impact. Perhaps teams won't think they will, but when Trent starts targeting them against single coverage it should start to take pressure of Lee and get him more opportunities. I'll admit, I don't expect ANY rookie receiver we get this year to surpass a thousand yards, but if they can have stats of say 55-700-4 that would be a huge impact, and would mean Evans should have numbers like 75-1100-8 which is closer to his form of two years ago. I like taking a WR in round one, after a trade down, then getting a DE at the start of round two and a TE with the additional pick from the trade down. Then in the third take Mike Pollack at Center to address that need, and hope that Jerome Simpson or Adrian Arrington is there in the Fourth for more talent at WR. That, to me, addresses all of the problems this team has right now and helps us moving forward.

Simpson or Pollack are the best options. I would love to get two good WRs in the draft and really shore up the position, but if we take one in the first, say Thomas or Sweed or Hardy, we should take Pollack here. We need an upgrade at cnter and this guy looks like a beast. Then get Schmitt in the Fourth and take BPA after that.

This is all fascinating and very technical, however, there are a number of flaws in this analysis, as there are any time you rely purely on numbers to tell a story. First, in all but three categories, the Bills were relatively close to the league average, those three positions being RB, DL and TE. Let's take a look beyond the numbers and focus on the reality. Most Super Bowl and Conference Championship teams have a solid base on offense at QB and RB. Buffalo has gone through a stable of backs since the beginning of 2000. We have drafted a number of players, including Willis, Marshawn, and Dwayne Wright. We also had Travis Henry on the roster and of course he was replaced by Willis. So we've had a lot of instability at that position. Once Willis was traded we had a screaming need at RB that had to be addressed. We did so, and had to pay for it. The revolving door at RB started with the Donahoe regime and has finally been put to a stop. As for the DL, the fact is that we have drafted DL, just not as many, obviously. Buffalo, however, has not been neglectful of their needs on either line. Buffalo has brought in high quality free agents at those positions, choosing to go with a known quantity over an unknown. Buffalo has only had one top-five pick in the last ten years where you get a lot of that high end D-Line talent. Carolina may have gone to the Superbowl back in the early 2000s, but they haven't exactly been very good since then. They've had a lot of early picks. The fact is that DL hasn't been neglected as you suggest. And, the DLs they have drafted have turned out to be pretty good. McCargo looked dominant at times last year, and Kyle Williams has played very well. However, Williams doesn't fit into your calculation because he was a fifth rounder. We'll see how Stroud and Johnson do this year. Also, if you add in the free agents that we've brought in to fix the DL, I bet your numbers would change drastically. The TE situation is the only one that I can't explain. Ever since Metzellars left that position has been a disaster on this team, except, arguably, for when we had Riemersma. Why they haven't drafted any TEs is beyond me. Maybe they felt they had more pressing needs in the defensive secondary or elsewhere on offense. I would say your number is off. We should not be at zero percent, as we drafted Kevin Everett in the third round of 2005. As we didn't have a first round pick that year, the third round was really our second round that year. Just saying. He was starting to come on before his horrific injury. So, saying that they have done nothing is a bit of a misstatement, but they certainly haven't done enough to fix such an important position. However, your most important oversight is, looking at those Super Bowl teams, their needs at the end of the season were ALWAYS on defense. Lets take the Patriots for example. Their offense was never their problem. They always scored points. There was no reason to mess with the system they had. You can plug any receiver in and they'll get forty catches minimum. The logical choice was D-Line. The Giants have had the same problems. Many of their top defensive players had started to retire, and they had drafted a lot of offense in 05 and 06. Thus, in 07 it made sense for them to address their biggest area of concern and take either two or three DL in the first two rounds. That also probably skewed your calculations by the way. One team taking two or three DLs in one draft would tend to throw the average off. Just saying. Then look at the Eagles. Again, it wasn't their offense lacking for production that cost them the game. It was the fact that their D just couldn't stop anyone. Most of the Super Bowl losers needed defense to try and get just that little bit better. After all, NE's defense, even with all of those D-Lineman isn't really all that great. They're just rested and playing with a 25 point lead every game. When they weren't in that situation last year, and were needed to win the SB, they just didn't have what it took. So, while I think this was a good post and was well thought out, you have to realize that you can make statistics say anything, without actually being accurate. They just look that way. You can't grade the current administration in the same way you look at the Donahoe regime. They are totally different with two totally different ways of looking at the game of football. Donahoe was an offensive guy. If you look at our last two drafts, we have been defense heavy. McCargo, Youboty, Simpson, Whitner, Williams, Poz, John Wendling, C.J. Ah You and Keith Ellison. Thats nine picks in two years for the D, including three for the DL in McCargo, Williams, and Ah You. You can't say they haven't picked at those positions. Buffalo has been a team that drafts in places where they have NEEDS, the past two seasons, as opposed to the glamour pick years of Donahoe. That's the smart thing to do. Right now, after the FA moves, DL is NOT A POSITION OF NEED. WR, TE, and arguably CB are the top three positions of need on this team. I won't be unhappy if they take Derrick Harvey (though Quentin Groves looks like the better player), but I would be far happier if they took Devin Thomas, particularly if they got him after trading down. Nice work, but I strongly disagree.

Seriously, man, I really don't get why you can hate this guy that much. Did you actually watch him PLAY in college. He's got size, speed, good route running, and most importantly he has excellent hands. There's a reason his stock is going up. I'm not saying he's the best receiver of all time, but certainly he'd be an excellent compliment to Evans at the number two. Also, he adds a second weapon on kick returns, which likely means better starting position for the offense. Thomas is a guy that is willing to go up for jump balls and go over the middle without fear of taking a hit, and at his size he is difficult for smaller corners to bring down. He would be a very solid pick at #11 and he would fill the largest of a couple of gaping holes on offense. Certainly not something worth taking out your TV over. Save that for replays of Wide Right.

I think the last thing you said is a concern for a lot of people. Of course, if he stayed at MSU another year and repeated those numbers, he's a top five pick and Buffalo doesn't get him. Let me reassure you about what I've seen from Thomas. I live in Detroit and had an opportunity to watch either all twelve or eleven of MSUs twelve games this year. Devin Thomas was easily the best player on that team. He has the size and speed to create mismatches all over the field. More importantly, he doesn't drop very many passes and he fights for the ball. He goes up after jump balls and he isn't afraid to go over the middle. I loved watching this kid play on saturdays, and I'd really like to see him playing for the Bills on Sundays. He has a lot of upside. That being said, I also like Sweed, and James Hardy. I think all three of these guys are going to be ballers in the NFL. Whichever of the three that the Bills end up with, I'll be happy, as long as we get one of them.

Lets take this mixed bag of suggestions one at a time. 1. Trade JP. I can see some trade scenarios where this would be a possibility. I think, however, that the Bills would actually be better for this season if they were to keep him on. First, he has said he will stay with the team. The team has unequivocally stated that TE is the starter, so I don't think JP will get a chance to compete for the job, regardless of what some people on the board are suggesting. If he has to play, he will have to play well if he wants another team to take a shot at him, so for Buffalo, keeping him is a win win. If TE gets hurt, they have a veteran backup who can step in and take over while he recovers, and JP has to play well if he wants out of Buffalo for another chance to start in the NFL. 2. Don't Draft a CB. That depends. Do you mean don't draft one in the First, or don't take one at all. If you mean the first choice, I agree with you. I think Buffalo needs to take a WR in the first round, but more on that in just a moment. I think the Bills need talented depth at corner and would be fine with them taking someone in the third or later, maybe the second if Brandon Flowers falls to us. Right now, we only have three CBs on the roster who I feel comfortable with on the field in McGee, Greer and James. Youboty just hasn't proven he's ready, though that could change. I would feel better adding some depth to the position, if for nothing else to avoid the injury patchwork we had to deal with last year. 3. Draft Vernon Gholston. First of all, that would require a significant trade up, which is NEVER going to happen. If he were to fall to the Bills, I still wouldn't take him. Yes, he has a ton of physical talent and he rose quickly up the draft boards. That being said, even with all that talent he wasn't the best player on that OSU defense. He looks like another guy that isn't quite right at DE and isn't quite right at LB. I have to disagree with you. Buffalo should not be looking D in the first round, and if they do, it needs to be a pure DE, someone like Harvey or more preferably Quentin Groves. Gholston strikes me as another Erik Flowers, and we all know how that turned out. 4. Pass Catching TE > WR. I agree in part and disagree in part. Buffalo needs a TE who can catch the ball and spread the field. No question that is true. However, Buffalo even more desperately needs a WR who can take double teams off of Evans, and preferably both a WR and a TE. My gut tells me that is what Buffalo is going to do in rounds one and two. I see Devin Thomas in the First and either Dustin Keller or Fred Davis in the second round. If we trade down with Philly and gain either Lito Shepard in the trade or an additional second rounder, I see us doing this for sure. However, WR is a bigger need, by a hair, than TE. Fact is, we need both. 5. Draft Two Receivers later in the draft and keep your fingers crossed. This is the point where my eyes began to roll. If Buffalo does this, you can bend over and kiss the playoffs and any chance of us getting there this year or next good bye. Buffalo has had a screaming need at WR ever since Peerless Price left the FIRST time. After that, Moulds was consistently double teamed and his production lapsed. That led to his frustration and demands for a trade. Now Evans is in the same spot. He is getting double teamed and frustrated and if nothing is done at the WR position, after the season we will have NO WRs worth starting because Evans won't be back. The talent in the draft is deep, that's very true, but there is a clear difference between the top four and the bottom four, which is what we'll get if we wait to the fifth or sixth round. Devin Thomas should be our pick in the first, and not only that, Buffalo should take another receiver either in the fourth or fifth. I'd even say that if we take Devin Thomas at 11 and Malcolm Kelly falls to us at 42, we should draft him there as well. If not, take Thomas at 11, then take Jerome Simpson or Adrian Arrington in the fourth or fifth round. More quality depth is a MUST at the position. Waiting and praying is not the solution. 6. Draft the Highest Rated Center and Start Him. With this statement I wholeheartedly agree. Buffalo should draft Mike Pollack in the third round, no questions asked. He is a beast of a player and he's going to be a Kent Hull type center. Mark my words, the kid can flat out play. If not Pollack in the third, Kory Lichtensteiger in the fifth would be an excellent choice. Again, he has ideal size and is a very heady player at the position. Either one of them would be an upgrade at the position, and Fowler isn't a bad option as a solid backup in the event of injury. Good call on this one.

With all the NEEDS on this team, there is NO CHANCE IN HELL that Buffalo take 2 DEs in the first two rounds. There is an argument, and a decent one, that if Derrick Harvey is there at #11, Buffalo should draft him. However, I should point out that he, IMO, is not the best DE in this draft. Quentin Groves played a heck of a lot better against the same top-notch competition in the SEC. He's projected to go in the mid to late 20s. Buffalo NEEDS a receiver, and there is again, no chance in hell that Malcolm Kelly is going to slip to the third round. No way. Latest he goes is to Buffalo in the second at 42, and that's assuming we don't take Devin Thomas at #11 which is looking more and more likely. (See the Buffalo News from today.) There is no argument, however, that taking two DEs is a good idea. Kelsay is 29 and Schobel is 32. They're not "old." The problem last year wasn't at DE, it was at DT. The only DT who showed up consistently when he was out there was McCargo, but he didn't have nearly the playing time he should have. There was no consistent inside talent that required a double team, thus Schobel and Kelsay were routinely subject to those double teams. That led to a decrease in their production. With Stroud and Johnson coming in, and with McCargo expected to start at the 3 Tech, look for Schobel and Kelsay to have significantly better production from the DE position. Buffalo's Draft Should Look As Follows, assuming no trades: 1. Devin Thomas WR 2. Brandon Flowers CB 3. Martellus Bennet TE 4. Mike Pollack C 4. Jerome Simpson WR 5. Owen Schmitt/Peyton Hillis FB 6. Marcos Howard (Good Pick if he's there, you are right about that) 7. DT 7. DE 7. O-Line Buffalo's got too many needs to take two DEs in the first two rounds. I could see them taking Harvey in the first, rather than a receiver, but not two. If Buffalo trades back with Philly and acquires an additional second rounder, I could see them taking Devin Thomas at 19 and then getting Calais Campbell with the first of the two second rounders, but we need a WR and a TE before we even look at the Defensive Line. You also forget that Spencer Johnson has played well at DE in Minnesota in a rotational situation, so the current lineup at DE is actually 1. Aaron Schobel 2. Chris Kelsay 3. Ryan Denney 4. Spencer Johnson 5. Al Wallace (If Retained) 6. Ryan Neill Also, I would not be surprised if the Bills retained Al Wallace as a backup for this year either.

I think Buffalo takes Devin Thomas at #11, so don't "worry" about a Kelly pick. That being said, Kelly dropped one pass over the course of the last two seasons. One pass. He has PHENOMENAL HANDS and is a real presence in the red zone. Yes, he has some problems with his knees, but I don't think that will really be much of an issue. The fact is, if we take Thomas in the first, and Malcolm Kelly is sitting there when we pick again at 42, I say pick him. Particularly if we move back in the first round and are able to get Devin Thomas at, say #19 and we get an additional second round pick. Imagine what a tandem of Evans, Thomas and Kelly could do to opposing defenses.

I strongly disagree with that. Evans said he would wait and see if the Bills tried to IMPROVE their offense before he decided to resign with the team. We can sign Thomas to a 5 or 6 year Rookie Contract, and get Evans to sign resign for the same length of time. We would have two very strong offensive weapons, and would likely, finally, be able to score some points. Buffalo wants to sign Evans, regardless of who they take in the draft. Frankly, I'd like to get Thomas at #11, then get another guy, say Nelson or Jerome Simpson, or Adrian Arrington later in the draft to really shore up the WR position. Offense needs three players to make us one of the top units in the league, another WR, a TE, and a C. We can take care of all of those in the first three rounds of the draft. Mark my words. Whatever Buffalo does with the WR position in this draft, Lee Evans will be back with a long contract extension.

James Hardy is another WR I would add to the list. Buffalo hasn't even mentioned his name, which leads me to believe they are considering him based on Buffalo's past history. Most of those "surprise" picks wouldn't be a big surprise. Keith Rivers and Kentwan Balmer have been cited in mock drafts as potential picks, though I think those two, and Jerod Mayo are the most unlikely of the players you have listed. The others are actually equivalent alternatives to the suggestions being batted around. McKelvin is as good or better than DR-C in terms of overall play at the position, and the five top WRs are all rated close together. OT and D-Line would be the biggest "surprises" for me, but not really all that surprising.

Strongly disagree on a number of levels. First, CB is also deep this year and guys like Flowers and Cason could also be there in the second round. The receiver talent IS deep, but there are far more teams with receiver needs that pick before we get another chance in the second round. If we can't trade out of #11, we need to take a WR, be it a reach or not. Buffalo's most pressing need this offseason is at the WR position. Take the best player to fill your biggest need. We can take a CB in round two and get Carlson from ND at the TE position in the third. I would prefer a trade down with Philly to #19 and get either Lito Shepard, or their 2nd rounder to do it. That we we address all three of our most pressing needs in the first two rounds. Either get Shepard at CB, and take a WR and a TE in rounds one and two, or take Thomas/Hardy at 19, get Flowers with our first #2 and then take Fred Davis or Dustin Keller, or Martellus Bennett with our #2 from Philly. Also, while DRC has speed, he lacks the tackling ability that you need in the Cover-2. The biggest knock on him has been that he does not like to get involved tackling wise. The better choice is Talib, who has better size, very good speed and is also an aggressive tackler, which is a must on this team.

If the Bills stay at #11, I'd say 60-40 they draft defense, likely Derrick Harvey DE or DRC/Mike Jenkins CB. That, however, would be a very bad move. I'm probably going to get flack, again, for saying this, DE is not a NEED on this team. CB certainly is, but it is second or third compared to WR and arguably TE. Buffalo needs to get the best possible WR of the ones available. Be that Thomas, Kelly, Sweed, Hardy, Jackson, or someone else. As to your continuing suggestion that people who like Devin Thomas are bandwagon fans, I for one would point out, that is part of the process. None of these receivers is really a top-15 caliber player, I'll grant you that, but that doesn't mean we might not need to get the best one available at 11. I happen to think that the best two WRs in the draft are James Hardy and Devin Thomas. That has to do with the numbers they put up and their size. Thomas is basically a physical clone of Eric Moulds, and he turned out okay. Hardy is a physical beast who would be absolutely perfect in this offense. Of all the receivers in the draft, he, I think is most likely to succeed. That being said, having watched Thomas play in all twelve games this season (I live in Detroit), the kid can flat out play. Not only does he have excellent hands and speed to compliment his physical attributes, he is aggressive. By that, I mean he goes up for jump balls and is willing to go over the middle and take a hit to get a first down. That is exactly the type of receiver that we need. Why you have such a hatred for the notion that we might take a receiver at #11 is beyond me. I think Ralph meant what he said in the offseason that Buffalo's number one goal before the start of camp was to acquire a big, fast wide receiver to help out Trent and Lee. Buffalo will likely trade out of the #11, probably with Philly, and take a WR, likely Thomas or Kelly at #19. We may even get Lito Shepard out of the deal if we throw in our non-comp 4th. That would make everyone happy, I think.

Fred Davis is the obvious pick for the Bills if he is still there at 42. If not, then Flowers is the next best choice, and after that Dustin Keller. Bills need as much talented help as they can get on the offensive side of the ball.

I understand your point. Minnesota has shown a lot of interest. However, they haven't signed him yet, and the reason it is going to cost them so much is because they aren't offering KC anything BUT draft picks. Thus, they have to give up more, though a 1st and a 2nd would be even too much. I suggesting giving them a player they need. Say, a QB. We have one, and we ship him off with our second and a fourth for Allen. We have the money to sign him to an extension, and it would be performance based, so his salary would be reasonable and only if he attains those lofty bonus numbers would his contract be in the realm of higher than Schobel's. The problem is, if you draft a guy who turns out to be good, you have to resign them down the road to big money anyway, or cut them. Cutting good players is a way to make your team suck, so you have to tighten the belt and pay them. Thus, we could get Allen now, if the offer were good enough, AND still get a top notch player in a position that we need. I understand your point, I happen to think you're wrong.

First let me respond to the post. I would NOT want the Bills take O-Line (except C, but there isn't anyone at that position worthy of a 1st round pick, so I'm not worried) or any D-Line in the first round. We have needs at positions, most notably WR, TE, C, and CB. That being said, I would not want to see DRC or M. Kelly taken. As for Devin Thomas being good or bad. I live in Michigan and like MSU. I watched all of their games this year, both the good and the bad. I did not go there for undergrad, but a lot of my friends in MI did. Let me be clear. Having watched Devin Thomas during this season the following statements are NOT TRUE. 1. Devin Thomas has bad hands. This is just a statement that is beyond ridiculous. I'm sorry, the guy not only catches pretty much everything thrown in his direction, he GOES UP FOR THE BALL. Also, he is 6'2" 225. You know who else was that same size? Eric Moulds, and he turned out pretty well. In fact, D. Thomas reminds me a lot of Moulds in terms of his style of play. 2. Devin Thomas needs babysitting. Everything I saw from the kid in his post game interviews demonstrated to me that he was a character guy who was more interested in his team winning football games than his own personal glory. Further, he runs good routes and worked in against top notch opposition, week in and week out. He did not have fantastic games against Ohio State or Michigan, true, but then again neither did James Hardy from Indiana, and no one is questioning his hands or ability to contribute. The fact is, Thomas is game ready, and while any rookie will require time to grow, this guy is going to be a heck of a talent. Buffalo should take him if he is available, though I don't think they will take him if they stay at #11. If they move back to 19 I think they take him there.

CBs are getting way too much money these days, particularly when you look at dollar to talent ratio. And further, in our scheme you don't need "shut down corners" because everybody has to help cover the receivers. There is very little man to man in the cover two scheme. Thus, what you need are athletic, good size, above average corners who can cover their zones.

For those Derrick Harvey enthusiasts out there, a better decision for the Bills would be to sign Jared Allen when the Chiefs cut him loose. Allen is a proven talent at DE, having led the league in sacks last year. He's a young player having just turned 26, just what the Bills are looking for, and he would be an amazing talent across from Schobel. Kelsay would then become one of the better backup DEs around. That along with the other upgrades on the D-Line in the offseason would put our D in really great shape. Then, Buffalo could concentrate on their NEED picks in the first three rounds, i.e. WR, CB, TE. The cost to get Allen would likely be a second or third round pick, or a package of later picks, of which we have a plethora. Or, the Chiefs need a QB. Say we trade JP and our comp fourth for Allen and pick up the remainder of his contract, which I think has one or two yera to go, and sign him to an extension. We have plenty of cap room. That would allow us to be in good position in the draft to pick up top players at all of our need positions, and not have to be tempted by drafting Derrick Harvey, who does not look like the best DE available in the draft. Quentin Groves looks like a much better all around football player at that position, but that's just one man's opinion. I say get Jared Allen and quiet the talk about the D-Line.

You got that right!!

Four. TE, WR, FB and CB. As for McCargo, he is a beast, but at the Three Tech, not the one. Stroud is the bigger space eater, not the penetrator. McCargo is big and fast, but not nearly as big or aggressive as Stroud and his natural position is going to be at the three. Stroud, McCargo is going to be a nasty DT tandem to play against, especially with Schobel and Kelsay now getting single teams on the outside.