Buffalo Wing

Star Wars...and only Star Wars...I can't stomach Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, et al any more. Field of Dreams...possibly the best movie of all time..."Hey Dad, wanna have a catch"...great line...still brings tears to my eyes no matter how many times I've watched it. Guns of Navarone...David Niven is classic! The Magnificent Seven...unbelievable cast. And finally...Bring It On with Kirsten Dunst...she is so hot.

Each town has a designated noise ordinance. You should be able to call your town hall to find out the specifics.

Um, hello?!?! No one is going to buy this folks! This was the same team that said up until a few days ago that Alex Smith was their man...then when that generated a lot of trade discussion for the #2 pick, the 49'ers jumped in and screwed up their plans. Now, all they are doing is the same crap - that is, hyping up a player where they know several teams have a significant interest, so as to drive up the value of a potential trade of picks. Personally I hope that the rest of the teams in the league allow the Dolphins to stay at pick 2 and force their hand to take a RB. That is the greatest need area for them and everyone knows it. I think it will hurt the rest of the teams MORE, especially in the AFC East, if they are able to slide down and gather up more picks.

I think there is another variable to this equation too that no one has mentioned...Marcus Price. I do not believe he has signed anywhere, correct?!?! If still unsigned after the draft, I could see TD re-signing him and bring him to challenge for the starting LT position. If nothing else, he could be retained as he has in year's past as a viable backup to both tackle positions.

I really don't see Washington trading with anyone. They only have 5 picks total in the draft...one pick in the 1st, one in the 3rd, one in the 4th, one in the 6th, and one in the 7th. If anything, they are going to look to trade down from the 9th selection overall and try and gather up some more pics.

Just a quick FYI....I know you are only speculating, but the Deadskins do not have a 2nd round pick in this year's draft.

Let's take a look at how and why Travis Henry has been so critical to the success of this team and how Tom Donahoe mastered this process... (1) 2001. Bills hold the 14th pick. Fans are screaming for him to take Kenyatta Walker, the offensive lineman from Florida State. TD trades down ~6 spots, picks up an additional 2nd round pick. In the 21st position, he then selects Nate Clements, CB, Ohio State, a future Pro Bowler. With the additional pick in the 2nd round, TD selects Travis Henry, RB, Tennessee, a future Pro Bowler. (2) 2003. In a move of sheer genius, TD tags Peerless Price, and then works out a deal with Atlanta for their pick in the 1st round (23rd pick). Fans get frustrated while they watch two defensive ends (a need area for the team) get drafted --> Michael Haynes, Penn State gets drafted by Chicago, then Jerome McDougle, Miami gets drafted by Philadelphia. Ok, Bills fans cross their fingers and now have their sights set on Jeff Faine, C, Notre Dame, but Cleveland takes him at the 21st spot. In a surprising move, TD draft Willis McGahee, RB, Miami...and the entire draft is turned on its head! And by the way, TD selects Chris Kelsay, DE, Nebraska in the 2nd round...a prospect that many had as a 1st round talent. (3) 2004. Given McGahee's explosion onto the scene, the Bills take off a great 2nd half of the season run...thereby making Travis Henry expendable. (4) 2005. TD will shipping Travis Henry in a trade for a solid (albeit, not great) offensive lineman and a move up in the 2nd round. So, what does this tell us? Look at what TD turned into gold by simply sliding down half-a-dozen spots in the 1st round of the 2001 draft!!! Freakin' beautiful! Now, here is the point of all of this...some of you have been posting of TD moving further up. I think TD will actually TRADE DOWN from pick #44 (the Cardinals draft position in the 2nd round that we are rumored to be getting in exchange for the #55 pick) and pick up more picks. For example, by sliding down from 44 to 50, TD should be able to pick up an additional 4th round pick in that scenario. This can be determined by the value chart (http://www.nfl.com/draft/story/8358748) posted by Gil Brandt on NFL.com. Depending on how far he is willing to trade down, he could turn it into an additional 3rd round pick. Up until a few days ago, I was not very excited about the draft. If this TD trade goes through and we are able to swap picks with Arizona in the 2nd round, it is going to be fun to watch TD work his magic! 2 weeks, baby! 2 weeks!

Bengals | Spencer to Receive Private Workout - from www.KFFL.com Tue, 29 Mar 2005 09:57:22 -0800 Gil Brandt, of NFL.com, reports Mississippi C Chris Spencer has a private workout scheduled with the Cincinnati Bengals. A date for the workout was not disclosed. Buccaneers | Spencer to Receive Private Workout - from www.KFFL.com Tue, 29 Mar 2005 09:57:10 -0800 Gil Brandt, of NFL.com, reports Mississippi C Chris Spencer has a private workout scheduled with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. A date for the workout was not disclosed. Lions | Spencer to Receive Private Workout - from www.KFFL.com Tue, 29 Mar 2005 09:55:41 -0800 Gil Brandt, of NFL.com, reports Mississippi C Chris Spencer has a private workout scheduled with the Detroit Lions. A date for the workout was not disclosed. Seahawks | Spencer to Receive Private Workout - from www.KFFL.com Tue, 29 Mar 2005 09:35:14 -0800 Gil Brandt, of NFL.com, reports Mississippi C Chris Spencer has a private workout scheduled with the Seattle Seahawks. A date for the workout was not disclosed. For those of us hoping that Chris Spencer is available for us in the 2nd round, he is garnering a lot of interest from teams drafting before us. Bucs are at pick 36, Lions are at pick 41, Bengals are at pick 48, Seatlle is at pick 54...Bills are at pick 55.

http://www.stadiumwall.com/index.php?showtopic=20766&hl= See link above. Not the exact scenario. I had us trading Henry and our 3rd round pick for Arizona's 2nd round pick (and possibly a later round pick to even things out). I did not have Shelton included in my trade scenario. In my scenario, we then have two picks in the 2nd round which we use to snag two offensive linemen. I have this scenario playing out if Baas is on the board when Arizona hits the clock in the 2nd round. My sentiments at this point in time are as follows: Both teams are over the proverbial barrel. Arizona has openly stated that Shelton is not part of their starting o-line. Travis Henry has openly stated that he is unwilling to come back to Buffalo in a back-up role. Neither team has a trump card to play. As Bills fans, we can say "Travis is a former Pro Bowl running back, blah, blah, blah"....and Cardinals fans can say "LJ is a former starting left tackle, blah, blah, blah...". I am not sure that either team has an advantage and it may come down to a straight-up player for player swap with a 2006 conditional pick for both teams depending upon individual performances/achievements. I would be happy at this point in time with a straight up trade. We then have some flexibility in the draft to focus on other need positions (e.g., secondary) rather than having to concentrate so heavily on the offensive line.

Ok, let's say we are into Round 2 of the draft and Arizona is on the clock. At this stage, Arizona did not get one of the top RBs in the draft and David Baas is on the board. Would you swap Travis Henry and our 3rd round selection with Arizona at this point to get Baas? Would that be too much? Realize that we would still have our own 2nd round pick and we could possibly still get Adam Terry (the OT from Syracuse) or Ben Wilkerson (the C from LSU)...and then allow Teague to play either T or C depending on who we got. In essence, this could (potentially) solve some o-line issues...albeit we would be starting two rookies on the line in this scenario. In this case, we could have Terry - Baas - Teague - Vill - Williams or Teague - Baas - Wilkerson - Vill - Williams. (FYI: My preference would be to add Terry and keep Teague at center, because it may be asking too much to have a rookie make line calls too.) We also would jettison T Henry from the team and alleviate a potential problem child from next year's team. What I don't know in the above scenario is if we would be giving up too much or too little. I don't have one of those "value" boards in front of me that assigns points to each slot in the draft. My gut tells me that we may be giving up too much...and Arizona would have to probably toss in a Day 2 pick to even things up. Thoughts, comments, snide remarks?

Since we have not signed any free agents so far, I have to believe that TD and Co will be looking hard and fast at offensive linemen in Round 2. Remember that we actually have lost a total of 3 linemen from last year - Jennings, Price, and the Pucillo Auto Mall. Yet we have only replaced one of them - by adding Gandy. I think TD will have the "luxury" of going with the "best available offensive linemen" in Round 2 since, in theory, we have Teague and Gandy who can play several positions on the line. My choice would be to go with a true center and really add some more bulk to the interior of the line.

Excellent point John. Especially in terms of Willis. Bottom line - this is not JP's team (nor was it ever Drew's team), this is Willis' team. And TD will add the necessary elements to make sure that we run, run, run, run, run, run. It all boils down to clock management. If we are able to control the ball on offense, it will keep the defense fresh, which will make the loss of Phat Pat easier to swallow (no pun intended). I envision that Willis will be touching the ball ~30 times per game next year - combination runs, screens, etc. And if he is 100% healed by the start of next season, LOOK OUT!

Pokeman stinks! When he had his brief stint with the 49'ers, he was shagging balls more than Austin Powers. I am willing to see how he does in NFL Europe, but I am not hanging my hopes on him. Unless he graduated magna cum kicke from Place Kickers University, he will never oust Mr Lindell. Sorry guys.

Victor Riley is a right tackle, rather than a left tackle. That being said, Victor Riley will command a much higher salary than Shelton...which is money that we just don't have under the cap. I think if we are able to sign Demulling and acquire Shelton in a trade, we will be in very solid shape. I just hope we are able to do this with some creative cap manuevering. The line would shape up as Shelton - Demulling - Teague - Villarelli - Williams...with Gandy, Tucker, Smith, McFarland as back-ups. All in all, not the greatest offensive line in the league, but at least an improvement from last year. My only concern is how long it will take for the left side of the line to "jell".

When I heard the contract amount for Jordan, I thought to myself "GREAT". And why you ask? Because I thought it would push the Travis Henry trade along...heck, to score up a starting RB for 1.25 million (I think that's TH's current contract) is a steal. But, my hopes seem to be a dying a fast death.

We have already lost Jonas Jennings and Pat Williams, so consider that in your evaluation...but what if the following came to pass in the next few weeks? (1) We traded Travis Henry for LJ Shelton, who then became our starting left tackle. (2) We signed Kendrick Vincent who then became our starting left guard. (3) We were able to retain Marcus Price who remained a key back-up in our offensive line. (4) We were able to sign Anthony Becht who became our starting tight end. (5) We were able to sign Mike McMahon as our #2 QB. How would you rate it? All things considered, if this came to pass, I would have to rate it a solid B. Losing Pat Williams is the biggest loss to our run defense...I'm not sold on Ron Edwards as a full 16 game starter. But if we signed Shelton and Vincent, as well as Becht, we would have one solid blocking line for Willis to run behind. And Mike McMahon would be a solid guy to have behind JP...and would be able to step in adequately if JP were to go down for a (brief) period of time. Comments? Thoughts? Snide remarks?

I actually drew a Biblical parallel with last night's episode as well. I saw Hurley as a modern day Job. And once the #s were revealed, I went to the Book of Job. For those who know their Bibles, there are 42 total chapters in the Book of Job - I read chapters 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, and 42 last night and there are some parallels to what is going on around Hurley (and the rest of the survivors).

John, please stop thinking out of the box! It is not allowed here! Remember - Teague sucks (and should be cut), Mike Williams is a bust, and Tommy D has no clue what to do. <sarcasm> Seriously, excellent points. If Travis Henry is not sent to Arizona, TD will hang onto him and then watch how the draft unfolds. He can then dangle him to teams that do not get what they want in the draft from the RB position and score up an extra pick.

Various sources are reporting the Raiders will be signing LaMont Jordan. That would leave Oakland out of the mix (obviously) in the whole Travis Henry discussion.

From Great Blue North Report (www.gbnreport.com) The Raiders, though, are believed to be close to signing New York Jets RB LaMont Jordan when the free agent signing period early next week to fill their feature RB role. So, for those who have been speculating on a Travis Henry-Jake Grove trade or Travis Henry-Charles Woodson, this should end those discussions. From KFFL (www.kffl.com/hotw/nfl) Cardinals | No Comment on Bennett - from www.KFFL.com Mon, 28 Feb 2005 13:54:24 -0800 Don Seeholzer, of the Pioneer Press, reports Arizona Cardinals head coach Dennis Green would not comment on possibly working out a trade with the Minnesota Vikings for RB Michael Bennett. Well then! That's the first I have heard of that possibility. Michael Bennett to the desert. We had not considered that one. If TD is going to work some magic, it may be getting more difficult to pull a rabbit out of hat. That list of "five interested teams" may be shorter than advertised.

Buccaneers | Johnson to be Released - from www.KFFL.com Mon, 28 Feb 2005 10:29:46 -0800 ESPNews reports the Tampa Bay Buccaneers plan to release QB Brad Johnson once the final paper work on a new deal for QB Brian Griese is completed. What does everyone think about Brad Johnson? Could he be brought in as a back-up for JP? Would he be willing to come to a team in that capacity for maybe 2 million a year?

Wow! I had them taking a WR with the #4 pick in the draft...looks like they can solidy another position now with that selection. Great move by Da Bears! The NFC Norris has some stud receivers - Javon Walker in GB, Williams and Rogers in Detroit, Burleson in Minnesota, and now Muhammed in C-Town.

http://www.draftshowcase.com/05combine2.htm From NFL Draft Showcase: Running Backs Cleveland has been on many of the running backs. They talked to Darren Sproles today. Sproles has also met with the Colts, Chiefs and Bengals. The Bengals also talked to Vernand Morency. Ryan Moats was interviewed by both Tampa Bay and Tennessee. Manuel White will work at both fullback and tailback and is confident he can play both. A few backs came in heavier than expected as Brandon Jacobs was at 267, Carnell Williams was at 217 and T.A. McLendon was 235. All three will perform all workouts here. Williams will be one of the higher rated players to participate fully in drills this week. Alvin Pearman will do everything here and his versatility and receiving skills have already earned him praise from scouts. Walter Reyes came in at 5'11, 212. He's been in contact with Donovan McNabb, Dwight Freeney and Keith Bulluck for advice on adjusting to the pros. He will be participating in all workouts and has met with the Bills among other teams. Eric Shelton was a little shorter than expected at 6'1, but that hasn't necessarily been looked upon as a negative here. Ray Hudson has received interest from the Bears, Jaguars, Saints and Broncos. Ronnie Brown came in at 6'0 and 233, slightly heavier than expected. He's met with the Jets and the Bears. Quarterbacks The big two measured in today, with Aaron Rodgers at 6'2, 223 and Alex Smith at 6'4, 217. Contrary to previous reports, Rodgers will run here. Jason Campbell came in at 6'4 3/5 and 230. He was the most physically imposing of the quarterbacks. Ben Dougherty impressed in interviews today. Having called his own plays at Florida A&M, most teams were impressed with his Xs and Os knowledge. He has met with Atlanta, Washington, Detroit, Jacksonville, Pittsburgh and Buffalo. Charlie Frye reiterated that his pinky injury from the year is fully healthy and admitted that it did bother him during the year but that they would have to "drag him off the field." Adrian McPherson drew a big crowd. He fully admitted to his mistakes and all in all had a very positive interview. Andrew Walter showed up bigger than expected at 6'6. He will not throw here but has been throwing for the last month. Timmy Chang has been working on his drops. In particular, five and seven step drops because he primarily only took three at Hawaii. Offensive Linemen Jammal Brown measured in at 6'5 1/2, 316. He has interviewed with the Ravens, Packers and Panthers among others and has a scheduled interview with the Rams. Khalif Barnes measured up at 6'5, 305. He cited Matt Roth as the best player he faced down at the Senior Bowl and said he is a better pass blocker than run blocker. He also said his wrist injury is about 90% and that he is working on getting down some of the scar tissue and improve flexibility. He has been interviewed by the Bills, 49ers, Chiefs, Redskins, Lions, Browns, Seahawks and Rams. David Baas completed 29 reps on the bench.

I have Mike Williams going to the Bears in the first round. The Bears are in desperate need of a WR for that offense.

The following is taken from NFL Draft Showcase http://www.draftshowcase.com/05combine1.htm BILLS TALK Mike Mularkey was the first coach in today and he said that the Bills had brought LJ Shelton in for a physical and a casual interview with the team. They're interested in Shelton because Jonas Jennings is a free agent and they're unsure if he will be back. He also said that the team is looking to pick up a veteran to backup J.P. Losman. Mularky praised Losman's work ethic, saying that he has been in Buffalo voluntarily studying film for 2-3 hours a day. He also said that they hope to get Shane Matthews back to fill that spot but that Matthews was still weighing his options with his family life. Tom Donahoe reiterated how much of a crap shoot this draft is in comparison to past years. In regards to Minnesota obtaining the 7th overall pick he said, "Usually you get to the combine and you know who the top 5-7 guys are and I don't know that you know that this year. Usually you get a good player at 7, but we don't know who that guy is this year." He also said that Shawne Merriman was a great fit in the 3-4. He also said that in Pittsburgh, the advantage to the 3-4 was that so few teams played it. Now that it is becoming a trend in the league, it may become less effective. Donahoe also said that Bills scouts said Clarett came in looking good and in good shape.