Rockinon

Rexy always has been a loud mouth. Don't count your chickens before they hatch. Someone might come along and squash them.

The 8-10 year prospect is not going to come from free agency. It's going to come from a future draft. Hasselbeck would be a good backup if he can be convinced to sign here. Admittedly, that isn't very likely but at least worth a try. As for the system, it really doesn't matter. He has a vast amount of experience and he is an above average QB. One really good thing about him is that his contract is expired in Seattle and we would not have to give up draft picks to get him. The other is that he can likely hold down the fort if Fitz gets hurt, unlike someone off the scrap heap.

That's the way I am looking at it. They are not going to give up future draft picks to get someone so the list is pretty much what it is. Trading for someone like Kolb is really not going to happen if we are giving up too much. Their draft strategy is pretty strait forward and their FA strategy, I think is too. They aren't going to get cute here and bet the farm on FA pickups. As for the competing part, that in my opinion is not so relevant. They should simply get the best QB they can in FA without selling the team's future with multiple draft picks. If they happen to land a QB that will actually compete with Fit'z, there is nothing wrong with that. My guess though, is that Fit'z is going to have the inside track on a starting position anyway. The idea should always be to put the best team on the field that you can. Everything else is simply secondary.

Bingo!!!! Ding Ding!!!! That is the real issue. He has to want to be here.

Here is the list of FA QBs; # Kyle Boller (OAK) # Marc Bulger (BAL) # Kellen Clemens (NYJ) # Kerry Collins (TEN) # Todd Collins (CHI) # Brodie Croyle (KC) # Dennis Dixon (PIT) # Trent Edwards (JAC) # Bruce Gradkowski (OAK) # Rex Grossman (WAS) # Caleb Hanie (CHI) # Tarvaris Jackson (MIN) # Matt Leinart (HOU) # Luke McCown (JAC) # Matt Moore (CAR) # Chad Pennington (MIA) # Brady Quinn (DEN) # Alex Smith (SF) # Troy Smith (SF) # Jim Sorgi (NYG) # Drew Stanton (DET) # Tyler Thigpen (MIA) # Billy Volek (SD) # Seneca Wallace (CL There is also a possibility that Matt Hasselbeck will be done in Seatle(he rejected the Seahawks contract offer) and Carson Palmer wants to be traded(threatens to retire if Cincy doesn't oblige).

There is no chance that Fitz is not named the starter. And there is no reason not to bring in the very best QB we can find. As long as we don't sell the farm to get him.

In all honesty, if Fitz has a top ten defense and a bit better offensive line play, yes. Try to understand also that this team has a lot of up and coming talent. Troupe, Carrington, Batten, Moats, Easley, Spiller, Steve Johnson, Wood, Levitre just to name a few that are getting better at their positions. That's not even counting this year's additions. This team is getting better. Fitz can get us there for sure and there is no guarantee that he himself won't improve. The notion that he can't get us there is what I find ridiculous. People seem to think that the bad throws he made last year is all on him. Every QB in the league makes bad throws but not all of them have had to do so under the same amount of pressure. If his supporting cast improves, so will his play. Unless of course he tanks. I just don't see that happening.

I wonder what is going to happen with Carson Palmer. Any new news?

I never could understand this ridiculous mentality. Under no circumstances whatsoever to you accept defeat. You never stop trying to get better this year in hopes that next year you can possibly get a high draft pick. What if we win 10 games and then lose Fitz at the end of the season? There goes your high draft pick. You go after the best players you can put on the field when you have the opportunity to do so and you worry about next year, next year.

IMHO, that is not the issue. We need a third QB simply because of the risk of injury. We need another QB and the front office should go after the best they can get in FA. Worrying over whether that QB is going to compete with Fitz is just not an issue either. The idea is to make the team as a whole better.

Lined up next to Kyle Williams is going to be fun to watch.

He isn't. And Aloha, very nice write up.

I smell the optimism........and it is good.

The original question was about smell. To put it into some kind of context, I used the sense of smell because it is a sense that humans have lost the ability to use properly. It is an animalistic sense capable of smelling fear like a speeding dart finds a bullseye. It is a sense capable of making the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. It is a sense that allows you to close your eyes and feel everything around you. It is an awesome sense and I smell a distant storm gathering. I am in Potsdam, NY but he storm is coming from the direction of Buffalo. Can you smell it now?

That's a possibility but Fitz may surprise everyone and play like a top 5 QB. He got the ball rolling last year and might just be warming up.

Astro, nice post. I have noticed the same thing. I started a similar post but used my own observations rather than ESPN, Dallas News or NFL.com. Your right. Tougher is a good description. I said, "bigger and stronger". A definite theme of this draft. Look here: My link

Our team is getting bigger, tougher and more aggressive. I am so glad Jauron is gone with his speedy, small, finesse crap. This is football for cryin' out loud. And Buffalo football is supposed to be a dominant defense, smash mouth, in-your-face game. This draft is a definite step in the right direction.

Ack! Get that picture out of my head. NOW.

I smell Tom Brady. It smells like fear. I smell Ralph Wilson stadium packed to the gills on opening day. I smell the heightened sense of anticipation in the crowd around me. I smell the hairs standing on end as the opening kick off sails through the air. Oh, man do I smell optimism. I smell even the stadium wall message boarders starting to get excited about the upcoming season. I smell Fitz calling his team mates and putting in off the clock extra reps because he knows this is the last year on his contract and he wants a new one real bad. I smell the defense aching with the desire to crush any and all comers. I smell Gailey and Wannstedt putting their heads together to devise a plan before the game. I could go on but I think some of you all should tell us what you smell. It's coming. The turning point has arrived and now the momentum is beginning to build. Ah, the smell......... What do you smell?

At least you thought you could smell it.....a possible convert? What did you do, fart?

More like "Are you freaking out of your mind", no. Or "Step slowly away from the crack pipe and let us help you", no. Or no, "you don't want to go swimming in the Love canal".

Have you ever played the game? Tackled someone with a full head of steam and drove them to the ground so hard your first thought is "man, that had to hurt"? Smells something like that.

Fitz's play last year could have been an anomaly, but how can anyone honestly say after all of his accomplishments, he doesn't deserve a chance to prove he has "franchise" talent. Talent comes in many forms. It's not all completion percentages and touchdown/interception ratios. There have been a lot of people writing him off, but my belief is that he has as much of a chance as any rookie coming out of college. If he takes this team deep into the playoffs and they don't win the big game I can just here the criticism ahead of time. It'll all be because of the lack of a "franchise" QB. Some people are just born pessimists and can't help themselves.

I stand corrected. He does seem incredibly athletic for a guy his size.

I am not surprised at all that there are so many differing opinions on what the base defense will look like. Actually I believe there will be a lot of switching up. Position swapping is something that a lot of these guys are used to and that can be a real asset used to confuse opposing offenses.