Koufax

I take it you weren't watching the draft when we finally got the big receiver we needed with Hardy! Jokes aside, I love this pick.

Two things we often say that we can't say anymore: 1) Ralph is cheap 2) No big name free agent will come here so we have to settle for the role players Now, I don't think this fixes us all at once, but healthy our 2011 team was pretty darn good, with some problems with the 3-4 personnel and not enough pass rush. We now have the pass rush solved, are back to a 4-3, and lots of good things are ready to happen. We still need to add talent to this team with a couple minor free agents and a solid draft, but adding Mario plus getting Freddy, Wood, and Kyle back at full health among others, makes this team start to look pretty exciting.

An overpay offset by some other underpays elsewhere over the last couple years, but finances aside, having Mario on our team is a great boost. Mario, Kyle, Dareus, and Carrington? I have to think our front four is going to get some pressure this year if everybody stays healthy, and that will make our secondary that much better.

I think we were doing alright until Fitz cracked some ribs, then we lost our best O-Lineman, and our best D-Lineman, and our best player (Freddie). We didn't have the talent or depth to overcome those injuries, but not because of the lack of LBs, OTs, and backup QB. I see our 53 man roster talent getting better year by year with Buddy, and I expect that to continue next year whether we get a big splash or not.

If we sign Mario Williams and if the top WR is not as good a projected football player as the top DE/OLB, you pick the WR? Need more than one DE. I'm happy to take a positional need when two players are a tossup in terms of evaluation, but very tired of the idea of taking a need that is an inferior player. Three reasons for BPA: 1) few rookies have enough of a year 1 impact to really fill a year 1 hole even when that hole is clear. The ones who do are usually a pretty good candidate for BPA anyway 2) Forgetting year 1 need, if you pick the less talented player, that pick will add less to your football team over the first five years, and over that period your team will have less total talent 3) Perceived need is often incorrect or not as crucially needed as people feel it is.

Wow, the Patriots now join the Vikings, Broncos, and another team I can't quite put my finger on as four time Super Bowl losers. Is it okay to admit I was actually rooting for the hail mary to be caught?

I was so confused as I watched Cundiff rush up to his place and not have a moment to gather him. Not calling a timeout there is terrible. I kick he needs to make even if rushing onto the field, but better to take a timeout or even a delay than to kick it without everybody being 100% ready. Glad it wasn't us.

Evans had the Super Bowl in his hands, and instead Marsha gets another shot. But what was happening seconds before that kick? They were rushing up to the line and not set? Were they expecting icing and didn't get it?

If you pick an inferior player at #10 because of need and fit (see Whitner over Ngata), you are dooming yourself to future irrelevance.

Exactly. I am in agreement that a 4-3 DE is very likely our top need, and it is also very common for players like that to be the top value at #10. But when it comes time to pick, if the top guy by a clear margin plays another position (except for maybe RB), take that guy. He is going to be a part of our team for five or more years, so picking the top need over the top talent is a waste and leads us to gradually be a less talented roster than taking the best player available. In the event that we can't get a pass rusher at #10 that is reasonably the best player (and in the learn from Aaron Maybin, both reasonably sized and a multi-year performer), then we can certainly pick one up in rounds 2 or 3 or free agency at a lower skill level, but at less of a BPA-philosophy compromise. I expect we will have a close to BPA pass rusher available at that slot, and just hope when it happens we pick the Orakpo and not the Maybin.

I would love it to be Wanny, go back to a 4-3 (with occasional hybrid), and draft a dynamic 4-3 DE and have Dareus and Williams in the middle.

In the words of The Dude. "Obviously you're not a golfer". I don't think you get what matters and what is good for this football team. If you think turning a 5-2 season into a 5-11 season with a nine game season ending losing streak is a positive for the team in terms of crafting winning football players out of the 53 man roster and attracting free agents, I am quite glad you have nothing to do with running the franchise, as badly as the current guys have been doing it. This win was 100% a positive for the 2012 team and beyond. And take a look back at the draft and see if the difference between drafting 8-10 and drafting 14-16 is as big as you think. I'm not going to cherry pick examples, but every draft has some good examples about why we won't miss out on the guy we really need for some loser because of draft position.

On the simplest level we need better football players, better coaches, and better health/luck. To break that down a little more we especially need better pass rush, Wanny or someone similar at DC, and not to lose our best OL and best DL and best CB and best player to IR along with others in the same season. I would rather have a young mad genius, but I think Chan is capable of running the team and the offense, and I think Buddy is capable of making smart roster decisions. If you add in some defense (I love the idea of Wanny coaching a 4-3 with a starting front line of #13 pick, Dareus, Kyle, and Carrington), and we continue to progress, I think this team can improve. Last year we were a 4-12 team. This year we are a 7-9 or 8-8 team (underperforming), and next year there is a reasonable expectation to be a 10-6 team. The last six games have been hugely disappointing, and I would happily can our DC already, but I still see this team as progressing and on the right track to improve roster talent and field execution year by year without having aging veterans that make the window of opportunity short.

Terrible pick at #11 with Orakpo and Matthews on the board. We all know that. That doesn't matter the day after the draft. Overpaid player because of his draft position. That you can change by releasing him, and he isn't overpaid by the Jets. I don't think has any ability to be a 3-4 linebacker, and that was a big issue. He is a undersized specialty 4-3 end. Those are good to have when playing 4-3. We play 4-3 a lot and absent draft slot and contract he could be useful in that role. I'm glad he is having some success and not out of the league. A little sad it is with the Jets and we will see him twice a year. But as PTR said, it wouldn't matter in Buffalo, because there is the pressure of past baggage, our d at the moment, etc. I don't think he would have worked. Maybe a piece Wanny could have used in our 2012 4-3, but oh well.

Need to get a pass rush, which is quite possible with the wreck of an O-Line that the Chargers have and the total lack of time that Rivers had a couple weeks ago against Denver. I think we are unfortunately getting the Chargers at a bad time, when some key players (Malcolm Floyd) are getting healthy, and they still have something to play for, and when they are starting to click as an offense. It will all come down to whether we can pressure into sacks and INTs or not. If our sack and INT numbers are low or non-existent I have a tough time seeing us winning this. That said, I see a 4 sack, 2 INT day and a Bills win. Go Bills.

+1 I'm a regular reader of Bill's posts, and have usually thought them to be interesting and insightful, but the fact that he can't let go on Spiller, and is taking out a decade of questionable drafts on him is a little like watching Fox News. Entertaining, but not really fair or balanced. At least we got an upgrade from last week's conditional 7th. The guy isn't CJ2K, but he is a talented football player who I am glad to have on this team with Freddie great but getting older, and anybody who touches the ball 25+ times a game is an injury candidate as we see. I'm disappointed that this team now has four weeks left to only dream of 9-7, and can't even pretend on keeping a playoff miracle alive. I think Edwards should be fired NOW so that Wanny can get settled in and we can make our 4-3 adjustment final ahead of time, evaluate people more clearly in those roles, and figure out the DE/LB needs we have for this off season. That said, the defense came up big in the second half, and it was our O that let us down. I agree that Pears is a backup tackle. Right now we are Bell and Hairston as our tackles, which is passable at best, and I would love to see someone better than them added to the roster. Bell's injury however and his slow recovery has put Hairston ahead of him, so it looks like it will be Bell who sits if he ever gets healthy, and that's a shame because Bell+Hairston > Hairston+Pears. Now the Bills roll into San Diego next week, for a game I was excited to go see when both teams were 4-1, and I'm not sure if I will bother to go or not.

Ignore your TV screen. Spiller is a bust right? He should be cut and join Maybin and McCargo right? I wonder how Bill in NYC will spin this one into Spiller is useless. The kid can play. I look forward to having a healthy Freddie back, but Spiller can play.

After Edwards is fired, we need to figure some things out. Wanny is a 4-3 guy, Troupe is a bust, and Kyle and Dareus are best as 4-3 tackles. I don't think Chan cares on the D, and if Wanny is the DC and wants to run a 4-3 for familiarity or personnel, then our "needs" change. 4-3 with Carrington, Dareus, Kyle, and a super pass rushing DE is a nice line and can finally start to get pressure with 4, which is our huge huge weakness this year. I'm a BPA guy every round, but that is a philosophy, not a decision maker because you will have guys on your board close enough to be a toss up. So pretending at the early picks we have realistic tossups at different positions and aren't taking an inferior player because "we need him" when the year 1 contribution isn't as important as the year 2,3,4, then my thoughts are as follows: #1 need: Pass rush. 4-3 DE or 3-4 OLB. I think 4-3 DE, and those are guys that tend to have plentiful choices in the teens we will be picking in. Let's just hope we go with Orakpo or Matthews and not Maybin this time. #2 need: CB. Need more of these to stop Tebow and the running Broncos...wait, I mean the other 30 opponents who know how to throw the ball and spread it around. McGee is getting up there and coming off a big injury, McKelvin is turning into a special teamer, and we don't have a lot of bodies to help Aaron Williams out. #3 need: OL. I'm happy with a guard or tackle who upgrades us. I'm happy with Wood and Levietre. I'm cautiously optimistic with Bell and Hairston, but want to see us get better with this unit and get another guy who can be a star. #4 LB: beyond the pass rush, we probably need another, including an OLB even if we are back in a 4-3 and our pass rush guy at #1 is a DE. #5 WR: I don't see this as as huge a need as other people seem to. Stevie, Nelson, Brad Smith, possibly Roscoe, and fitting in CJ when Freddie is healthy. I would love a great talent, but I can't imagine passing up a pass rusher at the kind of picks where elite WRs are available. Go Bills.

We need Cincinnati to go 2-3 to pass them for the #6, and that is not all that unlikely. Mostly we need for them to go 2-2 to have a chance going into the final day. They have the Steelers and the Texans the next two, so that isn't too crazy. We also need the Jets to go 3-2, and that's less likely (but again, they can be 3-1 into the last game to give us a chance). We don't care about Baltimore or Pittsburgh both of whom we won't catch, and we don't care about the Pats who we won't catch. But one game at a time, and if we win this week, and the Bengals lose to the Steelers, we are one step closer and things get one step more likely. The "why not hope for a higher draft pick" is fun for the fan who does a million mock drafts, but winning football games has for the 35 guys who will be back next year matters more than sliding up a few slots for the 7 new guys, especially when we are talking about the 8-20 range that we are. Wins matter more towards winning, and rooting for losses unless it will knock you out of the #1 slot is pretty self defeating.

How about we beat the Titans (the best of our next 4 opponents), and get to 6-6 and then see. I think each of the next four games is winnable, but each coin toss could also come up heads and getting four heads in a row is a 1 in 16 shot. But I think we can win this week, and then see about next week. We also need things to clear up with Baltimore and Houston so that the Patriots can take off the final week to make that game winnable and make things interesting. I don't see who is a lock between Cincy and the Jets to get to 10-6, and we will have tie breakers over Tenn and Denver if we win out. So we are completely alive if we win one game at a time. But that is the hard part, because Tennessee will be a tough opponent for us. I think it is crucial for us to win, get back to .500, and keep playoff scenarios alive for another week. I don't think this team has much of a shot of making the playoffs, but being able to be in the hunt one more week is important for the players. I would love for us to at least have playoff scenarios in the last couple weeks instead of being officially eliminated, whether we make the playoffs or not. Go Bills!

I am quite happy to be a Bills fan. This team was not supposed to be 10-6 when the season started, we got some good breaks and played some good football, then had things fall apart a little losing: our top D-Line, or top O-Line, a top LB, and our best player, among others, and we had a lousy couple weeks on the road. We can still be anywhere from 5-11 to 10-6, and I'm happy, excited proud to watch this team try to win its 6th game on Sunday so we can worry about our 7th, and as long as we have weeks left in the season, I am hoping for another win. For JTO and the tank for higher picks idiocy, I give you some recent examples: 2010: Spiller went #9, Dez Bryant went #24. 2009: Maybin went #11, Clay Mathews #26 2008: McKelvin went #11, CJ2K #24 2007: Lynch #12, Revis #14, Bowe #23 2006: Whitner #8, Ngata #12, Mangold #29 2005: No Bills pick, but Williamson, Rolle, Rogers 7-8-9, while DeMarcus Ware #12 and Aaron Rodgers #24 2004: Lee Evans #13, Wilfork #21 All things being equal, higher is better, but having a young team lose games after a promising start is not "all things being equal". And in every draft there are plenty of busts in the top 12, and in every draft there are great players in the second half of round 1. So just keep trying to win every game, and that will help us get better more than sliding up a few slots in the early mock drafts. Go Bills!

I completely disagree with the lose out helps us mentality. This team needs to do everything it can to get the 6th win, then try for the 7th, 8th, etc. Build a winning culture and an improving culture. The 53 guys on the roster matter more than the 7 guys we add next June, and losing will hurt the development and confidence of the guys on this roster, and hurt the appeal we have to free agents. Right now I just want to beat Tennessee at home to get us to 6-6, so we can take on SD, Mia, Den, and NE one at a time. But I do agree with the OP that we should fire Edwards as soon as possible and move forward. I think now is the best time, but if Chan and Buddy think such a change is better suited to after the season, I can wait.

A couple of quick responses: Agreed our pass rush is our to priority to improve. I still hope that in the draft we pick the BPA seven times to add as much talent to the team as possible. I think that with similar grades we will be able to focus some on the pass rush in the first part of the draft, but if at any pick the DE/OLB player isn't the best or close to it, I am happy passing each time. You don't care for Spiller, and I think that impacts your assessment of him. Maybe if you were talking 19 rushes for 55 yards or something your point would be valid, but getting bumped on the way to a huddle takes away from any real criticism. I personally thought he ran pretty well, but had no holes. He also was much better in protection, but still has a lot to learn. We get the next five weeks to see him progress and find out his role, but I think he is going to be more important to this team than Roscoe, and that seems to be the label you are giving him (actually, the conditional 7th, now a 6th indicates worse). Disappointing penalty and drop by Stevie, but he is getting beat up a little bit too much I think. The penalty didn't lead to the points by itself, because if we just kick that ball to the 15 and they run it to the 35 (-15 from a typical kickoff), Sanchez probably doesn't put points on the board, and if so more likely 3. The guy also caught 8 for 75 with a TD on Revis, one of the worst games ever for one of the top receivers. Got open for the one he dropped to, and was open again on the one thrown behind him on the end zone. Pretty great routes against the best, I think he can continue to mature and be a force for us. And his TD celebration would have been awesome if he didn't go to the ground. Needs to talk to his choreographer about that because shooting, turning into a jet, and crashing the jet all while staying on his feet would have been awesome and legal.

Every win counts more for the value to the 35 or so returning players on the 2012 team more than the improved draft position. There is no Andrew Luck in the difference between 5-11 and 10-6. But the crushing carry over of turning a 5-2 team into a 5-11 team would have a big time hangover. Right now we have to try to find a way to get to 6-6, then worry about the next game. But finishing a season on a 9 game losing streak is not a way to build a winner. AND there are always great players in the second half of the first round to go along with the Maybin/Whitner picks that show up in the top half. We need to go 3-2 to not have a losing season, and that would be a nice step forward for this team and put us on track to make a more successful playoff run next year.

A loss is a loss, but this one was better than the last three. Signs of life, but hopefully Edwards has some backup career plans.