Koufax

+1 I would rather have every win we can get regardless if it is the first the 5th, the 10th. Regardless of how it affects our draft order. Winning football games is good for me as a Bills fan and good for the Bills players. I know there are 1-15 to 10-6 turnarounds and Peyton Mannings, but there are a lot more 7-9 to 10-6 turnarounds and there are a lot more Jamarcus Russels and Ryan Leafs. Losing as a solution seems pretty dumb to me, especially for the frustration that the 40 or so returning guys will feel. And losing also sure makes the actual season less fun too. I'm just excited about getting to 1-0 against the Fish and going into week 2 in first place! Go Bills!

We don't have the #31 QB, and even Clayton's criticisms focus on the O-Line and the non-Lee weapons. We also aren't the #31 team as some rankings have. But I have no problems starting off low in the national spotlight, and earning respect for being better than they thought. I think Trent can progress solidly into a middle of the pack QB, and would not be #31 on an end of the season ranking, but he hasn't shown anything that counts yet, and I think will have to earn any national media respect starting in a week and a half. Starting 1-0 with a win against the Fish will certainly help get us out of the #31 talk, but what matters is the team continuing to improve, play well, and winning football games. I don't think we are very likely to make the playoffs this year, but I think we have a pretty good shot of still drawing up "scenarios" in the last month of the season ("If these four teams lose out, and these two teams tie" ;-) ), and having a fun ride. And you never know how the ball will bounce in the quick-turn-around NFL, and that is part of the fun being a fan, especially as we have a much more competent coach and a new exciting playmaker (two if you count Roscoe who was lost for a while). Go Bills.

Who is this Parrish character? Never heard of him when Juaron was here. Maybe a new guy Chan brought in?

I'm not quite sure why I'm feeding the troll, but to think that the only way to judge a football player is the final score is just silly. It is a team game. The team accounts for the final score. Each player does his best to help achieve the result. I'm sure you would ask Kelly and Marino to give their yellow jackets back so Trent Dilfer could have one to wear and an extra in his closet just in case. And can we please get Barry Sanders's back too? Independent of what you think of Sanchez's future, the Jets backed into the playoffs at 9-7 with help despite poor QB play most of the season. They then beat an okay Bengals team with great D and so-so QB play. They then stunned a good chargers team with BAD QB play all day except for an important 2yd touchdown pass in the 4th quarter. They did this with the #1 D and the #1 run game. I don't think Sanchez can be evaluated based on the Jet's success, but instead should be evaluated based on how he played. If you liked his play and think it was enough, or you see lots of signs of talent and room for improvements? No problem, I respect your differing player evaluation and wish to have you in my fantasy football league draft (just kidding, I don't actually play). But his using his team's limited overall success along with one big win in which he performed badly as you basis for evaluation just seems silly and missing the point. I happen to think that Trent would no necessarily have done better for the Jets, because his inability to throw the intermediate pass would have had teams stack the box more and the run game would have suffered. Regardless of which team Sanchez was throwing to, he threw the ball in the middle of the field, and lots of defensive players wanted to be there to catch those balls (like the five the Bills caught in NJ), and took their attention away from the run

I'm going to give your little rant some attention. Here are seven games you are not willing to list as a maybe? I guess that is expecting every team to be just like last year because there are no ups and downs in the NFL. But I think these seven "no"s without any of them being maybes represent a big lack of understanding of how football works. But for the record, you think the BEST case for this team is what was considered a disappointment under Jauron, that somehow we have gotten worse in that time. And for the record we have failed to win six games exactly twice in this miserable decade while winning at least 6 games in eight of those painful ten years. So you go and figure out who you want to pick with your top 5 pick next year, and the rest of us will actually watch the football games and the progress of this team. So call it like you see it, but don't call out someone with 8-8 optimism as "kidding", "blind", or "stupid". I think this year is very unpredictable and that 2011 will be the season where we can _expect_ to see solid results. But a lot of good things can happen as well if the ball bounces our way and injuries work in our favor or players grasp the new systems faster than you think.

Not such a big deal to me all the way around. 1) The fans heckling are probably a little silly...doesn't really seem the place for it. I suppose if you really care about the Bills and you really think that Brohm over Trent is a crucial decision that not waiting for the season to start and expressing that opinion in any venue possible is fine. 2) Chan didn't attempt to silence or censor the fans. He merely indicated that their insults of one player were insulting to the whole team, which I think is a positive, and that they would not be doing something nice for the section where the insults were coming from. Seems reasonable and not a huge scandal. No freedom of speech issue here, no egging someone's house, etc.

Possibly, but hoping people slide isn't necessarily a great gamble. But yes, if you think you can have Troup + Clausen + Trent + Brohm then my equation isn't valid and you have to look at Clausen's marginal value compared to Trent/Brohm related to Carrington. But given that three other DTs went off the board between our 2nd and 3rd picks, I think that Troup likely would have been gone, even if Kiper and others didn't line it up that way.

Not sure on Clausen and I wish him the best, but given who was already on our roster: Troup + Edwards + Brohm > Clausen + Edwards + Brohm. Not sure Clausen will be better than Trent in 2010, but even if he is, I don't think by a margin that makes up for not having Troup on the roster at NT. So in terms of building a winning team for 2010 this seems like a no brainer. If Clausen excels over the next few years and Edwards and Brohm don't, then we might be disappointed with the selection in the future.

Much like Whitner at #8 this was a terrible pick for our franchise given his abilities, experience, our needs, and players available. I agree with you here, and whole heartedly am against giving any high fives to anybody involved in making that decision. Like Whitner he now needs to be evaluated independently of his draft slot and we need to see if he can help this team win as he evolves. I don't have much confidence in us ever saying "what a great pick he was at #11", but I think he can develop into a good football player who helps us win games. Whether or not he does has nothing to do with June 2009-August 2010 (what we are judging him on), but on what happens next and how the coaches work with him. I'm optimistic he will exceed the current general feeling out there and not be cut. But obviously it is unlikely he lives up to expectations as a #11 pick.

Yep. I think the biggest hole in Trent's game is the ability to step up in the pocket and hit a 10-20 yard pass. It is something he has done very very rarely over the last couple seasons, and did not do last night either. His pass to Lee was beautiful, but there was no pressure or coverage. I mentioned before the game that I am hopeful and optimistic with Trent, but will not be fully on board until I see some 10-20 yard completions over the middle, and we did not see any of those last night.

He completed some passes of 10-20 yards, including over the middle. The current established weakspot for Trent. While I was encouraged by Trent overall, mostly it was one bomb to Lee (a great one) and more of the same. If he didn't complete that single pass or Lee dropped it, etc., I think we would be very down on Trent right now for his otherwise disappointing 4-7 for 23 yards. Obviously that bomb helps his cause, like when JP hit the two 83 yard bombs against the Texans a few years back, but it might be the outlier of an otherwise disappointing game that did not reflect any real progress on his part. I'm still happy with the points on the board and it was nice to see him bounce back from the hit he took. And Brohm failed to get in the end zone and was playing against backups. But in terms of actual plays and actual throws, I was more impressed with Brohm.

My thoughts: D.Bell did well against Freeny. Our LT play will be better this year than expected. Edwards didn't complete an intermediate pass over the middle, and I was not impressed other than one deep ball to an open receiver. But 14 points are 14 points. I thought Brohm looked good and we will end up letting Fitz go. If Brohm had got a TD out of the 1st and goal and Trent had overthrown Lee I think we would have a depth chart controverfsy, but absent those two hypothetically different snaps, Trent stays at the top. Next week will determine the season starter with Brohm having to significantly outperform trent to leapfrog Trent. Even though we are progressing slowly, I like Chan calling the plays, and think he will get points out of Trent, Lee, Spiller, Roscoe, etc. Very nice to see some smart calls. The defense is still progressing at the front seven, but I don't think we will be a step back from last year, and I expect progress through the season. I am worried against the run as we learn, but think we will get a better pass rush, and like what that could do for our already strong pass defense. So no 0-16 doom, and I am glad that is behind us, and a fun exciting team to watch grow. Still some bumps ahead, but it should be fun.

Well, we could have had Bulaga...I mean...luxury pick that we don't really need...I mean...GO BILLS!!!!!!!

While I appreciate the position by position breakdown (which didn't take into account an unusual quantity of injuries unlikely to be repeated, plus the fact that three of our offensive line starters had zero experience and now they do, plus the no-huddle fire your OC stuff)... ...if you really think that ZERO wins (happened once in the history of the NFL) is more likely than FIVE wins (which the Bills have done each of the last eight years), as indicated by your "0-4", then I think you are leading with your pessimism and not rationality, and that is a conclusion that should not be attached to a fairly reasonable attempt to break down this team. I know we have a lot of sad and scared football fans out there who are still not right after Scotty Norwood broke their hearts or the Titans lateraled, but right now I think the prevailing winds have us the opposite of Cubs fans. They are fans of a mediocre team who they regularly think will be good. We are fans of a mediocre team who we instead think will be doomed. I'm going to try to enjoy our 7-9 record if that happens, and hope for a victory each week out and that we get rolling and do better than reasonable expectations.

Which ones? And if you are willing to bet, I would like to take the over on your 2-4 win estimate. I don't see the tea leaves that show this team so much worse than any of the last 8 years when we failed to win fewer than 5 games. I guess we can let the season play out instead of trying to win a preseason pessimism contest, but I just want to be on record against the "we are doomed" threads. I hope we play for the future and develop young guys and am willing to put up with the learning curve if that is what it takes, but I think Chan is not interested in losing football games for the big picture. And I think he has a more talented roster than Mauron had last season. So why is he going to fail so much worse than the last season perfect storm: 1) Our QBs are terrible? Yeah, that has been that way for a while...nothing to see here. 2) New defensive scheme to learn? Okay, some room for growing pains, but didn't DJ put in a new scheme and win 7? 3) Our line is terrible? Is it worse than last year? Experience and the probability of fewer injuries has me saying no 4) Our schedule? Nobody knows the strength of schedule from one year to another...there is too much turn over in teams. So I'm still not clear on the arguments why 2010 is supposed to be so much worse than 2009 when we won six games. Go Bills.

+1 I will see your point and raise you that these teams also tend to draft the best players and not "with the 9th pick, the Buffalo Bills select Bryan Bulaga, Tackle, Iowa, because John Clayton thinks they need one right now". At the end of the first training camp it sometimes is nice to have your need filled by a draft pick, but the winning teams just keep pouring talent in wherever they find it, and patch any holes with free agency. That beats the crap out of "I think we should go OT in the first round, LB in the second, and NT in the third, and then start all three of those guys" As to the original post, no I don't think the draft focus is a salary cap one. It is both a talent one and a "salary" one, not related to the official league mandated restraints, but to the general limited resources restraints that affect every MLB team other than the Yankees.

I don't see it. This team has has bad QBs and bad coaching for a while now, and has had the following results: 6-10, 7-9, 7-9, 7-9, 5-11, 9-7, 6-10, 8-8 and hasn't picked higher than #8 in that eight year span. Now suddenly something has changed worse than the past and we are the laughing stock? We are not the laughing stock for any given single year, we are only that way because we haven't made the playoffs in a while. I think that will happen again this year, and anybody who things we are one of the worst 2 or 3 teams in the league is just doing lazy journalism and overestimating a bunch of other teams. I'm also not convinced that the 1-15 top pick cleansing that people point to with Indy, the 80s Cowboys, the recent Fish is that helpful. I won't repeat myself from another post, but I think a lot more 6-10 teams vault to being contenders and not just the 1-15 ones, especially with the huge Jamarcus Russell paydays that are involved now. I'd rather have a Roethlisberger type pick at #11 in a deep class than hope for the Peyton Manning franchise changer.

As my disappointment mounts that Trent can't seem to throw (mentally not physically) the 15-20 yard pass down the middle, I am starting to get in the Brohm-curious camp. For the supporters of Brohm, the best path to being the starter is to NOT be the starter week 1 of the preseason. Excelling instantly with the new system and our current team would be very difficult, and it would put him in a more stressful and controversial situation if he had won the position over two veterans based on some summer practices. His best path to be our starter is for Trent to struggle and him to shine, which he can do this week against Indy backups. I think the pro-Brohm goal for week 2 would be Trent struggling and Brohm excelling, but it would have to be enough to make the #1 change for the third pre-season game, since they won't make a change prior to the starters-barely-play fourth pre-season game or between pre-season and week 1. So either a huge differential of Trent bad/Brohm good on Thursday or Trent will be starting the opener and playing until he fails or is hurt. And if he can't complete some 15-20 yarders in the next two weeks he is officially losing any of my remaining support. Something between a dump off/checkdown and a bomb to Lee has to be part of our passing game.

Aside from the previously mentioned fact that he is not a DE anymore (and maybe should not have been), and the fact that he is younger and less experienced and drafted (stupidly) as a project, I think we will have to wait and see. I don't want him thrown under the Donte Whitner bus (good player drafted too high, but after he is given the jersey that is the front office's mistake, not his fault). If he brings commitment and intensity and adapts well to the 3-4 (a lot of IFs), I think he could be a good and valuable Shawn Merriman type (type, not quality) player, and help this football team win games. Bad pick, bad rookie year, occasional bad haircut, but too soon to say if he will be a bad player (having played less than one half at his career position) and that he will be clearly the worst on that list AND will be out of the league in a couple years.

At #9? Who would you have taken? Anthony Davis went at #11, and is likely to play RT for the 49ers. #11 seems a little high for us for an RT, although maybe he could have been a fit. Still less talent with that pick than Spiller obviously...and if you draft need you ensure future need. At #39? Zane Beadles went #45, and Ducasse and Charlie Brown at the bottom of the round. And Jered Veldheer before the Bills picked in the third. I don't think any of those are great enough players to reach for on need and not get the NT we also really needed. In the 3rd? John Jerry or Shawn Lauvao? I don't think either of those guys are world beaters compared to Wang. Maybe Bruce Campbell who went a pick before us in the 4th, but there also might be a reason he slipped that far. In the 4th? Okay, here I could agree with you and wouldn't mind seeing it if there was a guy with the upside we want and is more valuable than Easley, but with our lack of good receivers I don't consider him a luxury pick. In the 5th? Oh yeah we did. Could be a pretty good one who adds depth. This draft just didn't shape up to our need at OT well enough to not bend over backwards to reach for players instead of taking better players at other positions of need. Things could have unfolded differently with Okung or Williams falling to #9, Baluga or Saffold falling to #39, or them working out a trade up. But I don't see a Maybin over Oher or Whitner over Ngata pick in this draft that angers me. And I also think our OL healthy is MUCH better than people think and better than it was last year. We don't have as much quality depth as I would like, but I don't think Bell-Wood-Hartgartner-Levietre-Green is going to be the train wreck a lot of people expect, especially if they can stay healthy (as O-Lines sometimes do for a whole season, but as we know too well, sometimes don't). Okay, end of my off topic rant, but after suggesting we have the dumbest front organization with little to base that on in the Chan/Buddy department, and not proposing a single specific thing other than "addressing OT", I wanted to respond.

REALLY?????? That means that: 1) You are sooo confident that the #1 pick will be better than the #5 or the #9 or the #11. History backs you up sometimes, and not others. I certainly am not sure enough that I would put that as my primary goal for the season 2) You don't think that our young guys would be better off winning some games in their collective learning curves and development, or would happily sacrifice this for an extra chip at the roulette wheel. 3) You think that the #1 pick Locker would provide enough 2011-2012-2013 joy to compensate for the misery of an 0-16 run and the lack of fun during the year as a Bills fan. I personally would much rather see us win all the games we can, see our young core learn winning ways under our new coaches, and draft the best players available. If we really have to get to #1 you can trade up to do so, and I think that requires less sacrifice than a 0-16 season. But I'm not confident that I want to be at #1 to fix this franchise. This could very well be a 2004 like year where you aren't sure whether you really would want to be at #1 (Eli Manning), #4 (Rivers), or #11 (Roethlisberger). Or 2005 where you would really rather have Alex Smith (#1) than Aaron Rodgers (#24) Or 2006 where you would really rather have Vince Young (#3) over Jay Cutler (#11) Or 2007 where you would really rather have Jamarcus Russel (#1) over Kevin Kolb (#36) Or 2008 where you might be fine with either Ryan (#3) or Flacco (#18) I challenge you to go back through the last 20 years and tell me how many times the FIRST QB SELECTED in the TOP 10 was clearly the best QB in that draft. Maybe you have some different judgments than I do, but I count since 1990: Steve McNair, Peyton Manning, and Carson Palmer. I'm open to other examples, but I really think that hoping for 0-16 to draft #1 is about as idiotic a strategy as I can imagine. Yes, Dallas in 1988, Indy in 1997, and Miami in 2007 vaulted from 1-15 season back to respectability, but there are many many more cases of teams vaulting from 5-11 or 7-9 to the top, and many more cases of teams vaulting from 1-15 (or 0-16) to ongoing no-so-good-ness. Go Bills! Let's find a way to get to 1-0 against the Fish, and then we can worry about week 2.

+1 This is my concern. I still think he has the chance to have a good season and emerge as the starter for the next few years, but my confidence in that wanes not by his overall play, but by his lack of ever throwing the ball 15-20 yards. This represents a gun shy and passive way of playing (hence the Capt. Checkdown) which I think we have seen every since his concussion. He only goes deep when he has big protection and the right coverage, otherwise everything is within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage. I still think he deserves more time coming out of the cluster-$#@% of last season, and am not one to say the sky is falling, but I agree with thesir that he doesn't just have to do what he is doing a little better with better protection. He has to add something different (the medium pass). It is on him to prove he can do it in the next couple weeks or I am jumping on the Brohm and the 2011 draft pick bandwagon as well.

The sky is falling! We got beaten up the first pre-season game and made some mistakes! If only we had found a way to dominate the first preseason game we would be legit Super Bowl contenders! Not too pleased with our first stranger-practice, but not ready to jump off any cliffs. Trent sure didn't show anything really positive that I would have liked to have seen, but I think I will wait until next Thursday before jumping to the still-way-too-soon preseason conclusions. I would rather we play well than badly, and I would like to see healthy guys and progress. And I also wouldn't mind seeing Brohm get more playing time, but we are talking about less than one half of early August practice football...

I wish Clausen the best, and had been hoping we would take him in round 2, but there is a lot of Brady Quinn to the situation, so we will have to see. But I think that in 2010 Trent is a better alternative to Clausen. And since Trent was already on the roster I think that Trent + Troup are more valuable than Clausen would have been. If the 2011, 2012 Clausen has us regretting that decision only time will tell, but running a 3-4 without Troup would certainly be a little trickier, and I'm expecting a solid Trent this year even if he is not spectacular. And I will go as far as say that I would put it at only 50/50 we will be considering a first round QB in the 2011 draft.

Do you have any money left after buying Sunday Ticket to PM me and put your money behind your pessimism? I will take the over on the "four wins" that you agree with "exactly". (P.S. Disclaimer: Koufax may or may not be just blowing hot air himself, and may or may not do any real football gambling since losing $20 on the fourth straight Super Bowl some years back. He does not officially condone any sports gambling nor view TSW as a place to conduct such wagering, unless someone will really let him take the over on four wins.)