BillsVet

Are sacks a metric to demonstrate run defense? Because the Bills weren't good there last season and Hughes and Lawson aren't DE's in a 4-3 scheme either. Wynn has more size, but he's a journeyman who won't magically become a starter in his 5th NFL season. They need another DE for Schwartz's defense and that guy simply isn't on the roster right now.

I'm still not sure who's playing DE for this team aside from Mario. The guys on the roster aren't every down players (Hughes and Wynn) with nothing behind them. As much as people talk about a weaknesses elsewhere, they've got no starting caliber DE to line up opposite Williams.

For a team going to Schwartz's version of the 4-3, they sure don't have many pure DE's. Outside of Mario I don't see one. Hughes isn't an every down player and Alan Branch isn't suited to being a 4-3 DE either. They need help at safety, RT, and TE. But nowhere on the roster is the need more acute than at defensive end. Not saying that's where they have to go, but it's sure a big issue.

The most dangerous place in Washington is between Chuck Schumer and a camera. WNY hasn't improved much during the 16 years he's been a NY senator and I've rarely if ever seen him do anything other than talk. As for Jacobs, he wasn't lauded as much until only a few years ago. Anyone who likes that he's interested in the Bills needs to research his Bruins ownership until about 5 years ago go see that he wasn't as loved for most of his tenure in Boston.

I sense a little pessimism there. I'm not sure in a year like this that drafting an OT at 9 gets the value a team needs drafting in the top 10. They need more talent at the WR position and might very well secure a decent OT in the second. OTOH, OT's (like QB's) tend to be over-drafted and so it depends on where they see the drop-off at both positions. That is, if they really see WR and OT as needs, which I hope they do. Either way, they know they need to give Manuel all the opportunity to win-now.

RIP RW. One owner for 54 seasons.

Jill Kelly went to the same HS I did and graduated about 10 years before me, so there's a little connection there. Anyway, played sectional final basketball game in Rochester around '96 and our team lost to a team we should have beat. After the game the entire team went to Bathtub Billy's to sulk I guess and before I get in the rumor is that Jim Kelly is inside. I walk in the door and Jim's at the bar and shakes my hand, which pales in comparison to his. I always thought it was cool that he knew where the team was going and was there. He knew better than we ever would what it was like to lose a game. When I was in the Army I managed to go to a Bills-Cowboys game at the old Dallas Stadium. Former Bills were there tailgating, and Kelly was there. I walked by and didn't have the courage to say anything, but ended up going back and shaking hands again. I think Kent Hull was with him that day. Either way, I mentioned that his wife went to my HS in NY, but I think those guys had had a few by that point.

Buffalo's used a lot of resources on the defensive side of the ball over the past few off-seasons including numerous 1st or 2nd round picks and plenty of UFA dollars. Nate Hackett's schemes may be up for debate, but they've got to get more talent on the offensive side of the ball. Whether they do that by improving the OL or with a receiver is the decision for Whaley and crew.

Why should Whaley get executive of the year? Clearly it's Russ Brandon who has "empowered" him as the GM. Russ Brandon for executive of the year.

"We have 8 home games in Buffalo again"

Can he line up at FS or WR?

This is an epic conflation of the argument about mid round picks. If either Meeks or J. Williams were decent, they'd have received more playing time. Rodak makes this point, which is lost on those who don't like what Rodak has to say. The NFL isn't little league where all the kids get a chance to play and we hope each one does well. The 2014 Buffalo Bills are under the gun to win this season, not next year or 2016. I doubt the Doug's are thrilled with, at this point, having a possible starter in their defensive secondary who hasn't started 1 game at the position.

He gets his clients paid and doesn't care what fans think about those players he represents. Peters, Crabtree, Byrd, etc. Carrington is an average NFL player best suited to being a 5 technique DE. Buffalo won't be playing that scheme and they've already paid 3 DT's.

Or it could be pandering. Who knows. At the same time, I recall hearing during the lead up to the 2010 draft that you don't take a RT at 9. The previous GM and now scout emeritus went a different route back then, but with a rookie QB it stands to reason you protect him. Because he was slow to diagnose defenses despite claiming during mini-camp he had the playbook down. It's a foregone conclusion you've got to help your young QB. Whether it's with another OT or skill player is up to the OBD crew.

As long as they don't draft any competition for EJ in May. There can't possibly be a QB controversy or threat to EJ's position as the starter. The Broncos lost Ryan Clady early, Beadles struggled, and Orlando Franklin wasn't terribly great either last season. Yet, and this is perhaps the top QB in the game now, Peyton Manning managed to post record numbers. The fastest way to being a successful NFL team is outstanding QB play. It's not easy for offenses to make up for any shortcoming.

Pears is not a swing tackle because he simply can't play LT. It would surprise me if they took an OT in the first round given how difficult it is to market the position and the team needs as much hype as possible. At the same time, I can see a scenario where they take an OT in the 2nd or 3rd, pencil him in and then cut Pears before camp starts.

Marrone's comments about Searcy during the Byrd negotiations while stationed at Indy for the combine were telling. I don't have the video link, but he wasn't complimentary. At this point, the guy who'll line up at one of the safety positions will either be a rookie or Duke Williams/Jonathan Meeks. Either way it'll be a young guy who's untested. It's the Bills' M.O. Strengthen one area at the price of another. And more often than not it happens during a transition to a new defense, as will be the case this year.

I was looking through those 01-08 Tennessee defenses. Up and down is how I'd characterize those years. Lot of talent (Haynesworth, Bulluck, Van den Bosch and others) but they weren't consistent and neither were the Detroit defenses. Granted his HC years started with a team that was winless in 09, but with they weren't winning with defense there either. Schwartz has name recognition, which tends to go a long way with fans as did Wannstedt. I'm not sure where the results are to live up to that.

The new narrative is that these moves should not be opined on given that the QB position is uncertain. In other words, one cannot provide an opinion because we don't know if there's a veritable starting QB on this team. And we're not allowed to judge a QB yet either, so there's that too.

This feels like Free Agency 2006 when Marv was GM and volume was the name of the game. That year they signed 10 UFA's: Matt Bowen, Andre Davis, Kiwaukee Thomas, Anthony Thomas, Craig Nall, Tutan Reyes, Melvin Fowler, Larry Tripplett, Robert Royal, and Peerless Price to small to moderate contracts.

His shoulder's bad, isn't it?

I'll re-phrase. There haven't been many examples of the Bills effectively investing in their OL in the past 15-20 years. Let's look at it this way: Do the Bills even allocate half the resources on the OL as they do the DL? I'm a big fan of improving the lines, but this team has spent wildly on the DL and the defense as a whole. That's good. But it's come at a cost, specifically it's shorted the offense and that was evident last year. Draft picks intended to fill needs that don't work out, IMO, are ineffective investments.

I'm a Bills fan and a military veteran, hence the name. Not to mention a veteran of a lot of bad football over the past 14 years. Throwing money after bad offensive lineman during the '07 spending spree wasn't a solution. Sure, it meets the "investment" criteria, but failed in the "improvement" category. And because this is a nuanced subject it won't go over well when criticism is leveled. The fact remains that over multiple GM's, HC's, OL coaches, etc. going back 15-20 years the Buffalo Bills aren't effectively addressing their OL issues. This is a team that failed to draft an offensive tackle between the first and third round from 2003-2011. The best blockers this team had in the past 10 years, Peters and Levitre, were not retained. Only three 1st or 2nd round picks have been used on the OL in the past 11 drafts. One departed without an adequate replacement last year (Levitre), one was re-signed (Wood), and the other is out-playing his contract and will, barring injury or bad play this year, be in-line for a huge payday (Glenn). And for the record, I'm not advocating for five high picks, five huge UFA signings, or any combination. I believe solid blockers can be found in mid rounds or on moderate contracts in UFA. It's an "if" at this time, but if Williams struggles as he did in Saint Louis, it tells me they're following history. again in their OL evaluations.

There haven't been many examples of the Bills investing in their OL in the past 15-20 years. Donahoe didn't do it, Marv tried and failed in UFA '07, Modrak/Jauron drafted 2 top players high to fill immediate OL needs in '09, and outside of that there hasn't been much put in there. Nix drafted Glenn, but again, when there was an extreme OT need. Last year 3 of the 5 linemen were acquired either late in free agency (Legursky), signed from a practice squad (Urbik), or off the street (Pears). Low cost signings for the OL have been a hallmark of the Bills organization for years. And within the span of 4 years they let Peters and Levitre go without having adequate replacements on the roster before doing so. And for the record, I'm not saying they needed to sign a high priced guy, but getting Chris Williams doesn't mean the OL is settled. On most teams he's a depth guy.

Buffalo hasn't won anything allowing their top guys to hit UFA or traded them away for draft picks either.