BillsVet

Thanks for the post BADOL. Missed your thoughts this off-season. Fans who can't see holes in the ship are sleeping. That said, a lot of Bills fans fail to follow what year in and year out successful teams are doing. They've got the Bills blinders on and fail to understand what transpired for two franchises. Both the Dolphins and Falcons completely replaced their inept front offices and coaching staffs altogether. I'm sure they'd never admit that they expected success like they had, but it is what it is. Those teams were and will be successful. Buffalo doesn't need to make changes, even with a 52-66 record in 9 seasons. Buffalo is stagnant in the offseason when changes are necessary. Buffalo fails to hire a GM when division foes feature proven successes Parcells, Belichick. Buffalo is quiet when major moves like trading a 2007 All-Pro OT who is 27 as made. Buffalo pursues mediocre UFA's when people like Tim Graham say the Bills need a huge off-season. Their big acquisition was not planned before UFA happened. Buffalo talks about draft picks as if they'll be instant impact starters. Most rookies, as several have pointed out, aren't going to be. Buffalo depends heavily on spin to sell tickets. They can't hype last year's success because they haven't had it in 9 years. And lastly, the team is selling games to a company widely believed to have interest in purchasing them in the near term. The truth hurts.

Astro-If those top 4 picks come to fruition, I'd be doing in cartwheels in the street. We can only hope.

Sounds like you need more religion than the Buffalo Bills. I'd like to see Everette Brown at 11 and Mack/Wood at 28. If they trade down with #28 into the mid second round I wouldn't argue either, as long as they get 2nd or 3rd rounders.

What's your point here? Perhaps it's more important to draft lineman and hit rather than LB's, RB's and DB's and get winners. Because the proof is obvious: Reid wins games and he's not going anywhere. We'll just have to wait and see when September rolls around.

You can't summarily dismiss one pick and then say the coach is worthless. But I'll bite here. Bryan Westbrook, Trent Cole in the mid rounds, along with Mike Patterson and Brodrick Bunkley are solid DT's in the first. Michael Lewis at S, OT Shawn Andrews, and OG Todd Herremans are some examples. Billy Celek is an up and coming TE to replace LJ Smith. Reid is the anti-Bills draft decision maker. He predominantly takes big men early, and looks later for non-lineman. He doesn't have a great track record at WR, but he more than makes up for it by getting the OL and DL right. 7 playoff appearances don't happen without talented players. And Andy Reid picks 'em.

If he's had personnel control since 2000 or so, then I'd say he knows what he's doing. He couldn't make the playoffs 7 out of 10 years without the players. His record in UFA isn't as great, but on draft day he knows what he's doing. Anyone can throw an exception out there to marginalize him, but making the playoffs 7 out of 10 seasons means he's found talent, and replaced players pretty well for the duration.

Ralph's indeed been around the game for a long time. But he's not a talent evaluator and doesn't spend much time judging talent. Rooney has/had Colbert, Bowlen has a GM in Xanders, Lurie has Andy Reid, and Hunt has Scott Pioli. The latter hiring was the single greatest offseason move in the NFL.

Those are some fine GM's that run their teams respective war room. Everyone of those guys is indeed outstanding. I'd add Ted Thompson (GM) Thomas Dimitroff (ATL) Parcells (MIA) Pioli (KC and Parcells' son in law) I've been a big advocate of a GM who runs the draft, while the owner should be part, they won't make decisions. I guess to some it's a crazy conspiracy theory to say Ralph has significant input.

I'm glad the team's here as well. One wonders what WNY would be like without "their" team. What I have an issue with is people who believe you must cheerlead for the team. Within reason, I'm not going to support everything, and I don't think you do either. Still like the TO move, not high on Peters and Clements. A well-managed team can be somewhat successful without excellent players. An average managed team with excellent players will be good. But a poorly managed team with average players will be what Buffalo is: mediocre. Donahoe's hiring was a good faith attempt to rebuild the team. It didn't work out, but the GM position was worsened by hiring people not trained in personnel. The failings of Donahoe combined with inexperienced GM's is what has this team in the situation it's in. Fans should expect more from their team. And it starts with re-structuring the front office.

Amazing the difference between teams. War Room Decision Makers One thing which ceases to amaze is how successful teams do things. Philly and NE have their coach running the show, while other good teams have a de facto GM. But Jerry Jones, Al Davis, Mike Brown, and Ralph Wilson still run the show in Dallas, Oakland, Cincinnati, and Buffalo. Those teams have combined for 0 playoff wins in the past five seasons.

Look, I'm down on this team almost as much as anyone. I'm not big on depending on rookies to come in, but for this defense to improve they need a pass rush a better WLB. If they can get production from a rookie DE and LB, and that's a huge if, they won't be bad. The front 7 is aging though, and you've got 4 guys on the DL in Schobel, Stroud, Denney, and Kelsay who are or will turn 30 during the season. That's why you've got to go DL if there's one worthy of 11. I can't forget the team's inability to pressure Warner in AZ last year. Those long drives need to stop if they're going to win more than 6 games this season. Brees, Brady, perhaps P. Manning will carve them if they can't rush the passer. Of course, protecting the QB will be an issue this year.

A few months ago GG you wrote an emotional piece that appeared on TBD about your feelings for this franchise. I'm not accusing you of hypocrisy, but at the time I felt run down by the 2-8 finish and retention of DJ as HC as well. It seemed there weren't a lot of redeeming qualities to their final months of the season. We're close to the draft now, which is perhaps the one day on the NFL calendar requiring the greatest savvy and strategy. Having said that, IMO the Bills lack both qualities to put them ahead of their divisional and conference rivals. I don't see a vision from the front officet to remake the on-field team into something, anything. Again, I'm not trying to say you're a hypocrite, but the current makeup of the front office does not feature the bright minds which might put this team over the hump. I myself can't see the wisdom in having so few football minds running the show. You're correct, IMO, that Guy and Modrak supply the information and someone makes the decision. But whoever makes that decision on draft picks and UFA's hasn't changed in years. I can't support the front office with a continued record of futility like this. When they change the people at the top with football people, it'll change. For now, I'll remain realistic.

Dave, I thought about this tonight as well. Coincidence I guess. Last year, I saw the Cardinals featuring a predominantly passing offense with outstanding wideouts. They didn't attempt to do anything different, because that was their strength. The Giants of 07 ran the ball and put pressure on the QB. They weren't great at passing the ball because they didn't have to be. They won the SB against a highly favored opponent with that strategy. The point to this is that the team must have a vision, based on current and desired personnel. I don't get the feeling Buffalo reflects a vision, and moves are made without much planning. None of the teams you mentioned tried to get cute and do the opposite of their strengths. They went right at opponents and generally won a lot of games. I would like to see a first day pick on the OL, but otherwise, go defense with the other picks. Find a pass rusher and LB to solidify the front 7. There were too many times last season when offenses went on long drives, and I can't soon forget how painful this is to watch. Even if the 11th pick is a situational pass rusher, I'd be fine with that. I think they've improved the run defense, now it's a matter of making the pass a challenge. Nice post Dave. Agree wholeheartedly, particularly the final paragraph.

I get Schopp's point that LT's are available in other rounds and skilled playmakers aren't usually found in lower rounds. But to say LT's shouldn't be drafted in the first is nonsense and would be dismissed by every expert. Cody is right that he's not a football fan and, IMO, only talks about it when he has to. WGR's bread and butter is the Sabres because they have the rights to broadcast the games and have interviews with the HC and players. As popular as hockey is, when half your drivetime show doesn't care about football and admits it on-air, something is desperately wrong. I hope Brad Riter can cut deeply into their ratings with his show. I can recall his Schopp on WNSA being much better, aptly titling his program, "sports talk for smart people." It was so long ago he was talking about John Fina. Now he's devolved into a bitter and short tempered argumentative bore.

Whaddya mean? He'll fit right in.

So you marginalize the position because you've generalized that some teams don't have first round LT's? Both Pittsburgh and Arizona's biggest needs in this coming draft is OL, specifically LT. Roethlisberger got hammered a lot last year, and not just in the bar. Gandy's lack of ability made things more interesting than they should have for Warner. And I'd also point out that the Cards drafted a first round tackle in Levi Brown, who's been playing RT. Percentages only count at the end of the season for contract talks. And because there's no stat to measure OL, just Pro Bowl and All Pro voting, most people don't know what makes Peters, just that he's a (former) malcontent.

I know that half the league features a starting left tackle taken in the first round: J. Long (MIA) Ferguson (NYJ) Joe Thomas (CLE) L. Jones (CIN) T. Thomas (JAC via PHI) D. Brown (HOU) Clady (DEN) Albert (KC) Samuels (WAS) C. Williams/Pace (CHI) McKinnie (MIN) Baker (ATL) Gross (CAR) J. Brown (NO) Staley (SF) W. Jones (SEA) No starting LT, aside from Peters, has been acquired through trade, and only 3 in UFA. I know that you can't pin a SB on one position alone, but it doesn't hurt to have a guy who can keep opposing RDE's off their QB. EDIT: I know that OLT's will be selected at least twice in the top 10, and probably 5+ times in the first round. But that's elementary to the average football fan.

Schopp said today he wouldn't draft a OLT in the first round, and would concentrate on people who have the ball. The later part, as long as it's a top prospect QB, game breaking RB (see Peterson, Adrian) or top WR I might understand. I turned it off at that point and I cannot understand who Bulldog tolerates him. Maybe he missed his Mensa meeting this month.

And yet I could see it happening. That's the scary part. I see them going after Sidbury if he's available, perhaps as early as 28 if they go OT or LB at 11. It's a weak 4-3 LB class this year, with most of the OLB's being of the rush variety.

Saving money is worthless if you can't put a playoff team on the field. I'm not sure why people are high on saving money when making the playoffs and winning is the goal. I don't expect a Jerry Jones type effort, but that's ridiculous. The Bills aren't as financially strapped as they'd make you think. They were separated by 3M it was reported with Peters, so I would think they offered at least 8-8.5M. That money will now not be spent, as late first rounders aren't getting big dollars. I think 11th overall will get 5-10% more than McKelvin last year, which is 5 yrs 22M perhaps. The rest of their picks still have to fit underneath the rookie cap.

That's an amazing statistic. Only two teams have not traded down at some point on draft day? I sincerely hope they consider trading down this season, although they may not be able to with the demand for rookies to instantly become starters. If they were truly rebuilding, it'd be okay to drop down in the first. Now, I don't think they have that option needing LB, OL, TE, and DE help.

The highly regarded McNally (who is soon to be demonized by those for the trade) believed Peters was a superior talent. Sure, he's partial, but I think he knows OL when he sees them. I'll take the experts take before message board posters who don't study film. But again, only time will tell if this move benefits one side or the other more. I think we'll know by Week 6 of this upcoming season.

Pennington needed help when he played RT in 06 on most downs. The idea, especially if you're trying to exploit the seam down the field, is to involve your TE in the passing game occasionally. We cannot do that because we're too busy needing the TE to block. There are plenty of guys who can be blocking TE's. This team needs to A) Find one who can block and receive, with a premium on the last item and B) get a mauler at RT. The skill set for a RT is different than that of LT. A RT will get help from the TE to seal the edge, and doesn't face top pass rushers (LDE's) as much as a LT. So it's not as big a deal if they guy's footwork is slower and they play heavier in weight. Britton is 310 and a little light to play RT.

Florida spent heavily in 97 on UFA's like Kevin Brown, Gary Sheffield, Al Leiter, and others to get a winner. After the title, they dismantled the entire bunch, but not before Russell came north to work for the Bills. Russ wasn't on board when the exodus began of Florida's purchased talent. He's been able to sell tickets like no other, and I think it's for this reason that he's well-regarded in RW's eyes. Well, at least in putting a face on the team as opposed to a 90 year old man who is a PR nightmare. RB also can't fire coaches. The only way for most fans to see through the smokescreen going on is for Buffalo to fail during the season, which I think they will. I don't hope they do, but a 10th season without the playoffs will make even the diehards think twice about their support of this team. And maybe that's the plan.

The truth hurts. Too bad most Bills fans can't read between the lines. It's become more fun to pay attention to the off-season than the regular season. At least without the arrests. The only saving grace is having a good team, and right now with UFA all but over, I'm not seeing it either.