Dual RB way to go

A team may have wanted nate last season to put them over the top or make them a stronger contender A team would then have the right to match any free agent offer and keep A team could have traded for him & then worked out long term deal to avoid free agency A team would try to avoid competing with the rest of the NFL when he becomes a free agent I don't think they would be foolish if they wanted nate, but proactive.

This is where the NFL should demand each team to have a contingency plan in case of an owners death; protect the stability of the league and the fans of the city. Here's the worst case scenario: The Bills become contenders in 2 years with Losman and the draft class / rookies playing beyond expectations. Ralph dies at seasons end. Ralphs kids want to sell the team because they don't want the team or can't afford the taxes. They want to sell to the highest bidder. No one will purchase the team unless they have a right to move them; NFL league won't allow it. Kids can't sell the team & kids won't pour any more money than they have too. Team starts to regress. Ouch!!

We are faced with after death decisions (funeral, plot, expenses,....) and are obligated to deal with it responsibly. Why should the bills be exempt? It's not like we are wishing death upon them or some childish reaction like "Don't say "shutout" or yu'll jinx the goalie". We are talking about two 80 yearold men. If there is no contingency plan for either of their deaths, this franchise will be in such turmoil that ........ don't even want to think about the worst! Ralph have kids? Assistant GM any credentials? Head in the sand is only going to bite us in the ass. Why havn't the newspapers written about something as important as this?

So this issue has never been disscussed publicy? Does ralph have kids or a son locked up in the attic that we don't know about?

Nate was very consistent this year. He was consistently bad the 1st half, and consistently good the second half. At least he's not alternating his performance from year to year, but half to half.

Assumming that ralph goes on the cheap, he will promote the assistant gm. If Ralph dies, who gets the franchise and any word from the potential owner on his like / dislike for the city of buffalo?

Everyone knew the bills weren't going to keep nate after this season. Too much money! So you franchise him and then you trade him. Maybe for a 1st or 2nd round pick last year or this year? Keeping him meant nothing. No playoffs, no winning season, and he sucked the 1st half. So why didn't they get something of value? It seems that trades in the NFL are harder to come by, then mothers giving up their children for adoption at birth.

Bingo!!!!!

Problem with focusing on pass rush as your excellence in your defense, is that weather will play a large part. Unless ur in a dome for half the season or sunny dry weather, the rain and snow in buffalo is going to reduce that edge. Offensive co-ordinator is gonna just run and soften up that defense, sweeps, screens, and some play action to tire out the pass rushers on those double takes. Their is nothing more macho then a pass rusher dropping the QB on their butt all game long; sack after sack. It's the run stuffing that's going to play a major role in ALL weather.

Well, lets expand your snap shot data into the bigger picture: ------Overall Def Rnk-----Def Rush Rnk----Def Pass Rnk---Pts Against Rnk 2006---------8----------------1--------------------31---------------14 2005--------21---------------19-------------------22---------------20 Note: Last 6 years I checked, minnisota allowed fewest points against. 2005 Record was 9-7 with offense scoring 19.1 pts a game 2006 Record was 6-10 with offense scoring 17.6 points a game Getting williams was a huge boost for minnisota. Their defence leaped and their points against tumbled. They lost 6 games by 6 or less points. It's their offensive failure that distorted their progress. Buffalo with williams & nate = best defence in NFL Buffalo with just nate = 20th something

Other than Drew Brees, can any1 name a free agent in the last few years that actually played up to their salary? Free agents are normally just a stop gap measure and marv tried to fix the donaho mess as best as he could. If marv declared that the draft picks signings were to be nickle & dimed, then I would throw up the white flag. Build your team through the draft, sign a free agent as backup or a temporary stop gap and roll the dice with your team. Sullivan was trolling; trying to lite up the fire underneath the bills fans. Marv hasn't done anything wrong since being hired other than to maybe have the best or second best draft class last year. I have alot of faith & hope in this next season. Keep Losman off a Harley Davidson and we should be OK!

Good way to see how some of you feel about Defense. If you can have an excellent, average, and a weak trait for the following 3 components of a defense, what would you select? I would choose: Excellent: Stuffing the Run Average: Pass Rush Secondary: Weak My reasoning is that the best defense is a well rested defense; stop the run and get the offense on the field. In my example, the secondary is the weakest link. Therefore, Nate can start packing because my money is going to stop the run, and then pass rush. Do any of you feel that all three are interchangable with the same weakness, or do u have a different take on priorities? If you feel that this is the best approach to building a defense, then who to re-sign or draft to fit this scheme?

Is Marv just helping to reduce the money totals that teams are going to offer? If they won't match any offer does that help reduce what a team might offer to these free agents?

Your point has alot of common sense. Who knows what the market will bear? What if marv did the opposite? He stated publicly that the Bills will sign these 3 free agents at all costs. This will scare the other teams off. The other teams will sign their free agents and draft players for those positions. After there is no market left for these three players, Marv announces that the cupboard is bare and they will have to settle for peanuts. We get all 3 players, save alot of doh, and marv is a genius! Although I think your idea has a better shot!

About TWICE as many as willis in 2008 ( 1,000 vs 1,800) aprox; my future calculator's batteries are running low.

Well at least YOU realize the deal is in the Bills favour. You can peddle Willis on the market while using the OL and Losman as scapegoats. If he doesn't produce (why would he), his value will be nothing to what they could get now for him.

I don't call Willis a starting RB unless the bills are going to play the Jets 16 times a season. His stats minus the jets are just average. So all of uz that hate this idea: What do you think Willis is worth, considering his last year of contract, his average season, and fact that he has more kids with different woman than 3rd & 1 conversions?

The kid was touted for rookie of the year; Busted some very big plays during the 2nd half; Played hurt throughout the whole second half; Hes under contract for next few years....... Your not gonna get a proven quality RB & alot of potential like this for cheap

So let's get RB Maurice Drew-Jones of the jaguars for a 1st rounder and the well loved Willis. Our 1st rounder this year isn't going to do alot of damage. This trade will fill a BIG hole for next 5 years. Kid's good!!!

I like the approach! Solidify the QB, WR, and RB positions this year while the defense is maturing. Any holes at the end of next year can then be zeroed in with 1st round draft pick or a big name free agent to take you over the top. Only thing that would set back the franchise a couple of years is Losman, if he fails. Other than that all parts can be replaced and fine tuned. Too bad we wasted 6 years with that Donanhue jerk!!!

WR Colston of New Orleans is a good example; 7th round yet he dominated the receiving corps. Injured before, but didn't the combine reassure his health as recovered? That's a interesting story how he got buried because of a previous injury.

Sounds like ENDURANCE seems to be the key variable that the combine can expose. Does the kid have what it takes for a 16 game gruelling schedule (mini camps, camp, pre-season, and maybe playoffs on top of regular season?) TX for the response.

Is there a stat available that totals the number of times the QB threw the ball away or just swallowed it as a sack? I would wager that the 2nd half showed much larger totals in surrendering the play. When a QB does that, it doesn't make the OL look bad (remember that idiot rob johnson few years back; mr sack) Losman also showed some incrediable ability to shake off a potential sack when an opposing team had a hand on him; I really liked that quality that he showed in the second half; didn't get the credit he deserved for that tho. Yeah, the draft and free agency are going to help him, but it's like a car race. The better wheels, transmission and body will help you win, but you gotta have the engine in the first place.

How does the Combine affect players draft rankings? If the player stood out in the games, then why allow players to surpass them in draft rankings when they are superior in workouts? "Game" speed is something that you always hear about versus raw speed. Sounds like the combine is a RAW deal?

Next season is tuff but the bills proved during the second half that handcuffing Losman to low risk plays can even give a mediocre team like the bills a chance to win every game. Losman did improve over the second half; lets face it, his first half was pitiful, so any improvement would have been leaps and bound. I do like Losman because he did improve and we don't have anything else. I feel that Losman is a better QB than philip rivers, minus the talent around him. My main concern is if he will regress like Eli manning and Rex grossman. The bills schedule next season will be the toughest (funny that they had the toughest this season). So forget about the draft picks, free agency or whatever. Losman's decisions will make the OL look good or inept; the amount of time he keeps the offense on the field with the chains moving will make the defense intense and fierce, or lethargic and inept if they are on too much. Bills already have the field position (punting) and FG points in their pocket. Can Losman rise to the occasion and take the bills to the next step? That is the only questions that the Bills fan have to ask; the Draft and free agency is just a smokescreen. Lets go Losman!!!!