Cash

I like Brown a lot -quite a bit more than Anthony Davis, actually. I could live with him at #9. That would be one of those situations where you drafted a guy maybe 5-10 picks too early, but doesn't ultimately matter as long as he's a good player.

Tim Tebow, Jerry Hughes, Tony Washington

So we can't draft a QB because the line is terrible, but we should draft a RB? What do you think running backs run behind? Oh wait, I forgot, he can help us in the return game. That's definitely worth the #9 pick. Look how well it worked out for Miami.

In that scenario, the Bills should just run the A-11 offense. Couldn't be worse than what we've had in recent years.

By the way, how about Nix declaring the draft's strongest positions to be DT, S, & CB? Does this mean still more picks heading to the secondary? And still more apologists defending the selections?

And also the least likely to succeed in Buffalo. Weakest arm, played on the most loaded team, never had to read a defense, and looked like a scrub when he faced a good defensive team. If he can't move the ball against Nebraska, he won't be able to move it against anyone in the pros.

In other words, don't expect the playoff streak to break next year.

Davis strikes me as a guy who will definitely be a bust if he's drafted in the top 10, but probably be awesome if he falls to the 2nd round or really late in the first. He needs that kind of slight to motivate him to be the best player he can be.

1: Jim Clausen: Cleveland Browns 2: Tim Tebow: Buffalo Bills 3: Eric Berry: Seattle Seahawks 4: CJ Spiller: Seattle Seahawks 5: Dez Bryant: Pittsburg Steelers

TBD, as far as I know. Bills Backers of Boston just sent out a Facebook message trying to gauge interest, saying that they'll set up a place if there's enough demand. I'm not sure how in play the Harp will be, since it normally does a pretty good Bruins crowd. Bleacher Bar may be an option, ditto Sports Despot.

I would think Harris would be an ILB, not an OLB. Dunno if he can play in our system or not. Since no one really knows exactly what the system is, I don't think anyone else knows for sure yet either.

Here's how: I think your second statement is nothing more than wishful thinking. I haven't seen anything from any QB on the Bills' roster to suggest that we'll ever get above-average QB play from any of them, regardless of the talent around them. So that's a key difference of opinion there. I agree that it's time to reverse course and build the base of this team again. However, the most fundamental portion of that base is not located on either line, it's the QB. QB is by far the most important position in the NFL; he's the leader of your team, the face of your franchise, and the one player that handles the ball on every play (unless you're running the Wildcat!). If you don't have a QB (and we disagree on that), then your first priority is to get one. Building the offensive line is priority number two.

So you don't need a Manning/Brees type if everything else is great? But I watched the Super Bowl last year, and I'm pretty sure that Manning and Brees were the starting QBs in that game. I'm also pretty sure that neither one played behind a particularly good LT. Bushrod got completely abused by Schobel when they played us this year, and while Schobel is pretty good, he's not exactly wreaking havoc with the opposing LT every week. And the Colts' LT in the Super Bowl, whose name escapes me at the moment, was only starting because Tony Ugoh flamed out so spectacularly. Those same playoffs that you're pointing to just show how much more important QB is than LT. Even with the best defense in the NFL, arguably the best O-line in the NFL (certainly right up there), and the best running game in the NFL, the Jets weren't able to make the Super Bowl, much less win it (not to mention they went 9-7 in the regular season, and that's including the two freebie wins against the Colts/Bengals backups). Why? Because Sanchez wasn't ready yet, and didn't deliver very good play from the QB position. Note that in both playoff games that the Jets won, Sanchez played very well. It's not a coincidence that Sanchez's play served as a good barometer for the success of the Jets.

Well done!

So let me get this straight: We trade McGahee for two 3rd-rounders and a 7, then pick Marshawn at #12 to replace him. Three years later, we trade Marshawn for ??? (maybe a 3rd-rounder? Maybe Peterson - a solid starter on the downside of his career) and draft CJ Spiller at #9 to replace him. And this is supposed to be a good thing? Where are all the people who scream about how we can't even consider taking a QB until we have 5 all-pros on the O-line? That argument's even STRONGER when applied to RBs. And Spiller is a "luxury" type player, the kind of guy who really succeeds when you've got a strong team with a good foundation, and a guy like Spiller (or Percy Harvin last year) can just come in and make a few big plays in a limited role. Does that sound like our team? Gah! I feel like I'm taking crazy pills! People, RB is the quickest-developing position, and also the one with the shortest shelf life. QB is usually the slowest-developing, and can have one of the longest shelf lives. The O-line as a whole typically takes a year or two to perform at a high level, because of the level of cohesion and familiarity required amongst the 5 members. So it is absolute stupidity for a team like the Bills, who have neither a good QB nor a good O-line, nor a good defense, to take an undersized RB at #9 overall.

Competent play at the QB position. Nothing more, nothing less. Although more would be needed to move up from just "good." Keep in mind that it's generally pretty tough to get competent QB play without competent OL play, although it's been done on occasion.

How DARE he criticize our team that hasn't made the playoffs for 10 straight years! Doesn't he know that all of those years were flukes!?

Is this a second-order troll? If so, I'm very impressed.

You clearly have never seen Edwards play... admit it. If you liked the 4-yard checkdown on 4th and 22 or if you enjoyed the 3 first-quarter picks vs the Browns then you will love Edwards as a for sure starter. Just teasing you, but the point is that Campbell, as crappy to mediocre as he is, is nonetheless a significant upgrade over last year's starter.

I'd be fine with both. That way, Clausen wouldn't have to start until the line was ready.

Don't like it. Sure, you see his 40 time (3.04) and think he's a burner, but he's gotta sit still revving up for so long, he'll be tackled in the backfield like every other play. Maybe he can play WR, but for the backfield, I'll take someone with less total speed, but better acceleration. Maybe Pac-Man. Dude can perform 90 degree (or even 180 degree) turns at speed without slowing down at all. If we can teach him to turn at other angles besides those two, he could be a really nifty back. The only downside is a possible PED suspension. Those power pellets must have some banned substances in them.

Unfortunately for us, offensive-minded head coaches tend to focus on defense at the top of their drafts (and vice-versa). Whether explicit or implicit, the belief is that their knowledge/scheme/expertise will fix that side of the ball without needing talent, whereas they don't have that kind of confidence on the other side of the ball. If that's how it plays out in Buffalo, we're in for a long and unpleasant ride. Offenses in general take longer to fix/come together than defenses. Plus, the two most important (and not coincidentally, hardest to find) positions are both on offense. If you have neither a QB nor an LT (just like us!), it might take you several years to get quality players in place at both of those positions. Without a quality QB, you're guaranteed to go nowhere. Without a quality LT, there's a possibility of going somewhere (Mike Gandy = Super Bowl Starter), but it's mighty tough. So the sensible thing to do would be to focus on getting the offense ready to go, and while it gels, start fixing the defense. Hopefully, both of them come together at the same time and you win a Super Bowl. If, however, we wind up with a D-focused offseason, there's basically two likely scenarios: 1.) The focus on shoring up the overhauled defense worked! Now we're back up to the 7-8 win range, can't make the playoffs, and can't draft a franchise QB. Hopefully another McNabb will come available on the trade market while the D is still good. 2.) The moves on D failed. Now we're down to the 2-4 win range, and are continuing to start from scratch. The only saving grace is that it's extremely rare for a new regime to not bring in its own QB. Especially when the incumbents are so horrible. And if you bring in a QB, which means either Jason Campbell or a rookie at this point, you have to then worry about LT so you don't get your guy killed. After that's done, you can worry more about the D. Of course, there are two problems with the conventional wisdom here: A.) The Bills have demonstrated in recent years that they are anything but conventional. Unfortunately, it's pretty fair to lump us in with the Raiders these days, because both franchises make inexplicable moves that leave the casual fan scratching his head. And most of those moves fail, which is why neither team has made the playoffs any time recently. B.) Despite their "eccentricities" as a franchise, the Bills will probably adhere to the conventional wisdom this time, and the Nix/Gailey regime will bring in its own QB. But it will probably be Tim Tebow. Wow, that post wound up being very long and surprisingly cathartic. Let's hope I'm wrong. Go Bills!

Bruce Campbell.

Worst mock draft format ever. To find out who your team mock picked, just sit through a 15-second ad, then another 15 seconds of "with the XX pick in the NFL draft, the Wherever Whatevers select...", and then you'll know. And to find out who they "passed up", just do the same for every team in front of them! That's much better than just putting the name somewhere where you can read it.

Clausen strikes me as Philip Rivers 2.0. Doth abject d-bags that fans of every other team will totally hate, both float their deep balls, both really good.