Cash

Yeah, that was interesting. Anyone care to speculate on who the other 3 were?

Great montage. I stopped playing at the first picture of RJ getting sacked, but I'm assuming he runs up a 20,000 ft mountain at the end?

Week 1 9/9: Buffalo Bills at New York Jets L Week 2 9/16 Kansas City Chiefs at Buffalo Bills W Week 3 9/23: Buffalo Bills at Cleveland Browns W Week 4 9/30: New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills L Week 5 10/07: Buffalo Bills at San Francisco 49ers L Week 6 10/14: Buffalo Bills at Arizona Cardinals W Week 7 10/21: Tennessee Titans at Buffalo Bills W Week 8: BYE Week 9: 11/04 Buffalo Bills at Houston Texans W Week 10: 11/11 Buffalo Bills at New England Patriots L Week 11: 11/15 (Thurs) Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills L Week 12: 11/25 Buffalo Bills at Indianapolis Colts L Week 13: 12/02 Jacksonville Jaguars at Buffalo Bills W Week 14: 12/09 St. Louis Rams at Buffalo Bills W Week 15: 12/16 Seattle Seahawks at Buffalo Bills W Week 16: 12/23 Buffalo Bills at Miami Dolphins W Week 17: 12/30 New York Jets at Buffalo Bills W

Nix has referred to White as an inside linebacker this offseason, so I'm guessing it'll be Chris White to open camp, but I'll also guess that it'll be Carder or Bradham by the end of camp. I also think that if Sheppard gets hurt, Morrison will shift over to MLB on run downs. I don't expect either Sheppard or Morrison on the field on pass downs. Last year our 2 nickel LBs were Barnett and Bryan Scott, and I'd expect that to continue this year barring injury. I'm interested to see where the coaches put the two rookies once camp opens (minicamp might even tell us something). I don't think they made any definitive statements post-draft about where Bradham or Carder will line up. It's very possible that they want to see both in practice before they make one an MLB and the other an OLB.

Bummer. I liked Florence, and I loved the fact that he's all about intercepting Brady. True, he got burned a fair amount last year, and probably was making too much, but it's still sad to see him go. Best of luck to him at his next stop, unless he signs with the Pats.

F5

Disagree. I liked the TO move at the time and still in hindsight because 1.) T.O. had never been a problem in year 1 with any franchise. 2.) A lot of clowns like Skip Bayless blew T.O.'s look-at-me stuff way out of proportion because they are clowns. I didn't have a problem with TD celebrations then and I don't now. 3.) Even T.O.'s legit attitude problems weren't/aren't *that* bad. They basically stem from over-competitiveness (a good thing in the NFL) and overconfidence (sometimes a good thing in the NFL -- you have to be insanely confident to make it). Usually his sideline tantrums would boil down to T.O. being pissed that the offense stunk, and believing that if he got the ball more, they'd be able to move the ball and score some points. Which was probably true in most cases, but that doesn't mean he handled it well. 4.) On a 1-year deal for an incredibly boring team that stinks, there's no downside to signing T.O. The worst-case scenario is that you continue to stink, but in a less boring fashion, and part ways with him after the year. I don't think the 2012 Bills will stink OR be boring, and Vince Young provides little to no entertainment value. He's had some success in the NFL, but hasn't really gotten better since he was a rookie. That suggests that like T.O., he's very full of himself, but unlike T.O., his self-esteem doesn't correlate with reality. Now, if he "gets it," Vince Young could totally turn his career back around, because he certainly has the physical ability to be a good NFL starter. I doubt he will, but what do I know?

Because a lot of people think that if you miss out on "your guy" and wind up settling for a player you don't like as much, he's likely to be a bust, but if you aggressively trade up to ensure you get "your guy", that means he'll work out. These people also tend to be swayed more by anecdotal evidence than broad-spectrum data. Hence the anecdote about a time when our favorite team aggressively traded up to get "their guy", but he wound up a bust anyway.

Certainly his agent may have let teams know that he wants an opportunity to compete for a starting job, but if he can't get that opportunity, being the #2 guy somewhere else is definitely a step up, not a lateral move. As the #2 guy, you're 1 hit away from playing, and if you play well enough, you'll wind up starting one way or another. As the #3 guy, which he's been for most of his career, you're not even really active on game days (until last year, when he was probably outright inactive on most game days), and if the starter goes down, there's a chance the team signs another QB with starting experience who leapfrogs you on the depth chart. There's a reason Drew Stanton got upset and requested a trade after the Jets brought in Tebow. The #2 job is a lot better than the #3 job.

I don't think we'll have a very good idea until training camp. From what I understand, there's not as big a difference between the MLB and OLBs in Wannstedt's D than in most others. After all, we're currently slated to start 3 guys who have been MLBs most of their careers.

Like a bunch of people here, I'd rather see Dixon brought in for a workout than Young. Young's attitude has been so toxic the last few years, and it doesn't seem to me like he's ready to turn it around yet. I don't think Andy Reid helped matters any by telling Young that he wasn't being brought back because Young is a starting-caliber QB and should be starting somewhere. I also can't believe Young bought that line. That's like breaking up with someone because they're too good in bed. Anyway, Dixon looked fairly decent in the few emergency starts he got for the Steelers a couple years ago, and I like the fact that he's coming from one of the best and most stable organizations/environments. Plus, a move from third string to second is a step up for him, so it's less likely he'd pout as the backup than some of the other candidates. And at 27, Dixon's best football should be ahead of him.

Thanks for posting! Keep in mind that the Bills once traded up (from the top of the 3rd to the bottom of the 2nd) to get Ryan Denney. They only traded up a few spots, and only to leapfrog the Steelers, who were expected to take Denney. Just because you got your guy doesn't mean it will work out.

Not really. Nix said that the Bills had Sanders rated higher than where they got him. Maybe he was lying, but he didn't say anything to that effect about Graham or a couple other guys. I personally believe him, because Nix has shown a penchant for either stating the truth outright or keeping things vague, but not lying. It's possible that a bunch of teams had Sanders rated as a 3rd or 4th round pick, but when they came up in the 3rd round, it was between him and a guy at another position they needed more. So they went with the 3rd-round prospect at a need position instead of the one at a position where they're set. Then in the 4th round, they're happy that Sanders is still there, but there's also another guy with a 3rd-round grade who plays a different position that they need more. I doubt EVERY team had Sanders rated above the 5th round, and certainly the ones who took OTs in the 4th had Sanders rated below whichever OT they took, but it's very plausible that a bunch of teams, not just the Bills, agreed with the draftniks on Sanders.

Whatever, I'll take it. You can teach a guy to play with more discipline. You can't teach a guy to jump 37" in the air.

Dream Team!

Well, I think the Bills (and I) hope he'll be better than that. I think they'd like to at least have the threat of longer-developing pass plays/deeper routes, even if those never become primary weapons. There was no threat of them last year, and against teams that realized it, the offense kind of crumbled.

I have no problem with you "reaching" for the Bills D -- after all, it's your team, draft players that you want to root for. But please wait until round 12 or so. That's still a major reach. Round 5 is completely bzonkers.

Every GM and head coach in the NFL gets paid to get it right. Are all of them always right?

But our first 4 picks perfectly corresponded to stated needs. Do you think that's a coincidence, or do you think that you might see multiple prospects with similar grades in every round, not just the later ones? Glenn's the only early pick that you could really say was a "BPA" pick -- most analysts had him as a sure-fire first-round talent, with rankings from the low teens to low 20s. So he was rated significantly higher than his #41 draft slot, and you could've made a case for taking him even if he didn't fill a need. As it so happened, he actually fills our biggest need (assuming Nix et al. are right that he can play LT, not just RT or OG). So that's cool.

Do you really feel good that the worst GM in modern memory thinks we had a good offseason? Did Millen even remember to wear pants on the show you watched?

I still think that Graham was a bad pick, especially after re-watching the Nix/Gailey day 2 press conference. Just about every positive thing they say is a new way of restating, "he's fast," and they openly acknowledge a few question marks. Based on their own description, Graham strikes me as a smaller, weaker Lee Evans with worse hands. If Evans was allegedly a bad fit for Gailey's offense, it's hard for me to imagine how Graham will be a good fit, but then again, Gailey does like the guy. Personally, I think that Nix and especially Gailey fell in love with Graham's speed on tape and talked themselves into overlooking everything else about him. Graham will have plenty of chances to prove me wrong, but he's my pick for most likely to bust out of this draft class. Keep in mind also that if you go back to Nix's off-season quotes about the kinds of players they wanted to acquire, Williams and Anderson very much fit the mold of pass-rushers he was talking about. Cordy Glenn very much fits the mold of the kind of LT he's talked up. Stephon Gilmore fits the profile of the kind of CB he wants. But as for WR, his comments were mostly about getting a guy who's big *and* fast, basically a guy to win jump balls. Graham doesn't come close to filling that bill. Again, his comp is probably closer to Lee Evans than any other receiver we've had under Nix/Gailey, except Evans himself. I definitely get the vibe that Gailey is much more into Graham as a prospect than Nix is. Having said all that, Graham still could easily be an upgrade over Donald Jones or David Clowney or Brad Smith or Derek Hagan or whoever's spot he'd be taking in spread sets, so even if I'm right, it's not necessarily a wasted pick.

OMG A KICKER THIS IS CRAY-CRAY!!! I didn't see this coming. Seems like a good KO guy, so that's good. Curious to see what UDFAs the Bills go for, and also curious to see what they say about Mr. Potter here. Could we get Alan Rickman to do the press conference for this pick, and only refer to this guy as "Mister Potter"? That would make me happy. It's just a slang term that the youth are using. "Tag" is short for price tag, and basically means that something is expensive. "Hash" is short for corned beef hash, which is a popular breakfast food that's usually pretty cheap. So it's basically saying that you're paying high-class prices for a low-class item.

My goodness, that man is quite fit. His name makes him sound like a Downton Abbey character who's 4th in line to be Earl of Leicestershire. His photos tell a different story. This looks like a great pick. THIS is where you draft your coverage/pursuit linebackers.

I agree, we should've drafted more Hall of Famers. Rookie mistake to just draft unproven guys who've never played a down in the NFL.

Love this pick! Great value, possible steal. 35" arms means it's very feasible for Sanders to play on either side if his footwork can get good enough. Love the fact that we got a major value here, because there's a good chance our 4th-string OT will have to play this year.