MDH

I'll say a 6th this year and a 5th next year.

The question he asks is a legitimate one. Why are so many people convinced the Bills are improving when it appears they let players go without a viable replacement lined up. Sure some of these holes will be filled via the draft but many of them won't. This team has been average or bad the past 7 years. This offseason has seen some of the Bills most productive players leave. Yet, somehow, people imagine that the Bills will be better. If the Bills are better with Youboty at CB then why wasn't he starting over Clements? If they were better with Crowell at MLB and Ellision manning the weak side, why weren't they starting there last year? If they were better with Thomas as RB, why wasn't he starting last year? The draft is a crap shoot, to think that the Bills will automatically improve because of it is like putting all your hopes in the roll of the dice. That's not good enough for some. And no, I'm not claiming McGahee, Fletch or Spikes were all world players. But you know what, they're better than who we currently have on the roster to fill in those spots. Cutting lose lots of players and simply hoping the draft fills all those needs is a mistake imo. Every time somebody lists some concerns (and rightfully so) there are always a million "chicken little" posts mocking those concerns, as if having some concerns about the team is such a ridiculous thing.

Come on Dean, he called me a girl, clearly I've been PWNED!

I keep seeing this argument but it's really not relevant. The Bills should have locked Clements up last year when it would have cost less. At the very least they should have never promised that they wouldn't franchise him again. Sure, once he hit FA there was no way they should have signed him but they shouldn't have let it get that far.

Why argue with someone who is barely literate?

I never get enough of people who use "pwned" and think it makes them sound cool (or should I say L33T?)

Translation: You have no interest in football or what is happening on the field.

So, by your reasoning Clements is an "above average" player while K. Thomas is a "good" CB and A. Thomas is a "good" RB. I suppose if that's how I assessed these players abilities I might be pleased with the offseason as well...

And don't forget when his own coaching staff told him he needed to dance less and hit the holes harder he said (paraphrasing), "everybody has an opinion."

I'm not sure how the Bills can de-prioritize LB when it appears they're about to deal Spikes which leaves them with only Ellison and Crowell as starters. Unless they do something very unexpected (like trade for Briggs) they've pretty much backed themselves into a "must draft LB in the first round" hole.

Before we all get into a big circle jerk over Whitner there's a guy named Ngata that started all 16 games for a Baltimore D that was 2nd in the league against the run and 1st in total D. Whitner played very well last year but in order to justify that pick on a safety he has to dominate.

Uh-oh, now you've gone and done it. Get ready for a lot of, "it's only March!" or "Trust in Marv!" responses.

Thurman might be my favorite Bill of all time but I agree with you. Thurman and Faulk were very similar players but Faulk had the speed/big play ability that Thurman didn't have. Imo, that gives Faulk the edge.

I always thought he was on the small side.

I really want to believe this post is dripping with sarcasm...but I can't bring myself to do it.

Not to mention Maurice Jones Drew, Lendale White, Corey Dillion, Deshaun Foster & Reuben Droughns. All of those guys either started or had significant playing time last year. I'm not sure there is a conference that has more RBs that get significant playing time at RB in the NFL.

I'm not sure how he can be underrated. He was considered the best back in the league for about 5 years and will go down as one of the all time great backs.

He wasn't just a part of it, he was the #1 back in that offense, wracking up at least 250 carries in each the Pats back to back Super Bowl years. During those years he had over 2500 total yards from scrimmage to go with 23TDs. The guy is proof that you don't need a great RB as long as you get good play from your OL.

I was wondering who was going to carry the load until the draft.

So what do you want, some absolute assurance that he can do the job on a full time basis? You're not going to get that from any player until he gets the chance to prove himself. Any RB out of college is going to have those questions over his head as well. Turner has proven more as a pro than any of them.

They only play on the same team, on the same offense, at the same position and run behind the same OL. You're right, there is absolutely no basis for a comparison.

Can someone explain to me why in the cover 2 it's not worth the money to pay Clements to stay but it's worth a top 12 pick to select a CB? If CB was that important they should have signed Clements (preferably LAST offseason).

I don't recall exactly but wasn't Youboty in camp all of two weeks (if that)?

So why would Detroit trade with the Bills in the first place when there is a team out there willing to give up more for the #2 spot? It makes no sense for Detroit to lose that much value in a trade with the Bills. File this one under "someone made it up on the other message board."