Jerry Jabber

I agree. All the holes couldn't have been filled with this years draft, so at least half of the holes seem to be taken care of (at least on paper.)

I am still worried about the O-line this year, even after reading Wanny's comments...yes. But I understand why Nix decided to address the defense first with this years draft: http://www.buffalorumblings.com/2011/8/10/2355087/why-fix-the-run-first#storyjump "While perusing Pro Football Focus and their offensive line rankings, I noticed the Jets and Pats having the first and third ranked offensive lines for 2009 and 2010, respectively. Essentially the Jets and Pats have two of the three best offensive lines in football." "Last year, the Jets ran on the Bills 99 times and passed on the Bills 49 times. I actually had to double check that stat because of how unbelievable it was. Last year, the Pats ran on the Bills 79 times and passed on us 54 times. Think about that - the NFL's best quarterback last year handed the ball off against Buffalo 25 more times than he threw it." "I think some of the reason why Nix decided to build the defensive line first is because it's tougher to play defensive line than offensive line. Reactive movements and technique are tougher to learn for a defensive line, which is why you traditionally don't see defensive line draft picks light the league on fire immediately. It typically takes a couple of years for those guys to develop. Plus, we play in a division with two of the best offensive lines in football, who dictate play against us on a consistent basis. After giving up 200+ rushing yards 8 times last season, the Bills had no choice put to fix their defense. There were so many holes to fix this offseason, that it was impossible to address them all. I'm hoping next year's draft focuses on the O-line, with getting quality starters and depth at the Tackle position.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ap-bills-wannstedt "Wannstedt has been such a big fan of Gailey, he enjoys recalling the game plan Gailey devised in Miami’s 2001 season-opening 31-21 win at Tennessee. Gailey was so fearful of the Titans aggressive defense that he came up with a run-first, short-pass approach to keep the pressure off his quarterback. And that included running the ball in third-and-long situations. The Dolphins managed only 11 first downs, but didn’t give up a sack. Lamar Smith scored twice, on a 4-yard run and a 65-yard reception off a screen. “Chan was smart. He knew that our offensive line was not capable of blocking these guys in long-yardage situations. And he was going to call plays that gave the team the best chance,” Wannstedt said. “I think that’s a great story of summing up someone who’s a great coach.” Let's hope Chan will do the same this year with the offense, but it's encourging to hear this from Wanny.

IMO, by Bell playing against Merriman everyday in practice, this is only going to help him develop much quicker. Merriman has been taking the time to mentor Wang after the plays are over with, so I'm sure he's doing the same with Bell.

Evans has 2 years left on his contract. Does anyone think he'll get an extension with the Bills? The Bills have enormous depth at WR. I understand what Evans brings to the table, but the Bills aren't going to the playoffs this year (that might take another year or two). Plus Evans won't be re-signed at the end of his contract, so why not try and get something for him, especially since the Bills are still rebuilding. Why cut one of the young and up incoming WR's for a guy that will be off the team in 2 years?

So you're saying after only 2 years, the Bills should have cut Maybin already and take the big hits on his salary and also against the salary cap? You're completely missing the point. Maybin was drafted only 2 years ago in 2009 at #11, so with the amount of money invested in him at the #11 spot, the Bills have been trying to see if he will become the player that the Bills FO hoped he would be at the time they drafted him. Two years in the league is not a long time for a player to develop. But I guess you're saying that the Bills shouldn't try and trade him and just eat the money they already wasted on him, plus eat the remainder of his contract and take the big hit against the salary cap...yeah, that makes perfect sense?! Patience is wearing thin with Nix & Gailey, because Maybin hasn't shown a glimmer of hope that he will turn into the type of player that warranted the #11 pick, but they also realize how much money was already put into Maybin and how much he'll cost if they just cut him. If the Bills FO trade him, for any draft pick (or player), then that team assumes Maybin's salary and the Bills won't have the big hit against the salary cap. Is this starting to make any kind of sense at all to you? :thumbsup:

I agree about the rest of the 2009 draft (Wood, Levitre, Byrd being the best so far.)

The only player the Bills drafted that were busts that I thought would have actually been a good player (when drafted) was Mike Williams. McGahee was a waste of pick, considering Travis "Who's your daddy?" Henry had 2 great back-to-back seasons. I wanted Ngata, I thought he would have been a great replacement for Pat Williams, instead, we got Whitner. I liked the Lynch pick, but he never had a good O-line to run behind, plus he was a problem child (one more incident & he'll be suspended 8 games to a year). I didn't like the McKelvin pick when it happened and I'm still not sold on him. I wanted Orakpo, because he was a bigger DE/OLB, I got tired of the smaller/faster DE's and didn't want Maybin. While I was happy with the Spiller pick, I still would have liked the Bills to have picked Bulaga (The Bills tackles are the weakest link on the team). This year, I was very happy with the Dareus pick. So there's your hindsight about impact players. I think about 98% of the board could have drafted a better 1st round pick over that 10 year span than Donahoe/Levy/Brandon-Jauron.

This should answer your question: http://www.wgr550.com/pages/9034669.php?pid=57818 "I hear the Bills would love to have someone take first-round bust defensive end Aaron Maybin off their hands and are offering him up for trade to any team -- but so far no takers." "I can't imagine any team would actually want to give up a future draft pick or someone off their roster for his services. If Maybin couldn't even crack the lineup on one of the worst defenses in the NFL last season, how exactly would he make an impact for anyone else?" "My best guess? This is a last ditch effort to try and trade away his contract so the Bills don't have to swallow the three remaining years left on his deal and the $9 million against the cap that stems from his $15 million in guaranteed money. But if they can't find any takers, which I don't think they will, then I think his days are numbered in Buffalo."

It's been rumored/speculated that Jauron had a ton of influence on the draft picks during his tenure in Buffalo, and that Jauron wanted Maybin (take that for what it's worth.) Nix stated if he was the GM during that time (when Maybin was drafted), that he wouldn't have drafted Maybin, because he doesn't like one-year wonders. Either way, it was the wrong pick and especially at the most critical spot in the 2009 draft.

Maybe Skeletor will want him in Cleveland, otherwise, I'm with the rest, I can't imagine the Bills getting anything for him.

http://www.buffalorumblings.com/2011/8/8/2350980/aaron-maybin-trade-rumors-buffalo-bills This should come as no surprise, the Bills are trying to trade Maybin. Thanks Dickie J for drafting a bust at #11, instead of drafting an impact player (like Orakpo)that would have been on the team for many of years. Instead, the Bills will either get a late round pick (5th thru 7th, with 5th being generous) or will cut Maybin if there are no suitors. What a waste of another top draft pick (not that we didn't know this already).

http://wgr550.com/pages/9034669.php?pid=57611 I know the coaches are high on Urbik, but he's been struggling bad so far. Wonder if Hangartner doesn't get the starting Center position, would Gailey move him to RG?

Thanks SJBF!! Also, thanks for posting the video. It was great seeing Wood take on Suh, plus shed off him and nail the incoming LB.

I agree with that assessment. Also, he dominated Ndamukong Suh last season as well: http://www.buffalorumblings.com/2011/6/15/2225328/eric-wood-ndamukong-suh-bills-lions

http://blogs.courier-journal.com/rickbozich/2011/06/14/eric-wood-healed-and-ready-for-nfl-strike-to-end/ Looks like Wood played the entire year hurt last year, but feels he's 100% healthy. IMO, Wood was the Bills best O-linemen last year (followed by Levitre), so if he's 100%, stronger and plays center, that means very good things for the O-line.

Exactly!! Put tons of pressure on Brady and the Pats are very beatable. The Bills have sucked in run defense and pass rush for years, especially with the Tampa 2 defense, which is another reason why the Pats have been kicking the Bills butts for a long while now.

Exactly! In order for the Bills to beat the Pats, they're gonna need a great defense that can blow up the Pats O-line line and get after Brady all game long.

The Bills have the greater chance of beating the Patriots in the first division game they play against them in the year. Starting from 2003 (to include the Bills last win against the Patriots), here are the scores from the first division game of the year vs the Pats: 2003: Bills 31-Pats 0, (after this, all Patriots victories), 2004: 31-17, 2005: 21-16, 2006: 19-17, 2007: 38-7, 2008: 20-10, 2009: 25-24, 2010: 38-30. With the lone Bills victory in 2003, the Patriots outscored the Bills 192-152 in the first division games of the year. Without that lone Bills victory, the Patriots outscored the Bills 192-121. Now for the scary part, the second division games of the year vs the Pats: 2003: 31-0, 2004: 29-6, 2005: 35-7, 2006: 28-6, 2007: 56-10, 2008: 13-0, 2009: 17-10, 2010: 34-3. In that span of time, the Patriots outscored the Bills 243-36 in the second division game of the year. In every game since 2003, the Patriots outscored the Bills more in the second division game than in the first. This shows that Belichek learns a lot from the first division game, and makes better adjustments than the Bills coaches do, which is why the streak has been going on as long as it has been. The first step for the Bills is to finally get that first victory over the Patriots. The next step, is to be able to beat them in the second division game of the year, when the Patriots have been much better than the Bills in those games.

Thanks for posting the story & the pic. And I agree with everyone, your little girl is very cute! Is she a Bills fan as well? Both of my kids are Bills fans as well, and watch the games with me.

In regards to "potential" and "talk" about the Bills WR corps, I think there is reason for optimism this year. http://www.buffalorumblings.com/2011/6/12/2219958/cj-spiller-roscoe-parrish-david-nelson-bills#storyjump In the slot position, the Bills have three WR's they could use, that will create problems for defenses. David Nelson is a tall WR that can get open, has great hands and is difficult to match up because of his height. Parrish & Spiller are difficult to match up against, because of their speed. Plus, the Bills have Steve Johnson, who had a great breakout year. http://www.buffalorumblings.com/2011/6/7/2208919/marcus-easley-buffalo-bills Marcus Easley who an unknown at this point, but he was making plays in training camp last year, looks sharp in the practices that Bills players have been putting together, plus he's a big, physical player, which the Bills have been needing at that position. Now, it comes down to Lee Evans. Evans needs to rebound from a bad 2010 season, in which he posted career lows, had many dropped balls (many of those should have been easy catches), and had poor route running. IMO, Evans production this season (if there is one) will be a key factor in how well the Bills WR's will do. Otherwise, there is a lot of talent and potential with the WR's on the team. How they will do, will depend on how the O-line blocks for Fitz and how Fitz performs.

Lucky guy! She looks like Megan Fox.

Was at the ceremony in 1832, when Buffalo became a city.

I agree, good points!

http://www.buffalorumblings.com/2011/5/19/2179542/did-schobels-indecision-effect-the-bills-in-2010 "If the Nix and Gailey knew that Schobel wasn’t going to play prior to the start of free agency and the draft, they could have addressed his loss during that time period. Instead, the Bills went with what they had on the roster and also picked up OLB Shawne Merriman, who only lasted 15 minutes on the practice field. The Bills shuffled the OLB position from Chris Ellis, Chris Kelsay, Aaron Maybin, Arthur Moats and Antonio Coleman." This is very true. IMO, Schobel shackled the Bills by his indecision and the team couldn't properly address his position that late into training camp. While I don't blame Schobel for not wanting to play, considering how bad the Bills were during his time on the team, but him and Brad Butler should have told Nix & Gailey early in the year that they didn't want to play, that way Nix & Gailey could have addressed those positions either in FA or the draft.