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With each week it becomes more obvious that the talent is not there to go toe-to-toe with most NFL teams. As I've said many times, since the departure of Donahoe the Bills have spent far too many of their personnel chips(draft picks and free agent dollars) REPLACING talented players while most teams guard what they have and try to hoard more. Case in point, in two offseasons a talent starved Bills team gave up London Fletcher, Nate Clements and Willis McGahee and then used two #1 picks and a #2 to replace them. The net result is that they are STILL woefully short on the game changing big men that you need at the LOS(pass rushers, blockers, TE). IMO to prevent a disasterous finish, the team needs to go back to the style that kept them in many games the past two years. Run it, run it, run it and punt it. Then on defense, just keep the ball in front of you and hope for a mistake by the offense. That is what their personnel dictates they do. I thought the Bills played that way defensively today, but offensively they still tried to throw far too much considering the opponent and the result was turnovers and another week without progress in the running game. It's reached the point where Edwards is not getting better throwing the ball more. I know people hated Fairchild, but I think you all should be able to see now that the guy did not have the personnel to do much more. This offensive line does not have the potential to be a dominant run blocking unit, they are soft and unathletic, but by sheer mass they can be adequate and effective if given the madate to put their heads down and run block 40 times per game against opponents they outweigh by 50-80 pounds respectively. Forcing teams to defend the run opens up receivers downfield for big plays, which is what this team does right. With dimwits like Robert Royal and Roscoe Parrish on the field regularly, you can't conistently execute long drives(I believe the Bills are the worst team in the NFL at executing long drives), so the objective should be to move the ball with the run and use the passing game to strike big. Remember chunk plays? The Bills haven't gotten the ball deep to Evans in a month. In the offseason, the orgainzation needs to be aggressive. When a veteran like Jevon Kearse gets cut loose, don't be afraid to take a look and a flyer on a guy like that. Draft and sign prospective core players who have good health histories. Stack the roster and make it work. They've got to find a way to close the gap on teams with better personnel so that they can play to win, even when teams know the tendencies of your coaches and the weaknesses of your QB(which opponents are now on to with Schonert and Edwards).

I wasn't aware that every 2nd round pick was supposed to make a huge impact their first year in the league. I still have a ton of faith in Hardy, and obviously love Stevie J's potential. Hardy though is very raw, and needs to learn to play to his size in the nfl. I remember in the game against STL he had about 3-4 balls thrown to him, and had he been able to adjust properly to the ball he woulda made each catch. This guy WAS the Indiana Hoosier offense. Their was no one else on that team that was a threat, and he still dominated against a conference that always has great secondary players. Give Hardy time. I'm against Coles because it does absolutely nothing for the Bills future. He is 31 and is already breaking down. He had problems with Favre as his QB last year how do you think he is going to be with Trent as he continues to develop? Bring in Nate Washington if you're gona bring in a reciever. The Bills started off right by getting their future of the offense and defense 2 years ago with Poz and Lynch, that philosophy needs to continue, especially at WR.

The year they drafted Nate Clements while we were outside?

I am not sure Coles is the best fit here. He's a good player but there are some other guys out there who could come year for two years and contribute while Hardy learns. Toomer, Harrison, Nate Washington, or even Clayton would not be the worst case scenario.

How about Nate Washington?? He's done well as #3 Steeler WR. Could be ready to be a #2.

Plenty of good options open. RB -------------- Derrick Ward Warrick Dunn Deuce McCallister LaMont Jordan Rudi Johnson Kevin Jones FB -------------- Terrelle Smith Lorenzo Neal Heath Evans Justin Griffith WR -------------- Marvin Harrison Jerry Porter Joey Galloway Drew Bennett Amani Toomer Bryant Johnson *snicker* Devery Henderson Nate Washington TE (pretty weak) ------------------ LJ Smith Jeramey Stevens Guards ------------------ Mike Goff Cooper Carlisle Kendall Simmons Edwin Mulitalo Fred Weary Elton Brown Center ------------------ Jake Grove Brad Meester Matt Lehr DE ------------------ Chris Canty Antonio Smith Bertrand Berry Chauncey Davis Paul Spicer Igor Olshanky Kalimba Edwards DT ------------------- Rocky Bernard Jovan Haye Dewayne Robertson Shaun Cody OLB (REAAAAALLY DEEP) -------------------- Derrick Brooks Keith Brooking Freddy Keiaho Marcus Washington Cato June Donnie Edwards Jamie Winborn Morlon Greenwood Dontarrious Thomas Sam Williams Clark Haggans Darryl Blackstock MLB (if we move Poz outside) -------------------- Ray Lewis Eric Barton CB -------------------- Dre Bly Chris McCalister Shawn Springs Leigh Bodden Andre Goodman Bryant McFadden Drayton Florence Eric Green Deltha O'Neal Demarcus Faggins Ricky Manning Jr S ---------------------- Jermaine Phillips Sean Jones Mike Brown (Do not under-estimate the mystical drawing powers of Jauron) Darren Sharper Josh Bullocks

Lets go boys, make some more moves to give us renewed hope. Coles would be nice, Nate Washington maybe. Just do something! We have several needs and the good teams out there are filling some of their holes with free agents, what are we waiting for? Just do it!

Link 1. Yancy Thigpen - Oilers 2. Deion Sanders - Washington 3. Chester McGlockton - KC Chiefs 4. Ahman Green - Texans 5. Kerry Collins - Raiders 6. David Boston - Chargers 7. Jevon Kearse - Eagles 8. Gabe Wilkins - 49ers 9. Bert Emmanuel - Bucs 10. Alvin Harper - Bucs 11. Larry Brown - Raiders 12. Lawrence Phillips - 49ers 13. Scott Mitchell - Detroit 14. Jeff Garcia -Browns 15. Chuck Smith - Panthers 16. Dale Carter - Broncos 17. Neil O'Donnell - Jets 18. Andre Rison - Browns 19. Dana Stubblefield - 49ers 20. Nate Odomes - Seattle No Bills!

Nate Washington-WR- Titans Mar. 2 - 8:29 pm et Nate Washington's contract with the Titans is worth $27 million over six seasons, with $9 million guaranteed. He'll definitely start at this rate. Tennessee's incumbent No. 1 receiver, Justin Gage, has a contract paying $1M a year less. OC Mike Heimerdinger's vertical offense will suit Washington's deep speed, but Gage is still the better bet in PPR leagues. Washington should lead the Titans in receiving yards. Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Does this seem as dumb a contract to you as it does to me? Last year he had 40 rec. for 631 yards and 3 TD's. I wouldn't have gone over $4 million guaranteed.

Per Rotoworld. http://www.rotoworld.com/Content/playerpag...NFL&id=3446

Raji and Curry are gone well before we pick, you can bet that. I still don't believe that Crabtree gets past Oakland at #7 either. If we don't sign Coles, maybe our focus shifts to a guy like Torry Holt. Not really sure though. We could also go after Nate Washington. After Coles and Holt though, I don't really see anyone else that I would want us to go after. People say Toomer and Harrison would be good to have. But I don't like Harrison's persona the more stories I read about the guy and I don't know if Toomer would really be anything more than a coach to the younger guys. No Coles, no Holt, stick with what we got and see if Johnson and Hardy can show improvement.

I wouldn't mind Nate Washington. I think the Bills will sign G Mike Goff, Chargers. http://www.chargers.com/team/roster/mike-goff.htm

Is it just me or is anyone else nervous as a monkey on barbwire? I think tonight we get Jason Brown, Geoff Hangartner and Nate Washington. If we just get 2 out of the 3 I'd be ecstatic!

WOW... your really digging up bones. What do you think of Nate Washington or DJ Hackett? They could be had for a decent price.

Nate Clements asked not to be franchised after getting tagged the previous year when he was a Bill. We honored his wish and let him walk for nothing. I understand that people view the Bills organization as upstanding, but who cares what a player thinks. Peppers certainly didn't want one either. It just frustrates me looking back that we didn't tag him and at least try and trade him for something.

I don't understand how you can say that the Vikings overpaid for Antoine Winfield. He's played great the past few seasons and if anything the conclusion I would come to is he has outplayed his contract. Also, yes the 49ers overpaid for Nate Clements, but did the Bills ever offer Nate a contract prior to his final season? Part of retaining your best players is recognizing their ability early on and perhaps re-upping their contract with a couple years left. The same argument can be made with Greer. The guy has done nothing but prove everybody wrong his entire NFL career. Had the Bills recognized his ability a season or two ago they probably would have been able to resign him to a much more reasonable contract. It seems the bills philosophy is not to pay anybody until they see them perform well for a few seasons. The main problem being by that time the player is nearly a FA and other teams are willing to pay him what he's worth. The Bills come in last minute, offer a contract less than what the player thinks they're worth, and the player ends up bolting.

I like the majority of his list, but there are a few exceptions I would like to mention. At cornerback, Nate Odomes should be on the team. He was our shutdown CB during the Super Bowl years and should get the nod over Robert James. Henry Jones should get the nod at safety over Steve Freeman. Talk about a ballhawk, Jones was an INT waiting to happen. Mark Pike should be included to the special teams. When Tasker wasn't making the play, Mark Pike was. Finally, outside linebacker. Who was better than blitzing from the outside than "Biscuit".

All right, so roughly speaking, here's what's the what at our key needs: Backup QB: Ryan Fitzpatrick has signed, but there are other mid-range options who could beat him/Hamdan out in camp if the Bills are so interested. Only Collins has signed, so there's Frerotte, Trent Green, Brad Johnson, or Byron Leftwich if you want experience. Emergency RB: Fred Taylor was a real interest, so the Bills are looking. Rumored to be interested in Kevin Jones, also look for Deuce McAllister, Ahman Green, or LaMont Jordan accepting a backup job. #2WR: There's still Coles! And Housh, though that's a longshot. Marvin Harrison is an option for a year, maybe, and depthwise, you could make a (weak) case that Jerry Porter or Nate Washington is better than Josh Reed. TE: Chris Baker was the only real option. OG: No need to panic here: Mike Goff, Kendall Simmons (visited already), Geoff Hangartener, and Pete Kendall would all fill gaps. C: Matt Birk or bust, now. Though some of the guards, (Hangartener!) can play center. DE: Almost nothing happened here today, so the options are wide open - Chris Canty, Antonio Smith, Kalimba Edwards, Igor Olshansky DT: Rocky Bernard would be a solid pickup, and I like Jovan Haye. And like every other year, there's always Grady Jackson. OLB: Wide open - Freddie Keiho, Cato June, Derrick Brooks all have extensive T2 experience. Then there's Keith Brooking and Michael Boley S: Jermaine Phillips, Sean Jones, and Mike Brown headline here. So, the moral here is that if you have a need at every position, there will be players available for you.

Would've been better to pay Nate instead of Dockery & spend last year's #1 on the OL.. then Greer re-signs for peanuts.

Great post, I agree 100% with each and every one of your points... especially with letting Greer walk and not overpaying him 2 years after letting Nate leave.

whats the obsession with coles? He's older, had ankle and concussion problems, I'd be happier with Nate Washington.

It all depends on the dollars to me... If TJ wants 5 Million more per season, I'd rather have Coles. TJ alone isn't going to make us a playoff team. I'd rather go into the season with Evans, Coles, Reed and 5 million to spend on another quality player than Evans, Housh, Reed and nada. Full Disclosure: I don't think we'll get either. Maybe Bryant Johnson, Drew Bennet, Nate Washington, or some other third tier WR UFA.

I have given my reason. I would rather see them bring in someone like Nate Washington or Henderson for a lesser amount and then spend money on the OL and hopefully re-sign Greer. We have more to worry about than just getting a #2 WR. And we all know that Ralph does not like to spend money in FA.

Free-agent news Redskins sign DT Haynesworth; Patriots sign Taylor, Baker By PFW staff Feb. 27, 2009 The following is a summary of the news involving potential free agents and other contract-related news around the league for Friday, Feb. 27: Leave it to Redskins owner Daniel Snyder to reel in the biggest fish in this year's free-agent pond as Washington agreed to terms on a seven-year deal with DT Albert Haynesworth early Friday morning. Reports say the deal includes a stunning $41 million in guaranteed money and could be worth up to $115 million in the unlikely event that the entire contract is served and all incentives are met. Haynesworth, 28, was the No. 1 overall free agent available according to Pro Football Weekly. The 6-6, 320-pounder has made the Pro Bowl the past two seasons and had a career-high 8½ sacks last year as he helped lead the Titans' defense to a ranking of seventh in the league. The Sporting News is reporting that Ravens ILB Bart Scott has agreed to terms on a multi-year deal with the Jets, where his ex-defensive coordinator Rex Ryan is the head coach. Scott beat ex-teammate Ray Lewis to New York to meet with the Jets and the two sides quickly agreed to a deal. The Eagles have announced that they are entertaining Bengals ORT Stacy Andrews, the brother of Eagles ORG Shawn Andrews, for a visit on Friday. Andrews, a six-year veteran, was a Pro Bowler in 2006 and ’07 but suffered a torn ACL late in the 2008 season and had surgery on Jan. 7. He's not expected back in action until training camp. The NFL Network reports that Fred Taylor has reached agreement with the Patriots on a deal that will bring the 33-year-old ex-Jaguars running back to Foxborough. Taylor visited Buffalo and New England this week before choosing the Patriots. The Patriots also reportedly have agreed to a deal with TE Chris Baker, who was cut by the division-rival Jets earlier this month. Baker, 29, had 21 catches for 194 yards and zero touchdowns last year as he lost time to rookie Dustin Keller. The Bears fired their first free-agent shot Friday, reaching a four-year deal with former Panthers OL Frank Omiyale, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Omiyale reportedly signed a deal worth between $11.5-$14 million. His signing increases the odds that Bears unrestricted free agent John St. Clair might not return to the Bears. A backup behind Jordan Gross most of last season, the 6-4, 310-pound Omiyale can play either tackle position and could probably move inside if need be. The Bears will need a lot more help than just Omiyale on a line that is expected to lose veteran ORT John Tait, who recently announced his intention to retire. Reports Friday morning indicated that the Bengals and WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh were working hard to agree to a long-term deal that would keep the eight-year veteran in Cincinnati. But FoxSports.com is now reporting that Houshmandzadeh is going to be traveling to Seattle for a visit. The Newark Star-Ledger is reporting that the Giants are hosting Falcons OLB Michael Boley on Friday, and if the sides agree to contract terms, the four-year veteran would play the strong side for New York. He has started 52 games in his career. The Star-Ledger also reports that Seahawks DT Rocky Bernard is coming in for a visit on Friday. The Houston Chronicle reports that the Texans have re-signed starting FS Eugene Wilson to a three-year deal. The Colts surprisingly did not make a qualifying offer to starting WLB Freddie Keiaho, which means the third-year veteran is free to sign anywhere. Keiaho started 14 games last season for Indianapolis. The New York Daily News is reporting that the Jets have made a contract offer to Steelers OG Chris Kemoeatu, whom they hope to move in at the ORG spot that has been vacated since the release of ex-starter Brandon Moore. Versatile OL Jason Brown, who can play guard or center, is slated to visit the Rams on Friday, making St. Louis the favorite to secure the services of the Ravens' starter. Having lost out on a bid to sign Albert Haynesworth, the Buccaneers reportedly have turned their attention to Saints ILB Jonathan Vilma and hope to use some of the $60 million they have under the salary cap on the five-year veteran, particularly considering they cut starting LBs Derrick Brooks and Cato June earlier in the week. According to the Boston Globe, the Patriots are scheduled to host free-agent CB Leigh Bodden on Friday. Bodden, who played his five NFL seasons in Cleveland, played with the Lions last year after being part of the trade that sent Shaun Rogers from Detroit to the Browns. Other players who reportedly have visits scheduled for Friday (with destination in parentheses) include: Cowboys DE Chris Canty (Washington), Panthers OG-C Geoff Hangartner (Buffalo), Dolphins S Reynaldo Hill (Denver), Cardinals RB-RS J.J. Arrington (Denver), Eagles RB Correll Buckhalter (Denver), Falcons CB Domonique Foxworth (Baltimore), Titans WR Brandon Jones (San Francisco), Steelers WR Nate Washington (Detroit), Giants FS James Butler (St. Louis) and Patriots WR Jabar Gaffney (Denver).

First off let's talk about the Bills. I believe that they sure did telegraph what they are going to do in the draft. Not only did they cut our starting LG but they also got rid of our primary TE. Luckily these are 2 positions that aren't early 1st rd selections in this year's draft. One could argue that a starting G could be worth an early rd pick but this is a draft tha is heavy in OL and a quality G could be taken in the 2nd rd. As BeastMode54 pointed out in an earlier post the versatility of Hangartner gives us the insulation of being able to address our need on the OL without fear. here's some of the ideas and topics that I would like to comment on. First, the Bills will trade Roscoe Parrish on draft day to the Seattle Seahawks. The 'Hawks lost their slot receiver Bobby Ingram during free agency to the Chiefs, Nate Burleson had a torn ACL and is practicing with a brace on his surgically repaired knee at the 'Hawks minicamps and Deion Branch had his knee scoped at the end of last year. That guy can't stay healthy and the receiving corp last year was thin AND exposed. Hasselbeck wasn't available himself and if Matt Stafford is still available when they pick then expect Seattle to take him at the #4 pick. I just recently thought that they would draft CB Malcolm Jenkins but it looks more and more like the Seahawks are going to bring back CB Ken Lucas. Jason Peters will not be traded. In light of Dockery being released, signing TO and Lynch with a possible suspension, the Bills need everybody that they got on the OL. If the Bills trade down (Detroit's #20?) then I would like to see them draft DT Peria Jerry. If not then LB Brian Cushing would be a good safe pick. I'm also not disounting, nor would I be disappointed, if the Bills opted for DE Aaron Maybin as an alternate for Cushing at the #11 pick. I'm not hedging, I'm just stating what would make sense. Look for the Carolina Panthers to sign JP Losman after the draft. They don't put a lot of emphasis on high profile QBs and Losman could be the kind of player that they feel that they could further develope during Jake Delhomme's twilight. I expect Donte Whitner to have a HUGE year, escially in the turnover dept. The top 5 out of 7 players with interceptions last year were safeties and 4 of the 5 were free safeties. The new position change is going to compliment Whitner greatly. The Patriots have 11 total picks and has nowhere near that many roster spots available. New England may very well be the biggest X-factor in the draft from a wheeling-and-dealing standpoint. It wouldn't surprise me to see them trade up with some of those picks for just a couple of quality defenders. The Bengals just signed DT Tank Johnson. He'll benefit from playing in a 4-3 much more than Dalls' 3-4. I mention this because this should make B.J Raji slide a bit more in the draft. OT Andre Smith is probably the right fit for Cincinnati. Green Bay might be tempted to take him at the #9 spot but they'll chose Tyson Jackson when it comes time. If he is still available when Denver is on the clock then the Broncos will jump all over him. Do you realize that if the Bills stand pat and don't accumalate any more extra picks than by the time they make their fourth selection the Patriots will already have made 6 selections? The Rams are rumored to be willing to trade out of the #2 overall pick and the 49'ers are posturing by scheduling visits with QBs Mark Sanchez and Josh Freeman. Did you know that teams wait until the draft is over and the regular season nears before they make a run on RFAs? The reason being is to wait and see who spent their money on draft picks, current players that were restructured and FA signings. Having just 7 days to match the offers puts a lot of stress on the teams and the chances of them passing becomes greater. Now, let's talk.