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Last night after seeing McKelvin fumble on the kickoff, it eerily reminded me of the 2005 Season opener vs the Jags. All Nate Clements had to do on 4th down was knock the ball down, instead, he tries to be a hero, go for the INT and gets outmuscled by the Jags WR. The next series, the Jags score a TD and win 13-10. If we would have won that game, we would have been 10-5 going into the season finale vs Pittsburgh, already having a wild card berth. Last night, instead of doing the smart thing and kneeling down 4 yards in the endzone, McKelvin tried being a hero and screwed up big time. I hope this game doesn't cost us a shot at the playoffs like in did in 2005.

16. MNF vs Dallas & Nick F**k 17. "Just give it to 'em" 18. Lay down and die against Steelers 2nd string with a playoff berth on the line 19. Blow 21-3 lead on Miami in the 4th quarter. 20. Denver "Chinese fire drill" on opening day 2007 21. Ernest Wilford "no really Nate, just go ahead and watch"

I think we need to add Cleveland and the Jets from last season, and then the NE debacle? 10/08/07 - COWBOYS 25 BILLS 24 - Bills turn over Tony Romo 6 times, return 2 INTs and a kickoff for touchdowns, stop a last-ditch two point conversion, and then lose when Dallas recovers an onsides kick with 20 seconds left and kicks a 50+ yard field goal with two seconds left 09/09/07 - BRONCOS 15 BILLS 14 - In a game in which the Bills never trailed, they lose on a "fire drill" field goal with one second left. 2006 SEASON 12/24/06 - TITANS 30 BILLS 20 - In Orchard Park, Vince Young runs wild, the Titans kick a field goal with 2:10 left to take a one point lead. The game ends when JP Losman throwing an INT on 4th and 5 from the Tennessee 28 yard line with one minute left, after the Bills forego the 43 yard field goal attempt due to wind. 12/12/06 - COLTS 17 BILLS 16 - Down one to the Colts in Indy, Rian Lindell misses a 41 yard field with 6:30 left. Peyton Manning never gives the Bills the ball back and runs out the clock. 09/10/06 - PATRIOTS 19 BILLS 17 - On the road to open the season, the Bills return a Brady INT for a TD on first play of game, and lead for most of the game. Then the Patriots take the lead on a *safety* by sacking Losman with six minutes left. After the free kick, Donte Whinter records an INT on the first play. The Bills proceed to go three-and-out from their own 44, punt with 6:20 to go and never see the ball again. 2005 SEASON 01/01/06 - JETS 30 BILLS 26 - In a meaningless game at home, the Jets score on a Kelly Holcomb INT for a TD and then take the lead with a Justin Miller KR for a TD with 6 minutes left. Holcomb takes Bills to the Jets 34 with with 3 minutes left before being sacked on 4th and 10. Holcomb then throws an INT on the desperation drive with 50 seconds left. 12/04/05 - DOLPHINS 24 BILLS 23 - In Miami, Lee Evans scores 3 TD's in the first quarter. Losman only completes one more pass to Lee Evans for the rest of the game. Chris Chambers catches 15 passes for 238 yards, including the game-winning TD as Sage Rosenfels in relief for Gus Frerotte takes the Fish 73 yards with 1:51 left. 11/27/05 - PANTHERS 13 BILLS 9 - Bills take a 9-6 lead at home with 5 minutes left. Future Buffalo Bill Michael Gaines scores the GW TD with 2:21 left. With 47 seconds left, on 3rd and 10 from the Carolina 43, JP Losman throws a game-ending INT. 10/30/05 - PATRIOTS 21 BILLS 16 - On the road in Foxboro, the Bills take a 16-7 lead with ten minutes left. The Patriots take just two minutes and 11 seconds to score a TD to pull within two points. On the next drive, Holcomb fumbles, and the Patriots need just one play to take the lead. With two minutes left, on 4th and 8 from the from the New England 40, a pass to Moulds gets no gain. 2004 SEASON 01/02/05 - STEELERS 29 BILLS 24 - In a home game to secure a playoff birth, the Steelers played their backups, and some guy named Willie Parker ran 19 times for 102 yards. The Bills never even come close to winning. 10/10/04 - JETS 16 BILLS 14 - On the road in New York, the Bills score 14 4th Quarter points to take the lead with 6 minutes left. The Jets' Doug Brien kicks a 38 yard field goal with 1 minute left. The game ends with Drew Bledsoe's Hail Mary being intercepted in a game that ultimately cost the Bills a playoff spot. 10/03/04 - PATRIOTS 31 BILLS 17 - At home and down 7 with three minutes left, the Bills are driving at the New England 17, when Drew Bledsoe is sacked and the Patriots return the fumble for a TD in a game that ultimately costs the Bills a playoff spot. 09/12/04 - JAGUARS 13 BILLS 10 - At home and down 4 points with two minutes left, the Jaguars get the ball at their own 20 with one time out. On 4th and Goal from the 7 with four seconds left, Byron Leftwich hits Ernest Wilford in the back of the end zone - who somehow hangs on to the GW TD in a game that ultimately cost the Bills a playoff spot. 2003 SEASON 12/14/03 - TITANS 28 BILLS 26 - Billy Volek has a big game in Nashville. Drew Bledsoe hits Mark Campbell for a TD with 26 seconds left, but the two-point conversion fails and the Titans recover the onsides kick. This ends the playoff hopes in a season that began with the 31-0 thumping of the Patriots in the Lawyer Milloy Bowl. 11/23/03 - COLTS 17 BILLS 14 - Bills take a 14-3 lead into the 4th quarter in Orchard Park. The Bills stuff the Colts on three plays after first-and-goal from the 3. Colts punch it in on 4th and Goal from the 1 with 1:42 left and convert the two-point conversion for a three point lead. From the Buffalo 46, Drew Bledsoe throws an INT with 42 seconds left. Their third crushing loss in three weeks, their second at home. 11/16/03 - TEXANS 12 BILLS 10 - In Orchard Park, the Texans take a 12-8 lead with 3:28 left. On the first play after the two minute warning, the Bills have 1st and 10 from the Houston 31. Drew Bledsoe is sacked and fumbles. The Texans take an intentional safety to end the game, giving the Bills two safeties in the game. 11/09/03 - COWBOYS 10 BILLS 3 - In Dallas, Quincy Carter takes a four point lead into the 4th quarter. With four minutes left, the Cowboys' kicker pooch punts the ball into the end zone from the Buffalo 32 for a 12 yard net punt. The Bills proceed to go three-and-out, including an own-recovered Travis Henry fumble. Getting the ball with 2:50 to play, Adrian Murrell runs the ball down our throats to end the game. 09/21/03 - DOLPHINS 17 BILLS 7 - In Miami, the Bills are down 10 to 3 with 6:43 to play. Getting the ball at their own 34, they run for two yards, have a false start, and a Drew Bledsoe sack. On 3rd and 19, the pass is incomplete. Miami then rips off a three minute drive, when the Bills appear to stuff Ricky Williams on 3rd and Goal from the 1 on the first play after the two minute warning. A booth review is called, and Miami is given the TD and a 10 point lead. Down 10 with 1:48 to play from their own 20 with one timeout, Drew Bledsoe manages to drive to the Miami 24. 2002 SEASON 11/17/02 - CHIEFS 17 BILLS 16 - In Kansas City, the Chiefs take a one point lead with five minutes to go. Five plays later, the Bills have 2nd and 10 at the KC 40 when Drew Bledsoe throws an INT on a deep pass towards the end zone. The Chiefs take the ball with 4:15 to play and proceed to run out the clock. 09/08/02 - JETS 37 BILLS 31 - The Bills tie the season-opener at home with a Bledsoe-to-Moulds TD pass with 26 seconds left. They lose in OT as Justin Miller takes the opening kickoff of overtime for a touchdown. 2001 SEASON 12/16/01 - PATRIOTS 12 BILL 9 - In one of the great ironies of football history, a Bills team that will finish 3-13 takes a Patriots team that will win the Super Bowl to the wire at home, ending up holding Tom Brady to 19 of 35 passing. The Patriots tie the game with 2:50 left. Alex Van Pelt proceeds to lead the Bills on a three-and-out. With 1:50 left, the Patriots get the ball at their own 13. They get to their own 45 with one minute left. The Bills sniff out a screen for -2, nearly get an interception, and finally Schobel sacks Brady to end the threat. With 22 seconds left at their own 16, the Bills unwisely try to make something happen. Alex Van Pelt fumbles, and the Bills recover to thankfully get to OT. In OT, the Bills advance to their own 48, and throw an incomplete pass on 3rd and 2, and punt. With 10 minutes left in OT, the Patriots are at their own 46 when David Patten catches a pass, is knocked silly by Keion Carpenter, and fumbles. Nate Clements recovers, and advances the ball into Patriots territory. On replay review, David Pattens head rolls out of bounds while his body is touching the football. By rule, the ball is out-of-bounds and New England retains possession. Two plays later, NE kicks the winning FG. Had the Bills won, New England would not have made the playoffs, Bill Belichick would have been a lifetime .500 football Head Coach, and the world would have been a very different place. 11/25/01 - DOLPHINS 34 BILLS 27 - In Buffalo, the Fish score 24 points in the 4th Quarter. The Fish score a TD with 4:15 left, and the Bills proceed to go three-and-out, with an incomplete pass on 2nd down, and a completed pass short to Larry Centers on third down. Olindo Mare kicks a 39 yarder with 1:17 left, and Nate Clements fumbles the ensuing kickoff. Three plays later, the Fish have a seven point lead. Alex Van Pelt gets the ball with 43 seconds and two timeouts, but is unable to seriously threaten. 11/11/01 - PATRIOTS 21 BILLS 11 - Antowain Smith ices the game with a 42-yard TD run with three minutes left. 10/28/01 - CHARGERS 27 BILLS 24 - Doug Flutie scores on a GW 13 yard TD run with one minute left. 2000 SEASON 12/17/00 - PATRIOTS 13 BILLS 10 (OT) - In Foxboro, the Patriots kick the game-winner with 19 seconds left in OT. The Patriots finish 5-11, the Bills finish 8-8. 12/11/00 - COLTS 44 BILLS 20 - In Indy, with both teams at 7-6 with three games left, Wade Phillips says that "both teams are basically out of it." The Colts win their last three and make the playoffs. 10/01/00 - COLTS 18 BILLS 16 - In Buffalo, Mike Vanderjagt hits a 45-yard gamewinner as time expires. 1999 SEASON 01/08/00 - TITANS 22 BILLS 16

My question is this, what coach is yelling him up for costing the team a game like that by not protecting the ball? There is no one on the sidelines to deal with something like that AFTER it happens, so that it doesn't happen again. Btw anyone remember Nate fumbling the kickoff against Miami his rookie year?

Loved this quote: "Randy Moss hates to get hit. The first time he runs a shallow slant route the outside LB on that side needs to smash his skinny ass (within the 5 yard limit) and take a piece of his heart out. He’ll start to think twice before he comes in there again." Not only is that dead-on true, but it seems to be something we never do in Buffalo, or at least not since Nate Clements left. Clements used to love pounding on Moss, and he did a tremendous job of containing him. Pound him again and again. He'll quit.

Nate Vasher for falling for the play fake on 3rd and 1. Kurt Warner looked old.

Liability in pass coverage? Winfield is one of the league's premier cover CBs. He is a better cover CB than Nate, IMO. His size can be problematic, but that is true of most CBs in the NFL when going against the taller WRs in the league. Antoine is left on an island more than most NFL CBs. Do you see him regularly getting burned, or even exploited? Nate is a more opportunistic CB to be sure, but that's really the only area where he is better than Winfield (and the 3 extra inches help him. too).

I would still 10 times out of 10 play a good olineman over a corner. Dockery became a vag. It happens. And for all your Nate love, you realize that the Bills had a better pass defense than the Niners right? NC is a good palyer but not worth the $ he is getting and we are teh same team with or without him.

I agree WEO. Nate plays fast. Unfortunately, his mind isnt as fast as his body. Tremendous athlete, but too many mental mistakes. I'd love him on our team, but not for the money that most think he's worth.

Didn't see Nate today, but in his first year in the Bay, he was excellent. I watched the Vikings/Browns today and let me say that Antoine Winfield was a complete stud. Stronger in run support than any defender currently on the Bills and mostly avoided in coverage. Watching him and Phat Pat hold down the fort for the vikings was a pleasure (the other Williams was pretty good too).

We did, for years. He was never at that level and no reason for this to have changed as he gets older. So much money--for Nate Clemens. What a country!

Nate is a very good CB (not top 5, IMO). Winfield is still a better all-around CB than Nate.

And Cromartie and Finnegan shouldn't be. I'd probably put Nate alongside Samuel, just behind Bailey and Asomuhga It's easy; just watch him play.

I was never a big Nate fan and might agree with your first five, but including Hall on this list costs you all credibility.

Antonio Cromartie Nnamdi Asomugha Champ Bailey Asante Samuel Cortland Finnegan Nate Clements isn't on that list. I could argue there are others that would go above Clements too, or are at least on the same level (Dunta Robinson, Al Harris, Marcus Trufant, Terrence Newman, DeAngelo Hall, Darrelle Revis, Shawn Springs (when healthy)). I'm not sure how anyone can confuse Nate Clements with "one of the best corners on the planet."

He's looking like a total stud right now against the Cardinals.

Maybe one of our resident statisticians can tell us how likely (or unlikely) it would be to draw names out of a hat and generate fewer hits. Of course, there's some interdependencies at play - i.e. Mularkey, Jauron and their respective discount staffs influence production (or lack thereof), but to think the majority of these gems would've been stars had they played for, say - the Hoodie - seems like a pretty big stretch. ---------------------------------- 2008: (1) Leodis McKelvin, (2) James Hardy, (3) Chris Ellis, (4) Reggie Corner, (4) Derek Fine, (5) Alvin Bowen, (6) Xavier Omon, (7) Demetrius Bell, (7) Steve Johnson, (7) Kennard Cox 2007: (1) Marshawn Lynch, (2) Paul Posluszny, (3) Trent Edwards, (4) Dwayne Wright, (6) John Wendling, (7) Derek Schouman, (7) C.J. Ah You 2006: (1) Donte Whitner, (1) John McCargo, (3) Ashton Youboty, (4) Ko Simpson, (5) Kyle Williams, (5) Brad Butler, (6) Keith Ellison, (7) Terrance Pennington, (7) Aaron Merz 2005: (2) Roscoe Parrish, (3) Kevin Everett, (4) Duke Preston, (5) Eric King, (6) Justin Geisinger, (7) Lionel Gates 2004: (1) Lee Evans, (1) J.P. Losman, (3) Tim Anderson, (4) Tim Euhus, (7) Dylan McFarland, (7) Jonathan Smith 2003: (1) Willis McGahee, (2) Chris Kelsay, (3) Angelo Crowell, (4) Terrence McGee, (4) Sam Aiken, (5) Ben Sobieski, (6) Lauvale Sape, (7) Mario Haggan 2002: (1) Mike Williams, (2) Josh Reed, (2) Ryan Denney, (3) Coy Wire, (5) Justin Bannan, (6) Kevin Thomas, (7) Mike Pucillo, (7) Rodney Wright, (7) Jarrett Ferguson, (7) Dominique Stevenson 2001: (1) Nate Clements, (2) Aaron Schobel, (2) Travis Henry, (3) Ron Edwards, (3) Jonas Jennings, (4) Brandon Spoon, (5) Marques Sullivan, (6) Tony Driver, (6) Dan O'Leary, (6) Jimmy Williams, (7) Reggie Germany, (7) Tyrone Robertson.

Name the last NFL QB worth a damn to come out of Oklahoma. Stoops has a great offensive system that allows his QBs to excel. Bradford reminds me too much of guys like Jason White, Josh Heupel, and Nate Hybl.

Nate Clements was a Pro-Bowler in 2004. Willis McGahee was a Pro-Bowler in 2007. Marshawn Lynch was a Pro-Bowler last year...what the hell do you people mean? Leodis should have, and probably will, go as a returner.

2000 - Erik Junior College Phenom Flowers 2001 - Nate Clements 2002 - Mike Tubsy Williams 2003 - Willis Applebee's McGahee 2004 - Lee Evans, J.P. Hey Big Cat Losman 2005 - NUNN 2006 - Donte Whitner's Sampler 2007 - Marshawn Crush Canadian Chicks Lynch 2008 - Leodis McKelvin 2009 - Aaron Maybin, Eric Wood Maybe some progress over the past three years, we shall see.

I'm pretty sure Nate Washington will not be playing the first week due to his hamstring injury. Thus, Chambers is the call.

For Week 1, Nate Washington or Chris Chambers? Before I get ripped to shreds, I want to point out that it's a 14 team league, and this is my #3 WR slot.

Hope we don't get to draft 4th. Here's an optimistic look at what happens if we go 4-12. I could also see going with George Selvie in Round 2 and Geno Atkins in Round 3. Astro Round Pick Team Selection Psn School 1 1 Detroit Ndamukong Suh DT43 Nebraska 1 2 Oakland Russell Okung OT Oklahoma State 1 3 St Louis Taylor Mays FS USC 1 4 Buffalo *Sam Bradford QB Oklahoma 1 5 Kansas City *Dez Bryant WRF Oklahoma State 1 6 Tampa Bay Greg Hardy DE43 Mississippi 1 7 Cincinnati Jermaine Gresham TE Oklahoma 1 8 Seattle Trent Williams OT Oklahoma 1 9 Jacksonville *Gerald McCoy DT43 Oklahoma 1 10 San Francisco Colt McCoy QB Texas 1 11 Cleveland Brandon LaFell WRF LSU 1 12 NY Jets Brandon Spikes ILB Florida 1 13 Seattle Selvish Capers OT West Virginia 1 14 Washington Ciron Black OT LSU 1 15 Houston Terrence Cody DT43 Alabama 1 16 Green Bay *Eric Berry SS Tennessee 1 17 Miami Arthur Jones DE34 Syracuse 1 18 Minnesota Sean Weatherspoon OLB43 Missouri 1 19 Denver *Jevan Snead QB Mississippi 1 20 Atlanta *Jonathan Dwyer RBF Georgia Tech 1 21 New Orleans Trevard Lindley CB Kentucky 1 22 Dallas *Rolondo McClain ILB Alabama 1 23 Baltimore Corey Wootton DE34 Northwestern 1 24 Arizona C.J. Spiller RBC Clemson 1 25 San Diego *Carlos Dunlap DE34 Florida 1 26 San Francisco Darrell Stuckey SS Kansas 1 27 Tennessee Marshwan Gilyard WRS Cincinnati 1 28 Pittsburgh *Bryan Bulaga OT Iowa 1 29 Indianapolis Patrick Robinson CB Florida State 1 30 NY Giants *Rennie Curran SS Georgia 1 31 New England Jerry Hughes OLB34 TCU 1 32 Philadelphia *Marvin Austin DT43 North Carolina 2 33 Cleveland Charles Scott RBF LSU 2 34 Kansas City Syd'Quan Thompson CB California 2 35 Detroit Brandon Lang DE43 Troy 2 36 St Louis Sergio Kindle OLB43 Texas 2 37 Tampa Bay Justin Cole OLB43 San Jose State 2 38 Oakland Vince Oghobaase DT43 Duke 2 39 Denver *Arrelious Benn WRF Illinois 2 40 Buffalo D'Anthony Smith DT43 Louisiana Tech 2 41 New England Mike Johnson OG Alabama 2 42 San Francisco George Selvie OLB34 South Florida 2 43 Dallas *Nate Solder OT Colorado 2 44 NY Jets Eric Decker WRF Minnesota 2 45 Green Bay *Deunta Williams FS North Carolina 2 46 Washington Tim Tebow QB Florida 2 47 Cincinnati *Everson Griffen DE43 USC 2 48 Miami *Joe Haden CB Florida 2 49 Minnesota *Rob Gronkowski TE Arizona 2 50 New Orleans LeGarrette Blount RBF Oregon 2 51 Arizona *Anthony Davis OT Rutgers 2 52 Seattle Kyle Wilson CB Boise State 2 53 Carolina C.J. Wilson DE43 East Carolina 2 54 Houston Eric Norwood OLB43 South Carolina 2 55 New England Sam Young OT Notre Dame 2 56 Kansas City *Ian Williams DT34 Notre Dame 2 57 Philadelphia *Greg Romeus DE43 Pittsburgh 2 58 Chicago *Damian Williams WRF USC 2 59 Baltimore Chris McGaha WRF Arizona State 2 60 Indianapolis Jon Asamoah OT Illinois 2 61 San Diego Thomas Austin OG Clemson 2 62 Pittsburgh *Morgan Burnett SS Georgia Tech 2 63 NY Giants John Estes OC Hawaii 2 64 New England *Allen Bailey DE34 Miami 3 65 Cleveland Ed Dickson TE Oregon 3 66 Kansas City Charles Brown OT USC 3 67 Detroit *DeMarco Murray RBF Oklahoma 3 68 St Louis *Derrick Morgan DE43 Georgia Tech 3 69 Tampa Bay *Maurkice Pouncey OG Florida 3 70 Oakland *Dominique Franks CB Oklahoma 3 71 Denver Kam Chancellor FS Virginia Tech 3 72 Buffalo Sean Lee OLB43 Penn State 3 73 Jacksonville Anthony McCoy TE USC 3 74 San Francisco Myron Lewis CB Vanderbilt 3 75 Dallas Jordan Shipley WRS Texas 3 76 NY Jets Brandon Graham OLB34 Michigan 3 77 Green Bay Jared Odrick DE34 Penn State 3 78 Washington Ricky Sapp DE43 Clemson 3 79 Cincinnati *Bruce Campbell OT Maryland 3 80 Miami Adam Ulatoski OT Texas 3 81 Minnesota *Terrance Toliver WRF LSU 3 82 New Orleans Geno Atkins DT43 Georgia 3 83 Arizona Javier Arenas CB Alabama 3 84 Philadelphia *Malcolm Smith OLB43 USC 3 85 Carolina Dennis Pitta TE BYU 3 86 Houston Walter Thurmond CB Oregon 3 87 Tennessee *Dezmon Briscoe WRP Kansas 3 88 Atlanta Rahim Alem DE43 LSU 3 89 Philadelphia *Greg Jones ILB Michigan State 3 90 Chicago *Reshad Jones FS Georgia 3 91 Baltimore A.J. Edds TE Iowa 3 92 Indianapolis *Navorro Bowman OLB43 Penn State 3 93 San Diego Chris Brown RBF Oklahoma 3 94 Pittsburgh *Ugo Chinasa OLB34 Oklahoma State 3 95 NY Giants Rico McCoy ILB Tennessee 3 96 New England *Ras-I Dowling FS Virginia

Many contracts are back loaded. The player does not expect to see that last year or two. It is designed to spread the GUARANTEED signing bonus over a longer period of time when the deal is made. Ask Nate Clements, he will NEVER play out the contract he signed with the 49ers.

Walker did a decent job at RT for a couple of years. But it is true we don't seem to hit any big winners in FA. But I wonder how many teams really do. Some teams really pay enormous money but even then the returns aren't always there. Don't tell me Nate Clements was worth the money he got in FA. You have to build through the draft, ultimately. Not that we have done that great there either.