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I just hope our scouts did their homework


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I don't care if this is the best draft for centuries, or the worst draft ever, weither the Bills are Rebuilding, or putting the final touches onto a SB team, I still hope the coaches have done their homework and draft the Best Players Available that suit what the team needs and can come in and be good players for this team. This is what they are paid to do and their jobs. So yes, I hope they are working for their paychecks and doing their jobs

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Well, it is sure going to be more exciting than last year's draft!

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What, you didn't enjoy the "meet our #1 pick" press conference with J.P.? :lol:

 

:D

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I'm usually not for dramatic statements like "most important draft in team history", but you're right, this IS a very important draft for the Bills. Marv needs to prove that he can draft. If the future of the NFL favors big market teams in free agency, then the Bills must become dominant in drafting in order to compete. In an ideal world, Marv becomes the Billy Beane of football and is able to consistently uncover diamonds in the draft.

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Nah, if you follow college football, you'll know whether Marv can draft pretty much right away. I didn't have to wait three years to know that Mike Williams was going to be a bust, that drafting Losman or any QB before an offensive line was built and in place was bad news, that Kelsay and Denney wouldn't be able to rush the passer, that Tim Anderson wasn't worth a 3rd rounder, that Eric King was going to be a very good nickelback for us, that Lee Evans was the real deal, that Travis Henry was going to become a good RB (unfortunatley, I didn't know he liked young girls and was stupid), that Peerless Price was good value in the second round.

 

I've been wrong as well. I thought Josh Reed was going to become a very good receiver because he was absolutely dominant in college. But for the most part, watch a lot of college football, and you'll know who's good.

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Nah, if you follow college football, you'll know whether Marv can draft pretty much right away.  I didn't have to wait three years to know that Mike Williams was going to be a bust, that drafting Losman or any QB before an offensive line was built and in place was bad news, that Kelsay and Denney wouldn't be able to rush the passer, that Tim Anderson wasn't worth a 3rd rounder, that Eric King was going to be a very good nickelback for us, that Lee Evans was the real deal, that Travis Henry was going to become a good RB (unfortunatley, I didn't know he liked young girls and was stupid), that Peerless Price was good value in the second round.

 

I've been wrong as well.  I thought Josh Reed was going to become a very good receiver because he was absolutely dominant in college.  But for the most part, watch a lot of college football, and you'll know who's good.

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:lol:

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Nah, if you follow college football, you'll know whether Marv can draft pretty much right away.  I didn't have to wait three years to know that Mike Williams was going to be a bust, that drafting Losman or any QB before an offensive line was built and in place was bad news, that Kelsay and Denney wouldn't be able to rush the passer, that Tim Anderson wasn't worth a 3rd rounder, that Eric King was going to be a very good nickelback for us, that Lee Evans was the real deal, that Travis Henry was going to become a good RB (unfortunatley, I didn't know he liked young girls and was stupid), that Peerless Price was good value in the second round.

 

I've been wrong as well.  I thought Josh Reed was going to become a very good receiver because he was absolutely dominant in college.  But for the most part, watch a lot of college football, and you'll know who's good.

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One can certainly know whether a player is or is going to be a good athlete, but not necessarily whether this good athlete is going to be a good pro.

 

From taking folks like Joey Harrington with the #3 choice (not to mention our own Mike Williams with the #4), to the sharp debate which led to Peyton Manning being selected just ahead of miscreant Ryan Leaf, to one of the best players in pro football Tom Brady lasting until the 6th round, the draft seems to be little more than a coinf flip in terms of the outcomes for particular players taken at particular times (which defines this Un-American restraint of trade called the draft).

 

The amazing thing is that these spotty results are achieved by people who have demonstrated enough proficiency at the mechanics of this that someone pays them. These folks achieve these moderate results having far more real information than we amateur watchers can gather such as real medical reports and evaluations which we do not have and also interviewing and getting to measure these men as people which we never do.

 

It actually is quite hilarious to see anyone on Internet boards claim that achieving good results in this is simple.

 

Folks do get their picks right from time to time, but based on the results achieved in the real world, these "right" answers appear more likely to be coincidences than any indication of mastery of this easy task.

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Please. The management of professional sports teams is completely retarded. I can write you a book about this but don't have the time to do so now. Rambling on and on and on is more your thing anyway. Just look at what happened in baseball where the game is now being revolutionized by so-called "stat geeks" like Bill James, who started doing Moneyball-type analysis about 20 years ago. Baseball teams are JUST learning now how to draft, e.g. avoid high school pitchers, and what kinds of players are really valuable, e.g. players that understand the strike zone and can take a pitch. Nobody in the NBA has any clue what the hell they're doing except for maybe Jerry West. Just read Bill Simmons and you'll understand what I mean. And in the NFL, nobody has been able to master the simple concept of risk management when drafting.

 

Trust me, don't overrate management just because they have jobs. Joe Theisman has a job to analyze football games -- do you think his analysis is more reliable than your own? It's the same way with the folks who work for NFL teams. Many of them have jobs just b/c they've been "part of the game" for a long time. Whatever.

 

The only thing that is laughable is when people actually put blind trust in their team's management. We WILL know right away with this draft whether this regime will succeed or not. I've said it before. If we're entering a new age in football where the high market teams can dominate the small market teams in free agency, then we better be able to draft very well to keep up.

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Now I'm all worked up about the Bills drafting mistakes. Taking Mike Williams at #4 overall was just damn retarded. You basically have the veritable pick of the litter except for three players, and you end up with a freaking fatass weight/motivation risk. Arggh, that's the kind of stupid risk management decisions that I'm talking about. You also NEVER take a QB unless you have a line in place to aid his development. You build teams from the inside out instead of the outside in because skill players are way more dependent on trench players for their well-being and success than the other way around. I know this, you know this, but Tom Donahoe didn't know this. I'm supposed to respect him just because he got paid to do his job. Please.

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Please.  The management of professional sports teams is completely retarded.  I can write you a book about this but don't have the time to do so now.  Rambling on and on and on is more your thing anyway.  Just look at what happened in baseball where the game is now being revolutionized by so-called "stat geeks" like Bill James, who started doing Moneyball-type analysis about 20 years ago.  Baseball teams are JUST learning now how to draft, e.g. avoid high school pitchers, and what kinds of players are really valuable, e.g. players that understand the strike zone and can take a pitch.  Nobody in the NBA has any clue what the hell they're doing except for maybe Jerry West.  Just read Bill Simmons and you'll understand what I mean.  And in the NFL, nobody has been able to master the simple concept of risk management when drafting. 

 

Trust me, don't overrate management just because they have jobs.  Joe Theisman has a job to analyze football games -- do you think his analysis is more reliable than your own?  It's the same way with the folks who work for NFL teams.  Many of them have jobs just b/c they've been "part of the game" for a long time.  Whatever.

 

The only thing that is laughable is when people actually put blind trust in their team's management.  We WILL know right away with this draft whether this regime will succeed or not.  I've said it before.  If we're entering a new age in football where the high market teams can dominate the small market teams in free agency, then we better be able to draft very well to keep up.

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I actually agree with most of what you say about many (in fact most) professional clearly being retarded judging by the way they draft and appear to try to build teams.

 

Rather than overstate the competence of NFL draft professionals, I simply state that even with critical information about making judgments like in depth injury and medical assessment and an ability to see for real, interview and meet draftees they still screw up and draft folks like Mamula, MW, Leaf, Wickey Williams, and a plethora of others far too high and pass on opportunites to draft folks like Brady, Montana and a plethora of other great players.

 

I would not even challenge your contention that most of these folks are retarded, but even you have to admit that it is quite impressive that these retarded folks manage to get someone to pay them tens and even hundreds of thousands of dollars when they are retarded.

 

Its really quite impressive what retards are able to do fiscally here.

 

The main thing I would really disagree with from you thoughts is when you say:

 

The only thing that is laughable is when people actually put blind trust in their team's management.

 

Actually, though the efforts of many NFL professionals is in fact quite laughable, it is not nearly as funny to this observer as the observations of many amateurs on the draft who appear to be legends in their own mind that such and such choice is a dead lock certainty, when virtually guaranteed they have no access to essential info even the retards screw up when they have it.

 

One of the main reasons I feel comfortable going on and on in my posts is that I do not think at all that my views are better than the retards who run NFL teams. This game is fascinating to me exactly because I do not know what will happen next and because despite watching it enough and being fascinated by stats to come up with detailed theories, I am quite often wrong (in sports, my observation during the NBA draft that this Jordan kid did not look like much to me because at his height he was clearly a tweener too small to be a forward and too large to be a guard... hah).

 

I get grins from folks who seem to be interested in the NFL because they claim they no everything or enough about it. If I knew what was going to happen next I would seriously run to go watch something that gave me the joy of learning new things.

 

I have a tone of respect for retards who somehow find a way to make a living fooling around with a boys game, while the rest of us stiffs need to work for living.

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You build teams from the inside out instead of the outside in because skill players are way more dependent on trench players for their well-being and success than the other way around.  I know this, you know this, but Tom Donahoe didn't know this.  I'm supposed to respect him just because he got paid to do his job.  Please.

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To be fair though, Donahoe did throw a #4 overall pick at his offensive line and a flurry of picks at high-motor white dudes on the defensive line. Of course, this didn't amount to anything. Donahoe seemed to victimize himself here. By going for the huge splash with his wheeler dealer offseason headline grabbing moves, going for the slow and steady picks just wasn't part of his mental make-up. Donahoe patterned himself after GMs like Bobby Beathard (another "genius" and "real football guy" who flamed out spectacularly in San Diego). But, if one looks at New England (or, for that matter, the old Bills before Donahoe), it wasn't the "Wow!" trades that built those teams. They had a vision and a master plan and they steadily accreted the players with the right talents to make their plans unfold. Some of it is luck, sure. But, one can make their own luck. Swinging for the fences on every pitch, well, that doesn't win a lot of ball games.

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Yes, general managers and other league management types are paid well. Good for them, I can respect that much. As for access to information that we don't have, I'm sure that is beneficial in some cases but can be detrimental in others. Maybe part of the problem of draft failures is paralysis by overanalysis. Ultimately, the most important aspect to predicting future professional success on Sundays is how they played in games on Saturday.

 

"One of the main reasons I feel comfortable going on and on in my posts is that I do not think at all that my views are better than the retards who run NFL teams."

Neither do I, as that's an irrelevant exaggeration that doesn't describe any poster here. What I do believe I have is knowledgeable opinions about football players that I've watched and I'm not afraid to state them strongly. I don't feel like hedging every comment I make with "in my opinion" -- I just figure most folks would assume that I'm not stating fact, just opinion. Ultimately, if Eric King doesn't turn out to be a good nickelback, or if Paul Pinegar doesn't suck, then my opinions will be disregarded. That's fine with me.

 

"This game is fascinating to me exactly because I do not know what will happen next"

Except that if the Bills draft AJ Hawk, that would set the team back, right? Obviously I understand that is just your opinion (and a ridiculous one, I think). But I point it out because I don't think you're any more modest than anyone here. You may carry a pretense that you are, though. And you're wordier than most.

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To be fair though, Donahoe did throw a #4 overall pick at his offensive line and a flurry of picks at high-motor white dudes on the defensive line.  Of course, this didn't amount to anything.

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True. I do think overall he didn't spend enough picks on the lines, though. I know many of us questioned his accuracy in both player quality AND position choice for many of his draft picks.

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To be fair though, Donahoe did throw a #4 overall pick at his offensive line and a flurry of picks at high-motor white dudes on the defensive line.  Of course, this didn't amount to anything.  Donahoe seemed to victimize himself here.  By going for the huge splash with his wheeler dealer offseason headline grabbing moves, going for the slow and steady picks just wasn't part of his mental make-up.  Donahoe patterned himself after GMs like Bobby Beathard (another "genius" and "real football guy" who flamed out spectacularly in San Diego).  But, if one looks at New England (or, for that matter, the old Bills before Donahoe), it wasn't the "Wow!" trades that built those teams.  They had a vision and a master plan and they steadily accreted the players with the right talents to make their plans unfold.  Some of it is luck, sure.  But, one can make their own luck.  Swinging for the fences on every pitch, well, that doesn't win a lot of ball games.

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The thing that made the Pats in my view were two events which occured in 2001 leading to their first SB win:

 

1, They did build a team in the Belicheck mold and according to his plan, but the draft was merely one part of doing this and actually less important in my view to other means of acquisition.

 

It really is amazing that they signed 15 players or about a third of the team that won their first SB after the June 2001 cuts. He did a great job of getting his kind of player from cut and vets deemed washed up because it is far easier to tell what you are getting with these vets rather than the virtual crapshoot which is the NFL draft.

 

In fact Nelicheck seemed to realize what a crapshoot the draft is and routinely loads up on picks because he knows that though us fans get excited about various choices, most of them deserve to be and are going to be cut immeidately and within a couple of years (as signing bonuses demand) of making the team.

 

2. The best thing that happened to NE in there first SB run was Lewis with the Jets collapsing Bledsoe's lung. The team was 0-2 under Bledsoe and as best as I can tell would likely have missed the playoffs under his QB work if he had remained healthy.

 

Instead, with Bledsoe out and the young Brady (whom BB made a great pick for him after passing on arguably the best player in the league for five straight ounds with multiple picks in several rounda) in this team became a TEAM and with Bledsoe actually doing a classy and outstanding job scholling Brady while he was hurt, coming in to sub for an injured Brady in a must-win game and playing QB in the majority of that game and throwing the winning TD, and even more amazingly in this TO driven world gracefully giving up the starting job with nary a foul word when Brady came back. In a significant way BB made his own luck by picking Brady, but he really was lucky IMHO to win his first SB. It is ironic as if his team missed the playoffs, given the poor results he produced in his first HC go round in Cleveland and then his showing limited judgment or character by first signing to HC NYJ and then going back on his word to send them packing while he wandered up the coast to Beantown.

 

I'm not sure that the NE team building strategy can be replicated and it is questionable whether one would want to beyond the odd fortune of winning it all.

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Nah, if you follow college football, you'll know whether Marv can draft pretty much right away.  I didn't have to wait three years to know that Mike Williams was going to be a bust, that drafting Losman or any QB before an offensive line was built and in place was bad news, that Kelsay and Denney wouldn't be able to rush the passer, that Tim Anderson wasn't worth a 3rd rounder, that Eric King was going to be a very good nickelback for us, that Lee Evans was the real deal, that Travis Henry was going to become a good RB (unfortunatley, I didn't know he liked young girls and was stupid), that Peerless Price was good value in the second round.

 

I've been wrong as well.  I thought Josh Reed was going to become a very good receiver because he was absolutely dominant in college.  But for the most part, watch a lot of college football, and you'll know who's good.

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You forgot to tell us whether or not you liked Parrish and Everett.

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To be fair though, Donahoe did throw a #4 overall pick at his offensive line and a flurry of picks at high-motor white dudes on the defensive line.

  But, one can make their own luck.  Swinging for the fences on every pitch, well, that doesn't win a lot of ball games.

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Sorry, but TD was "swinging for the fences" when he passed on a clearly superior McKinnie, and a less clearly superior (at the time) Levi Jones. Both of these guys were LTs, and not slobs.

 

To my knowledge, Fatso was the earliest RT ever drafted. It a classic example of TD trying to get "cute" with a draft pick, in this case the #4.

 

Don't get me wrong, I am a big MaGahee fan. We needed a RB in that draft as well (due to having a featured back who was a druggie, couldn't block, fumbled, and was brain dead), but TD passed on Steinbach and we watched Willis sit for more than a year. As for the trade for JP, this was nothing short of sheer arrogance, and utter stupidity.

 

Marv might be old, but I am glad to see TD out of Buffalo.

Well, at least for at least 8 days. :doh::flirt:

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Sorry, but TD was "swinging for the fences" when he passed on a clearly superior McKinnie, and a less clearly superior (at the time) Levi Jones. Both of these guys were LTs, and not slobs.

 

To my knowledge, Fatso was the earliest RT ever drafted. It a classic example of TD trying to get "cute" with a draft pick, in this case the #4.

 

Don't get me wrong, I am a big MaGahee fan. We needed a RB in that draft as well (due to having a featured back who was a druggie, couldn't block, fumbled, and was brain dead), but TD passed on Steinbach and we watched Willis sit for more than a year. As for the trade for JP, this was nothing short of sheer arrogance, and utter stupidity.

 

Marv might be old, but I am glad to see TD out of Buffalo.

Well, at least for at least 8 days.  :doh:  :flirt:

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Actually, I agree with Oxy here. I agree that Donahoe did not do enough to build the team from the ground up.

 

I was making the minor addendum that Donahoe took a couple of huge swings at it, but the evidence suggests that Teflon really bought into the "street wisdom" that one can sign a collection of fat slobs, give them a good coach, wave a magic wand, and have an NFL caliber line. As Oxy said, we know this is preposterous, but for whatever reason the management at OBD gave us no hint of knowing this. Drafting a huge, slow, unmotivated RT at #4 to anchor your line at LT for the next decade and giving him trucks full of money was to Teflon what drafting Ryan Leaf was to Bobby Beathard.

 

I am not sad to see TD out of Buffalo. This football team is much, much worse off now than the one he took over. Prospects of it becoming a good team soon are dim.

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You forgot to tell us whether or not you liked Parrish and Everett.

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Its not soon enough for him to tell you his draft day thoughts on parrish and everett. He needs ot watch them play first and determine how good/bad they turn out, then he'll spout off on how he knew all along. :flirt:

 

And Bill, whats with the roscoe hate? :doh: I can easily see hating TD for taking roscoe in round 2 when there were other players that were needed. But why hate the little guy? Its not his fault he got drafted. Also, Roscoe WASNT hurt when we drafted him, and small players do make it. I guess i am saying "hate the pick, not the player"

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Its not soon enough for him to tell you his draft day thoughts on parrish and everett. He needs ot watch them play first and determine how good/bad they turn out, then he'll spout off on how he knew all along. :flirt:

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Nah, I've been posting opinions all over the place about this year's draft prospects without the benefit of seeing them play in the pros. The intent of my post wasn't to comprehensively give opinions on every single player we've ever drafted. But since I obviously haven't seen Everett play in the pros, either, here's my opinion: blah, mediocre impact. Best tight end on this team will be Euhus. Sorry, I don't mean to suggest that any fan can know everything about every prospect but you can definitely make a judgement on a draft immediately. For example, I figure if the Bills draft Bunkley, you'll say that's a good pick based off watching him a lot.

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Its not soon enough for him to tell you his draft day thoughts on parrish and everett. He needs ot watch them play first and determine how good/bad they turn out, then he'll spout off on how he knew all along. :flirt:

 

And Bill, whats with the roscoe hate? :doh: I can easily see hating TD for taking roscoe in round 2 when there were other players that were needed. But why hate the little guy? Its not his fault he got drafted. Also, Roscoe WASNT hurt when we drafted him, and small players do make it. I guess i am saying "hate the pick, not the player"

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Don't agree with many of your posts Ramius, aka Mr. Bunkley, but your first paragraph is almost word for word what I was thinking. I think people evaluating film for a living may have a more informed opinion than the guy/gal watching on the tube (which is not to say that mistakes are not made). Easy to second guess after the fact.

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Morandy

 

I agree with that depending on the position....

 

I think that is actually very easy to evaluate linemen on the tube because the camera's are trained into that area of the field the majority of the time....

 

But rb, wr, lb, s, dbs......you cant really tell

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Agreed. And alot may depend on who he is drafted by, the system, the coaching, etc., as to whether he will develop.

Agree with your premiseOn the OL, .. for example everything you see on tape, Eric Winston has a hard time with quick DE's. Whether it's footwork or lack of strength I don't know, but you are right, I think a Red flag can be spotted in the trenches a little easier.

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I think its tougher to evaluate linemen, because you know know what their blocking scheme for the play was or who they were responsible for. just because a defender blows by 1 lineman doesnt mean it was his fault. maybe it was someone elses responsibility, but just looks like his.

 

And mo randy, i'm not related to bunkley :flirt: I dont think the bills should go DT in round 1, unless its in a trade down. go for huff or davis.

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there are nfl teams that draft and retain/sign players well on a consistent basis.

 

i think baltimore might be the best.

 

they use traditional formal methods of looking at the measurables, temperment, game film, etc. (there was a great article with ozzie newsome before last year's draft in a paper i got at an airport).

 

they make SOME mistakes, but most of the guys they take are good for them. i think TD didn't have the skills to use these techniques and therefore shot from the hip a few times too many.

 

i'm pretty optimistic that marv and dick will put in the right work and figure out who to draft where.

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Well, this explains your love for Roscoe.  :flirt:

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Nah i dont have man love for roscoe, just wondering why you hate him so much. As for passing on a DT, frankly, if D'brick is gone, there is no OL or DT worth taking at #8. So, barring a trade-down, huff or davis would be the best choice. Plus, the draft is deep with DT's.

 

I simply think that drafting 10 linemen and trotting out 10 OL and a QB is a bad decision on the part of the offense. :doh:

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Nah i dont have man love for roscoe, just wondering why you hate him so much. As for passing on a DT, frankly, if D'brick is gone, there is no OL or DT worth taking at #8. So, barring a trade-down, huff or davis would be the best choice. Plus, the draft is deep with DT's.

 

I simply think that drafting 10 linemen and trotting out 10 OL and a QB is a bad decision on the part of the offense. :flirt:

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I don't "hate" Roscoe. He might even play well for a while before he takes a decent hit is carted away to some play-pen at an unknown location.

 

To me, Roscoe represents everything that is wrong with this team. The Bills were simply stupid to draft him with their 1st selection.

 

Also, I have been to RWS 12 times. I know this is nothing to you locals, but once a year for 12 years was not easy for me to do.

In any event, I have seen Bills Fans. They are in large blue collar, hard working, decent, cool people. Have you ever met Bob Lamb? He is Mister Buffalo Bills and Mr. WNY.

Images of Roscoe opening his apartment door and running back in while in a state of shock don't conjure up too many warm feelings here.

 

I have tailgated with #89, Lori and cablelady. THEY are tougher than this, and deserve better. :doh:

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Don't get me wrong, I am a big MaGahee fan. We needed a RB in that draft as well (due to having a featured back who was a druggie, couldn't block, fumbled, and was brain dead),

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Drew taught TH well. :doh:

 

:flirt:

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