Talks between Bills and Chris Brown heating up.

[stinky finger]

McGahee is the only one that was in a comparable position. That said, he was also far ahead of Bush in his recovery and was in fact actually recovered to the point that he was jogging for scouts just before the draft. I also believe that he was taken far too early.

 

Gore actually proves my point about how medical concerns can drop a player. He had suffered a couple of past knee injuries, but had recovered and played his final season and was injury free going into the draft. There were still enough concerns about that knee that he fell all the way to the 3rd, despite proving he could still play.

 

Clarett's drop was largely due to off-the-field incidents.

Exactly. Bushs' setback has come at a most inoppurtune time. He now has to deal with this issue while teams are now getting their boards in order. How can this NOT result in a substantial drop?

The more I think about it, a 5th round may just be the earliest he goes, as stated earlier by MBD. Risky business.....

[Kelly the Dog]

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.

And yet he was a pretty good back who was a #1 pick and lasted 9-10 years in the league. Significantly better, IMO, than A Train, and on a par with Chris Brown, as far as talent goes. Which is why I like the idea of signing Brown to an incentive laden deal, keeping A train and rolling the dice on a RB in the draft.

[Navy Chief Navy Pride]

And yet he was a pretty good back who was a #1 pick and lasted 9-10 years in the league. Significantly better, IMO, than A Train, and on a par with Chris Brown, as far as talent goes. Which is why I like the idea of signing Brown to an incentive laden deal, keeping A train and rolling the dice on a RB in the draft.

 

I agree with signing him to an incentive laden deal. My question is now who will be there with one of our thirds(pref our third) for us to pick up? Pittman? Walker?

[Rubes]

If Brown could be had for a decent price he'd be a good pickup. Regardless of everyone's perception of his health, it would fill a need position, if even only temporarily.

 

This team has holes to fill that can't all be addressed by high draft picks this year. My impression is that Marv and Dick have a plan, but when they took over they knew this was no quick fix. Three years to remake this team over. This is the second year and if we can focus on something other than RB in the early rounds, then great.

[Kelly the Dog]

I agree with signing him to an incentive laden deal. My question is now who will be there with one of our thirds(pref our third) for us to pick up? Pittman? Walker?

It's impossible to say who will be available when our turn comes up, who our scouts and brass like, and who will turn out to be a good pro down the line. The whole thing is a crapshoot.

 

Personally, I like Hunt. I may take a flyer on Bush in round three who is expected to play this season. I would love to take Leonard with our second pick in round three, not because I think he will be a workhorse franchise back but fills a lot of needs and can be very valuable. If we can spend our first two rounds on defensive players, get Chris Brown, a Hunt, and Leonard, I'd be thrilled.

[Navy Chief Navy Pride]

It's impossible to say who will be available when our turn comes up, who our scouts and brass like, and who will turn out to be a good pro down the line. The whole thing is a crapshoot.

 

Personally, I like Hunt. I may take a flyer on Bush in round three who is expected to play this season. I would love to take Leonard with our second pick in round three, not because I think he will be a workhorse franchise back but fills a lot of needs and can be very valuable. If we can spend our first two rounds on defensive players, get Chris Brown, a Hunt, and Leonard, I'd be thrilled.

 

 

Do you really think Leonard will be there in the third? I have seen alot of mocks that have him going in the second and even one that had the Pats taking him with their second pick in the 1st round. I realize this guy is a great talent and could be used in a multitude of ways but I think if we want him and IF he is still there for our second round pick then we would have to snatch him up at that point.

[kenny3000]

If Brown could be had for a decent price he'd be a good pickup. Regardless of everyone's perception of his health, it would fill a need position, if even only temporarily.

 

This team has holes to fill that can't all be addressed by high draft picks this year. My impression is that Marv and Dick have a plan, but when they took over they knew this was no quick fix. Three years to remake this team over. This is the second year and if we can focus on something other than RB in the early rounds, then great.

 

fair response. i didn't think about it like that.

[turftoe]

I wonder what kind of jack a blogger makes?

[Mile High]

2 year contract would be fine. I think that A-Train and Brown splitting carries would be ok. But, A-Train and Turner would be a better change of pace.

[todd]

Woo, the next Antowain Smith.

 

Smith has a SB ring.

[Mile High]

Brown would provide the Bills with a nice alternative until the draft, where Buffalo still could be poised to pick up either Oklahoma's Adrian Peterson or California's Marshawn Lynch.

Why do we need a nice alternative until the draft if were going to draft a rb in the first? If Brown is signed I don't think we draft either Peterson or Lynch.

[AKC]

Ahh, there's the rub. Chris "Balsa Wood" Brown is never healthy for more than the blink of an eye. He's a major tease, because the talent is certainly there.

 

Would you expand on that- I thought he had one limiting injury over his 4 years in the league, but I haven't really paid much attention to him. What can you tell me about multiple injuries and lost playing time?

[stuckincincy]

Smith has a SB ring.

 

I always thought Smith was a decent enough back.

 

131 games, 1784-6881 3.9 ave., 54 rush tds , 136- 982 7.2 ave., 3 receiving tds.

 

26 of the rushing tds were from his 4 years with the Bills, and they were in the playoffs in 2 of his 4 years here.

[Kelly the Dog]

Would you expand on that- I thought he had one limiting injury over his 4 years in the league, but I haven't really paid much attention to him. What can you tell me about multiple injuries and lost playing time?

He's been hurt pretty much every year. Although IMO they have been somewhat freakish injuries. Two toes, a hamstring and an ankle. But the nagging injuries kept him in and out of the line-up. To me, it's impossible to say whether he is brittle or just unlucky.

[Pyrite Gal]

or Hall is the best player on the Bills board when Okoye, Willis and Branch all go in top 11 and nobody wants to trade up.

 

Correct if the Bills are listing heavily toward the taking the BPA. No matter what folks say is their "theory" of how teams are best built in the NFL which results in most GMs saying they are going after the best player available all the time. reality simply forces teams to strike a balance between taking BPA or addressing needs.

 

For example, though I think Marv is honestly a true believer in the concept that it all starts with running or stopping the run, the reality was that last year we drafted a SS candidate with our #8 neither trading up for a D'Brick, taking Halata (seen along with Bunkley as the best likely run stuffers, or trading down.

 

We took the guy we wanted at #8 despite the conventional wisdom clearly seeing that as way too early to pick a mere safety and the guy we wanted was to fill a need.

 

We might take Hall as a BPA choice, but to do this would seem to have us listing way over toward going with the BPA side of our personality and ignoring several areas of need where we have even fewer candidates for starter than we have with Youbouty and Thomas at CB (RB for example where Anthony Thomas who has not been a starter in 4 years and he barely logged a 1000 yards in a career best 13 starts is the best we can do.

[bizell]

He's been hurt pretty much every year. Although IMO they have been somewhat freakish injuries. Two toes, a hamstring and an ankle. But the nagging injuries kept him in and out of the line-up. To me, it's impossible to say whether he is brittle or just unlucky.

:yeahthat:

 

he's pretty much been a given for the injury report whenever he was getting significant PT

[Paup 1995MVP]

Correct if the Bills are listing heavily toward the taking the BPA. No matter what folks say is their "theory" of how teams are best built in the NFL which results in most GMs saying they are going after the best player available all the time. reality simply forces teams to strike a balance between taking BPA or addressing needs.

 

For example, though I think Marv is honestly a true believer in the concept that it all starts with running or stopping the run, the reality was that last year we drafted a SS candidate with our #8 neither trading up for a D'Brick, taking Halata (seen along with Bunkley as the best likely run stuffers, or trading down.

 

We took the guy we wanted at #8 despite the conventional wisdom clearly seeing that as way too early to pick a mere safety and the guy we wanted was to fill a need.

 

We might take Hall as a BPA choice, but to do this would seem to have us listing way over toward going with the BPA side of our personality and ignoring several areas of need where we have even fewer candidates for starter than we have with Youbouty and Thomas at CB (RB for example where Anthony Thomas who has not been a starter in 4 years and he barely logged a 1000 yards in a career best 13 starts is the best we can do.

 

 

When you are talking about Leon Hall the bigh question is this. Is he better or will he better than Ashton Yobouty? I watched a lot of Leon Hall the past 4 years being a big Michigan fan. (Go Blue) He has very sound fundamentals as far as playing tight coverage on the shorter routes and fighting for the football. He also has good hands when it comes to making interceptions. However, in the Rose Bowl and against Ohio State he was torched by Dwayne Jarrett and several OSU receivers. In other words, he played small in big games. Ashton has better size, and he was also a player at OSU. I liked what I saw from Yobouty in the short time he played last year. So I don't think Hall is that big if any of an upgrade from Yobouty.

 

I think the Bills like Yobouty a lot. That is part of the reason they let Nate go without a fight. Given that they have Yobouty, I do not see us drafting a DB in the first round. We have much greater needs on defense, and that is in the front seven. We need at least one if not two solid linebackers to add to the mix, especially if TKO is physically done. And lets not forget that we still need a big man to stop the run.

 

At RB, I like Chris Brown and think if healthy he will have a better year than Willis. This guy has a burst with some moves, and there is not too much mileage on the treads. I think they should draft a running back no earlier than the 3rd or 4th round (Lorenzo Booker) and put him in the mix with Brown, Thomas and Jackson. I also would not be suprised if we draft a tight end in the first three rounds. That need may be greater than at DB. We can never have enough weapons for JP the gunslinger.

[Rubes]

:yeahthat:

 

he's pretty much been a given for the injury report whenever he was getting significant PT

 

 

Running backs frequently get hurt. McGahee was hurt, Henry was hurt. They often played through the pain, but who's to say if they would have if they had the same injuries as Brown.

 

To me, saying Brown is an injury waiting to happen is not much different than saying Cowher or Dungy could never win the big one. Which is what a lot of people were saying.

[bizell]

Running backs frequently get hurt. McGahee was hurt, Henry was hurt. They often played through the pain, but who's to say if they would have if they had the same injuries as Brown.

 

To me, saying Brown is an injury waiting to happen is not much different than saying Cowher or Dungy could never win the big one. Which is what a lot of people were saying.

 

I'm just saying what I know. The man gets dinged up and ends up missing time often.

[Rubes]

I'm just saying what I know. The man gets dinged up and ends up missing time often.

 

And all I'm saying is that past events don't necessarily have any impact on the future. Just because Cowher tanked his previous chances at a Super Bowl victory didn't mean he couldn't go out and finish the job. And just because Brown has had injuries in the past (as long as they aren't chronic injuries) doesn't mean he'll go out there and do the same again.