Archives for April 13, 2012

‘Tannehill is by far the enigma of the draft. While the first two picks are set in stone, he is the wrench in the gears from picks 3-to-11. The Vikings (3rd overall) have said they would like to trade down, and if the Browns (4th overall) show the slightest bit of interest it could induce a team to trade up to get him. If the Bills really want him, they might have to unload some picks in order to get him. That would be an absolute detriment to what they’re attempting to accomplish this season. Buddy Nix has said in the past he doesn’t like to give away picks. And you most certainly have to believe it’s not going to be for a player who won’t help the team right away. But if Tannehill is there at 10, it’s a different discussion.’

‘Later, Williams tweeted: “Texans. I always promote safe and legal handling of any firearm. I have and always will collect things I love LEGALLY!”‘

‘The Bills value size at wideout and Floyd (6-3, 220) fits that requirement. But with the No. 10 pick, Buffalo may elect to address offensive line and linebacker.’

‘Shawne Merriman is coming off yet another Achilles’ surgery and remains a giant question mark. Depth is thin and suspect here. Improving one of the NFL’s worst defenses can’t stop with the signing of top free-agent defensive ends Mario Williams and Mark Anderson.’

‘He said just the idea that an opponent has a special weapon forces teams to spend time preparing. "To be honest with you, one of the reasons we have it is we think that there is a definite advantage to that because what we say is this: If you’ve got something that’s unusual, the coaches are going to take an hour to sit there and talk about it. And then on the field they’re going to do a 10-minute walk-through on the wildcat. And then in practice, out of their 45 plays they’ll take five on the Wildcat. So if you take all that, it’s somewhere between 5 and 15 percent of their time that they have available that they’re using on the Wildcat. Every snap and every minute they take doing that means they’re not working on their base offense, the base pass plays, the base pass protections. So hopefully it helps you win games."’

‘Fitzpatrick isn’t the heart and soul of this offense; Fred Jackson is.’

‘Giving Fitzpatrick a target like Floyd or Blackmon, if they’re available, would help each and every person on that offense — most importantly their quarterback.’

‘Wannstedt has said the Bills will wait until after the draft to see exactly how much depth they have up front and who fits where, so it’s not even clear at this point how the pieces will mesh. But with so many needs elsewhere (wide receiver, offensive line, linebacker), the Bills probably won’t even think about defensive linemen until the middle of the draft, when they have extra picks in the fourth or fifth rounds. The best guess would have them grabbing a defensive end to add depth to their rotation and guard against Anderson failing to live up to the huge seasons he posted as a rookie and last year. Possibilities include Tennessee’s Malik Jackson, Texas’ Kheeston Randall, Cal’s Trevor Guyton and Cincinnati’s Derek Wolfe. They could add a tackle later on.’