Archives for February 17, 2015

'It’ll be interesting to see what new coach Rex Ryan does with this group in his scheme, which is designed to allow linebackers to make most of the plays. Alonso flourished as an inside linebacker in 2013, when Mike Pettine utilized the Ryan scheme as the Bills’ defensive coordinator. Bradham wasn’t a good fit in that defense and the same could be true for Brown, who excelled in a scheme that positioned him differently than the outside linebacker role he would now be expected to fill.'

'"They're both projects," Mayock said. "You've already got a project in Buffalo right now who probably has as much talent as those two kids. I'm not a big believer in investing in a position just because you think you have a need. It has to upgrade the existing position. I'm not sure you can do that at quarterback this year in the second or third round."'

'So what does this mean for the Bills? Their top free agents are defensive end Jerry Hughes, safety Da'Norris Searcy and running back C.J. Spiller. The only one that would be worth the price of the tag would be Hughes, who recently said he wouldn't mind if the Bills used the one-year option on him.'

'After being the most sought-after quarterback on the free-agent market last offseason, McCown lasted just one year in Tampa Bay and the Buccaneers released him shortly after the season.'

'Free agency offers few guaranteed fixes for any team in the market for a quarterback. Former Ryan pupils Mark Sanchez (Bills) and Michael Vick (Jets) are among the list of retreads available as unrestricted free agents.'

'If the Bills are successful in signing McCown, he would serve as the immediate competition for Manuel to be the starting quarterback of the franchise in 2015. Manuel was benched four games into his second year in favor of Kyle Orton, but new head coach Rex Ryan has repeatedly said that the young quarterback would have a chance to compete for the job.'

'Spiller had his best season under Gailey in 2012, rushing for 1,244 yards and six touchdowns while catching 43 passes for 459 yards and two touchdowns. That’s 28 receiving yards more than the entire Jets backfield produced last season, a number that ranked the running backs 29th in the league.'

'“We got the draft coming up, free agency is coming up,” Ryan told WGR Radio in Buffalo. “Are there trade possibilities? You look at every possible scenario there is. From Doug Whaley and our scouts, all of our position coaches, we’re looking at that.”'

'With Rex Ryan and his new staff on hand, along with the entire Bills personnel department, we’re likely to get somewhat of a preview from the Bills on their plans for free agency during the combine. That includes the Bills important free agents like Jerry Hughes, C.J. Spiller, Da'Norris Searcy, Brandon Spikes, and others. The Bills have had personnel meetings in Western New York for the last several weeks. Now, with agents for the affected players on site in Indianapolis, it’s likely Buffalo’s intentions will leak out or be directly confirmed by the Bills. Stay tuned.'