San Jose Bills Fan

McGee was cut on the 14th.

No question that if the reports are true, they're paying a pretty penny for Alex Smith. Given Reid's track record at getting the best out of QBs, his pursuit of Smith speaks well of Smith.

Technically (and I think you know this) the trade can't be made until March 12. Until then nothing is guaranteed and in fact there are rumors that other teams are contemplating sweetening the pot for Smith. I think it still goes down as advertised but it's not official, FWIW.

He definitely owes Harbaugh for saving his career. Previous to Harbaugh, Smith had a succession of terrible coaches, and never had the same OC for more than one year. He was miscoached and had poor talent surrounding him. The guy has a great work ethic, is very intelligent, and has good physical talent, the same reasons he was drafted first overall. If the trade with KC is consumated, I think Smith will be excellent under Andy Reid. I believe that when his career is over, Smith will be viewed as a late bloomer who overcame a lot of adversity to become a good quarterback.

Me too but also I'm excited. Barnett, McGee, George Wilson, and Chris Kelsay are gone and yet I have a firm conviction that the Bills 2013 defense will be significantly better than the 2012 version.

No Peyton Manning in your top 10? QB values are like stocks. They go up and down numerous times in the same season and you can see that by the comments that people like Phil Simms make over the course of a season. That said, Flacco is ahead of Ryan exactly because he was brilliant this postseason and particularly so in the Super Bowl. I agree that Flacco and Ryan are very close but I believe that Flacco has been a better postseason QB than Ryan.

I'll sign up for that. I'm very professional and have a great work ethic too. And I'm a great teammate.

And it's far from an exact science.

Or the Mother of them All, 19 pages on the Bills not tendering David Nelson. LOL The buffoon cop in the Charlie Chaplin movies who always clumsily ran in the opposite direction of the criminal. LOL You're right. Kelsay made about $50 million in his career and only made one memorable play. I don't know. How much do really bad defensive ends make? Look. I almost never slander players and I understand that Kelsay was a hard worker and a good guy. But he sucked as a player IMO. Sucked. And he was the most visible symbol of the team's ineptitude. In each of the two previous regime changes, Kelsay was actually given a lucrative contract extension. Forgive me for being happy that this new regime will go forward without Chris Kelsay. Keep in mind that it was announced by the Bills on February 11th that Kelsay had been cleared to begin working out. JW mentioned that Kelsay was in Buffalo and was hoping to play this year. I think we should take this as a real positive sign that the new head coach and defensive coordinator might actually know what they're doing. There's clear evidence that Kelsay was shown the door and took the opportunity to retire. I'm happy for Chris that he's retired as a wealthy man. He doesn't seem the sort to blow $50 million in career earnings.

I'm happy for you and hope that the thread continues to be a source of pride and joy for you in the years that follow.

You're hung up on statistics here. Alex Smith was brilliant in 2011 in the late regular season game against the Giants and against the Saints in the playoffs. He also had a few brilliant plays in the playoff loss to the Giants. Then in 2012, Smith showed that the improvement he showed late in 2011 was no fluke, playing at a high level before losing his job to injury. As I've said before having watched him here in the Bay Area, Alex Smith is a better player than most people give him credit for. Matt Cassel on the other hand couldn't dream of making some of the throws I've seen Smith make and I agree with those who believe that the interest in Matt Cassel is as a veteran backup.

To the conversation between OldTimer and Runthedamnball: 1) It's been said that Kansas City is a talented team ready to win now based on the fact that they had 5 Pro Bowlers and 2 Pro Bowl alternates this past year. 2) Andy Reid drafted NIck Foles in the 3rd round last year so even if the Alex Smith trade is consummated, it doesn't necessarily mean that Reid won't draft a QB this year. I wouldn't expect him to draft one in the first round but after that, all bets are off.

I agree with your takes. Geno at least has a high upside so if we take a QB at #8, I hope it's him. I agree that Barkely doesn't differentiate himself from Nassib very much and that both of them seem close to their ceilings and are generally underwhelming in talent. I don't see that either of them have intangibles that will transcend their ordinary physical skills. Because of my lack of confidence in the QBs, I would be perfectly fine with drafting EJ Manuel in the 2nd round or Bray in the 3rd. Either of them have just as much chance as succeeding as Smith/Barkley/Nassib and both have much higher upsides, IMO. So, at this point (and it's still early) I prefer best player available at #8 and then QB later based on risk/reward.

This made me laugh. On the subject, I agree with eball and Hopeful in that Marrone probably doesn't see Nelson as a fit for his offense. Then you factor in the ACL rehab and it's not that hard a decision to make. Also agree that David Nelson is not comparable to Marques Colston although for the most part, Badobeelz has been a nice addition to our board. Let's all play nice btw.

Thank you Dibs. Added it to my bookmarks. Much appreciated.

Post #16. Yes. Arguably Ryan has the best receiving weapons in all of football. You have to think that having Roddy White, Julio Jones, and Tony Gonzales to throw to would significantly boost the passing stats of most QBs.

Great avatar btw. How'd you come across that?

I dunno. If it is, the pendulum should be swinging back our way pretty soon.

I figured you'd see it as soon as you posted but it's been a while since I gave you a hard time.

Yeah, Brown Bear mentioned that.

You make a strong argument. Some of these guys shake themselves. Numerous people here point to Jim Kelly as a person who was most likely a Class I, A-hole who reformed himself. But your point is well taken.

We all know the Bills suck independently of the Patriots. It's been written here numerous times how incredible it is that in a league designed for parity that the Bills could miss the playoffs 13 seasons in a row. Hopefully in our lifetime that will change and Cheatriots*** fans will curse the name of the Buffalo Bills.

We routinely talk about divisional opponents on The Wall. What are you so angry about? Long winter in Anchorage?

Well that was nice of Les Miles.

I don't know much about the kid except that he seems like a very talented a-hole. Speaking purely to the football side, it's possible that he's received bad coaching and has generally played against better teams. Knowing what little I do about the guy, I'd be alright with the Bills taking him in the 3rd based purely on his elite "arm talent." I see where he averaged over 8 yards per attempt during his Tennessee career, had a decent TD-INT ratio and became a rarely-sacked QB by the time he was a senior.