Coach55

Oh - and We can't forget about Dick Jauron. He was never given a fair shot...

With these guys - we are definitely Super Bowl competitors JP Losman - this guy was awesome. We should consider picking him back up in the offseason. Derrick Dockery - not only was he highly paid, he deserved every penny. Mike Williams - although he wasn't good when he was with Buffalo, he is now a stud. Willis McGahee - Come on - he is flat out phenomenal. We could've saved a draft pick on Lynch and got someone else. Donte Whitner - best SS in his draft class Langston Walker - again - another phenominal lineman. We could've used the tackle support. Ryan Denney - A premier pass rusher, could easily start on most rosters Roscoe Parrish - Best punt returner - ever... stats don't lie Robert Royal - A stud who never got properly utilized There are definitely more, but I am missing a few...

Kendall Simmons - a plus for him is he played under Cowher for a SB winner.

Agreed - It has to be 1 of 2 things: 1. A succession plan 2. A new stadium

Russ is a marketing guy playing GM. He is not the guy that should be making player personnel decisions. His entire concern is making money for the team. Which he did very well in 2009 - partly because he jumped on TO. I have a strong feeling that Russ has been heavily involved in seeking out a "Big Name" coach because it helps Ralph's bottom line (i.e. you need to spend money to make money). Ralph promoted him because he "makes money". Period. We finally now have a player personnel guy who, to say the least, has knowledge of judging player personnel. Is Nix the answer, I don't know, but he can't be worse than Modrak/Guy with Russ doing the negotiations.

Someone else posted that he was waiting on the Player budget. Supposedly, Cowher wants to make sure he has the budget to make a competitive team. I wonder why he would want to do that...

How about Kirby Jackson - the only counterfeit Bill to make the team after the strike...

+1

I have always thought that TO was 1 and done here, looking for greener pastures after he proved he could be a good citizen (which he clearly did this year). However, I think he honestly likes a good chunk of the players (ala Fred Jackson, Lee Evans, etc.). His biggest gripe is he wants to play for a winner. If the Bills land either Cowher or Billick, in spite of the QB situation, they immediately become a contender with the core that they have - both have made it to the Super Bowl with average at best QBs. Thoughts?

That was Ray Bentley

Leif Larsen - Still holds bench pressing record for college combine Billy Joe "I don't know my plays" Hobert.

Backs that you truly need to consider: Earl Campbell - 78-80 he was just dominating 5081 Rushing Yards, 45 TD's Jamal Lewis - Rushed for 2066 yards in 2003 Shaun Alexander - 04/05 - 48 Rushing TDs 3576 Rushing yards Priest Holmes - 01-03 - 4590 Rushing Yards, 56 TD's Tomlinson - 02-07 - 9411 Rushing Yards, 105 TDs (that's averaging 1568 yds and 17.5 TDs a season!) Bo Jackson - 5.4 yards per carry over his career - stats are jaded due to his Baseball responsibilities and splitting carries with Marcus Allen - could've been the best ever.

Mike Viti...

Ah yes - the Canadian Comet...

Clarence Coleman Stan Gelbaugh

Since OC has already been claimed, I will be in charge of bribing the refs. A few key penalties (pass interference on an incomplete bomb, roughing the passer on timely intereception, holding on a 30 yard run) and some favorable ball spots and it won't matter who the rest of the team is. It is a game of inches and when the refs are giving you yards, you'll come out ahead...

I honestly am not a huge fan of either, but I will defend both: Maybin - When we drafted him, everyone knew he was a multi-year project due to his raw talent. He was only a 1 year starter at Penn. The team was only looking for 1 dimension out of him this year - a pass rush, which he clearly failed to deliver. He could become a decent player, however, there is also a very good chance that he could be done by next year. Given our weakness at OLB and his small size, we should really consider switching to a 3-4 and put him at Weakside Backer. Hardy - Again, when we drafted him, he was expected to be a project. Hardy had good hands and tall stature, but his route running was suspect. Last year he failed to shine and was outshined by 7th round pick Steve Johnson, whose biggest attribute happened to be his route running ability (Is there a theme here). Throw in the injury last year and the acquisition of Owens and all of a sudden Hardy is down on the chart. Is he starter material or is he a bust? I don't know, he hasn't gotten the reps even in practice. With Owens here for a year, he may have been tutored enough to turn into a quality starter. Or he could be another bust.

I am not a huge fan of Ellis, but we need to cleanse the "old mindset" and years of losing ways. Quite honestly, Schobel may have to go as well, but I believe he is a good enough player to overcome the team's losing attitude. There were some other players I want to expunge for that reason as well, but like them too much to put them on this list. I agree that Butler is arguably the best tackle on the team, but he has not made it through a full season. I would rather have a person who has 90% as good, but will be there for the whole season. We have a lot more talent on this line (albeit almost all interior) that people give credit to. We were just decimated with injuries. Between Hangman, Levitre, Wood, Simmons and now, if we keep him, Incognito, we have 5 quality starters for 3 positions.

If we blow up this squad in the offseason, they need to clean house and I mean really clean house. This includes dumping people who may not be ready to go just to clean out the regime. Just going to the roster, I think the following people must be gone: Owens - He is not going to want to return. His drops have been painful to watch this season. Reed - Years have gone by where we have heard about his great route running and good run blocking, he is part of the old regime, needs to go. Parrish - His fumbles have killed us one too many times. Fitzpatrick - clearly not the answer, starter or backup Edwards - Did not think I would be saying this, as I am a big fan of his, but he can not win. His head is just shot (I will bite my tongue as he shows up elsewhere and leads them to the playoffs). Butler - His talent is there, but he is too injury prone. If we could trade him for a draft pick, I would do so. Denney/Kelsey - We have spent too many years with this 2 headed monster Whitner - needs to go. There are other fringe players on defense that I would also dump, but most would have some value as backups or spot starters (i.e. Shobel, Ellison.) So next years lineup would look something like this: QB - 1st Round Pick RB - Jackson WR1 - Evans WR2 - Hardy WR3 - Johnson TE - Nelson LT - 2nd Round Pick LG - Levitre C - Hangartner RG - Wood (Simmons platooning) RT - Bell - If we keep Incognito, move Levitre to LT, Wood to LG and Incognito to RG DE - Schobel DT - Williams DT - Stroud DE - Ellis OLB - Poz (yes I am moving him outside) OLB - Mitchell MLB - 3rd Round Pick or DiGiorgio CB - McGee CB - Florence/McKelvin S - Byrd S - Wilson Ideally, I would like to replace Mitchell and Ellis (maybe another year and Maybin will be better?) thoughts?

Losman <

Throw in the fact that our 2 starting corners have missed most of the season

Accuracy and Mechanics are not his issue. He has no pocket presence and is too slow to make a decision. On top of which, as soon as he starts to get pressure, he caves like a house of cards. Oakland can have him.

Over the course of the past two/three years it has been discussed that Marshawn Lynch was always a "bruising" back and Fred Jackson was more of a "finesse" back. I find it ironic that the more real description is that Jackson is actually more of a bruiser and fights with power where Lynch is a dancer and although materially larger plays as a finesse back. (I know they weigh the same, but Lynch is several inches shorter).

Agreed, but Levitre may be good enough to play right tackle if we shuffle the line a bit.

Question - given the improved line play in recent weeks, one has to ask - Could Kendall Simmons become a future full-time starter? He is a former 1st round pick and started for two Superbowl winning Pittsburg Steelers teams. He is only 30 and is finally recovering from his torn achilles tendon. He should atleast bring must needed depth to the roster. If he continues to play at a high level, it should give us 5 starter quality lineman (Wood, Levitre, Hangman and Butler). Obviously we need to pick up a left tackle, but otherwise, I think the remaining 80% of the line will actually be decent. You could use anyone of the following combonations: LT, Levitre, Wood, Simmons, Butler LT, Butler, Wood, Simmons, Levitre LT, Levitre, Hangman, Wood, Butler etc. Thoughts?