Never NEVER Give-up

Sorry, isn't that Naaman's number? He could sell it to Peyton and retire!!!

Now that's contrarian thinking. I wouldn't put it past the fish to screw-up a Manning signing, but I am more concerned with winning than pundits. We need pass rushers and will need them even more if Manning plays in Miami.

As an aside, if one thinks the Bills are the red-headed step-child in the division now, wait and see what happens if Miami inks Manning. The Bills will be considered the whipping boy of the AFC East!! Talk about being irrelevant! All the more reason to be serious about Mario Williams.

As I lay here in bed, between Kate & Faith, I will go on record and say as long as we get Mario Williams in FA, we can draft the best player on our board regardless of position and the we'll be OK. WR or OT might be the way to go there and then focus on the defense after that. Now, back to the ladies - bye!

Buddy won't do it and I wouldn't blame him. Freeny's on the wrong side of 30 and we're a young club. Just when we're ready to contest for the top, he could be done or hurt - and he will certainly be tying-up oodles of cash / cap space. He was great, but that window is closed in Bflo.

You'll never getthe chance . . . . the guy behind her is checkin her out, Big Time!

Did anyone see the Doug Whaley article in this morning's Bflo News - going by what he said, it tells me they are hell-bent on re-signing Stevie: "If you look at the teams consistently competitive, they are consistently hitting on their draft choices," he said. "That's why I think Buddy and I have clicked so well, because that's our philosophy. You piece free agents in but you want to hit on as many draft choices as you can and then re-sign those guys. That's where I think you can get depth and compete." Although the following doesn't pertain to Stevie - I love the overall philosphy: "It's pretty obvious where our glaring needs are," Whaley said. "I tell people what I think is a very promising thing is from my background, you build a team that's consistent from inside out. So if you look at the inside of our offensive line, defensive line, we're pretty solid there. We start getting the outside guys, the edges, somebody to complement (receiver) Steve (Johnson), a pass rusher. Those are those outside pieces; now we're a complete team. So that's where I think we're heading." You gotta like this guy!

can someone post the actual pic here (darned restrictions at work !)

Stevie, by his ability to gain separation, can do it all: the crossing patterns, ins, outs, sideline patterns, go patterns too (remember how open he was against the Steelers, re: drop). No, he is not the fastest, but because he can gain separation, he doesn't need to be. Lee Evans could fly, but has a much more difficult time gaining separation. That and that Chan wanted him to run underneath patterns that he wasn't comfortable with made him expendable. I am sure if the Bills knew we'd lose 4+ receivers to injury, they'd have kept Evans. But heck, he got hurt too, and missed most of the Ravens season. The Bills want a flyer, but one who's also big/strong enough to go over the middle. That's why they have such high hopes for Donald Jones and Marcus Easley. But with their injury histories, we may see a FA WR or a draft pick WR - one that is fast and versitile.

If healthy, our DB's are solid. Yeah, OK, they looked bad last year when we couldn't pressure the QB, but that was deceiving - they are a solid group. So why screw with it? I'm sure there will be a draftee or 2 and some street FA's, but this is a solid core that should be left alone. Focus should be on defensive edge (rushers) and LB's. Also focus on WR, back-up QB and OL depth.

Yes, I'd do it for NEXT Year's number one.

Didn't the Jets draft him after they won their Super Bowl ?!?!?!?!?!?!?

One Step Forward (Stevie develops into a very good receiver) Two Steps Back (1- Bills create vacancy at WR by not signing Johnson, and 2- now need to choose between replacing him or going after another important puzzle piece (other position of need).)

Geeze. This guy WAS such a monster in Tenn. Got his money and loafed in Washington. Not a team-guy obviously as Belechik cut him. And now the Bucs who want to stay young and build. I originally thought his issue was no desire to play in a 3-4, but it turned out that he just no longer had the desire to get after it once he got rich in Washington. Sad actually.

I thought he was picked up by San Diego (translated - Whales Fagina)

Ranking the NFL quarterbacks: A look at the NFL's top 40 quarterbacks; league perception is a key ingredient The No. 1 thing I learned during 14 years in the NFL is that while there's a great difference between perception and reality, perception drives reality. It's true. Owners, general managers and even scouts aren't immune to building a profile of a player that's at least partly driven by perception, and they make decisions in part based on those perceptions. Perception becomes belief. It's not laziness, or really wrong, just a part of the culture of football. Perception is created through a combination of things -- the inherent small sample sizes of football, the emotion of the game, the size of the event and also the moment. How you perform on one big stage can stick with you forever, even in the evaluations of people who should know better. (Imagine the league perception of Joe Flacco today if Lee Evans had held on to that ball. How much more "clutch" would he be? How much better of a leader? All for the same read, the same accurate pass.)

Right!! And all players should get to play and everybody should get a trophy at the end!!

Some thoughts . . . I am neither for nor against the Pro Bowl, and I only watched 10 - 15 minutes, but, The players like it because most have a clause in their contract ($$) They only want it in Hawaii . . . they use it as a family vacation. (Maybe they deserve the vacation, but they forget quickly why they are there - Aaron Rodgers' quote nails it.) They won't play hard because they don't want to risk an injury, besides, most guys hadn't played in a month. Robert Edwards? To avoid a situation like his - eliminate the Beach Volleyball Game!! Rose / Fosse - Fosse separated his shoulder on the play but played several more years (just saw a MLB Channel Special on the 50 Greatest Collisions in MLB History - Rose-Fosse was #1) NFL Braintrust needs to come up with a better way to handle this farce.

Agreed - and if he was so good in Green Bay, why did they wave good-bye to hiim??

Agreed (except for the Erik comment????) I too am concerned if the Bills let him go, we take a step back by creating ANOTHER hole. We need to build on 2011 so the agony was not all for naught. Keep the performers and add guys where we have gaps.

Apples & Oranges. To 'go after' a DB with a bad leg by throwing in his direction is fine, in fact, prudent. But to 'go after' the same DB by diving at his bad leg is beneath bush league. To 'go after' a player with a head injury, by hitting him in the head is also beneath bush league. That said, after the NFL and a SF reporter looked at all the film, they concluded there were no discernable efforts to hit Kyle Williams in the head

Wrong Keith Ellison. The Congressman is 49 yrs old. The 'game' LB is much younger.

From The Senator: While it looks like we finally have a decent TE in Scott Chandler, I coveted Vernon Davis in the 2006 draft. I think Donahoe might have drafted him too, had the 49ers not taken him 2 picks before we drafted Whitner. Totally agree. Davis was the one I thought the Bills should draft. When he went to SF, I had no other player targeted as a must have, so I was ambivalent about Whitner. In the end, it wasn't a geat pick for us. George Wilson is proving himself a better Safety.

As Jerry Seinfeld would say, "That's a shame."

Bills Post-draft grade: B Summary: Leading up to the draft, there were many questions about whether the Bills would take a quarterback. After all, Ryan Fitzpatrick had no real security, and, if Cam Newton had fallen to Buffalo at No. 3, I suspected Buddy Nix would pull the trigger. Newton didn't fall; the Bills went for defense; and I wrote then that Fitzpatrick should "feel good about this draft" because he was "clearly the preferred starter." Fitzpatrick got off to a good start, and the Bills doubled down in giving him a contract extension. As for the picks, I'd say Buffalo confirmed the grade. Great value, so-so on need. Marcell Dareus gave them 15 starts and looks every bit like a versatile, disruptive defensive lineman who could be productive in almost any system. I'm not yet ready to say he's a Pro Bowl lock, but the ceiling is there, no question. I said third-round pick Kelvin Sheppard should be ready to help early, and he played in every game, giving the Bills nine starts. Second-rounder Aaron Williams has some growing to do, but he should start in 2012. Da'Norris Searcy has a chance to develop after a switch to safety. Chris Hairston also gave Buffalo some starts as an injury replacement. This grade rises if Dareus reaches a Pro Bowl level. New grade: B+ +++++++++++++++++++ Dolphins Post-draft grade: B- Summary: You can't get less sexy on draft day than taking an interior offensive lineman at No. 15 overall, but the Dolphins were clearly targeting their run game. They got Mike Pouncey, then went for running back Daniel Thomas in Round 2. Even without scaring a lot of defenders away from the line of scrimmage with the passing game, the draft paid dividends. Reggie Bush was a key component, but Pouncey helped the run game immensely, and the Dolphins went from 22nd in rushing yards per game in 2010 to 11th in 2011. Fullback Charles Clay, a steal in the sixth round, was also part of that. Clyde Gates (formerly Edmond) still has a ways to go, but, overall, you have to say Miami did OK given the first-year production. It wasn't a great value draft, but the dividends were tangible and -- I'll harp on this again -- it looks better given that this team was far closer to a .500-plus record than many realize. New grade: B ++++++++++++++++++ Patriots Post-draft grade: C+ Patriots Summary: After the draft, I called this a mixed bag because, although the Patriots acquired more picks and were able to get some decent value in at least one spot with Ryan Mallett, I also thought they might have been outsmarting themselves by not getting any useful defensive help outside of Ras-I Dowling. At the time, I wondered, "Where is the pass-rush help? Why not try to maximize this window of brilliance from Tom Brady and get better now?" Well, Dowling went into the draft with injury concerns, and those have continued. All in all, I see a draft in which I saw outside linebacker, wide receiver and defensive end as big needs and the Patriots got nothing to speak of in any of those spots. The pass rush hasn't been a disaster this season, but the Patriots really could have used some young talent there. And although Stevan Ridley came on, I'm not sure his presence on the team changed anything for 2011. After all, Danny Woodhead and BenJarvus Green-Ellis (both undrafted) were doing a decent job. In April, I gave the Patriots a C for needs and a B-minus for value because I can see value as they continued to stock picks. Nate Solder is a keeper, and Belichick's work to keep that offensive line in good shape has been outstanding, but I still wonder whether the Patriots could have done more on defense. Again, there's always future help to consider, but this is what we know now. New grade: C+ ++++++++++++ Jets: Post-draft grade: B Summary: I called Muhammad Wilkerson one of the best values in Round 1 after the Jets got him at No. 30. If he had stayed another year at Temple, I think we'd be talking about him as a likely top-10 pick for 2012. And although he got 16 starts, he's still developing for a defense that took a step back in 2011. Given the jump in competition from Temple's slate to the AFC East, I'd say Wilkerson held up pretty well, but is he a star in the making? Not sure. After that, Kenrick Ellis and Bilal Powell saw at least some of the field, but we can't draw any conclusions on those two yet. Jeremy Kerley got a lot of reps, caught 29 passes and looks as if he has a future in the slot. Not bad, but it's too early to say there might be a star in here. The Jets got some utility but had few picks and look a little light on ceiling for this draft unless Wilkerson jumps. New grade: C+