WhitewalkerInPhilly

It's not that he's a bad fit. In fact, I think he did a pretty good job. I think what some people are worried about is that Kiko showed some definite flaws in his run defense. He overpursued at times. WOLB would take advantage of Kiko's impressive speed and take advantage of his impressive skill level at diagnosing coverages. Of course, if he gets some experience and coaching at run stopping he would still be a good choice for MLB, but if there is a really great candidate who could hold it, that would be an incredible front 7.

Just saw his highlight video and looked at his scouting report. He doesn't have ideal size, but I wouldn't guess it looking at the tackles he made. If we could get him in the third (or late second, I'm holding out for that trade down) that could be a steal and I'm salivating at the idea of him paired with Kiko.

I've found a really great NY Times article from a few years ago when the Jets were prepping to play the Titans with Schwartz as DC. It's an insightful read. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/23/sports/football/23titans.html?pagewanted=all Yeah, this has been nagging at me. Look, I love Kiko and he did a great job, a phenomenal job of calling defensive plays and being a coverage LB. He did struggle against the run (they all did) and while I think he'll improve I would love it if we got a real run killer in the middle and put Kiko as the WLB where he should get even more interceptions.

That actually is a fair criticism. Whether or not the way he runs a 4-3 works, and certainly the Wide 9 philosophy ought to be debated. What was annoying me was the immediate "OMG WE CLEARLY PLAYED A 3-4 AND NOW WE'RE GOING BACK TO 4-3 DOOMED!" talk I have seen here and on many, many other websites.

I do find it hilarious that when people were considering Wade, there were innumerable cries of "But Mario Williams doesn't want to play 3-4 OLB! This is going to be a disaster!" and now we're hearing "Oh great, we're moving away from 3-4? This is going to be a disaster!" Yeah, it's not like we have any speedy pass rushers such as Mario Williams and Jerry Hughes. Obviously, I blame buddy. But I think you answered your own question on the LB front. Yes, we ran a lot of nickel and dime, which require far fewer LB's. I believe I made a most of that effect in the last offseason. But by god, did our run defense suck. Again. I don't know if LB is the first need, but we obviously need help either with new bodies or better coaching. Schwartz has a great track record on run defense with the latter.

I feel like I need to slam this post against the skull of everyone who is freaking out about having a 4-3 coach.

We're Bills fans.We'll find anything to complain about. Well,that's strange, because I could have sworn that those were the two areas where the Buffalo defense really struggled this year. Are you saying that our panned head coach looked for a qualified, experienced defensive specialist who has experience in fixing the things we need fixing while keeping on the personnel who excelled at their jobs? DOOOOOOOOOM!!!!

We pretty much already ran a 4-3 anyway. This is promising to hear. I've already gone from "Oh no, we're doomed, Pettine is leaving!" to "You know, this might be the perfect fit to finish the job. I like Mike Pettine. I like Cleveland. When they are not in competition with the Bills I would like them to do well. But I think we all seriously need to accept the stopping the run was not one of Pettine's specialties. Schwartz has experience as a DC, his temperament suits it well, and he works with our current defensive front. With Henderson doing a frankly stunning job with the DB's last year, and leaving Schwartz to finish the LB corps (his specialty) I think we might be right on track.

This

If Watkins is there at nine, I would take him in a heartbeat. At that spot, I think he's the best choice. Of course, I would love to see the bills trade back to mid-first round and take a TE. That would help with the O-line, and give EJ a nice, big target over the middle who can speed up the field. Chandler is alright, but we could use an upgrade.

Nice. It was a good article to read. And now to get into the muck... I remember before last year's draft, the biggest comparison of EJ to anyone in the 2012 draft was Ryan Tannehill: big, good arm, and needing polish. I know that trying to liken anything the Bills do to the Dolphins is heresy, but bear with me for a moment. The first year, Tannehill had a number of streaks, for good or ill. He would be great for a few games, and then be awful for a stretch. Sounds like anyone we know? This year the Dolphins went out and got targets for their young quarterback and with them, Tannehill improved quite a bit. They went 3-0 to start, and even with the Martin/Incognito debacle that left their O-line in shambles they still managed to beat the Patriots and were playoff contenders. I know that we can't simply assume the same thing, and I'm not here promising that EJ will become a franchise great but I'm excited to see what he can do with a full, healthy offseason to work on the timing with Stevie, Woods and Goodwin (and hopefully a great, dynamic TE).

Like everyone else says, that's a pretty damn big "if" If the franchise tag is an option, I would be shocked, stunned, gobsmacked if the Saints didn't franchise tag him and burn half the roster to keep him. That said, if he by some miracle becomes available, the Bills have some cap room, and I would trade out Chandler for him in a heartbeat. Pitta would be a great option!

I would be happy in repeating our drafting strategy from last year. The Bills have had great luck with 2nd round picks in recent years: Aaron Williams is settling in nicely at safety. Glenn has been very solid at LT, Woods has been great, and Kiko has been a revelation. The I think there's a lot of talent for LG and TE in the second round, which is where I would prefer the Bills take them. Ehh, for me, the LB would have to be a real monster that could be anywhere on LB spot. Bradham is the weakest link in our front 7, and that's saying something. I think it's an issue we can resolve affordably in free agency, a la Manny Lawson. For me, I would like to see WR/TE at #9 or lower (no trading up), OG or whichever we don't choose in round 1, and TE or OG in round 3.

How is our run defense this bad?

Ok, I think we need to fire out ST coach. I can't stand another of those returns.

rg3 anyone?

i would imagine robey. we really don't have a better choice for covering the slot, though i guess brooks could do in a pinch.

I've Never Understood it either. i suppose i should qualify myself: Are you talking about getting a really great will linebacker? If so, i can imagine that it would be a great aquisition, as bradham is probably the weakest link in our front 7.we had a lot of catches over the middle on third and long, so getting a great lb/s hybrid would be nice. but what i'm always hearing is a demand is for a pass rushing outside linebacker, as if mario and hughes weren't combining for 23 sacks so far. lawson might not set your world on fire, but he's great for setting the edge on runs. at this point, we have reasonable options at very reasonable prices at strongside linebacker. offense worries me more.

I Think It's fair to say they should be a factor. sadly we seem to be missing aaron williams, who has surprised me, but i thinks it's fair to say that two best db's will be back.

I haven't seen a lot of this mentioned around, but I'm really stoked to see how the defense plays this time out. Gronk is out again, so that's one matchup I was worried about not happening. Amendola beat us in the slot last time, but I want to see Robey matched up now that he's got some experience. Meanwhile, the CB corps is now refreshed. Gilmore is back and working, while McKelvin has made a huge leap forward. Byrd is back too. Meanwhile, the Patriots O-line is dinged up. I'm just hoping that, even if the Bills lose, that it ends with them putting a clinic on how to shut down Brady.

I haven't seen a lot of this mentioned around, but I'm really stoked to see how the defense plays this time out. Gronk is out again, so that's one matchup I was worried about not happening. Amendola beat us in the slot last time, but I want to see Robey matched up now that he's got some experience. Meanwhile, the CB corps is now refreshed. Gilmore is back and working, while McKelvin has made a huge leap forward. Byrd is back too. Meanwhile, the Patriots O-line is dinged up. I'm just hoping that, even if the Bills lose, that it ends with them putting a clinic on how to shut down Brady.

It's hard to say what kind of outcome I want. If EJ were playing, I would yell and scream to win, to give him one more shot to see what we have with him. With Thad playing...a win ignites a firestorm about who should be starting, and a loss gives us a better draft pick but tells us absolutely nothing about our status at QB. However, I *will* be eagerly watching the defense. This is as close to fully healthy and clicking the Bills have been on defense in a while: Gilmore and McKelvin are back, seeming like a surprisingly good CB tandem. Robey has gotten bloodied, and I am curious to see him against Amendola again. With the Patriots' O-line dinged up, I want to see Mario, Hughes, Kyle and Dareus going full steam. In the end...I don't know, but if the end result is an absolute beating on Brady that wears him down for when the playoffs start (and if this slides the Pats to the #3 seed) I would be happy.

I'm hoping so too. I do wonder if Evans might be converted to TE, since he's a pretty big WR. While I would like a big, tall, heavy and fast WR in the Megatron mold, I think the Bills have a decent amount of talent in Stevie, Woods and Goodwin. Chandler is our only decent tight end, and he is hardly a game breaker. He had a number of drops, is pretty slow, and is coming off a contract season. He seems like a ripe candidate to go. Then, I would take a guard in the second round. I really don't get the insistence that we go for a tackle, and try to convert him to a guard. We managed to get Glenn in the second round two years ago, so I'm pretty sure we can find someone then.

OK. while we're piling on the troll (deservedly):he has something of a point: I don't want Marrone pleased with the result of this season. I want him to keep that frustration burning all offseason as he plans for next year. I want him interviewing people to change out some of the coaching staff, looking through prospective free agents, looking through film on draft prospects. The Colts had a fire sale the year they released Manning, cutting a lot of their veterans. They have now made the playoffs two years in a row. This year, the Chiefs got a brand new head coach, brought in a QB that people said was mediocre to good and then built a dominating team. Marrone isn't making excuses and 6-10 or 7-9 is about or better what national media expectations were. I just wish we'd defied them for once.

Kiko got robbed.