ColdBlueNorth

I was an Urbik fan last year in the limited action I saw he moved guys, but if he consistently poops himself in practice and in live action then I don't care if they give him the axe. Hangartner is more than adequate to play guard - won't get much of a push, but expect solid pass protection and at least he gets his hands on defenders. That is more than Urbik did last night. Not hitting the panic button - it is like 3 weeks from their first camp so things have to be a mess, but that O-line needs a lot of work. We may not be seeing the final group that will start, but I do not agree with calls to move Wood to guard again. Center is where he belongs and the coaches have to fill in the other pieces. Hope they have their eyes on some better castoffs than we have seen - although Pears looks good. The only thing holding him back is being named after a fruit.

at least that is the way it looks as of now... Stand Off I thought it was time for something other than an Evans post.

This is one of those cases where stats don't outright lie, but they do distort the truth. 10th per attempt, but we were dragging the bottom of the bowl in attempts per game - somewhere around 25th in the league. Granted, I will agree that it was not just an o-line run blocking issue; although that did factor in at the worst times. Our team has been so pathetic passing the ball the last few years that teams have always loaded the box on us against the run and dared us to pass. Fitz finally started making them pay a bit for that. A better passing game will loosen things up for our running game, I would like to see Easley out there and a tightend that forces the linebackers/safeties to stay home or cover them out in the flat. That, and Gailey has to be a bit more patient with the ground game as well. When we needed the tough yards we couldn't get them and the coaching staff would give up on the ground game. Running backs like Jackson need more carries to get on track than he normally got per game last year. I can understand if the team seriously falls behind and has to catch up through the air. The Bills had their share of those. It is better with Jackson in there, and maybe Spiller will develop into something.

I am in the camp that there is a lot of upside with our line - if they can stay healthy, but you have to consider other things when using those teams above as a barometer. Green Bay has arguably one of the quickest arms behind their line in Aaron Rogers. I get to see him a lot living in the Midwest and he gets the ball out fast - super fast so they can have a sub-par o-line and little running game and be successful. The Steelers have Big Ben, and regardless of your feelings about him, he can have 3 guys hanging off of him and would be dragging them to his right while still throwing a catchable ball across his body to his left. Tampa Bay had a ridiculous breakout rookie running back Blount who really kept defenses guessing. Chicago squeaked into the post season in a weak division, but we know that Cutler is pretty good at escaping pressure and has a rocket of an arm. I agree to a point that O-Lines do not have to be able to hold a block for 4-5 seconds, but unless you have the types of QB's above you need a good running game. I hope our improvements on the O-line are in that area so we can get some balance back there for Fitz. It will also be interesting to see how all of our rookie receivers develop this year. To have that quick throwing game you have to have that timing down with your receiving crew - had to be hard last year for Fitz with all those new faces.

You took the words right out of my mouth. Look at attendance: The Bills have stunk - true, but the amazing thing is that the fans still support them and usually fill up the Ralph. Imagine if they actually started being more competitive? NFL Toronto is a joke and I have never liked the Bills FO flirting with that city or playing games there. They can't sell me the whole regionalization thing with Toronto. There are enough Bills fans in Ontario that cross the PB to catch games right where they should be in Buffalo. It is always nice to see your team constantly thrown out there by the pundits for every expansion talk. If you can believe Goodell, he adamantly opposes moving the Bills.

I really enjoyed the amount of controversy the last PFW Fitz discussion generated SJBF, and although we all do not agree, it is subjects like these that get those opinions out in the open. Once again too few stats to say that much about the player. That Whitner and Bryd were in on so many tackles says more to me about our front seven than about those players in particular. I don't dislike Donte, and I think he is pretty average as a safety, not big enough to be a real threat to lay the big hit on a running back or tightend, not fast enough and lacking the coverage skills to provide great support for our DBs. He is good, diagnoses plays, and is versatile, but not exceptional in any area. When I watch him I always seem to catch him being dragged downfield for an additional 4-5 yards, or getting over late to defend a pass. He seems to be in the right place to make a tackle, but it seems to be once the play has already gained the needed yards rather than preventing the play. Maybe it is asking too much and he would be more successful with a better defensive line so he could come in clean, just not sure if he is a difference maker on defense. Hard to tell on a team that ranked 32nd in the league against the run...too much blame to go around.

She's not all "that"...I mean she's totally more hot than any girl I ever dated, and she is definitely easy on the eyes, and she has a killer body, and all the guys would envy you and... and she is so young that I am so going to hell... No wonder Ponder sucked last year. She could qualify as a legitimate distraction

Of those, only Nelson was a surprise - and the jury is still out, though hope is fading. I really thought we had our receiving tight end who could develop into a marginally competent blocker. Too bad for Everett with the spinal injury he was just starting to get onto the field - we have some of the worst luck with our TEs... now Nelson has migraines. I would just blow that off, but the Vikings Percy Harvin looks like an all star when he is playing yet migraines have sidelined him as well. I don't have them so I don't understand how debilitating they can be. I will assume pretty bad if they jeopardize your sport career. Since we can't seem to develop our own TEs Nix should just go after a FA like Boss, Miller, or Scaife. Hardy I never thought he played as big as he could and caught with his body rather than his hands - never a good combo when you are supposed to be a big possession type receiver with average speed that is supposed to out-jump and out-position smaller corners for the ball. Mike's weight and work ethic were question marks when he was drafted - In 2002 I liked McKinnie and to be honest he has been nothing but headaches and disappointment for the Vikes, but at least they got some miles out of the pick. Mike ate himself from the LT to the RT position from the get go, then from the RT to the injured list, from the injured list to the streets. Aaron Maybin had only one decent year at Penn against sub-par competition and there was not that body of consistent college work to justify his high-draft status. His lengthy holdout did nothing to help his reputation either. He has one more camp to push for a job, or he will finally get the sack he has never produced in a game. Nix did not make the same mistake with Dareus. For a fourth round pick Hairston was worth a gamble. The book on him is that he has a nasty streak that scouts and the new Bills FO like, and he seems to stay with his blocks and could be the best pass blocking RT we have had for a while. Don't know how well he will do trying to move folks in the running game and some scouting reports said that he also needs to grow up a bit and play with some more discipline and stamina. Watching clips of him(wish there were more) it looks like he has good feet and technique for a 336 pound lineman. In the few clips that I have watched he doesn't look strong, he has that soft-roundness to his middle and his legs look like they belong on a smaller human, but at the combine he was only second to Syracuse's Bartholomew in the bench press drill for Offensive Linemen. He could just be one of those big baby-faced guys who is naturally strong, but doesn't work the gym that much - that will change at the pro level, but it is not a bad thing to already be strong even if you don't look it. How does that saying go? There are plenty of NFL players who are "built like Tarzan yet play like Jane". He could push for a role at our RT spot considering where the bar is currently set - low.

I hope you right... that RT spot has been a revolving door of disappointing play for a while now. I think Wood has convinced Gailey that he can anchor the line better than Hangartner, but most folks have picked up on that...though Hang can backup the interior positions and would be worth retaining with our O-line injury history. Levitre was solid at LG, he is starting to play lower with more leverage and that "bend" that coaches look for...that was one of the things I didn't like about his rookie season play. I agree with you on Bell, and yeah I don't think it's a popular opinion. Coming off of knee surgery and toughing it out all year, we certainly have not seen the ceiling on what this kid can do. If he stays healthy and builds some more strength and stamina he could develop into a top-flight LT. He has all the raw tools that are pretty hard to find.

sorry if someone already posted this somewhere... http://espn.go.com/blog/afceast/post/_/id/28950/dont-go-changing-bills-show-faith-in-o The Bill's motley crew seems to be a tight group.

As others have noted it is a very flawed study using subjective terms like pressure without defining what that entails. It also does not take into account other factors like how many obvious passing downs a QB faced, not just how many drop-back attempts. QB's forced into 3rd and long situations with no running game will face defenses who sellout for blitzing and defending the pass. Last time I checked receivers drop the ball and can add to the "incompletion" stat. Fitz had a host of first year starters at the WR position last year and there were a lot of dropped passes. Fitz can be inaccurate (or it could be that his rookie receivers sometimes run a poor or the wrong route - I'm not in the huddle), but he usually put the ball where the receiver could make a play on it, he often had to tuck the ball and run to escape pressure with no time to throw and no obvious hot read. Fitz is 4th on the list of rushing QBs and 3rd for rushing yards per attempt. He also sucked at protecting the ball and fumbled and lost the ball more often than anyone would like to see, and I put it out there so folks know I am not just reading all the positives into his play. Fitz looked like a guy under a new offensive coach, in a new offensive system, with rookie receivers, no consistent O-line performance (for a variety of reasons), no TE to speak of, with an offense that couldn't buy a running game, and a defense that couldn't get off the field... I think Chan and Buddy made the right call. At the very least let's wait till they fix some of the broken crap around Fitz and if his play does not improve the team invests in another QB (which they will do anyways just to groom someone for the future). I for one would like to see what Fitz could do with a better supporting cast and a defense that can take some of the burden off the offense and give them more chances with the ball. Just to seal my point here is a video reminder from the distant past of last season. Stevie had what... about 5-6 dropped passes that day? A pressure situation in OT with the Steelers zone blitz (picked up fairly well, but as a QB you know there is a good chance that Harrison is going to nail you after the throw anyway) and there's Fitz, as he did that entire game, standing up to the pressure and delivering a perfect strike. Would we have been talking differently about him if his receiving core had come to play that game and we had trounced the Steelers - I wonder??? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGJWBWcFD_4

You go John {insert fistbump]... A very subjective topic to begin with... performing well under pressure? How does that take into account, o-line, injuries to key personnel, rookie WR starters, how your defense can't get off the field to give you more chances, etc... we could always go back to captain checkdown till folks realize that almost every down a Bills QB faces pressure and at least Fitz takes some shots downfield rather than dump it 3 yrds when we need 12.

Until the Bills coaching staff can prove they can out-coach and out-prepare the teabagging genious, this team will be going no where. As far as cheating goes... I hate to say it, but give Belichick a week or two and sans cheating he could probably have beaten most Bills teams while playing his second string guys. If there is a next year for the NFL, I am looking forward to seeing what Wannstedt and our defensive staff come up with. I don't expect changes overnight, but I do think we added some pieces to the puzzle to make Bill and Tom lose some sleep. Drafting monster D-lineman who can stop the run yet are capable of crushing the pocket and putting some heat on the QB is clearly aimed at: Eliminating the ability of Brady to sit comfortably in the pocket - getting guys right in his face. Taking away the ability to spread us out and gash us or setup short yardage situations with the run. Creating the ability to effectively rush Brady with a three or four man front and still get pressure... Also, with less men committed to the rush we can put more guys in coverage on third or fourth and long situations where NE likes to overload our coverage and create mismatches. Say what you want about our current FO, they know that we will probably never beat NE in a scoring race. To get past them this team needs to be able to stop them that is why they focused so heavily on drafting defense. Besides the fact that only a superior draft team comprised of Donahoe, Mularky, Modrak and Jauron with Ralph assisting could have completely whiffed on one of the richest defensive drafts in history.

By all means, keep them coming and nice-a job Nick

Apologize ahead of time for the long post - stuck with sick kid duty today. Going on record now to say we will not be as bad as our record indicated last year, but it is trendy for pundits to put us at the bottom and folks stopped actually looking into our offseason moves and just assume that we will suck. Admittedly the Bills started off last year disastrously. They had a new coach who was implementing a new system, who also had a history of resurrecting failed QB careers. Captain check down could not be saved and Chan finally admitted what we fans knew all along. I give him a pass because coaches that play to every whim of fans and media will not last long. So here is our record after the week 6 bye: 3 pt loss to the Ravens 3 pt OT loss to the Chiefs 3 pt loss to the Bears 2 pt win against Det 18 pt win against Cin 3 pt OT loss against Steelers Blowout loss to the Vikes ( in that game we already had Wood out and we lost two more starting O Linemen in the first half, McKelvin was a knob, and Fitz and the center kept fumbling the snaps - understandable because of the new center and it was loud, I was there unfortunately. We knocked out Favre, but our 5 turnovers and Travares having a rare "on" day doomed us). 7 pt defensive win against Browns 3 pt win against the Felons By this time the team learns its out of the playoffs and Chan says all the right things about not quitting; however the truth is that they lose the following games against NE and the Jests in blowout fashion. There were a lot of winnable games in that list. With another year of Chan's system under their belt and with the upgrades on defense I think we have a shot at a much improved record. We are scheduled to play teams that really struggled last year, and as usual our greatest opponents are in our own backyard - NE and the Jets. I say we go 9-7 or 10-6... either way we would have to trade the farm to move up in the next draft to take a top rated QB like Luck who would come with the added benefit of the new capped pricing structure for rookies that I assume will be in place.

Right you are, and good catch. Moody will take on the college scouting role whereas Modrak had a VP title - not sure if the VP title actually entailed more responsibilities than "National Scout", or just sounds better. I do like that we have raided the Chargers and Steeler organizations, two organizations that have had a lot of drafting success. I agree that Doug is being groomed for the GM role - no stretch there seeing as they gave him the assistant GM title. I like Nix, but if he retires I'm not sure Doug could fill those shoes. Most of us remember how the Bills fell from greatness...Ralph fired Polian and he left to build a successful franchise in Indy while we were stuck with a string of incompetent GMs and a meddling owner that forced Butler and a very talented scouting department to make the exidus to San Diego where they built a successful franchise there. I don't blame Ralph for everything bad that has befallen the Bills, but he certainly is not blameless in driving this franchise into the turf. On a more positive note, folks clamoring for a QB should remember that Nix and Moody have a history with San Diego of finding franchise calibre quarterbacks with Brees and with Rivers. Hitting once on a franchise QB is hard enough, but nailing it twice speaks volumes about their ability to judge QB talent. There are no guarantees, but I believe that when they do invest a high draft pick on a QB he will be someone who has "the right stuff" that can eventually fill that franchise role.

they really already have his replacement in Doug Whaley who was in charge of the Steelers scouting of pro personnel for 10 years and was brought on February 2010. The official announcement said, "Whaley will oversee the pro personnel department and assist general manager Buddy Nix in all football-related administrative duties, along with college talent evaluation." With both Nix and Whaley already having years of experience directing successful scouting departments was there a need for Modrak, or anyone else for that matter to run college scouting for the Bills? They don't need a replacement for Modrak, and the time they gave him was most likely just to transition the duties to Doug.

Not going to sit here and ask why now, just glad he is moving on. He may not have selected the picks that have left this franchise in the gutter for the past decade, but he had to have a hand in creating the draft boards that ranked players. Those rankings more often than not left us bereft of competitive talent on this team. A turning of the page, and even if his talent evaluations weren't suspect there are simply to many chefs (Whaley and Nix) in the kitchen right now that have led scouting departments - he was dead weight either way,

Some folks have short memories - me included. I really didn't think about DBs as a draft need other than getting a safety before digging a bit. We had one year not so long ago where we had to put four DBs on injured reserve. Last year we lost Scott, Youboty, and McGee for some games and we could start out this year without Whitner and/or Florence. We needed some size in our backfield to compete with the larger receivers and NE TE duo... Finding quality DBs and having depth at the position is always a need. Hopefully some of our younger DBs step up this year, the new crop contributes, and the group stays healthy as a whole. Could be a big year to be a Buffalo DB - if we can stop the run QBs will be forced to throw (owing somewhat to our pathetic run defense, our DBs faced the second fewest attempts last year), if our front seven is as improved as we think they may be, we should be able to turn up the heat a bit and hurry those throws. Could translate into a big year for generating some turnovers.

I too would like to see Boss here - that would be a good solid pickup for this organization. Next year I am pretty sure we will see a QB taken, but they will need to find a few serviceable ones this year just to fill out the 2 backup positions. I rate Fitz as an above average QB, if you build a great defense around an above average QB an organization can make some noise. That, and there were a few hall-of-fame QBs last year that had better supporting casts, but put up worse stats than Fitz. Fitz's problems have always been consistency... he can rifle a pass and thread it between 3 defenders, or he can completely overthrow a wide-open receiver. Not sure if those are bad throws on his part or bad routes by a bunch of rookie receivers thrown into action last year. We will find out more this year.

True that. You cannot win championships without a great defense, good defenses put the ball in the hands of your offense more. If we didn't rank dead last at the end of last season, we were close to that in the time of possession battle. Teams could either slash our 32nd rank run defense, or if we did get them in 3rd and long we couldn't generate any pressure on opposing QBs to prevent completions. Shoring up the defense was priority one, and adding Dave Wannstedt gives a much needed infusion of experience, leadership, and knowledge that was lacking in our defensive schemes and execution. How can you not get excited about a defensive line that has a rotation with Dareus, Kyle, Troup, and a potential monster in Jasper, with Carrington on the edge. Throw in a Moats blitz now and then and god forbid if (big IF I know) Merriman recovers some of his old form. The Bills have had some good fortune in the past with linebackers that were supposedly in the twilight of their careers: Spielman, Paup, and Spikes to name a few. Studies have shown that reaching for a QB in the 1st round can set an organization back several years because the money that is tied up in the investment and the unwillingness of a franchise to give up on a failed prospect after so much investment. If the talent evaluators and the Bills staff did not see a QB worthy of the third pick, (we will not know for sure if they were sold on Newton till Gailey and Nix write some kind of autobiography - and does it really matter), then you grab the best player there. From what I have read, most folks that make their living ranking these prospects believe that Darius was the consensus #1 in this draft. They will grab a FA tightend, and some UFAs that didn't get taken. As far as the O-line, LT Bell made strides while coming back from knee surgery, and I like Levitre where he was at home at LG (he is athletic enough to pull and get out there in space). I like Woods at Center, and that moves Hangartner to the right guard spots or as a serviceable backup to all three interior spots. I liked Urbik before the injury at right guard, we have some intriguing prospects and Wang learning the LT ropes year 2 sans hand injury. With their draft of Chris Hairston they have a really good chance to shore up that right tackle spot with a road grader who played with Spiller and can open holes. Some pundits have Fitz running for his life this year, but if that line can stay in one piece for most of this year we have a good chance to run the ball. If the Bills can run the ball, Ryan will stay off the turf and will have a lot more options on 3rd and short. I like our young core of receivers and we have the potential receiving steal of the draft last year healthy and ready to compete for a spot. Glass half full for me - I like what Buddy and Chan are doing. It makes good football sense to me, and if folks want to gripe and moan and blast this post about how real football men build a team, they could always go back to Marketing folks running the franchise.

I don't know if we should pass on Stephen Paea. Strongest player at the combine, plays mean, can't be moved... has intangables like the bad-a$$ Simoan look With Paea, Kyle, Dareus, and Carrington on the line our linebackers can come in clean for the first time in years - heck, we could actually get away with a 3 or 4 man rush that actually...you know, rushed someone. I like Ayers, but if the Bills aren't sold on him there is a log-jam of 3rd-4th round LB talent IMO. Loved the 1st pick - Dareus is a MAN. Just couldn't understand folks wanting us to reach for offense when with our 32nd ranked run defense and pathetic pass rush the offense rarely sees the field.

Gawd, I hope he doesn't play like him - the days of having a 7-step drop and 4-5 seconds to find an open man are a thing of the past (unless you are facing the Bills pass rush). Also, Drew was about as mobile as a tree. Nice guy, big arm, but not one to sense the pass rush and be elusive. Just the resemblance in the face was bugging me and for me it clicked that his size and features reminded me of Drew - that's all. I argue with my wife all the time when she says this person looks like that person - no biggie. I like Gabbert - I just don't know if I 3rd overall pick like him. There are some safer bets to be made with the defensive prospects at that pick.

Just was looking his picture and his size and measurables and it clicked... Gabbert This guy we remember - just give him long hair Maybe a long lost relative

Not sure if someone posted this yet, but if anyone seriously admires Jerry Jones or the environment that organization fosters - they need help. I'm sure he's just lobbying for the place that spends the most $$$. He's not the only guilty party in that respect. I hope the new agreement finally puts an end to huge payoffs and contracts for rookies who have done nothing in the pros ala Aaron Maybin who had the audacity to hold out for more money and has shown nothing but a whole lot of weakness on the field. http://www.foxsportssouthwest.com/msn/02/22/11/Cam-Newton-Jerry-Jones-knows-how-to-find/landing_cowboys.html?blockID=415725&feedID=3742