thewildrabbit

Buddy Nix making this choice for him in the third round had everyone perplexed, as when he was announced as the Bills choice in the third. That Mike Mayock fumbled thru his pages of notes, as the NFL network went to a commercial. When they returned all Mayock would say is he had this kid graded as a fifth round pick, simply because he had no other info on him at that time. Nix traded up to draft him too. Look at how long it took for Josh Reed to develop, and even then he wasn't very good. The Bills wasted a #2 pick on him.

I really can't judge EJ from only 10 games. Especially with that supporting cast he had around him. Scott Chandler was the teams leading receiver with 62 receptions. He ranked 62nd last year To put that in perspective, Denver had 5 receivers ranked higher. From what I saw of EJ in that funky fast paced offense that Hackett installed. When the run game failed (which was quite often) then the onus to win the game was placed entirely on the shoulders of a rookie QB. Which was entirely moronic IMO considering the state of that O line, receiving corps. To his credit EJ stepped up in a lot of games and played well despite his lack of a top supporting cast around him. The Bills could go for Texans RB Ben Tate in free agency as the lead back, use Spiller as the change of pace back. Then use Freddy as the 3rd down back to elongate his career. With a better O line these men would create great havoc. We can only hope the Bills FO grows some gray matter, and finds some top talent for LG & RT this off season. If they fail again this off season then I don't see how any Bills QB will be able to develop properly.

mememememememe....raises hand!! oh wait, I already answered this How many of them are elite? When you look at what Whaley was able to do with free agency and that trade with the Colts last off season. I have no doubt that he can fill in whatever LBers or defensive players the team needs in free agency. DE, Alan Branch. LBer, Manny Lawson. LBer, Jerry Hughes. OTOH, look what happened when they tried to replace the LG... I don't trust this scouting dept to find a top OT to replace Pears in the 2nd, 3rd rounds or later. I'm starting to think that Cordy Glenn was that elusive nut that a blind squirrel finds now and again. Who knows whats going to happen at LG this year.

Russ? Ralph?

Yea man, I recall. Its games like these against poor opponents that stand out to me so vividly. If the Bills look so completely inept against bad teams, then how on earth would they look against the very best, 49ers, Seattle, Denver. There was a reason why the team was 6-10. In the fourth quarter with the game on the line they can't control anything!! They beat the Panthers by one point. They beat the Ravens by 3 points. They beat the Dolphins by 2 points. They won 3 early games by a total of 6 points. In week 10 the Pittsburgh Steelers were a bad 3-6 team and their season reeling away. They play the Bills and manhandle the Bills O line in every aspect. Not only were the Bills unable to run or pass, as it was constant 3 downs and out. EJ was only sacked 3 times, but he had a very difficult time against a bad defense. EJ 22-39 for 155, and most of those yards at the end of the game in garbage time. Spiller 8 for 23 yards. Jackson 12 for 55 yards. In week 14 the 4-10 Tampa Bay Bucs was another debacle as EJ was intercepted 4x, 18 of 33 for 184 yards. Spiller 11 rushes for 22 yards, Jackson 5 rushes for 12 yards. It was a pathetic effort all around by that Bills O line. Like I said earlier, the Bills managed to find some top talent in free agency and in a trade for the defense last season leaves me to believe they can easily find another LBer or two the very same way. OTOH, look what happened when they tried to replace the LG! They ended up cutting both the starting replacement at G and the back up by week 6. They were exceedingly lucky to have the backup center available to step in at LG for the remaining games. Even then the backups were directly off the waiver wire. Would you want to finish the season with scrubs like those on the defense? Three of the five starters on that line should be quantified as backups, and replaced by three quality starting players. 16th in run blocking, 28th in pass blocking, and one of the very worst teams in sustaining offensive drives. They only had 10 drives that lasted 5 min or more all season. yet so many fans clamoring for skill players.... It boggles my mind. The Bills have at least two dire needs for that O line, possibly three. Look at this chart, 3 below average starters https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2014/02/13/projected-lineups-buffalo-bills/

They were dominated by the Bucs D line 6-27 to a rookie QB. They gave up 8 sacks in that first Jets game! The 3-6 Steelers D line owned the Bills O line in which the Bills offense didn't score a TD until the very end of the game with 5 seconds left on the clock. That last Patriot game 34-20 loss in which 3 of the 5 Bills O line graded in the red. This is the time of year that players need to stand out and make plays, and not curl up in a fetal position. The Bills were lucky they played a bad Jacksonville team near the end of the season, and an even worse Dolphin team with their offensive line in complete disarray, or it could have been a 3-4 win season.

Perhaps I did... I believe that teams make their own destiny. The better the scouting dept, usually the better the team IMO. Sure, every team makes mistakes on players, as you sometimes need to leave things to chance with certain elements. I reflect on this franchise when Chuck Knox took over and brought in his own chief scout in Norm Pollom. Who then changed the entire scouting dept. A whole lot of those players that Knox drafted ended up playing an average of about 6 years. Nearly 2x the normal average. 38 players in 5 years. One player he drafted went on to play in the NFL for 23 years.... Yep!! This team scrood the pooch with the O line in letting Levitre leave and then replacing him with very sub par players. While they built up the defense.... they fell on their face with the offense. So strange that a team starting a rookie QB would leave so much to chance with that O line.

The Bills had no gap discipline under wannstooge either. Last year a top 10 defense, and 5th against the pass, #2 in the league is sacks, and they still sucked. 28th against the run was why, and it didn't help win many games. If Whaley can pull free agents in like Manny Lawson, Alan Branch, and then trade for Jerry Hughes ....Mr 10 sacks. I see no reason as to why they can't find a decent FA linebacker to fill in. OTOH, look at what the hell happened when they tried to fill LG Andy Levitre's position. Complete and utter poop!! If it wasn't for bringing in Legursky to be the back up center for oft IR C Eric Wood. Then the team would have really been screwed. As it was they ended the season with a few scrubs off the waiver wire as backups. I just don't get the mentality that any player will do for the O line, and yet the team is in DIRE NEED of a LBer.

One LBer isn't going to make or break a team loaded with top #1 & #2 picks, as 9 of 11 current starters were drafted in the first two rounds. What will help that defense is a better scheme with more discipline, and gap control, along with the DT's NOT penetrating the line to get the sack. As opposed to staying in their gaps and controlling their gap, so those opposing O linemen can't get to the second level. To anyone who thinks that adding one top player on that O line isn't going to make a huge difference. Just look what happened to that line when they let a mediocre run blocker, who was the best pass blocking guard in the NFL , and graded as the best O linemen on that team leave. From 2012 run blocking #7, pass blocking #10. They let LG Andy Levitre leave and replaced him with bad players. To 2013, and #16 in run blocking, 28th in pass blocking. I already know what your going to say, that the QB made the difference. I say perhaps, to a degree. But the RB's didn't change, and the run blocking got 2x worse. The pass blocking went the proverbial ceramic convenience, from #10 to #28. Now think of what an excellent RT, and a very good LG would do for this years team. It would bring that unit to a top ten unit again, and with a QB who has the arm for the deep passing game, it would allow the Bills passing offense to make use of TJ Graham & Marquise Goodwin. Now, most of you think that an OT drafted in the 3rd or an OG drafted in the 4th will suffice, and be able to do just as well as any. Let me ask, has any O linemen drafted in the later rounds by this team stayed at their position for more then a year or two? I see everyone wants to draft a CB, a WR, a S, a DE in the first two rounds. The O line is just as important as every position on the field. You draft a later round player, and then plan on replacing him in two years because he sucks. Meanwhile your QB is getting killed weekly.

Yea, good ole Buddy... Looking at the last draft I have to think that perhaps the Bills have turned a corner with the scouting issues, as Doug Whaley looks like the real deal. The defensive free agents in LBer Manny Lawson, DE Alan Branch. The trade with the Colts for LBer Jerry Hughes was amazing as the Bills lost nothing, and gained 10 sacks. Then the draft was far better then past drafts with EJ, Kiko, Robert Woods, Marquise Goodwin, and 8 players in all. Only one didn't play, and that was the kicker Hopkins. I'm finally excited about the upcoming draft and "IF" the Bills make the right choices... I may have to purchase season tickets again.

To me its YAC, as other stuff can be coached up, and Ebron leads that. But is he the best value at #9? We will hear from Mayock in two days on this.

Greg Roninson-OT value A Seferian-Jenkins-TE value Anthony Steen-OG value Aaron Lynch-DE Andrew Jackson-ILB Terrance West-RB Jeff Janis-WR Man-0-man those first three picks

What gets me is that ownership wants to win in the very worst way, by spending money all over the place. Hiring different GM's, coaches, bringing in top free agents. Gotta love it when the Dolphins are in worse shape then the Bills They HAVE to draft an OT with their number one as they need two of them, and two guards. The Jets too for that matter, as the new GM refuses to endorse Geno Smith as the starter.

When the media asked his head coach about his work ethic he cited others that he has coached with better habits, like Stephon Gilmore. When your HC won't endorse the guy completely, you have to think is this another JaMarcus? HoF Bills DE Bruce Smith wasn't a whirlwind wind when he entered the NFL either tho. Hank Bullough prodded him in the worst way to get him in better shape to make plays. Then Polian had a private detective squad following him around to make certain he stayed clean. Bruce fought off his immaturity demons, and the rest is NFL history. Players are like a box of chocolates...

He tweeted this month that he is getting better! Chris Hairston ‏@C_Hairston75 Feb 5 #flappybird I'm getting better where the rest of yall at http://instagram.com/p/kEGNtbxiAu/ From what, nobody outside the org knows, or at least isn't saying. He suffered a leg injury and then went on IR with an undisclosed injury of some sort. The Bills had him penciled in at RT before the leg injury, so they must think very highly of him, or at least they did.

Same here Yolo. Sharpe was funny, and I got a kick out of him. Danny boy might have gotten be to expensive. Sorry guys, I can't stand Fox because of the one finely hair coiffed jerk being on their panel. Yea, i'm just like an elephant!

HA! Not according to most Bills fans here defending Marrone, Gailey, as it seems any coach can make a mistake concerning bad players. Anyway, I think the Bills just wanted to give the guy a lot of time to fully recover, and get completely healthy. Plus, learn the play book at the same time. I watched him a lot at KC, and if not for the injury bug that has followed him over the years, he could have been a top ten TE IMO. As for the latter question, In case Chander (who is frequently injured) was lost due to an injury is my guess. The thing is with Moeaki is that he was oft injured in college too. But the next thing is the kid is very proficient at blocking and catching. The problem is this guy has had a Litany of injuries all thru his playing time in both collage & pro's. Coming out of college he was graded by NFP as : He might be the best blocking tight end in the nation. http://www.bigblueview.com/2010/3/1/1316098/daily-nfl-draft-prospect-profile Just to give some insight in to his use as a receiver, he has run a 4.60 in the past. http://www.rotoworld.com/player/nfl/5841/tony-moeaki I love the kid, and love the pickup...now, if only the Bills trainers can work with him, and get him past his injuries. He could be an awesome pickup Thanks guys Lets hope this year the new GM does things correctly with that O line. He certinly did great with the defense Kiko, Manny, Jerry Hughs

Look at the QB's drafted since Jim kelly, and he wasn't even an actual #1, and the Bills took a TE Tony Hunter before him. WR Lee Evans was drafted before Losman in 2004. Kelly, Collins, Flutie, Johnson, Van pelt, Bledsoe, Holcomb, Losman, Edwards, Fitapatrick, and finally the #1 actual draft pick on a QB in EJ Manuel. EJ might even be the very first overall QB taken in the draft in the entire history of the franchise. Although, Its not just the QB position that has been neglected for the past 14 years. This team has neglected the LT position for equally as long as QB, and has neglected the rest of the O line in favor of DB's, RB's, D line, WR, and anything but O line. In that 14 year span the bills have had 2 pro bowlers on that line Ruben Brown and Jason Peters, and not at the same time. In 2012 the Bills fielded three very good O linemen in Glenn, Wood, levitre, and had the #7 team in the NFL in run blocking, the #10 team in pass blocking and allowed it to regress with a rookie QB under center for 2013 by not replacing the teams best pass blocker in LG Andy Levitre. So last year they went from 7th in run blocking to 16th, 10 in pass blocking to 28th. because of one position on the line.The Bills screw themselves by not keeping their draft picks once they develop them. Now they need a top LG, a top RT, #1 TE, #1 WR or the team will continue its losing ways and get its 2nd year QB killed. If they don't protect him better then 48 sacks & 108 hits. One step forward, two steps back.

Nobody wants to play for a constantly losing team, unless of course the team makes it worth their while. Meaning the highest paid player at the position. Even Super Mario balked at Buffalo for days until 100 mill was on the table. The Bills should put the franchise tag on him again and build the offense up so it supports that #10 defense by controlling the clock, and help keeping the defense off the field and fresh. I think the two will want each other once the team starts winning games.

Half the fan base wanted to see poz gone...how long did it take to finally replace him? most of the fan base wanted Whitner gone...now the team has someone better and can't come to terms with him. almost everyone thought Lynch was done....and he now has a SB ring. Buddy Nix had this vision that if you build a great pass rush it will win games, so he bought himself a 100 million dollar DE.... it didn't win games. This team created its own turmoil with all pro LT Jason Peters by bringing in high priced free agents that weren't even close to his talent, and paying them significantly more then he was making. Traded him away and took three years to finally replace him. The problem is that this owner has been out of touch with the reality of whats going on with his team, and in the NFL the past 14 years. That he has left the team in the hands of football incompetents, but in the hands of premier marketers to keep the money flowing it. These people now in power needed to learn on the job in how to build a winning team. This year the team really is "not that far away" from being a playoff contender if the team makes the proper moves in free agency, and in the draft. The team needs to sign Byrd, Keep Stevie, and keep its other current free agents unless they can effectively replace them. (Not like the way they replaced Levitre last off season) The Bills need to build that O line properly a top RT-LG, and a top TE. I'd rather see those players drafted with the first three picks. This also depends on who the Bills can sign in free agency. Although TE Scott Chandler was the Bills leading receiver last season, and he has sure hands most of the time. He certainly isn't a big play, play maker at TE the Bills desperately need so badly. He is like a possession type TE, and not a very good blocker. The Bills can, and should do better in free agency or the draft. JMO

Mel Kiper also lists him as a top ten pick has him at #14 http://profootball.scout.com/a.z?s=127&p=9&c=12&nid=83&lnid=124&yr=2014 Like I've said, we should know more after this weekend, as the Combine starts Friday.

From what I gathered is, Marrone brought in enough coaching that it doesn't matter if Kolb returns to the team or retires, as he has enough coaching to handle either situation now. Kolb must be having a difficult time considering what to do, as more concussions can do serious long term damage. I expect we will hear on or before March 13th.

Mike Mayock was an NFL player, and currently is employed by the NFL, as an announcer and draft guru / analyst. He happens to be so good at the draft that many teams have wanted to hire him as a scout, chief scout, and other positions. He turned them all down to continue to work for the NFL. I highly doubt that there is a football fan on the planet that has more knowledge about each years draft class then Mike Mayock.

What you will see is that so many teams need interior line help this year, that many OG's will slip into the latter part of the first round. OG David Yankey currently grades at #26 OG -OT Zack Martin currently grades at #36 OG Xavier Su'a-Filo currently grades at #46 OG Cyril Richardson currently grades at #66 OG Gabe Jackson currently grades at # 82 These grades will change I'm sure after the combine this week, starting Sat Feb 22nd thu Feb 25th http://www.drafttek.com/Top-100-NFL-Draft-Prospects-2014.asp

Hey, you are certainly entitled to your opinion. I'm done conversing with you about Lewan, and I don't really care what you think of him. I'll go by what the experts say.