BillsPhan

Ok let's see, an original thought that makes sense and is doable: If I was Buddy Nix, I would trade Lynch for the best draft pick I could get, and invite LT to come up for a visit. I know LT is all about winning a SB ASAP and all of that, but TO came up here on a one year deal, why wouldn't LT for the right money? He would certainly be a viable back up for Freddy, and his signing would add some relavance to talking about Buffalo again. Might even sell a season ticket or two. "Wadda ya think?"

What exactly has Troy Smith done to make you think he would be any better then Edwards or Fitzpatrick, both of whom have had many more NFL starts then Smith has?? If the Ravens or whoever owns his rights are willing to give him up for a 5th round draft pick, he obviously sucks at least as much as our two we have now - er, I mean three we have now, counting Brohm!

I will save your post, and "bet" you nothing that both will be gone by #9. The only payoff will be the "I told you so" post from whichever one of us ends up being right, unless only 1 of them is left at #9, of course.

I don't want to be cynical, but cutting a couple of solid special teams players for no apparent logical reason and then signing one d-tackle about the same size as Williams and Stroud, with zero starts in the NFL and who was on three different practice squads last season, does not constitute a "great start" at turning around our roster for Buddy, in my humble opinion. By cutting Wendling and the other couple of solid special teamers, I can only assume Nix was trying to free up a few extra bucks for free agency. Who knows? Certainly they were not very expensive players in the first place. You're right, it will be "interesting" this weekend, although I'm not expecting much to happen. I have a feeling Nix and Gailey are going to count more heavily on this years' draft then free agency.

At number 9, there will be no franchise quarterback available this year. Both Bradford and Clausen will be gone, and of course after those two nobody thinks any other QB's should go in the first or even second round at all, much less number 9 overall. So unless Nix decides to trade up with a top 5 team, and draft either Bradford or Clausen, his only mindset will be to take the best player on his board at number 9 who fills another need on the Bills. After that, luck will need to carry the day if he does indeed draft a QB in the later rounds. Now maybe Colt McCoy and Tim Tebow will be the next two great NFL QB's while Bradford and Clausen both bomb out within 3 or 4 years. Unfortunately, this is not 1983, when future Hall of Fame QB's John Elway, Dan Marino and of course Jim Kelly were all drafted in the first round! This year, neither Bradford nor Clausen are being touted as can't miss franchise QB's, and it looks like the Rams might even break the bank on Bradford at number 1. Now that is some risky mindset if they pull the trigger on that pick, don't you think?

Stupid move to put the game back in Hawaii a week before the SB. Is the NFL now going to force the Pro Bowlers from the SB participants to travel to Hawaii instead of the SB city, just to stand on the sidelines, like they did in Miami? Seems like a hell of a lot of time on an airplane for those guys when they should only be focusing on the big game. I think the game should be scrapped altogether. To not have the players from the two best teams in the NFL playing is a joke in the first place. Then the game itself is an even bigger joke, since they need to go down to the 3rd or 4th alternate in at least half of the positions by the time the Pro Bowl starters and their back ups and even their back ups finish reporting their end of season "injuries." The NFL should just have a Pro Bowl awards show the week after the SB staged in Hawaii, so the players can have a real vacation without having to pretend to practice and then play a meaningless football game nobody watches anymore. Instead they can show highlights of the Pro Bowlers best plays, introduce them either on the stadium field during the day, or at a banquet setting inside, and just have a bunch of interviews with them and leave it at that.

All of your mock draft scenarios are well thought out and quite possible. However, beginning this Saturday, teams can sign UFA's, and until the top free agents are signed up - and there are 6 weeks for teams to sign them before the draft party starts on a Thursday night this year, mock drafts are pretty much a moot point, aren't they? What if Nix shocks all of us by signing Pennington to a 5 year deal? That rules out Clausen right? What if Nix can make a deal for a starting - caliber LT in free agency? Now they don't need to draft one of the top OT's, right? Until Nix makes his obligatory GM-speak "we're all set for now, we'll see who's still around come June 1 after the draft" announcement, I would hold off on making mock draft predictions altogehter.

I don't care what Nix says about Edwards, Fitzy and Brohm. No way this draft goes into the 5th round without Buffalo having taken one of the QB's available by the 4th. In fact, I hope he doesn't pass on Clausen or Bradford if either one is still sitting there at number 9 overall, despite the huge need for huge tackles on both sides of the ball. If they are both gone fine, go for the best tackle first. But you are right, Nix and Gailey have to grab Pike, Tebow, McCoy or one of the other QB's that have a decent chance to play in the NFL to compete with the motley crew wasting space there now.

Well, nobody every said that Bill Polian was perfect. But he did draft Peyton Manning with his first pick as Colts' GM, and he did draft Marvin Harrison, Edgerin James, Dwight Freeney, Joseph Adai, Anthony Rodriguez, Dallas Clark, and on and on and on. His Colts have won a SB during his time there, and his Colts do have an amazing sparkling new stadium complete with a retractable roof, which cost more then both the new baseball and football stadiums combined just down the road in Cincinnati, and I have not heard or read one single word out of the state of Indiana or city of Indianapolis about how outraged those residents are that they built such an expensive stadium when they did not have to. So anybody on this board want to disagree with me that I wish Polian had never left Buffalo, even though he drafted two second round OL-men that "suck"???

Number one, the Pat Kelly you have bio'ed above is not the brother of Jim Kelly. But you are correct that Jim does have a brother named Pat, and that Pat Kelly did have a brief NFL career as a linebacker. Here is the link with proof of that fact, taken from an old article about the Kelly family back when Jim was a star in the USFL: "The scene in Jim Kelly's home is noteworthy because in America today the family is about as sacred as beef fat. Oh, we give it plenty of lip service, we like the idea of it, but the Kellys believe in it. They are tighter than the Cleavers. They get together for any reason. Two other brothers would be here, but one's wife is having a baby back in Virginia, where the brothers live. One of them, Pat, played linebacker for the Colts and Detroit Lions." I cannot understand why Pat Kelly, Jim's brother and the linebacker that played for the Colts and Lions - does not have a "historical players" listing on the NFL.com page, since they seem to list every single player who made a team and played even one game for them, but you were right that Jim does in fact have a brother Pat, who did in fact preceed Jim into the NFL.

I can't remember the Bills ever signing FIVE free agent starters (at least five GOOD free agent starters) in one off-season. It would be great to see all five of these guys brought in, but I'm sure you are being way too optimistic. And oh by the way, I'm not sold on Thigpen being a GOOD free agent starter anyway. If they bring him in, they had better draft one of the better QB's, like maybe Tony Pike, too.

Buffalo Bills, Buffalo Sabres, Syracuse football & basketball, UB football & basketball, NY Yankees & Denver Nuggets. I grew up in Buffalo, still live in Western NY, was a huge Buffalo Braves NBA fan during the 70's, and went to a lot of Buffalo Bisons baseball games in '89 & '90 when Bob & Mindy Rich were actually in the running to bring the Bisons into the Major Leagues. Carmello Anthony led the 'Cuse to their only NCAA Championship in his one year there in '03, so I became an instant Nuggets fan after they drafted him that year. I would love to see 'Melo and Denver upset King James and the Cavs in the finals this year. Anthony and James in a 7 game series would be amazing, as proven by the game the other night, when Lebron had a triple double but still lost to Carmello's 40 points and last shot at the buzzer in OT.

So Your Computer thinks the Bills don't need to draft a quality OT until round 4? Who programmed your computer, Tom Donahoe, Marv Levy and Russ Brandon??

Well then Tebow may really suck after all. Or not. I know one thing, he can't end up being a worse NFL QB then Jamarcus Russell, Bruce Gradkowski or J.P. freakin' Losman, the Oakland Raiders "big 3" right now. And how could he end up being worse then our own triple threat of Edwards, Fitzpatrick and Brohm...three QB's that were drafted?!?

Unless Buddy drafts Tebow with his second round pick, Ralph won't be able to get Tim Tebow, even if Jimbo, Thurman and Marv all sit in the Bills war room with direct lines to Ralph's family room in Florida or Detroit. I don't care how many mock drafts have Tebow not being drafted until the 3rd - 5th rounds, they are nuts in my humble opinion. Tebow may have all kinds of mechanical problems as a pure NFL prototypical QB, but given the sorry state of at least 30% of the 32 starting QB's already playing today in the NFL, I predict Tebow will not last beyond round 2, and he may even go in round 1.

Nobody "knows the validity of this", because if a blogger falls asleep during his morning crap and dreams up an NFL rumor, he writes it and then some ESPN "professional" writer quotes him as an "inside source." That said, Nix trading Whitner would not break my heart one bit. At least Kelsay had an actual good season this past year, because before that, he and Whitner would get quoted after every game (or I should say loss, right?), as if they were Troy Palalamalu and Julius Peppers on the same team, talking like they were superstar leaders of some great proud defense that just did not quite get the breaks yet again. (Or their favorite sound bite: "We just didn't hit the right gaps....but we had a terrific week of practice" Here's what the famous writer or blogger "Ken" added to this unsubstantiated "article" of the above link: "I'm a Donte fan. He is a very good tackler and an exceptional athlete. He was a top draft pick in 2006 and I think he has fallen short of expectations. He is very smart and does a lot of thinking on the field. I am unsure if his disappointing INT production is his fault or the system's. One thing I am sure of: he can hit." Whitner can hit? Well that's great, maybe he will start to hit somebody when he plays for the Redskins or some other team next year, so Ken will be proven right. As far as we Bills fans, other then maybe one good personal foul per game, I cannot remember one single legal great hit Whitner has layed out on someone (anyone) since he was drafted number 8 by the wily Marv Levy in '06.

I don't know where you get your ticket price info from, but I read and heard that Buffalo is by far the cheapest average ticket to watch an NFL game. As recently as last season, I read in the Buffalo News that a Bills ticket averaged almost $20.00 less then the rest of the NFL average ticket prices. So I suppose there could be two teams that charge less, but that is not what I read.

No question, if I'm Buddy "country boy" Nix, I simply draft Clasuen or Bradford with the number 9 pick of the first round, completely ignoring the best LB and the best OT and the best DT and every other "best" player on my board. Whichever of those two QB's still on the board that I have rated higher, is my pick, period.

I suppose some of us out here will be upset about the timing of the Bills' raising ticket prices. How dare they, right? All those sell outs during the playoff-less years this past decade. The overwhelmingly underwhelming hiring of Chan Gailey to turn everything around, when every loyal season ticket holder and individual ticket buying fan were hoping for a Bill Cowher-type coach for the job. We can certainly go on and on about how we are being screwed....... ......accept for one simple fact, even with the increases, the Bills will still offer the CHEAPEST tickets to see an NFL football game in the league. In fact, they will still be cheaper by about an average of $18.00 per ticket, instead of $20.00 per ticket, below the NFL average. So let's all keep this in mind as we begin our assault on the "greedy and selfish front office of the Buffalo Bills."

...why is that, because I used the word "scapegoat" twice in one post? I'll try to watch that next time. Listen, my point is that as the Lions "top 5" special teams crew got worse each season under Kwan, I don't agree that it is as simple as Kwan being a bad special teams coach. The entire team has sucked each of the past 4 seasons. They punt more and kick off less then most teams in the NFL, and who knows how many field goals they even get a chance to kick?? Not to mention the fact that their kick off return teams must get worn out by the end of the season too. That's why football is the ultimate team game. Finally, losing almost every week for four consecutive years has to wear on even the special teams players.

Great "link". The writer appears to be nothing more then a repeat fan-contributor of a Lions blog, or perhaps a moderater of one. I googled his name, and suprise surprise: not a single site of him being a sports writer of any type of media outlet. And oh by the way, Bruce Dehaven was fired as the scape goat by Wade Phillips, ending his last tenure with the Bills. Lo and behold, he's back for a second stint and still as highly respected as he was before he got screwed by the "Music City Miraculous Forward Lateral". I have a feeling Kwan was more of a scapegoat trying his best on a horrible football team, where plenty of blame for poor coaching and worse playing can be passed around in Detroit.

Unless Buddy trades for McNabb, he should take a QB, if he thinks the kid can become a franchise QB within a couple of years, with the #9 pick. In almost every case, when a team is starting from scratch, drafting a franchise QB is the best way to start. If Nix agrees with some of the experts, and doesn't think any of the QB's in the draft are "franchise" guys, then fine. Draft the OT or the DT or the OLB. But I will always be convinced that when you don't have a franchise QB, you need to draft one or somehow trade for one in his prime ASAP.

The Chargers got lucky to draft Brees in the second round, after every other team passed on him. I don't think they would have traded him if not for his injury, so getting LT for a HOF career, and ending up with Rivers after trading Brees certainly proves that the Chargers are a smart team compared to most when it comes to personnel. However, it was Brees who got the SB win as game MVP playing for the Saints, while the Chargers still have not gotten into a SB since they traded Drew in 2006.

They didn't take Lost-man first, they drafted Lee Evans at #13 in 2004.

In 2001, Drew Brees was the "Colt McCoy" or "Tim Tebow" of this years' draft class. Obviously he was the second best QB prospect behind Vick, but unlike either Clausen or Bradford, whichever one you have ranked second this year, he had some limitations. He was only 6'0 tall and was not considered a "true first round"-worthy pick. In fact, when the Chargers took him with the first pick of the second round, I remember reading and hearing some experts accuse them of "reaching" at that early place in the draft, because they needed a QB so badly. Yeah sure, Brees was quite a "reach" wasn't he? So just like with Joe Montana, Tom Brady, Brett Favre, Kurt Warner and Tony Romo, every team that had a first round pick in 2001 passed on Drew Brees. (Including the Saints!) And that simply amazes me because every year there are always at least 15 - 20 NFL teams that desperately need a true QB of the future. I understand the Ryan Leafs, Akili Smiths, Tim Couches and other classic first round QB busts make every NFL team gun-shy about investing so much money into first round QB's. But how can you not keep trying if you go 26 years between drafting Pro Bowl QB's like the Bills have?? (That is not a misprint - Kelly was drafted in 1983, and this past draft was 2009.) One Pro Bowl season out of Flutie and one Pro Bowl season out of Bledsoe, two QB's already past their prime, is not an "answer!" The Bills could have taken Brees with the number 21 pick of the 2001 draft instead of Nate Clements. What an absolute joke. Donahoe had Rob freakin' Johnson and had just decided to dump Flutie that April. And he passed on Brees. Along with every other team of course. So now the Bills have another chance to draft Clausen or Bradford, or get even bolder if they are both drafted by their number 9 pick, and take McCoy or even Tebow there. Many experts and fans will mock them and call them idiots for reaching so far for McCoy or Tebow. But I would applaud them for "getting the QB first."