Astrobot

+1 And do we care if they keep doubling Evans? Johnson is having a field day out there, and Jones and Nelson have profited with high yards per catch averages. Evans is at 15 ypc, Jones is 14 ypc and Nelson's at 11 ypc. http://www.buffalobills.com/team/team-statistics.html

Dunno if this had been reported while I was gorging on turkey: Bills general manager Buddy Nix Nix flew to Northern California last week and spent a day at Stanford looking at quarterback Andrew Luck, who is likely to be the No. 1 pick if he turns pro after this season. http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=schefter_adam&page=10spot/10week12

The best article I've read on Cam Newton is this one. I suggest you read it before you laugh.

Agree with everything you are saying. D-line first, QB second. The laptop incident makes me wonder about Newton's brain though!

I'd like Urbik to step up so I can take Guard off the list of needs. Still like the idea of moving Wood to Center. I liked Clayborn's last game and Dareus's today. Both sealed the edge masterfully. That'd be huge. Speaking of huge, I liked Fairley today too.

Me neither. I imagine that after this ALA-AUB game, Newton will fall some more. I'd also take Wisniewski before Newton. This begs the question of whether I should add Guard to our needs, as Wood would move to OC.

I simulated a draft giving equal priority for all 8 of the Bills' needs---QB, RT, LT, OLB, TE, WR, DE, and NT. This puts the picks into the computer's hands, giving us the best player available based on the Big Board. The results can help us get our priorities straight for Positional Needs. Here are the results. I'm providing the drafted players near our pick to help adjust Positional Needs: Round Pick Team Selection Psn School CRI Delta ReachValue 1 1 Carolina Andrew Luck QB Stanford P1 +0 Value 1 2 Cincinnati Nick Fairley DT43 Auburn P4 +0 Value 1 3 Buffalo Robert Quinn OLB34 North Carolina P2 -1 Reach 1 4 Detroit Prince Amukamara CB Nebraska P1 +1 Value 1 5 Arizona Patrick Peterson CB LSU P3 -2 Reach 1 6 San Francisco Adrian Clayborn DE34 Iowa P4 +0 Value 1 7 Minnesota Derek Sherrod OT Mississippi State P2 -5 Reach 1 8 Dallas Da'Quan Bowers DE34 Clemson P4 +0 Value 1 9 Cleveland A.J. Green WRF Georgia P2 +0 Value 1 10 Denver Marcell Dareus DE34 Alabama P3 +0 Value 2 33 New England Julio Jones WRF Alabama P3O +12 Value 2 34 Cincinnati Tyler Sash FS Iowa P2 -5 Reach 2 35 Buffalo Cameron Newton QB Auburn P2 +2 Value 2 36 Detroit Stefen Wisniewski OG Penn State P3 +5 Value 2 37 Arizona Jason Pinkston OT Pittsburgh P2 -1 Reach 2 38 San Francisco Jimmy Smith CB Colorado P2 -8 Reach 2 39 Minnesota Michael Floyd WRF Notre Dame P3O +12 Value 2 40 Dallas Aaron Williams CB Texas P2 -14 Reach 2 41 Cleveland Tank Carder ILB TCU P2 +1 Value 2 42 Denver Martez Wilson ILB Illinois P3 +0 Value 2 43 Houston Mark Barron FS Alabama P3 -8 Reach 2 44 St Louis Justin Blackmon WRF Oklahoma State P1 +8 Value 2 45 Seattle Drake Nevis DT43 LSU P3 -3 Reach 2 46 Denver D.J. Williams TE Arkansas P3 -1 Reach 3 65 Carolina Sione Fua DT43 Stanford P2 -10 Reach 3 66 Cincinnati Kendall Hunter RBC Oklahoma State P3 +3 Value 3 67 Buffalo Justin Houston OLB34 Georgia P2 -1 Reach 3 68 Detroit Orlando Franklin OT Miami (FL) P3 -2 Reach 3 69 Arizona Colin Kaepernick QB Nevada P2 +3 Value 3 70 San Francisco Brandon Weeden QB Oklahoma State P1 -19 Reach 3 71 New England Ryan Williams RBF Virginia Tech P4 +14 Value 3 72 Dallas Kristofer O'Dowd OC USC P3 -5 Reach 3 73 Cleveland Luke Stocker TE Tennessee P2 +13 Value 4 97 Carolina Titus Young WRF Boise State P2 -2 Reach 4 98 Cincinnati Mark Herzlich OLB43 Boston College P3 -9 Reach 4 99 Buffalo Joseph Barksdale OT LSU P2 -1 Reach 4 100 Detroit Sam Acho DE43 Texas P3 +2 Value 4 101 Arizona Clint Boling OG Georgia P3 -11 Reach 4 102 San Francisco Jarvis Jenkins DE34 Clemson P4R -6 Reach 4 103 Minnesota Pat Devlin QB Delaware P2 -10 Reach 4 104 Dallas Andy Dalton QB TCU P3 -19 Reach 4 105 Cleveland Wayne Daniels OLB34 TCU P2 +0 Value 4 106 Denver Rahim Moore FS UCLA P3 +13 Value 4 107 Houston Mike Pouncey OG Florida P3 -17 Reach 4 108 St Louis Marcus Gilchrist CB Clemson P2 -13 Reach 4 109 Seattle Jabaal Sheard DE43 Pittsburgh P3 -8 Reach 5 129 Carolina Chase Minnefield CB Virginia P2 -31 Reach 5 130 Cincinnati Jeff Demps RBF Florida P4 +8 Value 5 131 Buffalo Don'ta Hightower ILB Alabama P3 +12 Value 5 132 Detroit Johnny Brown FS Mississippi P4R -19 Reach 5 133 Arizona Chris White ILB Mississippi State P4R +0 Value 5 134 San Francisco Ronald Johnson WRF USC P4R -13 Reach 5 135 Minnesota Brooks Reed DE43 Arizona P3 +1 Value 5 136 Dallas Mike Mohamed ILB California P4R -3 Reach 5 137 Cleveland Lawrence Guy DE34 Arizona State P2 -9 Reach 5 138 Denver Lee Ziemba OT Auburn P3 -2 Reach 5 139 Houston Jurrell Casey DT43 USC P4 +9 Value 6 161 Carolina Preston Dial TE Alabama P4 +13 Value 6 162 Cincinnati Greg Little WRP North Carolina P3R -35 Reach 6 163 Buffalo Terry Griffin DT34 Elizabeth City State P3T -57 Reach 6 164 Detroit Mario Fannin RBF Auburn P4R +6 Value 6 165 Arizona Pierre Allen DE34 Nebraska P4R +3 Value 6 166 San Francisco Nigel Bradham OLB43 Florida State P4R +5 Value 6 167 Minnesota Scott Lutrus ILB Connecticut P3 -5 Reach 6 168 Dallas Jeremy Kellem FS Middle Tennessee P4R -18 Reach 6 169 Cleveland Shareece Wright CB USC P4R -13 Reach 6 170 Denver Eric Hagg SS Nebraska P3R -35 Reach 6 171 Houston Alex Wujciak ILB Maryland P4R -2 Reach 6 172 St Louis Muhammad Wilkerson DT43 Temple P3 +9 Value 6 173 Seattle Vincent Brown WRF San Diego State P4R -4 Reach 6 174 Miami Rashad Carmichael CB Virginia Tech P3 -16 Reach 6 175 Washington Ryan Van Bergen DE34 Michigan P4 +8 Value 6 176 Oakland Ryan Bartholomew OC Syracuse P2R -75 Reach This report was produced using Draft Tek's Draft Simulator:

http://www.drafttek.com/CMDRound1.asp One of the more controversial 3 round drafts we've put out there, although I am positive we are getting the best at his position in both of the first 2 rounds. Astro

How about trading a CB to Houston? That is their #1 Team Need, and we have several. McKelvin to Houston for their, say, #23. 2 Andrew Luck QB Stanford (Carolina took Stephen Paea, the DT) 23 Cameron Heyward DE34 Ohio State (The next 3 picks focus on pass rush) 34 Jeremy Beal OLB34 Oklahoma 66 Josh Bynes ILB Auburn (We have Casey Matthews still available as well at #66--may go with him) 98 Luke Stocker TE Tennessee (I like the 3 we have, but we need two more to compete) 130 Lee Ziemba OT Auburn (Ziemba will make his way up the board into Top 100 by February) 162 Zach Pianalto TE North Carolina (5-way competition between Stocker, Pianalto, Martin, Stupar, Nelson) 194 Vai Taua FB Nevada (Fullback who loves to hit, loves the game, plays ST) 226 Ryan Winterswyk DE34 Boise St. (I love Boise State, and watch all their games. He's a player. UDFA or Comp Doug Hogue OLB Syracuse Ryan Bartholomew OC Syracuse Cliff Matthews OLB34 South Carolina Greg Lloyd ILB Connecticut Rob Long P Syracuse Mike Adams RT Ohio State

I have heard the voice of the masses and will put in for a TE and lower my priority for WR. I still am adamant that if the BPA was a Guard, we'd spring for him and move Wood to Center and move Hangman to the curb. The other conversation, Mallett over Locker, will probably show up on Monday on the Big Board. They want to see this week's results. Without Luck, here's how I'd put them now: 1. Cameron Newton - Junior but most likely to declare 2. Ryan Mallett - Moves up by default. 2nd most likely Junior to declare; likely there with our RD2 pick 3. Jake Locker - Last game lowered his stock but you can still blame his ribs. I like ribs. 4. Christian Ponder - Looked good in close loss to Baylor: 24/34, 264 passing and 3 TD's. There at RD2 pick but gone by RD3 pick? 5. Brandon Weeden - The winner of game with Ponder's club elevated his stock; 34/42, 435 yds passing and 3 TD's in rout of Baylor 6. Pat Devlin - Padded stats vs 1-8 Towson: 29/38, 318 yards, 1 passing and 1 rushing TD. Stock likely to fall a bit 7. Colin Kaepernick - 320 yds and 5 TD passes vs Enderle's Idaho club. Is he a system guy? RD3, but Trent was a RD3... 8. Andy Dalton - 21/26, 355 yds and 3 TD passes against #5 Utah. I like Dalton's chances in RD3

Wonderful, thoughtful post! Thanks! TE's---Shawn Nelson could be a force, but you're right--Nix likes TE's. I like some of the TE play lately but you know they miss having a dominator TE on this team that defenses have to plan for. We need TE's that can hit on Special Teams and can work seams, midround tough guys like Marshall's Lee Smith, TCU's Evan Frosch, and Fordham's Steven Skelton. WR's---This is a deep draft for WR's, but I'll say it--It wouldn't surprise me if AJ Green were this year's "Spiller pick" if the pass rusher or QB they covet isn't there. I like guys who may last until RD5 in this draft. LB's---You are right on target with the ST play being adversely affected by the lack of depth at the hitter positions. Fortunately for the Bills, ILB and OLB look good in this draft. I like OLB's Quinn in RD1, Jeremy Beal in RD2, Sam Acho in RD3, and Jabaal Sheard in RD3-4. There are ILB's we should pay attention to after RD3 like Chris White of Mississippi State, Mark Herzlich, Brian Smith (Notre Dame)and Michigan's Obi Ezeh. How about Doug Hogue from Syracuse or his counterpart on the other side (I'm blanking...starts with H too).

I could agree with those. I'd use P1 on QB, or leave QB at P2 and put a Grab in on Luck.

No. He's listing CB (Amukamara) and DT43 (Fairley, most likely). I didn't put Center higher b/c it's Wood's natural position. I could be convinced to lower our WR priority and raise our TE priority. That seems logical. Agreed all?

Here's what I have for the next consensus mock draft at DraftTek: QB=P1 (Priority 1--there can be only one P1) LT=P2 DE=P2 OLB=P2 RT=P3 NT=P3 ILB=P3 WR=P4 All other positions are listed at P9. There is no such thing as P7 or P8, and I haven't used any P6's. We used to be the first pick but in the next draft, Carolina is. If Andrew Luck is taken by Carolina, then the computer will give the Bills the P2 player that is highest on the Big Board located here. Right now, it's Nick Fairley, who we see as a Marcus Stroud type DE with more speed, decent moves, and strong push. Definitely a headache requiring 2 blockers (and occasionally 3). Everybody happy with the positional needs, especially the P2's? Astro Bills Analyst for DraftTek.com

RD1-Mike Iupati--OG--Great work ethic, outstanding run blocker. Moves Wood to OC. RD2-Daryl Washington--ILB---46 tackles and 1 sack. Fast. Good complement to Poz. RD3-Jordan Shipley--WR--Possession receiver. RD4-Aaron Hernandez--TE--Nolo Contendere. RD5/6-Wang and Moats--these were, and will be, great picks. RD7-Brandon Deaderick-DE-starting for the Patriots

Props to Chan!

Can't complain with that draft IMHO---I like Stanzi at RD6 (though I see him climbing by April). We're very high on Clayborn (your RD1) and we're not as enamoured with Heyward as some sites.

Casey’s grandfather, uncle, two brothers, and father were or still are football players. His brother, Clay, is this season’s NFL sacks leader. Carolina needs so much--AJ Green, Fairley, Amukamara, Paea, Luck. Carolina's DraftTek Analyst has their greatest need set at DT43, and CB/WR listed as their P2 need.

I used DraftTek's online simulator to find out where we'd draft a QB/ LT/ LB/ DE, factoring in the DraftTek Carolina Analyst's positional needs. Here is the result: Round Pick Team Selection Psn School CRI Delta ReachValue 1 1 Carolina Stephen Paea DT43 Oregon State P1 -4 Reach 1 2 Buffalo Andrew Luck QB Stanford P1 +0 Value 2 33 New England Jonathan Baldwin WRF Pittsburgh P3 +0 Value 2 34 Buffalo Cameron Heyward DE34 Ohio State P2 +2 Value 3 65 Carolina Curtis Brown CB Texas P2 -12 Reach 3 66 Buffalo Nate Solder OT Colorado P2 +10 Value 4 97 Carolina James Rodgers WRS Oregon State P3O -9 Reach 4 98 Buffalo Sam Acho OLB34 Texas P2 -7 Reach 5 129 Carolina Mason Foster ILB Washington P4 +16 Value 5 130 Buffalo Casey Matthews ILB Oregon P3 +6 Value I understand Carolina's need for a defensive tackle (and after yesterday's games, you could see Fairley as the #1 pick even over Paea), so Luck falls to us. If San Francisco picks ahead of us, they take Luck and we take Adrian Clayborn, as nice consolation prize. We take Mallett in RD2. The same holds true if Detroit also picks ahead of us. If Dallas and Denver pick before us, the #6 Bills take Robert Quinn OLB34 and Mallett in RD2. Try it yourself here: http://drafttek.com/new%20simulator/frmLogin.aspx To move teams around, click the team in the right column, then click the pick you want that team to have. Their name will appear in about 1 second.

1. Andrew Luck - tore Arizona a new one, with relative ease. 2. Jake Locker - Out with broken ribs 3. Ryan Mallett - Besides Newton, most likely Jr. to declare for '11 draft 4. Cameron Newton - Passes for 4 TD's, runs for another, but it was against an over-matched Chattanooga team. New NCAA charges loom 5. Colin Kaepernick - 320 yds and 5 TD passes vs Enderle's Idaho club 6. Andy Dalton - 21/26, 355 yds and 3 TD passes against #5 Utah 7. Pat Devlin - 29/38, 318 yards, 1 passing and 1 rushing TD vs 1-8 Towson 8. Brandon Weeden - 34/42, 435 yds passing and 3 TD's in rout of Baylor 9. T.J. Yates - 24/35 439 yards passing and 3 TD's to lead UNC to close win over FSU 10. Christian Ponder 24/34, 264 passing and 3 TD's in close loss to UNC 11. Blaine Gabbert (12/30, 95 yards passing and zero TD's against the 119th ranked collegiate passing defense) 12. Ricky Stanzi - 22/33, 290 yds and 1 TD in narrow win over IU 13. Nathan Enderle - 220 yds and 3 TD's in losing effort vs Nevada; looking very average vs Boise right now 14. Nick Foles - With injury, rust, believe he will return for Senior year. 15. Terrelle Pryor - Idle 16. Greg McElroy - 21/34, 223 yds passing, 2 TD's and an INT :

I'm using Firefox and get "Internal Server Error" Astro OK GOT IT. I was inserting the URL and not the number after the av-

Even though I'm a big Foles fan, he disappointed me with a pedestrian showing in his last game, with 2 perfect throws to a defender. He then had his right leg rolled on and went out in the following game. His successor Matt Scott is doing well, inferring that the junior Foles may be a system success. DraftTek's Big Board analysts felt the same way, I guess. He doesn't look superhuman anymore. The injury might also make him re-think coming out as a junior. On the other hand, I'm liking Stanzi and McElroy more.

11/11 - 2011 Big Board Revision The Big Board has grown to 300 prospects and one thing has become abundantly clear - without the underclassmen, this would be one weak draft class! Catapulting into the 1st round this week is Illinois' big RB Mikel LeShoure, who moved up 30 spots to a Top 20 billet. Texas A&M LB Von Miller also moved back into the 1st round with an inspired performance against OU. And "Big Ugly Extraordinare" Gabe Carimi, a pre-season draft darling from Wisconsin, has eased back into 1st round consideration. Some shakers and movers in the 2nd round include DT Sione Fua and his non-stop motor from Stanford (41 spots), Clemson safety DeAndre McDaniel (32 spots), "T.O. Wannabee" (right down to his #81 jersey) WR Justin Blackmon from Okie State (51 spots), LSU DT Drake Nevis (31 spots), Florida CB Janoris Jenkins (81 spots) and TCU LB Tank Carder fresh off a 40 point spanking of #5 Utah (69 spots). The largest freefall was experienced by Arizona QB Nick Foles, dropping from #58 all the way down to #219 (a 161 spot plunge for the mathematically-challenged). Finally here are the Top 150 debuts: ILB Chris White of Mississippi State (#125) and speedy WR Randall Cobb of Kentucky (#133).

Good News---According to our Big Board, the #2 player could be a major need for the Bills. So would player #3, #5, and #7. We can afford to improve over the coming weeks and still draft some impressive players. As far as Carolina goes (and the absolutely horrific schedule they have here on out), they need more than just a QB---such as another feature WR, a 4-3DT, and a CB pretty early in free agency and the draft. If the Panthers end up with the first pick, I wouldn't be surprised if they took Paea, Fairley or Prince Amukamara. AJ Green would be another possibility for them. They may be more interested in acquiring a vet quarterback.

Per NFL.com (http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d81be6006/article/merriman-brings-lights-out-attitude-to-slumping-bills-defense ) "I'm more than happy to be in the position that I am to be going forward with these guys, and as being a Buffalo Bill," he said. "Bottom line, I love playing football." "They have high expectations for me to come in and make some things happen, and I'm going to do that," Merriman said Saturday before he and the rest of his new team departed for Toronto for their game Sunday against the Chicago Bears (4-3). "I've been working out, and I'm just ready to get on the field as soon as possible. Whatever they need me to do, I'm here to work and kind of be a piece of the puzzle."