Dragonborn10

Prisco has us taking Barkely and Judge has Geno Smith. Judge states the season ticket holders need a reason to stay. Do these guys even remotely know anything about the Bills? Since when has season ticket holder numbers been an issue in Buffalo. There has not been a winning team in 12 years and the only thing that stops a sellout is Jesus' birthday and bad weather. Barkely at 8? Oh good God no way in hell. He is not worth the # 8 pick in the second round.

Levitre will be gone 5 minutes after FA starts and will be ridiculously overpaid. He is maybe a top 10 guard but not top 5 but someone will pay him top 2 money. Prudent decision at this point to let him walk. If Nix had the chance to sign him last year at a lower cost and didn't then shame on him. We need star WR's and LB's on this team. They can get a guard in the draft.

Well stated. He is probably worth the risk to Seattle and not worth the headache/cost to the Vikings. I just wonder how Russell Wilson will feel playing on the second year of a third round draft pick contract for a team that is willing to pay an injury prone WR and a back-up QB a ton of money.

If RGIII was not hurt I could see a trade for Cousins but not two number 1's. No way the trade him until after next year.

The best HS football is played in Texas, Florida, California, and many of the states that voted against civil rights. Most of those players stay loyal to local schools. In general get your defenders from the SEC, your WR's from Florida and California, RB's from Texas, Florida, and California, QB's from California or Western Pennsylvania. The PAC 12 plays no run defense - thus you can find ovverated RB's, and decent secondary guys. QB's from the SEC are dumb and usually well paid from their sophmore year of HS. How do schools like Ohio State, Oregon, and Michigan compete? Well Ohio State was a doormat until they hired John Cooper from Arizona State. He immediatley started recruiting WR's from California. Oregon gets all its best players from Texas and California. Michigan used to steal from Ohio until Tressel stopped much of that. Tressel nearly destroyed that program and despite a little mini-resurgence last year, Urban Meyer will finish them off. Meyer will out recruit even if he has to cheat everyone in the Big Ten. I think the two position that might be found relatively consistently acorss the country are LB and TE. Every team needs good LB's and a lot of teams are looking for two different type of TE's - recieveing and blocking. You can find both of them in the Big East or ACC - Keuchly for example - Big 12, Pac 12, Big Ten and SEC. So if you are looking for a year in which Nix goes outside of the South look no further. We need QB's, LB's, and WR's. Still could see SEC guys in Patterson, the Tylers, and Jones taken from the SEC. But there are others like Jordan from Oregon that could surprise in the first round and others in the second.

You can not draft a player who is not eligible for the draft. End of story. If the Bills submitted Barrack Obama or anyone else they would just forfiet their pick away. Even if Clowney or Manziel won a case then they would need a supplemental draft.

Winfield was the guy who should have been kept at all cost. P. Williams was already on the wrong side of thirty when he left. Minnesota got lucky he lasted that long. Fletcher is better than anything we have but is still so terribly ovverrated. He is deserving of a reasonable contract but he wanted top ILB money. He was not Urlacher or Ray Lewis - not even close. Clements - that was an easy decision. He was good but no one in Buffalo or most of the rest of the league thought he was worth what San Francisco paid him.

Agree Pears is gone if they draft OT in round 1. I thought about choosing Lindell but I don't think he would really be a surprise. I think Smith comes relatively cheap so if the rookie QB beats out Jackson I could see him being retained. No way they keep him as a fourth QB and awful WR. Agree Anderson could be gone as well. I have less faith he can play OLB than I do with Mario who showed he could do it under Wade. Maybe he can be a great OLB but I doubt it. He seems like a pass rushing 4-3 DE only. In retrospect Nix really screwed us by not extending Byrd or Levitre last Summer with the money he used on Anderson. Anyone think Fred Jackson gets dinged up in traingin camp and gets cut? If he gets hurt I could see him getting cut right before the season so his salary is not guaranteed.

Last Summer I predicted the suprise cut would be Moorman. I was half right as the cut did not happen in training camp. This year I think the surprise could be the release of Sheppard. He is completely inadequate as a MLB in a 4-3 and probably marginal at best in the 3-4. I think the Bills will sign two LB's in FA and add another two in the draft. I think Moats may stay only because he may be able to rotate in at DE. I wouldn't really care if he is cut too as I don't think he brings anything to the table except a few back-up reps. Bradham will get a chance to compete for a back-up OLB role assuming Anderson and Mario play the OLB roles in a 3-4 system. Bradham likely starts/palys at OLB if they play a four man front. Your early predictions...

What evidence do you have that Barkley can run the west coast offense? He has below average arm strength and is much slower than Fitz. The only reason I think you bring that up is that it is the only offense in which he has any chance of succeeding. He played with playmakers all around him and was brutal last year against Pac-12 defenses. He will be as bad or worse than Sanchez. Want your QB for the west coast offense. He is already on the team. Fitz will be your starter. And as other have pointed out TJ also ran the same offense in Minnesota. There is no reason to waste a #1 pick on this crowd of QB's. We need a WR and a TE much more than an average or below average QB draft pick.

Fitz will be the opending day starter. He is better than Alex Smith and any other FA QB out there. He is cheaper than Flynn and probably better than Flynn. If we switch to a west coast type offense what type of QB fits that mold? Hmmm. Intelligent, slightly mobile, and accurate on short and mid range throws. Fitz is all of that except perhaps mid-range throws to his left. He is very good at throwing up the seam. I don't know what type of offense Hackett is going to run and neither do any of us. Marrone has no reason to call Fitz and tell him there will be a QB competition only to then cut him later. They all know that there is no QB in this draft that is better than a second round talent. Can one of them become a star. Yes they can. But there is no way they just turn the franchose over to a second or third round QB without a competition.

Carson Palmer if he is let go is the only veteran QB I woudl bring in that is aby better than Jackson. Jackson is much better than Wallace and just as good as Garrard.

Marrone has already said there will be a competition. There is no cap savings to cut him. There is no QB worthy of the #8 pick. He will get his bonus or maybe restructure to give the team some cap relief but he won't give up the $10 million he is due. Maybe it will be paid differently but he is not dumb enough to give up that money. He is the best QB we have right now and will be the starter.

In Boston and we play them twice a year. But I agree. Troupe will be the "true NT". KW will play the NT most of the time with Dareus moved to DE.

Dr. Tooth nailed it. Carrington and Troupe may decide Nix's legacy. They have already cut David Neslon due to his injury but Troupe is still on the roster. Does that mean anything? I don't know. But if they do plan to play more 3-4 then Dareus should be a beast at one DE spot and Carrington will get his shot at the other. It takes time for DL guys to develop. There will be plenty of four man fronts with Mario playing DE and Darues/Williams at DT. Hopefully Troupe and Williams can have a nice rotation at NT. Ideally Troupe can keep Williams fresh enough so that he can still generate a good pass rush from the DT spot in a 4-3. Switching back to the 3-4 may be the best thing for this roster. M. Williams can play OLB. The 3-4 only leaves holes at ILB and OLB. If they stay in a 4-3 base I am not sure there is a starting LB on the roster. Sheppard is adequate at ILB in the 3-4 but he is simply too small to play a 4-3 MLB.

So hope he stays...I just have a feeling that in the right defense he can be a star. He has elite level speed, quickness, and change of direction.

Why does everyone include Peyton Manning in their top 4? He was awful in the playoff game. He has been awful in a number of playoff games expecially outdoors. He has less SB wins than Roethlisberger and less appearances than Warner. At this point I would have a top 3, Brady, Brees, and Rodgers. Then there is a crowded field to be the leader of the next group. Eli, Peyton, Flacco, Ryan, Roethlisberger, Luck, Wilson, Koepernick, Schaub and Cutler. I could see Peyton as high as #4 and as low as #13. I would no longer include Rivers and I am not sold on RGIII yet - but I was impressed with his TD-Int ratio and completion % even with the number of bubble screens he threw.

Do we really need to explain that the Bills couldn't negotiate with or sign Bowe just like Chicago can't do the same with Levitre....

Not to change the subject of my own thread, but Milliner looks like a legit top 10 if not top 5 pick. 6-1 DB with good speed from the SEC. Agree on Jordan. He has never played OLB at Oregon, never rushed from a two point stance, and does not play the run well. He is more likely to be Maybin or Gholston than Von Miller.

After reading many posts, mocks, and player evaluations I am coming around to the idea that the BPA will be an offensive lineman. Unless Millner somehow drops to #8, Warmack or one of the OT's should be our pick. Patterson may be a one year wonder. Jordan may be Maybin. He may be Charles Haley. This team needs to finish fixing the offensive line especially if Levitre leaves. In fact if Millner makes it to #8 that would be a wonderful trade down opportunity. I'm drinking the Kool-aid on a LT and moving Glenn to RT. There is no WR or QB worthy of #8 including Smith and Barkely. Maybe Jones at OLB instead but as of now I think it will be offensive line.

So much harder for the average fan to evaluate players as we do not know the play called, the assignment, and the adjustment. Fitz game ending INT against Pats was the most obvious example this past year. I think it was pretty clear Graham ran the wrong route. The coach and Stevie defended him saying it was a tough adjustment to make. Goes down as an INT against Fitz. Maybe it is still a bad decision either way askign a rookie to make that adjustment at the end of the game in that pressure situation. What is easier to see was Wilson dropping two game winning INT's. You can say he was in position to make the play and that is good but he literally dropped the ball. What is also easy to see is offensive players running away from Barnett. He has no speed or quickness left and he is not compensating for it with veteran play. He may still have played at a decent level as a 3-4 ILB but as an OLB he was as bad as A. Williams was at CB.

Let Levitre walk. Draft Warmack. Make a play for Mike Wallace. Take BPA in the draft. This team has so many holes. They can't waste money on a G. Spend big on a WR. There are no QB's worth #8. If you say draft OT and move Glenn to RT I would not argue. First rounders should go to the lines. Get the skill people in FA. Honestly if they drafted three LB's I would not be upset. I could see three rookies beating out Bradham and Shep.

Its age not number of carries...30+ year old running backs simply decline in productivity at an exponential rate. Tomlinson and Alexander are the most recent glaring examples of guys who declined at a ridiculous rate. If Nix had any balls he would have forced FJ to play out his last year of his contract and then thanked him for his contribution to the team which was next to nothing this year. This franchise has drafted two running backs in the first round, signed a 30+ year old to an extension, and drafted one 7th round QB in the last 5 years. Is there no wonder this team is irrelevant???

I suspect NIx and Stevie had the same time line last year. If they don't want Levitre back what is the point in sending him a low ball offer. If they want him back they will blow him away with an offer he can't refuse right at the end. If Levitre wants to walk there is nothing the Bills can do about it. I still say let hime walk, take Warmack at #8 and use the cap dollars saved to get Mike Wallace or Bowe. Add a few LB's and draft BPA round 2-8.

If the Bills use the cap space to sign FA players this year they won't get the compensatory draft pick. You only get compensation when you lose players and don't sign others. It is the net difference in contract dollars between players that are lost and one that you have signed. However I would still let Levitre walk, take Warmack, and sign two LB's and one or two WR's. Maybe make a run at Jermichael Finley for a third and a conditional pick next year.