ganesh

I think you lost my point ...I said Dareus has been good to great though not very dominant. I think it aptly reflects his season. Dareus did not make it to the Pro bowl or be voted as an All-Pro. I love the Dareus pick and hope he is our next Bruce Smith on the DL. But, that is what was his contribution to the team last year. The DL couldn't stop the run...they were 27th or 28th in the league. Dareus was part of that DL.

Yeah...The New York Knicks signed Alan Houston to a 100M contract 10 years ago....and it crippled that franchise for the next decade.

It would have to be the 1990 to 1994 Bills team as a whole. That team gave an identity to a franchise that had nothing going right since its AFL days and then has settled back to the same mediocrity after those guys left. Imagine how this team would be perceived if those guys hadn't given us those glory years instead of the gory years that their predecessors gave and their successors are continuing to dish out.

I agree. 70% of your draft choices have a good shot to make it to the team, if the original team was horrible...and it was horrible indeed. What we are yet to see is these drafted players turn into blue chip players...Spiller is a backup, Troup cannot get on the field...Dareus was good to great thought not very dominant. I hope year 3 is when Nix and Chan can put together a team that comes together and plays together and wins games. At the end every player, GM, Scouts will be graded by the # of wins on the field.

Attempting to answer your question that was on the subject... The biggest camp battle will be for the 2nd WR spot. That is wide open with Donald Jones the front runner. However, there will be stiff competition at that spot with Graham and Easley trying to make a hard push. Another spot might be the other CB positions. Will last years 2nd round pick Aaron Williams Supplant incumbent but oft injured McGee? I think Williams can push McGee hard for the starting gig, especially if McGee does not recover from his injuries.

Trent and Losman were thrust into starting QB roles on bad to mediocre football teams and had no good coaching. With no OL, they were doomed to fail more so than have a chance to succeed. By the time they went on to other teams, their play and reputation were already scarred. For example, Jauron decided to run a no-huddle offense, when they had absolutely no personnel to run it. Teams like the Steelers ridiculed our offense and suggested that we huddle a bit to perspire. Trent had many good throws under pressure..so many good wins in a comeback spot. The teams were just not very good.

Just like they criticize (or don't talk) about team when the bills make no moves, they also talk about us and interested in us when we actually make offseason moves. The Bills did quite a bit of moves and it gives them data to analyse whether if we are just a better team or a team that can beat the Jets and Dolphins or can it really go over the hump and take the division away from the Patriots. And they are doing just that.

We should try to trade Edwards for a 6th or 7th rounder from the Steelers or Ravens as both are thin at the DT position and do play the 3-4.

That spot would have belonged to Aaron Maybin at the beginning of last season.

I don't believe he can attend training camp without a contract, as per the CBA. In fact, I believe even the UDFA and Try out players must have a proper contract before training camp.

PatKirwanCBS talkin w/Buddy Nix.. says we willsee Fred Jackson&CJ Spiller at the same tie, WR TJ Graham quicker than they thought.

:thumbsup: Couldn't agree any more. Thanks for backing up. While Spiller may have emerged with a 5.2 Yards Per Carry, that is not what I heard after every one of those game. People were down on Spiller and as to how he really didn't get the yards when it was needed etc. etc. We are not rushing the ball when it counted like we did in the first five games. The HC and the coaching staff did not have the backups ready to play when the starters went down with injury. Brad Smith was not used in the 2nd half, when they could have taken the pressure off from the bruised ribs of Fitzpatrick. And after every one of those games, Gailey gave a blank look and just said "We have to figure out why things did not work".

Good point. If we really have built the necessary depth this year, our 2nd stringers and 3rd stringers should be able to play like starters and may be have a few wins.

The discussion is based for the performance during the entire season, not just the first 5 games.

The "Lack of Killer Instinct" comment is attributed to the coaching staff, because they couldn't push these guys to believe that they can win in spite of the injuries. Hence, under the Coaching staff. Many times, I saw Fitzpatrick sit at the corner of the bench with no emotions and head down. If that was a Belichek or Parcells coaching staff, they would have been in his face. Regarding "Couldn't run to finish games": We lost close games to the Giants, Bengals, Patriots (had a 21-0 lead), Miami etc.

There is has been so many changes during this off season that all we hear is positive vibes. It is important to go back and look at what ailed our beloved bills last year and what these off season changes have done to eliminate them. Here are my 12 reasons why the Bills were a bad team last year. What has been our Weakness in the PAST: Defense: 1. Ability to stop the RUN when it counts 2. Ability to rush the passer and not give them all the world to complete a pass Offense: 3. Not converting drives into TDs and settling for FGs. 4. Poor Red Zone execution, especially in the Run game (No dominant push at LOS) 5. Bad throws by the QB 6. Lack of a 2nd play maker to take pressure off Stevie Johnson 6a. Inability to use the TE in the middle of the field and use only as a Red zone target. Coaching: 7. Lack of Killer Instinct to finish games. Could not run the ball to run out the clock. 8. Lack of leadership among the players. When key players were injured, team tanked the rest of the games. 9. Weak position coaches (Mainly college experienced ones) 10. Lack of clear game planning and making gametime personnel decisions to the strength of this team: a) Couldn't consistently put Spiller and Jackson to be on the field at the same time b) Paid 15M for a wild-cat QB and used him about five times in the entire season c) Did not address the RIB issue (Fitz) after the Washington game. If you are a coach and your QB is throwing ducks due to bad ribs, you pull him out and replace him. d) Unpredictable 10. Too many injuries to key players 11. Lack of Depth at many critical positions. It showed when key players were injured 12. Decision to do a 3-4 with a LB coach as the DC and not having the right personnel for it. Now your thoughts on if the off season moves have helped this team eliminate those woes. Remember the difference between the teams in the NFL is pretty small. Even if you can fix half the above problems, you are closing that narrow gap to a pin hole.

Agreed. One of the most lame report on any web site.

Actually I would like Chandler to be more part of the passing game in the middle of the field and not just the Red Zone. He is already Fitz's favorite target in the Red zone. Chandler needs to open up the middle for the short to mid range passing game to work.

A better front four that can stop the run will make our LBs better and be able to get to the ball carriers without a OG or TE on their face.

Have to disagree...Kyle Williams and Dareus are penetrating interior linemen who can rush the passer and have had good success in stopping the run and forcing it to the outside. If Mario and Anderson can play as thye are expected they should be able to stop those runs to the outside or the cutback lanes. If they do, we will have a strong run defense and at the same time offer a tremendous pass rush. The question is: Can they execute consistently on 70 plays a game week-in-week-out. We will find out in September.

The Bills were 1-5 against AFC East foes last year including sweeps by the Dolphins and the Jets. Before lining up against the Patriots, this team must beat the Jets and Dolphins before talking any smack. I am still worried by the #2 WR position. Donald Jones when given the job last year was horrible. Could get no separation and also had drops. We really need a legitimate #2 WR. May be Scott Chandler becomes a better pass-catching TE. Also, not sure if we are going to get the consistency from the LT position considering that it will be manned by a Rookie Tackle who will be going against some good pass rushers.

Big Ben was pretty average in hist 1st SB...Of course he made up for it with that Final "Elwaysque" drive for 92 yards against Arizona in the next one. The bottom line is that teams win SB due to a dominating defense, great special teams and good offense. There has rarely been a team that won purely on excelling on one side of the ball game. Even in the Baltimore win, Dilfer/Shannon Sharpe combination was pretty lethal. Even Brady's 3 SB wins have come with more of dominating defense and the one year they tried to win with their offense, god took it away with a miracle play.

I am worried about SJ's groin injury. That thing is a nagging injury and he started suffering from it midway last season. I am worried that Wood and Jackson may not return to their original form before their season-ending injury

And Vinnie Iyyer @ Sporting News has him ranked @ #20.... NFL QB Ranking After the Top 10 QBs it doesn't matter whether you are the 12th best or 20th best.....The difference is a pretty thin line between a Jay Cutler to Fitzpatrick to a Dalton...They are all inconsistent QBs. Fitz game should improve with: 1. Return of Eric Wood to Center 2. Return of Jackson as the starting RB 3. Hopefully a dominating Defense that will STOP THE RUN 4. A better starting LT in Cody Glenn who can hold the fort And himself (Fitz) improving his mechanics and reduce his mental mistakes. There are lot of good things aligning for Fitz. It is now up to Fitz and Gailey to execute.

The biggest improvement is going to come because of the DL. When that DL can stop the run and apply pressure, the DBs will suddenly become outstanding. If this D can cause havoc and shorten the field for the offense, this team has a chance. Then it is up to Fitz and Chan to execute and put the games away. The team for a change has talent on its side. It is up to the coaching staff to turn that into wins.