2003Contenders

I think Hogan is a real sleeper in this draft. The only real knock on him appears to be his unorthodox delivery, which may or may not be correctable. My suspicion is that he can very easily be a solid, system-style QB that can win some games if everything around him is up to snuff. His experience in a pro style offense -- one that Greg Roman helped to institute no less -- will enable him to be serviceable right away. I would draft him as a solid backup -- with the possibility that he could someday be a starter in the Matt Hasselbeck/Andy Dalton mold. Not bad at all for a guy that we can probably get in the 4th rounder or later. If nothing else, I think he projects to be an upgrade over EJ Manuel -- and insurance in case Tyrod lays an egg this season or bolts afterwards for greener pastures.

I've been saying repeatedly that I hope the Bills actually grab 2 QBs in this draft, one that may be developmental but has tons of upside (say, Cardale Jones) -- and one that has a high floor but possibly limited upside like Hogan. In Hogan I see a guy that is probably going to be a career backup -- but who you can trust and rely on to know his playbook and execute an offense. He's the type of guy who can likely fill that #2 role from day one. In essence, Hogan would be EJ's replacement (recall EJ is a free agent after this year). The developmental QB would be a guy you groom and work with for a couple of years as the #3 -- if he shows no progress then you drop him and find another one.

Call me crazy, but considering that C. Jones is such a boom-or-bust option -- a guy unlikely to even be the backup for at least a year or so -- I would be all on board with the Bills taking a Kevin Hogan IN ADDITION to Jones, say in the last round or two. A guy like Jones has a much lower ceiling but could probably serve as a backup from day one. Meanwhile, in 2-3 years Jones is either starting or out of the league.

The talent is so tempting, I really think some team will take him sooner than he is currently pegged to go. In the right situation, where he is given time to develop, I think Jones could eventually thrive. I will say that with Roman, Palmer, etc. on hand and Tyrod the starter for a year or longer, this may not be a bad situation for him as long as the Bills are patient. Team patience will be key. I would be fine with the Bills reaching for him a bit in the 3rd -- but do not want them taking him in the 2nd (as some draftniks believe he may go now).

Would be happy with either one -- and you know Rex has all the intel on both given the Clemson connection.

Yea, the time frame is quite arbitrary. For example, I dare say that if you looked at the 10 years prior to this (86-95), the Bills likely had one of the BEST draft track records.

So said a scout hoping he falls a little further in the draft than currently projected.

First, let me say that I don't buy what is presented in the article. For one thing the premise is simply wrong: the Bills control Taylor's whereabouts for the next 2 seasons, as he is under contract this year and they could franchise him next year if he plays at a high level in 2016. Honestly, if he plays at such a level, they will likely be all in favor of giving him the big contract he wants after this season. Tyrod's presence, in fact, buys them plenty of flexibility at the QB position -- as they could roll the dice with a high upside QB in the draft who may not be a 1st rounder because he is not NFL-ready for a year or two. Now, lets hypothetically assume for a moment that the trade possibility is true. In essence, what the Bills would be doing is trading a 2nd, future 3rd and Tyrod to move from 19 to 2. We have seen what the price tag has been for some teams to merely move up a couple of spots in the draft -- remember that Washington gave up multiple first rounders to just move from 6 to 2. So the compensation is actually VERY reasonable to make this move. But here is the problem. If this were a team all set everywhere except the one glaring hole -- OK. Or if this was year one of a new regime, where the coach and GM wanted to trade the farm to get their guy at QB, OK. But that is not the case here. Rex and Doug are on a short leash to make it to the playoffs. They need all the impact players they can find in the draft to bolster the front 7 and offensive line. That doesn't happen with the first round pick gone for a rookie QB and no 2nd round pick at all. It also puts the team in the position of starting either a rookie or EJ Manuel at QB. So it is HIGHLY unlikely that either Rex or Doug would be on board with such a trade.

I like to keep old draft magazine publications and look back with the view of hindsight to see how close the "experts" were. Was just looking at an old Sporting News 2006 edition. On the cover was Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart and Vince Young. I know the Bills probably would have been much better off drafting Ngata (as conventional wisdom suggested they should), Cutler (whom they had rated as their top QB prospect in the draft) -- or trading down (as there were supposedly multiple opportunities for them to do). However, they could have done MUCH worse with that pick. Whitner was at least a decent starting safety.

I think if by some miracle the Bills came away with Dodd and Jones after the first 2 rounds, I would consider this to be a GREAT draft regardless what they did in the later rounds.

On a related note, it sounds like Bobby April (Sr.) will be available. Our specials teams were top notch when he coached them several years back.

I think we are on the same page here, as long as the QB we draft is in the mid-to-late rounds rather than an early selection.

Correct me if I am wrong, but didn't the Bills beat the Jets in their one face-to-face match-up this year? In the Jets' house. In prime time. The Jets also had the benefit of playing a 4th place schedule this year, which meant playing the Raiders (before they started playing well) and the Brown Stains as opposed to the Chiefs and Bengals as the Bills had to play. The Jets also did not have to deal with the mounting injuries like the Bills did. Imagine if Geno Smith had had to step in for a significant period of time as EJ did! Timing was also not on the Bills side most weeks this year; they probably beat the Jags if they play them any other week this year, for example. If the Jets lose to the Pats next week and then lose to us at home in Week 17, this will all be moot.

Week 2 vs Pats Week 7 at Jags* Week 11 at KC Week 12 at NE Week 14 at Philly Those are 5 games this season in which the Bills took over on offense trailing and with enough time to tie or win the game. The team was 0-5 in such situations. I placed an asterisk next to the Jags game because EJ was the QB there rather than Tyrod. The offense failed to do what they needed to do in these games for various reasons: poor clock management, bad play calls, lousy execution, etc. Failing to finish in any ONE of these games is one key reason why they aren't going to the playoffs again this year.

Yesterday around this time, I was about as angry as I have EVER been watching a Bills game. 24 hours later, I have calmed down a bit. Rex had one of his worst games ever as a coach yesterday. The blown challenges (or non-challenges), the mishaps on defensive calls, and more. Still, it is hard to compare him this year to Marrone from last season who had already had time to place his imprint on the team after a full season. Rex's team just lost a heartbreaker to the Chiefs; Marrone's teams lost similar games in 2013 and 2014. Remember that Marrone's team finished 6-10 in his first season. This 2015 team will likely finish with 8-10 wins. I think many factors entered into Marrone's decision to quit on the team: not the least of which was questions about the QB position and worries about an aging defense. As frustrated as I am with Rex, I am willing to give him one more season to pick up some additional players that are more in keeping with his defensive scheme -- and see where it goes from there. BTW, this discussion is moot if somehow the Bills go on a tear and win their last 6 games -- which is not an impossibility given the favorable schedule from here on out. Sadly, with the loss yesterday they no longer control their own destiny -- but all they need in conjunction with winning out is a loss from the Steelers somewhere along the line.

Add to that we probably also beat the Jags on any other Sunday this year -- and I believe that the game against Cinci would have been different with our current healthier roster than it was the week we played them. Oh, well. Them's the breaks.

Seems to me that he started off slowly but got better in the second half. In addition to the Stills long pass he gave up, there was another deep pass i the first half that Tannehill completed against Leodis on a rollout that was thankfully called back because of offensive holding. But he certainly looked much better in the 2nd half.

One question, you indicated that "Miller has a similar sequence of back to back plays where he gets blown up by Suh and Suh gets Taylor in the grasp.. then on the next play he is very stout .. holding up on a Suh bull rush just long enough for buy time for TT to throw the bomb to Sammy." The latter was the play where CBS indicated that Miller should have been flagged for holding Suh. Is it your opinion that Miller did a good job there and did not hold -- or are you saying that, since he didn't get flagged for it, it was not a hold?

Wilcotts is fine, and I thought he was actually very good today. He also kept asking the same question I have asked all year: if opposing QBs are making it a point to counter the pass rush by getting the ball out of their hand so quickly, the linemen need to be jumping up to bat down passes.

Yea, I think reaction to the way the defense has played thus far has been way over the top. I know that the sack numbers are way down, but sacks only represent a piece of the overall defense. In fact, of the first 7 games, I would argue that the defense has played very well in 5 of those games. The remaining two, where the defense struggled, were against teams that are collectively 15-0 and have elite offenses. One hand feeds the other, and if the special teams and offense improve (which they should as guys start getting healthy again) -- then the defense will be in better position to improve as well. Schwartz did a fine job, but the Bills' defense started off a bit slow last year too. Remember Week 3 against the Chargers and Week 6 against the Pats? It takes time for players and new coaches to get on the same page.

That was Graham. The only way the Jags win the game is if they score a TD -- both safeties should have been playing deep and preventing anyone from getting behind them. Still, credit Bortles with a fine pass and Hurns with great hands and concentration to catch the pass and stay in bounds.

When I saw Jerry Hughes with a higher grade than a C -- and that he had supposed;y played well all year long -- I quit reading.

I think Marrone made a number of key mistakes -- hiring Hackett as his OC, for example -- but he had instilled a sense of discipline that Rex is slowly but surely destroying. A classic example is Jerry Hughes, who found his way onto Marrone's doghouse on more than one occasion. Yet, Marrone managed to get Pro Bowl-level play from Hughes to the point where Hughes cashed in handsomely in the off-season. So far this year Hughes has been MIA for Rex. Marrone's people skills were also lacking. He had trouble getting along with the front office. I suspect more than anything else it was his clashes with Whaley that ultimately did him in. The two didn't see eye-to-eye on the QB situation. And it is a good bet that Whaley is the one who leaked all the "St. Doug" stuff to the press. Working in a toxic environment like that, it may be hard to fault him for cashing in on the golden parachute. Trouble is, he was arrogant believing that the Jets job was his for the taking -- and couldn't keep his mouth shut when he left. Ironic that Whaley himself may be on the hot seat now, largely because of the QB mess.

Actually in looking at that play again, I am convinced now that it was most definitely NOT PI. In fact, it looked like the receiver saw that the ball was overthrown and flopped, hoping to draw a flag. He immediately waved his hand for the flag -- but didn't protest too much. The replay also showed the Jags' coaching staff -- and there did not appear to be any outrage on their part in feeling that a penalty had been overlooked. If anything, the flag that WAS thrown against the Bills for excessive celebration was ridiculous. Fortunately, Gay did such a good job squibbing the kickoff that the penalty was not a factor.

Case in point: Do you think the Bengals win that game on Sunday with Andy Dalton out, Marvin Jones out, Jeremy Hill out, Gio Bernard on a snap-count, A.J. Green out after the first half, RT Andre Smith out after the first series, and Safety Reggie Nelson out? That was essentially the position that the Bills were in. Injuries are certainly a valid excuse. Bill Parcells once said that the coaching performance he and his staff did back in 2000 with the Jets' decimated by injury (Remember Ray Lucas at QB?) to get the team to 8-8 was the best of his career. Let's hope the team can get by the Jags in their current state and hope they get healthy during the bye.