2003Contenders

Different guys develop at different rates. Aaron Rodgers is the modern poster child of the QB who needed 2-3 years to watch and learn. The caveat for his situation has always been "Yea, but he was playing behind Favre and had no chance of seeing the field anyway." True. But I also remember playing against the Packers in the preseason in 2006 and thinking how much better off we were with Losman than if we had not made the deal to trade up in 2004 and had waited until 2005 to draft Rodgers instead. Doh! I like EJ's mind-set and hope that he is preparing himself as if he is the starter. You never know, especially with our offensive line. Manuel could be rushed back into the starting role at any time.

I honestly didn't question the decision to punt at the time, and I do not question it now -- especially the way the defense had been playing through the first 2 games.

I agree with those citing the 3rd and 1 followed by the 4th down play. That whole sequence was a colossal mess: When it was 3rd and a short 1, Marrone should have made it clear THEN whether or not this was 4-down territory. Perhaps better play-selection would have been in order. How about a play-action pass on 3rd and short -- followed by a QB sneak or Summers/Dixon run if the 3rd down play was unsuccessful. Running CJ in that situation had to be the most bone-headed call imaginable. It created a 4th and 4 situation -- which we all knew EJ was not going to convert.

Excellent and balanced observation. I am also surprised that no one is talking more about the pass on which Goodwin almost got killed. You could see the regret on EJ's face after the play. A few minutes later in the game Watkins admittedly alligator-armed a pass for fear of getting knocked out. If this keeps up, there may be a revolt in the locker room.

Yep -- and the outside receiver was clearly blocking Gilmore before the pass was completed to Royal on the first San Diego TD. That one was blatant and should have been an OPI call as well.

I think this was a classic crash and burn situation. The team was so high last week: the home opener, the team sale, Jim Kelly's good news, the big win over Miami, etc. The team just looked very flat today. 1. The game was lost in the trenches. The OL struggled from the very beginning. EJ was never able to get comfortable. I think he has all the God-given skills and talent that you would want from a QB, but he just doesn't look natural back there. I am not sure if that will come with more experience. On days like this he needs to step up. 2. The LB corps was exposed a bit today. Rivers kept throwing those quick underneath throws, identifying the mismatches.

Carey, the former official now working for CBS, talked about that. He said the ball came out just as it hit the pylon, and it was hard to tell whether or not it was starting to come out before. Thus, it was correct to stick with the call that was made on the field.

Part of me just has trouble believing that the NFL was trying to hide anything in this situation. After all, they had to know that this video would be available to the public at some point, right? It is not as if their copy of the video was the only one in existence. I may be grasping at straws, but I wonder if the NFL did have the video and just never bothered to watch it. That is, suppose for a moment that Ray Rice admitted to everything and in so doing the NFL leadership saw no need to view the video, since Rice wasn't refuting any of the charges against him. They may have thought that no further investigation was necessary since he confessed to the deed. Of course, HEARING about the incident -- as bad as that narrative may be -- simply doesn't compare to actually SEEING the incident along with Rice's total disregard for the young lady after he knocked her out cold. Just a thought.

Did he say they wouldn't hesitate to make a change THIS week -- or early in the season (like, say, Week 3 or 4)? I bet he meant the latter.

Also, his ball-handling skills are superb -- even on hand-offs. I think he has all the God-given talent, intelligence and work ethic to be successful. He just has to refine those skills. The reality is that guys like Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck come around once in a blue moon -- but I bet if you look at the history of those guys you will observe that they were groomed from an early age to play the position. Even as FSU, E.J. did not play in a pro style offense, so he still has a larger learning curve to overcome. Hopefully he continues to progress -- and nuances of the position start to become more natural for him.

Boyd is also very good friends with EJ -- so could be a decent chemistry pickup as a QB3 or practice squad option.

As bad as our memory is of Mike Williams, this actually is not true. Big Mike was actually a pretty decent RT his rookie year, when he started from Day One. The big problem for him was conditioning and an inability to play through pain. He regressed badly in his second year -- and everything went downhill from there.

Tim Graham is reporting that Jim Kelly joined one of the 8 bidders -- but doesn't know which one.

With all due respect to Mr. Brady, he was NOT the key factor in the Bills' losses to the Pats last year. Better clock management in the first game, and the Bills win that one. The second game was all about the defense's inability to stop Blount.

Well, there are a couple of things to remember here: 1. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Just because many draftniks have Martin ranked as the 4th best OT in the draft, that does not mean that the Bills do. Where did E.J. rank among QBs according to these draftniks last year? Behind Nassib by most accounts. I would have to say that Marrone and Hackett probably had more insight into Nassib's prospects as an NFL QB than would the Mel Kipers of the world, for example. 2. Who is to say that the 4th best OT isn't worth a top ten pick? In last year's draft the top two picks were both OT -- and many observers feel that the top three OTs in this year's draft are better than those top two last year. He does seem to fit the mold of the sort of linemen that the Bills have drafted successfully over the last 3 or 4 years. His ceiling s not as high as that of the top 3 OTs -- but his floor may be higher than any of them other than Mathews. That is to say that he probably has a much less likley bust factor than either Robinson or Lewan. In fact, I could see the Bills shocking many by taking him even if Lewan is still on the board. I am not advocating taking Martin at the #9 pick. In fact, if the Bills really feel that he is the BPA at #9, I really hope they at least try to trade down, because I suspect they can still get him later in the round.

One crazy thought... There is a certain QB who threw all those passes to Mike Williams in 2010, 2011 and 2012. The same QB that the Bills seriously pursued last fall when EJ went down with the knee injury during the Browns game. The same QB who is still on the market and can be acquired for a league-minimum contract.

Sounds good. Now, lets just hope that the 3 QBs go in the top 8 so that at least one of the 6 you mentioned is still on the board.

Yea, be interesting to see the contract details. At the start of the day the Saints only had a bout $2M in cap space. Obviously they are going to have to make some moves to consummate a deal with Byrd.

I will never forgive Modrak for that one. Passed over him for Maybin because he didn't like Texas players.

Given where he went to school, obviously the guys in the front office have plenty of inside intel on him. He is about as can't-miss of a prospect as we will ever see and fills a position of need. If he is still there at 9 (which I doubt), I think the Bills run to the podium to draft him.

I want to withold judgement until the facts come out. (Anyone remember what happened to Warren Moon years ago?) For all we know, Ray's girl was so sloppy drunk that she passed out -- and she was abusing him before she did so. Now, if he did indeed hit her (even if she hit him first) then I hope he gets prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

That is a nice way of saying that the Bills could use help EVERYWHERE, which means going BPA with each pick.

Wonder why he didn't just retain Norv.

I thik the Bills are serious and sincere about trying to bring Byrd back. Brandon's demeanor here, I think, spells that out. In the past, when they were not intererested in meeting a player's financial demands, the MO of the team has been to vilify the player in the press. I do not see that here. If Byrd really wants to play for the Bills and he has reasonable contractual demands, a deal can get worked out.

The Graham pick was one of Tom Modrak's parting shots. His decade of ineptitude was characterized by multiple "I want to show everyone how smart I am" selections that defied conventional wisdom. It will take another draft or two to cleanse the team of all of his missteps. Is it any wonder that Donahoe's first draft -- the only one WITHOUT Modrak -- was by far his best. All that said, I wonder how great Hilton would be now with the QBs the Bills have rolled out there the last 2 seasons rather than Andrew Luck.