2003Contenders

Well, if he is on the trading block it helps his value if the Bills say he is the starting SS.

I like saving the various NFL Draft Magazines every year -- especially Pro Football Weekly and Sporting News -- just so that I can go back and revisit them over the years. So I recently looked back at the 2008 mags. And I would surmise that (aside from Bradford and MAYBE Clausen), Brohm's reputation when he came out back in 2008 was significantly better than that of any other QB that is set to be drafted in April. Does that mean that the draftniks missed the boat with Brohm? Could be. Or it could be that he found himself in a bad situation in GB. SN had Brohm rated as the #1 QB prospect -- ahead of Matt Ryan. They compared him to Peyton Manning and predicted that he would be NFL ready from day one, given his pedigree (dad and brothers were coaches) and top flight production exhibited at Louisville. PFW rated him third behind Ryan and Henne. They ranked him ahead of Joe Flacco, but cautioned that they believed that Brohm had limited upside. They predicted that he would be destined to become a career backup or a marginal starter who would leave his team always hoping for more. My concern is that his greatest strength coming out seemed to be that he had a great deal of polish -- and the learning curve for the NFL wouldn't be very steep for him. However, the reason the Packers left him unprotected was because he had less of a grasp of the offense than 7th rounder Flynn. To be honest, there is very little to go on when it comes to Brohm. From the Bills perspective, he had very little opportunity to display his goods. The Atlanta game was difficult to evaluate. On one hand, his stats were lousy -- but he played behind the worst OL that we put on the field last year. Gauging his physical skills in that game, I thought he showed a lively arm -- and the ball seemed to come out of his hand quickly. I, for one, would rather that the Bills give him a real opportunity before using a 2nd-3rd round pick on the likes of McCoy, Pike, LeFevour, etc.

My favorite regular season game was the 1992 "No punt" game against the Niners at Candlestick. Kelly and Young each passed for over 400 yards in that game.

Remember "The Package"? Wade unveiled that on opening day 2000, when the Bills hosted the Titans on a Sunday night. (First game after MCM.) At that time, the Bills ran a 3-4, but for that game, since the Titans were a run-heavy team, Wade came up with the idea of having both Washington and Big Pat play DT -- along with Wiley and Hanson as DE. That was essentially a 4-4.

Let's see... Bills @ Pats: Trent wasn't horrible in that game, but I have to believe that a Pro Bowl QB would have gotten us into field goal range on that final drive. Cleveland @ Bills: A Pro Bowl QB puts up at least 6 points against the Cleveland D. Bills @ Jags: That was game that the Bills almost won with mediocre play from Fitz. Pats @ Bills: The Bills arguably outplayed the Pats in that game but found a way to lose because of a couple big plays and untimely penalties. Bills @ Jets: Offense was totally inept -- but still had a chance to win until the very end. That is 5 games I count. Not to mention games like the Saints and Texans ones whose outcome may have been different if the offense hadn't put the defense in a bad situation for 3+ quarters.

I'd rather take my chances with what we have now.

Well, looking at it from strictly a position standpoint, there are 2 DTs, 4 OTs, and 2 QBs that could all go before the #9 pick. All three are positions of need. So are DE, ILB, OLB, and WR. If you presume that Lynch is gone, then you could argue that RB is also a need pick -- however, you can ALWAYS find good RBs in the later rounds. I would imagine that if the draft works out this way, the Bills would be in a prime position to trade down with a team that may be interested in a DB or DE, since the top at both positions would be available in that scenario.

He could play DE on obvious passing downs -- and MAYBE OLB on run downs. The problem is that he gets paid too much to be a role player.

Well, we knew going in that there wasn't much reason to be excited about free agency. There's just not much value out there now. I, for one, however, am excited about the draft. I have faith in Nix and Gaily (and his staff of recent college coaches) to do a good job working the draft. I also believe that Modrak, unhindered by Jauron and his fetish for DBs, will prove to be a better resource this year.

Indeed. In defense of the Bills' brass back in those days, that defense was built to stop Marino and the pass-happy Dolphins' offense, which it did successfully. Naturally, it had far less success against the bigger, run-oriented NFC East teams that they faced in the Super Bowl. Those Super Bowl losses all hurt, but the object is to build a team capable of winning your division -- something that has been overlooked for the past decade. And when you are building essentially from the ground up, you start with the big men along the DL and OL.

While I hope that Schobel decides to return (the team doesn't need yet another starting position to back-fill), the writing is clearly on the wall. Really, for the past few years, Schobel has avoided as many team workouts as he could. Yet another reason why I am so glad that Jauron is gone.

What's wrong with bringing the guy in to take a private look at him? Views on him seem to be very polarizing: from he is a born winner that will make any team better to he will never play QB in the NFL. I suspect that this same sort of debate is going on within the Bills' ranks. Having Tebow come in and be highly scrutinized by the decision-makers should serve to provide a final evaluation on this kid.

Agreed. My only concern is the lack of any exploration whatsoever. (Of course, who knows what actually may be going on behind the scenes.) Maybe they are waiting until the circus level atmosphere tones down, and decent but low key vets can be added for reasonable offers. I really think that this new front office with Nix, Modrak (unburdened by Jauron and his goons), and Gailey (with his college connections and supporting staff) believes that they can work this year's draft. That's why I do not expect them to be trading away draft picks for RFAs. I hope they are right.

Troy Smith was so good that the Ravens traded up in the first round to get Flacco two years ago -- and the Ravens' front office knows what they are doing.

Honestly, with some genuine competency now at the GM level and the abundance of recent college level coaches that have been added to the mix, I wouldn't be surprised if the team trusts their evaluations enough to make a number of trades to move down and acquire more picks.

Well, it depends on the QB, too. If the Bills were to acquire a veteran QB (say McNabb for the sake of argument), then I would agree that his presence would in and of itself make the OL better. However, an inexperienced QB (say a rookie) behind a patchwork OL could spell doom for both the short term as well as the long term. It's really a catch-22. I would say, assuming that we are unable to address the QB position in free agency or trade, I would rather invest the high pick on an OL than a QB. Of course, if the team can find a LT via trade or free agency...

Actually, I do see similarities between Bradford and Pennington (when he was coming out of Marshall): both are heady, accurate QBs -- but neither has/had a cannon for an arm.

There is no denying that Brees is a fine QB, but I wonder if New Orleans (which plays all of their home games in a dome -- and all of their division games in warm climate) would have been as eager to sign him to a contract coming off that shoulder injury if the playing conditions had been like Buffalo's?

Funny enough, the scenario is VERY similar to what we saw back in 2006, the year after TD was fired. The Bills had a new coach GM (Marv), head coach (DJ), and serious doubts about whether their annoited QB of the future (Losman), who had most recently lost his starting gig to a journeyman backup (Holcomb), was the answer. The team made a decision that throwing a hot shot rookie into the mix at that juncture was NOT the way to go. Thus, they by-passed Cutler in the draft and went with Whitner. Ironically, Losman went on to have his best year as a pro that year, passing for over 3000, taking every snap, and finishing with a decent QB rating. Now, the question is: whose philosophy was it to NOT draft a young QB that early? It doesn't sound like it was Modrak, given that word has circulated that Modrak was very much in the corner of folks who wanted to draft Cutler. If this was from the very top (i.e. Wilson), then obviously nothing has changed, although I do get a sense (as of today) that Ralph is more willing to let Buddy and Chan do their thing. I will say that if the current decision makers are presented with an honest to goodness trade-down scenario as Marv supposedly was back in 2006, I would tend to believe that Nix would welcome the additional draft picks. Buddy saw first hand in San Diego that drafting a QB, when the existing starter has been underwhelming (i.e. Rivers and Brees) may not be a bad move. That is to say, that it would NOT surprise me to discover that Trent Edwards is the opening day starter -- AND the Bills make a move early in the draft to take a QB. In fact, an early QB selection probably says more about the team's opinion of Brohm than it does Edwards.

Remember, there are 7 rounds in the draft -- and the Bills have a couple of extra picks. Just because they don't get a QB at #9, doesn't mean that they don't target one later.

If the Dolphins release Thigpen, then the Bills should give him a look. Otherwise, I would say pass on trading for him. I may be the only Bills fan on the planet that has the confidence that a sound offensive mind like Gailey will find a way to make one of the guys we currently have actually somewhat productive.

For me, I thought the tide of the game shifted right AFTER the failed 4th and goal for the Saints at the end of the 1st half. The Colts had all the momentum -- and then went into an offensive shell, going three-and-out and punting the ball away to allow the Saints to move within field goal range to end the half. Reminded me of the Bills' inability to do anything with the ball immediately after the safety in Super Bowl XXV.

Look, the Bills have made many personnel mistakes, but letting Hargrove leave wasn't one of them. Remember, they traded for him, hoping to get a diamond in the rough after a history of problems in St. Louis. The Bills were very patient with him, hoping that he would eventually bear some fruit. When he was healthy (and actually eligible) to play, he did show some flashes. However, his off-field issues really left the Bills with no other choice.

Given the Holmgren association and Cleveland's ability to provide better draft picks, I would presume that they are the favorites to land him.

I don't know. The dude's been around forever -- he just finished his 12th season in the league. He's the guy the Bills probably would have drafted back in 1998 if they hadn't given up their 1st for RJ.