2003Contenders

It's odd that after a decade of success, the drafting of Moulds in 1996 brought with it a decade with ZERO playoff victories. I'm not in any way blaming him for this, but maybe if he does indeed leave, we can turn the page on a new era of success.

In all seriousness, I have never really understood the love that some have for Moulds. I'm not even going to comment on his class -- or lack thereof. Instead, let's talk about his production -- or lack thereof. He could be the most overrated WR of the last decade. If you look back at his career, you'd have to same that he's only had 2-3 really good years in his 10-year career. I've heard so much from him about how jealous he is of Marvin Harrison for having had the opportunity to play with one really good QB, while "poor" Eric has had to deal with a QB turnstile. Maybe, we should look at it from the other point of view. That is, maybe just maybe Moulds has been a QB-killer during his time in Buffalo. Don't want to play in Buffalo anymore, Eric? Don't let the door hit you going out.

I don't think they are smoke screens at all. I seriously think that there really is a lot of debate amongst scouts about Young. Some really do feel that he is a rare, even once in a generation, talent coming out of college -- and, therefore, think that he is worthy of a a top 2-3 draft pick. Others worry that his style of play is not condusive to being a successful QB in the NFL. I wouldn't be surprised to find some teams unwilling to draft him at ANY point in the first round. What I imagine will happen is that we may see something similar to the Tim Couch-Akili Smith charade that took place in 1999. Leinert's agent has already stated that he wants a $30 M signing bonus for his client. Teams interested at the top of the draft may threaten to draft Young as leverage in negotitations with Leinert and his people. As it turned out both Couch and Smith were busts. We'll just have to wait and see about Leinert and Young.

Supposedly the Broncos are interested. I'd guess that the NYG are interested, since they just lost out on Keyshawn. Remember that the Bears were willing to throw a lot of money Randle El's way. Probably both NE and Miami would be interested. The 49ers need a WR in the worst kind of way. The Chiefs have been needing a playmaker at WR for a long time. The Packers could be desperate if Walker is serious about holding out. We've said all along that EM would be a perfect fit for the Eagles. I have no doubt that there are 8 or more interested teams. And this year's WR draft class is not supposed to be one of the better ones either.

I like him in run support, and I believe that Denney's sack numbers have increased each year he's been in the league.

With the lack of credible WRs out there is free agency, this could be a seller's market. I'm thinking we can get a Day 1 pick for EM.

I think this may finally be the year that Josh Reed steps it up, becuase I think that this will finally be the year that he is used properly. 2002: Promising Rookie Season 2003: Miscast in Peerless Price deep threat role. 2004: Battled through injuries 2005: Was arguably the most consistent WR on the team amidst the QB musical chairs situation. I really do think that he is primed to have a big season. With the other WRs all taking on the speed burner role, Josh could be a beast over the middle of the field, maybe even brining back memories of another Reed we all remember well.

The Walker situation is an interesting one, because he was also a hold-out last year. He returned after the Packers made their stand, which included having Favre call Walker out publicly. Of course, soon thereafter, he blew out his knee. While intriguing, I'd want the following questions answered prior to even considering giving up a pick for him... 1. Is he healthy? If he is at least close to his 2004 form, Walker would instantly improve our WR corps. The dude is the total package of size and speed -- and would be a welcome addition to a roster of mostly under-sized WRs. 2. Is this hold-out threat two years in a row going to be a pattern for him? Maybe last year was understandable, as he was coming off a Pro Bowl caliber season. However, he missed virtually all of last season with his injury, so his leverage is nil now. 3. As this is the final year of his existing contract, is he up for negociating a long-term deal? (Of course, this is also contigent upon his health.) Once those questions are answered then I'd be willing to talk about compensation in terms of a trade.

Actually, call me silly, but if Teague remains unsigned -- and is willing to come back to Buffalo on the cheap, I would not balk at that. I wouldn't want him as a starter, but he provides smart, veteran depth at multiple positions.

At the time, Glenn was a victim of Parcells' didain simply because the Tuna was overruled by the Pats' GM on draft day. If memory serves me correctly, Parcells wanted to draft a defensive player instead. Glenn went onto set some rookie receiving records that year, and the Patriots wouldn't have made it to the Super Bowl that year without him.

I expect big things from Willis, as I think he is planning on using this season almost as a contract year in hopes of getting a big payday in 2007.

I have to think that Marv and company really preferred Wells to Neal -- and that they thought with such a lucrative offer they never dreamed that the Cardinals would seriously match it. Yes, we all know that the Cardinals had more than enough cap room to do so, but I think Marv was banking that Bidwell would be to stingy to do so. He gambled and he lost... Oh, well.

I agree 100%. I also have to think that the team's decision to show faith in Reed by signing him to a long term deal may help him overcome his case of the dropsies, which he was well on the road to overcoming last year anyway.

LOL... The problem with TD is that he missed on Big Mike and waited until the late rounds to draft any other offensive linemen. The one time I do remember him drafting another lineman on day one, it was Jonas Jennings in the 3rd round, and he turned out to be OK, don't you think? Maybe if TD had just invested one of those back-to-back-to-back 2nd round picks on an OG or OC, rather than a DE, maybe we'd have a solid player there to this day. I bet there were decent guards and centers on the board, when he reached for Coy Wire too. It's funny how NFL teams undervalue interior linemen and safeties. If the scouts do their job, we should be able to find an immediate impact interior lineman in the early second -- or even early third round. As we saw last year, quality tackles are much harder to come by. I still remember last year, when Khalif Barnes fell to the 2nd round, hoping and praying that TD would find a way to trade up to get him. But Roscoe it was...

One other thing... And this may be far-fetched, but knowing that Parcells is a master psychologist, I wouldn't put it past him. Remember that the Tuna was an noticeable ommission from the TO signing party. Perhaps, he called aside Bledsoe, and reminded him of the fanfair that accompanied TO's arrival in Philly -- and suggested that the leaders of the team impose that TO earn their trust and respect from the outset.

Considering that Nall, who is about the same age as Ramsey, cost us no draft picks, I am not disappointed in passing on Ramsey.

For one thing, #22 is a bit high for Mangold. You can usually find quality interior linemen in the second and third round. If we are going to take an OL in the first round, we'd be better served at OT with someone like Winston Justice, Eric Winston, who could both be gone by #22. Even Marcus McNeil, who opened a lot of holes for Ronnie Brown and Cadillac Williams at Auburn, wouldn't be a bad selection. Of course, with this extra pick -- and knowing that we have 3 additional Day 1 picks -- I wouldn't be opposed to looking for more help in the secondary or at DE, depending on who is there.

With the recent signing of Fowler, coupled with the selection of Duke Preston last season, I doubt that Marv would be inclined to draft Mangold. But I like your idea of pairing Moulds with our #8 to move down and take Denver's two first rounders.

Actually, you probably could not ask for a better pairing for TO than Drew. Despite all of Bledsoe's shortcomings, which we all know too well, Drew is a very stand-up and secure guy. He's not likely to get his "feelings hurt" if/when TO mouths off. Also, his years of success in the league and ability to throw the football should be enough to keep TO quiet in the first place. I also think that Drew is the kind of guy that will approach TO after an altercation and say "My bad" -- even when it really may have been TO's fault. And if TO can't get along with Drew, then he won't ever get along with anybody...

My guess is that when it's all said and done, we'll find that he signed in the same $1M per year range that we've been signing most of the 2nd tier guys that we've brought in -- and that the contract is back-loaded with a minimal signing bonus.

I seem to remember that there was a major argument between Marv and Butler over Moulds versus McElroy back in 1996. Does anyone remember which side of the argument that Marv was on? My recollection is that Kelly begged for a WR. That would mean that either... 1. Kelly went over Marv's head to side with Butler or... 2. Kelly joined forces with Marv to hammer it home to convince Butler to yield. Does anyone remember? I know it was just one situation, but it would give a good example of where either Marv was dead on (for wanting Moulds) or dead wrong (for wanting McElroy).

As I mentioned in another post, while the signing of Nall may not be a vote of confidence for JP -- at the very least it (along with Marv's associated comments about the signing) likely means that JP will at least be with the club on opening day. That is to say that a first round draft pick in April would have almost certainly signaled the end of JP in Buffalo. By signing a career backup to a contract with a signing bonus big enough to assure that he is not camp fodder, the team has taken the first round draft option off the table. (Marv also said as much after the Nall signing.) Thus, JP will be here at least through 2006, so I believe that rumors of his departure are bogus. If Nall is what I expect, then he will give JP quality competition without being a genuine threat to him. Of course, if Nall is better than I expect, well, that can't be all bad either.

Considering that he managed to do a decent job protecting the not-so-nimble Brad Johnson last season, I have optimistic feelings.

I haven't looked at one of those draft value charts lately, but moving from 8 down to 15 would probably only net us Denver's 2nd round pick, rather than their other first rounder.

My guess is that if Eric was an official "holdout", then the team could deny him his roster bonus and any base salary he has coming. Also someone said above, the Bills then would only be on the hook for this year's portion of his signing bonus. The sketchy part is the roster bonus -- and whether or not the Bills really can keep that from him if he refuses to show up. I agree that this may just be a ploy, but if Eric is serious about never wanting to play for the Bills again and the Bills cannot get a decent draft pick for him, then I think this is the route that the team should take -- as it would be the most cost effective in relation to the cap. And in my book, if he flat out does not want to play for us, then I do not believe there would a good reason to accomodate EM -- and another team for that matter. Cutting him prior to June 1 would force the remainder of his signing bonus to escalate against this year's cap. For that matter, the same thing would happen if we traded him, so we had better get a decent Day 1 draft pick if we are expected to eat that kind of cap hit for a player not even with the team.