2003Contenders

When Mayock says that he is a 2-down lineman, he's pretty much saying that Ngata's role would be as a run stuffer, which is what we need.

I will have to say that of ALL of the mistakes that TD made, this is the one that I will have the hardest time forgiving, mainly because it was the one descision that I ABSOLUTELY could never justify. You can still argue that the Bledsoe trade was a good one, and it certainly looked pretty good at the time (and for the first half year). Who would have guessed that Mike Williams would have been such a bust? Even with both coach hires, some of us thought that TD was bringing in up and comers. But letting Big Pat walk -- especially when the Vikings did not out and out overpay for him -- was just asinine.

This article does not appear to have much basis in fact. Indeed, Moran -- maybe an apt name? -- jumps all over the map with his piece. In his intro, he talks as if he has inside information that Marv does not like JP. Then toward the end of the article, he claims that Marv probably likes JP... He also suggests that the mere fact that the team is bringing in free agent QBs is a sign that they are down on JP. I suppose he is talking about GB's 3rd stringer, Nall?

If we trade, I think it's a draft day deal, where we wait to see if by some miracle Ferguson or Mario fall to us. If they are not there, then we move down. And if they ARE there, then some team drafting after us may be more willing to really sell the farm.

Plus we had a chicken sh-- head coach that was hoping to save his job by starting a journeyman QB, rather than seeing what we had in Losman. That was the same coach who quit on us... once his job was secure.

Did Damione Lewis sign anywhere?

I have a feeling that the Packers' "standing offer" pretty much stated that they would meet or exceed any offer that another team may present. Considering the amount of cap space that the Packers have, it was a battle that the Bills couldn't win. That also explains why he headed out of town quickly yesterday with no press conference. Now with Bernard also signed, it's looking like free agency may not be the place to find our other starting DT.

It wasn't that long ago that Ramsey was a 1st round draft pick. Some would liken him to a poor man's Drew... that is a smart kid with a big arm but no mobility. If he gets behind a strong OL, he could still turn out to be a quality NFL QB. It's not as if Joe Gibbs ever gave him much of a chance.

Does anyone know if Pickett has another scheduled visit with another team -- or did he head back to Green Bay?

I agree. And the actor playing Logan has begun doing a good job of fleshing out his character too. Last season, he was a stock weakling. This year, while still a weak figure, he is a bit more human -- and even compelling. As for Tony, I am afraid that I think he is, in fact, dead. The official 24 website even lists him as "Deceased". For a character as important as Tony's I would have rather had a more interesting demise than another former agent getting the better of him and sticking him with a needle. Also, how contrived was it that Robocop wasn't even in any kind of restraints?

Kevin can't sing, but even as a youngster he's developed a witty Woody Allen-like self deprecating look at himself that some people must find enduring. (I'm not one of them.) Anyway, his "I wasn't expecting much from you!" stab at Simon undoubtedly got him a ticket back next week.

It's an inside scoop I got from a member of the NY media, who follows the Giants. The monkey-wrench could be the Cleveland Browns, who are hotly pursuing Arrington. At any rate, Petitgout, amazingly, will carry the biggest base salary figure on the team into the start of the 2006 season if he makes the roster -- almost $6 million, more base than Michael Strahan, Tiki Barber or Eli Manning. So he sees a possibility of them cutting him even if LaVar doesn't come aboard.

Imagine having two firsts, a high second, and two high thirds...

Did Royal beat you up and steal your lunch money when you were a kid or something? This tirade against his signing is getting old.

The word I am hearing is that the Giants may have to cut him if they are serious about bringing Lavar in. Petigout is by far the team's biggest cap liability, and the Giants just signed Bob Whitfield again. With his past history with McNally and the fact that he fits the profile of the young veterans that the Bills are brining in, do you think he would be an option?

The Jags must be cornering the market on overweight, underachieving OTs. In fact, this signing makes little sense, as both Big Mike and McDougle's best position is RT. Maybe the Jags project Big Mike to OG after all.

... That is, if he comes cheap enough and Moulds leaves.

Just because Shelton and Shaffer received big money -- that doesn't mean that they were worth it. In fact, I would rank them as the 2nd-3rd tier guys everyone is worried about the Bills getting stuck with if they do not act soon enough. In all honesty, I am not sure that either guy would have provided us with any kind of upgrade. Bentley obviously would have been an upgrade, but he signed with his hometown team for a lot of cash. Thus, I don't think he was ever truly available to us. Look, we all know that the Bills have some major holes to fill on the OL. But we do not need to go off half-cocked and blow our limited cap dollars on more run-of-the-mill players. In fact, if we are able to address other needs via free agency, then we will not have to address those other needs in the draft, which means that we can stockpile OL via the draft. In fact, with the interior of the line being the biggest issue, you can often find very good OG and OC in the 2nd and 3rd round of the draft.

The problem is that there aren't a whole lot of differece-making OL on the market right now. Why? Because they are such a commodity that their original teams wrapped them up. Case in point: Look at the outrageous money thrown at the likes of Shaffer, Shelton, and -- yes -- Mike Williams. There are some older guys out there, like Runyan and Fabini -- but we have to wonder what they have left in the tank. Whether you like what the front office is doing or not, they have developed a pattern of brining in guys under the age of 30 for contract talks.

Why is everyone so sure that Marv wouldn't consider trading up or down? He was around when we worked out the deal with the Colts to get Biscuit, no?

I wouldn't be surprised if Keyshawn retires. He hinted at it when he got into hot water with Gruden down in Tampa Bay.

The interesting thing is that up until about a week ago it looked like as many as 3 QBs would go in the first round -- all possibly in the first 7 picks. With Bush still likely to go at the top of the draft, that would have meant that we would have had dibbs at one of the top 4 other players in the draft. Now I am starting to think that only one QB (Leinert) will go that high, which means that we effectively lose two slots in the draft. That's why I feel that we could be prime candidates to move up -- or down. Much will depend on what we do in free agency between now and then. With 4 Day 1 picks -- all in the top 10 of each round -- we may have the luxury of trading to move up if we want to land Mario or Ferguson. However, if Marv and co have not filled enough holes in free agency, then we may not be in the best position to give away draft picks to move up. A good start would be to sign Pickett. That would mitigate the need for drafting a DT high in the draft, and perhaps give us the flexibility of moving up to land a blue chip player at another position of need.

Collins has proven to be a capable backup -- and deserves kudos for hanging around the league for over 10 years now. It's funny to think that he really didn't get much more of a shot here than JP has received up until now.

The point is that if a QB has a problem throwing the football in inclimate weather, then he is not a good fit for our team. Maybe if Aikman had played his career in Buffalo or Green Bay, rather than Dallas, he wouldn't have just been elected to the Hall of Fame.

Every time I think of McCown coming in, I remember his last visit 2 years ago, when he acknowledged that he could not throw the football in this climate.