#34fan

I remember alot of fans being high on Erik Flowers way back when. I wasn't on this board at the time, but alot of people were like whoo-hoo! Now,I'm not comparing Flowers to Ingram, I just think we should really BE SPECIFIC about how the individual can be used, as opposed to just saying "Draft that guy, he's talented!" I like a lot of things about Ingram, but I HATE him at #10.

It's definitely a unique perspective, and something to think about. -Shows how close we we'd be if we had a real QB at the helm. Two critical INT's, and two BADLY underthrown balls to an open wide reciever steps from the end-zone. AND WE STILL ONLY LOST BY 3! Thanks Fitz! I'm convinced that this loss helped deplete our team morale. This game was definitely the beginning of the end of our season.

Are posts like these your idea of "vaseline", Mr Overdorf?

Would everyone please STOP GUSHING over this Ingram kid. He's got a lot of talent, and he's a great athlete, but HELLO, this exactly the type of kid we've drafted early in the past, and either misused, or got little production from. I look at him, and I don't see a consistent, elite pass-rusher. I see a kid that, if used situationally, could have a big impact on games. By situationally, I mean certain defensive packages, and of course special teams. Hell, He might even make a decent tight end! Who knows? -Either way, he's NOT first round material. Not for us.

This isn't just on Gailey. From an organizational standpoint we do everything a$$-backwards. It's as if... I dunno... we're being run by a 90 year old man or something. In thirty years as a fan, I've seen decisions from our FO that have left me stunned, and speechless. However, the last twelve years or so have been a full-on nightmare. One bad idea after another. We have an owner that's way too buddy-buddy with his GM (incidentally also nicknamed Buddy) And a GM that's way, way, too buddy-buddy with his HC. -There's zero accountability from anyone, on any level. That's a problem going forward because bad decisions call for consequences, and in some cases, retribution. If there's little of the former, and none of the latter, we have laid the foundation for a future fiasco. I'd like to see a little more church and state from our FO. -AND more people's feet being held to the proverbial fire when decisions go afoul. I admire Jim Irsay for pulling the trigger on those who got a bit too comfortable within his organization. OBD should follow a similar course. Both Buddy and Chan should be put on notice regarding the consequences of another failed season. I'd rather see a green-horn GM, and a young HC struggling, than two fat, contented, comfortable failures living it up while fans continue to endure lost seasons.

LOL, It must be. The Bills team that I know sucks SO BAD, that few fans actually WANT the team to move. It's a damn shame. Still, the denial apparent in this thread isn't an answer. We're an awful team. However, with a few key peices, we could improve substantially. 4-3DE, 4-3OLB, OT/OG, WR/TE, and of course, a QB that wants to win. So maybe that's more than a few. Still, IMO it's fixable in the next couple of drafts.

The blame is his take. Evans had an opportunity to END THAT GAME. Instead, he chose to behave as though he was enjoying a leisurely picnic in the park. Evans is a veteran that the Ravens took a chance on, and ended up paying dearly for it. -He should be cut first thing Monday morning.

We're all set on DT's, and neither Dareus or Wiliams will ever be 4-3DE's. Brockers could concievably play NT in a 3-4, but he'd have to gain about 30 lbs of muscle. What we need is a Whitney Mercilus, or even a Courtney Upshaw. In some packages we could even set this Melvin Ingram kid up as an end, and throw him at unsuspecting QB's. But no more 1st Rd. DT's. No more 1st Rd conerbacks. Unless RG3 is there, we need edgerushers, and O-line help. NO MORE WASTED PICKS!

A reciever with Evans' experience knows better than to leave it up to the refs. -What a total schlub! -You're ONE GAME away from the big dance. GRAB THE BALL LIKE YOU MEAN IT!!!! LEE EVANS & BILLY CUNDIFF=Cut tomorrow morning!!!

Agreed. Ingram is uber-talented, but I don't see him as a pure pass rusher either. Still, if you sent him off the edge at a QB pinned inside his own 10, he'd be a nightmare. Great little weapon to have in your back pocket.

This Ingram kid is a BALLER. -Great kid. Tremendous, and I do mean tremendous athlete. However, in the NFL, I cant see him as a 4-3DE bringing pressure off the edge on every down. 3-4OLB is a possibility, but again, -every down? I could be wrong about this, but it seems to me, that Ingram's talents may lie in situational schemes. I don't know that our defensive coaching staff has the structure in place to bring a talent like this to it's potential.

Let's see.... -"Argument for Decastro becomes even weaker"... "Not a good Idea"... "downright preposterous"... Sounds to me like you're really on the fence about the DeCastro thing. No worries. Do you feel any better about trading up in the second to grab Whitney Mercilus? Having watched a fair amount of Big-Ten football, I think Mercilus could be the elite pass-rusher we've been searching for. I like Courtney Upshaw. He's instinctive, and dominant. I just don't see the speed, or the desire to be "in on the play" that I see in Mercilus. I also don't see Upshaw fitting nicely in a 4-3 scheme. I agree with you on the reciever issue, but I think there's adequate talent to be had in later rounds. WR Rishard Matthews (Nevada) and TE Nick Provo (Syracuse) are a couple of the players that drew my interest. IMO, this rebuilding thing will only work with explosive players to lead the way. If you could draft a kid capable of generating the kind of defensive turnovers that Mercilus has, then why would you hesitate?

I'm not wild about the idea of taking him @ 10 either. Earlier in this thread, I stated my choice of taking OG Dave Decastro at #10 overall. To some, that seems crazy, and I understand that. My interest in that pick is having a reliable run-blocker for years to come, while at the same time getting the best available protectection for our future franchise QB. I think the fact that DeCastro comes from a pro-style offense, who's line was responsible for protecting the MVP of college football, is another huge selling point. It's high-time our O-line had a standard bearer But enough about DeCastro. On another thread, I suggested trading up in Rd. 2 to grab Mercilus. He isn't a houshold name yet, but by the time all is said and done, Mercilus could be a top 35 pick. As a 4-3DE, I believe he could be a real difference-maker in our sorry pass-rush. He's a great athlete, and a tremendous tackler, but the whole forcing-fumbles thing is what really sold me on this kid. I may be in the minority here, but I think going after deep-threat recievers, or corner backs in rounds 1-2 would be a BIG mistake. I hope our FO gets it right this time.

P. Manning is done. Doesn't seem like whatever weird operation he had overseas panned out. Everything's tight-lipped because he's due for a 28 million dollar payday soon. In a few months, there'll be more heightened rumors, and then the inevitable emotional news conference. Rob Lowe just blurted out what the Colts FO and the Manning camp have known for some time.

Is this news? I've known about the Pegula group for quite some time. It's been out there for at least a year. Regardless, hoping for old Ralphie's demise seems kind of macabre. He may not deserve the sentiment, but I, for one, will be very sad to see him go.

For defensive players, I don't think it's that big of an issue. Brian Urlacher and James Harrison came out of 4-7 and 6-5 programs, respectively. Urlacher came out of New Mexico, and Harrison from Kent State. Neither school is known as a football power-house. Illinois' year started off good, but got bogged down in the meat of their schedule. (Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Wisconsin) None of whom blew Illinois out. The Fighting Illini were in every last one of those games, mostly due to their defense. The problem I have with your line of thinking is that it tends to overlook natural GEMS. I love picking from the SEC, but there are other good conferences out there. With a player like Mercilus, you can't just look at wins. You must consider strongly the following: Attitude, Competition level, Productivity, and Work-ethic. I think pedigree is important, but high-profile Alma-maters, don't always produce winners IMO.

Exacly this. Stil, Barbie's probably right. -I mean, why would we invest in the best protection available for our future franchise QB? -And who in their right mind sets up their power running game for the next decade? Sounds silly to me.

Probably not. Still, he's excellent at what he does. (Run blocking, keeps legs moving,snags late blitzers.) Decastro is a high-character guy who works his @ss off. Nothing against Urbik, but our o-line's performance this year underscores our need for specialists. -I like Reiff, I really do, but this draft is loaded with decent tackles. If DeCastro is there at 10, I'd be all over that pick.

I disagree with you completely on the Tanneyhill thing, but not on this kid. After we grab a star OG, (Dave DeCastro) I think DE/OLB should be the next order of business. Whitney Mercilus is, in simple terms, A LOAD. He wreaks havoc at the line of scrimmage, and violently strong-arms his way through blocks. His long arms "shrink-wrap" QB's in a way that makes them cough up the ball. It's uncanny. Having watched him play, I can attest to his awesomeness. At 4-3DE, he could be exactly what the doctor ordered. Wanny needs playmakers. Dareus was a great start, but if we're serious about fixing our defensive woes, we should continue by adding guys like Mercilus.

Sorry but I gotta go with Whitney Mercilus from Illinois. We might need to trade up in round 2, but he should still be there. This kid may be THE BEST tackler in the Big Ten, and WHAT A MOTOR! While he lacks the ideal size of a 3-4 DE, at 6'4 265, why not convert him to 3-4 OLB? If we stick with the 4-3 scheme The stache-man should be able to convert him to a good 4-3 DE as well. To be fair, he's had just one break-out season, but during that season his works were significant. He forces alot of fumbles, and creates lots of mayhem in general. Whitney Mercilus is prototypical, blue-collar, Buffalo material. In the spirit of Darryl Talley, and Cornelius Bennett. (yes, I went there.) There's no doubt in my mind that he'll have an immediate, positive, effect on our defense, if drafted.

John Gruden would definitely come out of retirement for this one.

I'm assuming you're referring to yards after catch. From what I've seen, that's not a strong point of his game. Like the title of this thread implies, he's more like a reliabe pair of hands. -Who knows what could happen with a little coaching, though.

Not that big of an issue from what I've seen. Chris Ault's pistol offense is really designed to facilitate the run anyway. Matthews may require some coaching-up, but I think he catches balls in traffic with the best of them. This is a work-horse reciver. I wouldn't hesitate to take a chance on him in rd 4 or 5.

So he's not that big at 6'1 221. I tend to overlook physical limitaions when a player shows an ability to play beyond them. I first noticed this kid last year during all the Kaepernick hoop-la (some of which I instigated) I wasn't just impressed with Matthew's ability to get open and make catches. He does both very well. I was most impressed with the TYPE of catches this guy brings down. Kaepernick has a line-drive throw similar to Fitz's. At the time, they had velocity, but weren't always accurate. Matthews really hung on to some wild ones from Kaepernick. This year he has 91 catches for 1364 yards. There's no doubt in my mind that he can produce at the pro level. He works very hard but he's not on a lot of team's radars. IMO he's a steal in rounds 4-5.

Seeing as how Frank is known for bringing us back from a bad situation, why not make him assisitant GM??? -Buddy's eventual usurper. -Any takers?