R. Rich

It is quite important to have a good QB situation in today's NFL. Problem is, too many people lose sight of everythng for the sake of that position. Based on the talent that should be available in this year's draft, I honestly cannot say I'd forsake a stud LB like McClain (if he actually declares and IF he's available) or a big DT like Suh (huge IF), Cody, or even McCoy. Not to mention a tackle like Okung (again, if he's available) to solidify a position the Bills (including their QBs) NEED to see solidified for any of the QBs that should be available. I don't see Colt McCoy, Jimmy Clausen, or Sam Bradford as a "franchise" QB in the mold of Rivers, Manning, or Roethlisberger. Maybe they are, but to me, it makes more sense to build up the horrendous O line, add some more bulk to the interior of the D line, and add not only badly needed size, but also athleticism to the LB corps FIRST.

TBD?

As soon as I win the lottery, I'll take care of it.

Hahaha!!! Nah. Jason Brown.

Considering he was knocked out for the season after 2 games, it's unclear as to how much of an upgrade he would've been.

I hear ya. I can recall when the fans just knew the Bills should draft Mike Nugent.

I'm not even that concerned w/ Bradford's shoulder injury as I am the fact that he could very well be yet another Big 12 QB w/ huge stats that flames out in the pros, like many of the 9 other Big 12 QBs drafted since 1996. Maybe he's different from the others, but it's a leap of faith right now. Sorry, but I'd rather have the OL, DL, or OLB upgrade.

I sure hope I'm wrong, but Stroud appears to be on the decline. Too many times this season, I've watched as one guy has taken him out of the play. He has had his moments, but he has not been a stout presence in the middle of the Bills defense. Maybe next season will bring more talent 'round him and a stronger effort from him and we'll see better results. Let's hope.

Actually, I think he ran a 4.49 @ the combine.

Stroud should stand up and say that this team needs a better MIDDLE. Period.

I wholeheartedly agree.

Sorry, but I just don't see this crop as a bunch of can't miss prospects along the lines of guys like Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, or Philip Rivers. Sometimes, the best QBs in the draft are just that, and not "franchise QBs". Every draft does not produce franchise QBs, and the sooner people realize this, the better. The same folks that throw 'round warnings like "don't draft players from Texas or Penn State" have no qualms whatsoever wanting to draft a Big 12 QB, when we've seen a littany of guys from this conference come into the league and flame out. That doesn't make much sense to me. I look @ the top available players in this year's draft, and there is no QB I'd be willing to take over a space eating DT, or a freakishly built OLB, or a stabilizing OT, many or all of whom could be available to the Bills when their turn comes up to draft in Round 1.

His post highlighted the need to draft a "franchise QB" in the first round. Kurt Warner does not fit that bill. In fact, the guy that they did draft in the first round to be their "franchise QB" is currently riding the pine.

Funny you should reference the Arizona Cardinals when making this statement.

And protect your "franchise QB" w/ what??? Then again, QBs don't need much protection. Okung would be a great choice for the Bills if he's there. Honestly, if the pick ends up being an offensive or defensive lineman, that could only help. A stud DT like Cody, McCoy (I like him, but not as much as guys like Todd McShay, who think he should be the top pick), or Suh would be a tremendous pickup. I personally hope McClain does enter the draft and is available w/ the Bills pick, but I'd be happy w/ line help too. I just hope they don't use the pick on a skill player.

McCoy-DT??? Out of the choices, I'd go w/ Rolando McClain. A LB w/ size (6-4, 260) and speed (4.6)? It's something the Bills sorely lack and I think this guy has the potential to be a real beast in the NFL. He still hasn't declared his intentions (probably will wait 'til some time after the BCS title game), but if he does come out early, I'd LOVE to see him end up in a Bills uniform.

Okay. So it was all Vinny's idea to forego the draft and trade away all of their picks for aging free agents, as he did in his first stint in Washington? Then, he "wised up", and the second time 'round, he decided to actually try to draft players, but he forgot how to do what he had done so successfully in San Fransisco? Uh huh. If Cerrato had nothing but a track record of failure in terms of his drafting of personnel, then I'd agree w/ the angry DC mob. But considering the drafts during his tenure in San Fransisco (91-98) brought in the following.. DT Ted Washington RB Ricky Watters FS Merton Hanks DT Dana Stubblefield QB Elvis Grbac DT Bryant Young LB Lee Woodall QB Jeff Garcia (signed as UDFA) WR Terrell Owens C Jeremy Newberry S Lance Schulters FB Fred Beasley ...I'd say he does okay as a personnel guy. All of the above players were Pro Bowl players back when it mattered (before players got "injured" and their replacements got "injured" and the 4th choice was selected), too. Now, where I do agree w/ the angry mob is in how Cerrato ignored the lines for much of the past decade. Since the last real stud lineman they drafted was Chris Samuels back in 2000, I'd say it could qualify as "ignoring". That is probably a huge reason why the Redskins have faltered so much in recent years. Again, you have to wonder was this all on Vinny, or did Snyder have a hand in it. Now if he lands another GM gig, gets free reign to handle things, and falls flat on his face yet again, then I'd have to admit he's in over his head.

All I want for Christmas is...

Cerrato was Lou Holtz' recruiting coordinator when he was a national championship winning coach @ that school. He then went on to draft guys like Dana (former NFL Defensive Player of the Year) Stubblefield, Bryant (NFL all 1990s team) Young, and some smallish DT named Ted Washington. So yeah, he may know a thing or two 'bout personnel. As for his Washington stints? Please. You think those were all HIS moves and not Dan Snyder's?

Well, since you asked..... 1. I'd hit the record Mega Millions jackpot for $975 billion. 2. I'd buy the Buffalo Bills. 3. I'd fire just 'bout everyone. 4. I'd hire a good up and coming personnel guy or someone who has the knowledge but needs a change of scenery (Cerrato got a raw deal in Washington, so did Kokinis in Cleveland). I'd let that person bring in the coach they want to bring in (like what Dimitroff did by bringing Smith to Atlanta), making sure that everyone (myself, my GM, and my coach) is on the same page as far as what we want to do. 5. Speaking of.....I'd want to bring in guys who want to run a 3-4 defense and a run oriented offense and bolster both lines by adding bigger, stronger guys up front. 6. I'd be patient w/ the changes and let the chips fall where they may.

I agreed w/ my eyes, crayonz.

No props for my all time favorite wrestler, Ravishing Rick Rude? The guy was a champion in virtually every wrestling organization he participated in and was a top notch entertainer, one of the very best on the mic ever. Plus, he was a great locker room guy who everyone generally got along w/. You mention the Montreal Screwjob? Well, Rude was in Bret's locker room @ the time he and Vince got into it and backed Bret the whole way. He even made comments on air 'bout it once he left WWF for WCW on the heels of that incident. The funny thing 'bout that was that he was on WCW live that day, but also had taped an appearance for WWF and it was aired the same evening.

I've seen more than 2 Redskins games all season, and Fletcher sucks. He's the worst middle LB in football. Ever. Go Bills!

Agreed. The problem is more the LBs not being able to scrape off blocks and make the stop on running plays, mainly due to their (lack of) size. That, plus a scheme where they are actually playing the edge more instead of playing the gaps and being inside of the DEs so often. IF the Bills had LBs big enough to stop a RB once they shot those gaps, it would make sense. But when you line up w/ 220lb LBs, the scheme looks a bit odd and it leads to a lot of big gains to the outside (compounded by the fact that the DEs are suckers for misdirection plays, too).

The more things change, the more they stay the same. The Bills play the Patriots, the Bills lose to the Patriots. The sun rises in the east... Let's start off w/ the QB. Ryan Fitzpatrick laid yet another egg of a game. Sure he completed his fair share of throws, but none of any significance and ended up w/ just over 100 yards before he was benched for Trent Edwards. Yikes. Edwards did nothing, getting sacked twice in four plays and being knocked out of the game. Fitzpatrick came back into the game and led the Bills on their only TD drive that was a case of far too little, far too late. The Bills are kidding themselves if they feel that the answer to their QB issues is currently on their roster. Fred Jackson had a very good game running the ball. I really like the way he can hit the hole strong and make someone miss while picking up extra yards. If only Marshawn Lynch, who has improved as a 'tween the tackles runner in my (meaningless) opinion, could do more of this. That's when these guys will be lethal. Outside of Lee Evans' TD catch on a fade route after coming up just short shortly before, the Bills receivers did little to distinguish themselves. Josh Reed dropped a ball that would've gone for a huge conversion and may have put the Bills in position to score a TD that could've made things tighter. Earlier, he made a big fourth down conversion, so I guess that makes him even. Terrell Owens looked more like Randy Moss from the Carolina game w/ a performance that was seemingly mailed in. A pair of catches for 20 yards and no big plays, other than a false start, but that was big for the wrong reasons. Jackson made the heads up catch on a play that was intended for Johnathan Stupar, who knocked the ball up in the air while attempting to catch it. It wasn't the best thrown pass, but really what do you expect from an inaccurate QB who is being chased out of the pocket? Shawn Nelson wasn't able to provide help down the seam, but did make 4 catches in the game, albeit for 17 yards. Here's the most sobering stat of this contest: the Bills gave up 6 sacks to a pass rush that was generating 'em @ a whopping rate of 1.7 per game coming into the contest! That is the defensive Achilles heel of New England, and most football observers know this. Yet, they got to play, "the cure for what ails your team," and viola! They can rush the passer. Kirk Chambers was just outclassed by guys like Tully Banta-Cain (a decent rusher) and Mike Wright (a journeyman). Jonathan Scott continues to show that he's a liability vs edge rushers. ANY edge rushers. As for the interior guys, I think there was some good things (Geoff Hangartner actually had a good overall game vs Ron Brace, moving him 'round and letting the RBs get to the 2nd level) but plenty of bad things (Hangartner's holding penalty, Chambers and Scott's edge deficiencies, Andre Ramsey's ill advised penalty @ the 2 yard line). RICHie Incognito had a couple bad penalties in his Bills debut, but also showed flashes of potential. Unfortunately, this team and this unit in particular needs MUCH more than flashes right now. I know this line has been decimated by injuries, but this season has illustrated just how poorly the Bills' personnel guys have been in evaluating the talent needed to round out an NFL roster. You don't need to have a ton of all stars, but you should have guys you feel somewhat confident 'bout when they are called upon in a pinch. Witness the play of Mike Wright and Johnathan Wilhite from yesterday, and you'll see that it is possible to have guys as reserves who can be counted on. The defensive line went yesterday as far as Aaron Schobel took 'em. He did a solid job of providing pressure on Brady for most of the game, even though he didn't bring Brady down. Must be that high motor, huh? As for the rest of this group, well, we're still waiting. Chris Kelsay was once again a non factor, but did manage to come up w/ 3 solo and 3 ASSisted tackles. Marcus Stroud, on the eve of fan voting for the Pro Bowl, made sure people would disregard his name w/ another lackluster performance. He did bat down a Brady pass, but he also was blown off the ball several times, allowing for big gains up the gut. Where was Kyle Williams' pressure and penchant for getting into the backfield to disrupt plays? Nowhere to be seen yesterday, that's for sure. The reserves, Spencer Johnson, John McCargo, Ryan Denney, and Aaron Maybin (stay onside on onside kicks!) showed up to collect a check, but nothing more. Paul Posluszny has put together a nice string of games here lately. He was all over the field, disrupting passes, getting a pick, and making tackles in the Patriot backfield. A stellar game from a guy who needs to show this type of consistency. As for Bryan Scott, he gives a game effort, but like many of the guys on the defense, is far too small to hold up. Laurence Maroney was able to break off big gains while either going past pursuing defenders or simply running through 'em. They're not too bad in terms of flying to the ball, as they do have good speed as a unit. Problem is, when they flow to the ball, they get knocked off it. When it comes to the linebacker unit, the Bills need to realize one thing: size matters. Terrence McGee gave it a go, but got hurt (arm) and had to leave. I thought he had sound coverage for the most part, and that pass breakup for the bomb intended for Sam Aiken was a thing of beauty. Meanwhile, Drayton Florence, who usually is pretty reliable, had more than his share of problems dealing w/ Moss. But, who wouldn't? George Wilson came up w/ some solid stops, including one @ the line of scrimmage and another that went for a loss. He finished w/ 7 tackles, 4 solos. Both Reggie Corner and Donte Whitner were victimized by the long ball w/ interference calls and Jairus Byrd reacted way too late on the TD to Moss (a heck of a catch by him!). They were able to minimize Brady's effectiveness, as he had just 5 completions in the first half and threw for only 115 yards, but they also had an offensieve line-like day in terms of penalties. Again, special teams could've made a difference and did not. Aaron Maybin......stay onsides!!!! I don't know if the Bills would've done to New England what they did to the Bills on opening night, but I sure would've liked to see 'em try. What was up w/ Brian Moorman's punting? As for Lindell's miss, it wasn't a gimme, although he did have the distance and just shanked it. Why was Josh Reed returning punts? Have things gotten that bad in terms of the return game? Get well soon, Leodis. As for Perry Fewell, I really was looking forward to him coaching this game as "the unknown" and giving the Bills a shot in this one. Problem was, there were a bunch of head scratching play calls and some decisions in terms of usage of personnel that were puzzling as well. Not to mention the rash of penalties, including the drive killers courtesy of Ramsey and Maybin. Any of that stuff sound familiar to you? It does to me, and I'm sure it did to Bill Belichick. And so the streak continues. Oh well. As they say, the Bills are what their record says they are. Unfortunately for us die-hard fans, it's another team that builds up your hopes only to rip out your heart. They didn't have a whole lot left to play for, but FINALLY beating the Patriots would've been nice. Sorta akin to how Browns fans had to feel 'bout stopping their losing streak to the Stillers (which, like the Bills' streak to the Patriots before yesterday, was 12 straight). But, like a possible division championship (or more), a postseason appearance, or even a .500 record, it will have to do what it's had to do for quite a while: wait 'til next year.