JoeF

Excerpt from today's AP Wire Story on the TBD home page... ___________________________________________________ Whatever inconsistencies a few bad throws and a couple of botched handoffs to Willis McGahee Losman showed in practice on Friday were gone by Saturday. He was poised, drew defenders offside with a hard cadence, threw in rhythm and displayed a pocket presence, tucking the ball and heading up field when he felt pressure. Losman made two strong completions, both to Lee Evans on Saturday. The first was a 50-yarder, hitting Evans in stride as the receiver beat starting defensive backs Lawyer Milloy and Nate Clements. Then there was Losman's 10-yard strike over the middle, threading a hard pass that hit Evans in the hands. ________________________________________________________ nice, very nice......repeat after me......Its only no pads mini-camp, its only no pads mini-camp

Americans react to Pope Benedict XVI's new papal encyclical titled: "Buffalo Worship--its where Catholicism is going" or Today the American Rodeo Association and the United States Tennis Association announced their merger

Five sign free agent deals Five Kansas State football players spent Monday signing free agent contracts with teams in the National Football League. Center Mike Johnson signed with the Kansas City Chiefs; Cedrick Williams with the Houston Texans; Tony Madison with the Miami Dolphins; Joe Rheem with the Buffalo Bills; and, Jon Doty with the Carolina Panthers. ------------------ Joe Rheem --- looks like Camp Fodder -- any Big 12 fans with insight??? From Scouts, Inc... Overall: Rheem saw time as a place kicker in his true freshman season in 2001 as was the team's fulltime place kicker from 2002-'04. He split duties on kickoffs but is not a kickoff specialist prospect for the NFL level. Rheem connected on 9-of-12 field goal attempts in 2002, 12-of-17 in 2003 and 13-of-15 in 2004. Rheem isn't pretty, doesn't have great trajectory and doesn't have nearly the leg strength of Nugent or Rayner, but he has very good accuracy, consistency and mechanics. Rheem will never be able to kickoff in the NFL and his range on FGA's is limited, but he could be worth bringing in to training camp as an undrafted rookie free agent because of his efficiency as a place kicker.

Travis in the freezer at OBD? Hadley Engelhard in the freezer at OBD? Jerry Sullivan in the freezer at OBD? Most members of TBD in the freezer at OBD? Better get a bigger freezer at OBD....

I apologize to every Buffalo dead, alive and to be....at least those not eaten or served by Ted Turner....

Instead we got a shot of Billy Jean King vs. Serena Williams.......ouch

Agree with this Kelly. The fact is we do get something if/when we lose Nate after this coming season. We will get compensatory picks the next draft (Nate could be worth a 3rd rounder) if we don't sign an equal value replacement(s) and we get flexibility on cap space to sign not just one core veteran player but probably two or three. I am a big proponent of balancing the cap...having a "cap budget" for each position and sticking to that. When a guy like Nate comes around, you may have to sacrifice him sometimes to make sure you balance positions like LB, WR, OL, QB... The Bills are in really good shape from this perspective right now. We are a little heavy on OL with Teague, Chris V and Mike Williams all pretty good sized hits--but Bennie Anderson was mid-tier and the rest are pretty much vet minimum guys. At QB--we are probably a bit below average cap hit with JP at the lower end of starter pay but Holcombe at the upper end of back-up pay and Matthews at vet minimum... TD and Jim Overdorf have done a good job creating balance on this roster...we have the flexibility to replace parts as we need them. The Winfield for Vincent swap is an example...we traded down in cap hit--but didn't appreciably hurt the D and lo and behold a 2nd year guy developed and stepped up--I know that's a shocker to some folks who post who believe young players can't improve and we have to sign a vet to fill every role. This year there are virtually no LT's in the draft or FA..which is why Jonas got what he did..so we upgraded the interior of the line (Anderson is a substantial upgrade at LG) and will sacrifice a bit on the edge--at DT we need Edwards or Anderson to step up -- Pat W. only played 58% of the snaps last year--one of those guys needs to take that majority role and the other the 42% role....we'll see how it works out--but we stay in balance.... This team is coming together nicely...we added two potential breathtaking playmakers this weekend at positions where we needed to add them. We have a RB who is just rounding into 100% shape.. and we continue to add depth to an OL that sorely needed some coaching...add to this the fact that we have totally remade the QB position which means it could evolve from caretaker to difference maker and that we have 10/11 returning starters on D and virtually the same special teams core as a year ago...how can you not be a bit optimistic about where we are....I just don't get it....

Gets drafted by a team whose stadium is about 8 blocks away from a very large Harrah's casino...... hmmmmm.....one day at a time Adrian, one day at a time...good luck and Godspeed.

I would love to see Travis in a Bills uni for the 2005 season...even if it means we get nothing for him at the end of the season. You need quality depth at running back and he is quality depth...

Who's to blame... I will show you...he's right here... Travis' puppeteer Travis is not plotting this strategy on his own... The telling quote from TD in the post draft press conference: "The agent requested the trade and we ended up working harder than the agent to try to make it happen." Note to Travis---fire your man Hadley--its the perfect time--your deal is expiring and you can offer someone a decent commission on your new deal.

These guys are pretty forthright... The clear messages I heard were: 1) After the first couple of tackles capable of handling left tackle were off the board--they found noone else close to the value that they wanted when their picks came up. They decided to stay true to their board. 2) MM is geeked about Everett...says he can't wait to work with him and that he has skills you cannot teach...like speed. 3) Modrak is pretty darn funny...when they asked him about Clarett a second time--he said--I better not say anymore--I still have some friends in Denver. 4) TD got in a little shot at Hadley Engelhard, Travis's agent...he said: "The agent wanted the trade and we ended up working harder than the agent to try to get something done" ouch.........

Post draft interview is up on bb.com Some highlight tidbits: Donahoe: 1) On Henry--Can't negotiate a trade when no other team makes an offer 2) Needed to get better on offense 3) It would be tough to draft a Defensive player and have him make the team with our depth on D. MM: 1) Bannan back to DT--thinks Geisinger will take that depth spot 2) Henry-we want him back. He is frustrated but we respect what he has done for the team. That is why we tried to accommodate him with the trade. The odds for a trade are slimmer and we would love to have him back to come in and compete. 3) Teague, Peters and Gandy in the mix at LT. Modrak: 1) Everett-We felt fortunate he was there when we picked--we talked about him earlier. 2) Preston-tough guy and a strong guy. Have to be strong guy to play center. We brought him in for a visit to Buffalo to find out more about him. He is X's and O's smart. 3) Draft fell pretty well this year based on who we wanted and who we got--we had 8-10 names--came pretty good. Got people where we were hoping. 4) Thought Clarett move was a bit rich for him. 5) There weren't that many pure left tackles and they came off the board quick. 6) Corners in the draft were deep. See King as nickle/dime and special teams who could grow into more.

Listen to the scout interview on bb.com. They never timed him when fully healthy--the scout said when fully healthy he believes Everett is a 4.6 guy....interesting...

Good post Phil. He is one of those kids that in college opposing teams would say--oh sh-- -- everytime he had the ball....there just aren't many guys like that around--particularly in this draft. MM and TC see a faster Randle-El in Roscoe

Dear Hadley, Noone would offer a third round pick for your man. You better start rethinking that "never show up in Buffalo" again messaging strategy. Remember when your client was bankrupt and Ralph forked over a cool million to bail him out? Remember when your client had a little indiscretion and the Bills stood by him? You are the man driving Travis' career bus. Its obvious your script for Travis isn't working. He isn't Corey Dillion, he isn't the Edge, he isn't Shaun Alexander. He is a hard working back who keeps his mouth shut and can be a consistent 25 carry a game, 1200 yard runner for some team. That image will get him placed somewhere where he is allowed to play--so lose the malcontent messaging crap. Admit that he lost his job to a player with better skill and be the good soldier until this thing is resolved. At the very worst your client is an UFA after this season. Right now you are doing your guy a disservice. Just some friendly advice for a Sunday morning.. Take care, God bless.. JoeF

I heard Jimmy Johnson and Butch Davis are on our day two target list...

Round 3 is tonight.

If they took a page out of the Millen/Mariucci draft page they would have....I am still in shock--they just signed Kevin Johnson the day before the draft....

Just send us #44 straight up Denny--thank you...we don't want your $3 Million back-up tackle..

I can't believe how lightly you all are taking this guy. He was the first tackle off the bench for the Berlin Thunder during NFL Europe 2004.... LaWaylon Brown--Rotational Tackle--NFL Europe Known to his teammates as the "Fallen Wall"

He knows the landscape under TD's desk....

Here's to him having his grandpa's spirit and zest for life! Congrats...

I think the deal is: Nate Ralph Wilson Our 7th rounder for Gregg's sweater collection The US Capitol Selections 9 and 25 in the first round Karl Rove Tim Russert (reacquisition) Player to be named later (rumored to be Tom DeLay)

Worse than a bald guy combover.....

While Hitler Youth story is true....a little unfair without painting the full picture. I am not greatly enthusiastic about this--but I am willing to give Benedict the 16th a chance...strong faith and belief in the doctrines is important--but so is the compassion of Jesus... http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0%2C%...72667%2C00.html The son of a rural Bavarian police officer, Ratzinger was six when Hitler came to power in 1933. His father, also called Joseph, was an anti-Nazi whose attempts to rein in Hitler’s Brown Shirts forced the family to move home several times. In 1937 Ratzinger’s father retired and the family moved to Traunstein, a staunchly Catholic town in Bavaria close to the Führer’s mountain retreat in Berchtesgaden. He joined the Hitler Youth aged 14, shortly after membership was made compulsory in 1941. He quickly won a dispensation on account of his training at a seminary. “Ratzinger was only briefly a member of the Hitler Youth and not an enthusiastic one,” concluded John Allen, his biographer. Two years later Ratzinger was enrolled in an anti-aircraft unit that protected a BMW factory making aircraft engines. The workforce included slaves from Dachau concentration camp. Ratzinger has insisted he never took part in combat or fired a shot — adding that his gun was not even loaded — because of a badly infected finger. He was sent to Hungary, where he set up tank traps and saw Jews being herded to death camps. He deserted in April 1944 and spent a few weeks in a prisoner of war camp.