JoeF

Gives a whole new meaning to Makin' Bacon.....

I agree with KH's assessment but wanted to ask Bill what do you think is a reasonable expectation for the number of impact players from an individual draft. Are you more focused on who we passed over to pick the guys we did or on who we selected and them not meeting expectation. If you are focusing on who we drafted take a look at the 2003 draft. 2003 was: McGahee-Back up tailback, who may or may not regain his burst--this is a key to his evaluation Kelsay-Part-time Starter Crowell-Not shown much McGee-Nickel Corner and KR with potential/Starter when Vincent moves to FS in 05 or 06 Aiken-Back-up to Moulds - 5th receiver with higher potential Sobieski-Back up at all 3 interior OL positions Sape - the 4th or 5th D tackle Haggan- Starting to come around--sideline to sideline playmaker but behind a great starting group that was all acquired by FA.. So we have 1 part-time starter (Kelsay); a key Defensive sub (McGee) and three potential "first off the bench" back ups (Aiken, McGahee and Sobieski)--and then two guys who probably have been beaten out by a street free agent (Stamer) and a 7th round pick (Stevenson) To me, that's 5 of 7 contributing at or above the expected level after one full year in the league (taking into account McGahee's special circumstances)--The sporting news draft preview magazine does an analysis like this for every team for the previous 5 years and 5 of 7 would be slightly above average for the second year removed from a draft... Just food for thought...

He appeared in two games, but moved to the active roster in October. So is it being on the 53 man roster or actually being active for a game that makes the determination?

So let me get this one straight....AJ Smith, who said signing Flutie to the big contract was a mistake and all Ralph's fault, and then became the driving force behind signing Flutie to a cap unfriendly deal in San Diego and now wants to trade him back to Buffalo so we can absorb said contract.... AJ may have planted this rumor with Florio thinking the fan base would go ape to have Flutie back in Buffalo. Earth to AJ--"This ain't happening bud..."

Stu's ailment brings back memories of the whole Marcia Brady "Oh my nose" episode. I lost interest in Maureen McCormick after that because she couldn't catch and turned my attention to Eve Plumb. Berman's hair--take it from a bald guy--combovers are always stupid looking--go bald with dignity.

I am sorry, but you have to understand...there is no possible way this team can recover from a 1 win 3 loss preseason where they have had numerous penalties by guys who may or may not be on the team Sunday at 5 PM, numerous mistakes by guys who will hardly ever see the field and a frist team offense that only scored one touchdown and 3 or 4 FG's while assimilating a new offensive system. Add to that a Defense that gave up long runs all over the place, long passes also. Sure there's been no scheming, no blitzing, etc...but let's ignore all that because we are just going to be in the crapper. Finally special teams--they are just going to be in the bottom 5 of the league--guys just brain farting all over the place--ignore again the fact that the team was experimenting with guys in different places and that many of them are being overly aggressive trying to make the team.... Well I have a lot of yard work to on Sunday's this fall.... This is supposed to be fun--but that's why fan is derived from fanatic....

I don't think Sape can go to the PS since he was activated at the end of last year for the final few games. Could be wrong though... Here's my 15 bye-bye's: Justin Bannan-DT - Sape beats him out due to more upside Joe Burns-RB-Coaches like him but injury hurts him--Neufeld is Backup FB Gerald Dixon-DB (PS) Jason Esposito-OT (PS) Jason Gildon-DE Drew Haddad-WR Mario Haggan-LB - believe it or not--this one bothers me the most--loses because Crowell was a 3rd rounder.. Luke Lawton-FB (PS) Mike Pucillo - OG (Tucker and Sobieski take the middle OL back-up spots) Constantin Ritzmann - DE (PS) Marques Sullivan-OT (Price and McFarland are the Back-up Tackles) Fast Freddie Smith - WR/RB/KR (PS) Rod Trafford - TE Shuad Williams - RB (PS) Greg Zolman - QB (PS) Also on PS - Jason Peters, Mike Shafer Also when Milloy is back Pearson Prioleau - FS (Baker beats him out for the Back-up role) We activate Smith from the PS...

God bless you man....

You are right on...plus this one is just massive--Hurricane Force winds 80 miles in any direction around the wall, Tropical Storm Force winds 185 miles out--that means the area that gets the eye is going to Hurricane Force winds for 10 straight hours--(Storm is moving about 16 mph)--

What about DC---plenty of stuff to do for the kids--The museums are fun and interactive and the Capitol mall is a great place to play and run around--its not oppressively hot this weekend either...

God bless her NC.... This one could be as strong as Andrew--it almost looks like driving South toward Miami might not be such a bad idea....

I trust nooa pooj--looks like Atlanta and Birmingham are going to get what we normally get....Frances is looking West for her victims....hopefully you guys will catch a break from the crappy week you have had... I know, I know--they are unpredictable--but that cold front that came through last night is steering this one away from us...we aren't even in the probability chart...NOAA 5 day Frances Map

My Mom and Brother are safely with us in Raleigh, NC evacuating from Jensen Beach/Stuart/Ft. Pierce area (which is a likely ground zero for the eye) and driving all night-- . This is not one to be messed with at all..... Stay safe all you transplanted Floridians...we'll be praying for you. God bless.

stuck, I would agree with your point--our track record is very, very suspect...but I would add Frank Reich to your list of good ones---we had the best #1, #2 combo in the league when it was the Jim and Frank show. Reich didn't have striking physical talent but he was very, very smart.

Coach Mularkey addresses this in his press conference today. He said Drew would probably play two series but that the 1st team OL would play more--he implied significantly more--Mr. ScottLaw is probably about right...

Adding credence to this point of view is our cap situation--about $1 million under according to Bills Daily. We would have to in essence trade Gildon's salary for Hugh to be able to sign the backup QB we need.

Listen to TD's press conference--audio is archived on bb.com. He did not put a timetable on Lawyer's return (using the words indefinitely). But he did answer a question during the Q&A -- where TD says something to the effect--- "Everyone heals differently, if Lawyer says he will be ready for Jacksonville, I would not discount this. He has never missed a regular season game."

Happy for Travis. He and Matthews (if its Matthews) can compete for the back-up spot when he is ready to come back. Sounds like Lawyer is determined to play. This is about the best possible scenario.... Now lets get Jennings and Price healthy and start to get the true starting offensive line and top OL back-ups in shape for the opener...

Not much -- but here it is .. new news is Milloy surgery... QB TRAVIS BROWN—Is scheduled to have an MRI today on his injured knee. Coach Mike Mularkey should have the results on Monday following practice. SS LAWYER MILLOY—X-rays during last night’s game confirmed that he suffered a broken forearm and he underwent successful surgery Sunday morning to repair it. There is no timetable for his return at this point in time. CB TROY VINCENT—X-rays during last night’s game on his jaw were negative. Coach Mike Mularkey will have an update on his condition on Monday following practice. QB JP LOSMAN—Underwent successful surgery last Thursday to repair his broken leg.

We need touchdown Jesus Wasn't Clements Mirer's QB coach in college??? Maybe he could get something out of the Indiana kid that noone else has been able to..Also wasn't Mirer #2 the year Drew was #1...gosh the universe may implode.....

Its questionable at best that we would trade a player to get the back-up QB..but if we did here is some potential trade bait for a back-up QB--has to be a need position... 1) Bobby Shaw or Sam Aiken 2) Ron Edwards or Justin Bannan 3) Kevin Thomas (rely on Jabari Greer and Rashard Baker as the 6th DB) 4) Ken Simonton or Joe Burns (questionable we could get anything here). The signing bonuses on all these guys are minimal so the cap hit to trade is far outweighed by the savings in base salary. Remember in the case of Shaw, Aiken, Thomas and Edwards--you have to give up something to get something--packaging 3 cases of tape, Mike Pucillo, Juan Esposito and David Porter isn't going to get a back-up QB... The problem is the cap would have to work and we are only $1 million under right now--we would probably have to replace a couple of top 52 player salaries with UDFA minimums to get someone with a higher base salary in. Signing a backup with a higer base probably seals Gildon's fate.

(T- I can say this being 5'7" tall myself)....are we planning a Wizard of Oz remake with a thousand Doug Fluties... I agree bro---no Rob please....

I agree, but now SD will wait to cut him to see if they can get a trade...I don't know what his contract status is either--we may not have the cap room unless he is cut.... If it happens.... First meeting with MM and Sam--- MM: Doug--you are not here to compete for the starters job on the field or in the locker room. The first sign of any BS, you are on the street. You play if Drew is hurt--that's it....no mop up duty, second team reps in practice, etc. SW: You understand that squirt.... DF: Yes I understand....

I know its one of 96 QB jobs in the NFL--but being one of about 70,000 who was cheering loudly when Redskin Rob got sacked last year at the Ralph, I really doubt if the self-described Buffalo Anti-Christ is interested in coming back to WNY as a Bill anytime soon....He probably has told his agent (Can't remember if its Dunn or Steinberg) not to even contact TD...

Ugly play, but I blame the coaches for it. I don't like pass plays when it's 3rd and 3 and you're in field goal range...unless they are stacked against the run, whcih they weren't. YOu know the D is gonna try to push you back out of FG range with a sack...so call a fuggin draw, pick up the first, and continue. Argh. 10977[/snapback] You know nod--we did this on a couple of plays last night....3rd and 4 or so...we ran--we need to practice this a lot, since we hardly did this at all last year...I think that defines a true commitment to the run...do you run when the tendency dicatates a better than average call for the pass. The other thing I am still a little frustrated with is the lack of use of the screen or circle routes in this case...maybe they are practicing this stuff--but if you let the line through and run the receivers deep--that puts a lot of pressure on LB's to cover our backs- I like that matchup and we haven't seen it yet... I had a thought last night--when we go 3 or 4 wides on the field in these situations--why not line Reed up in the backfield or in a tight slot and have him run a middle screen--I think that would be quite effective. The truth is while the play call mix has been good, there is a lot of the playbook that we haven't seen yet--I am hoping that some of it makes into the game plan for Jacksonville and Oakland...