Dan

That, for me, is the proper way to look at a draft. It's tough to just say we need to draft for defense now and get a QB next year. Who's coming out next year? And will we be in a position to draft him? As I thought about the draft last year, I was content with not picking a QB high, because other than Tebow none of them looked like world beaters. So, I figured they were waiting a year. This seems to be the year to get a future franchise QB. There are several prospects and we're in a position to get one. And we need one. I like Fitz. He played pretty good. But, you just can't pass up a future franchise guy, if you think he's there. The beauty of Fitz's play is he gives you confidence that he can start for a couple of years while your future sits and learns the game. Essentially, we don't have to draft a QB and start him as a rookie. But, sooner or later you do need to draft him. Is this the best year to draft one, or is next year or the year after the year? I don't know, but I would hope Nix does.

Am I the only one that views most of these items as bad things for the NFL. 1. Player accountability - Really? Maybe? But the rules seem so arbitrarily enforced I'm not sure it's a good thing or not. But, I'll give him this one. 2. Player safety - making the high priced QBs untouchable and now making it completely subjective as to whats a legal tackle and what's not. I see this as bad for football? Some of the roughing the passer penalties are completely horrible because the QB is barely touched. It's altering the outcome of games. 3. More TV coverage - Maybe. I'll give him this, but I'm not convinced. 3 games on Thanksgiving is too much. 2 Monday night games on opening Monday. Thurs/Sun/ and Monday night games is pushing it. Why not go back to more double headers on Sunday? As much as I like watching football, even I'm reaching a saturation point of seeing the same half a dozen teams over and over again in all the prime time games. Wanna do something? Give all teams a primetime game and stop showing favoritism to the big market teams. 4. In-Stadium experience - I don't get to attend a lot of games. But if $9 beers is better for football, then yeah I'll give him this one. 5. Red Zone channel - Really? I mean really? Maybe its ok, but is that really something to highlight as some great advancement for the league? 6. Draft in prime time - I think it's horrible and every long time football fan I know hates it. It's ruined the draft day parties. It stretched it out and is stupid. No way this is good. 7. Moving the Probowl to before the SB - Horrible. Now, a good number of ProBowlers don't even participate. Just stupid. 8. Focused on doing what's best for the players, teams and fans - Highly debatable. I'm not sure the league has done something with the fans actually in mind in years. Every year the cost of everything associated with football goes up making the league billions more. While my draft party gets canceled, my favorite team never gets a prime time game, the refs regularly screw my team with obscure, highly subjective calls always in favor of the high profile team, and now your trying to ship games overseas in an effort to get more fans you can eventually screw over. Maybe I'm just in a pissy mood.

Based upon the play of our defense this year, I'd say it's likely he spent half the season there anyway.

Exactly. We could just as well discuss the value of trading for Peyton Manning. What's the point?

The Bills just got their asses handed to them by a Jets team playing half their 2nd stringers. I fail to see how anyone can say we're on the right track. Yes, a few weeks ago I was optimistic that this team was turning a corner. But, the last 2 games have shown me that, if anything, they turned that corner and found a closed door. We've been completely outperformed in every phase of the game (offense, defense, special teams, and coaching) by 2 division teams. Given that Nix's first draft produced maybe 1 decent starter, I find it hard to have a lot of optimism going into this draft. Given that Gailey's off season player evaluation led to Edwards starting and Jackson as the 3rd RB on opening day, I find it hard to have a lot of optimism in his ability to make the proper personnel moves. Given that Edwards' defense has been shredded in every recordable statistic and Gailey says he has no plans to make staff changes, I find it hard to have a lot of optimism that a couple of players will dramatically improve the defense. In short, I find it hard to have any optimism about this team at all. We'll see what FAs they bring in and who they draft; but given what they did in the last year of running the team, I'm not holding my breath that they'll ever fill the holes that need to be filled on this team. Wish I could be more optimistic, but I can't.

While I can completely agree, I must ask... is the solution replacing Poz and Whitner? Or would it be better to keep them and replace the nearly invisible guys like: Turbor, Adoyele, Kelsay, Spencer Johnson, McCargo, Youboty, and so forth? For as much flack as Whitner and Poz get around here; why don't we harp on guys that literally do nothing. Seems to me it would be a better decision to keep the best of the worst; not the other way around.

How many team's are resting key starters this week? Imagine 2 more weeks of resting star players. Of course, they'd expand the roster to allow for more injuries, but then as was stated, you're just continuing to water down the play on the field. So, count me in the definite No category. The league needs to understand a basic fundamental of life... too much of a good thing is not always a good thing. The current season is plenty long enough. Now with Sunday night, Monday night, Thursday night, and occasional Saturday games; and it's hard to even see all the games any more. The Monday night game has lost a lot of it's luster in recent years. It's simply not the marque match up that it used to be. Why? Because its no longer the single prime time game of the week. In essence, it's become just another game. Adding 2 more regular season games will similarly lessen the importance of each of the weekly games. Kinda like baseball... lose a few game in May and who cares, it's a long season. Then there's the silly argument in Mark Guaghan's article this morning; that 18 games are needed because the league needs more money to pay the players, and no player wants a pay cut. But, what he's missing is that the players won't get a pay cut if the schedule stays as is; in fact, if we go to 18 games they'll all get nice raises. Most importantly, the owners can completely control how much the players make... if they'd all just agree not to pay every young rookie more and more money each year. But there will always be some guy willing to over pay, I guess. They're letting the players dictate their salaries and its gotten out of hand.

Key point being overlooked... most of the Bills starters are another team's backups.

Sorry, but it's a little too early for 2011 puff pieces, for me at least. I' m still lamenting at how bad we were in 2010 and how there seems to be little hope for the future.

Exactly... a good play action can be an average QB and a below average OLine's best friend. But, we almost never use it. Why? The Pats* would have bitten all day on that on the first drive when we had 1 and goal. Play action to Fred and hit the TE after he releases from his block... so many teams do that and make it look easy. I'm not sure we even have that play in the book.

While, I can very much agree with you. My concern is that it's extremely rare that you see a successful team that has the HC serve as the OC, too. Maybe Gailey keeps the play calling duties; but I contend we need a better OC than Modkins. Maybe I'm wrong and he's a genius behind the scenes; but that would be a surprise to just about everyone here - I think. Also, Gailey needs someone to challenge him more with his play calling. Not necessarily during the game. But, someone needs to ask him why he's chosen to abandon the run so quickly all season. Unless you have a top 5 QB, you can't be successful being as unbalanced as the Bills have been in many of their games. Furthermore, he's not just passing; he's going with all wide, no RB sets. So, the defense can completely forget about playing the run. Why not at least run play action? It's confounded me all season. While I can agree that we certainly need more on the Oline; I'd say the DL is in far worse shape. So, I wouldn't be upset if we drafted a RT either. I don't think our RB's are nearly as bad as we think they are; I just think they're under utilized. In Sunday's' game, Fred had 5 rushes on the first drive and just 8 runs the entire rest of the game. IMO, that's not so much they Pats* shutting down the run game as it is Gailey shutting it down. In 2009, the Bills scored 25 touchdowns (28 FGs); at this point, we've scored 33 TDs (16FGs). So, we're getting more TDs but fewer FGs than in 2009. So, I'd call that an improvement. Now, I'm not saying our offense is great or set; I'm just saying it's better. Which is partly while I say we need a better OC, in addition to my comments above.

The entire thing has been a joke since they decided to put the HOF in Cleveland, over Memphis. Without Memphis, the blues on Beale, Sun Studios, Stax, and of course the King; rock and roll as we all know it does not exist today. They decided then that the whole thing was about money, not about rock and roll. But, what they missed was the half a million people/year that visit Graceland that could have easily added the HOF to their list of sites to see. Poor decision making back then, followed by poor decision making in regards to, not only, who should be inducted by how they're inducted. The whole thing is a mess and stands in complete opposition to what rock and roll is and was. Reading up on the induction process is all you have to do to see how bad it is.

No. Our run defense is horrid. I would also add, as I've felt all season, that they need to bring in a new DC as well. George Edwards is in way over his head. Yes, we need more talent on D. But, let's look at it another way - the offensive players changed very little; yet we added an offensive minded coach (Gailey - who really knows what Modkins does). The results was an improved offense in 2010. On defense, they added a few role players with only one real subtraction (Schobel); in comes Edwards and the defense is much, much worse. So, it's not all just on the players. The coaching staff should and does share plenty of the blame for the horrendous year this defense has put together. I'd love to see them bring in a real OC too. But, that would be asking for entirely too much; I know.

Yep. And gotta love how FN in America is trying to make it seem so much worse than it really is. The NFL blew it and panicked. Calling a game because it might be a blizzard. Pathetic.

He's abandoned it all season long. It's been my biggest grievance with Chan and the offensive play calling... he's as pass happy as Martz or Gibride have ever been.

No, they just decided to wait until the snow is gone and the sun can come out and make everyone nice and toasty. It's complete crap to call a game because of too much snow. I guess the Browns/Bills game a few years ago was ok... but now it's not?? Come on.

I'm starting to agree with Dean. That was horrible.

Big difference there, though. The pansy league is now postponing games because they don't want to play in cold and snowy weather. Pathetic.

I take mine straight up.. bitterness included!

Can't you wait another 10 minutes to start a dozen and one threads complaining about how bad the Bills are?

one cup of apathetic insanity coming right up...

Got 'em right where we want 'em... for the greatest comeback in the history of histories! Time to pull out the secret play.

I'm glad I'm not the only that's noticed that. Sometimes, I really think Chan outsmarts himself.

Goodell's plan is now complete. The NFL has officially become a pansy league. It was bad enough when they made it illegal to hit a QB. Then they make it illegal to tackle. Now they're postponing a game because it's going snow! Un friggin believable. Can you imagine what pansy rules will come out of the new CBA? It's pathetic.

I agree. But that was a damn hard hit on an outstretched receiver. SO I can give him that... but not some of the other drops. As I'm seeing it.. the Pats* are hitting A LOT harder than the Bills and it shows. Just once I'd like to see the Bills try and punch the Pats* in the jaw rather than the other way around.