BarleyNY

QB - Taylor deserves his opportunity as he's certainly earned it, but the Bills need to hedge now. A rookie with upside and an inexpensive vet are needed to fill out the roster. HB - Shady. Looking good. Maybe some tinkering at bottom of depth chart. FB - What's wrong with Felton (I'm asking seriously)? Very low priority even if upgrade is needed. WR1 - Watkins. Looking good. WR2 - Huge need for a big, deep threat opposite Watkins. Please no Harvin. Slot WR - An upgrade would be preferable, but Woods can handle the job for this season if needed. TE1 - Set with Clay. TE2 - An upgrade would be welcome, but (again) not a top priority. RT - Upgrade needed. RG - Upgrade needed. C - Looking good with Wood LG - Incognito needs re-signed in a big way. LT - Glenn needs re-signed or replaced with a competent player not on roster. (I'm just going to copy and tweak the rest:) LE - Mario - A quality replacement needs found if he is released (as is expected) DT - KW (no upgrade needed) DT/RE - Dareus (no upgrade needed) OLB/RE - Hughes (no upgrade needed) ILB - Bradham - I expect him to move on so an replacement will be needed. OLB - Lawson (retain, no upgrade needed) CB - Gilmore (no upgrade needed) SS - Rambo/Graham (no upgrade needed) FS - AW (no upgrade needed) CB - Darby (no upgrade needed) K - Carpenter - Odd that Carp had such an off year. If not injury related an upgrade is needed. P - Schmidt - (no upgrade needed) LS - Sanborn - (no upgrade needed) PR/KR - UPGRADE ST Gunner - Easley (no upgrade needed) A change to more of a 3-4 would change things a bit so I'll kick that can down the road. Some major work needs to be done and I just don't see how the Bills pull it off. Too many needs, too little cap space and too few players on the rise to fill holes. If I'm Whaley, offense rules the day. I fix the OL as best I can - including retaining our left side - and add that big, fast WR2. I do what I can to provide short term help on the defense and make them the priority next season.

Wow. That's depressing. Here is a slightly less depressing list of WRs available in the draft: http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/prospectrankings/2016/WR

It translates to: We don't have the cap space for any splashy free agent signings like last year, so we're pretty much going to go with the same players as last year if we can re-sign our free agents. We hope that the experience from being in the same system as last year and some player growth will translate to more wins. What's not mentioned are the players that won't be back and how exactly additions through the draft and lower tier free agent signings will improve the overall level of talent from last season. I will be tremendously impressed by Whaley if the 2016 Bills have more talent than the 2015 Bills. Maybe, just maybe, the talent they do have will be better utilized by the coaches in 2016 than in 2015, but I can't see them having more talent to work with. Also I'd like to know why there was a lack of urgency last season.

I wouldn't be surprised to see him reunite with Schwartz in Philly.

I'd just like to chime in and say that I still don't care if it was fixed or not. The Pats lost and that's all I cared about.

Who was complaining about Osweiler? Every Denver fan knew they needed a QB to backup Manning and groom for the future. Hell, Broncos Fans would have been a lot more upset had they NOT drafted a QB because Manning was coming off the season he didn't play due to having multiple neck surgeries. No one knew how he'd play or how long he'd last. Nothing was controversial at all about Denver drafting a QB.

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2015/11/11/pro-pffs-midseason-all-worst-team/ Just looking for some unbiased opinion on him. This one isn't good. PFF put him on their All Worst Team.

Weren't slow feet a pre-draft concern for Miller? I rarely watched him specifically so everything for me is second hand knowledge. Everyone notices when an offensive lineman gets blown up - and I did notice that a few times with Miller - but that's not a fair way to judge a player, especially a rookie who may have hit that rookie wall. If anyone really focused on him and is informed please fill the rest of us in. Why a high floor? Judging only by scouting reports I saw Miller as a bit of a reach in the 3rd round. An OG whose ceiling was solid starter, but who also had a floor of back up OG (or worse). He didn't even look to be flexible in scheme. Again, someone with real knowledge would come in handy here. I do hope the guy progresses and becomes a good player. Barring injury we should know what we have in him sometime in 2016.

I didn't waste my time on that article, but I'm guessing the writer didn't address the NFL cross-ownership rules: The League codified this approach in an amendment to its Constitution and Bylaws that allows cross-ownership in another major league sports team in two narrow circumstances: (1) if the two franchises are in the same city, or (2) if the other league’s franchise is in a neutral market, defined as one that doesn’t currently host an NFL team and is not deemed a potential NFL city. http://www.theofficialreview.com/nfl-cross-ownership-rules/ To move the Bills the Pegulas would have to sell the Sabres (or the Bills) or the NFL would have to claim that they no longer consider Buffalo a potential NFL city. It'd be really tough to sell that last one and I don't see the Pegulas selling a team.

There's also the itty bitty problem of not having the cap room for two (or really even one) top tier FA.

Right now it's going to be tough for any coach to be successful in SF. That cupboard is almost bare. The copious cap room they have (plus more coming if they cut Kap) isn't going to dig them out. I'm interested to see how much influence Chip has on the roster and contracts. He did some bad deals in Philly.

A long term deal would give him more guaranteed money, including a huge chunk of cash in the form of a signing bonus. He can get that from the Bills prior to playing another down. His other choice is to play 2016 under his option and hope to get that huge free agency deal next offseason. But he could also have a severe injury or a poor year and not get those big bucks so it's a risk for him. Of course if he does have a great 2016 he could get tagged. It makes sense for him to accept a deal that's a little less now AND get paid now rather than risk losing that huge payday.

No worries. No doubt Gordon has been an idiot and reckless. I just don't think he's got issues beyond that. But you're certainly correct that there is a reasonable chance that he might screw up again. I didn't mean to totally gloss over that very real possibility.

If the most important thing you're looking for in a WR is blocking, then I have no idea what to say to you except that you should stop talking football. That insane. Incidentally, Greg Little is the best blocking WR on the team now. He can't catch for crap, but he's a hell of a blocker. If blocking is all that matters, then he's your starter. The Bills predominantly run the ball, but they also rely on beating defenses deep throughout the game. If the run game pulls up defenders, then the receivers beat them over the top. If the defenders play back to prevent the deep ball, the. the run game thrives. Without viable deep threats nothing works though. Again, I like Woods. I just don't think he is the guy the Bills need opposite Watkins. He'd fit in better with other offenses - ones that emphasize short and intermediate routes - and that's where he belongs. He should wind up in one after next season.

Is she a good coach? Cause we could use one of those......

I used to live in Strongsville, OH where a bunch of players, coaches and FO people live. And, yes, I knew a few of the above. Stories come out and you hear what's what sometimes. Those stories are not always 100% accurate, but they're usually pretty close. The deal with Gordon is this: Goodell feels like he and his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, lied to him. Goodell does not put up with being lied to and consequently he came down hard on Gordon. (Admittedly ironic for a guy who lies as much as Goodell does.) Gordon meanwhile is into Rosenhaus for a not insubstantial amount of money. The expectation was that he'd have had a new deal and the loan would have been paid back by now. But he's still got two years left before he's an UDFA due to the suspensions. He needs a new deal big time. A big part of his past problems have been the people he hung/hangs with, including a close relative. Josh would actually drive the guy (and friends) around while he/they smoked pot (the relative, not Josh). That likely led to a past positive marijuana test. I have no idea where that relationship stands now, but I hope Josh got his priorities straight. He's up against it financially so I hope he woke up.

Watkins can play the X (wide, on the line) but I prefer him to be a Z (wide, off the line). Sorry, I mixed up Y (slot) & Z in my post. I don't like him on the line like an X where he would take more punishment due to his injury/durability issues. Also I prefer to see him to run a varied route tree rather than be predominantly deep threat. Woods can be a solid WR, but he's not the deep threat opposite Watkins that the Bills need. Watkins has been very effective except when double teamed (CB bumping, safety almost directly over the top keying on him) and that's where Woods is an issue. He can't pull coverage away. The Bills desperately need a player that can get deep and stress defenses by making them worry about two deep threats. Otherwise Watkins can be neutralized. See the KC game. First half - late safety help; second half - safety over the top keyed on him. 176 yards, 0 yards. The Bills went after Harvin to be that deep threat in the short term despite his lack of size and past issues. It showed how desperate they were to fill that void. If I could add one (non-elite QB) player to the Bills roster it'd be a quality X with size and speed. As for Woods, he is not a bad player. I just don't see him as a fit for what the Bills need. After 2016 he's likely to find another team where he brings more value than he does to the Bills, though.

Well, if only a few people in the world could do the job as well as Stupid, then I bet someone would take the chance on him. Josh Gordon led the league in receiving yards the last time he played almost a whole season. How many WRs can step on the field and be in that class today? Oh and he had crap at QB when he did it.

No way. He's their best playmaker on offense. They'd get nothing in return right now anyway so they're going to have to ride it out with him. Actually the most recent suspension was because drinking alcohol was a violation of the deal he made with the NFL. It was through the end of the season and after the Browns season concluded he took a trip with teammates to Vegas. Somebody took and posted a pic with him holding a drink on the airplane and he was tested as soon as he got off. His contention was that the season was over and he had fulfilled the agreement, but the deal actually ran through the end of the league year which was in March. Obviously it was his responsibility to know and follow the specifics of his agreement - and he previously tested positive for marijuana - but he's not been out of control or doing anything crazy. Stupid, yes. And that's a concern, but he doesn't have a substance abuse issue.

I see Woods as a quality utility WR. Much like a utility infielder who can play all of the infield spots in relief or in event of injury, Woods can play on the outside or inside (although probably not the X all that well). He's a hard worker, knows his assignments and can push young players. I like having him on the team. But I really don't want him relied upon to be a starting or top slot WR. The Bills need a big, fast X so Sammy can play the Z and then they need to add a quality Y. If Woods was the #4 in that scenario, then I'd be ecstatic. The problem will come on his next deal. He'll likely want to be paid more than the going rate for a 4th WR, especially considering his draft position (which does factor in), so I do not see him here long term. But the good news there is that when your WR corps start pushing players like Woods off the team, then they're pretty damn good. Of course they're a couple players short of that right now so you never know. Edited because I accidentally mixed up the Y and Z.

The Titians screwed the pooch on this one. They could've had Schwartz, but now it looks like they'll even be out on Horton too. He's heading to Cleveland.

It'll be interesting because his defenses did have some success. They obviously weren't on par with Schwartz's defenses though. I think that was what happened, too. It certainly fits and makes sense.

Apparently TEN didn't want Schwartz so he picked his preferred job. I find that totally inexplicable - or rather I would find it inexplicable had they not already demonstrated their coach-selection abilities by hiring Mularkey. TEN might have the #1 overall pick again in 2017. Horton is officially interviewing in Cleveland and is either heading there or back to TEN as DC. I'm not sure how he's in such high demand though. The Schwartz interest, sure. But Horton?

Some good calls so far on this topic. I'll add a not great QB, but one who was plenty tough. Byron Leftwich. Anyone who finishes a game like he did at Marshal with a broken leg has my respect. I still remember his teammates carrying him downfield between plays because he couldn't walk.

F that. I honestly thought that this was going to be a post about how the Bills should embrace cheating in order to win.