Ozymandius

I suspect Brady and Manning would've gone 10-6. The QB position is just so important and makes other players better.

Also, I believe this decision was about one thing and one thing only. Tight Asian poontang. Luck's cup runneth over in tight Asian poontang. I can't really say he made the wrong decision.

I'm happy about this, too. Love that our additional wins under Fitz didn't cost us anything. And yes, if Fitz has a sophomore slump type season next year, Bills might even be in position to get Luck in 2012

Mallett wouldn't be a complete bust since his arm is so talented. But I don't think his ceiling is all that high since he can't handle pressure. Agree with the Bledsoe (late career) comparisons

Not clutch and no ability to create when the pocket breaks down. Mallett would need 5 pro-bowlers on the offensive line to be a great NFL QB. I will say this, though. That is quite an arm on him and he has improved his accuracy this year. He could still throw with better touch. Some of those drops were 10 yard-passes with too much zip.

Are you really concerned about the Bills trying to trade up? They don't usually wheel and deal and realistically, Carolina is staying put and picking Luck anyway.

The idea is simple. You have to take a chance at the QB position because in this league you are treading water until you find one. It's better to take a chance and lose than to be out of the game altogether. You have to be in it to win it. Newton has the kind of freak talent that I'm willing to take a chance on.

Cam Newton's raw talent absolutely warrants a top 10 draft pick. There has probably never been a player at QB with his blend of size and speed. Obviously he needs a lot of work and experience in running a pro-style offense but I can get behind picking him at #3 for a few reasons (1) We have a coach in Gailey who is creative enough offensively to maximize Newton's talents. Clearly an offense designed for Cam Newton is going to be different from an offense designed for Peyton Manning. (2) Newton almost certainly will be durable due to his sheer size. There's going to be a huge learning curve for Newton but he should be able to be out on the field week after week to take his lumps and gain experience. Unlike Matthew Stafford, for example. (3) He really does have a winning personality and should become a leader that the team can rally around. He'll make players around him better. Auburn has reaped the benefits of this I'm far from convinced he's going to be a good NFL QB. In fact, he will probably fail. But you have to take chances in this league to get your QB position settled. Newton has the kind of raw talent and personality that I can support taking a chance on. Because if things click into place, he will be a weapon that nobody in the NFL has. He'll see over the line better and be more durable than Vick, and he has a better release and arm strength than Vince Young. An unprecedented talent.

The more I think about it, the more I realize how smart the Panthers were. Think about how awful Clausen looked week in and week out this year. Would any team in their right mind have continued to trot him out behind center week after week after week? Ahhh, but Carolina WAS in the right state of mind. They were thinking Andrew Luck all along and continued to send out Clausen to secure that prize. It was extremely fishy, perhaps ethically questionable, but in the end might prove to be brilliant. Clausen could've gotten hurt out on the field. He was unprepared to be an NFL starter this year. But the ends justify the means.

It's already too late. New England, with their young guys and draft picks and excellent front office, is set to dominate for the next decade, too.

I'd stay away. Dalton notoriously got too amped up for the Fiesta Bowl last year and choked against Boise St. I don't think he'd be a quality NFL starter.

If Luck declares, you would have to overpay. Something like our entire 2011 draft AND the 2012 first rounder. Even then, Carolina would probably just stay put and pick Luck. It's a QB driven league.

Nah, I'd rather have the higher pick with an option to trade down if warranted. Denver and Buffalo may end up wanting the same player. Or maybe Denver trades with a team that wants the same player as the Bills. You want to be in control of your destiny.

New England didn't go 14-2 with great defense. It's an offensive league now. Even a defensive mastermind like Belichick has adjusted to that reality

He suffers from gingervitis.

This complaint might turn out to be true. If Luck declares, in 5 years we might regret not going 1-15 this year. We'll have to wait and see but it's very possible that Fitzpatrick did screw this franchise (through no fault of his own, of course) by being good enough to turn 1-15 into 4-12.

The Panthers wouldn't trade Luck for the Bills entire draft. It's a QB league. With Luck unavailable, with no offensive tackle projected to be top 5, and with no d-linemen that fit the 3-4 scheme, the Bills should trade down. I'm hoping an offensive tackle emerges, though.

Yes, I would love to get a TE and Kendricks is someone I'm paying attention to. Also wouldn't mind taking a 7th-round flyer on his QB, Scott Tolzien. Probably not enough arm strength for Buffalo but his accuracy is impressive at the college level.

I've come to terms with no Luck and that Fitz is the QB next season. The Bills aren't bad enough to finish with the #1 overall pick, and the team loves Fitz right now. So, yes, I'm 100% rooting for entertaining games and wins. I would still like to be in good enough draft position to draft the best offensive tackle, whoever that turns out to be, but I don't think the improved Bills are good enough to get enough wins to jeopardize that.

Really? 96 catches and 10 TDs that season.

I like the idea of adding on to the offense but I'd prefer to add o-linemen and a tight end. Some of the offensive success is due to talent, but some of it is smoke and mirrors right now. If we don't increase the offensive line talent in the offseason, the offense will regress. Happens all the time in sports. If you're not getting better, you're getting worse.

Oh, and I wouldn't worry about drafting Andrew Luck at this point. So many things have to happen. Fitz would have to play poor the rest of the season and have his coaches and teammates fall out of love with him. The Bills would have to somehow catch Carolina and hold off Cincinnati and others for the #1 overall draft pick. Luck would have to declare. Too many things have to come together and Andrew Luck in a Bills uniform is a pipe dream at this point. A pipe dream that I used to have but not anymore. I'm letting go. Fitz is the QB of the future now, for better or worse. Now let's draft some offensive linemen. How's Derek Sherrod looking?

Fitz is either the greatest thing that has happened to the Bills franchise in a long time or the worst thing. We'll know in two or three years. He's either going to continue to improve and hopefully hone his accuracy a bit (he'll never be Brady, though), or he's going to be a one-year wonder that knocked the Bills out of prime drafting position and delayed their opportunity to draft a franchise QB. Nobody can say for certain which way this will go yet. But he has made the 2010-11 season interesting and certain games very exciting to watch so we'll owe him a debt of gratitude regardless.

No. He won't age well like Brady and Manning because so much of his greatness is tied to his athleticism. Would rather have Andrew Luck for sure.

Luck's YPA ranks high both this season and last season. Not concerned about him being Trentative.