Dawgg

Was very excited that Buddy's back. Hopefully that translates to building the line the right way -- through the draft.

Dockery and Walker were identified by John Guy, signed off by Marv and ultimately approved by Ralph. To think that John Guy (and the front office) were not instrumental in those signings is rather delusional on your part.

To think that Ralph is solely to blame for the franchise's ineptitude is laughable at best. It was his lieutenants who paid big money to mediocre players like Kelsay, Dockery, and Walker... money that would be better suited to upper echelon players like Peters. The money is available... it simply has not been spent wisely, which is why the Bills haven't sniffed the playoffs in 10 years.

I can see the logic in not re-signing Peters and not re-signing Clements. But to get nothing in return and create a hole in your roster is just bad business. If the Bills weren't planning to pay Peters top dollar, they should have drafted Ryan Clady last year instead of McKelvin. If the Bills weren't going to pay Clements top dollar, they should have traded him in exchange for a first or second round pick.

... and who do you think is responsible for mismanaging a franchise that hasn't sniffed the playoffs since the Clinton administration? If this team continues to lose, revenue growth will be tough to come by, necessitating that the team look elsewhere for funds. That they are considering giving up yet another home game is pretty telling.

I am pretty pissed that they let it come to this. I think most teams would love to have Peters on their squad but they either didn't have the budget to pay him or didn't have a need at LT. By letting Nate Clements walk for nothing, trading Roscoe for a 4th round pick, and getting pennies on the dollar for Peters, the Bills' front office is willfully eroding its talent base. This team will not survive in Buffalo with this type of mismanagement.

... and that's relevant how? That a perennial playoff contender values Peters as such is telling. If you can't handle the fact that the Bills got fleeced yet again, go ahead and insult Peters, if it makes you feel better.

You're on crack. The Bills also spent a lot of time and energy developing him into a top-flight tackle. They traded him for pennies on the dollar. This front office sucks.

Most of what G.Host posts are pretty much wrong. He just gets a pass around here because he's an old-timer. Get used to it

Sure... we're splitting hairs here... but I think that: (a) an upper echelon tackle is always more valuable than an upper echelon receiver and (b) Peters is young, TO is far from it. To me, that gives Peters the edge. Now if you're looking purely from the lens of the 2009 season, maybe you're right. But the Bills just traded their most valuable asset for pennies on the dollar. This front office sucks, no matter how much Tim Graham panders to Bills fans... no mater how much "hope" they sell every offseason and no matter what unfounded guarantee Donte "bust" Whitner makes with his big mouth. I really thought the front office was moving this team in the right direction with the TO acquisition, signing Drayton Florence, cutting Dockery, etc.. but this trade just flat out sucks.

I factor age and position into the equation in determining who the best player is. Taking age and position into consideration, Peters was the Bills' most valuable asset. Maybe the appropriate term I should have used is that Peters is the most "valuable" player. If they were able to get a mid first round pick, I can see making the deal. But to jettison him for a late first rounder and a second day pick is just absurd IMO. Why are the Bills so generous to the likes of Schobel and Dockery, yet they buckle when it's time to pay market value for a top tier talent?

Tim you should be used to it by now. This board, for the most part will speak in support anything this inept front office does... including trading the team's best player.

There are a lot of those on this board!

If that were truly me, I'd focus on his crappy on-field play, not his off-field conduct. BTW see the link in my sig?

... coming from the Oracle of Wisdom who stated that the Bills were correct in letting Pat Williams walk...

The front office is a bunch of amateurs. This seals it.

What an idiot. If only he were a good football player...

2nd round talent is about right. Then Marv followed that with an encore... drafting McCargo (another second round talent) in the first round. Then, Marv took Ko Simpson in the 4th -- who everyone thought was a steal. Only thing he stole was a roster spot!

I give kudos to Marv for trading Willis McGahee. But it wasn't some stroke of brilliance. It was clear he needed to go. I think any GM with a brain would recognize that he has to make that move. The trade for Stroud was a good one, one that the team desperately needed because Marv screwed up the 2005 draft, passing on DT's at #8 and whiffing on McCargo after trading up in the draft. By that point, the Bills were desperate. You really going to do that again? Having played football yourself, you should know that tackles are among the most overrated stats out there. Let's also not forget that Harris missed considerable time last season. But the bottom line is that on the field Harris is a better player. I'd take him over Poz every day of the week and twice on Sunday. And again, drafting Poz was not some stroke of genius. Marv paid dearly to move up and get him... he gave up a high 3rd round pick to move up 9 spots in the draft in R2!!! Who does that??? Only Marv... Oh riiight Marv was stuck with JP and had no choice but to play him. Just like the Dolphins were stuck with John Beck? Just like Mangini is "stuck" with Brady Quinn? A football regime has full control over their roster. It didn't take a genius to realize that JP simply didn't have what it took to be a starting QB. To blame Donahoe's foundation for the 3 straight 7-9 seasons is a bit ludicrous. As for Dockery, it was an awful move that set the franchise back -- yet you're continuing to make excuses. Dockery didn't "become" soft. He was soft from the get-go.

If drafting Kyle Williams, Brad Butler, Poz and Lynch represent Marv's shining moments as GM, it's pretty pathetic. He traded up (overpaying in the process) to draft Poz, who has yet to prove that he's the long-term solution in the middle. David Harris is a better player at this point and the Bills could have had him by staying put. Kyle Williams... meh... nice use of a 5th round pick. Lynch is a good player but nowhere near as consistent as he needs to be and his legal troubles bring that pick down a notch. And no matter how you try to spin the Dockery signing, it was an unmitigated disaster. Last but not least, Marv built the foundation for 7-9... 3 times. He was a bad GM. Were all his moves bad? No of course not, every dog has its day in the sun. But the bad far outweighed the good.

Yeah I was agreeing with you Having a quarterback who knows his role and has won big games would be a big help for Trent. He played college at a losing program, he is coached by former QBs who barely played, and his current backup (Gibran) is yet another journeyman. Maybe Fitz will surprise, but I just felt that either Garcia or Leftwich would have been the better call here, even if it was just a one-year deal.

Our OC was a quarterback who was a perennial backup who has never played in a big NFL game. Our QB coach was a 3rd string QB who could barely play at an NFL level. He has no idea what it's like to lead a team to a wining season. Gibran is a journeyman and will be out of the league in a few years. A winning quarterback, one who has played in and won big games would be helpful to Trent, as long as he knows his role as a backup.

There's something to be said about a QB who has many years of starting under his belt, understands the dynamics of the position and has won big games. The benefits shouldn't be marginalized. Fitzpatrick to me is another Gibran Hamdan. We already have one, why bring in another?

Indeed... but instead, he decided to wait a little bit and become a premier left tackle. It bugs me that this team is willing to shell out for players like Dockery, Whitner and Kelsay... but when a top-tier talent is ready to get paid, they hesitate.