BuffaloRush

So you are spot about QB But I will say, Tasker would be all for the Bills moving up and drafting a QB. It was Murphy who wanted them to stay at 21 and 22 and draft the best player available. He did not want a trade.

I don't think so - he seems to be in Buffalo all the time.

I really like Romo - but Collinsworth is absolutely brutal for me. He's one of the worst IMO. It was on full display at the Super Bowl - I loved how he was beside himself that Pederson took chances on 4th down.

Right - He's not on the F team. He's actually on their 3rd or 4th team and I believe they wanted him as a sideline reporter for the playoff games. Regardless, I said his work at CBS is average and nothing amazing. But he's not as bad as you make him out to be. I'm guessing you don't listen to John Murphy Show. If you did - you'd notice what an improvement he is from Donald Jones

What constitutes a "good prospect?" Are you talking trading up for one of the big 4 or 5? Or taking a second-tier QB in rounds 2 and 3?

Disagree with your thoughts on Tasker. As far as his work on CBS - he's average. Certainly not one of the best but he does ok. I used to think he purposefully tried to make it look like he was impartial by talking up whatever team the Bills were playing. On the John Murphy show - he is hands down better than Donald Jones. He makes the show sound more professional. His insight is good too - I think you are underestiming #89 here. As far as his idea - you can easily make an argument for or against it. I give him credit for approaching the situation differently than others

Listening to the John Murphy Show today and #89 is in the studio for Donald Jones. IMO he did a far superior job providing analysis and has a very good rapport with Murphy. I'd love it is Tasker could be a permanent fixture but I'm sure the job doesn't pay enough and I think Steve has job duties for CBS toward the end of the week. Tasker starts of the show with an idea that I thought was ridiculous at first but as he explained it - it made a lot of sense. He talks about how the Bills probably will move on from Tyrod and need to look for a replacement. He suggested Trevor Simian and said "has done some nice things in the NFL and is surprise guy" to which Murphy audibly groaned LOL....but then he starts talking about Josh McCown and says that McCown has stated many times that he wants to go into coaching. So given this information his solution is this: Sign McCown to a medium QB contract (1-3 years for around $10M per year) as a backup with incentives so if he starts, he'll be compensated as a starting QB. But he will be brought in as a backup and the Bills will play their young QB - whether it's Nate Peterman or a rookie QB they end up drafting (if they go that route). But McCown's deal is also incentivized for him to be a mentor/tutor to the young QB - essentially and active player/QB Coach. If the young QB plays well - McCown makes more money from his backup. He'd get paid when the QB he is mentoring plays well. Then if things go well for the QB protege - the coaching staff offers McCown a spot as a coach on the staff which would allow him the opportunity to bypass some of the bottom level positions needed to get a start in coaching. It's an interesting idea - because McCown would actually have an incentive to coach up a young QB. If he does that - he gets paid. If things go bad with the QB, he gets an opportunity to start and will be paid as a starter. Plus he has a spot on the staff as coach, which essentially guarantees he won't do something stupid like sabotage the rookie. It's an idea that makes a lot of sense. He believe there are a number of QB's that would fit this position, mentioned Simiam again, but it sounds like McCown would be the best option. Hear it for yourself - starting at around the 8 minute mark: http://www.wgr550.com/media/audio-channel/02-22-john-murphy-show-hr-1

I just don't think he's athletic enough for what McDermott wants in a MLB. He actually might be able to play the SLB position like he did in Jim Schwartz's defense. Pretty sure they will go in MLB in round 1 or 2

In full disclose - I'm not the biggest Barnwell fan. I think that Bill Barnwell is an ok reporter. I took major issue for his pieces defending Tyrod Taylor to the extent that brought racism into the discussion. It resulted in me calling Barnwell out on Twitter and him responding with a snarky remark and blocking me. So here are Bill's 5 moves that he thinks the Bills should make this offseason. Maybe it's just me, but it seems that he doesn't really follow the team very closely - which would be understandble as a national NFL reporter. While everything he suggests make sense - I feel like the thinking here is very basic and not very insightful. Let me know your thoughts http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/page/BarnwellxFiveAFCMoves2018/five-moves-afc-team-make-2018-nfl-offseason-trades-free-agency-cuts-bill-barnwell In case anyone wants the reader's digest version -- here it is: 1. Sign Vontae Davis 2. Move on from Tyrod Taylor 3. Explore the trade market for Cordy Glenn. 4. Bring back Preston Brown and Kyle Williams. 5. Acquire two quarterbacks

I read that he was asking way too much and didn’t seem to have any sense of urgency to return

Ugh...Rob Quinn. He was writing a bad fan blog a few years ago. I know he covers the Bills for USA Today - but I don’t hold him in the same regard as other journalists

What are his credentials though? There are several people here who claim to have “inside information.” It’s hard for me take anyone seriously after the whole Dunkirk Don incident

You know - that’s an excellent point. I probably should change his status to a “miss” considering he was a Top 10 pick and never lived up to that status in Buffalo

I’ll have to play closer attention

Fair enough. I don’t know Kirby at all and you can understand why it’s hard for me to believe someone who goes by the name “Kirby Jackson” complete with the #47 avatar. We have a lot of people posing as being connected - including my favorite Dunkirk Don. Until I can verify more information I probably won’t trust what KJ says at face value. Like I said, I totally agree the structure at ODB was a mess. Still I’m not going to evaluate Modrak as a draft analyzer. This is all about GM’s and Marv and Russ were the GM at the time

Yea I agree 100%. Plus the counter view is all based on speculation. People say say how bad Marv and Russ were as GM but then say “well they didn’t actually make the draft picks.” I guess that doesnt make them so bad then????? All speculation though. You have zero proof

Feel free to. I won’t do it because I feel the GMs should stand by their selections. Marv was 31% and Russ was 20%.... Your Modrak number is not going to be very good. We’ll see how they stack up against some of the better (Polian, Butler) and worse (Nix, Whaley) GMs. I think the results might surprise you

Maybe so. We’ll never know the full extent but either way I feel it’s fair to give credit/criticism to the men that held the title of GM during the drafts. Whether they made the selections themselves or not

Fans don’t want to accept or acknowledge it but Ralph really hurt the Bills following Donahoe’s firing. So many poor decisions

That would not surprise me. But I’m saying all that we know FOR SURE...FOR SURE...is that Marv and Russ were the GMs during this time period. Fans on TBD and the internet speculate. It’s what makes Pro sports fun as a fan. But some of the speculation is inaccurate. We don’t know for sure what went down Chalk one up for the GOOD GUYS: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d805a31ac/article/levy-to-resign-as-bills-gm Levy's role as GM was relatively undefined, although he provided input on the team's draft and personnel decisions, consulted with Jauron and stayed in close contact with Wilson, who lives in suburban Detroit.

Again that’s speculation. That’s all rumor and innuendo. Find me documentation that shows Marv and Russ did not make draft picks. Then we’ll talk. All that has been published is rumor and innuendo...no facts

Funny but it seems to be a trend that Bills GM’s are never the ones actually making the selections.... not just Marv and Russ but also with Buddy and Doug whaley....hmm wonder why that is in all seriousness it’s is documented that Milli Vanilli did not sing. You cannot find any documentation that Marv or Russ didn’t make these selections. It’s all rumor an innuendo. I deal in facts not rumors and innuendo

Right I don’t disagree. But the record shows that technically it was Russ Brandon who served as GM. As Russ would say frequently say “I own it.”

We will continue to take a look at the past General Managers in Buffalo and who was the most successful with the draft based on hits and misses. Today it's time to see how Russ Brandon did. If you recall Brandon was named "General Manager" after former GM Marv Levy quietly stepped aside. It is believed that while Brandon was involved in many football decision, the majority of GM duties (including the draft) fell to the competent trio of Tom Modrak (Draft), John Guy (Pro) and Richard "Dick" Jauron (A Bit of Everything). Here's the criteria I shared for defining a "hit" and a "miss" While this is very subjective, I am defining a "hit" as any player that reasonably performed at or above his draft status. As an example, a player like Paul Pozlusny becoming a solid starting LB as a 2nd round pick. A "miss" is the opposite - a player who performed under or well under their draft status. If you draft a player in the first round and they are a marginal starter, I am defining that as a miss. Like many of my polls, I think this will be very debated. Let's see how Russ did in two NFL Drafts Year Rnd Player Pick Pos To AP1 PB St CarAV G Cmp Att Yds TD Int Att Yds TD Rec Yds TD Int Sk College/Univ 2008 1 Leodis McKelvin 11 DB 2016 0 0 4 29 111 15 Troy 2008 2 James Hardy 41 WR 2009 0 0 0 1 16 10 96 2 Indiana 2008 3 Chris Ellis 72 DE 2010 0 0 0 2 15 1.0 Virginia Tech 2008 4 Reggie Corner 114 DB 2011 0 0 0 8 55 2 1.0 Akron 2008 4 Derek Fine 132 TE 2009 0 0 0 2 18 19 158 1 Kansas 2008 5 Alvin Bowen 147 LB 2010 0 0 0 0 2 Iowa St. 2008 6 Xavier Omon 179 RB 2009 0 0 0 0 7 11 27 0 0 0 0 NW Missouri St. 2008 7 Demetress Bell 219 T 2012 0 0 2 15 40 NW State (LA) 2008 7 Steve Johnson 224 WR 2015 0 0 5 33 99 2 16 0 381 4764 34 Kentucky 2008 7 Kennard Cox 251 DB 2014 0 0 0 2 29 0.5 Pittsburgh 2008 Draft = 2 Hits/8 Misses = Success Rate of 20% This was an unsuccessful draft in oh...so many ways. MISSES Yes Leodis McKelvin was a "miss." You can say that was an an "average NFL starter," but you NOT draft an "average NFL starter" with the 11th pick in the first round. I am sorry but Leodis never lived up to his draft status this was a miss. Speaking of miss - one of the most spectacular 2nd round busts in Bills history was James Hardy. This was an ill-advised pick based on a player's physical size which never materialized. The rest of the guy are non-factors...just a terrible brutal draft. HITS Old Russ did the 7th round right. First, I will give Demetrius Bell a very very very marginal thumbs up. He essentially was a 3 year starter for the Bills as a 7th round pick. I will call him a slightly "average NFL starter" which is good for a 7th round pick (not the 11th pick in the 1st round). Then there is Stevie Johnson. Say what you will, but Russ Brandon made arguably one of the greatest draft picks in Bills history. 2009 Draft 2009 1 Aaron Maybin 11 DE 2012 0 0 0 5 48 6.0 Penn St. 2009 1 Eric Wood 28 C 2017 0 1 9 47 120 Louisville 2009 2 Jairus Byrd 42 DB 2017 0 3 7 40 118 25 4.0 Oregon 2009 2 Andy Levitre 51 G 2017 0 0 9 55 141 Oregon St. 2009 4 Shawn Nelson 121 TE 2010 0 0 1 1 17 20 181 1 Southern Miss 2009 5 Nic Harris 147 LB 2010 0 0 0 5 30 1.5 Oklahoma 2009 6 Cary Harris 183 DB 2010 0 0 0 1 6 2 USC 2009 7 Ellis Lankster 220 DB 2014 0 0 0 5 49 2 1.0 West Virginia 2009 Draft 3 Hits/5 misses = 38% Yeah Russ whiffed BADLY on Aaron Maybin. Perhaps one of the worst draft picks in Bills history. But he did well in the rest of the 1st and 2nd round netting 3 Pro Bowl players who had decent careers in Buffalo. This draft will likely save his Hit to Miss ratio. So overall yes, Russ was a very bad GM...BUT thanks to 3 solid picks in 2009 his final score is 28% For those keeping score: Success Rate as GM: Russ Brandon: 28%

It makes sense but most of these mock draft don’t take into account trades because its so unpredictable. The only way the Bills get a QB aid by trading up I would wait until after free agency because there’s a strong chance that 2 of the 3 teams could sign a QB. If Denver signs Cousins there’s a very good chance they trade out of the #5 spot