RochesterRob

I don't know about that as far as not having a great football mind. Ralph's biggest problem was being a product of an earlier time in the professional sports business. Where teams were not run by multi-billionaire owners who considered the team a toy that happened to appreciate in value. The NFL's revenue stream has steadily grown over the past few decades but that is hindsight versus being an owner trying to anticipate the future from the 1960's forward in time.

Agreed. The "source" at OBD may have intentionally planted false "information" to goad another team to make another move based on that information. This would in turn force a prospect down where the cost would be less if that prospect was sitting there at 6. Somebody on here recently indicated that OBD was airtight in terms of information and I would tend to believe that until a leak can be proven to exist. In any event I will believe it when I see it.

Unless the Giants have a QB that they really covet I have believed that Cleveland will get Barkley and their QB with the first and second overall picks.

I doubt that the Bills like most other NFL teams have an equal grade on the top 4 (in the mind of us fans). If one of their "guys" is not there at 6 I doubt they move up. I would say that there is a very strong chance that their guy won't be there at 6 if two are gone by the time slot number 5 is on the clock

Talk is cheap this time of year when it comes to NFL coaches and GM's. All he is saying is it's going to cost the team that wants to trade up dearly. Right nut, left nut, first born, second born, and down the line. There is a certain logic to what he is saying I'll admit but that is far from the only possibility for the first overall pick.

Too early to read much into this but he would be intriguing if he was there for us when we pick in the second round. It would allow us to potentially tweak our first round selections if the plan is BPA from the start and if the FO anticipates such a fall. Probably too much to hope for but a fan can dream about it.

The more I read the more I like the signing. Also, it most likely means a DB will wait until late in the draft for us. Get McD's MLB and watch the defense move into the top 10 in most categories.

Don't get me going on both Dolphins games from last year. I think that the term "finish the game" is way over used in very broad strokes but it certainly fit both 4th quarters last year. We are not always going to be able to have a timely INT to save our tails.

You know that is going to happen and the "I'm going to quit this team if...." threads have already started.

No doubt that there are good ideas put out by both the BPA and trade up camps. It's one thing to disagree with an idea and say so in a respectful manner but some of the trade up crowd is flat out juvenile. Despite what they may think Beane is not coming on this board to solicit advice so they might just as well relax when somebody has something different to offer. I agree with the general sentiment of not making a big trade up as there appears to be a lot of talent to be had in the first two rounds with no clear cut superior prospect at QB. For me it is really that simple. Goes back to the notion of don't reach on iffy prospects which was the mantra on BBMB the last few years it existed.

This thread is turning out to be a dog whistle for those who would break the bank without any assurance that any one QB prospect will deliver to go to the top of the draft. Dissenting opinion will not be tolerated by these same people. Funny how this board is a "discussion" board for their crackpot ideas but when somebody differs then no discussion is allowed. Some even go to the point to assume that they are some boss over OBD. I know that snow shoveling season is just about done for the season but lawn mowing time could not come soon enough to give these guys something else to do that in the end would be more productive than thinking that they are bossing Beane around.

What do you want him to say? That he is desperate and would pay anything for anybody besides the QB's currently under contract for the Bills? I am thinking that you never negotiated for anything high stakes in your life. If you want something you always start from the standpoint of having very public little interest in whatever it is.

That 1987 team had fewer holes than what we are talking about at present. We had Reed and Chris Burkett at WR, Shane Conlan ILB, Bell, Harmon, and Robb Riddick at RB (the weakest part of the trade), Jim Ritcher OG, and Nate Odomes plus Derrick Burroughs at CB. We were also better at working the waiver wire and picking up castoffs. John Davis was the other OG we picked up after the Oilers let him go. Ray Bentley LB.

Interesting that drafting Barkley is favored as much as it is. In the end it will not be up to the fans.

We have several needs so that cap money could get wiped out in short order or if we go the value signing route then the big spenders here on the draft will cry about us being cheap. Really not worth it to satisfy a few dozen squeaky wheels here.

It might take all of those 3 or 4 years to build that roster you refer to. Draft picks don't always pan out and FA's fail to adapt or get lazy after getting paid. Then there is the fact that none of these QB's prospects have any known connection to the area and might just hate being here period. Maybe they grew up being a fan of another team and it was always their goal to play for that team. You take your chances on those potential pitfalls with a single pick or at the most a FEW picks versus SEVERAL picks. Bet the farm might mean manure on your face when the gamble fails.

Lets temper our expectations on the 10-15 year talk. We only know that we would in theory have him for a rookie deal plus one franchise tag year. If the guy REALLY does not want to be here then he leaves well before 10 years elapses. If the team is far off from contending when the time comes to re-up what is his incentive to stay here other than offer a stupid rich contract?

Sam Donald? Are you talking about Sam Donaldson the gruff panelist from ABC's This Week? Kind of miss him and David Brinkley talking politics Sunday mornings before NFL coverage started during the Bills SB era. Heck, I think that they could do a better job analyzing football than some of the guys that are paid to do just that. Anyways, I knew you were talking about Darnold. I think?

If they really covet Rudolph or Jackson then they would probably move up from 22 to get either.

12 gets them pretty close to where Roquan Smith is expected to go and he would be a cornerstone of McD's defense.

Interesting to get more background on those times. A fair amount of disparity amongst the owners. I don't know that Ralph had a choice at that point. When Seattle got the Seahawks that reduced Ralph's bargaining power in terms of threatening relocation. I know the talk was Phoenix or Jacksonville in public but I think that Ralph had very little support in reality for either location.

Yep, PFW was pretty good and I believe there was Smith and Street as well.

Pretty much how I remember it. In Ralph's defense he did not want a war of salary escalation where the top bidders had the SB bought. Ralph during the 1970's was already treading behind Lamar Hunt and Bud Adams in terms of money to name a couple of other owners. So the bigger revelation here is there was really no reason for Adams to have had all the poor Oilers teams that he had. I think at that time the NFC pretty much had old line owners of which their wealth was mostly tied to their teams so even a 5 million dollar contract would have been brutal. For perspective Kelly got 5 years 8 million dollars back in 1986 when everybody lit a candle for Polian to bring Jimbo here.

Even '83 was tricky for the guys who actually had to do the picking. Blackledge was the top rated QB by more than a couple of draft magazines. Remember that in 1983 there was nothing close to the media coverage that the draft receives today. You had a few magazines and ESPN where Kiper was still more a curiosity than a revered "expert."

Eason's SB appearance was during my college years and the people I knew from Boston thought that the SB vs the Bears got in his head and was never the same confidence-wise afterward. The Steeler's are due for Bubby Brister and Neil O"Donnell part 2.