Bob in STL

^ + 1000 ^ Who do you talk to? Real scouts and front office people or fans? I am curious. BTW - your posts on the draft are fantastic!! thanks.

I did not see that. Both teams had not played for over 30 days and it showed in the execution. People tend to over-analyze college players. They are players that have not perfected their craft yet. You need to focus on the talent. Comparing him to Bruce Smith and Randy White at this point is unfair. Can you remember Bruce Smith at Va Tech? He was a fatty who took plays off too. But he was dominant in college when he wanted to be. It took Bruce Smith 3 years to emerge as a force in the NFL. Fairley looked like the best player on the field whenever he was on the field. If he is there I sure hope we take him.

I like him. Dirty play or not he is dominant. Draft him and then coach him up.

Is everything Wilson's fault?

The colts are soft against the run and they do not run well on offense. Translation - they need to get more physical. Not a Caldwell fan myself but he did well with lots of injuries.

The Bills should forget about schemes and draft good players. Fairly is a beast. Scouts say he can play any formation. We picked McCargo because he fit the technique. They passed on Ngata because he did not fit the scheme. How did that work out?

Look at timne slot 2:43. That guy looks just like me!

Ditto. We had an awesome team back then and Cookie was the best all around football player in the league. ANY league. He could run, catch and throw. He could (and did) kick-off and tackle. He really loved to block and when he did he literally blew people up. RIP Beast Mode is no Cookie. Earl Campbell was the closest I have seen to him. He loved to hit people and at the time he was bigger than most of the LB's in the league. I recall a game against the Jets, Cookie was running into the end zone and he slowed down, changed direction, and ran directly at a Jets saftey ... just to run him over before he scored!!!

There are people on this board that wanted to draft Bulaga at 9 instead of Spiller. There have been many Bulaga threads this season. Every player that we "should have or could have drafted" gets paid homage here. As for as the love? It went away with 11 straight years without playoffs. One wining season in the past 11. A horrendous W-3 and L-15 record in our division in the past three years. Three straight last place finishes in the AFCE. We are on our 4th coach since 2001, and our 4th GM. Heck, at least we have a GM now, right? Need I mention the drafts?

Whenever I think about Nix's comment about sleeping when free agency started I picture George Costanza. Recall that George made a cozy little nap space under his desk while "working" in the front office at Yankee Satdium.

You are an awesome poster. I learn more about the draft from you than any of talking head experts.

I was not suggesting that Chan fire Edwards.

Good work. You certainly put a lot into that post. As long as I have followed football there is one constant. Head Coaches bring in "their people". They bring in guys they know and trust. Guys who will coach or teach their system. In the case of Cross, he obviously stayed on his merit from his previous work. Unfortunately, he did not have a 3-4 background and our ILBs suffered for that. You can blame Chan for keeping him, or you can applaud Chan for giving him a shot. Sometimes things work out, other times they don't. Cross will land on his feeet and will most likely appreciate that Chan gave him a shot. The bigger concern is Edwards, not Cross. Edwards has never been a DC before. His sphere of influence with position coaches may be limited because of that. Chan's selection of Edwards is something that will be scrutinized throughout his tenure as HC. If Edwards turns out to be the next Buddy Ryan then Chan will be a genious. If Edwards is not adequate then Chan is open for second guessing. I suspect that Chan will give Edwards another year.

The drafting has been poor because there is no cohesive plan to build from. So we draft RBs and DBs and WRs over, and over, and over again. There is no cohesive plan because there is constant change. There is constant change because the team is poorly managed. The team is poorly run because no one in the front office has been capable enough to get the job done. No one in the front office is capable because the owner has not found the right person yet. Why? I don't know?

Trade down if possible. By the end of round 2 add three players to address glaring weaknesses at: DL, LB, and either OT or TE.

Marshawn. He was always the smarter one.

you could be correct. Tha shame is that Andre was better than Carter ... IMHO

Dick Jauron did.

Thank you for bringing that point up. I would rather have a 3rd than a 4th and 6th but still, it may have been a factor? Just sayin'

I think Bruce Smith helped to sell a few tickets. We need to upgrade the front 7 on defense as the number 1 priority.

Problems with this: 1. Why would Mankins leave the best run franchise in the NFL to come to one of the worst? That will take lots of $$$ and i don't see it hapening. If we spend that kind of money let get a pass rusher and improve the front 7 on defense! 2. Nothing that Wood did in his 4 games at center suggests that he was an upgrade over Hangartner. Maybe he will develop into a better center as time goes on but Gailey gave no indication that he was and upgrade. 3. I believe Mankins plays LG so I assume you move to RG in Wood's spot? Not sure how this makes the RT's better? We have nothing at RT whether Wood or Mankins plays next to them.

# 58 - I still think of Mike Stratton. Then Shane Conlan. Maybin is not worthy of that jersey.

1. Depth is critical. Kyle Williams is not a true 3-4 NT although he played very well this season and earned Pro Bowl honors. He cannot play the nose on every down. Baltimore took Cody and they already have Ngata and others. They want depth. 2. Good defenses rotate linemen all the time. Fresh players make big plays as the game progresses and the OL starts to wear down. 3. The Bills played both 3-4 and 4-3. Many of the 3-4 defenses of today are hybrids and play both formations. Unfortunately, we have below average talent to be effective at either scheme.

If you cut the worst players then you should get that effect. The problem the Bills have is part 2 - getting better players than the ones we curently have as starters. Example: Today we have major needs at DE (replace Stroud or Kelsey), OLB (replace Kelsey or whoever), ILB (replace Adeleye or Davis), ROT (replace Wrotto or whoever), and TE (replace Stupar or whoever). That does not even address QB or LOT which are also questionable. It is unrealistic to assume that we can upgrade all of these positions with one draft and get 5 rookies to come in and start and provide instant help. If we lose Whitner, Poz and Florence we will only add to the number of positions we have to backfill, let alone upgrade. To see a major improvement in one year we need ALL of the following to happen: 1 - Significant free agent signings were we bring in a few solid starters (helps us to draft BPA and not for need) 2 - A monster draft were we get a few more starters and add to the depth with good prospects 3 - Last years rookie prospects to improve and beat out the people in front of them. Hearing that Buddy plans on napping through free agency, it is no wonder why he is saying it will take years to turn this arounnd.

Things like that happen every year. Life is like a box of chocolates ...