Bob in STL

So what lineman do you take? We will see at the end of the season which lineman, taken after Whitner, has a bigger impact. There are no gaurantees in the draft.

Football has changed from the time the Bills dominated in the 90's. Safeties are now much more important, especially the strong safety. This postion has become a hybrid small linebacker/ big cornerback type of position. Guys that can play the run and are good in coverage are getting premium dollars. Somehow, old guy Marv knew this. So far, this looks like a very good pick. Given our huge needs we have at safety, and the defensive scheme that is being installed, Whitner was a wise pick. Unlike drafting a QB, Whitner's chances of making an impact are higher and it was important to get an excellent player with this pick.

Ralph did not take the cheap road. He put his trust in TD and TD made the selections for head coach. TD whiffed on Gregg Williams, he let John Fox and Marvin Lewis get away. He blew it even worse on Mularkey, making the same mistake hiring a rookie coach. The selection of bad coaches is ALL TD. TD hired rookie coaches that would not question his authority. Remember that TD lost a power struggle with Bill Cowher, and was ousted at Pittburgh. The last thing he was going to do was bring in a strong head coach. TD's ego is huge. He ran all phases of the team his record is his.

??? I think that Levy's staff was as good or better than Knox's. Also, Ralph has pretty much let his coaches pick their own staff. He does seem less willing to pay extravagantly for coaches (unlike Snyder and some others).

Actually the kept Thomas over Eric King (one of TD's dreft picks). Thomas has more experience and from the looks of it he plays the game very hard.

Good point!

Good post. There is a lot more to the play of interior lineman than stats. Triplett played well. Kyle Williams already looks like the real deal. I think that McCargo will develop as well. I think the talent on DL is good. I am not nearly as excited about out OL talent though.

Sure it's great. nI was born in '58 and know about "the rivalry". I will say this, the rivalry has cooled down lately but when both teams get to contender status it will heat up.

Bingo! Patience is needed with some of these guys. Why develop them for 3-4 years and then let another team benefit from it? Lindell - Ever since we got a new LS he has been much improved. I has pleased to see the Bills re-sign Denney. He is solid against the run and can play inside if we need him to. Re-signing him was better than any of the other options out there at the time. I was skeptical on the Josh Reed re-signing and we shall see if he continues to develop. Wire - I think we all know he is in the team because of the emphasis on special teams.

If your interpretation is correct then it was the right cll. Very close. These calls always seem to go against us. Next time we need to rebound from the penealty and score anyway. That is the mark of a mature team.

Which begs the questions: 1 - Were our veterans that over rated? 2 - Was the defense that poorly coached last season?

It is a combination of both. The Bills still have much work to do.

They sure do look better prepared then the Mularkey Bills, and they are executing more plays. There is still a long ways to go but so far I am pleased with the progress. I never expected the defense to looks so good this early in the season.

I didn't know him but I sure liked his posts and his humor. This is just tragic. My prayers go out to his children.

The Dolphins. No reason should be needed but it goes back to the Shula years and 0-for-the-70's. My disdain for that team has never subsided. Marino, Duper and Clayton, Cox, and Louis Oliver only added to it. 2nd is the Patsies. II just can't help but wonder how they get so much good fortune. I have never seen one team get so many calls in their favor. Think about "just give it to them", the dead man fumble recovery, the "tuck rule", holding Marshall Faulk and company on just about every play in the Super Bowl and still getting away with it, Marcia Brady, Teddy Bruschi, and those obnoxiuos fans with those obnoxius accent.

so ... you don't like Troy?

Best post yet ...

True that you don't need to use all high picks but the best lines in Bills history and the best lines today still tend to have Pro Bowlers on them. For the Bills, I am talking about guys like Billy Shaw, Stew Barber, Joe D, Reggie McKenzie, Joe Devlin, Jim Ritcher, Will Wolford and Rueben Brown. Every now and then you strike gold with a Kent Hull or a House Ballard but many of the top players are first rounders or at least day one picks.

You never know. Bellichek may need a guy like Merz for the rematch in Buffalo.

Pretty harsh assessment. He strikes me as a class act, someone who took the time to help the rookies.

I can see it now, people will complain because he's boring.

They are probabay saying we must be woefully weak to be starting so many rookies. I have a feeling that in two more years they may be eating some crow.

Except for John Skourpan.

Every move is a wrong move to someone.

A lot of people call Sunday's game a late game collapse by the OL. Late game? They were completely dominated from 9:25 of the 3rd quarter to the end of the game. That is 24 minutes and 25 seconds or 41% of the game. In that time they failed to open a hole on 4th and 1, scored 0 points, had 0 first downs, gave up 2 points on offense, and gave up 2 very key sacks. I am hopeful that the OL problems for that last 41% were more related to schemes than sheer talent, strength, and will. If not it will be another long season.