silvermike

Does "Bulletin board material" really do anything to anyone playing a pro football game? It's the playoffs against a division rival, I'm always amazed when the sports media makes a big deal out of a CB saying "I'm going to take that WR out of the game." Is that really what pushes you into actually giving a crap?

Yeah, I assumed running QBs burned out fast too, but it's flatly not true - if anything, they seem to have longer careers. Maybe the arm goes before the legs, so if you're a scrappy old knuckleballer, you can still stay in a job if you can scramble.

I don't know who'd they replace him with, but if they can get the right guy in there, I'd fire Caldwell in a moment. I'm not sure who that would be- I think you'd need to drag a Bill Cowher type out of retirement. Jon Gruden might be a good match there. I dunno. But here's something - I think they need a new director of college scouting or something. Chris Polian might be botching his father's business. Look at these first round picks: 2010: Jerry Hughes, DE: 6 tackles as a rookie, no other stats. That's identical to Maybin's rookie year 2009: Donald Brown, RB: <300 yards as a rookie, less than <500 as a 2nd year guy. What we're all hoping Spiller isn't. 2008: None. The pick was traded for a second round pick in 2007, spent on Tony Ugoh, T. He was cut this year and couldn't beat out Erik Pears or Chad Rinehart in a tryout in Buffalo. 2007: Anthony Gonzalez, WR: Injuries aren't the team's fault, but his two healthy seasons were nothing special. 2006: Joseph Addai, RB: Mediocre, but by far the best of the bunch. 2005: Marin Jackson, DB: Replacement-level CB who had 4 picks in five years, wasn't tendered, and is an Eagle 2004: None - can't quite figure out what they did with this pick. Before that, they were dynamite - Clark, Wayne, Freeney. But that's now a 7 year drought in the first round, during which they've arguably performed worse than us. It's hard to recover from that, even with Peyton Manning.

My general thinking is htat you're as good as your worst DB on the field, not your best. Most teams have two good WRs to beat you with, so closing off one side of the field might leave you vulnerable on the other side if you blew your budget on a single star CB. That's why I'm wary of superdollar CBs like Asomugah.

So, I'd never heard of Blaine Gabbert before the last week - having seen him play out there, is he worth anything as a pro? For anybody, in any round?

Berry's performance at least sort of justifies the Whitner pick - he's showing that adding a rookie safety with a high pick can really energize your defense. The problem then switches to the Bills' inability to identify whether or not Donte was an elite safety, and not their blunder in drafting a safety at all instead of a lineman.

Jay Glazer has good sources and is usually pretty accurate. It doesn't mean that he didn't fall for a line of crap from the Saints, but I'm confident that the Saints really told him that.

I don't like Alex Smith as a backup QB. I'd rather see a guy who had a low ceiling but was reliable, then a streaky bust of an ex-#1. Chad Pennington might not be a bad choice if Miami doesn't bring him back (though I wouldn't be surprised if they do). Also available is Marc Bulger, who could step into that role. Before yesterday, I was sure that Matt Hasselbeck would be the man for the job, but with that win, I'm not sure he won't start in Seattle next year, rather than being an old man free agent. RB I think we're set - Spiller, Jackson, and McIntyre will handle most of the workload, and whatever's left is a job for either Quinton Ganther types or UDFAs. WR: If the Bills want a stud addition at WR, I think that's going to start and end with AJ Green. I hope they avoid that temptation in April. Otherwise, Evans-Johnson-Parrish supply a solid veteran staff, with Roosevelt, Jones, and Nelson competing for the spoils. I don't see any UFA activity here. TE: I'm not sure if Gailey wants a TE in his offense. We tend to spread things out instead and use WRs to catch and TEs to block. There are some real talented UFA TEs this year (Daniels, Boss, Marcedes Lewis, Miller, Scaife) so it might be worth a shot. I think this is going to be Chan's call. If we want to break the bank, I'd target Tyson Clabo from Atlanta for the o-line, but there are a large number of free agents that pass the "Better than what we've got" test and might not cost $8M/season or more. Gaither, Jammal Brown, maybe Bushrod. Maybe Ryan Harris, Khalif Barnes, or Jeremy Trueblood in the cheaper section. I think the interior offensive line is unlikely to see a significant upgrade from Levitre-Wood-Hangartener, though of course, I'd like to see a commitment there. Anybody want to take a look at the defense?

Defensive linemen tend to be slow developers. They need to pick up a lot of strength after college, and hone their instincts more than most positions, especially if they're not top-flight prospects. Troup didn't do anything to impress me, but I think I'm willing to give them some slack there. Carrington actually did show some real flashes, so I'm excited about him next year. But because I can't help being at least a little negative, RBs definitely aren't the late bloomers DLs are.

I'm okay with failing to find a partner for any individual pick, but the fact that we haven't traded down in any draft for about 10 years strikes me as something else. Nothing in the middle rounds?

I wonder how they choose this. Totally random? Any non-playoff team? Does not everyone eligible volunteer?

Clements was definitely our last first-round trade down; I'm not convinced we've done it in any other round, either. And there are usually 40 or so trades per draft, counting all the late round action, and each one involves SOMEONE trading down. This is definitely a team policy, for reasons that aren't clear to me.

I'm rooting for a Seahawks upset, just to have it be a little strange out there. Seriously, I think that game will be surprisingly close. But overall, I'll take the Pats over the Falcons, 38-14. Jets and Ravens win in the first round, Pats and Steelers advance to the championship games. Meanwhile, it's the Saints and Eagles, Falcons and Eagles, Falcons.

Yeah, I'm going to bet that Brohm's thrown his last NFL pass. He'll probably get no tender in the offseason, sign somewhere in training camp, get cut, and call it a day. I think going into next year, we'll have Levi on the roster as the 3rd string guy (he needs a lot more development), and either have a shining new rookie backing up Fitzpatrick until the first struggle/injury from #14, or else a veteran backup. Looking over the UFA lists, I'd say there's a good chance Chan brings in Tyler Thigpen, or else looks at an older, mentor-type guy like Matt Hasselbeck or Chad Pennington.

I think the real troubles go back to the Polian era. Butler did a great job in SD, but in Buffalo, he was unable to rebuild the team to take advantage of the talent he inherited. Look at his drafts: http://drafthistory.com/teams/bills.html (1993-2000). Three CBs in the first round, a pick blown on Rob Johnson, another on Antowain Smith, Eric Flowers, etc. He deserves credit for Reuben Brown and Eric Moulds, but it's not a great track record. When we needed a hit in the second round, we got a torrent of Lonnie Johnsons and Todd Collins.

I wonder if the Fish were trying to keep things under wraps, but Harbaugh blabbed to get some more leverage vs. San Francisco and Stanford.

Yeah - Kelly was also never a numbers guy. He was efficient, he was a leader, and he played best under pressure. But he left the stats to Dan Marino.

If he wouldn't go to Miami for 7M, it does suggest that he had reasons beyond location and money to reject the Bills' advances.

If, for some reason, the new Carolina staff doesn't like luck, they might trade a 5th or 6th round pick for VY. They might also do this if they trade the top pick for a bevy of future choices.

This probably means Luck is coming out, too, which will ensure our pick is ever so slightly more valuable.

Miami seems to be making a big play for Harbaugh now. Maybe they're moving on without Cowher.

Bruce Smith was a once-in-a-lifetime guy in the 3-4. Anyone who approaches his sack totals didn't play his position. I don't think Mario Williams is going to deliver 65 sacks in 6 seasons from that spot, but he could be a force.

Yeah, I think you have to at least give Mularkey an incomplete. He wasn't ready, I think, to really contend with the mess of interests centered on you when you're the head coach - players, GMs, owners, fans - and he still hadn't really gotten his sea legs. But he was running a great team in 2004 until they dumped the QB, botched the draft (Roscoe Parrish was a disappointment, and he still produced far above the rest of that class), etc. I rooted against him spiritedly when he was in Miami, but I've got no hard feelings now.

Any interest in making Cable our Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Line?

Well, I don't think we should cut Poz based on his draft advice. We should just stop listening to him. But man, when was the last time we spent a first round draft pick on a guy who really became a star? Nate Clements?