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Stubborn. Nix has too much confidence that he will be able to build the Bills primarily through the draft and that the players he brings in are better than what is otherwise available in free agency. Although this makes sense, the problem is that this means that he will need to hit on almost every draft choice and then have the ability to re-sign these players before they become free agents. I have concerns about the first point, and stronger concerns with regard to the second. The Bills were unable to re-sign Poz and he was one of only two free agents that they wanted to keep this year. The Bills have shed Poz, Whitner and now Evans, and in each case, replaced them with less expensive alternatives. This is not a coincidence. Does anyone think that if Levitre, Woods and Byrd continue to be solid players after four years that all of them will be re-signed by the Bills? So far, Nix's draft scorecard is incomplete, but I have doubts about Spiller and we did not get much production from our draft picks last year. In terms of free agency, he signed Cornell Green and seems to think that Pears and Chandler are good enough to start. I like Smith, but he was a luxury acquisition. Not a good record so far in free agency, but we will see. I think that Nix will turn out to be a good evaluator of college talent for the Bills, but a poor choice for a GM in all other ways.

Terrible move. We will see if Nix is a good evaluator of college talent, but he is in way over his head as GM. It feels like a salary dump, and combined with our low level of activity in free agency, it seems that we are years away from a playoff caliber team.

Why is everyone so sure about our depth and talent at wide receiver after Stevie and Roscoe? Roosevelt, Jones, Easley and Nelson are all unproven (and three of the four were undrafted, which may or may not have any significance as to whether we should believe that they will develop into quality players).

If the Bills trade Evans, then the bills will draft a speed receiver in next year's draft in the first round because they will have realized that none of the wide receivers on the current roster are a deep threat.

This makes no sense to me, and we all know that the Bills will not use the money saved to pursue some free agents. It is ridiculous that the only free agent that we signed other than to fill a hole from a departing free agent was Smith. We have the worst front office in football.

Lee Evans. We will have this confirmed after the Bills release Evans and he signs with the Patriots.

I can't understand why the Bills would consider trading Lee Evans. Consider the following: 1. His compensation for the next two years is not excessive compared to other wide receivers in the NFL with similar skills. 2. He is a great team guy and a good leader in the locker room. 3. He still has excellent speed (more speed than any other wide receiver on the roster). 4. We would not receive equivalent value in a trade (at best, probably a late round pick). 5. The Bills do not need to trade him for financial or cap reasons. 6. Our young receivers may have talent, but they are unproven. I seem to recall that Stevie's production dropped significantly after Evans got hurt late in the season. In addition, I am not sure if there is too much hype around Nelson, Roosevelt, Jones and Easley at this point. Having said all this, I still have a feeling that Lee will not be a part of the opening day roster. I hope that I am wrong.

Sounds like Bell is not seriously injured, but I am worried about our starters and our back-ups at the offensive tackle position. I would be very concerned having Wang at left tackle at any point during the regular season. Free agents can be picked up for depth as well, and I think the Bills should have looked for starters and/or depth at the tackle position.

1. I like Gailey and he seems to have the players excited about the offense and his system. He is a huge upgrade in his experience and creativity, and the results were noticeable last year. With another year, we should see more improvement from the offense. 2. Not sure why we did not get more players at RG and RT in free agency. Seems like a real weakness, and I am concerned about having Pears at RT. I get building through the draft, but that makes a lot more sense when you have young players ready to step in who only need more experience to be starting caliber. This is not the case at RT. Nothing wrong with picking up some free agents who can contribute immediately at positions of great need, particularly with the Bills significantly under the cap. 3. Please do not trade Evans or McGee. Evans has been a solid player and leader, and his experience must be helpful to the younger receivers. In addition, he still has great speed and is a legitimate deep threat. With McGee, he seems healthy again and McKelvin has not developed as expected for a high first round draft pick. The Bills certainly do not need to trade/cut any players for financial reasons. 4. We can now confirm how bad our drafting has been over the last number of years, which combined with our inability to retain players that we wanted, has left this team in need of a significant infusion of talent. McCargo, Whitner, Poz, Edwards, and Lynch are all gone. Maybin still appears to be a bust, and McKelvin has been disappointing. Hopefully, Nix will prove to be a better drafter of talent, but he should not get a free pass if Spiller is a bust. Our first round selections have been horrible. 5. It seems that Gailey and the Bills players have created a good atmosphere in the locker room. I like to hear that. 6. Will Wang make the team this year?

Our offensive tackles are weak and need to be upgraded. Right guard is an unknown at this time. We need a starting caliber tight end. Not sure about our defensive ends, particularly whether Dareus is suited to play end and whether he can be a major contributor as a rookie. Troupe needs to step up at the nose tackle position. Assuming Merriman is back to his old form, we still have a need at the other outside linebacker spot. Hopefully between Scott and Wilson we will be okay at strong safety. Having said that, I think Wood and Levitre are very solid, and we have some depth and talent at the wide receiver, cornerback and running back positions. Overall, we are more than two positions away from being a great team, but hopefully progress is being made.

We have no players left on our roster from our 2007 draft. On another board, some are reporting that Nix was on WGR this morning and said that we would not replace Poz through free agency. This I doubt is true, particularly with Davis coming back from a significant injury.

Salaries are going up. That is the reality. He should have been signed by the Bills before his contract expired and he became a free agent.

Someone changed the title of my original post. It was "Maybe I should have enjoyed the lockout." Made me seem a lot less angry.

Tricks maybe, but no treats. You do realize that this is the same guy that signed Cornell Green to replace Butler at RT last year.

Now it is back to the mega frustrating Buffalo Bills organization. How can the GM of the Bills with a huge amount of free cap space tell the fans that the Bill will not be spending money on free agents? How is this even possible? Then the reporter for the Bills tells us that we will not be targeting any of the top 70 free agents. What the GM tells us is that we will sign our own players, but we lose Poz, a guy they badly want to re-sign and praised as a leader. He was the one starter that most experts said we needed to keep (and the experts are usually more right than our GM). It looks bad to lose him and I doubt we have a back-up plan. I did not think Poz was a pro bowl caliber player, but he is probably better than any other available middle linebacker. Please don't tell me that Sheppard will be able to step in. I agree that Poz chased the money, but we are left with yet another hole and the near certainty that it will not be adequately filled. Sorry for the negative post, but I continue to have no confidence in this organization.

No worries, Beerball. I do not remember my other points, but the remaining points allow for plenty of discussion.

Hopefully recent reports are accurate and a new agreement is on the horizon. Some thoughts (assuming a new CBA is finalized and approved): 1. It seems that the rookie wage scale will apply to this year's draft selections. This would be very beneficial for the Bills and will significantly reduce the amount of guaranteed money that will be paid to Dareus. That's fine I suppose, but for how long will they be able to sign him? I've seen reports that the max # of years is being reduced. 2. I don't think Poz will be back. Just a gut feeling. He says the right things, but I am not sure he means it or that the Bills really want him back. The recent article regarding our inside linebackers on BuffaloBills.com made no mention of Poz, which I thought was odd. Unless they see a better alternative out there in FA...just sign the guy. 3. Assuming there is a salary cap, I am wondering how much the Bills are under and how much they will be obligated to spend to reach the new minimum spending requirement. Will the new agreement allow cash to cap for the Bills? See the thread regarding the cap, I'm sure there is more to come, but right now it looks like the cash cap will be $120M. 4. From my perspective, a very successful free agency period would include re-signing Poz and Florence and signing a quality RT and TE. Unfortunately, we always seem to be disappointed after free agency and our lack of activity. We will be forced to be active IMO by the salary floor. 7. I really thought our WR corp was going to be a disaster last year and I was very pleasantly surprised how things unfolded during the season. I am excited to see how they play this season, particularly since Marcus Easley is healthy and will be added to the mix. Should be a team strength, eh? 10. I have to admit that I like Gailey and I am impressed with what he has done with the offense. Hopefully, Wanny can make significant contributions to the defense. SHOW ME THE BABY! OP--sorry I screwed up your thread...

I think that I have read that teams can trade for 2012 pick during this year's draft, but if there is no draft in 2012, a team cannot recoup the pick. At least Mike Williams started his first couple of years and played adequately at times. Cannot say the same thing about Maybin.

Some thoughts: 1. I think high draft picks will become much more valuable if a rookie wage scale is implemented and top ten picks become reasonable in terms of overall compensation. The guaranteed amounts that have been paid to top picks is ridiculous and has made these picks difficult to trade. 2. Miller may be a great pick, but if selected by the Bills, it will be confirmation that Maybin was arguably the worst pick by the Bills in the last ten years. 3. McKelvin needs to step up this year, particularly if Drayton Florence departs via free agency. McKelvin has been disappointing overall, Spiller is is a major question mark, and Lynch is gone. Our failure to draft quality players in the first round is killing the team. 4. Luck is the real deal and I expect a smart team will try to trade with a crummy team to try to get the crummy team's first round pick next year to be in a position to draft Luck. 5. I am getting the feeling that the Bills will not try to re-sign Poz. Nothing to base this on, just a gut feeling from some of the things that Buddy has said about needing to get a number of linebackers from free agency and the draft. 6. I know that Marcel Dareus is very highly rated, but where would he fit on the Bills? Do we need a defensive tackle (after last year, I think we do)? Can he play DE? Seems like the Broncos will take him, so probably will not worth worrying about. 7. I would love for the Bills to trade back into the first round to get Castonzo or Carini. We really need to solidify the offensive tackle position, and finding a quality RT would be a great start.

I have no idea whether Ralph is cheap, but I would note the following: (i) the other teams in our division may be paying out significantly more in bonus money (which can reduce base compensation) and (ii) there was a salary floor cap, and I believe paying money in base compensation helps with meeting that minimum threshold.

1. It has been 11 years since the Bills made the playoffs. Why is Ralph telling us it is going to be another two or three years before we make the playoffs again? That is poor marketing and makes no sense in a league where teams can turn things around very quickly. 2. Every offseason I am hopeful that the Bills will fill holes and improve the roster. The last number of years I have been disappointed, because each offseason the Bills create new holes and fail to fill the old holes or the new holes. I know that Stroud was probably overpaid, but do we really think that Carrington or Johnson is ready to fill that spot? Florence, Whitner, Wilson and Youboty will all be free agents and I doubt we will re-sign any of them other than maybe Wilson. It is fine if we have or sign replacements, otherwise, the Bills are just creating more holes. 3. Posters on the board seem to get excited when we cut a veteran that may be overpaid, particularly since they think that it means that the Bills will use the money for free agents. This has not been the case. If there was a salary cap, I bet we would be under the floor. Our payroll must be one of the lowest in the NFL. We have no stars and the Bills cut (or do not re-sign) veteran players. 4. Drafting a DE with our first pick in this draft will show why the Maybin pick hurts so much. 5. Will Poz be back? Is he a solid LB? 6. Can the Bills please draft a TE that can play? NE picked up two TEs in the draft that contributed significantly in their rookie seasons. 7. Can the Bills please draft some players that will contribute in their first year? 8. The Bills need a RT badly. I hope we use our second round pick to address the o-line. If Wood becomes the starting center, what happens to Hangartner? Would he play RG or would they need to find a RG? 9. I like Fitzpatrick and I think he deserves a chance behind an improved o-line.

After Williams, I think our DTs are terrible. Troup played poorly (yes, I know he was a rookie) and there is not much else at the position for the Bills with Stroud moving to end. Our defense was horrible last year, and I don't think the problem was in the secondary. That leaves the linebackers and the line, and it was a combination of poor play from both that led to our dismal defensive play this past season. Clearly, we need upgrades at DE, DT, ILB and OLB, and the Maybin pick has really hurt the team. Hopefully, Merriman will be healthy next season and that will be one less positional need.

Can't argue with Kiper on the re-grade of Buffalo's draft. As others have noted, other teams received strong contributions from their rookie classes (including New England). We did not, and we are lacking overall talent. Unless Spiller becomes an every down back and a pro bowl caliber player, this draft will never make sense to me. I thought Troup and Carrington were disappointing, but I understand it is premature to make any judgments about their long term prospects.

Seems like Whitner will be gone, and Florence and Youboty as well. The Bills will do what they always do: create more holes on a roster already lacking talent. McKelvin has not developed, and the Bills will be left with a weaker secondary after the departure of the three free agents. There is no way the Bills will sign Asomaugha. I don't see the Bills spending big money on free agents in the near future (and probably longer). One question I am wondering about is whether the Bills will (or want to) re-sign Poz. If it was possible, I would sign Mankins and David Harris. This would weaken two of our AFC East rivals. I would then move Wood to center and draft a RT with our second round pick.

Just to be clear, I was making an observation about our o-line based on what happened today with Brohm starting instead of Fitz. There are many problems with this team, including the inability of the defense to stop the run. We will have no success until this is remedied.