Tipster19

I'm starting to think that QB Chris Simms for Tampa is going to be alot more productive than people would expect. Last year I took Cadillac in the 3rd rd and he paid big dividends right away and then I traded him for some great value just before he got hurt. I expect him to pick up right where he left off now that he has another year under his belt. With a great running game and an underrated WR corp this could be a formidable offense. In addition, TE Alex Smith should be in the top several TEs this year. I'm sure that Simms' father Phil is also mentoring him in private, not a bad bonus.

It's still only the off season but you read about all these players getting arrested with DUIs, domestic abuse and nightlife violence. Coincidently it seems to be certain teams with multiple offenders. So far so good with Buffalo's current crop, so it seems that Marv is practicing what he's been preaching. Of course you want production on the field but all things being equal it's nice to believe that your team just may be constructed with some law abiding citizens. I definitely want to be proud of our players on the field but it only makes it better when you can feel the same sense of pride about them off the field also. Just an early observation, I only hope that I didn't speak too soon.

I brought up the subject because when I look at the other teams' rosters I think that they have potential holes also. When a play-off team like Cincinnati has a superstar with a VERY serious injury and then has back-ups like Anthony Wright, Doug Johnson and now the recently signed Dave Ragone, it makes you wonder how little talent is available on the open market. I would put our 3 QBs against those 3 and think that we're more than comparable than one would think. Granted we don't have the superstar like Palmer but I think that we have more depth at the WR position which should help our QB's production. If we are emmulating Chicago's scheme than it will only make our offense less dependent on the QB. We have one of the best, if not the best, STs, good to great depth at the WR position, a suddenly very fast and competent defense, a unpredictable O-Line and a somewhat premiere RB with a decent back-up or two. No, I'm not so concerned with our QB as much as I'm curious on how well our O-Line will do. If the O-Line turns out to be decent to good, then all the more the QB should fare pretty good in our offensive scheme. Though we may still have holes to fill I don't think that they are as big as other teams are or could be. Of course this is just my opinion. If the QB position is as important as some on this board make it sound than wouldn't you think that someone like Kerry Collins should be able to command big dollars as a FA? What's up with him still being unsigned? Because in the last few years concessions or compromises have been made at this position. We may not be great at this position but I do believe with right scheme that we will be consistent and solid in our play. If we are to spend any more money this year, than let it be spent on our O-Line, DT position and the LB corp.

It wasn't that he didn't fit the system but that he didn't want to start over with a new coach. There waere a couple of factors that went into his release. One was that Sapp may become available and Marinelli has a history with him and the other factor that they had some young guys that they are willing to give a whirl. By no means did they didn't want him, it was more a difference of desire and opinion. Here's a quote from the imperial one himself on Wilkerson. "Do we like him?" Millen said. "Yeah. Absolutely. We love him. ... But I think with where we're at right now, we'll go with the young guys." If Jauron wants Big Daddy then that's alright with me. It's not like we can't use a bigger body in the middle.

Maybe this will help settle your stomach. Here's a little excerpt from KFFL. J.P. Losman had perhaps his best day this offseason in the new system. He made some solid reads, particularly on some hot reads and was accurate with his passes in 7-on-7 and in team work. I hope you feel better.

I don't know if you are being sarcastic or serious but I think that we are going to be ALOT better at this position than what people are expecting. I don't know if it's going to be Losman or Nall, but I do believe that one of them WILL step up and be a pretty decent QB. Holcomb on the other hand is just going to be a fill in. Let all the bashing and doubting continue but I will remind you later in the season that we were going to be alright in this area.

Outside of maybe 4 or 5 starting QBs, the rest of the league really don't have dominate starters. To compound this position even further is what the teams have as back-ups. While we may not have a clearcut starter or a bonafide star at this position, I will state that I think that we have at least 2, if not all 3, QBs that are comparable in their abilities. This situation could be viewed either as the glass half empty or being half full. If our starter does go down then the production shouldn't suffer too greatly with our back-up filling in. Alot of the teams around the league either have a superstar with barely an adequate back-up or just a run of the mill starter with not much of a back-up to speak of. If the Bills can play within their means and not count too heavily on our QB then we should be pretty consistent with our QB roster's production. I think that it's better to have a consistent line up than to have an average QB with not much of a back-up. Now of course if one of our QBs can step up and shock us and the world and suddenly come out of the ether and become a superstar, then that would only sweeten the season. Go Bills!

Seems like Posey could be more effective as a pass rushing specialist than just having LB duty. If Spikes does make a complete recovery than would Crowell play where Posey does and move Posey more up on the line? Here's a link on more of Posey's abilities. http://www.buffalobills.com/news/news.jsp?news_id=3783

According to KFFL Millen tried to trade him to a couple of teams before releasing him but nothing materialized. It doesn't sound like Wilkerson is going to retire just yet. I think that these potential teams weren't going to pay Detroit for a player that they would be able to just pick up for nothing in free agency. No matter what, Jauron would know if Big Daddy has any value. If we pass then no big deal but if we were to sign him than that should indicate that he's more than just a retread/cast-off. I would think that Wilkerson is no worse off as a DT than what Anthony Thomas is at the RB position. I hope we do sign Big Daddy, I think he would be a great addition to the middle of our defense.

You may be right but the little bit that I read said that they wanted to give 3 of their young DTs a chance to step up and see what they can do. I don't think adding Wilkinson to the mix would be a bad move, even if he was only used in a rotation. Most of our guys are young and inexperienced. It would be good to have some veteran leadership. Millen stated that Wilkinson was a good locker room guy who always gave good effort and didn't miss games.

He clogged up the middle alot and DT Shaun Rogers and him made quite a tandem. Could he make a difference for us in stopping the run? I noticed that Jauron does seem to favor these older guys in the NFC North. I wonder if he knew that Wilkinson was going to be a casualty and figured that he could add him to his mix of young DTs.

I think more importantly is what our back-ups' abilities are. They are mostly unknown and unproven. This is not meant to be critical, just an observation. The way that they go may be the difference in our success this season. I was hoping to hear some input on these players in particular. I live in Florida now and I can't follow the progress of the lesser known players as much as I would like. Thanks for your input Astrobot. I hope that anyone else who responds makes as much of an honest effort in expressing their opinion.

I'm only asking a question. This whole defensive scheme is built on speed and while it's obvious that we have speed in our secondary, it's also important to have it in our LBs. Our 1st stringers, which is the only personnel that I'm familiar with, makes me wonder if what kind of shape we are at this position. Although Fletcher is all over the place he's not that big of a LB and he is older than one would like him to be. Spikes, IMHO, is really an unknown factor with his foot injury recovery. At least his back-up has had some valuable playing time last year in case things don't pan out so positive for him. Posey on the other hand though has been scrutinized in the past on his play. Does he posess the necessary speed that's needed to cover alot of ground? I read alittle about some of these back-ups and their bios but I must admit that other than what's on the Bills official website, I don't know anything about these players. Can I have some input on whether these are positions of need or if we are alright in these areas. Thanks. PS. Here's a link on the Cover 2 defense. http://www.footballoutsiders.com/ramblings.php?p=167&cat=1

Hey thanks for the info GuessWhozBack21, I appreciate it.

The Trenton Times reports two scouts, who had been with the Eagles for the past five years, both are gone. Eastern regional scout Brian Boyse, 39, is believed to have left to pursue other interests, while Eastern scout Rashaan Curry, 29, was fired. Curry, a Columbia graduate, is considered one of the bright, young scouts around the league. He just wasn't a part of the Tom Heckert/Jason Licht regime. With his Ivy League background, maybe he'll land in Buffalo, where GM Marv Levy (Harvard), HC Dick Jauron (Yale) and director of college scouting Marc Ross (Princeton) all are employed. I caught this on the redzone. Unless he's a Modrak associate I wonder why he's linked to Buffalo based on just having an Ivy League background. Wouldn't it seem to be more to it than that? Does anybody know much about this guy?

His brother is a heck of a singer also and he makes ALL the money. http://www.smh.com.au/news/gig-reviews/way...5126040067.html

Jauron is all about defense and he treats his players with respect and dignity. That's why we re-signed OL Aaron Gibson and RB Anthony Thomas. He treats his players the right way. That's been Marv's MO also. Let this year unfold and the players see their working enviroment. Sprinkle in some modest success and the players will buy in to what Coach is selling. If Clements shows his ability, Buffalo will show him the money. When it's all over and done with Nate will want to stay. He already has stated that he wants to finish his career in Buffalo. This team is going to be fine.

The bottom line is that he feels that he's being used because Keyshawn isn't there anymore.

It's still the state of Texas and that's enough cause to piss off the Cowboys.

Yeah, he's threatening to hold out unless he gets more money and a championship ring.

Clayton goes on and states that it's hard to believe how few players are on the streets. Approximately 240 of the 351 unrestricted free agents have deals, leaving roughly 100 free agents if you discount retirements. This leaves the pool of replacement players at an all-time low for this time of year. Teams have to be more careful and avoid major injuries during their minicamps. If a key performer goes down, teams will struggle to find a free agent to replace their injured player in what has been the second busiest free-agency year ever. If we are going to add anybody then maybe we should do it sooner than later.

This would be the kind of WR that I would like to see in Buffalo. He's young, big, fast, strong and experienced. Matter of fact, I'd trade Roscoe straight up for him. I'm not crazy about such a frail WR. He'd be a better replacement for Moulds than any of the WRs that we got in the off season.

Here's an article that might help shed some light on the situation. http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/nfl/...4636006,00.html

The Vikings.

I don't expect Lelie to ever don the Denver blue again. Once you're in Shanahan's doghouse, you're done. Now that the draft is over and they didn't find a trade partner for Lelie I think the terms for aquiring him will be quite reasonable. We have too many WRs now but I would be interested in if we could package one of our 2nd tier WR (we got plenty of them) and maybe a 3rd or 4th rder for Lelie. I don't expect this to happen but it would be a good move on our part to at least inquire what it would take to aquire Lelie. Imagine him with the likes of Evans, Price, and Davis. That would be some pretty serious speed and some added size. The Patriots could sure use a big fast WR and Lelie fits this mold. They also seem to gravitate to this type of player that is unhappy and that is looking for a new start. I wouldn't like to see him playing against us, especially with Brady being the one throwing him the ball. I guess we would find out just how fast our newly revamped secondary would truly be.