Tortured Soul

I don't think we're negative, I think we're guarded. After the San Diego game, I thought to myself, well, we should be able to win out at home, and if TB can sneek by NE, and we catch Cincy sleeping, and... The point is hope springs eternal.

was it specifically those two or a whole group of OSU players?

His logic escapes me.

I agree that a good OL is needed to win, but I disagree with what you need to build a good OL. Notice you don't mention NE, winner of 3/4 Superbowls, or DEN, widely regarded as the best OL in the game. That's because they don't spend high draft picks on OL. What builds a good OL is good schemes and continuity.

You can't use Losman's being drafted by Donahoe as evidence against Losman's chances for success. It's circular. If Donahoe didn't draft Losman, he would've gone in the next five picks (GB, StL, even DAL if they stayed with the pick). That's precisely why Donahoe drafted him where he did. Finally, every QB not drafted in the top five has some serious questions. Otherwise, they would've been drafted in the top five. Heck, this year, many scouts have serious misgivings about top-3 picks Leinert and Young! You'd be hard-pressed to find a coach that has a good record of drafting QB's out of the top 10, because as well-documented as the struggles of high-drafted QB's are,the failure rate of lower-drafted QB's is astounding.

Sorry - I didn't mean to give you the Fox news treatment. It's just that I'm tired of this "fastest Bill to 2,000 yards" number, seeing as it ignores the fact that he missed his entire first year. I don't know if it's you that keeps repeating it or others on the board, but I wish it would just go away. I do think the fact that he missed the first year has to mipact his contract incentives. 2,300 yards over two years seems good, but I think it's likely that the contract makes stipulations about incentives over three years, and I don't think he met too many of those. I think proof of this lies in the fact that, if the original poster was correct, McGahee wants guaranteed money because he's not hitting enough incentives. Otherwise, why would he give up bigger paydays for less guarnateed? But you're right. It was the wrong place to make that argument. It was a product of frustration that has been building.

Compared to the average 5th round pick, Bannan has done well. Ditto Jonathan Smith. I wonder if most 7th rounders even play for the team that drafts them. I agree with your point whole-heartedly, but it would be more effective if you didn't have an arbitrary line through the fourth round that includes Tim Euhus but excludes Terrence McGee.

It's important to remember a new regime has no loyalty to the previous regime's players and are not subject to their expectations, meaning TD or MM care about the fact that JP was a first-round pick (they shouldn't, but that's a different story). ML and DJ will evaluate JP objectively, ignoring where he was drafted and judge him on how he looks now. So I could easily see them deciding JP does not have what it takes. And then a QB comes into play again. FFS, hypothetically - if Marv looks at JP and sees one of TD's mistakes, would you be surprised if he goes after a QB? Of course we need other positions, too, but that doesn't mean we don't need a QB as well.

Don't mean to point out the obvious, but if these guys are unanimously agreed upon to be studs on a national radio show, I don't think they qualify as sleepers. Remember, there is good talent to be had in the second and later rounds, but there is still a reason why first rounders are first rounders and the draft as a whole isn't an exact science. Think of it this way - if Bill Belichik knew precisely what kind of QB Brady would turn out to be, do you think he still would've drafted him in the sixth round or in the first? In other words, don't you think even BB will say it's a little bit of luck?

FFS, you seem to cling to this stat of Willis being the fastest Bill to 2,000 yards as the end-all of discussions about Willis to date. It's time to move past this. Willis had a ton of carries. His YPC were 30th in the league. That's not good, that's not average, that's bad. In their second year, Thurman's YPC was 4.2, OJ's was 4.0. McGahee's was 3.8. I know you're going to cry offensive line, but Travis Henry, running behind an equally-poor line, had a 4.4 in his second year. I think the only real way to evaluate a running back, or any football player, is by watching him play, not with any number. I was four years old when Thurman was drafted, and I only remember OJ running in a white Bronco, so the guy I compare McGahee to is Henry. I think Henry looked like the far superior player. So the next question is the line. It takes a special running back to run well behind a bad line, but anyone can run behind a good line. Willis has proved not to be special. And the proof of how easy it is to run behind a good line is Shaun Alexander and Edgerrin James. Both are widely considered top-5 running backs, and yet their teams won't give them contracts. Why? Because they recognize how easy it is to run behind Tarik Glenn and Walter Jones, etc. It has been proved time and again that running backs can be found in later rounds and do not merit top dollar. Which brings us to the money question for Willis. IF he demands a new contract, then I don't see any wat we can give it to him - not when we still don't have a line. Give me a mediocre RB and a Pro Bowl LT over the reverse anyday, not that Willis as shown himself to be a Pro Bowl RB.

Doesn't hold true for tackles? What about Bannan and Anderson?

Why does this poll not include a 1-2 hour answer?

City, weather, team...these are his complaints coming from Green Bay?

I'd take it as a sign of comfort for Jauron - a good omen. Look at Miami - no one is concerned about Saban's fee getting stepped on.

I disagree with this because I think a good coordinator adapts his system to the personnel handed to him. A coordinator who is too stubborn to adapt is system - just because it worked on his previous team - to his new team is not a guy I'd want on the Bills, especially considering all the shake-ups we face, i.e. will Moulds return? Will Willis demand a trade? Is JP the long-term answer? That said, I think Fairchild did a good job maximzing the talent he was given in St. Louis.

Ngata jumped on the Scouts Inc. list from 19 to 8. Anyone know why or is it just because they're pulling these rankings out of their behinds? Sorry to post this where I'm not sure it belongs, but it's not worth its own thread.

Just when he hits free agency, too.

Do we know what Jauron's contract is for?

But you have to expect that, becuase if they were doing well, they wouldn't leave their jobs for a lateral move.

I completely disagree. I went through the rosters and didn't come up with more than five ex-Bills in the divisional round - off the top of my head all I remember are Fisher, Ruben Brown, and Flutie.

They seem to have good sources on this. I say pounce on him. January 25, 2006 -- There are strong indications that Jets offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger, who's been held to his contract against his will since Eric Mangini was named had coach last week, may be sprung free from his holding cell, two NFL sources told The Post. Though neither Heimerdinger nor his agent, Bob LaMont, returned phone calls seeking comments yesterday, the sources said the Jets and LaMont are "working on" an agreement that would free Heimerdinger from the final two years of his contract. More proof of the Jets moving forward with their offensive coaching staff is the fact they had former Rams offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild in Weeb Ewbank Hall for an interview yesterday. Friday, Mangini interviewed former Browns head coach and Texans offensive coordinator Chris Palmer. Although the job for which Palmer interviewed was uncertain, a person close to Palmer said, what else would a coach with his credentials be interviewing for? Mangini clearly is setting things up for Heimerdinger's departure. "Something should be done pretty soon" regarding an agreement to part ways with Heimerdinger, one source familiar with the goings on told The Post. The Jets' motivation, of course, is to put themselves in a position where they don't owe Heimerdinger any of the remaining $2.3 million remaining on his contract. Heimerdinger's motivation all along has simply been to gain his freedom to pursue another opportunity. Despite saying how "impressed" he was with Mangini when they met, Heimerdinger was up front with the new head coach from the start, saying he felt "bitter" about having been passed over for the job and that his feelings would always be an obstacle for him, were he to remain on staff. There has been rampant speculation that the Broncos would be interested in hiring Heimerdinger because he and Denver head coach Mike Shanahan are former teammates and roommates at Eastern Illinois and already have worked together in Denver. The Broncos lost offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak right after their AFC Championship game loss to the Steelers. Kubiak was hired as the Texans head coach. As of yesterday, though, there had been no contact between the Broncos and Jets regarding any permission to speak to Heimerdinger. It is believed Denver is waiting for the Jets to clean up their mess with Heimerdinger before making a move to rehire him. One obstacle the Jets are trying to avoid is having to swallow any of Heimerdinger's contract. For example, if Denver wanted to hire Heimerdinger for $800,000 per year for the next two years, the Jets don't want to be on the hook for the remaining $700,000, which would be the difference between his Jets' contract and the new Denver contract. Those financial issues will be sorted out in coming days in order to free Heimerdinger so he and the Jets can get on with their lives and end this unnecessary dance. In other developments, it was learned through a league source that the Jets have offered their offensive line coaching position to Tony Wise, who coached for the Dolphins before sitting out last season after he was replaced by Hudson Houck. Wise supposedly is being courted by the Lions, too, and hasn't made a decision. Current offensive line coach Doug Marrone, who has a year remaining on his contract, has been told he's under contract and has been denied the chance to look elsewhere. If Marrone were to be let go at this point, after some 10 head coaching jobs and countless assistant positions have been filled, the Jets could be accused of wrongly interfering with a coach's career. Another name that has surfaced as an offensive line coach candidate is Steve Marshall, who was with the Texans last year. As for Fairchild, he's been with the Rams since 2003, after having worked for the Bills from 2001-2002.

Here's a hypothetical: Say the Bills endure amiserable season, but JP develops. By 2007, he leads the Bills to their first of many playoff appearances. Now, do you want to spend $500 on a season ticket for 2006 or do you wait until 2007? It's not that simple a question. It costs me $100+ each game in transportation, too. So I don't know if I'd spend $1500 to see a team with little to no chance of winning. And that is why fans are reluctant to endure a seventh striaght season out of the playoffs, even if it could pay off down the road. Things would be different if this was 2002 and the Bills were still recently a playoff team.

It doesn't really seem from the mocks I've seen that Ngata is up that high and is assured of going ahead of us.

Does anyone else see the irony in a HC getting fired, his DC taking his job, then getting another HC job and asking his old HC to be his new OC? You think maybe there would be a jealousy factor? Welcome to the Board.

I like the Dinger, but his contract is for $2.2 mil over the next two years. Even if we get him away from the Jets, he won't come for less, and Ralph wouldn't pay more. I don't understand the QB focus. Most people on this board are happy with Wyche. Some even want to promote him. So, if he is doing a good job with Losman, then adding a QB-minded OC would just be throwing more things at JP unnecessarily. I think the way to go may be to find an OC who has had success with a young QB in his system, but necessarily coaching the QB himself. I think that guy is Heimerdinger; no others come to mind.