RuntheDamnBall

If there's an alarming point or two to be made, it's probably that a goodly number of the top-7 are FA signings, or low-round draft picks - not top picks of the Bills.

Pin this to the top of the board forever, please.

Fitz, Merrriman, Moorman, Mer-man.

That doesn't make him insightful.

You gotta realize that if the Bills turn out to be any good, Jerry isn't going to have anything to talk about. So, it's understandable that he's banking on their failure. It's certainly allowed him to maintain a career, to locate easy copy, and to attract attention to himself, whether he holds any insight or not. OTOH, I thought Mark Gaughan's roster article was, as usual, very good. Here's a guy who actually gives you some football information, some things that can help the casual fan understand the game better. Complain all you want about how bad the drafts were the past decade. We all have. If they had just been in full-on "admitting mistakes" mode and cutting every draft pick that didn't fit here, without any upgrades, that would be a problem. But I see them losing a high pick like Poz and bringing in a better fit in Barnett at half the price. I see them taking good risks with playmakers like Merriman. I see them being entirely dissatisfied with the dismal run D and shoring it up with four new players in the front 7 to complement a Pro Bowler in Williams and a few other steady hands. The Bills are making the kind of FA moves that a team like Pittsburgh or the Patriots made over the past decade. Can they attract the top shelf FA talent like Clabo (and like the Patriots are now able to)? Obviously not, yet. But are they getting a lot of above-average talent to buy into a team mentality? It sure seems that way. They obviously have a lot of work to do with the offensive line - even if this group turns out to exceed expectations, the lack of experience at the depth positions is very frightening. But I have faith that regardless of how tied his hands may be, Nix (and Whaley) are doing everything they can to make this team better and to fit into a future of sustained success with this team. Even the Evans move (one I didn't agree with) seems to fit into that, as they see who among the current crop of WRs has the chops to be a long-term starter. Let Jerry hate. It's a whole lot easier than writing the kind of article Gaughan has shared with us. Mind you, Gaughan's article is not any sort of Pollyanna forecast. He still sees 6-10. But his evaluations are measured, and not of the knee-jerk variety.

No doubt. They are nothing if not entertaining. But they always are; that was my point. Like, it's hilarious that the Dolphins, the team that actually has Chad Henne graded out as an NFL QB, are ranked #23 above the Bills. That's entertainment! Even Banks, who is providing some rationale for most of his decisions here, looks to be "plugging in" Miami over Buffalo, for no apparent reason. Entertaining, not meaningful.

"Power" rankings really don't mean anything, ever. They are purely for fans, and are just conversation- and controversy-generators. They are created because they actually do that job quite well. Put as much stock in them as you want. W-L and division record are really the only crucial rankings to pay any attention to, though. I'd rather see the Bills "ranked" 19th and getting into the playoffs than winning the goodwill of fickle sports media outlets.

I agree, Schopp does need a brain in his head.

I have kind of begun to accept that we're never really going to know exactly how things work inside OBD, but didn't it go around that Donahoe was getting calls from Ralph every day toward the end of his tenure? That kind of puts the lie to the "complete control" idea. Now, Donahoe may in fact have had complete control for awhile; it seems like he did, and Ralph says as much. But I think Ralph's reputation as a meddler is well-founded enough to suggest that once the Gregg Williams show ended, Ralph was beginning to exert more influence.

I will endure a whole year of haterade if it means the Bills perform well and make the playoffs this year. I don't care what any report has to say about it. I'd even take the position the Seahawks were in last year (though nobody is making the playoffs at 7-9 in the AFC East).

You should immediately file a Bleacher Report article about this so that some Kansas City fans can go complain about the media.

Just because he is big doesn't mean he isn't / can't be mobile. I thought that was the point with this guy, was that the team was amazed at how well he moves for a big man. Technique is another issue, and if they want to see whether he can pick up necessary technique for an offensive position more quickly, I am ALL for it. Right now DL is not a need in the same way that OL is. That's a fact.

Yeah, because a monster O-lineman would suck for us, and we should totally not try it. In fact, the whole Jason Peters project was stupid, because we ended up losing him.

That is freaking awesome. Neural disruptors for opposing QBs.

If there's one added bonus in the eventuality that Palko starts, Wannstedt should be very familiar with his former starter at Pitt.

Soft. Adequate. Efficient. Jonas Jennings.

Chris Venereal, Greg Jerman, Marcus Price, John Carman. Wow, the 2000s were such a black hole of suck that Jonas Jennings rates as one of the best tackles we had.

not gonna happen. Period. Dareus is the real deal, and I see nothing short of extreme injury holding this dude back.

Beating everyone in the AFC east at least once apiece, for starters. Then, a 1200 yard RB (Jackson or spiller, doesn't matter which to me). Then, playoffs. Those are my hopes in order of descending priority.

Limited edition Aaron Maybin watch...

I see the bubble list as really being narrowed down to these guys. I'm including your "bubble guys," and my 14 choices are in bold. I think there is no chance that they don't bring in a free agent from another team's cuts to fill the final spot. Gun to head, I think a guy they fear losing in cuts would be the 15th choice, eventually to PS (Jasper, K Aiken, take your pick). *Hadn't seen that there were no TEs in your 42, so I changed to Martin/Chandler, going with the "TE not a big part of Chan's offense" argument. I also think you see them retain most of the draft picks though that may or may not necessarily be the best choice. Searcy, Da'Norris DB 5-11 21822 R North Carolina 27 Corner, Reggie CB 5-9 18127 4 Akron 28 Rogers, Justin DB 5-11 18123 R Richmond 43 PS Corto, Jon S 6-1 20626 4 Sacred Heart 35 Caulcrick, Jehuu FB 6-0 25728 2 Michigan State 31 White, Johnny RB 5-10 20423 R North Carolina 36 Moats, Arthur LB 6-2 24923 2 James Madison 54 Coleman, Antonio LB 6-1 25425 2 Auburn 60 Eddins, Robert LB 6-3 24822 R Ball State 50 PS White, Chris LB 6-3 24222 R Mississippi State 95 Sanborn, Garrison LS 6-1 24226 3 Florida State 66 Wrotto, Mansfield OL 6-3 32126 4 Georgia Tech 62 Hangartner, Geoff OL 6-5 29729 7 Texas A&M 65 Howard, Cordaro OL 6-4 32224 2 Georgia Tech 69 Rinehart, Chad OL 6-5 32326 4 Northern Iowa 77 Wang, Ed OL 6-5 31224 2 Virginia Tech 72 Jasper, Michael DT 6-4 38324 R Bethel College (Tenn.) 70 PS Troup, Torell NT 6-3 32623 2 Central Florida 97 Heard, Kellen DT 6-6 34625 1 Memphis 73 Martin, David TE 6-4 26432 10 Tennessee 81 Roosevelt, Naaman WR 6-0 20123 2 Buffalo 19 Martin, Ruvell WR 6-4 21229 6 Saginaw Valley State 84 Davis, Craig WR 6-1 20525 5 LSU 86 Aiken, Kamar WR 6-2 21322 R Central Florida 89 PS Caussin, Mike TE 6-5 24424 1 James Madison 83 PS Chandler, Scott TE 6-7 26326 3 Iowa 85 Nelson, Shawn TE 6-5 27525 3 Southern Mississippi 90 SURE CUTS (I don't think these guys stand a chance) Pianalto, Zack TE 6-4 24522 R North Carolina 88 Switzer, Michael C 6-5 29422 R Ball State 63 Brown, Levi QB 6-4 22724 1 Troy 11 Huggins, Felton WR 6-2 18928 2 Southeastern Louisiana 16 Hall, Bruce RB 5-11 20626 1 Mississippi 37 Glover, Sidney DB 5-11 20622 R West Virginia 42 Kirlew, Jammie LB 6-3 25524 1 Indiana 46 Miller, Doyle CB 5-11 18023 R Nevada-Reno 47 Nesbitt, Joshua DB 6-1 21523 R Georgia Tech 48 Hicks, Brandon LB 6-2 23222 R Florida 52 Watkins, Jason OL 6-6 32526 2 Florida 67 Aiken, Danny LS 6-4 25223 R Virginia 74 Brown, Colin OL 6-7 32826 1 Missouri 75 76 Langley, T.J. DE 6-4 29222 R Arkansas Tech 76 Dotson, Lionel DT 6-4 28326 4 Arizona 98

Fitzgibbons is ranked #27 by Royce Clayton of E! Entertainment. That's what really gets my goat.

You're right, I'm a dumbazz. However, he would project as an ILB here, no? Not much of a pass rusher. Why do we need more ILBs? I'm happy to be told why I'm wrong, but I don't get it.

Who do you want to cut to pick up Briggs?

I actually think short of replacing Kelsay, which Lance Briggs is not going to do (4-3 WLB vs. OLB), the LB corps are pretty solid, to the point where they're going to have to cut some promising young players. I don't think Chris White should be guaranteed a spot, but I like Andra Davis, Barnett and Morrison as an interior backup. They are set at this position. Wanna improve the defense, look for an upgrade at safety or for Kelsay. I think neither of those are to be found in the camp cuts, either. It's far more likely an OT who is costly gets cut, whether it's a lower-tier starter who is still better than Bell, or a swing OT for depth they can rely on while grooming Hairston.