RuntheDamnBall

What I don't get is that those 70s unis were pretty sweet, too, yet they sucked. The pieces just don't fit.

Haynesworth doesn't want to play in a 3-4 for a team that is paying him primo bucks, and a highly regarded coach in this league with a reputation as a winner (not that I think much of Shanny). Why would he ever want to play for the Bills in a 3-4? To say nothing of Ralph taking on that contract. I don't think RW's as cheap as he is unwise in who he throws his money at, but AH's contract is way beyond this (and most any) team's budget. As for Bowers, I don't know him from Fairley from Dareus - at least not well enough to make judgments - but I'll cross my fingers that the talent evaluators will find the right guy for this team. The Bills most certainly need help across the front 7.

You're absolutely right. Cherrypicking the 1985 draft tells us everything about how the 2011 draft will shake out. You should definitely share your careful statistical analysis with OBD and make sure they do not trade into the 7-9 picks. You should also remind them to trade for pick #86, because that is where they secured Andre Reed in 1985.

I know, c'mon right? I mean, look at an idiot like Bill Belicheck. He's constantly putting his best players on the field to specifically game plan for opposing offenses, and switching his defense, from 3-4 to 4-3 to 2-5, to 1-6. And what the hell does he have to show for it?

Yes. He had a terrible game that day. I do think he improved over the course of the year. From my view, after the bye week they had the makings of something decent that was derailed more because of injuries than because of Fitz's play, though he did disappoint late in the season. I just generally didn't see Brohm keeping the defense off balance in any way and had grown accustomed to seeing at least flashes of that from Fitz. Where I disagree with others most, is that I do think both Fitz and Brohm still have some potential for this team, though. I'd rather see what Chan can do with them than give in to the temptation to draft anybody but a certifiable star with the first pick.

No doubt. Paul Hubbard, Steve Chandler and whomever else the random name generator can come up with are obviously stars in this league. They just need a competent QB to get them the ball and this offense is set. It's awesome to evaluate talent with the guys who were on the practice squad for the practice squad at OL and WR. If this game taught us anything it's that Fitz's abilities to read defenses and get the offense set, in the right play, and in the right blocking scheme are severely underrated. I don't think it taught us much about our QBs that we won't get a better read on in camp and OTAs in the 2011 season that may or may not happen. I'd start Fitz, draft Devlin in a middle round, and see what we've got with the remaining two. We need monsters for the defense, a TE, and for the good-health-fairy to smile upon us. Let's hope for all of the above, and an NFL season in 2011. GO BILLS!

Posts that include "I'll say it:" : not saying anything that revolutionary, and certainly not accountable as soon as something happens to contradict the thought.

Give Nix some credit. And also know that if this is true and doesn't work out, they're at least turning over every stone to locate some talent. GO BILLS IN 2011!

What the Pats have is coaching and strategy that's so good it works with most anyone in there, provided that the players know their responsibility and don't think they're bigger than the team. Once they do, they get their walking papers - fair or not. Ask Branch the first time out, or Moss, or Maroney, or Seymour. How many TEs have they gone through in the past decade? How are/were all of the aforementioned guys doing in new surroundings? Yeah, that's what I thought... Brady is a complete douche, but he's part of a very well-coached and responsible system. Branch and Welker are decent, and in the Pats' system where they can work great timing routes with a very efficient QB, they are Pro Bowlers. Remove the coaching from the equation and you would see that the receivers are pretty useless on their own. BTW, if I had my choice of any receiver I'd take Andre Johnson, but he has exactly the same number of playoff appearances as the Bills do in the past decade.

,What he meant to say is that Newton's the Michael Jordan of laptop theft, and his dad is the Archie Manning of extortion.

I'd agree generally - they've let go of some players at the right time - or maximized return on them at the right time. I would add Fletcher and maybe Greer to your list, but the point is that they haven't really been guilty of this too often. It's all about the first and second round picks this franchise has made. Think if just two of the following had turned out to be top-5 players at their position: Mike Williams JP Losman John McCargo James Hardy Aaron Maybin Willis McGahee That's 2 RBs, your franchise LT or at least road-grader run-blocking RT, your pass-rushing DE/OLB, QB, DT, and tall possession receiver right there. Unless Maybin proves us all wrong and finds some steroids that fell off the truck, there are some core positions there where they just blew it on day one, twice at RB (and hopefully not a third time with Spiller). And when the keepers are Evans Mckelvin Kelsay Parrish Whitner Poz Wood Levitre Byrd Maybe 3-4 of those guys are above replacement level at their position (probably some major disagreement about which ones, but the main point is none of them are stars, certainly none top-5 at their position...yet anyway). These are all decent role players, but about half would fight for their own positions on another team. The good news of course is how often they've hit on UDFAs like Greer, Peters, perhaps Nelson, Freddie. And they've done pretty well (I wouldn't argue great) on Day 2. If Bell bulks up some in the offseason and matures in year 4 maybe we can say they've done great. If you can imagine the '09 draft with Oher or Orakpo as that first pick, it might have gone down as one of the Bills' best ever. Let's do it right this time.

you had me at "keyer" players

That's interesting (as is the Dean's note). I am sure he was out there destroying fools. I'm also sure three years of college and discipline in Smith's system was instrumental in making him who he is. I guess it's a bit of an easy target, but I see next to no comparison between Newton and Jordan. Newton is so far showing a lot of natural ability and talent. We don't know much about his ability to break down and assess an NFL defense, and there's no doubt in my mind that one year of D1 ball means a very steep learning curve for him and whatever team drafts him.

I know it's somewhat facetious; but at the same time, if the Bills are going to draft and start a #1 QB, they're likely to struggle. Hence, it's likely they'd be giving up some pretty primo picks, three of them in that proposed scenario, just to get that QB. Our history doesn't necessarily have to be a predictor of future failure or success. I know we don't have Polian, but we didn't we we drafted (and couldn't sign) Kelly, either. I would like to have Luck - my point was that there's a limit to how much I'd like to have him, and they certainly don't need him at the expense of a better all-around team. I waver back and forth on how much value an upgrade at QB could mean to this team. Even with the enjoyable progress and an apparent plan, there are many, many questions to answer on this roster. Not the least of which is what positions can be filled by young players already in the system who will improve, and which ones demand draft/FA upgrades...

"He" could be substituted for Mark Sanchez, Vince Young (at one time, at least), etc, too. Neither of them are yet top-15 QBs, and they might never be. Their draft positions afford them the benefit of the doubt and, in the case of Sanchez and Bradford, the branding of "poise" when they aren't getting the job done. I like Bradford, but I think you're right. So you'd give up the chance at three high-potential players who could aid this roster for one high-potential player, who might be the best of them? Would you give up Jim Kelly, Bruce Smith and Thurman Thomas (two high round ones and a two) for John Elway?

Perhaps you can give us a tour of the Panthers' front office sometime. You obviously have some inside information or are an excellent journalist. Newsflash: teams don't tip their hands much prior to the draft, especially when neither the college nor the pro season has even concluded. If nothing else you're surrendering a negotiating chip if you broadcast your plans.

Right! And the Jordan comparison is ridiculous, since Jordan wasn't even Jordan until after his college career. He was a superb college player but nothing hinted that he'd become the greatest ever. The Blazers blew it, but they were unlucky in that Bowie had an injury-plagued career. Maybe they should have seen that coming given that he missed a lot of time in college with injuries, but it's not a general rule that a guy who had college injuries will without exception have lots of pro injuries. If you think about it, injuries are why the Bills ended up finding Thurman Thomas in the second round. Buyer beware on Cam Newton. No team has enough evidence on the guy right now, with one sterling year in D1 under his belt. Even his staunchest supporters have to admit he is a roll of the dice. I'm not saying he won't be good, but can the Bills really afford to miss on this one? (Hint: they can't).

MJD has to save his health for the Pro Bowl

I stand corrected. I think the Colts will win, though, and I don't see a Trent Edwards performance leading the Jags to anything unless Houston is mailing it in.

Sounds good, that's easy. Let's get Nix on the phone for you.

I think he can only reach your nards, but that's more effective anyway.

A meaningless Week 17 game is as close as it gets to preseason. It's Trent's time to shine!

You're not allowed to draft RTs, interior linemen or TEs in the top ten! NOOOOOOO.

That's the way you see it. I see it as proving that good players can be drafted outside of the top 10, and that not being in the top 3 doesn't mean the Bills won't get a quality player. Doesn't make a damn difference, my friend. You deal with your draft position and try to draft good players. The Bills have had plenty of chances to pick higher in the draft than most teams. They need to draft better, not necessarily earlier. The odds were better the year we drafted Big Mike. Maybe a meaningless win would have taken him out of the Bills' hands. A helpful defeat might've gotten us Joey Harrington. If they get an earlier pick, that's fine, it's a nice consolation prize, but that's not why I watch the game.

there's an "If" missing there. My eyes are seriously failing on me today.