Luxy312

I didn't say this. I reiterated what DOUG MARRONE said. Is it clearer in ALL CAPS? LOL. Guess he must be wrong. I never disagreed that Robey has made plays or looked good at times when he was in the right situation. ROY though? Really? The kid had 3 sacks, 1 int, 21 solo tackles and 9 assists and 2 whole starts for the season. Due to very simple physical limitations, this kid will never translate to an every down CB. For the same reason, I don't believe we will see him in every nickel and dime package. We'll see what happens in September, but that's all I'm really saying here.

Mike Williams has at least admitted that he made mistakes and is trying to be a better person. Did he make some boneheaded mistakes? Sure he did. Last I checked though, that is part of the learning process. If Watkins takes anything at all from Williams to heart, it should be the simple concept of "don't do what I did". I'm somewhat glad that captain showboat is gone. If he had cared more about his play on the field and less about how he was going to do his next TD celebration, he would still be here.

The Bills disagree with you, otherwise he wouldn't be playing NFL football and certainly wouldn't be getting looks ahead of Robey in Nickel and Dime packages in the 9 on 9 drills. At the end of the day, Robey was better coached in college (Marrone said this himself), and Brooks has dealt with injuries in both of his first two seasons. When all is said and done, Brooks has the speed (4.35), agility (7.16 cone) and size to be a #2 CB in the NFL. Robey will never be anything more than a situational defender. There is no upside beyond what we've seen from him.

I like Robey's competitiveness and his spirit on the field. However, you can't simply ignore his physical limitations when putting him on the field. Against small, quick receivers, I wouldn't have a problem putting Robey and all of his 5-8 165 pound body out there. Against 6-1 to 6-2 slot receivers, I'm going to favor a bigger physical guy like Brooks all day. He outweighs Robey by 30+ pounds and when you look at his height and reach advantage, can cover about 2 feet more space in each direction. In terms of Graham, we just need to be realistic as fans. You don't give a guy a 4-year $16 million deal with $8.1 million guaranteed contract so that you can "see what happens" in competition. Besides, Marrone already has stated that they're going to see what he can do at Free Safety. I would expect a mix of Robey, Brooks and perhaps Rogers to be out there, but only on nickel and dime packages, and certainly only when the matchups make sense.

Cherry picked argument here. You CAN'T leave out signing bonuses when you're evaluating compensation. It's part of it whether you like it or not. Chris Williams got starter level money, which is exactly what Beerball said. You only really have to start postulating on what the contract could have been to reach that conclusion. $5.5 million of his contract is guaranteed and includes his base salary for 2014. More is available this year based on performance. Sorry, but you don't sign backup players for that kind of money. As for rookie offensive lineman being starters, there will be only one in Kouandjio at RT. I hope the other guys pan out, but we don't need them to.

Not sure that the title applies, but the fact is that the coaching staff has one guy lining up against opponents best receiver, regardless of where they are on the field and that's Gilmore. Last year wasn't a great year for him, but he did play with one hand for most of the season, and even more importantly, he wanted to play. At the end of the day, BuffaloBillsForever is just picking and choosing his data to try and make a point. Basing a premise on incomplete support that doesn't address relevant aspects of the issue fails miserably academically. Kudos to thebandit27 for pulling actual data to support your points. Would I rather have Sherman or Revis than Gilmore right now? Sure. I would be an idiot to suggest otherwise. However, to suggest that Gilmore hasn't been a good one on one cover corner is absolutely ridiculous. I do want to see more of what we saw last year after the cast was off, and I think that's exactly what we will see.

Excellent point. By those odds, we should actually expect there to be 9 guards on the roster instead of 8. I.e. 90 players right now is the limit, so 10% of that would be 9. The team is actually LIGHT at the position.

Valid question, but very easy answer. 8 guards isn't all that many when you consider other moves the Bills have made in the offseason. First, they shored up what I feel was the weakest position on the team in linebacker by signing Keith Rivers and Brandon Spikes. They backed that up in the draft with the pickup of Preston Brown. The later LB pick adds more depth, but clearly they don't have a need at linebacker to tinker all that much. At QB, we're obviously all in with E.J. The Bryce Brown pickup adds even more depth to the crowded backfield at RB. They're also obviously very young but with a lot of talent in the receiving group. hat leaves in my mind the second biggest weakness of this team last year in offensive line. They were terrible at moving the pile and creating space in the running game. The Chris Williams add in free agency was great, but why not back it up with Richardson, who has upside that's through the roof? I think as this roster is pared down, that the guard position will be one where there will be cuts early. I think Kouandjio will be the starter at RT out of the gates, but why not draft another one late? Pears and Hairston are servicable at best.

To a degree, the question treats the potential tag of Byrd as simply a paper/John Madden move. Unfortunately, all of the realities that come with that potential move come into play. The Bills front office doesn't see a significant void at safety, and thus no reason to tag Byrd for $8.29 million. That price would have been considerably more than the value the organization perceived from his position. Basically, the front office believes they can win without him. Although that already makes for a complete argument by itself, you could simply look at what happened last year and expect more of the same THIS year. I.e. Byrd sits out the first 6 games of the season and then miraculously heals such that he can guarantee collecting his compensation for the season. So if we did get him back for those last 10 games, he would essentially be making $829K a game which would translate to $13.26 million if you consider the 16 game season. Just dumb on Buffalo's part. Now add in that he's a distraction in the locker room and a "me first" attitude kind of guy. Team chemistry is pretty much shot at that point. Rinse and repeat in 2015 while they have a few important guys coming to the end of their contracts and it's a mess. The Bills did EXACTLY what they should have. They tried to sign him to a contract and it didn't work. Instead, they resign and almost equally good Aaron Williams and Alan Branch to a longer deal, plus picked up Corey Graham, Keith Rivers, and Brandon Spikes. ALL of which combined I may remind you cost less than Byrd.

Superbowl rings are an irrelevant statistic. Dan Marino is 100X the quarterback that Simms was. When all is said and done, it takes a TEAM to win it all. Simms wasn't all that. Historic version of Joe Flacco. SNORE! Adding to that, let's just look at his "wonderful" Superbowl season. 21 TD passes and 22 interceptions. Add 9 fumbles, of which 6 were lost. I'm sure Joe Morris and his 1,500 rushing yards had little to do with their success, nor Lawrence Taylor and his 20.5 sacks. The Giants gave Phil Simms a Superbowl ring and not the other way around. You can actually see a lot by simply looking, or simply put your head in the ground like an ostrich. I choose the former.

Gotta love statistics. Figures lie and liars figure. If he was 5-0 in his first 5 starts, then that means he was 1-4 over the next 5 games. Are we talking about the same guy that was able to complete only 4 of his 14 seasons in the NFL?

If EJ had played like Ryan Leaf in his first year, I would buy looking for a QB next year in free agency. If EJ misses 6 more games this season due to various injuries, I would buy looking for a QB next year. Regardless of all that, Brady will retire a Patriot. Eli Manning has been up and down on a team that had a ton of talent at WR and TE. Why would you want someone on a downward slide in terms of performance? Bradford, Smith, Palmer, Vick, and Schaub are all solid NFW's. They've done NOTHING to prove that they would be helpful to this team any more than what we already have. Dalton has 80 TD's to 49 INT's in 3 seasons. There's absolutely nothing that anyone could say that would convince me that he's one and done without the playoffs this season, and certainly not by virtue of a 5th round draft pick. That doesn't have the "writing on the wall" on it at all. Borderline numbskull commentary there. In terms of Romo, if they wanted to put the pressure on him, they would have drafted Manziel. Just more low brow logic there. Could have just titled this thread "chances of winning the Powerball lottery" as it would have added about as much value.

A couple of points here. First, there's not a guy out there that's a QB coach that is going to tell the media that the person they've been coaching isn't improving or even worse, has regressed. Just not happening. Regardless of the vote of confidence, we know two things from the off season. First, the offensive line has improved significantly from last season. EJ won't have the excuse that he doesn't have the time to throw, nor be put in the situation last year where he's taking 20 hits and 8 sacks in a game. Second, and perhaps equally important, he has all the toys to throw to. Last year we say significant injuries to receivers. Watkins should be a huge upgrade over Stevie and barring more injuries, he's got a lot of weapons. A healthy CJ Spiller and Fred Jackson should also take some of the pressure off. Bound for the pro bowl? That's probably a bit of hyperbole right now. Have to get by teams lead by Manning, Brady, Luck, and Dalton first.

While I think his attitude of basically "every draft pick is a starter" is a bit much, his commentary is spot on. Look, when all is said and done, Kiper will lick the nut sack of any GM that picks the way he thinks they should pick and punch the nut sack of any GM that diverges significantly. It's his way of thinking that he's smarter than everyone else. Go back to last year and see Kiper's commentary: Ravens did the best in the draft by picking Matt Elam (FS) and Arthur Brown (LB) as they needed to address the loss of Ray Lewis and Ed Reed. Really? Matt Elam had 54 tackles and 1 INT. Brown had a grand total of 11 tackles and 0.5 sack. Wow. That's just so awesome. Bengals did will by drafting Tyler Eifert (TE), Giovani Bernard (RB), and Marqus Hunt (DE). Eifert was drafted 22nd and where did Kiper have him rated? 7th. In his 15 games last season, he had 39 receptions for 445 yards and 2 TDs. NOT a first round value at all. Bernard was decent with about 700 yards and 5 TD's on the ground. Hunt had 0.5 sacks and was a backup. Remember St. Louis and his praise for the Tavon Austin kid that was supposed to be the next DeSean Jackson? See how that turned out. Now let's look at the Bills. He cited E.J., Kiko Alonso and Marquis Goodwin all as reaches. Manuel and Goodwin were both incompletes due to injury, but we know how Alonso turned out. As it turns out, he turns out once again to be another 2nd round gem selected by the Bills (with Cordy Glenn). I don't claim to believe 100% that Watkins is going to be a superstar. However, when you go back and look at Austins pre-draft last year, he would project to be the 6th best receiver in this draft. That should tell you something right there.

My biggest question mark is still linebacker. Last year, we saw a lot of Bradham and Moats lining up with Alonso and it just wasn't very effective against the run. This off season, the Bills went out and got Keith Rivers and Brandon Spikes both presumably to shore up that weakness. To boot, they drafted Preston Brown, who should see some playing time in his first year. On paper, all these guys look to be upgrades over what they had last year versus the run. The question mark for me is whether they will be any good in the passing game. I doubt they will have Spikes in on any clear passing downs, and Brown is very similar in terms of his strengths and weaknesses. Bradham and the other new rookie provide limited depth at the position as well, and Moats signed with the Steelers. I would also put a question mark on the secondary as a whole. Positionally, I don't have much of a problem with the base defense with McKelvin, Gilmore, Williams, Searcy. Where it gets hairy for me is when you get past the nickel packages to dime. I just can't envision who the 6th DB will be. Graham is a no brainer for nickel packages, but then are we talking about bringing in Nickell Roby or now the new rookie Cockrell? They're pretty thin on depth there.

There's a ton of negativity out there as it pertains to trading for Sammy Watkins, and what the Bills could have done instead. I thought this would be a good opportunity to break down where they ended up in the early rounds of the draft versus where they potentially could have been. The first suggestion is that they still trade up with Cleveland, but take Khalil Mack instead of Sammy Watkins at #4. While my initial inclination was that they should have done exactly that, there's hindsight to suggest otherwise. Many would have stated that Stevie being traded was a foregone conclusion. I don't think there's any doubt that Kouandjio is the right pick in the second round regardless of whether they picked Mack or Watkins with that #4 pick. So this would have left them in the lurch in the rd round where they would have still taken Preston Brown or having to reach for another WR. Their only other WR visitor was Cody Latimer, and he was long gone by their pick at #73. WR possibilities there would have been Josh Huff, Donte Moncrief, and John Brown. None of those guys are anything better than slot receivers and then they would have been stuck (still) without a true #1. The second suggestion is that the still trade up but for Jake Matthews. This wouldn't be a bad play as Kouandjio wouldn't be needed in the second and they could have turned around and taken Cody Latimer without having to spend next years pick. While this might have been the best option on paper, I wonder if Matthews might state his desire to play LT in the big leagues and whether that would have thrown the Bills into a situation where chemistry in the locker room starts to break down. The third suggestion was to stay put at the #9 pick. They don't lose next years first rounder, but then what would they be able to do at #9? Anthony Barr really isn't an option. Buffalo didn't prioritize getting another OLB until very very late in the draft (6th round). This would have left them with Eric Ebron or perhaps Taylor Lewan. The former still leaves them picking Kouandjio in the 2nd and still having no #1 WR. The latter would leave them with Cody Latimer. When all is said and done, I think this was a well executed draft. The alternative to Watkins would have left this team in the lurch or with average talent at other key positions. The more ways I look at it, the more I like what they did.

The "experts" are always funny to me. They parrot one another as if they know exactly how a player will perform in the NFL. Let's just look at the last couple of drafts. I'll leave out Manuel, because he's still very much a TBD. In 2012, they obviously picked Gilmore. The so called experts deemed the pick questionable, a "head scratcher", suggesting the Bills should have instead drafted an OT. That would have left the Bills with either Kevin Zeitler or Riley Reiff. Call me crazy, but Gilmore is the best CB on the team and was since day 1. Experts are wrong. 2011 is a tie because the Bills drafted a position of need and it was the same as the experts suggested with Dareus. 2010, the Bills took CJ Spiller. The experts this time give the Bills an "A" grade for an explosive play maker that can score from anywhere. Never mind that the Bills needed a DE badly and could have taken Jason Pierre-Paul or Derrick Morgan. Both have been very good DE's for their respective teams. Again the experts are wrong. 2009 is sort of a tie. Bills select Eric Wood, who turns out to be a great pick despite negative feedback, but then turn around and take Maybin. There they could have had Robert Ayers instead. End of the day, I guess I could give a squirt what the so called experts think. They gave up a lot for Watkins. Let's just hope it shows on the field.

My comments for what they're worth. The logic is understandable. In the last 14 seasons, the Bills have watched the playoffs from their couches. The new front office leadership recognizes a level of desperation from the fans. With hindsight, Evans would have likely been gone before they would have picked at 9 anyway, leaving them in the lurch to pick a player that can make an impact immediately. The paper cost really isn't troubling to me. Generally, you discount the pick in the next year by a round in the draft for valuation purposes and assume the same draft position. To get to #4 (1,800), the Bills gave up their #9 (1,350) + next years first (valued as a second rounder at 490) and next years 4th (valued as a 5th rounder at 37.5). On paper, they paid 1,877 to get 1,800. That's not a huge premium. Some would struggle with the idea that giving up a 1st rounder is foolish in the event that E.J. fails this year and clearly isn't the QB of the future. On the surface, I agree. However, when I dig a little deeper, I get this logic as well. For the 2015 draft (at least right now anyway), QB prospects aren't very strong. So what does this mean? To me it means if the Bills struggle again next year and are drafting top-10, then they'll have a top-10 pick in the 2nd round that they can use on one of the top QB prospects. If they're drafting in the bottom-10, then mission accomplished this year. Alternatively, they could now turn around THIS year and draft a QB in the 2nd round to give Manuel some real competition. Let's face it that Thad and Jeff are not starting material.

This question has no relevance to the discussion. Dareus was factually getting millions. He had no choice in the losses he suffered. Only if he were hanging with a bad crowd could you say it's a choice. He has a choice now between spice and an NFL career. That's it.

I would throw up in my mouth a little if they picked him at #9 and especially if they picked him before Mike Evans. If both Watkins and Evans are gone, would love to see a trade down in the first to get more picks and get this guy later in the round.

The felony was for possession. Has nothing to do with drinking and driving.

I have a 4-year $16 million with $8.1 million guaranteed reason why there isn't Clinton-Dix talk. His name is Corey Graham. They also have Searcy and Williams in the mix at the same position. I just don't see it happening.

Relevance? Who cares what team the Bills may trade with? What matters more is: 1 - Who are they trading up for? 2 - Could they have gotten a similar player at #9? 3 - What are they giving up in order to move up? If they're trading up to make sure they get Robinson, Matthews, Watkins, or Evans, I probably will throw up in my mouth a little bit. Don't even care what they give up, because any of these guys could fall to them at #9 anyway. Trading up to get Mack or Clowney and it would come down to how much they would have to give up. If they gave up what was speculated (this years first, second and next years first) for Clowney, I'll also be unhappy.

Regardless of the situation with Dareus, I would contend that DT was a position of moderate need anyway. Certainly not a need such as having to draft one in the early rounds of the draft. This was a mistake no doubt for Dareus, but the league cannot suspend him. This happened with another player (Winslow I think) and DeMaurice Smith came right out and said that the collective bargaining agreement only allows suspension for substances listed therein and this is not. Besides that nuanced point, the Bills re-signed Alan Branch. I see very little chance that the front office would suddenly don a chicken little attitude over Dareus at this point. It's not like he killed someone (Hernandez....).

Actually, you didn't "just" answer the question. The last time was Aubray Bruce, and you got the one before that as well (which was not the question). You left out the only other two for complete history which would be Tommy Nobis in 1966 and HOF'er Chuck Bednarik in 1949. So one HOF player out of 4.