Fan in Chicago

I did not know for sure but Cam was talking on the phone a minute before the draft began and he was getting congratulations from his family Dareus on the phone but nobody from Denver is on the phone. Miller to Denver ?

Looks like Newton to Panthers

FWIW @ 7:50 pm EST, Cam Newton has not been called by anyone in the Panthers organization (on NFL Network now)

If I recall correctly, this guy has been spot on the last few times with the Bills picks. He is second to NGU in street cred on this board. Marcell Dareus to Buffalo http://www.profootballweekly.com/2011/04/28/final-2011-mock-draft

Your dreams are multiple choice ?

So, a few hours before the start of the draft, Buddy's board probably looks like this: 1. Newton 2. Dareus 3. Miller 4. AJ Green Possibility of Fairley. Is that fair ?

Whats a TV ?

B=billions and not bucks

Thanx.

Because demand is increasing, supply-demand curves work and there is a lot of political turmoil in oil-producing regions ? Oh wait, that is not the answer you were looking for.

I second that motion. Can we keep this thread clean and solely for NGU's updates on the draft ? There are threads aplenty to B word about every possible pick.

I too am on Nix/Whaley's side and feel they really know what they are doing. I think Nix's influence started ion 2009 with the drafting of Wood, Levitre, Byrd (Maybin looks like a miss). Fully expecting surprises - my prediction this year is that the early part of our draft will be more offense heavy than most people expect. The FO has already said that the draft is deep on the DL. (Having said all that, I will find it hard to digest a Petersen pick at #3.) Nice post.

Yeah baby. Can a Hawks-Sabres Stanley cup finals happen ? Certainly more likely than a Bills-Bears superbowl.

What a day for sports in Chicago: 7 pm - Sabres Game #7 7 pm - Bulls Game #5 9 pm - Blackhawks Game #7

Have been looking at my TV Guide and the game is now on Versus (Chicagoland area) at 7 pm CST. Woo hoo!!! I searched TSW and did not find this posted so for all those interested - where else would you rather be ?

As usual, thanx for the info. Am surprised that Newton is at the top of our board, I am personally hoping for Dareus to 'fall' to us.

What else did you expect him to catch ? Interceptions ?

There is no way to know that. But I do agree that there is no point making fun of him for his vocab or intelligence. This report says, Brandon told him to take a hike

Terrific ! Not surprisingly, he did not divulge much but the bolded is quite telling about what he thinks of the QB prospects at that pick position. In any case, nice to read about actual encounters with the FO folks.

For a change, I agree with you You have to make the picks when good players are available at your spot. It will take time and besides the Maybin and perhaps Spiller picks, I think we are on the right track.

If you want to ignore the positive impact Wood and Levitre have had on the OL or Byrd's interceptions in his rookie season, by all means go ahead. If you want to have no patience and start slamming Troup, Carrington, Moats or Batten before they have played their second season, knock yourself out. Yes the team was terribly devoid of talent. Which is why these individual picks by themselves are not yet translating to wins. Let this draft and FA (whenever it happens) go by and judge the regime on the team's progress this season. Wood should have fully recovered from his injury, last years picks will be in their second year when their talent should show positive impact. Add a couple of players from this year and we should do well.

Fair enough that Nix was scouting that year. But the next rounds yielded Wood, Byrd and Levitre. All solid starters. Judge the draft in its entirety. I think picking a DE was the right thing to do that year but Maybin looks to be a poor choice. But the others kind of make up for it. Any time a draft delivers 3-4 solids starters, the FO has done well. BTW, I have no evidence about who influenced the 2009 draft, but is it a coincidence that the first two drafts that Nix was involved with yielded primarily line players in the first 3-4 rounds ?

good points of discussion. I think these players plus Easley will contribute in a big way in 2011 and beyond. Frankly we got little production from most of last year's picks. Of the lot, I think the coaching staff must have been most disappointed by CJ so far. I hope people who are saying we need to draft several players on D this year realize that there is a huge implication there - that the entire 2010 draft class is a bust. I am certainly not much of a talent evaluator but would like to believe that this coaching staff brought the rookies in slowly to help them develop and help being excellent players in a long run. As opposed to rushing them in and hindering their development. Besides the first round which could go Dareus or Gabbert, I think we will see a lot of attention to the O especially at tackle and TE.

I am of the opinion that winning can create much more of a long term excitement than a single handed spectacular TD catch by itself. And we have always been in agreement that this kind of sustained winning comes from building from the trenches outward. I was just saying that RW while could have been an influencer, could not by himself have been the driving force behind the # 1 picks. In a way, blaming Ralph almost absolves the incompetence of TD, Levy, Jauron etc. Much of the failure of the franchise to build and maintain a winning team is due to poor drafting and the GMs have to shoulder more blame than RW. (yea RW is responsible for picking said GMs anyway) In any case, I don't think we disagree much and where we do, I am fine letting it go (primarily because I am not a wrestler )

While I don't really know if RW makes the final pick, here is my problem with some of what you said and most of what BillsVet always posts. - If RW makes picks that increase profits, how is drafting Lynch or DBs consistent with that thought ? I think QBs, WRs are 'star' picks that draw everyone's attention - If, as you stated, Levy/Jauron influenced the Whitner, McKelvin picks it implies that RW doesn't call the shots for first picks - I don't see how Spiller would have been thought of as a ticket seller either. I don't think ticket sales last year were any significantly better than in previous years after a losing season. Bills fans have always bought tickets and I don't think sales would have been much different if we had picked a lineman instead of Spiller. Hence, I am not totally convinced that RW calls the shots. The problem is that, this year, even if Nix, Whaley and Gailey think that a QB is worth picking high, it will only serve tp re-inforce the conspiracy theorists' conviction that RW makes the first pick.