Bill from NYC

Thanks for the intelligent response. You are a pretty smart guy.

That was a great article. >>>The roster is a monument to weak drafting and short-sighted personnel management. At the end of last season, the Bills had fewer of their own draft picks on the roster than any other team. They had 22 unrestricted free agents on March 1. They had precious few "value" players, young stars who are on their first contracts and help balance the roster.<<< One of the reasons for the above quote is that Whaley keeps trading away our precious draft picks for little return. Listen, I don't hate the man. The truth is that he is a lousy, undisciplined, short sighted GM. If he was watching his money he is set for life. Bills Fans deserve a GM who can get us into the playoffs. Whaley will never, ever land another job in this capacity. He needs to be fired.

Stop, good thread!!! I would try for a 3rd but a 4th wouldn't be out of the question.

Kirby, could this be what I was thinking of? Is this thought of to be good or bad for the team (not the player)? http://www.catscratchreader.com/2016/4/20/11466728/2016-nfl-draft-just-how-valuable-is-the-fifth-year-option-for-first

I can't check that right now but I thought it was in the cba where they created the rookie spending limit. Again, I'm not sure.

Want: Watson Don't Want: Any Defensive Back Dark Horse: Jonathan Allen (if he lasts which I doubt) Think: The 3rd rated corner

Whassup OC! I hope all is well. I would like to see them draft Watson, the qb from Clemson at #10. I wouldn't want them to move up because Whaley has already tossed numerous draft picks down the sewer. If he is gone I would love to see a trade down. I hope someone corrects me if I am wrong but I am under the impression that the top 10 picks give teams an extra year with that player. If I am correct, a case can be made that top 10 picks are of high value. So, I would trade down a max. of 10 spots and draft the bpa from the choices of OL, pass rusher, and wide receiver. If they think that a TE or LB is a great player and he is on the board, I would be ok with it. That said, history tells us we will chase a corner to patch this huge hole we are supposed to have now that we are rid of Gilmore and his cap hit.

That was a very nice article.

I hear ya my friend. Great post. I differ a bit wrt blockers, but that is what message boards are for. And again, Cam scares me. He was great 2 years ago and there has been little progress. I was watching youtube video of an Alabama Guard recently. I saw a running play (and btw Howard took out a corner with a great block ) and for no reason, Cam wrapped his arms around the defender and held him. If he isn't the hardest worker for Nick Saban, that might not translate well to the pros. He looks as if he is getting by on pure skill and measurables and its a shame because trust me, he has tons of talent, enough to be one of the great NFL blockers.

Btw GB, I started looking up other teams in terms of first round picks on dbs. since 1993 (again, the Bills have 8). So far: NE - 5 Denver - 3 Green Bay - 5 Seattle - 3 Bears - 1 Dallas - 4 Bengals - 5 Saints - 4 Falcons - 5

Only in rare circumstances. If a team had a: 1. Franchise QB. 2) Strong, deep OL and DL, including pass rush. 3) Good targets at WR. Even at that, if my pick was early I would prefer trading down. The Bills have drafted corners dbs up and down the first round for decades, even before the rule changes. Since 1992 (25 drafts) the Bills have taken 8 dbs and 4 rbs in round 1. In 2 of those drafts we had no first round pick. Most of these selections were a complete, whereas we didn't keep them after 1 contract. The dbs ranged from #8 (Whitner) to #28 (T. Smith) The RBs ranged from #9 (Spiller) to #23 A. Smith and Magahee). It isn't working. We are just patching holes and not making the playoffs. It has got to stop at some point.

Humphrey is a very good player who I would put in the second round. Eddie Jackson is also a very good prospect. VERY good. He is a smart, versatile player who could step in and help a team. I am high on both of these kids, but not at #10. PS: The safeties currently on the Crimson Tide (Harrison and Fitzpatrick) might be the best pair to have ever played on a college team at the same time. They both have star potential. Harrison hits like a truck and Fitzpatrick covers as well as almost any corner in the NCAA let alone safety.

No, as I said above I see him dropping. Now, if he had a personality like Jonathan Allen then yes, I would grab him at #10. That said, I would prefer trading down than drafting a corner. Jmo

The focus on defensive backs and running backs has killed this team for many, many years and will probably continue to do so. There is no historical basis to think otherwise. As for Cam Robinson, he is a gamble. The kid has all the talent that he needs but he has had problems off the field. He is the kind of kid that could be a 12 year starter and pro bowl player, or he could take the money and screw up. I get the feeling that the team who drafts him will either be elated or screwed. My guess is that he will drop in the draft to a team that is already good.

He is an old, used up criminal and will want too much money. Other than that I like him.

None of them are worth a dime if your team needs help at qb, has the worst receiving corps in the NFL, and has huge holes on the OL. And every team wants to get better in terms of pass rush. Using our best resources on secondary and rbs is what got us into the mess we are in. Even if we draft a safety or a corner at #10 and he is "good," the team will get worse. If you don't believe me, ask yourself what happened with Gilmore, Whitner, McKelvin, etc.

I remember Levy saying in a press conference that the Bills would be spending "cash to cap." This was clearly another limit imposed by Mr. Wilson. This made his drafts even worse because there was no rookie cap. They paid Donte Whitner in the neighborhood of 36 million dollars 11 years ago when this was worth that much more. Ngata would have cost a lot less and they could have traded back and drafted him or other players who were far superior to Whitner, AND got extra picks. Once after Levy left, the team was bad in all areas and was getting slaughtered. A reporter asked Marv what he thought the problem was, and Marv said "special teams." He was serious. Remember they were running a "smash mouth" offense with no blocking? I am not going to badmouth Marv at his age. Let's just say that I am hard pressed to understand how he was able to coach an NFL team to 4 super bowls.

Yeah, he accomplished a lot by trading away our draft picks. Aren't you glad that we don't have a full compliment once again?

My signature was "Draft McKinnie" in those days. I was up in Buffalo for a weekend and saw McKinnie absolutely destroy Freeney in a college game. He stomped him into the ground. McKinnie could have been a better player. He wasn't a model citizen but he was a fine left tackle. The Bills would have had playoff appearances if they had drafted McKinnie instead of Mike Williams. And I still think Whitner was a worse pick. Of course jmo.

In my opinion it was never a sound philosophy. When those numbers in your screen name started to age, we should have been looking for replacements. Instead we were drafting first round defensive backs. Then, we let them walk after 1 contract. Of course, we also wasted picks on running backs. Again jmo, but I think that people get thrown off when they look at a Whitner or Gilmore and declare them to be "good." It really doesn't matter if a top 10 pick is "good" when your team is losing football games and not making the playoffs year after year. Quarterbacks make the difference, followed by WRs, blockers and pass rushers (not necessarily in that order). The defensive backfield is called secondary for a reason.

I know, in the last 18 years we have seen the Bills make the playoffs 9 times, right? Sorry, but I think that focusing on DBs and RBs for the last 20 or so years put us exactly where we are today.

You are not THAT far off. Spiller was a truly idiotic selection. But you see the Levy/Jauron - Donahoe days were just so bad that there were actually picks that were worse.

Good to see you posting. Those are some bad, horrible picks no doubt, but imo Whitner deserves a spot on that list, if not the top. I say this taking into account that the 2006 draft was just loaded with players at position of dire need for the Bills, who were essentially rebuilding. I have said this before but I repeat, I heard Levy say that he had MULTIPLE offers to trade down and not all were for just an extra 2nd round pick. The Bills entered the 2006 draft with the #8, a second, and 2 early 3rd round picks (perhaps the 6th and 8th). With those 4 picks (after trading to move up for McCargo)they came away with Whitner, McCargo and Youboty. In the 4th, they grabbed Ko Simpson. Yeah, a DT who sucked, 2 safeties and a corner! This draft harmed the team for many, many years. I just hope they don't once again toss away a draft but Whaley seems inclined to do just this.

Oh you are so right about RT!!! The only good ones I remember since the playoff days were Jonas Jennings and of course Jason Peters. Both moved to LT and then out the door. People often blast Pears but as mediocre as he was, the man was great compared to Corey Louchiey, Terrance Pennington, Mills, etc. And don't even get me started wrt Guards!

Imo the draft will determine the direction in which this team heads. I have seen the Bills in this situation (recently departed first round corner) many, many times. If we jump on a replacement at #10 in this deep corner draft, the situation will get worse. I am all about using our best draft resources on qb, wr, blockers and pass rushers. Whaley traded away picks so trading down would seem to be a good move if we can get the right price.