Bill from NYC

Well, I am proud to say that I was NOT one of those that you mention above. Trust me. But it IS worthy to note that Whaley seemed to be trying VERY hard to keep Byrd. Do you recall this? I think that Whaley got lucky wrt Byrd. Maybe I'm wrong.

Right on John!

Nah Bro, other posters will back me on this...;..Badol is a great guy. The thing is, he studies this stuff more than virtually anyone I have ever met. He tailgates at every game and would give you the shirt off his back with a smile. My friends actually write down football questions for him to ask at the tailgate lol! If you are looking for a 5th round inside lb or a 4th round guard, he has names!!! I dare say that I know just a bit about football. Badol is on another planet.

Nobody on this board is as good at expressing his views as Badol, but let me jump in if I may.... Badol and I discussed Levitre BEFORE the draft. I heard announcers on Sirius rave about him. We were, as usual, desperate for OL help and I watched what little you tube material I could find. He played LT in college and his athleticism was apparent. When I asked Badol about AL he was VERY familiar with him whereas he is really into college football. He said that normally, he prefers big, bruising guards, but the rule changes were taking hold and that the game was more about passing. This made him a good fit. My point? Sure, AL lacked brute strength. He wasn't a mauling type like Steve Hutchinson. But he was extremely valuable in this passing era. On running plays, he often got great angles. There is no way to prove it, but I think that he was a big help to Glenn. Btw, the Bills traded UP to select him. He didn't miss games and was very good at his job. Those are the players a team needs to keep. Look at Jerry Hughes.....I know that we didn't draft him but he came in and did his job. If we were counting pennies we could look at who he lines up with and discredit him, but a team needs to keep players like this, not create holes that are hard to fill.

I wholly agree. Were the Bills aware of his injury? Tough to tell but I doubt it. Did he lose his desire after being handed millions of dollars in bonus money? Nobody will ever know but I doubt that too, due to his durability in Buffalo. He never sat out a game. I understand how fans are happy that we "dodged this bullet." Why not feel good about things the Bills do when possible? That said, it was stupid of the Bills to let him walk. He, by most accounts, wanted to stay here. Instead we let him walk, replaced him with expensive garbage, and watched a young Cordy Glenn make limited progress after his departure. Was profit the motive in letting him walk? My guess is absolutely yes, but it didn't work. Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't a truly dreadful Chris Williams still count toward our salary cap?

As I recall John he is 6'7" or so. As a guard, he could not get out of his stance fast enough to fire out, let alone hold his own. He had no business lining up at that position. We have a rookie in there who looks 10x better. He is a guard. It is a mistaken notion (not that you ever suggested this) that ALL OTs can automatically become guards. Many can, some truly cannot.

Good for Pears. He is not as bad at RT (imo) as many here think. The man had absolutely NO business playing OG last season. None at all. At RT, he obviously isn't the most agile but he can utilize his brute strength. Marcel Dareus used to comment on how strong Pears was. I'm not trying to sell him as a high quality RT mind you because he isn't, but I consider him average and it's cool to see him still have a job and I wish him good luck.

I'm sorry. Are you saying that comparing EJ to Losman or to Peyton Manning are similar endeavors? I'm not being a wiseass either. I have no idea what you are saying.

The fact that he is playing for a contract is huge. Really huge. Marcel is one of several players who changed a bit when he left the great Coach Saban. He said in a youtube video that, "Coach Saban controls every hour of your life." I believe this. As far as I know, he never acted out or got in any trouble at Bama. This is good news because it tells me that he CAN walk straight. He can be as great as he wants to be. Mario is one of my all time favorite players on any team, ever. He is 100% professional and very, very smart. Off the field, he hangs out with cops and correction officers. He donated as I recall in the neighborhood of a quarter of a million dollars to the Houston PD to buy police cars because Houston was cash strapped. On the field, he is a monster. He looks skinny for a guy who weighs more than 290 and uses his long arms for strength and leverage. And he is quick AND fast. I hope that these two continue to stay healthy. What a freaking tandem, and this doesn't even mention Hughes and KW!!!! As you can tell, I'm getting psyched. GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Interesting. I didn't know you were this high on Marcel. I'm not trying to argue but it's hard for me to call anyone on the Bills better than Mario.

You surprise me. You think that I don't know the difference between corners and safeties? Sure, let's pretend this is true. In 2008, the Bills drafted CORNER BACK Leodis McKelvin at #11. Well, the next selection at 12 was Ryan Clady. Branden Albert went at 15, and someone named Joe Flacco went at 18. Great choice right? I mean after all, McKelvin is a corner, not a safety. My point is and has been that ignorant, mindless moves such as these are directly responsible for the lack of playoffs for 15 years. We can pretend otherwise and point at certain wasted picks and say that the players are "good," but it doesn't change our dismal record. http://www.drafthistory.com/index.php/years/2008 And btw, I believe that safeties are actually becoming more important in the league as time passes.

Again, I respectfully disagree. Mario (my favorite Bill) and Kyle are not getting any younger. We still need a quarterback and I would like some more talent on the OL. Of course, we can talk about this after the season.

Yes, and drafting Whitner was a smart move too because he is "good," right? Using your top resources on running backs and defensive backs is a sure fire ticket to losing, UNLESS your key positions are in place. There IS good news....the season is about to start and this roster is chock full of talented players. For the first time in years I have a feeling that we will make the playoffs. The other good news is that I get the feeling that the residue of the damage that Levy/Jauron did to this team is finally all but faded. GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Your point is taken. But it's weird how most love the fact that Whaley traded up for Watkins. Btw, I for on am still not so sure if this was a good move but can't say that I dislike it. That said, it would have been nice to move up a spot or 2, no? Did Miami move up for Tanneyhill? I think they did but I don't remember. I wish we made that trade.

Very funny. Would you like me to say that he is as good as Revis? OK, sure he is. Want me to say that it was smart to draft him at 10 overall with no quarterback and issues on both lines? You got it...... It makes tons of sense to forego the qb position and both lines as long as there is a good corner floating around out there, especially with top 10 draft picks. Are we ok now?

I respectfully disagree. When you draft a player at #9 overall you expect production. This does not mean that I think that he completely sucks. It means the IMO, drafting Spiller at 9 was an idiotic, inexcusable move.

Careful, you are treading on sacred ground here.

Then let me immediately apologize for my snide remark. Sorry about that. The problem is that many actually believe your joke. Thanks for this. It does leave open the possibility that he did not know the person was a cop. Tough call.

Point well taken Darin but from where I sit, it's different when one attacks a cop. I don't expect others to necessarily agree mind you but even at that, it's a HUGE red flag. Jmo. Were you mistreated during your most recent arrest?

Maybe so, but I would like to know more about the assault of a police officer.

As much as EJ is discussed (both good and bad) on this board, the above could be the most disturbing part of his game. Most fans tend to look mainly at stats, especially those ready to defend EJ at any and all cost. It's a shame too, because the man does have all the physical attributes necessary to be an NFL quarterback.

Sure KJ, there were worse players than Whitner. That said, look who went AFTER him and as I said, numerous trade offers were turned down. http://www.drafthistory.com/index.php/years/2006

Donte Whitner. He cost the Bills approx. 36 million in true cap dollars and was all but worthless. To make things even worse, the 2006 draft was chock full of much better players, and Levy admitted that he had multiple offers to trade down. Levy/Jauron was the worst combo that I can ever recall, and the team suffered for many, many years due to their flat out idiocy.

Why the hate for the cops? I doubt if they are Bills fans.

The punch would probably be intercepted.