Bill from NYC

First of all, it's good to see you posting. I think that EJ does have a higher upside than Dalton, but so did Rob Johnson. Imo, EJ is a read option qb who needs to run. I doubt that he will ever be a pure passer and I'm ok with this. But I wouldn't pamper him due to his knee if I was the OC. Dalton gets his team to the playoffs. Would I be ok with EJ getting the Bills to the playoffs? Absolutely. I would also be ok with Thad Lewis doing the same. Gilmore? He was the 10th selection of an NFL draft. Yes he has been hurt, but he did play behind a really good pass rush, no? A. Williams and McKelvin had career years in this system, and Searcy had as many big plays as did Gilmore. I don't have any preconceived notions as to what his production will be this season. You seem to, and this is great. I will say that the Buffalo Bills do need him to play to the level of where he is drafted and what he is getting paid. I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that we are on the same page here.

That would be great. I hope that the pass rush doesn't fall off now that Pettine is gone, along with Marcel's sanity. If the DL plays at a high level, no more excuses for Gilmore.

You've got my well deserved vote.

The above would not shock me at all. My other guess would be Woods.

Nope.....I have changed my mind. Gilmore is s shutdown corner. He plays on an island. That said, how about Promo vs. any poster who ever has the nerve to question any player, coach, or the brass of this team. The fans are at fault for 14 years of utter despair, not the people who created this mess, remember?

The Cleveland Browns are now on the clock with the 5th pick of the 2015 NFL Draft (acquired from the Buffalo Bills).

If he was alive, Jerry Garcia. He wouldn't know anything about football or maybe what he was even watching. He would probably just hire people to run the franchise and 100% leave them alone. Oh yeah.....he would skip the owners meeting.

Fair enough. I should have been more specific in my prediction..... 10-6 they probably stay. 9-7, probably fired. 8-8 or below, so long. And I am not saying they cannot. As you know, we are rabid fans. We are patient to the point that there is a thread about Gilmore being a shutdown corner. A new owner will have nothing invested in this crew and would dump them in a heartbeat if they continue to lose. Jmo, but a strong one.

Are you being serious? If the Bills don't make the playoffs all of them will be out. It won't take a week.

I disagree with the first sentence. It's not unreasonable for fans to question trading away a first round pick (which could possibly be a top 5) for a wideout, in a draft that was absolutely STACKED at this position. Now, maybe Watkins will win us a bunch of games and we will make the playoffs. And maybe he will be TWICE as good as an other receiver that they could have taken at 9, or even traded down for and got extra picks. This is possible, but so is the worst case scenario. I do really like your comments wrt Mallett. He has no body of work to examine, but what we do know is that he has all the talent in the world. I hope he is a free agent in 2015 just in case Manuel busts out, and this is NOT to say that he will. I am only saying that stranger things have happened.

Which veterans did he mention?

Well he deserves a TON of room just for that screen name. I've been here since the nineties and that is as good as it gets. Yep, it's right up there with "Ted Anderson's Lunch Pail," "Tortured Soul," "Sisyphean Bills," "Pass the Pipe," etc.

I think for Marrone, Whaley and Brandon to stay, they will need to go at least 10-6 AND advance in the playoffs.

How many have not sucked?

I don't think that EJ will ever be much of a pure passer if he cannot do the read option. Three knee injuries do not enhance the chances of him being able to do this. That said, watch his college tape. He really could run and he is big. If EJ can keep defenses off balance with his ability to take off ala Kaepernick, he will be a successful quarterback imo. If not, he will bust out but again, jmo.

I think that the above is part of where we differ. I have been an Alabama Crimson Tide Fan for decades. I have seen virtually every game that Koundjio has ever played. He is a good player and a great kid, but he was far from the best blocker in this draft. In 2012, he was the 4th best blocker on his team. Remember, he played with a pre-injury Barrett Jones, Chance Warmack and DJ Fluker. They had already won with Jones at LT. Again, I always liked the kid and will root for him as hard as any fan here, but he isn't a star studded player. At least not yet. As far as the receivers, time will tell if Watkins blows away every other receiver that was drafted after him. I hope that he does!!! That said, he will not if there are issues at QB, and I think that both of us can acknowledge that this possibility certainly does exist. So no, I was not into this trade. So what? What matters is the Bills making the playoffs because they cannot go anywhere without doing so. I don't freaking care if Watkins is "GOOD" and the team is 6-10. If things go right and we can watch playoffs in January instead of posting about who is good, the trade will have been successful.

Forgive me if this response appears to be avoding the question..... This draft was absolutely stacked with wide receivers. The question becomes just how much better is Watkins than all the others? They traded away a 2015 first round pick that could possibly be a low one. It could also be a top 5. What does this mean to me? It means that if we stood pat, we could have conceivably drafted a good OT and WR in the first two rounds, and had a much needed first rounder if Manuel is injured or busts out. If Watkins is great, EJ gets a lot better AND this results in the Bills making the playoffs, then it will have been a good trade. But that's a tall order. Possible, but certainly not a given.

Please don't misquote me, even if paraphrasing. It really isn't polite nor the right thing to do. I think that Spiller is a good situational player who was not worthy of the #9. If you disagree, that is 100% OK. As for McKelvin, he had a very good season last year. It's a shame that it took so long. And I think that Pettine's system which focused on pass rush was great for him. McKelvin can cover. Imo, Levy/Jauron were idiots to draft him at #11 to play him in a Tampa-2. If you disagree, that too is fantastic. Mallet had had what, 8 snaps since he was drafted? Am I close? Neither of us has any idea how good he is. What we (or at leat I) DO know is that he has an arm which is seldom seen. Sure, he can bust out but so can Manuel or any other young quarterback. That said, QBs are what matter in this league. He MIGHT be good, just like EJ. Or, is EJ just fully destined for greatness? If Johnson winds up on NE and Mallett is part of the trade, I will sit back and wait for kudos, similar to those I recently sent out to you.

It makes sense. They have Fitz and a 4th round rookie, right? Plus, Mallett doesn't make much money. It's a good thing to bring quarterbacks to a football team, no?

Ryan Mallett will be involved if there is a deal.

No? Didn't you (not me) once post that you thought the chances of EJ being a franchise qb were well less than 50%? I do NOT want to misquote you. Please notice that the comment was in question form. Will you like this trade if he tanks? Coaches and GMs on the Bills have a horrible track record of getting equal or better jobs when the leave Buffalo. Right? Wade and Pettine did well. A majority of the rest are out of the game entirely. The chances of Marrone and Brandon (the Syracuse connection) getting other jobs at an equal level are slim to none. It's tougher to predict wrt Whaley, but I have a hard time picturing teams beating down his door to hire him as their GM. So yes, it really does appear that this was a move to salvage their shaky careers. If the Bills make the playoffs, I will be happy with this trade. If not, I will view it as a folly. Either way, it strongly appears to be a desperation move for the brass to stay employed, rather than one that was in the long term interest of this franchise. We shall see.

Yet the major reason for the trade was right there in the article: >>>>>The current front office knows the team will be sold soon, and if Buffalo fails to break its playoff drought, everyone who doesn't wear cleats will be fired.<<<<<

If EJ doesn't improve, this prediction is not at all out of the realm of possibility. And this is why I frowned on the trade. NOT because Watkins isn't "good." He could be good or even GREAT but if the Bills lose football games it is a moot point.

Is there any chance that this kid is better than Spiller? I have never seen him play; you tell me.

Thanks for the kind words. The above is where we disagree. They didn't address the QB position. And btw, I am a fan of Thad Lewis in that as we speak, I don't view him as a worse QB than Manuel. He does admittedly appear to have a lower ceiling. That said, Tuel? They really should have taken a shot at another qb after trading away a 1st in 2015. None of us know where this pick will land. It could be #25 or top 5. I have been trying, but I cannot justify not taking a stab at one of them, especially given the fact of how late many of them fell. Jmo my friend.