Bill from NYC

Too much money?

Kirby Smart or Wade. Edit: Actually, I think that Smart deserves a separate spot on this poll.

Next winter we will more than likely be looking for a head coach.

Mike, assuming that Wade is telling the truth and would return to Buffalo, would Brandon be willing to pay him twice as much as any other candidate? I get the feeling that Wade would cost that much, and btw he would be WELL worth it. Kirby Smart is the DC of the Tide. He turned down at least 1 head coaching offer in college, and is the highest paid coordinator in the NCAA. Saban just signed an extension. Would Smart take the job? Again, I am sure that he would command a very big salary.

100% agree!!!!! It is also worthy to point out that he made approx. 30 million dollars playing in Buffalo. He rewarded us with few game changing plays and a couple of off field incidents. Whitner was smart enough to promote himself and make the cash. Levy/Jauron were inept enough to draft him at #8 and set this team and it's great fan base many years. Good riddance to this sub-par ingrate. Seriously.

Neither am I, but he played his ass off from day 1, is a rookie (used to a shorter season), and he isn't very big. I hope he puts on just a bit of weight. The kid can flat out play.

Pettine. Not the biggest fan of polls but this one was a great idea.

Which circus? Absolutely!

I get what you are saying, and I don't advocating hating players. Yes, Whitner was a better player than those you list above, no doubt. The problem was that the Bills took him at #8. Was this Donte's fault? Of course not. The thing is (in my opinion) the Whitner selection was emblematic of exactly what is wrong with this team. The 2006 draft was literally stacked with talented players that the Bills desperately needed. And Levy said that he had MULTIPLE offers to trade down. Instead, they stayed put and selected a small, decent safety who btw was the 2nd safety selected in that draft. And btw, mistakes on top 10 picks were VERY costly in those days. Whitner cost the Bills more than Andrew Luck will cost the Colts in terms of their first contracts. Levy and Jauron destroyed this team as soon as they got here but again.....they didn't hire themselves.

I agree 100%. Sad but true. And let's not forget that Marrone has connections to Brandon.

LOL! Sadly, you are right.

I disagree BT. Cutler will get SO much money that imo they will draft a backup for pennies due to the new CBA.

It seems to me that there are some good secondary players. The situation looks bad in terms of interior linemen.

Can't argue with the above Dog.

"One of the best players in the league?" Ya think so? He isn't even the best running back on his team, and his competition is on the wrong side of 30. Teams do not need to draft running backs early. The Packers took Eddie Lacy with the 29th pick in round 2. Lacy scored 11 rushing TDs, which is one less than Spiller has in his career. In 2013, Lacy had 61 first downs (Spiller had 26). Lacy fumbled 1 time; Spiller had 4. If a team gives us a 1st and 3rd for Spiller, I am going to run out to the stationary store and purchase a thank you card, and mail it to their GM. In all, I would rather keep Spiller because I think that he would only bring us perhaps a 3rd round pick in a trade. Jmo.

Way too much of a blanket statement for my blood. Obviously, every team is different. I don't complain about the OL as much as I used to because although it needs help, it isn't as bad as it used to be. Given the above, you saw what losing Levitre cost this team. We had nothing but inexperienced qbs, and a feature running back (I suppose) who is not able to find room to run ala Thurman. But he DOES have blazing speed if he gets through the line. The Bills were lucky last year in terms of injuries up front. A new, talented OT on this team is a need, as is a quality left guard. Manuel looks to need all the help that he can get, and the Bills, due to the climate, will always need to run just a bit more than other teams. However, if they are pretty sure that one of these tight ends will become a star, I would not object to them drafting him. The 9th pick seems early for a LB but again, if they think one of them will be great, I wouldn't object SO strongly. Either way, they do need to devote some major resources to the OL. I can't prove it, but I am of the VERY strong opinion that losing Levitre cost this team at least one win, perhaps more. Jmo.

This was a top quality post. I too think that Manziel will go first. The team that selects him will immediately boost their ticket sales. I will go as far to say that teams that play against him will sell out. Imo, ticket sales matter in the draft. When the Bills drafted Spiller, Mr. Wilson said that the Bills needed "more excitement." I thought then and think now that he was talking as a business man, certainly not as a football man. Think about it.....if Manziel drops to the Bills, they would have nothing to lose by drafting him. Fans would be screaming for EJ's head after 1 bad game. With the rookie cap, even the first pick of the draft costs next to nothing compared to just a few years ago. The Bills could probably pay Manziel's entire salary on increased beer and team merchandise sales. PS: I am not trying to say that the Bills ALWAYS draft to sell tickets. If they did, it would have been an improvement. They would have selected QBs in lieu of running backs and of course defensive backs. Our drafts could be closer defined as simply inept.

Yeah, I like big guys and Crimson Tide players no doubt. But today quarterbacks get you to the playoffs.

Do you think that either was worth a top 10 draft selection for the Buffalo Bills?

My post was wrt the suggestion that the Bills hire Wade. My premise was that Marrone had few credentials (imo) other than being buddies with Brandon. Of course he doesn't deserve a huge salary! Why would anyone think that the Bills would pay big bucks to Wade when they don't even want to hire an expensive head coach?

Ya think? Glenn was a steal, but Gilmore was a top 10 pick! Just throwing it out there my friend.

Sorry to say so, but I completely agree.

As much as I would love to have Wade, I assume that you are joking. Was Marrone hired because he was/is a Brandon crony? I will leave this for others to decide. But crony or not, my guess is that Marrone is one of the top 5 lowest paid HCs in the NFL, and it wouldn't surprise me if he is THE lowest paid. To take this a step further, I would be willing to wager that Wade was paid more in Houston as DC than the Bills paid Marrone this year. So yeah.....I hope Pettine stays.

I find it interesting that he likes McCarron. I hope we can draft either him or Murray.

The following will surely fail to qualify me as "signed up." This is a link from a draft site that I often visit: http://www.drafthistory.com/ In it, he explains just how early the top DL and OTs are drafted. He also mentions Jason Peters, but I won't dive into that and bring up bad memories. In summary, most of the time teams have to draft top linemen. Very few teams will let go of their best blockers, let alone OTs. In 2008, the Bills drafted Leodis McKelvin at #11.Clady went next at 12. Branden Albert (on the list and a fine LT) went 3 picks later at 15. Btw Flacco went at 18. This is an example of why we are in such a mess. Wrt Albert, he entered the league as a guard. He's one of the very few college guards who moved to OT in the NFL. Would he be a good fit on the Bills? Sure, but expect to pay him 12-15 million per season. Oher is on this list. They have him rated poorly, but I always thought him to be a good player. That said, I barely saw him this year. He would cost far less. To put things in perspective, I am well into my fifties. I'm 6'2'/206. Good size for DB and wideout, no? Of course I would be dead after 1 NFL play, but how many people do you know that are at least 6'4" /320? Now, can they bench 220 35 times? Do they have long arms? Are they coachable? And can they run the 40 in approx. 5 seconds, with a burst of speed? My point is that teams keep these guys because they are so hard to find. PS: There is a sliver of hope. The Chiefs are trying to extend Alex Smith, who will surely make 15 mil. per year plus. The QBs are getting the money that the owners saved on the rookie cap, NOT positional players. Still, the best things for bringing in blockers remain good scouting and good drafting.