Bill from NYC

Dareus did play well. Kyle looked hurt but he is a fighter and he has my utter respect. Thanks for sharing this deep, insightful message. Is it time for bed? If so, ask someone to bring you your little blanket.

Well thank you, I suppose.

1) Leodis McKelvin is a pleasure to watch. I am the very first to admit that I thought little of him before this season. This man can cover. 2) Cordy Glenn gets better each week. Yeah, he really does. 3) Early in the game I wrote in my notes that Mario was a non-factor. But he kept fighting and he made tackles, blocked a pass, and had a sack. He makes the big bucks and doesn't quit. He sure has my respect! 4) We have had a whole bunch of "apology threads" on this board. Who is going to be the first to apologize to BADOLBEELZ about his take on Stevie Johnson? 5) In the end there's just a song. Comes crying like the wind. Through all the broken dreams, and vanished years. Stella Blue. 6) EJ was awful today imo. He always seemed slow to make reads. His completion percentage was not good, and he didn't see several wide open receivers. That said, the best pass of his short career was fumbled away by Chandler. 7) Bradham didn't show up well on the stat sheet, but he had a KEY tackle on the punt return with 4:26 left in the 4th. This stuff matters. 8) Badol, I am not going to start a thread. What I WILL do is state that I am sorry that I AGREED with you. Yes, it's true. You said that you wanted to keep SJ on the team and got attacked. I also posted that I wanted to keep him. I take it back. He lost us another game, and I am at a loss to remember a game that he has won for us. It's a shame that we couldn't get a 3rd round pick for him. I would take it in a heartbeat. 9) Is Summers just a bit too quick to signal Goodwin to down kickoffs? Seriously, do the Bills have THAT much to lose by letting him try to run back kicks? 10) I gotta tip my hat to Spiller. Was he hurt or not? Either way, he had some splendid runs. 11) The Bills need to lock up Branch. He and Hughes were the best Bills defenders in this game in my very humble opinion. I will take it a step further and say that the Bills would not have been in the game without key tackles and pressure from Branch. 12) I take it back. Gilmore IS a "shutdown corner." His stupid, ill timed penalties, as well as his poor coverage helps to shut down the Bills ability to win football games. 13) Once again, EJ needs more called running plays. He is good at running the football. 14) Being a Bills Fan is equivalent to a life of pain, but it is one that I would not trade. We truly are great fans to endure this. 15) GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is an interesting topic, one in which it is obvious that you and Badol know more about than me, but I do have a comment. A poster asked before about the fact that some (not all) Crimson Tide players do not do as well as expected in the pros. My theory is because they don't HAVE to work as hard as they did under Saban. As I Tide Fan, I think that this is almost beyond dispute. Do you remember the Dareus interview about Saban? He said that Coach Saban "controls every hour of your life." I believe him. He also said that if Saban came back to the NFL he would have to "lighten up." I believe that too SJB. I was a Dareus Fan long before he came to Buffalo. This is NOT a slam on him, but I strongly doubt that he works a hard as he did in college. He simply doesn't have to. As far as players who can be lax, there will always be some. Players such as Riggins, Earl Campbell and of course Lawrence Taylor were simply born with more gifts than other humans. If LT was young and following his past regimen he would still be the best LB in this league by far.

A logjam at the QB position these days is almost unthinkably good. The trade value alone would be something we have never seen before due to the new CBA and the low salaries at which rookies are paid. Think about it....Andrew Luck makes what, 5 mil. per season? Isn't this approx. 16 million LESS than Flacco? Which one would you rather have on your team? Now, given the rule changes, there is no longer any dispute about the importance of the QB position. How much would a team trade away to get a great, cheap quarterback? If this ever happens we will see trades that resemble the Herschel Walker deal, which I am guessing that you are old enough to remember.

One of the main reasons I want the Bills to sign, or at least slap the tag on Byrd is the premise that doing so MIGHT prevent the Bills from wasting another prime draft selection on a defensive back. We have glaring needs, to include another pass rusher, LB, LG, another OT, and of course TE. This if Manuel doesn't get hurt or fall apart. Byrd is a fine safety. It's not as if we need the cap space to pay 20 million per season to our quarterback and the money is there. The Bills have the upper hand because of the tag, and they truly need to play hardball with Parker, who btw I would hire as my agent if I was a player.

Badol, I couldn't agree more. There is SO much to say about this that I have to itemize my thoughts lol..... 1) Unless Manuel plays as bad as Losman/RJ at their worst, the Bills will not draft a qb in round 1. 2) If the Bills let Byrd walk and draft Clinton-Dix (who as a Tide Fan I watch every week), people will praise this as a good move. I for one think that it would be stupid. It would be simply digging out of another self created hole. And btw as much as I watch Clinton-Dix, I am not at all sure that he would be a step up from Byrd. How 'bout you? 3) I watched Gabe Jackson, the LG from Miss. St. He looks like a monster to me. Have you seen him? LG is now a need because the Bills let Levitre walk, and I still maintain that this cost us at least one win, probably more. 4) I think that 90% of fans miss the importance of the new CBA and the impact it has made. Draft choices cost little as compared to the past. The money switched hands from rookies to the QBs. The Ravens are paying Flacco more than 20 million per year. Manuel costs the Bills 20 cents. The Bills have tons of cap space. They can grab another pass rusher or OT in the draft for pennies providing they don't create holes with Byrd. They already did so with Levitre. 5) The Bills simply cannot let Parker dictate terms. If the Bills can't sign Byrd (and I hope they can), they need to slap the tag right on his a$$. Then as I said, they can go after talented players at positions of greater importance.

JPS, this was a GREAT post, but I must strongly disagree with this: >>>I think it may be among the worst O-lines the Bills ever had.<<< My friend, NO WAY!!! I want to refresh your memory if I may: Corey Hulsey Jamie Nails Terrance Pennington Aaron Merz Marcus Spriggs (one of the worst blockers I ever saw) Tutan Reyes Jerry Ostroski Greg Jerman (THE absolute worst blocker I have ever seen, to the point that I was literally worried about players getting killed) This line needs a LG, but none of our starters are as bad as those listed above. Pears isn't a star RT but he is clearly superior to these horrible players.

Maybe so. I don't understand why she blames the police for telling her that going forward with charges is a big deal. Did she not know this until she asked a detective? There are many other unanswered questions as well. For instance, I would like to know if any person from FSU made contact with the victim. I don't have enough info to form an opinion. This, and I am still sick to my stomach about Penn State.

If Goodwin can stretch the field and hit homeruns, this will help the possession type receivers. That said, a very good quarterback is needed to make it all happen, let alone a solid, talented OL. Would I appreciate a big time wr? Absolutely. The talent and coaching on the defensive side now exists on this team (although another pass rusher never hurts). If EJ is the real deal, he can get us into the playoffs. GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Remember that Fitz (a genius) and SJ were scrubs together and practiced quite a bit with second teams. Fitz is who he is, but he and SJ did have time to develop a chemistry. This matters imo. I appreciate the ability that SJ has, particularly in terms of getting open. But I will also assert that if SJ is your best receiver, you need another receiver. This is jmo.

SJB, I assume that you know that I do enjoy reading your posts. What I am missing here is the importance of you and Badol being in full agreement on this, or any other topic. You both make good cases. SJ has good numbers, gets open, and plays hurt. Otoh, he has defied coaches and hurt the team with narcissistic stupidity, dropped clutch passes, and does not have a true skillset for a "#1 receiver. The best part of this board from where I sit is to read dialogue about my team and get different takes from people who know and care about the Bills. Badol is not coming from left field with his take. It is well thought and legit. It really doesn't matter if you and him agree. In fact, the discourse is the best part about TSW.

Sorry my friend but I gotta respond to your comments about 2006. Marv turned down many trade down offers(I heard him say this) for the #8 selection. That draft was stocked with players at positions of need, serious need for the Bills. Levy used the #8 on a small, not so highly rated safety. After trading up for a dreadful McCargo, don't forget that his next 2 selections were Youboty and Ko Simpson. Win now? Really? I contend that he made these idiotic moves due to a philosophical devotion to the secondary. He hurt the team for many years with this approach and brought in his clone in Jauron, who hammered some more nails in the Bills coffin. To put it in context, I am currently as happy as I have been in many, many years with the secondary. Yet, I am going to give some credit for this to the DL and of course Pettine. A pass rush sure makes life easier for DBs. Otoh the Levy/Jauron tandem obviously believed otherwise. They wanted to build a team through DBs and RBs which is of course impossible.

First of all, despite the fact that we frequently disagree on many Bills issues, I must say (not that you should care) that I enjoy your posts. Yes, AL was a converted LT. I'm not sure where you are going with this. Before that particular draft, I heard Randy Cross say that the Steelers would draft Levitre, plug him into the LG slot, and have a solid OG for 10 years. At that point I went to youtube and looked him up. I immediately liked his balance and footwork and sent PMs to a TBD poster who forgot more than I will ever know about football. I wanted the Bills to draft AL with the 28th pick that we got for Jason Peters. It worked out well. As I recall, Ruben Brown was the LT at Pitt. He too was projected to OG. It's not that uncommon. Once in a while guards become tackles but the only examples I can point to are Branden Albert and to a lesser extent Cordy Glenn. I am very high on the OG Gabe Jackson from Miss. State. He looks like a beast. Everything depends on Manuel in terms of the 2014 draft. But if EJ develops, this kid would be a perfect fit imo.

He did go in round 2, but the Bills had to trade up to get him.

What do you think of Kevin Norwood from Bama? I view him as sort of a hybrid of SJ and Woods. Because the Tide has Amari Cooper, Yeldon, Drake, and that freshman TE Howard, Norwood gets less chances, but I think he will make noise in this league. What I like about SJ is his ability to get open, but I agree that his body could conceivably be pretty much shot. I also concur that trading him for what little we could get in return (considering his age and contract) would be a dumb move.

Agreed, but I thought the same about Rob Johnson after his one great game before the Bills traded for him. I can't remember the stats but they too were excellent.

The problem is that like LTs, pass rushing DEs are extremely hard to get. Generally speaking, if you want to draft one you better take him early. And very few of the top DEs reach free agency. Mario was quite the exception, and look at how much he cost.

I agree. Injuries aside, DE would seem like a vital position for the Bills to go after in the 2014 draft. And btw I view Branch as much more of a rotational DT than a DE.

No problem. Stand up to Parker and slap the tag on him again, then try to sign him. They can't continue to allow Parker and/or others to dictate terms. It has to stop.

The above goes without saying. And as I said, there is no way to tell what the outcome would have been with a high quality guard such as Levitre. But in JUST my opinion, the team was not equipped for such a drop in talent at this position.

Mine too and although the improvement isn't as much as it was for the above 3, I am going to give yet another shout out to Searcy. He plays as hard as anyone on the team imo.

I agree with the above, but FTL is also making quite a bit of sense. There is no way to really know; I fully get this, but I think that if Levitre was on team this season, the Bills would have at least one more win, perhaps even two. I say this because there were SO many close games, and our qbs were SO young. A few more sustained drives and more pass protection might have made a big difference. One more win and the Bills playoffs hopes would be more than a glimmer. Two more wins and we would be right in the mix. I was watching the LG from Miss. St (Jackson?). He looks like a monster but it will probably cost an early draft selection to grab him. But Levitre was also an early pick. In fact he cost the Bills 2 picks whereas they traded up to get him. Either way, as a poster said above, I am going to be happy for 2 weeks!

To whom are you speaking?

John so many players on the defense did so many good things that i could not begin to guess which one had the best game. Dareus didn't show up big in the stats, but imo his initial hit on Smith was crucial in this win. He was also taking on blockers and pushing them back the entire game. We saw what Byrd did. Kiko looked like an all pro, and even Robey played a great game. In fact, I thought that he deserved credit for a 1/2 sack. In all, I credit Pettine. He has these guys playing hard and as a unit. And btw, I have never felt as good about the Bills secondary. They need to keep it together and acquire talent at other positions.