Bill from NYC

Actually, I am still trying to figure out what happened with that pick. If they thought that Manuel was a franchise qb, trading down was a huge risk, UNLESS they had another qb with a similar rating.

http://espn.go.com/college-football/player/_/id/482670/kevin-norwood This kid has lower numbers because he is surrounded by other star players. He gets open and has great hands.

Again, keeping Levitre, imo, would have won us at least one more football game. The problem is that there is no way to prove this. Instead we went with a rookie qb who was exposed by the hole left by AL's departure. Also, now this gaping hole must be repaired. People think that it is simple to replace guards. Bill Parcells disagrees. I heard him say once how he can spot plenty of receivers before a draft, but only a few solid guards. It might take a second round pick to replace Levitre. I would rather be able to use it on a qb (McCarron, Murray, etc). Jmo.

CB, PLEASE tell us that you don't mean this!!! It doesn't seem possible that a person who follows and posts about football to the degree that you do could think the above. Not only was Levitre a 10x better blocker, he played his ass off in terms of effort. Dockery's uniform was clean after a game. When he was cut, he didn't make much money and as soon out of the league. A classic case of a guy who got the big bucks and quit. I can understand making the case that letting Levitre walk was a good move. I 100% disagree, but at least you can present a case (salary, etc.) that would approach being plausible. Dockery? Ya need to re-think this big time Bro!

SJBF, there is something seriously flawed in a rating system that places Manuel above Luck, who btw I think is the best prospect to come out of college that I have seen in a long time, if ever. The Colts were the worst team in the league before he came along and carried them to the playoffs. And call me crazy, but imo the Bills have a better roster (other than QB) than the Colts. In his rookie season, Luck even rushed for 255 yds. in 62 attempts. He scored 5 TDs and had 23 first downs on the ground. I am not saying that Bills Fans had/have a right to expect EJ to be as good as Luck. We do not. This post was more about the rating system. It's hard to take it seriously when on paper, EJ scores higher than Andrew Luck.

I also would like to see Edward's Arm post again. He's a nice guy who does know his football.

Donte Whitner.

And why is this?

He's somewhat better than this. As I HUGE Tide Fan, I do know a bit about McCarron and the team..... This particular team is of course good, but nowhere near as good as 2012. Not even close. If they didn't have the greatest coaching staff on the planet their record would have been far worse. The 2012 Tide had the best offensive line ever assembled imo. I wondered why they played Kouandjio at LT when I viewed him as the 4th best blocker on that line. Last night what I suspected became clear.....Saban knew that he would need him at LT this season. Not even Coach Saban could replace the likes of Barrett Jones, Chance Warmack, and DJ Fluker, who might wind up as a literal top 5 RT in football history. Additionally, the Tide lost a ton of defensive stars over the last couple of years. One after the other. My point? McCarron had a cakewalk last season, but NOT this year. He is a good young quarterback. He is smart, very coachable and tough. His life sure does look great now but he came up very poor and is a fighter. I would like to see him, or for that matter Murray on the Bills. I am no expert but I imagine their chances of success are fairly similar to those of Manuel.

I am sorry to see that he re-signed. This could cause one team in front of us to draft a qb in round 1. Even if we choose not to do so, it will not help us in terms of value if they are looking to trade down.

Good to see you Cindy. Happy New Year and God bless.

Very true CD.

I am going to give you a chance to take this back, depending on your definition of "a long time." TJ was a literal steal in the draft as compared to Whitner and Maybin. I could name many others. Btw, TJ WAS a bad pick but remember, we are talking about the Bills! Happy New Year!!!

Please do remember that these are opinions on a message board. Also do take into account that I am as likely to be "right" as I am "wrong." You want proof? I thought that Rob Johnson was going to be a franchise quarterback. How sad is that? Now wrt JP Losman, I knew that he was a horror show from day 1. It was clear as a bell. Imo, Manuel has a much higher ceiling and a MUCH lower floor than Thad. EJ is bigger, and this means a whole hell of a lot imo. When I watch EJ, he appears to be moving in quicksand. He is good on short tosses but not so good on longer throws, which one would think would come easier to someone with his skillset. He can run, but he waits too long and sometimes appears to be lumbering. I wanted this to be something that he uses. He will NEVER be Andrew Luck in terms of being so insanely accurate that he can avoid called quarterback runs. He truly needs to run to be really effective imo. Maybe it's because he has been in the league longer, but imo Thad is much better able to time plays. His throw to Lee Smith against Miami was flat out great. The TD to Graham vs. NE was something that he set up. He reminds me of Fitz with a slightly better arm. Manuel is a smart kid no doubt, but Thad attended Duke. I have a strong opinion that Lewis will get at least a little better. I am not sure how much better EJ will get, so I really do hope that the Bills draft another qb sooner than later. That is what it's all about these days, QB play. I am not afraid to state opinions. This is why we are here. Do I think that EJ will ever be a top 10 qb in this league? I truly hope so, but my prediction is no. How about you? Do you care to predict how good EJ will be? If so, please do explain why.

I'll see this post and raise you letting Byrd walk, and drafting a defensive back in round 1.

Which is very scary because at this point he is playing better than EJ. Where would that leave him?

AKC was good as well.

No!!! Not another first round defensive back under any conditions!!! And btw, I am a HUGE Bama Fan and I am telling you that while Clinton-Dix is good, he is nowhere near a #9. Not even close.

Thank you for your response, despite the fact that you are an idiot. Yeah, let's keep Kolb, and even place him above Lewis on the depth chart. Fantastic. And you, after posting something this outrageous, refer to me as a troll? Great. I contend that you are either a troll, a nitwit, or both. I am leaning heavily toward both. But again, thanks for stopping in.

They are in a tough spot. I count a full 6 teams in front of them that need a QB. If they do not draft a qb in round 1 (and I doubt that they will), I hope that they draft blockers and/or a TE. Trading down is nice when you are going after non-LT blockers, but it might be tough to do because the QBs will be gone before we select at 9.

Maybe you are right, but Thad played well enough to win the game yesterday. This in the elements, on the road, and with NE needing the game. As we speak he just isn't a worse quarterback that Manuel.

1) As we all know, the kickoff team was disgraceful today. Absolutely sickening. 2) I think that I have been negligent wrt my praise of Fred Jackson this year. Look, he isn't a superstar, but he is a fighter. I have tons of respect for this man. And to his credit, Spiller continued to fight for yardage too, even with the season being over. 3) Dareus disappointed me today big time. The dumb offsides play was bad enough, but we needed him to help stop the run, and apparently he keeps screwing up. 4) We simply are not a good enough team to withstand drops like the one Chandler had at the end of the 1st Quarter. He played well after this, and I understand that the weather sucked. But he has formed a very disturbing pattern. 5) There is NO doubt in my mind that Lewis is a better QB than EJ RIGHT NOW. Seriously, if the Superbowl was tomorrow and the Bills were playing, which one would you want to start? I am not talking about floors, ceilings, missed time in camp, missed time due to injuries, etc. I am talking about NOW!!! This tells me that: a) We will have a very interesting off season. b) The entire situation isn't pretty. That said, Lewis played well enough today to have beat NE on the road. The loss was not his fault. 6) I sent a letter to a man I know, it said, "one for the money, two for the show." I waited all summer for his reply, He said, "three to get ready and four to fly!" 7) The TD pass to Graham was one of the finest plays by the Bills in 2013. 8) I had no issues with Marrone going for it on the 4th and 1 in the second quarter. It was the right move. 9) Pears of all people looked strong today. But the OL didn't have one of their better games in terms of pass protection. 10) I make no secret of the fact that I have not been terribly impressed by Marrone. That said, this team was fighting back the entire game, and he deserves credit for this. Bellichick smelled blood wrt our rushing defense without Dareus. It was a tough situation and the team could have laid down but they did not. Yes, Coach Marrone can be praised for this. 11) Is Thad a UFA now? If he is, it might cost more to keep him than Manuel is paid, or close to it. I hope that he stays in town and is given a shot to earn the job in camp, along with a high draft pick. 12) Listen, my sincere thanks to all of you for responding to, or just reading my rants. And yes, this fully includes those who get angry with some of my comments. I don't know when but some day we will be rewarded for our loyalty. I believe this. I won't give up. I can't. 13) Happy New Year my fellow Bills Fans to you and your loved ones! 14) GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A good, but strange move indeed. Pretend if you will that you were the GM of the Bills in 2013. You are sitting at #8 and there is a QB that you are extremely high on. Or, you are less sure but expect him to be a top 15 qb in the NFL. Would you trade down and risk losing him to 7 other teams? I surely would not. This makes me wonder what they would have done if another team did draft EJ. From where I sit, I am thinking that they rolled the dice because they had another qb with a similar rating. I can't see any other reason to trade down, but we ARE talking about the Bills. So to answer the OP, I readily admit to having higher expectations from first round picks. Professionals get paid a lot of money to make these decisions. Wrt EJ, his draft slot does raise my expectations but less so because of the above.

Again TBC, this is a hunch. But I can see us winning this football game with our defense and Lewis. NE doesn't have a great defense, and our strength is our defensive line, as well as our defensive coordinator. I would not be surprised if the Bills front hits Brady several times. I would LOVE to see Thad take off and run and I predict that he will. He does this better at this than EJ who imo waits too long to decide. Yes, I am psyched about this game!!!!!!!

I don't know what you mean by the above CB. Do you mean to us as fans or to the team as an organization, or both? I'll tell you what it means to me.....I am going to be in Virginia on Sunday to visit my daughter. She and her husband are taking me to a famous Bills Bar. I TOTALLY want the Bills to win this football game, and I think that they can do it. I also think that Lewis gives us a better chance and btw, a NE corner agrees. I heard this on Sirius. I am just short of predicting a Bills win. Marrone has a lot to prove, and a lot to improve. My gut feeling tells me that he thinks that Lewis gives us a better chance to win this football game. If my hunch is correct, I praise him for making this move. And btw, thanks for the dialogue. I hope that this wonderful forum never turns into a place where we are forced to agree with each other and talk in cliches. There is a reason why this board is SO good. The reason is dialogue.