Bill from NYC

Yes indeed. The Bills, no matter who is GM, tend to focus primarily on dbs and rbs in the draft (until 2013). Maybe this will change. TE and OG are 2 positions which have always fascinated me on draft day. Generally speaking, you don't need a top 10 pick to draft a great one. You can get one late in the first round, etc. There are too many examples to list, but Steve Hutchinson, one of the best ever, was selected at #17.

I think that the Bills would appear to have better receivers, but I am once again concerned wrt the TE position. TEs can be very helpful to young QBs. I hope Chandler is healthy. The rest is really up to the development of Manuel and our young players. Imo, we are a year away from serious contention (again, depending on Manuel and good drafting). But for the Bills, this is an improvement.

We sure do deserve it. Much of what will happen rests on the shoulders of Manuel and the coaches. If Manuel is good, and players such as Glenn, Dareus and Gilmore develop, we might actually have a chance for second place in the division. And things do look ugly up in NE, ya know?

If the purpose of this board was to form a consensus, I would stop posting here in a minute. There are posters who have and represent different takes on this football team. BADOL happens to be more analytical than most, but he backs up his statements with facts. If you don't want in depth analysis of what has and is happening with the Bills, I suggest that you ignore his comments. Imo this would be your loss, but that's just me. He is going against the grain, this is true. So what? I can tell you from personal experience that doing so is not often easy. I could come on this board and tell you that stupid draft picks such as Spiller and Gilmore were good, smart picks. The homers woud love it, but it isn't true IMO. Hey.....there is one poster who continues to defend Levy/Jauron, which was the flashpoint of this team going from bad to swirling the toilet. And I am fine with this; it's his opinion. A prominent poster here derides fans for ANY negative comment about the Bills. This too is his right imo, but the Bills are serial losers for several reasons, and I think that discussing said reasons in a civil way is a good thing. In any event, we all hope that the Bills will win football games. We cope in different ways, but opinions and good discussion is why we are here imo.

I like Glenn because he has a chance to be a great one. He played WAY better than I expected him to before he hit the rookie (or was it injury?) wall. As much as I like the huge players, they scare me just a bit in terms of injuries to their feet and ankles. When Kris Jenkins got hurt, I thought that he was one of the best players in the league. Remember Gilbert Brown? He was simply impossible to move before getting hurt. Glenn is a monster. His level of play will directly effect that of Manuel, and really the entire team. I wish that he was going to be lining up next to Levitre, but it is what is is.

I can't really agree with this. Look at 2006....he had 14 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, and recovered one of them. And you want to talk about being hindered? Jauron had him dropping back in coverage, as well as lining up so far outside he was barely in bounds. For years, he alone was virtually the entire Buffalo Bills pass rush and was doubled on almost every play. Imagine Schobel in his prime playing opposite a defensive end such as Bruce or Mario! When Schobel came into the league he was raw, purely a speed rusher (people forget his blinding speed for a DE). I saw him get beat up by the underrated Brad Hopkins, and was concerned. He was light (probably 255 or so) and it was brutal. But he worked hard and developed a very good spin move. He once registered 2.5 sacks in a game against Jonathan Ogden, which was virtually unheard of. Let's face it, he will never get his due because he followed Bruce Smith, who was one of the best ever. But if Schobel in his prime was on this current team, it would be very hard for teams to throw against them. Very hard.

He has talent, and is very strong for a corner. As for the stats above, all I can tell you is that I watch every game. The kid gave up many key first downs and was often penalized at critical times. I am not trying to say that he will not improve. He was a rookie. I hope that he can win us some games.

I gladly admit when I am wrong. Being wrong on this board is not a great fear of mine. I thought Rob Johnson was going to be a great quarterback. And I thought that Trent Edwards was going to be good. We ae not GMs here and will make mistakes. I think this is part of the fun of posting here. I qualified my post with the words "on this board." Above, posters that I respect are praising him (or so it seems) for how they think he will play. I have no issue with this. But last season he gave up key passes and a slew of costly penalties. I didn't have a Whitner type meltdown when the selected Gilmore, I wasn't at all happy mind you, but I saw a little of Gilmore in college, and they had spent the big bucks on pass ushers. That said, draft picks really should be judged (imo) on how many games they win for you. If a team loses games, it doesn't really matter if a player is good, or even very good. One last thing wrt 1st round picks.....As fans, we give them more room, unless they are as bad as Maybin and there is no hope to cling to. Fans are reluctant to admit that a first round pick didn't work out. Who wants to admit to futility? Hey, I am wishing for Dareus to not be a bust as we speak. But again, I am not going to give Gilmore a high rating until he deserves one.

On this board, it would be Gilmore by far. This Imo, could change but he was not a good player last season. We can pretend that he was, but is just ain't so. If he stays the same, he will be yet another squandered top 10 pick on a defensive back. And due to the rule changes, it is unlikely that he will ever be good enough to justify throwing away such an early draft selection.

I tend to strongly agree. The only thing that prevents me from being in 100% agreement with the above was the idiotic trade that Tampa made with the Jets. Make no mistake, I am not likening Byrd to Revis in terms of overall talent at his position, but Revis IS coming off of a very serious injury, and the Bucs coughed up a 1st and a 3rd (in 2014) for him. It only takes one willing trade partner to complete a deal as stupid as the above. The new CBA has made a dramatic change upon the game, as have the rule changes. Defensive backs no longer own the middle, thus giving QBs a HUGE advantage. It also has decreased the value of running backs. Passing is the way to go, and this is why good (not great) QBs such as Romo and Flacco were rewarded with mega-millions. Wait until QBs such as Luck, Wilson, RG III, and Newton are UFAs. Can you even imagine their contracts? Players such as Schaub and Rivers will demand and receive millions upon millions. I for one would not want my cap space tied up with a good safety, but that's me. That said, Manuel just signed for chump change, so the Bills do have room to keep Byrd. The way to go in terms of building a team is QB, pass rushers, and blockers. Truthfully this was always the case but now it is that much more pronounced. And the cap appears to be flat when looking on the horizon. The big bucks have been taken from early draft picks, and handed to QBs. Sorry to ramble, but usually I am ready to commit wrt most Bills topics. This one is a tough call.

To be honest, I go back and forth on what I think the Bills should do wrt Byrd. I suppose this is partially because I am still seething about losing Levitre. The Bills have only had 2 high quality guards on the roster since the mid 1990s. Levitre was one of them, and they let HIM walk, only to place the tag on a defensive back. This, with a rookie quarterback, another who is probably as beat up as Trent Edwards, and a running back as a featured weapon. I cannot sort this out in a rational way. And I do see your point that the Bills owe it to the fans to sign him. But I just don't embrace the premise of the Bills devoting SO much money to a safety who is good, but not dominant. First it was prime draft choices, in this case it will be HUGE dollars. If it were up to me, I would offer him his first 2 years guaranteed. This way if his quality of play wanes, or he gets hurt, he could be cut without a cap hit. Would Parker go with this? I don't know.

I fully agree. To take it a step further, the Bills have leverage imo. Btw, what do you think he would be worth in a Peerless Price type trade? Do you think he could be traded for a 1st round pick? I for one do not. He is young (and the young free agents did the best in this offseason) but he isn't a dominant player imo. And, the team who trades away a pick for him gives up the option of a cheap draft pick (because of the new CBA). Byrd will cost money. I think that if the Bills can get more than a 3rd for him they would be doing well, considering the amount of money a team would have to pay to sign him. What is your take?

The entire MaGahee experience was typical of the Bills. As you certainly recall, TD actually was able to acquire a first round pick (was it #27?) for Peerless Price. Eric Steinbach was sitting there, and the Bills desperately needed a guard. Their slot was completely appropriate to draft him. Instead, they selected MaGahee and he sat as I recall 18 or 20 games before he took the field. Interestingly, when Levy traded MaGahee, he actually fetched a more than fair price for him. That as we know didn't work either.

No, and I didn't say that. I said that the Bills placed them all behind bad offensive lines.

OK but to his credit, much of the time he has played hurt and was less effective.

Odds tell us that Colin Brown will be the center for most of the season. And imo, he is at least decent.

There is a similarity that is just as big. Both of them had some talent, but they each got their balls kicked in. The fan haters will hate me for this, but the Bills have a history of acquiring quaterbacks, and placing them behind horrid offensive lines. Want some names? Todd Collins, Rob Johnson, Doug Flutie, Drew Bledsoe, JP Losman, Trent Edwards, and even Fitz.. It was ok wrt Flutie, whereas he thrived on broken plays. Fitz could also at times run his way out of trouble. Now, what about Manuel? While the OL isn't as bad as it has been for 15 years or more, we lost our best guard, if not our best blocker. In fact, a journeyman was jut signed to replace him. Kolb played last season behind a line that was SO bad, the Bills DL ate them for breakfast. This is saying something. If Kolb starts the season, he will in all probability be crushed early on. There is only so much of a beating a human body can take. Let's see what is left of Big Ben, and this guy probably weighs 260. Trent was OK until he got physically destroyed. The same could be said for Kolb. Imo, Bills Fans need to hope that this OL can provide a big running game to ease the growing pains of Manuel, who will be in there sooner than later.

Reggie White absolutely must be included in the above, as well as this entire conversation. Not only was he completely great, he set an example for, and commanded the respect of his teammates. As for who was the best DE, Bruce, Deacon and Reggie were so fantastic that it's probably just matter of opinion. But make no mistake, Deacon had more than just a head slap. He was unstoppable.

I think that for the first time in well over a decade, the Bills fielded a good offensive line last season. Glenn has room to grow, and there are two payers who can at least hold their own at RT. Wood, when healthy, is a good center. However, this OL lost a guard who was a great pass protectior in Andy Levitre. He was also good on running downs, as well as durable. It will be virtually impossible for the Bills to replace a blocker of this magnitude. We can hope as we wish, but the chances of doing so are all but non-existant imo. Keep in mind, our QB is a rookie. When Losman was a young qb, the Bills drafted Whitner, McCarco, and two other useless defensive backs with their first 4 draft selections. To do this, they actually traded away a pick. Forgive me for seeing a similar situation. And btw, in the new NFL, runing backs and defensive backs do NOT win football games. If you doubt me, look at who the Bills spent the bulk of their early draft picks on, and of course their record.

Drafting top 10 defensive backs is great. Why the hostility?

Deacon Jones, along with Reggie White and Bruce, was one of the top 3 defensive ends of all time. I was young when I saw him but he was flat out spectacular. He was the Bob Gibson of Football in terms of intimidation. I once heard him say in an interview that he would "kill a man" if he did a dance after scoring touchdown. He wasn't smiling. RIP Deacon.

This echos what many posters said about Levitre. Things could change, but the situation does not look good. I strongly doubt that the Bills could get as much for Byrd as they did for Peters in a trade.

Yes, and Tampa spent 16 million on Revis, coming off a serious injury, to play corner. Guess which situation I would rather be in?

I would absolutely NOT sign Wood to a big contract unless he has an injury free season, something unlikely to happen. What I would advise them to do is IF they suspect that his injuries are behind him, attempt to sign him during the season, before he is a UFA. With his history of injuries, it would be smart of him to accept an offer such as this. Seriously, look at Gronk. He signed for 10 mil or so per season after having one of the best years of any tight end I have ever seen, bar none. I'm sure that he is glad now to have done so, whereas his career is in some doubt at this point.

I'll take a shot..... Kiko sat with Coach Marrone, He's a new hire. Kiki said to Coach Marrone, "I'm gonna set the Ralph on fire." Talkin' 'bout hey now (hey now) Hey now (hey now) Forcing fumbles all day. Sacks on almost every play, Losing games gone away. New defensive MVP, It's looking pretty. Read about me in the "Thoughts" of Bill from New York City. Talkin' 'bout hey now (hey now) Hey now (hey now) Puttin' Brady away. Sacks on almost every play, Losin games gone away.