Bill from NYC

YOU ARE THE MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The most informative sports book I ever read was "Necessary Roughness" by Mike Trope, a former agent for dozens of NFL stars. In it, Trope describes what it was like to deal with some VERY strange clients. A chapter was devoted to Muncie. In terms of talent, Muncie was an all time great. The man weighed at least 235 and had corner speed. When he was able to turn the corner, square his shoulders and head upfield, he was nearly impossible to stop. His style resembled that of the great (imo) Franco Harris, but Muncie was bigger, faster and stronger. RIP Chuck.

I don't disagree with your post. My point is that finding secondary receivers is a skill, and today it's a necessity. Montana wrote the book on this. Brady, Brees and of course Manning are doing this in todays new version of football. And no, teams weren't beating down the door to draft Montana, Brees, or Brady. But what they did in the NFL speaks for itself. Manuel has a much better skillset in terms of his arm and athleticism. I hope that with good coaching he can become a complete quarterback and make the Buffalo Bills Football team relevant. And again, I like the selection!

Perhaps I am hung up on semantics, but I respectfully disagree. Montana could find his 3rd or 4th receiver in 3 seconds or so. Look at Manuel, he has a great arm. His deep balls require little effort, little air, and they still have zip in the last 5 yards. I believe that if GMs thought Manuel could see open receivers like Montana, teams would have been on line to trade up to #1 and draft him. The above is not to say that I don't think Manuel will be good. He will need to be coached up, and by all accounts he's a bright kid. I am very pleased with the selection, let alone the extra 2nd rounder.

Well, we had one criminal named "Darick" (Holmes) who I personally thought was pretty good. Maybe we will get some results from Da'Rick as well.

Pears, imo, could never be placed on the left side. He is a mauler, but not agile noe mobile. I don't know if he coud fill in at guard in a pinch. Limitations notwithstanding, I like him at RT. He is extremely strong, and he opened some very big holes for Spiller on that side.

Good point. Here is what makes me cringe: 1) Byrd is very good, but not dominant. The same things that were said about Levitre. 2) Ask yourself if he could be traded for a first round pick. If you have doubt, do you want to spend 9 million per year on him?

CBS Sports agrees with your figures, but other sites do not. In fact, CBS Sports says it is a 60 million dollar contract so who knows?

Take away #5, then add durability and versatility and you would be describing Andy Levitre, who as I recall only got 10 million or so guaranteed. If Byrd doesn't sign a reasonable contract, we are going to really regret the decision to let him walk, especially with 1 qb who is young, and another who is fragile.

No it is not, and I think that many Bills fans are starting to see this. The idea is to win football games. What difference does it make if a player is "good" if your team is losing game after game? That said, I am actually pleased with this draft. If we are going to miss (which is possible), let's miss while trying to get a quarterback. And, they gained a second round pick while doing so.

Not enough options.

I too think that Brown is a good blocker. But we will probably need him at Center after Wood gets hurt.

This would seem to imply that Manning accomplished absolutely nothing before he won the Superbowl. Glenn and Meadows kept him in one piece, and helped him win numerous games. And btw, I don't totally disagree with you. My take is that every single position on the field is becoming less valueable. Take away the idiotic contract given to Revis by a desperate GM, and how many big contracts were signed by corners in the offseason? And really, ithe Revis deal is only guaranteed for one season. With 4 wide sets, a corner can only cover 1 receiver. And these sets are often based on quick plays, such as Brady to Welker. It's a similar situation at LT. Brady needs less time than Cutler, who loves to air it out. RBs these days are almost an after thought. Look at the ypc numbers for Spiller. One would think that you could hand him the ball all day and coast to the playoffs, but it just isn't so. The rule changes have made this a passing, Arena League type sport. This is why teams are paying QBs 15-20 percent of their salary cap allotment. Think about it if you will.....If Russell Wilson was a free agent right now, how much do you think he would sign for, after 1 good season? My guess is that he would get 15-20 million per season, with at least 30 guaranteed. Luck would get even more. My point? It's really all about the QB. Other positions are forced to take a back seat, and many position players will make a lot less money, and this includes LTs. This is why I am glad that we signed a first round qb. If he is good, fantastic. If not, they can draft another one until they get it right. The new CBA makes this easier to do. Much easier.

Agreed, but let's not forget that the Colts (Polian) drafted Tarik Glenn and Adam Meadows, two bookend OTs, the year before they signed Peyton Manning.

I want to thank you for taking this courageous stand. Trust me, I know that it can be rough going against the grain here, but I appreciate the honest, and in your case intellectual dialogue. For the record, I am a bit less concerned than you. Imo if we are going to miss, let's miss on a qb, or even a perhaps nutty linebacker. We have ben striking out and losing games by allocating our best resources to defensive backs and yes, running backs. Even when these guys are "good," we lose, and many fans just don't get this. Keep the posts coming!!!

1995 was good and would have been great had not Covington and Kerner got injured.

While Byrd might not have been the primary factor wrt this selection, he HAD to enter into the equation imo. Levitre was only guaranteed 10 million or so by his new team iirc, and they let him walk. Byrd will make close to 7 mil. this season. The bar has been set. How much will, or should the Bills pay him? Neither of us really know, but my guess is that Byrd is gone next season. A huge portion of our cap space will be tied up with Mario and Fitz. Jmo.

1) Barrett Jones - OC 2) Michael Williams - TE 3) Nico Johnson - ILB The above are very good players at positions of need for the Bills. Jones has played LT and Guard as well. Williams is a huge target who doesn't have the numbers because he was surrounded by superstars. Nico is great against the run, and could provide immediate help imo.

I don't watch wideouts that much but for what very little it is worth, he was my favorite wideout in tis draft. I am shocked that he fell to us.

Michael Williams from Alabama is a monster. He doesn't have high numbers because they run a lot and everyone on the team is great. He would be a steal!

LOL, now I am going to disagree with you just a tad. Levitre was not big but he had the agility of a LT, the position he played in college. He was suited for this league, and we should have kept him.

Thanks for the kind words. And don't think that i will ever forget the help that you gave me in terms of picking a place for my daughter to live while attending law school. You are one of the people who make this place more than just a message board.

The Bills OL is not terrible. The loss of Levitre must be addressed, but it still isn't terrible. You and I remember what terrible is.

I take credit for #2, and I am here to admit it. But there are reasons why I (and others) felt this way. After we drafted Spiller, Mr. Wilson was quoted as saying that the team needed "excitement." To me, excitement is winning football games. In any event, Bills Fans are worn out from the endless parade of useless first round draft picks, in terms of building a winning team. It was different this time. I don't have a clue as to whether or not EJ can play well at the NFL level. Absolutely no idea. What I DO know is that if we must miss, let's miss while trying to get a legit starting QB. AND, the fact that whe added more picks is icing on the cake imo. I hope that the Bills do not waste the second rounders. History tells us that they do more often than not. But moves like last night are what it takes to build a winning team. It was time to end the seemingly endless parade of running backs and defensive backs. So although EJ was not my choice, put me on record as supporting this move, and I will be rooting with all I have for him to play well. Bills Fans deserve a break.

WOW!!!!! Are you starting to come around to my way of thinking lol? Great post!!!!!