Bill from NYC

Are there really people who compare the worth of human women to that of dogs? Vick is a scumbag. He abused dogs. BR is worse. He is a rapist. He raped women. There is no comparison. Wow.

Please stop. Whitner never was, nor ever will be an "80." He is more of a 65, and I am not being unfair. He tries hard and gets points for this, but his next dominant game will be his first. He is nothing that cannot be replaced by a 4th round pick with a bit of luck. He sure can tweet incoherently, but he is not a very good football player. He is an average player, and a sad example of just how far Dick Levy set back this great franchise. It's time for us to part ways with remnants of the Dick Levy Era, wouldn't you say? Seriously, how long SHOULD we lose football games?

Agreed.

That's OK. I thought that Rob Johnson and Trent Edwards would be very good NFL Quarterbacks.

McKelvin was an awful selection as well imo. There were some VERY good players left. My particular favorite was Branden Albert, but there were several others who were also better players than McKelvin.

I see your point and hope for the best. It's just that I don't view the transition to the pros at the rb position as something terribly hard to accomplish. I picture an apprentice ironworker learning how to walk on scaffolds in the wind, 40 stories above ground as a rough transition, even if the guy is handy with tools, etc. Again, Spiller can run and has been running his entire life. And, the fact that he had a good GPA in school would lend itself to study. The Bills paid him a lot of money. Expecting him to study and learn the playbook seems pretty reasonable to me, unless he is incapable of doing so. But again, how did he get a 3.5 GPA? Wrt to Troup and Carrington, they were from small schools. The difference between small school athletics and the NFL is huge. But, both of them are big guys and I expect production from both next year. But, not as much as I would want from a #9, ya know?

It would be great if Spiller could make plays, but he in fact has not. Are you calling him a playmaker, and a reasonable pick at #9 because he MIGHT make a play? Also, I don't view the transition from college to pros at running back to be as difficult as QB, LB, and other positions. A person who has the talent to reach the NFL as a running back has been running his entire life. They all have their own style and a ton of ability. I have a problem with the premise that Spiller has to be taught how to run. As for blocking, it really shouldn't be so hard to figure out who to block. This is why teams practice, no? I never though Thurman was much more than average in terms of intellect and he wasn't a big back, but he was a great blocker. Imo a player needs to have the physical ability and desire to block. It tends to be unsung, punishing work. Does Spiller have what it takes? I sure hope so but his start was less than stellar and his selection was off the charts stupid given our team needs.

I was happy with Moulds and Ruben Brown. The Whitner pick defines idiocy. The McKelvin pick was just about as stupid and picking Spiller at #9 was right up there in terms of being a waste of precious resources.

I remember this. And as I recall he had the brains to haul ass out of there after doing so. I was impressed by this. Do you remember that or am I delusional lol?

Maybe so. I guess I would love to hear a little good news. Maybe after the draft if they don't squander yet another first round pick, let alone the #3.

http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2011/02/17/fanhouse-roundtable-nfl-coaches-on-the-hot-seat/?icid=nfl|pos1|coaches-hot-seat Sad.

Thanks for an interesting reply. Mallett has many detractors on this board, at least one of whom is someone who imo knows quite a bit about football. He is often likened to Bledsoe, as if 44,611 yards and 251 touchdowns are a bad thing. I guess it comes down to whether or not a young Bledsoe would be able to succeed in these times. Any thoughts on that? As a fan, I hope that Mallett makes it in this league. I know that there are all different types of arm strength, but as I jog my memory I am unable to recall any qb throwing a low 50 yard post pattern with his feet completely planted. He throws 25 yard checkdowns from his wrist with lots of speed on the ball. Coach Saban commented that he makes about 4 throws per game that nobody else can make. I will be very curious to see where he goes in this draft.

Badol, if Newton is gone before we select, how would you feel about Mallett? Also, do you think that if the Bills want Mallett they could trade down and still get him?

I do have serious reservations about Bell, but it isn't just him. We need quality at the OT position and it simply isn't there. You can try to fill these spots with Wang, Marcus Spriggs, etc. but the odds of doing so successfully are so small they are virtually non-existant. The Bills have proven this for far more than a decade. Where I differ from many Bills fans is the emphasis I place in playing in the elements, and not just snow. There are many games in wet, windy weather as well both home and away. The Steelers have big, strong players making play. In essence, the Bills football team was built upon the likes of Whitner, McKelvin, Maybin and Spiller. It isn't possible to win like this; it will never happen. To put it in perspective, there are Left Tackles and DEs in the NFL who make more money than our QB, LT, and best pass rushing DE (whoever that is) combined. We spend our big bucks on the little people listed above.

I have noticed how you and I almost always come close in terms of agreeing. I hold the position that the Bills are extremely weak at OT, and even (or especially) if they draft a QB at #3, the Bills should strengthen this position in this draft. And, I wouldn't want to wait too long. This of course is NOT to say to ignore the defense, not at all. But I am not willing to pretend that we are OK at OT, because we are far from it.

I have seen a lot of Boss. He is huge (his teammates call him "Six-Seven Kevin"), he blocks like an offensive tackle, and runs nice patterns. He is also a very clutch receiver, and hard to tackle. Boss reminds me a lot of Pete Metz. Nobody considers him a superstar, but he was a huge contributor to the team. Players like this are unsung, and Boss would immediately improve our pass protection, running attack, and again, he is a clutch receiver. For those of you who still think that Spiller isn't a bust or was even a good selection, Boss would open a lot of running space for him and any other back. Not only do the Bills lack talent, they also lack solid contributors such as Boss. The average top 5 salary for TEs is 7.2 million. The Bills should offer him a fat contract and guarantee half of it to entice him to come to Buffalo. They just saved a lot by cutting Stroud, and there should be nothing preventing them from making a major move at this kid.

Seriously, this was a great post no matter how one feels about a qb at #3.

Nowhere did I say that Mr. Wilson was "motivated by screwing the fans." In fact, I respect him as a person and thank him for keeping the team in WNY. Now, do I think that he "meddles?" Absolutely. Do I think that he is more guided by profit than winning football games? Absolutely. How about you?

I have a different take on the situation. Ralph left his team in the hands of failures. Donahoe had a good pedigree coming from Pitt., but he blew his best opportunities by selecting bad players such as Mike Williams and JP Losman. So, he turned to Marv, someone who no other owner would have touched. I mean really. Marv and Jauron were inept beyond description. They "rebuilt" this franchise around small, weak, dime a dozen draft choices, and squandered 75 million dollars or so on linemen who clearly sucked. Unthinkable? Not to these two losers. OK, so Ralph, at age 91, doesn't know how to build a football team. But, he knows how to make money. So in an attempt to do so, he selects Spiller after purging us of Dick Levy . He commented how Spiller would "add excitement" to the team. This move of course was a total failure. You don't build a team by using your best resources on gadget players at #9. Spiller is a tiny little scatback who is all but useless on a small, weak team. Now he wants a quarterback. This time he is right in terms of making a profit/selling tickets. He will even be right in terms of building a football team if there is a worthy qb to be taken at #3. I really hope this works. Bills fans are a loyal, great group of people and are deserving of better than the idiocy that we have been subject to. Imo there is a far better chance under Nix and Gailey to build this team than there was under Dick Levy, and now is the time. GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Astroman, do you think that the comments by Mr. Wilson indicate that the Bills will select a first round quarterback? I for one do, and I have thought this sinece his earlier comments. Also, would you mind posting a scenario in which the Bills trade down, but stay in the top 10 and STILL draft a qb with the first pick? Btw, the above draft leaves us very weak at OT imo. And really, thanks again for putting so much work into this stuff. Seriously, you really do add a ton to this great site!

We are in agreement here. I will only stipulate once again the word "great." There is no such thing as a "reach" if you think you can get a top 5 quarterback. I would not want to spend a #3 on a "good" qb, because Fitz IS good imo. Mallett's stock has gone down, but if they think he can be a top 5 qb they should scoop him up, and this is only 1 example. As for the bolded, we are in full agreement. I could see it starting the second they drafted Whitner in 2006. Kyle Williams or not, it was the worst draft I for one have ever seen. We were stacked with early picks, the draft was VERY deep, and Levy himself that teams were lined up to trade up with us. A great many posters knew what was happening too, and it is alarming that message board posters could have done a better job than Levy/Jauron. It's even very hard to believe, but it is 100% true. Honestly, you can't make this s*%t up.

Sadly, there is some merit to this post. What concerns me is that Stroud is at least strong. The Bills are an NFL football team and oddly, their roster really doesn't seem to have many players at all that one would consider to be strong by NFL standards. Is there a weaker, smaller LT in the league than Bell for instance? I remember last season where Whitner and McKelvin both got knocked on their asses by TO on the same play. These were early first round picks by Dick Levy getting shoved to the turf at will. The Bills get pushed back all the time on both sides of the ball. Until this changes, they will of course lose. I am fine with a qb at #3 if they really think the guy will be great. That said, the overall situation would make me happy to see Fairley as well. At least he would beat some people up, and offer us more of a chance to compete against physical teams like the jets.

I am glad that you pointed this out. If a team is going to trade up in the first round for a cornerback or a wideout (which is rare under any circumstances), they won't be trading into the top 3. The odds against this are so high I view them as virtually impossible.

In a post above, KTFBD asserts that Whitner will receive a contract for approx. 28 million over 5 years, with much of it guaranteed. I strongly disagree but we will see what happens. Whitner cannot cover tight ends. They destroy him, and he doesn't intercept passes. Most of those who support Whitner are Levy apologists. They have a soft spot in their hearts for good ol'Marv and I can understand this. That said, Whitner does not win games for this team. He has not contributed one thing that wouldn't be expected of a decent 4th round pick. Donte Whitner is a caricature of what is wrong with this team and we need to be exorcised from him imo.

Whitner was a #8, and as such he was a complete bust. How many games did he dominate and win for the Buffalo Bills? Not sure what you mean by "first round," but he is a safety who can't make plays against the pass and is ineffective against the run until massive yardage is given up. At that point, he made some good hits after the damage was done. Given the needs of the Bills, the depth of this tremendous draft, AND the numerous trade down offers (stated by Levy on SIRIUS), Whitner was one of the worst draft picks in the history of this franchise. Every now and then a Levy apologist will defend the pick, but it sucked. And, it set the franchise back almost as much as drafting Mike Williams.