Lothar

yes because posts that aren't only happy-happy-joy-joy after a win can really mess up an addled brain. Hey I loved the way we won but this was simply a comment on a poor performance by a perceived strength of the team. Lindell was certainly clutch at the end and had one good kickoff but not recognizing the overall failings in coverage and decision-making is vacuous.

Perhaps this can be read as a positive thread about our offense and defense because it used to be the only way we win a game was dominating this aspect of the game. But I do think maybe all that "we have the best special teams unit" talk went to the heads of the young kids. We got severely outplayed in the Raider game and maybe came close to even at best against Jacksonville. I love Bobby April but this was really a poor performance all the way around, from coverage to penalties to decision making. Especially since field position dictated the whole tone of the first half. I had thought Moorman was the AFC's best punter in years past but perhaps I really haven't given Lechler as much credit as he deserves. And while I love the way Lindell handles pressure, the fat one is probably a better kicker overall. Against the more formidable teams in the league, we're gonna need this unit's A game. It's been a long time since I've said we won a game despite our special teams performance so I'll take it as a glass half full sign.

Lost in the haze of winning our first three games is the huge turnaround on 3rd down defense. Look up nfl.com stats and you'll see us at 18% which is a wee bit better than the Ravens. Admittedly we haven't played an injury-free passing powerhouse yet, but going from 50%+ whatever to where we lead the league is pretty telling. I'm thinking the 3-headed monster of Stroud, Mitchell and Poz seem the biggest reason for allowing our secondary to actually showcase their talents. As an aside, it figures as soon as I credit Ko for not giving up a long pass in his time as a Bill, we give up a big play to the Raiders - though this was less of a long pass than a catch and run with a breakdown in coverage, not sure who was at fault on that one.

I only bring this topic up because he's been bashed in the past by some of the more astute minds on this board. But when I think back to his rookie season where he was ordained the starter at free safety, I remember one stat that stood out to me in a mediocre year was the Bills gave up the fewest long passes in the league (not sure what qualified as a long pass - may be 30+ yards or something similar.) And I do remember that Ko was never beaten deep. I think with a more aggressive pass rush and Whitner's progression, you'll see either the same fear of throwing deep or more interceptions by Simpson. I'm sure as we start playing against better receivers, we'll find out if this same stat holds but I'm putting my money on Ko - except when we play Moss, but now there's no Brady so who knows?

Senior editor over on the Jaguars.com site was asked about Edwards and this was his response: --- Fred from Buffalo, NY What do you think of Trent Edwards as a quarterback? Vic: I was wildly impressed. His pocket presence is fantastic. I saw some Tom Brady in him. The Bills may be on the verge of an extended run of good football. --- How can you help but smile?

Beautiful city, wonderful music festival (Bumbershoot) but I did make time to catch the Hawk pre-season finale last week. Interesting to see the local TV announcers play down the Bills as the Hawks first opponent - something to the effect of "we're lucky to be playing the Bills in week 1 - they finished 31st in offense and 31st in defense last year." Umm ok. I know we all put homerville glasses on when we praise the strengths and minimize the weaknesses of our team but sheesh, that's just lazy reporting to not know what's transpired in the offseason or look at records. My analysis of this matchup: When Seahawks have the ball ----------------------------------- Their offense is pretty beat up. Both in terms of the QB and wideouts. Hasselback is a smart and savvy QB but he's been hurting for three works with a back issue. He did start practicing today so he will be playing, albeit rusty, on Sunday. Their RB situation has gone from a strength to a liability - Julius Jones, TJ Duckett and Maurice Morris are an adequate group but clearly not among the elite. In fact, the smallish Justin Forsett may be the best of the bunch based on preseason outings. They have a corps of uber-young wideouts who performed well in preseason but it remains to be seen just how they adapt to real bullets flying. Nate Burleson (good special teamer, mediocre receiver), Courtney Taylor and Ben Obamanu are the top three wideouts and I don't see them posing huge problems for our own revamped secondary. That said, their short passing game is the bread and butter of the WCO and Holmgren's tweak off it is to use the tight end down the middle more often. However, the TEs on their roster currently are really no better than the ones we have (rookie Carlson appears to have beat out Putzier for the starter's role) so it's hard to see them being a huge threat right now. In Buffalo, their inexperienced wideouts and Hasselback's rust combined with the crowd noise WILL result in at least a couple turnovers. When Bills have the ball ---------------------------- The Hawks return all eleven starters from a solid defense. They fit the adage attributed to earlier Sabres teams, however, in that they play Ruff at home and Lindy on the road - all due respect, I do love our Sabres. They nearly set the franchise record for giving up the fewest points in their history last year. Patrick Kerney, Darryl Tapp and their first rounder from USC make for a formidable group of defensive ends. But the strength of the Hawk defense is now their linebacking corps - Lofa Totupu and Julian Peterson as well as an up and comer in Leroy Hill on the other side. Their starting DT just got suspended for the first game so there will be holes to be had in the middle of their line. Given these issues, it does seem to me that we should pound them as much as possible to get into manageable 3rd down situations. Trufant is a good corner but RCB Jennings is definitely the weak link of a strong secondary. Deion Grant and Brian Russell are solid, if not spectacular. Edwards' own lack of playing time in the preseason combined with Peters' absence will make scoring on this defense tougher than we might expect. Again, though, opening at home against a banged up team may be all that's needed to score 2 touchdowns and a couple of field goals. In the main, I really do like the matchup of our defense against their offense. Plus I believe our special teams will have a couple nice surprises for the opener. Early turnovers from our D and this could become what we all want for an opener. But our own issues on offense will make this closer than it should. I think Buffalo wins 23-13.

Bingo! But call it a death tax and see the masses flock to repeal it.

This is what happens when Frank Luntz and his crew of wordscribes gets a hold of ways to manipulate the masses. Most people were in favor of the 'inheritance' tax because they ascribed to the theory that if you earn your money, you should be able to keep it and do with it as you will. However, keeping money 'in the family' from one generation to another - so to speak - is a sure fire way to build an aristocratic elite. This particular tax truly only affects a small segment of the very richest of society. Just as Luntz and his crew got labels changed to present "healthy forest" and "blue sky" initiatives because he realized most Americans can't be bothered with understanding details of important legislation (as both pieces of the afore-mentioned initiatives were simply used to defile the environment), just give it a nice title and people will follow like sheep. It is interesting that Madison himself wrote that one of his greatest fears was the growth of a more direct democracy were people would be misled into doing what was not in their best interest. Sorry, I didn't want this to devolve into a political rant (I've already seen the "open-mindedness" of folks in that section of TBD), simply wanted to point out that most Americans were in favor of an inheritance tax - but once the name changed to something more ominous like 'death tax', the majority of the populace screamed foul and wanted it repealed. Are we not lemmings?

I'm confused here - is this an attempt to make money off us? It seems as though PFC only comes over to mention a live or archived interview with a Bills related player / coach / alumni. That doesn't seem equivalent to selling memorabilia or pimping a book or even a fanblog. If Scott sees it otherwise, I would defer to him since this is his website. However, in my opinion, this seems well within the bounds of Stadium Wall propreity - perhaps the solution might be a link off the Bills Daily partner site?

Maybe I should have re-phrased the discussion. I hope his attitude and coachability will improve now that he will be getting a paycheck.

I think his military job is to serve as a recruiter (according to radio reports)

I've heard some draftniks say that Ellis will be a good player when he understands he's not as good as he thinks he is. Plus his motivation isn't necessarily on "playing a game that he loves" (which may just be a cliche anyway for these millionaires-to-be.) Virginia paper Here are some interesting comments from a local newspaper article: Even as a senior, a football paycheck was never far from his mind. He sometimes wore a T-shirt depicting an X-ray of a man's head with dollar bills floating around inside it -- a visual representation of the phrase "money on my mind." Ellis was surprised the Bills picked him because they didn't seem to show much more interest than the 20 or so other teams he met with at the combine. When the Bills called his cell phone yesterday to tell him they wanted to select him, it marked his official transition from a college career in which Tech's coaches sometimes hoped he would change his attitude, something the unapologetic Ellis resisted. "It's not that I don't want to change, because I plan on changing," he said in the fall. "I plan on changing my bank account."

Checked out Fine's combine results compared to other TEs (for clues about selection): 5th strongest - according to reps fastest in 3 cone drill 2nd fastest in 20 yard shuttle Seems to have quick twitch but not very fast - short yardage option It does seem as though Kellen Davis must have some serious issues that haven't come out.

I'm guessing Kellen Davis or Martin Rucker ... we need TE about now

I know there's a lot of Nittany Lion fans out there but I've seen him ranked as a 3rd or 4th rounder by the War Room and other places. Frankly we have much bigger needs. Now if he drops into the end of the 4th ...

I like the PFW review of the Hardy pick: After landing the draft's top corner in the first round, the Bills were able to find another big receiver other than Devin Thomas to take some attention away from Lee Evans and open up the offense for Trent Edwards and Marshawn Lynch. Hardy would have been a Pittsburgh Steeler and the first receiver drafted had Rashard Mendenhall been off the board. He could be a dominant red zone player and create mismatches with his tremendous size.

Unless Bennett falls thru the 2nd and we try to trade up, I like taking a flyer on Cottam in the 4th - you'd be drafting all potential though.

From the front office interviews over on the official Bills site, I think it more likely we trade back down into the second to get a top TE. I think now they see 4 or 5 bg receivers about the same and expect one to fall to them.

WIN - Sept. 7 Seattle Seahawks 1 p.m. LOSS - Sept. 14 at Jacksonville Jaguars 1 p.m. WIN - Sept. 21 Oakland Raiders 1 p.m. WIN - Sept. 28 at St. Louis Rams 4:05 p.m. WIN - Oct. 5 at Arizona Cardinals 4:15 p.m. Oct. 12 Bye LOSS - Oct. 19 San Diego Chargers 1 p.m. WIN - Oct. 26 at Miami Dolphins 1 p.m. WIN - Nov. 2 New York Jets 1 p.m. LOSS - Nov. 9 at New England Patriots* 1 p.m. WIN - Nov. 17 (Mon.) Cleveland Browns 8:30 p.m. WIN - Nov. 23 at Kansas City Chiefs 1 p.m. WIN - Nov. 30 San Francisco 49ers 1 p.m. WIN - Dec. 7 Miami Dolphins (at Toronto) 4:05 p.m. WIN - Dec. 14 at New York Jets 1 p.m. LOSS - Dec. 21 at Denver Broncos 4:05 p.m. LOSS - Dec. 28 New England Patriots* 1 p.m

Excellent speed rusher who needs to be accounted for on every play and has good field presence, locating the ball quickly to fly to it and contain the run … Has the ability to consistently disrupt the backfield, as he has the speed to escape and the strength to overpower offensive tackles off the edge … Plays with the type of effort and emotion that makes a coach comfortable knowing that he will make plays all over the field … Has great flexibility and balance working down the line and changing direction … Has a low center of gravity and strong anchor, making it very rare to see him on the ground … When he is taken off of his feet, he is quick to recover and get back into the action … Has loose hips, good knee bend and balance in his running stride when chasing long distances … Has rare ability to run the field for a player his size and can be sudden in his initial movement Every analysis I've seen of this kid says just the opposite of what you said (Warroom scouts take above) ... but ok. I don't want this kid in the AFC East.

War Room scouts have Connor rated as a 3rd or 4th rounder calling him one of the more overrated players in the draft. Another guy whose career merits watching ...

I've read several reviews of him fwiw - Sweed's big knock is that he's more athlete than football player, raw with his routes, makes spectacular catches but drops easy ones and a potential boom or bust pick. I still think Kelly will be the best of the bigs coming out - and with the speed fiasco from last week, a solid choice if available in the 2nd. Kelly was described as having the best hands of this current crop (1 dropped pass over the last 2 years + he catches the majority of his passes over the middle) and he's been called the best blocking receiver EVER (according to WarRoom scouts.) I just think he's a perfect fit for the type of receiver the Bills need. It really will be interesting to revisit these wideouts in 5 years.

And if I can reiterate what the Sporting News said about Kelly: 1. He has the best hands of any receiver coming out - dropped 1 pass in the last 2 years. 2. He is fearless going over the middle and has the skills to turn upfield. 3. He is the best blocking receiver their scouts have EVER seen. In comparison, they said, Sweed is a better athlete than football player - will drop some easy throws. And he is definitely more of a boom or bust pick - if his wrist is well and he checks out, he seems more likely a 2nd round selection and at that slot he would be well worth a shot. To me, if we go wideout in the 1st, I'd be shocked if it isn't Kelly or Thomas. If we don't pick a WR until the 2nd or later , I think the possibilities for a tall, strong wideout are wide open.

If he has - and can still play - I stand corrected. Too many guys gain or lose weight to hit the requisite specs for the combine or pro day. Bottom line is if our personnel guys feel good about him at that weight, he seems a good choice.

FWIW, looking at a bunch of post-season pre-workout analyses of players is I think a great basis for deciding if a player has the right intangibles and performance history to succeed. To that end, the Sporting News and a couple other online publications detailed some of their best picks and why others are extremely risky. I really think it comes down to 3 questions and their corollaries: 1. Did you have solid production in school? If not, why not? 2. Can you compete athletically with NFL caliber competition? This is where workouts allow you to compare kids from schools that don't have top-flight competition 3. Do you have the instincts and smarts to play your position? Are you competitive? CB: With respect to cornerbacks, consensus was that Rogers-Cromartie looked like an average player against mediocre competition on game tape. His rise up the charts coincided with his Senior bowl practices and his workout numbers. Buyer beware. McKelvin and Jenkins seem like more complete and tested players at this position. DE: While I wouldn't be disappinted in the selection of the 250lb Harvey (the first choice in this poll), he really would have to put on 15-20 pounds to be effective at this level since I don't see him as on OLB. Frankly, Calais, the 6-8 defensive end fom Miami has received comparisons to Julius Peppers. If you buy into the idea that the inept offense at UM this past year affected the play of their D, he may also be worth a look as a potential star at this position WR: If it comes down to it, I'd rather take Kelly - who has far better hands and is a better blocker than Sweed (who has off-the-field issues and his own wrist injury to make me think he's red flagged on our board). Thomas, from MSU, seems to have a great blend of breakaway speed and size and production - albeit for just 1 year given MSU's coaching flubs the last few years - that I think the Bills consider him if they have doubts about Kelly's knees.