Dibs

Nah.....from all reports he is a bit of a dingaling.

I love this draft. Most of the picks make perfect sense. McKelvin next to McGee give us McCorners......which is McCool. Worried about WR depth? In James Hardy we drafted the Hardiest WR on the board. A Corner named Corner!!! Needed a TE & didn't draft one in the 1st 3 rounds......never fear, the TE we got was Fine. Johnson & Cox......tee hee. Xavier Omon. What an awesome name! I'm a little bit flat on the Ellis, Bowen & Bell selections......not interesting at all. Not too enamoured with the UDFA pickups either though DT McCray would be fantastic next to McCargo. Sigh, McCorners & McTackles......I can only dream. In summary, a very good draft with lots of potential for good wordplay & innuendo. I personally think it will be years before we see another draft even close to this one. Good job Bills!

7 for FB & TE.....I wouldn't think so.

5 years Your perception is out of whack in regards to how long on average it takes to find a good QB. It's hard enough to find a decent one but you'll notice that teams with OK QBs are constantly looking for better. At the moment I'd be happy enough for us to field a decent QB......but after a year or two will be crying out for a good one just like everyone else. Some teams get lucky in being able to get another good QB within a few years of having one leave(retire) but it is the rare exception.....not the norm. Cowboys are a good example......and they didn't even spend high picks at QB(generally locking teams into that player for longer). Aikman retires in 2000.....they go through Carter, Hutchinson, Testiverde & Bledsoe before finding Romo 6 years later. Is it a coincidence that they become good at the same time that they land a good QB? Elway retires in 1999.....they go through Griese, Kanell & Plummer before Cutler. If Cutler does not develop they will be looking at over 10 years in the QB wilderness and still be looking for a QB. Have the Bucs ever had a reliable tong term QB? Most teams have to wait for years before finding a good QB. Bills, Dolphins, Browns, Ravens, Texans, Broncos, Raiders, Redskins, Lions, Bears, Bucs, Panthers, Cardinals have all been waiting for years to find a good QB......Jets, Titans, Chiefs, Vikings, Packers, Falcons & 49ers may well be waiting for years to come before they find their QBs of the future. Finding a QB who you can keep for a decade & is good enough to not seek their replacement is probably the hardest & most important part about building a team........and certainly should not be expected within a 5 year period.

Actually for the time, Tripplett was a fairly big signing at $18mil over 5 years......certainly not stopgap money. He obviously didn't produce to the levels expected of him. If you recall.....when Marv & Co. took over at OBD we didn't have one DT.....we needed to fill both starter & both backup slots(hopefully job completed now with Stroud/Williams & McCargo/Johnson) and LT was supposed to be one of those.

It's like dog or cat years.......a Bills C grade is the equivalent to a standard B+ grade for most teams.....and an A+ for Pats/Dolphins/Cowboys.

It's all personal taste. I prefer this style because it is clean & uncluttered, easy on the eye, easy to see what is actually being said......and most importantly focuses on the words typed by the posters, not the pretty pictures etc that they can put in. If this was a vote......I'd be voting to keep it as it is.

Shortest PG post ever?

But Parrish has the #2 all-time PR ave.....only second to Hester. You may be right though.

TE was also considered generally a priority though reduced in importance by filling WR. Obviously if one considered DE & FS a higher priority than CB then the McKelvin pick was going to be less appealing but most viewed CB to be of higher importance than DE & FS by quite a ways. Production this season should clear up which positions were legitimate needs & which were simply apparent needs.

So.....lower middle of pack for our #1....and....middle of pack for our #2. There was generally a consensus that CB was the #2 priority(maybe #3 behind #2WR & C).

In all fairness, he did say almost.......though I think it an overstatement anyway. Many top teams do not have elite CBs.....but most have good ones with depth. Personally I think you have over-valued our incumbent CBs. 2 solid starters & a good nickel? I tend to think we have serviceable/decent starters & serviceable/decent nickel. Which of our CBs would generally be rated in the top 20?.....top 30?

Ironic post coming from 'Mr. Unreasonable'.

My first reaction to the McKelvin pick was...."Ugg". I really wanted Albert since he was still available. For me one of the main criteria in drafting 1st round is getting a player who does not bust out. OGs have an extraordinary record in this regard....with an exceptional record in becoming at least quality NFL players. Why? I figure it must be a lot easier to evaluate the talent at OG than any other position. In my mind, Albert most likely would have helped us probably immediately & most likely for the next 10-15 years. Upon looking at McKelvin, apart from us getting a very highly regarded prospect who looks to have a better than average chance of not busting out, I realized something. I realized that he may well be the final piece that the defense needs. If......and there are still a tonne of 'ifs'.....all the additions on D play to expectations this year, we could be looking at a very solid D. Stroud & Johnson along with a 3rd year McCargo could see us finally be solid up the middle. IMO this will certainly help our incumbent DEs to produce sacks more akin to 05/06 rather than the 07 season. A 3rd rounder(Ellis) for extra depth could see our 8 DLmen flourish. If Mitchell performs & shows he is not a product of the Giants system, him along with Poz & Crowell.....and backups who have had extensive starter experience.....along with being helped by a strong DL could see us being very solid at LB. If Simpson can show himself to be a decent FS(continuing his growth from 06) we were looking OK in the secondary. Whitner being solid already could excel with the better front 7. McGee & Greer seem decent(particularly considering the T2) but what happens when we are up against 3 WR sets etc? Adding McKelvin has the potential to not only give us great depth at CB but also adds the potential that the CBs could become a strength overall rather than OK-decent. The logic of it I think is that locking up one side of the ball(in this case D) in all areas with talented young players not only enables all individual players to play to their potential but gives great freedom in the future in terms of the draft & FA. As I said, there are still a lot of 'ifs' in regards to whether we have achieved the 'locking up' of the D....or even having gotten close.....but if we have done, that will greatly help the young players on the O perform closer to their potential. Simply, the sum of the parts is less than the sum of the whole. What I expect from McKelvin..... I hope for a solid starter in his rookie season & possibly several pro-bowls throughout his career. I expect him not to be a bust.

I doubt it......very unlikely that Pete would have voiced 'shock' at the pick nor tried to make out that not picking Sweed was obviously wrong. Particularly now in hindsight when we know 8 WRs were taken ahead of him I'd say that most of us who preferred Sweed(yes, I'm included) understand that there may well be more to him than we can see. On top of that, he simply wasn't miles ahead of Hardy in pre-draft analysis as it was. This means that even if Sweed was selected directly after Hardy there should not be any reason for shock & dismay. All it meant was that of two similar rated WRs, the Bills preferred one over the other. As I seem to say every draft......would one prefer our HO to select the guy that they rate the highest.....or the guy that the media/public rate the highest?

I would have preferred a trade down as well but......when you look at what transpired in the 1st round after the #11 pick it seems unlikely there would have been a willing trade partner. Who would we have traded down for? Like it or not, CB was the #2 position of need for this team.....and with solid CBs we could have developed a first class D. I personally would have preferred Albert as the #11 pick....but then again I don't know how high our front office rates Butler. IMO getting a highly rated player at a position of need is a good result. As with all picks, time will tell if it is a good one or not.

That being the case......and I don't want to jinks this....."Golly, why did we pass on Sweed? Steely Dan is convinced he is the player to get."

They were the same DEs who helped the Bills rank 8th in sacks in 06 & 13th in 05. Injuries throughout the D(MLB,OLB,FS,CB,DE) is quite possibly a large reason for such a decline from 05/06 - 07. The 08 D is definitely going to be a different animal to the 07 D. Upgrades at DT, DT, OLB, MLB, CB, FS will most likely see a marked improvement in all areas.

I was expecting Sweed to be picked as well(when it came to our pick) but you have to ask the question of "What is wrong with him?" when 8 WRs were taken ahead of him.

Coming off back-back probowl years has to place Schobel as a solidly very good player......it's not like he got in due to all of the mass populaces love for Bills players. Kelsay/Denney were doing very well as a 1-2 punch in 06.....injuries last season obviously hampered this. Any Bills DE is most likely going to look better in 08 if Stroud/McCargo/Johnson live up to what we hope.

Firstly.....just because one may prefer something different to happen on draft day does not mean that what actually occurs is not good. Secondly.....to be a good team one needs to be good all over. Do the Giants recognize this? Most likely since they drafted a CB(Ross) in the 1st round last year(who started on their SB winning team)......and drafted a 1st round safety & 2nd round CB this year. You never considered the addition of Stroud & Johnson.....along with a more seasoned McCargo(1st rounder) may have placed our front 4 into decent.....perhaps even dominant territory?

Last 6 years of Steelers 2nd round picks Limas Sweed(53) LaMarr Woodley(46) Bryant McFadden(62) Ricardo Colclough(38) Alonzo Jackson(59)

He was also ranked much higher than Avery, Nelson, Royal, Simpson, Jackson & Kelly......perhaps there is something about him that teams didn't like.

You are not seriously arguing that paying NC the money necessary to keep him would have been a wise thing to do are you?

How do you know? Different management....different scheme.....different players.