biggerdaddynj

RBs have been devalued (as free agent RBs learned this off season--one of them, Ben Tate, said he would be a safety if he could do it all over!). Seems like a RB won't even be selected until the 2nd round this year. So, I would expect some good ones to be there for us in the 4th round or even later (think about all of the good RBs who were drafted late and then there are even some who went undrafted like ... Fred Jackson!). Though I think we could "use" a RB, we "need" a RT and LDE (we could also use a TE, S and DT ((with Dareus' recent run-in with the law)) but I hope we wait to draft them). As others have stated, whether or not you like the pick, you gotta give Whaley and company credit for pulling the trigger and making a deal to get Watkins (and their track record is pretty good so maybe this deal will pan out). We're getting better every year, maybe this is the year we get back to the playoffs!

RBs have been devalued (recent FA Ben Tate said he would be a safety if he could do it over!)--there might not even be a RB taken in the 1st round this year. I think we can grab one later (for example check out http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/prospectrankings/2014/RB or http://www.drafttek.com/2014-NFL-Draft-Prospect-Rankings/Top-College-RBs-2014-Draft.asp ). That said, we could definitely use a RB (as well as a TE, S or even a DT with Dareus' potential suspension) but I think we need a Right Tackle and and I think we need a Left Defensive End (of course, I'm no expert just a guy who wasted a lot of time reading mock drafts and watching Mayock on TV ... I don't care for Kiper or McShay!). I hope Sammy is the real deal!!

If you don't like this move you should thank God we didn't give a king's ransom to Houston to draft Clowney!!! Hate losing next year's #1 pick but if we were going to do it Watkins and Mack were the guys to target. Now we can go OT in the 2nd and then DE in the 3rd (or vice versa!).

I can't believe we didn't trade down. We could have used an extra second round pick! And taking Ebron was a big mistake.

Here's an interesting article based on the alleged opinions of three of the NFL's top talent evaluators who believe that this year's TE class is weak (the top two TEs, Ebron and ASJ, are overrated pains in the ass and number three, Amaro, is nothing more than a "glorified possession slot receiver"). The sources claim that the WR class is deep and consequently would be the better value--didn't see the link in this thread but I do think it was elsewhere on TSW--should be here too. http://www.nj.com/times-sports/index.ssf/2014/03/eckel_three_men_love_nfl_draft.html Makes me wonder if we might not want to go OL in the first, take a WR in the second from that deep talent pool and pass on the TEs altogether. Worst case scenario for the TE position next year is that Moeaki and Gragg don't pan out and we "only" have a "serviceable" TE in Chandler who should have a better year with SJ, Woods and Goodwin improving and our newly drafted WR providing some occasional contributions (historically speaking most 1st year WRs are not impact players). And for the record, I was preciously gung-ho for a trade-down and taking Ebron. This article makes me wonder (if the article's sources are indeed top personnel folks it has more credibility than some blog from a nobody or an article from a wannabe NFL exec).

I would LOVE a trade down to nab more picks and to draft Ebron! Our pick has a value of 1350. See: http://www.calculatorsoup.com/calculators/games/draft-pick-value.php. I've checked a bunch of mock drafts and the earliest anyone projects Ebron going is to the NYG at 12. However, I think they have a much, much greater need at OL so I'm not worried about them stealing Ebron. I think the Cowboys would be a good trade partner with their 16th pick which is valued at 1000. They are projected to select either a S or DT and if they don't move up they probably won't have the opportunity to take the top S or DT--STL is projected to take a S at 13 (Ha Ha Clinton-Dix) and CHI is projected to take the first DT at 14 (Timmy Jernigan). So, if the. Cowboys want to have first choice of S and DT, we would be the perfect team to trade with. They could also give us their 2nd round pick--47th which is valued at 430--and we could give them our 4th round pick--which is valued at 84. The value of our picks in this mix is 1434 and the Cowboys picks are valued at 1430. So it's essentially a wash. Jerry Jones loves to wheel and deal so anything is possible. Most importantly, it appears to be very unlikely that any of the teams selecting between 10th and 15th would go with Ebron (DET Gilbert-CB, TENN Barr-LB, NYG Lewan-OT, STL Pryor ((2nd ranked S)), CHI Donald ((2nd ranked DT)), PIT. ((Secondary and WR are bigger needs than TE--Dennard at CB or Evans at WR). We would then have two 2nd round picks to use for the BPA at OT and WR. Probably just.a dream....

Sad but true! Think people are missing that point. And comparing him to Da'RIck Rogers?

Worth a flier on a reasonable, short term deal (however, I'm not sure how reasonable his idea of reasonable is--he hasn't signed at any of the many places he's visited). He is a legit #1 when his head is in the game rather than stuck up his ass. He wants a short term deal because his stock is as low as it should ever be and a short term deal will enable thim to prove that he's got his head back in the game and he can parlay a good year in a short term deal into bigger bucks next year on a long term bigger money contract. So, this is a very important year in this young man's career--defines his legacy as a player in this league. After watching him play at Rutgers where he had no apparent problems with Schiano, I think he's capable of settling down and giving us a good year. That would enable us to use our first round pick on an OT, trade back for Ebron, etc... It opens up other doors for us by not requiring us to take a risk on Evans (who I agree with others is a gamble). If Watkins is there I would go for it even with Britt (he's an electric talent and Britt would probably be a one and done player and we would be able to get rid of some dead weight this year, i.e., TJ). Just my uninformed, opinion....

Hope you're right. Deep draft + more picks = good draft. Keep building for the future.

That's exactly who he is (as many others have aptly noted). That said, I don't think he'd make the move. He'll surely have other options that won't have any attached "baggage". It would be like dating an ex-wife (in order to avoid any potential libel suits, I will not ask any of you out there to comment). Rather, I will refer you to an article in "Psychology Today" that addresses the subject. When reading the article, in this instance, I believe it would be appropriate to substitute "former team" for "sweetheart" because I believe Fitz was the jilted party: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/getting-laid-over-60/201101/should-you-date-your-ex-spouse

Agree with you 100%!

Versatile and the FO thinks they can get more out of him. Only time will tell... Until then, let's see if we can sign a TE while there are still some quality ones out there (unlike the pool of Gs available when we signed Williams).

Here's their take (if you want a distraction from the Byrd talk): 22. Doug Whaley - Bills Whaley has a major problem. His hand-picked quarterback, E.J. Manuel, looked nothing like a future franchise player as a rookie. If Manuel continues on his “bust” trajectory, it could be a mistake that ends the Whaley era in Buffalo before it ever really begins. That’s a shame, because elsewhere Whaley hit the right notes as a rookie general manager. Alongside Buddy Nix, Whaley oversaw an otherwise strong draft, and set an aggressive tone that’s been missing from one of the league’s most staid franchises for over a decade. As Manuel has already proven, if Whaley is going to go down, it will be swinging. Sometimes that’s all you can hope for when you’re a franchise that hasn’t made the playoffs since Bill Clinton was president.

Thinking back over last year's experience, a 4th round pick (or even a third pick for that matter) would not have been worth all of the protracted off the field distractions and related BS--though the players always say they don't begrudge another player for taking care of his business (bad pun not intended) you know this crap has an impact on the club at some level. Rip off the scab (pun intended) and move on. Regardless of any potential compensatory picks.

For the rest of you insomniacs (or bored early risers), here's a scouting report on this much scrutinized and highly controversial potential signee: http://www.thephinsider.com/2010/4/24/1432175/nfl-draft-2010-miami-dolphins. FYI he's the 31st ranked FA CB according to Rotoworld. BTW we signed Rotoworld's 6th ranked FA K!!! Can't wait for more blistering action tomorrow (it is already tomorrow). Sorry, should have expected a bad link from anything related to the "phins"--here's a cut/paste: With their fifth round pick, the Miami Dolphins have selected Maryland CB Nolan Carroll. Carroll measured in at 5'11, 204 pounds at the Combine and was a receiver before changing to cornerback in 2007. He is coming off of a broken leg that he suffered in Maryland's second game of 2009. He's raw but has good speed. In fact, he reportedly ran a sub 4.4 40 at his Pro Day. [update: Carroll ran a 4.42 40 at his Pro Day despite the broken leg that ended his senior season. He ran a 4.37 40 after his junior season, according to reports.] And yes - he was a team captain. Below is Carroll's scouting report from NFL.com: Strengths: Big corner with a muscular build. Possesses smooth hips and changes direction without losing momentum. Explodes out of his breaks and has an extra gear to close the gap in man coverage. Gets his hands on receivers at the line and re-routes them in press coverage. Vocal leader who pumps up his teammates. Weaknesses: A bit late recognizing routes and gets caught looking into the backfield too often. Over- aggressive at times and is susceptible to double moves. Does not have good hands and struggles to make plays when the ball is in the air. Misses too many tackles in the open field and is inconsistent in run support. Is he a potential safety prospect for Dolphins? Probably not. According to Carroll, Dolphins told him he'll compete at cornerback.

We had a short thread on Ramses about a year ago. Here's an article I posted about him back then: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/giants/barden-ready-move-giants-13-article-1.1276125 Still think he's worth a shot at that size with some speed. Of course, the fact that he disappeared last year might be telling but these futures signings are all about taking a shot in the dark.

Me too! If possible (need a partner to dance), slide down a bit and pick up an extra 3rd and grab Ebron (can't slide too far or he'll be gone--don't think you can get an extra 2 for a small drop down). Then grab an OLB in the 2nd and use your two 3rd round picks on a G and BPA (DB?). I also think we need to draft a RB at some point because FJ ain't getting any younger and I don't know how things will go with CJ when his deal ends (better to be prepared for the worst case scenario). After last year's draft, I have some (reserved) degree of confidence in the FO. Need to add a weapon or two and to tighten up the OL before you give up on EJ (I'm with those who think an offseason to refine his weakneses and some good health are needed before you can make an educated decision on whether or not he can be the guy). I'm excited about our future. Marrone and Pettine changed the culture of this team--that is something that can't be forgotten. We're on our way up!

Agree with the apparent consensus--he's got more work to do but he'll be interviewing at the end of year two. I think he will be gone in three years. We'll be lucky to keep him for four years. He's been a big part of helping to turn this culture around and that's something teams looking to make a change will be attracted to. But let's slow down and enjoy the guy, he's ours for a good number of games!!

maybe he could kearn to play tackle one day!

Touché, touché (that's why you're a "Hall of Famer" and I'm merely a struggling "Rookie"!!!). That said, from an "analytics perspective" I think my proofreading is still in the "+" range (I will begin to analyze the grammatical errors and typos from my past postings in order to predict the error rate in my future postings!). BTW, it's a a good thing you're not a baseball, they're born in Central America (moved up in the world and no longer hail from Haiti: http://raysrenegade.mlblogs.com/2012/01/29/did-you-know-rawlings-mlb-baseballs-are-not-made-in-the-u-s/); are stitched up at birth, forced to leave their homes and immigrate to the United States (legally as opposed to counterfeit designer jeans); and upon arrival are beaten to hell before they're discarded by society (though life as a Bills fan over the past thirty plus years has consisted of some awful beatings--the worst being an in-person mauling I witnessed at the hands of the "Dallas Cowpies" in SB XXVII--left in the 3rd Quarter because I was sick to my stomach!).

If you like ProFootballFocus.com and you're a baseball then you should check out this website: http://www.fangraphs.com It's a sabermetrics fan's "wet dream"--links to tons of articles and websites that are full of enough "analytics" to make your head spin! Regardless of whether or not they work (seems to me like they work more often than not but I'm not gonna debate that), the stats are fun to check out. It will be interesting to see them evolve in football and whether or not they work as well as they do in baseball...

Here is Pro Football Focus's analysis of Miami's O-Line v. our Pass Rush: Clabo and Martin vs. Williams and Hughes When the Dolphins let Jake Long walk in free agency and put Jonathan Martin in as the starting left tackle many people expected him to be the weak link of the offensive line. So far he’s been having issues in run blocking (-7.2), along with some ups and downs as pass blocker, but has still managed to have a positive grade in that area (+2.8). The liability isn’t at left tackle as expected, but at right tackle where Tyson Clabo is having a rough season, to say the least. Among the worst OTs in pass blocking, he has given up 23 total pressures — 12 of them in the past two games, grading out at -5.8. After years of ranking in the Top 15, things will have to change a lot if he doesn’t want to end up in the other end of the rankings this year. In front of the the Dolphins’ O-line will be two Top 10 3-4 outside linebackers in Pass Rush Productivity – Jerry Hughes, third at 14.3, and Mario Williams, ninth at 11.6. It’ll be interesting to see how the Bills use them, as they have moved around and rushed the passer from both sides of the line. Considering how Clabo and Martin are playing it should be expected to get more favorable matchups in the left side of the defense, where Williams has been more successful recording six sacks, two hits and 14 hurries in 138 snaps. On the other side, Hughes will provide a good challenge to Martin as he’s coming from his best games, grading at +3.3 in pass rush in the past two games. If you want the rest of their breakdowns here you go: https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2013/10/18/3tfo-bills-dolphins-week-7/

Freeman signing with the Bills never made sense (as many indicated)--he wants to go somewhere he can start for more than a few games and we're committed to EJ so that was never happening. Not sure why anyone really thought it was more than a (crack) pipe dream. The Vikes have obviously given up on Ponder. Pat White it is (scary, huh?). FO hits on last year's draft but f'ed up big time by not getting a serviceable, experienced backup when Kolb was lost--tough lesson to learn!

'bout time! Waiting until now was a VERY crafty move. I'm sure we can get at least a 4th round pick for a Pro Bowl safety who everyone knows won't sign with us next year (not sure if they want to go through the holdout drama and wind up paying him approximately 8.3 million--120% raise he would get for being tagged twice--if I'm not mistaken)).

Checking out the site (good source of "analytics") and found the grades for week 4--nice to see some Bills on the list, as you'd expect after a win (but not the ones you might think): https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2013/09/30/pff-team-of-week-4/