Albany,n.y.

Based on Marshawn's latest antics-staying away from the Bills this past week, I think his trade value has been reduced to a conditional pick based on performance. His market is most likely a conditional 4th, topping off at a 3rd, and if he's a total waste, it could become a 5th. Just remember, he's already been suspended once, Goodell will come down on him pretty hard the next time, and right now, it looks like he still doesn't get it & is still living day to day without thinking about his career down the road. If he truly had an interest he'd be in Buffalo learning the playbook. Instead, all he's doing is trying to force his way out of here, showing the league minimum of cooperation. That alone shows how little he cares. Of course, the team is moving on without him, but his trade value decreased this week because other teams realize his worth to the Bills is diminished.

Wanting to see my team win a Super Bowl is the best reason I can come up with. If you give me a choice of 2-14 this year, 6-10 next year and a Super Bowl championship in the 2012 season versus 8-8 this year, then 10-6 the next 2 years with an early exit in the playoffs each time, I'll gladly suffer 2-14 this year and miss the playoffs next year. The difference is I'd rather have the big reward later than a handful of small rewards now. This is not the same group as last year. We are missing key veteran contributors such as Owens & Reed in the receiving corps, Schobel (if he retires), our best ST player in Wendling, Denney gone & Kelsay changing positions. Yes we have virtually the same offensive line & dreadful group of QBs, but that is hardly something to form an optimistic view of.

We weren't that much different when we traded a 3rd for Billy Joe Hobert & had to release him after week 7.

Go back to 2001 & there were tons of posts similar to your's saying how bad things were under Wade & that Gregg was instilling discipline. This team is strikingly similar to that 2001 team: New GM , new coach. There's a new D system which will take time to develop, a lot of the team has been gutted in the move to youth & rebuilding, the QB position is the same as 2001: Edwards is the same as Johnson-an injury prone guy who has shown flashes, but loses more often than he wins and is odds on to finish the season & his Bills career on IR; Fitzpatrick is the same as Van Pelt-at best a career back up with some smarts who has survived, but hardly thrived when thrust into the starting job; Brohm is the same as Brown-a guy rejected by another team who the Bills picked up because they think he can be developed. The slight differences between Brohm & Brown are that Brown went to a different practice squad than the team that cut him and was picked up in August after signing with his own team's 53 man roster the prior November, and Brohm was originally picked higher. Tim Hasselbeck & David Dinkins filled the Levi Brown spot in 2001, with Hasselbeck cut before camp & Dinkins ending up on the practice squad, resulting in the signing of Travis Brown. The following year the Bills made the big splash for Bledsoe, knowing they had nothing at QB, next year the Bills will draft a QB in the 1st round, knowing they have nothing at QB.

You're about 2 years off. The most likely scenario: Edwards gets hurt and Brohm comes in and pulls a Gary Marangi, which demoralizes our D which gets us 13 losses. However there is a silver lining to this cloud, the Bills get their franchise QB in the 2011 draft, he struggles a bit, just like Peyton Manning did as a rookie, then in 2012 when nobody is expecting it, our franchise QB pulls a Peyton Manning and our D (led by 15 picks from Byrd) gets us 13 wins. We go on to win the Feb 2013 Super Bowl & then repeat against some dome team in the cold Meadowlands Super Bowl in 2014. After his 3rd season, they're already talking HOF for our QB. Meanwhile back in the out of the NFL world Edwards is selling real estate and considering a run for congress and Brohm is coaching his high school football team.

I don't think Brian Brohm has anything to do with us ( & every other team) not drafting Clausen before he was picked. If a top notch prospect at QB was available the fact that Brian Brohm is on the roster wouldn't have meant anything to the Bills-they would have went QB.

You're not being harsh or rude, you're just contradicting most of your original premise. For example how does point 2 not contradict this? : Also, I think from a fan prospestive this year would be a lot more exciting with Clausen on the roster. Remember the TO signing...It was fun to have TO in the Buffalo limelight and have some media attention. Right now, all of us would be glued to the Clausen updates and hoping he is the one. Today, I read that Fitz took the snaps today and Edwards yesterday. BOY IS THAT EXCITING...Perhaps Clausen could have stepped right in and started for us. What do we have to loose? Heck, I believe this season is a bust anyway. Its a season of learnng, growing, and building for the future. Which hopefully leads to winning soon. This season isn't about winning despite what you hear from the front office. Objectively, look at the rosters and you have to conclude we don't have the players. PLAYERS win games not coaches...Coaches can aid in the winning process no doubt but they still need the personnel. Our personnel is subpar. In concluding, Clausen was a "low risk" at pick 41, an instant upgrade to our QB roster, and could have given many of fans a reason for some excitment this year. The conclusion of anyone thinking logically is that you would be expecting Clausen to be starting in 2010, otherwise how is his sitting on the bench going to generate any of the excitement you want to see from him? Point 1-You're inaccurate because you criticize the team for not drafting a player they have no interest in drafting, just to give you some "excitement". If their scouts say he's not the answer, why would you want the team to draft him? Point 3-I'm not assuming Clausen fails-just that he's not as good as a guy we can get with our top pick and drafting him would cause us to settle on Clausen & go a different position. All draft sources indicate there are 2-3 top notch QB prospects who will go very early in the 2011 draft. If our scouts, along with every other NFL team think these guys are head & shoulders over Clausen, by about 40 slots in the draft, why would I want to settle on Clausen this year knowing his selection precludes my team from getting a much better prospect next year?

Here's the 2 main reasons why picking Clausen would have been the wrong move. 1)The Bills did not see Clausen as a franchiseQB, maybe not even a starting QB. 2) When you "steal" a QB with a possible 1st or 2nd round tag, you can set your franchise back years even when he's not picked in the 1st round if you commit to him as the starter. All you need to answer your question why we didn't take Clausen is look at the last guy we "stole" -Trent Edwards, or the guy before him we "outfoxed" GB & Stl by trading up for, before one of them could take him -JP Losman. By calling for Clausen, the OP obviously doesn't want Trent Edwards-so I have to assume he'd agree that starting Edwards sets the franchise back & Edwards was a 3rd round "steal". Once you commit to a guy & he doesn't work out you set your franchise back years, steal or no steal. I'd rather wait the year & have the franchise set back only one more, than getting Clausen, having him end up another Trent or JP & set the franchise back 3-5 MORE years. Just remember, those 2 both had enough early success to keep the team from drafting another QB, imagine if we commited to Clausen after a promising 1st season, passed on a franchise QB in 2011 & then Clausen regressed after his 1st year as the starter-something common in Buffalo lately.

But if you win the ticket lottery & get a ticket at face, plus you can drive to the game, it becomes a lot more affordable. Winning the ticket lottery makes the game a lot more affordable. When the Bills played in Pasedena, Petrino won the ticket lottery, we got supersaver flights & we split everything in 1/2 & brought the entire weekend, including the game, in for around $750 each.

I don't know how old you are or where you live, but a lot of us have attended playoff games in January in Orchard Park & had no problem whatsoever paying playoff prices & bundling up. Some playoff games have been ice cold, some have been warm-40s in January, some have had snow, some rain. Did you know that the greatest comeback game had some windy, rainy moments & nobody who was there hated it?

I'm not trying to hope he fails, I'm just looking at the reality of the situation. I've been watching pro football for 45+ years & I've never seen a guy in the same position that Brian Brohm is in succeed. Not 1 in 45+ years! To sum up: a 1st or 2nd round pick jettisoned early in his career where his drafting team got nothing in return. Favre was traded for a 1st round pick-when GB waived Brohm in September, they couldn't even get a 7th, otherwise they would have traded him because if someone claimed him on waivers they were guaranteed of getting nothing. Thinking the Bills found the one player in a million is close to insane behavior (as defined by Einstein). There have been so many highly picked QBs who never made it even though there seemed to always be a team willing to give them another shot & defy the odds after they hit the waiver wire. Just look at the track record of the Guy who aquired Brohm. The odds of Brohm being anything other rthan a 3rd stringer are extremely long. I'm not hating on Brohm, I'm just trying to be more realistic than the dreamers around here. If I was going to hitch my wagon to a longshot QB on the roster, I'd go with Levi Brown, because I have seen late picks & free agent QBs make it as quality NFL starters, once again unlike the situation that made Brohm a Bill.

Name me just one 1st or 2nd round pick who was given away for nothing by his draft team as an unproven player who ever made it in another city. JUST ONE! When you find him, let me know because I don't think it has ever happened. Sure, high picks have been traded for 1st day picks & made it, but I don't recall any 1st or 2nd rounder ever being given away for no picks who has made it in another city.

How much longer do we have to hear this nonsense? They waived him in September,meaning none of the other 31 teams thought enough of him to offer a 7th rounder, which they would have gladly accepted instead of exposing him for nothing. If they, or the 31 other teams thought anything of him he wouldn't have been waived & then cleared waivers. Why is it so difficult for you Brohm-heads to realize that they only tried to keep him as in season insurance since they only carried 2 QBs on the 53 man roster & they would have rather had an insurance policy who knew the system that late in the season? If GB wanted him so badly they would have made him a monetary offer he could not have refused. BTW, if by some miracle he becomes the Bills starter, it will be short lived, because the 2011 starter isn't on this roster & anyone "winning" the 2010 job will be the biggest loser. Odds are a lot better he gets cut than ends up starting.

I'm in favor of it because it means if I want to go to the game I can drive down there the day of the game. Say the Bills are in it that year, it would even be drivable from Buffalo. I can't see why anyone who lives in the northeast would be against it, especially when it's drivable if your team makes it & you can get a ticket.

1st & 2nd round QBs are so scrutinized both before & after the draft that when they get cut early in their careers, you can write them off as busts. In other words, when they flame out, there's little chance that they had some potential & just flew under the radar. There were countless posts warning us how JP Losman was going to come back and haunt us, even when he was in the UFL. Thankfully, most of those have died down. Unfortunately they've been replaced with calls for a guy to start who we basically signed willy-nilly hoping he pans out-Brian Brohm. They talk of "Upside", but the track record of 1st & 2nd rounders who get waived early indicates he has no upside. It's easy for people to get the sarcasm about Russell, but some of the same people enjoying your sarcasm are the ones who totally dismiss Russell, but don't see the futility in thinking Brohm can be a quality starter.

I agree with some of your reasoning, but I can't buy the get Clausen in the 2nd or Campbell stuff. Why do I accept waiting for the QB in next year's draft? : The Bills had a real mess of a team by the end of last season. They can't fix it all in one offseason. They know this. They did not feel that Jimmy Clausen is going to be a franchise QB, they may not even think he can be a decent starting QB. They also don't think Campbell is much, otherwise they would have offered more than Oakland. So, if they get either one of these guys, they are commiting the team's future, especially by spending a 2nd on Clausen, on a guy they don't feel is a long term answer. If Clausen turns into another JP, they're screwed for another 4 years. Meanwhile by filling other spots & waiting until next year's QB rich draft, they are doing it the right way-something they haven't done in this decade of futility. That's the real problem. For the past decade the draft and free agency have been used to patch potholes, usually by over reacting, rather than wait for the right player a year later, or that reaction causing them to reach & miss out on a key player. The best example I can give is the 2007 draft. They trade McGahee, then reach for Lynch, passing on Revis. Then the next year, they fill the CB hole with McKelvin. If they had the approach of not filling a hole immediately & going for the bestplayer, they could have drafted Revis in 2007, and Chris Johnson in 2008. Same positions, just filled in different years. I don't think anyone on this board would rather have Lynch & McKelvin over Revis & Johnson.

If Russell wants to prove himself to the NFL, the best thing for him to do is sign with the UFL, show some humility & dedication & play like he never played in the NFL. That will get him on a camp roster in 2011.

I got mine yesterday. I would have preferred that it didn't say Always Fresh Tim Hortons Coffee on it.

Everyone remember 2001, similar things were said: Williams has to be better than Wade, now it's Gailey has to be better than Jauron The change in defense will help the team. Then it was 3-4 to 4-3, now it's 4-3 to 3-4 We can't be worse than 2000-went from 8-8 to 3-13, how far down from 6-10 can we go, 5 fewer wins is 1-15 Rob Johnson can't get injured and be as bad again. Now-Trent Edwards can't get injured and be as bad again. I don't remember who was the great (red) white (& blue) hope of 2001, like Brohm is this year, but Fitzpatrick is clearly in the AVP role. This team is a lot more like the 1985 & 2001 Bills teams than any team that will surprise. Now the 1985 team won the division 3 years later, getting the franchise QB the next season-which looks like the 2010 Bills might be doing. Hey, maybe Brohm is the next Mathison-starter in 2010, gone in 2011. That's much more likely than him becoming the next Jim Kelly-Something Locker, Luck or one of the other top QBs might become in Buffalo.

Like the Brohm supporters do just about every day?

Nope-once he clears waivers he's a total free agent-he can sign with any team or their practice squad. Once he's on a practice squad, he's fair game to anyone who can sign him to a 53 man roster. Just look at how the Bills signed Brohm. Now, before getting to the practice squad, he has to clear waivers-if someone claims him he has no recourse, because he doesn't have the needed years in to keep him from being claimed. In response to another question-Tyler Thigpen-7th rounder waived by Minnesota, picked up by KC as a rookie. Also tons more either claimed or chose to sign with another team's practice squad. There was a Bills late rounder 2-3 years ago who went to someone else's practice squad instead of staying with the Bills when they waived him.

The Fitzpatrick makes too much money, inaccrate, inconsistent crowd has no clue. He doesn't make too much money-how many QBs do you think could have won more games than Fitzpatrick participated in & won with last year's team? There is no way that the team will have 2 of the three backup QBs with one start between them-it's just plain ignorance as to how the roster will be filled out. Like it or not, Fitzpatrick is head & shoulders over Brohm & Brown-he most certainly won't be worse than 2nd string. The common complaint is Fitz doesn't have "upside". That's BS. For the future Fitz has the most upside-as a backup QB who can mentor a future franchise QB-not the garbage that resides on the current roster. A backup QBs job is to provide support for the main guy-none of the other QBs have the ability or experience to do that. The reason that Trent can't is because he's in the last year of a contract that will only be extended if he's the starter & performs well. Wanting the other guys with no experience to be the primary backup is a joke. Also, they're not bringing in another vet unless a Pennington situation, like Miami had years ago emerges. The amazing thing is, it seems this nonsense always comes from someone who thinks Brohm will be the starter-therefore I'm not surprised at the ridiculous conclusion that Fitzpatrick will be gone in the quoted post.

Ryan Fitzpatrick-the only one of the 4 QBs guaranteed to be here in September. Now anyone who doesn't think so-explain how the guy was involved in 5 of the team's 6 wins if he sucks even 1/10th as badly as you claim. He's the most valuable QB on the team.

If Russell had come out early, he'd have been a top pick in the 2007 draft. Isn't that enough for the Bills to show some interest?

It's just another anti-Edwads post couched in a bunch of nonsense. The typical type of post is that he saw Brohm throw better than Trent ever has so he's got wood with a small w.