2020 Our Year For Sure

First round I want a quarterback. Hopefully Barkley or Manuel, but I'd accept Geno. We can't afford to waste anymore time, need to get a guy on the roster and start with the development process. These prospects are plenty good enough for a 1st round pick. Second round I want a WR or a TE. There's good depth at these positions so take your pick. Third round I want Nico Johnson ILB Alabama. Plays with attitude, can shed blocks, knows how to be in the right place. Need an ILB who can help us stop the run, I like what I read about him. Then somewhere in rounds 4-6, add a safety, an O-lineman, and maybe a corner. Bada bing

An effective way of stating what we already knew. If they view Kolb as a backup it's a very good signing, if they view him as a starter then we're about to waste yet another season, or two.

Really anything is possible-- it could've been all Gailey, it could've been all Nix, it could've been both of them. It's quite possible Nix was lamenting his own mistake on the phone call. We as outsiders will likely never know. To me, saying "I don't blame Nix for staying with Fitz, that was Gailey's call," is the equivalent of saying "I don't blame Gailey for under-using Spiller, Nix told him to do that." In both cases we're absolving someone of their own responsibility with no evidence for it.

Sorry to go off topic for a second but I see this written often and I'd like to understand it. The GM's responsibility is to acquire players and build a football team. The coach's responsibility is to win with that team on the field. On what basis are we absolving Nix of his responsibility? How do you know the trust in Fitz was a Gailey thing, and not a Nix thing? Unless I've missed something, all we know is that both men publically supported Fitzpatrick at every turn, and that acquiring a quarterback falls under Nix' domain.

While what you say is true, it was very different. I hadn't seen one of these since the first year he did it and then I watched last night, and it was night and day. We don't get to see these kids get asked the tough questions the way they are in team interviews, and for me that was what was so cool about it. Last night he didn't once ask Geno about anything he doesn't do well, just focused on his strengths the whole time. It was like a half hour commercial for Geno and the WV offense. You do still get to a see a bit more of their personalities than usual, which is interesting.

Right, and McKelvin and Williams have failed to live up to where they were drafted. If you can't evaluate players it doesn't matter what position you draft. The last time the Bills made the playoffs they had Thomas Smith and Antoine Winfield. The last time they had a winning season they had Nate Clements, Terrence McGee and Jabari Greer. Since that time, not only has the league become far more pass happy, the position has also become more difficult to play. And yet we should ignore that the CBs on those teams were significantly better than what we have now? Don't get me wrong, there are more important positions than CB. But there are also certainly less important positions, too. A team that already has a DL in place but has mediocre cover guys should consider Milliner, especially in a pressure scheme. Obviously QB comes first. If a franchise guy is there you don't pass on him for anything.

I remember those Gruden camps being a tougher challenge for the kid when he first started doing them than I saw tonight. He used to really grill them on their weaknesses, it was interesting.

Corner is vital in this defense and we need to add one at some point. I'd be pleased if we ended up with Milliner. The corner debate is very different than it was in the Jauron days with the change in scheme. We're going to bring pressure and we need guys who can cover on an island. McKelvin and Brooks haven't earned being handed the #2 and #3 spots without competition. It isn't quite our most desperate position but it is a need, and if Milliner is there he's probably the best value on the board. edit- Also I agree I don't want Rhodes or any CB outside Milliner in the 1st.

Doesn't sound like teams will be too enthused about surrendering picks to move up, does it?

I found this quote from King, if Walter is going off this they're overstating it. They make it sound like a report with a source when it's just speculation. "I think I like Kevin Kolb as a Bill, but if he thinks Doug Marrone is done acquiring passers, he's crazy. Still think the Bills pick a quarterback in the first or second round of the draft." http://m.si.com/2586539/palmer-flynn-moves-make-sense-but-theyre-not-guaranteed-fixes/

If we can conclude anything it's that we'll probably take a safety at some point.

Agreed. Phillips has been a good pass rusher for a long time and I have no doubt his addition would help us, but I don't think it's something we can afford. Anderson's deal is too costly to give up on him just yet when you now have Pettine who presumably will utilize him better. I'd love to add a third pass rusher and have a sub package where Mario plays DE with twin rush OLBs on either side, but I just don't know if it's in the cards right now. Maybe Lawson can contribute to the rush on occasion. We have a huge need at ILB to worry about. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe about $10M of that is rollover from last year. And if we actually pop the seal and use that rollover money, the rollover disappears when the 2014 year starts, and we'll be over the hard cap and be forced to cut guys. Again please correct me if I'm off.

We already have Mark Anderson and we have to be running out of cap room.

We should probably save the cap room for Chas Rhinegold.

While I agree this stuff won't do a lot for us, there's no way hanging banners and visualizing your goal can possibly be a negative. To get worked up over this is just as ridiculous as getting excited over it.

A well-informed post as usual SJ. Do you have a thought as to why he isn't widely touted as a #1 overall type prospect?

+1 It didn't take him long to show us why Seattle and the rest of the league didn't want him.

We have been historically bad against the run. Pettine's defense needs a nose tackle. Prior to this signing, we had no true nose tackle on the roster. This was as big a need as anything else outside of Quarterback.

Is it April 25th yet?

You as well, TBC. :tipscap:

This is a loser's mentality in my opinion. We're no less an NFL team than anyone else. The Lombardi Trophy is the goal of every NFL team. Why should we be afraid to visualize our own goal?

Is he a nose tackle or more of a 3-4 DE as BADOL suggests? Can anyone clarify? If he's not a fit at the nose it seems strange to me, considering Dareus and Carrington are here already. It's never bad to add depth but we have other positions where there's absolutely nobody.

To me Barkley is the most complete package available, accuracy, mechanics, pocket awareness, has proven he can read defenses ad make good decisions in a pro-style offense, and enough arm strength to make every throw. Consider that if he had a cannon, he'd go top-3 and we'd have no shot at him. Guys like Hasselbeck and Schaub have had success without elite arms. And it is possible his arm can get stronger as he gets closer to his physical prime.

This is great

He does not. Would he fit yours?