JohnC

What's the health status of Hurst?

Pryor was playing hurt last year with a bad foot. He should have been on the IR for the season. He is still rehabbing from that injury.

They would want to keep him for insurance if Wentz got hurt during the season. The Eagles will again be a SB contending team. Why give up a good backup who can keep the team from falling off the cliff if the starter goes down? His contract is reasonable and he is a known quantity. If the Eagles were not a serious contender I could see dealing him now or in the not too distant future. He certainly demonstrated his value last year when the qb went down. So why deal him and create an unnecessary risk?

Periodically, Buffalo Barbarian needs to be disciplined . It is not done out of malice but done for benevolent reasons. He is a very odd fellow. Very often after the disciplinary sessions he pleadingly asks me to do it again. I want to make it clear that I am not a sadist. However, he may be a masochist.

I would be more than happy getting him at our spot or with a slight move up. Both he and Rosen are the most prepared to play sooner than the other highly touted prospects. The ideal situation is to get him with the 12th pick and then use the other high picks to bolster the roster.

I think that Darnold is going to be the first pick going to Cleveland. The more interesting question is what qb/s, if any, is going to slide. The scenario of moving up slightly to Chicago's spot is very plausible and less costly than a farther move up the board. If the Bills have identified their top four prospects odds are that one of them will fall to our current spot or to be on the safe side will require a less costly move up.

Let's put aside the Bennett case. If an arrest was made for a case involving another crime where someone was charged would it be appropriate for the police authority after the charges were brought to make a harsh comment about the individual? I would say that it would be not only inappropriate but also wouldn't be a smart thing to do. The police will be involved in the prosecution of this case. Making what could be considered a prejudicial comment about the person charged places the case in jeopardy. It doesn't help the case, it hinders it. The point that I am making in this post is not about the particulars of this case or even the odious defendant. It is about the process. That's my overriding point..

You are still missing my point. Go back and review the police chief's comments about the case at the school and you will find that the Chief in Broward County spoke about the progress of the case and even the person in custody. He was careful not to make personal critical or judgmental comments about the person arrested. That wasn't the case in Houston. Whatever your personal feelings are in this particular case is your business. You are not a public figure whose office is directly involved in this case. That's why I still contend that the Chief shouldn't have made a hostile and possibly prejudicial comment directed toward Bennett. No one is saying that the Chief shouldn't have commented on the case but I think that he didn't use the best judgment with his comments.

A fresh start with a new HC would have been a clear line of demarcation from the failure of the past to a new start that didn't include the ridiculous losing history of the recent past. If as you noted Jackson was instrumental in the qb decision not to select Wentz then there was a greater reason to fire him. If the owner was reluctant to follow the wishes of the newly appointed GM who wanted to replace Jackson because of financial reasons then that was a shortsighted decision. The decision to get the right HC has a greater bearing on team success and in the end resulting in increasing revenue. This is a case of penny wise and dollar foolish.

Bill, You are missing the point. If you think that I am supporting Bennett's behavior you are off the mark. The point that you missed is that he made a comment about the defendant that can have a bearing on "his" court case. Your point about the Florida school shooting is not anywhere close to the point that I made about the Bennett case.

We have had this discussion before where we both believe that the Browns have more younger core players than we do. And we both agree (I think) that if the Brown wisely use their draft capital and cap space that they can make a quantum leap forward with the impending infusion of talent. The Browns installed a respected GM who surrounded himself with good football people. What I don't understand is why the new GM didn't clear out the coaching staff and start fresh. I'm not suggesting that Hue Jackson is a bad coach. However, he is a coach who represents the failed past. I thought that the new GM should have hired his own HC and make it clear that the franchise was on a new path. The mistake that the Browns made was the same crushing mistake that the Bills made in that it declined or delayed to draft a high end qb prospect when they had the opportunity to do so. They passed on Goff and Wentz and last year they passed on Watson. They took Kizer in the second round when prior to that selection they could have had Watson.

I don't know anyone who is saying or hinting that Buddy wasn't an honorable person. Of course he was a very decent and genuine person. When he took over he had a mess to straighten out not only with the roster but also with the cap. The primary problem I have with him is that as a GM he thought like a scout rather than from a wider perspective that a GM should have. It's fair to say that he stabilized the franchise. But he didn't come close to taking the next step and have it move beyond the pack. As you noted he had the philosophy of "building a team" before addressing the qb issue. In the NFL of today and in the NFL of the period in which he worked as a GM that is a predictable self-destructive approach to take. What frustrated me with both Nix and Whaley is that each had more than a few opportunities to take the one action that would have been most meaningful in elevating a franchise i.e. find a franchise qb. The inexplicable passivity on this issue not only made no sense but was a prime reason why each of these GMs fall in the failure category. Nix was certainly well intentioned and very earnest. He was a good person. However, he was in way over his head as a GM. He was a man with a land line phone in an era of the iPhone. A battlefield corporal needs to be tactical while a general putting together the battle plan needs to be strategic. Buddy was a good soldier but he had a job beyond his abilities.

Not the good ones. There is a proper time and place and way to comment on a case. His comments about the accused doesn't help his case, it jeopardizes it.

I don't know what really happened. The case is being taken to court. However, regardless what the Houston Police Chief's feelings are he shouldn't be publicly commenting about this case or one of the parties to this case. He is prejudicing the case. From a professional standpoint that is not what he is supposed to do.

You are right that normally the pro day has little impact on how a player is perceived. However, it did with Bridgewater who looked awful in his workout. It resulted in him dropping down the draft board.

Don't be a hater. Kirby can't afford the loss. He needs the extra coin to do the manly strut in the N'Orleans casinos.

I agree with you that the Jets have coveting eyes on him. He's also a player I think Beane would be inclined to because he fits his profile for the position. My worry is that Mayfield is not the type of player he would want to be his qb mostly because of his stature. I would be ecstatic if the Bills could select him without at their current draft position.

Every year there is talk that qb needy teams are going to jockey for position out of desperation to get their prized qb. More often than not teams act more soberly and stick with their board and their player rankings. That's the usual scenario where the qbs slide down. I can see a Mayfield or even an Allen falling to us or pretty close to us where a reasonable deal can be made. Would it be wise for Buffalo to stay pat and use their first selection on Rudolph at the twelve spot? I struggle with this issue although my inclination is to stop messing around and risk losing a qb by waiting. Few people would argue that Rudolph would be a better value with our lower first, But is it worth the risk for a team like the Steelers to jump ahead of you and snatch him? As the draft approaches I have been less cavalier about trading picks to move up. However, if there is a qb that this team has a conviction on then it needs to act. The calculation is going to come down to is it better to secure your less costly second or third qb option than deplete your account for your first option qb. More and more I'm moving to the less costly option. This draft is made for chess players and not for checker players. It's not so much about the one move that that you are at as it is about the next three moves that haven't been made yet.

By moving up the board Beane is putting himself in a good position to have more options. He might be more willing to make a lesser move up if a qb or other positional player he wants is more reasonably attainable. What happens if Mayfield or Allen slips? I know you are not a proponent of Allen but he falls within the GM's preferred profile. My point is that where they are now compared to where they were before the Glenn trade they are in a good position to pivot and pursue a variety of options.

Atta boy! Did it hurt?

The issue isn't what you have to surround a qb with because whether the qb is elite or average you want the talent around the qb to be the best it can be. The issue is whether you believe the qb has the ability to be a franchise qb. I doubt that he will be an elite qb but I do believe that he can in time be a good franchise qb. When it is basketball season and you shine then strutting is appropriate.

This would be a terrific outcome. Keeping our multiple picks in the second and third rounds would also give the roster a boost.

I agree with you that he is not the Bills primary guy. But I do believe that if the price is too high to move up that selecting him with their second first round pick would be a good fallback position. In many ways he fits the Beane prototype for a qb. A pocket passer who has the physical attributes he prefers. Rudolph may not be a dynamic qb with an eye popping brand of play. But in my eyes he can be a legitimate franchise qb. If this isn't the type of qb that appeal to Buffalo it is the type of qb that appeals to the Steelers. Yolo, it is time to show some grace. Although it is against your nature it would be appropriate for you to congratulate the Michigan fans for their victory in the tournament. You need to go against your reactionary nature and be generous in spirit to the Wolverine victors. Just do it!

If you look at how Nix operated and how the McBeane regime is operating you can see the clear difference between operating in a tactical way versus a strategic way. The level of thought and analysis under Nix was simply old school. You and others have made the point that he added talent to the roster. That's the problem. He was upgrading the roster and not building a team. There's a substantial difference. Ultimately the measure of success is simple: What was the record. The old world owner selected an old world GM while the rest of the league moved on to the new world of analytics. Buddy was a good guy. One can easily make the argument that he was better than what we previously had. It wasn't good enough.

A checker player playing in an elite chess tournament. He represented the old school of thought when everyone else was practicing the new school of thought.