JohnC

Have you considered that the teams drafting at the top of the board would like to draft the qbs you covet? And for the next decade or so enjoy the fruits of their qb selection in this draft. As far as Cousins he doesn't have an interest in Buffalo and Buffalo doesn't have an interest in him primarily due to cost. Each side is acting wisely.

I agree with you that there is no guarantee the Bills will be able to trade up to get their preferred qb. The premier qbs could be gone by the first half dozen picks. If that is the case then consider the next tier of qbs who may be available with our current picks. No one is arguing here to throw valued picks away simply to get a qb. You make value judgments and act accordingly. Rudolph and Jackson are good prospects. They may not be better than the top tier qbs but you never know. They could end up being as good or better in the long run. Odds are that with the second tier qbs a longer development time will be required. It just seems to me that this is a year to get a prospect in the pipeline. Then the next issue is to get a credible veteran in as a bridge qb. As far as I'm concerned the Tryrod era is over with. The unpalatable pop warner offense needs to mercifully be vanished from the field.

Ultimately it's up to McBeane to determine whether it is worth it or not. Whether this regime can make a deal is not known at this time. But I think they are going to try hard to get it done.

You may be right that a deal under any circumstances might not be possible. A team with less picks to offer but those involved are higher picks may be more appealing to the seller. Or it might be possible that the higher rung teams might simply not want to deal at all.

The deal that was stated is not enough. You would have to throw in one of this year's second round picks into the mix. So the deal would be both our first round picks (in return getting a high first), a second round pick this year, a second round pick next year and Cordy Glenn. I would take this deal for Mayfield in a heartbeat. For nearly the past quarter century the Bills have lacked an authentic franchise qb. The proposed deal would be a very reasonable deal for both parties involved in the exchange. You may not be happy with the deal but I would be exuberant.

Our rookie qb, Mayfield, prefers throwing to Andrews.

I'm glad the Bills made the playoffs. Although it hurt our draft position the fans deserved the success, and so did players such as Kyle Williams and Eric Wood. Of course the lower picks are worth less. So if in order to make a trade up to get a high end prospect you have to sweeten the pot with additional picks, maybe add a player like Cordy Glenn and if necessary give up a high pick in the following draft. You do what you have to do to solidify the most important position in the game. The notion that you are giving up two first round picks this year is not the right way to view trading our first round picks. You are in reality giving up one pick and exchanging positions for the other pick. So you are really only giving up one first round pick, the bonus pick we got in a deal with KC. If you have to add in a second round pick, then again you are giving up a bonus pick earned in the Watkins deal. The Bills have not had an authentic franchise qb for almost a quarter century, since the retirement of Kelly. Because we have extra picks this is the year to get it done. The strategy of the new regime was to make deals last year to be in a better position to draft a qb this year. Putting it off is the approach this franchise has taken for more than a generation. Relying on qbs such as Orton, Tyrod, Fitz, etc puts your team in a holding pattern for mediocrity. Where has it gotten us? McDermott and especially Beane have stated that this franchise needs a franchise qb. They have to be discreet in publicly stating it in order not to offend the qbs currently on the roster. It may be a surprise to you but not to me that the Bills have spent a lot of time scouting and interviewing qbs. What's obvious is obvious.

When McDermott took over last year his decisions were predicated on the future, not the present. He strategically made the decision to trade down and get an extra first round pick and additional picks as assets for this year because he felt that this qb class was richer. That was the strategy and the intent for last year's maneuvers. The argument that there are no guarantees when selecting a qb does not resonate with me. There are no guarantees for any position. What I know for sure is until that position is solidified this franchise will continue to be a middling franchise. If your history of being passive doesn't work why not try acting aggressively? If you fail trying that is better than failing by not trying. When you go to the casino with chips put it on the table. What's the point of keeping them in your pocket?

Ask the Rams and the Eagles if they regret trading picks to move up for their respective qbs. The Bills haven't had a franchise qb for almost a quarter century. Being passive is a formula for maintaining the status quo. Paralysis by over analysis can be crippling! I appreciate your effort but I'm not buying what you are selling.

Not at the price he wants. I live in the Washington/Md area so I see him play quite a bit. He is a good qb but far from being an elite qb. From a value standpoint this is a very easy decision for the Bills. For another team such as the Vikings with a top tier roster it might be a reasonable acquisition. But for the Bills and where the team is in its rebuilding process it wouldn't be a wise decision. Again, an easy decision to make.

The Bills don't want Cousins in Buffalo. It's as simple as that. Some decisions are difficult. This isn't one of them.

I rate him higher than you do. I consider him above average to a being a good qb. That still doesn't mean that he is worth the money. A qb such as Wentz or Rogers would clearly be worth the money. They are dynamic players who elevate their teams. Cousins doesn't fall in that category. The problem with paying him so much is that in the not too distant future you will have to shed talent to stay within the cap. Also, your ability to add talent from the market is severely crimped.

The first priority for the Bills is to identify the top four qbs and then do everything possible to get one of them. After that is done then you follow your board. If your draft resources are used up to acquire your franchise qb, then so be it. Because where we sit in the draft there is no guarantee that we can swing a deal to get our most favored qb. If that can't materialize then go to your second or third or even fourth option. Last year, the Bills made deals in the draft to better position themselves in this draft where supposedly there were better and more prospects. That clearly was the strategy. Why shy away from it? There are no guarantees that the qb you select will turn out as expected. But if you want the odds to work out in your favor your chances for success are higher when you draft the higher rated qb. I don't care who the Bills draft. If a top tier qb prospect is not included in this year's draft I will consider it a significant organizational failure.

The skeptic in me makes it difficult to believe in your open minded act of objectivity. I don't care how many beers you guzzled down you are too invested in the Ohio State Tribe to betray your loyalties. I don't want to sound mean-spirited but your authenticity and generosity on this issue is still in question.

I'm not giving you any credit for praising your hated rival. Your forced graciousness is an act. Haters are supposed to hate. You reek with insincerity!

Terrific job and worthy of discussion. The trade up to Indianapolis doesn't make sense from the Colts standpoint. In order to make it a more balanced deal for them the Bills would need to add a second round pick in next year's draft. The Colts are in a good situation to auction off their pick. If we want it we will have to dig deeper down the pocket to make it happen. I agree with you that the Giants should take Rosen as their next franchise qb and not worry about Eli's feelings. Manning has faded beyond repair and if the Giants draft Rosen I predict that he will be taking the snaps before the season is over. I don't care what the irrepressible Gunner says I believe that this is the right thing for the Giants to do. The Harrison Philips is a match made in heaven for the HC and the team. I see Orlando Brown dropping down another round because he went to the combine so unprepared. When you go for a job interview and you look sloppy and fail the basic tests that your competitors ace you are telling the world that you are lazy and don't care about your profession.

If the Bill Parcells rules were applied in this draft Mayfield, Darnold and Jackson would not be considered. That would be a foolishly limiting approach to take for this qb starved team. Bill Polian is a HOF GM. He is getting older and seems to be out of touch with today's game.

With respect to the appealing offensive linemen who might be available that issue is circumscribed by the priority of getting a high end qb from this draft. Are the Bills going to trade away some draft capital to get the qb? If that happens that will lessen our ability to select highly touted line prospects. Will the Bills stay pat and draft their qb without shedding picks? If they take that route then there is a greater likelihood that a lineman can be added to the roster. It just seems that the qb issue seems to loom over everything else. That's why I strenuously advocated for drafting a qb last year (either Mahomes or Watson) and getting that issue addressed sooner rather than later. By not seizing the opportunity last year it has set off a chain reaction this year.

Price is a McDermott type of guy. If the wrestling coach was a girl she would want to marry him. Price is the type of guy who if you didn't know what he did for a living when you met him you are impressed by him. He's also the type of guy that whatever he does he will be successful at it. I can see McDermott swooning at the thought of him being on the roster.

Yolo, you are closer to the Cleveland scene than most of us are. Has the organization made a judgment on Kizer's prospects as a franchise qb? Have they seen enough to move on to someone else? Are they putting out feelers to other teams indicating that he is available. Although many people scoff at the notion of Cleveland soon becoming relevant, I see it differently. They have a collection of talented young players. If they could do something dramatic and unexpected such as getting a good veteran qb I believe that they can take a very big leap forward. I get the impression that the new GM who is widely respected doesn't want to take the long road to respectability but wants to take a faster route. That is done by adding more veterans to the mix.

I gently disagree with your take. The Browns have a lot of picks and large cap space. What most of the Cleveland media people who follow the team are saying is that Cleveland is looking to add high impact players rather than adding a quantity of solid players. The new GM is not going to settle for a strategy of continuing on with what has kept this franchise mired in the laughing section. He needs to make an immediate impact rather than steadily go on. There is only so much room on the roster. With the addition of free agents, a boatload of picks and a roster of a lot of young players there is only so much room on the roster. You know how to say no? Just say no!

That's a garbage response.

So if an athlete promotes KIA but drives a Jaguar or Bently the player is a hypocrite? If a player promotes a detergent but uses another detergent to wash his jockstrap the player is a hypocrite? Is an athlete a hypocrite if he promotes a brand of condoms but never uses one when he engages in the act? If you are paid for a a large painting of a brand of chewing tobacco on your barn and you don't chew are you then a hypocrite? LeBron is doing what other athletes, actors and other prominent people do when they promote products: They are maximizing their earning potential. It's simply the American way. If you don't like him because his political leanings are different from yours that's also fine. No problem with that. But at least be candid enough to acknowledge the obvious that you don't like him because he is not part of your tribe.

We really are not disagreeing. For the most part we are in accord. Where I will no longer exhibit patience is on the issue of the qb. Any GM who doesn't secure a credible qb over a reasonable period of time is a failure. The Bills have not had a legitimate franchise qb for almost a quarter century, since the retirement of Kelly. That is a disgrace and an embarrassment. On that issue/metric Whaley didn't get the job done.

Whaley and his scouts did the scouting and put together the board that McDermott worked off of. My understanding is that McDermott made the draft selections. I used to be a Whaley supporter but the excuses for me ran out a long time ago. When you bring up the issue of cap management you can't look at it just from a financial sense. Inherent in cap management is the ratio between talent and cost. The cap and the talent are inextricably intertwined. A big mistake in a cap decision certainly impacts the talent you can bring on board. What undercut Whaley more than anything else is that he didn't get a franchise qb. Shortly after his departure he was asked in an interview if he had to do it over what would he do differently. Without hesitation his response was to be more aggressive on the qb issue. Duh!!!!! I understand your point that Whaley had to contend with working with coaches that he didn't hire. It certainly contributed to his struggles. The Rex albatross certainly wasn't his fault. That hire did more to sabotage him than anything else other than not having an adequate qb. And for that he is primarily responsible for that failure. What I can say now under the McBeane regime there is more coherency and strategic thinking within the organization than their has been in a long time. There is no question that this regime is an upgrade over the Whaley and previous regime.