JohnC

1977 Phil Dokes DT from Oklahoma State Gov Chris Christie had a better physique and was in better condition than Dokes when he came to training camp. Dom Delouise at his biggest and Rosie O'Donnel were more svelte than the porker from Oklahoma.

The smart approach is not to trade up but to trade down. What I would advocate is to trade down and select a qb, and then use the extra pick or two to hedge your selection. Whaley has too often gratuitously given up picks to move up for a player he coveted, such as the Watkins deal. That was done in a draft rich with receivers. It was also done in moving up to get Ragland, giving up a pick that could have been used for Prescott. Instead Whaley selected Cardale over the qb he rated higher. (At least that is what was rumored?)

Paul Hamilton on WGR stated that Anaheim tried to trade Fowler to the Sabres for their first round pick in last year's draft, which turned out to be Nylander. They also tried to make a deal with Montreal. They also declined the deal for Fowler. Would I have made that deal even in hindsight? Absolutely not! In another year or two Nylander is going to be a top two line forward. Even now I regret trading a number one pick for Lehner who is playing well. Ottawa used that pick for one of the better prospects in the draft who is now close to being ready to play in the NHL. The GM has made a lot of moves. I'm not criticizing him for being active in which some of the deals don't work out as well as expected. For me getting Evander Kane on the roster is a major positive deal.

I don't understand your logic. What you are basically saying is that drafting a qb is a big risk not worthy of taking. The reality is for a team that hasn't had a franchise qb for over 20 years drafting a qb high is well worth the risk. What your logic fails to acknowledge is that backs, receivers, offensive linemen, defensive linemen, linebackers, DBs drafted highly can also fail. What is also true is that the best opportunity for a team to succeed, even a team with many flaws, is to have a legitimate franchise qb. The Derek Carr example is a lesson that the obtuse Bills organization have never learned from. It represents why this hollow organization is too irrelevant to bother mocking. Carr, among many other qbs, is a qb that we bypassed on allowing another downtrodden franchise to catapult ahead of us. The qb is a difference maker who even when rated lower as a prospect compared to the other positional players can make a dramatic difference for a franchise. This timid and cautious approach to securing the qb position is the type of approach that has kept this franchise mired in the muck of mediocrity. So what do you suggest? Let's eagerly take the same cowardly approach toward the draft that has gotten this franchise to being the league's symbol for irrelevance. The Bills used a high first round draft on Gilmore, a CB. Where is he now? He is on the Pats roster because we declined to sign him when he went into his second contract. The Bills used a first round pick on Clements, a CB. What happened to him? Again, when his contract was completed the organization refused to sign him after his first contract was completed. So your suggestion is: let's do what we have been doing? Does that make sense? The basis of our disagreement deals with how we assess this year's qb class. I'm confident that there are at least four high quality qb prospects that when properly developed will be legitimate franchise qbs. You believe otherwise. The constant mantra of let's wait another year for the better qb prospect is a franchise killing mantra that has infected this malignant organization. Fear of failure is a recipe for failure. If you don't try--- you don't succeed.

The mistake some organizations often make is that sometimes they identify a player at a position and then the player is selected ahead of them by someone else. That doesn't necessarily mean that the second or third best option on your board can't turn out to be a better player. Last year, the Cowboys coveted Lynch as a qb but he was picked ahead of them by the Broncos who moved back into the first round. They then set their eyes on Connor Cook who was surprisingly taken by the Raiders. So as a consolation they selected Prescott. The rest is history. Especially for a team such as the Bills that doesn't have a franchise qb on the roster you have to not only be aggressive in your pursuit of a qb but you have to keep at it until you find our qb. As far as I am concerned being lackadaisical and passive in the pursuit of a qb when you haven't had one on your roster for twenty years is tantamount to being derelict in one's duty as a GM and front office. When you don't do what is required to do to be a success in this profession (securing a franchise qb) then you are a failure.

Won't the Bills be following the same let go to replace approach if they use their first pick on a CB? Or another way of looking at it is if you don't move forward then you are not moving forward. The status quo might be an appealing position to be in if you are a winner but if you are a loser it is not something that should find appealing unless you are comfortable with your loser status.

When judging a qb prospect there are obviously a number of traits that have to be considered. One trait that is essential and can't be appreciably improved is accuracy. Whether a qb has good or poor mechanics in college if the accuracy isn't there no amount of coaching is going to improve that deficiency to an acceptable level for the pros where the windows are tight and the timing must be spot on. Related to timing is the ability to make anticipatory throws. If you don't have that instinctive ability then in the pro game as a qb you are going to struggle.

If you want to judge the prospects of a qb the best way to do so is watch the progression. If it isn't there then there is little to draw from. He doesn't seem able to throw the ball with any touch. Every throw he makes is a rocket hard ball that is capable of going through a brick wall. It would have been interesting to see how different his career would have been if Harbaugh would have stayed and worked with him. It's apparent that Kaepernick is a physically imposing player. However, after playing for a number of years and still being a raw player that doesn't have the capacity to grasp the intricacies of the position then what you see is what you get. He is at a stage of his career where it is pointless to make further projections because he is what he has actually shown to be on the field.

There is a good chance in this draft that we will be in position to select the first qb. I believe that Cleveland will use their second first round pick, #12, probably for Trubisky. Depending on which qb we ranked the highest I believe that we can trade down and still get a good qb prospect. Will we do it? Probably not. Mulish stubbornness will prevail allowing this failed franchise to continue to wallow in its state of mediocrity.

Why do you think that Whaley and the McDermott staff were willing to let TT go unless he was willing to accept a substantial pay cut? From the organization's standpoint it certainly wasn't afraid to let him walk unless it's stringent financial conditions were met. Do you really believe that this franchise that hasn't had a legitimate franchise qb for over twenty years wouldn't be more accommodating to a qb that it believed had a long term future? Look at how TT's contract is structured. It is structured in such a way that the organization can walk away after one year with little residual cap repercussions. That doesn't demonstrate much confidence in a long term relationship. The fastest way for a struggling franchise to make a quantum leap forward is to secure a franchise qb. The Raiders are good example of that point. It was a clown operation that was pervasively mocked until they selected a credible qb that we, by the way, bypassed. Of course the roster needed to be generally upgraded but the most important addition was Derek Carr, the qb. The argument that the supporting cast has to be upgraded in order to mask the limitations of a qb is an argument in of itself that acknowledges that the qb is limited. How about turning that argument around and find a qb who can take advantage of the assets around him? I am confident that the Bills are not going to use a high draft pick on a qb this year. That's what they do. And that is why they haven't had a franchise qb in over twenty years and why they have been out of the playoffs for 20 consecutive years (confidently counting the next few years of futility). There are good qb prospects in this draft. None of them will be ready to play right away. That shouldn't be an excuse for not getting one of them on the roster sooner rather than later. For those people who salivate at the prospect of drafting a DB with our first round pick I want to point out that this woebegone franchise has done that on multiple occasions. They did it with Clements and Gilmore. As soon as their contract was up they let them walk because they weren't willing to pay the going rate for these caliber of players. The cycle of futility continues because the cycle of stupidity continues.

The below link is a WGR segment with Paul Hamilton on the Morning Show with Howard and Jeremy. It is a 23 min. segment. In this recording Paul Hamilton was blunt in his criticism of the team and organization. I thought his comments and criticisms of Bylsma were fair and on the mark. What he said in the segment is much of same of what has been stated on this board. For those who have the time it is worthwhile to get a fair assessment of how this season has transpired. http://www.wgr550.com/media/audio-channel/03-17-paul-hamilton-howard-and-jeremymp3

The process ran its course until the end. There simply was nothing more to give. Now I am a societal outcast. When people see me on the street walking in an unbalanced manner they rudely yell out there goes the wobbling man! I used to like Beerball a lot but I will forever blame him for my infirmities. The only advantage I have from my self-mutilations is that I no longer wear a size 13. I now fit into a size 10. I was considering starting the process over again with my fingers. Since I don't have confidence in this sadistic and corpulent fellow I decided that imploring him to respond was futile. At least now I have fingers to type in my complaints and resentments toward him.

Beerball will not be back on this board until he finishes his trip across America. Although he is an inspiration I will never again allow him to sit on my bike because he unmercifully bends the rims. Good luck Beerball and thank you for taking away the penalty points that I was unfairly assessed (not by you). http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/600-pound-man-bikes-coast-coast-save-marriage-lose-weight-n398616

Using a first round pick on him was an indictment on our scouting department's ability to evaluate qbs. He was a third or fourth round talent who was selected in the first round because he had prototypical size for his position. What a dumb way to evaluate his position! How much more superficial can you get? Russell Wilson didn't have prototypical size but he was a good qb prospect. How can this over-matched organization find a good qb when it doesn't know how to evaluate the position?

Anyone who is a moderator is going to incur criticisms for their judgments. That's the nature of the job. He made judgments that often went against some people so their personal reaction was that he was being unfair to them. Every moderator has guidelines that are to a degree differently enforced. He was stricter than most. Instead of being irritated over it it's easier just make the adjustment to accommodate the moderator. Let's face ii being a moderator is not a pleasant task. You are constantly dealing with complaints with how you are handling your job. Instead of making the minor adjustments to comply with the judgments of the moderator too much time and effort went into expressing one's problems with the moderator. Sometimes being right doesn't mean you are wrong to extend a complaint beyond its worthiness. That's what often happened. The person who is giving up his/her time to moderate a forum gets tired of being criticized for the way he/she is doing it. What usually follows is the person who volunteered his time walks away only to have the critic start fresh with another moderator.

When you have to pay bonuses to someone to stay in shape you are betting on a losing proposition. Lacy is a wasted talent. Whether he makes the designated weight or not he will never be what he could be as a player. I'll take the average talent who gives it his all over the talented player who doesn't play to his talent level. I'm not trying to moralize here. My point is when a team puts itself in a position to count on an irresponsible person then the team is putting itself in a vulnerable position. It's not worth it especially where there are a lot of adequate backs to choose from.

I do partially blame the media for the manner in which they report on the organization. In general, I consider them too tolerant of generational incompetence. Instead of taking a more resigned acceptance of the franchise's systemic mediocrity they should have been much more scathing. The local media recognized that the franchise was captive to the original owner's "old guard" ways and there was not much that could be done to alter that dynamic. They simply acquiesced to the situation. Their mentality and the fanbase's mentality was that at least we had a team in the big leagues. Stop whining. You throw more punches than you receive. Getting hit is good for you. It toughens you up so you can absorb more hits to the groin.

I'm not very knowledgeable about the prospects in this draft. What is apparent is that there are few or none that I am aware of that are in the stud category that can make the immediate jump to the NHL. But that's okay with me. My take on the draft is to draft the best player and be patient for the developmental process to take effect. The norm is two to three years, if not longer. Guhle was probably good enough to play on this roster. But in the long run it would have hurt his development because he wouldn't gotten the extensive playing time that he has in the juniors. Nylander is at least another year away due to more physical growth than to hockey skill. After an offseason I see him making a quantum leap in the AHL and then be ready for the NHL. I'm very disappointed how this season has transpired. I'm ready for it to be concluded. Many people believe that the coach is in jeopardy but for me it is the GM who has more pressure on him to show results. Although many people are frustrated with this team I am more optimistic about the near term future.

Why is there an expectation that people should be grateful or not for his takes? Did he receive personal shots? Yes, and so has everyone else, including you, when posting. One of the motivations for posting on this board and other sites is for the expressed purposed of drawing a greater audience for his other primary forums. That's just part of the technical world of communicating and the business he is in. I have no particular criticism for Tim G for leaving this site and choosing not to engage because of some of the rude and unsophisticated posters. That his choice. Where I do have a tad of criticism of him is that he was at times hyper sensitive and defensive when people who disagreed with him responded back to him. This certainly is a better forum when people such as Tim G, Lorie and John W participate. They have some inside knowledge and perspective that most of us don't have. There will always be malcontents and abrasive and unreasonable people when participating in such a forum. That's the nature of the beast that can't be avoided. The better response is not to ban this category of posters but to ignore and not respond to them. Tim chose simply to leave. More power to him.

I need to stop. Futile to engage. I would rather argue with you. More often than not when I get involved with you I come out learning something new. This season has been very disappointing---especially after entering the season with higher expectations. One of the benefits of this slide is that the Sabres might come out of this with a top tier prospect in this draft.

Last I heard about Beerball was that he was involved in a car accident while visiting the orient. He's doing okay. Although he is constantly complaining that houses are located too close to the road. http://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2017/03/12/china-roof-car-accident-orig-llr.cnn

Nylander was a terrific draft pick. If you want to criticize Murray in general that's fine. But to criticize him for picking a prospect who was selected where he should have been selected is foolish. He's not ready now and he probably won't be ready next year. But in the not too distant future he is going to be a prized player. You will probably still complain about that it took too long for him to be ready to play in the NHL. To each their own.

I was thrown off-balance by the new site. It has a more modern look to it. Getting rid of a developing player because of one's disgruntlement is simply stupid.

Different teams are in different situations. What would be a poor decision on a player for one team might be a good decision for another team. A mid-tier free agent player departing a team where he was a backup might be an excellent pickup to be a starter on another team. Teams have different cap situations and different roster balancing requirements.

Don't be impatient. Nylander was the youngest hockey player in the AHL. It's just going to take time for him to physically mature. He comes from a hockey family so he knows what it takes to play in the big league. When he is ready, maybe in 2019, he is going to be a top two line player. This is the case where you have to trust the process and allow him the right amount of developmental time.