JohnC

I have a slightly different take on Mike Williams. He was speciman who could physically overwhelm college kids but had little desire to compete against men in the pro game. He simply didn't have the work ethic and passion for the game to compete against almost comparable athletes who were passionate about the game and put in the time to prepare. There were a few occasions in the beginning of his career when I saw him cave in his side of the line. But that sample of dominance was very small. His attitude towards the game was starkly manifested when he came into camp grossly fat. You can't force people to work hard. You can't force people to have a passion for what they do. You can't force people to have pride in what they do, especially when they don't like what they do. I understand why Tom Donahoe drafted Mike Williams ahead of McKinnie. He could have been a more physical and rugged player than the more athletic LT from Miami. The problem that this franchise soon learned about MW is that having a big arse doesn't mean you have a strong heart. The problem was with the person, not the ability of the player.

The OC, Hackett, is going to run a west coast offense. Kolb certainly wasn't acquired because he has a big arm. He was signed because he is suited to the offense Hackett is going to run, i.e. west coast offense. Joe B's primary job is to follow and report on the Bills. Regardless of whether you have a high or low regard for him because he covers the team he has some insights into what the Bills are doing and thinking. SJB, In some respect you have answered your own question regarding the offense that the Bills are going to run. The OC ran a west coast offense at Syracuse for Marrone. The signing of Kolb is a strong indication that the offense he is most suited for is a short and quick passing game. He doesn't have the arm for the long vertical passing game. In addition, Hackett the son learned from his father who not only was a proponent of that particular offense but he was one of the orginators of it. It shouldn't be a surprise that Nassib, a qb that many people think the Bills are interested in, is training with pop Hackett preparing for the draft.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/blog/eye-on-football/21977671/report-bills-scheduled-to-meet-with-matt-barkley I have read many commentaries that Marrone is very familiar with Barkley because Syracuse played against USC and that he likes him. Joe Buscagllia of WGR who covers the Bills has stated on more than a few occasions that the Bills who will be running a westcoast offense like Barkley very much. The issue for them is where to take him in the draft.

I'm not a fan of Nix. I consider him to be a below par GM. However, this offseason all the personnel moves he has so far made with respect to cuts and addition (Lawson) are reasonable transactions. Even the Levitre departure made sense to me. I hated to see him go but I thought Nix made the right call in not signing him for what he got on the market.

I was watching ESPN when Kiper came on talking about the draft and assessing Flucker. He said that he was the best run blocking OT he has seen in the past 25 years. He felt that he was going to be taken in the middle of the first round. With respect to Pears I don't understand your man crush on him. In my mind he is a pedestrian sluggish RT who is easily replaceable. I understand he has been plagued with injuries but I put him in the lackluster category of being serviceable.

If you add a Kaepernick or Russell Wilson to the roster the tenor of any analysis of the Bills dramatically changes to the positive. The full court press that Nix is belatedly administering in his current qb search should have been the same priority right from the start when he took over the football operation. You make a very astute observation. Selecting players for the 3-4 and then quickly changing the defense to a 4-3 is like runnig a race and then in the middle of the race you go back to the starting line while your competitors continue to move forward. What has crippled this organization for a very long time is the stunning incompetence of those people who are supposed to be in charge.

Those were two heavy weight teams going at it. It was a game full of ferocious play. At the end of the game Georgia's qb, Aaron Murray, had the very good bama defense on the ropes. He was taking a beating yet was still getting the ball off and completing a lot of tough passes. It was a very classic and memorable game.

At a later time I will watch some tape of him. What I can say now is that last year's Alabama OL is the best college line I have ever seen. They were big, tough, mobile and were smart. When they played Notre Dame it was men against boys.

If there is a year to trade down and acquire more picks this is the year to do it. But is the staid GM going to act out of character and exercise some flexibility in this draft? His old school approach is sufficating this franchise. How would you compare Fluker with Andre Smith, another very big Crimson Tide lineman? With respect to the qb prospects in this draft I am baffled. There are so many conflicting reports that it is difficult to get a clear assessment on this qb class. If I had to venture a guess the Bills are going to draft a qb who is suited for the westcoast offense. It that is the case then that leans toward Barkley and Nassib being selected. Don't besurprised if Nix ends up with Tyler Wilson in the second round. Nix has a bias for the southern boys from the SEC. From what I have read Marrone favors Barkley.

Up to now if you compare Brad Smith's salary (cap space) and his productivity and limited use you have to conclude that this is another personnel boondogle by the front office. Wouldn't it have been better to have signed a good free agent receiver(WR or TE) instead of a gimmick player who has not only contributed little but rarely gets on the field? Sometimes when you try to outsmart others you end up outsmarting yourself.

What decent players have the Bills cut this offseason bother you? The front office is culling the roster. Nothing dramatic or unexpected has been done. My problem with the cleansing process is that the person who built the roster is also involved in cleaning up the mess he created. The same person who is assessing this year's qb prospects is the same person who over-rated Fitz as a player and gave him an outsized contract that unduly saddled the team from a cap standpoint.

If there isn't a top five caliber qb in this draft that doesn't mean you can't find a top 12-18 caliber qb that will at least allow you to compete. If it isn't there, it isn't there. That doesn't mean you can't move forward adding talent and continuing your quest for a superior qb prospect at some point, whether it is this year or next year or the year after. My problem with this peculiar franchise is that the person who is most responsible for not advancing the team over the past three years is the same person responsbile for undoing what he has done. I believe that there are qbs iin this draft who will be legitimate franchise qbs. That doesn't mean that they will be impactful players in their rookie year. Developing a qb takes time. But if you don't have that potential qb on board you have nothing to work with. That is the critical lesson that our laggard GM needs to learn.

What is amusing/sad is that what is now being done with culling the roster is basically undoing what the current GM has already done. What I don't understand is why when Brandon took over the reigns from the owner why he didn't emphatically establish a new direction and identity for the franchise by jettisoning the GM and infusing this laggard organization with some younger faces and added vigor? In my view Brandon should not in any way be involved in making any football decisons. It is like going to see a plumber when facing a serious medical issue. With respect to Fitz it was time for him to go, no matter what the cap implicationns were. It was in his best interests as much as it was for the organizatiion for him to find another location for him to ply his trade as a backup. Is Kolb a better qb? It isn't worth haggling over the miniscule difference, one way or the other. Both are pedestrian qbs who are adequate backups at best.

Let's put Nix's offseason maneuvers (that are sound) in perspective. He is simply filling the holes that he created. If he were more astute he would be spending more time adding talent rather than cleaning out the talent that he inherited and he brought on board. What he is doing now is what he should have done when he first took over the reigns. Finding a legitimate franchise qb should have been his priority right from the start. His calculation that Fitz was an adequate starting qb for the time being until he later addressed the qb issue was foolish, and it set this franchise back by years. A clear demonstration of his incompetence was that he truly believed that the hollow roster he took over was more robust than it actually was. If you can't accuately assess the talent on your own team how can you assess talent in general? The rebuilding job in earnest should have been started three years ago, not now.

It's fruitless to debate which qb is better. Both of them are at the same pedestrian level. The front office was not going to keep Fitz at his current contract. Fitz was smart enough to recognize that his time ran out in western NY. At the end of the day Fitz is the type of player who will make a lot of money bouncing around the league as a dependable backup player. He is a Todd Collins type player who will find his niche as a good soldier backup. From his perspective it sure beats working long exhausting days on Wall Street and in the finance field making a lot of money, contributing little to the economy and hating what you are doing. With respect to your question about our receiver corps assembled by Nix it was arguably the worst in the league. In a league tilted toward passing it was an embarrassment. His maneuver to move up in the third round to select the track receiver was a clear exhibition of his incompetence. Don't even bother asking me about last year's LBing corps. His Merriman fixation was another example of his perplexing evaluation skills. The word best describing Nix is befuddled.

Wilson would be an appealing prospect in the second round. He fits Buddy's profile: SEC and a southern boy. I get the sense with the serious amount of scrutiny that the front office is giving to the qb prospects that a qb is going to be drafted in the first or second round. The Kolb acquisition was not a great pickup but it was a good pickup that gave this franchise some breathing room. As much criticism I have directed toward Nix in general the personnel moves he has made so far have been sound. He was not afraid to wait for the qb market to come to him instead of panicking and go for a less desirous player. It will be interesting to see how this front office handles itself in the secondary free agent market. Trading down and adding picks are not maneuvers that Nix usually gets involved with. But if he did it would be a sign that the front office is trying to be more flexible and creative with the way they approach their jobs.

If the front office doesn't believe that a qb in this year's draft class is worth a top ten pick then so be it. But my point in the previous posts is that you can have a very good qb prospect who is not a top ten rated player but is still (for this dullard franchise) worth the high pick because of the value of the position. With respect to taking a risk or not taking a risk on drafting a qb my response is that not taking a risk to draft a franchise qb prospect is the course that Nix has taken for the past three years. The team's record is not only a dismal 16-32 but this Nix built team is rarely capable of beating a team that has a winning record. Continuing on the same course that has led your franchise to failure is a recipe for continued failure. What is worse than failing in picking the right qb is not bothering to try. Not acting because of a fear of failing is a loser's mentality that has for so long crippled this pathetic franchise.

The staying true to your board mentality is a limiting perspective when building a roster. Even the sluggish Nix has finally come to his senses to the realization that positional value has to be factored in when choosing players in the draft. A top of the board rated player such as OT Fisher/Jaekle is not going to have the same influence on improving a team as a lower mid first round rated qb who is capable of being a good franchise qb. Because of his late to the dance approach to the qb issue I get the sense that he and the organization are taking a full court approach to addressing the qb issue. The irony is if Buddy would have addressed the qb issue sooner when Kaepernick (2nd round) and Wilson (third round) were available he could have then stayed in the comfort zone of his value board in the subsequent drafts. I'm not saying anything that isn't blatantly obvious to most Bills' fans but until there is a legitimate longterm franchise qb taking the snaps this franchise will continue to be relegated to the ash heap of irrelevancy. This is the year to get that done so this franchise can move on to addressing so many other pressing needs.

If the Bills brain trust feel strongly about a particular qb prospect then they should take him at the eight spot. If not, then don't. There are other approaches to take. As you suggested they could take one of the top three OTs if still on the board. My preference would be to trade down in the first round and then take the qb you like and use the extra pick/picks to address other positions. What none of us knows is how much they really like and rank the qbs in this draft. It is difficult to grasp how the evaluations are because the evaluatiions are so varied. There is another aspect to the qb issue in this draft. There are a number of teams drafting ahead of us in the second round who should have an interest in this qb class. If the Bills wait for the second round they may lose out on a qb they really like. That is why I prefer trading down and securing the qb position and using the added picks for other needs.

I may have misread your responses. I probably conflated it with the large segment of responses that take the position that you have to wait for the consensus elite qb pick, and in the meantime do nothing about the qb issue until that dream scenario materializes. If I misconstrued your response I apologize. My position is simply that now is the time, as it was last year and the year before to draft a legitimate qb prospect. If it doesn't work out then do it again, and again until you come up with a legitimate long-term franchise qb. Three years of not attempting to address the qb issue is crushingly stupid.

In many ways this draft is more interesting than drafts that had the special qb prospects, like last year. It is going to be very interesting to see not only how the Bills handle the qb issue but how other qb needy teams also address that issue. Another intriguing aspect to this year's draft is the varied opinions on the qbs. Some analysts rate Nassib and Barkley very highly, and many others have a harsher view of them. Even on Geno Smith there is no clear cut view on him as there was with Luck and RGIII last year. This is a draft in which the qbs drafted most highly don't necessarily in the long run turn out to be the better qbs. Maybe a qb such as Glennon, like Flacco, in time will be the best value pick? All the qbs in this draft have question marks. It's not like last year where there was almost unanimity on Luck and RGIII. Although there is no guarantee that Smith will be the first qb taken it is most likely. That's an opinion that can reaonably be challenged.

The problem I have with your position is that you make it seem as if it is mutually exclusive in building up your roster while at the same time finding an elite qb prospect that will enable you to compete for the big prize. That is not the case if you have a GM who is competent----something the Bills don't have at this time. As I stated in another post this franchise has had multiple opportunities to secure elite prospects outside of the first round. While Nix was blind to the opportunities staring at him other smarter evaluators seized on his miscalculations and prospered. It seems that you are making the argument for delibertately tanking seasons in order to place yourself in a position to draft the golden goose qb prospect. Obiously the Bills are good at tanking a generation of seasons without intending to do so. My position is very different. How about respecting the abused fanbase with a product that is worthy of their support? No one disputes that having a good qb is a necessity to be a serious team. Organizations that are competent can find viable qb options that allow them to be a SB challenging franchise. Baltimore drafting Flacco lower in the first round after trading back into it is a clear example of what a little creativity and flexibility can do. If you come upon a roadblock you don't quit. You back up and go around the roadblock and take a different route to get to the same destination.Not doing anything to rectify a damaging qb deficiency is malfeasance and nonfeasance wrapped together. What has it gotten us? Waiting for the perfect solution is simply a continuation of the loser mentality that this laggard organization suffers from. If other teams can find ways to success then so can this bedraggled franchise. Excuses are fo losers. Time has run out for making lame excuses for a lame organization.

The mistake you are making in your do or die pursuit of the dream qb prospect is that you are making it seem that there are no other options other than the dream boat prospect. That is where I strenuously disargree with you. Both Kaepernick and Wilson were not considered elite prospects except by the few astute unconventional evaluators. They are just as capable, if not more, to lead their respective teams to the SB as Luck and RGIII are, the golden prospects. My general point on this topic is you can't be stymied because you are not in position to secure your coveted prospect. You have to be flexible and be willing to use a little creativityto find a solution when your first option has been closed to you. Nix has had opportunities outside of the first round to secure a scintillating qb prospect that without a doubt would have changed the trajectory of this flagging franchise. Being slow and inflexible in a fast paced business that requires creativity and flexibility is a recipe for mediocrtiy.

That's not necessarily the case. If by chance Geno Smith was still on the board for them they would take him. That wouldn't be the case for the other qb prospects. The conundrum for the Bills in their search for a qb prospect is that there are a number of teams drafting ahead of us in the second round who also desire a qb. What I would like to see them do if Smith was gone is to trade down and then select their qb prospect lower in the first round. However, maneuvering around in the draft is something that Nix is not comfortable doing. Although Kolb is a pedestrian qb it was a good signing for us. Instead of throwing an unprepared prospect into the fire squandering another wretched season it allows us to at least be competitive and gives the prospect time to learn how to play in this league.

We are discussing the Buffalo Bills here not some wishful dream desire. When you have a franchise that has become so irrelevant that it is worse than being mocked---it is an ignored franchise in the most popular professional sport in America. You don't instantly become a SB contender from the bottom of the pit. It is a process where you build up the roster on both sides of the ball and go from there. You have to string together a few high quality drafts and make smart free agent decisions during that same period of time. An Adrew Luck and RGIII type of qbs are once in a decade type players. Even when that caliber of qb is in the draft that doesn't mean that you will be in position to draft those gems. If you have astute talent evaluators, which the Bills don't currently have, you find another path to acquiring impactful qbs. You find a Kaepernick in the second round or a Russell Wilson in the third round when they are available. There are no guarantees that any quarterback that you take (with the exception of the golden prospects) is going to turn out to be good. So what do you do? You don't do what this stupid organization has done. Not bothering to draft a qb prospect unless you are absolutely sure about the unknown result is not going to advance the team at all. Sometimes you get lucky; most times you don't. But you shouldn't stop trying. Who ever thought that Kurt Warner would some day be a HOF candidate with two SB rings? Who ever thought that Russell Wilson would be matching Luck and RGIII in his rookie year?