Koufax

Quick, bench CJ again and pass twice in a row Chan! Don't want to let the waterbug get tired!

Excellent job by Chan to keep the ball out of Spiller's hands that last drive. Letting CJ touch it can only hurt our draft position, or else maybe he is just super tired from touching the ball a couple of times.

Based on what was known on draft day, anybody other than Dareus at #3 would have been a big head scratcher. Green, Peterson, Jones, and Smith right after are all very good players, but I don't think any of them were a better fit for us or clearly better. But taking the #11 player at #3 needs either some magic crystal ball, or just 20-20 hindsight. Just like the Spiller pick (nobody picked 10-18 made any sense as a better player for us, and picking someone lower than that is future-prediction cheating), I think the Dareus pick is a good draft day decision. And like the Spiller pick is now proving, I hope it also ends up being a great on field five years of contribution pick. Disclaimer, I actually liked Dareus more than Von Miller on draft day and was happy when the Broncos picked Miller because I thought it might go the other way. I'm pretty sure that might not have been the right draft day decision had it not been made for us, and Von is really living up to the post Senior Bowl hype.

I love RGIII, and the thing that really makes him special is his accuracy. He is at 67.5% completion right now, while Newton was 60% as a rookie, Michael Vick didn't make it past 56% in his first seven years, Luck is at 57%, Peyton Manning didn't get above 62% in his first four years. Obviously scheme, circumstance, and sample size matter, but his completion percentage is a pretty good reflection of his great throwing accuracy and decision making. However on the Bills making the trade, we have to hold off to see if the ransom they gave up will make clear sense. RG3 isn't going to the playoffs this year, so the upcoming two #1s the Rams are getting could be higher than expected. Clearly not an apples to apples comparison, but since the Skins gave up the current 1st and 2nd, plus two more 1sts, that is abstractly the equivalent of Gilmore, Glenn, Dareus, and Spiller. Now the Skins had a much lower 1st and 2nd pick this year, and looking back at our #3 and #9 isn't quite the same as looking forward to 2013 and 2014, and maybe we would have given up less moving from 11 to 2 insead of 26 to 2. But those are the four names that represent what the Bills drafted with three 1s and a 2. I know it is a QB league and we need to get our first franchise QB since Kelly pretty soon, but I don't think the upgrade from Fitz to RG3 is worth losing Gilmore, Glenn, Dareus, and Spiller. I would be happier taking what is available to us at our #1, or even the Brees/Dalton type in the 2nd. RG3 might work out, but that is a lot of big picks, and that creates a talent drain on your team for years to come.

Winning out is a dumb idea and a dumb premise. You can only win out if you get to the Jets game having won all the other ones, and the Jets game is a long way off. I had us at 5-5 at this point in the season, with the final minutes of the Titans game the only think we screwed up. The fact that we could have beaten New England twice or the Texans on the road and blew it is somewhat meaningless as well. We need to beat the Colts on the road, who are a good team with a good QB, so we can move to 5-6. None of our remaining games is unwinnable, ad non of our remaining games should we even be a big underdog for or shocked if we win. But there isn't a single game there that is in the bag either. Flipping six heads in a row is pretty hard to do, so we need to start playing a lot better and get ourselves in a position where these games are more than 50/50. 10 days to prepare for the Colts, and getting to face a team without a strong running game who passes a lot, and a defense coming off of a blowout loss are all good things for us, and I think this is an even tougher test than Seattle and our hardest remaining game. Stranger things have happened, but I think our optimism should be tempered and go one week at a time, and hopefully we can play meaningful games deeper in the season, and maybe even after week 17. But don't bet your rent money on it, and probably not even your beer money.

Lawyer Milloy says hi. Although he was picked up for more than the gameplan, his gameplan advantage definitely contributed to the 31-0 drubbing.

+1 Signings and cuts should be smart and do everything they can to get the most talent possible on the 53 man roster. I'm sorry VY didn't work out, and more sorry Merriman didn't (although I think the 4-3 hurt his chances as much as anything), but I'm glad that our front office is making each move thinking about who is better. Clearly they think Jackson > VY, and I would tend to agree with them. I have my doubts on Jackson, and I think we are charismatic but not so great at first string and talented and inconsistent on second string now, but we are probably better off than with VY and the obviously going to get cut anyway Thigpen. We still need to draft our QB of the future at some point, but in the meantime it is crucial to try to get him the best backup option we can. Since those decisions can be made along the way and without major franchise earthquakes unlike the #1 spot.

I don't mind the gamble and I had hoped it worked out. Clearly Chan and Buddy don't think he can help the team as a 4-3 end, which while disappointing isn't super surprising. I thought he would get a little more rope, but maybe they decided in fairness to him to do it earlier so he could catch on with a 3-4 (hopefully not in the AFC East!).

Its time to resign Byrd, Levitre and Urbik You do know that there are two unrelated errors in the title alone right? They are also two of the most common ones. Posts and replies can have a lower threshold, but it would be nice to have reasonable use of the English language in the actual topic. As for the content of the discussion, I think there is no rush on any of the three, but I think all three should remain contributing members of the Buffalo Bills for years to come if that is possible.

I'm not going to play the Tom Brady card, because that isn't reasonable, but Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees send their draft greetings to Jamarcus Russell and Tim Couch.

No way. Miami would never take a one dimensional speed receiver lower than the 9th overall pick.

I don't get the Roscoe 2.0, since he is faster, but also several inches taller and 23lbs heavier. I don't know much about him, but if Buddy thinks he is a very good football player (he wouldn't trade up to get him if he didn't think that), I am fine with that because I was hoping for a WR in the top three rounds. We will have to wait and see, but nice to have a fast receiver to stretch things.

I take it you weren't watching the draft when we finally got the big receiver we needed with Hardy! Jokes aside, I love this pick.

Two things we often say that we can't say anymore: 1) Ralph is cheap 2) No big name free agent will come here so we have to settle for the role players Now, I don't think this fixes us all at once, but healthy our 2011 team was pretty darn good, with some problems with the 3-4 personnel and not enough pass rush. We now have the pass rush solved, are back to a 4-3, and lots of good things are ready to happen. We still need to add talent to this team with a couple minor free agents and a solid draft, but adding Mario plus getting Freddy, Wood, and Kyle back at full health among others, makes this team start to look pretty exciting.

An overpay offset by some other underpays elsewhere over the last couple years, but finances aside, having Mario on our team is a great boost. Mario, Kyle, Dareus, and Carrington? I have to think our front four is going to get some pressure this year if everybody stays healthy, and that will make our secondary that much better.

I think we were doing alright until Fitz cracked some ribs, then we lost our best O-Lineman, and our best D-Lineman, and our best player (Freddie). We didn't have the talent or depth to overcome those injuries, but not because of the lack of LBs, OTs, and backup QB. I see our 53 man roster talent getting better year by year with Buddy, and I expect that to continue next year whether we get a big splash or not.

If we sign Mario Williams and if the top WR is not as good a projected football player as the top DE/OLB, you pick the WR? Need more than one DE. I'm happy to take a positional need when two players are a tossup in terms of evaluation, but very tired of the idea of taking a need that is an inferior player. Three reasons for BPA: 1) few rookies have enough of a year 1 impact to really fill a year 1 hole even when that hole is clear. The ones who do are usually a pretty good candidate for BPA anyway 2) Forgetting year 1 need, if you pick the less talented player, that pick will add less to your football team over the first five years, and over that period your team will have less total talent 3) Perceived need is often incorrect or not as crucially needed as people feel it is.

Wow, the Patriots now join the Vikings, Broncos, and another team I can't quite put my finger on as four time Super Bowl losers. Is it okay to admit I was actually rooting for the hail mary to be caught?

I was so confused as I watched Cundiff rush up to his place and not have a moment to gather him. Not calling a timeout there is terrible. I kick he needs to make even if rushing onto the field, but better to take a timeout or even a delay than to kick it without everybody being 100% ready. Glad it wasn't us.

Evans had the Super Bowl in his hands, and instead Marsha gets another shot. But what was happening seconds before that kick? They were rushing up to the line and not set? Were they expecting icing and didn't get it?

If you pick an inferior player at #10 because of need and fit (see Whitner over Ngata), you are dooming yourself to future irrelevance.

Exactly. I am in agreement that a 4-3 DE is very likely our top need, and it is also very common for players like that to be the top value at #10. But when it comes time to pick, if the top guy by a clear margin plays another position (except for maybe RB), take that guy. He is going to be a part of our team for five or more years, so picking the top need over the top talent is a waste and leads us to gradually be a less talented roster than taking the best player available. In the event that we can't get a pass rusher at #10 that is reasonably the best player (and in the learn from Aaron Maybin, both reasonably sized and a multi-year performer), then we can certainly pick one up in rounds 2 or 3 or free agency at a lower skill level, but at less of a BPA-philosophy compromise. I expect we will have a close to BPA pass rusher available at that slot, and just hope when it happens we pick the Orakpo and not the Maybin.

I would love it to be Wanny, go back to a 4-3 (with occasional hybrid), and draft a dynamic 4-3 DE and have Dareus and Williams in the middle.

In the words of The Dude. "Obviously you're not a golfer". I don't think you get what matters and what is good for this football team. If you think turning a 5-2 season into a 5-11 season with a nine game season ending losing streak is a positive for the team in terms of crafting winning football players out of the 53 man roster and attracting free agents, I am quite glad you have nothing to do with running the franchise, as badly as the current guys have been doing it. This win was 100% a positive for the 2012 team and beyond. And take a look back at the draft and see if the difference between drafting 8-10 and drafting 14-16 is as big as you think. I'm not going to cherry pick examples, but every draft has some good examples about why we won't miss out on the guy we really need for some loser because of draft position.

On the simplest level we need better football players, better coaches, and better health/luck. To break that down a little more we especially need better pass rush, Wanny or someone similar at DC, and not to lose our best OL and best DL and best CB and best player to IR along with others in the same season. I would rather have a young mad genius, but I think Chan is capable of running the team and the offense, and I think Buddy is capable of making smart roster decisions. If you add in some defense (I love the idea of Wanny coaching a 4-3 with a starting front line of #13 pick, Dareus, Kyle, and Carrington), and we continue to progress, I think this team can improve. Last year we were a 4-12 team. This year we are a 7-9 or 8-8 team (underperforming), and next year there is a reasonable expectation to be a 10-6 team. The last six games have been hugely disappointing, and I would happily can our DC already, but I still see this team as progressing and on the right track to improve roster talent and field execution year by year without having aging veterans that make the window of opportunity short.