BobChalmers

I would. We don't really want to see poor DT Spencer Johnson trying to play OLB again, do we?? And agree with previous that Bills will still slide up higher, at which point a top QB will be an option.

No dog here either - but that's not sarcasm, and it's awfully mild for someone to get upset about. Stop being rational - around here we prefer you show your support for the team by demanding they start over every couple of years. (Now that's sarcasm!)

Different eras. Stats like Kelly's are no more than average these days. Yes - Fitz is pretty bad. If he doesn't turn it around the last two weeks his QB rating will sink below 80 again and that isn't good.

You obviously didn't see the game. As has been explained already - being down by 10 instead of 7 forced decisions at the end that probably cost the game. Hairston was the backup plan - he played well enough before being injured himself. You know any teams that do well after losing both their starting and backup OLT? NAME ONE. You can't. Btw - did you know the Packers just lost to the Chiefs? Do you know what one of the biggest factors in the loss was??? THEY LOST BOTH THEIR STARTER AND BACKUP AT RIGHT TACKLE. Their ORT - not even their OLT - and it made their offense suddenly mortal against the lowly Chiefs.

No flame - your reasoning is sound. It's hard to tell how much is Edwards, though I am certainly not impressed by the number of time it seems like the players out there are confused about their assignments. It's certainly not ALL on him. Kelsay plus Spencer Johnson at OLB is a really sad joke. I'd be happier to see Johnson back at DL and Kelsay as a backup pass rusher. Bills clearly need 1-2 rookie OLB's and a healthy Merriman and/or a top FA pickup.

Actually, he played a lot of 3-4 DE in college and I think that's a good position for him. We just have to being in some actual OLB's (and a healthy KW) to play around him.

Not sure what you are watching or missing, but Williams and Sheppard both look VERY good. Rodgers looks like a steal, and Hairston is at least excellent value for his round. This was at least a B+ draft. Makes up for what is looking like a horrific 2010 draft. Maybe 2012 will let us know if Modrak or others were still screwing things up in 2010.

In fact, I have complete confidence in KW and expect him to be 100% next year. This wasn't an achilles tear - they saw a problem and addressed it proactively. He'll be fine. If this is still a base 3-4 team they don't need to draft a DE before they've brought in TWO OLB's. Right now they have two very good DL's and some other solid ones (Johnson, Edwards, Carrington). They have ZERO actual OLB's unless Merriman comes back strong, which I have a lot less confidence in than Williams.

Fascinating. The Bills need two more DL for their 3-4, really? Was it Kyle Williams or Marcell Dareus you wanted to bench/cut???

What exactly is wrong with this past year's draft class? Are you upset Jasper hasn't produced yet?? Dareus is everything he was supposed to be - getting sacks even though he's forced to play NT. Aaron Williams has been hurt a bit, but when he's been out there he looks very good. Sheppard is getting better every week - he looks like the big aggressive tackler we haven't had at ILB since - I don't know when! He was making plays all over the place - including the Miami backfield. Justin Rodgers looks awfully good - a real late-round steal. Seriously - this draft is looking very good. Add two actual OLB's and (sadly) maybe a new QB and have just half the league-worst injuries and this team is absolutely playoff-bound. That's 100% ridiculous. Colts are going QB, Rams and Vikings are absolutely not.

Haha - oh yes - the guy who single-handedly cost them Super Bowl 25 with his playcalling should definitely start calling plays now! HAND THE BALL TO THURMAN, STUPID!! (Yes - I love Jim, but I do still hold that one grudge.)

You realize few teams do, right?

The pass rushers ARE the OLB's on a 3-4, silly. I have no problem with Chandler at TE. Other than that you're spot on.

Fitz was the reason they lost today. Again. Too many games in a row now where he looks like his old inaccurate self to believe it's a fluke. He's just awful. Still underthrowing all the deep balls. Multiple balls thrown at the turf in the direction of open WR's. They need to draft their next QB this April if a good one is there - losing to Miami helps. Redskins winning helps a lot. Seattle won too, right? Defense did fine for still not having Kyle Williams or a legitimate OLB at either position. Aaron Williams is very good. It was nice to have George Wilson back. O-Line was pretty good at time - opened some good holes for the run against one of the league's best run defenses. Pears was overmatched by Wake. In a perfect world - Bell and Hairston stay healthy next year and Pears is the reserve OT.

Sorry - I wish that was all of Fitz' problems but it isn't. His throwing accuracy and decisions the past few weeks have been awful. If he isn't playing hurt they need a new QB. Whether draft one this year or next, it needs doing. They have a huge hole at 2 OLB spots, and probably WR. Disagree that they are needy for more tham depth at DL, OT, CB.

YAWN. Just like Dareus was off the radar last year??? Stop with blaming Gailey/Nix for what Jauron/Levy was doing. You are forgetting the Redskins - or do you think they are winning more and passing us?? They are absolutely thinking QB.

Actually, your ignoring the OP so you can keep repeating your "tough talk" about injury excuses needs to stop. It's boring. The independent assessment from PFW says the Bills have the worst injury situation in the league this year - but you don't want to hear that? Why not?? It would be fair to question why this seems to keep happening the last few years. Could be bad luck - could be something wrong with the training. Maybe they need to consider different playing surfaces - don't know - but something is clearly a recurring problem, and it's not an illusion - it's quite real, and observable to even outsiders.

Why do you think DE is an issue?? There's no comparison to starting either Dareus or Kyle Williams at DE with guys like Edwards and Carrington to add in to the DE position.... Remember - Dareus is a DE. Williams could be too if we find a new NT. Compare this with starting OLBs who are either a converted DT (Spencer Johnson) a converted DE (Kelsay) a broken veteran (Merriman) and then who knows what (Moats/Batten) at OLB. Healthy, the D-Line of this team is pretty good. The OLB situation - oh yeah - the most important position on a 3-4 defense - is a nightmare, even if they were all healthy.

In fairness to the original article - I believe the PFW writer used the word "most talented". Wood may well fit that description. He is, after all, the only 1st-round pick who starts for the offense.

They would have been a 14+ win team with Brady. It was a huge dropoff and that was ONE guy. How do you like the way the Colts have held up losing Manning?? Yeah - Spiller's a disappoinment - we get it. It doesn't mean losing Freddy in the middile of his MVP-caliber season wasn't going to be a huge problem. How much would you invest in "backup OC"? It's not like the backup gets to play AT ALL without an injury. They do have backups - Urbik's OK, but there's no way we lose the one starting 1st round draft pick on the entire offense and not have it hurt. Worse than Wood was losing both OLTs. That's when the losing streak started, and there's no team I'm aware of that can handle that loss - because no team can possibly afford to keep 3 good OLTs on the depth chart. They are too valuable. Numerous people - including me - have already pointed out they left OLB a question mark going into the season. Merriman was a gamble, everyone knew that. Nix and Gailey also wanted to see what they had in Moats and Batten. It needed to be done - they've done it - and you can expect OLB upgrades next year. They can't draft every position at once - sorry. Again it would have been lovely if the Broncos had just given us their pick out of kindness - then we could have added Dareus AND Miller. Sadly the greedy bastards hung on to their own 1st-rounder and we could only address one need in the first. Not a clue why you think there is a useful analogy here. NO NFL TEAMS go 2-deep with starters at OC nor do they go 3-deep at OLT. NONE. Costs too much. You have to get a little lucky with injuries to win in the NFL - the Ravens fans/media know they have that this year. We'll get our turn.

Anyone who watched the early season games could see Merriman was creating pressure even w/o the sacks. Now we don't even get pressure. No, they weren't a good defense before - but losing Williams, Merriman, Wilson dropped them from poor to awful. It mattered.

And it's worth noting, the Ravens press, for example - has been pointing directly to their lack of injuiries this year as the main reason they think they have a real shot at the Super Bowl. Fitz still needs to play more consistently (which may or may not ever happen), and we could sure use a faster starting WR, AND 1 or 2 actual OLB's are a necessity - but it isn't much more than that and health keeping the Bills out of a real playoff run.

Losing to the Dolphins will be a big "help". Seattle's going to pass us. Don't know if Cleveland is thinking QB - but suspect they are "better" than us on tie-breakers. I would expect the loser this weekend to be the third team looking for a QB - behind the Colts and Redskins.

Agreed - what comeback? With our pass-rush, this will be the game where everyone will start to wonder if Tebow can even be a pocket passer. I say he hits 75% of his throws - because he'll have a month to make each of them. They'll do OK against Miller - and he'll still get some plays - that's no shame. He's a good player - most of us suspected it. So is Dareus. We could have used both of them, but you can't be upset with what Dareus has brought as an interior DL. If he still had Merriman and a healthy Williams in there with him the front would be a real strength of the team, and we'll see that next season, particularly assuming they draft (hopefully multiple) good OLB prospects.

...think will be starters next year: Demetrius Bell Eric Wood Roscoe Parrish Freddie Jackson Donald Jones Marcus Easley Kyle williams Torrell Troupe Shawne Merriman Terrence McGee Torbor Rian Lindell Leodis, Aaron Williams, George Wilson, Hairston, Kelsay. I'm just thinking that maybe we might have a decent nucleus....maybe they need better doctors around here.