BillsVet

I'd think spending on Hughes precludes the Bills from signing Revis and it probably means Searcy's gone as well. It's good they want to keep their own and have their starting RDE under contract. The concern, if you give Hughes big money, is how that contract hinders them from spending on offensive players. Because the Bills don't have the draft resources in 2015 to fill the needs on offense and they'll need to spending in UFA.

On the good side, they've got a real NFL HC, Russ Brandon has been put in his place away from personnel, and they've got a very good defense. Those are encouraging things. But not having a QB is a tremendous obstacle to overcome, not to mention needing serious upgrades across the OL, and improvements at TE and RB. There's a lot of work to do.

Why did Whaley trade for Bryce Brown last year on draft weekend? Investing more (and perhaps higher) resources doesn't fit within established NFL trends. Essentially, that teams don't devote much to RB's.

And exactly 0 NFL teams are building championship caliber teams this way.

Based on what? His production under a different HC and staff 2+ years ago? I'd agree they need a talent infusion at TE, but drafting RB's high is a serious misuse of resources, particularly when you don't have a 1st. Drafting RB's and going cheap on the OL is something this organization has done repeatedly since about 2001. It never works. Backs are replaceable and found more likely in the middle rounds or via UDFA.

The coach told EJ to check down? That's priceless. EJ checked down because he was tentative and wouldn't throw the ball down-field, not because the conveniently departed Marrone and Hackett told him to repeatedly throw short passes. It's why EJ admitted after his benching that he would, if given the opportunity, "cut it loose." http://bills.buffalonews.com/2014/10/02/bills-notebook-manuel-remains-optimistic-through-benching/ During the off-season, some people forget just how bad Manuel was during the regular season. He doesn't read defenses well, can't get through his reads, and when he does, the pass more often than not is errant. The tape doesn't lie in that regard.

It's time to invest in the TE position with that 2nd or 3rd round pick. A rookie may not provide great production, but down the road you want to have someone there and spending top dollars in UFA on Julius Thomas or Jordan Cameron may hurt the team more than help. It's a little concerning that Roman didn't get more out of Vernon Davis. Part of that may be QB related, but I can't think of a better weapon for a young QB than someone like Davis who's faster than just about every LB out there.

And this is what happens during the dead part of the off-season when people try to create news because there isn't enough to write articles on.

Defense no longer wins championships. The top defense in the NFL still gave up 28 to the Patriots, so valuing defense equal to offense is not appropriate. And right now the offense is not very good, despite having Sammy Watkins and Robert Woods.

2010 and 2011 top 10 were pretty solid. 2012 and 2013 not so much. 2009 was not good. 2008 was OK. 2007 was excellent. The point remains that sometimes top tier talent isn't so top tier and better players are ultimately taken much later. There are so many fans who want guarantees on decisions and prior to draft picks being selected, there is no such thing. Spending resources to move closer to a guarantee in order to satisfy fear is not what personnel executives get paid to do. They look to acquire the most value for the least cost, and given that 2014 represented a strong WR class, Buffalo didn't do that.

I know full-well how bad they were on the OL this year. My point remains that you can find decent guards in UFA and they don't typically cost a great deal. But you don't find outstanding TE's in UFA and if you do, they'll cost a pretty penny. The draft is not there only to fill needs, which invariably it becomes to a lot of posters here, because that's essentially how the Bills have used their top picks going back to around 2006. Savvy teams do better than draft for need.

I'd be looking to use that 2nd round pick for a more dynamic position, say perhaps TE. 5 of the last 12 guards receiving votes to the NFL All-Pro Team in 2013 and 2014 were taken in either round 3 or 4. I'd rather they find UFA guards who are more plug and play and fit their system (not Iupati) so they can use their high picks on skill positions.

Has there been a QB cut with a decent starting record who could be considered a "cap casualty"? Another thing re: Eli or Kaepernick. Both the Giants and 49ers have very good GM's that aren't going to rid themselves of their current starter. Buddy Nix might, but not Jerry Reese or Trent Baalke. Not happening,

Has there ever been a pending UFA that said anything different about his current club and the prospect of receiving the franchise tag?

Naming someone the starter at essentially the outset of the off-season and then dumping him after 2 games showed precisely why the Bills, back in 2010, were a ship adrift at sea without any sails. It showed no long range planning, and worse, Nix and Gailey decided they could win with Ryan Fitzpatrick for 2 + season after 2010. Decisions back then led to decisions recently, i.e. being forced to take a QB in 2013 who wasn't ready to play. Trent was dumped after 2 games in 2010 and Manuel lasted all of 14 games before St. Doug pulled him. Thankfully, there are football people in charge now and that kind of amateur clown show won't be going on with new ownership in charge.

A lot has changed since 2012. Back then, they had a somewhat competent (although not stellar) passing game to support the run game. The play of several players has tailed off, noticeably Fred Jackson and on the OL, Wood and Pears. The latter probably won't return and the former has regressed. And of course, they let Levitre go, only to replace him with (in order) Colin Brown, Doug Legursky, Chris Williams, Cyril Richardson, and Kraig Urbik. The OL needs a serious talent upgrade and the RB's need to improve. I doubt Spiller returns although it's possible. Bryce Brown needs to have his case of fumbleitis resolved before this team can run the ball like it did in 2012.

I'm not clear where the opinion is coming from that a defense can be dominant anymore. There isn't one team that can put out a 1985 Bears, 2000 Baltimore, or 2002 Tampa Bay caliber defense, no matter how many resources are allocated to that side of the ball. The rules have, as you say, changed significantly so that defense cannot be played the way it used to be. Seattle gave up 28 points to New England in the Super Bowl, so good QB play with some weapons can still beat a solid defense. Perhaps this argument of building an "elite" defense is grounded in some fans' private admission that Buffalo doesn't have a QB nor will acquire a decent one this off-season. That's pretty likely, but what's absurd is the thought of spending more resources defensively. If the strategy is to continue building defense, it'll come at the price of building a better offense. Teams just can't be that imbalanced and expect to win, regardless of what happened 10, 15, 25, 30 years ago.

Except Big Mike played multiple seasons in the NFL and Kouandjio hasn't played multiple NFL games. The question is, why did Buffalo spend a mid 2nd round pick on a guy who couldn't play which may or may not be related to chronic knee injuries?

Is Houston of thinking about moving on from Ryan Fitzpatrick now? I doubt Fisher and Snead would move on from Bradford unless they knew Austin Davis or Shaun Hill could get them into the playoffs next season. Washington is stuck with 2 QB's, meaning they've got none. Cutler isn't going anywhere with that contract Phil Emery gave him a year ago. Nor is Eli from the Giants. I think it's surface fans hoping and wishing that a QB falls into Buffalo's lap. It just doesn't happen like this.

Or this year's class has risks, either off-field (Winston) or just aren't judged as talented enough to take with a top 5 pick (Mariota).

Not trying to be contentious, but Marv wasn't an A list HC when he was hired. I'd agree Knox was.

With Incognito being signed, you have to wonder who has more personnel control, Rex or Whaley. DW hasn't exactly set the world on fire with his pro personnel decisions.

While we're at it, would Flutie be willing to un-retire at 52 and QB the Bills? Goodness.

Locker to me is like going after Kevin Kolb in the 2013 UFA signing period. They banked on him to play and, surprise surprise, he got hurt. I love Locker's athleticism, but at this point you don't put a "what-if" type guy out there and just hope it works out. He's missed 25 games in the last 3 seasons. The Bills did a similar thing 2 years ago, although back then they just needed someone for Manuel to beat for the starting job. Kolb didn't help that by getting concussed in the pre-season.

Is Flutie coming back? And if so, will they re-sign Rob Johnson for old times' sake?