BillsVet

Ironically, Clabo was signed by the Chargers in 2004 and waived after 6 days. I wonder who their Pro Personnel Director was back then? Clabo-Falcons Website Would be a good signing, but the GM would rather sleep during free agency if that ever comes. Who do the Raiders plan on getting rid of from their OL?

The free agent situation has worsened in Buffalo. During Marv's first year as GM, Ryan Pickett came in for a visit and ended up going to GB. It seemed like Buffalo had a chance to sign him, but it was really a competition between STL and GB. Flash forward a few years and Buffalo is barely getting players in for free agent visits. DT Jimmy Kennedy was a backup for Minnesota who ultimately remained there, despite playing for a team who'd use him as a backup. He came in for a visit and left without signing. I know Buddy talks about not being a fan of UFA, but when he was Pro Personnel Director in SD they signed a few name guys. I just don't think he has the budget and needs a reason not to be a player. Losing for 11 years and hiring people like Buddy and Chan are noticed by players and agents alike. There's a very uncertain future with the owner and very little talent on the team. It's no wonder most players use Buffalo as a bargaining chip.

If you compare SB participants versus WS participants since the 2001 season, the numbers are very similar: 14 SB participants versus 15 WS participants. No one's defined success or competitiveness here, but I'd be the first one to point out that there will always be teams that remain bad-mediocre while other teams are successful more often than not. In the AFCE alone you've got that situation with NE having been at or near the top for a decade while Buffalo fumbles around in the same period. And that's with a salary cap and the worst teams having the best draft picks. Ultimately, it's the people managing these teams who either make more good decisions or do not that lead to on-field success. There's no way to ensure every team has a capable owner and/or GM that consistently make good decisions to put the best team on the field. Bob Kraft hired Belichick in 2000 and not long after RW went with Donahoe/G. Williams. RW followed that up with Marv, then Brandon, and now Nix. Meanwhile, NE still has the same HC whose system is very successful. The NFL can't possibly force RW to hire someone of Belichick or Pioli or Dimitroff's acumen no matter how much they want to.

The only difference here is someone's talking about redistributing quarterbacks and not greenbacks. Ironically, the NFL is perhaps the most socialist of any professional league, and there are still several teams stuck at the bottom while others are perennial successes. You can't legislate teams into success because some people make more mistakes than others.

Play on the field is the major indicator of a player's success, but it's not the only one. No one's looking for a workout warrior who knows the events and if you want to put words in my mouth, go ahead. But if I'm drafting a player 3rd, he'd better be more than just someone who shows up on tape. He'd better have a great work ethic and fit whatever scheme Buffalo is looking to run, particularly on defense. It would also be nice to see free agency transpire before the draft, but we know that may not happen.

The best defensive front 7 prospect available when the combine and individual workouts are over. It's too early to be making declarative statements.

Cam Newton ain't Andrew Luck. Besides, isn't the off-season when teams are deliberately trying to confuse each other? I mean, if Buddy Nix is so adept at confusing teams, aren't others capable of doing the same? If Carolina had a chance to get Luck, then yeah I can see Clausen getting tossed to the curb. But I doubt a team would get rid of Clausen after a season of playing for the worst NFL team just to take Cam Newton who is a project QB that'll need at least a year to acclimate.

When was the last time a team traded out of a top 3 pick? It was 2001 when Butler gave ATL the 1st for the Falcons 5th overall and the first pick in the 2nd. That was 10 years ago for goodness' sake. Unless there's a rookie wage scale in place for the 2011 draft, no team is moving up for any player who could significantly alter their franchise finances. Not even for Cam Newton, who is a project QB and as a top 3 pick would command at least 40M guaranteed.

Last year Marty Hurney spent a 2nd on Clausen, so I don't think they're going to dump him after a season. We're always told here how it takes 3 years to evaluate a player, and in 1 year I don't think Carolina just gets rid of their 2010 2nd round QB. Now, with Ron Rivera on board, I see them taking the best front 7 defender available, be it Bowers, Fairley, whomever. Denver is in the same boat, and was 31st against the run last year. They'll go 4-3 from McDaniels 3-4, and so they need to stock the front of their defense with players. They're not going QB with Orton and Tebow on the roster.

Good thing they re-signed him to that 2 year contract extension in 09 that ran through 2012 and guaranteed him 12M.

But has anything really changed at OBD? I've never seen a franchise where the owner himself publicly defends his Director of College Scouting. What team has to trot their owner out to support someone who's down the totem pole of organizational power who happens to draw up the draft board for 9 years that have been so lackluster? Despite hiring Buddy and Doug Whaley, I'll always have this sinking suspicion that RW or his people are "helping" to make picks on draft day. And if Cam Newton is the pick this year, well, we can all draw our own conclusions. That includes the homerish pollyanas who revel in whatever the team does, despite their woeful track record during the off-season's most important weekend.

Buffalo drafted 8th and 26th in 2006, 12th in 2007, 11th in 2008, then 11th and 28th in 2009. That's six first rounders, of which McKelvin and Wood are the only guys under contract that will probably make the team in 2011. I don't think most Bills fans, especially homers, realize how horrible it is to come away with a backup CB and G/C from 6 first round picks. If RW was committed to finding a real GM from 06-09 and not someone he knew personally, I have a feeling this team wouldn't be watching players like Haloti Ngata or David Harris get the franchise tag from other teams. They'd be in Bills uniforms on Sundays come September. But this is the price you pay when a nonagenarian and his bean counters are making decisions on how to staff a NFL front office and who they select during draft weekend. Four years wasted and another rebuild trudging slowly along.

Denver was 31st in the NFL against the run under Josh McD and will probably change over to a 4-3 under John Fox. So I highly doubt they decide to build their football team like Dick Levy did 5 years ago with a bunch of secondary picks.

Harsh, or something that might sway me from using the franchise's highest draft pick in 26 years on someone who will get 40M+ guaranteed? If I'm the Bills and I want to pick the right player rather than a ticket seller (we'll see there), I'm looking elsewhere. This is a huge investment and one that better be researched to the nth degree. And BTW, isn't Buddy wary of 1 year wonders? Because last I checked Blinn JC isn't Auburn or Alabama. I'm not advocating DT necessarily, just saying Cam Newton isn't the player third overall.

Billy Devaney knew he was going to take Bradford first overall after the pro day at OU in late March 2010. The knock on Bradford was an injury and little else different than what college QB's have to deal with moving from the NCAA to the NFL. When he was cleared to throw in February '10 and had an excellent pro day in March, the decision was made for the Rams. None of the QB's available this year are really top-10 caliber guys in a very weak class. Bradford, after alleviating concerns about his shoulder, was the best QB in his class and a better pick than any of the 2011 QB prospects.

Socialism can do anything.

Saint Louis was going with Bradford all along no matter what. Rams 2010 1st Pick Consensus Sam Bradford is a far better prospect than anything in the 2011 draft.

Why on Earth would Chris or Bill Polian give up anything for Z receiver? They find them in the middle rounds already who don't command large salaries. Reggie Wayne is their X. Evans seems to have quit the past 2 seasons and it's probably because he's tired of being on a losing team that's at the beginning of another rebuild. I guess he can keep running those 9 routes.

Vince Young won a NC at Texas and he became a huge liability to the Titans. College stats are nice for the Heisman voters, but they're not going to tell me if a player will succeed in the NFL. Furthermore, the NFL Draft is not a time when you take huge chances on players who have character concerns like Newton does. Buffalo needs to stick the landing on their pick and leave the first round with a starter from Day 1, not another project who needs time learning how to read defenses that'll sit for a season. If anyone's gun-shy about taking a DL and is worried about the bust rate, well, look at players like Ndamukong Suh, Gerald McCoy, B.J. Raji, or Sedrick Ellis. All were top 10 DT's taken and all have or look to be solid if not excellent picks. QB's aren't easy to find, but good personnel people tend to locate them more easily. The jury is still out on ole Buddy, who has proven nothing as a GM one year in. Taking a project like Newton tells me he has no clue whatsoever.

How many fans will think Buddy's an old fox if the defense becomes more 4-3 than 3-4 this season? He and his head coach have made conflicting comments about their scheme, and have signed players and coaches who are either 4-3 or 3-4 types. This is the same guy who re-signs Chris Kelsay to a decent contract extension, despite the fact he can't play LOLB in a 3-4 and his pass rushing ability as a 4-3 LDE are marginal at best. The same Buddy Nix who makes fun of the equally dysfunctional Raiders at his HC's introductory press conference and rambles on about getting 35 calls a day for the HC job. This is not a man who is savvy or capable of subterfuge during the off-season. He's a former national scout not qualified to be the top football man for a NFL franchise but gets the position because he's the only quasi-personnel man RW still knows. Buddy said on 12/31/09 that the Bills weren't that far away. I laughed then and I'm still incredulous that he's saying anything but that he's got a lot of work to do. Eventually the team has to play games, and after year 1, Buddy's work hasn't translated into much but suspect draft picks and UFA's who aren't much either. Buddy flunked year 1 as Bills GM.

Why did he quit? Was it pictures he emailed showing him shirtless?

My issue with Buffalo the past 5 seasons has been a reliance on unproven players. It seems like every year they need 2-3 guys on either side of the ball to play well and it just doesn't happen. Astute observers know a player's improvement is greatest between years 1 and 2, if it happens at all. So, depending on 2nd year players to form the basis of your defense is all they have because they rebuild every 3-4 seasons. It's not a model for success. KFBD, you and I both know this team will sign 2-3 low to mid tier UFA's, then proclaim it a busy off-season. Soliai either never leaves Miami or gets snapped up by a team needing a 3-4NT like HOU or KC. Buffalo doesn't get in bidding wars, so they'll be hyping Troup and Carrington ad nauseam. I'd be happy if one of them is a reliable starter in a 3-4. That is, if they go with the 3-4 like ole Buddy says unequivocally. Besides, Buddy doesn't have the budget to be awake when UFA begins.

Yep. And they thought Williams could be a 3-4NT. As good a player as KW is, he's not a fit in that defense and never will be. If they move back to a predominantly 4-3, they have no clue what they're doing. They can say all they want that it's a hybrid, but in this case it's because they don't have personnel for either scheme.

But ole Buddy said we're a 3-4 team? More subterfuge from OBD or their actual plans for defense. Perhaps they realize their best player, Williams, is a 4-3 3T or 1T and not a 3-4 NT. Makes a lot of sense now that they've signed Shawne Merriman to a decent sized contract with guarantees. If this is true, the defense is a mess.

As long as you've got a front office and players, there's nothing else you need to win in the NFL. Don't need a HC, that's for sure because they don't draw up game-plans or decide whom to start. And while we're at it, let's credit McCarthy as SF's OC in 2005 for advocating Smith over Rodgers. It's not like those same front office people making decisions don't have the overwhelming say about whom to draft, leaving the OC to make the call.