Cash

+1. Nothing beats having a couple of crazy homers to beat up on. Back in maybe 2002-03 or so, a Steelers homer in my league drafted Korbel Stewart in the first round. Spiller in the first round wouldn't be quite as bad, but still pretty bad. When the coach who just drafted the guy says he wants to give him about 15 touches a game, that's a #2 back at best, regardless of the other circumstances.

Keep in mind also that the drafting of Rivers at #4 overall served as a wake-up call for Brees, driving him to work harder and raise his game to new levels. Brees has specifically brought that up in interviews. I don't see the drafting of Levi Brown at #209 overall as having the same effect.

Remember, we've heard ad nauseum for the past few years that "it takes TWO years to fully come back" from an ACL tear. This is why players who tear their ACLs always stink the following year. Or sometimes they're just never the same. In Bell's case, considering how bad he was before the injury, penciling him in as the starter is crazy and disturbing.

If I was a DC, I'd definitely put 8-10 guys in the box on most downs.

Rivers was definitely not considered a reach at the time. There was quite a bit of speculation that SD would draft him at #1 overall, since Eli famously did not want to play there. Instead, they drafted Eli, prompting the Giants to draft Rivers in order to facilitate a trade.

Yeah, people need to realize that Mel Kiper basically does the work of a regular scout or maybe head of scouting, but with an extra digit on his salary. The only reason for someone like that to try to get a job with an NFL team would be to try to work his way up to being an assistant GM in a few years, then being a GM a few years after that.

Not possible, unless someone has some bootleg practice footage where Brohm looked really good. If we stick to his NFL career, the facts are that he's played pretty badly in both of his preseasons, gotten beaten out by a lower-drafted rookie in year 1, got beaten out again in year 2, was cut & cleared waivers, and looked really bad in his only start. But I agree with you that I'd rather see him in the mix for the starting job. We really have to give him a pass on the Atlanta game because he was so new to the team.

Remember how Gailey said his offense doesn't have a name? Well now it does.

Meh. Campbell is a mediocre NFL QB, not a good one. Yes, he'd be an upgrade over the bad NFL QBs on our roster, but I don't see him taking this team to the playoffs. I'd rather hold out for a GOOD quarterback.

In fairness, most college QBs get better every year. It's rare to get a case like Snead's, where he just fell apart in his last year as a starter.

QFT

Not particularly. So few colleges play a 3-4 that it's rare you'll be able to draft a true 3-4 OLB. And most 4-3 OLBs project to ILB in a 3-4, so that means if you want to draft a 3-4 OLB, you need to look at 4-3 DEs. Not every 4-3 DE can make the position switch, but since this is a rebuilding year anyway, it's a good time to find out which ones can and can't.

Another small-school DE that will convert to LB. Unlike Moats, I really see Batten staying on the outside. I'm still obsessed with short shuttle times and vertical leaps: http://www.footballoutsiders.com/nfl-draft...ducing-sackseer And Batten's are good. 32.5" vertical is nothing impressive, but it's not really horrible, and his short shuttle is an insane 4.05s! That's elite for sure. I guess Batten has short arms, which is kind of a hindrance for outside contain, but has anyone been able to track down an actual measurement? I haven't. How short are we talking here? Does he need an extender to wipe his butt? I always talk myself into way overrating all our late-round picks, and this year is no exception. (The exception was last year, when we went with a gonzo late run on DBs.) I really like both of these LBs in the 6th. LB is a position where good players frequently come out of the late rounds (along with C, OG, & S), so I don't think I'm totally crazy in thinking that at least one of these guys might wind up being a steal. And yes, I am getting excited about two 6th-rounders just a couple hours after posting about how you can't get either angry or excited about anyone drafted this late. Big whoop, wanna fight about it?

Makes a lot of sense. Physically, he's built better for ILB than OLB. Usually you like your OLBs taller than 6'0.5": http://espn.go.com/blog/afceast/post/_/id/...-for-model-olbs But I've always liked the shorter ILBs. London Fletcher, Zach Thomas, Sam Mills - none of them particularly over 6', all of them great players. Going past the height thing, we can look at his vertical and short shuttle times, which are the two measurements that best predict pass-rush success: http://www.footballoutsiders.com/nfl-draft...ducing-sackseer 36.5" vertical and a 4.37 s short shuttle seems pretty solid, but unspectacular (the short shuttle looks below average, the vertical looks probably above average). I won't be disappointed if he's moved inside. I love the fact that Moats was the I-AA DPOY. I feel like the best defensive player in I-AA in any given year is going to be able to make it in the NFL. Of course, sometimes the best player doesn't win the award, and it's not like I saw any I-AA games in any case, but still. I'd usually rather have the small school or I-AA cream of the crop than a BCS conference player who has ideal size, but stunk his whole career. In the late rounds, anyway. Moats was clearly a notch or two above his competition athletically, which is a good sign. Definite special-teamer right now. Might be a legit player down the road. Or he might never make an NFL roster. That's the problem with these late picks.

No, because I prefer watching football in bars so it's a social experience as well. Plus I don't want to get DirecTV. Plus I don't think the Bills will be worth it next year. But reasons 2 and 3 don't really matter, because reason 1 trumps all.

+1. Sounds like they're planning on using Spiller on kicks & split wide around half the time anyway. So we've really got 2.5 backs, not 3. That's not really a logjam. Worked fine for the Saints last year & for the Giants in 2007. And the Raiders last year, actually. Bush, McFadden, & Fargas all split time and their overall running game was decent, even though the rest of the team was a shambles.

I think you see some signed tonight, and a bunch more tomorrow. Teams usually start trying to sign UDFAs during the latter part of the 7th round. I don't see why that would change now that it's earlier.

If Wang starts at LT and Wood moves to C, we'll start with Wang, then add Levitre, then get to full Wood. One UDFA I like at RG is this guy Myron Ejaculate. Got a good feeling about him.

Positives: Addressed D-line early, especially at NT, the most important position. Got the consensus best player at one position at #9, & wasn't considered a reach. Did attempt to address O-line to some extent, although it may have been too late to make much of an impact. Negatives: Passed a potential franchise QB twice. Passed on some potentially solid starters at LT (Davis, Bulaga, Staffold) once, passed on another (Brown) twice. May have reached for a couple of picks; probably could've traded down & still got their guy(s). Ignored positional value and long-term rebuilding strategy by going RB in the first round. It's really a wait & see, of course. If Buddy's bizarro vision turns out to be true, and the presence of Spiller transforms our 30th-ranked offense, led by Trent Edwards behind Demetrius Bell, into a good offense, then this is an A+ draft. If none of the OTs that they passed on pan out, that would also help the grade. Clausen busting would be a major boost to the grade.

Gotta think Wood would slide over to C if they have any confidence in the primary backup at OG. We'll probably see a C or two brought in as UDFAs, though. Possibly a late UFA signing of a McKinney/Whittle type.

Dude has pretty good size, arms on the short side but proably still long enough to play tackle. Same as teammate Bulaga, I think. NFL.com certainly likes the pick, based on their grading system. It'll be interesting to see whether the Bills see him as more of a tackle or a guard. I'm sure it'll come up in the introductory press conference. For a 7th-rounder, this guy probably has an excellent chance of making the team as a rookie, especially if they like him as a guard. Do we have any backups at OG right now? I thought McKinney was gone, and I can't think of any others (who don't also double as OTs) off the top of my head.

Who's bitching? Nothing wrong with the Brown pick. Or anyone at this point, really. But also no one worth getting excited over. If you get a good player in the 7th round, consider yourself lucky. Overall, the Bills draft is a little disappointing to me, because it really showed how many holes we have, and how there was never any way to fill them all in one offseason. I can't say I'm very happy with the guys they passed up, but the guys they wound up taking look to be fairly solid. The only picks I can question on their own merit are the skill position guys, Spiller & Easley. But honestly, Spiller at least has the potential to shut up me and the rest of the haters. Easley not so much, but whatever, he's a 4th-rounder and should be a good special-teamer anyway. And as I type, the Bills grab another OT. Solid. Could be the next Terrance Pennington or Demetrius Bell. Or better. Or worse. Definite crapshoot at this point.

Back in our heyday, most of our best picks were undervalued small school guys.

Yes, they seem very confident in their selections. Which means they look really dumb if those guys don't pan out.

9.5 inch hands. Anyone who thought Clausen would be a bust due to hand size is forbidden from lauding this pick. ...In fact, everyone should be forbidden from lauding this pick. Ryan Fitzpatrick is one of the more successful 7th-round QBs in recent years, so that should give you an idea of the upside here. But please don't take that as bitching. The fact of the matter is, there's no one on the board who's even a lock to make the team, much less get on the field and make a positive contribution. Can't get excited or upset at this point.