Cash

Yeah, and the Saints stayed bad for so long by making dumb moves. Now they've got smart people running the show and making smart moves. I'm mostly judging the Bills based on past performance right now. Troup might turn out to be an awesome pick, or a complete bust, or anywhere in between. I just know that in the NFL, QB is #1 and LT is #2, and the Bills have done zero at either position this offseason. And now we're getting to late enough in the draft that you can't expect much help even if they do start addressing either position. I'm just not seeing much of a plan in terms of building a winner. Who is going to play QB? Who is going to play LT? We have nothing but bums at both positions right now. I'll change my tune when the Bills start winning.

At this point, it's getting to where I no longer want Bruce Campbell at all. If there's this much of a consensus that he's not a high pick despite having the best workout/measurements in OL combine history, then isn't he almost guaranteed to be a bust? I don't trust the Bills' front office alone, but I do trust the combined wisdom of all 32 front offices. Guys in the NFL always fall in love with the physical freaks and think they can "coach 'em up." So if the ultimate physical freak at LT is falling this far, it's pretty damning. Whatever, I'll still be happy if they grab him. But I've drastically lowered my expectations. Anything positive that guy produces will be a pleasant surprise.

Man, Chris Mortensen is the balls. Just tweeted that the Saints take "Donald Brown".

This is how good teams stay good, and bad teams stay bad. New Orleans takes Charles Brown because Brown's coming off an injury and Bushrod is so-so at best. Great pick by them. Bad job by many teams (us included) in passing on him in the late first or second.

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu....

We'll see if he's got the speed to get to the outside edge, which has been the weakness of Patriots LBs in recent years. Except for Mayo.

Hmm, Jets go Ducasse, mild surprise. Most project him as RT or OG, so this seems to be a replacement for Alan Faneca. I'll allow it.

I can see the writing on the wall, even if I don't like it. But I'd rather just cut Lynch than trade him for McCoy. McCoy in Buffalo is as close to a guaranteed bust as I can conceive, and also has a negative presence, because it makes us less likely to draft a real QB next year. I'm not big on any of the remaining QBs - LeFevour is basically McCoy without the stacked team around him and maybe a slightly better arm, with Skelton's measurables, if he was any good, he'd be a 1st-rounder, etc., but none of them have the name recognition of McCoy. It's hard to justify passing on Jake Locker or Ryan Mallett because you've still got Dan LeFevour on the roster.

So Seattle takes Golden Tate, which is fine by me. Next 2 teams are very unlikely to go OT. Everyone after that has a decent chance. Dunno if either Brown or Campbell makes it to #70.

Clausen's a douche. Only way I could root for that guy is if he was my QB. Same with Philip Rivers.

I'm one of the few who still likes Lynch. But Lynch for Charles Brown right here would make me happy. Lynch for Bruce Campbell would be intriguing. Lynch for Colt McCoy would put me on suicide watch.

First Montario off the board. Hopefully not the last.

Browns moving up, hopefully for McCoy. Although as much as McCoy will suck, he'll probably still be an upgrade over Delhomme.

Hmm, Cody to Baltimore... vote of no-confidence in Ngata? I guess we were right to pass on him after all!

I'll actually defend the Bills a little bit here. As important as getting to the QB is in any defense, the 3-4 starts and ends at the NT position. It's the absolute keystone of the D and should be the #1 priority when assembling said D. A lot like QB on offense. And personally, none of the pass rushers this year impress me. Law of averages says at least 1 will pan out nicely, just because there's so many candidates, but I don't think any one individually is more than 50% likely to be a hit.

Troup needs to be better than Joseph, Cody, Cam Thomas, Charles Brown, and Jimmy Clausen to for it to be a great pick. He just needs to beat out the first 3 for it to be a good/decent pick.

My bad, I didn't realize posting on this board was invite-only. Out of curiosity, who did get asked? And by whom?

Very true. Erik Flowers followed up by Travares Tillman? Yikes. That's really the benchmark for an atrocious draft at this point. At the time, both of those picks were very questionable, but most of us gave the Bills the benefit of the doubt because of their then-strong track record as a front office. Since then, the track record has done a complete 180, hence the current skepticism. But yeah, there's basically no way to match the incompetence of that draft. I definitely buy the hypothesis that Butler knew he was out the door and purposefully tanked the draft so as not to load up a future competitor.

Well, we'll see how all of this pans out. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Bills trade up at this point (a la Levitre last year), but even if they don't, they're basically saying that Troup is the #2 NT in the draft, and significantly better than Cody, Linval Joseph, or Cam Thomas. We'll see if they're right or not, but they defied the conventional wisdom. When you stick with conventional wisdom, you look smart at the time, and don't get much blame if things don't work out. When you go against it, you raise eyebrows at the time, and if it doesn't work out, you look like a fool. The Bills have been great at making themselves look foolish in recent years. I'm still holding out hope that they make a move for Charles Brown, which would be awesome.

Worst LT situation in the NFL? Better get some help.

Some of you sound like Raiders fans defending their crazy picks last year. "Oh, you'll see! You'll be eating crow soon enough!" Whatever. When your franchise is a joke, you don't get the benefit of the doubt on questionable decisions. You have to earn that respect by making the playoffs more than never. Just keep thinking that a 40-carry per game offense with Trent Edwards and Demetrius Bell starting is going to lead us to the promised land. I'll take you guys seriously the first time you're ever right. And FWIW, I hope you are right. That would make my Sundays much more enjoyable.

I had already resigned myself to the fact that they hate Clausen (fine, we'll stink so bad next year that maybe Gailey will get fired and a real coach will draft Locker #1 overall), but how do you pass on Charles Brown there? Dude is gonna be a solid Day 1 starter at LT, if you ask me. Not a great run-blocker, but a great technician in the passing game, and he has those super-long arms everyone's infatuated with these days. It just really bothers me how little the Bills seem to care about the two most important positions in football.

We couldn't have traded down with NE? You can't tell me anyone was burning to get Troup.

Since when have the Bills shown that they're better at drafting than the conventional wisdom/consensus? Since John Butler was there, that's when. The Bills need to earn the benefit of the doubt by having some of these reaches pan out. Drafting a NT with a 3rd-round grade when there's higher-rated (by consensus) players available at QB, LT, and NT? You'd better be right. The last decade of history suggests the Bills will be wrong again. You can't hope to defend them until they prove us wrong, because we've been right for years now.

Matt Williamson: They are just a horrible franchise. Lose more and more faith in Buffalo every day.