dave mcbride Posted November 22, 2005 Posted November 22, 2005 1. let jerry gray go and bring in either capers or haslett. regardless of what one thinks of their head coaching ability, both are excellent defensive coaches, and they'll both be free. keep the rest of the staff. 2. sign kevin mawae. he's over 30 and will be coming off of a torn tricep muscle, but when he's healthy he'll still be far superior to any center the bills have had since kent hull. he's apparently done with the jets. 3. make a run at steve hutchinson if he's available. he might not even though he'll be a free agent, but if you're going to break the bank on a difference maker, it's better for the guy to be a guard. he won't be too expensive. 4. cut mike williams or force him to take a big paycut. my sense is that they'll have to cut him, and if they do, a team like the houston texans or the dallas cowboys will be thrilled to get him given their problems at the RT position. also, i hate to say this, but it's probably best to keep bennie anderson. he'll be an overpaid backup, but he at least provides depth and knows the offense. 5. franchise clements. he gives up some plays, but so does every corner in the league. he doesn't give up any more than either champ bailey or chris mcallister, by the way. with a decent front 7, his talent will shine through. 6. contemplate cutting milloy. this is a tough one. if he were willing to take a pay cut, i'd keep him around as a veteran, but he's probably too slow at this point to merit anything over $2 million. cutting him will of course save a bundle, but i worry that there will be no equal replacement. i'd definitely keep vincent, who is having a pretty good year despite the occasional slipup. he can still cover. 7. draft the best possible 2 gap dt with the first pick. 8. if need be, trade one of the two thirds we'll have and move up in the second (or into the late first if we're in the top 6-7 picks) to draft the best LT available. he can be a swingman in year one as peters improves and gandy competently plays out the string. 9. cut eric moulds if he's unwilling to be paid anything less than $2 million/year. he's been the highest paid skill player on one of the worst offenses in the league three years running, and his ypc has declined for 6 straight years. he's a possession guy, not a difference maker. others like him can be easily found for $2 million a year. trust me, there will be no dropoff in passing game production. and, given that it's already so poor, it's not as if there could be any dropoff. 10. use a third (or "the" third depending) on a promising DT with some explosiveness who has either attitude problems or is coming off of injury. detroit did it with shaun rogers, and dallas did it this year with chris canty. they can both play. heck, dallas did it with leon lett, and he wasn't a late pick because people hadn't heard of him. 11. use a 4th on a safety on a strong safety tp eventually replace milloy or sign a decent veteran safety now for no more than $2 million if you decide to cut milloy. 12. sign an aging fat guy: someone like a grady jackson who can give 15 snaps a game on first down and short yardage situations. that leaves the bills with the following lineup: line: gandy-hutchinson-mawae-villareal-peters (with a rookie LT swingman and bennie anderson and duke preston, who can function as a multipurpose interior reserve). RBs: mcgahee-gates-williams FB: shelton (or some other vet)/sub who can play special teams qbs: losman-holcomb-rookie 4th/5th round choice TEs: everitt/campbell/euhus WRs: evans/parrish/aikin/moulds or his replacement/rookie d-ends: schoebel/kelsay/denney/scrub dts: adams/rookie dt/2nd rookie dt/anderson/aging fat guy LBs: posey/fletcher/crowell/spikes/stamer/haggan (i'm not sure of posey's contract status - if he's still under contract, he's worth keeping because he's not abysmal, knows the defense, and comes cheap) CBs: mcgee/clements/king/greer (and/or thomas)/rookie safeties: vincent/milloy (or new vet or rookie)/baker/wire (good special teamer)
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