Now that the Senior Bowl is over with, I decided to do read some summaries of what players stock rose and which one's dropped, in regards to players mentioned that the Bills might draft in 1st round. A name that most people have not mentioned, probably because you can't spell it,

is Alameda Ta'amu, DT, Washington, really rose - The following was written about his performance in practices, etc.

If scouts were hoping to be wowed by Ta'amu, all they need to due is watch the Senior Bowl game film. The big defensive tackle was dominant every time he lined up and was a constant nuisance for opponents. He collapsed the pocket on several occasions, overpowering opponents to make plays behind the line of scrimmage or force the action. His quarterback pressure at the end of the first half ended what looked to be a potential scoring drive for the South. In the second half the South was forced to double team Ta'amu in the attempt to slow him down.

When the Bills missed passed on Ngata for Whitner years ago, I have envisioned the Bills drafting a large Defensive Tackle to stop the run, ala Ted Washington. I just wonder if the Bills would take him in the 2nd round if he is there, with Kyle Williams and Dareus as starters. Would it be worth it?

Most mock drafts have had Bills taking Coples or Upshaw, of which the following was written about Coples Senior Bowl experience:

Quinton Coples/DL/North Carolina: Coples flashed brilliance during the game, looking like a man among boys at times. His athleticism is incredible, as Coples beat opponents with quickness, speed and power. On several occasions he had Kelechi Osemele flailing in an attempt to slow him down. When he could not get to the quarterback, Coples got his long arms up to swat away passes. When he's on his game Coples is a difference-maker up front. The problem for scouts is determining how often Coples is willing to play at his highest level.

Vinny Curry/DE/Marshall: Curry continues to impress scouts with his ability to get penetration across the line of scrimmage. He was constantly in the backfield and his quarterback pressures in the first quarter caused a lot of problems for the South. On one occasion Curry bull rushed the much larger Zebrie Sanders into the pocket which resulted in a loss of yardage. Curry has significantly improved his draft stock this week and a good combine workout could secure him a spot in the late part of Round 1.

Nigel Bradham/OLB/Florida State: Bradham was fast and athletic all game long, running down opponents from all directions of the field. He was terrific in pursuit and Bradham made several outstanding plays in open space. Bradham showed skill in pass defense and was on top of his game covering tight ends and running backs.

Courtney Upshaw, DE/OLB, 6’2, 273, Alabama

Upshaw spent part of the week at defensive end where he showed a number of teams he has the tools to make the transition at the NFL level. Upshaw’s versatility will present teams with a number of options, lets him play in a number of schemes and in a league where the hybrid defense is becoming the norm, allows him to stay on the field for more downs.

Part of Upshaw’s problem coming into Senior Bowl week was that he was a player who had been used primarily as an edge rusher at Alabama. He was asked to pin his ears back and attack more so than to read and react so questions about his football IQ needed to be answered. What coaches and scouts got to see was an intelligent, instinctual linebacker who has the versatility to play down on the line if need be. He lacks the football IQ of Luke Kuechly and as such will require more coaching but his athleticism is better. He probably made his way up into the top half of the first round last week.

Melvin Ingram, DE/OLB, 6’2, 276, South Carolina

Ingram and Upshaw have a lot in common in terms of skill-sets and versatility, but unlike Upshaw who played linebacker in college and is looking at playing some defensive end in the pros, Ingram was recruited as a linebacker, played end in college and now he’s making the switch back the other way. Headed into the Senior Bowl teams wanted to see how the Gamecock defensive end could make the transition and were pleasantly surprised.

Ingram would have work to do in order to make it happen correctly, he’d have to work on changing his body type a little and he needs to work on technique quite a bit, but you can’t teach athleticism. That’s what coaches and scouts saw in Mobile, he has the tools, he just needs the coaching. He also brings the versatility to be able to play a few different positions in a number of different schemes. That versatility, like with Upshaw, should help raise his stock on its own, but coupled with the week Ingram had in Mobile, he’s really helped himself.

Stock has dropped:

Russell Wilson/QB/Wisconsin: Wilson was terrific when he lined up in the shotgun and was able to move outside the pocket and throw on the move. When he was asked to play in an NFL style offense it was a completely different story. From the pocket Wilson sprayed his passes around the field and missed an easy scoring opportunity early in the game when his throw was wide of the mark. He showed little in the way of pocket presence or the ability to sense the rush. Wilson is a tremendous athlete, but he needs a lot of work before he'll be an NFL-ready passer.

Charlotte Observer

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/01/26/2959305/spotlight-gives-uncs-coples-a.html

MOBILE, Ala. As a tall, athletic defensive end from North Carolina, the comparisons to Julius Peppers were unavoidable for Quinton Coples.

Actually, Coples could have avoided this comparison: the tendency to go less than 100 percent every snap.

But where critics claimed Peppers would take plays off when he was with the Carolina Panthers, Coples has been blasted for taking the first three-quarters of the season off during his final year with the Tar Heels.

Coples, a 6-6, 280-pound native of Kinston, began last season as the top-rated senior prospect and a projected top-5 pick. But after a slow start that raised questions about his drive, Coples' draft stock slipped.

Coples had 2.5 sacks in the Tar Heels' first eight games against FBS schools, then had three in the final two regular-season games against Virginia Tech and Duke.

While some top seniors, such as Penn State defensive tackle Devon Still, skip the Senior Bowl for fear it will hurt their prospects, Coples had no choice but to come to Mobile.

Tony Pauline, draft expert for SI.com, said UNC coaches have been telling scouts Coples played cautiously his senior season to avoid getting hurt - a charge Coples denies. Coples said his production fell off initially because of his move to the right side, where he faced better offensive tackles, many of whom had help blocking Coples.

"I was in a situation most people wouldn't understand. I experienced double teams, triple teams, like I've never experienced before in my career," Coples said. "It was a big adjustment. I learned a lot and it helped me mature and become more of a professional as a man on and off the field."

Coples has had a good week at the Senior Bowl practices, beating blockers during 1-on-1 drills and looking like the kind of impact pass-rusher that draws big contracts in the quarterback-centric NFL. Peppers received a $90 million deal from Chicago as a free agent after the 2009 season. During his last fall in Charlotte, Peppers returned to Chapel Hill for the Florida State game and met Coples on the sideline at Kenan Stadium.

Coples said he respects Peppers as a player and person, but wants to establish his own identity. Pauline said he must first convince scouts he has the will.

"He looks the part. Occasionally he plays to it," Pauline said. "He shows some Julius Peppers in his game at times. But the problem is he did it for two games this year. The first three-quarters of the season he took off."

ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper ranks Coples as the top defensive end and projected him to go seventh in his first mock draft - just ahead of the Panthers, who could have an interest in bringing in a pass-rushing end to line up opposite Charles Johnson.

"That would be unbelievable," Coples said. "Playing in my home state."

One of Coples' college rivals believes Coples will be a big addition for whichever team drafts him.

"He's a very explosive player. He's got a lot of talent," said former Wisconsin quarterback Russell Wilson, who played his first three seasons at N.C. State.

"He's a great kid, first of all. And you definitely see it on the field. Me and him are buddies. Whenever I see him, we joke around a little bit. ... I've seen a lot of great players, and he's definitely one of them."

Then after praising Coples, Wilson couldn't resist taking a shot at him.

"It was exciting to play against him," Wilson said. "The good thing is we beat 'em three times."

Coples' stop-and-start senior season has not prompted him to re-adjust his goals. Never mind the defensive ends; Coples said he's competing with quarterbacks, running backs and receivers for one of the top picks in the draft.

"My goal is to be the best defensive lineman that ever came through at the size of 280 and 6-6," he said.

There's another one from Coples' old school who can make a pretty strong argument. But Coples is ready to be his own man.

In looking at the Bills roster, it seems they have more depth on the Defense Line to go with a 4:3 over 3:4. With Wannstedt as Defensive Coordinator, he has had more of his past experience running a 4:3. And with some mock drafts having the Bills taking Quinton Coples out of UNC, our defense for next year does show promise if they do draft a pass-rusher. With Kyle Williams returning and Dareus, those two could hopefully help us stop the run.

DT - Darues, Kyle Williams Backups - Torrell Troup, Kellen Heard

DE - Quinton Coples, Alex Carrington Backups - Chris Kelsey, Dwan Edwards

LB - Merriman, Sheppard, Barnett Backups - Torbor, Moats, Andra Davis

CB - Florence, McKelvin, McGee, Corner

S - Byrd, Wilson, Scott, Searcy

** I could also see the Defense panning out if they stick with 3:4 and draft OLB Courtney Upshaw, but don't believe there is as much depth for linebacker position.

With all of the posts about getting a QB next year, especially RG3, I figured that I would look at a mock draft that is out so far, based upon where the Bills will pick. I am still in favor of drafting defense in the first round, but I have to admit that it would be hard to pass on RG3 if he is still there. With the Browns drafting ahead of the Bills, though, I doubt that they will let RG3 go and keep Colt McCoy as their QB. For those Fitz doubters out there, McCoy has played a lot worse than the "QB standing at the corner with a cardboard sign".

It looks like the top-5 draft picks taken off the board for next year are as follows:

Andrew Luck to Colts

Matt Kalil to the Rams

Claiborne to Minnesota

Justin Blackmon to the Jags

RG3 to the Browns - Could be Trent Richardson.

Mock drafts have the Bills drafting 10th, with the following pick being Quinton Coples, DE, UNC, or Courtney Upshaw, OLB, Alabama.

** Of course, these are mock drafts and anything could change, but I doubt that the Bills will have a chance at even drafting RG3, since Miami, Browns and Redskins all need a game changing QB.

It has now been 12 years since the Bills have made the playoffs and during that time, the Bills have never found a replacement for Jim Kelly and have probably had the worst record of draft day busts, especially with their first ound picks! The 49ers of Montana and Rice day's have had a long playoff drought as well, of which we can recall that the last time the 49ers had a playoff caliber team was when the Bills were a playoff team or close to it as well.

It seems that every year, we have the new flavor of the year at QB for the Bills to draft. Last year it was Blaine Gabbert, of which so far it looks like Andy Dalton and Cam Newton will turn out to be the best QB's of this lot. I am not questioning RGIII's talent, but who knows if he will be as good as some expect him to be. There have been a lot of busts at QB taken in the first round. That is why I hope the Bills continue to focus on Defense through the draft and free agency.

If you look at the 49ers and Houston, they have done it with Defense, since Alex Smith and Schaub/Yates are hardly top-rate Quarterbacks! This year, the 49ers drafted one of the top two picks besides Von Miller, in that they drafted a pass-rusher in Aldon Smith from Missouri, who has 12 sacks. Last year, they drafted Navorro Bowman in the 3rd round, who has been a sold player at linebacker for them this season. In 2007, they selected Patrick Willis, who is a Pro Bowl linebacker. The 49ers play a 3:4 like the Bills, with Justin Smith and Ray McDonald at DE and Jesse Sopoaga at NT. The point of this article is that it took the 49ers a good four years to build what is arguably the best Defense in the NFL. I would argue that they are the one team that can beat the Packers and Saints, because of their defense! The Bills drafted Dareus, which was a step in the right direction. I would hope that they don't abandon their efforts to build a sold Defense! The only problem is that their doesn't seem to be a lot of stud pass rushers this year coming out in the draft. With that being said, I hope the Bills draft Courtney Upshaw or Whitney Mercilus out of Illinois, who had 14.5 sacks this year. Either would solve our problems at OLB.

As I read some of the comments here, ripping into Fitz and some that were claiming that CJ Spiller was a bust, while bringing up the ghost's of prior drafts like Maybin, we also should not overlook the fact that the Bills have had numerous injuries and for a team that is rebuilding, it is hard to find quality depth. That being said, Bills fans should look at this season as one to build on and not be so pessimistic as we have been during the Jauron years.

We lost Reggie Torbor, Merriman (was lost when he signed pretty much), Kyle Williams, Terrence McGee for the season, while also having numerous starters missing games on Defense. On the offensive side, we lost our best player on the team, Eric Wood, while also losing Fred Jackson, Roscoe Parrish (what a surprise), and Marcus Easley and Donald Jones at Wide Receiver. That is a total of 7-8 starters total, depending upon how you look at thing's. Coming off a 4-12 season, the Bills are not going to gain quality depth in the course of one year.

The problem I see with this team is that they cannot rush the passer and have no pass rush, which a team is only going to go so far defensively without a pass rush. You can blame Fitz, but all the playoff caliber teams have good defenses that can rush the passer. Tampa Bay faded pretty quickly this season after last year's 10-6 record, so I would hope that the Bills focus on defense again this season, so we can get rid of two players that are out of position at OLB in Chris Kelsey and Spencer Johnson. Since the draft is weak for OLB, I would hope the Bills have a shot at Courtney Upshaw.

L.T. said it before the Bills faced the Jets, that the Bills had the same team and same players for the most part. So Bills fans should face up to reality and realize that the early teaser was just that. This team won two of their first four games because of turnovers. Both Brady and Vick had the sun in their eyes and threw four picks. The Bills are not winning the time of possession in most games and don't have a pass rush. I repeat, don't have a pass rush! The last time the Bills had a pass rush was when Bruce Smith played. And the Bills have had way too many injuries to tread water without much depth.

Face it Bills fans, we are still trying to overcome 10 years of terrible drafts. We have one stud on defense in Marcell Dareus. Other than that, this team is still 2-3 "good drafts" away from being a solid playoff team. Their are signs of hope and progress, but it is hard to overcome drafting a Donte Whitner instead of a Ngata, or a Maybin instead of an Orakpo! Their are only so many franchise players in the top-10 picks of each draft and the Bills have to overcome draft futility. Dareus is a step in the right direction, but we still need another Ngata and Orakpo!

I didn't see the Bills game against Denver, but reading some of the summary here it seems that they still have major problems on the offensive line. Now that the Bills have hopefully landed a G.M. that understands talent and knows how to draft talent, this team is still a good two year's away from being a playoff team. This year they addressed Defense and landed Dareus and Aaron Williams, who I believe will be stellar pros. They seem to be building a better and bigger defense than the Keystone Cops they had out there for the prior ten year's. Can you say Coy Wire and McCargo.

Next year they can focus on the offensive line and drafting two top lineman and depending upon how Fitz does at QB, they might have a shot at some very good QBs coming out in Andrew Luck, Matt Barkley and Landry Jones, etc. The only way that the Bills will ever be competitive again is through the draft. There are not going to be that many free agents that have Buffalo on the top of their list. So, let's hope that Buddy Nix can draft the next few years as well as other small market teams do in the Steelers and Packers.

I watched and followed the Senior Bowl game and practices and the one player who's stock has risen considerably is Baylor Nose Tackle, Phil Taylor, who weighs in at 337 lbs. and is considered a late first rounder now. If the Bills would be stupid to ignore him if he is still there in the 2nd round. He was bullrushing the offensive line and moves North-South as Chan Gailey stated. He earned second-team All-Big 12 accolades in his final collegiate season, putting up 52 tackles, seven for loss, and two sacks for the Bears.

Another player that stood out was Ryan Kerrigan, DE from Purdue. Tied for the all-time Football Bowl Subdivision record with 14 fumbles forced (Big Ten record) ... tied for second all-time at Purdue with 33.5 sacks ... fifth in Purdue history in tackles for loss with 57.0.

* Kerrigan would definitely help the Bills pass-rush, while Taylor might be the Nose Tackle we are looking for, although he does have some character issues.

With all this talk about taking a QB, I believe Fitz deserves another year to prove last year was no fluke or that he can be a solid QB. That being said, the Bills defense was terrible against the run and the 4 playoff teams remaining prove that Defense still wins. Why take a QB in the draft, when Fitz deserves another chance, while their are many holes to fill still. And the top prospects, besides A.J. Green, are on defense - Bowers, Patterson, Fairley, Dareus.

Total Defense:

Steelers - #2 Total defense - #1 in sacks with 48 - #1 against the run. #12 against the pass.

Jets - #3 Total defense - #8 in sacks with 40 - #3 against the run. #6 against the pass.

Packers - #5 Total defense - #2 in sacks with 47 - #18 against the run. #5 against the pass.

Bears - #9 Total defense - #17 in sacks with 30? - #2 against the run - #20 against the pass.

Bills - #24 Total defense - #27 in sacks with 27. -#32 against the run - #3 against the run.

While I don't post on this site religiously, since I do have a job, it seems that a post from my fellow Bills peer north of the border disagrees with my notion that we should not address the Defensive Line first in the draft. My reasoning behind my statement, is that if you watch college football, instead of listening to Don Cherry on Saturdays, you would realize that their are about 7-8 defensive lineman projected to go in the first round of the draft this year! To clarify, the "PROcess" of drafting is to draft someone that is considered 1st round caliber. Most draft experts have Greg Jones of Michigan State at OLB ranked going in the late first round.

I will admit that the Bills definitely need help at linebacker, just as much as on the line. But when you have so many good defensive lineman this year in the draft, such as Bowers or Clemson, Fairley of Auburn, Dareus of Alabma, Quinn from UNC, Clayborn from Iowa, and Cameron from California, who are all expected to go in the first round, then I believe the Bills should address defensive line.

Other points!

- You win in the trenches, whether offensive or defensive line - Not at the blue line!

- Bills have the least amount of sacks in the NFL - Can you say Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis, or Julius Peppers, etc - Wouldn't it be nice to replace Schoebel and finally get some pressure on Brady!

- If you think that current Bills on the defensive line are so great, why do the Bills give up over 200 yards per game rushing every game.  Kyle Williams is the only player that has had a good year in my opinion. Marcus Stroud is playing out of position and it is too early to tell if Troup and the rest will pan out.

- Dallas Cowboys during the Super Bowl years of early 1990's had 8 very good defensive lineman, such as Charles Haley, Tony Casillas, Russell Maryland, Tony Tolbert, Leon Lett, Jimmie Jones, Jim Jeffcoat,  etc. - They would rotate "four" lineman at a time and that is proof of what a great Defensive Line can do for you. - You win in the trenches!

- Quote from Bill Parcells and Jeff Fisher - "You can never have enough good defensive lineman!"

* I will agree, though, that the Bills need linebacker help just as much, only problem being that this year we don't have a Ray Lewis coming out!

- So Canadian fan, I don't completely disagree with your post, but I think their is more talent in this draft at defensive line that is too good to pass up, rather than take an OLB. If the Bills traded down, I might be all for taking Greg Jones at OLB and addressing Defensive Line later. But who knows, we might be wasting our time if Luck is available.

All season long, teams have run for over 200 yards per game against this defense. We have had no pass ruch whatsover, especially with Schobel retiring. Fitzpatrick, despite the woeful appearance against the Vikings, deserves a second chance next year. Hopefully, the offensive line will gel playing together next year and avoid injuries.

But if either Da'Quan Bowers from Clemson is their or Nick Fairley from Auburn, the Bills should draft them. Bowers, who is 6'4, 275, has been unstoppable this year and has "15 sacks" and 24 tackles for loss. Remember, the Bills drafted Bruce Smith first and built their team from there year's ago. Fairley is another defensive lineman, a junior, who has had an exceptional season. Most draft experts already are calling him a top-5 pick. With Fairley and Kyle Williams in the middle, this would help stop teams from running all over us, which is as much of an issue as getting a QB.

If Ryan Fitzpatrick doesn't fair well the remaining four games, then I might be for drafting Andrew Luck. I believe Luck is one of the top notch QB's to come out in quite some time. But all is not lost if he ends up in Carolina or elsewhere.

I have alway's been of the opinion that the best college players and teams are in the SEC. The SEC had 49 players selected in last years NFL draft, the 11th time in the past 13 years that it tied or led for the most draft picks among college football conferences.

I decided to see how many players that the Bills have drafted from the SEC in the past decade in the first 3 rounds and the answer was Josh Reed from LSU. The Bills currently have several players on the team from the SEC that were not drafted by them - Kyle Williams, Marcus Stroud, Spencer Johnson, Antonio Coleman and George Wilson.

In viewing the Bills drafts, they seem to have drafted a lot of players from the Big-10, such as Whitner, Tim Anderson, Nate Clements, Poz and Maybin. Which I find it interesting that they never drafted "offensive linemen" from the Big-10, since the conference produces many stellar linemen.

Ozzie Newsome always brags on the SEC and drafts a lot of players out of the SEC conference. Currently, they have 9 players on their team from the SEC, including Ellerbe, Ben Grubbs, Michael Oher, Ken Hamlin, Le-Ron McClain and Jarret Johnson, just to name a few.

I wonder if the Bills Scouting Department even has a presence in SEC land?

Am wondering if the Bills should pick up Charles Grant, who most recently was released by the Bears. He is 32 years old, and did have some good years with the Saints recording 10 sacks in 2003 and 11 in 2004.

Last year, he 44 tackles and 6 sacks for the Saints. He is 32, so still has a few good year's in him. These are the type of Defensive Ends the Bills should have been drafting over the past 5-10 year's.

Originally a first-round pick of the Saints in 2002, Grant played eight seasons in New Orleans, where he contributed 505 tackles and 47 sacks in 118 career games before the club released him in March. Grant subsequently joined the Miami Dolphins, only to be cut after a solid preseason. Grant resurfaced with the Omaha Nighthawks of the UFL, where he participated in two games prior to signing with the Bears.

He can also reunite himself with former Georgia teammate, Marcus Stroud. We can then move back to the 4:3, since we seem to have players currently that fit that scheme better.

 

I recently read that this could be the worst Buffalo Bills defense in history! One was from the Rochester newspaper and Sports Weekly also reported that statistically so far, this might be the worst defense ever. Besides the Miami game, the other four opponents have scored at least 34 points, not counting the mercy rule. How bad are the current defenders:

- They have a total of 6 sacks after 5 games!

- One Interception through 5 games!

- Opposing offenses are converting nearly 50% of third down conversions.

- Opposing offenses are running for an average of 182 yards per game, and we haven't even played against Chris Johnson or Adrian Peterson.

- Only bright spot is that they are only averaging 200 yards per game passing the ball.

* Which bodes the question, do we need a franchise Quarterback as badly as a stud Defensive Lineman like Marcell Dareus, if he enters the draft? Or Linebacker, or another Defensive lineman, or another Linebacker?

-

To show you how bad the Bills drafts have been over the past few year's and why finishing with no more than 2 wins might not be a bad thing so we cannot screw up a top-5 pick (fingers crossed), Poz is currently the only player drafted from 2007 left, Maybin played only 2 series Sunday, and John McCargo will probably be released this week.

Lastly, some of the Bills "starters" are either other teams castoffs or lower draft choices:

Fred Jackson - Signed to practice squad in 2006.

Fitz - Career backup with Bengals.

Steve Johnson  - 7th round pick

Demetrius Bell - 7th round pick

Reggie Torbor - Released by Jags

Akin Ayodele - Released by Dolphins

* Proof that this team is a good 3 years away from being in playoff contention if they start to draft better, which doesn't hold much promise based upon what has been going on in the front office now for 10+ year's. Drafting Spiller this year when we already had two decent backs was akin to drafting Willis McGahee when we had Travis Henry.

I am beginning to think that Bills should take the best defensive lineman available or Q.B. available in the 2011 draft. Seems that we cannot stop the run and since this is a deep Q.B. class, we could get Mallett of Ponder in the 2nd round.

Since the Bills are 0-4, and last statistically in both offense and defense, not to mention they have only 4 sacks total this year, it seems like this organization is moving backwards. I thought about some questionable decisions and came up with 5. Feel free to add whatever else you can think of that doesn't make much sense.

(1.) Waiving your starting Q.B. after two games? - What? You didn't see this in mini-camp or pre-season games. What took so long?

(2.) Going to a 3:4 without the personnel. Chris Kelsey has played DE all of his career and how is he suddenly a good linebacker. Not to mention that Marcus Stroud would probably be better stuffing the run at NT, rather than playing defensive end, since he isn't a pass rusher!

(3.) Draft CJ Spiller and  then not even use him, except for special teams through four games. He proved that he has the ability to bust it when he touches the ball. Meanwhile, other rookies like Jawvid Best and Ryan Matthews are starting as rookies.

(4.) Why not throw deep on occassion to Lee Evans - Take a chance, what do you have to lose. The offense is last statistically, the Bills are 0-4, why are they so conservative. Just throw it up there and anything can happen. Of course, this seems to have been a problem for the past 5 years.

(5.) Tom Modrak is still on the payroll - He was here since the day's of Donohoe. Why is this clown still with the organization. And if he doesn't have much say in the drafts, which I doubt, what is his role precisely?

Since this season looks awash like other past ten seasons, I am paying a lot more attention to college football, (especially the quarterbacks out there), since it looks like we will have a good chance at drafting from a pretty good crop coming out. I watched Ryan Mallett play against Georgia and was very impressed with his arm strength and he can make all the throws. Obviously at 6'7, 238lbs, he has some mobility issues. What I like about Mallet is he play's in a pro-style offense and against SEC competition. A good test for him will be tomorrow against Alabama. He has thrown for 9 touchdowns and only 2 picks through 3 games. Threw for 380 yards against Georgia.

Andrew Luck from Stanford, who is more mobile than Mallett and has good size at 6-4, 235lbs. Luck is only a junior, but it is certain he is coming out. So far through three games, he has thrown for 10 touchdowns and no interceptions.

Christian Ponder, Florida State, had a very rough outing against Oklahoma, and was 11-28, 113 yards only. So far through three games, he has thrown for 5 touchdowns and 3 picks.

Jake Locker had a terrible game against Nebraska, going 4-20, making Trent Edwards stats look respectable.

From what I have seen, I think the Bills should take either Mallett or Luck next season. I like there size and they both look like franchise quarterbacks. Some scouts that have watched Mallett state that he makes throws that they have never seen any quarterback make before, his arm is that strong. Which is vital playing in the Ralph. Luck, adds another dimension in that he is a lot more mobile than Mallett, which is needed with the Noffensive line that could be out there.

 

The last decade-plus of watching Bills football has been a hopeless age of futility. It all started when Ralph decided to part way's with Bill Polian, John Butler and A.J. Smith. Over the curse of the decade, we witnessed the Bills bring in Tom Donohoe, who had one good draft out of his 5 years here. The 2001 draft yielded more good players than the rest of his drafts for the following 4 years. Clements, Schobel, Travis Henry - All in the first 2 rounds. Ron Edwards and Jonas Jennings were also taken that year.

Over the course of Donohoe's next four drafts, he yielded the following: Mike Williams at tackle, when everyone thought he would take Bryant McKinnie. Josh Reed and Ryan Denney were also taken in the 2nd round, of which their production was average at best for a 2nd rounder. And of course the Bills took the physically imposing Coy Wire in the 3rd round, when they could have had Alex Brown at DE from Florida.

2003 was the year of Willis Mcgahee, who Donohoe drafted because he ran all over Syracuse, which is just a step up from running all over William and Mary. Chris Kelsey, Angelo Crowell were drafted before Terrence McGee in the 4th round. So hardly an average draft, but one in which the Bills paid out a lot of money to two overrated players, Kelsey and Willis.

2004 was the JP Losman "Science Experiment", of which the Bills studied JP's brain to see if he could multi-task and learn to hit an open receiver while under duress, while also thinking about riding waves at Laguna. Unfortunately, the Bills also drafted Lee Evans, who is the most underutilized waste of talent I have seen at receiver in some time.

In 2005, the Bills brain trust really got creative and decided to draft a punt returner, Roscoe Parrish - You win with special teams, Marv Levy used to state, but of course, you needed to have a good offense and defense first. That is the part of the statement that the Bills front office didn't understand.

The rest of the seasons were awash until 2009, when the Bills realized that they have never drafted an offensive lineman this early since the mid-1990's, so they actually took two in the first two rounds. Trying to make up for lost time, I suppose. They took Eric Wood and And Levitre, of which they both looked good as rookies. Jairus Byrd was a lso a good pick, but Bills ruined a potentially good draft by taking  Aaron Maybin. Who so far, looks like the biggest bust since Mike Williams.

Meanwhile in Indy, Bill Polian is happy and his Colts are 2-0! 

 

Let's quit playing games and do what every other good football team has done, most recently JAcksonville. Face it, until the Bills draft two stud offensive tackles, then they are going to keep treading water and continue to look terrible offensively. Look at what Trent Williams of the Redskins did against Demarcus Ware in Monday Night's game. Jacksonville drafted two tackles in the first round several year's ago, just like the Jets drafting Ferguson . I could go on and on and on!

Bills should draft Costanzo from B.C. or Barksdale from LSU. If you have a good left tackle, quarterbacks blind side is protected. If you have a good offensive line, you can open up holes, develop a running game, and wallah, open up the passing game for Edwards, Fitzpatrick, Flutie, or whoever is back there. No championship team has ever made it to the playoffs without a solid offensive line. I watched Eric Steinbach pull out for the Browns and level two players, which helped Harrison score. All this time we have been drafting specialty players. Look where it has gotten us! A wasted 10 years plus of terrible football!

I have been reading and voting on the All Decade team posting and came to a realization. What am I voting for? The less worser of the choices. We also had some terrible players on the offensive line. Not one player is even close to being of Pro Bowl ability, except for Reuben Brown! But he was close to retirement in the past decade.

When your best center of the past decade is Trey Teague, is he still in the league? And the best of the rest are as follows, it is no wonder this team has been so pitiful - Gruden, Parcells, Lombardi, etc - All state that you win in the trenches - Hopefully, we finally get the message with draft choices Wood, Levitre, etc.

Brad Butler and Reuben Brown, in the last few years of his career.

John Fina at one tackle. Jason Peters - Now an Eagle, but still think he was overrated.

Every team that made the playoffs last year, except for possibly the Colts, had a very stable and strong offensive line.

Seems as if 99 percent of the posting on this site are alway's Bills, Bills, Bills. I took a look at the Patriots roster after the draft, since obviously they have been one of the most successful organization's for the past decade. With the loss of Scott Piola to the Chiefs, they still make a valid case as a team that can win the AFC East this season.

QB - Tom Brady

RB - Maroney, Sammie Morris, an aging Fred Taylor - Could be one weak spot

WR - Randy Moss, Wes Welker, an aging Torry Holt, Brandon Tate - Notre Dame - Great  choice in Tate!

TE - Alge Crumpler, but two rookies in Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez from Florida - Restocked!

Off line - Light, Mankins, Koppen, Neal, Koczur, and drafted Sebastian Volmer

Def Line - Wolfork at NT, Ty Warren and signed Gerrard Warren and Damione Lewis

LB - Banta-Cain, Mayo, McKenzie and Guyton - But drafted Brandon Spikes, a steal - He is a football player! As well as Jermaine Cunningham from Floriday, another good draft choice.

Secondary - Pro Bowler Merriweather, McGowan, Bodden, Wilhite, Chung and Shawn Springs

** Overall, don't think there defense is as imposing as in the past, but with addition of Spikes and Cunningham, that bolsters there linebacker corp, which was not as strong.

*** Offensive line is aging, but still formidable, but additions of Gronkowski and A.Hernandez, gives Brady additional targets - Not impressed with running backs.

With the Bills switching to a 3:4, never before had I ever seen a team make a switch for so many veterans to both defensive end and linebacker. This reminds me of the Aaron Kampman experiment with the Packers, who now is in Jacksonville and playing defensive end again.

Our nose tacklers are Kyle Williams and the recently drafted Troupe. Both seem undersized to play nose tackle, especially Kyle Williams.

Have I heard correctly that Stroud and McCargo are going to be at Defensive End? Wow, they surely will create a great pass rush from the outside with their 5.0 40-time. Carrington could be a good pick at Defensive End and the Bills might be weeding out those that don't fit into their scheme of things.

And Kelsey at Outside Linebacker? Maybin is at outside linebacker, with Chris Ellis also. All of which they played defensive end in college.

Personally, I really do not know what they are doing? And so far the draft has not been that impressive. The Ravens and 49ers, all of these teams that had better season than the Bills, seem to have better drafts than us.

Expect another lousy season, unless C.J. Spiller can walk on water.

I am not sure what to make of Jimmy Claussen. I do know that this team needs to build a solid offensive line and make sure that they can stop the run next season. They were last statistically in offense and defense last year, which means the team has a lot of needs still. With the Jets and Dolphins making big moves, the Bills will most likely finish dead last in the AFC. Unless there defense is stellar, that is the only way I see this team being competitive this year. That is why I would rather draft a tackle, linebacker, or nose tackle, to build a good defense. And one that can stop the run. We draft a Q.B. like Classen, and he will be running for his life and without a running game, will make his life more difficult.

Regardless, if the Bills wait intil 2011, there is a better crop of Q.B.'s coming out in my opinion:

Jake Looker, Washington

Andrew Luck, Stanford

Ryan Mallet, Arkansas

Pat Devlin, Delaware

Build an offensive line and defense first, then we can take a Q.B. in the first round. Since I expect this organization to still have a top-10 pick next year as well.

If Buddy Nix claims that he is going to draft a player, who will start right away, then reading between the lines, I doubt he would take Claussen in the first round. I  was not a big Claussen fan, but the more I have seen of him, can admit he makes all the throws and does study. Rumors, though, think the Raiders might take him just before the Bills pick.

If the Bills don't take a tackle, then they could take McCLain since they still need to build a better defense. And most draft experts think McClain is the most NFL-ready player coming out this year, who could be another Patrick Willis. With the Bills playing a 3:4 defense, you need a good Nosetackle and you also need a good linebacker corps. If the Bills add McClain, then they would have Mitchell and McClain in the middle, and move Poz and Maybin to the outside.

Secondly, GAiley and Nix have talked about taking a game-breaking type player. If Lynch is traded before the draft, then the Bills might take Spiller, who is extremely quick and fast and is a game breaker type running back, whith strong character.

We'll see, just going against the grain here. Face it, who would have thought we would have taken Maybin last year when Orakpo was sitting there.

Dolphins make a big move bolstering their defense with the 2nd best available free agent player on defense. The Bills have to be active in the market if we are to get out of the cellar, now that the Jets have become a championship caliber team, and with the addition of Cromartie from the Chargers, they now have the best secondary in the AFC. I believe the Bills are a good 2-3 years away from making the playoffs, since they have so many holes, and need to find a quality Q.B. - Of which, right now things don't look too promising. http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4969924

Scouting expert Russ Lande and a team of scouts came away with following observations from the Senior Bowl:

Strongest Arm - Tony Pike, QB - Cincinnati - Clearly has big arm to make all the throws

Weakest Arm - Sean Canfield, QB - Oregon State

Fastest Receiver - Dexter McCluster, Ole Miss - NFL people salivating about his speed and explosiveness.

Best Hands - Jacoby Ford, WR, Clemson - Smooth route-running skills - Impressed throughout the week.

Best Inside Runner & Right hook - RB, LaGarrette BLount, Oregon - Scouts caught off guard by his quickness and powerful running.

Best Outside Runner - McCluster

Best pass blocker - Mike Iuapati - Showed strength to stalemate rushers and quickness to neutralize stunts.

Best run blocker - Also Iuapati - Extremely violent run blocker at the point of attack. Consistently blows up his man.

Strongest athlete - Iuapati - He was clearly the most dominant lineman at this weeks Senior Bowl.

Strongest defensive lineman - Jeff Owens, Georgia - Showed raw strength to play 3:4 tackle and has frame to add weight.

Best run stuffer - Jared Odrick, Penn State - Speed and agility to pursue the ball carrier.

Best pass rusher - Brandon Graham - Michigan - Easily was the most impressive Defensive End this week. Showed great power and speed coming off the edge.

Hardest hitter - Taylor Mays, USC - One negative is that his aggressiveness hurts him in coverage.

Best cover man - Kyle Wilson, Boise State - Looked great in man-to-man and zone coverages.

Jared Odrick, Penn State - Has been beating his man consistently in one-on-one drills. Odrick could be a possible first round pick in a draft that is deep in defensive tackles, which bodes well for the Bills. One scout said he didn't like Odrick on tapes, but now he likes him a lot and is going back and looking at the tapes. Played all 4 Defensive positions on Wednesday and is one of the players who is getting a lot of attention.

RB - Dexter McCluster, OLE MISS - His speed and versatility has jumped out. At RB, he has shown superb accceleration through holes. At WR, he has made acrobatic catches. His size worries some team - 5'8", 165lbs. But there is no doubt about his playmaking skills.

G - Mike Iuapati, Idaho - Mammoth size at 6-5, 325lbs., nasty disposition on the field, he has been punishing defensive linemen in drills. He could be the first guard selected. He is also very competitive.

Tim Tebow's mental struggles were evident on Wednesday, while his mechanics have been well documented. he is consistently late on throws, specifically on deep routes.

Troy OLB Cameron Sheffield played defensive end WEdnesday and showed a quick burst off the edge.

QB Dan Lefevour showed his athleticism, but struggled in other areas on Wednesday. Constantly checked down, missing open receivers downfield. His accuracy was spotty, mainly because of poor mechanics. He does not sqaure his body accurately or transfer his body correctly. 

Joe Delamielleure recently stated in the Sporting News that he really likes Central Michigan Q.B., Dan Lefevour. He said that he has the size at 6'3, 238lbs., and makes all of the throws. He reminds him a lot of Ben Roethlisberger, who while an Assistant Coach at Duke, Joe D tried to recruit Big Ben. Delamielleure stated that when Big Ben was being drafted, he told the Bills to pull a Ditka and trade all of their draft choices for Roethlisberger.

Granted, LevFevour is probably not another Roethlisberger, but since the Bills do need a Q.B., they might be able to get him in the 2nd-3rd rounds. LeFevour play's against Troy tomorrow in his Bowl game, so we will see if Joe D is accurate in his assessment.

In 2004, three players Nix drafted were selected to the 2005 Pro Bowl. In 2005, six players Nix drafted were selected to the 2006 Pro Bowl. In 2006, eleven players Nix drafted were selected to the 2007 Pro Bowl. In 2007, eight players Nix drafted were selected to the 2008 Pro Bowl.

Nix is considered by some to be one of the top five talent evaluators in the NFL. The Chargers won four out of the last five AFC West titles with Nix as Assistant GM and Director of Player Personnel, in charge of college scouting and instrumental to the decision making process of their NFL drafts.

Antonio Gates, Drew Brees, Jamal Williams, Shawn Merriman, L.T., Marcus McNeil, Nate Kaeding, Antonio Cromartie, Kris Dielman,

Chargers fans are in despair over losing Nix!

This guy is part of the AJ Smith clan and they have proven themselves as great evaluator's of talent.