So, in years past, I have found it nearly intolerable to partake in the draft day threads. People treat it like the end of the world, freaking out, using all caps and numerous exclamations, all while adding nothing analytically. My goal this year is to have a thread for those of us who want sense to rule the day.

So if you want to partake in this thread, I'm going to start with some of my own rules. Feel free to suggest your own before the draft starts.

• No yelling.
• If you want to register your displeasure, tell us why. I know you wanted player X over player Y, but tell us why.
• Try to understand each pick before you react. You might not like it, but there are more than one opinion to be heard.
• There are plenty of places where people can be jerks on the internet. This isn't one.
• Be respectful, and all those other rules you agree to when you sign up for this blog.

I've never had a player who I've had such differing feelings about depending on the situation. I'll start from the beginning of my awareness of him.

Continue reading this post »

So I guess this is going to be a mind dump about the potential owners' lockout of the players in 2011 and its effect on the Bills. One thing I want to remind everybody is that the Owners are the ones that will be initiating the work-stoppage. They'll lock out the players, which also precludes the possibility of there being any scabs. Also, when you hear about greedy players wanting more money, remember it's not they who chose to stop playing.

• First, I know we don't know how the CBA will end up when football is finally played again, but won't there be a lot of LT help available via free agency? Both McNeil and Gaither will be free agents if things revert to how they were before. Perhaps Nix has decided he'd rather keep his draft picks and wait a year before going after a disgruntled LT.
• In general, won't there be a lot of available free agents? I can't imagine the NFLPA is going to allow it to be 6 years until free agency kicks in.
• Personally, my favorite potential player in the draft is Andrew Luck. However, since a lockout in March would likely put the draft on hold, isn't there a big chance players with one more year of eligibility will opt to stay for another season in order to avoid having a very uncertain immediate future?
• Also, how would the proposed rookie wage scale affect players' choice to turn pro?
• When/if it returns, the salary cap is expected to be lower than in seasons past . Since the Bills have one of the lowest payrolls in the league, that would indicate we'd have the most freedom to resign players and go after free agents. Do you think that was a factor in our FO's offseason decisions?

I know this comes off as being a Nix apologist, but I'm really hoping that he's seen beyond the current season in his rebuilding plans. I have to believe that he's not panicking, like a lot of us currently are. 

As many of you may already know, tonight's game will be broadcast on the NFL Network starting at 11 pm. Since many of us won't be able to watch the game as it airs live, I was wondering if there was any interest in having a separate game thread  for those stuck watching it at 11 pm. If so, maybe I will create a fanpost or something. Let me know what you think. 

I've been thinking about this for a while and I wasn't exactly sure how to go about conveying it, so I apologize if it sounds like a dump.

I keep seeing the similarities between the 2008 Dolphins and the 2010 Bills. Both teams were coming off a debacle of a season where both the FO and coaching staff were gutted. Both were making a switch to a 3-4 under the new regime. Both teams have an accurate QB with questionable arm strength who rarely goes deep. Both teams have their main offensive strength in their depth at RB. Lastly, both have limited, unproven talent at WR.

I'm not trying to start an argument about how similar or dissimilar the teams are. I understand that it's not a 1-1 comparison, but the reason I bring it up is due to the fact that Tony Sparano looked at his team and saw those strengths and weaknesses and decided to try something different with his team. That's exactly what I think Chan is going to do.

I don't believe that Chan is going to try to copy the Wildcat directly, as most teams have seen it and are now unsurprised by it. I do believe that Chan will try another once-popular college formation: the Wishbone.

First of all, I just want to state that I'm not an expert on the Wishbone by any means, so my understanding of it limited to what I'd seen in old Big 12 games and in Air Force games. Plus, I don't think Chan would risk Trent's fragile head on sending him too far out to start the option. So, It would probably be a variation on the Wishbone, mostly having 3 RB's in the backfield.

Here's how it would work: Marshawn would be occupying the FB position. Depending on the QB's read, he would either hand it to Marshawn up the middle or fake it. Since the FB is less responsible for blocking and more responsible for running up the middle, it would really suit Lynch's strengths. The QB then goes to his second option, which is to pitch it to one of the RB's on a sweep, with the other RB as the lead-blocker. If Trent reads that the safeties are cheating up, he goes to the third option, which is a streaking Evans, who would be single-covered.

That's a really simplified, basic sketch of how it would work, and there are tons of variations on it that I won't get into here. I've just had the feeling that if Chan and Buddy don't seem to be too keen on thinning out our crowded backfield, it's for a reason. I also know he's considered very knowledgeable on the running game and would likely be able to teach and explain this wrinkle fairly easily. This offense would also keep our best players on the field, as we have much more talent at RB than at WR.

I would expect Chan to run it at most 10 snaps per game, as it is somewhat gimmicky. Also there are some definite weaknesses to it. The biggest one is how effective CJ could be as a lead blocker if the pitch goes to Freddie, and vice versa. Also, you run more of a risk of injuring Trent by increasing his exposure to pass-rushers.

The main benefit of running the Wishbone would be to create confusion on the defense. Whenever the Bills have all 3 RB's in the game, the defense would have to sub to stop the Wishbone, even if it just ends up being that CJ splits out to play WR. It would also get Lee a lot fewer double-teams and free him up a bit.

I know this is somewhat far-fetched, as nobody's really tried it in years, but I think coach Gailey could make it work with the right personnel. Let me know what you guys think.

If you haven't seen the episode of Lost that aired Tuesday night, May 11, entitled 'Across the Sea,' stop reading now, lest you be spoiled.

Since Brian hasn't posted yet, and I'm way too impatient to wait, I've decided to take up his mantle and post the Lost discussion FanPost for this week. "Across the Sea" was a very controversial episode, particularly at this point in the series, not having any main cast members in it at all (other than a brief season 1 flashback). Discuss away.

Barring any changes in schedule format, i.e. switching to an 18 game season, the Bills will play the following teams next season:

Minnesota, Green Bay, Chicago, Detroit, Cincy, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Miami twice, New England twice and the Jets twice.

When and where for these games has not been set yet and won't be for a while.

It's sad to say, but hopefully we can get over the hump against Cleveland. We've played them each of the past 3 seasons and lost each game.

... are there enough to go around? QB is a pressing need for many of the teams that will be at the top of the draft (hopefully) ahead of the Bills. Washington, Carolina, Seattle, St. Louis, Cleveland, Tennessee, and Oakland all have worse records than the Bills and all have QB as a need position right now. And while I understand that this, if everybody declares early who is expected to, is a QB-heavy draft, it's quite possible that we end up missing out on all or most of the top prospects.

I know many of you are hoping that the Bills end up drafting Tim Tebow, and, while I'm not opposed to that, I still think we need to manage our expectations on that front. He's going to be a project and will require a pretty long apprenticeship. He plays in an offense that is not conducive to production in the NFL and would have to change how he plays the position. And to those Trent haters who want Tebow, if we draft him early, it probably means we're stuck with Trent or another career backup for a year or two before Tebow would be ready to play.

I know it's still early to start talking about the draft, but I think, with all the QB's going early, we'd still be able to get a greater value with another pick. There isn't much OT help at the front of the draft, but with all the DT's, LB's and players like Bryant at the top, we might be better off going in another direction for at least a year.

I just moved back to this area and I was wondering if anybody knew of any bars where Bills fans meet. I'm sure many places will have it on, but i wasn't sure if there were any particular places where just Bills fans met. I checked the TV listings and it says the game's not on local TV. Does anybody know if this is correct? It seems like it should be on, especially since Fox is just showing paid programming, etc. Any suggestions?

I know right now, it seems (to many posters) as if the Bills are headed for another lousy season full of mediocrity, but I have to say I'm still feeling pretty optimistic about this season. One thing I've taken from my 20 years of being a fan is that our team pretty much always does the opposite as what we expect.

Remember last yeah, sitting pretty at 5-1, fantasizing about the possibility of a home playoff game? We all know how that turned out, pretty much 180 degrees from what was expected. I also remember sitting inches from my TV in January 1993, too young to realize that it was pretty much hopeless for the Bills to come back against the Oilers without our starting HOF QB. But, we all know how that turned out too. In '98, after starting 0-3, we made the playoffs because a CFL player took the league by storm. I also remember thinking Rob Johnson had no chance at leading us to a victory over the Titans in 2000, and then thinking I was wrong after he shoelessly led the team to a go-ahead field goal with 16 seconds left. I was quickly proven wrong after the forward-pass play which will not be mentioned.

My point is, the Bills are just a weird team. They manage to dash our expectations, then raise them, then quickly dash them again. We never really know what's going to happen with them. I think that the complaints about the preseason or offensive changes are overreactions. Does anybody remember how badly our O-line played last year? Do you really think it's gonna be any worse this year? I'd rather have a group of young, talented guys with something to prove than the overpaid (Dockery), overhyped (Peters), overmatched (Fowler and Preston) group we had last season. The team has addressed its other areas of weakness, i.e. pass-rush and receivers, plus our relatively young defense has another year of experience under its belt. Not to mention, I think the rest of our division is down this year.

I know, as a Bills fan, it's easy to look on the bright side because, hey, it's all we ever really get. But I, for one, am very excited about this season. Go Bills!

Does anybody know if the Bills have given any consideration to signing Derrick Brooks? It seems like he would be a perfect asset to our squad. He knows the Tampa 2 better than just about any other weakside LB in the entire league. He could also fight for the starting position, as we're nowhere near set at that position. Even if he didn't get the starting job, he'd be a very experienced backup and his ability to be a coach on the field would be huge. He has a Super Bowl ring and he's also a high-character guy who wouldn't cause any problems for the team.  I also read an article stating that he really wants to play this year and would be willing to do so for very little. It seems like the perfect fit for the Bills.

So, with their new ads forcing me to constantly relive the worst moment in recent Bills history, I'll continue not drinking the slightly alcoholic water that is better known as Miller Lite. I get sick to my stomach every time I hear that commercial replaying that forward lateral, though it could just be the thought of drinking that swill.

Well, since I have to take up some extra space, I'll leave with this. The Bills have done pretty much nothing since that play. We've had some semi-decent seasons, but no playoffs (at least we have as many playoff wins as the Cowboys) and we've been so mediocre that we haven't even had a top 3 pick that could help turn things around. Anyway, if we hadn't endured so much heartbreak in the 90's, do you think there'd be talk of some sort of curse?

As of now, it's unknown exactly how much football will be included, or even what the title of Terrell Owens' new VH1 reality show will be. As a Bills fan, I'm hoping that the program focuses a fair amount of attention to the football/team aspect, and less on his behavior off the field. However, as it's on VH1 and not ESPN, I expect it to be the opposite. Do Bills fans plan on watching the show when it airs?