I can't deal with the Tim Tebow talk anymore (atleast when talking about him as a 1st or 2nd rounder, especially for the Bills).  I want to first acknowledge that I understand why there is so much hype around him.  I get it he's got the leadership intangibles, the great college career, and the squeaky clean image.  In my opinion, he will never be a starting QB in this league for any significant period of time.  The delivery may be the worst I have ever seen, and in a panic move from Tebow he has tried to change it right before his pro day.  I just don't understand what people see in him strictly from a potential NFL QB standpoint.  He would be great on QB sneaks??  Haha.  In all seriousness I really hope the Bills avoid the mistake of drafting Tebow this year, because he will go way too high than he should.  We don't need a sideshow in Buffalo (wasn't TO supposed to provide that), we need a young core of star players to build around. Clausen and Bradford are great choices if they are available, if they are off the board wait until next year or go for a guy like Snead later.  I understand Tebow has his loyal followers, but I don't think I have ever seen a bigger reaction to a NFL prospect in my life.  The only NFL storyline that bothers me more than this is the never ending Brett Favre retirement saga.

Thank you for allowing me to vent on here, and I apologize if I didn't cite players correctly.

Also I am a law school student, and have a great interest in sports legal issues.  I got to meet with Maurice Clarett's legal counsel who tried to have Clarett be draft eligible after just his freshman year.  We got to discuss the pending Supreme Court decision on the American Needle case.  If you aren't familiar with it you should really look into it.  It will go down as the biggest case in sports history. 

Go Buffalo!

I have read several posts recently about bills fans in boston.  I just moved here a month ago for law school and my apartment building cant get directv.  I'm sure as heck not going to watch patriot games every sunday (except when they play the bills) so I'm wondering if anyone knows of good buffalo bills bar to watch the game.  I looked up under the bills backers things for boston and the bar is all the way in southie.  I live in brookline so if anyone knows of a good spot near here i would appreciate it.  Sry for taking up space for this but I got a good feeling about this week.

Maybe I haven't payed close enough attention, but why has there been no talk of Marshawn Lynch appealing his suspension.  I remember Brandon Marshall receiveing a similar punishment, and eventually got his suspension drastically reduced.  When I first heard of Lynch's suspension, I figured he'd get it cut down to 1 or 2 games maximum.  I also remember that Marshall's appeal didn't take effect until right before the season started.  If anyone has any information on this subject, I would appreciate you sharing it.  Also if Michael Vick ends up serving less time this year than Marshawn I'm going to be pissed off!

As I look back on last year's draft coupled with this offseason's moves, I can't help but think James Hardy was the wrong pick last year. Before everyone jumps all over this statement let me say two things. One, yes it is way too early to declare Hardy a bust.  Two, Yes I thought it was a good pick at the time.  With the additions of T.O. and Shawn Nelson he will be lucky if he sees the field this year even in the red zone (where he was supposed to dramatically change our offense). Some people have mentioned that Hardy could be tutored by T.O. (who is actually a very good mentor), but as I look down the rest of round 2 and 3 of the 2008 draft you really would take a do over if you could.

Other options for the Bills in the 2nd round of 2008:

(Mostly Skill Players)

WR- Eddie Royal

S- Tyrell Johnson

RB- Matt Forte

DT- Trevor Laws

WR- Desean Jackson

RB- Ray Rice

QB- Chad Henne

QB- Brian Brohm

RB- Steve Slaton

TE- Matellus Bennet

I guess my point is you can't necessarily draft for one type of situation ex. Hardy for the redzone, maybe Maybin just as a 3rd down pass rusher.  I sure hope Maybin can be more than a one down player, because I'd hate to be writing this same post next year talking about how they didn't take the best football player...

I think the Bills made some of the best picks in the draft and some definite head scratchers.  This is how I reacted to these picks after the weekend.

Aaron Maybin- I wasn't thrilled initially with the pick because I preferred taking an OT here, but the more I look at Maybin the more I like him.  He may have the highest upside of any defensive player in the draft, but is also considered a project. Only reason I don't give this pick a flat out A is because the Bills are in a win now mode.

Grade: A-

Eric Wood- Very good football player.  A great fundamentals guy plus has a mean streak about his game, which I think is often overlooked in OL prospects.  My only real issue is how high we took him.  The argument was that Alex Mack came off the board so they couldn't wait, but I really would have liked to see the Bills move ahead of the Ravens to get Michael Oher.  Will be a solid OG for the Bills for the forseeable future.

Grade: B+

Jairus Byrd- This was the pick I was most upset with, and it has nothing to do with how good Byrd is.  Going into the draft CB was our strongest position, and for some reason the Bills felt the need to address a strength on our team on 3 seperate occasions. Kiper said Byrd could turn into a nice nickel back down the line, but why would you draft a career nickel back that high? I just don't get the philosophy behind this pick at all.  There was a guy taken only one pick later that was in our consideration at the #11 Everette Brown.  With an aging Schobel why not go out and arguably grab the top 2 edge rushers in the draft? 

Grade: D

Andrew Levitre- Very solid pick.  He is a versatile player, and it will be interesting if the Bills try to plug him in at OT right away.

Grade: B+

Shawn Nelson-  I saw an article that had him as the best value pick in the entire draft, and I tend to agree.  He was the best pure pass catching TE in the draft and we got to wait until round 4 to get him.  I think he could come in and potentially be a Dustin Keller type player (Jets took him in the bottom end of the 1st round last year). The guy has a ton of upside plus actual college production so this pick was a home run for me.

Grade: A+

Nic Harris: I liked this pick more than most, because I feel he is a great athlete that can be molded into a solid cover 2 lb.  Not a starter anytime soon but should be a special teams threat.

Grade: B

Cary Harris: I don't know why we took three CB's honestly.  Maybe one to cover in case McGee leaves (please dont let that happen just sign McGee). I know we let Greer go but McKelvin is taking his spot, and Youbouty and Corner are solid backups. So you take a CB that is extremely slow, confusing.

Grade: F

Ellis Lankster: Another CB who is slow. I would have like the Bills to take a top end FB or address some other need with one of these CB picks. Just head scratching that the Bills made so many good picks, but left a bitter after taste with all these CB's.

Thanks and I'm always interested in your feedback.

I'm pretty convinced that the Bills are down to two players (if they stay at pick 11). One is Michael Oher the OT from Ole Miss. The other is DE Everette Brown from FSU. The thing about the two is rankings wise they both should be more back end or mid first round picks.  Here is a list of other players the Bills are considering and why they will not take them.

Brian Orakpo- Will be taken in the top 5 I believe.

Aaron Maybin- Too much of a project Bills are in a win now mode.

Andre Smith- Will be drafted by Cincy with the 6th pick.

Robert Ayers- Not a true pass rusher wouldn't be a huge upgrade over Kelsay initially.

Brandon Pettigrew- With TO on the roster it diminishes our need to take the top TE.

Brian Cushing- A def need at LB but could get a solid starter with one of our next 2 picks

Clay Matthews- same as Cushing.

Although you can never tell with the Bills, I honestly believe they are leaning towards Everette Brown (I had the Bills leaning towards Cromartie last year over McKelvin). Brown has less chance of being a bust pick and the Bills feel they could probably get a solid OT at pick 28. Or the Bills could go ahead and draft a player out of the blue a la Donte Whitner.

OK, we have all heard the T.O. news and it definately has some repercussions on what OBD chooses to do in the draft this year.  Before the T.O. bombshell, I was all for taking either Michael Crabtree or Jeremy Maclin if they fell to us.  Neither seem appropriate now, but could be interesting trade bait especially if Michael Crabtree falls.  I believe that their are no two distinct options for the Bills with the #11 pick.  Either take Everette Brown or Brian Orakpo, or trade down.  I think Maybin is incredibly overhyped, and I don't believe he can come in right away and play DE.  Trading down could allow the Bills to get a guy like Brandon Pettigrew and a Tier 2 DE in the later first round.  I highly doubt the Bills reach for Brandon Pettigrew at #11 especially after his combine workout.  With all that said here are my picks.

Round #1 -  Everette BrownDE, FSU

If Brown is still on the board, I think the Bills would be crazy to pass up on him.  He is a great athlete with an arsenal of pass rushing moves.  Orakpo has been moving up boards mostly because he is a workout warrior, and I honestly believe Brown is the better player even though Orakpo will go higher.

Round #2 - Duke Robinson OG, OU

Touted as one of the better OG in recent memory.  This pick would fill a gaping hole at OG left by the release of Derrick Dockery.  He is massive lineman and is known for his great run blocking.  We all know the game of football is won at the line of scrimmage, and with these first two picks the Bills would bolster both sides of the line tremendously.

Round #3 Patrick Chung S, UO

One of the best safety prospects in this years draft.  Highly underrated ballhawk type safety.  He would allow whitner more freedom, and is a playmaker himself.  I saw him several times at Oregon, and he is a hard hitting S who's game should instantly translate to the NFL.  

Round #4 Travis Beckum TE, UW

I think the TE pool this year has a lot of Tier 2 type players.  Beckum is in the mix with these tight ends, with only Brandon Pettigrew being a Tier 1 TE.  I don't think its worth a 2nd or 3rd round pick on a TE that is arguably no better than a guy like Travis Beckum that you could get in this round.  Chung and Robinson could start from day one, and have greater positional scarcity than a deep TE pool this year.  I like that Beckum ran a good 40, has great size, and produced at a big time program that played against tough linebackers consistently. 

Anything after round 4 is pure speculation and incredibly hard to predict so I leave you with these first 4, and I hope to hear some response to it.  

The Buccaneers just cut several proven veterans in Warrick Dunn, Joey Galloway, Ike Hilliard, Derrick Brooks and Cato June.  I think June and Galloway would def be worth a look by the bills. Cato June seems like the kind of coverage LB we need.  The bills like to blitz Mitchell a lot so i think this would be a good fit.  I also think a veteran WR like Galloway would be a valuable addition.  I am aware he has the tendancy to be a burner like Evans, but having home run threats on both sides of the field can't hurt you can it?

Lemme know what you guys think.