Does anyone else see the similarities to our current situation and our situation in 1985?  Am I the only one here old enough to remember?  

In the mid 80's we had strung together some miserable seasons   Our record was 16-41 the previous four seasons and our current general manager, Terry Bledsoe was generally despised by everyone in Buffalo.    In 1984 Ralph hired a relatively unknown Bill Polian as director of pro personnel.     When Terry Bledsoe was finally fired in 1985 the fanbase was screaming for a house cleaning.   This team clearly needed sweeping changes.    But instead of looking outside the organization, Ralph decided to promote Polian to GM.    The local media and fans decried the promotion as just more of the same.  

When it came time to hire a coach in 1986, after Hank Bullough was fired midseason, Polian chose not to go with one of the hot names at the time but instead with an old football guy with former head coaching experience and a mediocre track record.    As head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs Marv had put up a 31-42 record before being fired.   He also had stints in the CFL, USFL and as a coordinator in the NFL with varying degrees of success.    Again the local media and fan base were generally not happy with the move.   Instead of making a big splash, Polian and Ralph went with a perceived retread, someone they were comfortable with.   

The Bills were also in desperate need of a franchise QB.   Joe Ferguson was gone and the Bills were making due with two journeyman, Vince Ferragamo and Bruce Mathison.   Jim Kelly had been drafted but opted for the USFL. 

I guess it shows that Ralph really hasn't changed much in the last 25 years.    But this formula did work for him once, hopefully it will work again.     We just need to find our Jim Kelly.

Ed. Note, by Brian Galliford: Bumped from the FanPosts.  More extremely high-quality work from y'all.  Mad props to one of our newest members, PerryTuttle22, for the excellent piece.  Bumped, rec'd, etc.  Enjoy!

There is some general consensus that the Buffalo Bills' four biggest needs heading into the draft, in no particular order, are DE, LB, OL, and TE.  Some may throw SS or DT in there as well but I personally don't believe we are quite as weak at those positions.  I think Bryan Scott is a serviceable strong safety and I have hopes that Bob Sanders is the type of coach John McCargo needs to reach his potential. 

It's likely we will see several if not all four of those need positions addressed in the draft.  You could argue that heading into last years draft our biggest needs were CB, WR, DE, and TE.  And in the first four rounds last year we drafted a CB, a WR, a DE, and a TE.   Go figure.  It's possible, probably doubtful, but possible that our first four selections this year will be DE, LB, OL, and TE, not necessarily in that order.  If we assume that we take only one player from each position in rounds one through four, it creates 24 possible positional scenarios that could play out on draft day.  I thought it would be interesting to take a look at each scenario and see where we get the best overall value. 

Before we do that let's take a look at each of the four positions and some players that are likely to be there when we pick in each round.  This is by no means a comprehensive list but is more meant to be an outline of the quality of player that will be available.  These projections were scientifically formed from a mixture of MIke Mayock's ratings, Wes Bunting at NFP's ratings, Pro Football Weekly's Draft Magazine, my imagination, and some serious boredom at work.

Much more, including the 24 scenarios promised to you, after the jump.

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