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When the National Football League owners and players agreed on a new collective bargaining agreement recently, ending the lockout that wiped out the off-season and the Hall of Fame preseason game, it set off an unprecedented frenzy of team activity involving trades, cuts, and signings of both undrafted college grads and unrestricted free agents. It was almost impossible to keep up with the comings and goings, and with training camps being shortened, along with two-a-day practices in those camps being reduced, it will force teams to be focused and try to put together clubs that play together in a short period of time. Personally, I think this phenomenon will result in a better brand of football being played once the regular season starts, because teams will be forced to simplify their schemes in order to let new players get comfortable. Players will get a chance to play instead of being overcoached and forced to play schemes they don’t understand. There’s one thing I like about the new CBA – the rookie wage scale. Almost all of the 32 teams were able to sign all their draft picks within a week of the agreement being ratified. That never even came close to happening under the old system.

In looking at the trades and signings, the Philadelphia Eagles made the most spectacular moves. They snuck in at the last moment and signed the top FA prize, cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, inked defensive lineman Cullen Jenkins, running back Ronnie Brown, traded backup QB Kevin Kolb to the Cardinals for cornerback Dominic Rogers-Cromartie, and brought in Vince Young as their new backup QB. The New York Jets hoped to sign Asomugha, but instead remade their wide receiver corps, signing veterans Derrick Mason and Plaxico Burress and letting Braylon Edwards leave for the 49ers. Some other good receivers changed addresses, with Sidney Rice leaving Minnesota and signing with Seattle, and Steve Breaston leaving Arizona to sign with the Chiefs.

New England made a couple of eye-opening trades, acquiring DL Albert Haynesworth from Washington and WR Chad Ochocinco from the Bengals. The Cardinals, who self-destructed after Kurt Warner retired, tried to bolster the QB position by trading for Kolb, while the Vikings looked to replace Brett Favre by dealing for another aging QB, Donovan McNabb. Miami lost Ronnie Brown, an average back but a key component of their “wildcat” formation, and is still considering trading for Denver’s Kyle Orton to challenge starting QB Chad Henne. They also brought back DE Jason Taylor but I’ll be surprised if he even makes their final roster. Locally, the Bills watched Paul Posluszny and Donte Whitner, both defensive starters, sign elsewhere. Considering their defense was horrible last season and both players had huge contracts, those losses shouldn’t hurt that badly. Re-signing CB Drayton Florence was a good move, and signing Nick Barnett to replace Poz was a positive. Signing versatile Brad Smith from the Jets is intriguing. He seems to fit the Bills’ team profile of unsung players perfectly. Tyler Thigpen didn’t do much in Miami last year, but he’s familiar with Chan Gailey’s offense, has experience and is a definite upgrade at the backup QB position over Brian Brohm.

News came out this week that the Buffalo Bills’ players, in the midst of the current lockout, are holding “informal” workouts in the area to get some semblance of normalcy in their routine. This is the time of year when minicamps would be in full swing, and it’s great to see that the players are at least giving the effort to remain a “team” while the lockout drags on. Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick had previously held workouts at his home in Arizona with the team’s receivers, trying to build on the chemistry developed last season. Fitz is also present at these most recent “practices”, along with other team leaders such as player rep George Wilson, Lee Evans, Chris Kelsay and Fred Jackson. The players have admitted that due to injury concerns, they can’t accomplish as much as they would at a formal team minicamp, but see a lot of value in just building camaraderie among their teammates. Wide receiver Donald Jones is not here for the workouts. He will be taking part in another informal workout in Florida next week with other players – from the Jets and Dolphins – being called the “AFC East Blitz”. It’s funny that no members of the Patriots will be there. Maybe the participating players didn’t want to be bothered with having to search the Pats’ players’ gymn bags for hidden video cameras. The idea of these players from rival teams practicing at the same facility is pretty strange. One blogger – Brian Galliford on Buffalo Rumblings.com, wrote that these workouts “make me wonder what would’ve happened if Kent Hull and Bryan Cox had worked out together”.

The Bills’ local workouts attracted at least 32 players from the roster, along with some local undrafted college free agents hoping to get their NFL shot once the lockout is over. There was a rumor that J.P. Losman was taking part also. Yikes. It was great to see that a pair of Buffalo draft picks – linebacker Kelvin Sheppard from LSU and safety Da’Norris Searcy of North Carolina – are taking part in the workouts also. Sheppard is a guy the Bills’ coaching staff fell in love with at the Senior Bowl this year, and this kid appears to be a real leader who has no qualms about taking charge in any situation. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in the starting lineup at inside linebacker on opening day this year, whenever that opening day finally happens. Searcy could be the heir apparent to Donte Whitner’s starting safety position, and at this point him being involved in the workouts and getting to know his future teammates is a great move on his part, while Whitner continues to “tweet” his way out of town.

Shortly after the NFL draft every year, each team’s coach and/or general manager step in front of the cameras and pronounce “We got all the players we wanted”, or some version of this. In looking at the Buffalo Bills’ draft selections for 2011, it’s important to keep in mind that the process that began last season of rebuilding the club into a respectable NFL team was done in an unusual manner. The team’s “personality” at this point centers around players who aren’t superstars but worked their way to where they are the hard way – as low round draft picks and even undrafted free agents. Consider the key players on both offense and defense for the Bills – Ryan Fitzpatrick (low budget free agent signing from the Bengals), Fred Jackson (undrafted free agent), Stevie Johnson (7th round pick), Donald Jones and David Nelson (undrafted free agents), Kyle Williams (5th round pick), Arthur Moats (6th round pick), George Wilson and Bryan Scott (undrafted free agents). This being the case, we’ll evaluate the Bills’ picks with the idea that they all, regardless of which round they were picked in, have a legitimate opportunity to make the final roster.

1. Marcell Dareus – there was no question going into this draft that the Bills’ biggest need was adding youth, strength and speed to their front seven on defense, so this pick is a great one. As noted in a previous post, Dareus is capable of playing both tackle in a 4-3 scheme and end in a 3-4, so he’s a perfect fit for the Bills’ “hybrid” scheme. It’s encouraging that when he visited One Bills Drive after the draft to be introduced to the media, that he was really excited and wanted to go in and see the stadium.

2. Aaron Williams – cornerback from Texas who was rated by many as a first round talent. He’s a big, physical corner who tackles well (remember Antoine Winfield?). Incumbent starter Terrence McGee has had trouble staying on the field the last couple of years because of nagging injuries, Ashton Youboty and Drayton Florence likely won’t be back, so this was a need position.

3. Kelvin Sheppard – a hard-hitting linebacker from LSU, the Bills’ coaches fell in love with him when they coached him at the Senior Bowl. He’s an emotional player known at LSU for emotional speeches, learned the schemes quickly during Senior Bowl week practices and handled all the calls during the game. You have to love this post-draft comment from Sheppard: “I see we got big Marcell up in front of me now, so I’m going to try and get his big butt fired up so he can keep the linemen off of me.”  That sounds like it could be another Darryl Talley/Bruce Smith type of relationship beginning.

4a. Da’Norris Searcy – defensive back from North Carolina who plays both safety spots and in his own words “plays with a linebacker mentality”. This choice may be a sign that Donte Whitner won’t be back. His strength is playing physical and supporting the run defense, but he has some ball skills too – he led his team with 4 interceptions last year despite missing 3 games.

4b. Chris Hairston – he was a 3 year starter at left tackle at Clemson, but the Bills will put him at right tackle. He blocked for C.J. Spiller during his career. He’s big and athletic and has long arms, which helps in pass blocking. He’ll have plenty of competition from the roster holdovers, but starting for 3 years at a major college against SEC competition will help him hold his own.

5. Johnny White – this pick was a head scratcher at first since he is a running back, which isn’t a need position for the Bills. But take a look at his history at North Carolina – he came in as a running back, was switched to cornerback, then back to running back, then, because of suspensions and injuries to other players, to wide receiver, then back to RB. Oh, and he was an outstanding special teams “gunner”, the position Steve Tasker basically invented during his time with the Bills. ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay called him the most underrated running back in the draft. Because running back is an extremely injury-prone position in the NFL and because he can help on special teams, this could be a good pick, unless White turns out to be that annual guy who looks like a superstar in August, then gets cut. He does seem to fit in perfectly with the team’s “guys from nowhere” identity.

6. Chris White – from Mississippi State, another linebacker. He has a reputation for playing hard on every down. He also played for the South in the Senior Bowl, so the Bills’ coaches got a close-up look at him and must have liked him. He’ll likely have to make the team with special teams play.

7a. Justin Rogers – a cornerback from Richmond, not exactly a football powerhouse. One thing that stands out about his play in college is his great interception numbers. Hopefully that means he has good coverage skills and can catch the ball. He has NFL-caliber speed but lacks size. But, those numbers – 12 picks and 5 returned for touchdowns – jump out at you.

7b. Michael Jasper – Bills’ fans clamoring for more size on defense will love this pick. The guy weighed 440+ lbs. in college, but has “slimmed down” to 395 (see picture below). He played guard in college, at Bethel, but is projected as a nose tackle. At the combine, he ran a respectable 40 yard dash and showed great athletic ability for a man his size. You get the feeling this guy is going to be a fan favorite as he tries to make the team this summer. Another William “The Refrigerator” Perry maybe?

Some of the picks surely won’t make the team, and sometimes the ones who stick and the ones who get cut aren’t the expected ones. In any case, you have to give the Bills credit for trying to improve their defense in a big way.

                                        Michael Jasper (69) had enough athletic ability to be a pulling guard at Bethel.

The annual NFL draft always amazes me. The league has become so popular now that their annual drafting session of college players is more of an event than other sports’ actual games. This year was a really intriguing one, as opinions of the potential draftees seemed to be all over the board. Auburn QB Cam Newton has been compared to JaMarcus Russell, the colossal bust of the Oakland Raiders, and been labeled a “one year wonder” as his overwhelmingly great national championship year at Auburn this year was his only one. Other scouting reports marvel at his size and athletic ability and call him a once in a lifetime talent. The Carolina Panthers sided with the latter reports and picked him #1 overall. As a supporter of the local team, the Buffalo Bills, I was hoping that they would add a playmaker to their defense, and felt that Texas A&M linebacker Von Miller would be that guy. But the Denver Broncos must have felt that way too, as they chose Miller with the second overall pick. That left Buffalo with Alabama defensive lineman Marcell Dareus. My thoughts on him are this: There were 12 defensive linemen in total picked in Round One, so obviously this a draft deep in D-linemen. Basically all pre-draft scouting reports had Dareus rated as the top lineman, so the guy must be an honest-to-goodness player. Also, his scouting reports all call him “the most NFL-ready defensive lineman available”, so he should make an immediate impact with a defense that couldn’t stop the run last year. He is also considered a versatile player, equally comfortable playing inside at tackle in a 4-3 defense, where he provides run-stuffing ability and a terrific inside pass rush,  or at end in a 3-4. Since the Bills have said their scheme on defense will likely be a “hybrid” of a 3-4 and 4-3 this year, Dareus looks like a great fit.

Some other thoughts about the first round: A couple of quarterbacks were surprise first round picks for different reasons. Jake Locker, who was considered to be the top pick of last year’s draft, but decided to stay in school, had a down year, and his draft stock fell considerably. He was thought to have fallen to the second round, then surprisingly was taken eighth overall by the Tennessee Titans. Christian Ponder of Florida State was thought to be a second or even third round pick, then had great pro day workouts, a terrific Senior Bowl and impressive team interviews, and jumped all the way to 12th, chosen by the Minnesota Vikings.  The other thought is this – is there any doubt now that the NFL is a pass-happy and quarterback-driven league?  Apparently the days of the O.J. Simpsons, Walter Paytons, Emmitt Smiths, Barry Sanders and Adrian Petersons is over. Only one running back, former Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram of Alabama, was picked in Round One. Most teams use a running back by committee approach today, and being a copycat league, I’m sure a lot of teams watched Green Bay win the Super Bowl riding Aaron Rodgers’ arm and getting just enough running game contributions from an unknown like James Starks, to figure whatever RBs they have on their current rosters are good enough.

I really had planned on not posting anything at all having to do with the NFL labor dispute between owners and players that has resulted in the current lockout, since I, like most fans, really don’t want to hear any sob stories from either group. The situation has been described as the “Millionaires vs. Billionaires”, and neither side has any chance of spinning this story to gain sympathy for their side from the public. The general consensus is – just get it done, we don’t care how, we want games played. The game has never been as popular as it is today. The last 2 Super Bowl telecasts were the 2 highest rated TV shows of all time. The NFL draft drew 45 million viewers last season and is a popular event for fans around the league. The player’s union, now decertified and officially a “trade organization”, has suggested that the top draft prospects skip the official draft ceremony where they cross the stage, shake the commissioner’s hand and hold up a team jersey of the club that drafts them in a photo op, and instead attend a union event down the street and be congratulated by NFLPA head DeMaurice Smith. In my opinion this is a bad PR move by the players, since this event is mostly for the fans, so ruining it is not going to win them any favor. Also, it robs the rookies of their big moment, where they realize their life-long dream of starting an NFL career and get to share the moment with their families.

The whole situation seemed to be going well when both sides were negotiating behind closed doors with a federal mediator. It’s unfortunate that as soon as the negotiations broke off that both sides lowered themselves to the tired rhetoric in which they take turns criticizing each other. One thing about the owner’s side in this situation  – when the current (now expired) deal was agreed upon, all but 2 owners praised it. Cincinnati’s Mike Brown, and especially Buffalo’s Ralph Wilson, were extremely critical of the deal. Wilson was portrayed as old, senile and out-of-touch at the time by the Jerry Jones’ and Daniel Snyders of the league, but when the owners voted to opt out of the deal in 2006, ending it in 2010 intead of 2013, Wilson was vindicated.

The player’s association plan to dissolve the union and get a settlement through the courts involves a class action lawsuit on behalf of the players with Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees, among others, being named as plaintiffs. Interestingly, one of the “others” is Texas A&M linebacker Von Miller, who figures to be a top 5  pick in the draft,and who hopefully the Buffalo Bills are considering choosing. He is said to be a Lawrence Taylor type talent, minus the cocaine. Miller isn’t even in the league yet, so he certainly isn’t an NFLPA member, so I don’t know how he gets dragged into it, but I’m sure his presence has something to do with the players attempting to fight the “rookie wage scale” that the owners want to put in place. Whether the whole thing gets settled in the courts or through renewed negotiations, hopefully it gets settled soon. Both sides would be foolish to kill the golden goose.

It’s been three weeks since the NFL season concluded in the Super Bowl, and the same amount of time since my last post on this blog, which was a correct prediction of the Packers winning the big game. So the season is over and the only headlines being made by the NFL involve labor negotiations, which most fans have no interest in, other than having the expectation that the millionaires and billionaires on each side settle their differences and play ball next season. With pro football now on the shelf, at least until the draft in April, here are some thoughts to tie up loose ends on the 2010 season, and the local team, the Buffalo Bills:

The Packers accomplished their goal the hard way, winning on the road as a wild card team all the way to Dallas. It isn’t that big a surprise that they are champs, however, since they were the choice of a lot of experts to contend for the title early in the year. The surprising thing is that they won after suffering a rash of injuries to key players, including RB Ryan Grant and star tight end Jermichael Finley, one of QB Aaron Rodgers’ key targets. The Super Bowl win is a testament to their coach, Mike McCarthy, and his staff. I like the Packers and how they do things – it’s the old school way. McCarthy is a no-nonsense football coach, a guy who is a throwback to coaches in the 1960s and ’70s. He isn’t interested in being the star of the show, he just keeps his focus on getting his team to do things the right way. Green Bay’s upper management deserves credit for managing the team the old-fashioned way also, being patient with McCarthy as he molded this championship team. That molding process included making the drastic move of cutting ties with Brett Favre and turning the quarterback duties over to Rodgers. That move could have been disastrous to McCarthy and GM Ted Thompson, and they took tons of heat for doing it, but it worked out well in the end because they had a plan, stuck to their guns, and were all on the same page when it came to how this franchise was going to progress into the future. That future now includes a Lombardi Trophy and looks even brighter with all the injured players returning next year. Rodgers’ development is another “old school” phenomenon. He was developed the old school way, by sitting on the bench behind Favre and learning, the way it used to be done in the NFL before impatient owners started drafting golden boy QBs and demanding instant success from them. Another great story in the Packers’ win is the emergence of James Starks, the unheralded rookie running back from Niagara Falls and the University of Buffalo. In my post predicting the Packers’ win in the Super Bowl, I mentioned that Green Bay would be successful if Starks just continued to do what he’d done throughout the playoffs – give them just enough of a ground game to keep the Steeler defense honest while Rodgers attacked them with the passing game. He did exactly that, rushing for 52 yards on 11 carries and picking up key first downs. Starks didn’t do anything fantastic in any of the playoff games, but he was steady and consistent. Actually that consistent play landed him at the top of the heap when it came to rushing yardage gained in the playoffs. He has positioned himself to take on an expanded role in his team’s plans next season.

Some closing thoughts on the Bills and how things shape up going into the 2011 season:

Here is my assessment of DE Marcus Stroud in the Bills’ season-ending report card post:

“Marcus Stroud – he has probably played his last game as a Bill. The one lasting memory I have of him is chasing Ben Roethlisberger, not the most fleet QB around, on a scramble and looking very old and slow while doing it.”

Stroud was released by the Bills recently, as was LB Pierre Woods, who I assessed as a “stop-gap player brought in due to injuries who probably wouldn’t be back.” Stroud’s release is no surprise. His days as a dominant defensive player are long past and the team needs to get younger, quicker and more physical along the defensive front next season. The move also gives Stroud a chance to hook up with another team. I like the move of bringing in Dave Wannstedt as assistant head coach. I never liked him as a head coach but his experience coordinating defenses should really help the Bills improve on the side of the ball where they need the most help. ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. now has the Bills using the third overall draft pick on Auburn QB Cam Newton. I’m hoping the team is floating that information out there to try to trade the pick for some extra choices. They need to use most, if not all, of their top picks on impact defensive players.