Rumor Mill – Bills talk with Eagles

Now that the Super Bowl is over, let the rumor mill begin.  The latest news has Buffalo having mild discussions with Philadelphia about one of their QB’s.  Before Bills fans go crazy with the thoughts of Vick or Donovan coming to the Bills, we all need to slow down and realize that no trades can be made before March.  But with that said, Buffalo is really giving fans a reason for hope in the future.  Even though they are only having mild discussions at this point, the fact that Buffalo is going out of their way to fill the holes on their roster is a breath of fresh air.

But with every glimmer of hope comes the sad underlying truth.  One way to look at this report is that “Buffalo is inquiring about one of Philadelphia’s QB’s in order to fill this position of need on their own roster.  The other way to look at this is, “oh man, Buffalo is looking at one of Philadelphia’s QBs to fill the starting role on their team…crap.”  Here is why it is important to keep a level head about these things in Buffalo.  Philadelphia has three QB’s right now Donovan McNabb who’s contract is up very soon and will be looking for an extension although he is winding down and playing through the last few seasons of his career.  Philly also has Michael Vick, a great talent who has never truly put it all together, but can really change the fortunes for this team and help them win games, just not the Super Bowl.  Then their is Kevin Kolb, a first round draft pick who has barely played at all.

McNabb would be great, but it would be a terrible fit in Buffalo.  Buffalo has been consistently fielding a below average offensive line.  McNabb has shown recently that the years of taking all of those hits are finally catching up with him.  He has no chance of being durable in Buffalo.  Heck, their hasn’t been a healthy QB in Buffalo since Drew Bledsoe or Doug Flutie.  So with that in mind, Buffalo would invest in a Pro Bowl caliber QB that will most likely play 9-10 games in any given season with them and may not even re-sign.

Vick would be my choice to come over.  Yes, I have been thoroughly critical of his play on the field throughout his career (that’s right I don’t criticize him for his personal transgressions because I already did it enough with his playing ability).  I do believe that he has a problem making all of the necessary throws at the NFL level.  Vick also has difficulty reading much more complex defenses and will obviously never be confused with either of the Mannings.  Vick also will waste the talents of wide receiver Lee Evans.  But, Vick also has intangibles that can help restore Buffalo to respectability.  What better assistance can you give a young offensive line, than a QB who would love nothing more than to roll out and scamper around avoiding pass rushers on his own?  What larger holes can running back Fred Jackson have (please please please don’t go back to Marshawn) with defenses worrying about Vick taking off with the ball?  How much better will TE Shawn Nelson get as he becomes the primary focus of Vick himself?  Let’s not forget that, while with the Falcons, Vick used Alge Crumpler as his primary weapon and Crumpler became a force at TE.  Since Vick’s departure Crumpler has gone M.I.A.  This would also negate Buffalo having to find a suitable replacement for Terrell Owens this season as Vick prefers to utilize his TE and running backs as his primary targets.  Also, since Vick is left handed, Buffalo needs to worry more about the right side of the offensive line than they do the left side, as the left side will no longer be his blind side.  Last I checked Buffalo does have a decent right tackle.  Finally, Chan Gailey made Kordell Stewart look good, think what he could do with Vick?

All of this seems fairly positive, and it is, but Buffalo fans do need to worry.  Yes, new GM, new attitude, new personnel.  But old habits die hard.  What if Buffalo is targeting Kevin Kolb?  Kevin-freaking-Kolb.  It is not that far fetched.  He would cost significantly less for cost effective Buffalo, and right now he is just a tinge better than Buffalo’s current QBs that it wont start a controversy.  Buffalo will then go into P.R. mode and tell us that he is a former first round pick, he learned from McNabb, yada yada yada.  Rob Johnson learned from Brunell, Fitzpatrick learned from Carson Palmer, heck Jim Sorgi learned from Manning.  All of this adds up to one thing; IT DOES NOT MEAN I WANT THEM AS THE STARTING QB OF MY FOOTBALL TEAM.  Kolb is no different.  Kolb would have to leave Philadelphia where he has seen some success in his brief playing time, and he would have to learn a new offense.  He would have to get acquainted with new players and a new staff.  Not the easiest thing to do, ask Rob Johnson.  Kolb has yet to master his own offense or the confidence of his own coach, why should Buffalo settle for that?  If Philadelphia was really stuck on Kolb’s future they would have moved McNabb already or at the very least they will this off-season.  But that doesn’t seem likely.  Montana made way for Steve Young, Favre was replaced by Aaron Rodgers, Warner was let go for Bulger.  These are all guys who won at least one Super Bowl and are for the most part hall of famers, something McNabb is not, so what does that really say about Kolb.

Even though these are just mild conversations, it is great that Buffalo is willing to put themselves out there to try and make some waves around the league.  Buffalo is finally showing respect for themselves and for their fans by wanting to fill the QB role with a finished product as they are finally realizing they have really dropped the ball when it has come to scouting and developing a QB.  Buffalo is also showing that they finally recognize what their holes are and are actively pursuing options to fix them.  Unlike the past several seasons where they would not admit they even had holes on their roster and instead would try and convince the fan base that there were no problems to begin with.

It will take time for the scepticism to go away, and even though this is a small gesture, it speaks volumes about the direction GM Buddy Nix desires this team to go.  A word of advice Mr. Nix, feel free to trade Marshawn Lynch, please.

Tags: Alge Crumpler, Buffalo Bills, Donovan McNabb, Fred Jackson, Kevin Kolb, Michael Vick, Philadelphia Eagles, Rob Johnson' Shawn Nelson