spartacus

maybe they should actually spend a top pick on the OL so we aren't continually playing free agency roulette. we signed a C who was good enough to be taken in the 5th round and cut loose by the team who watched him every day. he's better than nothing (which is under contract), but only time will tell if produces any better than the pretenders we have been using for the last 15 years. I would seriously doubt that this is the permanent answer to C

at least he's smart good chance the OL will be in the right line call when he gets bull rushed into Trent's lap. the guy is not built to handle the 350 lb nose tackles - he is tall at 6'5" and only weighs 300 lbs. the Bills still need to draft some bona fide OL with their premium picks. new name - but expect the same results as last year. Fowler was a sharp guy - but was not big enough or strong enough to play C in today's NFL The bottom line is if the guy was a stud, he would still be in Carolina

"Some other player is better just because he was not on the Bills last year." that seems what they want to sell at LG. anyone they bring in will be an upgrade. not going to happen there is no one available in the draft or free agency who will perform in 2009 at a higher level than Dockery. Dockery may have underperfomred his contract, but he was not terrible (like Benny Anderson, Tuten Reyes and other scrub free agent OL the same talent evaluators brought in the past. Why will they find anyone better at bargain basement prices now? they need to draft some young OL talent with premium picks, but to expect top quality production as a rookie, especially at C, is being really optimistic

don't forget Jerry Ostrowski and his patented over the head snap

who exactly is that nucleus that makes up the OL??? we have 0 centers and 1 OG on the roster we have 1 LT who likley hold out gotta like the odds of that OL coming together

well -no both are OTs - and not very good ones at that

The only reason the Bills were under the gun, was because they waited until the last minute to do anything. At least 2 teams showed interest in Dockery, there were probably more if the Bills had aggressively pursued a trade more than a day before the bonus was due. -- although Dockery may not have been worth the $50 mil deal, the Bills already paid the worst of it in $18.5. The $1.75 bonus seems like chump change when the Bills have 1 interior OL under contract. Someone made a knee jerk last minute decision which will cripple the Bills OL for 2009

the bigger question is why wait until the last day before testing the trade market for a guy you want to dump -- unless the Bills slept through most of the off-season and just realized Dockery was due a big bonus. With the Detroit trip a fact and Dockery already under a new contract, there were at least 2 teams with serious interest in him. Just another in a long line of decisions to waste resources, and create huge holes needlessly. Somebody will probably get a promotion for this

The Bills have jerking Peters from day 1 - and been lying to the fans about how they have done it. still are. the leak of an offer to Peters at the 2008 is more bush league non-sense and the biggest reason they had heartburn with Peters was due to the Dockery mega-deal. After paying the worst of teh deal ($18.5 mil over 2 years), NOW they decide to cut him with only 1 interior OL signed on the roster. they pick the worst times to play hardball with their players good thing they took the midget CB instead of the stud OL in the first round last year.

yeah - the official explanation from the Bills will be the one to take to the bank

I totally agree with not spending big bucks on day 1. However, from what the Bills have done is significantly reduce the talent and resources they did have on the roster. And they are in an environment where it will be difficult to replace and upgrade the talent level in this off-season. My impressions of the Bills activities follow: 1. Greer - This was pre-determined by prior actions. Letting Greer walk is another is long line of decisions by the Bills to waste resources. Greer was a playmaker for the Bills and he is now gone for nothing in return. Greer actually fits the zone scheme the Bills insist on running- so his value to the Bills is much higher than other teams. He fits the scheme better than McGee. The real problem is the Bills talent evaluators have no clue how good he was. If they had any idea how to evaluate talent, they would have recognized his ability, signed him to a longer deal last year and not spent another 1st round pick on a CB. They should have taken Brandan Albert or Ryan Clady. More on that in a minute 2. Dockery and the OL Dockery clearly underperformed what they were paying him. However, cutting him outright right now with only 1 interior OL signed is just plain stupid. As noted by another poster, Detroit was about to trade for him but the Bills screwed up the paperwork. gee- what a surprise. The rumors of a Detroit deal and the quick signing by the Redskins clearly indicates that other teams valued Dockery. Again the Bills talent evaluators have no idea what this guy was capable of when they grossly overpaid him and then again when they cut him outright. The big question is why they did not more aggressively seek out a trade much earlier than the last day of free agency. This looks like a knee jerk decision to cut him made at the last minute without a lot of thought. Why they couldn’t have evaluated the big bonus before this time is beyond me. With the slim pickings of OL available and the decision to not chase free agents, how do the Bills possibly plan to improve the OL in one off-season? Even though Dockery underperformed, he is better than whatever the Bills will find this off-season. It sure would look good to have drafted Albert or Clady last year, instead of another midget CB. Without a C on the roster, the Bills are forced to draft one with a premium pick so the draft won’t be able to provide a replacement for LG. A little commitment to the OL every year would have avoided the huge mess they are in now. 3. Peters I would be much more impressed with the Bills if they had actually SIGNED Peters to an extension before cutting Dockery, instead of publishing a vague self serving sound bite to placate the fans on the first day of free agency. Anything less than a signed deal is just lip service from a front office that has not earned anyone’s trust. Again, if they drafted Albert or Clady last year while they knew Peters was avoiding all off-season activities, they would have given themselves some leverage to play the hardball game they so like. 4. Fred Jackson The hardball tactics are again being used against Fred Jackson. He proved last year to be the most explosive back on the roster and a real playmaker. Yet, instead of rewarding him with a well earned long term deal, Brandon is going to jerk him around as a RFA – just because he can. Maybe it’s because John Guy still does not see that Fred is a playmaker.

yeah and that stellar front office may want to treat him accordingly and sign him to a long term contract instead of treating him as a crappy RFA and stringing him along- just because they can.

that plan is to start rebuilding after 3 years of a HC regime even if he got extended by some miracle.

you do realize that the crackerjack talent evaluator bringing in all that crappy OL talent under TD such as Tuten Reyes, Bennie Anderson, et al was John Guy Guy has been a disgrace for a decade

Ingram is the best athlete of the TEs and is a bona fide down the field target. He will be the best value since he will be available in 2nd/3rd round due to his missing 2008 due to injury. Just say no to Maybin - he put numbers against inferior Big 10 competition and is severely undersized.

that's primarily because they self-inflicted those needs by cutting or trading away starters to create holes they did not need.

when has he voluntarily fired a coach before his contract expired? He ended up paying Wade but only because he lost a court case where he thought he was justified in not paying. who before that? probably goes back to Hank Bullough - who was a complete joke

there is no question if the Bills are serious about building a contender. they should re-do his contract right now. He's their best player and should be paid like it. Unfortunately he has not broken any laws or incurred any weapons violations or he would be sitting with a huge pile of cash.

by the time Dick's contract runs out in 3 years, Gruden will be long gone don;t expect Ralph to give Dick the quick hook, when he will have to eat millions

maybe because the Pizza boy does not qualify as an NFL caliber backup - let alone a starter

a TE that runs a 4.8 better be able to shift to LT - because that's the only way he belongs in the 1st round. 4.8 speed from a TE does not make an elite talent

it fits their drafting history. voluntarily create holes, then spend premium picks to obtain lesser performing players - while ignoring the pre-existing glaring weakness in the OL and front 7

sure players may leave if their demands are outrageous- however, the franchise tag allows the Bills to get additional draft picks for those few players are too expensive. Winfield, Clements, Greeer, etc all will be gone with nothing in return- thus forcing the Bills waste premium picks and resources to just tread water and replace experienced talent. The team building strategy has been proven to be a treadmill to nowhere. Go Russ - use that baseball expertise - too bad the Bills have no talent evaluators to match Larry Beinfest of the Marlins

The Bills will draft a RB in round 1 in anticipation of giving away Lynch at a firesale price while continuing to under-utilize Fred Jackson. -- unless DICK grabs another super short CB instead

you just can't find anyone in specific that has final accountability due to the multi-headed clown show they run at OBD. As evidenced by Modrak's comments, it is way too easy to point the finger and pass the buck and keep collecting those paychecks while lounging in the sun in Florida. The Bills will never contend until they clean out the clown show and demand accountability from the top down.