d_wag

one change from last week - mccargo in omon's spot (who didn't touch the field last week) disappointed that ellis hasn't cracked the rotation yet, but it is what it is

i suspect he'll dress with 4 DT's needed in the heat, but i doubt that will be confirmed before the inactive list comes out (usually about an hour before gametime)

i think he starts and plays the whole game, barring injury - too much hassle to sub him out and move walker over to LT from one series to the next i trust that based on the fact he's dressing jauron is happy with his conditioning

it is amazing the number of people on this board who wanted to give this guy a fat signing bonus just to show up good decision by the bills ignoring the fans, thank god

http://buffalobills.com/blog/index.jsp?blogger_id=1 ---------------------------- based on the report, you got to think that peters will get the start and the bulk of time on sunday

like i said, baseless and not supported by fact.....the fact is that brandon said they would talk deal when he showed up and i'm sure that is exactly what they are doing now when you get a quote from brandon stating that they won't talk about '08 let me know........until then, you're merely speculating......i guess parker isn't the only one who wants to spin things to cover poor reasoning

full quote: "We have conversations with our guys all the time, and I think we have a proven track record of trying to get guys done and extend guys out. We've done it already this offseason with Kyle Williams and Brad Butler. We've done it with [Aaron] Schobel in the past and Terrence McGee. It's a long line of guys that we've done it with. But it's very difficult to have those conversations when the individual is not participating in your work." now, are you ready to show me a quote where brandon says "no new deal this year"? others have requested numerous times for you to provide such, but you never seem to......funny that

that about sums it up and, of course, i fall on the other side of the spectrum where as i believe the bills have positions that they know are set and they fill in the gaps elsewhere......that is certainly the way they have drafted early the past 3 seasons........time will tell if they continue that trend going forward or if they truly take the BPA

it's not like the bills are starting scrubs in front of him - stroud, williams, and johnson have all earned snaps as well.......as jauron said after the game, it was a "numbers" thing because of special teams the bills coaches have been known to make mistakes - for example, they decided that jason webster deserved playing time over greer last year.......how did that work out again? i never said he was "the next Marcus Stroud"......i said he could be his replacement, meaning in terms of playing time..........big difference..........unfortunately, it is no guarantee that a 1st round DT from next year's draft will be the next Marcus Stroud - just look at who we are talking about here obviously your very down on him, but i would be shocked if the bills were as sour on him as you are - if they were he'd probably be off the roster by now........they liked him enough to trade up in the first to get him, so i think he's got a long leash to prove his value to the team, and that leash will extend into next year

the crux of the debate is a numbers game - i think the bills are quite happy with their current group and don't have room for anyone else, and you think they should make room if the opportunity presents itself mccargo would have to take a serious nosedive in performance to make DT an option for the bills this off-season, and i just don't think that is realistic (barring injury)......even if he didn't live up to expectations this season i think the bills would still give him '09 to prove himself given his 1st round status and reasonable contract.......he'd have to show no flashes of potential and absolutely stink for them to move on without him in their plans

as i'm sure your aware, they only dressed 3 vs the seahawks no, i'm not onboard with turning mccargo into a #5 DT or sitting a 1st round talent with the inactives on gameday - i think that is a horrible waste of talent and resources.......mccargo has all the motivation he needs right now after getting scratched for opening day and i expect him to respond........i don't think he needs a 1st round DT to push him........to bring in another 1st round DT this off-season would be a complete waste because he would sit on the bench behind a very solid 4 man group obviously i think more of mccargo then you do, which is fine given his inconsistent play to date.......as the season goes on we'll find out just what kind of player he is with his back to the wall, but i have a feeling the bills management hasn't given up on this guy like so many on this board have.....i think they still like the guy a lot and see him as a big part of the future.......and i think at the end of the day he can be exactly what you want - a replacement for stroud

defiantly a good thing, and i for one wasn't disappointed with the rooks in game 1 - they have to play to be disappointed in their performance! let's just hope that they aren't forced into additional snaps via injury and earn their playing time the old fashioned way.......as the season goes on, i can defiantly see hardy and mckelvin getting on the field more, and ellis taking bryan's spot when they dress 4 DE's

mckelvin and hardy both made the ACTIVE roster.....and given that, they'll have a chance to earn snaps as the year goes on who do you sit so that a 1st round DT can be ACTIVE on gamedays? stroud, williams, or johnson? can this 1st round DT beat out mccargo if they decide to dress 4? i don't think that is in the bills plans

you advocate picking a DE in the first or second round and either letting him learn behind the vets and not get any game experience or steal one of the vet's spot on gameday (forcing denney, kelsay, or ellis to the inactives or being cut altogether).......i don't think that is a realistic option that the bills would embrace because they like the guys they have there and, as a result, will use that resource to get a player who can help them on gameday right away........one of the positions in which a day one pick could be inserted into the gameday lineup immediately and have an impact is at TE........time will tell how the bills approach it, but i think the writing is on the wall personally, i'd rather add a player that can help in 2009 vs. 2010, and i think the bills will view it the same way i do think that come the 2010 off-season this will be a top priority for the bills, as denney's spot will be opening up (if they choose not to resign him, and probably won't as he'll be going on 33 by then)........this will allow a younger player to come in and push kelsay/ellis for playing time as the #4 DE with potential to get more snaps as the season goes on by the way, i was also onboard with harvey in the first round, but ellis effectively filled that roster spot and i think in the end he's a very good consolation prize

sure, he's expendable - but i don't think upgrading the #5 DE position (which he would be next season, if ellis progresses as expected) is as much a priority as upgrading the #1 TE position.........and if this new player passes guys on the depth chart it means sitting down one of denney, ellis, or kelsey (perhaps 2 if they only dress 3 DE's for a game) - that doesn't strike me as ideal and what the bills want to accomplish, given denney's special team work, kelsey's leadership as a captain, and ellis' strong upside which the bills obviously thought a lot of to pick him where they did

no i don't think jason is lying - i think he has a lot of trust in his agent and takes everything he says as the absolute truth......as jason says, he's the player and his agent handles the "business", hence the reason why he didn't talk to the bills front office directly during his holdout.......unfortunately i think his trust is misguided cause i suspect a lot of what he's hearing from his agent is spin due the poor advice parker gave him regarding a fruitless holdout.....but how is he to know if that is his only source of information? brandon said from day 1 of camp that they would talk contract if he came in - it really was as simple as that, as much as you want to cloud it........i've seen nothing from the bills head office that indicates that they wouldn't talk about 2008 - if you have a quote from brandon to the contrary, i'd love to see it your assumption that jason sat out because "the Bills would not renegotiate 2008 whether he was there or not" is baseless and not supported by fact

brandon stated from the start of camp that as soon as peters reported to the team they would talk deal......i've got no reason to believe he's not honoring that

i don't really have a big issue there.......whitner is very apt at covering big TE's - i think he did a fine job vs. the seahawks when called upon (see his play in the 2nd Q to stop carlson on 3rd down, which led to the roscoe TD), and has a history of doing a good job in that area and while mitchell's pass coverage skills lead a bit to be desired, i think ellison is above average in that area due to his quickness.....he's actually better in pass coverage then run stopping........i think that is where we will miss crowell the most

well as i've mentioned numerous times, i think the contract situations and locker room presence are the two biggest reasons.........i'm not going to repeat myself in detail, but i'll again say that i think they are comfortable with the current DL and i don't expect them to cut anyone there (as they would have to if they wanted to add another player at the position)..........so for that reason, it's not an area of focus for them and dictates they turn to other areas to use their resources TE is a position where they have more roster flexibility..........in my opinion, royal is going to be on the team next season regardless of what else they bring in, and may even be the starter on opening day.........he is a decent player and brings a lot to the locker room.......so it's not about comparing royal to kelsay or williams - it's about comparing schouman and fine to spencer johnson, john mccargo, chris ellis, and ryan denney.........no doubt in my mind that i like the DL backups a hell of a lot more then the TE backups.......and given that schouman/fine are on cheap contracts, don't bring a ton to the locker room at the stage, and were low draft picks they are expendable........considering royal's age, his knee concerns, and the backups, i think it's a no-brainer that the bills look to address this area with a frontline player who can push him in '09 and eventually establish himself as the #1 guy (making royal an excellent #2) roster decisions for the bills work a bit different then "madden"......i believe they take the locker room aspect into consideration much more then other teams, and lock up the players they want around accordingly, not based just on what they bring to the field but also on what they bring off it.........that is why guys like kelsay, williams, denney, and royal are around for the long-term, and i just don't expect that to change.........to bring in highly regarded players on the DL would force the bills to make a tough cut there to a vet they like, and i just don't see it happening......on the other side of the coin, a cut of schouman or fine is a lot easier to swallow and understandable to the rest of the squad

i don't think peters is lying.....i think he's working off the information provided to him by his agent i personally believe that peters has no idea what was said or done, after listening to his interview.........seems to me he's just a pawn and parker has him completely under his thumb........to paraphrase - "my agent called me on wednesday and told me to be here on saturday, so i came in"......he's just doing what he's told and putting his complete trust in parker IMO and at the end of the day, i don't think the bills promised anything they didn't promise at the start of camp and that schefter's report is based on info being fed to him from parker to try to make him look better after handling the entire situation poorly.......i don't know if the bills called parker or the other way around, but i can't say i put a lot of stock into peters claim "that the bills called my agent on monday" because he's only hearing that from his agent, who has his own agenda in this situation

i always liked crowell's game and was all for giving him an extension.........but now the bridge has truly been burned and i don't think there is a chance he'll be back life goes on - ellison may do the job and keep the role next year, or they may look at a FA or the draft..........regardless of how it turns out, the bottom line is this is the #3 LB we are talking about and that is the first guy off the field in nickel situations, which the bills will play plenty of......we'll be alright considering this spot only sees the field about 50% of the time (although i'm a fan of getting mitchell off the field in nickel before ellison more, based on mitchell's play in coverage last week - however mitchell's pass rush abilities likely dictate he'll continue to see more time there)

he played an excellent game on sunday (which of course, went widely unnoticed here)........the improved push from the inside made things a hell of a lot easier on him

ah, you do realize that even haynesworth hasn't got "haynesworth money" yet, right?

signed through 2010

wasn't this common knowledge? other DT"s traded in the off-season got fat new deals right off the bat (i.e. rogers and jenkins).......the bills were fortunate that stroud didn't kick off as well and demand the same.........no doubt he'll be knocking if he has another "pro bowl" type year