d_wag

a guy that the bills defiantly did want (bryant johnson) had a decent debut in SF - 3 catches for 48 yards.........i think it will be more interesting to follow his progress this season because the bills actually made him an offer before he snubbed them for a 1 year deal

from another thread, this is how i think the bills will approach the off-season in terms of priorities: 1) TE (i'm also hoping to see this finally addressed in the 1st) - schouman's roster spot 2) OC (fowler will be a UFA and an upgrade is required) - fowler's roster spot 3) OLB (ellison could be upgraded, but at worst an upgrade over costanzo would help) - costanzo's roster spot 4) OT (need to find a #3) - chambers' roster spot 5) OG (need to find an adequate backup who can also cover at OC) - preston's roster spot 6) QB (losman will be gone, so need to find a #3, assuming a vet fills #2 role, although hamden could step up to that spot) - JP's roster spot 7) S (someone to push wilson and scott on ST's would be useful) - wilson/scott's roster spot 8) CB (depth player, mostly ST's) - greer's roster spot ideally, a couple of these needs will be sorted in FA (would be good to find a starting C/top interior backup and a #2 QB in free agency) and/or simply resigning some of these impending free agents will negate the need to fill the position and after all that, the bills will probably turn their attention to contract extensions (peters, stroud, whitner, etc.) before they would even look at the DL........so i think they have plenty to keep them busy.......i just don't think they will even look at the DL considering the contracts there with so many other areas to focus on......i defiantly believe that OL will be the focus of the off-season, although TE is more of a hope

i get the point here - i think we just have different points of view on how the bills management operate......at the end of the day, i think the bills are happy with their current group of DE's and DT's and i don't see anyone getting cut there (barring injury of course)..........i defiantly don't think upgrading this area is a priority for them and i think they'd be perfectly content to return the same exact group next season........i think they will focus on replacing departing free agents and upgrading the TE and possibly the OLB position and will use their resources in those areas........whether that philosophy is the correct way to build a football team can be debated, but i believe that is the way the bills will look at the off-season

i respectively disagree - letting go of denney or mccargo when they are under contract and adequately filling their role doesn't make a lot of sense to me........while the roster is deep right now, there are impending free agents (i.e. fowler, greer, chambers, preston, losman, wilson) that will require replacements if these guys aren't retained.......... those are the areas you concentrate your resources on (i.e. free agent dollars and draft picks), along with areas in which you have more flexibility cap wise and roster wise (i.e. TE and OLB) i think it's fair to say the bills brass have targeted areas of true need in the early rounds the past 3 years, and i don't expect that to change now in short, burning a valuable resource (high draft pick) to upgrade your #4 DE and/or your #4 DT isn't the most efficient use of resources

i'm going to paint the same picture as the DE position: stroud - signed through 2010 williams - signed through 2012 johnson - signed through 2012 mccargo - signed through 2010 so who goes if they add another DT? mccargo? are we really ready to just chuck him to the wayside? he's signed at reasonable terms for the next two seasons, so i don't see the urgency i think we could obviously improve the talent on the DL (hell, any team could) but realistically i think the bills have locked up players they are very happy with and i don't see big changes happening here because there isn't the "fodder" to replace as in prior years like DE, i wouldn't have DT as a priority going into the '09 off-season

i don't see where people see a roster spot opening here schobel - signed through 2013 kelsey - signed through 2010 denney - signed through 2009 ellis - signed through 2011 the only really replaceable guy is copeland bryan but how important is the #5 DE? to put it in perspective, the bills went into game 1 of the 2007 season with 4 DE's on the roster, and one of them was injured we all know that kelsey and denney aren't going to light the world on fire, but i think the point that many here miss is that they are important members of the team just as much from a locker room perspective as what they bring to the field........for that reason, as well as their decent production on the field (and in denney's case, on special teams) i just don't see either getting cut before the end of the contract based on the above, i don't see DE as a priority heading into the '09 offseason, barring injury..........TE, OL, and OLB look like much greater needs

good points.....as well with regards to the OLB position, the #3 backer often doesn't see the field a tremendous amount to begin with (ex. ellison was likely in for less then 50% of the game vs. seattle) and that lowers the impact they have on the game.......with the increased use of nickel and dime in NFL defenses the #3 LB has become less important an elite TE has a greater impact on the game then an elite #3 LB

while i've always been a royal supporter, i don't think the bills are "perfectly fine" at the TE position, even if he plays like he did week 1 consistently the rest of the way.......yes, they can get by with that, but in order to move this offense to the next level they need someone with more natural ability then royal.......he's never going to be an elite TE because he is limited by his speed and athletic ability, but he does make the most of what he has ideally, i'd love to see this position addressed in the first round of the next draft, as it is extremely difficult to find an elite TE in free agency.........and with royal signed into 2009, i think this is a great window to add a talented guy who can ease his way into the lineup and eventually make royal a true plus as a #2 TE

with fowler, preston and chambers all scheduled for UFA, it's fair to say that a starting C, backup OG/OC, and #3 OT will be heavy priorities going into the off-season........unless of course these guys are retained no doubt that an upgrade is needed over fowler (although he'd make a nice backup), and the best way to address that is likely early in the draft........you can take a C in the late first or second and they can usually step right in

i think CB is still a consideration - greer will be a UFA so his spot will need to be filled if not resigned as well, the bills will probably look to add at least 2 backup OL and 1 starter via the draft and FA if guys aren't retained - i believe that fowler, chambers, and preston are all impending UFA's how i'd rank the needs (starter needs in bold): 1) TE (i'm also hoping to see this finally addressed in the 1st) - schouman's roster spot 2) OC (fowler will be a UFA and an upgrade is required) - fowler's roster spot 3) OLB (ellison could be upgraded, but at worst an upgrade over costanzo would help) - costanzo's roster spot 4) OT (need to find a #3) - chambers' roster spot 5) OG (need to find an adequate backup who can also cover at OC) - preston's roster spot 6) QB (losman will be gone, so need to find a #3, assuming a vet fills #2 role, although hamden could step up to that spot) - JP's roster spot 7) S (someone to push wilson and scott on ST's would be useful) - wilson/scott's roster spot 8) CB (depth player, mostly ST's) - greer's roster spot ideally, a couple of these needs will be sorted in FA (would be good to find a starting C/top interior backup and a #2 QB in free agency) and/or simply resigning some of these impending free agents will negate the need to fill the position

while i think gameplanning is a consideration (and you'd think they'd prefer to carry 4 DT's in the heat vs. an extra LB or S), it really does come down to the type of week mccargo has in practice........this isn't the same bills team from the past few years - there are talented players who aren't going to dress on gameday barring injury (see ellis and corner from week 1), so mccargo is going to have to work his way back on to the gameday lineup by showing this week he belongs

good to see ryan landed on his feet quickly - can't for the life of me understand why the pack let him go

different point of view http://www.jaguars.com/news/powerrankings.aspx

that isn't a penalty that gets called often, so that plays into the "risk/reward" equation

1. Where's Wilford? Ernest Wilford and his entire 6-foot-4, 225-pound frame sure would have come in handy going up for those critical end zone jump balls quarterback Chad Pennington threw to receivers Davone Bess and Ted Ginn Jr. But Wilford, the free agent receiver the Dolphins paid $6 million in guaranteed money this offseason, was inactive for Sunday's game. Dolphins coaches opted to activate Brandon London, a waiver wire pickup who joined the team last week, instead of Wilford because of London's special teams contributions. But wouldn't a towering Wilford look better going up for those scoring opportunities than Bess, who is 5-10, and Ginn, who is 5-11? http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/footbal...0,6949521.story ------------------------------------------------------------------------ pre-hardy, i thought wilford would have been a good addition as a tall red-zone threat........i thought the phins over-payed but now they just look silly

and stuck his elbow out a moment before contact i've watched both numerous times, and there is no doubt in my mind that wilfork's hit was MUCH dirtier

the cap room is there, no doubt - but that can go to evans (and even greer) as far as i'm concerned, with the remainder being pushed into the 2009 cap i wouldn't put it past the bills to make an effort to sign chambers long-term (they've done it with other key backups) but they may also just let him walk.......a backup OL can be found in free agency or the draft (or perhaps bell is ready to take that spot by next training camp?)- i'd rather save the dollars for an upgrade at C given that fowler is getting up their in age and is an impending free agent.......the starting C spot is much more important then the backup OT spot

what's the point? if he exceeds his deal he could hold out and people like you, mickey, etc will support him for it and if he falls on his face then the bills will never see the signing bonus again seems like a lose/lose proposition for the bills, no? in all seriousness, i think it's a little early to go over the moon on chambers.......yes, he played a very good game yesterday, and yes i'm very excited he'll be the #3 tackle on the roster (barring injury to peters and/or walker) for the remainder of the year, but it's only one game from someone who to this point has always been a journeyman

the bills have already announced he passed his physical yesterday and will begin practicing this week

mckelvin was active, although i didn't see him touch the field never-the-less, your point stands - good to see that these guys are going to have to earn their snaps........it will be good when these guys do rise to the challenge, especially ellis in my eyes - to add another impressive pass rusher to that group we saw yesterday would be a "justin tuck" like punch for the DL

week 17 of last season

i expect to see him back in the rotation next week with the heat and humidity of JAX

i really think people are over-reacting buffalo was facing a pass first offense, so they didn't need as much depth along the DL........against a run first offense (i.e. the jags) they might decide to go with 4 DT's the bigger concern is why mccargo as a former first rounder now in his 3rd year isn't among the top 3 DT's, but i think that speaks more to the ability of the stroud/johnson/williams then it does about mccargo

truly a shame.......especially considering that his shoulder has finally healed enough to be left off the injury report for the first time in 2 seasons! karma

i'm not getting any of the links to work now.........anyone having success?