everyone seems to be talking about getting new deals for clements and fletcher, but we need to be realistic......neither of these guys are likely to be back........a talented player who just ran out his walk year is going to hit an open market flooded with dollars..........your not going to get many of those guys back..........the focus needs to be not on clements and fletcher, but on retaining young talented players BEFORE they get to their contract years........you don't need 5 years to evaluate a player and ensure they fit in with your team - the eagles, who run the best organization in the league IMO, try to lock guys up in year 2 or 3 once they see what they like, and they are very, very often successful.........in fact, they have already signed 4 players long-term from their '05 draft and extended 8 different players this season!
the bills focus needs to be on:
jp - in my opinion the number one priorty of the off-season is to get JP locked up long-term........for those who haven't seen enough, sorry, but the price only goes up from here........we haven't had a real QB since kelly left, and now that we finally got another we can't afford to let him go
evans - true playmaker in every sense of the word........jp and him seem to have more and more chemistry every week........this team should be built for the elements from the line out, but now that we have evans we can't afford to let him go.....he does more for the run game then most of our o-linemen simply by stretching the defense!
parrish - has fit in nicely as slot receiver and punt retuner......coming into next season i expect huge strides in his return awareness.......love his toughness over the middle and is just what this offense needs on 3rd downs
unfortunately, due to weak drafts in '04 and '05, that is really all there is worth resigning at this time.........hopefully that will change with the '06 draft, as whitner, simpson, williams, ellison, and pennington all look like candidates for contracts next season if they stay healthy..........
it is more important then ever, given ralph's financial situation, that the bills maintain their own and avoid the need to go out in free agency to fill holes.......identifying solid young players and going hard after them for deals should be the focus.......