d_wag

i'd rather remember all the doofuses on this board who thought it was a bad idea to tag price in the first place and were ready to watch him walk away for nothing........

5 years without the playoffs IS a disaster........it does not take that long to turn around a team in the NFL, no matter how bad the starting point is.......just look around the league........where some of you get this unlimited patience is beyond me.........i'm ready for results, not more excuses......

i doubt the bills would make obvious tampering public knowledge........

all those guys were FA signings.......his strategy for handling FA's is very different then his strategy for handling potential FA's........

you missed the point -- all of the players who refused donahoe's offers went on to receive much bigger contracts on the open market....hence, his offers would be considered "lowball".......sometimes a lowball offer works (see schobel), but it usually doesn't.....in most cases, if you want to keep a player around (see clements) you better be ready to offer him close to what he will potentially see on the open market........i sincerly doubt the bills have done this as of yet......they have not shown the ability to do that, whereas other teams have (for instance, jamal williams recently resigned with SD and marcus stroud resigned with JAX -- neither took lowball deals).......for that reason, i don't expect to see nate resigned and i think when it comes time for willis to reup his deal, he will be treated the same and the likelihood of a deal is slim........ i'm not argueing whether departed players that have left the bills deserved the contract they got......i'm talking about negotiating style and how that will effect nate and willis.......

i assume he has been offered a contract (i sure as hell hope he has at this point) -- and i assume he was lowballed, just like peerless was, like big pat was, like jennings was, and like schobel was.......and just like willis will be when it comes time to talk contract.........and like most of those guys, i don't have much faith that TD can get willis' name on an extension given his negiotating style.....

i don't know what gives you that idea.......he hasn't "rewarded" nate after a strong 16-game season in '04.......

i agree.......i don't think he'll get over 2M either, but i think whatever he does get will come from houston......him leaving town doesn't mean much as far as i'm concerned........he's just doing the smart thing and keeping his options open........

if he does show he's "worth re-signing", it will be too late.......the bills will not pony up the cash to keep him and he will cash in with another team........same goes for ron edwards........ you can't wait for players to breakout before you reward them........you'll end up overpaying them or losing them altogether.......part of being a GM is analyzing your roster, establishing who the good young players are, and locking them into reasonable long-term deals BEFORE they get to free agency......it is not unrealistic to expect a GM to know who those players and who they aern't after watching hours of college gametape on a guy, evaluating him in practice hundreds of times, watching him in game action for 3 seasons or more, and seeing how he carries himself in the locker room......you shouldn't need to get to the end of the contract to decide whether you think he will continue to progress or not........if you can't show foresight, your not much of a talent evaluator......

that remains to be seen........ the bills also "dismissed" pete kendall last off-season, and he went on to have a great year with a division rival while we had a revolving door at LG.........

or he's just curious what KC (his next stop), JAX (a rumoured stop), or potentially other unnamed suitors have to offer and would rather hear them out before committing to anyone......let's not forget he also stopped in chicago before houston -- that is also still a possibility........ i wouldn't assume just because he left there isn't mutual interest or that his demands were too high for their liking.......he's shopping himself around and keeping his options open.......

i wouldn't be shocked if both were........ and i highly doubt steussie is on steriods now, after all the media heat he's took........the problem is how much will his play suffer now that he's off the juice?

so no one offered the 1st that you predicted they would? sorry man, after that assessment you made on his trade value i don't know why anyone should trust your prognasticating skills........you say he'll get more then his previous contract, and i say your wrong again......he'll get less them 3M in terms of first year cap number.......roster bonus? we both know if he does get one set up for next year it will be dummy money, in that he'll be cut before he sees it or he'll have to rip it up and sign a new deal...........

how does that change the fact that neither guy was a better choice then tucker for the position? it doesn't matter who he inherited -- he thought pucillo and then smith were better then tucker, and in both cases he was wrong...... the guy does make mistakes......questioning the inaction on shelton is perfectly acceptable and your defense of "mcnally doesn't like him so he sucks" holds no water because mcnally has proven he is not faultless........

ricky could end up getting dealt before travis is.........i think a lot of NFL GM's would rather roll the dice on him for a couple years then bring in travis for only one......no comparison with their abilities..........

no way he gets more then the 3M per he was scheduled to pick up.........

i don't know why anyone would want to see an extension for mcgahee at this point..........rosenhaus has proven a contract doesn't mean anything to him.........even if willis resigned for 10 years, we'd still be looking at a holdout from him next off-season.......

season hasn't even started and we already have to listen to excuses...... bottom line -- the boys just need to win this year

bottom line -- reed flopped in the #2 role and was not ready for the job.......moulds injury or not, that was evident from the beginning of the season to the end.........not replacing peerless with someone who could actually handle the job was a mistake on TD's part, contra to trading peerless for a 1st round pick which was a solid move on TD's part.........

i'm talking about the FRANCHISE tagging of PP and subsequent trade, which is a completely seperate issue from the WM pick in my books........

i think the jobs spoke for themselves........neither opportunity came anywhere near the tasks that bill and kelly were given in terms of complexity or responsiblity....... a spot on the committee to select the miss universe location? fixing up an 11 room mansion? doesn't stack up with construction of the trump international hotel and tower in chicago or managing a group of luxery building in new york city......

MANY on this board called that move well in advance........it was hardly a stroke of genius......not finding a #2 WR capable of replacing peerless in the lineup was a big mistake though, and the offense suffered for it.......

shelton can play either -- he was a LT for his first five years in the league, and only shifted to RT last year........

pace signed a long-term extension ages ago...... stussie looks like a prime candidate to get cut as well...... they signed fred miller and he will likely man the RT spot with tait shifting to LT....... shelton will go were the pay is the best -- bottom line (which doesn't bode well for the bills if they are interested)...... i think the rams could be interested if they are at all nervous about giving the RT job to barron......the bucs as well appear to have openings for both a left and a right tackle.....there are certainly other teams that could emerge, and like you said, it only takes one to jack up the price.....

i like shelton, and feel he would be an upgrade from the current train wreck that is assembled at LT........i just find it strange after watching him get slammed on this board for the past few weeks and months that so many feel the bills should consider him.......if he signs, this board will be flooded with flip-floopers who will christen shelton the answer at LT and TD a genius for hoodwinking the cards, even though they hated on the guy prior to the release and didn't think he was worth having around....... and i do like shelton because i've seen him play with my own eyes, which is not influenced in the least by what the bills braintrust thinks of him.......they also "wanted" jason gildon and oliver gibson, and look how that turned out.........and speaking specifically on the OL and their ability to assess talent, they also thought pucillo was starter material, and look how that turned out.......