d_wag

and how do you prove tampering?? it's next to impossible.......everyone talks in the weeks leading up to free agency.......and there is no way to stop it........ even when lawyer admitted to talking to the redskins before his release nothing came of it........

i think the disrespect he's shown PW and JJ have burned bridges here......and i'm sure it has not gone unnoticed by other players on the roster........the fact he stated he wanted them both back then never even made an effort makes him look like a hypocrite........ i know it is very unpopular to take shots at TD on this board, but i do not like his style when it comes to dealing with his own impending free agents........i think he made a mistake by not attempting to sign either guy........

"raffy was right.......this viagra really works!!!"

how can they match anyone's offer? they are losing both starting guards and have major holes on defense to fill........all of this with very little cap room......... i think they'll be hard pressed to match any offer, let alone one over the top.........

warren is going to denver for a 4th round pick.......

just for those of you who called me out by saying i was baseless in my arguement that TD's style with impending free agents is to lowball them and that the players are just being greedy, here is fact that supports my position....... "The Bills offered an under-market contract to Williams last summer (three years, $11 million, $4 million bonus)." the key number there is bonus money.......4M is pathetic, and shows that the 2007 salary in that deal is likely very high and TD was just looking to dump him after two more years..........if the bonus money was 6 or 7 million big pat likely would have jumped all over that deal, but with no assurance of seeing the last year in the contract, he was smart for rejecting it........ after that offer, TD and big pat's agent never talked again, right up to today, when another offer has not been made by the bills........ you guys can keep painting big pat "greedy" and "money hungry", but the fact remains TD lowballed him with an offer and then froze him out........is that how you treat a player you want to return to your team and retire with your uniform on? i don't think so........it is disrespectful and just drives a player away from the team.........

clements signed through '05.......... adams, milloy, posey, fletch, and kelsey signed through '06........ no reason to panic.......

1. shane matthews has offer in hand......if not him, many others available in FA 2. 2nd day of draft 3. "starter" is debatable.....either way, lots of good options in FA or in the draft 4. defantiely should be addressed in FA given the flood of talent available 5. shelton will be the man 6. could be an internal promotion.......depth on 2nd day of drat 7. "starter" is, again, debatable.......first day draft pick would add depth and push mcgee

woodson's number is so high because a f-tagged player receives either the average of the top 5 at the position OR 120% of your previous year's salary........because he was tagged last year (which is considered all salary), he gets the 120%....... the tag number this year for CB's is 8.816M.........

i think we need a CB even if nate signs an extension before the draft.......mcgee needs some pressure on him and thomas certainly looks like he could be replaced in the nickel spot.........very expensive to sign free agent CB's so i think the draft is the best route to address the weakness.........

i don't think it was all that bad -- they showed him walking after getting his MRI and he wasn't even limping........ he hurt it doing the shadow drill.......got going the wrong way and lost his balance, twisting his knee on the way down........looked very awkward in the drill.........

"and I thought the good folks in buffalo had flabby asses.....god knows i saw a full moon more then once a month there!........"

actually, last year was the time to sign him -- BEFORE his breakout year....... but better late then never........

why would he not sign an extension tomorrow if a fair market deal was offered? plenty of players sign extensions well before their free agency date........what makes nate so different?

ahhhhhhhhhhh (i'd be a very happy camper, although i think he's gone by our pick)..........

obviously whatever team deals for woodson will lock him into a long-term deal........10M is too big a cap charge for any team........ p.s. i don't think he's coming to buffalo

you said it.......it is no coincidence that the first team willis talked to at the combine was the buffalo bills...........

i believe it takes 4 years..........as mcgee only signed for 3 originally, he would be an RFA in his 4th year........alot of teams are forcing players to sign 4 or even 5 year deals to avoid this problem.......

just to clarrify....... signed through 2005 season -- Clements, Mcgee, Edwards, Reed, Teague signed through 2006 season -- Adams, Campbell, Fletcher, Kelsay, Milloy, Posey, Tucker, Lindell

clements is a free agent after next year.......obviously a big priority right now, as his price gets higher and higher the longer TD waits......all the other guys you listed are free agents after the 2006 season.......the only one i would offer a contract to right now is kelsay, as he is still on his first contract and would surely love a fat signing bonus along with an early jump in pay........ 2 years is a LONG time........we have 2 drafts to prepare for any potential departures of vets..........it's really not that big a deal, but will play in to the drafting strategy to some degree........ ron edwards is a priority if the bills are turning over the #2 DT job to him.......if that is the case, he should be offered an extension......if he plays out his contract year, we could pay big time for it.......... locking up mcgee is a priority, but as he will only be an RFA next off-season, it will not kill us to have him play out his deal.......more effort should be made to extend him though, as he should be eager to sign a fair deal given his 4th round status....... i would also extend reed now and not wait until after the year to deal with him..........if he has a rebound season (as i think he will) he's as good as gone.........

i've seen walter reyes (RB) and khalif barnes (OT) mentioned as guys the bills have sat down with.......anyone heard any others?

same answer i had for the exact same poll that was posted last week....... kendrick vincent.......

i base my assessment on the fact that most young players want contract extensions well in advance of their free agency because they get their big pay day (signing bonus) immediately and it secures their long-term future.......this opinion is furthered by the multitude of good young players who forgo free agency and instead opt to stick with their current club.....hence the reason good young players don't usually hit UFA unless their club is in cap problems.....even then, teams do what they can to work around the cap and retain their best young players on extensions (ex. keith bulluck)........the key is the offer has to be fair market value......... and i will speculate he was lowballed.........if the offer was fair, i think he would have jumped at the chance to retire in buffalo, based on everything he's said in the past and his presence in the community...... instead, TD hasn't even made an effort since then to keep him......i'm sure he feels slighted at the lack of communication.......it's one thing for a player to walk because we can't pay him what he wants, but i think it's another to not even try to work out the differences......and that is the way it happened, according to the buffalo news, who are a trusted source........they offered, he declined, and they never tried again.......i don't like that lack of effort........but i do think it's all part of TD's "games"........purely speculation on my part, but the fact remains he hasn't tried, for whatever reason.........

the point is if you offer a guy like peerless or winfield a contract a year BEFORE they hit the market you don't have to pay them the type of contracts they end up getting........ should he have signed peerless at the type of money he got? of course not, but he should have paid him a deal 25% smaller the summer before his breakout year.......same goes for winfield....... of course, once a guy has a breakout season and hits the market his price goes up.....that is why you nip it in the bud with a fat signing bonus before the lure of free agency gets to strong...... he did it with schobel.......i just wish he'd do it more often...... can you tell me why big pat would have turned down a fair market value contract last summer? i can't see any reason why he would have.....hence, i speculate the contract was lowball........

i guess we have a simple miscommunication here...... my problem is not that TD "misses the boat by not offering players contracts before their current deal is up"........my problem is I SPECULATE he lowballs them and does not offer them fair market value.......why? because he wants to get them at below market value while he has leverage.......not every team handles it this way, and i generally like their way of doing business better........ free agents, on the other hand, he has no problem spending on.......he just doesn't seem apt to take care of his own....... the guys you mentioned were all free agents but one........in those cases, he offered them fair market value.........they were not stupid for taking fair market value contracts........just like big pat was not stupid for declining what was undoubtably a below market deal (i'm speculating -- but given his desire to remain in buffalo i don't see why he'd decline a fair market value deal).......... you can discount it if you want to and applaud his strategy........that's fine, other teams in the NFL apply the same strategy.......personally, i just don't like it, and i think it would be far more effective to retain our own players by offering them fair market value deals well in advance of free agency........ there, end of discussion, i know where you stand, and you know where i stand........let's see how it all plays out........