d_wag

i'm sure you didn't read the rest of the post......haha......it's cool man, i don't blame you for running away with your tail between your legs, seeing i brushed off every one of your little "challenges" and weak points....but hey, if you want to continue your unusual "TD can do no wrong" man-love for the guy, be my guest........

and if that signing bonus offered isn't enough for brady what happens? that the point of the discussion........

so you think the pats are comfortable with brady's cap number next year and won't make an effort to reduce it? if he refuses, you don't think that will have a significant impact on the roster? p.s. love the new avatar -- what happened to willis anyway?

obviously not all --they're are other factors, such as injury concerns, salary cap, etc. but most teams in our position salary cap wise can retain more then they let get away, and TD is not looking like he will follow that pattern........ alot of the guys you listed we're on their 2nd contact, which makes them irrelevant to this conversation........when i talk about locking up young players i talk about locking them up EARLY, on their rookie deals and ideally with 1 to 2 years left on that contract.......the majority of the players you offered we're out of that range.......reading comprehension apparantly isn't your strongpoint....... who said it wasn't a risky strategy? but when you gamble and make a correct assessment of a player, the rewards are huge.... in winfield's case, would that not have been a good investment 2 years ago? you have to be thick to not see that he has continued to progress as a player...... if winfield is as greedy as you have speculated, then that point is very relevant to the conversation.....why wouldn't a greedy player like winfield have wanted his money 1 to 2 years in advance? you can't have it both ways....... and who is responsible for that cap space? last time i checked it was TD making the decisions on how to allocate those cap dollars........if there wasn't enough room to extend winfield, it is only because he didn't budget for it........it's his decision..... like i said, your reading comprehenion is poor......try to keep up......i also listed LT, elllis, and pennington as guys who have recently extended their contracts, avoiding free agency........there are your 3 teams...... want others? how about chad johnson, peyton manning, daunte culpepper, shaun rogers, lavar arrington, brian urlacher, keith bulluck, marvel smith, aaron smith, donovan mcnabb, torry holt.....i could go on and on...... so you think the eagles look dumb for locking up sheppard and brown despite their COMBINED 15 starts at the time the deals were done?? i think that move looks pretty damn good......they showed faith, and they were rewarded...... pretty tough to predict career changing injuries.....like i said, that is the risk...... yea, nothing to do with him -- he was only the GM.....not like he had any say who comes and goes......what was he doing there again? his strategy for resigning young players is cheap, not his overall spending.......it's a game to him.........let them stew until their contract year, lowball them, pull the offer off the table all together (are you forgetting he stopped negioating with PW, AS, and JJ for a period this summer?), give them another lowball offer.......like i said, it worked on AS, tip of the hat for that, but most players want to be treated fairly from the get go and won't take that sh*t (ala winfield).......TD would rather play games with the leverage, and as a result, we'll continue to see players walk away and be deemed "greedy" by bills fans as a result.......

walter jones has been franchised 3 years in a row........i think this is pace's 2nd year in a row being franchised.......i don't think vinateri is going anywhere..........the tag price on kickers isn't that bad compared to other positions, and he has proved his value time and time again......... you raise a good point with brady though......it will be interesting to see how that situation unfolds this off-season........due to his restructure last sept. (to get them under the cap before the season so they wouldn't have to cut anyone), his '05 cap hit is over 10 million.........it is obvious they will come to him to extend and get that number down because it will be tough for them to carry.........he can make it very easy on them or he can make it very difficult on them, given his leverage.......they won't cut/trade him, so he has a ton of leverage........worse comes to worse, they will carry him at 10M, but that will really effect the rest of the lineup because they will be forced to cut others and won't be as active in free agency as they may want to be...... i think brady is key -- if he starts the ball rolling with $$, the rest of the team may follow.......on the other hand, if he takes less $$ to stick around on a winner, it will trickle down to other players on the roster as well, even more so then now.........

i said other teams retain their good young talent.......they do...... i said most of the players you listed were older and not relevant to the conversation....they were..... the players you did list that were young proves that a team should lock up their good young talent early or live to regret letting them go....most of the players went on to career years after leaving..... winfield would have stuck around if he was offered big bucks EARLY, just like sheppard and brown did when offered extensions 2 years into 5 year deals......TD didn't want to risk it and didn't put faith in him.....he lost a good young player as a result by letting winfield's price increase and allowing him to get to free agency when he should have waved the "signing bonus carrot" in front of his face well in advance of the end of his deal...... i pointed out players that didn't want to test the waters and instead took their signing bonus money well in advance of free agency.....the eagles employ this strategy with all their good young talent, and it works.......it could work for the bills as well, but it involves faith in the player and taking a risk on them.... i have given TD credit for getting schobel done, but retaining 1 out of 4 good young players is not a good average as far as i'm concerned.......you insist they are, like most players, greedy -- if that is the case, why aern't they jumping at big signing bonus money well in advance of their contract years??......you can call sheppard and brown greedy if you want -- the point is the eagles got BOTH signed long-term.... if jennings was signed to an extension a year to two years ago, he wouldn't have cost "a ton of jack"......that is my point -- his price has increased because his play has improved.....if he would have been signed back then he would have signed for good money, but that money would look smaller in comparison to the deals currently be handed out for LT's....... ask steeler fans if TD is cheap......the free agent losses they suffered during his era speak for themselves........

you just keep pounding home my point -- if you don't take care of a good young player and let him get to free agency, he will likely leave..... fletch -- martz calls letting him go his biggest mistake with STL spikes -- 2 pro bowls with BUF since leaving adams -- great couple years in BAL and plenty of success in BUF woody -- as covered earlier, pats are the exception to the rule as they can plug in anyone and not miss a beat coles -- NYJ got compensation for him as he was RFA grant -- had a backup they wanted to play kearse -- didn't have the cap room to keep him, but would have loved to coleman -- had a great season in ATL springs -- injury concerns so of that group, there are plenty of mistakes where a team doesn't get a player locked up and watches him leave only to enjoy plenty of success elsewhere.......i don't want that to happen to nate (or winfield and jennings for that matter), but for whatever reason that is what you want...... jennings is fine and a solid, young LT.......there not exactly easy to find in today's game......are you going to tell me it wouldn't have been cheaper to extend him a season ago then it is today?? who sounds foolish now? of course it would have been cheaper, but TD didn't have the balls to do it and decides to play games with him instead.........other teams get deals done, but apparantly it's okay for TD to let a good young talent walk....... has winfield been replaced? certainly........could we have got him at a discounted rate if we gave him a contract extension a year or two before the expiration of his old deal? certainly.......and as a result, we would have got EXCELLENT value as a result seeing he has continued to get better and better every season.......just like jennings and nate have....... but this all comes back to all the buffalo bills being greedy, right? because we don't know what TD has tried, and what the player and agent want? i'm pretty sure i do know -- TD has lowballed, the player and agent want a fair deal, thus nothing gets done.......that is TD's style, right? but keep playing the excuse card if you want to and blame the player and agent.......we all know how greedy those buffalo bills are.........

it is more costly for the phins to trade taylor then to keep them -- it would decrease their cap room, not increase it...... he has a huge unamortized bonus from various restructurings the past few years........he isn't going anywhere.........surtain is tradeable only because his unamortized bonus is around 2M........taylor's is over 10M

i think you missed a key part of my post -- YOUNG most of the players you listed were getting passed their prime.......the ones that aern't left because they're team didn't take care of them before they hit free agency and of course, once the lure of the bucks is at hand, it is tough to retain a player...........there are reasons why they weren't resigned earlier in some cases (cap room, injury concerns, etc.), but none of them apply to nate and the bills, or jennings and winfield for that matter.......like i said, committing to a player early requires faith and big bucks, something TD hasn't been able to do for many players.......instead, he waits till they are on the cusp of free agency, coming off career years, thus making them next to impossible to sign, so you guys sit around and make excuses for him.......i call them like i see them, and i see missed opportunities and good young talent walking out the door........ you still haven't explained how philly can lock up sheppard and brown, how SD can lock up LT, how NY can lock up pennington and ellis, but I shouldn't expect the bills to lock up nate? why not? why shouldn't they pay him? oh, that's right, nate is just in it for the bucks, wants to be a free agent, just like every other buffalo bill........ like i said, they should have signed him last off-season, but TD waited and the price went up.......other teams are smart and see that will happen with their GOOD YOUNG PLAYERS, but TD just sits back and waits........

i doubt westbrook will get an offer from outside philly -- RFA's rarely do.......he could end up signing the one year tender offer, just like rudi had to last off-season.......

when we start getting coaches that can plug players into any position without missing a beat, maybe i'll agree with you........until then, i'd rather keep our good young talent on board by paying them....... if i'm not mistaken, that strategy has worked for the other team playing this sunday.......

i disagree........if you just watched him only last year, you might think that is the case.........but the bills under-used him in that role and should have ran more screens to him.......sur he dropped a few, but what rookie doesn't? in college, willis caught alot of balls (27 his big year).......he made plays deep in the secondary and turned short screens into long gains....... coming out of miami, willis was widely regarded as a solid pass catcher by scouts, and i think he'll improve in that area as time goes on.......that aspect of his game will come more to the forefront next year and we'll see alot more of what willis has to offer as he gets more comfortable in the offense and the coaches get more comfortable with him......

i'm happy just seeing willis on the field for 3rd downs.......he's a solid runner, great pass blocker, and an unbelievable receiver....... i never understood why the bills used henry on 3rd downs last year -- he only has one of those three skills.........

that's right, other teams resign their best young players, but buffalo bills are greedy and only want to test the waters........ something doesn't add up.......i don't buy the excuses -- put the money in front of the players WELL BEFORE their free agency and watch them bite........like i said, works for the eagles no problems.......all it requires is faith in the players ability and a thick signing bonus.......

that's right........i think our current CB's are fine and that we need to spend our BIG cap dollars on retaining our key free agents and improving the o-line.......surtain would be a BIG cap hit and i don't think that is necessary........ and yes, nate should be extended.......if the bills treat him fair and show him bucks NOW he will sign.......

i like nate, he's a great player and is young.......potentially, over the next few seasons, he could become one of the best 2 or 3 at his position.......i'm sorry, but regardless of position, i want guys like that on my team....... like i said, the longer you wait, the closer he gets to free agency, the easier his decision NOT to extend becomes........the eagles have figured it out and tear up contracts very early and show FAITH in their good young players that they will improve........i just wish the bills would do the same and show players the money earlier......... if they would have tried harder with winfield and showed faith in him, maybe he's still here....... same with jennings, who could walk out the door because TD couldn't get him extended......... and i'd hate to see nate go the same route just because we're being cheap......

so in other words he wants to be paid market value? shocking! pay the man......he's earned his contract, we are in good cap shape, so what is the problem here?......other teams retain their good young talent by extending their contracts (i.e. LT, sheppard, ellis, sheldon brown).........why can't we? the longer the bills wait, the higher his price gets.........if they would have extended him last season nate wouldn't be able to use the winfield contract as a comparison........TD should have taken care of this earlier, just like the eagles do with their good young talent.........

tell that the titans, dolphins, and colts, just to name a few.......plenty of teams have been doing it exclusively for years, and now it is really starting to catch up to them........

ah, why not just resign clements? problem solved!

i don't think it's "obvious" they need cb's -- we seemed to get by just fine with what we had last season and all of those guys are returning....... the defense wasn't the problem last year, it was the offense........if you sink money into CB your taking money away from other NEED areas...... do you want a CB over a LT? a LG? i don't.......i'd rather keep those areas steady/improve them then to tinker with what is already a top defense....... if you want to spend money at CB, spend it on nate and mcgee by extending them......

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/dolphins/cont...rtain_0202.html "Among the teams that an industry source said could be interested in Surtain are Buffalo, Minnesota, Kansas City and Indianapolis." i don't buy it.......we have BIGGER NEEDS and don't need to be paying surtain 6M a year.......we can get by at CB with mcgee and more depth through the draft or free agency........ i think the phins will be hard pressed to get more then a 2nd rounder out of him......for reference, look at what the pack got for mckenzie (2nd rounder and 3rd string QB).......

i'm with ya boys -- f*ck da pats.......i'm sick of hearing about this team and would love to see the eagles (and TO) stick it to them....... this reminds me alot of the superbowl a few years back where STL was heavily, heavily favored to roll over their oppenent and no one was giving the underdog a chance.........let's see what happens now that the tables are turned..........

i believe i'm in the minority, but i do think it will have a significant impact........ everyone wants to talk about how the players are interchangeable, but the reason why they can plug people in so easily is due to the exceptional gameplanning and week-to-week adjustments the pats make.......they are always changing, making it impossible to get a good read on film because what your watching might not even be the offense/defense they use that week....... that, to me, is coaching and they will miss the input of weiss and crennell.......i think belichek is used to delgating a SIGNIFICANT portion of that type of gameplanning to those two, and now that they are gone, he's going to have to "train" the new OC and DC and develop some trust.......obviously the fact the replacements will come in-house (belichek has said as much) helps, but they're still will be an adjustment period and a learning curve......... i think 3-13 is far fetched, but i would not be shocked to see them miss the playoffs..........weiss and crennell mean alot to the pat's success over the past few years.........losing one would be a slight bump, but losing two will sting.......

if they are interested (and i still can't figure out why), i'd be more interested in kleinsasser.........best blocking TE in the game, although i doubt the vikes would give him up after inking him long-term last spring.........anyway, no interest in moe williams, backup RB's are a dime a dozen........

i think it is widely accepted we need to improve o-line....... so what are the options?? throw out RT and RG because those spots are fixed....... IMO, teague isn't going anywhere and will stay at center, where he is finally picking up the position and playing his best ball....... i still hold out hope that jennings will return in '05, and if not, i seriously doubt we will UPGRADE the position....... so all that leaves is LG and that makes tucker, who was solid but not great in '04, very upgradeable........ i think improvements will come by just keeping the core of the group together for another season (a big reason why i want jennings back), but we defantiely need to upgrade our talent level overall, and the only place i see to do that (when looking at the cap and all the factors) is at LG, where tucker is just decent and on a very "backup" friendly contract (unlike teague).......