d_wag

add mike wahle to your guard list -- surefire cap cut in GB.......

love the comments -- hopefully it gets him cut this off-season.........i'd like to see him booting for the bills next year

bottom line -- the best move financially for moulds would be to stick to his guns and force the bills to either honor his contract (5.5 million salary in 2005 + 1.25 million roster bonus) or take a cut (free agency, where he is looking at a 10 million signing bonus min.).......judging by his comments, he is thankfullly not looking at this as a pure financial move........ however, he will get a signing bonus in excess of 6.75 million in order to reduce his salary.......the benefit to the bills is that they can then take his new signing bonus + remaining unamortized signing bonus (4 million) and space it out over the extended deal (they will likely add 3 to 4 years).......his cap hit should shrink to around 2-4 million, but long-term, this will hurt us....... anyway you cut it, we are looking at eventual signifiant dead cap for moulds in time UNLESS the bills want to carry him at a high cap value in '05 and '06........you can't just keep adding more signing bonus and hoping the problem goes away because eventually that signing bonus has to hit the cap.......i'm still trying to figure out why TD backloaded this deal so badly....... spikes and fletchers deals are backloaded as well, but not this severely.......

ricky walked away because he was worried about his long-term health....abraham sat out because he was worried about his long-term health.......they both were cleared to play by doctors.......what is the difference, other then abraham getting paid to screw his team vs. williams not taking a pay cheque for doing nothing?

how does this change the fact a real football player would have played after being cleared by doctors to suit up?? abraham is obviously not a real football player, or he wouldn't give two sh*ts about his next contract........all a real football player cares about is winning, and if abraham is too scrared to get on the field maybe he needs a new job.........

are you for real? the man took a year away from the game he absolutely loves to care for his cancer stricken wife......and you think he cares about a pay cheque? he played the game because he loved it, not to get paid.......

players risk their livelhood every time they step on the field.........the difference between abraham and a real football players is that he thinks about it and a real football player accepts it as the price of playing a game they love.........

on the field, speilman suffered eight bouts of total paralysis for seconds at a time before he finally told the doctors.......they found a herniated disk and it broke speilman to have to go on IR for the first time in his career......and he even came back from that injury when most of the guys who are only interested in a pay cheque would have hung them up........he loved the game and was a real football player........ and you think he would have sat out a PLAYOFF game after being cleared by doctors to play? give me a break.......

john abraham = loves money chris spielman = loves the game

something tells me a real football player would have suited up.......it's the playoffs, not pre-season, long as you can walk you play........hearing crap like this reminds me how much this league misses a guy like chris spielman........

winfield got 12 million in first year money from the vikes.......the f-tag would have paid him 7 or 8.......obviously it would have been an easy decision for him as to whether to take the tag or not........TD screwed up by not tagging him, plain and simple........there were multiple teams interested, with the jets and vikes leading the way, and someone would have gave SOMETHING for the right to sign him...... jennings is looking at a 10 million signing bonus minimum, no doubt in my mind.......that is what every good LT gets when they hit free agency, along with most good RT's........so why would he take the f-tag value at 7 million when he can make more then 10? it defies logic........ i disagree and think they're will be a waiting market for jennings, even with the tag on him, especiallly if jones and pace get tagged again.....all of a sudden he would be the top LT in a very thin market......but even if jones and pace don't, all you need is one team who falls in love with him to make a deal..........the downside? we tie up cash, which i don't see as a downside because i don't see the bills being major players in free agency this year, let alone in the first week....... and yes, if the bills did it they would have the f-tag available next year regardless......the only way you lose the tag is if you sign the player between march 15 and july 31........and no one does that........

sean gilbert was tagged and then traded.....as a more recent example, champ bailey was tagged and dealt last season.......... you can revoke the tag before the player signs the offer.......the bills are talking about one week window to work out a deal, and if nothing happens, you lift it.........there isn't a chance in hell that jennings would sign it because he can make more in signing bonus alone.........no one takes the offer the first week of free agency -- name one player..... it's a no risk move, no matter how you try to spin it........bills have nothing to lose and something to gain.......all of these reasons were used to explain why peerless shouldn't be tagged, and they were all wrong.........same with winfield, and he had a defanite market and the bills could have got a pick(s) for him......not franchising jennings would be another opportunity missed.......

it's not all about getting a 1st round pick out of tagging a guy.......it's about getting ANYTHING..........2nd, 3rd, conditional, whatever, it's still better then getting nothing.......... the bills do have the franchise tag available (i don't believe they have the transation) and they should use it on jennings.......... contrary to popular opinion, there is NO RISK to doing it........he will not sign the tag (why would he when he can make more in signing bonus alone? and who has signed the tag in the first week in the history of free agency?).........the bills don't really need the cap room the first week of free agency anyway.........and if there are no suitors for him that want to spend a pick to get "their guy", no problem, you just lift the tag and let him walk........no harm, no foul......... sorry boys, there is no downside here, only upside........people doubted it could be done with peerless, and those same people are doubting it can be done with jennings.........they were wrong then, and they're wrong now, but it's funny to see them using the exact same arguements.........

he jerked around moulds and didn't get the deal done until days before his potential free agency......i'm sure that boatload would have been less if he hammered out a deal without being held over the barrell....... with schobel, he also lowballed him last spring and early summer and schobel turned him down......only after TD stepped up the cash and gave him a real offer did schobel take it....... like i said, it's TD game......i don't know who he thinks he is fooling, but it doesn't work.......

the cap hit to deal rivers is only 6.5 million IF they do it before his early march roster bonus......the entire signing bonus was not paid up front and that gives them a window to get a deal done..........6.5 million is only about 3.5 million more then his scheduled cap charge for next year, so it's very manageable........

i think you'd be hard pressed to find an old quote from TD mentioning anything about that.........i think the fans got that idea in their heads and created this myth about an eventual switch for big mike.......i don't think that was TD's intentions when he drafted him.......

it's an excuse........if nate is as motivated by cash as you say he is, fine, open up the checkbook and pay the man.......if the offer is fair he will take it, and cash his signing bonus 12 months in advance......... what is cheaper - now or later? now by a longshot, and given the fact i and many other would hate to see him go, give him a market value deal and get it done.......no excuses required.......he's a good young player, we developed him, he's earned his contract, so pay him........end of story....... but the bottom line is TD is cheap and will play his usual lowball games........he does it with everyone.......

no, i'm talking about a pick as a result of last year's free agency.......we lost more then we gained, and winfield had the biggest contract by far of all the players involved.......we should be looking at anywhere from an extra 3rd-5th

we should be able to pick up another pick for '04 free agent compensation

didn't take long to roll out an excuse for TD......

as long as we work out a new deal for moulds, i think we can afford to re-sign JJ and sign rivera........guards are generally very reasonably priced and he would be a rock in the middle of our line and actually give mcgahee some real running room.......where else are you going to spend the money? OL needs to be the priority...... as for becht, i can't see how he would be "pricey"........he's never put up big numbers and is a better blocker then a receiver anyway.....

it's called "market value"........just because the contract is for alot of cash doesn't mean it isn't a smart deal.........we're in good cap shape and can afford to pay our marquee talent what they are worth........it's better then developing players and then taking the cheap route by letting them walk and replacing them with 2nd tier talent........ nate is good, and he deserves to be paid as such.......the longer TD waits, the higher the price gets........

if his contract expires, he won't be back......once he hits the open market he is gone........

we need to get nate signed THIS off-season......he gets better every year and is headed to the pro bowl next season (he got screwed this year, but his name around the league is growing)......if he hits the open market he is good as gone, so TD needs to take away that carrot as soon as possible and fork over a nice signing bonus......the longer TD waits to get it done, the higher the price will be.......

i like fellow GB guard and soon to be free agent marco rivera even more.....he'd look great lined up at LG for us......