RealityCheck

You can't fool me, you know you want both.

Dammit. I really really hate criticizing KW but you are right. Sometimes he just takes himself right out of the play. Kiko was drafted for the weak side, so a schematic shift for him will help. I hope that the Bills can find a DT that can 2 gap to replace KW soon. KW would make good trade bait before he starts to really fade. I don't see him maintaining his current level of performance past the next few seasons as it is. JMO given his size and aggressiveness.

A domed 65,000 seat stadium would be nice. Get a Super Bowl game in there within the first 5 years and you also have a more favorable venue for concerts. Buffalo's population has declined, perhaps a smaller domed stadium would better match the demand for tickets and help fans get over the elements and come out to the games in December. A more comfortable game day experience and a greatly reduced risk of blackouts would be pretty cool. A smaller stadium with a dome and nice aesthetics would cost less, be cheaper to maintain, attract more casual fans, be more likely to sell out, and artificially pump up demand by virtue of less available seats and a greater sense of exclusivity. The Bills need to adjust the complete game day experience to the modern NFL fan and their families, in particular, the Buffalo fan.

There is no such thing as fake boobs.

No.

There is one thing not being discussed when it comes to revenue. The revenue comes from the fans. Given the economic environment and near frozen wages and escalating public/private debt, the NFL as a league will see some interesting challenges. There is a tremendous amount of unrealized inflation that will arrive sooner than later. Fans are fiscally tapped out and fan's credit cards can't fund the league forever. Regardless of how much or little the Bills make, there really is no place for them to go. A new owner purchasing the team will spend a fortune acquiring new fans in a new zip code not in Western NY, and they would have the burden of financing a new stadium. The loyalty of the Buffalo community would cost a fortune and many years to build in another community, and that is without massive debt. The Bills are here to stay, I find it strange that few people accept that since it is what we all want. I think that it is great how many fans are into the financial end of the NFL, but projecting future revenue while ignoring the complete economic environment that it dwells in is a fruitless endeavor. The real question is, what is YOUR spending cap on the NFL? For the Sunday Ticket crowd, how much is too much? Will you spend $400 in 2016? $500 for Sunday Ticket? How much are you willing to spend on PSLs? These are the real questions.

Bradham will be backing Kiko up on the weak side. The Bills are looking at inside and strong side linebackers. He'll figure it out soon.

You know something, stranger things have happened. In a small way, I think it diminishes Byrd's ability to use the Bills' latest offer to him as leverage against other teams. It probably won't matter, but you never know.

The Bills have a FS that can play SS and CB if necessary. He can play some man coverage if he has to. He still has upside. This is a great deal for AW and the team. Is Dareus gonna get some love next? Cordy Glenn?

You just spelled it out for me. The goal of the tag should be for the goal of negotiating a long term deal. If a player simply states that nothing will get signed without feeling the open market first and on time, what else is there to do after the tag didn't work the first time. Parker knows that for every day that Byrd is not on the open market after FA starts is that they risk getting less money in the offers as time passes. There is a finite amount of money that goes to the top free agents in the first 72 hours. If Byrd is locked up in a cumbersome bargaining position to begin FA, some other players will likely be invited in his place. There are some big name/long in the tooth pass rushers that will be coveted. All agent's eyes are on the Raiders' cap space. If the Bills were to not let Byrd test FA on time, I am quite sure that Byrd's antics will be stepped up from the last off-season, and I doubt that a truly ugly hold out would sour his reputation among the current teams that covet his services. They are an opportunistic bunch after all. Cannibals if you will.

I am sure Leodis knows a guy...

Free Byrd and Free Willie ride off into the sunset.

Vick would be an immediate upgrade over the Bills rookies. Plus, he is well versed in the West Coast offense. If it means playoffs, I don't care who the Bills QB is. As for EJ, he had better get used to the idea that his job is tenuous at best until he proves himself, and he is a long way off from that.

You can also change the name of the teams too.

If they were to pull that off, the defense would take a big step forward regardless of who is playing safety.

This is a terrible idea.

In a way I am excited to see who they target in FA now that the Byrd thing is probably over. Will they make a splash for a DE to play opposite Williams?

I see the Bills playoff hopes for 2014 hinging on the QB position, not the FS spot. If the Bills were already a playoff team, tagging and playing him makes a ton of sense. Coming off a 6-10 streak, why pay ANY player 8.3 million just for them to leave at the end of the season? I think that the point of the contract impasse is becoming crystal clear. Byrd will refuse anything the Bills offer him until he can openly compare it to the rest of the league's offers and chose where he plays and for how much. Byrd gets one shot in his LIFETIME to capitalize on the NFL to this extent. It's silly to sit back and expect the players of your favorite team to kill themselves on a football field while you sit around getting hammered, just for them to go soft in the game of life. None of us has any skin in this game. If it is true that the Bills were offering Redskin type money to Byrd, then I would also have to assume that they will direct that money to FA and some of the players on the roster younger than 27. What will Byrd really be worth in 2018? Let the market for him happen and move forward.

...and then........?

And then...?

I am already over this. Let's not kid ourselves. We will still be tuning in come September with new hopes and dreams. Again...and again......

Byrd and Parker are clearly aiming for top dollar, as well they should. If I were to prioritize contract extensions moving forward I would now focus on locking Dareus up if at all possible before he puts a truly complete season together. The guy does keep getting better on the football field. The good news that I take from this is that perhaps the possibility of the Bills grabbing some high profile FAs just got better. Who?

Good for Peters. It's a little odd that an Eagles' player gets so much love on a Bills message board, but hubris is one hell of a drug.

It's quite curious that the bean counters are actively limiting their ability to keep their most expensive and important commodity healthy. They chose to play it cheap and then go really cheap on the "human" maintenance. An NFL team OWES it to their players to give them top-notch trainers and medical staff. Byrd intimated in his interviews upon returning from his hold out that the trainers' advice from the year before lead to the delays in his foot recovery citing "bad advice".

Who is to say this dynamic was not part of Pettine's desire to leave for Cleveland, or that he hasn't leaked some of this stuff himself. He left quite the oil slick on his way out of New York. These stories have emerged during the combine.