obie_wan

Kiper will move him up the board after teh combine when he is shocked to learn that he can run and jump

Any deal will have to approximate market with timing of cash payments the diff. Thus, if comparable siging bonuses are 15-18 mil for Nate, he wil need to have that amount guaranteed - but it could be paid out in 2 or possibly 3 years. Roster bonuses are not guaranteed and are treated the same as salary. Any guaranteed amounts, even if paid in later years, need to be amortized like a signing bonus.

The only mistake that Marv made was attempting to provide the fans with a realistic update on the team. Due to the huge flock of negative nancies masquerading as Bills fans, he would have been far better off to follow the Teflon Tom approach of keeping the fans in the dark. So the Bills will be operating under a budget- wow - what a surprise. The only diff is now the fans know what the budget number is. The end-of-the-world attitude is just amazing.

The key to stopping the run, rushing the passer and pass coverage.

why do you guys even bother posting on this board if you are convinced the Bills are now a minor league team?

The Patriots and Eagles spend to the cap every year. They just don;t overpay aging, over-the-hill talent

If Ralph sells the team, then the buyer will move it out of Buffalo because he won't be able to cover the debt service AND buy all of these players you want. then you won;t have to B word about Ralph being a cheapskate anymore.

The sky is not falling. The Bills will do what they have been doing since John Butler left after putting us in cap hell- offering contracts with tiered bonuses and that are not back loaded so a player will be expected to play out the entire deal. The difference between Teflon tom and Marv is that Marv won't be looking for the flashy deal in order to get on ESPN like TD did. Since the entire signing bonus won't be paid in year 1, (but is guaranteed) the Bills can compete for any free agent on the market. The criteria, as it should be, is whether that player is young enough to play out his contract at a high enough production to justify the big contract. They will make an offer for Clements, but it will be at a value that matches his role in the Cover-2.

AJ is following the Teflon Tom approach to job continuiyu. Too bad it doesn't carry over to success on the field. Norv is bad enough, but Cottrell is not the strong DC needed to compliment Norv's offensive background.

hard to understand why he was fired from Vikings if his defense was so good. He did a real fine job in NY as well

The team is even in worse shape with Cottrell at DC. He may be able to operate a strong DC like Wade, but he has failed miserably when on his own as DC. Looks like AJ Smith has a really bad case of Donahoitis and is intent on hiring incompetents to keep in a position of power.

Except fpr 2 things; 1. In the first year, theh base salary would be the minimum allowed under the CBA, not $3 mil. 2. It is likely unlikely that the Bills would pay the the entire bonus in year 1. They would guarantee the entire bonus, and maybe have to up to cover the time value of money, but would pay out the cash over 2 years. With a $23 mil contract over 6 years, the Bills would attempt to equalize the cash payments over the life of the contract more than a typical back loaded contract designed solely to maximize current cap space.

Any OG the Bills acquire will need to be able to pull and move in space. Big, fat and slow Davis will not get it done.

Johnson will be gone middle of round 1

Sure he does- just read this board Jeff Littman posts here and he says Ralph is a money grubbing cheapskate.

stop with the logic. rookies can never start at MLB.

your life must be pretty fulfilling with such a negative attitude. As you state, the Bills have not been good for a while even thought they spent big money on FA in Spikes, Milloy, Adams, etc. Marv has stated point blank that the Bills will spend to the $109 million cap but won't play cap games to go beyond. The Bills can and will build a successful team by spending judiciously. However, they won;t break the bank for a shut down CB when you the defense they play doesn't require one.

This is from another board, but it applies to the Bills approach to building their team. Note that Bills will follow the Colts allocation of value to the CB position & DL positions. I would guess the Bills re-sign Kelsey but not break the bank for Nate. "Strikes me that some of the most successful NFL franchises are employing similar models to sustain competitiveness in the salary cap era. By following a specific business model they can avoid the "bust" that follows the "boom" for other teams and be consistently competitiveness. This trend is most noticeable in the Patriots, Colts and Steelers. i) Pay your studs. Whether it's Manning, Harrison and Wayne for the Colts or Brady, Seymour and Wilfork for the Patriots, the principle is the same: pay your studs. BUT it's not that simple. The top franchises only pay top $$$ at positions they deem the most important - usually QB and DL. That means they must refuse to overpay at positions they don't consider so important - LB for the Colts and Steelers (who frequently let LBs go in FA), WR for the Patriots and Steelers too ii) Coach up cheap overachievers at other positions If you're paying top $$$ at certain positions, then you won't have much money to go around at others. The trick is to employ a coaching strategy that enables you to use guys other teams don't want successfully and to maximise coaching effectiveness. For example, Indy uses the Cover 2 and doesn't mind if their CBs are short. Pittsburgh uses DE/OLB tweeners in its 3-4 because other teams wouldn't use them. New England and Indy both pick up overachieving physically limited types on the OL and coach them into being solid players. iii) Employ specific role players as your depth players Guys like Polian and Pioli pick up depth players with potential to play very specific roles. For example, Indy uses receiving TEs like Bryan Fletcher in its offensive scheme very successfully. New England is always apparently able to turn backups into competent starters when injury strikes. iv) Be ruthless when Father Time approaches All these franchise refuse to pay $$$ to older players. That having been said, they are smart at picking up former greats for the veteran minimum if no-one else wants them. v) Consistency, consistency, consistency All these franchises have a philosophy they stick to with their coaching regardless of personnel. It means that they can pick players very precisely who "work" in their scheme - for example, speed DEs for Indy, pass-rush OLBs for Pittsburgh, possession WRs for New England"

which is why they have flat out stated they will spend to the $109 million cap, but not go crazy back loading contracts with huge upfront signing bonuses.

too high for Moss. Charles Johnson is a possibility at DE

because we know the name. you can't spend enough on overpaid, overhyped name players on teh down side of their careers

Contrary to their self professed greatness, many Bills fans are snivelling whiners who would rather bad mouth the team than buy tickets and actually attend the games.

At the end of 2007 the Bills will have far less than $16 million under the cap.

Again - I ask the simple question. marv says they will spend to the cap of $109. Yet you twist this to mean they will only spend $93 million. way to take an ultra negative view

A prior story indicated they were high on Butler challenging Pennington at RT or one of the G spots. He was not fully recovered last year and thus they went with Pennington by default.