2003Contenders

Because he hurt poor Tony Romo's feelings.

I think the four games (reduced to two on appeal) sounds about right. I really like Lynch and hope that he learns his lesson.

Yes, but the Bills upped that initial $4M per year offer. I never heard what that new figure was.

"What mamma don't know won't hurt her!" -- zoom in to tattoo of Roy Orbison on Jauron's right hind-end cheek.

In my opinion, the Bills are not in the position of being able to leave ANY stone unturned. Cynics have already pointed out that players typically do not want to come to Buffalo for a variety of reasons. So by those estimations, wouldn't TO-to-Buffalo mean that it was a last resort for him? Don't you think that would be incentive enough for him to behave, knowing that this would (hypothetically speaking) be his last chance to play in the NFL? Of course, there is an element of TO that is incorrigible. He just can't help himself. If there is some sincere interest in him from teams like the Redskins, we all know that the Bills won't get in on that action anyway. If, however, the Bills turn out to be one of the only teams interested, I fail to see what the downside is. Is this a Championship team that he is going to tear apart? Meanwhile, the upside is just too great to completely ignore. A motivated TO (as he was in his early years in San Francisco, his first year in Philly and his first couple of years in Dallas), is a player that opposing defenses must account for on every play. This honestly would have the potential to be the single signing that could get the Bills over the hump.

Honestly, I doubt that this had THAT much to do with money. Last week it was reported that the Bills had, I believe an offer of 5 years at $20 M on the table. That was before they reportedly sweetened the pot as free agency began. I can't imagine that the final offer was that different from the 4 year $23 M that Greer ultimately received from New Orleans. I think this was a matter of the front office trying to move promptly. Greer had already met with at least two teams and was seemingly taking his time making a decision. The Bills got tired of waiting and went ahead and signed Florence to a significantly smaller deal. Notice that after the Florence signing it didn't take Jabari long to sign with another team, since his Buffalo safety net was gone. I am not at all criticizing Greer, especially since this may be his once ever shot at a big contract. He did exactly what he was supposed to do and was rewarded handsomely as a result. He's a good player and a good guy, and I really wish him luck. I'm just getting tired of our supposed "fans" whining about how the front office doesn't want to spend any money, when they can't take a step back and look at the bigger picture.

Relax. Coles DID come to Buffalo -- and he reportedly received a very strong offer from the Bills. When the Bengals decided to WAY overpay for his services the Bills wisely chose not to get into a bidding war.

Actually the Bills' track record for drafting WRs this past decade hasn't been all that bad. Let's see (just looking back at Day 1 draft picks)... Peerless was a 2nd round draft pick in 1999. I would have to say that that worked out pretty well, especially since he netted us a 1st round pick in 2003. Josh Reed was a 2nd rounder in 2002. He's certainly not a world-beater, but a worthy second round draft pick I would say. Lee Evans was a 1st rounder in 2004. Certainly no complaints here. Roscoe was a 2nd rounder in 2005. I can't call the pick a bad one, since he has reaped such positive dividends as a punt returner. He has, however, been a failure as a receiver. James Hardy was a 2nd rounder in 2008. The verdict is still out on him obviously. I guess there are those of you that want to look into your crystal ball and call him a bust. That's fine, by your standards, Eric Moulds was also a bust heading into 1997 (or 1998 for that matter). All in all, I think the front office has done a pretty good job of drafting receivers. Now, maybe an argument can be made that they haven't drafted ENOUGH receivers. But the ones they have drafted have been pretty decent. I think the coaching carousel and instability at QB has been the bigger culprit.

The Coles situation could be irrelevant. I suspect that with Greer making so many visits that the team came to the conclusion that he was going to sign elsewhere. We will probably know more when we see the numbers on Florence's deal.

I would give it a couple of days and see how the whole thing pans out with Coles. If he hasn't signed by, say, Thursday, there are a number of other fish to fry: Toomer, Harrison and maybe even Holt (which would probably require a 2nd day draft pick).

The sad thing is that Clayton wasn't technically wrong. However, the way he presented it was VERY misleading and clearly made the Bills front office out to be incompetent, which clearly was NOT the case (at least in this particular situation). Fortunately, I never allowed myself to get too worked up over an allegation made by someone like Clayton. However, he deserves to get highly scrutinized for his misleading and indirectly inflammatory allegations.

I think Simms is playing wait-and-see with what happens with Kerry Collins. The Titans supposedly really like Simms. If they can't get a deal worked out with Collins, they would be likely to pay him more than he could make anywhere else on the open market.

I'm sure Sanders has the inside scoop on Montgomery.

Interesting. It certainly makes sense. Of course, how well did these guys do the last time they were together in NY in 2007?

I hear ya. In a way it is almost refreshing to be back HATING the Dolphins again with every ounce of vigor in my veins! Not that I had ever stopped disliking them, but in recent years, I think the Patriots had overtaken them as enemy #1.

Relax. We are talking about a backup QB for heaven's sake! And, yes, I think he is an improvement over JP. I doubt JP could lead ANY team to the Super Bowl as Grossman did in 2006.

Well, let's also not forget the probable long term extension for Peters that would likely pay him $8-10M per year. It also sounds like it will cost about $8 M per year to sign Brown, provided that the Bills even get into that bidding war for his services. Keeping Dockery on board would have amounted to about $25 M per year for just THE LEFT side of the OL (LT to Center). I've said before that I view Dockery as an average to slightly above average OG. He certainly isn't worth the money he was set to make.

If I were a decision-maker in the front office, I would come out of the gates strong and make Brown an offer too rich to pass up. He will be a hot commodity and won't be on the market too long. With the recent releases, there are already plenty of LBs and WRs on the market, so I wouldn't be as quick on the draw for one of them necessarily. As for the TE position, I just don't see anybody out there that excites me.

The fact that even his attorney is now admitting that he needs to start using better judgment should be an eye-opener.

I remember that season so well. At the halfway point Bledsoe was in serious contention for NFL MVP. He wound up being the only Buffalo QB to EVER pass for over 4000 yards that season. Then he ran into a buzz saw in the first New England game -- and NEVER really recovered. Was it a case of his literally getting old overnight? Did defenses do a better job game planning for him? Or was his hot start to the season an aberration, fueled by his desire to show that he was still a viable NFL QB less than a year after literally almost dying on the football field? Given that he laso had a pretty hot start in his first season in Dallas after the Bills released him, I lean toward the latter.

I honestly believe that this is the first season in which DJ has been here where he enters the season on the hot seat, knowing that he needs to win to stay employed. That may not impact his coaching style, but I have a feeling that his input on free agency and the draft will gear more toward the sudden impact type players.

Actually, if it requires a 1st and a 3rd to get him -- I would rather spend that 1st and 3rd on Anquain Boldin -- or save my draft picks and sign Housh, who is an UFA.

Based on Modrak's comments last week, I get the impression that the Bills really like Orakpo as an every-down DE. They seem to be playing a wait-and-see approach with Maybin to see how he looks with the added weight. And it sounds like they are skeptical about Brown, based on his being less than 6'2".

If they can't re-sign Greer and with McGee being unrestricted next season, I wouldn't dismiss the possibility of this happening.

Well, in King's defense, Bellichick claimed that Milloy was a selfish player as well.