jahnyc

Chambers recently turned 30. He seems to be a decent backup, but I don't think he should be starting. He was a free agent this offseason, and the Bills re-signed him. I wonder if any other teams were interested in signing him. I don't recall hearing his name linked to any visits/teams.

Maybe it all depends on what you are satisfied with as a fan. For some of us, the goal is the playoffs and the Superbowl. Others seem to be happy watching the Bills play each week during the season, win or lose. I have been optimistic at various points during the last 10 years (the time since we last made the playoffs), but this is the most pessimistic I have ever been. It is painful watching this team and the front office. Decisions seem to be made based on money more than any other reason (getting rid of players and keeping Jauron) and the overall uncertainty about the future of the franchise hangs over things like a big black cloud. It does not help that home games are being played in Toronto. Over the last 10 years, the drafting of players has been average, but every other football related area (i.e., free agent acquisitions and coaching) has been terrible. The current front office seems to be incompetent, and this does not bode well for future improvement.

The only real bright spots on the team are the skill positions (WR and RB) and the corners, but I am not sure for how long. Unfortunately, Parrish may be traded and Owens is probably a Bill for only one year. With regard to the corners, McGee is a free agent next year and I doubt he will be re-signed. Not many are talking about Edwards. It will be interesting to see if develops further this year. Overall, I see much more potential for a poor record than the Bills vying for a playoff spot. Having to pick in the top five next year will be devastating to this team with all of the guaranteed money that will be required to sign that pick.

Why does everyone think that if we get rid of Kelsay, Simpson, Parrish, McCargo (on top of already getting rid of Peters) that the Bills will find replacements that are better? It takes a competent front office to do that, and we do not have one. I could undertand these moves if we had young (and better) players on the roster ready to replace all of these players, but we don't. In addition, this is not the beginning of free agency with possible replacements ready to be acquired. Free agency is over for the players that were highly coveted. I am not suggesting that any of these players are above average performers, but this seems more like a salary dump than anything else (without the hope of spending any money that becomes available as a result (this year or next year)).

This is getting stupid and ugly. You can't fix everything in the draft. The Bills will be lucky to get one or two players that become decent starters (eventually). Why are they creating so many holes that cannot possibly be filled before the season starts? This team is not rebuilding, it is cratering.

Let's see how these tackles develop over time. About ten years ago the Bills had a RT tackle named Robert Hicks who looked great for one year, and then was out of football a couple of years later.

Not easy finding good offensive tackles. I couple of years ago I was hoping the Bills would draft Winston Justice. He was drafted by Philly and I think he gave up five or six sacks in one game against the Giants. I guess things are not working out too well for him in Philly.

I don't think Peters will fail miserably in Philly. The Eagles have more talent on the o-line than the Bills, a good offensive system and coaching, and a pretty good veteran quarterback. This should set up Peters for the potential for success with the Eagles. He will be facing strong defenses with the Giants and the Cowboys, which could pose challenges for him. After listening to some of his interviews, I would be more concerned that he will have difficulty handling the Philly press and fans. He is not coming across well, and I would have limited his access to the press. I am also starting to wonder whether Peters is the type that can be easily manipulated, particularly by an agent (i.e., Parker). It would explain a lot.

If Peters plays at a pro bowl level for a number of years (and plays under the terms of his new deal with Philly) then it was a terrible trade. Everything else is secondary, including the value of the 28th pick in the first round.

The quote was that Philly made the best trade in the last 10 years. The title of my post was misleading, it is not Philly's best trade in the last 10 years (but, again, the best overall trade in the NFL in the last 10 years).

and that Brandon should be fired on the spot for trading Peters to Philly. Apparently, this is from a league source not affiliated with the Bills or Eagles.

You forgot to mention the most important points made by King: (i) Philly got the "major edge" in the trade and (ii) it would be going "too far" to trade Parrish. I think we are being set up with this tid bit of information from Peter King. The Bills are going to draft Pettigrew even though they know it will be unpopular with many fans.

It may have been the "right" thing on some level, but in terms of the overall performance of the team and wins and losses in the near term, it will hurt significantly. Also, there are two sides to every story, I would really like to hear more about what happened here from both sides.

This is the most depressed and angry I have been as a Bills fan. I really don't understand the muted response from Bills fans about the trade of Peters (and the possible trade of Parrish). Peters was the most talented football player on the team's roster, and the chances that our new first round pick will be an equivalent replacement are very slim. Prior to Jason Peters, it had been more than 15 years since the Bills had a good LT. I also don't understand the agruments that the Bills would have been overpaying for Peters or that he could not have had much of an impact since the Bills have been 7-9 the past couple of years. The reality is that this team has a ton of cap room and has been overpaying for other players on an all too consistent basis (Dockery, K. Williams, Johnson and even Evans). If 7-9 looks bad with Peters, I am dreading what the team's record will look like without him. Finally, I don't get the support for the FO and the patience fans seem to have. It has been 10 years since our last visit to the playoffs, and the same people who have made poor free agent acquisitions during this time are still employed by the Bills (John Guy). Tim, what is the perception of our front office (i.e., the competency) in league circles?

Well, I think that Brandon was completely schooled by Parker, Peters' agent. I remember after the holdout ended that there were a number of people who thought the Bills, by being tough with Peters (i.e., not renegotiating his contract), had won the upper hand. In hindsight, that is not the case, and ning months later, Parker got Peters a huge new contract with a playoff caliber team (not bad for a player that was under contract for two more years with his former team plus the possibility of using the franchise tag thereafter). It was almost 15 years since the Bills last had a good left tackle before Peters. Why does anyone think that this front office, led by Brandon, will find one this year?

I also agree with Alan Wilson's article and this post. A game changer and player that can impact field position the way he does is not a "luxury." His total yards per game probably exceed most if not all of our other wide receivers. The Bills will not be moving up from their first pick. I am sure they have no interest in paying more money for that pick by moving up and all of the top LTs will be gone by the time they do pick. Parrish will be a loss. Peters is a devastating loss. Andy Reid is right that it all starts with the lines. We will not win many games if Chambers, Bell or McKinney are starters for the Bills this year. By the way, our defensive line is also weak, in part because we are overpaying for players like Williams and Johnson (and Ellis has not shown anything yet).

We have lost many good players over recent years. Williams, Clements, Winfield and Peters are or were close to all pro caliber players. I think we can all agree to disagree about certain players and whether we are heading in the right direction, but I will have zero confidence in this front office until the team makes the playoffs. It has been 10 years.

It has been 10 years since we made the playoffs and it is frustrating and disappointing to lose the team's best player at one of the most important positions. It is difficult to evaluate some of the other moves, such as signing Florence to replace Greer. Florence was a flop for the Jaguars and Greer started for us last year. Not sure if Fitzpatrick can win us some games if Edwards gets injured. Rhodes seems like a good pick up as a back-up. McKinney is not a starter and although Chambers was re-signed, he really is only a back-up. Hangartner is the big unkown. Not a starter in Carolina (and not re-signed by Carolina), but played well enough after some injuries to get the Bills very interested. After our experience with Fowler and Johnson (two back ups for their former teams that were supposedly starter quality) and combined with realities of facing Jenkins, Ferguson and Wilfork in our division, I have doubts that he will prove to be the answer at center. Losing players like Preston, Fowler and Whittle is no loss. I really do not buy this addition by subtraction argument. The reality is that we do not have quality starters to fill the roles vacated by Peters, Dockery, Royal and Crowell (I know he was injured last year, but he was a good player when healthy). I don't see how we can fill all of our holes through the draft. We will be lucky to find one or two starters out of the draft and we cannot expect them to perform at a high level in their first year. Overall, I think this offseason has been something of a disaster. We are far away from being a contender, which is unfortunate since there is some talent at certain positions (i.e., wr and cb). You cannot create huge holes and then not fill them (the draft cannot be the answer this year for LT, guard, DE, LB and strong safety).

I wish him well, I thought he was a very good player. Notwithstanding some sympathetic pieces in the press and of course not knowing all of the facts, I blame the Bills for what happened. I know that the Bills gave him a contract for good money well before he needed to be re-signed, but I also have a feeling the Dockery thing ignited this whole mess. So, a couple of years later, we learn that signing Dockery was not only a huge and costly mistake, but it may have contributed to the current disaster with Peters.

I really hate to say this, but if the Bills have a very poor season this year, then they will be picking in the top five in the draft next year and will sign that pick to a contract similar in dollars to the one agreed to by Peters.

Mckinney could not crack the starting line up in Cleveland. He is from Buffalo, Texas.

If these numbers are right, then the front office should be fired if they offered him less. If he signed for less than the Bills were offering, then maybe the situation was unavoidable. I would still like to know how things evolved into such a disaster.

Sorry, but the offensive line is in shambles right now. Even if the Bills use a couple of picks on the offensive line, the chances of them being effective immediately are not good. We have no idea whether Hangartner is a good player, but we will find out. He was a back-up on Carolina, so we can't assume he will be a great player. The last time I heard stuff about an underrated center who was a back-up was when we acquired Fowler. He did not turn out well. I think McKinney and Chambers are back-up quality. We will see about Bell, but I would expect that he will need more time to develop. Our left side of the line has the potential to be dangerously bad and Edward is brittle. Not a good combination.

There are some missing pieces to this story. The Bills seemed to indicate last year that Peters would not communicate with them before and during the holdout. They acted surprised, but there must have been some indication that he was unhappy with his deal. Similarly, when Peters reported to camp, it was reported that the Bills and Peters agreed that they would engage in discussions about a new deal, but Peters said at the end of the season that the Bills had not done so. One other question about this situation. Is it possible that Peters became unhappy after McNally left as coach of the o-line? I have a suspicion that Peters' weak play last year was not just about reporting late, but partly a result of the line coaching.

I do not have insider, but Clayton says the Bills are still shopping Roscoe Parrish and will likely end up receiving a 5th round draft choice for him. Parrish is the best punt returner in the AFC. I know there is a glut at wr, but I don't think trading him makes sense for a 5th round draft choice.