RuntheDamnBall

No curses. Put up Reed to support his HOF campaign, or just put up the new helmet.

Astro, this stuff is crack for those of us who can't be there. But not as bad for you. Thanks a million.

RIP, pal.

No, sir.

Shut up, fartknocker.

This I like, though I do hope they really make the kid work for it and show him that nothing will be handed to him.

I would say this is true, but couch cash is strictly reserved for paying coaches.

I looked under a rock and found an offensive guard this morning. Nothing to see here.

I always thought it was an "m" going the other way sidewise. As in "mmmmmm chicken wings," or "master of his domain."

Chester Copperpot is old news; Zanzibar Saunders is the wave of the future.

Well, exactly. So, shouldn't the posts suggesting that the Bills should make him sit the season to make an example of him, y'know, stop? Read the WGR training camp article about this, and what do you see but a lot of his teammates really hoping that he'll be back soon, but also wanting him to get paid? I guarantee you that if the Bills are stupid enough to play these kinds of tricks with him, it won't sit will with his teammates. Perhaps against all odds, I don't think they are that stupid and spiteful. If that's how you act in a billion dollar business, you won't last long.

Oooooookay, and I'm buying that insinuation. In which case, Mark Anderson is worth millions and Jairus Byrd is just a jerk who wants to be overpaid?

So are we insinuating that the Assistant General Manager/Director of Pro Personnel has no say in making these deals, but Wannstedt did? I find that position suspect, at best. Lord help them if they were making signings based on Wannstedt's opinion. Does it really change the point that this front office is willing to throw lots of money away on some players, but inexplicably plays hardball with the guys who are core / stars? It especially seems like they look to "prove points" with certain players instead of aiming for a middle ground. This has been an epidemic pattern regardless of whom is in charge. And Brandon and Ralph are still here. But if you're a Chris Kelsay or a Shawne Merriman or a Mark Anderson or a Cornell Green, back up the frigging Brinks truck. It's not a big splash to re-sign Byrd, so I understand that it doesn't have the sexy factor that the FO is looking for, but it will cost less than half of what Mario is signed for, and it will probably result in more consistent production.

The Butch Rollers.

All the best to you, Sally and your family, Matt. I remember you from McFadden's, even if you don't remember me. There is a whole world of people pulling for you.

Do you have a link regarding this demand? Also, I don't know if we need to take such a hard line on this. There can be some nuance to it. What if, for example, the Bills say "we'll agree not to tag you next year, but you need to let us match any offer made to you in 2014?" That's a perfectly reasonable side agreement to make that doesn't violate league procedures, and also doesn't preclude negotiation in-season. If I were Whaley, I'd do precisely this. It's clear that the team isn't comfortable with paying Byrd the kind of money he is looking for, but it's also clear that he can't play on anything but a one-year deal at this point. Give him the one-year deal and maybe sweeten it at the $8MM mark (perhaps more) that he is looking for annually, for 2013, make the side agreement, and let him prove his worth this year with no hard feelings. People act like these things have to be acrimonious by nature, rather than the byproduct of the system put in place by the league and the NFLPA to control costs and ensure fair compensation in a very high-stakes enterprise.

Right. For example, you definitely don't want to sign a guy just to cut him a year later, wasting $8 million in the process. You better be sure about how you spend that limited, precious money. You definitely don't want $4MM of dead bonus money hitting your cap, either. But sometimes that happens. By the way, about this money that is somehow not Ralph Wilson's money, but just money that comes from magic that is allocated for player salaries: 2013 Cap Room Remaining: $18.665 million (fifth most in the league, as of July 7, 2013) (per Shutdown Corner / Yahoo) As far as I can tell, that's not really leverage - it's just plan B. The leverage is really just: play and get paid, or don't. In actuality, the Bills lose all leverage if plan B shows signs of not working out. Even if the young guys do play well, it won't change Byrd's position that he thinks he can be one of the best. And until he gets on the field, Byrd could argue that he'd be even better in this system -- not going to bat for him, but that's how he'll play it.

Point taken, but I imagine that the target audience for that article was not a 26-year-old who plays a full-speed contact sport with 200-350 pound superhumans on turf.

I was a JP Losman fan and purchased his jersey.

Right. I guess I opened up that floodgate, so I accept my role in that part of the conversation, but I think the point is illustrated all the same. It's hard -- understandably very hard -- for the likes of most of us to understand how a guy can turn down that kind of money. But the likes of us do not have this very limited window of earning power in a game that is physically brutal and could put you in a crippled state by the time you hit your fifties. Byrd and his agent have a value that they think he's worth in a game where the owner consistently pulls in a ridiculous amount of profit on an investment he made eons ago. That same owner - or his representatives - have been unafraid to throw money at players like Mark Anderson based on hope and some decent results in a good system. Byrd has provided top 5-10 results in a horrible system with absolute schmoes in front of him at LB. Is he the best? Not likely, and it's not likely that even the highest salary at FS would remain this for long. Statements about 500% raises are really beside the point. Whether we like it or not, the NFL system is designed for teams to get very good value out of their draft picks and for those guys to get paid well if they have played well. Byrd has done just that, working at basically vet minimum but putting in top-5 play. I have no idea what he is requesting, and nor does anyone else here. Maybe they are not backing off a $9MM / annual average demand with $20MM bonus. If he's demanding a touch more than what Goldson's getting, I think he probably deserves that... And that is a lot more than $6.5MM for one season with no certainty thereafter. $6.5MM is a lot of money at once, but imagine if that were the last paycheck he ever earned if he suffered a career-ending injury, and then things get put into perspective. It might not be enough for a guy to live on presuming he may require more medical care than the average person. I am not feeling sorry for a millionaire, but nor am I feeling sorry for Ralph Wilson getting squeezed for what amounts to pocket change for him, when Ralph Wilson's only real job in life at this point is to help make this football team a winner.

That's a drag - I liked the kid and he was a beast on the field.

I think too many people here are hung up on a ruthless business mentality suggesting that Byrd needs to be taught a lesson. Parker plays hardball and may use some dick-ish tactics, but he is doing the best for a client who wants a long-term deal with some certainty, not a one-year deal where his client can lose tons of money if injured (like Eric Berry may have did). Furthermore, I will be livid if Byrd comes back in week 6, or week 10, and the Bills sit him regardless of whether he can help them win games. This goes double if they are still in contention. The contracts and front-office stuff are not under Marrone's purview. His job is to put the best team on the field. If Byrd sits for any reason other than that he is not the best player at his position on the roster at the time, shame on them. I think they are smarter than this. Not only that, but I think a player has to look at what Mark Anderson pulls in for a year of... what, exactly? And think, "Jesus, I've contributed far more to this team, and look at the kind of money they are literally throwing away on a guy like that!" So if your contract at work runs up, and your boss says, "one-year contract, take it or leave it. It's very good money, but I can't guarantee you anything beyond this year," what do you do? Bend over and take it?

I believe you have mistaken this for the Madden 2014 Message Board.

Well isn't that the crazy part? Stevie is from what we know a monogamous family man. He may like big butt (cakes), but he is not out causing trouble or potentially doing harm to his body. He's wearing a silly t-shirt. Bruce Smith was driving drunk, he did blow and he skipped training camp half the time. I have raised this before but I get slapped down by those who know better. If our favorite dudes from the Super Bowl years had been held to 21st century Internet scrutiny, we would have hated just about everyone besides Don Beebe, Metzelaars and Reich, and some people would have hated those guys for being too straight and narrow. I think as good a question is: aside from the on-field stuff that he has dialed back, what harm has Stevie's silly behavior caused? Unless you are really big on brand maintenance and PR (which I thought everybody hated Russ Brandon for), he's actually pretty good for the team because he lets people know the Bills are around. Hopefully he will continue to be his fun-loving self while the Bills make a playoff run.

Yoo doo, yoo doo right!!!