LevysEraII

Howard Simon is talking about that god awful, ridiculous e-mail that has been floating around. You know the one. That one that just won't go away. HS doesn't believe the story. Neither do I. Which is why I will not even specify what that dumb @ss e mail is about.

I thought I read somewhere that the Bills must spend a certain amount (I believe it's around 80 to 85% of the cap) in order to qualify for their share of the money from the league's revenue sharing plan. Exactly how much money is that?? Is it greater than the $39 million the Bills currently have in cap space? I'm a little worried that ol'Ralphie Boy won't spend much in free agency. An answer to my question will set my mind at ease knowing that Ralph will have to spend at least 18 to $20 million in cap space this offseason. Help, please!!!

Congrats Thurmanator!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

When it comes to building a solid foundation for a winning team you need the draft to be your bread and butter of course, but free agency can speed up the process at the same time. If New Orleans hadn't signed Drew Brees would they have been able to go as far as they did this year?

It's incredible how you can say the "logic is really missing in this thread" and then go right ahead and say "the guys you want us to get are all big fat slobs who are over the hill and don't fit our scheme". That's interesting, because I never mentioned anyone specifically.

I guess the NBA thing is a bad analogy, but never the less, we don't have many 19 year olds in the NFL to compare Okoye to.

Great! More sarcasm.

Laying the sarcasm pretty thick, are we? I never said anybody is guaranteed to be a flop. I just want a sure thing to man the defensive tackle position. I've had enough of the Andersons, Larsens and Bannans of the world.

You make some good points, but how many of those guys are 19 years old? Even in the NBA, it's rare that a 19 year old makes an immediate impact and that's a sport that brings in 18 and 19 year olds regularly, or at least they used to before the new rule that bans 18 year old from playing in the NBA. We have nobody to compare Okoye with. It's unchartered territory and I don't think our defense can afford to not get the D-Line right, ASAP.

That's why I said, "Pat Williams FOR MINNESOTA". He was a veteran free agent pick-up for the Vikings, not the Bills.

Once upon a time Erik Flowers was "definately the best lineman at the senior bowl on either team". We all know how that story turned out. I just prefer that the Bills sign a lineman via free agency. DT's, in particular, don't normally turn out to be busts as free agents. Ted Washington and Sam Adams for Buffalo, Pat Williams for Minnesota and Keith Traylor come to mind as a few examples of DT's that came in and improved the run defense of those teams. When I think of the draft, names like Justin Bannan, Tim Anderson and Leif Larsen come to mind as busts that Buffalo brought in. BTW, have the Bills picked a DT in the draft that was worth a damn in the last 15 years?

Those scouting reports, for the most part, are inaccurate. They make everyone sound good. How many times have you heard, "this is the next Brett Favre" or "this guy is the next Bruce Smith". How often are they right? The truth is this kid (Okoye), is just that. A kid. He hasn't fully developed yet. He could be something special down the line, but I think the Bills are close to playoff caliber NOW.

Everyone knows that the DT doesn't demand an astronomical amount of money in free agency. A guy like Pat Williams only costs about $16 mill over a 4 year period. The 12th overall pick will probably cost the same amount, if not more. When you consider that player is an unproven rookie and the Bills were amongst the bottom of the league at stopping the run it makes sense to draft a player at another position and acquire the best available DT through free agency. We already know that Buffalo's weakest leak on the whole team is DT and subsequently run-defense. We can't afford to make a mistake on a potentially "hit or miss" type aquisition such as a rookie DT would be. Not to pick on Okoye, but he would be the worst guy the Bills could use their 1st round pick on. He's only 19 years old. No way does he step right in and becomes the answer to our "Run D" woes. Besides, don't we already have one of those guys on our roster in Big John McCargo? Our run defense needs to be shored-up with a can't miss, bonafide gangster at DT. With our 1st round pick the Bills should bring in the best available WR, MLB, CB or even TE. Those positions are in need of an upgrade but even if the Bills field the same group of guys that manned those positions in '06 it wouldn't disastrous. Notice that I didn't list a offensive lineman as a possible 1st round pick. Although I wouldn't be totally against it, I feel the same way about the offensive line as I do the defensive line. Those spots are in need of an immediate upgrade. Memo to ol' Ralphie Boy. If you truly want to make the playoffs. DON'T BE FRUGAL ON OFFENSIVE AND DEFENSIVE LINEMAN!!!!!!!

First we hired Wade Phillips. He was Denver's head coach and after he got fired Denver made it to and won the Super Bowl shortly after that. Then we signed Mularkey. His former team (Pittsburgh) went to and won the SB. Now we have Jauron. He once coached Da Bears and, you guessed it, went on to the Super Bowl. Gregg Williams was the only coach we hired since Levy was coach whose former team didn't go on to the SB but 3 out of 4 ain't bad. Strange, huh?

The only splash ol'Ralphie boy will make in free agency will be equivalent to the size splash Nicole Richie's little @ss would make in a belly flop competition.

It has been reported on WGR550 that Peyton Manning didn't take his hands out of his pockets during a press conference recently. Some might say he's concealing an injury to his thumb that he injured in the 4th quarter against New England. I'm not going for that though, to tell you the truth the whole thing stinks of Bill Belicheckism.

It's a tie. JP & Lee Evans.

Good post. I agree. As far as your questions go: 1. No, he won't be traded. Give Willis a better O-Line and he will exceed 1500 yards. 2. Unfortunately no, he won't be re-signed. 3. I concur. Hopefully the Bills pick up a stud in the offseason. This should be Marv's top priority. 4. Gandy earned a new contract. Let's try to land a RG and keep Preston as a utility lineman for depth.

I made the mistake of watching Blood Diamond before seeing Balboa. I thought the build-up to the fight was weak as well. Mason Dixon was too likable for my taste. Usually the bad guy is vilified in Rocky flicks.

Go ahead, flame away all you want. I'm the bad guy. Let's just forget about the fact that RW said The Bills are being pushed out of Buffalo. BTW. I'm pulling a John Kerry. The Bills will spend freely this offseason like it was cellulite off of Rosie O'Donnell's ass.

What was the cap back then? $35 million???

Sure, I said that, but I wasn't accusing RW of being cheap. He HAS to be cheap. He's not being a cheap-skate just because he wants to.

Exactly! That is why Ralph will never spend up to the cap. Which means the Bills will always lose out on the best free agents, including their own and will not be able to field a competitive team to keep up with the big market teams. I never said Ralph was being cheap like some people have implied in this thread. I guess reading comprehension IS a lost form around here.

Can anyone post it?

Jason Peters is da man, brother!!! Best LT in football, no doubt. Younger, faster and better than all of those other guys you listed. And cheaper!!!