Bills Fan in MD

People have been writing columns for the last ten or so offseasons declaring that "Team X" is best positioned to knock off the Pats, and every single one of them has been wrong. At some point, it will happen -- and I very much think that what the Bills have been doing this year gives them as good a chance as anyone -- but generally have a hard time putting much weight in these lame opinion pieces (LaCanfora is particularly bad).

I'm not so sure Clay wouldn't have comparable numbers if he had Peyton Manning throwing him the ball for the past three years.

Or one about how long the Dolphins will take to announce a decision. To me, it's a lock that they make the Bills wait every second possible before announcing a decision. In fact, and assuming they don't match, do they even have to do anything? I realize that it would probably be good form to put out a statement announcing they don't intend to match (and thanking Clay for his time in Miami), but is that technically required?

Wait, what? You're telling me that the 18 year search for a QB (absent a few false glimmers of hope over the years) was for nothing, and all they had to do was to clear out some cap room and "want" to acquire a decent QB????

You're probably being generous. That's a terrible fan base.

I think you're technically right, but he phrased the tweet in such absolute and clumsy terms that he still looks foolish. "NFLs transaction wire for Tuesday is out. No Bills transactions listed, which means no Clay offer sheet or Harvin signing."

Someone who knows more should chime in, but I'm guessing that Miami is going to make everyone wait until the very last minute (if not the second) to match/not match.

So Mike Rodak's ONE contribution to the Clay story these past few days (scanning the transaction wire and declaring that he won't be signed today) was 100% wrong.

I think you're being a bit unfair to Goodell. How can you expect him to deal with CTE when there are so many potential uniform violations and excessive end zone celebrations to police? I mean, once he starts to spend time dealing with a potential epidemic, the next thing you know players are going to start running rampant with non-Nike or (gasp!) unlicensed apparel.

I think most people can manage to separate multiple angles of the same story, but I completely agree with your overall point. When I first saw the headline, I thought that he was already having complications from previous head injuries. For him to be a healthy guy (with a ton of promise) who is just looking out for himself in the long term is indeed stunning.

Not sure I've ever seen one team have as bad of an offseason as the one the Niners are having this year.

In addition to not acknowledging that it's about more than 2015, he also doesn't acknowledge that the Bills (I think) have more players under contract for 2015 and fewer spots to fill, or the fact that the Dolphins have pretty much exhausted their additional cap-saving moves (whereas the Bills still have a few to play if they need them). I know that he's more of a rabble-rouser than a pure beat reporter, but he really seems to have an axe to grind with the Bills and is gradually crossing the line into total "bitter fanboy" mode.

So glad you posted that about the "Greater Than" sign. That made me pause too, but I dismissed it as I assumed I just wasn't down with the latest Twitter lingo.

I hope Chip Kelly stays HC of the Eagles for a while. He certainly makes the offseason entertaining.

Sucks for us as impatient fans, but if the Bills are indeed milking the clock to try and work it to their advantage I'm not sure that's a bad thing. Whaley and his team are paid to know how to work the system, so if that's the strategy I'm good. I'd obviously like to know the answer sooner, but I'm ultimately relieved if it is accurate that our side is dictating the timing and not being played by the Dolphins, Clay, or anyone else. And either way, Whaley has a back-up plan. That's his job and it would be GM malpractice (assuming there is such a thing) for him not to have one.

Anyone know if we signed this guy yet? Thanks.

Completely agree. I really thought it would be real news when I clicked on it.

At this point, I would take everything with a grain of salt. This is all gamesmanship now.

He should go back to GB if they would still take him (on the cheap).

Other than seeing and hearing his name during the small number of Dolphins games I watch each year (i.e., two games against the Bills and an occasional featured game), I don't think I spent even 10 seconds of my life thinking about Charles Clay prior to this offseason. Yet, I've spent the past few days checking every site I know on a routine basis trying to get an update on his status, thought process, etc. Free agency is a really weird time of year. . .

Damn, you're right. I'm back on the Clay bandwagon. Can someone please do a search of the Twitter thing and find something that says he's definitely signing with the Bills?

I say we just bring back Pete Metzelaars.

Same here. The Bills have more cap room than the Dolphins and don't have to unload anyone to make it happen. What that tells me is that either (a) he really didn't want to come to Buffalo or (b) while the Bills liked him, they didn't like him enough to want to exceed whatever limit they set for him. Either way, good riddance.

If and when this team does finally make the playoffs, there are going to be some seriously pumped up players on the field. I'm in the camp who doesn't think we should keep Freddie just for sentimental purposes, but it would be really sweet to see him play in his first playoff game. Kyle Williams hasn't been there either, nor have Mario, Wood, Dareus and a vast majority of fan favorites.

In terms of annual salary, isn't that what he supposedly turned down from the Bills? Not sure about guarantees, options, etc.