BillsVet

You and I will continue to disagree on this, but it remains to be seen if this team is operating under different financial rules. Depth on this team has typically been provided going back years with lower round draft picks, UDFA's, low cost UFA's, and waiver wire acquisitions. The team doesn't normally pay for depth, as evidenced by the Levitre fiasco last season, Langston Walker in 2009, and reaching back to the Donahoe years. A lot happens above the personnel people. I don't expect to see a lot of splurging in UFA from Whaley. He grew up in Pittsburgh and they didn't spend enormously on free agents.

Pears will be released given his salary if he's not starting. It's the Bills' method of operation over the years.

So why did the Bills go after Wood and K. Williams early, while not doing the same for others? After all, there was a back and forth between Byrd's people and the Bills, so clearly there was mutual interest. I'm just not clear why OBD would wait until the end before getting their best home-grown defensive player under contract. I don't think the Bills like difficult negotiations and prefer when players acquiesce to them. Chris Kelsay, Kyle Williams, and Eric Wood all came to terms fairly silently and without much issue. But the second an agent like Parker plays hardball, the Bills stiffen up and we things become tense.

After years of government bailouts, probably bankrupt.

Are we closer to being a playoff team with Jairus Byrd or shall we let him go for nothing and pass the cost savings on to Detroit? That's how OBD has operated in the past however many years. Why differentiate between a SS and FS in comparing salary? And it's worth noting that the slotting of draft picks back in 2010 meant rookies were paid contracts that made them the highest or close to the highest paid in the league. That ended with the 2011 draft after the CBA was agreed to.

The Bills own an unimpressive 22-42 record since 2010, so something is amiss at OBD or they'd be better than a team which wins 35% of their games. Not signing a premier UFA who they developed tells me they're closer to rebuilding than competing, and in 2014, it's playoffs or bust. We can belabor the strategy for the player, but the team is at a critical juncture in team history. Either pay the cost to compete or become a quadruple A franchise that never will make the playoffs because they're to busy "saving" that money for other players.

So I guess that means their drafts have been terrible, as a certain owner admitted a few years ago after an away Miami game, correct? In the few instances when they needed to pay market rate for top talent, they chose otherwise and the player was allowed to leave or traded. I'm not re-hashing the Peters saga, but he's been a multiple All-Pro selection and Buffalo didn't replace him adequately until Glenn was drafted with a second round pick. With the Bills, the draft is frequently used to replace departed and more expensive veterans after the veteran player has already left. After all, it's cheaper that way. The Bills rarely have a suitable replacement ready when a veteran is set to hit UFA. Levitre is the latest example. After Peters was dealt before the 2009 draft, Buffalo actually, under Russ Brandon as GM(!) decided to play Langston Walker at LT. When he was deemed not good enough (as he was clearly not a LT nor ever played the position in his entire career) the team started red shirt rookie Demetress Bell there, who later was injured. GM's change every few years in Buffalo. But the bad decisions keep on coming, which indicates to me the level of control a GM has over personnel hasn't really changed. Then again, not every team has lost 10 or more games 5 seasons in row.

At which point does a team like Buffalo begin keeping their developed (i.e. drafted) AND elite talent? It sends a powerful message to current players that while the team might sign a top UFA like Mario, they shy away from handing out the big contracts to players drafted and developed in Buffalo. I think it'd be akin to a company never promoting from within, but always advertising their management positions outside. You can be sure people at that company looking for promotions would wonder why the company handled it this way. A few years ago when Whitner was drafted people were running to the mountain tops shouting why safeties were valuable. But noow when Byrd's deal comes up many people are saying safety play isn't as valuable. Back then it was because people wanted to defend the organizations draft day decision. And now it's because people don't like the player. My, how times have changed.

Nice straw man argument, but it carries little, if any weight. Peyton Manning is merely using the exception to prove the rule because franchise QB's with career-threatening injuries don't hit the market like he did. BTW, who'll replace the turnovers Byrd creates from the safety position? Aaron Williams, Duke Williams, Jonathan Meeks, or Da'Norris Searcy? Those 4 safeties have a combined 1 season starting experience in the NFL. I'm referring to the above average or better players who were allowed to leave when Buffalo didn't have adequate replacements. This has been mashed to death over the years, but specifically, Clements, Fletcher, McGahee, Greer, Peters, Lynch, Posluszny, Levitre, and perhaps Byrd. Not all are top 5 at their position, but the team lacked a suitable replacement for them at the time they departed. People also fail to comprehend that personnel decisions are financial ones. And the individuals controlling finances remain in place as senior managers. Changing the GM, Pro Personnel Director, College Scouting Director or National Scout does not change the team's financial goals and objectives. Far too often the personnel people have not had a full hand to play when their own top UFA's are at or near the end of their contract. Marv Levy, Russ Brandon, Buddy Nix, and now Doug Whaley. The results have been the same, if not in decline. Whaley has time but not retaining Byrd more than likely indicates he still operates under a restrictive rules of engagement implemented by senior management in both Detroit and Buffalo.

The question is more nuanced than simply signing a team's own players. It's re-signing the right players and I consider elite talent to be those who are voted to NFL All-Pro Teams as voted on by the Associated Press. Players voted to the Pro Bowl are in a similar grouping. Let's face it, Scott Chandler, Erik Pears, Kraig Urbik, Fred Jackson, Alan Branch, and Steve Johnson aren't in that category. I would consider them at or slightly above replacement level. OTOH, replacing Mario Williams or Jairus Byrd is exceedingly more difficult, so letting them is a lot more challenging to fill their shoes. In the past 8 off-seasons, Buffalo has traded away or permitted players to leave via UFA far too many times. I needn't list the names, but each time we were told that it was the best option and this approach has helped then to 9 straight 9 or more loss seasons.

This is not a zero sum game as you portray it. Spending money on Byrd doesn't necessarily mean someone else goes. How many times have we seen teams, like Dawgg mentioned the 49ers did, keep multiple names and let 1 guy go. Contracts can be re-worked, cap hit projected over more years, etc. Buffalo's issue remains a reluctance to pay for elite talent and with games decided frequently by 7 points or less, it's elite talent that means the difference between wins and losses. And yet they went 6-10 both seasons, firing 1 HC in the process. It's symbolism over substance actually. The onus remains on the front office and coaching staff to get this team into the playoffs now. Didn't someone once tell us about a proverbial baby? Besides, about three of those players could be considered, at the time of their re-signing, top 5 talents at their positions. The issue is keeping your top talent, not just your middle of the road to perhaps above average talent. And I'm counting Mario, Kyle and Wood as the top talent. The rest are relatively mid-level talent and their contracts bear this out.

What is most perplexing is that Lynch wasn't actively shopped before the Spiller selection. I think they went into all-protect mode so as to not give away they wanted to deal Spiller, but that mentality also meant getting less in return for ML. That is, if they'd sought to deal him on draft weekend when it's most ideal to deal a more disgruntled player. Instead, ML wasn't dealt until early October 2010. When they had 3 backs who could potentially start.

Looking at the 2013 NFL AP All-Pro Team, only 9 of the 54 players were acquired via trade or in UFA. Only 3 of those players play the in-demand positions of QB, DE, OT, WR, or CB: P. Manning, Mario, and Jason Peters. Manning's case was exceptional, Mario had been replaced, and Peters, well, I'm not going there. Who is absolutely essential to retain after 2014? Spiller is a situational player, Dareus is an under-motivated DL that I think is replaceable and would save the team money. Aside from that, I don't see Aaron Williams commanding a significant extension. They could try to re-sign Glenn I suppose and lock him up long term, but Buffalo doesn't typically get ahead of the game. Jerry Hughes is a one year wonder, but could have another good season. Outside of those guys I'm not sure and if they can't re-sign their best DB because they think there are others who'd need contracts, it's a failure on the team's part to adapt their cap to suit an improving team.

What team allows All-Pros to leave, either via trade or UFA? If Byrd leaves, it'll be 2 of Buffalo's 4 non-special teams AP All-Pro's from 07-present that left the team. One of those guys (Mario) was signed in UFA, Kyle Williams was re-signed, Peters was traded, and Byrd's situation remains up in the air. Keep your elite talent and figure out how to pay for it.

Should be interesting when Buffalo hosts Cleveland. Pettine, O'Neil, Weaver, Hafley, Driesbach, and Fleury all departed Buffalo. 6 coaches from a staff is pretty significant.

This strategy kept Chris Kelsay in the house. What more should a Bills fan desire than a hard-working, high motor, blue collar type of player? Of course, the Bills felt they were paying CK market rate, but his contract seemed awfully high when compared to his counterparts with similar metrics.

The BiT series is Brandon's baby and I suspect won't be going away given his involvement in setting it up. Perhaps he's serious about undoing the Toronto games, but I seriously doubt it. Buffalo needs added revenue and simply walking away, even if mutually, seems out of the question. And considering that Brandon's background is on the business side of the house, I find it hard to believe they won't work on re-vamping it. As far as Jairus Byrd, well, it's time for the team to put their money where their mouth is. Not retaining key free agents when there are no other players imminently up for contract extensions is inexcusable and not what a team committed to winning does. Where else are they going to spend the money?

And Hafley just sign on with Buffalo? Fleury was a veteran with 1 year in the NFL.

It's ironic Cunningham could come to Buffalo to work on the defensive staff. He was HC of the Chiefs in 2008 when DJ and the Trent Edwards led Bills beat KC 54-31. Cunningham said he'd get back at DJ and now he might be the LB coach. LOL

This is what you do if you want to ruin your reputation and not be in the running down the road for HC's and assistants. There will be a time again, hopefully not soon, when Buffalo needs another assistant or perhaps HC. You don't win the coaching community over by telling current assistants they can't leave when they want to. It's not like it should be hard for Schwartz to find a LB coach.

Because he has 2 seasons experience coaching in the NFL. I want a coordinator with a little more than that and expecting Weaver to succeed because he's worked already here is not rational.

In 3 years, Nix's personnel group selected zero Pro Bowl or All-Pro caliber players. That may very well change, but the fact that Whaley made changes to the personnel evaluation people tells me Nix wasn't capable of putting people into positions to find talent. He also spent an inordinate time on the road scouting as opposed to other GM's. And yet the Bills needed significant upgrades when Whaley ascended to the job in May.

People say Jauron left the team in shambles which lead to the 4-12 in 2010. But isn't that what took place in 2013? The Nix rebuild from 2010-12 led to a team that was 6-10 this past season. The Bills are a lot closer now to being a top pick caliber team than one on the verge of making the playoffs.

It's better than Nix saying he'd be asleep when UFA began.

Didn't Indianapolis acquire Dwight Freeney, Robert Mathis, Reggie Wayne, find Jeff Saturday, Dallas Clark, Bob Sanders, Edgerrin James, or another players? Personnel wise things started going downhill when Chris Polian assumed more responsibility, but Bill put a lot of talent around Peyton. I love in society how when someone or a company is successful that luck is cited as the main reason. No one ever has skill, but chalking it up to luck remains one of the greatest ways of minimizing another success.