BillsVet

I don't think it's a coincidence that Penn decided he needed to drop weight in his 2nd RFA year in a row. Both he and Gaither seem to have some motivational issues, although maybe the light has gone on for him. Tampa seems to be in the business of cutting salary, but a trade means a contract extension in all probability. Another UDFA who made something of himself.

No position in the NFL has a shorter career life than RB's. WR's need to have speed, but they definitely don't take the punishment that a RB does after getting 350+ carries in 2004-05. You'll note Alexander's top season in 05 was his last with outstanding numbers. Also probably didn't help that Walter Jones was getting older and Hutchinson signed a big contract in MIN after the 05 season.

All across the NFL, veteran players with something left are prematurely going into unwanted retirement. I can't help but forget Derrick Brooks, a future HOF'er who was unceremoniously dumped in TB. He never caught on with another team, and while it's possible he was through, I think teams would prefer to play rookie minimum than veteran minimum.

Being a fan is fine, but eventually you expect the team you're a fan of to win. And let's be realistic here: Buffalo is in full-blown rebuilding mode after 10 seasons missing the playoffs. If that's negative, then I don't know what to tell you. Any fan who comes on this board and doubts the direction of this team has an absolute right to do so, given the failures of multiple regimes across the past 10 years. Above all else, the franchise's future in Buffalo remains in serious doubt, given the stadium lease expiring after the 2012 season and the owner's advanced age. We can all click our heels together, but it can't undo what is happening right now.

Over his first 5 seasons, DJ and Belichick were very similar record-wise. And, it wasn't until Belichick got Brady that he won the SB's. Someone will hire DJ real soon, and he'll win. Yeah freaking right. Hopefully we don't hear that line of bull anymore.

I've got no problem with that viewpoint, but the militantly optimistic fans are who I'm referring to. We all want Buffalo to win, but feeding the hope and hype emanating from OBD isn't worth it. I'm not going to get worked up without some results first.

It all falls into place if the owner keeps living, which I hope to goodness gracious he does. But rebuilding this particular franchise given the circumstances (the stadium lease expires after the 2012 season, future ownership) is strange. After all, they could be getting good if all goes to plan just as the lease runs out. It's not Nix or Gailey's fault the team was bad to mediocre from 2000-2009. There are some holdovers up there at OBD who will never be fired and are responsible, but they'll never be held accountable because they make the team money. When I look around the NFL, there are teams that produce more, yet Buffalo fans in many pockets simply hope to have a team, results be darned. That mindset continues to amaze me.

RW hasn't known what the going rate for HC's has been for about the last 10 years. Remember when he fired Wade Phillips and tried to avoid having to pay him, claiming that WP quit? BTW, how many 91 year old CEO's are out there? Nonagenarians are usually retired and not making decisions, like TO's signing was, for one of the 32 NFL franchises.

Really? The man is 91 years old and doesn't scout, nor has he ever. He's a businessman with a football team, not a personnel guy with a side business. RW's prime ended about 25 years ago, which coincidentally is before the LOT position took on more meaning. All he knows is how much he'll make, and of course when to tell Mr. Smithers to sign TO for marketing purposes.

Only in Buffalo would a 70 year old first time GM and a HC who is in the job for the first time since being fired a decade ago garner this much support. It has to be the result of having Mr. Smithers-Brandon masquerading as GM and DJ the HC the past few years.

As has been mentioned repeatedly here, the owner has a say in everything for each team. It's their investment, and forking over 40M or more is a decision for more than just the personnel guys. If you think Buddy or Chan can make the decision, that's simply naive given the enormity of the contract. Like every team, the Bills have a budget and signing Gaither (or J. Brown) would significantly impact their books. This especially goes for a team that won't have TO to sell tickets with, nor a recent track record of success or is a potential playoff team in 2010. If this were a true regime change, Overdorf would have gone right along with Guy. After all, Overdorf negotiates contracts, and I can't think of worse examples than Tripplett, Dockery, and Walker.

What's this supposed to mean? That Trent is a wimp for praying, or that it's weird he's asking for some divine intervention? Frankly, I'll never make fun of someone for asking for help. Lord knows we need it more than we're willing to admit.

Jammal Brown turned 29 in March. Gaither was 24 the same month.

Except for the fact that the team didn't have a capable LOT on the roster last season, saved big dollars by trading the one guy who filled that role, and had an OL which surrendered 46 sacks, although that's a subjective stat sometimes. 2nd round picks are valuable, in that they don't need big dollars like firsts do, and you can find talent there. Brandon is Nix' boss. He is the conduit Wilson/Littman to the actual football people who'll make the recommendation. Nix does not have the authority to trade for a guy who will demand 40M+ over the next 4-5 years, with probably 20M guaranteed. That's a huge financial decision, and one that will need to be pitched to the bean counter Littman.

I could see a trade for Brown or Gaither dying when it came down to negotiating a contract extension. RW/Littman can step in at any moment and kill something like this, because let's face it: both LOT's will demand something probably similar to what Peters got. Yes that's high, but there's a price to pay for playing people like a weak D. Bell. And it's your QB's health. The price of doing business in the NFL, especially for positions like QB, DE, and LOT is high. I'll be interested to see if the Bills hand out a contract like I'm thinking, because they haven't done a 40M+ deal since Schobel almost 3 years ago.

What kind of radio procedure is this? The Turkish Navy's?

The same man is still overseeing the team dollars, and his name is Jeff Littman. This team has a budget, much like every other team in the NFL, and if we learned anything from Polian's firing, it's that dollars always trump the guy running personnel. And then there's Jim Overdorf, who still carries a lot of weight at OBD. Not to dredge up the Peters situation again, but he received a contract in the summer of 2006 after he'd become the starting ROT in 2005. Buffalo moved him to LOT after the bye in 06 and he performed well through the end of 2007. He then wanted a new deal, and Buffalo flat out told him they weren't doing anything. Early in 2008, the Bills began negotiations with Lee Evans, and weren't going to do two contracts at once, or at least Overdorf couldn't fit Peters into the schedule. We know the rest, but Buffalo said they weren't negotiating, and Peters sat until the home opener rather than lose game checks.

Aaron Maybin: Reason number 5,214,931 why DJ sucked. Kid is a project, and I'm glad he's at mini-camp. Maybe the staff is making him realize that the HC who picked him isn't around and there aren't any free-passes, nor should he plan on starting.

The NFL is an 8 Billion dollar a year business with 32 distinct franchises and building league revenue is their goal. New stadiums are the best way to accomplish this objective and as a result, the NFL is willing to loan teams like NYJ/NYG 300M (150M per team max) to help construct because it's a league investment as much as it is a team one. One of the issues underneath the NFL surface is the debt ratio some teams are carrying to get new digs while salaries continue to increase. The league is encouraging the building of new stadiums as a long term investment in the NFL as a whole. This is big picture stuff, and so the average fan goes to RWS and doesn't see an issue. But the average fan isn't sitting at 280 Park making decisions either.

That would be one heckuva golf foursome: OJ, Travis, Willis, and Marshawn.

I know he's got issues, along with the station, about the Bills. That's fine, but there's more to Buffalo sports than debating the Sabres and having mock drafts. Just the other day, after Ernie Harwell passes, he asks aloud if Harwell was indeed great. I've since turned him off, because it's flat out unlistenable radio at this point. Granted, we're between major sport seasons, but if we've got to debate if Harwell was good and have an announcer draft, then they're not worth it.

Willis and Marshawn in the same backfield? Wonder if Travis Henry could get out of prison to complete the trifecta of former high round Bills picks shipped off?

I think it's funny that people believe the BUF rebuild will be similar to SD's when Butler/Smith/Nix were running things there. People forget that SD went 5-11 in 01, 8-8 in 02, then 4-12 in 03. They had the top pick in 04 to boot, which they again turned into more picks (used on Rivers, Merriman, and Kaeding). They didn't turn it around until three complete seasons elapsed. And that was after drafting Tomlinson, Brees, and having an established NT on the roster in Jamal Williams. Spiller is 15-20 pounds lighter than Tomlinson, but there's nothing to indicate he'll display those runs in the pros.

Likewise. Anytime a team wants to trade a player, it's caveat emptor IMO. And yes, whether you want to believe it or not, he's in the final year of his contract and will demand a new deal.

I'm a little concerned that BAL decided to move him over to RT for early workouts. If they don't like his attitude, they wouldn't make such a blatant move and expect another team to fork over a 2nd rounder. They'd leave him at LOT. Also, he's going to demand a large contract extension, as he'll be heading into the 4th and final year of his rookie contract. I can see him getting 7+M per over 4 or more seasons.