BillsVet

It's important to remember what was going on in early March. The Bills did very little that first week of UFA, and after Coles opted to sign with Cincinnati, it appeared they'd do nothing noteworthy. DJ was returning, the team added no one in UFA worthy of exciting fans, and Peters had not been traded yet. The idea many fans had here thinking the team would make a "splash" to show they were determined to improve from 08 was put to rest. Owens' release from Dallas occurred on 3/4 and he didn't sign with Buffalo until three days later. It was a great signing for the short term and undoubtedly will help the marketing of Buffalo. But I still don't think John Guy was behind this move. This thing happened at the highest level, probably Brandon who recognized marketing this team would remain a challenge with DJ back in the fold, not to mention continued failure on the field. That's speculation, but I think reasonable to assume.

It certainly wasn't predictbale that Buffalo would sign TO, but go back to late February/early March. The Bills were coming off another 7-9 season, retained DJ (while other teams axed coaches), and had just lost out on signing Laveranues Coles. Their lone UFA signings were a backup QB, former backup C, and a recently released DB. Needless to say, things weren't great in Bills land. The TO signing was great for both the team and marketing people. Time will tell how he does on the field, but he's given the franchise a shot in the arm. Buffalo had to do something in light of all the bad moments in the recent past.

This scenario is somewhat reminiscent of mid 2006 when Peters was moved from RT to LT. Now, the Bills are moving another former RT to LT and hoping it works. This time, the man forced to transition into the most difficult position on the OL doesn't have the strength or athleticism as his predecessor did.

Based on what? All those snaps he's getting in training camp? This is another situation where the fans and team are hoping that an untested player can contribute. Bell is being hyped as a guy with plenty of potential, but that just means he ain't done anything yet. When I look at the pass rushers coming from the right this year (Freeney, M. Williams, J. Porter 2x, Ad. Thomas 2x, Abraham, Peppers, et al) it should scare even the most casual uninformed fan. This is year four of a rebuild that is hopefully (there's that word again) close to getting this team to a playoff berth. And we're talking about the most important position on the OL relying on a guy who hasn't taken a NFL snap and another expected to change jobs after 7 seasons in the league. Wow.

But Schobel wasn't marginalized by the front office for demonstrating he was serious about sitting out.

I can't remember the last time a Bills team didn't play close to the vest type football. And it says a lot when a man (Schonert) who's been in the league for more than 20 years as a coach and player can't develop a counterpunch offensively. IMO, either Schonert is all bluster, or DJ's game-plan is overruling TS' offensive intent. Either way, the lack of trust in players, and the Bills have some on both sides at the skill positions, should not be as prevalent anymore. If only it could have been that way after that 5-1 start.

Schobel skipped mini-camp two years ago after Kelsay signed his 4yr 23M deal. Coincidentally, this came after a Pro Bowl season and he got his extension. Buffalo handles each player a little differently, although Schobel and Evans' extensions came after many months of negotiations.

Forget it with The Swimmer...he'll continue his anti-Peters crusade ad nauseam. Don't ever forget that the Peters' trade was in essence a salary dump. They take the cap hit for this season but don't pay the salary. It's music to RW's ears. Fans will learn in due time that hoping a Walker, Chambers, or Bell could play well at the position was a poor plan.

The Bills talk about Bell as if he's close to ready. People like eball, who disappeared from the board during the latter part of the 2-8 finish actually believe Bell could start right now. No doubt he's athletic, but plenty of guys can't play the LT position. Bell was a two year project when he was drafted, and he's probably a year away. I'm sure he's much stronger than he was when drafted, but he's never taken an NFL snap. Perhaps Buffalo wanted to try to make it through 09 with Langston "Beerbelly" Walker and hope Bell is ready in 2010. That's fine if you're rebuilding, but this franchise can't afford to hope someone will be ready while hoping to get by with an inferior athlete at the positon this season.

Absolutely. For the record, players can come off the PUP List at anytime and IIRC, the Ravens had 8 or 9 guys start camp on the PUP List. It's not IR. I'm interested in seeing what happens with Eugene Parker's first round picks and how long they are out of camp, particularly Crabtree. Peters has to be the most maligned player this decade and because OLineman performance can't be measured beyond the ridiculous sacks allowed stat, will keep that for this season as well. Simply amazing, and it'll be funny when Langston Walker is surrendering sacks and people talk about why Buffalo didn't keep Peters.

We can't do that to draft picks..hyping rookies is part of the overall PR plan. In all seriousness, hernia's are not fun. I had one when I was 12 and while I was running around 10 days later, playing pro football two weeks later seems ambitious. He'll probably remain behind the curve until deep into the season.

DJ, TS, and Kugler were the coaches last season and nothing's really changed. I've heard since 2007 that the offense would be high octane, and it hasn't happened. At this point, I'll believe it when I see it, TO or no TO. The mark of a good coach is the ability to adapt to what is going on. That doesn't mean react, that means being proactive and anticipating what to do before it happens. In three seasons, I've never see DJ or his coaches successfully do this. They've never proven they're capable of beating quality teams, which is what they'll see plenty of in 2009. As many have pointed out on TSW, running the no-huddle requires plenty of precision and will not mask weaknesses. If anything, a team needs to have experienced OLineman.

It is indeed more challenging to play OT, mainly due to the speed of pass rushers, whereas OG's need to be more stout. I'm not convinced anyone can assume Butler will make the transition to OT, without having played their in the pros. Hangartner is definitely an improvement over Fowler/Preston. But he started the entire 2006 season, only to see Carolina draft Ryan Kalil in the second the following draft. That doesn't make much sense, and GH's starts came when Kalil went down. There are times when backups are good, but the examples you cite are selective and do not demonstrate that a guy like GH will be good. The OL will need time. Walker's going to need help, as is Butler to handle the faster edge rushers. LW's never played the LT position more than two games in row going into his 8th season. Perhaps Bell ends up there at some point, but he's never played a snap in a regular season game either. It's not outrageous to think one rookie can step in and play well, there are plenty of examples out there. But needing two of them is pushing it, IMHO. Everything has to go right for the OL, which means five guys have to step it up at with four of them playing new positions. That's really a wing and a prayer.

Free Agency has a lot to do with the makeup of NFL rosters. We will never again see a team like the Bills had in the late eighties/ early nineties with Kelly, B. Smith, T. Thomas, Reed, Bennett, Odomes, Wolford, Hull, Metzelaars, Talley, et al. Now, teams are constantly having to make choices about who to keep, and who to allow onto the open market. 20 years ago there wasn't much of an open market, save for perhaps Plan B FA. Teams could only build through the draft, and bad teams stayed that way longer. The key to long term success in today's NFL is having personnel people who know their team's scheme and can replace talent through the draft. Indianapolis doesn't draft a whole lot of LB's-Polian knows he can find them deeper in the draft. He does well deeper into the draft and doesn't miss with first and second rounders. It's also evident he's not going to use UFA much either.

I wonder what it was like when SD was in grade school and had to take the bus to school. And all without any air conditioning save for the window.

It's too simplistic to take this stance. As much as I have issues with the front office, negotiations are not a matter of the player rejecting "good" offers. It's a bargaining process that two sides ultimately have to agree upon. There are four players out of 32 first round picks signed. This is a matter of agents waiting to see what the market is set at before agreeing to a deal. Besides, these agents want to build credibility to sign future clients, and thus we see the patient approach which many fans do not comprehend.

Thanks John for the correction. I know there's been some confusion about holdouts versus unsigned status. It seems a more apt description to call a rookie unsigned as opposed to holding out.

Excellent...again. Thanks very much.

Brandon has said that Overdorf is in contact with all unsigned picks and working hard to get them into camp. If the situation with Wood, Levitre, and Byrd goes one more week, then I'd be worried. My guess is within the next 5 days all of them will be in camp. I normally don't care for the front office and concept of not firing people who have been part and parcel of the past 9 years of futility. But in this case, the team is in a unique position by starting camp early. Either way, Brandon will never let on what's really going on, so his words are simply rhetoric.

Bills negotiations with Maybin Evidently, apparently, allegedly, the Bills are not deeply involved in negotiations with Aaron Maybin. Now, I'm sure part of this is Parker being his usual hard-a$$ self in trying to get the best deal for his client. And the Bills aren't going to throw a blank check to their newest DE. Still, it's disconcerting that the two sides are so far apart on a deal. EDIT: removed topic description

It's ironic that the Bills seem to have a decent working relationship with Drew Rosenhaus, yet Eugene Parker has become the devil incarnate to some fans on this board. One thing you can say about both agents: they get what they want in most instances for their clients.

Jauron-speak would be a lot more tolerable if it weren't for the gameday failures. While I give him credit for protecting players and coaches alike, he must realize the rhetoric is getting old. It's also not going to pass muster in 2009. I've repeatedly heard DJ's preparation from Monday through Saturday is good. Unfortunately, that doesn't make up for making poor decisions on game days. As has been mentioned numerous times on TSW, his ability to quickly diagnose and make decisions is hampering this team. He's a bright man, though ultimately incapable of adjusting to changing scenarios, and thus he takes extra time. It's not surprising TO's are used in situations where the game clock winds down, or in situations like being near the goal line at home versus the Jets in 2007. Coaching is a force-multiplier in a league with general parity. When the coaching staff is indecisive and tentative, it tends to be a millstone around the team collectively.

Thank you kindly for those pictures. Excellent.

In terms of offense, the Bills have more skill at the skill positions in some time. The youth on the OL and transition of other players makes it seem difficult to run it more than a few series per game. At the end of the day, no DJ team has been stellar offensively. Opening up the offense isn't something's he's done since Gary Crowton ran the wide open style in 1999 and 2000. In neither season did the Bears win many games. And inevitably running the no-huddle will force the defense onto the field more frequently. I just can't see a defensive minded and very conservative coach running the risk of exposing his defense more than is absolutely necessary. The no-huddle may work initially, even with a transitional OL. The key will be adjusting it when facing the better opponents. And last year, adapting to situations (3-4 defenses with 6+ in coverage) didn't seem to be the coaching staff's strong point.

You do realize the Bills are one of two teams to have missed the playoffs nine straight years, right?. Oh sure, they'll get one personnel move right every now and then, but that ain't enough kitty kat. Frankly, it needs to happen on the field for me before I rubber stamp these moves. You talk about the franchise as if they're a perennial success story but they're not. Hope, change, and optimism don't mean crap to me pal and I know the casual uninformed fans will latch onto anything to make themselves feel good, but not everyone thinks your way.