BillsVet

The most cogent post among 8 pages of back and forth. I agree they're in a preliminary stage of negotiations, and both sides are set in their ways. Parker doesn't play, and Buffalo wants to get the guy under contract for the lowest price possible. Buffalo took more than 6 months to reach agreements with Evans and Schobel. I suspect it'll be that long for Peters, but I hope not.

Or he can get traded to the Oilers, play with Gretzky, win some Stanley Cups, and then become head coach a few years later. In truth, I'll reserve judgment on Stallworth until the tests results are known. For all we know, it could have been the pedestrian's fault. They could have been impaired themselves.

Yes it does. In all probability, this opens up Crabtree for the Seahawks, meaning Raji probably slips to Cincinnati. Cincy then probably doesn't go DE. It's a guess, but I can't see Seattle going DT at this point.

Buffalo has demonstrated in the past their affinity for quantity over quality. That's not to say you should keep players for name only, but in the case of Peters, finding a quality replacement at this juncture is going to be tough. Sure, you'll save the cash, but how does that help this team get to the playoffs. You can spend 11.5M, but would I'd take Peters over four average players (which Buffalo has plenty of) just like I'd have taken Nate Clements over Dockery and Walker. It's a huge gamble to bank on another rookie. There may only be 1-2 rookies per year who can handle the position as a starter from Day 1. In 06 it was Marcus McNeill, Joe Thomas in 07, and Ryan Clady in 08. To bank on finding the one guy (who usually is a first rounder) is indeed a huge gamble. Every year the Bills depend on their top 2 picks to instantly contribute. Getting another first day pick is nice, but that's 3 guys you need to perform.

Save us the self-righteous rant. Playing for team, fans, sure whatever. These guys know it's a business that imitates a sport and want to get paid in the short window they have. This isn't 1940s baseball. I'll clue you in on something from last year: Buffalo wasn't going to renegotiate his contract at any point, either before or during the season. There were no overtures from the front office at all. And so a hard stance was met with an equally hard stance by Peters group. Unfortunately, the problem was not resolved, leaving Peters and the Bills at an impasse. In the end, they're negotiating, and it's not surprising that at the outset they're far apart. BTW, who are you to say a deal is fair? You don't even know what's been offered. Any negotiation begins with a lowball offer, countered by the player high offer. 8.5M per is 1M more than Walter Jones received 4 years ago. The market's been set, and you don't even know what it is.

Who do you suggest? In this entire rambling post you don't list one free agent player. You're simply making hasty, little-thought generalizations that provide no answers. Instead of complaining, how about offering a solution. I've got news for you: after the first week of FA, it's pretty much lesser priced players anyway. There aren't many decent NFL starters hanging around waiting for a big pay day. That money has already been spent and teams are probably turning their attention to the draft. Besides, negotiating contracts isn't an overnight thing. Schobel waited 6 months for his deal two years ago, and Evans waited about 7.

I think they've hedged their bets that those players like June and Keiaho will receive little further interest (being T2 LB's) and the front office can get them for less by making them wait. Frankly, they're gambling on so much this offseason. The LB and LG positions are wide open, with no one starting quality on the roster. If they think they'll get some bargain or start a mid round player, it's not the solution. With needs at DE, TE, interior OL, OLB, and LB depth, that's a lot heading into the wilderness of FA and the draft.

We're talking about the Eagles, who happen to have one of the better front offices in the NFL. Heckert doesn't make decisions on personnel, but Andy Reid does. And with the track record they have of making it deep into the playoffs along with so many needs on that team, I can't see Reid dealing much of his draft for Peters. No way. Philly will use both of their first round picks, and historically go with lineman. So far they've been fairly successful building through the draft. I don't see that changing even if Peters were made available.

No matter what, I don't like the way Peters/Parker handled the holdout last year. Despite a lackluster season, Peters is an elite talent and here's the question: Why do you sign TO and trade away your best OL who happens to play the hardest position on the line? That's really making things harder for the entire offense. Point is, I wouldn't trade Peters and the savings of not giving him a contract for the top pick in the draft. The uncertainty of picks is made worse by the requirement to pay them without any production whatsoever at the pro level. Clayton is probably looking for the next big story to break. I think he's trying to create rather than report.

It seems like the Bills will accept a limited receiver as long as they've got blocking ability. One thing I can't forget about Nelson is watching him put Ray Maualuga on his back at the Senior Bowl drills. Nelson might not be the blocker Pettigrew is now-but he has the ability to become that.

So what? I don't think Drew Rosenhaus is looking for sainthood. But he's a player's agent and he represents his client first, second, and third. That said, if I was a player I'd want someone out there who is a proven agent like Rosenhaus. Most fans can't stand him, but he's not in the business of winning popularity contests. He's there to get his people as much money as possible. Besides, if you don't like being lied to, I hope you didn't vote for any political party-ever.

Voted for Freddie Keiaho. Buffalo is one of the few remaining teams running the T2/C2 as their base defense. I know Minnesota plays the C2, but I'm not sure if any other teams do. That said, the options are few for Keiaho and June.

No less than 20 teams outright said they didn't want TO. I suspect only a handful even considered signing him to any sort of contract, and given that he came to terms two days afterward with Rosenhaus his agent, not much was probably out there. TO has motivation to perform and behave. It's in the form of a one year contract playing for a team in a small market. He also knows most teams didn't want him and he has something to prove after the Dallas issues. Signing TO means accountability, but some people aren't in-line with the way that'll happen. TO is no saint, but if he gets upset for not being involved and he's still physically capable of making plays, that's not a bad thing. It's a lack of accountability which has taken us to this point.

Bill, you do remember who coaches this team, right? If Malcolm Jenkins is there, DJ will at least think about it. That said, I was encouraged that Buffalo was talking with Andy Levitre a top ranked guard from Oregon State. The guard class isn't super this year, but they need another 2-3 guards.

I remember watching Kelly going off the field with that dislocated shoulder in Indy. Things continued erupting that year, and it was really quite the circus, particularly after that game. But the following year Buffalo began the SB run without plenty of characters from those late eighties teams. TO will behave himself this season because that one year deal is motivation enough. Jauron hopefully learned some lessons from Levy on how to manage personalities. The difference here is that Jauron doesn't have a Polian type in the front office. Brandon needs to fill that role.

Buffalo signed Terrell Owens. This just in...

I think Rex Ryan will build that team around the defense. He's got the parts in Kris Jenkins, Scott, Pace, David Harris, Darrelle Revis, and Kerry Rhodes. Their team will bear a striking and not so coincidental resemblance to Baltimore: Fine defense but anemic offensively.

And your opinion is gospel? Who the heck are you to join this board a month ago and come off as a gift from the heavens? We know Seymour is a 3-4 DE. But Belichick also can run the 4-3, Seymour can kick inside, there is a whole array of options for that defense. Thomas is a classic rush LB with the versatility to play ILB as well. They don't have established positions, because versatility is the name of the game for Belichick's defenders. It's what made Vrabel an important cog, and it's what has stymied opponents year after years. On that we can agree. He's a talent, and he needs to be in camp this year. Heck, he needs to be around from Day 1.

Maybin was a liability against the run as well in college. For all the heat Schobel takes, he's decent to pretty good against the run. I agree re: the comparisons to Freeney. DF was a physical freak with a great first step who put on weight from college to the pros and didn't lose much speed. Maybin on the other seems to have.

I really don't think any secondary in the AFC East is all that good. Miami, and NY Jets were 25th and 29th against the pass. NE was 11th, but yielded 7.3 ypa which happens to be among the worst in the NFL. NE is clearly the best of those three, but Ellis Hobbs and Terrence Wheatley aren't exactly Champ Bailey and Nnamdi Asomugha. Their starting safeties, Sanders and Meriweather, aren't elite either. From a pass rushing standpoint, NE's rushers, Adalius Thomas and Seymour aren't what they've been. Thomas is returning from a broken arm and Seymour doesn't get to the QB as often anymore. Belichick is still going to come up with something, but he's not infallible either.

I would think they'll turn their attention to finding that elusive LG. Then again, I figured they wouldn't pursue Terrell Owens. Everything still begins with the offensive line clearing running lanes and providing pass protection. I believe Edwards can make the throws as long as he's got some time. The offense should be fun to watch for the first time in about 7 years.

For the last week we've seen other AFCE teams adding players or in the case of NE, most likely getting their QB back into the fold. But no team in the AFC East is especially strong in their secondary. That's why I like the TO move even more. New England has struggled since CB Asante Samuel departed for Philly and Rodney Harrison isn't coming back. They counted on a host of now unemployed DB's and it didn't work out as well. They're somewhat older in the front 7 and even though Belichick is a defensive whiz, he can't cover both Evans and Owens. Miami signed Gibril Wilson, late of Oakland and was rumored to have said he was going to quit. Wilson is an instinctive safety, but I'm not sure their cornerbacks are the types who can keep an Evans/Owens combination. The Jets have Darrelle Revis and Kerry Rhodes, but Lito Sheppard seems past his prime. They were poor against the pass last season, and unless they can pressure the QB that doesn't figure to improve. I think Buffalo made the right move, as long as the pass protection holds up and Edwards improves in his second full season as starter.

Thanks for the heads-up Lori.

They say time heals all wounds, and apparently it also helps people forget how brutal DJ was on gameday last season. We know DJ's been given an ultimatum to win or he's done, but he's had a huge hand in building this team since 2006. Going after TO is not a DJ type move. He's ultra conservative, and even when things became horrible at the end of 08, he wouldn't yield that it was he who caused a good many of them or admit fault. I wouldn't put it past the front office to give credit to DJ in an effort to prop him up for the 09 season. Crazy theory, sure. But it was crazy to think TO would come to Buffalo in the first place.

DJ needs to be called out when he makes those boneheaded calls. Rumor has it that Stroud remarked after the Jets game walking into the locker room something to the effect of "run the damn ball" after that debacle in the Meadowlands. TO would probably have been a lot more vocal. Or the coaching staff would have used him rather than throwing to the FB. I too like this signing.