BillsVet

They made an offer to make it seem they were interested in keeping him. I'd add that it was right after Kelvin Hayden received 43.5 over 5 seasons, so offering 4 or 5 yrs and 20M was really an offer they knew wouldn't be accepted. Buffalo isn't trading McGee either. He's their most dependable CB, and while he's not spectacular he gets the job done. McKelvin is still a 2nd year guy, as is Corner. Losing Greer hurts, but we'll know how much when he's elsewhere to start the 09 season.

They became more than stop-gaps when no one was there to replace them. All of those guys you mentioned are out of the league less than 2 years from signing with Buffalo. I'd expect a stop gap to last longer than that in the NFL. Yet when the Bills spent big in FA, they ended up with guys who were released 2 years later. So we've learned when the spend little they're not very good. When they go big in FA, they aren't that hot either. But don't change the front office.

Why do you think Carolina is letting him go? Not trying to be a smart aleck, but do you think it's related to their signing of Wharton and Gross?

NFL teams found an additional 4M in cap space when it was determined franchises hadn't spent enough during the last year. That said, it's rare that a team signs a player in free agency who is a difference maker anymore. There may be a few available like Haynesworth or Houshmandzadeh, but nowhere near what it was in the late nineties. As long as the cap rises as quickly as it has, teams will be keeping more of their own talent. And that's placing a huge burden on teams to draft well or else. Buffalo is 0 for 2 in UFA from 06 and 07. Only 1 of their 14 totals free agents in those years is still with the team. The draft has to be perfect for a team like Buffalo. If not, there may not be any alternative.

Now for LG, C, DE, DT, SLB, S, backup QB, WR, and TE. We get those little issues out of the way and we're all set. Oh, and signing Peters and Jackson to long term deals. I almost forgot those two minor issues.

I'll do some quick math here. The Bills signed 14 free agents between 2006-07. Out of those, only one of them remains. That's Langston Walker, who's contract isn't too bad. He'll never be a Pro Bowler, but thats 13 misses in free agency. I don't care what context those guys were signed under, all of them were failures by the Levy-led front office. Marv gave personnel authority to people because he wasn't up to speed on his job after sitting out 8 NFL seasons. And for the record, Dick Jauron's influence on this team spread out from the playing field. He had a lot of sway in personnel, and the drafts and free agency periods are the resulting product. Building consensus is how Buffalo got where it is now.

Where shall we give credit? To these flunkies: Jeff Littman, Dick Jauron, Jim Overdorf, and John Guy? None of them are NFL success stories, yet all hold significant sway over who Buffalo grabs in UFA. I'll be optimistic when the entire front office gets the nuclear treatment. Until that time, nothing will change.

We've been saying this for many years now. 2006, 07, 08, 09. When will it end... It will end when a General Manager is able to come in and begin this whole thing anew. Until that time, OL and DL will be a significant issue. They couldn't spend their way out of it once, I shudder to think they'll try it again.

As much as Guy takes a hit for the fiascos in free agency (06 and 07) I believe you when saying DJ was leading the personnel end of the team. All of this is now reason enough apparently for the team to give Modrak more power in personnel. Too bad Marv, Brandon, and Ralph didn't see it earlier. Either way, it's a pathetic joke of a way to handle personnel. Teams have GM's who usually have a Pro Personnel and College Scouting Director with a requisite amount of scouts. Not Buffalo though, they have no GM, and the authority was delegated to DJ. He predictably failed, leaving the franchise in the mess they're in now. Still, if DJ had final say on personnel, it's chilling to think someone saw fit to give this to him. DJ's was getting paid less than 2M per, and he was in effect spending more team money on Dockery, Walker, Tripplett, Royal, et al who signed deals in excess of 100M. Amazaing.

But he watches 80 hours of film per week, so don't second guess him-ever.

For the record, I'd like to know how many other teams have cut a player after 2 seasons with a contract that large? Buffalo obviously isn't paying the entire 49M, but IIRC, Dockery got 18.5M guaranteed in the deal.

Some were living in a fantasy world and thought they'd snag him. Hopefully those individuals aren't working in Buffalo's Pro Personnel department, but it's possible. It's not a surprise, but reality now for most rational NFL fans.

Daniels per PFT Should be a deep draft position. But he's not coming here.

Guy is a JAG among NFL front office personnel. Apparently, both he and his staff are never held accountable. Unless, other people (Dick Jauron and/or Marv) were the ones using the Pro Personnel Department's information to decide on which players to acquire. That's all I can think of, outside of him having naked pictures of someone.

He's saying free agency is starting, not that they're going to do anything specific. It's an article in advance of free agency, nothing more and nothing less.

Sounds more like Sun Tzu. You weren't a philosopher in previous life, were you?

Don't you dare attack Marv Levy the GM. It's amazing that Dockery was signed to big money, when in fact they were attempting to run a variant of the WCO. As a 330 pound guard, we know he didn't fit with having lineman able to pass protect. From a team-building perspective, he was 180 degrees from what they wanted. I can understand having a guy like Mitchell at WLB in a C2 perhaps. But lumbering guards at 49M is a stretch and two years later he's history. It's mistakes like this which hamstring an organization longer than the player is here.

Wow. I'll get flamed for saying it, but here goes: Another Levy era move which didn't pan out. The shine on 06-07 is wearing thin.

This year, the economy is going to factor into free agency. We'll see how the this fares, particularly with the second tier free agents. Admittedly, there isn't a lot of depth in FA, given the 14 players who received the franchise tag. I could see the Bills pursuing RFA's, given their penchant for younger players on the up swing. Truth be told, that's not a bad strategy. I think if they overwhelm a player with a contract hard to match, it could work in their favor but the situation has to be right. I don't have an issue with this thread. Lately, I've been of the opinion to expect less and hope for the best. Optimism for the sake of optimism hasn't been a good strategy if you're a fan of the Bills. If they do leave UFA without some help, it places a huge burden on the younger players we hope develop. The team can't be built by UFA alone, but it'd sure go a long way toward helping that young core of players: Edwards, Lynch, Posluszny, Whitner, McKelvin, Hardy. A good veteran QB, WR, to go along with a SLB would open them up to take a DE, C, TE in the draft.

They were required to at least offer the exclusive rights free agent contract of 460k today. This doesn't mean Buffalo couldn't negotiate another deal down the road. The ERFA deal is all they have to do now-but it doesn't mean they're incapable of doing something later. But I know plenty of fans want something done now. The front office doesn't accede to your demands and as a matter of fact, each player will get their time. Jackson will get a long term deal, but I suspect the team has prioritized things like Unrestricted Free Agents and signing some in the first week of free agency above Fred. Sorry, but that life in the executive world. Not everyone gets what they want when they want it. Don't read too much into this.

It's a 9mm, get it right. Seeing 14 guys franchised (including a kicker and punter) tells me these teams are really unsure, no matter how many capologists they have, about what will happen. I'm thinking there will eventually be a lockout as ownership fights players over their respective share of league revenue. According to PFT, the actual salary cap went up 4M today when it was realized teams underspent last year. No matter how you break it down, teams are going to try and spend less. IIRC, more than 15 teams had 20M in cap space, and so long as they get to about 110M, they're fine. Economics is driving the train, and an uncapped year will alter the landscape permanently.

The problem at TE is what the Bills want. In recent years, they wanted guys who were good in-line blockers they hoped could catch. Finding a guy who can do both real well is difficult, but this TE class is deep. Besides, doesn't it make sense to have the QB have another option who can make defenses honest in the middle? A guy to watch is Shawn Nelson out of Southern Mississippi, alma mater of Brett Favruh. He's got excellent speed along with good hands and put Ray Maualuga on his keester in blocking drills at the Senior Bowl. He could go at the tail end of the first after running a 4.56 at the combine. Another is Florida's Cornelius Ingram who has put on 15 pounds but is coming off an ACL tear. Ingram ran well at the combine and reportedly has some of the best hands in the class. The C and TE classes are deep. DE not so much, but if they've got a chance to grab Everette Brown I'm fine with that in the first. If not, it's time to trade down. Philly really looks good, but nothing's set in stone.

UFA simply doesn't reflect pass rushing DE's or decent TE's. I think those two positions will be targeted in the first two rounds of the draft. The center position is possible in FA, but I'm not sure if they want to spend more money on UFA centers like Brown, and to a lesser extent Saturday and Birk. I'm hopeful they add another second round pick by trading down in the first, provided they get a dance partner and getting a center like Eric Wood. I think Buffalo likes E. Brown in the first, and perhaps one of the many TE's most likely available in the second. Someone along the lines of Shawn Nelson or Cornelius Ingram. In FA, I see them going OLB, depth at OL, and maybe even WR.

Doesn't hurt that there is pressure on the QB for that play, and Favruh hung a wobbler out there to dry. Credit to Greer for taking it back, but clearly the pocket collapsed. Give me another pass rusher.

You'll have the potential for a QB controversy if Boller comes to Buffalo. Trent is the starter, but Boller's big arm will be enough for some of the armchair QB's out there. Jason Brown will get a big contract, probably in excess of what LeCharles Bentley received a few years back from Cleveland. I'm hopeful Buffalo re-signs Peters, and if so, that would mean big deals for three of their five starting OL, with Walker and Butler more modest deals. I'm not so sure the Bills will go after a free agent at C. I think they address this in the draft. I'm consistently amazed at how many distinct needs the Bills hit the off-season with. This year it's C, DE, OLB, and TE in no particular order. Last year it was DT, WR, CB, TE. The year before (06) it was a host of things as the team built the team up post-Donahoe. At some point they should be close, and to get there, it's going to take a stellar draft and free agency. If not, they'll be victimized as they were in the final 10 games this year.