nichebiche

the Patriots also reportedly were going to offer Welker 7 years/$38.5 mil including a poison pill to ensure that Miami wouldn't match. if Miami didn't match, NE gives up a 2nd rounder. instead, the Patriots give up an extra throwaway 7th round pick and sign Welker to a 5 year/$18.5 mil deal. if the entire contract plays out, the Patriots save themselves $20 mil. do you think saving $20 mil. is worth a 7th round pick to the Patriots?

now they are saying that the first report was a mistake, that an offer was made, no signing yet

i guess the Bills could've returned to the glory years long ago using that approach...

heard it on Sirius NFL Radio that Adam Schefter reported it. the Pats continue to reload!!!

Let's think long-term a little here. Assuming the Bills draft well and, at the very least, do not take a step backward this year with all the new additions, the outlook for 2008 and beyond looks extremely bright. not to discount 2007, because the playoffs are very possible if Levy can take care of the defense during the rest of free agency and the draft. but, come 2008, the core of this team will be fully intact, with plenty of cap space still available to sign a couple key guys next offseason as well as offer key guys like Losman, Evans, Schobel, Crowell, etc to extensions. Buffalo has zero unrestricted FA's in 2007 of any significance. 2008 UFA's -- Losman, Parrish, Crowell, Spikes, Fowler RFA -- Ellison 2009 UFA -- Evans, Moorman, Simpson, McGee, Youboty, K. Williams, Pennington, Butler i believe this is the point that Levy was hoping to get with the team when he said the he wants to build the team from within, retaining and extending key players. the Bills now have 2 full years to identify those players and extend them. after finishing up free agency and the draft this year, the Bills will turn their attention to begin the process of locking up their key players and will still have plenty of cap space left to do so. after seeing the spending spree that was last weekend at the beginning of free agency, it was clear that re-signing Clements and Fletcher simply were not feasible. it would have limited the Bills this year, and would have severely inhibited their long-term initiative. 2007 might be a very good year, but 2008 and beyond look to a return to the glory years.

not many options left at MLB. sorry like his price was reasonable and he would've been a good fit. http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2789621

sorry man, didn't to step on your toes and grab the glory.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2789594 there you go guys

in any scenario, if Branch and/or Okoye is available, the Bills go there. which one? does it really matter which one? either would be a tremendous boost to the DT rotation.

in this scenario, the Bills definitely trade down. after re-signing Kelsay, the Bills do not have room for another DE. although this is a deep draft at DE, teams will kill to get their hands on Anderson. by far, he would be the top player remaining. after trading down, most likely the Bills go with their top-rated CB, maybe WR or perhaps Marshawn Lynch if he is still available. LB remains a need, but if Willis is gone, no other LB's impress enough to go in the 1st round. Timmons has bust written all over him.

in case you haven't noticed, the Niners almost made the playoffs last year, although in an admittedly weak NFC. they have started to put together a nice team, and figure to put themselves into contention within the next couple years.

hey Donte -- i bet you were one of the complainers after the Bills announced their #1 pick last year. now you bear his name. it's amazing how people are predicting doom before the 1st day of free agency is over and the draft is 2 months away, forget about the fact that a single game has not been played yet in 2007.

i am also an enthusiastic "Okoye to the Bills at pick #12" supporter!!!

no doubt, Turner can play. but, normally when Turner is in the game, it is because LT has just busted off a long run (or many in a row) and needs a breather so Turner comes in when the defense is winded. other times, he comes in at the end of a blowout when the other team's defense has been beat up all game long. his stats are somewhat misleading in that way. Turner can play and will likely be a good starter somewhere. but not even LT averages 6 yds/carry....

no, he is not a RFA next year. this year will be his 4th year in the league. most 1st round picks never become RFA's because of the length of term of their original contract being at least 4 years long. from kffl.com free agency definitions: » Unrestricted Free Agents (UFA) - Players with four years or more of NFL experience who can sign with their own team or any other team in the NFL. If they leave their previous team the team that signs them can do so without having to award the previous team compensation. » Restricted Free Agents (RFA) - Players with three years of NFL experience. Like an unrestricted free agent they are free to negotiate with any team however the current team has the right to match any offer and if they do so they retain the rights to the player. Failure to meet the offer means the player is awarded to the new team but the new team must give the old team compensation in the form of draft picks.

ok, you got me. but nowhere does it say they are interested. the blog mentions his name to illustrate why the Bills would be likely be interested in one type of RFA as opposed to one such as Turner who will require heavy compensation to acquire. it is my belief that they will not be interested. just as you stated in your first post , the Bills have too many other holes. lucky for the Bills, Peterson will be long gone before they would have the opportunity to grab him at #12. Turner is not worth the #12 overall for a team with so many other needs with many quality players they will have to choose from at that spot. if someone were to trade for Turner, i believe it would be a team in the lower portion of Round 1. the Jets or Ravens come to mind.

the Bills will find that they cannot get what they deem proper value for McGahee, and in the end will not trade him. just because they are shopping him does not mean that they are going to trade him. 2 years ago, the Colts were shopping Edgerrin James and the Seahawks were shopping Shaun Alexander while they were in their last year before free agency. they were not able to get enough in return to deal them. Alexander went on to league MVP, James rushed for 1500 yards. this by no means is meant to say the McGahee will do the same, just to say that teams will not break the bank to acquire him. and with free agency looming and an improved offensive line (fingers crossed), McGahee could have a very good year. people forget that he was injured last year for the better part of 4 games that skewed his stats. otherwise, he would have duplicated his 1200 yards from the previous 2 seasons easily. i can see the Bills looking at a guy like Kenny Irons in the 3rd round, whose value has fallen from a definite 1st rounder or Brandon Jackson if he is still there in the 3rd. if Michael Bush is around at #2, he'd be a possibility, but their top two choices would be better served in shoring up the run defense and O-Line.

nowhere in this story does it say that the Bills are interested in Turner. all it says is that the Bills will not go after Turner because of the compensation that will likely be involved. so don't worry about giving up too much for him. they won't be giving up anything to get him.

this is why the idea of signing OG Ryan Lilja from Indy is appealing, even if he is given the minimum tender. he was undrafted, so signing him to a deal that the Colts decide not to match means not giving up any draft picks.

yes, they are. but they can give him the max tender, to ensure a 1st and 3rd round pick as compensation. if a team wants him for less than that, they can negotiate a trade for whatever the Chargers are agreeable. that is how they can dictate what they receive.

no, because he was given the minimum tender, the compensation for him is the round he was drafted. if you read the example from Chris Brown's blog, Jake Scott was a 5th round pick, so if he were signed after receiving the minimum tender, Indy would receive a 5th round pick from the team that signs him. and to s.i.c., yes Anderson is a RFA. Washington is unrestricted.

if you mean "always" = his one year in the league, i guess you are right. besides, whether he was hurt or not, it's a little early to judge a drafted player after just one year. he actually showed alotta potential when he did play.

kinda looks like this board after any given Bills news.

perhaps Levy, Jauron and Fewell don't understand the concept of the Cover 2, because he stated the team wants LB's who attack, not tackle downfield. what you describe is certainly accurate when defending the pass, but when defending the run the goal is to penetrate and swarm the ball carrier.

why pay $7.2 mil for a guy who doesn't fit???