billsfan89 Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 While looking at the Thread for offensive line free agents and thought what free agents were available to help us out on the defensive side of the ball? As far as the secondary goes I think getting McKelvin back and having Byrd start right away will be enough. I think that with Florence, Corner, Lankester, Wilson, and Scott we are deep and with the starting lineup of McGee, McKelvin, Byrd, and Whitner we are pretty set. Now the front 7 is where we need a ton of help. First off cut Denny, McCargo, Ellison, and Spencer Johnson. Resign Chris Draft and get Mitchel back from injury. Round out the line backing core with Derrick Johnson from Kansas City. I also think grabbing another veteran free agent like Scott Fujita or Pisa Tinsomiona to add depth would be good. So the linebacking core would be Mitchel Poz and Derrick Johnson while Draft and Fujita/Tinsomiona would be the depth. Now the D-line should be addressed with Jason Fergueson at DT, Derrick Burgess DE, and possibly Fred Robbins at DT. Burgess would be a situational pass rusher, Fergueson and Robbins help out the DT position. So the starting line would be Stroud, Fergueson, Schobel, and Kelsay with Kyle Williams and Fred Robbins rotating at DT with Maybin and Burgess in as situational pass rushers. What defensive free agents do you think the Bills will go after? And think in terms of guys the Bills might actually be able to go out and get. Think of guys who would come at a reasonable price and might be undervalued due to things like age, injury, or being in the wrong situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hossage Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 If we cut KelsayDenney (as a player i know refers to them,) it would at least signal we are not going to settle for mediocrity. Why arent we at least giving a young guy a shot at defensive end, excepting maybin, who is playing to cover up the front offices mistake? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tortured Soul Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 So you want to sign: A starting then-33-year-old defensive tackle to be our backup? An injured then-36-year-old injured nose tackle to play the one? A then-32 year old linebacker with 4 sacks to move to DE as a pass rushing specialist? If we're going to free agency, I'd rather look for more guys like Spencer Johnson, who I think we should keep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billsfan89 Posted December 23, 2009 Author Share Posted December 23, 2009 If we cut KelsayDenney (as a player i know refers to them,) it would at least signal we are not going to settle for mediocrity. Why arent we at least giving a young guy a shot at defensive end, excepting maybin, who is playing to cover up the front offices mistake? I would keep Kelsay but cut Denny. I think that there are more pressing needs at OL and DT to be addressed in the draft. So keeping Kelsay one more year in order to not rush Maybin in (Give Maybin more time obviously) is not a bad idea. I think Denny isn't good enough and is sucking playing time away from a guy like Maybin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billsfan89 Posted December 23, 2009 Author Share Posted December 23, 2009 So you want to sign:A starting defensive tackle to be our backup? An injured then-36-year-old injured nose tackle to play the one? A then-32 year old linebacker with 4 sacks to move to DE as a pass rushing specialist? Guys with flaws that would actually be available to come to Buffalo. Fergueson with the Jets played in a 4-3 and as a stop gap for one year could work. Fred Robbins is having a down season and could be picked up on the cheap in a rotational role and once again you are trying to salvage someone for a season. Burgess played DE in Oakland very well in a 4-3 and once again on the downside due to being in the wrong scheme. You have to be realistic with guys that are actually going to be available and willing to come to Buffalo much like Miami did 2 off seasons ago getting better then expected production because a lot guys were either in the wrong situation or just coming off an off year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHOUTBOX MONSTER! Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 Well, Denney and Ellison are free agents after this year. They get better by doing nothing right away... I'm already excited. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vincec Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 Denney and Johnson are solid backups who can contribute on passing downs. Frankly, Johnson has outplayed Stroud this year (which is not good). I have a question, however. If there is no new CBA, won't all free agents next season be restricted FAs? It that's the case there will be very little movement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cash Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 Denney and Johnson are solid backups who can contribute on passing downs. Frankly, Johnson has outplayed Stroud this year (which is not good). I have a question, however. If there is no new CBA, won't all free agents next season be restricted FAs? It that's the case there will be very little movement. Not all free agents. Under the current system, players with under 4 years of experience are restricted in some fashion. If there's no new CBA next year, that number will rise to 6 years. Most rookie deals are for 4-6 years, so most of the guys who would've been UFAs will instead be RFAs. But anyone on his second contract, or who signed an extension to his rookie deal that is now expiring, will be an UFA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tortured Soul Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 Guys with flaws that would actually be available to come to Buffalo. Fergueson with the Jets played in a 4-3 and as a stop gap for one year could work. Fred Robbins is having a down season and could be picked up on the cheap in a rotational role and once again you are trying to salvage someone for a season. Burgess played DE in Oakland very well in a 4-3 and once again on the downside due to being in the wrong scheme. You have to be realistic with guys that are actually going to be available and willing to come to Buffalo much like Miami did 2 off seasons ago getting better then expected production because a lot guys were either in the wrong situation or just coming off an off year. I appreciate that you looked for those guys, but I'd rather take shots at younger players that haven't gotten their shot yet, rather than vets that their teams don't want to keep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5 Wide Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 Denney is retiring after this year, so eliminate him from any conversation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsfaninFl Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 While looking at the Thread for offensive line free agents and thought what free agents were available to help us out on the defensive side of the ball? As far as the secondary goes I think getting McKelvin back and having Byrd start right away will be enough. I think that with Florence, Corner, Lankester, Wilson, and Scott we are deep and with the starting lineup of McGee, McKelvin, Byrd, and Whitner we are pretty set. Now the front 7 is where we need a ton of help. First off cut Denny, McCargo, Ellison, and Spencer Johnson. Resign Chris Draft and get Mitchel back from injury. Round out the line backing core with Derrick Johnson from Kansas City. I also think grabbing another veteran free agent like Scott Fujita or Pisa Tinsomiona to add depth would be good. So the linebacking core would be Mitchel Poz and Derrick Johnson while Draft and Fujita/Tinsomiona would be the depth. Now the D-line should be addressed with Jason Fergueson at DT, Derrick Burgess DE, and possibly Fred Robbins at DT. Burgess would be a situational pass rusher, Fergueson and Robbins help out the DT position. So the starting line would be Stroud, Fergueson, Schobel, and Kelsay with Kyle Williams and Fred Robbins rotating at DT with Maybin and Burgess in as situational pass rushers. What defensive free agents do you think the Bills will go after? And think in terms of guys the Bills might actually be able to go out and get. Think of guys who would come at a reasonable price and might be undervalued due to things like age, injury, or being in the wrong situation. Most of your points are good ones, but I remind you that if a deal does not get done between the league and the union, the free agent market will dry up. The additional players that teams can peg as "franchis" or "transitional", and the low offer needed for teams to hold onto restricted free agents will create a shortage of players available to move to new teams. Time is running out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiderweb Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 I would keep Kelsay but cut Denny. I think that there are more pressing needs at OL and DT to be addressed in the draft. So keeping Kelsay one more year in order to not rush Maybin in (Give Maybin more time obviously) is not a bad idea. I think Denny isn't good enough and is sucking playing time away from a guy like Maybin. I would respectfully disagree. Cut Kelsay and keep Denney in his current role, as a backup and situational player. Neither have a pas rush (but if I recall, Denney has been more successful at pass rushing than Kelsay with fewer reps as well), but Denney is better at run defense. Kelsay is paid like a quality player. He's not. Denney is paid like a backup, and he's actually a decent backup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiderweb Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 Denney is retiring after this year, so eliminate him from any conversation. Link, or at least your source? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billsfan89 Posted December 23, 2009 Author Share Posted December 23, 2009 I would respectfully disagree. Cut Kelsay and keep Denney in his current role, as a backup and situational player. Neither have a pas rush (but if I recall, Denney has been more successful at pass rushing than Kelsay with fewer reps as well), but Denney is better at run defense. Kelsay is paid like a quality player. He's not. Denney is paid like a backup, and he's actually a decent backup. I think Kelsay is overpaid but from what I see Kelsay is a better pass rusher then Denny (Kelsay has 5 sacks this season). Don't get me wrong I wouldn't be sad at all to see both guys go. Denny to me never seems to get any pressure on the QB when he is in and any sacks he has gotten in recent years seem to come from great coverage. Kelsay while not a good pass rusher seems to get pressure sometimes. Both guys are decent against the run BUT neither are run suffers and with their lack of productivity in the pass rushing game both are disposable. Like I said I would keep Kelsay around just to hold the fort for one year and slowly have Maybin take over for him over the course of the season. Denny to me wouldn't be able to be more then a rotational guy which is a role that Maybin should be overtaking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5 Wide Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 Link, or at least your source? No link, but it's true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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