Vikings sign Jimmy Kennedy

[DarthICE]

3 mediocre UFA's in. 2 leave without signings a contract. Pro personnel and Overdorf are working wonders this year.

 

Jimmy Kennedy said he wanted a chance to win so he signed with a team that could have a chance if Favre returns. People know the Bills are in full on rebuild mode and not going to win more than 5 games next season.

 

Yes, and? You act as if this is news. Everyone knows we are rebuilding. That is why you focus on the draft, have a couple really good draft classes, start winning a few more games then FA's see you are on your way back up so they decide to join you.

 

This team isn't going to get huge name FA's at some point fans gotta get this though their heads. Only when NE started to win thanks to DRAFTING, did FA's want to start coming there AND took less money to do so. I am not suprised Kennedy would rather go back to a team that was a couple turnovers away from being a superbowl winner (yeah they would have beaten indy) and be a rotational player than start on a losing squad.

 

But I dare anyone to honestly say we were outbid. I can't see that as the case at all. 3 mill per? Yeah I am sure we offered more than that and a longer contract

[Coach Tuesday]

How did the last decade of overpaying for mid to low tier UFAs pay off for the Bills? Signing Robert Royal, Larry Tripplett, Derrick Dockery, Langston Walker, Chris Villarial, Tutan Reyes, Bennie Anderson, Jeff Posey, Trey Teague, and Melvin Fowler accomplished what exactly for the Bills? With over 200 players who would gave been UFAs this year being forced to be RFAs instead sitting on the sidelines is definitely the right approach this season.

 

Except that there is NO CAP now, which means there are no more excuses. If they were truly committed to winning, which they aren't, they would overspend to make up for a decade of horrible drafting. But all they care about is cost-cutting. Go ahead and be optimistic. This team will be lucky to win 3 games next year barring some miracle on draft weekend. The cupboard is completely bare.

[BillnutinHouston]

If our offer wasn't better than that. Nix has a plan we just cant figure out

 

Your new GM is a top-level experienced scout.

 

Your new GM says he wants to build through the draft primarily.

 

Your new GM says he wants a coaching staff of good teachers.

 

Your new GM replaces pro personnel Guy (literally) with a guy from Pittsburgh, known for building through the draft.

 

Your new GM says he wants to expand scouting staff.

 

What part of this plan is hard to understand?

 

Now we just need to unload more tradeable dead weight (Whitner, Marshawn), trade out of the #9 spot and get more picks, and it starts to come together.

[BuffaloBaumer]

Seriously just stop bringing in free agents and start aquiring picks.....

 

We will biuld through the draft

 

So Jimmy wanted a chance to start? R.I.G.H.T.

 

BINGO! Sell the dead weight for 7th rounders if you have to.....We have a better chance of landing a Brady in the 6th than one in FA>

[BillsVet]

This team isn't going to get huge name FA's at some point fans gotta get this though their heads. Only when NE started to win thanks to DRAFTING, did FA's want to start coming there AND took less money to do so. I am not suprised Kennedy would rather go back to a team that was a couple turnovers away from being a superbowl winner (yeah they would have beaten indy) and be a rotational player than start on a losing squad.

 

So in other words, no one will play for us almost no matter what we pay because we're bad. And how did the franchise get to the point of being this unattractive?

 

Secondly, MIA in 08 and NE in 00 went heavy into free agency. The guys they inked might not have been all-pros, but gave them a chance to draft guys who'd replace them. It took exactly one year for both of those teams to go from among the league's worst to being playoff teams.

 

How long do you think it'll take for the Bills to get back into the playoffs? That is, before you change your mind to being anti-Bills again.

[San Jose Bills Fan]

For the Bills to get back to respectability, they need to win-NOW. Not tomorrow, not next week, but this season. But too many blind squirrels on TBD think just drafting well will erase the other problems you've talked about. Unfortunately, it will not.

This is where we differ. I've been critical of Ralph Wilson since the day I joined this board. The Bills organization has been a train wreck for the better part of a decade now (actually for most of their history, but I digress).

 

BUT, I don't think the Bills have to win NOW. And obviously, neither do they. The people who actually feel this way are those fans who have either lost all patience with the team or those fans who believe that due to circumstances (possible 2011 lockout, Ralph's passing, stadium lease) the Bills will leave Buffalo and that the 2010 season represents our last chance at going out as a winning team.

 

This is life. A person only has control over a miniscule amount of things in their life and the degree of urgency to which their favorite football team views the present is not one of those things. The Bills do not have to win now and they obviously do not think that they have to win now.

 

Regardless of the methods, the Bills will not "get back to respectability" overnight. Just ask Daniel Snyder. The plan the Bills have implemented will take time, patience, and competency. As you state, "the cupboard is bare." So overpaying players who won't make a difference in wins and losses is certainly a bad idea. When this team has been rebuilt and is close to getting over the hump, that is the time when they can make a few wise free agent additions.

 

edit: The worst to first scenarios happen, but they are still very isolated cases. Most last place teams continue to suck for a long time. For the most part, worst to first is a mirage and a pipe dream. A rebuilding job typically takes a few seasons, whether it is 2 seasons or 4 seasons. Sucks, but that's the reality of it.

[NewEra]

My original thought was right on point. He was strictly brought in to make the fans think they are doing something. They were gonna offer him like 2 mill a year and he'd sign elsewhere. good job FO.

[manbeast]

I'm sure the money the FO could have offered was better. The chance to play for a title next year, or the year after that probably was the difference.

 

And that is the state of your Buffalo Bills. Can't even get a middle to low tier FA to come. And to think we had hopes of Cowher, Shanahan, Wilfork, Dansby....

 

What a joke...

He will find a title as a backup is not that gratifying.

[jahnyc]

It seems pretty clear to me that the Bills are not going to be competitive next year, partly because they are, for the most part, sitting out free agency. Right now, the Bills have the worst group of QBs, offensive tackles, nose tackles and outside linebackers (for the 3-4) in the NFL. In addition, other than Evans, our group of WRs is terrible. The Bills have more holes than they can possibly fill in one draft, both in terms of starters and depth.

 

I love the Bills, and I will watch every game no matter what, but the potential for a really bad season is significant.

[BillsVet]

This is life. A person only has control over a miniscule amount of things in their life and the degree of urgency to which their favorite football team views the present is not one of those things. The Bills do not have to win now and they obviously do not think that they have to win now.

 

Regardless of the methods, the Bills will not "get back to respectability" overnight. Just ask Daniel Snyder. The plan the Bills have implemented will take time, patience, and competency. As you state, "the cupboard is bare." So overpaying players who won't make a difference in wins and losses is certainly a bad idea. When this team has been rebuilt and is close to getting over the hump, that is the time when they can make a few wise free agent additions.

 

With all due respect to you SJBF, talking about life in the context of the Bills is simply absurd. The Bills are playing a game with their fans that stretches back to the day Levy was hired. If they don't feel they have to win now, as evidenced by their casual approach to finding decent players who might keep more rookies off the field, doesn't that tell even the most homer fans what their intentions are? It's to simply squeeze as many eggs from the golden goose and then whatever happens after RW passes, so be it. They made their money.

 

Dan Snyder is the worst possible example you can use here to illustrate this team. He splurged for and signed a respected coach, who while not great recently, brings respectability to that franchise. The Bills hired a guy who'd never been a GM before who then brought aboard a man who couldn't get a NFL HC gig in 10 years. They're far, far, different. Let's not conflate arguments here.

 

How many years should the fan base wait before getting angry and demanding the team put a winner on the field. Some around here apparently think success is optional, as long as they don't move.

[manbeast]

Except that there is NO CAP now, which means there are no more excuses. If they were truly committed to winning, which they aren't, they would overspend to make up for a decade of horrible drafting. But all they care about is cost-cutting. Go ahead and be optimistic. This team will be lucky to win 3 games next year barring some miracle on draft weekend. The cupboard is completely bare.

And if there is a cap next year the over-spenders will be in trouble.

[NewEra]

I was wrong...they didn't offer him a 2 million dollar deal....

 

Bills | Kennedy leaves visit without contract

 

Tim Graham, of ESPN.com, reports unrestricted free-agent DT Jimmy Kennedy (Vikings) left his visit with the Buffalo Bills without a contract offer.

 

2010-03-13 13:03:02

[NewEra]

And if there is a cap next year the over-spenders will be in trouble.

 

and we will still suck.

[Pete]

It seems pretty clear to me that the Bills are not going to be competitive next year, partly because they are, for the most part, sitting out free agency. Right now, the Bills have the worst group of QBs, offensive tackles, nose tackles and outside linebackers (for the 3-4) in the NFL. In addition, other than Evans, our group of WRs is terrible. The Bills have more holes than they can possibly fill in one draft, both in terms of starters and depth.

 

I love the Bills, and I will watch every game no matter what, but the potential for a really bad season is significant.

agreed. And I do get the impression that Ralph will not spend money. It is going to get worse before it gets better IMO

[notwoz]

Dan Snyder is the worst possible example you can use here to illustrate this team. He splurged for and signed a respected coach, who while not great recently, brings respectability to that franchise. The Bills hired a guy who'd never been a GM before who then brought aboard a man who couldn't get a NFL HC gig in 10 years. They're far, far, different. Let's not conflate arguments here.

Actually, Dan Snyder, the short, meddling owner of the NFL franchise with the racist nickname, spent the last 10 years treating his team like some sort of fantasy league team. He threw money at "big" names (think an over-the-hill Bruce Smith) and got nothing for his efforts. Actually, he got 10 years of sellouts, but that's another story, because the DC marketplace has a much wealthier fan base. But Snyder finally realized that throwing money at every free agent who comes into town is no way to build a winning team. He hired a legitimate GM and a well-known coach. We'll see what happens in the next year or two. But the point is, throwing money at free agents usully doesn't work, unless you are looking to fill specific holes or gaps in your lineup.

[BillsfaninFl]

I was expecting him to take some bigger money. Not saying he was worth a big contract, but it seemed like he was going to be a player that somebody was going to overpay. I bet if he continues to get better he can still get a large contract when his two years are up.

 

I hope this means the bills have their eyes on someone better than him. But I am glad they looked at him and brought him in.

 

The Bills DO have their eyes on someone better than Kennedy. Unfortunately, they define better as someone less expensive.

[BillsVet]

Actually, Dan Snyder, the short, meddling owner of the NFL franchise with the racist nickname, spent the last 10 years treating his team like some sort of fantasy league team. He threw money at "big" names (think an over-the-hill Bruce Smith) and got nothing for his efforts. Actually, he got 10 years of sellouts, but that's another story, because the DC marketplace has a much wealthier fan base. But Snyder finally realized that throwing money at every free agent who comes into town is no way to build a winning team. He hired a legitimate GM and a well-known coach. We'll see what happens in the next year or two. But the point is, throwing money at free agents usully doesn't work, unless you are looking to fill specific holes or gaps in your lineup.

 

In signing Mike Shanahan and Bruce Allen, the Snyder and the Redskins get some level of respectability in NFL circles. For the past 4 years, the Bills haven't duplicated that, signing Marv Levy, Dick Jauron, promoting Russ Brandon, and ultimately hiring Buddy Nix and Chan Gailey when no one wanted them.

 

Credit Snyder for recognizing he needed better decision makers than Vinny Cerrato. Fault RW for promulgating a franchise which is not respected and thus cannot find better management.

[jahnyc]

I think that throwing money at free agents can work, if you make the right decisions (i.e., the talent evaluators do their job). The problem with the Bills has been that their free agent acquisitions have been atrocious, not that they have acquired free agents.

 

I also don't believe that the cap will be a problem for the teams that are spending now. If the cap is reinstated (and this is a big if), I would expect that there is some kind of allowance for free agent activity from 2010. I would also think that the really smart teams (assuming they can afford to do so) are strucuturing their free agent contracts to allocate more compensation to this year (an uncapped year) than future years.

[San Jose Bills Fan]

With all due respect to you SJBF, talking about life in the context of the Bills is simply absurd. The Bills are playing a game with their fans that stretches back to the day Levy was hired. If they don't feel they have to win now, as evidenced by their casual approach to finding decent players who might keep more rookies off the field, doesn't that tell even the most homer fans what their intentions are? It's to simply squeeze as many eggs from the golden goose and then whatever happens after RW passes, so be it. They made their money.

 

Dan Snyder is the worst possible example you can use here to illustrate this team. He splurged for and signed a respected coach, who while not great recently, brings respectability to that franchise. The Bills hired a guy who'd never been a GM before who then brought aboard a man who couldn't get a NFL HC gig in 10 years. They're far, far, different. Let's not conflate arguments here.

 

How many years should the fan base wait before getting angry and demanding the team put a winner on the field. Some around here apparently think success is optional, as long as they don't move.

I agree with you that Ralph Wilson has played a game with Bills fans since he bought the team. I do not think that there have been more than a few times in Wilson's 50 year ownership that he was actually committed to winning. I believe this, I accept this, and I choose to continue to cheer for the team. Maybe it's the hope that the blind squirrel will find the nut. Maybe it's more about faithfulness and loyalty than it is hope.

 

If one believes that the Buffalo Bills are not committed to winning, that is their/our cross to bear. I guess it comes down to the question of whether you believe that every team in every professional sport should be trying to win a championship out of obligation to their paying customers.

 

As for my Daniel Snyder comment, I think it is very relevant. My point was that spending huge amounts of money for free agents and coaches assures nothing. Snyder bought the Redskins in 1999, which coincides with this 10 year run of the Bills not making the playoffs. In those ten years, despite having spent many millions more on players and coaches than have the Bills, Snyder has 80 wins to the Bills 76 wins. You can say that the Redskins have gained organizational credibility with the hiring of Shanahan and Bruce Allen and I wouldn't argue. But they've previously employed respected coaches like Marty Schottenheimer, Joe Gibbs, and Steve Spurrier to less than stellar results.

 

I don't think we disagree on too much, except maybe that the Bills should be on a fast-track/urgent rebuilding program...or the degree to which they are making sound decisions (GM, Head Coach, Free Agents) in this latest rebuilding project.

[bkc]

he has some spare time now... after leaving congrass. maybe Evan Bayh could chip in as well.

 

the massa fellow from you new york might be more fun.