BillsVet Posted May 22, 2010 Posted May 22, 2010 How many of Bell's penalties were false starts on no huddle plays? I think Bell will be a much better football player Sept 2009 than Sept 2010, and will be in a much better situation to succeed. And I think he will once again be our starting LT in the opener. How he does remains to be seen, but if our guys are healthy I think our line will be much less of a problem than the current conventional wisdom would lead you to believe. How many of those false starts were at home when crowd noise was a minimum? You can slice this ten ways, but not knowing the snap count is elemental in any type of offense. There is absolutely nothing to suggest Bell will be the answer at LOT. Fans that trust former 7th round picks to return from ACL surgery at a position demanding agility and strength are normally disappointed. Tackles are not found in the bargain bin and when Buffalo did find one they traded him. Gaither (and Jammal Brown) will need a new contract, which Buffalo is unwilling to give out.
K-9 Posted May 22, 2010 Posted May 22, 2010 ...People have talked about his attitude problems in college. But there were none, at least on the field. He had academic issues. You'd have to throw out half the NFL if you felt that was a sign you didn't want a guy on your team... Let's just agree to disagree then on his remaining a Raven and all that. But his attitude problems, as they relate to FOOTBALL have been well documented since college. His college coach suspended him for lazy work habits because he couldn't justify his position to the other guys on the team that DID put the effort in. You are just incorrect on that point. From a Baltimore Sun article of 3/29/2010 "...Gaither has consistently had to deal with these types of questions. After he was selected by the Ravens in the fifth round of the 2007 supplemental draft, Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen expressed his concern over Gaither's work ethic - which led to his losing his starting job with the Terrapins. "Sometimes he wouldn't work," Friedgen said in 2007. "I think I have to have some credibility there with my players. ... There were some days he didn't feel like practicing...." http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/...0,6114595.story There are other stories from college and even high school but I figured you would take the word of his college coach. Hey, if the Ravens get a high pick and/or player for him, great. I just hope it isn't from us. If Gaither turns into a annual All Pro, more power to him. GO BILLS!!!
Bob in STL Posted May 22, 2010 Posted May 22, 2010 Argueing with someone in the chat box yesterday on this but he may in fact be right..... Maybe the Ravens simply wanted a 1st rounder and wouldnt come off it? I would not give up a 1st rounder which might be a very high pick for Gaither.....frankly If we are offering a 2nd and a player I think the Ravens are stupid not to make that trade with us....because it could be a very high 2nd.... Come on Jammal Brown! If we are offering a second and a player we are offering too much in my opinion. If I am Buddy Nix a second straight up is plenty, and maybe too much, but I would do it. A 3rd and a player such as Youboty, who fills a big need for them, is a good trade. If the Ravens don't bite you move on. I think he moved on.
Bob in STL Posted May 22, 2010 Posted May 22, 2010 The thing is the Bills could sign Flozell Adams and rotate him every other series to keep him fresh and give the young players experience, that is unless he wants to much $$. Rotating offensive lineman is not a good practice. Keep one cohesive unit in there as long as possible. Playing together, timing, and knowing what the guy next to you will do is extremely important on the OL.
NewEra Posted May 22, 2010 Posted May 22, 2010 I'm a little let down with this at this point, as I was hoping something would occur soon to fix perhaps our biggest hole on the roster- that of LT. Oh well. It could still happen. I think as others have mentioned that Baltimore is probably holding to too high of a draft pick in return and/ or Gaither may be being a jerk about not wanting/ wanting a multi-year deal. But it probably has more to do with what Baltimore wants and what the Bills are willing to spend than anything else. don't kid yourself. Qb is our biggest need. But it looks like we'll address that with another top 10 pick next year.
BB-Gun Posted May 22, 2010 Posted May 22, 2010 Good. I don't think the Bills should give up anything more than a 3 for him, if anything at all. The Ravens have done two things already to lessen his value: they've moved him to a less valuable position AND publicly called him out on his attitude (as was backed up by his college coach previously). IMHO, the Ravens won't run the risk of keeping a player who's value has declined by keeping him and risk losing him to FA and not getting anything in return. This is his last season in B'more regardless as he seeks to be compensated like an elite LT. Well, he's currently an injured RT. The Ravens have overplayed their hand. The idea that they'll just hold on to him until a team sustains an injury (some have posited that here) is a gamble at best. And even THEN I doubt a team would be willing to pay more than a 3rd. GO BILLS!!! K-9. I think your assessment is dead-on. I don't think think the Bills are offering more than a 3rd, and I wouldn't want them to. Gaithner might be considered a solid LT, but not great. Plus, he has a foot injury that he may have to get surgery on. That could put him in jeopardy of not being able to play this upcoming season.
Lurker Posted May 22, 2010 Posted May 22, 2010 Plus, he has a foot injury that he may have to get surgery on. That could put him in jeopardy of not being able to play this upcoming season. I love how rumors take on a life of their own... http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/rav...uised_foot.html
EastRochBillsfan Posted May 22, 2010 Posted May 22, 2010 It's dead and none of know why. I suspect Baltimore wanted more in trade than what Buffalo would offer, given that the Bills needed to re-sign the guy to a sizable contract. The Bills aren't handing out 40-50M contracts anymore. Bills fans must resign themselves to seeing projects like Bell or Wang getting manhandled by opposing pass-rushers. After all, they're cheap and that's what counts. I can't understand why you keep saying they are cheap. They signed dockery and walker to an ungodly sum. Stupid , yes. Certainly not cheap though. They didnt want to pay Peters what he was demanding and I don't blame them. Just don't see it the way you do. But that is as usual. Why give up anything for Gaither? The Bills are not contending for a playoff spot this year, that should be very obvious to the objective fan if there is such a thing. Gaither will be a free agent next year his true market value will be known. There is not a need to give up a player or a draft pick for him. They are planning to start Edwards this year that should last a few games until he goes on IR. He will be followed by Fitzpatrick and Brohm. Perhaps Levi Brown will see a game or two at the end of the season. I agree with the first part. But as for planning on starting Edwards, unless they are straight out lieing, they said it will be an open competition. and Gailey reiterated that it wasn't just lip service. It's dead until it happens. How many times do you hear a deal is off only to take place later. Mcnabb was supposed to be staying put. Everyone was sure Marshawn was gone after the draft. It was a no brainer according to the pundits. Just be patient and be happy Nix isn't makin a foolish trade. i have to admit to being one of those that thought for sure they would trade him. And I still feel he may. But I certainly won't be mad if he stays. It makes us deep at running back in case freddie gets injured. and thats not a bad thing.
BillsVet Posted May 22, 2010 Posted May 22, 2010 I can't understand why you keep saying they are cheap. They signed dockery and walker to an ungodly sum. Stupid , yes. Certainly not cheap though. They didnt want to pay Peters what he was demanding and I don't blame them. Just don't see it the way you do. But that is as usual. I didn't say they were cheap, I said they won't negotiate a sizable contract extension with anyone received in trade. The LOT position is typically the second highest paid player on offense simply because there aren't many guys who can play the position. Gaither and Brown will demand a new contract because A) they play a position in high demand and Buffalo doesn't have a proven LOT on the roster.
JohnC Posted May 22, 2010 Posted May 22, 2010 If we are offering a second and a player we are offering too much in my opinion. If I am Buddy Nix a second straight up is plenty, and maybe too much, but I would do it. A 3rd and a player such as Youboty, who fills a big need for them, is a good trade. If the Ravens don't bite you move on. I think he moved on. The main issue isn't what you would give up for Gaither so much as giving him a long term and lucrative contract. Investing in someone who has a history of being lazy is foolish. If there are questions about his motivation before he has signed a rich deal how do you expect him to behave after he has already attained a bonanza contract? The qb and LT position are cornerstone positions on offense. They are high cost positions. When you make an investment in those positions you are making a committment which is difficult to go back on. Investing in a Gaither type personality(lackadaisical) is a recipe for a disaster. It is understood that acquiring an anchor LT is not easy. That doesn't mean that the organization can't find an ADEQUATE replacement who can tide the team over until a more talented and long term player is available. As it stands the Bills don't have a NFL starting LT on its roster. If this critical issue isn't addressed prior to the season then another year will be wasted for this offense and team. Admittedly, all of our qbs are question marks. But entering the season with a gaping hole at LT is unfair to the all qbs vying for the starting job. Trading Peters without a reasonable fallback position was foolish. Not upgrading this position prior to the start of the season would be irresponsible. As of now I'm not jumping to conclusions. There is more than enough time to make a deal. I'm hopeful something will get done to address this obvious need.
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