Canadian Bills Fan Posted November 4, 2010 Posted November 4, 2010 More or less he said it was a move that made no sense because we arent going to make the playoffs and he will be out of Buffalo as soon as the seasons over. Anyone agree?
MikeSpeed Posted November 4, 2010 Posted November 4, 2010 I think it is a great opportunity to gage just how badly we need LBs. If he is healthy and can play, and there is a significant increase in the play of the defense, then it will show how far off we are or are not. If he plays well and we start winning game (big if there) we may be able to re-sign him. I see zero down side here.
Cugalabanza Posted November 4, 2010 Posted November 4, 2010 I don't agree with that. You have to try to field a good team. Right now the defense is so awful that you can't even fairly evaluate the individual players. Right now, LB is the weakest link, so they went out and got a guy. You owe it to the fans to try to put a quality product out there. I know I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do. As for next year, who knows... maybe he'll sign and stay. Or maybe it will turn out that his best days are behind him and he no longer belongs in the NFL. At least the Bills acknowledged that they need to improve. That's a step in the right direction. Doing nothing because "we aren't going to make the playoffs" is defeatism.
Herd of Bills Posted November 4, 2010 Posted November 4, 2010 I think it is a great opportunity to gage just how badly we need LBs. If he is healthy and can play, and there is a significant increase in the play of the defense, then it will show how far off we are or are not. If he plays well and we start winning game (big if there) we may be able to re-sign him. I see zero down side here.
kdub Posted November 4, 2010 Posted November 4, 2010 I don't agree with that. You have to try to field a good team. Right now the defense is so awful that you can't even fairly evaluate the individual players. Right now, LB is the weakest link, so they went out and got a guy. You owe it to the fans to try to put a quality product out there. I know I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do. As for next year, who knows... maybe he'll sign and stay. Or maybe it will turn out that his best days are behind him and he no longer belongs in the NFL. At least the Bills acknowledged that they need to improve. That's a step in the right direction. Doing nothing because "we aren't going to make the playoffs" is defeatism. Glazer is probably one of the people who think the Bills should try to lose to get #1.
BuffaloWings Posted November 4, 2010 Posted November 4, 2010 More or less he said it was a move that made no sense because we arent going to make the playoffs and he will be out of Buffalo as soon as the seasons over. Anyone agree? Sounds to me that the media is taking it more from Merriman's perspective than the team's point of view. Do they (specifically Glazer & Schefter) realize that the point of the waiver order is to allow the worst teams to try and get better, thus fielding a more competitive league? This isn't about what's best for the player.
tennesseeboy Posted November 4, 2010 Posted November 4, 2010 Geez....these writers, and a lot of posters on this board had better stop living in the past and in some godforsaken future. Merriman will help the bills today and for the rest of the season, and we have the money to have him show his stuff. We might sing him or we might not, but that is true of most people who are free agents. The way many talk on this board you would think we would never sign any player whether we drafted them, traded for them or got them off the wire. Good move getting Meriiman and I hope he helps our defense.
cale Posted November 4, 2010 Posted November 4, 2010 I don't agree with that. You have to try to field a good team. Right now the defense is so awful that you can't even fairly evaluate the individual players. Right now, LB is the weakest link, so they went out and got a guy. You owe it to the fans to try to put a quality product out there. I know I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do. As for next year, who knows... maybe he'll sign and stay. Or maybe it will turn out that his best days are behind him and he no longer belongs in the NFL. At least the Bills acknowledged that they need to improve. That's a step in the right direction. Doing nothing because "we aren't going to make the playoffs" is defeatism. I think even if he leaves, we get a compensatory pick. This move makes total sense even if it doesn't pay dividends on the field. He comes cheap and is a low risk/high reward play. You can bet the bean counters at OBD crunched all the numbers to make it financially reasonable. C
Mr. WEO Posted November 4, 2010 Posted November 4, 2010 Sounds to me that the media is taking it more from Merriman's perspective than the team's point of view. Do they (specifically Glazer & Schefter) realize that the point of the waiver order is to allow the worst teams to try and get better, thus fielding a more competitive league? This isn't about what's best for the player. Maybe he means that most teams don't depend on the waiver wire, in November, to "try to get better".
dave mcbride Posted November 4, 2010 Posted November 4, 2010 Merriman will without question NOT be on the Bills next year and we won't receive a compensatory pick. Those days are over.
macaroni Posted November 4, 2010 Posted November 4, 2010 IMHO ... #1 priority is to get him in the line up and productive, THEN we worry about making a deal attractive enough to persuade him to stay and be a part of the rebuilding process. He is young enough that he could reap the benifits once the team is rebuilt. It's not like he's an aged vet who has one or two years left in the tank and will never be a part of a "good" Buffalo Bills team. It's always been my opinion that we need to welcome those players who are willing to work hard to be a part of the rebuilding process ... if they can't (or won't) accept the challenge, then no matter how good they are, we don't need them in Buffalo. I may be naive, but I think the fan support, the excitement of being a part of something good, and the great community of western NY, can become infectious and make being a part of this team worthwile.
PromoTheRobot Posted November 4, 2010 Posted November 4, 2010 And Glazier had another article written saying how the Bills are stupid if the didn't claim Merriman. You can't win. PTR
bills_fan_in_raleigh Posted November 4, 2010 Posted November 4, 2010 And Glazier had another article written saying how the Bills are stupid if the didn't claim Merriman. You can't win. PTR Hey he needs to cover his bases.
Mike In Illinois Posted November 4, 2010 Posted November 4, 2010 (edited) Merriman will without question NOT be on the Bills next year and we won't receive a compensatory pick. Those days are over. Tim Graham seems to think the Bills could get a compensatory pick for Merriman next year: "And if Merriman does leave via free agency, then the Bills likely would receive a compensatory draft pick dependent upon the size of the contract he signs and any additional guidelines set forth in the new collective bargaining agreement. Maybe the Bills get a fourth- or fifth-round pick out of the experience." Link to full article. Edited November 4, 2010 by Champaign Mike
1B4IDie Posted November 4, 2010 Posted November 4, 2010 (edited) Hey he needs to cover his bases. He needs to cover his head too. Jay Glazer can't even grow hair on his head, how could any good ideas come out of that gourd. The Rental is uncommon in the NFL but WTF Jay? The Bills LBs appear to be horrible, if the Bills didn't claim Merriman you could make an argument that they aren't even trying. Tim Graham seems to think the Bills could get a compensatory pick for Merriman next year: "And if Merriman does leave via free agency, then the Bills likely would receive a compensatory draft pick dependent upon the size of the contract he signs and any additional guidelines set forth in the new collective bargaining agreement. Maybe the Bills get a fourth- or fifth-round pick out of the experience. Link to full article. Who cares if he leaves via Free Agency, the 2010 LBs are all dogs, lets see if this guy can help for the next 9 games. If he performs well, we get first crack to work out a deal. But lets not kid ourselves, Merriman is going to go to the biggest guaranteed money deal in FA, and its not likely to come from OBD. Edited November 4, 2010 by Levitre + Wang = Wood
Albany,n.y. Posted November 4, 2010 Posted November 4, 2010 Here's my take on the Merriman claim: The Bills HAD TO claim Merriman for the good of the team and to keep their credibilty with the fanbase. Every Bills fan knows the D is bad & linebacking is the weakest link. If the Bills didn't claim Merriman & at least find out what he's got, the fans would take it as a sign they don't care at all about this season, or the future if Merriman performs well & likes it in Buffalo and would be willing to re-sign. With a D this bad and even the slimmest of possibilities that we can fill a hole before next offseason, any degree of proper management makes the claim mandatory, not an option. It was a move they had to make for both themselves & their fans.
thewildrabbit Posted November 4, 2010 Posted November 4, 2010 This move makes football sense in the fact that this shows that the Bills are honestly desperately trying to win this year, although Merrimen won't be ready to play for a few games as I understand it. However, I agree that this move makes no sense from a business stand point as there is no way that Merrimen signs with Buffalo after the season, so if for some reason the guy isn't able to contribute much this season, its a waste of money. BTW, It made no sense to claim Randy Moss simply because he stated if he didn't like the team that claimed him he would sit out the rest of the year, besides the Bills seem to be fine at the WR position now with Johnson-Evans-Parrish now making big plays with Fitz at QB.
Albany,n.y. Posted November 4, 2010 Posted November 4, 2010 . But lets not kid ourselves, Merriman is going to go to the biggest guaranteed money deal in FA, and its not likely to come from OBD. Did you have the same opinion before we signed Takeo Spikes? These Bills are too cheap to pay anyone posts are getting pretty ridiculous. Some say we won't pay Luck (if we're #1 & he declares). Now the Bills/Ralph too cheap crowd is prognosticating they won't pay a guy who, if we're lucky, just arrived at the airport.
zow2 Posted November 4, 2010 Posted November 4, 2010 (edited) Here's my take on the Merriman claim: The Bills HAD TO claim Merriman for the good of the team and to keep their credibilty with the fanbase. Every Bills fan knows the D is bad & linebacking is the weakest link. If the Bills didn't claim Merriman & at least find out what he's got, the fans would take it as a sign they don't care at all about this season, or the future if Merriman performs well & likes it in Buffalo and would be willing to re-sign. With a D this bad and even the slimmest of possibilities that we can fill a hole before next offseason, any degree of proper management makes the claim mandatory, not an option. It was a move they had to make for both themselves & their fans. Ding Ding! totally agree. good take. Randy Moss would have been a dumb move, imo. For these writers and ESPN heads to say Merriman made no sense is ridiculous. They are just trying to Opine and get clicks on their web pages. I said it yesterday as well....the Bills had no choice here. They had to take him for the sake of credibility for the organization, the players and the fans, etc.. At 0-7 and a horrible defense, you can't just sit there and do nothing. They may as well not be a part of the NFL if they did nothing. Edited November 4, 2010 by zow2
sllib olaffub Posted November 4, 2010 Posted November 4, 2010 I'm not a pessimist; year after year I'm the guy who, amidst all the realists saying how awful Buffalo is, all the WNY Steelers fans, saying Buffalo could be good this year. I'm the one who is always looking at the team in the summer and pointing out the if's and could's. This is the first year I have really thrown up my hands in frustration with the team. Here is an example of why: When I heard, from a friend, that Buffalo had signed Merriman, the very first thought that came in to my head was this, If he plays good - even half as good as his prime years play - then he'd have every right to come to the bargaining table asking for 10 million a year after what we paid to Kelsay this year. I mean, Kelsay is so bad that a guy like Merriman, even if he finishes after 8 games with 4 or 5 sacks, will be able to say, I'm twice or three times as good as that guy - show me the money! And, I'm afraid it will be that way with any really good pro-bowl type players here now, after the ridiculous money we gave Kelsay, and guys like Green. If they're making that much then how much does greatness deserve? But, just looking at the on-field stuff, Merriman could reestablish himself as a legitimate OLB this season. If he does show he's still got it, then you can add him to Moats, Poz, and we might only have to add one excellent LB next year, and then maybe another Davis type, quality wise. Who knows, maybe Merriman will be expected to teach some things to guys like Maybin, Moats, Coleman. Maybe they think he can raise the play of everyone else on that unit. And, as I've mentioned here before, it could be that our coordinator is just terrible and that our players could do much better under another guy's tutelage. All in all I don't see any negative to signing him. It actually makes the Gibson pass look much more acceptable, if Nix knew all along that Merriman would be available.
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