Fans should realize we are still in rebuilding mode.

[Mark Long Beach]

Receiving anything of value with a trade this late in the year is almost non-existant. Had the lockout not happened or had they anticpated this before ther lockout, package him with a pick and move even higher to grab an impact player. Hell they could do that this next off season. They could have even done this as sooon as the league year opened, but to do this after a couple weeks of camp, gives the impression that you will cut him if you can't trade him. Hence you get lousy trade value. Another reason why I am not thrilled with the timing is that he was well respected by his teammates and an established vet with a good rep around the league. He is also someone who could still play. He is an 8 year vet, who only missed 3 games in his career due to injury - they knew what they had going into camp...

 

Also likely is that Baltimore & Arizona weren't really looking for a WR until they've gone to camp and played their first preseason game and found that they don't have enough. Suddenly they need one and are willing to give up a draft pick for a 30yo WR that had 40 catches last year...

[John Cocktosten]

FYI after 2007...Eagles fans called Andrews "The Human Turnstile"!

The same fans who declared that they got the best LT in the game...

[Dawgg]

Ask Steve Johnson if TO delayed his development. Stevie was like a little puppy following the big dog and emulating every movement. TO taught SJ a ton and probably escalated his ascension enormously.

 

I agree he will likely flourish in Baltimore.

I don't buy it. First off, TO's little project was James Hardy and look where he is today.

 

Stevie showed a ton of promise his rookie year and was ready to turn the corner. Did taking a seat and watching TO help him? Perhaps, but let's be real here... the best thing for Stevie Johnson was live game action. The moment TO came into the fold, he barely played let alone dressed for games.

 

Evans is a vestige of the past. He's a one-dimensional player (albeit a good one) that has trouble with underneath routes. The Bills have plenty of speed at the position, diminishing the value of Lee's core strength. Time to say goodbye.

[Meark]

same owner dude. same owner who didn't want orakpo. same owner who (probably) forced nix's hand by having him cut salary (evans).

 

I seriously don't think Ralph has anything to do with draft picks.. Just seems pretty silly IMO. Every time I hear this I scratch my head. I also seriously doubt the Evans move had to do with money. He is an overpriced soon to be third receiver. Roscoe would have had more yards if he didn't get hurt.

 

+1000000

 

The timing of this deal is suspect, it should have been done before the lockout or at the end of the season. I hope that while reviewing tape during the lockout and evaluating everything once the players were able to practice, they see or know something that makes this move pay off. All I know is they better hope that one of the other WRs can fill in, cause if not we have yet another hole to fill with no replacement on the rister and no FA wanting to come here...

 

This is the perfect time.. They've had time to evaluate all the other receivers on the roster and feel good about what they have.

[OldTimer1960]

Just speculation, but perhaps Evans was traded as a favor to him. No matter how much we want to believe otherwise, this team is AT LEAST a year away from

being a contender and Evans is near the end of his career. He should do well in Baltimore for a year or two and he wouldn't have had that much impact

here when the staff wants to get the young guys game experience.

 

Does this make the Bills better this year? No, but I don't think it is a big downgrade, either and it does get young guys on the field to see what they

can produce.

[Stampede]

i hated to see Lee go but it was the right move on two accounts: 1- Lee gets to go to a contender (i would have been disappointed for him if he went anywhere less) and 2- it does light a fire under the other WRs to step up.

if i recall correctly Lee and Roscoe are the shortest of our WRs as well as the fastest, 4.33 and 4.37 respectively. it's hard for me to see Roscoe being able to stretch the field because of his lack of weight (168), Lee was at a respectable and strong197. but the rest of the WRs are all 6 foot plus and weighing from 182 (Huggins) to 225 (Hubbard), the fastest of them being: Davis (4.37 same as Roscoe but at 6'1" and 200#s), Easley (4.39 at 6'2" and 216#s) and the rest clocking in from 4.45 (Aiken) to 4.60 (Roosevelt). granted Lee ran a 4.33 but he is 30 years of age, even Roscoe is 29, the rest are all under 26 years of age (i could be wrong though but they are still younger than both Lee and Roscoe). under those circumstances the trade makes perfect sense; obviously i am not an NFL coach or GM but i agree that it protects and encourages the remaining WRs. the only thing that will be left to be determined is the 4th round pick. this is season number two under the current regime and it is silly to jump off a cliff at this time; they ARE doing what they have to and it is obvious to me that they want to win desperately.

Edited August 12, 2011 by Stampede

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

it is obvious to me that they want to win desperately.

 

 

Addendum:

 

As a fan who's had to witness this dreck for the past however many decades, I can tell you I don't give a rat's ass about the future. I care about THIS year. Winning NOW. To paraphrase the old fool's handchosen GM: Show me the damned Baby, Buddy. to me, there is ZERO about what this front office has done that's geared toward winning in the short term. To be honest, there isn't much geared toward long-term winning either.

Edited August 12, 2011 by joesixpack

[KOKBILLS]

I believe the real reason the Bills traded Evans was because they have 4 WRs from the class of 2010 that they don't want to cut. While their future is yet to be determined, one of them might just be an important player when the team gets good. By the time the team is good, they realize Evans' contract will be up & they had no intention of giving him another big $ contract.

So, to play it safe, it's better to keep Easley, Jones, Nelson & Roosevelt on the roster. With Johnson & Parish that's 6 receivers. Since they don't want 7 receivers on the roster,the oldest guy, Evans, was the odd man out. It's more a classic example of a team

knowing they're not winning this year & are investing time, including added playing time, into the future at the WR position.

 

I'm not crazy about Trading Lee...But IMHO this is EXACTLY why they did it...They don't want to cut any of the Kids...

 

Good Post...

[Buftex]

Why does everyone want to extend Fitz? Can we please all realize that he isnt an elite QB.They were smart enough to get rid of Evans.Extending Fitz would be one step forward and two steps backward.

 

I can almost guarantee, Tyler Thigpen will be starting for the Bills next year...and I don't say that because I don't like Fitz...Gailey seems to get "man crushes" on some of his players...Thigpen is that...

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

You don't have to lose to eventually win. Where does this mentality come from?

 

12+ years of losing records?

 

I mean, how much more is a fan supposed to accept before he starts to rationalize?

[dave mcbride]

 

Addendum:

 

As a fan who's had to witness this dreck for the past however many decades, I can tell you I don't give a rat's ass about the future. I care about THIS year. Winning NOW. To paraphrase the old fool's handchosen GM: Show me the damned Baby, Buddy. to me, there is ZERO about what this front office has done that's geared toward winning in the short term. To be honest, there isn't much geared toward long-term winning either.

 

+1.

 

This ain't baseball. Because of injuries, this is a short term league. The only time you plan for the long haul is when you draft a blue chip qb. Fitz, who I like, is in his prime. The time is now for him.

 

I don't buy it. First off, TO's little project was James Hardy and look where he is today.

 

Stevie showed a ton of promise his rookie year and was ready to turn the corner. Did taking a seat and watching TO help him? Perhaps, but let's be real here... the best thing for Stevie Johnson was live game action. The moment TO came into the fold, he barely played let alone dressed for games.

 

Evans is a vestige of the past. He's a one-dimensional player (albeit a good one) that has trouble with underneath routes. The Bills have plenty of speed at the position, diminishing the value of Lee's core strength. Time to say goodbye.

Dawgg, I often disagree with you, but i respect our opinion. I suspect Evans is going to have a big year for the ravens. Flacco has a big arm and good blocking. What do you think? My point is that on a normal team, he's a damn good player.

 

Let me throw this out at you. Among the Bills many stupid moves in the last twelve years, in my opinion the stupidest was not paying Peters. Look at Evans pre and post-Peters. I think it's pretty telling.

Edited August 13, 2011 by dave mcbride

[billsfan89]

Its a vote of confidence in David Nelson, Donald Jones, Marcus Easley, and Roosevelt. I think its also a vote of confidence in the abilities of Parrish to produce some offense as well. Lets hope their gamble is right and they got a 4th rounder and freed up a lot of playing time for younger capable players.

[BillnutinHouston]

All things considered, I like this move. Nix is clearly betting on the future upside of Johnson/Nelson/Jones/Davis/Roosevelt/Easley as being superior to Evans in his downside years. And I agree with this thinking.

 

Ask yourself, when was the last time you thought of Evans as a difference maker?

 

Also, Chris Brown just wrote about what I was thinking this afternoon about the Buster Davis acquisition - there was absolutely NO REASON to acquire Davis unless Nix was already leaning toward trading Evans. Davis provides some veteran insurance to replace Evans' presence.

[Dawgg]

Dawgg, I often disagree with you, but i respect our opinion. I suspect Evans is going to have a big year for the ravens. Flacco has a big arm and good blocking. What do you think? My point is that on a normal team, he's a damn good player.

 

Let me throw this out at you. Among the Bills many stupid moves in the last twelve years, in my opinion the stupidest was not paying Peters. Look at Evans pre and post-Peters. I think it's pretty telling.

I actually agree that Evans will flourish in Baltimore, lining up opposite Anquan Boldin. But he's not a true #1 receiver and it's time to see if Stevie J is.

 

With regards to Peters, the Bills were stupid on so many levels. Not only did they fail to pay him, they added insult to injury by signing below-average linemen (Dockery and Walker) to big-money deals. Hard to expect anyone to stay motivated and happy in that type of situation (though homers will disagree).

[dave mcbride]

All things considered, I like this move. Nix is clearly betting on the future upside of Johnson/Nelson/Jones/Davis/Roosevelt/Easley as being superior to Evans in his downside years. And I agree with this thinking.

 

Ask yourself, when was the last time you thought of Evans as a difference maker?

 

Also, Chris Brown just wrote about what I was thinking this afternoon about the Buster Davis acquisition - there was absolutely NO REASON to acquire Davis unless Nix was already leaning toward trading Evans. Davis provides some veteran insurance to replace Evans' presence.

But the thing is, Davis sucks and was cut by a far superior team. We still haven't heard the real story about why AJ Smith fired Nix. Smith isn't particularly likable, but he's a helluva GM in terms of nabbing talent both via FA and the draft.

[clancynut]

All things considered, I like this move. Nix is clearly betting on the future upside of Johnson/Nelson/Jones/Davis/Roosevelt/Easley as being superior to Evans in his downside years. And I agree with this thinking.

 

Ask yourself, when was the last time you thought of Evans as a difference maker?

 

Also, Chris Brown just wrote about what I was thinking this afternoon about the Buster Davis acquisition - there was absolutely NO REASON to acquire Davis unless Nix was already leaning toward trading Evans. Davis provides some veteran insurance to replace Evans' presence.

 

 

How will Davis provide veteran insurance from Injured Reserve?

 

It was a good move by Nix to allow some of the younger talent to emerge. Also Evans has the chance to play for a Super Bowl Contender now, good for him.

[DerekJ]

I believe the real reason the Bills traded Evans was because they have 4 WRs from the class of 2010 that they don't want to cut. While their future is yet to be determined, one of them might just be an important player when the team gets good. By the time the team is good, they realize Evans' contract will be up & they had no intention of giving him another big $ contract.

So, to play it safe, it's better to keep Easley, Jones, Nelson & Roosevelt on the roster. With Johnson & Parish that's 6 receivers. Since they don't want 7 receivers on the roster,the oldest guy, Evans, was the odd man out. It's more a classic example of a team

knowing they're not winning this year & are investing time, including added playing time, into the future at the WR position.

I'll buy into that....good analysis.

[trigger]

Talk about T.O delaying Stevie's development and Lee doing the same with our young wideouts...look what the Bills did to Lee! When Ryan Fitzpatrick is the best QB you played with in your career, that's beyond delaying--it's criminal. For crying out loud, the man made J.P. look good! Who knows the kind of player Lee could have been with a winner.

[dave mcbride]

I actually agree that Evans will flourish in Baltimore, lining up opposite Anquan Boldin. But he's not a true #1 receiver and it's time to see if Stevie J is.

 

With regards to Peters, the Bills were stupid on so many levels. Not only did they fail to pay him, they added insult to injury by signing below-average linemen (Dockery and Walker) to big-money deals. Hard to expect anyone to stay motivated and happy in that type of situation (though homers will disagree).

Right. The homers (meaning the anti-Peters people) focus on his 15-20 bad plays per year as opposed to his successors and predecessors on the Bills, where most plays are bad plays and the Bills plan accordingly (ie, they give the lousy LT help). But of course, Peters gave up some sacks!!!! Cut him.

[Estelle Getty]

CLOSE THIS THREAD!! it contains the words "lee evans". Don't get butthurt guy, it's true. There's been a few threads closed prematurely IMO.

 

amen....these "moderators" are getting ridiculous. I guess they are on permanent lunch break from Arbys.