xsoldier54 Posted December 18, 2012 Posted December 18, 2012 Who would want to play for the Bills (under Wilson) unless they feel they're not good enough to start elsewhere in the league? Is depression that appealing? Unlike the fans, the players understand that it's not the owner's fault. Maybe you should find another team. Wilson has proved that he is willing to spend money. It's the coaching staff that is the problem and he didn't hire them. He hired the GM and maybe made a bad decision there, but in my mind he wants nothing more than to win. He just hasn't been able to put the right combination of front office and coaches in place. But I sincerely believe he is trying. If all the NFL player had an attitude like yours, we wouldn't be able to field a team at all.
8-8 Forever? Posted December 18, 2012 Posted December 18, 2012 I might be reading too much into this, but........ Resigning players at this stage in the game, also indicates to me, that Buddy Nix and Whaley are not going to get the axe. If the hammer was going to come down on our GM do you think he'd still be negotiating deals with players that the next GM might not even want? Probabaly not. So, just a hunch but based on Nix still hammering out deals at this point, I wouldn't count on him going anywhere. Nice resigning of Urbik BTW. no one is going anywhere. Ralph is not going to get into housecleaning at 94 or whatever he is... the guy handed them the keys 3 years ago and he's not taking them back... whether the stands are filled or not with the lowest ticket prices in the league matters not. He still get s the $100m+ in TV money and half the gate of every team he travels to... all staying away from the Ralph does is ensure a new owner will have no problem moving the team he buys in a couple years..
Dr. Trooth Posted December 18, 2012 Posted December 18, 2012 What I read into this is the Bills may have resolved they're gonna lose Levitre because he's probably the premiere LG on the FA market. If they're gonna pay Urbik almost $4m/yr. then Levitre has to be worth double that. I don't know what the Bills cap situation for 2013 is, but if they were to franchise Levitre, it would consume a considerable amount of cap space that they would have to have available at the time they franchise him. Not a good situation... he was to only o lineman not to miss a single game in four years.... and starting from day one. He's played every position except RT. He's gonna want more than Logan Mankins money.
Meathead Posted December 18, 2012 Posted December 18, 2012 which is why i say again that if they are forced to choose between players to retain they should try to keep byrd first. sometimes the reality is that you simply cant keep everybody. as good as viagra is he is also ultimately expendable if he is looking to break the bank and the bills cant make the cap situation work any other way. if they feel they can fill that spot with 90% of what he gives them for half the cost then you have to seriously consider that
dpberr Posted December 18, 2012 Posted December 18, 2012 I think the Bills will retain both Levitre and Byrd. I've always thought Leodis would be the odd man out.
BillsVet Posted December 18, 2012 Posted December 18, 2012 Levitre and Urbik really aren't interchangeable IMO. LG is a position that requires more agility to pull and Urbik isn't that. He'll be fine at RG, but it'd similar to an OT playing LT versus RT. Certainly not a bad thing to retain Urbik, but losing Levitre from that line disrupts whatever continuity they had up the middle. And, it'll mark the first time in awhile, Posluszny aside, where the Bills have lost a talented player in free agency if he leaves. The last where Fletcher and Clements in UFA 2007. Buffalo has some decisions to make on Byrd and Levitre. Both are building block type players and both will command good money on the open market.
bigK14094 Posted December 18, 2012 Posted December 18, 2012 I think the Bills will retain both Levitre and Byrd. I've always thought Leodis would be the odd man out. This is a good dialog. I think they will try to resign both Leverte and McKelvin. Both will get big contracts, and despite the bashing that McKelvin gets on this board, he is an adequate CB, and a killer returner. Now, one point not yet mentioned in the discussion is that not only is Levetre on the market, so will Reinhart be available. Reinhart may start elsewhere, and we really have had three great guards for a couple of years. So, if Levetre goes, Reinhart is the plug in. He is good, but not as durible, apparently. Back on McKelvin, I think he is likely to get big bucks, not unlike Levetre. I think there is cap room, however, and these are known commodities. I think that McKelvin proved the last 5 games, since he is again starting, that he is better than Willaims(Kwho is NG)
Maddog69 Posted December 18, 2012 Posted December 18, 2012 Glad to see Urbik is sticking around. I like to see the Bills retaining solid players at fair prices. It always bugs me when we let good players leave and then have another hole to fill. We have enough needs, this move makes sure we have one less hole to fill. Good job, Buddy.
boyst Posted December 18, 2012 Posted December 18, 2012 Levitre and Urbik really aren't interchangeable IMO. LG is a position that requires more agility to pull and Urbik isn't that. He'll be fine at RG, but it'd similar to an OT playing LT versus RT. Certainly not a bad thing to retain Urbik, but losing Levitre from that line disrupts whatever continuity they had up the middle. And, it'll mark the first time in awhile, Posluszny aside, where the Bills have lost a talented player in free agency if he leaves. The last where Fletcher and Clements in UFA 2007. Buffalo has some decisions to make on Byrd and Levitre. Both are building block type players and both will command good money on the open market. Arguably you could add Whither to that list. He may not be a household name but I would bet he is top 5 in pro bowl voting. He would be better on this team then what we have. As far as Levitre, we must keep him. There is no possible way we can go keep moving backward while moving forward. Byrd would be wise to at least wait and see what happens to Wanny.
atlbillsfan1975 Posted December 18, 2012 Posted December 18, 2012 That wouldn't make sense as a plan. It may happen but it almost certainly can't be the goal. How long have you been watching the Bills' moves? This is exactly the type of logic that has us at the longest playoff drought in the NFL
Matt in KC Posted December 18, 2012 Posted December 18, 2012 I don't think they are going to franchise Levitre. As I recall, the O-linemen are not considered seperately when calculating the money. There's no way we'd pay him top 5 or top 10 (transition tag) o-line money if that is calculated based off of left tackle contracts. If this has changed recently, I'd be very interested in reading about it. For the first time in over a decade I think we have a real Offensive line. I think signing Levitre is essential. We just got a LT for rookie money, I'd think we can afford to play elsewhere. IMO Levitre has been the key to the line, even more than Wood. Who wants to go back to the days of Kirk Chambers, Mike Pucillo, Duke Preston, Derrick Dockery...[and on and on and on]?
section122 Posted December 18, 2012 Posted December 18, 2012 http://espn.go.com/n...4-year-15m-deal 4 years $15 million. That is a great deal for both sides. For Urbik he went from PS to 15 mill for the Bills they ensured they don't have 1 less thing to worry about this off season and got a very favorable deal. Urbik isn't my favorite player on the line but this is low end starter money for someone who I think is better than a low end starter.
BillsVet Posted December 18, 2012 Posted December 18, 2012 Arguably you could add Whither to that list. He may not be a household name but I would bet he is top 5 in pro bowl voting. He would be better on this team then what we have. As far as Levitre, we must keep him. There is no possible way we can go keep moving backward while moving forward. Byrd would be wise to at least wait and see what happens to Wanny. I'm not sure on Whitner, his offers were small from Cincinnati and subsequently San Fran. Fletcher and Clements got sizable contracts from Washington and San Fran. And Byrd's status shouldn't depend on the DC. He's played well in both the 3-4 and 4-3 the past 2 years, improving his run support and essentially being the only one in the secondary getting turnovers.
DukeyBomb Posted December 18, 2012 Posted December 18, 2012 (edited) What I read into this is the Bills may have resolved they're gonna lose Levitre because he's probably the premiere LG on the FA market. If they're gonna pay Urbik almost $4m/yr. then Levitre has to be worth double that. I don't know what the Bills cap situation for 2013 is, but if they were to franchise Levitre, it would consume a considerable amount of cap space that they would have to have available at the time they franchise him. Not a good situation... he was to only o lineman not to miss a single game in four years.... and starting from day one. He's played every position except RT. He's gonna want more than Logan Mankins money. I disagree. I don't believe signing Urbik means Nix believes they will lose Levitre at all. It just means the Bills are starting to sign their players. It generally takes a little bit longer to sign a very good player in their final year. Simple as that. I guarantee the Bills value Levitre a whole lot and am confident they will get him signed. They're also most likely putting more effort in to their negotiations with Levitre than Byrd only because its very reasonable to franchise a safety compared to a LG now days. So if Byrd signs before Levitre, to me that means that signing Levitre may not be a guarantee. Edited December 18, 2012 by DukeyBomb
Sisyphean Bills Posted December 18, 2012 Posted December 18, 2012 I disagree. I don't believe signing Urbik means Nix believes they will lose Levitre at all. It just means the Bills are starting to sign their players. It generally takes a little bit longer to sign a very good player in their final year. Simple as that. I guarantee the Bills value Levitre a whole lot and am confident they will get him signed. They're also most likely are putting more effort in to their negotiations with Levitre than Byrd only because its very reasonable to franchise a safety compared to a LG now days. So if Byrd signs before Levitre, to me that means that signing Levitre may not be a guarantee. Nix has said very plainly that he's not a contracts guy. It has also been said that the Bills like to work a priority list, one player at a time. In that light it does seem odd that they would start with Urbik, who should be the cheaper of the two guards to re-sign. On the other hand, it seems exactly right.
stony Posted December 18, 2012 Posted December 18, 2012 I'm all for rebuilding & strengthening our line. Our right side has been weak this year. 0 rushing tds between RG & RT & outside RT. Lets resign Levitre & Byrd & bring in a guy like Jake Long who would be a great RT for us. Cut Pears & retain Hairston. I don't think Jake Long is interested in taking a substantial pay cut to play on the right side. For once, the offensive line is not a major concern.
auburnbillsbacker Posted December 18, 2012 Posted December 18, 2012 The bills should put all of their efforts into resigning Levitre, since the franchise tag for offesnive linemen is costly. Safeties can be tagged for cheap.
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