Best Player Available Posted March 12, 2013 Posted March 12, 2013 Think about how many years it took us to get a guard like Levitre and then tell me again how easy it is. Every year in every sport teams lose players. Right now there's not a team in the league not going through this. No one can argue Andy wasn't a good player. But, how many guys can you keep? Personally I would have kept Levitre and let McLovin walk. Like some site said somewhere. "5 Million is a lot of cash for a punt returner".
NoSaint Posted March 12, 2013 Posted March 12, 2013 (edited) Again...Guards aren't worth the money period. Tackles and Centers, that is where the money should be spent depends who you ask and the schemes and protections you plan. ive said the new orleans example before with a shorter qb it gives a reliable pocket to step into. they also save on tackles as they essentially ask them to just not give up the inside and drew can step up with a clean release. could be nice for a rookie. some schemes just want space fillers and to pay the elite money outside though. ends up more expensive, but also has perks as long as the inside is serviceable. Not really. You can structure contracts in all kinds of ways, but it's likely his 2013 salary will be heavily front loaded. If so, he'll be near the top of this list next year and well above his peers overall. a one year salary compared to other one year salaries is silly. ben grubbs stands out as a terrible one as he had a big old signing bonus not counted in that first year of his contract number. jahri evans averages much more than those numbers as well off hand. long term average and guarantees are what matter. Edited March 12, 2013 by NoSaint
Fan in Chicago Posted March 12, 2013 Posted March 12, 2013 Every year in every sport teams lose players. Right now there's not a team in the league not going through this. No one can argue Andy wasn't a good player. But, how many guys can you keep? Personally I would have kept Levitre and let McLovin walk. Like some site said somewhere. "5 Million is a lot of cash for a punt returner". You keep guys like Levitre. Period. You let guys like Fitz go. And if it is a question of money (which I am not sure we are short of), Levitre > McK (as I said earlier). Which I suppose is what you are saying. There is simply no way to reconcile our way out of this loss. IMHO, this is a loss of Pat Williams, Ruben Brown and Antoine Winfield proportions - something we will live to regret or allocate resources (draft pick) which could have been used in so many other areas.
NoSaint Posted March 12, 2013 Posted March 12, 2013 You keep guys like Levitre. Period. You let guys like Fitz go. And if it is a question of money (which I am not sure we are short of), Levitre > McK (as I said earlier). Which I suppose is what you are saying. There is simply no way to reconcile our way out of this loss. IMHO, this is a loss of Pat Williams, Ruben Brown and Antoine Winfield proportions - something we will live to regret or allocate resources (draft pick) which could have been used in so many other areas. we have to spend the money. the front office designating fitz a june 1 implies we plan on spending it this year. lets see what we do with that before we get toooo upset.
Lurker Posted March 12, 2013 Posted March 12, 2013 (edited) long term average and guarantees are what matter. Agreed. But the math says $7.8 million per year right now, and the number of OGs making that kind of coin can be counted on (less than) one hand. It will be interesting to see how much is guaranteed, which will be the real important number. I'll look around for a better link to average salary figures by position... Edited March 12, 2013 by Lurker
Ramius Posted March 12, 2013 Posted March 12, 2013 $8 mil for an OG is ridiculous. You've got to look at your projected budget for your entire OL, for not only this year, but the years in the future. Wood's due next year, and i see OC as much more vital than OG. So Levitre walk this year for insane money may help keep the rest of the line intact. It sucks losing him, but every team loses good players via FA. Its the nature of the game.
Green Lightning Posted March 12, 2013 Posted March 12, 2013 Well, Buddy likes tackles as he thinks they can easlily slide over to guards. Maybe Hairston takes that spot. I wanted to keep Andy, but damn....$8 million? I think I'll reserve my reaction until see what they do moving foward.
atlbillsfan1975 Posted March 12, 2013 Posted March 12, 2013 Levitre's greatest attribute was him being able to stay healthy. He also was able to play LT (decently) and also Center (below average). He is a good gaurd, i will give you that. Just do not think he really wanted to come back to Buffalo for some reason. I am sure more will come out and we may find out how far off the Bills where.
QCity Posted March 12, 2013 Posted March 12, 2013 You keep guys like Levitre. Period. You let guys like Fitz go. And if it is a question of money (which I am not sure we are short of), Levitre > McK (as I said earlier). Which I suppose is what you are saying. There is simply no way to reconcile our way out of this loss. IMHO, this is a loss of Pat Williams, Ruben Brown and Antoine Winfield proportions - something we will live to regret or allocate resources (draft pick) which could have been used in so many other areas. lol are you related to Levitre? Sorry but that post is nonsense.
Nitro Posted March 12, 2013 Posted March 12, 2013 Bills management, IMO, early on tipped their hand that thye had no intention to re-sign Levitre, He should have been inked last year. This is a buyers market except for a select few free agents. The Bills are thin in depth in many areas. Free agency can land a OG and WR. The Bills are in a vicious cycle of failing to resign their top free agents so they have to burn draft picks to replace m them.
The Big Cat Posted March 12, 2013 Posted March 12, 2013 Agreed. But the math says $7.8 million per year right now, and the number of OGs making that kind of coin can be counted on (less than) one hand. It will be interesting to see how much is guaranteed, which will be the real important number. I'll look around for a better link to average salary figures by position... Right, and that's an average of 7.8--if NoSaint is hell bent on arguing that numbers fluctuate, then surely he understands Andy will be making MORE than 7.8, probably several times!
Bill from NYC Posted March 12, 2013 Posted March 12, 2013 lol are you related to Levitre? Sorry but that post is nonsense. I disagree. Levitre was absolutely in the same class as Ruben Brown. In fact, Levitre was a much better player than Brown on the year that RB left Buffalo.
NoSaint Posted March 12, 2013 Posted March 12, 2013 (edited) Right, and that's an average of 7.8--if NoSaint is hell bent on arguing that numbers fluctuate, then surely he understands Andy will be making MORE than 7.8, probably several times! thats one one year salaries are silly to compare. structure can vary hugely. grubbs being a close peer on that list took home 11m in his first year but only 1m in salary (as napkin numbers) Edited March 12, 2013 by NoSaint
habes1280 Posted March 12, 2013 Posted March 12, 2013 Think about how many years it took us to get a guard like Levitre and then tell me again how easy it is. Agreed. This is a tough loss.
Awwufelloff Posted March 12, 2013 Posted March 12, 2013 Did you listen to that phone call and the 3 day rule, it seemed no team is able to sign there players. They are nearly all going to test FA to see how much money they can get. And judging by a few of these contracts already, players are getting OVERPAID.
K-9 Posted March 12, 2013 Posted March 12, 2013 (edited) They could have signed him last year like they should of. Guy is possibly the best G in the league. 8 mil is not that ridiculous. This is crap and I'm not happy with the Bills for letting him walk like that Not even close. Decent player that doesn't dominate his opponent. Good tactician but not the strongest at the POA. HIs best attribute is his durability but that alone doesn't make him a great player at the position. Glad for Levitre that he found a great deal and glad that the Bills didn't give him that deal. Wood will be a much more important re-signing next year if he can stay healthy. GO BILLS!!! Edited March 12, 2013 by K-9
QCity Posted March 12, 2013 Posted March 12, 2013 I disagree. Levitre was absolutely in the same class as Ruben Brown. In fact, Levitre was a much better player than Brown on the year that RB left Buffalo. You know, I always thought Ruben Brown was overrated (I used to roll my eyes at some of his latter Pro-bowl selections), but I still thought he was a top 5 guard. Having said that, Levitre was not in his class. I can name 6-7 better guards than Andy right now off the top of my head, and if I used Google, probably 3-4 more. I'll even go a step further - let's say Levite made the Pro-bowl the last 2 seasons. I still wouldn't give him $8M.
Bill from NYC Posted March 12, 2013 Posted March 12, 2013 In the past I would have agreed with you but not today. The prototype OG used to be a total mauler. Now it's a passing league, and Levitre has that left tackle footing. He doesn't pancake his opponents so much, but he gets good angles on the run. This will not help Glenn in terms of his development.
Virgil Posted March 12, 2013 Posted March 12, 2013 I see the roughly 8 million and realize that is a lot of money. However, what would be a good amount, 6 mi? If that's the case, I would gladly pay an extra 2 mil a year to lock up a young, homegrown guy like Levitre who is solid and will probably get even better. Now, we have another hole to fill and no guarantee of how that person will work out. Also, as we forget, we typically have to pay more to get guys to play here. We have all this money, and for what? Would it have been overspending a bit, sure. But maybe we need to reward our own and stop rebuilding after our picks walk and never move forward
McBeane Posted March 12, 2013 Posted March 12, 2013 Sad to lose him, but I'm glad we didn't match that offer. Best of luck to him, he was a true professional.
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