Malazan Posted March 14, 2013 Posted March 14, 2013 I agree. Building through the draft means keeping your talented players, even letting Rinehart goes shows something has changed this year. Yep, Chad Reinhart is the agent of change. There is no longer any hope for this team without Reinhart.
Kevin Posted March 14, 2013 Posted March 14, 2013 I just came in here to fart. haha. The more I read this the funnier it is.
Hazed and Amuzed Posted March 14, 2013 Posted March 14, 2013 If I recall correctly on numerous times Buddy has stated one of the problems with this organization in the past is that they would let talented players leave instead of resigning them. Yet he let's Levitre walk without a contract offer. The lack of an offer screams of a Jeffrey Littmann decision (a la not paying Will Wolford). The cycle of failure continues at One Bills Drive...... Oh my freaking God, will you people stop? Maybe Levitre didn't want to resign with a team that hasn't been to the playoffs in 13 years. Maybe to play here he wanted 9+ a year and if Nix wasn't willing to pay that then good for him. Neither you or I know the circumstances.
Kevin Posted March 14, 2013 Posted March 14, 2013 I just came in here to fart. Still laughing. Best post EVER!
qwksilver Posted March 14, 2013 Posted March 14, 2013 Wait... What happened to Levitre? Did I miss something?
JohnC Posted March 14, 2013 Posted March 14, 2013 (edited) You realize how naive that statement is, right? You don't believe the player's agent has already looked at the landscape of who will be available when his client hits the market, and already has an idea of the contract $$ he'll be seeking? Please. As you noted many of the delusional "what if" critics don't want to accept the fact that the Levitre departure is simply an invevitable product of the cap system. Levitre and his agent were well aware of what his status was probably going to be on the market, and so did the Bills. That is why he wouldn't sign an early deal and give up his enticing free agent status. Levitre isn't a sentimental dope in a brutal business who would forgo his market value. The bottom line is that Levitre did what was right for himself and Nix did what was right for the franchise. Nix also did what he had to do with the Fitz situation. Keeping him at his current contract would have been a mistake. Fitz understandably acted in his own interest, as did Nix. I'm certainly not a fan of Buddy Nix. But he has acted very responsibly and smartly in the way he has handled his recent personnel transactions. If he comes up with a quality qp prospect in this year's draft I will be a little less harsh in my evaluation of him. Edited March 14, 2013 by JohnC
Orton's Arm Posted March 14, 2013 Posted March 14, 2013 We offered him a contract, he just didn't take it... and lest be honest, 8 million a yr for a guard was not money we really had for that position. We have offered other FA's contracts too, but we aren't over paying and i'm ok with that. The majority of Nix's mistakes will be erased almost entirely by the time next yrs draft comes. Be patient, we're not in that bad a spot for a team that's is rebuilding and finally doing it with a youth movement. > 8 million a yr for a guard was not money we really had for that position This is true. There would have been another problem as well. Players playing similar positions on the same team compare their contracts to each other. One of the reasons Jason Peters held out was because he realized he was significantly more valuable than any of our other offensive linemen, but wasn't being paid more than some of the other guys on the line. Overpaying for guys like Derrick Dockery and Langston Walker drove up Jason Peters' price. Levitre is a good, solid offensive lineman. But Glenn looks like he could be a good, solid offensive lineman as well, and he plays a much more valuable position than LG. When healthy, Wood is also a good player, and plays a more valuable position than LG. If we'd paid Levitre $8 million a year, then later on we might have to choose between either paying each of those guys considerably more than $8 million a year, or letting them walk.
Jeff Wright's Mullet Posted March 14, 2013 Author Posted March 14, 2013 This theory has been debunked. Both sides knew long ago that Levitre's price tag was more than the Bills wanted to pay. Everybody says, "lock him up a year ago" but it's just not that simple. From Levitre's interview with the San Diego press: "The money they had to spend and the market money my agent had me at didn't match up," Levitre said of failed negotiations. Again it has not been reported that the Bills offered a contract to Levitre. Levitre stated he had not received an offer from the BIlls the week prior to the draft. The point is mute if you are finally offering him a deal right at the start of free agency. People seem to think Levitre is easily replaceable which he is not. The guy was durable, versatile, and young. John Glennon (reporter for the Tennessean) reported last season the Bills ran 49 times over LG for an average on 6.43 yards which was tops in the NFL. If a year ago you new he was going to test free agency trade him for some compensation. If Byrd isn't going to sign a long term deal trade him for compensation. You simply cannot let talented players walk. I know they resigned Williams, Stevie, and others but we just let one of our best players walk for nothing and we are a worse team because of it.
nucci Posted March 14, 2013 Posted March 14, 2013 If I recall correctly on numerous times Buddy has stated one of the problems with this organization in the past is that they would let talented players leave instead of resigning them. Yet he let's Levitre walk without a contract offer. The lack of an offer screams of a Jeffrey Littmann decision (a la not paying Will Wolford). The cycle of failure continues at One Bills Drive...... You can't re-sign everyone!!!!
BRAWNDO Posted March 14, 2013 Posted March 14, 2013 > 8 million a yr for a guard was not money we really had for that position This is true. There would have been another problem as well. Players playing similar positions on the same team compare their contracts to each other. One of the reasons Jason Peters held out was because he realized he was significantly more valuable than any of our other offensive linemen, but wasn't being paid more than some of the other guys on the line. Overpaying for guys like Derrick Dockery and Langston Walker drove up Jason Peters' price. Levitre is a good, solid offensive lineman. But Glenn looks like he could be a good, solid offensive lineman as well, and he plays a much more valuable position than LG. When healthy, Wood is also a good player, and plays a more valuable position than LG. If we'd paid Levitre $8 million a year, then later on we might have to choose between either paying each of those guys considerably more than $8 million a year, or letting them walk. This
Mango Posted March 14, 2013 Posted March 14, 2013 Again it has not been reported that the Bills offered a contract to Levitre. Levitre stated he had not received an offer from the BIlls the week prior to the draft. The point is mute if you are finally offering him a deal right at the start of free agency. People seem to think Levitre is easily replaceable which he is not. The guy was durable, versatile, and young. John Glennon (reporter for the Tennessean) reported last season the Bills ran 49 times over LG for an average on 6.43 yards which was tops in the NFL. If a year ago you new he was going to test free agency trade him for some compensation. If Byrd isn't going to sign a long term deal trade him for compensation. You simply cannot let talented players walk. I know they resigned Williams, Stevie, and others but we just let one of our best players walk for nothing and we are a worse team because of it. I'd be curious of what the other stats are for this and how that is spread through out the rest of the line. I've heard people tout that Urbik is actually our most capable run blocker. We actually run right more often. I'm on my phone so it is tough to find
Dibs Posted March 14, 2013 Posted March 14, 2013 We actually run right more often. Yes.....but we had a better Y/A running to the left.
K-9 Posted March 14, 2013 Posted March 14, 2013 Again it has not been reported that the Bills offered a contract to Levitre. Levitre stated he had not received an offer from the BIlls the week prior to the draft. The point is mute if you are finally offering him a deal right at the start of free agency. People seem to think Levitre is easily replaceable which he is not. The guy was durable, versatile, and young. John Glennon (reporter for the Tennessean) reported last season the Bills ran 49 times over LG for an average on 6.43 yards which was tops in the NFL. If a year ago you new he was going to test free agency trade him for some compensation. If Byrd isn't going to sign a long term deal trade him for compensation. You simply cannot let talented players walk. I know they resigned Williams, Stevie, and others but we just let one of our best players walk for nothing and we are a worse team because of it. Is that from ProFootballFocus? I'd like to know because they don't think very highly of Levitre as a run-blocking G. They also don't think he's worth what he got. They have him as the 9th rated G. Which is funny because they rate him as the best pass blocking G. That would seem to say he REALLY SUCKS as a run-blocking G. So, how much of that left side success was due to Wood and Glenn reaching the second level? I can think of a few long Spiller gains to the left side when Glenn was at the 2nd and 3rd levels for instance. Levitre: a good tactician with good feet who regularly gets overpowered at the POA. Good but not great. And certainly NOT worth what he got to the Bills. GO BILLS!!!
Perk71 Posted March 14, 2013 Posted March 14, 2013 Really dude exhibit A the Ravens. Give buddy a break Exactly
FireChan Posted March 14, 2013 Posted March 14, 2013 Wait, we owe Nix the benefit of the doubt. He knows a lot more than we do. ... oh, sorry, I'm in a time warp going backwards a year plus. My bad. On deck: Whaley, the next expert who's done all the right things during his stay in Buffalo while it'll have been Nix that did all the wrong ones. We'll owe him the benefit of the doubt too. The fans deserve this team for supporting the complete buffoons in the front office all these years. Spray the place already and get rid of the lot. Fire George Edwards, Wannstedt's a defensive genius!!! Classic Bills fan, Whaley's now an unsung hero.
ALF Posted March 14, 2013 Posted March 14, 2013 The year before a contract expires, negotiate a new one. If the player wants too much, trade him for a draft pick at least ,don't let him walk. If you don't want to resign a player, then let him play out his contract and walk.
n3wyork13 Posted March 14, 2013 Posted March 14, 2013 There's not a single franchise that can afford to keep all their talented players. Little thing called the salary cap. They've done a good job in keeping Stevie Johnson and Kyle Williams, gave Fred his money and made a mistake on Fitz. Jairus Byrd will most likely receive the next big contract. For all Nix' faults, you can't say that he's been stingy in keeping the homegrown talent. I hate to see Levitre walk, but if it means getting Byrd, Spiller and one more quality player on this team for years to come, then it was worth it. No way Byrd Re-signs with the bills after this season. Dont you think hes tired of losing?
ALF Posted March 14, 2013 Posted March 14, 2013 Sign Byrd to a long term contract now or trade him now.
billsfan89 Posted March 14, 2013 Posted March 14, 2013 Buddy has a good track record of signing interior linemen off the waiver wire. Urbik out starting RG and Reinhart a quality backup was also picked up off the waiver wire. Even Pears our RT was a low grade free agent and he was plugged in and very solid. Buddy seems to be able to acquire quality guards on the cheap with regularity. Maybe paying nearly 8 million for a guard wasn't a prudent decision because they feel they can replace them with ease? Seems much more like a Nate Clements situation as opposed to a Pat Williams situation.
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