dbflaBill Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 If the Bills plan on running the 3-4 why not sign Shaun Philips. Hes been a strong player for the Chargers for years. He'd come cheap, as well as provide much needed deep at the LB position. Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Jose Bills Fan Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Yeah I brought him up before free agency started and don't really understand him still being available. Yes he turns 32 years old before the season starts but he's coming off an excellent season with 9.5 sacks and 2 forced fumbles. He didn't miss any games. It's turned into a soft market for older pass rushers with John Abraham and Dwight Freeney still out there. Freeney's been in a steady decline but Abraham still has lots of football left in him. But back to Phillips, he's played his whole career in a 3-4 and would seem to be a good fit for the Bills D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2020 Our Year For Sure Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 We already have Mark Anderson and we have to be running out of cap room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Jose Bills Fan Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 We already have Mark Anderson and we have to be running out of cap room. True. I was thinking of Phillips at the beginning of free agency, before we'd signed Manny Lawson. Still surprised that he's out there though. I hope the Bills can scheme a way for Anderson to get a double digit sack season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeisterHollow Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 I can understand the Bills not bringing in any WR's - the market wasn't that great to begin with, and the good ones that were out there were paid pretty good and were basically zeroed in on by certain teams and snagged up right away. Of the remaining WR's after the first big spending wave of FA, there were only a few that seemed like they'd have been good enough to bring in and pay for. However, with the Bills being as thin at WR as they are, one would wonder why they didn't push to get a few WR's signed - and my answer to that is this: they must believe this year's college crop of WR's is so good, and so deep, that they'll be able to land at least a very good starter in the draft, and then bring in depth with UDFA's. It looks like there'll be talented WR's still in the later rounds this year. I would say Buffalo's weakest position is LB, though. Now, they did bring in Lawson - what that will do to Mark Anderson's playing time we'll have to wait and see - and I guess they're planning on playing Mario on the other side, but that still leaves Sheppard and Bradham as the starters for the middle. Bradham I'm cool with. I just can't believe they're willing to go into this season with any kind of question marks at linebacker or cornerback. Is this year's crop of college linebackers so good and deep that they'll be able to satisfy their needs with the draft and UDFA? I look at this staff and I see a bunch of guys with a plan, for both sides of the ball. If they don't go out and sign FA's, I have to believe they're certain they can get the players they need in the draft/UDFA. Still - linebackers, IMO - especially in a 3-4 - need to be solid, even into the backup spots, because they're always getting hurt or missing time. Our linebackers as they stand now might be able to open the year, but one or two injuries and we'd be ridiculously poor at that position. I hope we bring in at least one decent ILB for depth (by the way, Baltimore just released an ILB who'd fit that bill, and has experience in Pettine's / Ryan's style defense). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 We already have Mark Anderson and we have to be running out of cap room. I read the Bills have $16.9M in cap room still. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 I read the Bills have $16.9M in cap room still. How much of that has to be allocated for the incoming 2013 draft class? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Jose Bills Fan Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 I read the Bills have $16.9M in cap room still. How much of that has to be allocated for the incoming 2013 draft class? http://forums.twobillsdrive.com/topic/156870-bills-current-cap-situation-updated/page__hl__salary#entry2766132 I guess about $7 million for draft picks based on the earlier discussions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebandit27 Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 How much of that has to be allocated for the incoming 2013 draft class? Very little...typically only a team's 1st -3rd round picks count against the cap (the rest aren't among the top 51-paid players). I'd imagine $6M would be more than enough. Then again, you have to think about signing players like Wood and Byrd to new contracts, so there needs to be some wiggle room there as well. Of course, Byrd already counts nearly $7M against the cap, so anything they do with his contract would give them more room, not less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brainiac21 Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 the 16.8 million was before Kevin Kolb, which may take 5 or 6 of that. either way, Manny Lawson was their OLB signing for 3-4 looks and Anderson will be in for 4-3 looks, so i assume they are set there with the vets. probably draft an OLB as well, but if they signed Philips there really wouldn't be any room for them all. more surprised they didn't go after any WR. yes, they will draft one fairly high i'd think, but even so they need another one. who are the starting 3? SJ, TJG and a rookie? and the 4th is another rookie or Easley? thin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Jose Bills Fan Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 more surprised they didn't go after any WR. yes, they will draft one fairly high i'd think, but even so they need another one. who are the starting 3? SJ, TJG and a rookie? and the 4th is another rookie or Easley? thin. Also Brad Smith. At his price and with their current WR depth it's easy to imagine that Smith will have a much larger role in the offense than he has his first two seasons in Buffalo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Also Brad Smith. At his price and with their current WR depth it's easy to imagine that Smith will have a much larger role in the offense than he has his first two seasons in Buffalo. Up to now if you compare Brad Smith's salary (cap space) and his productivity and limited use you have to conclude that this is another personnel boondogle by the front office. Wouldn't it have been better to have signed a good free agent receiver(WR or TE) instead of a gimmick player who has not only contributed little but rarely gets on the field? Sometimes when you try to outsmart others you end up outsmarting yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsWatch Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Very little...typically only a team's 1st -3rd round picks count against the cap (the rest aren't among the top 51-paid players). I'd imagine $6M would be more than enough. UDFAs typically get less than draftees so they probably will count since it appears the current front office plan is to use UDFAs rather than FAs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Trooth Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 old. Bills are going young and with a lot of speed at lb this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2020 Our Year For Sure Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 (edited) True. I was thinking of Phillips at the beginning of free agency, before we'd signed Manny Lawson. Still surprised that he's out there though. I hope the Bills can scheme a way for Anderson to get a double digit sack season. Agreed. Phillips has been a good pass rusher for a long time and I have no doubt his addition would help us, but I don't think it's something we can afford. Anderson's deal is too costly to give up on him just yet when you now have Pettine who presumably will utilize him better. I'd love to add a third pass rusher and have a sub package where Mario plays DE with twin rush OLBs on either side, but I just don't know if it's in the cards right now. Maybe Lawson can contribute to the rush on occasion. We have a huge need at ILB to worry about. I read the Bills have $16.9M in cap room still. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe about $10M of that is rollover from last year. And if we actually pop the seal and use that rollover money, the rollover disappears when the 2014 year starts, and we'll be over the hard cap and be forced to cut guys. Again please correct me if I'm off. Edited April 4, 2013 by Big Bad Boone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewEra Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 The guy has been in SD for his entire career. At 32, I can't envision him wanting to play in buffalo for 1 mill when he can play for a contender for about the same price. I live in Vegas and Phillips is here a lot. A lot a lot. Just doesn't seem like a guy that would sign here for cheap unless merriman can recruit him from his retirement home Agreed. Phillips has been a good pass rusher for a long time and I have no doubt his addition would help us, but I don't think it's something we can afford. Anderson's deal is too costly to give up on him just yet when you now have Pettine who presumably will utilize him better. I'd love to add a third pass rusher and have a sub package where Mario plays DE with twin rush OLBs on either side, but I just don't know if it's in the cards right now. Maybe Lawson can contribute to the rush on occasion. We have a huge need at ILB to worry about. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe about $10M of that is rollover from last year. And if we actually pop the seal and use that rollover money, the rollover disappears when the 2014 year starts, and we'll be over the hard cap and be forced to cut guys. Again please correct me if I'm off. You're correct sir. We have money THIS year. Not next year. The deals we can make need to be 1 year deals now. Anyone see how much kolb got in guaranteed money and if we can cut him after this season with no cap penalty? I'd assume that would be the only criteria we would sign him under, but this is buddy nix dealing with a QB, so....; Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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