Mark Anderson released.

[JohnC]

We can debate all day how successful the team is in signing good players versus others clubs. It's a weak attempt at conflating the argument by those who would rather not criticize a "new" regime. But the record is what it is, and winning one third of your games means your personnel decisions were bad.

 

All the while, there are common themes developing between the new and previous "regimes." Cutting players before camp, not being able to sign All-Pro caliber talent. New coaches, GM's, etc. It's all symbolic until they begin proving they are willing to do what it takes to win.

 

Pointing out the record of the previous regimes and then associating the new staff's early performance with the past perfromances is not only nonsensical but it is patently unfair. Whaley just recently assumed full authority for the football operation. How in the world can you come to to the instant conclusion that you see common threads to the operations? At this very early stage of the Whaley regime you can't fairly make a comparison to the other failed regimes. How can the failures of the past be attributed to a regime that just started? You are making the mistake of allowing your judgments of the past to contaminate your objectivity in the present.

 

It's all symbolic until they begin proving they are willing to do what it takes to win.

 

Make no mistake what is going on with this franchise. The new staff is rebuilding. What it is doing to a large extent is dismantling the handiwork of Levy/Jauron/Brandon/Nix. If you expect instant resuls you are going to be very disappointed. If your criterion for success is based solely on its won/lost record in its inaugural year then you should make an early declaration of failure and jump ship.

 

The GM for the Seahawks, Schneider, in three years remade a lagging franchise into a SB contending team. Mike Shanahan, the HC/real GM, took over a cash strapped team with a lot of over-paid and non-productive vets and cleaned house. In three years his team was remade into a serious SB contending team. In addition, Shanahan had to contend with a $36 million cap penalty, split into two years, while remaking the roster. What accelerated the ascent of both teams was securing quality qbs. Did the Bills find their qb answer this year in the draft? We'll find out this season.

 

My main point is that it is going to take some time to heal this sick franchise. If your metric for success at this very early stage of the rebuild is simply the record then you are going to be very upset. I'm sure it is not acceptable to you but this year is more about the process and development of players than it is about the standings.

Edited July 24, 2013 by JohnC

[GG]

It's not different. We have seen this in preseason on multiple occasions.

 

Dwan Edwards was mentioned in this thread. He was cut at the end of camp and went on to play very well in Carolina last season, putting up 6 sacks and earning praise for his performance. Edwards didn't seem like a great fit in Wannstedts upfield attack but they discounted what he brought to the run defense.....and obviously he outsacked the more heralded KW and DD. He was clearly good enough to make the team, his release was a cost/use decision. They didn't think they were going to use him that much so he wasn't worth the cost.

 

....

 

Edwards outplayed Williams and Dareus last year.

 

Yes he did, and that's why I brought him up.

 

I don't think that cutting Anderson was a financial decision vs an ability decision. But let's not miss the forest for the trees. Until proven otherwise, we should reserve judgment on the roster composition and people making these decisions. Bills have made horrendous personnel decisions over the last decade, and the Anderson signing and yesterday's release is yet another example. You can't look at Anderson's signing in isolation. To me the bigger indictment is that the brainstrust thought that Anderson would be a better football player than Dwan Edwards that they decided to pay a premium to pick up Anderson, which made keeping Edwards too expensive. The other hilarious part to me is that Bills' front office was as deluded in the team's prospects last year as the rosiest colored fans. Again, that is the main part that separates Bills' track record of futility from the successful franchises. It's ok for fans to have a more positive outlook on their franchise. It's not ok for the front office to fall for the hype.

 

So, to bring it to a full circle to the Byrd thread, think about this for a moment. Bills and Parker are realistically $4 million apart in the guaranteed portion of Byrd's contract over four years. Yet, this franchise didn't blink at paying a Mark Anderson $8 million for one year to watch the games. That's the difference. They continue to chase shiny objects to cover up historic talent evaluating blunders.

[mrags]

 

 

Lawson wasnt brought in to rush the passer, he was brought in to cover over the middle, something he is very good at and this team had been very bad at.

 

We have plenty of guys who can get to the QB now, it was never about personnel as much as it was a terrible staff, terrible schemes, and terrible game planning. Dareus and Kyle will get a lot of push in an attack style, Alan Branch is there to help clog up blockers and running lanes, Mario will be moved all over the field to bring pressure, Bradham is fast and suited to attack, Hughes is considered a pass rush specialist and showed some potential finally last year in Indy and I think has a chance excel in that role with all the other talent up front here, and Kiko has great instincts and can both cover and blitz...plus Carrington shown a lot of potential last year and I think will be a key player on this D this year under Pettine, not just a ST blocking ace.

 

For once, I am not worried about generating pressure, mostly because I am that confident in the attack style that Pettine will bring and utilizing the talents here and bringing blitz packages in. It was like Wanny was deathly allergic to a blitz.

heard somewhere, that Lawson was quite a good pass rusher with the Bengals. Not sure. I've never noticed him okay honestly. But that's what I read somewhere. It was posted here recently. Not quite sure what post it was.

[RyanC883]

This is an odd move. If we are under the roster size, what do we gain by cutting him now. He could be an (overpriced) backup if he plays well in training camp. I don't understand this at all. Saves no money, creates a hole in the roster.

[bladiebla]

bla, as far as i can tell looking at google for about 10 minutes on it...no he is not.

Thx, I went the google route myself but couldnt find anything related to his agent so i guess i just suck at google...

Edited July 24, 2013 by bladiebla

[eball]

This is an odd move. If we are under the roster size, what do we gain by cutting him now. He could be an (overpriced) backup if he plays well in training camp. I don't understand this at all. Saves no money, creates a hole in the roster.

 

-- Gives other players who fit Pettine's scheme (Hughes, Blatnick) more reps

-- Recall Pettine's comments about using Anderson "on 3rd downs, and then we'll work backwards" (why spend time in camp getting a guy returning from an injury up to speed when he's not versatile enough to play on all downs to begin with?)

-- What hole? The Bills are actually deep on the DL.

 

THE most surprising thing about this move, period, is that the Buffalo Bills cut a guy after paying him $8M for playing 5 games.

 

Things they are a-changing.

Edited July 24, 2013 by eball

[JohnC]

The other hilarious part to me is that Bills' front office was as deluded in the team's prospects last year as the rosiest colored fans. Again, that is the main part that separates Bills' track record of futility from the successful franchises. It's ok for fans to have a more positive outlook on their franchise. It's not ok for the front office to fall for the hype.

 

So, to bring it to a full circle to the Byrd thread, think about this for a moment. Bills and Parker are realistically $4 million apart in the guaranteed portion of Byrd's contract over four years. Yet, this franchise didn't blink at paying a Mark Anderson $8 million for one year to watch the games. That's the difference. They continue to chase shiny objects to cover up historic talent evaluating blunders.

 

Terrific point!

 

This franchise is not going to advance until the front office has a realistic assessment of their roster. By the shedding of players Whaley and his staff have made a statement that what was on the roster wasn't good enough. While the prior regimses were trying to add pieces to get over the hump this staff recognizes that they are not at that later stage just yet. As you well stated it comes down to do a better job in evaluating players.

[8-8 Forever?]

Terrific point!

 

This franchise is not going to advance until the front office has a realistic assessment of their roster. By the shedding of players Whaley and his staff have made a statement that what was on the roster wasn't good enough. While the prior regimses were trying to add pieces to get over the hump this staff recognizes that they are not at that later stage just yet. As you well stated it comes down to do a better job in evaluating players.

Mark Anderson was a good pickup at a 4-3 right side DE. A very good pickup as they had literally no one to play that position and he was coming off a great year. OK, two things happened: 1) he got a serious injury right off the bat which wiped out the season, so we will never ever know what he could have done... 2) the coaching staff,front office and defensive scheme that brought a guy in who was strictly a 4-3 edge rush DE all GOT FIRED and replaced by a 3 - 4 defensive coach who needs neither edge rush three point stance DEs OR (frankly) playmaker safeties. In Pettine's disruptive, blitz scheme, the da-n play is over (for better or worse) before the safeties get involved, his D is all about shutdown corners supporting unpredictable blitz pressures out of a 3 -4 base. Basically, the changeover in the coaching staff has made the pickups of both Anderson and Mario bad (for the money) moves from a scheme standpoint, as neither one of them fits a 3 - 4 (from a scheme standpoint, Mario's impact in Houston dropped once Wade Phillips and his 3 - 4 came to town) . Neither does Byrd, in fact. So here we go again Bills fans, they acquired players for a 4 - 3 for 3 years, then blew up the coaching staff and brought in a new staff that will now spend 3 more years acquiring players for a 3 - 4 scheme, losing a crapload of games while they do it.

 

sucks to be a Bills fan.

[Kellyto83TD]

Kinda disappointed we couldnt find a way to use a speed situational rusher. If Pettine figured out how to use maybin, then not sure why Anderson can't work.

 

I am sure Pettine was consulted on his defensive roster, so who says he didn't agree to cut him? OR who says he didn't tell management he couldn't do anything with him? Maybe Pettine thinks we have better players in front of him that need playing time and they end up saving money in the long run by cutting his huge salary?

 

See we just dont know.

[8-8 Forever?]

Pointing out the record of the previous regimes and then associating the new staff's early performance with the past perfromances is not only nonsensical but it is patently unfair. Whaley just recently assumed full authority for the football operation. How in the world can you come to to the instant conclusion that you see common threads to the operations? At this very early stage of the Whaley regime you can't fairly make a comparison to the other failed regimes. How can the failures of the past be attributed to a regime that just started? You are making the mistake of allowing your judgments of the past to contaminate your objectivity in the present.

 

 

 

Make no mistake what is going on with this franchise. The new staff is rebuilding. What it is doing to a large extent is dismantling the handiwork of Levy/Jauron/Brandon/Nix. If you expect instant resuls you are going to be very disappointed. If your criterion for success is based solely on its won/lost record in its inaugural year then you should make an early declaration of failure and jump ship.

 

The GM for the Seahawks, Schneider, in three years remade a lagging franchise into a SB contending team. Mike Shanahan, the HC/real GM, took over a cash strapped team with a lot of over-paid and non-productive vets and cleaned house. In three years his team was remade into a serious SB contending team. In addition, Shanahan had to contend with a $36 million cap penalty, split into two years, while remaking the roster. What accelerated the ascent of both teams was securing quality qbs. Did the Bills find their qb answer this year in the draft? We'll find out this season.

 

My main point is that it is going to take some time to heal this sick franchise. If your metric for success at this very early stage of the rebuild is simply the record then you are going to be very upset. I'm sure it is not acceptable to you but this year is more about the process and development of players than it is about the standings.

+1. From a won-loss perspective, this team will need to get worse before it can get better. Say goodbye to 2013. Enjoy the tailgate and watch the game at the Big Tree Inn. Seriously.

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

I am sure Pettine was consulted on his defensive roster, so who says he didn't agree to cut him? OR who says he didn't tell management he couldn't do anything with him? Maybe Pettine thinks we have better players in front of him that need playing time and they end up saving money in the long run by cutting his huge salary?

 

See we just dont know.

 

But how could he consider someone like Jerry Hughes to be better than Anderson, at this point? I'd have less of an issue if this happened during pre-season, once you see these guys in pads.

[Luxy312]

But how could he consider someone like Jerry Hughes to be better than Anderson, at this point? I'd have less of an issue if this happened during pre-season, once you see these guys in pads.

 

Simple answer is the system. Hughes fits better as a multi-positional player, where Anderson really is just a DE. Hughes can rush the passer from the edge and play a little pass coverage.

[FLFan]

Mark Anderson was a good pickup at a 4-3 right side DE. A very good pickup as they had literally no one to play that position and he was coming off a great year. OK, two things happened: 1) he got a serious injury right off the bat which wiped out the season, so we will never ever know what he could have done... 2) the coaching staff,front office and defensive scheme that brought a guy in who was strictly a 4-3 edge rush DE all GOT FIRED and replaced by a 3 - 4 defensive coach who needs neither edge rush three point stance DEs OR (frankly) playmaker safeties. In Pettine's disruptive, blitz scheme, the da-n play is over (for better or worse) before the safeties get involved, his D is all about shutdown corners supporting unpredictable blitz pressures out of a 3 -4 base. Basically, the changeover in the coaching staff has made the pickups of both Anderson and Mario bad (for the money) moves from a scheme standpoint, as neither one of them fits a 3 - 4 (from a scheme standpoint, Mario's impact in Houston dropped once Wade Phillips and his 3 - 4 came to town) . Neither does Byrd, in fact. So here we go again Bills fans, they acquired players for a 4 - 3 for 3 years, then blew up the coaching staff and brought in a new staff that will now spend 3 more years acquiring players for a 3 - 4 scheme, losing a crapload of games while they do it.

 

sucks to be a Bills fan.

 

Actually, I believe your comment on Mario and the 3-4 is off base. He was actually off to a fabulous start in the first year under Wade, 5 sacks in 5 games, but was hurt and then became a free agent.

[T master]

Who are we saving all this cap room for?

 

We aren't saving any cap room ! This year we still get hit with 1.9 mill just a part of his guaranteed money not to mention what they are paying for Fitz this year ..

 

Then next year they will absorb the rest of the 2 contracts in the cap so we won't have much if any wiggle room at all . I just hope all this crap is taken care of before we have to resign CJ . That contract is a must & will be rather large to keep him here !!!

[Heitz]

sucks to be a Bills fan.

 

Then, please, for the sake of the rest of our sanity, STOP BEING ONE.

[CodeMonkey]

This is an odd move. If we are under the roster size, what do we gain by cutting him now. He could be an (overpriced) backup if he plays well in training camp. I don't understand this at all. Saves no money, creates a hole in the roster.

-- Gives other players who fit Pettine's scheme (Hughes, Blatnick) more reps

-- Recall Pettine's comments about using Anderson "on 3rd downs, and then we'll work backwards" (why spend time in camp getting a guy returning from an injury up to speed when he's not versatile enough to play on all downs to begin with?)

-- What hole? The Bills are actually deep on the DL.

 

THE most surprising thing about this move, period, is that the Buffalo Bills cut a guy after paying him $8M for playing 5 games.

 

Things they are a-changing.

Also a potential "nice guy" factor. The Bills knew that they had no use for him at his current salary and cutting him now gives him time to land somewhere before camp starts or shortly after.

 

Yeah the 1 million dollar+ per game is astounding. He (or at least his agent) sure saw Buddy Nix coming.

Edited July 24, 2013 by CodeMonkey

[Gabe Northern]

The Bills won't meet the contract demands of a top-5 guard because they don't value the position.

 

The Bills won't meet the contract dmands of a top-3 safety because they don't value the position.

 

The Bills will pay $8.1 million for one season to a crappy/one-year wonder DE because they DO value edge pass rushers.

 

Does anyone else see a problem here?!?!?

[Best Player Available]

The Bills won't meet the contract demands of a top-5 guard because they don't value the position.

 

The Bills won't meet the contract dmands of a top-3 safety because they don't value the position.

 

The Bills will pay $8.1 million for one season to a crappy/one-year wonder DE because they DO value edge pass rushers.

 

Does anyone else see a problem here?!?!?

As mentioned somewhere yesterday in an article on TBD. Overdorf still has final say in negotiations. And setting the scale in Bills world. My take is he can override what Whaley wants or anyone really.

Better question might be. What has changed Russ? Well other than a fancy new title and a huge pay bump.

[Luxy312]

The Bills won't meet the contract demands of a top-5 guard because they don't value the position.

 

The Bills won't meet the contract dmands of a top-3 safety because they don't value the position.

 

The Bills will pay $8.1 million for one season to a crappy/one-year wonder DE because they DO value edge pass rushers.

 

Does anyone else see a problem here?!?!?

 

I see several. I don't see Levitre as a top-5 guard, nor do I think you pay top dollar to a guard anyway. There's very little distinction play wise from top-5 to top-10. I also don't see Byrd as a top-3 safety. Maybe he's top-5, but the discussion starts there and moves downward. His agent is asking to be the top paid safety in the game as well. He's CLEARLY not the best at his position in the NFL. Good player no doubt, but not that good.

[BuffaloBob]

WHO GIVES A **** ABOUT THE PLAYER's SALARY when the team is well under the cap!!!!???

I really don't understand y'alls fascination when THE BILLS ARE UNDER THE CAP. They can sign whomever they can reach an agreement with. Mark Anderson's contract didn't prevent any signings.

Yes the money could have been better spent but $8 Mill for a player coming off of a 10 sack season isn't exactly a bone headed move.

It was always a Medium Risk-High Reward Move. There are no other FAs we missed on because of the Anderson move. They took a shoot, signed a FA and missed.

 

I applaud the FO for cutting bait quickly instead of keeping him on the roster longer. Typically these types of signing linger for years then amount to nothing. Atleast it was 1 and done. Instead of 2.5 and done.

 

My only hope is Byrd said "I'll sign if you cut that Gold-Bricking MArk Anderson D-Bag." and Whaley was like

"No Problem. Done."

 

Dude, you're missing the point here!! This is an opportunity to jump in and rant about how stupid the Bills are and how bad Buddy was. He should have known the guy would get hurt, and he should have known Wanny would be incapable of getting anything from him what little time he was healthy!

 

The fact that the Bills took a reasonable shot at a FA without huge cap ramifications is last year's news!! Stop being so reasonable in your analysis. You're spoiling all of the fun!

 

Now, back to our regularly scheduled Buddy bashing: WE'RE DOOMED!

Edited July 24, 2013 by BuffaloBob