mannc Posted October 9, 2013 Posted October 9, 2013 Maybe.... Juuuuuust maybe.... our front office was very smart in not over paying for a guard, even if we didn't have a better alternative to replace him. sometimes you have to let a guy walk, especially one who isn't blowing it up on his new team. Why on earth would you, as a fan, be glad that the front office of the Buffalo Bills, a team that is $20 million under the salary cap, did not "overpay" to keep Levitre? Is Ralph mailing dividend checks to the fans with all the money he saved by starting Colin Brown, instead? And who's to say that the Titans overpaid for him? They were under the cap, too. They just decided to use their money to improve their team, instead of sticking it in a 94-year old billionaire's pocket.
BillsBytheBay Posted October 9, 2013 Posted October 9, 2013 I think it was an error in letting him walk, no matter how badly he's perceived to be playing in Ten. He's better than Colin Brown, no doubt. The Bills are 20 MILLION dollars under the cap. There's no excuse to let ANYONE walk when you have that much coin laying around. we have a lot of guys to pay and sign next year. Including Bryd. I think the bills were looking at that, when they decided not to pay Top tackle money to a guard who's greatest gift is not making errors. I like the guy, but he's like Leonard. His talent was not messing up. That's it.
Delete This Account Posted October 9, 2013 Posted October 9, 2013 and yet Andy proved so valuable in Buffalo, that the BIlls are still scrambling in their search to replace him. jw
PolishDave Posted October 9, 2013 Posted October 9, 2013 Why on earth would you, as a fan, be glad that the front office of the Buffalo Bills, a team that is $20 million under the salary cap, did not "overpay" to keep Levitre? Is Ralph mailing dividend checks to the fans with all the money he saved by starting Colin Brown, instead? And who's to say that the Titans overpaid for him? They were under the cap, too. They just decided to use their money to improve their team, instead of sticking it in a 94-year old billionaire's pocket. I like a lot of your points on the forum, but bashing Ralph Wilson isn't one of them. I think it is un-classy. It's Ralph's team and he can do what he wants with his money. It is his money, not yours. Be glad we have an NFL team to B word about. This whole NFL thing is a business after all. And the goal of business is to make money for its shareholders. I don't begrudge him for doing that. He is a classy guy and has enriched western NY a little bit by giving us a home team to cheer for. I hope he is around another 50 years.
MarkyMannn Posted October 9, 2013 Posted October 9, 2013 we have a lot of guys to pay and sign next year. Including Bryd. I don't think so
QCity Posted October 9, 2013 Posted October 9, 2013 The Bills would have went to the Superbowl this year if they had Levitre. Maybe the next 5 Superbowls - one for each year we signed him.
Webster Guy Posted October 9, 2013 Posted October 9, 2013 Yes, our brilliant front office that went into the season with Brown as the replacement (not to mention an undrafted free agent as our backup QB). I'd take Levitre back in a heartbeat, contract and all. Legursky was the replacement, Brown was/is the backup. But I agree about taking Levitre back in a heartbeat. There is no denying his talent, I don't care what the Tennessee radio jocks say. He was great at pulling, fast and athletic, strong run blocker, and worked very well with the Eric and Cordy. Maybe he;s not as effective because he's playing for money instead of the team he wanted to play for in Buff.
mannc Posted October 9, 2013 Posted October 9, 2013 (edited) I like a lot of your points on the forum, but bashing Ralph Wilson isn't one of them. I think it is un-classy. It's Ralph's team and he can do what he wants with his money. It is his money, not yours. Be glad we have an NFL team to B word about. This whole NFL thing is a business after all. And the goal of business is to make money for its shareholders. I don't begrudge him for doing that. He is a classy guy and has enriched western NY a little bit by giving us a home team to cheer for. I hope he is around another 50 years. I agree that Ralph can do what he wants with his money. That goes without saying. But I, as a fan, don't have to be, and shouldn't be, happy when he (or the front office) choses to pocket that money instead of spending it to resign one of our best offensive linemen at a time when the team is comfortably under the salary cap and without a legitimate replacement on the roster. That was my only point. I don't consider that to be Ralph-bashing. Edited October 9, 2013 by mannc
PolishDave Posted October 9, 2013 Posted October 9, 2013 I agree that Ralph can do what he wants with his money. That goes without saying. But I, as a fan, don't have to be, and shouldn't be, happy when he (or the front office) choses to pocket that money instead of spending it to resign one of our best offensive linemen at a time when the team is comfortably under the salary cap and without a legitimate replacement on the roster. That was my only point. I don't consider that to be Ralph-bashing. Fair enough. Point taken.
nemhoff Posted October 9, 2013 Posted October 9, 2013 I think that most here would agree with not over-paying for a LG. The issue that I have is the replacements for Andy have been so abysmal. If you are going to let him walk at least have some sort of a gameplan for a decent replacement to take his spot.
FLFan Posted October 9, 2013 Posted October 9, 2013 Titans were screwed the second Fitz stepped on the field. Doesn't matter who is blocking. While true, that has nothing to do with the fact that Johnson has been struggling all year.
Rubes Posted October 9, 2013 Posted October 9, 2013 My objection is that the front office often touts how they "re-sign their own draft picks" instead of going after high-priced free agents. Then they go out and sign Mario Williams, while refusing to sign long-term contracts with two of the only moderately successful draft picks we've had in the last decade. Gross simplification, I know, but still.
RunTheBall Posted October 9, 2013 Posted October 9, 2013 It's a much bigger mistake to not have a legitimate replacement for your QB than it is at LG. Legursky was pegged as the starter and got hurt. Tuel was pegged as the backup and was a colossal, season crushing front office screw up. RTB
EasternOHBillsFan Posted October 9, 2013 Posted October 9, 2013 Can anyone here recall a game in which Fitz relinquished a lead late in the game? I missed it after being forced to watch endless deep passes be horribly inaccurate
thebandit27 Posted October 9, 2013 Posted October 9, 2013 and yet Andy proved so valuable in Buffalo, that the BIlls are still scrambling in their search to replace him. jw Is it your opinion, John, that spending $8M/year on Levitre was a wise investment?
Nanker Posted October 9, 2013 Posted October 9, 2013 I agree that Ralph can do what he wants with his money. That goes without saying. But I, as a fan, don't have to be, and shouldn't be, happy when he (or the front office) choses to pocket that money instead of spending it to resign one of our best offensive linemen at a time when the team is comfortably under the salary cap and without a legitimate replacement on the roster. That was my only point. I don't consider that to be Ralph-bashing. Pocket the money. Pocket the money? What if there isn't any money there to pocket? The CAP is the upper limit of what they can spend. It's not how much cash is in the drawer. The Bills have some of the cheapest fans in the NFL and its reflected in the prices they are willing to pay for their tickets.
BADOLBILZ Posted October 9, 2013 Posted October 9, 2013 It's a much bigger mistake to not have a legitimate replacement for your QB than it is at LG. Legursky was pegged as the starter and got hurt. Tuel was pegged as the backup and was a colossal, season crushing front office screw up. RTB Legursky was signed on June 5. He was a last minute scrap heap grab......not a calculated replacement at guard. You are right about the QB situation but the people who now want to act like Colin Brown was a replacement for Legursky are shoveling a mountain of BS into the equation. It's pretty simple......Levitre was a very good, very durable, high draft pick investment......and the Bills are a very cap rich team with no major pending deals and a crying need to turn around their fortunes. They blew their LG situation big time. I don't think anyone would argue that you want to pay a LG $8M per year to get production out of the position.......but when you are trying to change a culture of losing that has extended 13 seasons you need to make the best of your situation right now. You don't have the luxury of rolling the dice with 90% of your potential outcomes being bad. That is exactly what they did. The Bils have more cap room than they have other chips to acquire talent(draft picks, trade-able excess talent...not your starting safety for instance.... etc..)........that being the case, you use that salary cap chip to acquire an adequate replacement in free agency or simply keep the man, pay him for a couple years and re-evaluate his contract then. They have done it unapologetically with players who have warranted far less consideration at their position than Levitre. Fitz, Kelsay, Mark Anderson, Brad Smith.....these guys created dead money but the Bills are still way under the cap.
dollars 2 donuts Posted October 9, 2013 Posted October 9, 2013 I have no problem with letting Levitre go, given the amount and the position. However, we had another guard that played for us that was available to sign but we didn't and I am confused on why the front office let that happen. I'd mention him by name but the Board seems to get a little pissy lately whenever his name comes up.
Gugny Posted October 9, 2013 Posted October 9, 2013 Of our 3 losses, which ones were due to poor LG play?
Recommended Posts