The Bills are doing an excellent job in Free Agency

[birdog1960]

2014 - Chris Williams - 1.435 not Guaranteed

2015 - Chris Williams - 1.875 not Guaranteed

2016 - Chris Williams - 2.45 not Guaranteed

2017 - Chris Williams - 2.5 not Guaranteed

 

3.5M Signing Bonus - Guaranteed.

 

http://espn.go.com/b...lliams-contract

 

This is not a significant financial commitment.

 

If he is cut after the 2014 season he would cost less than 3M in Dead Money.

If he is cut after the 2015 season he would cost less than 2M in Dead Money.

 

I don't understand how this contract gets people's panties in a bunch.

this and the glee over spike's one year signing seem to exhibit a double standard. when other teams sign expensive free agents to a short term fa deal, the rationilization made here is that those teams are close to a super bowl and the bills aren't. when we sign some middling fa to a 1 year deal or a short term gaurantee it's somehow a brilliant move. so why wouldn't the bills signing an older fa marquee player in a position of need to a short term contract make sense? my answer is that it would if cost were not an obstacle.

[BillnutinHouston]

Well I've finally heard a football guy say nice things about Chris Williams ( a Chicago Scout on John Murphy) so that's something - before that it it seemed universally the word disappointing was used- I'll admit I've never focused on Chris Williams performance so my opinion was formed solely on things I've read.

 

Yes, that was Greg Gabriel, formerly of the Bears front office and a man who had a hand in drafting Williams as a first round pick. Gabriel sounded convinced that he's a very smart guy who can play. Right or wrong, Gabriel certainly is strong in his convictions about Williams.

[BigBuff423]

Chris Williams was released by Chicago and was the worst OL on the Rams' line. You think our LG position was bad last year? Legursky/Brown had the following combined stats:

 

3 sacks

11 QB hits

31 QB hurries

 

Last year Williams had:

 

5 sacks

8 QB hits

28 QB hurries

 

Now, if we all agree that LG was an abomination last year, how in the world can we say Williams is an upgrade when his numbers last season were just as bad? I would rather keep the crap we have at LG and draft a Guard in the first 3 rounds and save the 5.5 million.

 

But, in your signature you have the BILLS getting Saffold who couldn't even pass a physical...had that been the BILLS, this board would have been lit up by the malcontents and whiners about how the BILLS don't know what they're doing, or if they did what the Rams did and brought him back with a hefty pay raise despite failing a physical with another, more objective team...look, will Willaims be a great signing and good OG? Who the hell knows...but what I DO know is that in the last two years the FO has proven they can find and mine for talent, so if THEY think he can play LG, even if it is to hold the spot for a young Drafted OG in the middle rounds, so be it....

[John from Riverside]

I would just like to throw out there that Williams is going to play between 2 better players then he did with the rams........which does make a difference.

 

Also

 

He might not even be the start G come game 1.....we still have the draft and they had some developmental guys they really liked.

[1B4IDie]

I would just like to throw out there that Williams is going to play between 2 better players then he did with the rams........which does make a difference.

 

Also

 

He might not even be the start G come game 1.....we still have the draft and they had some developmental guys they really liked.

Exactly, unlike the piss poor media analysis would leave you to believe. Chris Williams is signed to a 6th man o-line contract. He can compete for the starting LG spot if he wins. I bet they try him out at RT too.

[McD]

No reason to get into a pissing match over what was the better move (keeping Byrd or getting Spikes/Graham/Dixon), but one thing I do like about these 3 new additions is that they should bring a winning attitude and respect with them... this Bills team has about all but forgotten what it's like to EXPECT to win ballgames. I'm hoping that this new influx of attitude rubs off in a great way!

[BADOLBILZ]

They hired a new DC b/c of matters out of their control, and have been vocal they are NOT making major changes -- it's all been fan hypotheticals based on Schwartz's D in the past...maybe right, maybe wrong.

 

Who are the 4-5 productive players who are being marginalized? Maybe Lawson, which would be unfortunate...but Alonso will likely be used more significantly.

 

Let's start with last years "team friendly" acquisitions. Manny Lawson, Alan Branch and Jerry Hughes. All better suited for their roles in a 3-4 and all were helped significantly by the unpredictable nature of the defense. Lawson is being talked about as a DE? He was a bust as a pass rusher. He is an edge setting 3-4 OLB whose best chance at the QB is an OL out of position defending unexpected pressure. Branch can't rush the passer and he isn't a true NT. You don't win matchups with him in a 4-3. Jerry Hughes was incredibly efficent as the Bills pass rushing replacement for Lawson. He will be marginalized playing wide in a 4-3 and if he is out wide the running lanes on either side are huge. Kiko is good but if anyone thinks lining him up behind Hughes is doing him a favor they are incorrect.

 

Next prime example is Alex Carrington. This guy is going to sign a dirt cheap deal on the open market. The team spent years developing this guy and his best fit by far is 3-4 DE and now he is being allowed to walk when he is looking at a dirt cheap contract? Why? Probably because he is a complete NON-fit in a 4-3 which Schwartz is planning to use.

 

There are a number of other players in the secondary as well who played above expectations under Pettine and it remains to be seen what happens to them. What happens when Leodis, Robey and Gilmore are asked to pass defend for another second because the pass rush is muted in an attempt to stuff the run? Or when Schwartz runs his wide nine and gives opposing QB's a "room with a view" from the pocket. Wide nine = wide passing lanes. Brady's nightmare is a solid wall around him and long arms blocking his throwing lanes.

 

But of course, we aren't changing to Schwartz longstanding non-blitzing 4-3. Right. I'd like to believe the D isn't changing much but then there is the whole matter of the Bills announcing that Rivers and Kiko are the OLB's and Spikes is the MLB. How many LB's is that? That's what I thought. If your base is 3 LB's and none of them can rush the QB then you aren't a 3-4. But if Schwartz is smart enough to not blow the progress this team has made on D....that's great. But I am USED to hearing the Bills tell us what we want to hear(against simple logic quite often) and then doing something different, predictable and unsuccessful. By the time you actually see the crap product on the field 7-8 months later you have forgotten that you were expecting better. It's called letting you down softly. Happens A LOT in Buffalo.

[FireChan]

 

 

Let's start with last years "team friendly" acquisitions. Manny Lawson, Alan Branch and Jerry Hughes. All better suited for their roles in a 3-4 and all were helped significantly by the unpredictable nature of the defense. Lawson is being talked about as a DE? He was a bust as a pass rusher. He is an edge setting 3-4 OLB whose best chance at the QB is an OL out of position defending unexpected pressure. Branch can't rush the passer and he isn't a true NT. You don't win matchups with him in a 4-3. Jerry Hughes was incredibly efficent as the Bills pass rushing replacement for Lawson. He will be marginalized playing wide in a 4-3 and if he is out wide the running lanes on either side are huge. Kiko is good but if anyone thinks lining him up behind Hughes is doing him a favor they are incorrect.

 

Next prime example is Alex Carrington. This guy is going to sign a dirt cheap deal on the open market. The team spent years developing this guy and his best fit by far is 3-4 DE and now he is being allowed to walk when he is looking at a dirt cheap contract? Why? Probably because he is a complete NON-fit in a 4-3 which Schwartz is planning to use.

 

There are a number of other players in the secondary as well who played above expectations under Pettine and it remains to be seen what happens to them. What happens when Leodis, Robey and Gilmore are asked to pass defend for another second because the pass rush is muted in an attempt to stuff the run? Or when Schwartz runs his wide nine and gives opposing QB's a "room with a view" from the pocket. Wide nine = wide passing lanes. Brady's nightmare is a solid wall around him and long arms blocking his throwing lanes.

 

But of course, we aren't changing to Schwartz longstanding non-blitzing 4-3. Right. I'd like to believe the D isn't changing much but then there is the whole matter of the Bills announcing that Rivers and Kiko are the OLB's and Spikes is the MLB. How many LB's is that? That's what I thought. If your base is 3 LB's and none of them can rush the QB then you aren't a 3-4. But if Schwartz is smart enough to not blow the progress this team has made on D....that's great. But I am USED to hearing the Bills tell us what we want to hear(against simple logic quite often) and then doing something different, predictable and unsuccessful. By the time you actually see the crap product on the field 7-8 months later you have forgotten that you were expecting better. It's called letting you down softly. Happens A LOT in Buffalo.

 

I'm leaning this way as well. I suppose the counter argument is that if we can stop teams from running on first and second down, we can do more creative packages on third and long. Maybe Hughes wouldn't be a liability then. Manny is a different story. His versatility seems to have been delegated to depth now.

 

Still, I'd bet that Hughes doesn't get more than 3 sacks this year. What I wouldn't have given for Pettine to have stayed just one more year.

[thewildrabbit]

Chris Williams was released by Chicago and was the worst OL on the Rams' line. You think our LG position was bad last year? Legursky/Brown had the following combined stats:

 

3 sacks

11 QB hits

31 QB hurries

 

Last year Williams had:

 

5 sacks

8 QB hits

28 QB hurries

 

Now, if we all agree that LG was an abomination last year, how in the world can we say Williams is an upgrade when his numbers last season were just as bad? I would rather keep the crap we have at LG and draft a Guard in the first 3 rounds and save the 5.5 million.

Just stop it willya, as some Bills fans won't tolerate actual logic. Williams is basically guaranteed 4 mill, but he won't play according to the fans in the know.

 

Even If he does see the field opening day, then O line guru Marrone will work "hands on" with him like he did with Colin Brown, and Sam Young.

[bobobonators]

Just stop it willya, as some Bills fans won't tolerate actual logic. Williams is basically guaranteed 4 mill, but he won't play according to the fans in the know.

 

Even If he does see the field opening day, then O line guru Marrone will work "hands on" with him like he did with Colin Brown, and Sam Young.

 

Lord help us.

[Dorkington]

So, Williams, playing on a weaker line, against stronger defensive lines, put up roughly the same numbers as the guys he is replacing? I'll give it a shot.

 

Is it guaranteed success? Nope. But it also appeared that we didn't have a whole lot of options in FA. I assume we'll pick up a OL with one of our first three picks in the draft.

 

I don't understand how people can be down on signing him. We clearly need depth on the line, which at the very least this does. I don't think anyone is sitting here claiming he's some sort of all-pro.

 

The other signings are somewhat similar... both Graham and Spikes CAN start on this team, and at the very least fill important roles for certain defensive sets, as well as provide veteran depth.

 

But hey, the Bills suck, and every thing they do sucks.

 

(this is coming from someone who most here call a pessimist, heh)

[YoloinOhio]

Evan Silva ‏@evansilva 43m

Best FA signings typically occur in 2nd & 3rd waves. #Panthers, #Seahawks were huge beneficiaries of these kinds of signings last yr.

[1B4IDie]

So, Williams, playing on a weaker line, against stronger defensive lines, put up roughly the same numbers as the guys he is replacing? I'll give it a shot.

 

Is it guaranteed success? Nope. But it also appeared that we didn't have a whole lot of options in FA. I assume we'll pick up a OL with one of our first three picks in the draft.

 

I don't understand how people can be down on signing him. We clearly need depth on the line, which at the very least this does. I don't think anyone is sitting here claiming he's some sort of all-pro.

 

The other signings are somewhat similar... both Graham and Spikes CAN start on this team, and at the very least fill important roles for certain defensive sets, as well as provide veteran depth.

 

But hey, the Bills suck, and every thing they do sucks.

 

(this is coming from someone who most here call a pessimist, heh)

Dork, in case you guys didn't know the Bills have missed the playoffs for the last 15 years, therefore anything that they have ever done or will ever do is utterly hopeless and doomed to fail because they have missed the playoff for the last 15 years.

Duh

[Dorkington]

Dork, in case you guys didn't know the Bills have missed the playoffs for the last 15 years, therefore anything that they have ever done or will ever do is utterly hopeless and doomed to fail because they have missed the playoff for the last 15 years.

Duh

 

Oh, I'm fully aware of our follies, and am skeptical going forward... but Jesus, I just don't see how this FA period could be thought of so lowly. Did we sign a bunch of overrated superstars? Nope. Did we fill holes and depth in places we need to? Yes. Are we set up for the draft to have the flexibility to mostly choose BPA? Yes. Is that a good thing? Yes.

 

Done.

[Rockinon]

Yes......we dont do that at all......(where is the palmface emoticon)

 

 

 

Perhaps they felt they have a lot of talent on the team already (which they do) and were trying to fill veteran depth? It was sorely needed on this team.

 

People seem to forget.....biulding through free agency simply does not work...for a team to be successful they need to biuld through the draft and supplement through free agency.

Building through free agency works if you aren't out there trying to hit a home run every time. Picking up players like they have this year......areas of weakness.....modest contract, nothing wrong with that. We still have the draft. What are we supposed to do? Ignore free agency all together?

[atlbillsfan1975]

The Bills are addressing areas of need based off last year.

The Bills LB's last year were very young. The Bills hoped that game experience would pay off and they would develope.

For Kiko it did, but for the rest of the guys i am not so sure. The Bills now bring in Spikes and Rivers to help bring a vet pressence to that unit. Both guys can play, Spikes at a higher level right now than Rivers.

We all saw how depleted the secondary got last year. the Bills addressed that with Graham. Graham can and will contribute and helps provide more Vet leadership to a unit.

Williams can go either way. He could turn out to be another Urbik or he could be another Legursky. The Bills think they are getting a guy that can compete and maybe win a starting job. The contract they gave Williams reflects that.

In Dixon it appears the Bills get an upgrade over Choice and a huge upgrade on ST's.

 

honestly i am not really sure what else we could of asked for.

There is still the draft to address other areas. The Bills could get another 3 starters out of the draft, to go with the possibility of maybe 3 more from FA. That is roughly a 30% turnover in players from last year. Let us hope that it translates into better production.

Edited March 18, 2014 by atlbillsfan1975

[26CornerBlitz]

@WGR550

How are the Bills doing in free agency? http://bit.ly/1gE4wgq

[Ronin]

Well, I suppose it depends on how you define "impact starter" because those two words can be separately evaluated...for example, was Jerry Hughes an "impact" player?? Not many would think he wasn't, in that he performed and had an impact as requested...but he wasn't a "starter" per se...look at Branch, he wasn't a "starter" either, but he played himself right into a new contract and rightfully so....Lawson was a starter and also played well, but was he an "impact starter", I suppose that's a subjective opinion...personally, I really, really like what the BILLS have done...one could also argue, the most "impact starter" the BILLS have gotten back into the fold, was Carpenter - given his success and how many games for the BILLS were decided by just a few points....to that end, I think people get too hung up on PFF stats when evaluating a player...should they be taken into consideration? In my mind, yes - but NOT to the point that it overrides your own personal insight and evaluation...and if Williams was one of the first guys on the plane to Buffalo in a blizzard, I'd say the BILLS got exactly who they wanted and given their recent success in finding and mining good talent to play a role on this team, I'll sit back and trust Whaley on this one....

 

That's only half an analysis. Do the other half.

 

Hughes looked good entirely because of the system that we ran, which overemphasized rushing the passer at the expense of pretty much everything else.

 

Don't agree? Then how come our record didn't change? How come we allowed 3 more passing TDs despite all that pass-rush? How come our passsing yards-per-game were not significantly better than last those from the season prior? How come teams with the most pedestrian RBs, only one among the top-15 rushers in the league, and only one that rushed for over 1,000 yards, all had a tremendousy easy time rushing against us to help their teams win games?

 

You're going to see that overemphasis on the pass-rush diminish significantly this season. When it does, we'll likely see those lofty sack numbers decrease. That's not to say that the D will be worse because maybe just maybe Schwartz understands that it's not just sacks that define a D.

 

If Hughes had not had 10 sacks this past season, you wouldn't have said he was any good. I don't know how we can claim that the D was good given what they allowed to a bunch of bottom tier starting RBs.

 

You can like what the Bills have done all you want, but your and my opinions don't mean much. I really think you're going to see the D revert back to what it's been, particularly now that we've proven, as if there weren't enough data points from other teams out there already, namely Minnesota in recent years, that paint a clear picture that you need more than just sacks to win games from a defensive standpoint.

 

In fact, some of the teams against which we generated the most sacks still have well above average offensive days against us, largely due to their passing games. See the NO and ATL games as to prominent examples.

 

Meanwhile, the turd floating in the coffee cup that no one seems to be able to acknowledge is the ease of the offensive slate of teams that we faced this past season, starting with NE. We'll never ever see as marginal an offense in NE for as long as Brady's their QB as we did this past season.

 

Contrary to popular opinion here, the strength of offensive teams really does make a difference. Again, witness how well both Atlanta and New Orleans played against us, particularly in their passing games, despite us having hung 10 sacks on them combined.

 

All that "pass pressure" and yet not a single INT and bookoo passing yards and ridiculous completion percentages, not to mention 6 passing TDs and 66 offensive points in those two games.

 

At some point you've absolutely gotta reconcile that, you can't just cite the sacks and say "we've improved."

 

In those two games alone, we had 10 sacks, BUT, we also allowed 228 rushing yards (114 avg.), 54 of 81 (67%), 6 TDs passing, 643 passing yards (321 avg.), and 809 total net yards?

 

Did those sacks really help? I don't see how? And what, if we hadn't gotten them, what, they'd have logged another 2 or 3 hundred yards and even more points?

 

Anyway, you only think that Hughes is better than he is because of sack numbers. But either way, you cannot use a single example of how one fair-to-mediocre player previously, that may or may not have improved after raw sack numbers, is a predictor for more of the same, you know that.

 

We had none last year, but Hughes, Lawson, Branch, Lewis, Robey, and Carpenter worked out pretty good.Such negativity on these boards.Woe is me.

 

Yeah, it worked out great, we improved by exactly 0 wins against a very easy schedule of offensive teams, that just oh by the way, we likely won't have this season.

 

Perhaps they felt they have a lot of talent on the team already (which they do) and were trying to fill veteran depth? It was sorely needed on this team.

 

People seem to forget.....biulding through free agency simply does not work...for a team to be successful they need to biuld through the draft and supplement through free agency.

 

"A lot of talent" is relative, isn't it. It can be argued that most or all teams have "a lot of talent." It's how we compare to other teams.

 

We have many glaring holes though John, you know that. Depth is necessary, but only once you've got a solid starting 22, which we are far from having.

 

We still lack a real play-making WR. SJ and Woods are good, but hardly, thus far, top-tier WRs.

 

We haven't had an impact TE since Polian's days.

 

With FJ having one foot out the door, Spiller is hardly a 3-down RB meaning we don't have an impact starting RB either.

 

We have depth caliber play at at least one OL spot, only above average in two others.

 

We now have two starting caliber LBs and still need a third and then still more depth.

 

Who's starting at FS? How can anyone say that this player will be even mediocre much less better right now?

 

Aaron Williams excelled in last season's D, but how will the otherwise disappointing player play this season w/ Byrd gone in a defense that's gotta be more well-rounded with more responsibility befalling him? I don't have high hopes.

 

As to the DL, sure, they logged bookoo sacks, which netted us nothing, but they allowed teams with even the most pedestrian rushing games to make mediocre RBs look like top-10 RBs. Is/was that a good thing? I don't see how.

 

We don't have as much talent as you may think, particularly starting, and when contrasted with the other divisional teams, less.

 

Let's start with last years "team friendly" acquisitions. Manny Lawson, Alan Branch and Jerry Hughes. All better suited for their roles in a 3-4 and all were helped significantly by the unpredictable nature of the defense. Lawson is being talked about as a DE? He was a bust as a pass rusher. He is an edge setting 3-4 OLB whose best chance at the QB is an OL out of position defending unexpected pressure. Branch can't rush the passer and he isn't a true NT. You don't win matchups with him in a 4-3. Jerry Hughes was incredibly efficent as the Bills pass rushing replacement for Lawson. He will be marginalized playing wide in a 4-3 and if he is out wide the running lanes on either side are huge. Kiko is good but if anyone thinks lining him up behind Hughes is doing him a favor they are incorrect.

 

Next prime example is Alex Carrington. This guy is going to sign a dirt cheap deal on the open market. The team spent years developing this guy and his best fit by far is 3-4 DE and now he is being allowed to walk when he is looking at a dirt cheap contract? Why? Probably because he is a complete NON-fit in a 4-3 which Schwartz is planning to use.

 

There are a number of other players in the secondary as well who played above expectations under Pettine and it remains to be seen what happens to them. What happens when Leodis, Robey and Gilmore are asked to pass defend for another second because the pass rush is muted in an attempt to stuff the run? Or when Schwartz runs his wide nine and gives opposing QB's a "room with a view" from the pocket. Wide nine = wide passing lanes. Brady's nightmare is a solid wall around him and long arms blocking his throwing lanes.

 

But of course, we aren't changing to Schwartz longstanding non-blitzing 4-3. Right. I'd like to believe the D isn't changing much but then there is the whole matter of the Bills announcing that Rivers and Kiko are the OLB's and Spikes is the MLB. How many LB's is that? That's what I thought. If your base is 3 LB's and none of them can rush the QB then you aren't a 3-4. But if Schwartz is smart enough to not blow the progress this team has made on D....that's great. But I am USED to hearing the Bills tell us what we want to hear(against simple logic quite often) and then doing something different, predictable and unsuccessful. By the time you actually see the crap product on the field 7-8 months later you have forgotten that you were expecting better. It's called letting you down softly. Happens A LOT in Buffalo.

 

One of the most well reasoned and thought out, and best, posts that I've seen in a long-time!

 

Major props for a very concise well-thought out analysis, not to mention a rare one in discussions of this nature.

Edited March 30, 2014 by TaskersGhost

[GA BILLS FAN]

The Bills have brought in two former first round picks, 1 at LB, 1 at O-Line, re-sign a clutch kicker, and brought in a Buffalo Native, Super Bowl champion at DB. With more signings possible in the future.

 

I'm really happy with the Free Agents and think they will strengthen the team and improve the Bills chances of winning.

 

I really don't get all the pissing and moaning around here.

 

Byrd wanted to be free. Get over it.

Agree on moving on from Byrd, however, the grade you give the Bills in free agency must include losing an All-Pro safety -- so, best grade I could give is a C+. If they would have kept Byrd and done the moves they did, I'd give them an A-

[Doc]

Pettine's base defense was a 4-3. That's how he opened every game last season. He changed looks depending on down and distance and that's how I expect Schwartz to do it, and he said as much in his presser. I also think the Bills will get fewer sacks but be a better overall defense.