If you could pick 1 UFA for the Bills to sign

[BillsVet]

Assuming they re-sign Hughes prior to UFA, my vote is Clint Boling.

 

I'm really hoping they don't do something stupid and pay huge money for a guard...teams all around the NFL should learn by now that it's a terrible investment. Carl Nicks, Andy Levitre, Logan Mankins, Zane Beadles, Austin Howard, etc., the list goes on.

 

Find a middle-tier guard that can play (like Boling) and spend the real money where it matters: an additional pass rusher to spell Mario and Hughes and the critical 3rd safety that can play in big nickel situations and fill in for Searcy/Aaron in case of injury.

 

Louis Vasquez was a solid signing for Denver in 2013 and he didn't break the bank. 4 yrs 23.5M w/13M guaranteed.

Edited December 10, 2014 by BillsVet

[thebandit27]

Louis Vasquez was a solid signing for Denver in 2013 and he didn't break the bank. 4 yrs 23.5M w/13M guaranteed.

 

Yes he's been the rare exception, although he's at least closer to what I'm thinking money-wise. I still feel that $6M/year for a guard is above proper value for the position.

[BillsVet]

Yes he's been the rare exception, although he's at least closer to what I'm thinking money-wise. I still feel that $6M/year for a guard is above proper value for the position.

 

It is...unless you draft poorly on the OL and let players out the door, only to replace them with the likes of bargain bin types like Colin Brown and Chris Williams.

[thebandit27]

It is...unless you draft poorly on the OL and let players out the door, only to replace them with the likes of bargain bin types like Colin Brown and Chris Williams.

 

Two totally separate issues IMO. In actuality, Chris Williams was the team's best OG until he got hurt--he wasn't great, but he was better than anyone else they've had this year.

 

My opinion is that the failure at the OG position is wrought from investing too few mid-round picks in quality depth over the years. I'm hoping that's a trend that will be curtailed with Whaley at GM. It looks like that's a strong possibility based on what they did in the 2014 draft, adding Kouandjio, Richardson, and Henderson to the talent pool. The trick now is not to stop there, keep adding those 3rd/4th/5th round pieces to the mix each year to keep the talent pool flooded. Superficially, it looks like they have their bookend OTs in place, and Wood should be fine at C for a while if they beef up the OG spots.

[NastyNateSoldiers]

I got 2 one for offense & defense. I would love to sign either one.

Defense- Revis Island, this signing kills 2 birds with one stone. Revis would make our defense legendary status, Pure shutdown. With Revis & Return of Kiko this D would be scary good. All while hurting the Pats D by stealing there best player.

 

Offense- Julius Thomas, Julius is still very young and would stretch the middle seems and create havoc in the red zone. This signing along with a trade for a QB like Nick Foles would instantly make the Bills offense a 25pt per gm offense.

 

Value free agents I would love to see in a Bills Uni

 

Jermichael Finley- If he's cleared by doctors he can be a steal.

 

Will Hill SS- This guy can hit & cover. Instantly adds another head hunting presence in our secondary.

[frogger]

after re-signing Hughes, Hogan and Spiller

Iupati -easy answer, sure Guards have not faired well going from team to team, but we have to try to sure up the interior. Physically he fits into any system, big athletic and mean.

 

2nd round Cameron Erving-the DT turned OT turned center, is athletic and aggressive, this would allow Wood to move to RG. I think Wood is a better RG than Center.

 

3rd round-Nick O'Leary TE-I think he will be somewhere between Owen Daniels and Jason Witten, if not him than QB Bryce Petty, I like Petty, I could see him as a more athletic Dalton.

[BillsVet]

Two totally separate issues IMO. In actuality, Chris Williams was the team's best OG until he got hurt--he wasn't great, but he was better than anyone else they've had this year.

 

My opinion is that the failure at the OG position is wrought from investing too few mid-round picks in quality depth over the years. I'm hoping that's a trend that will be curtailed with Whaley at GM. It looks like that's a strong possibility based on what they did in the 2014 draft, adding Kouandjio, Richardson, and Henderson to the talent pool. The trick now is not to stop there, keep adding those 3rd/4th/5th round pieces to the mix each year to keep the talent pool flooded. Superficially, it looks like they have their bookend OTs in place, and Wood should be fine at C for a while if they beef up the OG spots.

 

Here's where I expect a pro personnel department to know what they're doing. They invested in guys like Kolb and Chris Williams, both of whom had serious injury histories. They may not have invested much, but they figured Kolb would be able to play in a pinch and Williams could start. They banked on both of them and surprise, surprise they were injured. I'm fine with taking calculated risks, but the Bills do it far too often on wing and a prayer types.

 

Why plan for a guy to start who's susceptible to injury and how come the Bills did not know this with Williams, considering their depth at guard?

 

As for the OL, well, it's still bad. Wood looks pedestrian (but is paid like a Pro Bowl type), Glenn isn't much better, Seantrel is passable at this point, and the two guards are bad. That includes Urbik who has a tendency to whiff as much as Adam Dunn. Cyril Richardson was an embarrassment and Kouandjio can't even dress for this team as a 2nd round pick from a top NCAA program. Talent evaluation is bad, both pro and college and that's why this team can't win more than 8 games in a season for going on 10 years.

[thewildrabbit]

It is...unless you draft poorly on the OL and let players out the door, only to replace them with the likes of bargain bin types like Colin Brown and Chris Williams.

I only hope the Bills fire the current person responsible for O line scouting and hire someone that actually knows O line talent. This crap has been going on for a long time, remember in 2010 Buddy signing FA RT Cornell Green. Gone after six weeks just like next season with Colin Brown.

 

Then I only hope any new adviser recommends signing, drafting the very best OG's the team can afford as the line has been devoid of a top run blocker for the longest time. The Bills seriously need a top run game.

 

 

I notice that Dallas's first round pick in OG Zack Martin, and Cleveland's 2nd round pick in OG Joel Bitonio are currently being considered for rookie of the year. The OG being a position as about as un-sexy as you can get the actual ORotY will probably be NY Giants WR Odell Beckham Jr, or Tampa bay WR Mike Evans, or Carolina WR Kelvin Benjamin.

[C.Biscuit97]

I only hope the Bills fire the current person responsible for O line scouting and hire someone that actually knows O line talent. This crap has been going on for a long time, remember in 2010 Buddy signing FA RT Cornell Green. Gone after six weeks just like next season with Colin Brown.

 

Then I only hope any new adviser recommends signing, drafting the very best OG's the team can afford as the line has been devoid of a top run blocker for the longest time. The Bills seriously need a top run game.

 

 

I notice that Dallas's first round pick in OG Zack Martin, and Cleveland's 2nd round pick in OG Joel Bitonio are currently being considered for rookie of the year. The OG being a position as about as un-sexy as you can get the actual ORotY will probably be NY Giants WR Odell Beckham Jr, or Tampa bay WR Mike Evans, or Carolina WR Kelvin Benjamin.

 

IMO, coaching matters more with QBs and the oline than any other positions. Our oline coaching is below average. The benching of Urbik speaks to how poor they are at evaluating talent.

[aristocrat]

tag hughes, sign revis

[thebandit27]

Here's where I expect a pro personnel department to know what they're doing. They invested in guys like Kolb and Chris Williams, both of whom had serious injury histories. They may not have invested much, but they figured Kolb would be able to play in a pinch and Williams could start. They banked on both of them and surprise, surprise they were injured. I'm fine with taking calculated risks, but the Bills do it far too often on wing and a prayer types.

 

Why plan for a guy to start who's susceptible to injury and how come the Bills did not know this with Williams, considering their depth at guard?

 

As for the OL, well, it's still bad. Wood looks pedestrian (but is paid like a Pro Bowl type), Glenn isn't much better, Seantrel is passable at this point, and the two guards are bad. That includes Urbik who has a tendency to whiff as much as Adam Dunn. Cyril Richardson was an embarrassment and Kouandjio can't even dress for this team as a 2nd round pick from a top NCAA program. Talent evaluation is bad, both pro and college and that's why this team can't win more than 8 games in a season for going on 10 years.

 

The Kolb signing always seemed odd to me; I'd have preferred they stick with Tarvaris Jackson if that's who they planned to bring in. Williams was coming off of a season in which he started 16 games, so I can't really blast them for committing only $5.5M in guaranteed money to him over 4 years. It was a pretty low-risk contract. Even at that, the real problem with depth on the OL was going to Richardson instead of Urbik once Williams went down. The OL has been much better since Richardson was benched. 15 of the 32 sacks that the team allowed came in the 4 games that Richardson started, along with the team's 2 worst rushing performances of the season. The OL isn't nearly as bad as some think it is...that 4-game stretch exacerbated their weak points tremendously.

 

Case-in-point: the team managed to rush for over 4.5 YPC against the Denver defense, which is tops in the NFL in YPC allowed.

 

I also can't say that the current talent evaluation is bad. For starters, Jim Monos and Kelvin Fisher--who head the pro and college personnel departments, respectively--weren't even on the staff until May of 2013, after the 2013 draft and bulk of the 2013 FA period. They don't deserve the blame for decisions like Kevin Kolb or EJ Manuel. Additionally, those guys did a darn good job of identifying talent since May of 2013. The FA signings of Brandon Spikes, Corey Graham, Boobie Dixon, and Jarius Wynn have been solid acquisitions, and guys like Sammy Watkins, Preston Brown, and Seantrel Henderson appear to be key cogs moving forward. It's patently unfair to lay the blame for the past 15 years on guys that have been here for 18 months.

[#34fan]

Jerry Hughes first, for sure..

 

But then, Brandon Kaufman.

 

By now it should be clear to everyone that neither Hackett or Marrone have any clue of how to put together an offense. Overestimation of Mike Williams value.. Complete Misuse of Sammy (IMO)... underutilization of players like Dixon and Goodwin....They were wrong about this kid, and the type of weapon he could turn into. Kaufman never got a fair shot at the NFL.

 

I think he's still a good weapon for a limited QB like Kyle Orton... #amistakewasmade

Edited December 10, 2014 by #34fan

[Dorkington]

Hughes would be nice, but probably not for the price another team will offer him.

 

I don't know who else is going to be a UFA next season, is there a list I missed?

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

Wait. Has no one seriously picked a QB yet?

[FutureBillsGM]

Wait. Has no one seriously picked a QB yet?

 

When Mark Sanchez is your best UFA option, there are better ways to spend your money.

[NastyNateSoldiers]

Could it the diagrams of the run plays, it seems like there's no separation of our lineman. More teams are running the ball successfully by using more spread looks which we don't employ whatsoever . U don't have to spend lots of money to open holes. Miami is a good example of this they signed two veteran lineman this off-season, Darren Colledge & Samson Satele. Those 2 guys are dime a dozen players and there opening holes in there run gm. Bill Lasor has done a incredible job coaching there offense. Coming up with ways to use the whole field in the run & pass gms. Coaching makes a big difference.

 

The Bills run gm lacks spacing. There formations are all cluttered up near the LOS. I believe if they ran out of some 4wide sets like Philly or Miami the run gm would be a lot better. Last week the Bills finally started running some misdirection plays. It was working well. The problem hear fellas is this offense. No spacing no creativity no style. Just reminds me of 80's football. The Wr´s always seem to be lining up in the same places instead of moving Watkins around getting him away from the #1 cb on the other team. They seem content with making things easier on themselves and with that comes making life easier on the opposition.. Case Closed. The Verdict is guilty of Garbage Coaching on Offense with a Garbage Qb.

[Rubes]

Wait. Has no one seriously picked a QB yet?

 

Know any good ones on the market?