Report: Bills interested in UFA TE Jesse James

[WhitewalkerInPhilly]

I'm seeing a lot of people here call him Scott Chandler 2.0

 

Maybe I'm missing something here, but Chandler was the best TE we've had here in a while. He had his faults, but he was a good route runner with good hands. It wasn't his fault that he had Hackett having him cut at 5 yards on a 3rd &7.

[Shaw66]

5 minutes ago, WhitewalkerInPhilly said:

I'm seeing a lot of people here call him Scott Chandler 2.0

 

Maybe I'm missing something here, but Chandler was the best TE we've had here in a while. He had his faults, but he was a good route runner with good hands. It wasn't his fault that he had Hackett having him cut at 5 yards on a 3rd &7.

People aren't saying that to put him down. They're saying he will make plays and is serviceable but he is limited. 

[WhitewalkerInPhilly]

3 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

People aren't saying that to put him down. They're saying he will make plays and is serviceable but he is limited. 

Ahh ok. That's fair.

 

To me, giving Allen a big bodied player with sure hands to be a check down safety valve could be invaluable. Even if that's this pony's one trick.

[Doc]

JJ is probably no worse than Clay (meaning a 50-something catch, 500-something yard, 3 TD per season and decent blocking TE), but I wouldn't pay him anything over $5M/year. 

[Bobby Hooks]

22 hours ago, Bangarang said:

Scott Chandler 2.0

I’ll take Chandler 2.0, that’s exactly what Allen needs. 

 

Let’s not forget the Pats thought enough of Chandler to sign him. James looks to be a bit like Chandler without the fumble issues. I’d take that on my team any day. 

[YoloinOhio]

38 minutes ago, Bobby Hooks said:

I’ll take Chandler 2.0, that’s exactly what Allen needs. 

 

Let’s not forget the Pats thought enough of Chandler to sign him. James looks to be a bit like Chandler without the fumble issues. I’d take that on my team any day. 

And Daboll was the TE coach for the Pats when they signed him 

[BillsBlue]

I wouldn't mind this not the sexiest signing but a nice upgrade for run blocking and good hands for short passes etc to help allen out i just don't want them to over spend for him

[JM57]

Not the biggest fan of this idea but if it's a reasonable AAV and term, and they take him and pair him with a guy from the draft (I'm a huge Hockenson fan if the top OT are gone and the Bills can slide back a few picks) then you're cooking with gas

[Shaw66]

5 hours ago, WhitewalkerInPhilly said:

Ahh ok. That's fair.

 

To me, giving Allen a big bodied player with sure hands to be a check down safety valve could be invaluable. Even if that's this pony's one trick.

I see it the same way. 

[RocCityRoller]

I'm good with OBD getting two FA OL and a FA TE like James or CJ Uzomah.

 

Then get a playmaker WR and DL in the first two rounds and go BPA after, hopefully adding some OL depth since most of the FA OL would be improvements, but have some injury risk.

[Turk71]

5 hours ago, Doc said:

JJ is probably no worse than Clay (meaning a 50-something catch, 500-something yard, 3 TD per season and decent blocking TE), but I wouldn't pay him anything over $5M/year. 

At this point in Clays career James is definitely an upgrade imo. He is a good blocker, decent route runner and has good hands. He doesn't have a lot of athletic upside but he is only 25 and is well rounded. I think he is one of the top 3 or 4 available and would be a good get by the Bills. Pair him with a high upside draft pick and it would be the best TE situation they have had in a while. The Bills tes were collectively about the worst in the league last year.

[3rdand12]

3 hours ago, YoloinOhio said:

And Daboll was the TE coach for the Pats when they signed him 

damn Man !
way to see the connections.
Taking James is a solid move for the Bills, if they pull it off. Give him a smart contract and Bill are still not limiting themselves.

 Imo they need at least two TEs and maybe 3. certainly drafting one or two could happen.

 But scoring a steady guy like James would be a huge improvement for the Offense.

 

and I do like the Chandler references as a compliment to both players !

3 hours ago, JM57 said:

Not the biggest fan of this idea but if it's a reasonable AAV and term, and they take him and pair him with a guy from the draft (I'm a huge Hockenson fan if the top OT are gone and the Bills can slide back a few picks) then you're cooking with gas

absolutely should look hard at drafting a viable (starting ) tight end via the draft and a perhaps an investment type who can plays Special Teams well enough to add value right away

6 minutes ago, Turk71 said:

At this point in Clays career James is definitely an upgrade imo. He is a good blocker, decent route runner and has good hands. He doesn't have a lot of athletic upside but he is only 25 and is well rounded. I think he is one of the top 3 or 4 available and would be a good get by the Bills. Pair him with a high upside draft pick and it would be the best TE situation they have had in a while. The Bills tes were collectively about the worst in the league last year.

and Croom is still a project Bills are hoping upon !

[Turk71]

On 2/23/2019 at 7:49 AM, Shaw66 said:

I have a truly warm spot in my heart for Canisius.  Not that it meant much to me as a kid - I went to public school in the suburbs, the Catholic schools didn't play in the public school leagues (I don't think they played in the Sectionals, either), so I never got into the Catholic High School scene.  Don't know if I even knew anyone who went there.   My lasting memory of Canisius College basketball (and how irrelevant it was), was going to a Canisius-St. Bonaventure doubleheader at the Aud.  It was sold out.  First game was the Bonnies (with Lanier) and somebody.  When the game ended, 2/3 of the fans got up and left and filled the bars in downtown Buffalo to watch Niagara (with Calvin) playing at the Palestra.  Nobody except you secret society members stayed for the Canisius game.

I was at a lot of those weekend doubleheaders at the aud 68 69 70 with my older brother who went to Canisius High and College. He was friends with a couple guys on the team and was friends with Paul Grys from St Bonnies. Grys later became their AD. The Aud would be packed and rowdy for those games. Got to see Lanier and Murphy play quite a few times, Tony Masiello was the star of Canisius and got drafted by the Pacers. He later was known as Anthony Masiello, Buffalo's mayor from 94 to 05. I followed every game of St Bonnies final 4 run in tournament and was crushed when they lost to Jacksonville. I also remember being disappointed when the Braves passed on a chance to draft Murphy in the 70 NBA draft. Murphy is the shortest player in the HOF, and before he played ball at Niagara he used to entertain the Bills crowd at halftime in the Rockpile as an expert baton twirler. ? http://blog.buffalostories.com/the-rise-and-fall-of-buffalos-college-hoops-golden-era/

    My grandfather graduated Canisius High in 1906 and my dad and his brothers, all my male cousins, two brothers and myself are all alumni. I wanted to stay in the neighborhood and go to Timon but was not allowed. 

 

Edited February 24, 2019 by Turk71

[John from Riverside]

I think Croom gets a bit of a bad rap

 

I mean...the guy was a UDFA......he is what he is....not a difference maker but could give you something as our second TE because he can catch and defenses are not reall game planning to stop him.

 

Better is needed.....especially given who the OC of the team is.

[Turk71]

4 minutes ago, John from Riverside said:

I think Croom gets a bit of a bad rap

 

I mean...the guy was a UDFA......he is what he is....not a difference maker but could give you something as our second TE because he can catch and defenses are not reall game planning to stop him.

 

Better is needed.....especially given who the OC of the team is.

He is only 24, his knock coming out of college was his blocking, sometimes lazy route running and focus drops. His athleticism for his size is a strong point. If he improves year over year he may stick in the league.

[Shaw66]

50 minutes ago, Turk71 said:

I was at a lot of those weekend doubleheaders at the aud 68 and 69 with my older brother who went to Canisius High and College. He was friends with a couple guys on the team and was friends with Paul Grys from St Bonnies. Grys later became their AD. The Aud would be packed and rowdy for those games. Got to see Lanier and Murphy play quite a few times, Tony Masiello was the star of Canisius and got drafted by the Pacers. He later was known as Anthony Masiello, Buffalo's mayor from 94 to 05. I followed every game of St Bonnies final 4 run in tournament and was crushed when they lost to Jacksonville. I also remember being disappointed when the Braves passed on a chance to draft Murphy in the 70 NBA draft. Murphy is the shortest player in the HOF, he used to entertain the Bills crowd at halftime in the Rockpile as an expert baton twirler. http://blog.buffalostories.com/the-rise-and-fall-of-buffalos-college-hoops-golden-era/

    My grandfather graduated Canisius High in 1906 and my dad and his brothers, all my male cousins, two brothers and myself are all alumni. I wanted to stay in the neighborhood and go to Timon but was not allowed. 

 

Quite a family tradition!   Great.

 

I saw Lanier and Murphy as freshmen playing at Erie County Community college.  I had seats right on the baseline.  Niagara's first possession.  Calvin had the ball in the corner and Lanier had the baseline zone on that side, right in front of me.  Lanier came out toward Calvin, Murphy faked, and Lanier reached with one hand and snatched the ball right out of Murphy's hands!   Two Hall of Fame players just gettin to know each other at ECC.  

 

I went to the 1970 NCAA East Regionals in South Caroliina - Niagara and Villanova in the first game, St. Bonaventure and someone in the second.  Two days later I was there when Lanier fell over Chris Ford and tore up his knee.  And I was at the final four that year too, cheering for the Bonnies with Lanier lying in a hospital in Buffalo.  The Bonnies were among the most courageous underdogs you'll ever see, playing Jacksonville and New Mexico State.  Without Lanier, they stayed in both games.   UCLA won it all, but I always thought the Bonnies were the only team in the country who could beat them. 

 

Great memories.  

Edited February 24, 2019 by Shaw66

[Turk71]

28 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

Quite a family tradition!   Great.

 

I saw Lanier and Murphy as freshmen playing at Erie County Community college.  I had seats right on the baseline.  Niagara's first possession.  Calvin had the ball in the corner and Lanier had the baseline zone on that side, right in front of me.  Lanier came out toward Calvin, Murphy faked, and Lanier reached with one hand and snatched the ball right out of Murphy's hands!   Two Hall of Fame players just gettin to know each other at ECC.  

 

I went to the 1970 NCAA East Regionals in South Caroliina - Niagara and Villanova in the first game, St. Bonaventure and someone in the second.  Two days later I was there when Lanier fell over Chris Ford and tore up his knee.  And I was at the final four that year too, cheering for the Bonnies with Lanier lying in a hospital in Buffalo.  The Bonnies were among the most courageous underdogs you'll ever see, playing Jacksonville and New Mexico State.  Without Lanier, they stayed in both games.   UCLA won it all, but I always thought the Bonnies were the only team in the country who could beat them. 

 

Great memories.  

If Lanier hadn't gone down I think they had a really good chance of winning it. Really cool you got to be at those games, I was only 8 at the time and don't remember it as well as you. I remember a sporting goods store on Abbott rd having a replica of Lanier's size 24 shoe in the front window.? 

I remember Artis Gilmore was too much to handle without Lanier and Jacksonville shot 45 frickin fts.

Edited February 24, 2019 by Turk71

[#34fan]

Bills late to the party again... They should have drafted this kid out of Penn State 4 years ago!

 

Hockenson, or Fant… Greatness is built through the draft.

[MrEpsYtown]

29 minutes ago, #34fan said:

Bills late to the party again... They should have drafted this kid out of Penn State 4 years ago!

 

Hockenson, or Fant… Greatness is built through the draft.

 

I really think they were targeting a tight end that year, but wound up settling for O'Leary in the sixth. Drafted Karlos Williams like 5 picks before James went. Can't argue with the thought process, but in hindsight should have taken James. 

[Doc]

6 hours ago, Turk71 said:

At this point in Clays career James is definitely an upgrade imo. He is a good blocker, decent route runner and has good hands. He doesn't have a lot of athletic upside but he is only 25 and is well rounded. I think he is one of the top 3 or 4 available and would be a good get by the Bills. Pair him with a high upside draft pick and it would be the best TE situation they have had in a while. The Bills tes were collectively about the worst in the league last year.

 

I meant JJ is no worse than what Clay has provided the Bills since he's been here.