generaLee83 Posted December 31, 2006 Posted December 31, 2006 Just a general thought, I have no figures or fancy math models to prove this.... With all of Ralph's complaining lately concerning $$$$ and how it pertains to large vs. small market teams I wouldn't expect the Bills to re-sign London F-B or Nate C and I certainly wouldn't expect any big FA signings either. Ralph is not obligated to spend the whole cap and who is to say that the Bills organization will even have that amount of spendable money to begin with? Someone on this board very cleverly stated that the Bills will become a farm team for defensive backs. I will take this idea further and state that the Bills will become a farm team in general for players. Unless the Bills can win young and quick they will never build a true competitor with this approach. I would love to have this idea thrown back in my face in the next month or so and will gladly eat a heaping sh_tpile of crow if some of the Bills UFA's got re-signed. Please prove me wrong old man.
Bill from NYC Posted December 31, 2006 Posted December 31, 2006 General, I have a hunch that because of the new CBA, things will be MUCH different this season. I want to use Kelsay as an example...... Kelsay has pretty good sack numbers and he does provide pressure. There is always a big demand for pass rushers. Not long ago, we renegotiated the contract of Schobel, and signed Denney after he was a UFA. Both of these contracts were modest by today's standards, and I am thinking that those days are gone. I am thinking that Kelsay will receive a huge contract from another team. There are some owners in this league that have SO much money that it just isn't an object. Now, they are allowed to spend even more of it. We are seeing less UFAs for just that reason. Teams (like even the Bengals) seem to have enough cash to lock up their best players. Because of this, draft picks will be worth much more imo. The bottom line is that Ralph will need to spend a ton of money to compete. Will he be willing to? I can't answer that. The good news once again is Jason Peters. He recently signed a long term deal for less than half of what he is worth imo. He has the potential to be great, and his salary is dwarfed by that of Jennings, Backus, and a slew of other LTs. This alone leaves Ralph with tons of cap space to make offers to Clements, Fletch, Steinbach, etc. Once again, it depends on what Mr. Wilson wants to do with his cash.
JoeF Posted December 31, 2006 Posted December 31, 2006 General, I have a hunch that because of the new CBA, things will be MUCH different this season. I want to use Kelsay as an example...... Kelsay has pretty good sack numbers and he does provide pressure. There is always a big demand for pass rushers. Not long ago, we renegotiated the contract of Schobel, and signed Denney after he was a UFA. Both of these contracts were modest by today's standards, and I am thinking that those days are gone. I am thinking that Kelsay will receive a huge contract from another team. There are some owners in this league that have SO much money that it just isn't an object. Now, they are allowed to spend even more of it. We are seeing less UFAs for just that reason. Teams (like even the Bengals) seem to have enough cash to lock up their best players. Because of this, draft picks will be worth much more imo. The bottom line is that Ralph will need to spend a ton of money to compete. Will he be willing to? I can't answer that. The good news once again is Jason Peters. He recently signed a long term deal for less than half of what he is worth imo. He has the potential to be great, and his salary is dwarfed by that of Jennings, Backus, and a slew of other LTs. This alone leaves Ralph with tons of cap space to make offers to Clements, Fletch, Steinbach, etc. Once again, it depends on what Mr. Wilson wants to do with his cash. Bill and General Lee--all good thoughts. I would expect Sullivan and the other beat writers to address this topic and the Bills potential spending early in the off-season. One thought though, Denney's deal was done after the March 8 CBA was reached last year. I don't think its unreasonable to believe that the yearly average numbers roughly work for Kelsay--around $2.5 Million-3 Million--but maybe the deal is longer -- for 5 years instead of 4. Remember that Denney served a mission in college and is a couple of years older than his class. Denney is more versatile (Plays a little DT in rush situations)--while Kelsay probably has the better rush. I think Marv can get this one done early in the offseason--Kelsay sounds like he has "roots" in Buffalo--home, wife and child--etc. There is a uniqueness to WNY when you compare it to the mega-cities in the NFL--its sellable--almost small townish..
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