obie_wan Posted July 25, 2008 Posted July 25, 2008 Sounds like Brandon is going to stand on principle and not be proactive in resolving the Peters matter. He just might want to make a phone call to Peters and find out why he missed all of the off season activities. Hard to believe the front office has not had any direct contact with their best player since January - if nothing else to check on his recovery. But its good to know they have a solid backup plan in place if Peters holds out. Too bad it doesn't involve what the front office brought in to play LT. Walker can barely handle the 2nd tier rushers from the right side. should be a real adventure trying to handle elite rushers from LT. Bills not sure if LT Peters will report to camp http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ap-b...p&type=lgns Exerpts taken from By JOHN WAWROW, Associated Press Last updated: 6:32 p.m., Thursday, July 24, 2008 PITTSFORD, N.Y. -- The Buffalo Bills have had very little contact with Jason Peters in the past few months regarding his contract dispute, and aren't sure if the Pro Bowl left tackle will report for the start of training camp on Friday. "To be very honest with you, it's truly been a roadmap of silence to date," chief operating officer Russ Brandon said Thursday, as Bills players began arriving at the team's training camp headquarters in suburban Rochester. "We expect Jason to be here to honor his commitment to the organization because we made a substantial commitment to him two years ago." . . . . As for Peters, Brandon wouldn't rule out the possibility of negotiating a new deal but only if Peters begins taking part in team functions. "It's difficult to have discussions with someone that's not here and has not elected to participate in what we're trying to do," Brandon said. "Jason's a big part of what we're trying to do. But if he's not here, then we'll work around it and move on." Brandon also noted the team rewarded the player with a new contract prior to the 2006 season, when the converted tight end became a full-time starter at right tackle. Peters then made the switch to the left side midway through the 2006 campaign. Offensive coordinator Turk Schonert said last month he's already preparing contingency plans should Peters not report to camp. One option included moving Walker to the left side.
eball Posted July 25, 2008 Posted July 25, 2008 You're kidding, right? Brandon and the Bills are handling the situation like adults in the business world. As soon as Peters and his agent follow suit, I'm sure something will get done.
nucci Posted July 25, 2008 Posted July 25, 2008 He is under contract and required to be at camp. If he does not show I'm sure they will contact him to let him know he will be fined $15,000.00 per day missed. If he is unhappy about his contract his agent should tell the Bills. If there has been no contact, how are the Bills to know he is unhappy?
bobinaz Posted July 25, 2008 Posted July 25, 2008 Peters and his agent are being a$$e$ about the whole thing. His agent of all people should be telling him to get his a$$ into camp, prove his worth and then renegotiate. He's hurting the O-line, the offense, and the team with this selfish attitude. Me personally, I'm worried to death for TE and his abilty to survive each week if Walker is protecting the left side.
obie_wan Posted July 25, 2008 Author Posted July 25, 2008 You're kidding, right? Brandon and the Bills are handling the situation like adults in the business world. As soon as Peters and his agent follow suit, I'm sure something will get done. The Bills are handling this like a first time GM flexing his muscles would be expected to. Unfortunatnely they are jerking around the best player on the team and have no real ability to go forward without him. They need to check their egos at the door and get this resolved before it gets ugly and reaches a point they regret.
eball Posted July 25, 2008 Posted July 25, 2008 The Bills are handling this like a first time GM flexing his muscles would be expected to. Unfortunatnely they are jerking around the best player on the team and have no real ability to go forward without him. They need to check their egos at the door and get this resolved before it gets ugly and reaches a point they regret. It's been mentioned in other threads but bears repeating: money is undefeated in the NFL. Peters isn't exactly on welfare, and if he and his agent are going to continue to play the "silent protest" game that will end soon. There's nothing wrong with how Brandon and the Bills have addressed the situation.
PromoTheRobot Posted July 25, 2008 Posted July 25, 2008 The Bills are handling this like a first time GM flexing his muscles would be expected to. Unfortunatnely they are jerking around the best player on the team and have no real ability to go forward without him. They need to check their egos at the door and get this resolved before it gets ugly and reaches a point they regret. My coffee shot out my nose when I read your post. Who exactly is jerking who around??? Are you watching the same TV show as the rest of us?? Here's a recap for you: The Bills "jerked" Peters around by giving an UDFA a chance. Then the "jerked" him some more by giving him a fat extension on potential. Peters has three years left on that deal. Peters and his agent are the a**holes here, not Brandon or the Bills. They haven't even made any contact with the Bills. And if Peters is willing to shaft his teammates by not reporting to camp and honoring his deal, then is he the kind of guy we want here? PTR
VOR Posted July 25, 2008 Posted July 25, 2008 My coffee shot out my nose when I read your post. Who exactly is jerking who around??? Are you watching the same TV show as the rest of us?? Here's a recap for you: The Bills "jerked" Peters around by giving an UDFA a chance. Then the "jerked" him some more by giving him a fat extension on potential. Peters has three years left on that deal. Peters and his agent are the a**holes here, not Brandon or the Bills. They haven't even made any contact with the Bills. And if Peters is willing to shaft his teammates by not reporting to camp and honoring his deal, then is he the kind of guy we want here? The Bills didn't give Peters his $3M deal based on potential. He had 10 starts at RT in 2005 and proved he belonged, hence the contract after the season. Since then he's out-performed that deal and is not the 78th highest-paid OL in the league.
PromoTheRobot Posted July 25, 2008 Posted July 25, 2008 The Bills didn't give Peters his $3M deal based on potential. He had 10 starts at RT in 2005 and proved he belonged, hence the contract after the season. Since then he's out-performed that deal and is not the 78th highest-paid OL in the league. And the Bills never said they wouldn't renegotiate. But Peter's agent decided to go right to hardball. Bad form. I don't care how good you are. You don't treat a team that has been more than fair to you this way. PTR
eball Posted July 25, 2008 Posted July 25, 2008 The Bills didn't give Peters his $3M deal based on potential. He had 10 starts at RT in 2005 and proved he belonged, hence the contract after the season. Since then he's out-performed that deal and is not the 78th highest-paid OL in the league. And sometimes those are the breaks of the game, when you come into the league as an undrafted TE. It's called "waiting your turn." The Bills rewarded Peters with a very nice deal two years ago, and like I said, he's not exactly on welfare. Time for Jason and his agent to be adults about this and approach it like businessmen -- not spoiled brats.
VOR Posted July 25, 2008 Posted July 25, 2008 And the Bills never said they wouldn't renegotiate. But Peter's agent decided to go right to hardball. Bad form. I don't care how good you are. You don't treat a team that has been more than fair to you this way. The "we haven't heard from them" sounds like the Sabres-Chris Drury fiasco last year. I don't buy that the Bills don't know what Peters wants, after seeing what Dockery, Walker, and even Gandy (from the Cards) got, and then making All-Pro himself. And it's not like Peters or his agent have gone to the media.
VOR Posted July 25, 2008 Posted July 25, 2008 And sometimes those are the breaks of the game, when you come into the league as an undrafted TE. It's called "waiting your turn." The Bills rewarded Peters with a very nice deal two years ago, and like I said, he's not exactly on welfare. Time for Jason and his agent to be adults about this and approach it like businessmen -- not spoiled brats. Spoiled brats would take this public, kind of like how people view Favre's situation. And as I said, I don't for one second believe that Brandon has no idea what Peters and his agent want. And the breaks are that Peters can sit-out and wait for Edwards to get injured, watch the Bills crawl back to him, and then demand a premium over what he would have taken before.
dave mcbride Posted July 25, 2008 Posted July 25, 2008 And sometimes those are the breaks of the game, when you come into the league as an undrafted TE. It's called "waiting your turn." The Bills rewarded Peters with a very nice deal two years ago, and like I said, he's not exactly on welfare. Time for Jason and his agent to be adults about this and approach it like businessmen -- not spoiled brats. Whether you like it or not, Peters pretty much holds all the cards. He's the best player on the team, and is very underpaid relative to the position he plays. The Bills simply cannot go into the season with a scrub or Langston Walker at LT. That's the way it goes.
eball Posted July 25, 2008 Posted July 25, 2008 Spoiled brats would take this public, kind of like how people view Favre's situation. And as I said, I don't for one second believe that Brandon has no idea what Peters and his agent want. And the breaks are that Peters can sit-out and wait for Edwards to get injured, watch the Bills crawl back to him, and then demand a premium over what he would have taken before. "Money is undefeated in the NFL" - Pat Kirwan. Watch and see if Peters sits out. Peters' actions are most certainly those of a spoiled child -- I'm not getting my way so I'll stay at home and pout in the corner. Just because he or his agent haven't gone public doesn't mean they aren't acting like children.
Kelly the Dog Posted July 25, 2008 Posted July 25, 2008 Whether you like it or not, Peters pretty much holds all the cards. He's the best player on the team, and is very underpaid relative to the position he plays. The Bills simply cannot go into the season with a scrub or Langston Walker at LT. That's the way it goes. There is also zero chance that Peters sits out once the season starts. To me, it depends on what he wants and how close they are with Evans as well as how much they want to keep Crowell. The Bills as an organization would be best served to make Peters play this year and promise him a big raise next year. Again, there is no chance IMO he sits out once the season starts. If he doesn't want the moon, then I would say renegotiate and lock him up. But we don't know if he's being reasonable or unreasonable. Chances are, however, he's asking to be one of the top 2-3 paid LTs in the game.
eball Posted July 25, 2008 Posted July 25, 2008 I didn't even see this before posting tonight, but Chris Brown is similarly perplexed by Peters' actions: ---------------------------- PETERS APPROACH IS PECULIAR: When you look at the players on the Bills roster that have been rewarded with new contracts despite being early in their existing deals, you quickly see what Buffalo respects; commitment to team. That's what makes Jason Peters approach this offseason so peculiar. Terrence McGee was extended three years ago, just two and a half years into his rookie contract, but the guy was a model professional and was in attendance for offseason work every year. Just this offseason Brad Butler and Kyle Williams were both extended despite being just two years into their rookie contracts. But both of those players are also heavily committed to the team and the offseason program. By no means am I suggesting that Jason Peters is not committed to the team and his teammates. However, I believe if he was on hand for all the offseason OTAs and mandatory minicamp and voiced his concerns in person about a new contract, the process would be a lot further along that it is now. That being said, I think even now if he reports to camp and gets to work the Bills will still talk to him about a new deal. It seems all the Bills want is his commitment to what they're trying to do in 2008, and that starts with being on the field with his teammates.
PromoTheRobot Posted July 25, 2008 Posted July 25, 2008 The "we haven't heard from them" sounds like the Sabres-Chris Drury fiasco last year. I don't buy that the Bills don't know what Peters wants, after seeing what Dockery, Walker, and even Gandy (from the Cards) got, and then making All-Pro himself. And it's not like Peters or his agent have gone to the media. The Bills know what he wants, but they are not going to come crawling to a player who has three years of contact left! They also won't make the first move to a player who has taken this "f*** you" approach. Whether you like it or not, Peters pretty much holds all the cards. He's the best player on the team, and is very underpaid relative to the position he plays. The Bills simply cannot go into the season with a scrub or Langston Walker at LT. That's the way it goes. We'll see how Peters feels after losing three years of salary, because the Bills would rather let him rot than give in to blackmail, which is what Peter's and his agent are doing. And if the Bills did cave to Peters, where does it end? Now it's Peters, then the line starts to form with players demanding new contracts. The Peters situation sucks, but I am 100% in agreement with the Bills on this. Peters and his agent are behaving very badly toward a team that has always been fair to them. This is not how you ask for a raise. PTR
Kelly the Dog Posted July 25, 2008 Posted July 25, 2008 I didn't even see this before posting tonight, but Chris Brown is similarly perplexed by Peters' actions: It's relatively easy to make a deal with a guy like McGee, who was a terrific returner and at that point a mediocre CB. Like it's relative easy to make a new deal with Butler or Williams. Even Schobel, who got an excellent contract but nothing outrageous for a guy who put up those stats. IMO, Peters is going to ask for simply outrageous money, probably 60+ million (considering his agent will likely use Dockery's contract against the Bills.) That's a completely different problem and much harder to do.
PromoTheRobot Posted July 25, 2008 Posted July 25, 2008 It's relatively easy to make a deal with a guy like McGee, who was a terrific returner and at that point a mediocre CB. Like it's relative easy to make a new deal with Butler or Williams. Even Schobel, who got an excellent contract but nothing outrageous for a guy who put up those stats. IMO, Peters is going to ask for simply outrageous money, probably 60+ million (considering his agent will likely use Dockery's contract against the Bills.) That's a completely different problem and much harder to do. I think the point is the Bills have treated Peters, and other players, fairly in the past. If Peters wants to renegotiate, he can come to camp and tell Brandon he'd like a raise. Instead Peters and his agent are acting like they are insulted. That's the part that doesn't make sense. I suspect Peters is getting some bad counsel here. PTR
Kelly the Dog Posted July 25, 2008 Posted July 25, 2008 I think the point is the Bills have treated Peters, and other players, fairly in the past. If Peters wants to renegotiate, he can come to camp and tell Brandon he'd like a raise. Instead Peters and his agent are acting like they are insulted. That's the part that doesn't make sense. I suspect Peters is getting some bad counsel here. PTR To me it's the same problem. It's easy to tell McGee that, or the other guys, and they will likely come in. The Bills know they want those guys and they aren't going to have to break the bank for them. I'm not sure the Bills want to make Peters one of the highest paid players in the game right now, which is (very likely) what he is asking for after all the publicity he has got. They just put about $100 mil into the OL in the last year or so, I doubt they want to make it $160 mil. So they can't ask him to just come in and be a good guy about it, and then lowball him. It would make the whole situation much worse. What I think they need to do (unless he is not asking for the moon) is to just make him a promise of a major new deal next year and wait him out. He will come it and play before September. It would be different if he had one or two years left, or if he was working on a paltry contract but he's not.
Recommended Posts