obie_wan Posted July 25, 2008 Posted July 25, 2008 Bill, the reasonable minds on this board with just a touch of real-life experience acknowledge that Peters has valid arguments for the renegotiation of his contract. What sticks in my craw is the juvenile way in which he has apparently chosen to handle the situation. Act like an adult, and perhaps he'll be treated like one. If you add in the unstated item that the Bills probably told Peters no raise this year back in January (which is what prompted him to stay away) - then maybe its the Bills acting in a juvenile fashion with their best player.
ricojes Posted July 25, 2008 Posted July 25, 2008 If you add in the unstated item that the Bills probably told Peters no raise this year back in January (which is what prompted him to stay away) - then maybe its the Bills acting in a juvenile fashion with their best player. Wow, what a comment. I can see this discussion has turned to fiction and speculation. Have fun with that, later...
Kelly the Dog Posted July 25, 2008 Posted July 25, 2008 The Bills obviously knew this back in January when their contact broke off. Yet they arrogantly refused to acknowledge the problem and failed to protect themselves by gettiong anyone with any experieince to fill in at LT Or they know they hold all the cards, there is zero chance he actually holds out, and they save $10 million by getting him to sign next year instead of this year. Even you, the Duke of Darkness, don't actually think he will become the first player in NFL history to sit out a season with three years left on his contract, do you?
Dawgg Posted July 25, 2008 Posted July 25, 2008 Or they know they hold all the cards, there is zero chance he actually holds out, and they save $10 million by getting him to sign next year instead of this year. Even you, the Duke of Darkness, don't actually think he will become the first player in NFL history to sit out a season with three years left on his contract, do you? They "would" hold all the cards if they had any meaningful depth behind Peters. Since they don't, Peters does have some leverage even though he has 3 years left on his deal. The Bills have a number of investments in young players on offense that rely heavily on Jason Peters... make no mistake he has leverage. And, if Kirk Chambers lines up against Patrick Kerney in week 1, get ready for a disaster.
PromoTheRobot Posted July 25, 2008 Posted July 25, 2008 They "would" hold all the cards if they had any meaningful depth behind Peters. Since they don't, Peters does have some leverage even though he has 3 years left on his deal. The Bills have a number of investments in young players on offense that rely heavily on Jason Peters... make no mistake he has leverage. And, if Kirk Chambers lines up against Patrick Kerney in week 1, get ready for a disaster. Then its a Mexican standoff. Personally I'll take my chances with Chambers than cave in to Peters. He can pound sand, and watch his value drop with every game he sits out. PTR
PromoTheRobot Posted July 25, 2008 Posted July 25, 2008 While it would be nice if Peters took the same approach that Kyle Williams and Chris Kelsay showed, there's a key difference here. Williams and Kelsay SUCK. They better f**ing be team players and show up or they will be cast aside as the journeymen that they truly are. In any case, I agree with you that the best course of action the Bills can take at this point is to do nothing. Let him collect the fines and rot -- he has 3 years on his deal and he's not going to forgo his salary this year. If the front office were smart, they would have drafted some depth at tackle the last two years so that we would at least have some good, promising young players in the pipeline. If only... And Peters was so freakin' awesome out of college that nobody drafted him. If it wasn't for the Bills he'd be driving a bus now instead of making millions playing football. So just because your panties are in a wad because you are so grossly underpaid you can't call your team and ask for a renegotiation? You have to act like a friggin' prima donna and make your team read about you in the papers? Sorry...I'd rather take care of players that "suck" before I reward a me-first a$$wipe. PTR
Kelly the Dog Posted July 25, 2008 Posted July 25, 2008 They "would" hold all the cards if they had any meaningful depth behind Peters. Since they don't, Peters does have some leverage even though he has 3 years left on his deal. The Bills have a number of investments in young players on offense that rely heavily on Jason Peters... make no mistake he has leverage. And, if Kirk Chambers lines up against Patrick Kerney in week 1, get ready for a disaster. To me that is missing the point. All the Bills have to do is say we aren't going to renegotiate this year, and don't buckle. That's it. There is no player in the world who is going to throw away their entire career over this, which is really what they would be doing. He's in his prime. He will get an enormous contract barring career ending injury (part of the reson he is trying this now). The Bills never have to trade him and they never have to pay him. There is no reason for them to buckle. Peters is just trying to see if he can get this done this year instead of next year, when it will be a little more reasonable from the Bills POV. They MAY even do it this year depending on how much cash Ralph wants to spend and if they can get Evans, too. But to me, The Bills hold all the cards if they just don't flinch and promise Peters he will be taken care of in the future. They know Peters will play. He has to. And he can't even be all that pissed at them if they promise they will reward him soon.
BillsVet Posted July 25, 2008 Posted July 25, 2008 Then its a Mexican standoff. Personally I'll take my chances with Chambers than cave in to Peters. He can pound sand, and watch his value drop with every game he sits out. PTR I think too many fans have forgotten the Eagles game at the end of last season. Chambers worked hard, but he has about 1/4 the athleticism to handle the LT job. Buffalo has nothing at OT with NFL experience after Chambers. Only the QB position is more important on offense, perhaps the entire team. It'd be nice to say "we'll go with Chambers or Walker at LT" but neither have the requisite skills to play the position.
Dawgg Posted July 25, 2008 Posted July 25, 2008 And Peters was so freakin' awesome out of college that nobody drafted him. If it wasn't for the Bills he'd be driving a bus now instead of making millions playing football. So just because your panties are in a wad because you are so grossly underpaid you can't call your team and ask for a renegotiation? You have to act like a friggin' prima donna and make your team read about you in the papers? Sorry...I'd rather take care of players that "suck" before I reward a me-first a$$wipe. PTR And if it weren't for Peters, the Bills would have a turnstyle at the most important position on offense aside from QB. It goes both ways... I certainly don't agree with the way Peters is going about it but this is a business and that's the reality of the situation.
John from Riverside Posted July 25, 2008 Posted July 25, 2008 Mind boggling to most NFL organization, but not to Bills fans saddled with a front office that has no respect for the importance of the OL (especially LT) The galling thing is the Bills should have known from the lack of contact with Peters since January that his desire for a new contract was coming. However, the Bills in their typically arrogant way chose to ignore the situation and not reach out to their best player. 1. to determine his contract demands 2. to determine his health Peters is either still injured and the Bills are justified in waiting on a new deal or he is healthy and deserves a new deal. Either way, the front office put the team at a huge competitive disadvanatage by not obtaining a bona fide backup at LT to fill in while this situation plays out. The stated plan to move Wlaker to LT is a joke. He can barely pass block the right side without TE help on every down. Moviong him to LT will be a joke and again hamst ring the offense by needing to keep TE in on both sides. After moving Walker, they have no one capable of taking his place on the right side I will say this......I think Leodis is going to be a awesome corner for us.....BUT.....if the front office knew this was going to happen then that 1st round pick should have been spent on a Left Tackle. Maybe the front office didn't realize it was going to come to this and never thought Jason would hold out with 3 years left on his contract. The NFL really is a business.....because I am losing respect for Jason Peters FAST - Undrafted as a fricken Tight Eend - Brought along by the bills - Given a new contract - Now this ungrateful ingrate is going to hold out with 3 years left on his contract. If he was actually AT CAMP I would totally be in his corner because he is one of the best LT's in the game and deserves to be paid as such.......
IDBillzFan Posted July 25, 2008 Posted July 25, 2008 And if it weren't for Peters, the Bills would have a turnstyle at the most important position on offense aside from QB. It goes both ways... I certainly don't agree with the way Peters is going about it but this is a business and that's the reality of the situation. But it starts with the Bills. If the Bills didn't give him a chance, there would be no Peters football career. It wouldn't go both ways if the Bills didn't start it in one direction.
tennesseeboy Posted July 25, 2008 Posted July 25, 2008 I think too many fans have forgotten the Eagles game at the end of last season. Chambers worked hard, but he has about 1/4 the athleticism to handle the LT job. Buffalo has nothing at OT with NFL experience after Chambers. Only the QB position is more important on offense, perhaps the entire team. It'd be nice to say "we'll go with Chambers or Walker at LT" but neither have the requisite skills to play the position. I agree. When the guy has you over a barrel and its a potential playoff season, you kinda gotta belly up to the bar. I suspect its time to recut the deal. Since the original deal the guy has not only made the pro bowl but has become one of the premier players in the league (even he wouldn't make Bill Belichik's team, according to Belichick.)
BillsVet Posted July 25, 2008 Posted July 25, 2008 It's worth noting that in a perfect world, Peters should be at camp right now. No question about it. The NFL is not a perfect world though, and Peters stands to earn 3.25M this season. By comparison, Michael Roos of Tennessee just inked a deal that averages 7.1M per, and he's not nearly the player that Peters is. Joe Thomas, by virtue of his rookie deal last year, earns roughly the same. Three years ago, Walter Jones signed a 7 year 52.5M deal, which is probably a lot closer to what Peters seeks, by probably not nearly what he's going to need. FWIW, the argument that Peters is in the league solely because of the Buffalo Bills, well, that's purely simplistic. Everyone's most hated GM picked him up, and ultimately Peters himself asked Mularkey how he could play. He went on to become a starter on the OL, and has only improved his play since that time. So much so that he's handled the most difficult line position and become the most dominant LT in the AFC. The point is, Peters has worked very hard and combined with superior physical abilities is the best Bills OT since Will Wolford. It's not just the Bills who have made him.
Dwight Drane Posted July 25, 2008 Posted July 25, 2008 I say we settle this between Ralph and Peters with a Wonderlic test. Ralph scores higher, Peters plays out his contract. Peters scores higher, Ralph pays him. Opening Line: Ralph -5
Marv Levy Posted July 25, 2008 Posted July 25, 2008 Hey Peters, get your ass in camp!! You signed a 5 year contract with 3 remaining. Unfreakinbelivable you greedy SOB!
Dwight Drane Posted July 25, 2008 Posted July 25, 2008 I will say this......I think Leodis is going to be a awesome corner for us.....BUT.....if the front office knew this was going to happen then that 1st round pick should have been spent on a Left Tackle. Maybe the front office didn't realize it was going to come to this and never thought Jason would hold out with 3 years left on his contract. The NFL really is a business.....because I am losing respect for Jason Peters FAST - Undrafted as a fricken Tight Eend - Brought along by the bills - Given a new contract - Now this ungrateful ingrate is going to hold out with 3 years left on his contract. If he was actually AT CAMP I would totally be in his corner because he is one of the best LT's in the game and deserves to be paid as such....... I'll add to your list. - Last time Peters was seen in public he was sprawled face down on the turf for 3 minutes as the Tim Horton's coffee mug pegged people in the eye with plastic cups - Having an intelligent veteran like Derrick Dockery working next to you sure can cover up a bunch of mental mistakes on Peters part. - A new system that relies on timing and quick release can handle an average talent with above average intelligence at left tackle. (see:John Fina)
BuffaloBob Posted July 25, 2008 Posted July 25, 2008 If I were part of the FO making these kinds of decisions, I would look at this as an opportunity. This should be an opportunity to get him signed long-term for significantly less than he might command after another Pro Bowl season or two. Because he wants it now, with three years remaining on his current deal, that should give the Bills some leverage to sign him at the lower end of what he might consider an acceptable range, and you might be able to get him to swallow a more incentive based contract that only gets to a higher end of the range over time based on his performance going forward. Of course, this won't stop him from trying to sit out again in the future, but you can spread the signing bonus out a bit in the form of roster bonuses that don't get paid if he doesn't report. The bottom line is Peters has to give up something if the Bills are going to give up the three cheap years they have left. Otherwise, he'll simply have to be forced to roll the dice and let the chips fall where they may. In pursuing this opportunity, I would arrange a meeting with Peters and his agent, and make it very simple. You get your ass in camp and demonstrate the same commitment to the team as the team has made to you, and we can start talking new deal. Otherwise, we'll see ya when we see ya.
Dawgg Posted July 25, 2008 Posted July 25, 2008 But it starts with the Bills. If the Bills didn't give him a chance, there would be no Peters football career. It wouldn't go both ways if the Bills didn't start it in one direction. I don't disagree -- but these guys have a very limited timeframe to cash in. When the players have the leverage, they have to use it, plain and simple. The Bills didn't take on a whole lot of risk in signing him. They were a rebuilding team and saw him as an athletic freak and added him to the roster for peanuts -- didn't have to waste a pick on him, didn't have to break the bank, nothing. The Bills gave him a tryout and Peters earned his way onto the team, beating out veterans and draft picks. Contrast that to a guy like McGahee, who they devoted a first round pick, paid him to rehabilitate, etc..
obie_wan Posted July 25, 2008 Posted July 25, 2008 If anyone believes that there has been NO contact with the Bills from Peters' agent, or that the Bills have NO IDEA what he wants in a contract, or what his (threatened) plans are to sit, you should be locked in a rubber room. There are few things in this world totally impossible to believe and that is one of them. thank you
obie_wan Posted July 25, 2008 Posted July 25, 2008 While it would be nice if Peters took the same approach that Kyle Williams and Chris Kelsay showed, there's a key difference here. Williams and Kelsay SUCK. They better f**ing be team players and show up or they will be cast aside as the journeymen that they truly are. In any case, I agree with you that the best course of action the Bills can take at this point is to do nothing. Let him collect the fines and rot -- he has 3 years on his deal and he's not going to forgo his salary this year. If the front office were smart, they would have drafted some depth at tackle the last two years so that we would at least have some good, promising young players in the pipeline. If only... why waste the picks they already have Chambers and Matt Murphy. just not enough roster spots for adding actual talent to the OL
Recommended Posts