Mort just said a few interesting things

[VOR]

Interesting dilemma for the Cheatriots. Brady's recovery is supposedly falling behind schedule. My hunch is that they pay attention to his progress. If he is going to return for the season one of them gets traded for a boatload of draft picks (yes, they may even trade Brady in my opinion). They suckered the Bills into it with Bledsoe. I think the cap hit is only temporary for them - one season at the most.

No team will trade for Brady. Teams know that if the Cheatriots are trying to trade him, obviously something's really wrong with him.

 

And again as I said, there's nothing special about Cassel that makes him worth anything close to franchise money, plus a 1st rounder. I'm betting that in the end, Cassel gets franchised and stays with the Pats next season, and leaves the next off-season for nothing.

[VOR]

The other stats I'd be really interested in seeing with Cassel is how many passes he attempted over 15 yards downfield and how many of "his" yards were from YAC. From what I saw his dinking and dunking made Trent look like Mr. Rocket Arm. The few times I saw him try to air it out, he was 10 yards off his target. No way I'd give more than a 3 for him personally. That said, I have to give him and BB credit, as from the Pats* pre-season he looked absolutely atrocious, so he stepped up his game incredibly during the season.

He was tied for 11th in yards per attempt (7.2), with, among others, Trent Edwards (and Peyton Manning, although Manning was injured for a good part of the beginning of the season). And throwing to Moss (and Welker, and Faulk) will help make anyone look good. See Culpepper, Daunte.

 

Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention that the Cheatriots had the 6th ranked rushing attack. and played the 10th easiest schedule.

[BillsVet]

Did you mean Greer? He's an UFA, not McGee. Maybe an extension for McGee.

 

I meant McGee, who hits UFA after 09. I think they'll look to lock him up in advance of his final season. He's not Champ Bailey, but he's very good.

 

I like Greer, but the Bills will have to choose between him and McGee. And I think they'll choose McGee first. With McKelvin and Corner there already, they've got depth at CB.

[extrahammer]

I meant McGee, who hits UFA after 09. I think they'll look to lock him up in advance of his final season. He's not Champ Bailey, but he's very good.

 

I like Greer, but the Bills will have to choose between him and McGee. And I think they'll choose McGee first. With McKelvin and Corner there already, they've got depth at CB.

 

 

I wonder what we could get for McGee.

[VOR]

I meant McGee, who hits UFA after 09. I think they'll look to lock him up in advance of his final season. He's not Champ Bailey, but he's very good.

 

I like Greer, but the Bills will have to choose between him and McGee. And I think they'll choose McGee first. With McKelvin and Corner there already, they've got depth at CB.

They'll have more than enough money to lock-up McGee, Greer, Jackson, and Peters. And a lot left over for a guy like C Jason Brown (Ravens) and another couple FA's.

[My Friends Call Me Tebucky]

Get ready for the big market teams to swallow up any good free agents this year by ridiculously front-loading contracts and giving guys enormous base salaries for the uncapped 2010. I'm sure existing contracts will be restructured to give teams all kinds of cap room moving into the next decade (beyond 2010).

[WWVaBeach]

NFL teams, per the CBA, must spend 84% of the salary cap of 123M or, 103.3M

 

Salary Cap Minimum

 

I could see the Bills having 25M entering the offseason, not including cuts. It's one thing to have money (as all NFL teams have had in recent years) but finding the right players to fit your system. No sense in spending for the sake of spending. And with RW aboard, I don't see it happening. They'll be right at the bottom of the NFL salary scale.

 

 

Casserly reported we will be $39M under the cap.

[Kelly the Dog]

Possibly. But I don't see the attraction with this kid. He scored 23 TD's (21 passing and 2 rushing) and had 15 turnovers (11 INT's and 4 lost fumbles). Those aren't impressive stats at all. And he had Moss, Welker, and Faulk to throw to and amassed most of his yards and TD's against pass defenses in the bottom third of the league. Plus he was sacked 47 times behind one of the best O-lines in the NFL, which is a concern from an injury and fumbling aspect. Then to top it off, after being franchised, he'll probably be looking for a $10m/year deal with a huge signing bonus, and the team will have to give up a 1st rounder.

 

Not worth it. Not even close.

Jim Kelly had 33 TDs one year. Other than that, he had 25 once, 24 once, and 23 once. He averaged 21.5 for his career. 23 TDs is a lot for your first year, even with Moss and Welker. I don't think Cassel is all that great, but he put up GREAT numbers.

[VOR]

Jim Kelly had 33 TDs one year. Other than that, he had 25 once, 24 once, and 23 once. He averaged 21.5 for his career. 23 TDs is a lot for your first year, even with Moss and Welker. I don't think Cassel is all that great, but he put up GREAT numbers.

The passing game has changed a ton since Kelly's time, with passing offense being favored. Again, you have to look at his supporting cast, level of competition, and the quality of play (compared to 15+ years ago). And Cassel was 10th in passing TD's. That's hardly "great." And his 15 turnovers were the opposite of great. As were the 47 sacks taken.

[Bill from NYC]

I'll leave that for clump, but with guys like Losman, McCargo, Crowell, and a few others coming off the roster, I'm sure they'll have be around 20-25M beneath the camp. I'd venture to say they'll re-sign Fred Jackson and Terrence McGee before signing UFA's.

 

Players that are not under contract for 09 do not count at all on the cap. Losman's departure is already figured in.

[Erik]

Casserly reported we will be $39M under the cap.

 

Chris Brown tried to claim we'd be at about 25 million come free agency

[spartacus]

I bet some idiot gives NE a first rounder for Cassel too!

 

NE, being a very savvy organization will probably trade Brady as soon as he can pass a physical.

 

He's damaged goods, will likely never return to prior form and will bring a boatload of picks.

[Trader]

the pats plan to use the franchise tag on Cassel, that will mean they have about $29mil wrapped up in QBs.

 

also, the cap is supposed to jump to $123million.

 

that means we should have a lot of money to work with, even if we just go cash to cap.

 

 

 

 

 

i hope...

 

Franchise of Cassel is neither a surprise nor an advantage to the Bills. The franchise tag can be removed. It just protects a very valuable commodity for the Pats. They have more flexibility to deal for draft pics.

 

The cap never works to our advantage. no matter what. Players under contract are chess pieces now. Players are commodities to teams either assets or liabilities.

 

We are so far behind the front offices in our division it's pathetic.

[Tom]

NE, being a very savvy organization will probably trade Brady as soon as he can pass a physical.

 

He's damaged goods, will likely never return to prior form and will bring a boatload of picks.

How you say, jests??

[Kelly the Dog]

The passing game has changed a ton since Kelly's time, with passing offense being favored. Again, you have to look at his supporting cast, level of competition, and the quality of play (compared to 15+ years ago). And Cassel was 10th in passing TD's. That's hardly "great." And his 15 turnovers were the opposite of great. As were the 47 sacks taken.

His supporting cast isn't any greater than Kelly's, who ran a hurry-up K-Gun offense. There is no way that today's game is easier to play in as a pass offense and score in than that one. And Cassel hardly had a running game to support him, surely not like Kelly did. Besides, Belichick didn't open up the offense for him until halfway through the year. The first few games he was VERY conservative, even when he threw a lot of passes, they hardly ever went downfield. The second half of the season, Cassel's numbers were insane.

[VOR]

His supporting cast isn't any greater than Kelly's, who ran a hurry-up K-Gun offense. There is no way that today's game is easier to play in as a pass offense and score in than that one. And Cassel hardly had a running game to support him, surely not like Kelly did. Besides, Belichick didn't open up the offense for him until halfway through the year. The first few games he was VERY conservative, even when he threw a lot of passes, they hardly ever went downfield. The second half of the season, Cassel's numbers were insane.

Since Kelly's time, the NFL has instituted the "no-chuck" rule, allowed QB's to ground the ball outside the tackle box and created other rules to protect QB's in the pocket, and has started enforcing pass interference, and as a result, the passing game has opened-up significantly. Beyond that, the Patriots were 6th in the NFL in rushing.

 

As for his "insane" games in the 2nd half, he had 4 of them. They were against the Dols, Jets, Raiders, and Cards. The Raiders were ranked 10th against the pass. Pretty impressive at first, until you realize they were ranked 31st against the run and no one bothered to pass on them. Meanwhile, the Cards were ranked 22nd against the pass, the Dols 25th, and the Jets 29th.

 

But again, even still, his 21 TD passes were 10th in the NFL, despite his great WR's, great running game, and bad competition.

[BillsVet]

They'll have more than enough money to lock-up McGee, Greer, Jackson, and Peters. And a lot left over for a guy like C Jason Brown (Ravens) and another couple FA's.

 

With RW at owner? Come on now.

 

Players that are not under contract for 09 do not count at all on the cap. Losman's departure is already figured in.

 

You are correct Bill.

 

Chris Brown tried to claim we'd be at about 25 million come free agency

 

Chris Brown is and always will be the lead Propagandist for the Bills.

[Kelly the Dog]

Since Kelly's time, the NFL has instituted the "no-chuck" rule, allowed QB's to ground the ball outside the tackle box and created other rules to protect QB's in the pocket, and has started enforcing pass interference, and as a result, the passing game has opened-up significantly. Beyond that, the Patriots were 6th in the NFL in rushing.

 

As for his "insane" games in the 2nd half, he had 4 of them. They were against the Dols, Jets, Raiders, and Cards. The Raiders were ranked 10th against the pass. Pretty impressive at first, until you realize they were ranked 31st against the run and no one bothered to pass on them. Meanwhile, the Cards were ranked 22nd against the pass, the Dols 25th, and the Jets 29th.

 

But again, even still, his 21 TD passes were 10th in the NFL, despite his great WR's, great running game, and bad competition.

Okay, sure. The Patriots offense this year without Brady with a guy who never even played in college, was easier to throw in and have statistical success than the K-Gun in the Bills heyday.

[VOR]

Okay, sure. The Patriots offense this year without Brady with a guy who never even played in college, was easier to throw in and have statistical success than the K-Gun in the Bills heyday.

Do you think anyone is going to be comparing Cassel to Jim Kelly? Seriously?

[Kelly the Dog]

Do you think anyone is going to be comparing Cassel to Jim Kelly? Seriously?

Of course not. But you just said 23 TDs is a totally unimpressive season, which is more than what Kelly averaged in what everyone except you thinks was an easier offense to put up good numbers in. So you must think Cassel is better.