Kenwick Posted February 8, 2009 Posted February 8, 2009 At the end of this season Mr. Wilson told the press and Bills fans, the Bills need more talent especially on offense. Who makes the decisions as to whom the Bills want to acquire in free agency? The inner circle did last year. Who is in the inner circle? It has never been stated. We know Mr. Wilson, his daughter, Littmann, and Russ Brandon were last year. I do not know of any others. Tom Modrak has been added to the inner circle this year accodring to Mr. Wilson himself. NOT head coach Dick Jauron. Who makes the final decisions on this team but the inner circle. This year we have a football person in the inner circle, Tom Modrak who is now in charge of free agents and the draft according to Mr. Wilson. I believe free agents and the draft will lean heavily toward the offensive side of the ball. Those are Mr. Wilson's wishes. This does not mean however that our first pick at #11 could not be a defensive player. I believe the Bills will take the best athlete available at #11, at hopefully a position of need. Bills management knows they need to upgrade at many different positions. Who they get in free agency depends on who is willing to play for the Bills and how much the Bills are willing to pay them. Money talks and the Bills are loaded with that this year being 29 million under the cap last year and with no real big outlays needed for this year other than new players. Free agency starts Feb 27th and I imagine the Bills are now talking with Agents for the players they are interested in, so they can be signed on Feb 27th or soon after. That is how the system works. Most likely the Bills will get a QB to back up Edwards in free agency for it makes sense. They also need a OLB or MLB to upgrade that position. There is talk about acquiring Crowell back again, but would not be surprised to see the Bills splurge for a better OLB from another team who is in free agency. One who can rush the passer. It would not surprise me to see the Bills acquire a journeyman center who has been around for a few years. This would allow Preston to once again back up the guards and center. The Bills can draft a C/G and bring him along slowly for the future. It would not surprise me to see the Bills try to bring in a WR who may be aging but has a few good years left in him. Hopefully someone Edwards will find easy to find. Those are 4 positions I hope the Bills can fill in Free Agency. It sure would help if they do. They have a long ways to go to get better and we all know that. Wilson still wants to improve the offense. Fixing the Center position with a vet in F.A. will help but he still needs a quality rookie to come in hopefully to be drafted in the first three rounds. Wilson needs to have a stronger, taller, more talented TE that can stretch the field... To be drafted in the first three rounds Wilson needs to address the DE or DT position in the first round. We need a damn good player on the D-Line at either position. Do not be surprised to see this offseason leaning more to improve the offense then the defense. I just hope Mr. Wilson tries to bring in some difference makers in F. A. If he does it will mean he opened his pocketbook up more than usual. Them thar be my thoughts ....
DIE HARD 1967 Posted February 8, 2009 Posted February 8, 2009 Excellent Thread Dude I give it 5 stars YOU ARE THE MAN!
UConn James Posted February 9, 2009 Posted February 9, 2009 I would also say it should be b/c the rules have been bent over backwards in favor of offenses. Already 15 yards for breathing on a QB. If defenses get too good, the Rules Committee just makes a new rule to increase scoring. Meaning, investing in defense is diminishing returns. So, naturally, Ralph's UFA and the draft will be all defense, all the time.
BillsVet Posted February 9, 2009 Posted February 9, 2009 At the end of this season Mr. Wilson told the press and Bills fans, the Bills need more talent especially on offense. Who makes the decisions as to whom the Bills want to acquire in free agency? The inner circle did last year. Who is in the inner circle? It has never been stated. We know Mr. Wilson, his daughter, Littmann, and Russ Brandon were last year. I do not know of any others. Tom Modrak has been added to the inner circle this year accodring to Mr. Wilson himself. NOT head coach Dick Jauron. Just maybe RW understands it's a mistake to lean on DJ for personnel input. His opinion carried so much weight in Chicago that he was relived of those duties when Jerry Angelo was hired. Bills management knows they need to upgrade at many different positions. Who they get in free agency depends on who is willing to play for the Bills and how much the Bills are willing to pay them. Money talks and the Bills are loaded with that this year being 29 million under the cap last year and with no real big outlays needed for this year other than new players. Free agency starts Feb 27th and I imagine the Bills are now talking with Agents for the players they are interested in, so they can be signed on Feb 27th or soon after. That is how the system works. Jason Peters will eat up a lot of cap room when he is re-signed. If the Bills choose to trade him, or worse, let this situation erupt, their reputation (which is already poor) will hit rock bottom. No team trades top LT's when the price gets high. Besides, Fred Jackson should get a long term contract, because he's proven his worth to the team in abundance. Those two contracts will take the 29M down to a level which precludes the Bills from doing as much as many unaware fans realize. EDIT: Teams are barred from talking to free agents, and even though this rule is bent, until UFA opens. I highly doubt a team would start this early and let on which players they're targeting. Additionally, teams can still designate franchise and transition tagged players for about another week. That, is how the system works.
Mr. WEO Posted February 9, 2009 Posted February 9, 2009 "The best athlete available at #11. Hopefully it will be a a position of need." Aye, aye, aye. And you are worried about the "inner circle" not being up to par?? They say Mohrman is the best athlete on the team....... And, given the Bills suspect playcalling and overall anemic performance, does anybody think we would really be better off with Turk Schonert (!!) than Mike Martz, for instance? I mean how on earth can Jauron be making calls like that JP mess against the Jets? He can't even figure out when (or even HOW) to throw his little red flag! Martz would have been a decent "free agent" pick up.
Sisyphean Bills Posted February 9, 2009 Posted February 9, 2009 Last year, Jauron was to step forward and take Levy's "football duties" on himself. This probably wasn't all that much of a change from what it was, as Marv may have orchestrated and advised but I don't think he was ruling the war room with a steel fist by any stretch. The idea that Modrak's input would be given more weight was given in the context that the Bills had passed over a very good young QB in Jay Cutler, a player that Modrak argued for selecting. It was also suggested after the team had suffered a monumental meltdown and missed the playoffs yet again. The "elevation" of Modrak from remote office guy to the so-called "inner circle" is quite likely at the expense of Dick Jauron's authority. After failing to not post yet another losing season, Dick quite possibly had to make some concessions and allowances and having Modrak take more of a role in stocking the roster may have been part of it -- fact is, Jauron simply hasn't gotten it done.
Tcali Posted February 9, 2009 Posted February 9, 2009 At the end of this season Mr. Wilson told the press and Bills fans, the Bills need more talent especially on offense. Who makes the decisions as to whom the Bills want to acquire in free agency? The inner circle did last year. Who is in the inner circle? It has never been stated. We know Mr. Wilson, his daughter, Littmann, and Russ Brandon were last year. I do not know of any others. Tom Modrak has been added to the inner circle this year accodring to Mr. Wilson himself. NOT head coach Dick Jauron. Who makes the final decisions on this team but the inner circle. This year we have a football person in the inner circle, Tom Modrak who is now in charge of free agents and the draft according to Mr. Wilson. I believe free agents and the draft will lean heavily toward the offensive side of the ball. Those are Mr. Wilson's wishes. This does not mean however that our first pick at #11 could not be a defensive player. I believe the Bills will take the best athlete available at #11, at hopefully a position of need. Bills management knows they need to upgrade at many different positions. Who they get in free agency depends on who is willing to play for the Bills and how much the Bills are willing to pay them. Money talks and the Bills are loaded with that this year being 29 million under the cap last year and with no real big outlays needed for this year other than new players. Free agency starts Feb 27th and I imagine the Bills are now talking with Agents for the players they are interested in, so they can be signed on Feb 27th or soon after. That is how the system works. Most likely the Bills will get a QB to back up Edwards in free agency for it makes sense. They also need a OLB or MLB to upgrade that position. There is talk about acquiring Crowell back again, but would not be surprised to see the Bills splurge for a better OLB from another team who is in free agency. One who can rush the passer. It would not surprise me to see the Bills acquire a journeyman center who has been around for a few years. This would allow Preston to once again back up the guards and center. The Bills can draft a C/G and bring him along slowly for the future. It would not surprise me to see the Bills try to bring in a WR who may be aging but has a few good years left in him. Hopefully someone Edwards will find easy to find. Those are 4 positions I hope the Bills can fill in Free Agency. It sure would help if they do. They have a long ways to go to get better and we all know that. Wilson still wants to improve the offense. Fixing the Center position with a vet in F.A. will help but he still needs a quality rookie to come in hopefully to be drafted in the first three rounds. Wilson needs to have a stronger, taller, more talented TE that can stretch the field... To be drafted in the first three rounds Wilson needs to address the DE or DT position in the first round. We need a damn good player on the D-Line at either position. Do not be surprised to see this offseason leaning more to improve the offense then the defense. I just hope Mr. Wilson tries to bring in some difference makers in F. A. If he does it will mean he opened his pocketbook up more than usual. Them thar be my thoughts .... u think a DT will be sufficient given the fact that we have--with Schobel and Kelsay--the worst passrushing in football??? We dont need A damn good player on the D line--we need 2 damn good players--at least ONE of which is a DE.
ans4e64 Posted February 9, 2009 Posted February 9, 2009 So you think we might upgrade the C, TE, WR, and DE positions? That my friend, is the most original post this offseason.
Flbillsfan#1 Posted February 9, 2009 Posted February 9, 2009 At the end of this season Mr. Wilson told the press and Bills fans, the Bills need more talent especially on offense. Who makes the decisions as to whom the Bills want to acquire in free agency? The inner circle did last year. Who is in the inner circle? It has never been stated. We know Mr. Wilson, his daughter, Littmann, and Russ Brandon were last year. I do not know of any others. Tom Modrak has been added to the inner circle this year accodring to Mr. Wilson himself. NOT head coach Dick Jauron. Who makes the final decisions on this team but the inner circle. This year we have a football person in the inner circle, Tom Modrak who is now in charge of free agents and the draft according to Mr. Wilson. I believe free agents and the draft will lean heavily toward the offensive side of the ball. Those are Mr. Wilson's wishes. This does not mean however that our first pick at #11 could not be a defensive player. I believe the Bills will take the best athlete available at #11, at hopefully a position of need. Bills management knows they need to upgrade at many different positions. Who they get in free agency depends on who is willing to play for the Bills and how much the Bills are willing to pay them. Money talks and the Bills are loaded with that this year being 29 million under the cap last year and with no real big outlays needed for this year other than new players. Free agency starts Feb 27th and I imagine the Bills are now talking with Agents for the players they are interested in, so they can be signed on Feb 27th or soon after. That is how the system works. Most likely the Bills will get a QB to back up Edwards in free agency for it makes sense. They also need a OLB or MLB to upgrade that position. There is talk about acquiring Crowell back again, but would not be surprised to see the Bills splurge for a better OLB from another team who is in free agency. One who can rush the passer. It would not surprise me to see the Bills acquire a journeyman center who has been around for a few years. This would allow Preston to once again back up the guards and center. The Bills can draft a C/G and bring him along slowly for the future. It would not surprise me to see the Bills try to bring in a WR who may be aging but has a few good years left in him. Hopefully someone Edwards will find easy to find. Those are 4 positions I hope the Bills can fill in Free Agency. It sure would help if they do. They have a long ways to go to get better and we all know that. Wilson still wants to improve the offense. Fixing the Center position with a vet in F.A. will help but he still needs a quality rookie to come in hopefully to be drafted in the first three rounds. Wilson needs to have a stronger, taller, more talented TE that can stretch the field... To be drafted in the first three rounds Wilson needs to address the DE or DT position in the first round. We need a damn good player on the D-Line at either position. Do not be surprised to see this offseason leaning more to improve the offense then the defense. I just hope Mr. Wilson tries to bring in some difference makers in F. A. If he does it will mean he opened his pocketbook up more than usual. Them thar be my thoughts .... Great post. Wilson as people on this board like to say "Called himself out" by admitting the Bills lack talent. We will find out SOON if Ralph retained Dick because he really believes in continuity or he was just being CHEAP, if he brings in talent through free agency & the draft or continues to let the team flounder in mediocrity. We will find out this offseason if Ralph still has a passion for football as he once did.
BuffaloRebound Posted February 9, 2009 Posted February 9, 2009 Trades for disgruntled players like Stroud are the way to go. Paying way above market value for the free agent Dockery's of the world gets you nowhere. Guys who want a change of scenery and are still under contract provide the best situation for the Bills because other teams don't fear sending good players to the Bills which limits the pool of teams and you don't have to over-pay for them to come to Buffalo since the player doesn't have many options.
VOR Posted February 9, 2009 Posted February 9, 2009 "The best athlete available at #11. Hopefully it will be a a position of need." Aye, aye, aye. And you are worried about the "inner circle" not being up to par?? They say Mohrman is the best athlete on the team....... And, given the Bills suspect playcalling and overall anemic performance, does anybody think we would really be better off with Turk Schonert (!!) than Mike Martz, for instance? I mean how on earth can Jauron be making calls like that JP mess against the Jets? He can't even figure out when (or even HOW) to throw his little red flag! Martz would have been a decent "free agent" pick up. Moorman (sic) the best athlete on the team? Ah, no. And Martz? LOL! He's on the fast-track to the CFL (now that the AFL is defunct). Given his "body" of work since being blessed with the Rams' offense, it's safe to say he'd not only continue to stink as an OC, but make the entire offense mutiny because he's a pompous arse.
H2o Posted February 9, 2009 Posted February 9, 2009 Jason Peters will eat up a lot of cap room when he is re-signed. If the Bills choose to trade him, or worse, let this situation erupt, their reputation (which is already poor) will hit rock bottom. No team trades top LT's when the price gets high. Besides, Fred Jackson should get a long term contract, because he's proven his worth to the team in abundance. Those two contracts will take the 29M down to a level which precludes the Bills from doing as much as many unaware fans realize. Not true at all. Even if they give Peters $8-$9 million per year and Jackson say $2 million it won't really hurt us at all. Peters is already going to get $3.3 million that goes towards the cap. Say he gets $8.5 million, that's only another $5.2 million. If Jackson gets his $2 million, they only cost the team about $7 million more together. That drops us to $22 million left under the cap. That's PLENTY of money to get things done in FA and sign our draft picks. With the verbage of these contract now days things can be moved, twisted, and shoved into different areas as not to really effect the salary cap as much anyway. We are not hurting from salary cap woes by any means.
Sisyphean Bills Posted February 9, 2009 Posted February 9, 2009 Not true at all. Even if they give Peters $8-$9 million per year and <snip> The Bills use cash-to-cap, so what Peppers makes on average over the length of his next contract is totally irrelevant indeed. What is far more important is the size of the up-front signing bonus. We don't know what that will be, but when you take the entire bonus plus any other initial bonuses plus the 1st year salary for Peppers, the Bills would have to pony up a lot more than $8 million this year to land Peppers. I'll believe it when I see it as far as the leopard changing its spots and making huge plays in free agency. It seems much more likely that the Bills will follow their plan of continuity and land a few 'B', 'C', or lesser free agents with contracts nobody else would offer them (going rates for 'A' players 2 years ago) so that the Bills could sneak up to the minimum salary cap from the short side...
Thurman#1 Posted February 9, 2009 Posted February 9, 2009 I would also say it should be b/c the rules have been bent over backwards in favor of offenses. Already 15 yards for breathing on a QB. If defenses get too good, the Rules Committee just makes a new rule to increase scoring. Meaning, investing in defense is diminishing returns. Yeah, look how horribly it worked out for the Steelers.
Thurman#1 Posted February 9, 2009 Posted February 9, 2009 Last year, Jauron was to step forward and take Levy's "football duties" on himself. This probably wasn't all that much of a change from what it was, as Marv may have orchestrated and advised but I don't think he was ruling the war room with a steel fist by any stretch. The idea that Modrak's input would be given more weight was given in the context that the Bills had passed over a very good young QB in Jay Cutler, a player that Modrak argued for selecting. It was also suggested after the team had suffered a monumental meltdown and missed the playoffs yet again. The "elevation" of Modrak from remote office guy to the so-called "inner circle" is quite likely at the expense of Dick Jauron's authority. After failing to not post yet another losing season, Dick quite possibly had to make some concessions and allowances and having Modrak take more of a role in stocking the roster may have been part of it -- fact is, Jauron simply hasn't gotten it done. Both of you guys are assuming, rather than actually knowing, what goes on in this inner circle. We just don't know how much influence Jauron will have or who is in the inner circle. It's guesswork, and that's fine, but let's admit it.
Ramius Posted February 9, 2009 Posted February 9, 2009 I call B.S. on ralph's little "we have no talent" whine. When ralph feeds the fans the "we dont have talent" bit, it takes the fans minds off the horrendous coaching non-moves made this season. Ralph uses the no talent line as a way to continue to be cheap and not fire jauron. I also find it funny that ralph whines that we dont have any talent, yet does nothing to improve the guys responsible for bringing in that talent.
Thurman#1 Posted February 9, 2009 Posted February 9, 2009 Not true at all. Even if they give Peters $8-$9 million per year and Jackson say $2 million it won't really hurt us at all. Peters is already going to get $3.3 million that goes towards the cap. Say he gets $8.5 million, that's only another $5.2 million. If Jackson gets his $2 million, they only cost the team about $7 million more together. That drops us to $22 million left under the cap. That's PLENTY of money to get things done in FA and sign our draft picks. With the verbage of these contract now days things can be moved, twisted, and shoved into different areas as not to really effect the salary cap as much anyway. We are not hurting from salary cap woes by any means. H20, this reply isn't aimed at you particularly, but also at the OP and one or two others who keep mentioning the salary cap. ; The cap is basically no longer any consideration at all when you are talking about the Buffalo Bills. Because you will always reach the Bills "cash to cap" ceiling before you reach the salary cap ceiling. Don't worry about it. Instead, take the salary cap limit, subtract all the salaries of the current Bills (don't worry about bonuses or amortization or any of that crap, just the salary for this year), and that's what is left before you hit what operates as the ceiling for the Buffalo Bills. But remember that unlike other teams, for new players you have to subtract not just the year's salary but also the ENTIRE bonus given the player. So if Peters gets, say a $12 million bonus, all that $12 mill is subtracted from our available money for the year. Enough talk about the cap, please, folks. The result of going "cash to cap" is that the cap, while the NFL still cares about it, will never be approached by this team in all but the most bizarre theoretical cases. It has never happened for any cash to cap team and most likely never will.
San-O Posted February 9, 2009 Posted February 9, 2009 I call B.S. on ralph's little "we have no talent" whine. When ralph feeds the fans the "we dont have talent" bit, it takes the fans minds off the horrendous coaching non-moves made this season. Ralph uses the no talent line as a way to continue to be cheap and not fire jauron. I also find it funny that ralph whines that we dont have any talent, yet does nothing to improve the guys responsible for bringing in that talent. 100 % correct. Also, with the signing of Jauron, which the Bills almost seemed afraid to announce or admit, Ralph really had no choice but to blame the players. You can't come out and say the truth, which is you have sub par coaching from a coach you just re-signed to a new 3 year contract.
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