Lori Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 Miami might not be as interested as everyone assumed they'd be. Hmm. Don't know about Ireland, but Parcells has never been a big WR guy. Fer crissakes, he won a Super Bowl with Phil McConkey, and another one (sob) with Steven Baker and Mark Ingram. And we all know about his reaction to drafting Terry Glenn and his non-relationship with T.O. If Coles is as moody as they say, Tuna might just say, "Nope -- not interested at any price." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColdBlueNorth Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 On ESPN RADIO today, Tim Graham mentioned that Buffalo will have a hard time in F.A. and moving out of the cellar of the AFC East. He cites several reasons. I don't live in New York and have never been to Buffalo, so some insight will be helpful. Graham said the following: 1. Buffalo, N.Y. is small. No large hotels, sites, or attractions for free agents. No nightlife for free agents. 2. The stadium is old and run down compared to the newer facilities for the Patriots, Dolphins, and Jets. And, the weather is more attractive, especially for free agents to go to Miami. 3. Bills haven't been to playoffs in 9 years and Buffalo is the cheapest with spending. The only attraction to Buffalo for a free agent would be its more historic past. 4. The Bills have too many holes to fill and so rather than signing 1-2 mid-level to upper-level free agents, Buffalo will buy 5-6 free agents on the cheap. Graham also says that Buffalo playing in Canada may bother potential F.A.'s. 5. The Patriots, Jets, and Dolphins already have gotten significantly better with draft picks (for Cassell) and top of the line F.A. signings such as Scott with the Jets. Graham says Buffalo has already fallen further behind. COMMENTS Welcome! Graham's sad report says don't expect anything better than the Fitzpatrick signing. I guess I would have to agree about the night life and weather vs Miami, but do you want a player whose main interest is the weather and the night life? NE weather isn't that much better than WNY. I agree with the Canada deal - haven't ever liked that beyond playing an exibition or preseason game. How long have we been hearing about small market, possible moving, bad stadium, blah blah blah - PUKE. You never hear that the Packers might be moving from Green Bay, but Green Bay and nearby Oshkosh, and Appleton aren't suffering from any population explosions that I have heard about. As far as gaps, most teams have them but I guess we get dinged because other teams in the AFC East have coaches that appeared to find a way of putting their players in positions to win. The jury is still out on the Jets, but they do play in a big market Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.Biscuit97 Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 I guess I would have to agree about the night life and weather vs Miami, but do you want a player whose main interest is the weather and the night life? NE weather isn't that much better than WNY. I agree with the Canada deal - haven't ever liked that beyond playing an exibition or preseason game. How long have we been hearing about small market, possible moving, bad stadium, blah blah blah - PUKE. You never hear that the Packers might be moving from Green Bay, but Green Bay and nearby Oshkosh, and Appleton aren't suffering from any population explosions that I have heard about. As far as gaps, most teams have them but I guess we get dinged because other teams in the AFC East have coaches that appeared to find a way of putting their players in positions to win. The jury is still out on the Jets, but they do play in a big market Great point. Cities like Green Bay and Pittsburgh are very similar to Buffalo and that doesn't affect them from winning or getting quality players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sisyphean Bills Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 Great point. Cities like Green Bay and Pittsburgh are very similar to Buffalo and that doesn't affect them from winning or getting quality players. Is it legal to call Green Bay a "city"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 Great point. Cities like Green Bay and Pittsburgh are very similar to Buffalo and that doesn't affect them from winning or getting quality players. Question: what big-name free agents has either of those teams signed lately? (I'm not talking about Reggie White and Desmond Howard-era.) And if there are any, what was the Packers' or Steelers' record the previous season? Were they in the playoffs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.Biscuit97 Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 Is it legal to call Green Bay a "city"? I guess it is. But that's the most depressing part about being a Bills' fan. A place in Wisconsin with 100,000 people, where beer and cheese flow freely, is one of the model franchises in the NFL. And to quote Lenny Dykstra, Bills fans are just sitting with their Richards in their hands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimGraham Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 Doesn't sound like he has many options then. Another thing to consider: If the Bills are Coles' only option, what kind of mood will this guy be in? Disgruntled probably. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColdBlueNorth Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 Question: what big-name free agents has either of those teams signed lately? (I'm not talking about Reggie White and Desmond Howard-era.) And if there are any, what was the Packers' or Steelers' record the previous season? Were they in the playoffs? You are kidding about the Steelers right... But your point about who have they signed recently is true, many teams do not make a big splash in free agency and manage to put togeher respectable seasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 Another thing to consider: If the Bills are Coles' only option, what kind of mood will this guy be in? Disgruntled probably. Then again, from previous reports, when isn't he? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CardinalScott Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 Its always funny how a certain town offers this over that etc. It ends up with who offers the most money the city is secondary or more likely about #12 on things that matter. If you pay the players will come. You don't have to over pay just come up with a dollar more and they come a runnin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBill Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 Its always funny how a certain town offers this over that etc. It ends up with who offers the most money the city is secondary or more likely about #12 on things that matter. If you pay the players will come. You don't have to over pay just come up with a dollar more and they come a runnin. I think the priorities will vary depending on stage of career also. Look at Tony G in KC. If the rumors were true that he said "no" to Buffalo it was most likely because he wants to be a part of a winning organization. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColdBlueNorth Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 Is it legal to call Green Bay a "city"? ehhhh.... guess so. Then again, I police my kids, sit as judge and jury over all domestic affairs (while the wife is away), have an administrative desk where I take care of bills, I am the sanitation department, manage our telecommunications, etc... I wonder if I could register my house as a town or city and get federal and state aid for driveway repairs, education grants, social programs like parties and such - sweeet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quikchomp Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 One thing people fail to realize is Texas and Florida don't have state income taxes....that's alluring when you're making big bucks and want to keep as much as possible. It is alluring, but it's not as much of an advantage as you would think it is. Professional athletes pay taxes to each state where they play during the year. For example, if someone signs with the Cowboys, they don't pay taxes on at least half of their salary (8 games out of 16), but 1/16 of their income is reported in Pennsylvania for when they play Philly, 1/16 in NJ when they play the Giants, 1/16 for the Skins game, and so on and so forth. So it's still an attractive incentive, but not as much as most people originally believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.Biscuit97 Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 Question: what big-name free agents has either of those teams signed lately? (I'm not talking about Reggie White and Desmond Howard-era.) And if there are any, what was the Packers' or Steelers' record the previous season? Were they in the playoffs? Charles Woodson and Ryan Pickett off the top of my head, I believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 We need to discuss our differing definitions of "big-name," I think ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stussy109 Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 I never knew the weather was more attractive in NYC and Foxboro over Buffalo? Miami, well duh, but it's pretty much a wash between the other two or has it stopped snowing in those two other areas during the winter? The weather in Albany is pretty different from Buffalo, NYC even more so. Remember you deal with lake effect snow for like 5 months/yr. Nobody else has that. I lived in buffalo suburbs for 8 years. i can speak for the outsiders, all of my friends who came to visit me from different parts of the country, NOBODY liked Buffalo. Its not a diss on buffalo, but just stating facts from my experience. That was with me giving them the grand tour of food, casinos strip clubs etc. Rememebr Coles lives in Florida, so buffalo is like the antartic to him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oak tree 12 Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 Radio comments are hard to provide a link for, but for what it's worth: I hate to say it, but FA is mostly about the coin. Some players will sign with a team like the *patsies for the chance to win (Taylor), then others will sign with a team stricly for the dollars (Haynesworth). Buffalo isn't that bad. We seem to have quite a few explayers from both the Bills and especially the Sabres wo still live in town. Like Tim Grahm, but if he actually said these things, maybe he should do a bit more research. yea like a HOF QB who never wanted to come here who still lives here . graham is a young jerk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dean Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 yea like a HOF QB who never wanted to come here who still lives here . graham is a young jerk I see you didn't bother to read through the thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thurman#1 Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 Why did Dockery go to Washington, instead of Detroit (who offered more $$, from what I am reading)? I'd imagine it was because he played there for years and probably already has friends there, knows the restaurants, etc. Also, his Detroit contract would have paid him more in the long run, but the Skins contract pays him more for the first two years. And obviously, as a football player who is constantly at risk of injury, that might look very good financially. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thurman#1 Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 Question: what big-name free agents has either of those teams signed lately? (I'm not talking about Reggie White and Desmond Howard-era.) And if there are any, what was the Packers' or Steelers' record the previous season? Were they in the playoffs? Both those teams are consistently good. They have plans for development just like that of almost all the consistently good teams in the league. That is to say, build through the draft, fill in gaps with medium-priced guys and only pick up the occasional big ticket FA like Farrior for the Steelers. The best way is to build through the draft, and there can be no doubt about it. But filling in the gaps with medium and low-priced FAs is useful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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