rpcolosi

in ralph's eyes Lou Saban was darth vader.... and I'd go with Metzelars as being the wookie

lets not forgot this kids talent.... this is a HECK of a catch against a very very good CB. I'd like to see Chan split him our wide more and empty the backfield. it really presents some matchup issues. just putting him on the outside, it forces a CB to shift and a LB to cover a guy like Nelson in the slot. http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/09000d5d81d340e1/Spiller-41-yard-catch

1.) the contract: 3 year, $9 million deal (includes a $2 million roster bonus) and a base salary of 1.5mil for year one (of which he's only paid the pro-rated portion). Total contract after termination: 1 year at 3mil. 2.) NFL Veteran Minimum: 10+ years (he has 14 years) is $820,000 for salary. 3.) Conclusion: his roster bonus puts him over but his annual salary is not a large increase over the veteran minimum. 4.) why give him a $2mil bonus? Why sign him to 3 years? - the bonus is probably higher than he deserved based on his poor play, the 3 year contract means nothing as there is no guaranteed money beyond the roster bonus. i'd suspect the 3 years was negotiated by his agent in hopes he'd be paid decently if he could play beyoned year 1, but obviously the Bills didn't think this as they gave him no roster, workout or reporting bonus for years 2 or 3. I've commented on this before, but too many people get hung up on the Cornell Green signing. Read the contract - 3 years, 9mil with 2mil guaranteed. They paid a guy to basically help through 1 sesason. they needed someone who had some experience on the line to at the least help a guy like howard or wrotto out. The plan was likely NOT to keep him past year 1, otherwise you'd give him a guarantee for years two or three and disburse his bonus money (ie guaranteed money) to lower your cap - see aaron schobel's extension. Again, if you understand the nature of his contract and the nature of his dismissal, it is 100% evident the plan was to use him as a stopgap while we found younger, cheaper and developmental talent (same strategy used in SD)... Read between the lines - he was always signed to be a 1year stop gap. A bad one at that, but a 1year, 3mil stopgap. significantly less money than Orlando Pace got with Chicago (and not much worse results).

you could stop looking at ralph as a man who just want's to milk it for all its worth, and instead realize he's turned down any chance to enjoy the fruits of his 25k investment in his lifetime. the man is going to die without ever seeing the 100s of millions that will come from the Bills. that would be a good first step, because that is actually factual and proven. He is just as likely to give a ROFR to Toronto as he is LA or Bilouxi, Mississippi. He has no business interest in it, because he will be long gone after all this comes up. It will be a decision made by his family or his estate. and like Golisano says... a man that smart and that wealthy already has a plan lined up (you just need to stop being convinced its a back door proposal to les habitants).

really? thats funny. I remember two of Tom's teams making it to the conference finals. it was pure luck, not that he spent money nad went into debt first on the team right? anyone who thinks TG has no interest in supporting a winning team clearly ignores 2005-2007 of the sabres. because our players sucked and we didn't keep 2 people (really only breire was worth keeping, drury though i love him, has been a wasted of $$), TG is suddenly cheap. What do you do with a team that has 3 rising stars - Vanek, Roy, Miller, who you have to sign long term, and 2 aging vets who are demanding higher salaries? welcome to the world of the salary cap ladies it works both ways!

As this board is well known for, the citizens are freaking out over the Twang Team of Nix and Gailey selecting players from their respective back yards. Some people are wigging out we have no Big Ten draft picks, others are relieved we didn't take another West Coast QB. Either way - the best thing to do is to look at our best teams, the 90s for you kids under 21, and see where everyone played in college to see if we aren't being just a tad bit irrational... 1.) Jimbo - sure, he's from PA, but he spent 4 years at Miami and then a few more in Houston. He hadn't played in PA type weather for almost 7 years before Buffalo. 2.) Thurman - I'm pretty sure Oklahoma State is fairly warm, although they can get some nasty weather in the Souther plains states. Let's not forget, he's from Houston, so my guess is the snow was new for him. 3.) Andre - went to college in PA, grew up right down the street. Yippee, now go make the HOF. 4.) Bruce - VT and grew up in Norfolk, VA not exactly known for its blustery winters 5.) Kent Hull - mississippi state, grew up in the same state. pretty sure he owned the lines up here all winter long 6.) jeff wright - from Cali, played in Missourri, This is a toss up, Mizzou can get some bad weather 7.) Conlan - he's an older, better version of Poz, from the same area and all. was good in any climate 8.) Biscuit - from Alabama, played at 'Bama. pretty sure thats considered the deep south 9.) DT - from cleveland, played at WVU, had special spider sense. 10.) mark kelso - played ball in Virginia at William and Mary, but is from PA. Still, spent 4 years in a "southern" school 11.) kenneth davis - from texas, played at TCU, deserved Schoebl-esque money for the comeback game 12.) house ballard - from bama, played in alabama. i'm going to stop there. from my quick recant thats 8 guys who played an extended period in the south. pretty sure we don't need to freak out. the best football players the past 20-30 years have come from there... Nix and Gailey are a good tandem. give it another year, .500 and a win over the jets/pats each would be a good goal for this season

alex smith would be a great QB as a back up under Chan. I think its pretty clear Brohm just doesn't get it, but Smith has had some success in the league. He's an early round talent, who busted as a franchise savior. Anyone ever wonder how JP would do under Chan? Now that you are done laughing, I'm serious... cannon arm, good mobility, bad decision maker. Seems Chan might be able to work with that.

rob roddick was awesome. I remember as a kid jumping over my couch thinking I was him. absolutely classic (of course this guys 21 and under have absolutely know clue who he was)...

of course its a black hole of information... Gailey came right our and said about 10% of what you hear is true and that he doesn't think lying about the draft is lying at all. I think thats as clear a signal as you can send that your cars are being tightly played. It was probably alllll set up last year when the wise cat Buddy decided to fool everyone into thinking he was taking Spiller, and then he did. So now this year everyone is thinking he might do the same thing... he's so smart - he set up his smoke screen last year... see, buddy is the smartest guy in the room. also - i vote any of the DL, Peterson or Miller at 3, trade back in for an OL or QB if you deem one good enough.

ralph owns the bills??? Oh i thought it was jim overdorf and jeff littman who did. my bad. guys - the bills aren't leaving. LA doesn't have a stadium built, Toronto is a necessary market to keep the bills here but clearly is NOT an NFL city, and we have 3-4 potential, local owners, not even going into possibly NYC investors with WNY ties. between Golisano, the Rich Brothers, Jacobs, and now Pegula - there is plenty of money to keep it in buffalo. The key and goal is to expand into the profitability across the border. The Canadian dollar is MORE valuable than the US at the moment. The more we can tap into a bustling Southern Ontario (yes giving them a game a year is FINE by me... heck give them training camp to be honest) the more revenue and higher we can charge for suites which is the ultimate goal. So, if you guys want to keep the Bills in buffalo, keep supporting the Toronto experiment. One of the big guys will step up when the time is right... LA is better suited for the Jaguars anyways. and for hte record - Rochester GREW in population while Buffalo shrank. so maybe people like me need to stay in WNY... oops

-1,0000000000000000

what it says is that Edwards doesn't trust his CBs against bowe enough to bring up a safety to help shift run assignments. thats what it says. bring in Peterson please...

im sure marty wants an over-rated corner to teach his guys how to draw a flag a game for PI or holding....

the right move is to take Peterson at #3 overall (we actually NEED cornerbacks guys - mcgee is unreliable and leodis is under contract - but drayton "flag" florence and yobouty have contracts up). then... stick with the 3-4 (you don't stop drafting for a superior scheme because everyone else is, you just draft better). in the meantime, yes you utilize the 4-3... in those situationed we would run a front of Carrington, KW, Troupe and Edwards (he has played all over the DL) or Kelsay. LB would be WLB - Merriman, MLB - Poz, SLB- Torbor (who still sucks in coverage). in the 3-4 the way to go is carrington-KW-edwards, rotate troupe in and if we were to draft a dareus rotate him in as well. the point is - you make sure troupe gets more snaps/game alongside KW. Losing stroud means troupe will get all that PT at the 3 spot in 4-3 situations that Stroud had. Carrington will pick up time in the 3-4 sets and rotate with edwards and kelsay when 4 down linemen are called for. we need a CB. Leodis is not going to be resigned long term unless he picks it up. maybe some helathy competition form a rookie who shows him up might push the right buttons. He's got physical gifts, he just has mental lapses constantly. I really want peterson... he's another revis-island.

it sounded pretty clear he wasn't interested in buying the Bills at this point. however, I'm curious if his older son would have any interest in owning or running the team in the future. In the mean time Golisano + others still looks like the most likely owner. Also, we shouldn't rule out another person like Pegula wanting the bills. anyone from WNY with deep pockets might be interested (and that includes both of the Rich brothers who combined are worth nearly $3bil).

6'1 235, 4 year starter at ILB for the chargers.... Undrafted rookie FA out of college, 31 yo. Sounds like an excellent pick up for 2-3 years to play alongside Poz or spell A. Davis while we develop some young talent. And would be relatively cheap (~2-3mil/year). Finally get this - He can COVER TIGHT ENDS (at least according to scouts inc.) Cooper has developed into a quality starting inside linebacker for the Chargers. He has an excellent nose for the ball and is consistently one of the leading tacklers on the team. He is quick to recognize blocking schemes and to locate the level of the ball. He does a good job of using his hands to keep blockers off his body. He hits with authority and shows a good last-second closing burst on tackles. He has excellent lateral range and gets very good depth in his pass drops. Although he lacks the size to make a lot of plays against taller tight ends, he shows good route recognition on underneath patterns.

if 1/2 of this was right I'd be excited. I want Peterson at #3 if he is there (hands down best player, and the next revis island). ayers in the 2nd would be amazing but I'd be a little shocked if he feel that far. however, if he does, he is a no brainer. the guy would be our first ILB who can cover a TE in years. Dalton is a nice project QB. I dont think Kendricks last that long though. Bynes would be a solid guy too.

you made sense until you brought up jonathan scott. he was their 3rd... THIRD string tackle. Maybin torched him repeatedely in training camp for would-be sacks. letting him goes was a wise move. wrotto and howard are both better than scott. in essence, they got scott and we got ubrik - and ubrik is the better player with more upside, simply at a position of depth for us. cornell green was a joke of a signing, but we all have to be aware they most likely expected him to simply bridge the gap until some younger guys stepped in and were capable in year 1 of the deal. he wasn't guaranteed much at all on a "three" year deal and nothing was backloaded, indicating he was viewed as a stop gap/short term fill in. in essence, the deal sounded bigger than it was and buddy rented the guy for a around 3mil until some rookie FA and practice squad players proved adequate in the system. none of us liked the deal, but would you rather invest in a mid 30s guy like Pace who commanded more money or try to find some younger, cheaper, upside potential FAs? frankly, i was content with who buddy brought in from wrotto to ubrik to reinhart. the biggest knock is why in the world Wang saw no PT - unless they view him as a long term project. that is disheartening and should be watched closely. that will be a far bigger judge of Nix's OL e v a l than renting Green for half a season. 3mil is nothing for an offensive tackle.

+1 Fewell is the new ted cottrell without the defensive success cottrell had.

typical "we need a new stadium" post. Why? no one has ever answered why? OP is a fine location, the stadium is still one of the largest in the NFL, and fans love it. Again, I'll consistently refer to Bill simmons article on why Lambeau, soldier field and the ralph are a dying breed of stadium - where the avg fan is on top of hte action no matter where and can afford to sit low to the field. The biggest factor to keeping the team in WNY is NO STADIUM DEBT. People need to realize this is a HUGE key to keeping us here. tacking on anohter 300mil to an alreay huge purchase sum is not going to happen. Now, ownership and the county working together to upgrade the stadium for $50 or so is much more practical - get rid of the club seats which are hard to sell and increase stadium seats and another suite or two to keep revenues at or above where it is. a facelift of the Ralph like Solider and Lambeau is much more practical. Also, it would be nice to have a team in the AFC who's stadium has been around for 50-60 years, an original 6 AFL team that keeps the history of the AFL intact. In conjunction with an upgrade to the stadium we should have an AFL museum connected to honor those teams. It would be a huge draw for out of town fans and add to the overall worth of the team/stadium.

nope. look at larry foote -a guy who dominated in pittsburgh and sucked it up in a 4-3 in detroit. scheme is huge. our HC and GM weren't on the same page day 1 with it (Gailey has only had his pittsburgh stint with a 3-4 if I am not mistaken and Nix, in the nfl at least, has never been around a 4-3). this worries me as it has since hte day we brought in chan.

love it. also - I am a huge von miller fan, if we could trade back with someone who really wants AJ Green or one of the CBs I say do it. otherwise any of the D-lineman. of the guys I dont want, Peterson would be acceptable. Someone needs to replace Terrence, Leodis is better off as a nickel back (wasted pick again), and Florence is an adequate #2.

excellent post even for being a little scattered. Having this many "football" guys is a change for our organization, and other than LeBeau, I cannot recall having a high profile coordinator on either side of the ball. the $$ is a good sign that RW will spend some, but what's a better sign is that Nix and Gailey recognized we needed help on Defense (big question is - do we go to a 4-3 now with Wanny?) and they went out and did something about it. It also says a TON about George Edwards, who people on here love to critique, that he maintains his position and is willing to work with someone like DW. I've never, ever bashed Edwards nor do I at all think this unit's struggles were his fault. Quite the contrary, the DW signing just speaks to what kind of guy he is and what kind of coach he wants to be. Mark my words, he will be a Fewell-esque name in a few years. In regards to FA, a lot of that is going to come down to the CBA. That will be a monkey wrench for much of this. Hopefully Nix can get another couple of guys like Dwan Edwards - solid contributors who fill needs. The obvious positions are RT, TE, and LB, and maybe safety depending on how that all hashes out. And to finish my ramble.... What style of defense are we going to run? If anyone recalls Gailey's original hire he didn't initially jump all over a 3-4, only said that it was a pain to scheme against. He has been a coach on many successful teams with 4-3s (the cowboys and phins). I am just curious if the views of Gailey, DW, whaley and Nix all mesh on defense right now. I hope so. If they go back to 4-3 I hope they do it right away and draft accordingly. One thing is for sure, we now have 2 head coaches and I really like that prospect.

a few things to bring us back to reality: 1.) Fairley will be gone at 1 or 2. He is not going to drop to us. Anyone but AJ Green would be good at 3. 2.) Lee Evans will not get you a late 2nd or 3rd round pick. His contract makes him very hard to trade, and no one will take on mediocore production and give up more then a 5th for him. 3.) The bills have spent money in the offseason - just look at the 2nd and 3rd years of the TD era: 2002 - fletcher, eddie robinson, mike hollis, and bledsoe (trade but still cost a lot of $$$) 2003 - Takeo, Lawyer Milloy, sam adams, sam gash, rian lindell, jeff posey *** ralph has and will spend money, just a matter of a GM with some smarts to get well priced FAs that fill a need. 4.) this team needs help on defense, not offense. Adding Wannstedet could go a long ways in making our D better. Our last dominant D came when we had an AHC that we paid quite well (Dick LeBeau). Adding linebackers is huge. Despite signing Kelsay, not much of that is guaranteed. he is someone we can cut in a year or two once moats is ready to take over. Don't be shocked if Poz is not resigned, we desperately need an ILB who can cover and a SS who can cover. Resigning George Wilson is a start, but a guy like Peterson could be a good fit alongside Jarius. finally - expect 3-4 signings this year in FA, maybe 1 bigger name like a Zack Miller. But don't expect Woodley or Timmons. Those guys will take less to stay in Pittsburgh. They just need to ask Larry Foote about following the money to Detroit and then coming back to the Steelers. David Harris or David Hawthorne would both be nice, but aren't likely unless we don't bring Poz back, which would be smart....

when it comes to the Ralph, see Bill Simmon's article 2 years ago about the Bills-Cleveland MNF game. It's a loud place, everyone can see the field, average joes can sit in the bottom bowl, its loud, etc. It has everything a fan and hometown player would want in a stadium. 2 bit guys on boston radio aren't doing much to change that opinion of mine...