Mike in Syracuse

There is so much ignorance when it comes to assessing the play of a QB or the play of a team that it's almost painful at times to read this forum. Comparing a 2nd year QB, who missed half of his 1st season, to Big Ben is the type of comparison I'd expect from someone in 5th grade. That comparison is below a child's level understanding of basic statistics. EJ's evaluation should be based on things like: Does he have command of the offense? Is he making the correct reads?, Is the ball coming out on time? Is he going through his progressions? Is his accuracy where it needs to be? The comments on check downs, staring at WR's, throwing velocity etc are pure idiocy. Rather than arguing with people who post such things, you should just ignore their posts and feel sorry for them.

Holy crap. Although going from flying a B-1 to a 737 is like going from driving a Lamborghini to a school bus.

Maybe they're shooting for the first pick in next years draft as well? I like Fitz as a person but if he's your starting QB you're in trouble.

Whaley said they had multiple conversations and the final compensation wasn't decided until Cleveland had about 5 minutes left on the clock.

A fantastic story from Peter King on last nights decision: http://mmqb.si.com/2...ns-gutsy-trade/

I watched this video about a half dozen times and I can't stop laughing. It's so incredibly pitiful that it's hysterical. I'm not sure what the funniest part is? The shovel to the head or the "i can't hear, I can't hear......it's ok, I kicked her ass"! One thing is for sure, that short girl can take a punch. She took a dozen shots straight to the face!

Hey can't _______, his _______ is overrated! He isn't anywhere near as productive as ______________! Thirteen years of no playoffs and Russ & Company reach for __________. What a bunch of idiots.

This is an odd situation. Why try to get everyone out to the airport? It doesn't seem like Jim had any intentions of greeting the fans. I don't blame him one bit!

They've also never had to make a decision with Ralph Wilson saying yea or nay. Maybe this is the first step in an entirely different Bills organization.

Don't feel bad. I'm at a point where I want the Bills to win a SB so badly I don't care if they have to do with a bunch of felons on the team.

Why would he wait so long? I never understood why players wait 3 months into the offseason before having these procedures done.

That's an excellent point! Although one team doesn't necessarily reflect the market as a whole it only takes one team.

There's been a lot of debate recently over Jairus Byrd. Should the Bills have paid him?. Is he truly elite? Did he want too much money? My personal feeling is that I would have liked the Bills to retain him because he's a good player but I didn't want them to break the bank to do so. I don't view safety as a critical position (unlike QB and CB) and I don't think the delta between a good safety and an "elite" safety is the difference between a top 10 draft pick and the playoffs. One of the things that intrigued me is that a lot of people feel that Byrd's number of interceptions makes him "elite" so I decided to take a look at the numbers. Is seems logical to assume that an elite safety would be dramatically outperforming everyone around him. That he'd be a game changer an opposing offenses would have to account for him. So let's see what the numbers say. For purposes of discussion I've included anyone that was +/- one interception of Byrd! Here's the interception statistics for the last 4 years: 2013 Jairus Byrd 4 (*missed 4 games to injury) Jim Leonhard 4 (*missed 3 games to injury) Aaron Williams 4 Kiko Alonso 4 2012 Jairus Byrd 5 Bryan Scott 4 2011 George Wilson 4 Jairus Byrd 3 Nick Barnett 3 Drayton Florence 3 2010 Drayton Florence 3 George Wilson 2 Leodis McKelvin 2 Jairus Byrd 1 2009 Jairus Byrd 9 George Wilson 4 It's clear from the numbers that Byrd's 2009 season was off the charts. From 2010 on though he's numbers are very much in line with the other safeties on this team. So, if Byrd is truly "the top safety in the NFL' as some has suggested, what do you think of these numbers?

I seem to recall 3rd and anything over 10 yards for our defense was almost an automatic first down for the opposing team.

Maybe there's some evidence that the market for Byrd might not be as hot as we thought it would be: It's been widely assumed that the Browns would be hot after the three-time Pro Bowler, because he played for coach Mike Pettine last year in Buffalo. It doesn't mean the Browns won't join the Byrd sweepstakes -- just that they haven't yet. The Rams are one team that has inquired about Byrd, according to nfl.com. This comes from the Cleveland Browns reporter Mary Kay Cabot. Here's a link to the entire article: http://www.cleveland....medium=twitter Perhaps, just perhaps the market for Byrd isn't all that strong? Maybe teams are reluctant to drop $9 or $10M on a safety or maybe they, like Bill Polian has stated, just don't see Byrd as being that type of an impact player. We all knew Byrd wanted to see what the market looked like. You can't really blame him for that. Perhaps he's finding out that the deal the Bills offered his is the best he'll see. For those fretting about not being able to afford the cap space for two highly paid safeties I'll offer this. When it comes to the high priced positions, EJ is ours on the cheap for the next 4 years. If he does develop the timing is perfect because he'll need a new deal about the same time Mario's is up. Our CB's for the next couple along with our starting LT. We're still carrying $12M in dead money from Fitz's contract. The increases in the cap only add to the options. So maybe, just maybe Byrd returning to the nest isn't such an impossibility.

If this is correct, the Bills are going to have to spend a lot more than I ever imagined to be players in FA. Oakland has $64M Jacksonville has $59M Cleveland has $49 Can this be right? It's from Henry Hodgson who works for NFL.com https://twitter.com/nflukhank/status/442120775005245440/photo/1

Nigel Bradham ‏@NigelBradham_13 3m They sleeping on me.... But I'll wake them up shortly....

I'm not really siding with anyone. The Bills are doing what they have to do to protect their rights and interests and Byrd is doing what he feels he needs to do to protect his. He's testing the market to see just how much he can get and that's fine. Byrd and his agent's both know full well that he could sign a 10 year $100 million contract but he's never going to see all of that money so the entire discussion of contract term becomes irrelevant. Just stop telling me how much you'd like to come back and how much you love your teammates. What he's not saying is that he'd love to come back and stay with his teammates as long as the Bills are willing to give him more money than any other team. What will be truly telling is when the news of his new contract comes out and the leak of what the Bills offered.

I think that's actually a bull **** answer to cover the simple motivating factor....greed. Byrd wants to make as much money as possible, he doesn't give a **** about his teammates. If the Bills offered him an $18M signing bonus and $10 per he's going to forget all about his teammates and he'll wind up singing somewhere else for $20M and $11 per yer. Normal people take less money for jobs they love everyday. Most of them won't make in their lifetime what Byrd will pay in in taxes. Teammates my ass, it's all about the Benjamin's for Byrd.

Ralph is cheap.

Joe [via mobile] From where you've played in the NFL, what stadiums have the best fan atmosphere? Jairus Byrd (12:27 PM) Probably the Saints. I would say New Orleans.

Buffalo Sports ‏@Buffalo_Sports 37m So I have heard the #Bills official offer to Byrd that he turned down was 6 years, $62.5 million (Front loaded). I'm starting to see that nothing Whaley does is going to change Byrd's position. He wants out and his agent is pushing all the buttons: Aaron (LA) How weird would it be to play for another team? Jairus Byrd (12:15 PM) It will be extremely different. You spend so much time in one place. It will be a big change for me. To adapt and everything. Jeff [via mobile] Are u planning to meet with as many teams as you can ? Jairus Byrd (12:15 PM) I don't really know what the plan is. I'm letting my agent handle all of that stuff. I'm waiting to hear from him.

I don't think that's entirely accurate. He's been asking repeatedly if people feel that the Safety position is worth $10M ? He's openly stated that he doesn't believe it is and has pointed to the fact that Safeties have one of the lowest franchise tag numbers. They're only slightly above punters, kickers and TE's. He also points out that very few teams in the league are willing to pay a safety huge $. He's asked people to call in and give their position, I think that's what he's supposed to do!

They should've use the franchise tag on him!

Guy runs one 40 and can't run a second because his hamstring is "tight". What the hell is it with these athletes these days? They don't participate in half of the combine events and now they're bowing out of their own pro day stuff. I'd like to see the NFL adapt a mandatory participation rule. You run 2 40's, you throw, you do drill or you're not eligible to be drafted.