starrymessenger

Not likely. Brady's current contract is for four years. Mallett's rookie contract is for four years. Its n0o coincidence. TB will be 37 when his deal is up. If Mallett develops to BB's standards, don't be surprised if Tom Terrific is traded in 2 years while he still has trade value. If Mallett does not pan out to BBs expectations, he will be traded, probably for more than a third. Hoyer is a FA next year and the Pats will not be franchising him. The plan in NE is Brady/Mallett. Mallett has been pressing somewhat in practice. His throws have been sailing. He is trying too hard. If you saw the list of QBs with 108 passer ratings or better after the first preseason game you would not be impressed. He also had all day to stand in the pocket for the most part. Mallett nevertheless certainly has top 10 talent, not 74th or whatever it was. He is more mobile in and around the pocket than given credit for and he can throw well on the run, especially rolling to his right. He did break Peyton Manning's SEC passing records, which had stood for a long time. He was an absolute steal for the Pats in the 3rd. Still, landing in a place like NE, with an O-line like that, was especially good for a pro type pocket passer like him. Not to worry though. Luck, Barkley, Landry Jones...he will get our guy next year.

And I've been hearing for months that Chan is an offensive genius and Fitz is a franchise quarterback.

I meant at Clemson.

No I'm afraid the news is worse than that. His best days may be behind him.

Yeah but at least Chan has his waterbug.

Don't know if I would criticize anyone for having an ego. Certainly I wouldn't if they could back it up. Agree that the O-Line is a liability and that obviously limits Chan's choices. The question though is whether Chan has a preference for this sort of thing. Besides his time in Dallas, has Chan ever run or built a "traditional" NFL offence in the pros (obviously he never did in college ball). With our O;line in the state it was (and is, not to mention our D at the time for that matter) did Chan really need his "waterbug"? I think Chix wanted Tebow, and would have picked Cam over Dareus if the two had been available. Just my opinion, but I think those would have been mistakes (we got the best player in the draft IMO).

Pats may well win the division again, but they will be one and done again in the playoffs. As good as they are they are clearly not as dominant as they were during their SB runs and the next step is down IMO.

OK thank-you. If we did offer 7 I think we did all that we should have.

Well its pretty clear that we did offer more money. We obviously did not offer the same money for a longer committment (five instead of three years). The 7MM per originated on this board.

We don't actually know for sure what the terms of the Bill's offer was. The 7MM per originates on this message board and is not credible in the least. The "rumour" out of Atlanta at the time is that the stumbling block was duration of the contract. Falcon's offered three. Clabo wanted five. We offered five but the per annum and possibly the guaranteed portion of the K was otherwise the same. Falcon's chinned up to five rather than lose a pro bowl RT in his prime. Had we offered 2 bucks more a year (from 5 to 7), and the Falcons not move, you can bet Clabo would be a Bill. Not saying thats what we should have done because thats a separate question. Also my guess that 6.5 would have done it, as has been suggested in an earlier post.

Thats hilarious. I hope for their sake that they are better at naming the starter under center.

I actually like the Bubbas, and my sense of it is that they are clearly better draft day pickers than the prior braintrust. But I agree, we need to see how it all pans out.

I agree with you. I think if by some fluke both Cam and Dareus had been on the board, Chan Gailey and Buddy Nix would have picked Cam, which would have been a mistake IMO because Dareus was the best playr in the draft bar none. I also believe the stories that had Nix trying to trade up to draft Tim Tebow (who is well on his way to being a third string QB in Denver). I think they are also probably interested in Pryor, as some have reported. IMO Cam may not exactly bust but I believe that he will underperform relative to his first overall selection and the expectations some have for him. My concern is that Chan may be a college coach (in spite of his pro experience) and a gadget player/system junkie. I don't believe any of that translates very well to the NFL over the long haul.

Agree on both counts.

And few of those teams have O-Lines as suspect as ours. Maybe we could have brought him in for a cup of coffee and a quick physical? Obviously he passed the Chiefs physical. I'll bet Pioli signed him to an incentive laden contract. He did build the Patriots and is successfully rebuilding the Chiefs after all. Hes not so dumb.

Rinse and repeat. Hope you are right about our O-Line being just fine. We were 20th in pass pro last year even using a blocking TE exclusively and schemes designed to get the ball out of Fitz hands quickly. Not good, at least based on last years results. BTW the Chiefs, who also have O-Line issues, just signed Jared Gaither. Guess Scott Pioli didn't hear he was a headcase and couldn't pass a physical (ergo he passed the Chiefs physical).

Don't worry about the Phins getting a high draft choice next year. Jeff Ireland will screw it up, trust me.

KS is a football player. I think Nix made the right decision as between the two.

Not sure you have been reading my posts. Either that or you have comprehension problems. I have been saying that IMO Ryan Mallett has a chance to be a very good pro QB, and an absolute steal as a third round pick. Given what I see as huge natural ability, I think its really all up to him. All he needs to do is find the same work ethic that make Peyton and Brady megastars, because he may well have comparable ability. He needs to be the first guy in the team facility in the morning and he needs to be the last guy out the door at the end of the day. He has such an "unconventional" personality that pro talent evaluators didn't think he could develop that kind of dedication and maturity. I think they were wrong and that when he was sitting there in the third he was money for the Bills and just about every other team. On the other hand, the fact that so many had the "wrong" impression is partly on Mallett and his agents/handlers. For example, he didn't have to run a fast 40, but he needed to show up at the combine & proday in good physical condition, not a sloppy 257lbs (I'd like to see him at fit 260-265, which is doable given his frame). Like I said, I think us passing on him in the third was a monumental error. Time will tell. BTW Hoyer is a free agent next year and there is no way the Pats are going to franchise him. Mallett was drafted as TBs potential replacement (if he pans out). When TBs current contract expires he will be 37 years old and that time frame corresponds with the end of Mallett's rookie contract. Brady's great but will he stay healthy and will his skills remain at this level by then? Not likely IMO. He will probably still have good trade value in two or three years so I would not rule out his being traded and RM taking over. Like I said, a lot of this depends entirely on Mallett and his development.

Everybody, including BB, passed on him at least twice. So nothing specific about a particular offensive scheme or philosophy. He was not chosen because he was not seen as generally fitting the mould, insofar as expectations and conventional wisdom was concerned. Hear what you are saying about Gailey and don't disagree. It was clear from a comment Chris Brown made during the draft when Mallett was still out there that the Bills had decided not to touch him with a bargepole regardless of the round. Just didn't want him at all. I think it was Buddy, who I suspect has some preconceived notions about people. Hes not different from a lot of FO types in that regard. BB does have the ability to think outside the box and is not above taking a chance. I think he will be rewarded.

Except that Bucky Brooks was saying this in January and continuously since then. Ryan Mallett's case is fascinating. The talent is clearly there but everybody passes on him at least twice. It wasn't really about the drugs, of which there was not enuf to really get excited about. Its that conventional front office wisdom just could not see him ever leading a group of grown men. Meanwhile they all pretty much were blown away by Cam and Blaine Gabbert's "intangibles" in this regard. But they are all pretty much a bunch of middle to later age men who could not get their heads around his wigger personality. I include Nix and Gailey in this. I think they would have stupidly picked Cam Newton ahead of Dareus if by some fluke they both were there at #3, and I think Buddy did try to nab Tebow (now on his way to being a 3rd stringer) the year before. I think Shep would probably have been there for us at the top of the fourth or we could have traded up so that I saw it as Searcy instead of Mallett. Nothing against Searcy but that was a monumental error IMO. Ryan Mallett will be as good as he wants to be, and I think he wants to be really good.

Starting to look that Gaither may be done, at least for this year. Whats the rule on passing physicals? Does failing in Oak mean he can't pass anywhere else? McCargo failed in Indy but was back on the roster in Buffalo. Are there legal lability issues for the teams that might be scaring them off?

Not to beat a dead horse, especially since it is now academic, but Atlanta allowed only 27 sacks last year and that line has done a great job of protecting Ryan since he came into the league. Teamwise rated 5th in the league in pass pro. Clabo was rated in 2010 the 6th best RT in the league in pass blocking efficiency. And yes, he is a great run blocker. Also doesn't matter that he was a UDFA or that early in his career he bounced around. Its where hes at today thats important. He has been their starting RT for three years now and has started every game since being named the starter. Durability is a cardinal virtue in this game. He is in his prime now and we should reasonably expect additional probowls. Clabo was the real deal and the Bills best option in FA. Not even close. I understand that Nix cannot fix every problem in one or two years. Fact remains that our O-line play is the one thing that is most likely to destroy our season.

Ocho, Mason and Ellis are guys who know how to play at a high level. I don't care how old they are. They can still render very useful service. If BB can get Albert to play to his ability he will be a bargain basement superstar. What I like about BB is that he is able to think outside the box and is not afflicted in the least by conventional notions, of which there are plenty in pro football. Having said that I wonder if BB has perhaps not bitten off more than even he can chew this time. My guess is that their record will deteriorate this year. And, like the dream team Eagles, they are always only one injury to that all important player away from disaster (not that I am hoping for this). I think we split the season series with the Pats this year.

I'm not saying the Bills necessarily mishandled this. Without actually knowing of course, I tend to think that if Atlanta had not caved and offered him the 5 years he wanted he would have come here. I don't blame the Bills for avoiding a bidding war. I don't think I am overrating Clabo. Hes a legitimate probowl RT in the prime of his career (meaning I expect him to be a multiple probowler before he is done) as well as an outstanding individual and teammate. He is absolutely a top run blocking tackle and he is above average in pass pro. He has started every game since being designated the starter three years ago. Unlike you, when I look around I don't see anything remotely resembling this on the horizon here. Given the talent in our interior O-line it would have instantly gone from a weakness to a strength, or at the very least bona fide respectability by NFL standards. Would have done wonders for our O overall IMO.