richNjoisy

For once GREED works in OUR favor. See: http://atlanta.sbnation.com/2011/7/27/2298076/tyson-clabo-free-agency-falcons-bills-seahawks THE quote, "What it will ultimately come down to is how Clabo ranks his priorities: if money is most important, then he will likely sign with the Bills who had almost $38M worth of cap space under the new CBA. However, if Clabo wants to play for a winning team, inside a nice, warm dome, he'll sign with the Falcons."

As a marker, the Dallas Cowboys reached agreement on a four-year, $32 million deal that included $17 million in guaranteed money for OT Doug Free. So, I figure minimum $8 mil a year for the Bills to grab Clabo. Atlanta could not match that as they have 1/3 the cap space the Bills have. I am surprised the Bucs aren't in the running....

Make that: $45 million! (from kffl.com): "Updating a previous report, the Jacksonville Jaguars have agreed to terms with free-agent LB Paul Posluszny (Bills) on a six-year deal worth $45 million. The deal includes $15 million in guaranteed money." Gulp

Put me down as being disappointed he's gone but thinking he is way overpaid at 6 year/42 mil. I am actually shocked we offered to match the contract. I noted again and again last year how weak he was in pass coverage. I would love to know how many 3rd down conversions were the result of his man catching passes and moving the chains. I also don't recall a lot of huge plays out of the man. I am anxious to see the Bills fill the void - perhaps with Stephen Cooper, Kevin Burnett, or Brandon Siler, San Diego. Good luck to him but oh well, let's move on..... My 2 cents

Well, I hear ya.Let's see what happens the next few days. Then scream and shout

I understand your venting but you have to agree the team WAS terrible when Buddy took over. He made it clear from Day 1 his plan was to build through the draft and only make "splashes" when he felt the team was a player or two away and that player was there for the taking. Do YOU think the Bills are at that point? And do you think keeping Poz, Stevie and Fitzpatrick is "overpaying for mediocre players"? Last year was so much of "an evaluation" year. This year seems to be focused on keeping the good players, drafting towards need and strength of the draft class (defensive line and defensive back), and not going too crazy with signing stop gap players. Now, having said that, I'd still like to see the Bills take a stab at signing Tyson Clabo. He young enough. Going after Thigpen - who is younger than Fitzy - is another not necessarily stop gap move. The Bills have the making of a really good YOUNG defense. They MAY have their franchise quarterback. They are looking decent at the WR position. Wood and Levitre are solid in the middle of the line and they THINK they have something in the two guys they signed late last season. Demetrius Bell is is merely o.k at this point. So, if you are looking for 10 wins this season EVEN IF THEY SIGN SEVERAL HIGH PRICED free agents, I'd like to have what you are smoking. 8 wins is a max out ...maybeeeee 9?? That would still be 4 more wins (or 5) than last year. Sorry if you have dreams of better but this is how you build it up and no I disagree strongly wit hyour last sentence, " We'll be at best a 50% win team at best for the next 5 years" ( I assume you mean doing what they are currently doing - building through the draft and resigning their best players, carefully restocking the team through free agency). Go Bills! -RichNJoisy

Weber apparently signed with the Broncos

Update I found at Buffalo rumblings: SI's Jim Trotter, via Twitter NFL source says there has been positive movement on both sides today re: rookie pay issue. this is big if it holds up. stay tuned.

You heard it here....oh, whatever: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/07/12/july-17-emerges-as-target-for-the-announcement-of-a-deal/

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=6756301 Sounds promising

Thanks! (bad news for me, though, one less day to chow down there while I am in town this weekend) and..... well...... I like Duff's wings. I DO NOT like the wings at Anchor Bar ('cept for the suicide...they're o.k.) sorry all you Duff's haters....somebody has to like their wings. yeh! Mess with them!

yes but I am trying not to make a personal toll phone call from work thought I'd quickly post to see if anyone knew I knew I risked this type of response sigh

Is Duff's (Sheridan) closed on Monday July 4th? My experience when visiting the area during this Holiday is that it is closed. I can't find any info online. Thanks for the help and sorry moderators for a non-Bills (but definitely BUFFALO) related question. -RichNJoisy

Remember, however, this is not a done deal yet. One has to believe at least some (enough, meaning > 8) of the owners understand that one reason the NFL is so incredibly successful is because of its NATIONAL draw. The NFL is a National U.S. sport. Betting on the game is ridiculously high. There is no doubt that the Super Bowl is a national holiday. The players do not care AT ALL about how the owners split up their 52% so who gets what on the Owners side of it will be decided by 23+ of the 32 owners. Obviously, the small market teams are going to push for some money to be pushed towards them that is not , at the current time, considered "shared" (the main money maker being the luxury boxes). It can be argued, and I agree with it, that the Browns, Bills, Packers, Vikings, Falcons, Rams, Chargers etc etc MAKE the NFL nationally loved , popular, and highly profitable. A compromise amongst the owners seems to me more likely than small market teams not getting their numbers up to the required 9 owners to force enough revenue sharing to keep MOST teams right where they are as long as they want to stay where they are. I really agree with the premise of the original post in this Thread - I think the media is making more of this threat then truly exists. I think if teams move it will be because they are not profitable under the old system let alone any new one. And remember, Jim Kelly has said REPEATEDLY that money is not the issue when the Bills finally go up for sale. And, if money is not the issue, there is no issue. The Bills stay put. RnJ

This whole argument - see: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/06/22/new-cba-without-revenue-sharing-changes-could-be-bad-news-for-small-markets/ for example is I AGREE so much blather. Little fact and lots of conjecture clearly designed to cause upset amongst fans that care about small market teams. "low-revenue teams will be forced to sacrifice profit in order to comply" (with the new CBA). This does not mean ALL profit. So, small market teams will only be unprofitable if they somehow find a way spend more than they take in. That IS possible but what we are really talking about is one team making a profit of "x" millions versus "x+y" millions. So the Cowboys make more money than the Bills. Boo hoo. I guess I don't want to own the Bills then, huh? Jeesh. How many yachts does one have to ski behind? Plus - the CBA is not written and approved yet. Wilson managed to squeeze a whole lot of "green " blood out of the big boys in 2006. This time around, he might be able to get 8 other owners to side with him to force a little more "sharing" out of the other 23 (more like the other 5 or 6). Don't cut the old boy short. I really can;t see him sitting back and not fighting for more revenue sharing than is being suggested by the media leakers. Let's see how this plays out. Go Bills!

There also is the issue of how the luxury boxes play into this (and other things such as jersey sales, etc). I assume that these profits count towards calculating the cap but these profits are not shared amongst the teams...right? So isn't this the elephant in the room for the Bills? In other words, if the total used for the cap includes large chunks of money NOT made by the Bills, then the cap will put a strain on the Bills more than on, say, the Cowboys. Ralph had added to the prior CBA a pool of money that went from the big market to the small market teams (a brilliant move IMO). So, to conclude, will there be a similar cash pass to the smaller market teams? Will luxury boxes still not be shared bit still be counted? Does this not mean the higher low end limits the Bills ability to make a profit - in effect forcing the smaller market teams to pay a higher percentage of their profits than the large market teams?

The latest from ESPN: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=6660319

http://twitter.com/#!/adamschefter Schefter HAS been a pretty reliable source. t-minus 7 days???

In Jasper, Alberta there sure are a lot of moose..........

I see the BJ rule now - when B (rady) is on the field, J (asper) is not allowed to touch him. I'd be willing to deal with the 15 yard penalty. Yup from your "mouth" to God's ears, Doc!

Just "two man" wedges I think

Late December, 2004, Cincinnati. A close game becomes a blowout largely due to the play of an undrafted rookie tight end from the Buffalo Bills His name? Jason Peters. 6 ft 4½ 328 lb 4.93 40 time, 29 inch Vertical, 9 ft 7 in Broad Jump, 21 rep 225 bench Press On Special teams he first made his mark - blocking punts and blowing apart opposing team wedges. Eventually he became a pro bowl offensive tackle. Enter, stage left, Nose Tackle/Offensive Tackle Michael Jasper. 6 ft 4½ 373 lb 5.38 40 time, 32 inch Vertical, 9 ft 5 in Broad Jump, 34 rep 225 Bench Press The similarities are in height and broad jump. Peters was faster but Jasper is much stronger, heavier, and can leap a lot higher and is a lot smarter. Now picture Jasper lining up as the lead man in the new two man wedge on kickoff returns. Pain. Put him over the long snapper on punts and field goals - push forward and jump high and extend. Hmmmmmmmm Oh God - let him make the team.....please.

I agree - this type of story always gets me really pumped. The last time I felt like this was when the Bills signed an undrafted free agent tight end named Jason Peters. Jason's story was different in that: 1.) He had been scouted (and was even listed as high as a 3rd rounder on some team's draft boards but went undrafted) 2.) Had scored a 7 on the wonderlic and was deemed unteachable at the pro level 3.) Had some off-the field baggage (I do not remember what) Bills signed Peters the day after the draft. Jasper, apparently, is smart and has no off the field baggage. The major issues are inexperience and weight problems. The latter seems remarkably fixable especially when you see that the kid lost the weight basically on his own. Think about how much easier it will be to keep off the weight with a nutrition coach, working out with a personal Pro trainer all the time, and with teammates around him to encourage him? That simply leaves the question (albeit BIG) about being able to play in the world of the NFL - against huge, strong men rather than boys waaaaay smaller than him. Michael is used to hurting everyone around him sometimes, undoubtedly, by accident. Now he will be getting hit and hurt by others. It will be a big transition for him. I absolutely love this kind of story. Kudos to the Bills and their scout (Hand) -RichNJoisy

This post is correct - I would add that his second mock is the one I personally ignore. Gosselin, himself, always stresses that the second mock always ignores value and goes strictly for need. The third mock combines need with value and is the one that is "counted" (for what that is worth). Hos third should come out tomorrow or early Thursday

That is my "gang of three" as well. I also have Fairley as a close 4th. I also see Gabbert and Quinn as possibilities.