richNjoisy

Texans Lowball Verba -- Tue Jul 26, 2005 --from FFMastermind.com # The Beacon Journal reports when the phone did ring for OT Ross Verba, it was Houston. The Texans had an offer -- a one-year deal in the $1 million range. Not exactly what Verba had in mind when he stormed out of the Browns' facility, even paying back his $450,000 roster bonus to be a free agent. ******************* I guess he hasn't "retired" yet huh?

I am still hoping "my man" Reed can shove his play up a notch to stay on the squad. But, if he's let go, someone will pick him up. I hadn't thought about the typical money shift dropping Clements $2.5. Silly me, I only saw his current salary as a negative - not so! Nate's value is extremely high and IMO the Bills will have to raise the bar quite a bit to sign him EVEN IF Nate agrees to accept a bit less than he might be making on the open market next year. Who is Nate's agent? Is he someone known to work well with TD in the past? The new NFL TV contract and the upcoming new collective bargaining agreement (I hear it could be set in as little as two weeks) will help a lot in determining future long term contracts to some extent. My amateur view on this is that we are looking at $10 mil per year becoming the NORM in the near future for top flight CB's (gasp!) Thus, IMO, if the Bills can sign Nate to a 4 - year extension at, say $42 mil, with figures of 540K (2005), $3.0M (2006),$5.5M (2007),$8.0M (2008),$11.0M (2009) with a $14 Mil signing bonus might work - NC's cap hit for 2005 would go from $2.5M (does that include his amortized bonus?) to $3.34M this year, $5.8 M next year , etc. Those last few year MAY seem excessive (and likely to be never seen by Nate BUT, they may turn out to be close or less than the CB value in those years). Thanks, as always, CP for all your work I love to crunch these numbers too and having you do all the hard digging work (and organizing it in one place) makes this really fun for me. Free wings for you at the tailgate!! cnjbbb baby -Rich

Great job as always CP. Can you answer this (probably obvious, sorry) question: Given the Bills current salary cap status, how much of it is available , after all rookie signings, for free agents and/or to sign extensions? Do you envision ANY possibility that the Bills can extend Clements? Is McGee simply a more likely scenario? My VERY not in-the-know evaluation is that McGee is WAY more likely and that Clements will simply play out his contract and then go to the highest bidder next season. Thanks again for all your work CP. if you are at Hammer's on 9/11, stop by the CNJBBB cooker for free (ha ha) wings and an ice cold Labatts. -RnJ www.cnjbbb.org

This thread is from both myself and RevNJoisy (sitting behind me as I type this) A quote from Terrell Owens: "At the end of the day, I don't have to worry about what people think of me, whether they hate me or not. People hated on Jesus. They threw stones at him and tried to kill him, so how can I complain or worry about what people think?" -- Eagles wide receiver Terrell Owens, on how people might react to his potential camp holdout. Len Pasquarelli , espn soooooooooooo........... Terrell is The Messiah - The Annointed One - The Christ He suffers (for us) He is hated (for us) If he dies (it'll be for us) So those of you who doubt his ways, methods, or tantrums remember who he is. And be thou ashamed excuse us while we go barf up our dinner. *********** My wife is insisting on a serious note: for those of you who are people of faith, you are not alone in your outrage over this particular individual. For those of you who have ever wondered what breaking the third commandment REALLY means, this is it.

Huh, I could have sworn he was hurt in preseason but you apparently are correct - I can't find any indication he was hurt my bad.

O.K. You memory hounds, when was the last time the Bills signed their own CB to a long term contract after their initial 4-5 year contract? I THINK the answer is never unless you guys go back into the 80's or 70's. And even way back then the answer may still be never. I sure can't remember one. (Odomes, Burris, Thomas, and Winfield are the last four I recall as being allowed to sign with different teams) This bodes POORLY for the Bills (in terms of retaining Nate's ervices) unless you feel (like I have for quite a while) that overpaying for CB's is a mistake - they can be replaced by younger men on the cheap. Nate IS a cut above the others though I will grant you. Why? He consistently plays well defensively, seldom gets beat and has great hands near the football. So, IMO, IF the Bills do break with "tradition", then this is the guy to do it with. But c'mon folks, let's face it, Winfield's contract was RIDICULOUS. Nate's is better than Antoine. Therefore, he expects a better contract. My prediction based on Bills and league history is that he is gone after this season. SOOOOOOO, here's hoping he has a career year with 14 int's and is named to the Pro Bowl as a starter. Plus, a brand new Super Bowl ring on his finger

Nick - I am pretty sure Tim was injured in preseason and was placed on the IR, so your comment about him being inactive doesn't make sense. IOW, he was hurt and couldn't be activated. I'm right aren't I? My recollection as to preseason is that the Bills were high on the guy. I don't recall any great plays but I might have missed something. As to his weight, again I would have to see what his weight is at camp in the next few weeks since his injury and his young age both may have been factors. As to your comment about Edwards: I absolutely recall the great game he had against the Fish , I think we also had something like 5 INTs that game. But other than that game Edwards was silent UNTIL last season when he started to make some noise. I have no idea who will win the DT battle but I H-O-P-E it is Anderson since I think I know what we wil get from Edwards (competent DT play with flashess of the great). Anderson made the scouts drool coming out of college. I am hoping they hit the jackpot. Go Bills! -RichNJoisy

Cindy: Two Large for RevNJoisy and RichNJoisy Please get me the info on where to send my check

The over/under on McGahee is amazing! These are from people who do this for a living. They are clearly trying to get a lot of people to take the under to assure a 50/50 split (in other words, they predict if they set the over/under at 1400 yards, too many people would take the over) Remember - this is gambling which is just as much a measure of REALITY as it is to PERCEIVED REALITY Now, on the other hand, JP at on 15 td's appear on the surface to be depressing but remember again that the majority by far expect JP to suck tghis year and STILL the # td passes is only 5 less than Drew threw last year. My predictions JP over 15 td's JP over 15 ints McGahee over 1500 yds McGahee over 12 tds Nate under 6 ints schobel over 10 sacks Bills over 8 wins

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/stor..._len&id=2111098 So, the DE who would attack JP from the backside is out and may miss the Bills game (week 3) Plus, the Falcons starting DT Coleman MAY end up being suspended. Can't hurt. can't hurt

Hi there Rich! You are obviously correct to take the source (bb.com) into consideration when attempting to predict how the OLine will do. The facts DO point towards a more optimistic conclusion: 1.) Unlike last year, Bike Mike is reportedly in great shape and there are no emotional issues (last year he was upset over the death of his grandmother) to deal with. 2.) Villarial, Teague and Williams are now entering year 2 in playing together with McNally as their line coach 3.) McNally is considered one of the best if not the best OLine coach in the league. He now has a second year to work with most of these guys 4.) Anderson is undoubtedly a step up from Smith and Tucker at LG. He may be only average at pass protection but he now has McNally as his coach...yada yada yada The big question mark, IMO, is how does Gandy compare to Jennngs? I feel Jennings was an average LT who SF way overpaid for. Last year WAS Jennings best year however. You can bank on him playing worse this year AND being out at least 3 games due to injuries. McNally believes Gandy is serviceable. We'll see. Finally, having a QB who can move around can be a huge help to the line not only due to the obvious (he can avoid sackers) but also because he can FAKE rollout passes and force the linemen and LB's to hesitate on BOTH run plays and pass plays. This gives the RB's, WR's AND OLIne an extra second to work with. THAT IS AN ETERNITY. That's my assessment - thus I am definitely optimistic. -RnJ

O.K. Nick, I'll bite: What is so magical about 3 pm today? Just something "in your bones" or do you actually know something? ************** I don't know about you but if the Bills complete the trade AND THEN sign Verba, I will have completed a total turnaround evaluation of the offseason (from "most boring" to "exciting") Let the game begin! Is it Sunday Yet? WINGS!!!! (the top three chants of the week at "Bills Central" - Home of the CNJBBB)

As I posted a LONG time ago: Don't play poker with TD, you'll lose Great job Mr. D. ***************** Now, what will he do with that extra $1.25 mil in his pocket? Is the phone ringing at Mr Verba's house right now? Hmmmmmmmm This call for some Hot Wings (sorry fezmid ) RichNJoisy CNJBBB

Your points are well-made FFS. Anderson is, without much doubt IMO, an upgrade. Losing Jennings MAY hurt but he was WITHOUT A DOUBT way overpaid for by the 49ers. The O-Line play definitely improved as the season progressed last year. That had to be a function somewhat of McGahee's presence helping the offense as a whole click but only a very careful analysis can determine how much the overall imp. of the O was due to line play (I am a big football fan but not THAT much of one to spend time evaluating this! ) Fans love to banter and spout their opinions as experts (I am as guilty as the next guy) but I am willing to grant the Bills front office the edge in evaluating talent. Having said this, I would be thrilled if the Bills sign Verba to a relatively cheap deal. If they sign him, he must be good right (heh heh )

interesting article, thanks but they don't mention what it will take to "close the deal" which is, obviously, matching Tennessee's offer at the very least (a solid third). It MAY take a conditional third (promoting to a 2nd). cough it up Jacksonville

Let's not get paranoid. MONEY is the key here and, all "strutting" and talking aside, that is what this will come down to for Travis. IF the Titans want to beat out the Jaguars, they will have to not only work out the trade with Buffalo but alos work out a deal with Travis' agent. Engelhard is in this for the money. Period. If Tennessee comes up with equal or better money to the Jaguars, then he will convince Henry , "it's for the best". Travis, meanwhile, proably prefers Jacksoville (closer to home) but more $$$ will get his attention since, in reality, that is all he is truly interested in. The Bills are not in much of a hurry unless they think they can sign another FA with the cap room a Travis trade clears up. The Jags and Titans and henry, however, ARE in a hurry. Sooooo, the Bills can wait until their demands are met and Travis and the offering team agree on a contract. Relax, this poker game is going fine for us. -RnJ

I plan to grab him in the 1st round of the 8-team league I am in (none of them Bills fans heh heh) I expect the draft to go like this: Tomlinson, Holmes, Alexander, Portis, and then maybe McGahee -RnJ

My God Mickey your analogy reeks of someone who needs constant stimulation. Your comparison of "excitement" to "trip to vegas" fits in perfectly. I certainly can undersatnd what you are saying but I don't happen to agree with it. To help you understand, try replacing the word "exciting" with "enjoyable". Thus SOME people (not you evidently find fishing ENJOYABLE while others (such as yourself) find it BORING. SOMEpeople ENJOY going camping, others enjoy going to Vegas. You couldn't pay me to use my free time in a casino. You, on the other hand, apparently would have to be roped and thrown physically into a rowboat or canoe to ever get you to go out into nature. Different strokes for ...... As to the Henry news: Fine. You're bored. To the rest of us, the idea of FINALLY ending the Travis henry era in Buffalo AND getting a decent draft pick IS exciting to SOME of us. sigh Good luck in Vegas Mickey. I hope you win but , more importantly, I hope you have fun. watching the red-tailed hawks out my window (which I find exciting) RichNJoisy www.cnjbbb.org

Green Bay could match anyway but if a deal could have been struck that the Bills could meet but the Pack could not.......grrrrrr From FF.Mastermind.com: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports transitioned free-agent TE Bubba Franks has yet to sign an offer from another team and has until July 22 to do so. After that date, he can either sign the tender offer for one year at $2.095 million or negotiate a long-term deal with the Packers. Thus far, things have been very quiet on the Franks front. With just a week left for him to sign an offer with another team, things could heat up. The Packers have the right to match any offer another team would give Franks, but if they chose not to match the offer, they would not receive any compensation. Assuming Franks is back with the Packers - and they simply can't afford to lose him at this point - the tight end position should be solid.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/stor..._len&id=2093822 Check out the article which confirmed this - The "in-between" conjecture is somewhat confirmed but the article also mentions the jag coaches lauding the work of " two young backs, third-year pro LaBrandon Toefield and 2005 fourth-round draft choice Alvin Pearman, and expressed confidence the two could successfully fill in if Taylor's recovery is prolonged." I think the jags were unwilling to use another draft pick on a RB, were hoping for good news on taylor (which seems crazy to me given the severity of his injury), AND - and this may be the key point - were hoping to get Henry on-the-cheap as a further safety valve. It looks like this is going to work out for the Bills, perhaps for Henry , and for the jaguars. The holdup may actually be TD trying to get a conditional 3rd rounder. The 3rd rounder straight up seems all but assured now IMO. The conditional one WILL happen if the Jags wait too long and another team loses their starter during the preseason (not THAT unlikely a scenario). -RnJ

For the umpteenth time folks - Taylor reported a few weeks ago that he had two torn ligaments which were operated on last December! There is no way he will be ready to play by September let alone mid July. Not to mention Taylor was injury prone anyway. The Jags front office lied stating it was only a 'scope so the Taylor announcement (which the Jaguars front office admitted was true) was BIG news. Do ANY of you know of ANY player who has come back from this type of surgery in 7-9 months? The standard recovery time is one year to be able to play and two years to be 100%. In the next few weeks, Taylor will begin to run around and prove to them that he is - at best - at 50% which would be pretty good just 7 months after a double reconstruct. If the Jags go into the season depending on Taylor then they are nuts. The Jags will cough up the 3rd rounder. richNjoisy

"MrLocke" - Objectivity is almost impossible to find inside WNY let alone outside! Your points are well taken but you are wasting your time trying to convince anyone ESPECIALLY outside of Buffalo. JP will simply have to go out and do it. The keys to JP's season is a lot like you say and also like "canbuffan34" is stating in his complaints about the rags thread, the coaching is going to play a MAJOR role in how well JP performs. Unlike a veteran who has established his own way of doing things, JP is much more able to listen, learn, and adjust. The game plan - unlike almost every brand new QB in the league - will not be focused on him but on the rungame. Most newbie QB's are on weak teams and the new QB's play is the key role. That is hardly the case in Buffalo. JP is the caretaker of the offense. IF he performs well, his role will expand. Defenses will be set up to STOP THE RUNGAME not the passing game. Look at the great Peyton Manning: The first few times the Bills played them, the defense was focused on stopping Manning. it worked....to a point. The key for Manning was the addition of James (obviously adding Harrison helped too!) JP comes into a similar situation as Roethlesberger except JP has a full year of practice under his belt PLUS he knew by late February that he would be the starter. Ben was thrown into the fire in Week 3. Ben was susccesful due to a great ST, defense, rungame AND a gameplan where he was not the key player. If JP is well prepared and IF the coaching staff puts together a game plan geared to what JP CAN do right now, there is every reason to expect him to at least match Drew's performance (Drew was # 27 out of 32 teams.......uhhh, not so hard to match right?). I actuallity, is expecting JP to be as high as #20 outlandish? If so, that is a HUGE improvement in the Bills passing game from last year. Let the games begin. -RichNJoisy www.cnjbbb.org

Nick you, your friends, and your family are in our prayers. RichNJoisy and RevNJoisy

OBD announced awhile ago that Peters would be moving to tackle. There has been no word on his progress however.

I totally agree with this assessment and prediction. I also agree with the premise that Reed needs a big season to be resigned. I have my doubts that he can do this. Early in his career I was convinced he would be a great rec (not just a good one). Staring with his drop of the flea flicker in the 31-0 drubbing of the patriots 2 years ago, reed has done nothing but disappoint and my expectations are now low for him. Too bad. My cnjbbb friends bought me a Reed jersey 3 years ago.