2003Contenders

Well, let's also not forget the probable long term extension for Peters that would likely pay him $8-10M per year. It also sounds like it will cost about $8 M per year to sign Brown, provided that the Bills even get into that bidding war for his services. Keeping Dockery on board would have amounted to about $25 M per year for just THE LEFT side of the OL (LT to Center). I've said before that I view Dockery as an average to slightly above average OG. He certainly isn't worth the money he was set to make.

If I were a decision-maker in the front office, I would come out of the gates strong and make Brown an offer too rich to pass up. He will be a hot commodity and won't be on the market too long. With the recent releases, there are already plenty of LBs and WRs on the market, so I wouldn't be as quick on the draw for one of them necessarily. As for the TE position, I just don't see anybody out there that excites me.

The fact that even his attorney is now admitting that he needs to start using better judgment should be an eye-opener.

I remember that season so well. At the halfway point Bledsoe was in serious contention for NFL MVP. He wound up being the only Buffalo QB to EVER pass for over 4000 yards that season. Then he ran into a buzz saw in the first New England game -- and NEVER really recovered. Was it a case of his literally getting old overnight? Did defenses do a better job game planning for him? Or was his hot start to the season an aberration, fueled by his desire to show that he was still a viable NFL QB less than a year after literally almost dying on the football field? Given that he laso had a pretty hot start in his first season in Dallas after the Bills released him, I lean toward the latter.

I honestly believe that this is the first season in which DJ has been here where he enters the season on the hot seat, knowing that he needs to win to stay employed. That may not impact his coaching style, but I have a feeling that his input on free agency and the draft will gear more toward the sudden impact type players.

Actually, if it requires a 1st and a 3rd to get him -- I would rather spend that 1st and 3rd on Anquain Boldin -- or save my draft picks and sign Housh, who is an UFA.

Based on Modrak's comments last week, I get the impression that the Bills really like Orakpo as an every-down DE. They seem to be playing a wait-and-see approach with Maybin to see how he looks with the added weight. And it sounds like they are skeptical about Brown, based on his being less than 6'2".

If they can't re-sign Greer and with McGee being unrestricted next season, I wouldn't dismiss the possibility of this happening.

Well, in King's defense, Bellichick claimed that Milloy was a selfish player as well.

They probably are NOT looking at him at the #11 spot but as a potential late 1st rounder/early second rounder. Remember, the team's MO has been to trade up (or at least TRY as they did last year) to move up into that general area.

Or, that they are worried about Lynch getting suspended for up to 4 games and want a reliable backup for Jackson. By all accounts, Taylor is a good locker room guy too. So his veteran presence couldn't hurt. What's the worst that would happen? Cost Omon a roster spot?

That "unofficial" time on Brown was reported by Chris Brown, correct? He's been pimping Brown for weeks now. The trouble is, I have a feeling (based on Modrak's voiced concerns about his being shorter than 6'2") that the Bills probably are not interested in him at #11.

The bottom line is that NFL teams place a great deal of importance on NFL CBs. We have seen it already in the pre-free agency market where guys that aren't even household names are making in excess of $7 M per year. I don't know what it would take to re-sign Greer, but if we could do it in the $6-7M range, then I believe that this is money well spent. Rather than the endless revolving door at CB, we would have this position locked up for some time, regardless of what happens with McGee next season. Someone also mentioned that signing Greer could even afford the team the flexibility of moving one of the other corners to FS. That is a definite possibility. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to go a few drafts in a row without having to invest a day one pick on a DB?

Check this out:Official Buffalo Bills Store Still think he's coming back?

I think I understand what you are saying. Look at the Patriots, for example. I rarely look at their drafts and feel like they have just won the lottery. However, they seem to manage to find guys and plug them in without losing a beat, even if some of these guys were viewed as "reaches" by the "experts". Meanwhile, I look back at Millen's Lions, and I have to admit that they really did not seem to reach for many of the players they drafted. Yet their ineptitude continues. The moral of the story is that the Patriots have very good scouts of their own that know how to identify the right guys for their system -- and they could care less about what the draftniks have to say about it. Millen probably based his picks on what Kiper and his ilk had to say, rather than trusting his own scouts. As for Pettigrew, I would imagine that most of the REAL scouts out there probably were not surprised very much by his 40 times. Speed was NEVER a big positive of his. He is an excellent blocker with great hands -- and can read coverage pretty well, which makes him an inviting big target in the short passing game. On the other hand, he is not (and never was) the sort of TE that was going to get deep and be a game breaker. Any team that has moved him down on their draftboard after his combine showing is one whose scouts I would seriously question.

It really is a catch-22, isn't it? And I can't fault the front office too much. While it was a mistake to let Big Pat walk, he was on the backside of 30 at the time he filed for free agency. As much as I liked both Winfield and Clements, they both knew that they were going to get monster deals in the open market, which is why both of them left. You can argue that the Bills should have been more preventative in their contract negotiations and signed these guys to long-term deals BEFORE they became free agents. How's that worked with the Jason Peters situation? It will be REALLY interesting to see how the market goes. With the sagging economy, some of these guys may actually NOT get the huge contracts they are expecting. Also, with the CBA set to run out next year and uncertainties about the future... If Major League Baseball is any indication, there could be good value available to teams that are prudent and PATIENT.

I wouldn't beat up on Brown too much here. I think with the Gross versus Peters thing, he is trying to give us an idea of the kind of money that Peters and his agent are going to demand. Peters is going to remind the team that he has been named to the Pro Bowl in each of the past two seasons and should be paid like one of the top LTs in the league. As for the Turk interview, in a way (and maybe I am reading too much into it), by putting what all Turk said out there, Brown really isn't doing him any favors. Turk comes off as a insecure, dim-witted jerk.

He probably winds up in New Orleans with Gregg... especially since Vilma is being let go.

If the charges against Lynch are indeed true, the absolute worst thing that could happen is that he get off with another slap on the wrist and no suspension from the league. I like the kid, and I want him around for the long haul. But if he keeps "getting away" with the bad decisions he is making, he's not going to change this sort of behavior.

Over the course of the last 3 seasons, Jauron always came across to me as a coach who felt like he had nothing to prove -- and was secure in his job for the long haul. He seemed content to stay the course in situations, where perhaps he needed to take more dire actions. With the way the season ended last year -- and his basically having to talk Ralph out of firing him -- he now knows that he is on the hot seat. It will no longer be enough for him to say "I think we are improving", or "This team is just so young." He knows that the time is now for results -- and I suspect that we just may see a greater sense of urgency out of him and his staff in 2009.

I doubt the reliability of this story. The Pats franchised MC because they need some insurance in case Brady isn't 100%.

Jeff Garcia will wind up as a starter somewhere. So he does not fit the mold of the veteran backup that the team would be looking for.

The fact of the matter is that none of us know the whole story. Lynch's attorney has already thrown out the possibility that A. The gun wasn't his B. The gun was actually in the trunk Now, that could just be an attorney throwing things out there on behalf of his client. However, I honestly want to find out more about the situation before I pass judgment. There are many questions that need to be answered... Was the gun his? Did he have a license/permit for it? Where was the gun located? Why did the police approach the car -- and decide to search it? Assuming it was his, why did he have a loaded gun in his possession? I don't want to fault the police, because for all we know, Lynch and his buddies were creating a public disturbance -- and the police may very well have had probable cause to search the vehicle. I also don't want to jump the gun criticizing Lynch (even for using poor judgment), if he did just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Like I said, we really need to hear the facts of the case -- in their totality.

Pretty good recollection, but you forgot one. That would be Billy Joe Holbert, whom Butler gave the Raiders a 3rd round pick to acquire. He didn't even make it through a single season before Marv cut him for admitting that he didn't read his playbook. You know, the more I look back, the less I think of Butler (RIP) as a GM.

And to think back in 2002 the Bills could have drafted Haynesworth ... or Henderson ... or Freeney... or Ed Reed. Instead TD and his buddies opted for Mike Williams instead.