2003Contenders

I've been thinking about what we've seen out of the front office in free agency. They've only been entertaining and signing players that are -- for lack of a better word -- sleepers. That is, guys who are somewhat under the radar but potentially could be up and comers. If they take the same tact in the draft, instead of investing in a high profile prospect, I would expect them to use the #8 pick to trade down to acquire more picks -- and take some guys that may not have as much upside, but who may be less of a risk. While that should be a good way to handle this draft, there could be many of us screaming bloody murder if Marv decides to trade down with someone like Ferguson still on the clock. Of course, if that were to happen, we'd have to hope that the additional draft picks would be too lofty for him to refuse.

Considering that Willis was just a two-down player last year, maybe Morris sees a window of opportunity here.

Macaroni, the compensation is based on the tender offer that the original team makes. Based on the tender offer the original team is entitled to anything from simply Right of First Refusal up to a 1st AND 3rd round draft picks. In the Cardinals' case, they offered more than the minimum tender -- but only the next highest tender, which was just enough to net them the round in which Wells was originally drafted (6th round) as compensation.

Collins is almost certainly headed for Baltimore, where is likely to get a pretty nice paycheck.

I'm with Bill. It's not that I don't like Moulds, but his production on the field is not worth a fraction of what he's getting paid this year. I'd like to see him back -- but not with an almost $11 M cap hit, which is more than the hit that the Cowboys are taking on TO.

It also depends on what they mean by "odd man out". The consensus seems to be that Nall was promised to at least have an opportunity to compete for the starting job. The question, then, is this a 3-way competition? Assuming that it is, one of the 3 would have to wind up as the #3 QB on the depth chart. Maybe that's what Riggo meant by "odd man out" -- that Holcomb was destined to be the third string QB and that the starting job will either go to JP or Nall.

Any details on the $ involved in the contract? That should give us some clue of what Marv's plan for Nall really is.

It isn't September yet...

Recall that one of the reasons that TD made the trade in 2004 to move up and get JP was because he was looking forward to the 2005 draft -- and saw a considerable drop-off in QB talent the following year. Indeed, Alex Smith, who was taken #1 overall last year, probably would be the 4th QB (at best) in this year's class. Personally, I would like to see them give JP another year before giving up on him, but Marv and the rest of the front office are much closer to the situation than we are. They know how the other players feel about JP -- and we've heard some of the quotes from various players that would lead us to believe that they are not sold on him. Also, maybe Marv feels that the fire is hot, while we have a high draft pick and a good young crop of QBs in this year's class. With no ties or loyalty to JP and a desire to start a new era, maybe they are hoping to draft a franchise QB. If that truly is how the coaching staff and front office feels, then I have no problem with them using JP as trade bait to negotiate a deal that leads to us positioning ourselves to draft one of these top QBs. Then again, maybe all of this is pure speculation -- and JP will be our opening day starter after all. I don't see how the acquisition of Nall impacts JP's status, since Nall would be filling the #3 role vacated by Matthews anyway.

I was thinking about this last night when the NFL Network was doing a profile on Troy Aikman. He was 0-11 as a rookie starter. Still, in order to be a really good starting QB in this league, you have to have the "it" factor, which outweighs any physical talent. Part of that "it" factor is being a natural leader. Maybe Marv just doesn't see that in JP...

I guess you missed my point. Harrington did NOT take a ton of sacks in Detroit. Thus, he did not sit in the pocket and take a beating, which makes him the anti-RJ. Thus, while someone like RJ or JP may suffer from some sort of shell-shock after being beaten to a pulp, Harrington is already programmed to get rid of the ball quickly. I'm not endorsing him here -- just trying to set the record straight, so that misinformation isn't spread that this guy is another QB that hangs oonto the ball too long.

I seriously wonder whether or not the regime new will give JP a fair shake. Since he was a TD/MM investment, they may not be so willing to continue down that road. I've always felt that JP was a Sam Wyche project. Sam was the one that scouted JP and insisted that he preferred his workout to Eli Manning's. Wyche was also his mentor and confidant. Now that Sam's gone, I have to wonder if JP no longer even has a cheerleader.

One thing about Harrington -- he may have played behind a not-so-good line, but he took VERY few sacks during his time in Detroit. To be honest, I'm not sure what his problem was. He had a selection of good, young receivers -- top 10 draft picks three years in a row. He had a 1000-yard rusher in Kevin Jones. He seems to have all of the tools, and despite the quote from some poster above who is NOT in the know, Harrington is not a shrinking flower. In fact, he had a reputation at Oregon for being a tough competitor. The problem, I think, is that the Lions are probably the one organization in the NFL that has been MORE POORLY run than the Bills over the past few years. Maybe, just maybe, a change of scenery COULD do him some good. Being that Jauron was his head coach for a few games at the end of last season, we should get an indication of what someone from the inside thinks of him, whether he gets an invitation for an interview -- or not. Note that one of the reasons that Millen cited for firing the Mooch in Detroit was that Mariucci was reluctant to play some of his younger players. So what was the first thing that Jauron did when he took over as interim head coach? He decided to start Garcia over Joey.

Being that he's a bit long in the tooth, we could present him with him with a heavily back-loaded contract with a minimal signing bonus that could average out to $5 per year.

He's the guy that got smacked in the eye by a ref's flag -- or the bb's in the heavy part of the flag. He almost lost his eye and sat our for a year or so -- then came back and was pretty good for the Ravens.

The question is: Would Sam be willing to come back?

When Mayock says that he is a 2-down lineman, he's pretty much saying that Ngata's role would be as a run stuffer, which is what we need.

I will have to say that of ALL of the mistakes that TD made, this is the one that I will have the hardest time forgiving, mainly because it was the one descision that I ABSOLUTELY could never justify. You can still argue that the Bledsoe trade was a good one, and it certainly looked pretty good at the time (and for the first half year). Who would have guessed that Mike Williams would have been such a bust? Even with both coach hires, some of us thought that TD was bringing in up and comers. But letting Big Pat walk -- especially when the Vikings did not out and out overpay for him -- was just asinine.

This article does not appear to have much basis in fact. Indeed, Moran -- maybe an apt name? -- jumps all over the map with his piece. In his intro, he talks as if he has inside information that Marv does not like JP. Then toward the end of the article, he claims that Marv probably likes JP... He also suggests that the mere fact that the team is bringing in free agent QBs is a sign that they are down on JP. I suppose he is talking about GB's 3rd stringer, Nall?

If we trade, I think it's a draft day deal, where we wait to see if by some miracle Ferguson or Mario fall to us. If they are not there, then we move down. And if they ARE there, then some team drafting after us may be more willing to really sell the farm.

Plus we had a chicken sh-- head coach that was hoping to save his job by starting a journeyman QB, rather than seeing what we had in Losman. That was the same coach who quit on us... once his job was secure.

Did Damione Lewis sign anywhere?

I have a feeling that the Packers' "standing offer" pretty much stated that they would meet or exceed any offer that another team may present. Considering the amount of cap space that the Packers have, it was a battle that the Bills couldn't win. That also explains why he headed out of town quickly yesterday with no press conference. Now with Bernard also signed, it's looking like free agency may not be the place to find our other starting DT.

It wasn't that long ago that Ramsey was a 1st round draft pick. Some would liken him to a poor man's Drew... that is a smart kid with a big arm but no mobility. If he gets behind a strong OL, he could still turn out to be a quality NFL QB. It's not as if Joe Gibbs ever gave him much of a chance.

Does anyone know if Pickett has another scheduled visit with another team -- or did he head back to Green Bay?