Danny

Nope... i type with my mouth closed. Try again.

Youre right of course. I was just amused how such a small market becomes the 4th largest in the league by substituting Buffalo with Bills. Im not sure if the fact that Buffalo has to draw upon so many surrounding areas is a plus or minus in the eyes of the league.

So you take 32 teams and multiply that by their number of players now divide the total by 34...and you think you will notice a drop off in talent? What are you a Nfl head scout?

interestingly phrased.. care to expand on that thought?

I assume youre not referring to actually winning a Superbowl right? Hahahaha..im sorry! I just had to! Brady sucks. I hate him too. I just... i had to.

I don't think the arguement that there isnt enough talent out there to expand is accurate. There are plenty of quality players out there who deserve to have more significant roles on a football team. Teams may have more trouble finding great quarterbacks but on the other hand, cornerbacks arent easy to find either. Overall it would probably be fair to say that the level of talent across the board is unlikely to see much of a drop. Dont you guys think?

What I pray for is that there will come a day when all this hatred is finally directed at the right spot so that maybe, just maybe they will be too scared to continue treating Bills fans like suckers.

http://www.nfl.com/v...?module=HP11_cp Fitz got off easy... Shhhaaaaame

Wow. Im not from Buffalo. When i read this i expected people to be going nuts over for this comment. I know another site where idiots would make this the biggest issue on the planet yet on here people are like " yeah, so?" I just find that funny. This forum definitely has some cool people on it. My opinion is that it isnt the biggest dig i have ever heard by any stretch of the imagination BUT there really was no need for him to make it. Someone should slap him upside the head.

Its not like they can go out there and try a little. Give it 50 percent, right? When you play football you either play it or you dont. I gotta tell you.. i dont blame these guys at all and i mean, AT ALLL for playing the way they do during the pro bowl. This is the most physically demanding sport on the continent and they are supposed to go out and risk injury? For what? To entertain? No. I havent watched an entire pro bowl game in years. Watched about 5-10 minutes of this one. so i understand the frustration. But do i blame the players? Nope. cant do it.

While i agree that the Bills need to do a better job at retaining their quality players, im not sure i understand why Lynch for example seems to get so much love (seems to me at least). Im trying to say this nicely as to not offend anyone; but imo he isnt a great back at all. He is above average at best and although he finished strong its his contract year. I was happy to see him go.

Good for him.

That's what i was going for. Well explained. But i also think it more than just blitzing. Its disguising what you are doing. Giving a qb like Brady constantly different looks. Moving players around. San Fran and Baltimore do that alot. It seems the best defenses do. I guess im just apprehensive that the Bills will simplify it so that their players can flourish at playing the basics but after a couple weeks someone like Ben or Brady ect. will come along and be like "oh really? no problem"... because those guys have seen it all. Hope that makes more sense. I hope now that ive explained all that... those who disagreed wont completely disagree anymore and thus allow you to now agree with those who disagreed while still agreeing on what we agreed upon. Agree? I apologize to the OP for taking over the thread and will now shush while you guys discuss further

Thank you sir You're right, the word smarter certainly is more accurate. On the other hand, just because a player is smarter doesn't mean they will be able to execute adequately. No problem.. I do not doubt there is something to be said for simplifying a defense. But against the elite teams you better have a few wrinkles up your sleeve as well. Especially when it comes to your blitz packages. Otherwise you will be fine against some teams but the best ones will eat you up. My mindframe has always been the better smarter smarter and more skilled the players you have the more you can complicate things. I would have been happier if I heard Nix say that he will bring players in who can play in an advanced system rather that talk about how he brought in a guy who will simplify things for the players he has. Hope that works.

But on the plus side... The one chick who has two of his kids will feel ooo so special compared to the other 20 gals

Just so I'm clear, which part of what I posted do you disagree with? Is it when I said a basic defense will get burned by the more elite teams (offenses)?

I do not doubt there is something to be said for simplifying a defense. But against the elite teams you better have a few wrinkles up your sleeve as well. Especially when it comes to your blitz packages. Otherwise you will be fine against some teams but the best ones will eat you up. My mindframe has always been the better the players you have the more you can complicate things. I would have been happier if I heard Nix say that he will bring players in who can play in an advanced system rather that talk about how he brought in a guy who will simplify things for the players he has.

Hahahahah nice. Gawd I hope they promote him soon.

Buuuuurrrnnnnn

Thats a very good point. (Lets ignore the fact i didnt think of that.) Ok Thigpen's gone.

Ok no need to get angry. I just didnt realize that anyone thought for a second that if the Bills put a one year tender in front of Stevie Johnson for $9,500,000 that he actually wouldnt sign right away.

Me neither. But then we would need a backup. Probably cost us a couple million and then we are back where we started. Yeah i started drunk and a little tired and finished just really tired I agree with all your points. I wouldnt mind cutting McGee and keeping florence.. financially i just thought it would make more sense cutting florence. I didnt mention it but, i wouldnt resign Parrish either unless he came super cheap.

C'mon man..Really?? So what you meant when you said that it would cost them nothing was.... if they sign and trade him they wont have to pay his salary for the OTHER TEAM??

Disclaimer: Okay.. its five in the morning; havent slept, drank too much, and have nothing much to do so here i am starting a new topic based solely on self-endulgence and the purpose of entertaining myself. My suggestion is to only read this post if you really have nothing better to do because if you do; you'll probably be annoyed that i wasted your time. You have thus been warned. First off, i'll proceed under the assumption that next years cap will be set at about $120mil. That gives the Bills *cough* i mean, me... about $15mil to work with. Therefore the first order of business is to resign our own players. 1)Stevie Johnson- Is without a doubt the top priority but comes with concerns of questionable behaviour on the field and drop issues. Stevie, however, has demonstrated toughness on the field and despite his antics tends to handle himself well with fans and media. Many believe he is not an elite#1 wideout but definitely wants to be paid like one. Decision: Offer a 5yr/42mil. contract with moderate signing bonus Other options: Franchise tag at approx. $9.5million next season to give us more time to resign him to a long term contract and evalutate his progression. Reason: The contract being offered to Stevie may seem like alot to some and is without a doubt more than i'd like to pay but keep in mind this is a 5yr contract and in 5yrs the wr yearly salaries will have increased significantly. The fact that Stevie is being offered slightly less than im sure he wants may be offset by the fact that the franchise is putting faith in him longterm after only two productive years. Also keep in mind that there are times when this team must offer more than others in order to keep talented players in a small market atmosphere. The Bottom Line: i would definitely try to get him for less but wouldn't offer him much more than that unless incentives come into play. 2)Demetrius Bell- This is by far the hardest negotiation to take place. Everyone agrees we want him back but everyone wants him back on conditions/incentives or on the cheap. Unfortunately in the real world that does not happen because there will be teams out there desperate for a left tackle and will be willing to gamble on a guy like this to stay healthy. As one of the most coveted OT in a weak OT free agency year it will unfortunately come down to either overpaying Bell or watching him leave town. That is simply the reality of the situation. Decison: Offer a 3yr/16mil. or 4yr/20mil. contract. Attempting to work in as much incentives as possible and minimizing future damage if he is released. (good luck with that) Reason: Games are won in the trenches. Cliche? Yes, but its true and injuries happen (especially to this overpaid guy.. see? im bashing him already for having to pay him so much!) While many will argue that we have Chris Hairston who played well, Nix (my predecessor) himself is quoted as saying Hairston just wasnt ready. I think its best to plan for the worst when it comes to the O-line considering how bad Fitz played when we suffered injuries to it last season. With Pears making $3mil. next year at RT and Bell at LT; Hairston backing them up and a late round draft pick to add depth i feel confident our boys on the edges will pay divedends. The Bottom Line: I know i will get slapped around a bit because of this and probably should have said "yeah i'd sign Bell to a 3yr-12mil deal with the condition he plays at least 12 games" but lets be serious... im trying to keep this as realistic as possible. 3)Scott Chandler- Everyone loves him. I have heard Bills fans say we should give him no more than $5 million/yr. Really? Thats all?? (sarcasm) The best tight ends make about 7-8 million dont they? To pay Chandler $5million\yr at this point in his career is risky to say the least. Decision: No offer. Reason: If Bell cannot be signed then Chandler would definitely be resigned. If we could not attract any big name free agents Chandler would definitely be resigned. If i was able to massage the books and free up the cash Chandler would definitely be resigned. That goes without saying.. and if i could find a way to sign them both i would. But when i crunch the numbers i'm trying to err on the side of caution. You guys have to give me a break on this one because so many things need to be sorted out before a decison is made about resigning Chandler and to how much. In order to be realistic and fair i have decided to resign either Bell or Chandler but not BOTH. (Good news though! You can still hassle me about my choice between the two if you think Chandler is more important.) 4)Rian Lindell- One of the franchise's most consistent kickers of all-time. Enough said. Decision: offer a 3yr-7.5million contract Reason: Nobody pays much attention to Lindell but everyone would talk about him constantly if we lost him and were stuck with someone who wasnt as good. Lindell is long in the tooth however which is why i would try to keep the contract legnth short. Its a modest pay increase and if his agent played hardball i would offer up some guaranteed money or find some other way to sweeten the pot. The Bottom Line: I wont go into much detail with Lindell. I would try very hard to sign him and i dont think negotiations would fall apart. A deal should be reachable imo. 5)Bryan Scott and Kraig Urbik- Both players add depth and it would be great to bring them both back if the price is right. The next thing on the Checklist is to attempt to resign a couple of key players. 1)Fred Jackson- I've heard alot about how he is past 30 years of age and how C.J. Spiller spelled him wonderfully and is ready to take the reigns. This like many other things in life is certainly not black and white. Jackson may get injured again next year. Spiller may also get injured if asked to carry the load. The good thing about this situation is that no matter if his contract is reconstructed or not, regardless if he is given an extension or not... Fred Jackson is still under contract. But i'm not willing to sit around and find myself in the same situation i'm in this offseason with Stevie. So i'll stick with what i know. What i know is that while Fred is past 30 he has not taken the punishment other 30yr old rbs have taken; I know that Fred played his heart out last season at a break neck pace even though it wasnt the last year of his contract; and i know that he is the most diverse and athletically gifted player on this offense. I also know that since i didnt sign Chandler, Fitz will be looking for as much outlets as he can find and this means i need a rb that the ball can be checked down to. Can you name many other players in the Nfl as elusive as Fred in the open field? Decision: Extend his contract and give him a fat signing bonus to compensate his low base salary next year. Something tells me that Fred wont be looking for Stevie Johnson money even though he probably deserves it more and since the team holds leverage right now.. we might as well use it. 2) Andy Levitre- Will make less than a million next year. Medium to Long-term extension preferred. As you have probably noticed ive already exceeded the yearly salary cap. Luckily there are a couple of players that will save the team a few dollars in the salary cap; Now alot of these moves will require a sense of just who i can get in free agency. This is were realism may have to take a back seat to optimism. There is also a question as to how much of certain players contracts are guaranteed and thus exactly how much would be saved by releasing them. Once again i will err on the side of caution as to not make this the equivalent of a kid in a candy store. 1)Dwan Edwards and Spencer Johnson- By cutting these DE/DT i will save $4mil and $3.5 mil respectively. It is important to note at this time i am intending on going after a DL in free agency or else i could not cut two of our best defensive linemen. I like both these guys.. especially edwards but $7.5 million is alot of money and im tired of watching good players ALMOST get to the QB. I need a great player who gets there often. 2)Shawne Merriman- A beast? Absolutely. Well liked and respected but an absolute liability. http://nyjetscap.com/Bills/bills2012.php states we would save over $5 million by cutting him. However http://www.rotoworld.com/player/nfl/3171/shawne-merriman claims that $3mil of his 2012 base salary is guaranteed. I would cut him and keep Edwards if possible but for the sake of arguement i will assume it is not reasonable to cut him and therefore he stays on the roster (or IR if history is any indication) 3)Drayton Florence- Not as bad as people think.. not as good as his contract would suggest. Cornerbacks are notorious for getting big contracts so a 3yr/15mil contract isnt the worst ive seen. But $5million is alot to pay for a guy of this calibre, especially since we have Aaron Williams with a year under his belt. By cutting Florence we are saving over $3.5 million 4)Chris Kelsay and Terrence McGee- Both these players are walking the line. There are arguements to be made about both cutting them and keeping them. McGee is great when healthy but rarely healthy. Kelsay is all heart but not the most talented. By cutting McGee i would save about $2million which would be great if i didnt still have to pay another $4 million in dead money. If i cut McGee i keep Florence but ive decided to keep McGee and use a draft pick to add depth at the position. By cutting Kelsay i would save $3.5 million but still owe over $2mil. Taking into account that the team may run a 43 next season and that Kelsay is one of the lockeroom leaders i have decided to keep him for now. 5)Brad Smith- Making just under $4million and a saving of slightly over $2mil if cut. He can be useful although up to this point he has not made an impact. Keep. For now. And there you have it. I am now about $10 million under the cap give or take and can use some of that in Free Agency. Alot would depend on the Draft and who is there at number 10. I would definitely take a defensive pass rusher. There are certainly a couple out there worth looking at but no matter what... the important thing is that he is an impact player. Assuming we draft an OLB in the draft i would be able to focus my attention in free agency on a defensive end. My choice would be Robert Mathis. He would fall under our price range and while he is undersized.. the man is a beast and knows how to terrorize quarterbacks. Many say he has only put up amazing starts because he plays with Freeney but fail to mention that his stats are BETTER than Freeney's in almost every category and in most years throughout his career. Not that he is better than Freeney - but credit is due. He is not a perfect fit but a Dline with Chris Kelsay -Kyle Williams -Marcell Dareus -Robert Mathis would be hard to stop. Most of all, Indy is unlikely to resign him which cant be said for most of the other coveted defensive ends on the market. Now.... Before everyone starts chanting Mario Williams let me just point out that i dont have enough money to make that happen. (Neither will the Bills). And no...i wasnt able to find a way to go after an elite WR in free agency either. At best i might be able to find cap for a solid number two. I know, i know, im a cheap GM. I did the best i could boys! Oh really? Well to hell with this...i quit! Note: This will not be proof read or spellchecked. Goodnight, errr...or morning. Edit: okay, i couldnt help it. I had to fix a couple of words.

Yes it will. As Nucci and Zazie already pointed out.. if you tag a player you cannot then rescind it if the player signs.