Danny

Right on. Im assuming you kept the free agent signings reasonable so that you'd have enough money to resign our own free agents like SJ and DB? Would you cut a player like Edwards or Spencer Johnson to save 3 million and spend it elsewhere or do you think they are worth keeping.. Personally i would rather spend those 5 mil. on Bell. I know we signed Pears to about 3 mil a year so if Bell took 5 mil it would sound fair to me. But i have heard most people agree with you that Chandler is more important to keep. Im very interested in how the Bills will handle Chandler, they dont seem like they will pay him 4-5 mil after only one year of production. I know you said 5 mil is the Max... obviously you would like to pay him less. If we could get him for less i would love to see him on the team next year.

Nice. If you could resign Bell or Chandler which would you resign? Or would you let them walk?

Unfortunately the Bills have almost no chance of signing Mario Williams. Houston is in a situation where they have to sign him to a contract OR let him walk. The reason they wont put a tag on him is because if they did they would have to shell out over 20 million and they cant really afford that. They could tag him in hopes of trading him, but other teams will make weak offers knowing the situation and if they tag him in order to resign, his agent will call all the shots because he knows they wont be able to afford the franchise tag. So either they sign him or release him... If they sign him he will most likely demand an insane price, and rightfully so (imo) because he is a beast. We are talking about what? 14 mil? 16 mil? Thats insane. There is no way that the Bills do that (i dont think). Once the Bills sign SJ and a couple other of their players they wont have as much cash as people think. If Mario Williams walks it is more likely he will go to a team who feels they are a step away from being a superbowl favorite.

I believe Mankins already signed an extention. So they really only need to worry about Welker.

Thats okay. I'll keep looking but finding out contract details is such a pain. I bring up Mathis because i think that they will go to a 43 but if you are right and they stay with the 34 then i agree with you that mathis would no longer make sense. We'll have to wait and see what Dave Wannstedt does. I have to be honest... i have some serious reservations about DW's ability to impliment a successful system using the 34.

http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/buffalo-bills/shawne-merriman/

I think the FO should be a little more concerned with production and less on height and weight. In a division with Brady we need someone to get to the qb and attract double teams as much as we need guys to stuff the run. Just my opinion. As for the specifics of merrimans contract... that would SUUUCK. Obviously they wont cut him if they only save a mil. Ill try to find where i read my info.. do you have a second source other than rotoworld?

He makes $5.75 this year. $4 million is base salary. Half a million signing bonus. Million roster bonus and $250,000 workout bonus. If they cut him the rest of the signing bonus will be dead money but they wont have to pay him the rest.

3.5 mil saved on edwards. Another 5 or so saved on Merriman. That's almost enough to sign someone like Mathis. Make the cuts.. I want to see impact players.

Sorry for the delayed response but I'm at work. Ill have to check but I believe Osi makes about 4-5 mil next year. It will be the final year of his contract so I guess he can always try to hold out again but the Giants just might let him sit. I don't think its likely he will be traded because now that the rookie salaries aren't as big, it makes teams less likely to trade them away to avoid paying huge cash for picks. Especially for someone with previous knee injuries. I also don't think they will release him but what do I know.. I guess anything can happen.

That works for me. I don't know if my first target in free agency would be Finnegan but he might be easier to sign than a lot of others out there. I would not be unhappy at all if they landed him. If the offseason went down like that we'd be in great shape for next year. If they cut a couple of players they might even have enough $$ to go after a second significant free agent.

Osi isn't but mathis is a free agent

Well the Bills are always trying to save cash... why not have some of the coachs step in a add a little depth?

Obviously its early and a lot of the moves are going to depend on the draft and many other things BUT just for fun... If you were in Buddy Nix's shoes what moves would you make? Here are some rules to follow to keep it somewhat realistic... Start with the players you would cut that you dont want on the team or will save you cash. Then follow up with which Bills players you would re-sign but remember to state how much you would sign each for (example: 3-4 mil, 8-9 mil ect.) because while everyone wants to sign Chandler im sure not everyone would want to spend the same amount of money. Finally, end with which free agents you would target but also give an idea of what the limit you are willing to spend on each (example if you decide to target Mario williams you will have to spend 15 mil plus) Keep in mind that we the Bills work with a cash to cap system so unless you save a bunch of money with the players you want to cut, you wont have alot of money to work with.

I have my doubts about the Bills signing anybody of significant also. But it wont be from a lack of big name free agents. There are always a few every year.

Maybe some of the blame should be redirected from Fitz to the 2 Co-Strength and Conditioning Coachs

I dont think that they will run the 34 next season although i definitely think its a better scheme. So the way i hope the defense looks next year is as follows... DT- Kyle Williams DT- Marcell Dareus DE- Chris Kelsay DE- Robert Mathis ILB- Kelvin Sheppard OLB- Nick Barnett OLB- 1st Round Pick CB- Aaron Williams CB- Terrence McGee SS- George Wilson FS- Jarius Byrd I think the front four could get a consistent push against any OL. And in order to sign Mathis the Bills can easily cut Merriman and D.Edwards/S.Johnson, to save about 7-8 mil. If they can find a couple extra mil somewhere for the rest then i'd be very dissapointed.

i know that alot of Bills fans are interested in signing a high profile wr and i understand why. Hell even Nix mentioned the need for one. But personally i would rather sign a big name defensive player. Wr have a habit of blossoming sometimes when you least expect them to (stevie Johnson himself came out of nowhere a couple years ago). And since im 100 percent sure we will be lucky if the Bills sign even one big FA, imo it should definitely be on defense.

Sometimes all it takes is one or two players added to a unit to catipult it to the next level.

The reason i dont think this will work is because you are assuming that Roscoe's agent will come back and tell you the truth about how much other teams have offered. I don't think he would. His job is to get Roscoe the best deal possible and i doubt he has any reservations about lying to do so. So what does Nix do when he is told that Roscoe was offered 2.5 mil? He can't exactly go ask the team who supposedly made the offer because any team who is trying to sign Roscoe isnt about to tell the Bills how much they are willing to spend. Why help the competition? Another thing to consider would be that if a team does make a crazy offer the Bills would look bad for not keeping their word and matching it. I really like Roscoe and think if he was ever on a team which knew how to utilize his talents that he could be successful. But due to his inability to stay healthy i also think that its time for the Bills to part ways. Especially since they have some good young wide recievers who need more playing time next year if they are going to develop into the players we need them to be.

I thought more highly of the Bills roster BEFORE looking at all those names side by side. We have a long way to go... But i agree with you tthat a couple of players here and there will definitely get us alot closer.