The Voice of Truth

As I said it was a tough situation for the Ravens overall. Flacco thinks he deserves Tom Brady/Peyton Manning money which is just ridiculous. He wasn't going to accept less than he got and of course the Ravens couldn't let him hit the market. Should have franchised him and then tried to use the threat of injury in 2013 in order to get him to consider dropping his asking price. Then the team should have pointed out to the press that if he gets top dollar, the team can't resign other big pieces making Flacco look like a selfish guy, thus winning the PR battle. Bottom line, they vastly overpaid for Flacco and it is clearly costing them. He has the biggest contract in the league and is nowhere near the best player or even a top 5 QB.

The Flacco contract definitely will hurt them. However, I think they were just in a tough position as Flacco was not going to settle for less, however, franchising him may have been a better option. That way when they likely don't win the super bowl this year and his stats are nowhere near truly elite QBs, they would be able to sign him for less. If they did that, they would not have so much long term money locked up in him and would be able to keep more of the team intact (like Boldin). I also find it hard to believe another team wouldn't be willing to give up more than a 6th round pick for Boldin. The guy is an absolute animal, though he is a bit old. Torrey Smith is a great deep threat but Jacoby Jones is nothing special. They already are losing a huge emotional leader in Ray Lewis and they may be losing Ed Reed as well as either Kruger or Ellerbe. These things will hurt them and it's all a result of overpaying Flacco. They should have handled Flacco differently and then would have been able to keep more of the essential players around. They will not be as good. I'm not saying they will be slouches, but they will not be what they were.

No, it was a dumb move. There is a significant chance the niners will get back to the super bowl. Boldin is a huge playmaker and was absolutely crucial to the Ravens playoff success. They overpaid Flacco and therefore couldn't keep the players they needed around them. The Ravens will not be as good in the future. Watch.

No they don't. That's why players always say "this is a business" because there is no personal loyalty from franchise to player. Teams do whatever is in the best interest of their franchise. On another note, IMO, this was a stupid trade by the Ravens. They just played the 49ers in the super bowl and now they send one of their star players to them. The Harbaugh brothers were involved in this trade and clearly the 49ers are getting value because Jim Harbaugh has inside info on Boldin from his brother John. Otherwise the 49ers would not have made the move. Very stupid by the Ravens.

Albert Breer listed his top 85 free agents. I was unaware that Keller was available before this. http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000145968/article/top-85-free-agents-mike-wallace-heads-best-available Dustin Keller is in Tier 2 which likely would mean he will not demand absolute top dollar. He has always been a huge matchup problem when he played the Bills, I've felt. My brother actually went to Purdue as well which is where Keller played and you could tell he was an absolute physical beast in college. I know there have been some concerns about Chandler and his health so this would be a good insurance policy. Also, if Chandler was fully healthy we would have dual threat tight ends which I think is great to have for any QB. Get it done buddy!

So, don't address QB?

If Bellichek would trade him to us then I don't want him.

Yeah, it has nothing to do with that being combined with his pocket passing skills. As a matter of fact, I've changed my mind. Whoever runs the fastest 40 in the draft, I want us to take him with our first pick, regardless of position and skill level. Then we should sign him to a long term contract, immediatley start him at QB, and give him franchise QB money.

Laughable. He was the fastest QB at the combine. Kaepernick ran a 4.53. Decently fast wideouts run in the 4.4's.

While I am high on Geno, my hunch is the Bills will take the best player available at whatever falls to them at #8. I think they will either take a QB with their pick in the 2nd or move into the late 1st round to grab a QB finally. We'll see what happens.

Absolutely that is not a knock. It is a great thing that he has pocket passer skills. But people were nearly acting like he was immobile. As I showed in highlights in a previous thread, the guy can be explosive with his feet. No doubt this could be a huge weapon and threat the defense constantly has to monitor. Get him Buddy!

I remember there being quite a few who said he was just a pocket passer. I think the debate has been settled. Get him Buddy!

You're right I was not a fan of the Bills during their Super Bowl days. I was about 7-10 years old and didn't even live in Buffalo. However, when I was in middle school, my family moved to Buffalo and I became a big fan during the Wade Phillips, Flutie/Johnson Era. Imagine that. In my tenure as a die hard Bills fan I have not experienced one playoff win. Shortly after I became a fan I moved to Indianapolis, when the Colts were still in our division. I spent many days in high school debating things on football and defending the Bills who were still a decent team then. Wade was still there early on. This is right when the Colts drafted Peyton. Part of my identity became I was a big Bills fan in high school. So before you go strutting around that your an old school guy who got to experience the super bowl years, think about the die hardedness it takes to still be die hard as a fan of 14 years with zero playoff wins and 13 straight missed playoffs. Chew on that. Dungy's defense was never good. I understand the ideology behind what they built. Peyton was so good they would likely be in leads a lot and the "Tampa 2" is a great scheme when you have a lead. However, it was still a mistake and they were always towrds the bottom of the league statistically. It's not how you win championships. If they had built a hard nosed Steeler type defense and had a head coach that was fiery and fierce, they would have won more titles than the Patriots. As a matter of fact, imagine if Peyton Manning played for the Steelers all those years. He'd probably have 4 rings. Instead, Polian hired guys who were soft and unenergetic. The Colts were always "soft" and that came from their head coaches and also their defense. Look what happened when Peyton went out. They were the laughing stock of the league, under Caldwell. Peyton was responsible for everything that team did. And I don't want to hear how Peyton credits Caldwell for the player he is. Peyton says whatever is politically correct and is right for the team.

Let's look at Polian's recent track record with hiring coaches in Indianapolis. First he hired Jim Mora. Ended up firing him. Couldn't get the job done. Then, he hired Tony Dungy. He brought him in to turn the defense around as Peyton Manning could clearly run the offense. I don't want to hear that he won a super bowl. Peyton Manning dragged him along to win that Super Bowl. Peyton Manning won it in spite of Tony as he did a horrible job with the defense. Then he hired Jim Caldwell. The man had the flattest affect I have ever seen out of a head coach. How he became a head coach, I have no idea. He barely ever spoke. He was fired very quickly. As a result of all of this, I'm not so sure I'd be seeking advice on who the best head coaching candidates out there are. Polian's best hire ever was Levy and in my viewpoint, his only good hire. They should have won more Super Bowls in Indy with Peyton. Trust me, I lived in Indianapolis for Polian's tenure and have followed them closely. They didn't win more because their coaching sucked and Polian hired them. As you can probably tell, I'm not putting much stock into this endorsement.

Safeties come at cheaper prices than OG. I would prefer the Bills give Byrd the money he wants (maybe 8 mil a year) and then be able to threaten Levitre with the franchise tag (as he might be starting negotiations at nearly 9 mil/year). Guys really want to get locked up long term and hate being tagged. It is a significant tool for franchise's to use in negotiations. Lock Byrd up before other teams get a shot at Levitre. Then you can threaten him with the franchise tag more because he knows it can no longer be used on Byrd. Then Levitre may be forced to come down to the 7 million dollar a year range as you risk injury with a franchise tag deal and then you never get your long term contract/money. Bills win if they get both guys for 15 million per year IMO. There was a good post on here on what the top guys are making at these positions. You can bet Byrd and Levitre will be seeking similar money. I want Leodis as well. What do you guys think he is worth per year? 3 mill maybe?

Hahaha. I love the characterization of Brown; think it's funny at least. I see people bash him on here but I think he does a good job at OBD. The only thing is is I think he is more of a promoter and marketer for the Bills than a reporter.

That may be the line of the year. Hilarious.

Thanks.

I think it is interesting that some of the struggles Geno Smith had in college that people are bringing up came against Syracuse. Obviously, that is where Doug Marrone is from. I think that could play an interesting role in how we draft. Clearly Marrone has drawn up game plans on how to stop him and has been somewhat effective. Does this decrease the chances that the Bills will draft him? In athletics and really in any profession, mastering your craft largely has to do with how much you can strengthen your weaknesses. If Geno Smith has struggled against Marrone's schemes, then it is likely Marrone has identified some of his weaknesses and used his defense to expose them. Does Marrone believe that the weaknesses Geno Smith possesses are improvable? I have seen a few posts about Geno Smith being a first read only QB. I think there is some credibility to this, however, there are some arguments against it as well. WV runs a lot of 5 wide sets with the same number of routes (5). In order to find the open man you must read the defense and know where the best place to throw is. However in watching film, I do tend to see him throw to the first guy he looks to. It is a bit of a concern. I have also seen a couple plays where he has looked off safeties; very positive sign. I read up on him a bit and he was a gifted student all through his academic life (from elementary on). I think a huge characteristic that determines if a QB will be successful in the NFL is neural genetics. Do they have the ability to process tons of information in a short period of time and make the right decision based on that information? Some of that can be coached and some of that is inherent. This is where the Peyton Mannings and Tom Bradys acccel. Does Geno Smith have this quality? I don't know. I would like to bring up another point that I think has merit. It is likely shied away from because it is a touchy subject. However, I called myself "the voice of truth" so I am going to try to live up to it, whether controversial or not. Here it goes: Geno Smith is black. Amongst black players (which makes up the majority of all NFL teams), I believe there is sentiment that in the past black quarterbacks have been overlooked. As a result, black players are extremely willing to rally around a black QB. This is especially true when it comes to a guy like Geno Smith. He carries himself well. He has confidence. He has pocket passing skills and has high intelligence. The quarterback of a team must be a leader and Geno Smith is that in my opinion. Erase the fact that he is black and I love him as the future Bills QB. Add that he is black and I think he becomes a better leader that guys will fight for. Let it be known, I am a white man.

I already posted this but please watch the first play of this clip before commenting again on Geno's mobility. It is true that he has pocket passer skills, but he has run potential that has been underutilized. If anybody thinks Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Tony Romo, Sam Bradford, Matt Cassel or any other traditional pocket passer can make this run, then they are kidding themselves. The first play of the youtube video below shows he has the mobility to really hurt teams. Do not comment on his mobility until you watch it.

Yeah and everyone of those QBs other than Locker would be a big upgrade at the QB position for the Bills. Plus I think his pocket passing skills and leadership qualities coming out of college are superior to most on that list.

True about their defense. I hope you're right.

Ok, everybody's throwing out there that he is a pure pocket passer and is not a running threat. While it is true his primary game is as a pocket passer (a good thing in my opinion because you don't have to untrain a run-first mentality), he certainly has the ability to hurt you bad with his legs. He is not Colin Kaepernick with his legs, that is clear. Geno Smith's and Tim Tebow's 40 times are both in the 4.7's and Smith has not even trained to better his 40 time for the NFL combine. If I recall correctly, Tim Tebow can really hurt teams with his legs but sucks as a passer, therefore Smith has the speed to do the same with waaaaay better pocket QB skills. If you don't believe it, watch the first play of the youtube clip below. It makes it quite clear that he can do serious damage with his legs. Defenses would have to respect this and the explosiveness of CJ spiller possibly leaving wide open gaps in the secondary for deep balls. Plus our O-Line is high quality. Get it done Buddy! I will admit this is a bit of a concern. You need a guy who lives and dies with winning. In interviews I have seen with him, he seems to be that guy who has fire and determination; who works hard and leads vocally and by example. This story surprises me. I hope this one anecdote is not indicative of his true competitive spirit. I don't think it is.

Yes, I am Nastradamus reincarnated. That's true that he is not a run first QB which is a positive. However he can certainly hurt you with his legs.

Thought I would add this so people could get a better feel for him. Interestingly, it is made by KC fans.