BarleyNY

Don't even get me started on my Paris pied-à-terre renovation.

It is possible that Roethlisberger would have to repay that money, but it is rare that portions of signing bonuses are required to be repaid. The CBA has very strong language against repayment, but contracts can have clauses that require it. Roethlisberger could have one. It's odd that the reporter states that he'd need a clause preventing a repayment as the default is that no repayment would need to be made.

You are way off on the financials. He's due only $12M next season and $17M in each of 2018 and 2019. $12M is Ryan Fitzpatrick money. This is about his payday. Also he would not have to pay back any of his signing bonus money if he were to retire. The Steelers really have no choice here. They've got to pony up and if/when they do, he'll play. http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/pittsburgh-steelers/ben-roethlisberger-3595/

And if Tyrod's old QB coach from B-more takes a pass, what would that tell you?

If Taylor would rework his deal, then I'd definitely be on board with keeping him as a bridge. But I see him leaving and not looking back if his extension isn't picked up by the Bills. It already looks like there are some hard feelings about week 17 and we aren't likely to be the highest bidder with our cap situation. Some team will way overpay for him anyway.

Maybe if he goes to Denver. Otherwise, no.

One of the more telling things I saw last season was watching defenses stack the box against the run and go straight up man or man with a robber on Watkins. I kept watching for Taylor to audible out and I honestly never saw that happen. Either he wasn't allowed to do so or he decided not to. Either way, that is terribly concerning to me. A QB has to be able to take advantage of those situations because you aren't going to beat good teams if you can't.

The 4th quarter comeback stat can be misleading, but confidence in your QB to provide your team a chance in those situations is of enormous importance. Does anyone here really think Tyrod Taylor can be counted on to drive down the field late in the 4th quarter to beat a playoff caliber team? I sure don't. I'd happily put the ball in Aaron Rodger's hand though. Here is all I could find on the matter: http://www.pro-football-reference.com/play-index/comeback.cgi?player=RodgAa00 http://www.pro-football-reference.com/play-index/comeback.cgi?player=TaylTy00

Interesting article. I'll be thinking of that today watching the NFCC game. But it's still stupid for a lot of reasons to compare Tyrod Taylor to Aaron Rodgers.

I think Dallas only tied that game in the 4th quarter.

Link?

I'm not going to argue last season's grades, but the WR/TE corps is looking pretty rough right now. We've got a #1 who hasn't been able to stay healthy and just had another foot surgery. Woods is a FA whom I do not expect back. And that's pretty much it for worthwhile WRs on the team. TE similarly begins and ends with Clay. He needs some help though. It's embarrassing to regularly have to trot out an extra OL to block in 2 TE sets. There should've been some real attention to WR and TE over the last couple seasons. Some of us have been harping on it because we saw this situation on the horizon. Now here it is.

The most frustrating thing to me is that in 2017 Watkins will be playing the last season of his rookie deal. 2018 would be his option season. If he doesn't stay healthy in 2017 (and it's not starting out great with that surgery), then how could the Bills sign him to a long term deal? They'd have to execute his option for 2018, hope he can stay on the field and then use a tag if they can't work out a deal. That is not a path I'd want to go down if I could help it. The other aspect of this is that I don't think Watkins is all that happy in Buffalo. He is not getting the number of targets he wants and he's been frustrated by the lack of a quality passing QB. He's vented about both of those things. If he makes it to his option year I see the Bills in the same situation as they are with Gilmore. Sitting here deciding if they should tag him because that's the only way they're going to keep him. Probably the best way to entice Watkins to stay here is to make sure he's got a quality passing QB and some additional talent at WR to help keep defenses from keying on him so much.

Absolutely correct. Lots of work to be done, including finding (and paying for) a number of starters.

That was my first thought, too.

This thread and many other similarly whiny threads. Really? Here are the rankings: Offense - Run 1st - Pass 30th - Overall 16th Defense - Run 29th - Pass 6th - Overall 19th Sure is obvious what the two problem areas are.

So people here want to repeat the 31st ranked passing offense and 7-9 record? Interdasting......

Haven't heard/watched it yet, but perhaps Whaley is just tempering expectations for the new regime. New schemes on both sides of the ball that will likely mean replacing some players that don't fit well. Tyrod would be example A. Changes at QB can be bumpy, especially if they are looking toward a rookie acquisition this season. All of the guys coming out this season need work and a bridge QB will be easy to spot.

I'd put Hooker after Williams, but any of the three would be great. I don't think any of them make it to 10 though. Maybe Hooker.

Yup, he's been juicing for years and is referred to as HgHarrison by many. Gets his PEDs at the same Denver business as Peyton Manning did.

Adams if he's there. If not, then Williams. I don't touch Peppers.

Yeah, I don't want to see him not be able to walk away from the game or wind up with serious mental issues after leaving. There are a lot of players who will sacrifice their bodies and brains for the kind of paycheck that AW is set to get this coming season. Many are looking to take the best care of their families that they can. And I should note that a lot of other people in this world make similar sacrifices for a lot less money for the same reason. Still, I don't want to see anything tragic happen to AW for my entertainment. Yeah. The Bills might need to make a business decision here. He is a great player to have on the field and we are so thin at safety it's very tempting to keep him, but he doesn't do us any good on IR. He has a $500k roster bonus that the Bills can decline if they want out of the contract. He will count $4.85M against the cap if his bonus is declined. He will count $6.625M against the cap if they retain him (plus an additional $2.425M of unaccounted for cap hit in 2018). Full details: http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/buffalo-bills/aaron-williams-7749/

I agree. Taylor would fit there well and Denver is good enough all around that they could win with Taylor.

Has to do with Jim Johnson, a DC who was a friend of Brad's. Here is part of the article: But with his 60th birthday approaching, Childress kept thinking about a conversation with the late, great defensive coordinator Jim Johnson, who was pondering his future around the same age during their days on Reids staff with the Philadelphia Eagles in the early 2000s. He just said, Im going to tell you what now, Brad, Im not going to do this (expletive) forever. I want to retire, and (wife) Vicki and I are going to play golf and go back out to California and visit with my grandkids theyre the joy of my life, Childress said recently at the Chiefs training camp. But he did it til he died. When we played them in the (January 2009) playoff game, that was the last game he coached standing on the sidelines. They beat us and went on to play the Giants in the Meadowlands. He was upstairs in the press box. He was already sitting on a golf cart. He couldnt move around. And he was dead in (July 2009, at age 68 from a cancerous tumor on his spine). I'm not saying this kind of stuff doesn't happen, but it would be a forfeiture of a meaningful draft pick if the Bills were caught.

I doubt it. Maybe McD would like to have him here, but hasn't contacted him yet. Without KC's permission it would be tampering to discuss a job with Childress or his agent.