BarleyNY

As well you should.

I'm going to quit saying nice things about players/team units. I gushed over Lawson. Torn labrum. I just said how happy I was with the RB corps. J. Williams gets a DUI and K. Williams gets a 4 game substance abuse suspension. Dammit.

Y'all are crazy. Denver doesn't win the Super Bowl without him. He's probably the only player I'd say that about on that team. Which explains why he was SB MVP. He got paid large - and he deserves it.

Ah. Thought he meant to cut Gilmore. I do not see a lot of cap relief from a new contract for Gilmore though. Your example of a potential contract illustrates that.

That would be an absolutely awful idea even if it were possible. Which it really isn't. 5th year options are fully guaranteed on the first day of the league year, which was in March. The Bills are on the hook for the full amount unless they were to trade him. But why dump Gilmore? There's no one to take his place opposite Darby and Rex's scheme needs CBs like him. Any unused cap space can be carried forward into the next season. That doesn't apply to Gilmore's 5th year option because it is fully guaranteed.

We see this over and over again. Often times - such as in this case - it's just a national media "personality" viewing the teams that are less popular nationally and in smaller markets as AAA affiliates of the more popular, larger market teams. It's not "What can Tyrod do for Buffalo?", it's "Can Denver find its QB answer in Buffalo?" At best it's pandering.

You mean that's not him?

All true. Virtually any job that requires driving usually stipulates that a DUI is grounds for termination. Many companies have various other stipulations. I can't imagine how much stuff doesn't get reported and I know crazy stuff goes on everywhere. One story I was privy to involved a high ranking financial institution executive who had been tagged as their next CEO. But some hookers he was doing blow with decided he was a good mark for some big, quick cash from some branches. That FI paid large to keep the story from going public. The exec immediately left his position to spend more time with his family, but faced no criminal charges. (Not sure what happened to the hookers.) I know crazy stuff goes on with NFL players, too. I've heard some of those stories as well. I think the real problem with players using Uber is that some don't make a decision about how to get home until they're wasted. Gotta make that decision ahead of time and prearrange a sober friend or service to drive you - both ways. Or maybe just don't get hammered.

I think I covered this pretty well already, but here goes. SJ is on a 3 year, $10.5M deal. RW is on his 4 year rookie deal at $4.9M. As I said, RW has potential for upside and is cheaper than SJ, but SJ isn't expensive for a WR. There is room and definite need for both on the roster. It is not an either/or situation. I just thought it odd to see people saying that one of those guys sucks and the other is going to be a stud as the #2 this season. One last thing. RW is going into the final season of his rookie deal. This is where he has to earn his next contract.

And why shouldn't it be? It's the livelihood of the players, coaches and front office people.

It's almost as if money is a motivating factor for him or something.

Sorry, man. I didn't mean to bust your balls here. I do appreciate you passing along what you've heard. I'm just so tired of so many posters talking about every rookie like they're going to be an All Pro. Sorry to take that out on you. My bad.

That's a bad idea. Carryover rules mean there is no advantage to doing that. It's much better to maintain some cap flexibility.

Have you ever been involved in any way with any financial negotiation of any type?

I do like the RB roster but I guess you have a much higher opinion of the WR and TE roster, top to bottom, than I do. The right side of the OL and the help a TE will likely have to give the RT is a concern to me as well.

It is the time of unicorns and rainbows. Silly Season has given way to Focused Exuberance as fans fall out of love with their beloved draft prospects that have gone on to live their lives elsewhere and learned to love those to whom they've been wed in an arranged fashion. Good qualities are brought to the forefront while unseemly flaws are overlooked for the moment. Perhaps we can wait until players put on NFL pads before making judgements of their ability or reading too much into what coaches are saying?

Thanks. I don't see him walking either, I was just alluding to the "Bus Factor". I was pointing out that if something freakish were to happen with/to Gilmore (remote possibility that that is), then the team would need a near quality replacement to run Rex's scheme. So why gripe about paying him? The team would just wind up paying his replacement a huge contract instead - if they could even find one. Or they'd have to hope to hit on a high draft pick next year, which is not nearly as sure a bet. That's what top CBs cost in terms of contracts and/or draft picks and if your scheme requires them (and all do to some degree), then you've got to invest there.

I agree. But Taylor has to do his part to make that happen. He has to prove he can shoulder the load as well as protect himself. I can't fault Roman for keeping the reins tight last season. Here's hoping he progresses. But it's also why I've been harping on getting help at WR and TE. This receiving corps isn't good enough to really help TT succeed as a passer.

No worries. I've usually done worse sooner in the day.

It's not an article from PFF (Pro Football Focus), it's from PFR (Pro Football Rumors). They're very different sites.

The Bills have done what they needed to do so they can afford both (if necessary) so it isn't a "Gilmore or Taylor" situation. Besides, Gilmore will get paid this offseason if the Bills sign him to a long term deal. Taylor's long term deal will wait until next offseason or possibly sometime this season, if the Bills sign him to one. As for Gilmore's worth to the Bills, it's huge. Strong corner play, especially the ability to play man-to-man coverage, is paramount for the defense that Ryan runs. It puts a lot of pressure on the CBs and they have to stand up to that. There's no way I can see Gilmore walking so I expect him to get signed. People need to relax about it. His agent is just trying to maximize his contract. There's no need to worry at this point. If the Bills somehow lost or parted ways with Gilmore, they'd have to find a high quality replacement for him for Rex's defense to function properly. But I don't see that happening. He'll sign.

For the record, I think SJ was the better player last season - but not by much. This season? It wouldn't surprise me if either SJ or EW was the better player. Beyond that, SJ is more expensive than EW and does not have the potential upside EW has. He is what he is at this point and it'll only be downhill from there. I could see why a coach would want SJ for the very short term, but would prefer EW for the long term. But it isn't an either/or question. I think the Bills would be better with both. A veteran like SJ would be good to have to push EW and the other young WRs. He'd be good to have as a 3 who could step up to a 2 - and for general depth. He's not the only guy like that out there and the Bills may yet pick one up to fill that role. Probably cheaper. I hope they do because I don't have the same high expectations you do for the WR corps. I see one very talented player in Watkins, but I worry about the injury bug biting. Woods as a #2 isn't a big threat. I think he'll be solid. Nor more, no less. After that it's just hope. SJ - or another solid vet - sitting there on the roster fighting with EW for the 2/3 WR spots would make me feel a lot better. I'd feel better about EW having earned the #2 spot, I'd feel better about the WR rotation and I'd feel better when a starter had to miss time.

You seem to be changing my arguement substantially. Please stick to what I said. I'm not arguing who's better, just that there isn't a huge difference between the two and that SJ could help the Bills. Respond to that. The "played injured" card is very weak sauce. Wow, you know what a player on your team went through. How about SJ? Did you look to see if he played hurt? Every player has to suit up with injury of some kind during the season. Woods did. Johnson did. It's part of the game. Had Woods played substantially below what he previously did, then maybe injury could be a big consideration. But that wasn't the case.

That same link has Stevie Johnson rated much higher than Robert Woods. http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/wr And, again, I'm not even arguing that I think SJ is better than EW. Just that it seems dumb to say there's a huge difference and that SJ wouldn't be a big help to the Bills.

I totally disagree. SJ got 8 starts and played in 10 games with 593 offensive snaps. Woods got 9 starts and played in 14 games with 820 offensive snaps. Those extra snaps even up opportunities pretty well even with the run-first offense excuse. They look very comparable in my book for such a huge discrepancy in opinion. Beyond that, it seems dumb to think SJ couldn't help this team (regardless of whether or not he's better than Woods) since he'd easily be better than every other WR on the roster, Watkins obviously excepted. Honestly, you're comfortable with what our WR corps looks like now? How about when Watkins and/or Woods miss time?