PolishDave

http://youtu.be/qogVHlmFcx0 Just a good ole boys Never meanin no harm Beats all you never saw Been in trouble with the LAW since the day they was born. Homerism at its finest.

He's going to show up to the combine with an AK and go postal on somebody.. Gi gi gi gi gi gi...SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE FRIEND...Gi gi gi gi gi gi...

If they are paying him the same amount of money, then it is going to hit the cap at some point during his contract. All you would be doing is changing which amount hits which year(s). And the only way he likely agrees to do it is if you want to pay him more money up front than he is already getting which is what people are already bitching about, saying he isn't worth the average amount he is already scheduled to collect if the option is picked up.

Yes. And you might even see them trade down or right out of the first round entirely for extra picks. Or perhaps a deal where they trade the 10 pick this year for some other team's number one next year along with a bonus lower round pick. It is crazy to think of all the possibilities of things that really could happen in the next couple months. My gut tells me that Whaley will surprise to the upside in some way with something fans don't expect.

Right now Chad is pumping his fist in his hand in between bong hits thinking about who he is going to try to beat up next to maintain his tough guy status.

They aren't going to tank. Every year it seems Whaley hits us with a positive surprise that gets everybody excited for the season. I expect this year to be no different. I bet that when it is all said and done, the average fan ends up more optimistic going into the next season than they have been in the last couple years. Bills are on the rise.

Great post and great point. You brought up another really important point that hasn't been talked about enough here - the QB decision's impact on the rest of the squad. So true and so important.

I am sure somebody would complain. But I think you could find a way to make it work if it was voluntary. Heck, you could run it as a separate for non-profit organization that is disconnected from the NFL. Funded by donors a.k.a. Pegula Sports. If there is a will, there is a way.

Trade Ragland is a more shocking headline than roster change. Some guys don't read existing top threads on the forum before posting their own I guess. No biggie though. We can handle a couple linebacker threads. There are like a million or so Tyrod threads - of which about 8 are still active. I think most people agree with this. Silly to trade Ragland considering what you have up to get him and considering you invested a year in him on the bench already. We know what we have with Preston Brown and we know what his upside likely is. We also know what Preston Brown's weaknesses are. We have an idea that Ragland will probably be pretty good and we don't know how high is potential is yet. Therefore, at this point Ragland is more of a keeper than Preston Brown. Unless the coaches know that Ragland is now broken because of that injury and it just isn't common knowledge yet.

Hughes Kyle Dareus Lawson Kyle will be fine. Dareus will be fine as long as he doesn't get suspended. In fact I think that Kyle and Dareus will be excellent not just fine as they have been for the most part. Hughes will be fine rushing the passer. Lawson is a ? but at least he is a young ? I think Lawson is the biggest question. Otherwise the line is fine unless one of the other 3 takes a big step backward for one reason or another.

I wonder if they would even consider it. I think Whaley has had a hard on for Preston ever since drafting him. He was praising Preston early and often. I don't recall him ever "not" praising Preston when given the chance. His affinity for the guy was so strong (in my opinion) that it seemed like he was using the Preston Brown draft as a poster case (whether warranted or not) for how good he is at drafting people.

Huh?

Isn't Preston Brown likely to be a horrible fit for McDermott's defense at MLB? I would think teams would throw against him with regularity and with great success kind of like how bad the Patriots carve him up. Wouldn't this be even more likely to happen if he is expected to cover more space?

What 3 do you see at which spots then?

Why is that? He wasn't drafted to play MLB? Or because he will be first year starting player? Or skill set probably won't allow it in McDermott defense?

Stealth Qb thread? Changes I think are coming: 2 Safeties (one free agent - one draft) One corner to replace Gilmore either this year or next. Seymour might start but they will bring another guy in regardless. Ragland @ Mike. 3rd receiver (possibly second and third) Right tackle (possibly center and right tackle and possibly right guard) kicker

You bring up a good point. Suppose they did pick up the option on Tyrod as-is right now. They draft a guy this year or next year or both. One of those guys ends up replacing Tyrod as the starter in 2 years because that guy has shown that he is an upgrade over Tyrod. Bills are stuck with an expensive backup and maybe have to eat some cap at some point in the last 2 or 3 years of that contract. Wouldn't you agree that it would be a fair trade to eat that much cap as a cost of doing business when you just landed yourself an above average starting NFL quarterback. Because if the guy is substantially better than Tyrod, then that guy is going to be very close to if not actually be a top 10 quarterback. The Bills should be in the playoffs regularly if they got such a guy. I would think that eating cap at that point would be totally worth it. And if their prospect quarterbacks don't turn out to be that good, well then we are stuck with an average starting quarterback who is making below average money as we continue looking for an upgrade. I can think of a lot worse situations to be stuck in.

Everybody thinks that and wishes it. It just ins't reality. Unless Whaley is some chivalrous knight willing to die by being publicly stoned to death, he won't make a really high risk move that could lay the blame squarely at his feet if it failed.

If you think they ignore the fans then you are naive sir. It certainly isn't their primary decision factor but it certainly is a major factor nonetheless. This is especially true for people in public positions like football Gm's and coaches. Even people that consider public opinion of utmost importance will publicly say "they don't pay any attention to it at all".

Personally, I don't think they held onto Fitz long enough. If they had held onto him, Whaley wouldn't have had to force the draft for EJ which ended up being a waste essentially. But honestly I don't want to rehash that whole discussion. I would rather look forward. If the Bills coaching and management believe there is a guy in this draft that represents an immediate (or very near future) upgrade from Tyrod - and they believe they can get that guy in the draft, then I am sure they will part ways with Tyrod and take that guy. I just don't think there is a QB in this draft that they think fits that situation. And I think they realize that bringing in a proven loser vet is not good for ticket sales or for building the fan base. (Romo would be an upgrade - everybody else I know of would not in my opinion.) It is remotely possible that they would cut ties with Tyrod entirely, then draft the best QB available at 10 and start that guy immediately. They could claim they are trying to win and would sell seats and optimism. Then if that QB has a really bad year - do the same thing the following year but maybe wait to start the new rookie until year 2 or bring in a vet then (which would appear to be an upgrade at QB). I don't think they make that gamble though. The reason I don't think so is because if that rookie fell on his face (whether it was mostly his own fault or not) and the Bills had a wretched season (like 3-13 or something), then I think fan outrage pushes for Whaley's head to hit the guillotine. And Whaley knows that. Talking about winning a championship when your team can't even make the playoffs is a joke and everyone knows it. Whaley wants the playoffs badly, very, very badly. Intentionally downgrading at QB for a year or two isn't likely to get you to the playoffs. However, getting to the playoffs with Tyrod while having a younger promising QB on the roster makes for a happy fan base and lots of optimism as they try to "find the final pieces" which may include a new QB.

Because your job as a staff member of a team is to try to win as many games as possible. That is why it is logical. If you ignore the fact that you want to win games, then anything is possible. You could make any number of higher risk gambles. Doing that isn't logical though; it is gambling. Regardless of whether or not you think your guy is good enough to win you a championship, you still should always be looking to upgrade - which is what I expect they will try to do. It just seems illogical to try starting a less talented guy during the time frame in which you are trying to upgrade. To me, it seems totally illogical to intentionally downgrade in hopes that you might upgrade in a couple years. No need to downgrade first. Why not just keep trying to upgrade without the downgrade? Get me? At the price Tyrod costs to remain on the team, it seems entirely logical that they would keep him and try to upgrade the position at the same time. (assuming they intend to try upgrading through the draft) When they are confident the replacement guy is going to outplay Tyrod, then they start him.

This is what I think is going to end up happening with or without a restructure of Tyrod's contract. If you think about it simply for a minute: Everyone agrees the most important position on the team is QB. When you have an existing QB on the team and that guy is getting paid commensurate with his playing history/ability, you hang onto that guy unless you are confident you are upgrading from him. That's why I think the Bills hang onto Tyrod until they are confident they have a guy who is an overall upgrade at that position. If you are honestly trying to win games (at least in the immediate future), that is really the most logical path. I think the Bills McDermott, Dennison and Whaley are going to make their decision on Tyrod based on whether they are confident they are upgrading at the position or not based on all their available options. And with their limited options this year, logic tells me that Tryod is very likely going to stay here either with or without a renegotiated contract.

I'm afraid that Ragland isn't going to be a good fit for McDermott's defense. If he isn't, that is going to have been a massive waste. I hope like hell he is fast and athletic enough to play it well and still be a thumper.

If Whaley doesn't like any of the available QB's where the Bills pick in the draft, then I would expect him to pass entirely. Chances are there is only one or two QB's in the draft that the Bills would want to take a shot on. And if one of those guys isn't there at the draft position the Bills are willing to spend on him, then he isn't going to take one. And what free agent would be provide honest open competition for Tyrod? Just wondering. I know a lot of fans want the Bills to draft a QB this year at some point no matter what. I just think that is irrational thinking. Whaley should only draft one if he thinks that QB has a reasonably high percentage chance (compared to a typical drafted QB) at becoming a franchise player. If his available options don't meet that criteria, it would be a waste of a pick when there are many needs on this team in addition to the QB position.

Donald was a wide receiver for the Bills and the Patriots. So it is about as credible as it gets. He was speaking from experience. It's not really his opinion, it is more fact. Unless you think he was lying for some reason - which I don't. If you listened to it you could tell he was speaking sincerely and honestly based on his own NFL experience. Could have been, even if it was unintentional. He did go out of his way to say that Sanjay Lal was a teacher though. He said that Sanjay has improved Sammy's technique a lot. He said when Sammy got drafted he was just a "go deep guy". Donald said Sanjay has coached Sammy to be able to run better routes so he can be used more effectively in more routes rather than just the deep ones. I think it makes sense. I am sure that most of the players in the NFL realize what Donald said is exactly true. It's just not something that gets talked about because players aren't going to admit their skills are sub-par. The title of the thread may make it appear that Donald was making a bold statement about coaching in the NFL like he was on a mission or something. That isn't what happened. A caller called in and asked him about receivers in the draft and what is more important - technique and speed or things like body size and catching radius. Donald started talking about how important technique is because ....... That lead to the part where he explained some coaches place maximum emphasis on the playbook and not much emphasis on teaching technique and fundamentals. Those are my words paraphrasing obviously - not a quote word for word. That was the general gist of it. Donald wasn't really blaming anybody for anything. That's not how I meant it to sound. He was simply revealing one of the insider bits of knowledge that only other players and coaches know about the NFL. It caught my attention because he explained it matter of factly - as if everyone in the NFL knows this except the fans. Wow - on the Fitz comment. Shows it is probably more league wide. I guess with the high amount of turnover in coaching, it shouldn't be all that surprising. If you are a position coach in the NFL - unless you manage to hitch your wagon to a really successful head coach, your career prospects are short term. No wonder that some guys are more concerned about moving up the ranks and saving their jobs rather than performing their job to the best interests of the team/players.