jahnyc

This is the most depressed and angry I have been as a Bills fan. I really don't understand the muted response from Bills fans about the trade of Peters (and the possible trade of Parrish). Peters was the most talented football player on the team's roster, and the chances that our new first round pick will be an equivalent replacement are very slim. Prior to Jason Peters, it had been more than 15 years since the Bills had a good LT. I also don't understand the agruments that the Bills would have been overpaying for Peters or that he could not have had much of an impact since the Bills have been 7-9 the past couple of years. The reality is that this team has a ton of cap room and has been overpaying for other players on an all too consistent basis (Dockery, K. Williams, Johnson and even Evans). If 7-9 looks bad with Peters, I am dreading what the team's record will look like without him. Finally, I don't get the support for the FO and the patience fans seem to have. It has been 10 years since our last visit to the playoffs, and the same people who have made poor free agent acquisitions during this time are still employed by the Bills (John Guy). Tim, what is the perception of our front office (i.e., the competency) in league circles?

Well, I think that Brandon was completely schooled by Parker, Peters' agent. I remember after the holdout ended that there were a number of people who thought the Bills, by being tough with Peters (i.e., not renegotiating his contract), had won the upper hand. In hindsight, that is not the case, and ning months later, Parker got Peters a huge new contract with a playoff caliber team (not bad for a player that was under contract for two more years with his former team plus the possibility of using the franchise tag thereafter). It was almost 15 years since the Bills last had a good left tackle before Peters. Why does anyone think that this front office, led by Brandon, will find one this year?

I also agree with Alan Wilson's article and this post. A game changer and player that can impact field position the way he does is not a "luxury." His total yards per game probably exceed most if not all of our other wide receivers. The Bills will not be moving up from their first pick. I am sure they have no interest in paying more money for that pick by moving up and all of the top LTs will be gone by the time they do pick. Parrish will be a loss. Peters is a devastating loss. Andy Reid is right that it all starts with the lines. We will not win many games if Chambers, Bell or McKinney are starters for the Bills this year. By the way, our defensive line is also weak, in part because we are overpaying for players like Williams and Johnson (and Ellis has not shown anything yet).

We have lost many good players over recent years. Williams, Clements, Winfield and Peters are or were close to all pro caliber players. I think we can all agree to disagree about certain players and whether we are heading in the right direction, but I will have zero confidence in this front office until the team makes the playoffs. It has been 10 years.

It has been 10 years since we made the playoffs and it is frustrating and disappointing to lose the team's best player at one of the most important positions. It is difficult to evaluate some of the other moves, such as signing Florence to replace Greer. Florence was a flop for the Jaguars and Greer started for us last year. Not sure if Fitzpatrick can win us some games if Edwards gets injured. Rhodes seems like a good pick up as a back-up. McKinney is not a starter and although Chambers was re-signed, he really is only a back-up. Hangartner is the big unkown. Not a starter in Carolina (and not re-signed by Carolina), but played well enough after some injuries to get the Bills very interested. After our experience with Fowler and Johnson (two back ups for their former teams that were supposedly starter quality) and combined with realities of facing Jenkins, Ferguson and Wilfork in our division, I have doubts that he will prove to be the answer at center. Losing players like Preston, Fowler and Whittle is no loss. I really do not buy this addition by subtraction argument. The reality is that we do not have quality starters to fill the roles vacated by Peters, Dockery, Royal and Crowell (I know he was injured last year, but he was a good player when healthy). I don't see how we can fill all of our holes through the draft. We will be lucky to find one or two starters out of the draft and we cannot expect them to perform at a high level in their first year. Overall, I think this offseason has been something of a disaster. We are far away from being a contender, which is unfortunate since there is some talent at certain positions (i.e., wr and cb). You cannot create huge holes and then not fill them (the draft cannot be the answer this year for LT, guard, DE, LB and strong safety).

I wish him well, I thought he was a very good player. Notwithstanding some sympathetic pieces in the press and of course not knowing all of the facts, I blame the Bills for what happened. I know that the Bills gave him a contract for good money well before he needed to be re-signed, but I also have a feeling the Dockery thing ignited this whole mess. So, a couple of years later, we learn that signing Dockery was not only a huge and costly mistake, but it may have contributed to the current disaster with Peters.

I really hate to say this, but if the Bills have a very poor season this year, then they will be picking in the top five in the draft next year and will sign that pick to a contract similar in dollars to the one agreed to by Peters.

Mckinney could not crack the starting line up in Cleveland. He is from Buffalo, Texas.

If these numbers are right, then the front office should be fired if they offered him less. If he signed for less than the Bills were offering, then maybe the situation was unavoidable. I would still like to know how things evolved into such a disaster.

Sorry, but the offensive line is in shambles right now. Even if the Bills use a couple of picks on the offensive line, the chances of them being effective immediately are not good. We have no idea whether Hangartner is a good player, but we will find out. He was a back-up on Carolina, so we can't assume he will be a great player. The last time I heard stuff about an underrated center who was a back-up was when we acquired Fowler. He did not turn out well. I think McKinney and Chambers are back-up quality. We will see about Bell, but I would expect that he will need more time to develop. Our left side of the line has the potential to be dangerously bad and Edward is brittle. Not a good combination.

There are some missing pieces to this story. The Bills seemed to indicate last year that Peters would not communicate with them before and during the holdout. They acted surprised, but there must have been some indication that he was unhappy with his deal. Similarly, when Peters reported to camp, it was reported that the Bills and Peters agreed that they would engage in discussions about a new deal, but Peters said at the end of the season that the Bills had not done so. One other question about this situation. Is it possible that Peters became unhappy after McNally left as coach of the o-line? I have a suspicion that Peters' weak play last year was not just about reporting late, but partly a result of the line coaching.

I do not have insider, but Clayton says the Bills are still shopping Roscoe Parrish and will likely end up receiving a 5th round draft choice for him. Parrish is the best punt returner in the AFC. I know there is a glut at wr, but I don't think trading him makes sense for a 5th round draft choice.

Will be the worst offensive line in football.

One of the worst trades of all time. Trading an all pro LT tackle in his prime? Horrible. Oh yeah, here is the other bad news: the current front office will be selecting the players for these draft choices. Good luck.

Just read on the board for BuffaloBills.com that WIP (I think a radio station) is reporting the trade is for Philly's 28th pick in the first round and a fourth round pick. If this is true, the front office should be fired immediately. We will have the worst offensive line in the NFL.

This is an unmitigated disaster and the worst possible news. Excellent management to trade your best player and only all pro level player who is in his prime for what is likely going to be draft picks.

I think the drafting and the free agent acquisitions have been fairly consistent across the Donahoe and post-Donahoe eras, which makes sense since many of the same people (Modrak and Guy) have been leading the efforts during both periods. While I believe our drafting over the last number of years merits a slightly above average grade (maybe a , I think our efforts in free agency should get close to an F (maybe a D-). I am shocked that Guy is still around, and I think the team would be significantly better if we had more success in our free agent signings since our drafting has not been terrible.

They should do whatever needs to be done to keep him. I understand that his play has been uneven and his recent actions (i.e., holding out last summer) beyond aggravating, but the reality is that losing him would leave a hole too big to fill. There is no assurance that if the Bills select a tackle in the first round that he would even become a starting caliber player, let alone a pro bowl type player. Do you trust the current front office's ability to make a good pick? Moreover, the Bills have a new center and need a LG. They cannot start the season with a rookie at RT (if they move Walker) or a rookie at LT and a rookie at LG or Chambers or Bell at LG. This would be a disaster, possibly the works offensive line in the NFL. Finally, in terms of the financial impact, I assure you that if Peters is traded, the Bills will end up searching for a quality LT for the next ten years. That is about how long it was between Fina (during his prime) and Peters, and Fina was barely a quality player.

Trading Peters will create another gaping hole and the Bills will not receive equivalent value. No one here wants to pay him the money he is seeking, but there is really no choice but to do so. If Peters is traded, left tackle would become the biggest need and the Bills will draft a tackle with their first pick. A rookie LT, Chambers or Bell at LG (or even a rookie) and the new guy at center would be a recipe for disaster, particularly with an injury prone qb. I would suggest that even if Peters agrees to a new deal or does not hold out, LG may be the biggest overall team need. Assuming that Peters is not traded on or before the draft, I can still see the Bills taking a LT prospect with their first pick to hedge their bets (they can play him at LG if Peters stays). I would really like to see the Bills use the first pick on an outside LB such as Cushing or Mathews, and then in the second round take the best OG (i.e., Unger, Mack or Robinson). Starters and upgrades are needed at LG, LB, DE, TE and Safety (maybe DT as well). I would argue that our offseason has once again been about creating new holes and not filling enough of the old holes.

Some of the posts cited by the original poster were not about a lack of signings on the first day, but about the problems we have had over the last number of years with coaching, the draft and free agency. Frankly, I am tired of people telling us to relax and be patient, as if this FO deserves the benefit of the doubt.

How else can you explain this mess? Dockery is released without any replacement on the roster and free agency and the college draft are weak at this position. Will they sign the guy from Carolina for three or four million a year? Does that make sense given that Dockery was going to make about four million a year for the next five years? Based on prior free agent acquisitions by this FO, what are the chances that this guy will be an upgrade over Dockery? I think zero. It would have been one thing to release Dockery if the plan was to go after Jason Brown, but that clearly was not the plan. I just don't understand why the Bills constantly create new holes when they have outstanding old holes to fill, particularly in a year that is weak in terms of available free agents. The Bills cannot fill all of these holes in the draft and will be lucky to get one starter for this season out of the draft. By the way, I don't think it looks good to potential free agents when you cut a guy like Dockery after two years. Finally, with limited funds available each year, missing on a guy like Dockery is devastating and leads to the departures described above. This money could have been spent elsewhere with better results. In the last five years or so, the Bills have lost Clements, Winfield, Williams, Fletcher and now probably Greer. Through our efforts in free agency, we have failed to acquire players that perform at a high level. Drafting has been fair, but players like Whitner and Poz have not yet (and may not) become great players. All of the experts panned the picks of Whitner and McCargo and the overpayment to acquire Dockery. Seems that they were right. We need a real football GM who can make decisions regarding free agency, the draft and coaching.

Why should we relax? After the release of Dockery and the creation of a new hole with no immediate fix in sight, I continue to have zero confidence in the front office. We have struck out with almost every free agent acquisition in the last five years, while letting decent players leave via free agency (Clements, Fletcher, Winfield, Williams and probably Greer). Why will it be different now, particularly if we only acquire so called reasonably priced players? In the past, we have failed with the expensive acquisitions (Dockery) and cheap acquisitions (Reyes). Yes, it is only the first day of free agency, but we are a weaker team now than we were at the end of last season and no one understands the plan to move forward and improve.

Sorry to say, but Greer and Dockery are better players than anyone the Bills will sign this year as a free agent.

How do the Bills expect to improve by creating new holes and then trying to fill new and old holes with second and third tier free agents? Currently on offense, the Bills do not have a starting starting center, LG and tight end. They also need a back-up QB (and maybe RB). Please do not tell me that a back-up from Carolina and a guard from Pittsburgh with diabetes and coming off a ruptured achilles are the answers. We have already lost out on Brown and Andrews, the best options at center and guard. We cannot possibly fill all of these holes in the draft (we will be lucky if get one or two quality starters this year out of the draft). I know it is early and patience will be preached, but I am already reminded of the year we acquired Tutan Reyes as the answer at guard.

This makes no sense to me. At approximately $4 million per year over the remaining five years of his contract, Dockery's compensation is not crazy. The Bills have no replacement currently on the roster and it is a weak year for guard in the draft and in free agency. This is a big hole, and with another big hole at center, how does this get fixed? Clearly, Peters and Dockery regressed this year. Does our o-line coach know how to coach? Do we miss Mouse?