Ramius

It is retroactive. At least according to mike lombardi on the radio, because that's where i got that info from. He said it was a rather unique situation that Cassel was going to be in.

1) to be a starter 2) due to the uncapped year in 2010, free agency only comes after 6 years of service, NOT 4. If Cassel plays out the franchise tag on newengland*, next year he reverts back to a RFA, due to the uncapped year rules.

I'm not talking about 1 year tenders or contracts signed by free agents. I'm talking about contracts signed by a player who was tagged and traded to a new team. I have yet to find a case where the new contract of a tagged-and-traded player does NOT exceed the franchise tender, on a per year basis.

Crackel Barrel makes a damn fine breakfast for cheap as well.

Agreed. We have plenty of time on to make a decision on whitner. However, his draft slot should have nothing to do with any negotiations on an extension or new deal. Those decisions should be made based on his play on the field, NOT based on his draft slot or who we should have taken instead.

I have no problem with what the pats* are doing. Its perfectly within the rights of the tag and a smart move to not lose him for nothing when brady is still hurt. I also believe Cassel would be happy to stay in NE* for another year and make 14 million. I was simply wondering if the NFLPA would cause a beef *IF* they trade Cassel and someone attempts to sign him to a long term deal with a per year value much less than the franchise tag, when every other sign-and-trade deal involving the tag has netted the tagged player a contract of equal or higher value than the tag.

That doesn't necessarily raise the value of the franchise tag.

With Cassel being franchised for $14+ million, will the NFLPA make a big stink if he doesn't receive a contract that is roughly equivalent to the tag on a per year basis? I can see someone paying Cassel $7-8 million per year in a trade, but would the NFLPA let a player sign a contract for half of the value of the franchise tag? The players/agents want the value of the tag to go up, not to drop, so one would assume that when a player gets franchised he should get a long term deal of approximate value to the tag. I've looked back at some of the tag-and-trade deals that have gone down, and have yet to find a case where the traded "franchise" player does NOT get a deal approximately equivalent or higher (per year) than the one year value of the tag itself. Theres not really a precedent for this, because most tag values are much lower (in the 6-9 million dollar range), and the tag has traditionally been given to a player that is actually worth the contract being paid. This is the first instance i can think of where a player is decidely NOT worth the value of the franchise tag (on the open market), and the sole purpose of using the tag was to get something in return for the player. Of course, this whole point could be rendered moot if one of two things happen; the NFLPA decides they dont care because Cassel might get $20+ million in guaranteed (however, this does not bump up the value of the franchise tag), or belichick's* arrogance leads him to trade brady and get an absolute boatload of picks/players for him.

We still don't know this for sure. Either way, things may have gone a bit smoother is the bills didn't play their dumbass "did he or didn't he get the extension" game with the fans.

Cheap beer - Miller High Life

Good post. There are many posters who would gladly get rid of players for not living up to their draft slot, instead of basing their decision on the actual product on the field and likelihood of improvement. Notice how its the same guy(s) who complain that the Bills are "running on a treadmill" and "creating holes to fill" are the ones that are the first to run good players out of town.

8.2 wins per year > 6.5 wins per year At least Bobby knows where he is on most days and actually comes to campus once in a while. And so what if Bobby's headset doesn't actually connect to anything.

The nuances of this game escape a lot of people. Take a look at Polamalu. Notice how he was very quiet during the super bowl? That's because Pittsburgh couldn't afford to have him running around and free-lancing like he does all season. His responsibility was to stay and guard the deep half and prevent arizona from hitting the big play. This is in stark contrast to the season where he's allowed to roam free and ballhawk. Donte has never been given this freedom. He's expected to stay back deep with specific assignments. Notice how he was playing very well in the beginning of the season when our defensive strategy was more explosive and attacking. Once we went into a conservative shell, his impact went down because he was responsible for staying 35 yards off the LOS. But, like i said, the nuances of this game escape a lot of people, including the majority in this thread.

While i agree with you on some of those, i find it really tough to call Peter Boulware a bust. He was a vital part of the dominant Baltimore defenses and part of the Super Bowl winning squad. He was a 4 time pro-bowler. How can you can him a bust? Also, Kamerion Wimbley is still young in cleveland. He had a hell of a rookie year with 12.5 sacks. I'd say the jury is still out on him. As for Movalleyidiot, i'm no longer going to indulge his childish comments. His posts show the complete lack of knowledge he has about college football and strength of respective conferences.

On a similar vein, we need to hope Sanchez goes in the top-10. In all likelihood, these guys are projected top-10 picks: Stafford, Curry, Crabtree, 3 of the OTs, Brown, Raji, Orakpo, and possibly Jenkins. If Sanchez goes in the top-10, it would likely push one of the big 4 on defense down to #11.

Stand drooling and incoherent on the sidelines with no idea where he is?

Young tossed 9 TDs compared to 17 INTs. That isn't "leading" your team to the playoffs. That's called "my defense is good enough to overcome all of my gaffes and get us to the playoffs despite my horrific QB play."

Your legacy of idiocy grows with every post. The trainers came out onto the field after his shoulder got wrecked. he slowly got up, and they helped him off the field with him arm immobilized. He didn't return to the game. But he didn't get hurt, right? Christ, i don't know why i am arguing with a blatant moron.

I agree. We shouldn't just send this worthless waste of flesh to death. Some of these seem more appropriate for this scumbag. http://www.torturamuseum.com/instruments.html

I call bull sh--.

No matter who we sign, or how much enthusiam is generated about the draft and our new player acquisitions, any optimism is drowned out by the mere fact that we have a lifetime loser remaining at HC.

I was going to say the same thing cincy. Most of Wards hits are legal, but highly unnecessary. Instead of looking to make himself part of the play, Ward simply hits any defenseless person looking the other way. Just like Sapp's hit on Clifton.

Just like when i saw it at the game from 11 rows up behind the Bills bench. Morris hit Whitner square on his separated shoulder. Notice how Whitner lay motionless on the field? That's because he got hurt. If someone simply got "trucked," they'd get up and go after the tackler, not lay motionless for a few minutes. Then again, i suppose you think Kevin Everett got "trucked" as well.

Brown's been one of the Top DEs all season long. He's been a terror for the past 2 seasons at FSU. The onyl reason you dont "see" him in mock drafts and on big board rankings all year long is because he's a junior and people weren't sure if he was going to come out until season's end.

Donte didn't put his head down. Try some reading comprehension. Morris put his own helmet directly into donte's injured shoulder. The impact of a 230 lb man's helmet on a separated shoulder is going to crumple anyone.