MRW
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Posts posted by MRW
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MRW, for the most I agree with you. I would most likely take the the most money as well. Lest we forget, we think that $1m here or there no big deal when making the money they are,and probably for the top 5 % of players thats true. But consider by the time these guys get thier checks, net is most likely only around 40%. Still a lot a cake, but not like they will be buying a franchise or anything.
The thing that got me was how he said the Stillers didn't impress him. Money or no, how can an offence using thier third strin qb and 4th string running back, phsically whipping you on a day your season died, not impress you. I just think some of these guys do not hate to lose as much as they should. However, do know how much I would be broken up if I had NFL talent, was drafted by the Fins, and we didnt make the playoffs.
Growing up Bills fans, I think we have more emotional ties than the players
True, I think it is a bit odd for him to say the Steelers don't impress him after the way they whipped the team's butts. Which also makes me wonder about the amount of confidence people have in the Pats winning. True, Cowher can choke in the big games, but the style of game they play is not as susceptible to game-planning as an offense like the Colts. I think this one could go either way.
And it's definitely true about the emotional ties. I would also add that just like any job, you'll have people who love their work and make their life revolve around it and others who treat it as one aspect of their life, or maybe just something to pay the bills. I have a hard time judging players harshly if they don't make it the complete focus of their lives. What I expect is for them to prepare, go out on the field, and give it their best. I think Milloy's done that.
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Can't say the full song name here, but how about Pantera, F'n Hostile?
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And on the main point, I don't see the problem with players getting what they can. It's a business, it's not a "family". I wouldn't take a 20% pay cut so my company would have a chance of being the best in the state.
It is impressive how Belichick has gotten players to buy into his team philosophy, though.
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Yeah, that's an excellent idea. Because, you know, our defense didn't miss him at all when he was out. We'll always have Coy Wire.
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I have to totally disagree with Drew Bledsoe starting for this team ever again.....yeah.....we had a 9-3 record....but AGAINST WHOM? what are we going to do Onieda....pray thay that Drew breaks form actually wins some of the big games along the way?
He has broken my heart too many times....I am ready for a fresh start
If Drew Bledsoe ends up as the starter again, it will mean one thing: J. P. Losman did not step up and take the opportunity he had. Bledsoe is a known quantity at this point, and I don't think there are many who think he's the guy to lead us all the way. But I don't see the sense in putting Losman out there because we're sick of Bledsoe. Drew will make mistakes and probably not perform well in big games, but what if Losman is a turnover machine? Don't think it's impossible to play worse than Bledsoe.
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Well, I don't see how anyone could be 100% behind Bledsoe at this point. This past season showed his abilities pretty well. I think, regardless of what his plans are, that TD would be extremely foolish to make statements that would lock Bledsoe in as the starter for the team.
Unlike many here, I am not all that comfortable committing to JP either. I wouldn't mind seeing them come to an agreement, keep Drew around, and see how things shake out in camp (whether there is officially a "competition" or not). I know people don't like Drew, but seeing the sorry state of QBing around the league, we could do worse.
Not a ringing endorsement, but it's probably the best that can be mustered up.
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He showed promise, but can he bounce back from the injury next year?
And I wouldn't mind having a better veteran tight end as well as a young guy with potential.
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bart........i'm only bringing it up because people are disagreeing that TD screwed up on that move........hiding behind excuses like "scheme" is just ridiculous to me.......can you imagine if TD ignored spikes in free agency because he didn't fit our "scheme" and instead signed a 2nd rate talent to play the position at 1/3 the cost? -- people would have been up in arms.......but some people apparantly find that acceptable in kendall's situation.......
i think overall, TD is cheap.......some people on this board like that quality, but i don't.........i can point to other examples if you like:
1) sam adams -- he let SA hang out in free agency for quite some time because he wouldn't up his offer a little more to get him in the fold.......it worked, but if someone else would have stepped up we would never have seen SA in a bills uniform......
2) antoine winfield -- this is where the excuses will fly, but i think if TD gives him a FAIR offer the year before his free agency we get him at a bargain price.........instead TD lowballs him, let's him play out his contract, and then winfield steps into a huge offer that we had no chance of matching.....i hope the same thing doesn't happen to clements because TD won't show faith in him the year before his free agency......
3) jonas jennings -- jonas will command more now then he would have last spring.......but TD lowballed him as well, and now he's headed for free agency and out the door when a legit offer would have locked him up.......again, this is where we'll see excuses ("he doesn't want to be here.....it's not TD's fault, it's all on jennings.....blah blah blah"), but i see other teams locking up their good young talent and i can't figure out why we can't do the same thing.......
this also traces back to his PIT days, where he annually let good, young players walk out the door because he didn't want to reward them.......i'd like to see our good young players retained......we spend alot of time and effort developing them, and it's a shame to watch good young talent like winfield and jennings walk out the door because we won't cough up the bucks (like other teams do) to reward their talent........
It seems to me like you've arrived at the conclusion "TD is cheap" and are viewing everything in that light. Sorry, but it seems like you are really biased and are unwilling to acknowledge that there might be valid reasons for the decisions you think were bad.
Let's look at your examples.
1. Sam Adams. Seriously? The fact is we did get Sam Adams and he's performed very well for us at a great price. Would you feel better if we paid him $7 million a year?
2. Winfield. Sorry, I don't think Winfield was going to forgo a big contract. You may disagree, but your speculation is hardly evidence for TD being cheap. Corners are paid a huge premium in the league.
3. Jennings. Ditto for left tackles. Look at the market for tackles and tell me what you think would be a fair offer for Jennings. Bear in mind when you do that Jennings is good, but can't be placed in the upper echelon of tackles (IMO) but might get an inflated contract anyway. Is he worth it?
Some other examples to counter yours:
Takeo Spikes - big contract
Lawyer Milloy
Troy Vincent
Eric Moulds back in '01
Aaron Schobel
Teams can't keep all their players year to year. You may disagree with some of the decisions TD has made, but I think the only way you can conclude he's been "cheap" is to start out with that conclusion.
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Absolutely. I thing I'll be more surprised to see Jennings stay versus leaving simply because his value in a pure passing offense is so much higher than his value to us in the play action passing scheme we ran this past year. Jonas has maybe as fine a slide as there is in football, a huge asset in a pass first O, but he plays to high in the run game and that makes it tough for him to clear running space for his RBs. If Williams can keep all his marbles in one jar this off-season (read that come into camp in shape), it seems a logical scenario would be moving the LT-paid Williams to that side and finding a much better value in a RT FA or draft pick, allowing some more of the wealth to be spread at positions like TE where we don't have an NFL quality depth chart, in fact after #1 we have for all intents and purposes no depth at all and our #1 is no lock to come back 100%.
I appreciate this analysis as I can't really break apart line play beyond the obvious "he got beat" situations.
I was impressed with the progress Williams made under McNally, but at the same time his early season struggles would make me a bit... well, you know... about moving him to a brand new position. I do, though, have a fair degree of confidence in this coaching staff (for a change), so I expect if they go this route they would have thought through the possibilities.
As far as TEs, I agree. And even when our #1 is healthy I would not rate him as more than an adequate starter. Any good prospects in the draft or FA?
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Ogden was/is the real deal at OT, a guy who plays both the run and pass with equal excellence. Pace is tilted towards excellent pass blocking while offering less in the running game, not unlike our own Jonas Jennings, a superior pass blocker with far more limited skills in the run game.
Interesting observation here, as this would indicate that Jennings' skillset is not ideal for the blueprint TD has stated many times he is working from of a power running team. Do you think this impacts TD's dealings with Jennings? I wonder if he might want to head in a different direction....
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MRW. i agree whole heartledly(speeling) with your post. I also find it somewhat amazing that of the 4 teams left, three caoches who have almost total control. Conventional
wisdom says one needs a strong GM and coach, not one doing both jobs, and I tend to agree with that. However, these teams seem to defy that logic. The real kicker is that the Pats and the Eagles, the two most consistant teams over the last four years, seem to never have any cap issues. I may be wrong, but I think the Eagles are like $20M under the cap for next year and have a plethora of picks.
The Pats do have Scott Pioli, who seems to work very well with Belichick. Can anyone tell me whether Belichick actually has the GM title, or is it Pioli, or Kraft? It's great that NE will likely be losing both coordinators this year, but I am bummed that Pioli didn't take a GM job to get out of Belichick's shadow. I think as long as they are both there NE will be tough to beat.
I guess that was my original point, that I am more convinced that ever that football is the ultimate team game, and overpaying for one or two players just guts your team. Reid and Belichek seem better than others at spotting talant early in their career, and locking them up early. How often have you seen a Pat or Eagle worth a big contract come up for FA in yr 4 or 5. I am sure there are examples, but overall they restructure those rookie contracts in the 2nd or third year, tying the guy up until he is in his late 20's and , like I said, in peak EARNING years, not peak playing years. I believe Philly redid both of their starting cornerbacks this year in mid year, while the players were only in the 2nd year of 4 yr deals. Now, that is what I want to see out of TDI want to see TD start locking down guys like McGee and WM now, not wait till their contract year. If we need to cut some vetereans to get this done , so be it. Tell ya this, we better be drafting some safetys, as those boys back there are getting old. I know, I know, they played great down the stretch, but thats where a GREAT gm comes in. Remeber those guys were CUT by the two teams favored to go the Bowl, and they seem to be doing just fine without them.
I am not sure when Mike Williams is a FA, I am guessing after 2006. Why not look at tying him up now, before he continues to mature and continues to get better as he did this year.
Another good point here. I would also add that the Eagles are famous for squeezing as much out of the cap as possible by using bonus loopholes to get extra space the next year. Smart management, and I am surprised it is not more widely emulated. Of course most teams are still constantly struggling to deal with the cap.
And I definitely agree on Mike Williams, based on the progress he showed this year. He was a question mark but I think he has shown that he is worth keeping for the long term (although not a Pro-Bowler by any means yet). Oh, and McGee for sure.
Every team does at least need a few guys who are stars. New England probably has the fewest big name players I've seen on a championship team in a while, and even they have Dillon, Rodney Harrison, McGinest, Ty Law (even though he's hurt). Guys who step up in the big games and seem to elevate the play of those around them.
I'm not even sure what I'm trying to say here. I guess that it would be that there's nothing wrong with going after a big name, but you'd better know what you're getting. I'd say the Spikes signing worked out well for the Bills, but so has London Fletcher and Chris Villarial.
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I have to wonder, how many of this new batch of contestants have visions of being the next William Hung? There have to be people who have considered it...
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No one has addressed the issue of a posable backup QB, which I would think would be intriguing to some out there.
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I don't know, to really make the case, don't you have to look at more than just how many of the playoff teams have first-round QBs?
Other relevant information: how many first-round QBs aren't in the playoffs, how many first-round QBs have been drafted over some period of time and washed out vs. success rates at other positions.
And I don't think the argument was about whether first-round QBs could get you to the playoffs, it was about whether starting one was a guarantee of or a necessity for championship success. All things being equal, of course you want a great QB, but all things are never equal and I think you do have to question whether you need to invest high picks in a quarterback.
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Have we learned NOTHING from the Pats. One big signing doesn't get it done. The only big name that the Pats have signed from outside in the last four years has been Colvin. Hurt all of last year, never hear his name this year, but, and this is the key, you DO NOT hear him whinig about PT and demanding to be traded!(th) We do not need one big name, we need TEAM players at several postitions, guys who have a burning desire to win at all costs. I am convinced that is why the Pats dusted the Colts, to many friggin big name, big contract guys who have lost thier hatred of losing among all the big money.
Okay, done with my rant.
While that is true, I think a coach like Belichick has proven to be a rare commodity. If they can afford to do so, the Bills need to bring in more talent. The Patriots' methods really seem to work because they have a coach, and a staff as a whole, that is a cut above the rest. If we don't have that (and I'm not putting Mularkey down here, just saying it's not something to count on) getting players who can be difference makers is the best way to go.
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It's the Schottenheimer philosophy. Playing conservative can get you to the playoffs very reliably, but inevitably once you get there you will face situations that require you to take a chance. It's one of the things that Parcells and Belichick over the years have known how to do, when to risk going for it, and when to simply take the points. There are a lot of coaches in the league that don't seem to get it.
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The Steelers have a real shot, if, as Mark says, they don't get stupid. Their team makeup is power running and a ferocious defense, which is the best formula to take against the Patriots. High-scoring passing offenses get frustrated by the Patriots defense, but if Pitt can get moving on the ground and their defense slows down the Pats O, this should be a close exciting game.
Having said that, in the coaching matchup of Belichick vs. Cowher, you have to go with Belichick, so I don't know where anyone would get the confidence to say the Pats will lose.
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This was showing on a flight I took over Thanksgiving. Sad to say I did not find it worth watching even for free. I watched twenty minutes and quit after not laughing once.
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I was psyched that they beat Seattle because I think that that protects his job for another year.
The league is much better off having Martz in it. Think about how many times his arrogance combined with his poor decision making makes you smile during the year. The guy is priceless. St. Louis fans deserve better, but without any emotional attachment I say keep the guy in the league and the good times rollin'.
You're right. I've probably gotten too personally invested and need to step back and consider the good of the game as a whole.
I'm still bummed that Wannstedt is gone.
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Reading McNabb story, I forgot that Couch
in The Stadium Wall Archives
Posted
Makes you wonder about this past year's draft, doesn't it? 5 QBs in the first round in 1999, 2 of whom are still in the league (and are stars). 4 QBs in the first round in 2004. I guess we'll have to evaluate in a few years.