Greetings fellow Bills fans. I make my way to this forum by way of the BB.com message board. I have noticed that the topics discussed and the feedback from everyone is much more legitimate, in depth, and worth while here than over at BB.com. Constantly i find myself pulling the hairs out of my head when I read topics that play around with the thought of getting Randy Moss, or entertaining the thought of ridiculous trades. These people apparently suffer from either: A) Drug addiction, B) Have a 3rd grade education/are in 3rd grade, C) Lost 1/2 of their brain in car accident/gunshot wound. Now that that's over, here are a few random thoughts:
1) I like the prospect of trading T. Henry to Arizona for LJ Shelton. It is very appealing for cap reasons. LJ's annual salary is $3 mil while JJ would demand top dollar now that he is the best availabel tackle on the market. Bye Bye JJ, hello LJ who has a ton of potential that wasn't being exploited in AZ (Who really wants to play in AZ anyway?). IMO, under the tutelage of Mouse McNally, getting the he11 out of AZ, and being on the same team as his cousin, LJ will blossom into a possible Pro Bowl caliber LT. Hopefully Jason Peter's deveopment will allow for added depth, and we resign Marcus Price who has done everything that we ask of him.
2) With that problem solved, I still think that we need to sign a solid LG. Jermaine Mayberry (although 32 yo) he would still be an upgrade at LG. Other options would be Cosey Coleman from TB or maybe even Joe Andruzzi from NE. This is the most important position that needs to be addressed this offseason IMO and I think that TD has someone locked on his radar that he is going to go after the second FA starts much like last year with Villarial, and TD really cant spend freely, but wisely.
3) We have a really good Special Teams unit, without Lindell, we would have a phenominal ST unit. In order to allow JP to thrive, we need to have a great kicker that is able to pick up slack when the offense comes up jsut short. I felt aggressive and violent when we would punt from our own 30. This is/was known as "The Lindell Factor". With that said, I now a lot of people are big Mike Nugent fans, however, I believe that we have to get an excellent FA kicker. Look how Nate Kaeding responded to getting picked in the 3rd round by SD, he choked and SD went home kicking themseves in their ball sacajawea's for not getting a vet. I've heard reports of us getting Adam Vinatieri. I have 4 words in regards to those rumors - "not going to happen". People need to lay off the crack pipe. One possibility would be Olinda Mare if he gets released by Miami. I really don't think that NFL Europe bound Owen Pochman is the answer. Do you?
4) Now that the future franchise QB is at the healm, we need a good solid backup who could win some games in spot duty if (God forbid) JP gets injured. My first option would be to sign Jay Fiedler. I now he is tainted with that God awful fish smell, but b/c of his win/loss record, he obviously knows how to manage a football game. If not Fiedler, I say Mike McMahon out of Detroit. Hee is mobile, very athletic, and would fit well in this MM, TC offensive mechanism that requires mobility at the QB position.
5) TE. Euhus showed promise last year, unfortunately, he injured the same knee for the 2nd time in his career. This could be detrimental. Campbell is mediocre IMO. I hope we pursue someone like Mili or Jermaine Wiggins, or Anthony Becht (former 1st rounder). We need more production/depth from this position.
* Note - I didn't put down re-sign Pat Wiliams. I think we have to let him walk and create a more balanced team which means improve our 25th ranked offense. This means that our D may slip a little bit but we are gettting younger at the DT position and investing the $ where it really needs to be invested. I think that TD had the option of extending either Clement's, Williams, or Schobel's contracts. He chose Schobel who has more upside than Big Pat.
I'm done, I know its probably nothing you guys haven't heard b-4, but I am looking forward to this offseason and getting into the playoffs where we belong, and also sharing good conversations and thoughts with you guys.
Later,
Bob Villa