Nostradamus

Here's the obligatory... "Ralph and Buddy just saved a bunch of money on their car insurance" post.

It really was that bad. He didn't even factor in the boxscore. Not even an assisted tackle. It is as if they are playing short handed when he is on the field.

So the chances of drafting a 3rd or 4th round tackle being effective are greater than the chances of a 1st round pick being effective? Or are you just that down on Reiff in particular?

Then Hairston is your starting left tackle? That position absolutely needs to get addressed way before the third round. I'm hoping they could resign Bell for a reasonable number.

Florence seems to think otherwise. This is a free agency visit with cameras, drama, and intrigue, not Williams going to get milk from the store. Unless he is a buzzkill, he should get a kick out of it. Having a great rabid fanbase is one thing this city has to offer. There is no reason to shy away from it.

Embassy. For what it's worth, this is a Drayton Florence tweet. He seems to think it'd be a good idea for Bills nation to show their support. I think, if done tastefully, it could make Williams feel good to see a nice little crowd of 50-100 people cheering for him outside his hotel. Anyone in? I live live pretty close and would go down with my fiancee, her friend, and dog if anyone else is interested. Also,someone seemed sure he was staying at the Hyatt. Can anyone confirm his whereabouts? Florence seems to think he's at the Embassy.

Everyone is stressing about Tennessee, a middling team from a small market with absolutely no football tradition. Neither do they have the interior tackles we have to take attention off of Williams. Would Williams want to hear their sales pitch? Sure, why not? But, to think it's a guarantee he would pick Tennessee over Buffalo seems unduly paranoid, even by Buffalo standards.

I agree with you in principle, but Freddy has to be reasonable as well. Over the course of the next three years, I think we will start to see Freddy become more of a role player as CJ continues to develop and Freddy continues to age. I think that transition may happen sooner rather than later, though Freddy has made a career of defying the odds and exceeding expectations. Even if Freddy's production begins to decline, he provides intangibles and is an excellent leader and person. I have no problem with rewarding Freddy even with the uncertainty of his future role with the team... within reason. It cannot be at the expense of locking up Byrd, Levitre, and hopefully Wood if he recovers from injury as the core of the team, all coming up on their second contracts. Something along the lines of a two year extension, which locks him up for 3 years, where he makes about 4 million per with most or all of the money guaranteed would seem to be fair for both sides. I'd throw in a couple million more per year for incentives, such as surpassing 1,000 yards or scoring 10 touchdowns or more.

Good analysis on your part. That really is a piece of shameful journalism. Of course, I still highly concerned that the basic premise of the article, that the Bills will do no better than break even in free agency, will be true. But, he completely distorts Nix's words to arrive at that conclusion.

Couple interesting tidbits that give me a little pause for optimism. One is a somewhat random tweet from Johnson. The other was a Russ Brandon direct response to a question posed to him by Bulldog on WGR today. When asked whether Johnson might be franchised, Brandon responded by stating that the franchise tag was an asset available to all team... and that the team is focused upon making Johnson a Bill. While the first part of his answer is vague, it certainly is not negative or dismissive of the idea. Further, Brandon is a pretty intelligent guy who seems like he has his finger upon the pulse of the community. I think he realizes the team's credibility, already suspect, will take a massive hit if the supposedly rebuilding team doesn't lock up their prized homegrown product. I think he realizes that the season ticket sales will reflect accordingly. My guess is that the deal gets done.

The fact that they can be far apart shows me that, predictably, the price has gone up. It's unlikely the Bills went back to Johnson with the same offer he rejected during the season, because that would just be insulting and Johnson's agent probably would not have counter-offered. The Bills have allowed Johnson to have all the leverage, and they now probably want a do-over on the original offer and are offering Johnson what he initially desired. Of course, Johnson has no financial incentive to take that offer. The fact that they couldn't lock up their young talent at a bargain rate means they have already messed this one up, no matter how things shake out. For the Bills to lose Johnson, it would be a colossal failure that will seriously alienate their fan base. It would reinforce the notion that they are a farm team for the rest of the league, the NFL equivalent of the Kansas City Royals.

Wow! Nix would be a pinball wizard if he can pull this one off.

And if you look at the last 9 years as precedent, we have let our good players walk to the detriment of our franchise, with almost no exceptions. But hey, we should feel confident that the Bills know what they are doing. I mean, a lot of other franchise haven't made the playoffs in the past 12 years either.

I might be in the minority in this, but I think they are pretty much set at the tackle position. Even this year, when both Hairston and Bell were beset by injuries, the tackle spots held up fine. With a little better health, the tackle position could be a real strength, as I think Bell could be a top tier tackle when healthy. The best use of resources would be for the Bills to resign Bell, and either sign a mid-priced free agent or draft a 3 or 4th round tackle prospect. I think relinquishing Bell while drafting Rieff or Martin, at least for the short term, would only be a lateral move for the franchise, and that is the same reasoning why I would be deadset on letting SJ walk and then drafting Floyd or Jeffrey.

They have drafted unbelievably well the past few years. Where we got Torell Troup, the Bengals got Geno Atkins in a later round. Where we got Carrington, they got Michael Johnson in a later round. They got Mauluga. That's not even considering Green and Dalton. The Bengals have stockpiled young talent and hit on their picks. For anyone to say otherwise is delusional. And they did rebuild in one year. Losing the starting QB and his top wide receivers is a rebuild. As for Buffalo, while our 2011 draft looks promising, the 2010 one was a black hole. An empty draft class will haunt a team for years.

If the Bills have that mentality, then they will be the last ones standing at the dance. Receivers aren't lined up to come to Buffalo so that Ryan Fitzpatrick can throw them 12 yard square ins all year. Wilson and his band of idiots have to realize that Buffalo is one of the least desirable destinations in the league, due in large part to their own incompetence. If the Bills and Johnson were a couple, the Bills would be the ugly overweight guy that began to date the real pretty girl before she started to blossom. While the pretty girl has a couple shortcomings, like she occasionally stays out all night or flirts with other dudes, the guy would be wise to hang onto her, because she is the best he will get. To think that other really pretty and nice girls would be lining up for his services should he cut ties with her would be delusional. Instead, he could expect maybe a couple fat girls to catch him on the rebound. Similarly, if the Bills were to cut ties with Stevie, they can expect to be saddled with the likes of David Clowney and Derek Hagan. The Dwayne Bowe's and even the Laurent Robinson will find more attractive suitors.

While I live for tailgates, I'm not going to lose sight of the big picture. If the Bills let Johnson walk and don't make any serious moves to improve, I'm not going to financially support a team that doesn't spend the necessary finances to get better. By getting seasons again, I'd feel as if I'm just enabling the Bills to continue with this losing culture.

figureheads and puppets.

Not resigning Johnson for slightly below market rate completely undermines the credibility of the franchise. Nix has stated he is building the team through the draft. Johnson is a shining example of how a team can build through the draft. When 7th rounders become 1,000 yard receivers, it goes to show that it is possible to build a team through the draft. But, how can you build a team through the draft when you let your successful draftees walk after their first contract??

Not everything. But most things. The proof is them being the only 1 of 32 league teams not to make the playoffs for 12 years in a row. Johnson was already factoring in a hometown discount asking for 7.5. For the Bills to not realize that and try to get it done then was a huge mistake. Johnson will now hit the market after Sunday with back-to-back 1,000 yard seasons. He has no financial incentive to sign with the Bills at this point at the exclusion of hearing other offers. With an ever-increasing salary cap, some team will almost definitely offer him more than 7.5 in the initial spending spree of free agency. Johnson is not Donte Whitner or even Paul Poslusny, who made out very well on the open market. Johnson has had two straight very successful seasons in which he hit the benchmark for wide receivers with over 1,000 yards. He is, and will continue to be, productive. For Buffalo to allow it to get to this point, when 7.5 would have definitely got it done and they could have probably got him down to 7, is a huge mistake. I

It means our owner is a doddering idiot. I know it's not the politically correct thing to say, but this team is headed to football oblivion until Ralph.... sells the team. Are we supposed to be rooting for eternal life for Ralph at the expense of the viability of our franchise which means so much to ourselves, our families, and our friends?? Runners? Who is the second best back behind Trent Richardson, because that is who Ralph is targeting right now.

What twisted logic that is. Because no-one else drafted Gronk in the top 41 picks, that demonstrates he is the 42nd best player in the draft. And because Troup was picked 41st, that is proof that he is the 41st best player in the draft. The draft is about hits and misses. Gronk was a huge steal. Troup is both a reach and a disaster of a pick. And the Bills shouldn't necessarily be persecuted because they didn't draft Gronkowski. But, there were multiple blue chip prospects still available at the time. The three I was looking for at the time were Claussen (mea culpa), Cody, and Linval Joseph. Cody was an ideal 3-4 nose tackle with excellent size and pedigree. Joseph was the first team Conference USA D-tackle, meaning he outplayed Troup within his own Conference. To follow that up, Joseph blew scouts away at the combine with his speed and strength. Nix went with Troup, a middling prospect with chronic back problems. Joseph is excelling with the Giants, while Troup is ineffective the little time he is healthy. Who saw that coming?? Nix went into that draft trying to prove he knew something others didn't by making picks that were off the grid, similar to Levy reaching for Whitner and McCargo. Nix is an embarassment of a GM. But hey, he makes Ralph 'comfortable.'

Actually, Gronk was a highly touted prospect. Between that and him being a lpcal kid, a lot of people knew about him. Troup, on the other hand, was an obscure prospect.