Dibs

I'm not sold on Cutler......nor TE for that matter......and I would hate it if we traded for Cutler(or traded away TE) at this point.....but..... Cutler's TD% was 4.1(13th) while TE's TD% was 2.9(27th). There may well be lots of factors involved such as scheme & surrounding talent etc.....but.....Cutler actually does get more TDs per attempt than TE.

Is that a fact? Golly.....I thought it was more hit & miss. I guess you're right. Of all the 1st round LTs that succeeded......none failed. 90%

How long will it take Peters to praise Buffalo after he signs a big extension?

You seem to be arguing something different to the subject.The point in question is whether TE has a problem(above and beyond any norm) when he plays in cold weather. I made no reference to his ability generally.....nor to the ability of his opponents. TE has not shown himself to be a good QB to this point in his career. He has shown that he may well become good but at this point he has obvious flaws in his game.....one of which is being touted as being overly effected by the cold. It stands to reason then that if he has had a good percent of decent games in the cold.....and in fact performed better than his opposing QBs who vary in ability....that he might actually have no problem with the cold. When you add in the factor of TEs young career and the fact that he is not actually good in warm weather there really is no evidence to support the myth. Cutler had a good game(when you factor in his 2 rushing TDs).....but TE had a better game. Extra yardage does not mean better game. You must be kidding! 75% completions, 273 yards, 2TDs, 6 rushes for 38 with another 2TDs, no turnovers. Did just what was EXPECTED??? I'd hate to see what you'd expect from a pro-bowl level QB. Before you go denouncing a situation.....perhaps you should first look up the stats. EM stats: 7-15-111 0TDs, 2INTs, QBR:32.2, 5 fumbles....2 lost TE stats: 9-26-161 2TDs, 3INTs, QBR:42.8, 2 fumbles....0 lost Did I say he had a good game???? No I didn't. What I said was that he out performed the soon to be Superbowl winning QB Manning(that means he was playing against a very good defense). No.....my facts are not way off. All of it is true.....and if you think I've made it up go check the game results on NFL.com. Back to the argument.... Nobody can expect a QB to perform well in extraordinarily bad conditions.....no matter who the QB is. Therefore.....if we take your 40degrees(which is bloody cold)....and we discount the 2007 CLE & 2008 NE games due to the wind making it impossible for a QB to have a decent game.....we end up with 4 games to see if he 'plays bad in the cold'. 2007 WASH(W): 40 deg. TE had good day 2007 MIA(W): 30 deg. Very good day for TE(4TDs) 2008 CLE(L): 30 deg. Very bad day for TE. 2008 DEN(W): 17 deg. TE had good day Again....considering that he is very young and is not generally consistent(is not a 'good' QB yet).....how can anyone claim that he has a problem with cold weather???

No I didn't......but I have noticed many posters claim they have.....so I thought I'd go through the games & see for myself. I imagine most QBs will perform better in good conditions rather than bad(obviously)......the question then becomes.....does TE perform at a more reduced level in cold weather compared to other QBs? It looks like you(and others) focus on wins rather than QB performance......I'm less inclined to do that as there are many, many factors that come into determining win/loss.....not just QB ability. That being said.....here are the cold(and/or windy) games TE has played. As far as I can tell..... There have been 4 games in his career with horrendous conditions or extreme cold. 2007 CLE(L): 30 degrees with 32+mph winds. Both QBs on the day fared pretty much the same.....played very poorly. 2007 NYG(L): 52 deg. with 23+mph winds.....against the SB winning team. Edwards outperformed Manning. 2008 DEN(W): 17 deg. TE had good day & outperformed Cutler. 2008 NE(L): 39 deg. 30-40mph winds. Edwards outperformed Cassel. In terms of cold......what is the benchmark for a cold day? For the sake of argument I am selecting 50degrees and under.....not including SF as he did not finish that game.....or the 4 games mentioned above. 2007 WASH(W): 40 deg. TE had good day & outperformed Campbell. 2007 MIA(W): 30 deg. Big day for TE(4TDs).....outperformed Lemon. 2007 PHI(L): 42 deg. Bad day for TE.....outperformed by McNabb 2008 NYJ(L): 49 deg. Decent day for TE(79QBR)....at least on par with Favre on the day. 2008 CLE(L): 30 deg. Very bad day for TE. 2008 KC(W): 50 deg. Very good day for TE(4TDs) In looking at his results, I can't see the argument about the weather. In the 4 horrendous condition days, he played as well or better than his opponent QBs......as he did in most of his 'cold' games. His win/loss in the cold is basically 50/50.....as were his performances. Maybe someone can enlighten me as to where he is worse in the cold compared to most QBs because I certainly can't see it.

Don't you understand??? Rounds 1-3 provide instant starters.....top 10 picks instant pro-bowlers......and top 5 picks HOFer level players. It's a simple system which is the staple of many fans fantasies.

Hiya Tim, thanks heaps for doing this. I have a question concerning the other big surprise move by the Bills this off-season(cutting Dockery). At the moment we are currently without a starting caliber LG. Do you have any insight as to what direction the Bills are looking at regarding the position? To me it is quite concerning that outside of the loose rumours regarding the trade for Waters that we could be relying on the draft and a no-name FA(with potential...Hangartner) to shore up the inside of the OL.

I actually thought he needed to show real human emotion to achieve the "I can't believe this" factor. Simply seeing bodies(or people dying) has become so very distanced from the viewing audience. I remember 9/11(who doesn't). The sheer gravitas of the situation left everyone stunned. IMO this was the sort of response needed to be shown amongst the main characters(and around the world) for the full effect of the 'twist' to be effective. That being said, I'm a huge fan of the book & thoroughly enjoyed the movie.

I'll second those sentiments.

$3.3mil/year for 2 years is not above average pay. That would be average FA nickel money wouldn't it?

Wouldn't the contract for the #3 or #4 draft pick be bigger than the 4 others combined?

um....thankyou

Holt is due for $8mil this season.....and becomes a FA next season. Therefore we would have to re-work his contract which I'd imagine would be around the 4 year, $7mil/year level. Coles is bound to be quite a bit cheaper.....and is a FA. That being said, I wouldn't have a problem going for Holt. Many teams have two highly paid & good WRs on the roster.

I'll give it a go..... Simply......C2C means that a team will only fork over in physical dollars an amount up to the cap level for any given year. If a team signs a big contract which garners a $28mil signing bonus.....and the contract was over 7 years......their amortized cap figure for the SB would be $4mil/year. They have however spent $28mil in cash.......thus being deducted off of the C2C figure for the year. As far as I'm aware, a majority of teams use a C2C system. There can be some very big advantages in the C2C system. Firstly.....you are highly unlikely to get into 'cap hell' using the C2C. If big name players under-perform or are injured and need to be cut there will not be that massive 'cap hit' that often comes in that situation. Also....it can free much more money under the cap in future years.....which can be used to pay more talent. Using the example above: If the team were to pay 2 roster bonuses(not amortized) of $14mil over the first 2 years....then for years 3-7 of the contract the team would have an additional $4mil under the cap compared to if they had simply used a $28mil SB. This obviously can be used to upgrade the roster further. Another thing that can be done(and I'm amazed is not done more often).....which the Vikings did with Winfield a few years back.....is to use up your excess cap(and C2C) dollars on the first year of a players contract. For instance.....if a player is going to garner a $5mil a year deal over 6 years......and you pay $15mil to the player in the first year.....his salary would average only $3mil/year for the next 5.....thus freeing up even more money. Teams that don't use C2C basically use tomorrows money today. Teams that use C2C can use todays money to pay for tomorrow.

....but it doesn't make him not one either. Unless I've missed something, we do not know what sort of contract Hangartner was given. You've assumed he has a big contract......and assumed he is intended to be the saviour......and assumed that he will never be anything more than serviceable. What makes you think we paid DD type money(either Bills contract $7mil/year or Skins new contract $5mil/year) on Hangartner?

Well said Dawgg.

But what it does do is saves $5.8mil in C2C.......which has me anticipating a possible BIG name FA signing. In order to sign the big contracts, you have to put a lot of money up front.....which is harder to do playing C2C. Our C2C level is so high at the moment that we could probably afford a $20-$25mil SB on one player and still sign several other quality FAs. Probably won't happen of course.......but you never know

My mistake......it would only be $4mil+ if they traded him. I agree. They are not going to cut him for that sort of hit. A low draft pick trade would possibly be appropriate though.

Over the last 4 seasons he has caught 20 passes. It's possible that he has good talent & was overshadowed the last 4 years by top WR corps.......but I see no reason why one can expect him to come in and contribute. Hope would be a better word.

Am I missing something here? Are you talking about the Kelley Washington who has caught 20 passes in the past 4 seasons? What makes you think he can step in and contribute right away?

The trade was to the Skins......and they did pretty well out of the trade. LB LaVar Arrington (1-2-00) 1-12-99 and 3-71-99 picks from New Orleans/Washington to Chicago for DB Champ Bailey (1-7-99) 5-144-99 from New Orleans/Washington, along with a 2-40-99 from Washington, to Chicago for T Jon Jansen (2-37-99)....113 starts 6-179-99 and 7-218-99 picks from New Orleans/Washington to Denver for T Derek Smith (5-165-99).

His cap hit for the Browns will be a little over $4mil(If I'm reading things correctly). BTW, they would incur the same cap hit whether they cut him or traded him......the SB money does not transfer to the new team in a trade.

I was focusing mainly on the "awkward looking" aspect to the post......but if you think you need better ball skills.....

That should give you(and many others) some sense of hope shouldn't it?

NO. I won't even be excited if we make the Super Bowl.......cause I just know we'll lose.