BillsVet

CB's, LB's, WR's, RB's, and QB's depend on the lines for success. NC, like any CB in the league, depends on a pass rush. While this is all elementary, some still don't understand this simple facet of football. Neither SF or Buffalo had much of a pass rush while NC was with each team. Same can be said for Champ Bailey, who had a motley crew of DL rushing the passer. They couldn't stop the run either and Denver missed the playoffs. Certain positions are simply more important than others. The building blocks required for a team's success start with a QB, solid OL, and a pass rush. Everything else is secondary, including CB's. Repeatedly drafting high DB's, RB's, WR's, and LB's is worthless without the guys up front to make them look good. The Bills, since the beginning of Donahoe's time, have repeatedly drafted skill positions, leaving them with gaping holes on the OL and DL. TD, ML, and RB have turned to free agents and risky trades to solve the OL and DL issues. This results in elite CB's not putting up the numbers many want them to. There is no corner in NFL history that can play well without support.

Arguing in a black and white world that posters like eball and VOR live in is like trying to eat cereal with chopsticks. According to them, anything can be explained with select statistics, team or individual. Here's one statistic that matters. How many games have Clements and Fletcher missed in the previous six seasons? Out of a combined 192 games, they've been on the field for all of them. Here's another item: Compare the Bills starting CB situation in 2006 to 2008: In 06 it was McGee and Clements. This year it'll most likely be McGee and either Greer or McKelvin. Look at the resources Buffalo used to replace NC versus what it would have taken to retain him. NC's cap for the following three seasons is 19.4M combined and would have allowed the Bills flexibility with their first round pick this year. Not to mention he's durable and plays at a very high level. In his wake, the Bills used 3 picks on corners this season, signed a FA in Will James, and doled out a decent sized contract to their first rounder. There can be no doubt that McKelvin was picked to start, either this year or next. The price to replace NC is not surprisingly closer than most fans realize. Between draft picks, first round size contracts, and FA's, the Bills continue to opt for the cheap-now decision and pay for it in the long term.

Good NFL front offices know what players and which positions are more easily replaceable. It's why clubs like NE, IND, and SD are continually at the top, despite the same cap restrictions that all teams have. These are the ones who draft lower in the first round and come away with talent late into the draft. Teams are made up generally of a few stars and plenty of supporting talent. Buffalo's young, but players like Peters, Schobel, and Lee Evans are the three most talented players on this team. Guys come and go, but eventually a team must decide which players they'll keep whatever the cost. They're the franchise cornerstones. It's why I think Crowell will hit FA, and Buffalo will find a replacement. He's not a bad player, but LB's can be replaced and Crowell isn't a world-beater. Anyone who follows the Colts knows that Polian lets LB's go and finds studs in the draft to replace them. Not all front offices are equal and until the current version in Buffalo demonstrates some success, they'll be regarded as below average to poor given the same people have been running the show (minus Donahoe) since 2001. IMO, Brandon is a newcomer to the personnel side of the franchise. All the puff pieces in the world cannot hide whether the FO knows what it's doing and ultimately, what happens on the field determines if they've got the right plan.

Buffalo keeps at most 5 CB's on the roster. Three are for sure-McGee, McKelvin, and Greer. It's too early to tell on Corner and Cox, but DJ likes experience, and even though he's had issues, Will James may be a good bet. I think it comes down to Corner or Cox. I don't see Youboty surviving the finals cuts. I would hope the Bills didn't spend 3 picks on CB's (as SB has pointed out) because they felt the position was good. It's time for Youboty to put up, and I don't see it happening. He's frequently injured, and not grasping the defense. He could not reclaim the job from a former UDFA in Greer, and it's apparent the coaches aren't big on him, hence the 3 picks on CB's. Why would anyone trade for him, with Buffalo all but saying they're not happy with his play by virtue of the draft. As for Simpson, I don't recall anyone saying he's been the steal of the draft. Even at safety he's not the best late round pick, as Dawan Landry and Antoine Bethea have been better at the position. Bethea's been to a Pro Bowl.

Royal will come away with the starting nod when the dust settles. He's the most experienced, and if DJ has taught us anything, it's that he'll go with experience versus talent. Hanging on to veterans past their prime has been a facet of his coaching style since coming to Buffalo. Schouman has little experience and lacks the bulk to handle strongside LB's. Courtney Anderson is a big body, but after unsuccessful stints in Atlanta and Detroit, he's probably just training camp fodder. Fine is still a rookie, and played in a quasi-spread offense at Kansas. For him to come away with the starting job, it'd be a big surprise. That's not to say Fine and Schouman have no NFL future, but expecting a super rookie (Schouman) and Fine to be starting NFL caliber TE's in their first season is out of the question. Royal comes away with the job by default, despite having below average hands. He had two key fumbles last season, and few Bills fans can forget him unable to get two feet in-bounds against Tennessee 2 seasons ago. This is a position the Bills will upgrade very quickly, though Royal has 2 years on his deal after 2008.

Both Peters and the Bills have some sort of leverage. I do think he'll eventually report, and Buffalo will feign interest (at least this year) in re-upping him at some point. Obviously they're working toward extending Evans, but I'm confident they know that having a LT who can neutralize opposing pass rushers is imperative. I'm not certain it'll happen this year, but Peters must be patient. Either way, he's the difference in OL play and there's no doubt that Edwards has a lot of trust for someone like Peters. As much as some have heralded Chambers as being capable of handling the job, he's not nearly the answer. With success comes the paychecks commensurate with it. Players like Peters, Evans, et al will inevitably become commonplace and ultimately lead the Bills to pay their players. The NFL is increasingly becoming a players league, and paychecks are following in short order. For the Bills to be successful long term, they'll need to extend their stars and draft well year after year. There is no question that Buffalo needs Jason Peters. I'm hopeful the team realizes they need him for long term success because the position he plays is so essential.

No player in the NFL has better nicknames: "The Hefty Lefty" "The Pillsbury Throwboy" "Lord of the Ring Dings" and quite possibly the best one... "He Ate Me"

Patience is a virtue. Maybe his agent is Eugene Parker. Either way, he won't be the last first rounder signed and we'll see him on the field in due time. I would venture to say the FO is busy right now working on Evans contract, McKelvin, and deflecting all the noise regarding Jason Peters.

It'd be easy to compare the situation with Peters, but that's for the other 12 threads going on. Evans has been very professional throughout this process, and it really only when he said a few things after a mini-camp or OTA did it get more notice. I believe he'll be re-upped in short order, but just the fact he's keeping the issue out of the press is a comforting.

I don't think anyone's arguing that he's a bad guy, but it's readily apparent that he's not nearly the athlete that it takes to play LT successfully in the NFL. He was out of football in 2006, and signed a street FA deal with Buffalo. He's the only NFL experienced OT on the roster outside of last years starters. What's more, the other OT's in camp are street free agents, UDFA's, and late round draft picks. It's absurd to think these caliber of players can neutralize the premier pass rushers they'll face this season.

It's worth noting that in a perfect world, Peters should be at camp right now. No question about it. The NFL is not a perfect world though, and Peters stands to earn 3.25M this season. By comparison, Michael Roos of Tennessee just inked a deal that averages 7.1M per, and he's not nearly the player that Peters is. Joe Thomas, by virtue of his rookie deal last year, earns roughly the same. Three years ago, Walter Jones signed a 7 year 52.5M deal, which is probably a lot closer to what Peters seeks, by probably not nearly what he's going to need. FWIW, the argument that Peters is in the league solely because of the Buffalo Bills, well, that's purely simplistic. Everyone's most hated GM picked him up, and ultimately Peters himself asked Mularkey how he could play. He went on to become a starter on the OL, and has only improved his play since that time. So much so that he's handled the most difficult line position and become the most dominant LT in the AFC. The point is, Peters has worked very hard and combined with superior physical abilities is the best Bills OT since Will Wolford. It's not just the Bills who have made him.

I think too many fans have forgotten the Eagles game at the end of last season. Chambers worked hard, but he has about 1/4 the athleticism to handle the LT job. Buffalo has nothing at OT with NFL experience after Chambers. Only the QB position is more important on offense, perhaps the entire team. It'd be nice to say "we'll go with Chambers or Walker at LT" but neither have the requisite skills to play the position.

I thought Overdorf did contract negotiations? Even still, transparency isn't required in this process, and being honest probably hurts the situation. I'll take an educated guess and say there's been preliminary talk between the two sides. Still, it's worth noting that Brown is a mouthpiece for the Bills organization, as Peters and the agent are for their side. A "fair and balanced" perspective is probably out of the question here.

Chris Brown's slight comparison of Kyle Williams' and Brad Butler's situations with Peters is downright laughable. I can't really trust anything that comes out of OBD, especially in light of this talk that there's been no communication. You know that even if Peters hadn't contacted them, they want to know why their best lineman hasn't felt it necessary to report to training camp. It is times like this when a savvy front office type with experience in handling personnel matters would be invaluable. Unfortunately, the Bills don't have a GM, and didn't feel the need to get one.

In all reality here, the Bills have handed out what I'd call two large contracts in the past two years. Both Dockery and Schobel received big deals, and Lee Evans will follow shortly-I hope. The two to Dockery and Schobel put this situation on the map, not to mention the deals for FA OL in NY (Diehl) and TEN (Michael Roos) All the other contracts (Mitchell, Butler, K. Williams, Parrish, and Stroud) are minor to slightly above average deals. I've got to believe the Bills don't have the money to extend Peters, given the enormity of the contracts they've handed out. It doesn't help that the team handed out large contracts to two other lineman and the going rate for young line talent has risen so rapidly. That, and Evans must have a deal soon. I'm not trying to say one way or the other, but as KFBD said, there's issues from both standpoints.

The Butler and Williams agreements shouldn't even factor into this. A Pro Bowl LT at age 26 is far and away different that an average at best DT and promising RG. And neither one are even on the same field as Peters when it comes to future potential. Ordinarily I wouldn't support a player who wants a new deal. Russ Brandon may talk tough, but he's in over his head on this one, and the example RB used repeatedly about giving Peters a deal two years ago doesn't wash. Going into 06, Peters earned the starting RT spot. I'm convinced it was McNally or another OL coach who told Jauron that Peters could make the transition to LT, and it happened after the bye week in 2006 when the OL was hurting under the weight of players like Tutan Reyes and mediocre OLT play from Mike Gandy. So it was that Peters became their go to OL, and the Bills ran behind him more often than not. Now he's proven that he can play the most crucial spot on the OL against some of the best pass rushers in the league. And...Buffalo has no one else remotely capable of handling this job. I daresay that only 3-5 OLT's in the league can play at Peters' level. This is when a savvy personnel man in a GM role is needed. Draft day is nice for taking pictures, but it's what's not going on behind the scenes that is irritating in this case. RB says the team has had no contact with either the player or agent. Frankly, I'm not buying it, and I think Peters has all the leverage in a situation like this and the Bills know it.

I hope we can all say that in January. With a playoff appearance.

Jeffrey Chaditha from ESPN did an article about players that their respective teams cannot afford to lose. Of course Brady, Manning, AP, Haynesworth et al. were mentioned. But if there's a player Buffalo can't lose, it's Peters. Not simply for lack of depth at OT, but because his play has been above and beyond what the average replacement can offer. Jauron sounded authoritative (he spoke above a whisper) when talking about Peters' absence, but it's clear this isn't something he can control. It's up to the front office to sort this mess out. They can continue to stick to principle, but a precedent was set by re-doing Schobel's deal, and he didn't nearly make the stink that Peters has thus far. If it's good enough for one star player, it should be for another. Everyone in that locker room knows Buffalo can't possibly expect to succeed with Peters. And you can bet the front office knows it too.

Ralph will forever be an anti-hero, both reviled and appreciated by Bills fans. He's the one who started it all in Buffalo, and the man who refuses to assure the fans about a long term solution to keeping the franchise here. While the latter may be rooted in financial reasons, many of his recent comments indicate his dissatisfaction with the region in general. On one hand, the average WNY'er can hardly blame him, but going out of the way to make fun of Buffalo at the Toronto press conference a few months ago was uncalled for. Ralph's remains a PR nightmare who has complained about the same issues since the 60s. He was obviously correct about the recent CBA, though the way he's publicly voiced his opinion is what irks me. The NFL is hard of hearing when dealing with revenue sharing and other areas which hurt small market teams. At the same time, it's important for the league's survival that small markets are not completely shut out, which is what might happen if every team becomes unofficially charged with building new stadiums. On that matter, Ralph's right and you've got to give him credit for highlighting these issues.

I'm sure Peters' agent also knows the Bills head into the 08 season with nearly 20M in cap room based on Peter King's recent MMQB column. King-Teams with most cap space (as of 7/21) As much as I'm against re-negotiating a contract with 3 years remaining on it, owners have lost considerable leverage since the new CBA was signed and the financial landscape of the NFL went into the stratosphere. Players like Peters will get a new deal, sooner or later, regardless of principle because he's too valuable to the team. It may not happen this season, but it will eventually.

The main reason Jauron and Jerry Angelo didn't get along in Chicago was because DJ wanted personnel control, to which Angelo said screw you. When DJ didn't produce in 02 and 03, he was gone, and Angelo assumed personnel duties, as would any normal GM. It's reasonable to believe he's got that control in Buffalo, especially given that neither Marv nor Russ Brandon are classic personnel types in the front office. Your argument here that DJ doesn't have overall responsibility is ridiculous, and it's worth noting that many of the picks on this team would naturally fit with what DJ wants. The whole 2006 draft had Jauron's stamp of approval all over it. If you think Levy did anything but take his Metamucil on draft day, you're fooling yourself.

Despite not being an offensive-minded coach, Jauron's responsibility as HC does not begin and end with defense. He bears responsibility for the entire team, and simply abdicating responsibility for the offense to an inept Fairchild is unacceptable. Jauron's had immense personnel control since his hiring. If the team cannot score points, he bears even more responsibility than most HC's in the league. Just blaming Fairchild for the offensive woes is short-sighted and absurd.

It's my impression that the rookie cap allocation is already included in those numbers. Each team has a set amount, depending on draft position, to use for signing rookies.

Seems like there are about 8-10 teams going all out to win this season. And then there are the rest. It's obvious this is a win now move, but NO has a decent amount of room in cap space, with more than 24M. For the record, only KC, GB, TB, MIA, and NO have more cap room than Buffalo according to Peter King in his MMQB column today.

Krazy, you have 72 posts and counting today. That's 3x more than anyone else today. We get that you prefer JP more than Trent. Fine, everyone's entitled to their own opinion, but stop bludgeoning us to death with them.