BillsVet

If Henry Jones comes back for the NFL Veteran Minumum (for 10+ yrs svc) we could move Whitner to CB and then be set in the defensive backfield.

Marv said they're not going to get into a bidding war with other teams over free agents. Read what you want out of that, it effectively limits which players we have a realistic chance of getting.

It seems the Bills are re-defining the role of General Manager. Okay, no problem. Then again, what exactly does Marv do? We know he's not a salary cap whiz or involved with contract negotiations. The Buffalo News article says his sole responsibility is dealing with personnel issues. But he didn't know McGahee announced to the football world through a shady magazine that Buffalo should move to Toronto. And recently he has begun to get more interested in scouting and such. Earlier this month the front office admitted they hadn't contacted Clements and his agent. I guess they were too busy signing Kirk Chambers and Coy Wire. The article continues, "Levy has gotten more involved in scouting. He likes studying college prospects and being a part of the evaluation process." If he's just getting on board with scouting, who made the call last year on those free agents and draft picks we signed? I wish people would stop giving this organization a free pass just because Marv is on board. Marv does not control the money supply. Let's start thinking realistically. The owner has laid down the gauntlet, financially speaking of course. Marv will need to work miracles with our limited budget to make this team even respectable. We're not going to amortize our future, but ask yourself what is the future? The General Manager will need super-human efforts out of his coaching and scouting departments to come up with talent that can fill the positions we're going to lose each season to free agency. I'd like to give Marv the benefit of the doubt, but the PC left more questions in my mind. Come March 2, answers (i.e. players) will begin to be supplied. And those answers won't be what Bills fans want. Pessimistic assessment, not really. But realistic, yes.

Cash to the Cap seems like Ralph's way to fight the large bonuses teams are giving out as a way of attracting players. I think Tripplett received the largest bonus last year, and it was 5.5M. I could be mistaken, but not using large signing bonuses probably translates into restricting the front office from getting better players in here. DeLuca, your scenario takes place after we fail to get better players in here and finish the coming season out of the playoffs. At which point will Bills fans allow their better players to leave because they want a bonus and see their replacements as cheaper, less talented players?

Free Agency 2007 is less than 2 weeks away and Friday Buffalo laid out their plan for how they intend to conduct it. To date we've heard a lot of talk with no big decisions having been made. Eventually, they'll need to commit to someone and spend money. Let's wait and see who they pursue in free agency before we rant against the front office. I'm not going to speculate on what players the front office wants to or will get. IMO, if the 2007 Free Agency period is like most other years, the quality, high end free agents will be signed before the first week is over. You will know where this team aims to go after that week is over. Should we stand by and pick up the average free agents again, don't expect much. The NFL may be a watered down product, but you must maintain some talent in order to remain competitive. Losing three quality players from your defense and replacing them with lesser talented players does not make us better. Especially when that defense was ranked near the bottom in most categories If Marv doesn't have much faith in rookies contributing, and I think many of ours played last season out of pure necessity, free agency will be our way to replace and improve. If we go after more moderately priced players, be prepared to expect less.

I'd like to say that comparing the NFL to an NHL, MLB, or English Premier League team for that matter shouldn't carry weight. The NFL is the only league where teams share the multi-billion dollar tv deal the league has with the networks. It's safe to say Ralph will be getting something in the neighborhood of 105M this year. Which small markets in the aforementioned leagues get that? None of them. Spending doesn't equal titles. But when I looked at what Indy had to spend for 07 as of right now, I believe the figure is 200K. Spending wisely might not equal titles, but it sure goes a long way to being successful. All we'd like to see is the playoffs in Buffalo for the Bills. Sabres fans are seeing that, why can't Bills fans if money is spent right.

This whole post is right on. We've already begun rationalizing why it's okay to let NC go. He's gonna demand too much money, he doesn't play an important enough position in the Cover-2, etc, etc... We're talking about having 33M in cap room and not able to sign our own? We've cried this small market thing long enough. Nate was a very valuable player in Buffalo this season. He made game-changing plays that contributed to wins. 7-9 could easily become 5-11 and then our front office doesn't look so good. And don't forget what a corner can allow to happen. Roy Williams dominated Terrence McGee in the Detroit game until Clements came over. By then it was too late. But I forgot, CB's aren't worth much in the Cover-2. Buffalo is a laughing stock to the rest of the NFL. Sorry to be a doom and gloom person, but a lot of people said 7-9 was more than they expected. I myself saw them going 5-11 with the influx of multiple players, coaches, and a new GM coming in. But what if we took a step back next season? What if 5-11 happened again? This is a league in which the Jets and Ravens had 2006 seasons where they won 6 and 7 games more respectively than 2005. Why can't we do that with some new above-average players? The fans are tired of mediocre. Last year I thought they'd do something to make the team more attractive above and beyond the free agent finds like Tripplett, Royal, Fowler, Bowen, P. Price, etc. NC would go a long way into making people believe the Bills were in it for this year. Now, I don't think so. I think they're going to be rebuilding until doomsday or they leave for greener pastures.

There's only one problem with this scenario of using these teams as an example. Belichick, Dungy, and Cowher (when he coached in PIT) were superior coaches with plenty of NFL success. DJ is a nice guy but his career record demonstrates that he's a middle of the road coach. That's fact not speculation. Our coaching staff must prove they can turn below average players into average and average players into above average. Right now I'm not seeing it but perhaps that changes. Just working hard in the off-season though can't replace talent. Everyone knows that some guys aren't going to be average or above average no matter how hard they work. BTW, who are cheap overachievers on this team? And when those overachievers overachieve, aren't they going to want to become paid overachievers? This scenario demands you draft well every year and doesn't allow for any mistakes, especially in Rounds 1-3. Secondly, NE, IND, and PIT keep most of their big guys. We are proving that we won't because they play the wrong positions and probably will cost too much. Which positions does our team require? If Evans has another outstanding season, is he worthy of a big contract? That's hypothetical but will some make an argument that there are only 1-2 positons absolutely important? One is LT but where are the others? The writing is on the wall after yesterday. Whether you choose to interpret it or ignore it, be prepared for a model that allows us to remain consistently mediocre. For those who have short memories, we haven't had a playoff win since the 95 season. Those teams you've mentioned have all won Super Bowls in the last 3. There's a huge difference. Our version of what NE, IND, and PIT do will be similar, just with less money to spend. It's absurd to think we can do what NE does. They have Belichick as HC and Pioli as GM. Those guys run circles around Marv and Dick for fun. Free Agency and the Cap era have been around since 1993. Teams are adjusting to the cap and trying to be good each year rather than great for 1 or 2. I understand that. However, we haven't been anything but bad for a while. 7-9 isn't horrendous if you're coming off 10-6. But our last few seasons before 2006 were: 5-11, 9-7, 6-10, 8-8 and 3-13. That's not all Marv's fault. I think Pioli and Polian are All-Pro GM's and Marv, well some have their opinions. The one constant has been Ralph. And he hasn't made the team better, bottom freakin line. And now we're being told to prepare for less. Why can't we spend like 31 other teams will?

Why do the optimists out there think cash to the cap is a good thing? What's good about it? This cash to the cap approach is further restrictions on our ability to get better players in here. The NFL is changing and we're not changing with it because our geriatric owner gives his personnel people financial limitations. If Marv said 30M is what we have left, that's not much. Our top pick will get their bonus and pay and now we're down even more from that 30M. Last year the Bills paid so little in salary compared with other teams around the leauge, I wondered if they were saving up for another season. Now I see that's not the case. Don't be misled by cash to the cap. All it means is we're going to play with less than the other boys. You can talk all you want about how last years draft picks are going to start and how there's another draft coming up and we haven't started free agency. But...we've just limited ourselves voluntarily by saying we've got 30M to use as opposed to what the NFL says we have.

For all those optimists out there: Which other teams are restricting their front office with this cash to the cap idea? And are those teams close to being playoff-bound? Because we just did. Read into this PC what you'd like, our ability to import talent took an uppercut to the jaw when we decided the NFL's financial limits weren't strict enough for us. Cash to the cap is a term that translates into spend less.

I have to admit Marv Levy is a very nice and thoughtful man. A HOF coach and someone who guided the Bills into many successful seasons. But being nice in the NFL will not get you ahead, certainly as General Manager. The franchise tag is there for a reason to protect us in a case such as this. NC wants to get paid, and we are in the drivers seat right now to do it. While his cap knowledge is either lower than expected or he simply is joking, one thing is certain: other teams will maintain their free agents while we appear set to lose ours. We've talked on this board about keeping our own and drafting well. We'd better draft well because we're not going to retain those picks who become stars. A cycle of replacing our own continues. So many are already rationalizing Nate's departure. The only logical rationale I have is if someone makes a totally ridiculous offer w/a 25m signing bonus and 9M per or close to it. If we are close in terms of a deal, I think Nate remains. If we don't, we'd better make an effort to keep him because there's no one to replace him.

Agreed. How does a 7-9 team improve enough to make the playoffs and still lose those guys? Reality says you don't lose starters and then replace all of them from within. I don't care who you are, most teams don't get big time production from their 4th-7th round selections. I'd say of our 4th-7th round picks from last year, one or two guys might become legit NFL starters. All of them becoming starters is wishful thinking. Those players combined with lower priced FA's and the 07 draft class still doesn't make up for the loss of established NFL veteran starters.

The rest of the 2007 Off-season. 1. We'll try the RFA game again and maybe get a young player with potential. Or we head back to the dugout with bat in hands. 2. Free Agency will provide "depth" and give us more career backups, some perhaps in starting roles. 3. The draft will offer a surprise, meaning our most glaring weaknesses (G and DT) will not receive attention until late when it doesn't matter much. 4. The PR department will be in high gear, spinning this team as someone to watch out for and gunning for the playoffs. 5. Our cap hit will come in around the league minimum and our low end free agent acquisitions will be overpaid to get us there. This is similar to 2006 when we got Fowler (a career backup prior to Matt Birk's injury) Royal (2.5M per for a guy the skins didn't care for) Tutan Reyes (no comment necessary) and Matt Bowen (was anyone interested in this guy other than CFL teams?) As for the Saints mention from last year, please don't make that comparison. Drew Brees was a question mark, but anyone who thinks we have a QB with Brees' talent is off their rocker. We also don't have Deuce McAllister or selected a Reggie Bush like talent. Two different teams here. One spends and the other one complains about having to spend. Sorry for my pessimism...there is nothing to suggest we're in it to win it. 8-8 here we come!

I realize which positions are at a premium here in the Cover 2. You've got to have those 2 DT's who can take on blockers and stop the run while getting interior pressure. The DE's have to combine with them to place pressure on the opposing QB. Your MLB has to be a great tackler and drop into coverage on pass plays, hence the interceptions F-B and Urlacher made last season. That I completely understand. Corner may not be the most valuable position in this scheme, but letting a guy go purely because he's not demanded to do great things is not the right logic to use. He is indeed one of our own free agents, and losing him tells me that the front office isn't keen on OUR free agents unless they come at the right price. That I believe is under 5M per. I don't see how this defense can afford to lose Clements, F-B, and to a much lesser degree, Kelsay, without adding an established NFL vet who has played at a high level and still expects to stop opponents. Let's all remember that WITH these guys our defense was atrocious against the run and teams didn't throw the ball as much against us because we were so bad on run defense. My question remains: who are we going to replace these guys with to make our defense more stout? If we're going to get better for this season, because the fans are impatient after 7 losing ones, drafting and low quality free agent signings like last year aren't going to do it. Maybe in 2 years or so, but I don't think anyone wants to hear that.

I'm tired of hearing this argument about re-signing a player because the system doesn't demand a star at the position. Just which positions do we need above-average players in the Cover 2? Are there any? Can we have a bunch of below average or average players make this thing work? When Clements and F-B leave are we going to make up for the loss in the defense with capable players or cast-offs because a given position doesn't require great players? I think we're already starting to see many fans rationalize letting NC walk because "his position doesn't demand a big time playmaker" in our defensive scheme. If Nate leaves because his demands are ridiculous (see wanting close to Champ money or more) well OK. But I expect the front office to then spend on 1 or 2 above average players to compensate for his loss. If the market allows us to retain NC for a reasonable price and I'm not sure on what that is, we have to. We already know the front 7 has to apply pressure for this Cover 2 to work. Containing the run starts with capable DT's and a MLB who makes tackles. If we don't have that, and we don't as of right now, where does that leave the secondary without above average CB's? Hung out to dry is what I think. Ask Terrence McGee about Detroit's Roy Williams.

It seems to me they're going to do things a little out of the ordinary to bring in younger players who may or may not have talent. Hargrove was the first real player they got in here who was an impending RFA. I just don't think it's worth it to try at some of these guys, although when you've got a guy who has been in the league for a few years, you know better what you've got in them better than you would a 3rd, 4th, or 5th round pick.

Reading about those RFA's on the Bills website got me thinking. We know big name UFA's will always get their money because they have performed at a high level. Unless the team spends big in free agency (unlikely at this point) RFA's and lesser priced UFA's remain the Bills best means for stocking the team besides the draft. Going after RFA's who might have potential but are buried on another team's depth chart at first seems like a smart thing to do. Of course there's no guarantee and most of them are former 3rd round or lower picks who aren't established players. Last year Buffalo pursued OT Reggie Wells from Arizona and DT Israel Idonije from Chicago. I've got to believe they've identified other RFA's that can be had for less than some UFA's and in exchange for low round picks. What I'd like to know is do people view this as another cheap-out by the front office or something the Bills are ahead of compared to the rest of the NFL? IMO, I'm not sold on devoting too much time to these guys. There's some cheap young talent available, but it seems more like mining for gold than a reliable way to improve the team. Hargrove hopefully is the exception, but if we don't acquire some established talent soon, we're looking at 7-9 or 8-8 again.

It'd be great if we could turn back the clock to 1990 and have stars or above average talent at every position, the NFL has removed teams from assembling too much talent. In that light, you can have all the big name talent at QB, WR, and RB, but without a good OL, the offense grounds to a halt. The same can be said for the defensive side of the ball. A good front four makes the rest of the D look better. Even if the LB's and DB's aren't stars you can get away with it most of the time. I only wish we'd seriously attempt to reubild the O-line in Buffalo. Jason Peters is one step, now lets see if they plan on taking about 3 more on the OL. Draft picks might be good in 2-3 years, but to improve now the front office needs to spend some money to let JP, Lee, and heck, even Willis make some plays.

I think this topic is great, if it weren't for the reality that we aren't going to sign a top free agent this season. If we were going after someone, I'd like to see Kris Dielman from SD come here. Someone who can keep DT's off the line of scrimmage and open running lanes for whomever plays RB.

I'm sure RW has been turned off from spending huge sums on players. After all, he's the guy who spent on Rob Johnson, Bledsoe, Mike Williams, Moulds, Spikes, and others. After all those guys collecting huge paychecks, he's no further along. We're left without a playoff appearance since 1999 and a playoff win since 1995. There's a great deal of money left under the 07 cap. It's been reported the cap will increase to 109 mil, though I've not heard much about a minimum. I'll speculate it lands around 90-94 mil. At that point, Buffalo would probably have to spend about 15 million to get there. A few players similar to last year's free agent pickups would get us there and leave a little room to sign draft picks. Undoubtedly Buffalo has more economic considerations (both team and market related) than most teams. Keeping Nate goes a long way to letting the fans know Ralph is more interested in winning football games than waging a David versus Goliath fight against the NFL. If he's not retained, and we go after cheaper FA's, I believe fans will see through the smoke and begin to question where this team is headed. It will be hard to lose 2-3 of our own free agents, replace them with less heralded FA's and draft picks, yet still call this team improved.

Forgive me for being a bit pessimistic Pyrite Gal...I've seen very little from this team since 1999. It's not all Marv's fault, his absence ironically parallels their inability to go deep into the playoffs. I'm not giving him a pass on these picks and free agency though because he's Marv. I have not labeled McCargo a bust. Surely that's premature. However, I merely opined that as a 1st rounder, he did not start the season, nor did I witness him get much PT before an injury ended his season. Players come back from injury, but the alarming point here is this foot was the same injury he suffered in college. That is not good and hopefully not chronic. I have no doubt the team knew of this injury and figured it would not prevent him from playing or they wouldn't have drafted him in the first. The worst thing would be for injury to cut his career short. As for those 2nd day picks, these guys started because our depth consisted of few dependable NFL veterans. Pennington played due to an inneffective LT who became the LG. Ellison played because of injury. K. Simpson played because of injury. And K. Williams played because of injury and veteran/1st round pick ineffectivess. I agree they exceeded expectations. Now we'll see how great their upside is and how much better they get. I merely want to demonstrate reality and not depend on 4-5 4th-7th round picks to provide the type of play to win more games. Indy along with most NFL teams have a majority of their players come from the 1-3rd rounds. That's where you'll find most of the starters in the NFL. Sure there are exceptions, but the most talented players go in those rounds. The days of drafting Howard Ballard/Nate Odomes type talent in the later rounds are about over. Scouting departments are too thorough. Rarely do any NFL teams glean more than 3 starters from a draft. And I don't think Marv snared more than that for the long term. And about this "progress" argument. I'll cite the Jets and Ravens as teams who made, in my estimation, "real progress." Both teams had at least a +6 in win differential since 2005. Both teams intoduced major changes into their systems, yet both had 10+ W's this year and a playoff berth. Next season, if Buffalo goes 9-7 and misses the playoffs, does that qualify as "progress" because they won 2 more games? Without question it does not. Patience is a virtue. Increasingly, Bills fans are running out of it.

IMO, it would take the second day selections featuring a Pro-Bowler to divert enough attention from McCargo becoming a bust. First round busts, especially those that come out of left field, will attract plenty of attention onto the GM and front office until they are no longer with the team. It would be a significant blow to management if he doesn't succeed because they've invested so much in him. I know Mike Williams was a #4 overall pick, but that will follow Donohoe for a long time. McCargo would be less against Marv, (who happens to be a HOF coach) but undoubtedly a blow to the front office's big rebuilding plan. McCargo was arguably their most controversial pick. Make no mistake, he was brought in to shore up a poor run defense. I realize McCargo missed the majority of 2006, but if he returns next season and plays poorly, there is no question the front office will be viewed in a more negative fashion over its decision making. They received a free pass from several fans because it was Marv making the picks in 2006. Should one of those high picks fail, they'll be plenty of scorn directed at the front office over who they should have selected. If the team stands a chance of succeeding, a great majority of picks, especially the 1st and 2nd rounders, must start and play well. We won't be signing expensive free agents or holding onto our own stars. Drafting extremely well is our only option. Lastly, I refuse to label the second day picks (Simpson, Ellison, K. Williams, Pennington) as long term starters. While I hope they amount to that and contribute to this team making the playoffs, they still should be regarded as little more than stop-gaps until a better player is acquired. We'll see how talented they are after opponents have seen them for a season.

Drafting a DT in Round 1 says a lot about what they think of last season's pick-ups of Tripplett and McCargo. We just don't know about McCargo. He showed flashes last season, but usually I think a guy drafted in the first (not including QB's) should be starting or getting serious PT beginning in Week 1. He didn't and then went down with the same injury that took away a whole season for him in college. Tripplett, we know, cannot dominate a game by himself. He's the type of player who needs another solid guy lined up next to him on the DL to help. One way or another, they need a tandem to play the NT and 3 positions. Drafting a DT in Round 1 will say a lot about last year's additions and prevent Buffalo from addressing their other positions of need.

Clements is a big part of the pass defense, no question. Here's why I'd want him, even if it is around Bailey money 1. He's a big cover CB who can handle the run on the outside. Very few in the NFL today. 2. You have no one on the roster who can replace him. Youboty is untested and another FA will be new to the team. 3. Using a top draft pick is simply spinning our wheels. We've got needs in so many other areas, namely DL and OL. 4. He will maintain some consistency to next season, having been in the system one year with this coaching staff. 5. Champ Bailey money might become closer to just above average in 2-3 yrs as the cap increases. 6. Last but not least, his signing gives fans an idea that ownership is willing to keep its own in pursuit of a title. NC might not be Champ Bailey, but we're fortunate to have a player of his caliber against the opposing team's best WR. He wasn't perfect next season, but we know how he can play when it matters and shut down those receivers. Teams didn't throw the ball last season because we were so porous up the middle. How much sense does it make to get better on the DL and then let the pass defense fall off the table?

You can read that story any way you'd like, but no conversation between the agent and front office less than a month from free agency isn't a good thing. In the end, they'll show minimal desire to keep him and when he leaves have some excuse ready. That's nothing against Nate, but if the front office has a reasonably competitive offer (see close to the highest bidder) and he leaves, are we really willing to spend on anyone at all in free agency? What happened to the part about keeping free agents and drafting well? I guess there are exceptions, and one is NC.