BillsVet

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.

Yeah, we'll see if he does make the team...I realize he could be released during or after training camp. I'm comfortable with the salary if that is indeed correct and the bonus isn't disproportionate. All I'm saying is, I hope this signing isn't indicative of a trend coming our way. I don't see a way around signing at least one above average to excellent guy in Free Agency. If Buffalo conducts their 2007 Free Agency period like they did in 2006, we're in for another long season. I don't think they've got the players on the roster right now to be a playoff team. There are too many question marks. Ralph even said it himself last year that they were quite a few players away.

All right, I'm not going to get concerned because Wire supposedly gets a three year deal. That'd be too knee-jerk of a reaction. But, I'm still puzzled over why we did this now. Plus, we gave P.Price a 4 yr deal, Royal a 5 yr deal, and Fowler a 3 yr deal last year. These guys have maxed their potential. Now we're giving a career backup and special teamer three years. Why now? Was Coy Wire going to be highly sought after on the free agent market? It stands to reason the market dictates a players worth. If a player isn't a commodity, then why the need to give a deal far and away more than what anyone else would have offered. I can't see the reason why Wire needs a longer term deal. What's wrong with a 1 year deal? I hope the front office doesn't feel like they owe him because he's been here so long. I want to give Marv and the rest of the front office a pass for their first two seasons. But there are more and more moves that just seem so off the wall. Whether it was last years excursion in free agency, whatever, there are a lot of surprising moves being made. I hope we don't go cheap and claim we're looking for depth in free agency. I've been given a lot of lines about how this player is good and that one is special. It's not going to work anymore. Coy Wire plays hard, but playing hard isn't enough in the National Football League. We need talent.

Well said. It seems the Bills Front Office is resigned to simply picking up cheaper players in FA (read depth) and relying on the draft. That's fine if you want to win in 3 years. I'm not buying the argument that we don't have the resources. We've already heard they might consider T Starks from PIT, but he's an RFA. Both the D and O Lines need serious upgrades-now. Without that, there is very little chance Buffalo will ever rise out of mediocrity and make the playoffs. Check out how many guys on Indy were lower than 3rd round picks. Sure some of them were UDFA's, but most of their star players were 1st rounders. That's were you get your talent. With the exception of Peters, our better players came in the 3rd round and up. So we'd better draft well because we're not going to get anyone to help. Relying on 5th, 6th, and 7th rounders along with cheap FA guys isn't the ticket to the postseason.

Super Bowl XX...Bears vs. Patsies. Just the idea of Ditka's reaction should anyone have dumped Gatorade all over him kept me watching until the end. Even at a young age I knew that no one dared get Iron Mike. ESPN had Super Bowl XX highlights on today and it never gets old watching the most dominant team in recent memory destroy the Pats.

I agree there's a window every team has to win or face starting over. With NE the only exception, most teams have 2-3 years to win or start over. I figure Buffalo's last window was 2003-04 when we had good teams on paper and still missed the playoffs with 6-10 and 9-7 records those years. I agree, free agency gives you less of that window, but when I look and see Losman, Evans, Crowell, Spikes, and Schobel have their deals end in either 08 or 09, our "window" is already closing. Everyone knows few draft picks have their best seasons as rookies. You've gotta wait until at least their 2nd or 3rd seasons. If all we're going to do is build through the draft and pick up bargain FA's, well, we may never get back to the playoffs because those picks who do succeed will be allowed to leave for more $$. That's probably pessimistic assessment to some, but good free agent signings combined with good drafting will get us back to the playoffs. I'm not saying just spend on any "name" FA because they played well somewhere else because I believe Marv and Dick will assess who fits in with the current team. Last year they didn't make a splash and went 7-9. Keep in mind we did that WITH F-B and NC. Should those guys leave what are we then? This is why I advocate using some money in FA and giving us more than 1 or 2 years to win or face no postseason. There's cap money available that won't jeopordize re-signing Evans, Crowell, and whomever else down the road. The time is now.

Yeah, bringing in all those guys didn't mean a thing. Then again, we had Greggggg as the head coach and TD as the GM. No, those guys didn't make us a winning team, but had we possessed the right leadership, we'd have gone much further. Now, we've got the leadership and the players aren't there. Bottom Line: still mediocre

I don't think anyone would argue about the correct way to build a team. Dan Snyder has been messing it up for years now, and where has it got Washington? Still, I think the point to take away is we've been an below average to average team for a long time. And that's putting it lightly. There's no way around seeing that fans started going away last year. Not selling out four games when the rest of the NFL has two non-sellouts is an indication that we'd better start thinking win now. Patience isn't a thing enough people have in our day and age. However, I think fans deserve to know their team wants to win as soon as possible. I just hope Marv doesn't think he can build the team in 2007 like Polian, Butler, et al built it 20 years ago. It's a different league. The draft and bargain FA's isn't gonna provide everything for you.

Starks would be a good add, but for how much? Last year I recall Buffalo going after OG/T Reggie Wells from Arizona and DT Israel Idonije from Chicago. Both signed the offer sheet and then re-signed with their own team for more money. If we're only going to pursue RFA's and average or below average UFA's, it's gonna be a long time until the playoffs. No matter what, if the front office uses the same strategy as last year, the fans aren't going to buy into these cheaper players being difference makers. You can't say today that Buffalo will be bad in 2007, but we're counting on too many low round draft picks and unwanted FA's to make the playoffs next season. I like building through the draft, but when your last playoff appearance was 7 years ago, patience is something Bills fans have very little of. It's time to import some talented guys. Not sure which ones, but you've gotta pay to get talent.

You know it almost appeared the 3-4 was a dinosaur a few years ago. and now more teams are going back to it. Maybe it's easier to have 4 decent LB's than 4 solid DL's. If our defense depends on DT's as much as Chicago does theirs, well, you've gotta wonder when we're going to have 2 solid DT's to set up the rest of the D. Those DT's seem to be the foundation of the Tampa 2. And if you don't have them, everything else snowballs from there. The Cover 2 works, as evidenced by the Super Bowl teams, but is it a fit for every team and their personnel? I'd say adapt your players to a system and not vice-versa. We could spend years looking for 2 DT's.

This dangerous thing with stats and how many tackles one guy makes versus another is misleading. The other stat referenced was Buffalo's pass defense. Whitner was forced to make tackles downfield because the front seven couldn't do it. As for the pass defense, teams were not going deep on the Bills. Instead, the short and intermediate passes, many of them 10-20 yards nickel and dimed us all season. Stats can be made to support almost any argument. The only stat that matters is 7-9. SS is a valuable position these days. But building a team from back to front is a much more time consuming plan. I'd rather go the opposite route and first find the big guys who make the smaller ones look better. That's the bone I think many people had with the pick. He'll be good, but does his talent and fit at SS for Buffalo outweigh having another quality guy on the DL or OL?

If it takes 5M per yr to pair a Steinbach or Dielman with Peters and give Willis or whoever a chance to run for more than 100+ ypg, then I'm all for it. We've seen how going cheap with bargain basement type guys has gotten us. The O-Line has been a problem for so long, unless we get a rookie from the draft who can start and play well like Marcus McNeill (only at guard) then FA is the only other option. Does this team want to win in 07 or just keeping winning 2 more games per season and hope to go 9-7 this year? Signing a Steinbach or Dielman tells me they want to win now, and not two years down the road. Sometimes you've gotta pay to get quality players. And sometimes you've gotta overpay to have a position or two filled in FA. It would go a long way to solidifying an OL that is consistently overmatched.

If NC leaves it's a double whammy. Not only do we lose a superior player, now we're forced to fill yet another hole and chances are that is done with a high draft pick. If you do go with a free agent, I can't imagine we're going to spend on someone half way decent and if you do, that takes away from another position to improve. NC resigning might not be the best financial decision, but it'd go a long way to make fans think this team is in it and not just trying to go 9-7 every season and be a #6 seed. The first pick needs to go somewhere other than CB, because we can't stop the run nor can we run it.

As much fun as it is to monitor the mock drafts, free agency signings (or lack thereof) will go a long way toward knowing who the Bills go after in the 1st round. All those mocks will need significant updating after the first week of free agency. If Buffalo doesn't pursue anyone noteworthy again in FA, it's anyone's guess where they go in Round 1. They've got issues at DL, OL, MLB, WR, and CB if NC leaves.