Rock'em Sock'em

Not a magazine, but www.walterfootball.com is a decent source for draft info.

Would you rather have a 2 time pro-bowler LT, who is under contract for 2 more years, who fills a need on this team and who might be a distraction? Or would you rather have an unproven, yet to be developed 1st round prospect who you would have for 5 years or so. Tough choice, but I would not except a single late 1st round pick. If I was the Bills, I'd go with Peters for 2 years whilst trying to sign him long term at a rate that works for the team. Then tag and trade him for a 2nd or 3rd rounder - or keep him for a 3rd year.

2006 - hoping for Hawk, would have drafted Ngata. 2007 - hoping for Peterson, would have drafted Lynch. 2008 - hoping for Sedrick Ellis, would have drafted DRC. 2009 - hoping for Crabtree or Raja, don't know who the Bills will draft. I would draft Tyson Jackson.

Cap-wise the Bills are in fine shape. They have a $10M adjustment for last year's LTBE and NLTBE bonuses that were not paid out. Current NFL cap = $127M. As it pertains to the cap, a team has flexibility to structure deals how they want. A guaranteed 1st year salary of $24M would count against that year, whereas a signing bonus of $24M would be spread out. Some teams try to structure things so that to money fills up remaining cap room, thus leaving a maximum amount of cap room in future years. They do this by carefully planning and also by restructuring deals near the end of the season. But the downside of that approach is that it makes it appear a team has a lot of cap room when in fact they might not have enough operating capital spend - and then the team is perceived as being cheap. Under cash-to-cap the Bills can spend another $35 million more this year. (They were under by about $45M before the last few signings.) Rookies maybe cost $5M because they are being paid the salaries of players that end up cut. That leaves enough to give a nice signing bonus to Peters, plus get a starting OLB, plus maybe even a RG. The Bills can also reduce cash-to-cap hit by guaranteeing future salaries. Will they spend it? Does cash-to-cap also include the salaries of non players? Who knows.

Somewhat off-topic, but if the Bills would have traded Dallas a 7th rounder for T.O. then: a.) TO's would have been under contract for 3 years (with 1st year money less than what Bills paid). b.) Next year's comp picks may have been better. It seems like a team can tack on an extra pick or two if optimizing for it. I'm happy that T.O. came here on his own terms, though. That's important too.

Scratch that, any comp pick would get negated assuming we sign a replacement FA to a comperable contract.

If Bucs sign Crowell to a one or two year contract, do the Bills get a compensation pick? If so, would you rather have Keiaho and a 6th round 2010 compensation pick or Crowell? Either way works for me?

3 years if you count an optional franchise tagged year.

Jeremy Bridges - Carolina Panthers Jake Allen - Green Bay Packers Earl Bennett - Chicago Bears Nathan Bennett - Baltimore Ravens Simeon Castille - Cincinnati Bengals Jonathan Goff - New York Giants Ali Highsmith - Arizona Cardinals Edwin Harrison - Kansas City Chiefs Eldra Buckley - San Diego Chargers Antoine Cash - Tampa Bay Buccaneers Kevis Coley - Houston Texans Quinton Culberson - St. Louis Rams Jay Cutler - Denver Broncos Jake Allen - Green Bay Packers Brett Favre - New York Jets http://www.buscook.com/content/view/16/9/ Not sure if this is current, but is says 2009. Parys Haralson - San Francisco 49ers Jason Hatcher - Dallas Cowboys Antonio Johnson - Tennessee Titans Calvin Johnson - Detroit Lions Marcedes Lewis - Jacksonville Jaguars Ken Lucas - Carolina Panthers Steve McNair - Baltimore Ravens "Retired" Martrez Milner - New York Giants Marvin Mitchell - New Orleans Saints Randy Moss - New England Patriots Jerious Norwood - Atlanta Falcons Tony Scheffler - Denver Broncos Fred Smoot - Minnesota Vikings David Stewart - Tennessee Titans Adalius Thomas - New England Patriots Michael Turner - Atlanta Falcons John Wade - Oakland Raiders Chris White - Houston Texans

And I think the Bills would be all over that kind of contract extension. No doubt.

Peters has two years left on his contract, so even if nothing happens this year, a trade is still possible next year. Unrelated, but Peters has 2 career TDs. One was JP Losman's first touchdown (against Houston, I believe). The less memorable one was the blocked punt against Cinci. Any new contract with Peters should mandate that he play "Wedge Buster" during any future pro-bowls.

Incentives for Kelsay could be include: new guaranteed money, less risk of being cut at the end of pre-season, roster bonuses in future years that remove the risk of late pre-season cuts. That being said, if I were the Bills and had a starter that I didn't think was worth $5M per season, I'd look for an upgrade.

This would be crazy for the Bills, short of at least 2 first round draft picks. Even if we can't get a reasonable deal done, Peters is still under contract for 2 more years. Then the year after that, we can use tag if needed. Or we can do a tag and trade in the 3rd year.

Or Evans (63-1017)?

If Crabtree is there, draft Raja or call up the Panthers and trade for Peppers.

Coffman has one of the best draft highlight videos of any TE. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFWkDnjN4bk

Good find, so he actually had 3 years @ $20M left on his deal. I read somewhere that 2009 base salary was for $5.5M, can't recall where. If so, the last 2 years would have been for approx. $7M each. The $9M cap his was because of the $13M signing bonus that the Cowboys can't take over 4 years any longer.

If the Bills wanted TO so bad, why wouldn't they have just traded a 7th round pick for him? He had one year @ $5.5M left on his contract. This team lacks game changers and I would be happy to cheer on T.O. for a year or two or three. Plus think of all the extra money Ralph will make on popcorn sales.

Getting Holt would remind me a lot of when the Bills got James Lofton. Both were 7-time pro-bowlers with their original teams (Lofton for the Packers). I think Holt has one year at $6.5M left on his current contract.

Damn. We should have traded down and taken Stoney Case.

What seems right is an extension that pays Peters top 5 or 10 money with "guaranteed money" being tied to not holding out, etc. in future years. He's a good player (probowl alternate) and it would be great to have him here beyond 2-3 years. But if Peters' agent really demands a ripped up contract and top dollar, then the Bills should hold tight for two more years, perhaps a franchise year after that, and 3 years from now they can spend their $60M on whatever is needed at that time.

I know football is a team game and all, but it's because Evans was the 33rd rated receiver in the NFL last year based on yards. It would be great to have a top 20 to pair with Evans.

Appearantly he wasn't worth $4 million per season either, because that's about what was left on the remaining 5 years of his deal.

Yes, but maybe zero healthy quarterbacks.

I actually hope the Bills try to re-sign Dockery. By releasing him, the Bills will avoid paying him a $1.75 million roster bonus in the coming weeks. The cap hit for the amortized signing bonus is not relavent. It's all about cash-to-cap. Bill to release Dockery; possibly Royal http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/story/590928.html