Cash

A bit more than I would've liked, but not a ton is guaranteed. Plus we don't know how it's structured. If the deal is back-loaded (which the Bills usually don't do), it makes the number look a lot bigger, but it's fantasy money, because he'll never get that big payday in the last year of the deal. I don't love this signing but I don't hate it either. It helps that my cube neighbor (who is a Pats fan) just told me he thinks Anderson was better than Carter last year, and he was hoping the Pats would bring him back. Doesn't think he's more than a situational player, though. I don't think Kelsay or Merriman are going anywhere, at least this year. I do think Dwan Edwards and Spencer Johnson should be worried. I don't think anyone gets cut until training camp, though. Why bother now? The Bills don't have to write any checks until the regular season starts, and they're still under the cap. Wait till training camp and make sure that you can live with Lionel Dotson or whoever playing in a rotational role before cutting the highly paid veteran in front of him.

At face value, I like this signing. Anderson probably peaked last year, but is still in his prime, and probably didn't cost a lot. He is risky in the sense that he's only had 2 good years sack-wise out of 6 or 7 in the league, he was only a part-time player last year (47% of NE's defensive snaps), and he's definitely a threat to turn back into a pumpkin. So I'm hoping the Bills didn't give him any of guaranteed money beyond 2012. However, at this point, the Bills' FO has completely turned me around, and I actually have faith that Anderson's contract 1) gives the Bills plenty of ways out in case Anderson is a bust, and 2) isn't for too much money, because overpaying mediocre players is about the worst you can do. (Overpaying elite players like Super Mario is fine.) If Anderson goes back to the 4-6 sack range, that's probably too good to cut or ask to take a pay cut, but not good enough that you want him making a lot of money. I'll wait to see the financials before making a final judgment, but given that Anderson lasted this long without signing, I have to think it's a pretty reasonable deal for the Bills. Plus it takes away a pass-rusher from New England, so that's another bonus. Tentative thumbs up.

Ha! The Bills only had 29, and that's including the 10 in the Washington game. Yikes. Anyway, I'll say under. 15 is a lot, and requires some luck. But I'll say team sacks go up, and more importantly, team QB hurries go way up. Three straight pass plays with pressure, even if no one actually sacks the QB, is better than two plays with no pressure and one sack.

I think he probably does not. Great story, but I haven't seen much from him that says he's an NFL wide receiver. Special-teamer, maybe. I still think there's a good chance the Bills draft WR in round 2 or 3. Wouldn't shock me if they go OT at #10, then try to trade back into the 1st round for Stephen Hill.

Great interview, and great to see the kind of comments from Ralph that we've been asking for for years. "Can't take it with you", etc. This is the most hopeful I've been as a Bills fan in a while!

I think he WILL shave it before training camp opens. I think he SHOULD keep it - very badass with just the right amount of gray to look seasoned but not over the hill.

And boom goes the dynamite.

F' yeah!

:lol: That's partly because there's no salary cap in baseball - the total $ amount that goes to the players is the sum total of whatever their agents negotiate. In football, the union basically gets a fixed % of total revenue, so for every extra dollar Mario gets, there's one less dollar available for someone else. I'm simplifying it a bit, but the gist is right.

I wasn't super into any of the FA WRs before FA started - at least not at the prices I expected them to sign for - and I'm not really into them now. For the record, I would've been somewhat upset/disappointed that Meachem was the Bills' apparent top WR target if I had cared about anything but Super Mario for those few hours. I do like the fact that the Bills skipped out on VJax's huge price tag (ocho cincos!), and targeted someone to make LESS than their #1 receiver. That's smart on a couple of levels. But I'd rather take a flyer on a 2nd-round rookie than have Meachem for what the Chargers paid. I like him even less after Chris Brown posted the snap counts for Saints WRs last year. Meachem was actually tops at 877 total snaps, yet was only 4th among WRs (6th overall) in catches. Yeah, he's a deep threat, his YPC is good, etc., etc. I've just never been impressed by him. And signing the #3 or #4 receiver in a great offense with a great QB to become the #2 receiver in a lesser offense with a lesser QB is a recipe for failure. If they sign Manningham to a relatively low contract, I'd be okay with it, but unenthused. Manningham's a decent player, but nothing special. A good #3 for the Giants, but a weak #2 (which is why he lost his starting job in both 2010 and 2011). Not big, not super fast, nothing really special about him. A good player, though. My Plan B of choice would be to take a rookie pretty high and hope for the best. (Which was actually my Plan A.) I like Alshon Jeffery and Stephen Hill the most, but there are some other high-upside guys who might be there in round 2 or even 3. I'm not a huge Michael Floyd fan, and would prefer to see an OT at #10, but I'm sure I'd talk myself into Floyd if he was the pick.

Where's Alshon Jeffery? Him and Stephen Hill are the rookies I like the most. Both fairly high risk, but with tremendous upside potential. If Jeffery runs poorly at his pro day on March 28th, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him available at the Bills 2nd-round pick. Hill has blown away everyone with his workouts to an extent that I think he probably goes in the first round now. That's a heck of a high pick to use on a guy who caught under 30 passes.

This second overnight stay (assuming he didn't check out of his hotel and flee the city under the cover of darkness) is bizarre. I've never heard of a FA visit lasting this long. On one hand, this does assuage my fears that Williams* was just using the Bills to create leverage with other teams and drive up the bidding, reminiscent of Tyson Clabo last year. There's no way he would stick around for a third day just to get other teams to up their offers. And I tend to doubt the speculation about Williams waiting to see where Manning signs. If that was the main holdup, he probably would've left Buffalo today as originally scheduled. I feel like Williams is truly considering Buffalo. Maybe it's a situation where he's on the fence about living there, or whether the team is close enough to contention, and he needs to think it over to make sure he's making the right decision personally and professionally. Or maybe it's a situation where he's open to playing in Buffalo, but only for a "DEEZ NUTZ" contract, and his agent is slowly negotiating the Bills up to that level. Or maybe he's basically on board with the Bills, but won't tip his hand yet, because his agent is telling him that he can get more money this way. I doubt it's the last one, but who knows? But at the very least, I'm confident that this is not a sham visit and that the Bills are really in play. That's good. On the other hand, it's not a good sign that it's taking this long. We have reliable reports that the Bills have opened up the checkbook in a major way. Usually the top free agents like Williams sign almost right away because someone blew them away with a massive offer. It kind of sounds like the Bills did that, but he still didn't sign. I don't know if I can necessarily fault Williams if he doesn't sign with the Bills, and I don't know if I can necessarily fault the Bills' FO either, but it would still be massively disappointing. I think we're all tired of winning the "we tried our best" sweepstakes. And losing out on Williams now would do nothing to help the perception of Buffalo as a city/franchise nation/league-wide. The Bills are perceived as a joke at best and a non-entity or farm club at worst. The "Ralph is cheap" crowd probably won't have much to say (unless it comes out that negotiations broke down over a relatively small amount). And it's unlikely that anyone could seriously claim that Williams was using the Bills to drive up bids all along. But the narrative will still be that Buffalo is such a horrible place/franchise that even though they offered the richest defensive contract in NFL history, outbidding all other teams, Williams still couldn't be convinced to go there. You'll hear things like "no amount of money is worth throwing your career down the toilet." Terrible. All in all, it's puzzling to me. I'm curious about what's taking so long regardless of how it plays out. Of course, the bottom line is that I'll be elated if he signs and very disappointed if he doesn't. Go Bills! *when I refer to Mario Williams in this post, I'm really talking about the combination of Williams and his agent, and it's probably about 30/70. The player ultimately makes the final decision of whether to sign or not, but the agent is fully in charge of the whole process.

My only complaint about HOT TUB TIME MACHINE was that John Cusack went back to the same year that ONE CRAZY SUMMER took place, but there were no references to it. I would've appreciated a digital splicing of young Cusack and young Demi Moore running through the background or something.

Some dude ("Josh Reynolds" or something like that) was reporting on twitter last night that both Williams and Meachem signed with the Bills. He deleted his twitter account shortly after Meachem signed with San Diego. I imagine he'll create a new fake name and twitter account and go back to breaking big stories. If one of his alter-egos gets lucky with 3-4 correct guesses off the bat, maybe he can parlay that into a steady set of followers who will make excuses for him when he's wrong in the future. Not sure how he'd monetize that, but there's probably a way.

Went back to the Jags.

Yeah, just another misinterpretation of La Canfora's tweet/blog post. Nothing to see here.

ESPN didn't provide a lot to back it up, but said or at least implied that SD came in with a much bigger offer than the Bills and one other team. Would look up the link, but I'm posting on my phone. If it's true, then that one was 100% about money, which is fine. Meachem is not worth breaking the bank for. As for Mario, no comment.

Bad news, everyone! @Jason La Canfora Mario Williams not expected to sign in BUF tonight. Will take time with the visit and has at least one other visit scheduled #freeagency If you want to stay optimistic, note the word "expected." Means it's not confirmed by a direct source, but more likely a report from someone who claims to know what Mario or his agent are all about.

Sorry if this has already been posted, but I don't remember seeing it. For the record, I have no idea who this guy is or if he's legit, so use your judgment as to whether this is worth getting worked up over. But some dude Josh Reynolds (@1billsnews) is reporting on Twitter that both Williams and Meacham have agreed to terms with the Bills. A few of his key tweets: Josh Reynolds ‏ @1BillsNews I can can confirm Bills offer to Mario Williams Is 7yrs 110million Deal Done.. Josh Reynolds ‏ @1BillsNews Deal To be announced Tomroow officially press conference will follow. Josh Reynolds ‏ @1BillsNews Robert Meachem agrees to Deal with Bills. Official terms of the deal will be announced Josh Reynolds ‏ @1BillsNews @DonaldHymers Yes official a Buffalo bill both him and Meachem just waiting to hear official word on Meachem contract Let's hope he's right!

Ocho has never been a free agent in his career. He was traded for a low-round pick last year, though. Bryce Paup, Ted Washington, Antoine Winfield, and Sam Adams were four more high-profile FA signings that worked out really well for the teams that signed them. Johnathan Joseph was a great signing for the Texans last year; Asante Samuel was a great signing for the Eagles a few years ago. Kevin Greene was a great FA signing twice - first for the Steelers, then for the Panthers.

For the record - isn't all of this tampering until 4pm today?

The most important thing is to not overpay sub-elite free agents. Open up the checkbook for Super Mario, sure. But don't spend big for lower-tier guys like Colston, Manningham*, Wayne (he is old), etc. Remember that beyond just how bad it was in and of itself, the Dockery signing was also what first got Jason Peters PO-ed. And Chris Kelsay's first re-signing got Aaron Schobel upset. (Which no one ever talks about, because the Bills quickly gave Schobel a new deal, even though he had 3 years left on his old deal. Then decided they didn't do that anymore when Peters got upset.) Vincent Jackson is the one WR that might be both available and worth the big price tag. I personally say he is not elite and not worth going after, but you can make a good argument that he's at least borderline elite. But the point is, you're fine to go after cheap guys like Nick Barnett, Andra' Davis, or Reggie Torbor (remember folks, cheap guys don't always pan out -- they're cheap for a reason!), and you're fine to spend big on an elite talent like Mario Williams, Julius Peppers, or Albert Haynesworth (ouch, even the elite guys don't always work either, but it's worth the risk), but never spend Steve Hutchinson money on Derrick Dockery. *Especially Manningham! How many mediocre players need to have a big game in the Super Bowl, get way overpaid that offseason, then never live up to that contract before teams figure it out? Manningham began the last two seasons as a starter and lost his starting job as the season progressed both times. He's a decent NFL player who made a phenomenal catch in the Super Bowl.

Everybody says this, and usually mean it when they say it. But their agent will usually do a good job of convincing them that the "right fit" happens to be the team with the biggest offer on the table. I don't expect the Bills to go after Williams, but I'd love it if they did. No harm in trying, anyway. Disagree. Nix has been pretty straightforward/telegraphing up to this point, and his WR comments from his postseason wrapup presser definitely pointed much more towards a big leaper type to win jump balls rather than the small speedy type. It might also be relevant that while Nix was in San Diego, they very much favored the tall WR (VJax, Malcolm Floyd, etc.). I have no idea if the Bills will go after VJax (I hope they don't - Stevie should be the highest-paid WR on the team), but if they don't get a big FA WR, I expect them to go hard after someone like Stephen Hill or Alshon Jeffery in the draft. I tend to agree, although it wouldn't shock me to see Bell draw little interest and re-sign with the Bills for a 1 or 2 year deal. Wouldn't necessarily stop the Bills from going OT at #10 anyway. Buddy's recent DE comments were very interesting. He seemed to be trying to set up the idea that he wouldn't draft a DE until the middle rounds. (Reminds me of when Nix specifically ID'd O-line as the #1 offseason priority, then signed no notable FAs and drafted 1 OT in the middle rounds.) On the other hand, he did say that he was probably second-guessing the top guys too much. I think his mind hadn't been made up at that point. Interesting; haven't really seen this posited before. Personally, I doubt Morrison would be brought back if they didn't expect him to be a starter. I know he's not making much, but the Bills don't usually pay 7 figure salaries to backups. I concur - we'll see a CB drafted between rounds 3-5 or so, depending on who's available.

For an already-contending team with a late 1st rounder (Pats, 49ers), Wallace makes a ton of sense. For a team that's more than 1 player away with the #10 overall pick, Wallace makes no sense. I'd rather have the Bills use that cap money on 2 good players (whether re-signed or signed as FAs) and still have the #10 pick to acquire a third good player. I'm pretty underwhelmed by the options likely to be available at #10, but they should still be able to get a starter out of it. Plus, Wallace is just a younger, faster Lee Evans. I thought our offense had no use for a player like that? [/sarcasm]

Freeney's arms are 33", which is pretty much middle of the road, and fairly long for his short (6'1") stature. Ingram's arms are 31.5", which is pretty significantly shorter. Not saying he can't succeed (I'm sure there's examples of successful DEs with short arms), just saying that the pre-draft knocks on Freeney weren't about arm length, more about height and weight (at 268 lbs - shows how much the league has changed since then). I certainly like what you're saying about Ingram's athleticism. If he's really that beastly, he'll probably figure out a way to succeed in the NFL. I guess the main worry would be his ability to be an every-down DE and succeed against the run.