MDH

They didn't have to compete with the offer, they had his rights before they let him reach FA. They could have tagged him or come up with a way re-signing him that allowed them to stay under the cap. Imo, you don't let top flight talent walk away from your team for nothing. Tag and trade him- do something, anything - but get some value out of him.

I'd say the Bills aren't contenders because it's not just one signing, they get all those injured guys back into the lineup as well. You know, the guys who had them sitting atop the division for the first half of last year. Kyle Williams, Fred Jackson, the entire OL which was riddled with injury, Fitz's rib, LB's, DB's the list goes on and on. I've never seen a team so decimated by injury. Everybody is talking about the Bills now having one of the best DL's in the league with Mario, Kyle and Dareus but only one of those guys was lining up in the 2nd half of last season for them. Add a top 10 pick to that and they should definitely be able to compete. I don't think they should be favorites or even a team that is so good everybody expects them to make the playoffs but they are good enough to be one of the top 6-7 teams in the AFC which is all I ask for after a decade of ineptitude. If they can remain somewhat healthy... The way I understand it is the team gets a choice: they can amortize the bonus or eat it all at once. The Bills almost always choose to do the former.

The question people should be asking is why the hell a team uses the #1 overall pick on a DE and he pans out and ends up being a stud and you let him walk. I realize they switched to a 3-4 but you don't draft guy at the top of the draft and let them walk after 1 contract when they end up being fantastic players. You do everything you can to hold onto them.

Why is Kraft even commenting on the contract of another team's player? I don't think I've ever heard an owner do that before. Anyway, it must be nice to be the owner of the Patriots who are in one of the largest markets, have one of the best QBs, and probably the best coach and players will give you a discount for a chance to win a SB. The Bills had to overpay, but if you're going to overpay overpay for a position that is one of the hardest to land. Elite QBs and DE's never hit the open market, the Bills just got one without having to use a high draft pick (and are still under the cap by a significant amount...) I can't wait see what the Pats do once Brady and Belichick retire. Let's see how easy it is to keep winning then...

DE's put up stats and people love stats which is why you can name them. Can you name their SB MVP QB? The guys up front who block for him enable you to be able to name him. Without protection what could Eli do? The OL are typically a nameless bunch of grunts who make the offense go and let the QBs, RBs and WRs have their names known. I find it interesting how you think DE is important but the guy who lines up to stop him - the LT - isn't as important. There aren't many positions more important than LT.

I see people saying this all the time and it's as wrong as saying "draft a LT no matter what!" There are no absolutes. Drafting the top guy on your board is a big mistake if you're already loaded at that position and that guy will never get on the field (or it puts one of your other best players on the bench.) Teams have to look at their boards and draft the BPA at a position that would be significantly improved with the addition of that player. If the best player on the Bills board at #10 was a DT and the next best player was a LT do the Bills take the DT? Hell no, a DT wouldn't improve the team much, if any. You pick the player that would help improve your team the most - sometimes it will be the BPA and sometimes it won't. Anyway, /end rant

Unless somebody gets into the hot-tub time machine and goes back to 2006 I don't think that's going to happen. I guess it's the offseason though and we can dream!

The agent would have no issues making calls and letting other team's know what the numbers currently are. I'm hoping the reason nothings been leaked is because all the parties who know the numbers are sitting at a table hammering out the details and have no time to call the media.

That can only be good...

Wayne re-signed with Colts last night.

I'll hold off on calling him a "good GM" until he can put together a team that puts together a few years of making the playoffs. Until then he gets an "incomplete." That being said, I'm happy with what I've seen this offseason (and I liked last year's draft too.) For years I've complained about the treadmill the Bills get on by letting their best players go and replacing them with rooks. Finally the Bills signed their own guys and are looking to make strides forward instead of treading water. Even if the Bills don't land Mario this offseason has already been better than most in the past decade.

The prospect of Mario Williams, Kyle Williams and Dareus all on the same line has me pumped, how could it not have any bills fan excited? Of course, I'm prepared to be let down but for now, I'm crossing my fingers.

They gave up 4 unproven draft picks - for a single unproven draft pick, all to move up for slots. 4 slots. I wonder how Washington is going to build their team around RG3 if they have no picks to do so. RG3 has to be a Hall of Fame QB for this to be worth it.

So not being able to get to the QB is a special elixir that the Bills have whipped up and you're afraid that adding Williams to the mixture would disrupt that formula?

Their coaching staff are only bums while coaching for the Bills. With a team like - oh, let's say the Giants - they win Super Bowls...

Years ago (perhaps 7 or 8) there was a poster here who started a thread saying that he went to a fortune teller and one of the things he asked was about the Bills winning a Super Bowl. Apparently the woman told him that they would win one but it wouldn't be the Buffalo Bills - it would be the Buffalo/Toronto Bills who won it. This was before there was any talk of "sharing" regular season games with Toronto. Now I don't believe in such things as fortune tellers though for some reason I remembered it almost immediately when the Bills signed the deal with Toronto a few years back. If the woman said the Bills would never win I'd throw this prediction in the trash bin, but since she said they'd win then there must be some validity to it!

This is true but it must be stated that Brady had two chances to pretty much seal the game on back to back plays - one he threw behind a wide open Welker (who would have had to turn in a spectacular circus catch) and on the VERY next play he threw way behind Branch who was also wide open 20 yards down field. Make a good throw on either of these and the game likely would have had a different outcome. Instead they had to punt and we all saw history virtually repeat itself.

Nobody said a single player will get you to the playoffs but an all Pro LT sure helps a lot. It's really unbelievable that fans continue to defend the decisions this team's front office(s) have made for the past decade despite the success of players let go and the lack of success by the Bills team. The Bills rarely hold onto their good players once they've earned a significant pay raise. Yet fans come here and say, "(insert player name) doesn't deserve the money of a #1 (QB, WR, LT, LB, CB, etc.)" and so we continue to field a team of low paid guys who apparently are "worth" the money they get paid yet never seem to bring home a winning season.

Rothlesburger is much bigger than RG3 and even with that big frame he's hurt all the time with his play style. My guess is that RG3 is going to spend a lot of time on the sidelines with injuries.

The Bills can't keep playing the treadmill game and think they're going to improve. Time after time they let their good players walk after their first contract and we wonder why this team consistently wins only 6 or 7 games a season. Sure you don't "need" a dominant WR to win but the Bills have - at best - an average QB and if Johnson goes their WR corps is one of the worst in the league, if not the worst. A passing game IS essential in today's NFL to win. How do you propose the Bills effectively move the ball through the air with a horrid WR group and an average QB? I like Fitz and think the Bils can win with him but they need to be very good everywhere else, including WR. Getting rid of Johnson moves the Bills in the wrong direction, they need to do everything in their power to retain him and STILL add a legit #2 on the other side.

When the weakest part of your entire team - both in terms of starters and in depth - are your LBs, switching to the 3-4 isn't a wise move. Coaches shouldn't be looking for ways of getting more of your worst players on the field...

Your idea of "making the tough calls" sounds a lot like how Daniel Snider runs the Redskins. How's changing coaches every 2-3 years and hiring "top notch replacements" working for them? I'll admit, the Bills way isn't working either but you make it sound like if they just followed your easily formulated blueprint the Bills would be on their way back. I'm willing to give Gaily another year - perhaps even two depending on what transpires next season. As much as people want to label it as an "excuse" the Bills were decimated by injuries this year. Their OL, WR, DBs, DL, LB - there wasn't a unit that wasn't hit and hit hard.

Not that I disagree with your general statement but those weren't the best examples. The Bengles have 3 winning seasons (including this one) in the past 20 years - not exactly known for the "quick fix." The 49ers aren't much better as this is there first winning season in 10 years.

Courtney Upshaw. Who knows how stock will rise and fall between now and the draft but this is a guy who fits our needs perfectly and - as of now - looks like he'll be on the board at 10.

You say this with sarcasm but 10+ years of missing the playoffs says your statement is actually pretty accurate...