SuperKillerRobots

I like it except I think Bryan Scott makes the team instead of Corto and I think Gaddis will be a PS guy, while Bell will make the team; but Ithink the Bell situation depends on the Peters situation.

I really wanted this guy before the draft and was completely surprised that Jacksonville traded that much to move up for him. Now, I can't say that I'm very sorry we didn't take him. I can't stand when rookies holdout and he would only really help this year if he was in camp the entire time. Now he gets two rookie years (in JP time).

I think the Bills this year will use Lynch and Jackson interchangably. The coaches probably feel that either on eof them can get the job done in either department, with the greater abilities one or the other has in certain areas being negligible when taking into account the need for a balanced and unpredictable attack. Maybe Jackson is better at catching out of the backfield, but I think the coaches realize that if they put him in there everytime they are going to throw a swing pass, the defense will catch on and stop it. It seems like the coaches want to keep their options open this year in regards to tendencies, since this was such an issue last year. I could watch the games with certian people who paid attention and they could call out the play before the snap (to qualify this, I don't know any one who makes any money or decisions in the football industry).

To be able to power through some one, don't you have to have a burst? If he is strong, most likely he has some burst and acceration since those atributes are based more on your strength as opposed to conditioning. I think Marshawn has a burst and acceration, but you usually see himi go right into a defensive player instead of around them.

I think this whole discussion is very complicated for all the reasons posters are giving on both sides. It is absolutely correct that win by avoiding holdouts, which takes a degree of anticipation on the part of the FO and a degree of compromise on the part of the player. Also, I agree with the idea of showing up to work when you have a contract that says you have to. Peters has progressed at an almost unbelievable rate when you consider he was a TE five years ago and went undrafted. This growth of talent/ability has to be close to unprecedented - at least as far as I can remember (but I'm not that old). It is obviously a no-brainer that Peters in underpaid and should get a substancial (at least double his current cap figure) amount of money in his next contract. I also firmly believe that this whole holdout is due in part to Parker being a new agent for Peters and not having made any money off him, since he is still on his old deal. I believe that this is Parker's motivation to make such a stand on this holdout. Now regardless of what Parker's motivation is, the Bills need Peters to a certain extent to make good on their potential this year and since he is underpaid, they should just suck it up, make it seem like they didn't cave for the media and fans, and get him in to practice. Right? Maybe not... I have two concerns about him at this point: 1. Peters was sidely recognized as one of the best LTs in the game last year, his first full one at the position. He was mainly touted for his physical ability, as we who have wwatched him for a while have known since he first came here. He was never known for his technique. In fact I can remember opposing defensive coaches (maybe Rex Ryan?) saying taht even though he only had one pass blocking move, he could stop anyone because he was so athletic. Does that sound like the characteristic of a guy who doesn't need another training camp under his belt? It sounds like he might have been susceptable to confusing rush schemes, had defensive coordinators had more tape on him. 2. Peters was doing great last year and seemed poised to take the next step. The surgery seemed like no big deal. I, not being a doctor, be that there is a 97% chance that he is fully recovered from it. The problem is that for $70, maybe $80, maybe $90 million long term I'd like more than a hand shake or gentleman's word. I want to see him on the field, practicing, and being the physical force he always was. To tie this in with point # 1, if Peters did lose a step from his surgery and is no longer the physical force he was, but is still good enough to play ball, is he elite? Do all the comments about how great he is fly out the window? This would be my primary concern: You have a beast of a man who is great because of his physical traits, wants a lot of money because of this, and we haven't seen him push off his feet and come out of a stance. I would bet it's real hard to quasi-crouch in those stances with a hernia problem.

Didn't Orlando Pace pull something like this awhile ago? n He held out for almost all of training camp and then played the regular season. After a year or two of that I think they signed him long term.

Brilliant!

I think this is really typical of the Willis that we all know: Offensive coordinator Cam Cameron is intalling a new offense that features the tailback, but McGahee is missing valuable repetitions after skipping the majority of offseason workouts. "There are certain things you need to be on the field to see," McGahee said. "Right now, they're throwing the whole playbook at us and they want you to remember it all. What they did the first day, they might not bring it back up again until today, and I'm like, 'Man, I don't remember all this."' (from SI.com yesterday) So the guy skips all the OTAs, then has knee surgery before training camp, never gets any real reps in the new system, knows he needs to go over things on the field to get it, says he doesn't know all the plays, but still doesn't seem to feel he does anythign wrong. What a dumba$$. The worst part about all of this is that the guy has talent and could still bo really good (I'm not sure sure about great anymore), but has no work ethic or desire. Weren't Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, and Jamal Lewis supposed to make him be a more mature player?

That was last year. One of the things that is important is getting a fast start on the season as opposed to trying to play catch up in November. I agree that Jax is a big test, but in the end that W-L record is going to be all that matters. We need to at least be 3-2 going into the bye. That would be a huge improvement over the past few years and would put us in the position to make a decent run. I can't wait for the season to start, but more importantly I can't wait for the first time our offense has any big play and Stroud busts through the line to tackle a RB.

Or the article about Willis having 13 kids with 9 different "ugly Baltimore women". Willis < OJ

Greer after 08 and then I think McGee after 09. I think it would be very hard for the Bills to get rid of Youboty in any way (trade or cut) if he shows development at all. They invested a 3rd rounder in him and they have two starting CBs coming up for UFA in the next two years. I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to keep Greer after 08 and then looked at who else they had and traded one of the older guys (i.e. McGee). Now wheather they keep 6 or cut James, will be real interesting to watch because they definitely keep 5 safeties.

Wasn't there a quote somewhere that he said he was still hurt from an injury in college his rookie year? He didn't really play at all that year, then came back from injury in the fourth pre-season and wont he right guard job. I thought that's why he dropped...

I think this hits the nail on the head. His is definitely a better otpion than Pennington, but how much better is the question? I have a hard time believing that he is going to pick up a new offense in a month. Even though he is a 16 year vet, he has prrobably only really studied a playbook for 5 years in the beginning of his career, though since then, I'm sure he still reviews it, but I doubt that he really studies it. He hasn't had to ggo to different teams and learn their plays or that many new coaches either. I haven't heard a lot about the type of offense the Jets run, but I didn't think it was close to what Farve has been used to previously. Also, he's not in a division with the Lions and Chicago anymore. Miami might be an easy out relatively speaking, but the Bills (and even the Jets in past years) would have been marginal playoff teams in the NFC, while toiling in mediocrity in the AFC. Whole new setup for him.

I like the outer harbour idea only if it came along with improved infrastructure for getting there. I would think that the city and state would be enticed to making those improvements with the promise of a a privately funded waterfront stadium. Without the infrastructure, I would say the Perry Projects because it would keep the stadium in the city and possibly allow for a more year round attraction (same as on the outer harbour). They could build the stadium and maybe a restuarant and Bills Hall of Fame - kinda like what the Packers do now, but with, and I hate to say it, less of a football focus. It may sound stupid, but I think if you were to make it a generally fun place to be for people who are not necessarily football fans, it would help to attract more people. Also, the staduim could be used for high school games and stuff like that.

I have two thoughts on this post: 1. I think Peters, since he signed his last contract, has a new agent: Eugene Parker. I may be wrong on this, but I am pretty sure that agents only get paid for contracts they negotiate (whether it be yearly, based on pay or a one-time shot upon signing, I don't know). Therefore Peters' last agent made the 15% to 20% commision on his 2005 contract and Parker has made nothing. Could it be that Parker is playing hardball because he hasn't made any money on this client yet? 2. One of the most important things to do is to extend current players. To say that Kyle Williams, Chris Kelsey, Brad Butler, etc are over paid is misleading. The cap is no longer in the $80 million range! Witht he cap currently being about $116 million, the average roster player salary is over $2 million per. I understand that players, based on seniority or ability, do not get that much, but it does put the salaries in perspective. Wheather you like it or not, starting defensive ends get $6 million per year. Starting guards get about $3 million per. It seems like they tried to do this year with the offensive line what they did last year on the defensive line. They signed Kelsey to a big, new contract and Schobel was underpaid. They probably went to Schobel (a usual non-participant in offseason activities) and said, "Here's what Chris got. You are underpaid and we will give you a riase to bring you in line with other DEs in the league and on the team, but you have to show up to offseason activities to get the ball rolling. If you remember he actually showed up for a few weeks last offseason and got his contract in Training Camp. This year they extended Butler and were probably set to say, "Jason, you need a raise too, please show up and you can have it." To this point, it seems Peters nor his agent never said they weren't coming until they didn;t show up. Therefore, no new contract. It makes sense. They set this precedent last year.

$1.5 mm per year!? That's not enough for a backup linebacker on his second contract! I think Crow comes back at a little more than what Mitchell got. Other posters have said it: since the Bills; are no where near the cap and should be able to spend some money next year since all of this year's bonuses are off the books, they can afford to keep all the current pieces they want and add. The only way I see Crow not coming back is if they FO does not like him. There would be no other reason to not re-sign him. Despite the fact that the team seems to have filled many holes in the past few off-seasons, they are not in a position where their draft picks are having trouble making the team, which would indicate a strong, vetern roster. If no one is lost after this season, the team will be in a position next year to take a luxury pick if the opportunity comes. Though a 1st round linebacker sounds good next year to replace Crow, I think it would be better spent on a DE, DT, TE, or OL. I would even be OK with taking a linebacker in next year's draft with Crow re-signed. Needless to say, I would really like to see a stacked defense for the next couple of years and I think the Bills are building in that direction.

I like it for the most part, but I think they will keep the 4th round CB we drafted as well as Byron Scott for the defensive backfield. I also see them keeping Hamdan on the full roster this year. To make room for those 3, Omen and Bell go to the practice squad and either Steve Johnson or Jenkins goes to the practice squad. I also wouldn't be surprised to see Youboty get traded, but I think that will depend on how he does in camp and how many DB injuries we susptain.

4, 5 including Barnes.

I'm pretty sure that Evans is sitting out due to shoulder surgery he had in the offseason. Also, the deals for Evans and Peters are much different from those for Schobel and Butler. First of all, Schobel was one of the oldest players on the team last year and a pretty good guy during his career here. He deserved a raise from what he was making (about $3-4 million at the time I think), but he didn''t have a lot of leverage, since he was not widely considered to be in the top 5 or maybe even top 10 at his position. The Bills gave him an extension that was probably more about not having to fill his spot and keeping him happy than it was about his talent level at the time. As a result the negotiations probably weren't that hard to do; I doubt that his agent was doing a lot fo counter-offerings. The same could be said of Butler as well. He had very little leverage in the negotiation of his new contract either. He has only been in the league for two years, he has two years left on his contract, and he is by no means an elite-level player. His agent probably wasn't making a lot of counter offers either. As far as Peters and Evans, they are both in the upper echelon of players at their positions and do have a fair amount of leverage in their negotiations. Evans has one year left and all he really has to do to ensure that he gets a lot of money next offseason at the latest is play well, be a good teammate, and not get hurt. The Bills really do not have a lot of leverage here because his contract will run out and then they can either let him walk or franchise him; eventually, without a lucrative contract he will be able to walk. Peters has more and less leverage than Evans depending on how you look at it, but certainly more than Schobel or Butler had. He does have three years left on his contract, but he is also the best player on the team and probably one of the top three or five at his position. Him not playing the season opener will have a much more detrimental affect on the offense than Evans not playing in the opener. The Bills have the upper hand in the sense that they can make him sit until he decides to play for his contract, but at the same time they are not going to be able to do much without him on offense. Basically, what I'm saying is that to try draw a comparison about the color of a player and how his contract is dealt with by the Bills is absurd. This is especially true when looking at the type of players each are and when/how they got their extensions.

I thought it was interesting, but I don't think it really says a whole lot. It doesn't control for the fact that a bad team needs a lot of starters and it would be much easier to get players who you drafted into starting positions on a bad team than a good one (see Marv's first draft for the Bills - we started Terrance Pennington for half the year). The other part that isn't controlled is the fact that if the team goes through headcoaching/philisophical changes, they may need new personnel, which means new starters. In the end, it says a lot mroe about the drafters who have been around a while on good teams that they are able to still draft players that can crack the line up on a good team. Bill POlian is a great example of this since they have been good for years now and basically have the same team, with the exception of the defensive side of the ball.

Amen. I don't think we'd be as happy as we are with the entire roster if we had Willis and Michael Bush or anothe rone of those 2nd round backs.

Great read. The writer is like a rich man's Anthony Bialy (from realfootball365). He uses the crazy analogies, but they are actually relative to the topic, funny, and sensical. Aside from the comments and re-cap of the Super Bowl, he made some interesting hindsight points that I never really thought about before. He talked about how other teams did come close to beating the Patriots, but when they actually failed, their efforts seemed to be marginalized in the press. I remember thinking about how close the Ravens were while watching that game, but when I read the paper the next morning, it seemed like it was close, but nowhere near as lose as it really was.

OK, so maybe the 15 yard out in 30 mph winds at the Ralph was a bad example, but the point is that if you have a guy with a stronger arm, ther e is a better chance he will be able to put a little more zip on it to keep the spiral tight in the winds. The best example I can think of has to be Brett Farve. He played in those bad conditions in GB and seemed to do a very good job at keeping the spirals tight (not always the most accurate even inside though). Also, I don't by any means think that Edwards has a poor arm. I thinkit's right to say his isn't as strong as JP's, but that doesn't mean much. I also beleive that, as another poster said about Brady, he will improve his deep throws by being in the NFL conditioning program and just getting a better feel for when to take shots. I get the feeling from watching Edwards play that he isn't a dumb-risk-taker. He'll do it when he has to, but isn't going to force it deep if it's not there.

That's a great and often over-looked point in the debate about Edwards' arm strength. I think any QB in the NFL, at least those not named Pennington, can throw the ball 60 yards in the air in a dome while standing. The question is can they throw a spiral on a 15 yard out pattern in 30 mph winds and not have the ball float? This is the pretinent question for the Bills.