Justice Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Everyone is wondering how the Bills will reach the salary cap floor without signing free agents. It's pretty easy, front load contracts to people like Dareus and Florence, re-sign some upcoming free agents such as Stevie Johnson and front load his deal and walla, you're at the floor of the cap without signing any outside free agents. We need to spend $26 million to get to the floor and Dareus' contract can theoretically get us half-way there, if that's what the Bills want, by making his signing bonus apply towards this years' cap. If the Bills follow this strategy then they will always have cap space and will be able to make the big signings when the rest of the league is at a disadvantage financially. As of now, most teams are way under the cap because there was no salary floor in 2010 and many teams took advantage of that. Give it a year or two and those same teams will be trying their best to get under the cap. In the meantime, we will be holding all the cards and then we can make a major impact in free agency. IMO, this is what the Bills need to do. We aren't in the position of going after free agents, yet. We need to build this team through the draft until we are competitive or knocking on the playoff's door, at the very least, and then you can go out and make a big splash in free agency. Free agency should be used to put the finishing touches on your roster, not the other way around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nucci Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Everyone is wondering how the Bills will reach the salary cap floor without signing free agents. It's pretty easy, front load contracts to people like Dareus and Florence, re-sign some upcoming free agents such as Stevie Johnson and front load his deal and walla, you're at the floor of the cap without signing any outside free agents. We need to spend $26 million to get to the floor and Dareus' contract can theoretically get us half-way there, if that's what the Bills want, by making his signing bonus apply towards this years' cap. If the Bills follow this strategy then they will always have cap space and will be able to make the big signings when the rest of the league is at a disadvantage financially. As of now, most teams are way under the cap because there was no salary floor in 2010 and many teams took advantage of that. Give it a year or two and those same teams will be trying their best to get under the cap. In the meantime, we will be holding all the cards and then we can make a major impact in free agency. IMO, this is what the Bills need to do. We aren't in the position of going after free agents, yet. We need to build this team through the draft until we are competitive or knocking on the playoff's door, at the very least, and then you can go out and make a big splash in free agency. Free agency should be used to put the finishing touches on your roster, not the other way around. Why not? There are a number of ways to acquire players...draft, trades and free agent signings. We need to do all three. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frostbelt City Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Tyson Clabo would do a job on that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Avenger Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Everyone is wondering how the Bills will reach the salary cap floor without signing free agents. It's pretty easy, front load contracts to people like Dareus and Florence, re-sign some upcoming free agents such as Stevie Johnson and front load his deal and walla, you're at the floor of the cap without signing any outside free agents. We need to spend $26 million to get to the floor and Dareus' contract can theoretically get us half-way there, if that's what the Bills want, by making his signing bonus apply towards this years' cap. If the Bills follow this strategy then they will always have cap space and will be able to make the big signings when the rest of the league is at a disadvantage financially. As of now, most teams are way under the cap because there was no salary floor in 2010 and many teams took advantage of that. Give it a year or two and those same teams will be trying their best to get under the cap. In the meantime, we will be holding all the cards and then we can make a major impact in free agency. IMO, this is what the Bills need to do. We aren't in the position of going after free agents, yet. We need to build this team through the draft until we are competitive or knocking on the playoff's door, at the very least, and then you can go out and make a big splash in free agency. Free agency should be used to put the finishing touches on your roster, not the other way around. Excellent strategy on the part of the Bills - lie in wait for a few decades, let everyone think you're a small market team who doesn't spend, throw money at guys like Kelsay, don't sign any free agents and let your own good free agents walk and then POW!!!! Jump out like a hungry tiger in 2020 (or maybe 2030 depending on how dedicated you are to the setup of this ruse) and start spending your way to a championship - NOBODY would expect it! It would be downright diabolical! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justice Posted July 27, 2011 Author Share Posted July 27, 2011 Why not? There are a number of ways to acquire players...draft, trades and free agent signings. We need to do all three. Listen, I'd like to speed up the rebuilding process myself by signing a bunch of free agents, as well, but we simply aren't ready for that, yet. We can't compete with all of these teams with huge cap space. There simply are too many at this point. After a year or two, most teams will be in cap trouble because they spent up to the cap and we will be sitting pretty. Besides, we need to build through the draft, first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billsfan89 Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 While I agree that extending the contracts of Kyle Williams and Stevie Johnson would be a good idea to eat up some cap space I still think that even if you do that and resign Poz and Florence plus get the rookies to deals then you have enough room to go out and nab a big free agent or at least a couple of mid level guys. If you did all that plus got a good RT and maybe a mid level LB how would that not add up and be good for the team in the long term. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nucci Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Listen, I'd like to speed up the rebuilding process myself by signing a bunch of free agents, as well, but we simply aren't ready for that, yet. We can't compete with all of these teams with huge cap space. There simply are too many at this point. After a year or two, most teams will be in cap trouble because they spent up to the cap and we will be sitting pretty. Besides, we need to build through the draft, first. Respectfully disagree. The cap won't be a problem for every team. Every year players get released and signed. We have as much cap space as other teams and there is no reason why we can't sign a TE, RT or any defensive player if they are a good fit. I'm not saying spend $70M on a player but there are some that would fit in nice and efforts should be made to improve this team. WE ARE building through the draft but free agents signings fill in gaps and accelerate the building process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justice Posted July 27, 2011 Author Share Posted July 27, 2011 Excellent strategy on the part of the Bills - lie in wait for a few decades, let everyone think you're a small market team who doesn't spend, throw money at guys like Kelsay, don't sign any free agents and let your own good free agents walk and then POW!!!! Jump out like a hungry tiger in 2020 (or maybe 2030 depending on how dedicated you are to the setup of this ruse) and start spending your way to a championship - NOBODY would expect it! It would be downright diabolical! It wont take that long. It will take a year or two, though. Ask yourself this question, with all things being considered equal, financially, why would any free agent sign with the Bills over someone else? We don't win, it's cold, and Buffalo is a small time city that many people don't like, (not a knock against B-Lo, as far as I'm concerned, I love Buffalo). Why would they come here? Draft well, win 8 or 9 games then pounce all over free agency. It's a painful strategy that takes time but it's the only way. Winning puts us back on the map and the draft will have to be the route that gets us there. Free agents aren't coming to Buffalo unless you WAY OVER-PAY, and that isn't the wisest thing to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan-4-Ever Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 you can retool with older FA's you can't necessarily rebuild with older FA's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikef272002 Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 We been building through the draft for 11 years now, Just tell me how much longer it's going to take so I can start to watch the Bills again...A young top tier free agent should be signed each year...This year we should sign a Defensive player ( ILB )..And since we didn't sign one last year we should make up for that and sign a TE..Then next year draft a RT for the future and a QB to be groomed..Grab some more defensive players and sign a top free agent next year, and holy crap we might get some place..! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justice Posted July 27, 2011 Author Share Posted July 27, 2011 I'd also like to add that we are only one day into free agency and so far no one can argue that the Bills are doing things the wrong way. Letting Poz go for that price was the right thing to do. He isn't a difference maker and at that price, he should be. Let's see how the rest of the week plays out before we hang the Bills' front office. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MClem06 Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 So you are saying that we'd have to pay more than Oakland would to retain the services of one Zach Miller? IMO Oakland is a crappy place to play. It's the ghetto of CA. No offense to anyone on here from Oakland but hey just being real. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John from Riverside Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 You have to draft well and then use free agency to pick up players at areas of weakness...you cannot TOTALLY rely on the draft. What the bills did right was not give a monster contract to a player who was not a playmaker.....its that simple....Poz might have racked up tackles but you never saw him being a difference maker....sometimes its the transaction that DOESN"T happen that helps your team whether you tried or not. But I dont want to start a rookie....and I really like Kelvin and he could in fact be starting before the season is finished but you need a veteran 3-4 ILB out there to start the year. And I dont understand why people are down on Andre Davis....his is a 3-4 inside linebacker thumper with very good size who played hurt last year......he played very well for Denver and is a veteran we can use on the field.....just get another veteran guy to go alongside of him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justice Posted July 27, 2011 Author Share Posted July 27, 2011 We been building through the draft for 11 years now, Just tell me how much longer it's going to take so I can start to watch the Bills again...A young top tier free agent should be signed each year...This year we should sign a Defensive player ( ILB )..And since we didn't sign one last year we should make up for that and sign a TE..Then next year draft a RT for the future and a QB to be groomed..Grab some more defensive players and sign a top free agent next year, and holy crap we might get some place..! Buddy Nix has been in control of only two of those drafts. He needs more time and shouldn't be held liable for the other regimes. Plus, we made a huge change to a 34 and that will take some time. We're almost there. We have our DE's, DT's hopefully 3 out of 4 linebacker spots filled and our secondary will be okay if we re-sign Drayton. Next draft we can fill in the rest of the spots and then hit free agency. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordio Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 I'd also like to add that we are only one day into free agency and so far no one can argue that the Bills are doing things the wrong way. Letting Poz go for that price was the right thing to do. He isn't a difference maker and at that price, he should be. Let's see how the rest of the week plays out before we hang the Bills' front office. I agree with not signing Poz, the guy is borderline average & for $7 million the Jags & their 10,000 fans that attend the game can have him. But not going after free agents this year is a cop out & loser's mentality. Giving me a break. Nix can shore up the offensive line for the next five year by bringing in Clabo & Light. If Buffalo is not their first choice then you offer them more money then any other team is willing to offer them. Not rocket science here. The problem with your strategy & apparently Nix/Wilson's is that you want to build thru the draft fine but that means you can not let every draft/rookie free agent pick that pans out for you walk after 4-5 years. Your constantly spinning you wheels by doing that & then all your doing is drafting players to replace on the few draft picks you let walk that actually panned out for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSBill Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 (edited) I'd also like to add that we are only one day into free agency and so far no one can argue that the Bills are doing things the wrong way. Letting Poz go for that price was the right thing to do. He isn't a difference maker and at that price, he should be. Let's see how the rest of the week plays out before we hang the Bills' front office. Agreed . . . but I do believe it is imperative that the BIlls sign three people this FA period: 1) A quality RT who can hold it down for several years; 2) An equal to, or better than, ILB for the same money Poz would have received; and, 3) Some type of upgrade at TE, it doesn't have to be top tier guy, but a good value who upgrades the position. Edited July 27, 2011 by CSBill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justice Posted July 27, 2011 Author Share Posted July 27, 2011 (edited) I agree with not signing Poz, the guy is borderline average & for $7 million the Jags & their 10,000 fans that attend the game can have him. But not going after free agents this year is a cop out & loser's mentality. Giving me a break. Nix can shore up the offensive line for the next five year by bringing in Clabo & Light. If Buffalo is not their first choice then you offer them more money then any other team is willing to offer them. Not rocket science here. The problem with your strategy & apparently Nix/Wilson's is that you want to build thru the draft fine but that means you can not let every draft/rookie free agent pick that pans out for you walk after 4-5 years. Your constantly spinning you wheels by doing that & then all your doing is drafting players to replace on the few draft picks you let walk that actually panned out for you. I agree with you completely. The offensive line is one area we should go after, this year, and hard! Offensive lineman, for the most part, aren't primadonnas looking for big cities and attention like all the skill position players. We can compete for offensive lineman with all the other teams in the league. We might have to pay them more for their services, but they can be signed. So far the Bills haven't let anyone of their picks leave, under Nix's watch, that we shouldn't have let leave. He's doing the right thing, so far. In the future, we do need to re-sign our own as long as they are worth it. Edited July 27, 2011 by NoJustice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. WEO Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Listen, I'd like to speed up the rebuilding process myself by signing a bunch of free agents, as well, but we simply aren't ready for that, yet. We can't compete with all of these teams with huge cap space. There simply are too many at this point. After a year or two, most teams will be in cap trouble because they spent up to the cap and we will be sitting pretty. Besides, we need to build through the draft, first. We aren't ready for better players? We are a team with a lot of cap space. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBillsMagic1 Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Somehow the Jets made it to the AFC Champ game two yrs in a row with only like 5 draftable players the last two years I think. They used Free agency and it worked for them pretty fast turning around a crap franchise, why can't we combine both draft and free agency if it improves us short and long term. With our philosphy, if we draft good and players become solid starters, in 3 or 4 yrs we don't re-sign them and they sign as FAs elsewhere it seems anyway, so how is that builiding? We are only trying to replace what we lose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justice Posted July 27, 2011 Author Share Posted July 27, 2011 Agreed . . . but I do believe it is imperative that the BIlls sign three people this FA period: 1) A quality RT who can hold it down for several years; 2) An equal to, or better than, ILB for the same money Poz would have received; and, 3) Some type of upgrade at TE, it doesn't have to be top tier guy, but a good value who upgrades the position. TE's aren't a big part of Gailey's offense. Why would we break the bank to bring one in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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