A Little Byrd Told Me ...

[T master]

Did any of you all read the article on bb.com that Jarius Byrd had said that he was open to the idea of staying in B/lo , but was excited about the idea of free agency , but they had to win ...

 

If they don't get this guy signed before the end of the year he is history , if he even gets a sniff of FA or if another team say like New Orleans or New England , a team with a winning record this guy will make Usain Bolt look foolish in the 400 he will be trying to get out of B/lo so fast ..

 

i hope we don't lose him but i can see the same thing that happened to Poz happening with him , if we still had Poz in the middle i think our D would be even better but with out him we have what we have , & if Byrd goes that will be the one step forward 3 steps back thing all over again !!!

[boyst]

Bolt did not run the 400, he'd get burned...

 

As far as Poz, woulda shoulda coulda...no one saw it then, everyone pretends to see it now. As a 4-3 ILB on this team, though, he might just be too slow.

[NoSaint]

Bolt did not run the 400, he'd get burned...

 

As far as Poz, woulda shoulda coulda...no one saw it then, everyone pretends to see it now. As a 4-3 ILB on this team, though, he might just be too slow.

 

Poz wanted to be grossly overpaid to be a 43 LB not a 34 LB in our disaster.

[Rob's House]

Not too worried. Hang the tag on him if need be. Then use it as leverage for a long term deal. Plus, he'll want to stay after we finish 9-7.

[boyst]

Poz wanted to be grossly overpaid to be a 43 LB not a 34 LB in our disaster.

At this point, though, he might have been worth it, likely having him here 3 more years after this - he'd have wanted a 4 or 5 year deal.

[Billshank Redemption]

just franchise tag him and then negotiate a l.t deal

[White Linen]

If we gave that kind of money to Poz, we may not have gotten Mario and certainly not he and Anderson. Or if we gave the money to Poz, sign Mario and Anderson, we can't sign a combination of Byrd, Levitre, and Wood. So if you want to sign Poz in hindsight you have to figure out who else you'd like to let go.

Edited December 4, 2012 by Triple Threat

[boyst]

If we gave that kind of money to Poz, we may not have gotten Mario and certainly not he and Anderson. Or if we gave the money to Poz, sign Mario and Anderson, we can't sign a combination of Byrd, Levitre, and Wood. So if you want to sign Poz in hindsight you have to figure out who else you'd like to let go.

Great point. In hindsight its a big toss up. Did we need Anderson if we had kept Poz? At this point we have some other guys making big contributions...

You boil it down to is hypothetical Mark Anderson better then what we know we had in Poz? YIKES....I am not sure.

[NoSaint]

If we gave that kind of money to Poz, we may not have gotten Mario and certainly not he and Anderson. Or if we gave the money to Poz, sign Mario and Anderson, we can't sign a combination of Byrd, Levitre, and Wood. So if you want to sign Poz in hindsight you have to figure out who else you'd like to let go.

Disagree. My impression is we are in a very healthy cap spot.

[BillsFan-4-Ever]

I'd prefer it if the Bills kept Jarius Byrd.

Edited December 4, 2012 by BillsFan-4-Ever

[VADC Bills]

- Would love to keep Byrd, Since he has been here he is arguably the best defensive player we have.

- I'm missing the point on Poz, is he now a pro bowler? I thought one of the reasons we had such a good offensive day against Jacksonville was due to Poz being on their defense.

- Would rather have Mario and Byrd with the money. The jury is still out about Anderson but I think we have played much better with Merrimen in the fold.

Edited December 4, 2012 by VADC Bills

[White Linen]

Disagree. My impression is we are in a very healthy cap spot.

 

We are in a healthy cap situation. But not if we re-signed Poz. It would translate into losing one or two of the mentioned players.

[jumbalaya]

Not too worried. Hang the tag on him if need be. Then use it as leverage for a long term deal. Plus, he'll want to stay after we finish 9-7.

9-7 would be nice but we won't beat STL nor SEA.

[Mark80]

Poz has to be one of the most overhyped players in the league. The announcers were all about him on Sunday, but except for the pick that Fitz threw right to him, he did nothing all game, just like he did nothing for us for years. Just because the guy has a cool name, looks tough, and makes a few tackles, doesn't mean he's a great NFL linebacker. Good riddance.

 

Byrd, on the other hand is a straight up baller who makes plays all over the field and can win games for you with crazy picks and even some hits once in a while. Get it done!

[Maury Ballstein]

poz was hurt everyother week......enough with the nostalgia of (poz,whitner,trent,jauron etc)

 

hes a jaguar now...........peace.

[TPS]

Poz has to be one of the most overhyped players in the league. The announcers were all about him on Sunday, but except for the pick that Fitz threw right to him, he did nothing all game, just like he did nothing for us for years. Just because the guy has a cool name, looks tough, and makes a few tackles, doesn't mean he's a great NFL linebacker. Good riddance.

 

Byrd, on the other hand is a straight up baller who makes plays all over the field and can win games for you with crazy picks and even some hits once in a while. Get it done!

It seems as if the title "worst run defense in the league" follows him wherever he goes...

[1B4IDie]

just franchise tag him and then negotiate a l.t deal

The Problem is you have Byrd and Levitre as free agents.

Levitre cannot walk.

So if you sign one of them mid season you can franchise the other if you need to.

[White Linen]

The Problem is you have Byrd and Levitre as free agents.

Levitre cannot walk.

So if you sign one of them mid season you can franchise the other if you need to.

 

This is true, but what if both want to test free agency and won't sign during the season? Interesting how Nix is (at least publicly) trying to sign Byrd before Levitre. Mankins was given the franchise tag in 2011 for 10.1 million, and safety Tyvon Branch was given the tag in 2012 for 6.2 million.

 

Unfortunately for Wood this latest injury is most likely going to hamper his ability to command a big dollar/long term contract. But fortunately for the Bills should make it a bit easier to get something done.

[Tu-Toned]

Poz has to be one of the most overhyped players in the league. The announcers were all about him on Sunday, but except for the pick that Fitz threw right to him, he did nothing all game, just like he did nothing for us for years. Just because the guy has a cool name, looks tough, and makes a few tackles, doesn't mean he's a great NFL linebacker. Good riddance.

 

Byrd, on the other hand is a straight up baller who makes plays all over the field and can win games for you with crazy picks and even some hits once in a while. Get it done!

Gotta disagree a bit with you here, from my vantage point, he was all over the field. I saw him come

clean across the field and drag, I believe a wr on a quick out, down for a very short gain, and saw other

hustle type plays as well from him. He ended up with two solos and 7 assists plus gthe pick.

But do also agree with you that we don't really miss him all that much, and would much rather have

Williams, Anderson, Byrd.

[mrags]

 

Gotta disagree a bit with you here, from my vantage point, he was all over the field. I saw him come

clean across the field and drag, I believe a wr on a quick out, down for a very short gain, and saw other

hustle type plays as well from him. He ended up with two solos and 7 assists plus gthe pick.

But do also agree with you that we don't really miss him all that much, and would much rather have

Williams, Anderson, Byrd.

LOL. The story of Poz' life. He's always being seen running all over the field. He's always getting tons of assists. That's because he is always out of position, and always in late on tackles because of being out of position. Oh, and he's slow.

[Mark80]

Gotta disagree a bit with you here, from my vantage point, he was all over the field. I saw him come

clean across the field and drag, I believe a wr on a quick out, down for a very short gain, and saw other

hustle type plays as well from him. He ended up with two solos and 7 assists plus gthe pick.

But do also agree with you that we don't really miss him all that much, and would much rather have

Williams, Anderson, Byrd.

 

Sorry, but any time a running game has 41 carries for 214 yards and moving the sticks at will it is never a good game for any MLB. With that many runs any good MLB would have had at least 12 tackles and certainly more than just 2 solo ones.

[widerightradio]

The Problem is you have Byrd and Levitre as free agents.

Levitre cannot walk.

So if you sign one of them mid season you can franchise the other if you need to.

 

Levitre is unlikely to be franchised. Guards are lumped into the same franchise category as all offensive linemen. So you're looking at paying top five left tackle money for a guard. It's not impossible. There was lots of talk about Carl Nicks getting the franchise tag in New Orleans before the Saints had to tag Brees. Tagging Byrd would also probably be about 30-40% cheaper than tagging Levitre. This is all to say, Bills shouldn't worry about Byrd and need to lock down Levitre.

[DrDawkinstein]

Not too worried. Hang the tag on him if need be. Then use it as leverage for a long term deal. Plus, he'll want to stay after we finish 9-7.

 

This! Not worried about Byrd at all, as the going rate for a Franchised FS is only about $5-6mil.

 

And Poz is no better than Sheppard. Which team got gashed on the ground all day last Sunday, and which team didnt? I saw plenty of plays where Poz was out of position, getting run over, or getting to the runner 10 yards down field. Same ol Poz. Good but not great, and not worth the money he commanded.

 

This is true, but what if both want to test free agency and won't sign during the season? Interesting how Nix is (at least publicly) trying to sign Byrd before Levitre. Mankins was given the franchise tag in 2011 for 10.1 million, and safety Tyvon Branch was given the tag in 2012 for 6.2 million.

 

Unfortunately for Wood this latest injury is most likely going to hamper his ability to command a big dollar/long term contract. But fortunately for the Bills should make it a bit easier to get something done.

 

Wood still has an extra year on his contract.

[Dr. Trooth]

1) Poz is the MLB on the 31st ranked NFL defense.

 

2) Byrd is the FS on the 24th ranked NFL Defense.

 

"Keeping your own" ain't necessarily a good thing. Poz was soft and Byrd is soft. Albeit, both are above average at their postitions in coverage, but both suck against the run and are not physical.

 

If Byrd is willing to settle for a 15-20% increase in salary, I'd say keep him, but I'd advise the Bills to pickup up a starting FS (draft or FA). This team needs to get a lot a lot better and more physical at FS. Byrd is not gonna get a lot better. If the standard for safety is dudes like Polomalu, Reed, Landry, where is Byrd in that kind of company? I'll tell ya.... not there... for sure.

[K-9]

1) Poz is the MLB on the 31st ranked NFL defense.

 

2) Byrd is the FS on the 24th ranked NFL Defense.

 

"Keeping your own" ain't necessarily a good thing. Poz was soft and Byrd is soft. Albeit, both are above average at their postitions in coverage, but both suck against the run and are not physical.

 

If Byrd is willing to settle for a 15-20% increase in salary, I'd say keep him, but I'd advise the Bills to pickup up a starting FS (draft or FA). This team needs to get a lot a lot better and more physical at FS. Byrd is not gonna get a lot better. If the standard for safety is dudes like Polomalu, Reed, Landry, where is Byrd in that kind of company? I'll tell ya.... not there... for sure.

 

The standards for a FS and a SS are different. You can't lump Byrd/Reed together with Polomalu/Landry. While Byrd is no Ed Reed, no other FS in the league is either. He's a first ballot HOFer after all. That said, I don't know how a FS that causes as many fumbles as Byrd does can be labeled soft. Byrd would be a fool not to test the free agent waters. He'll be the most highly sought after DB on the market most likely.

 

GO BILLS!!!

[DrDawkinstein]

How is Byrd, one of our best tacklers even as a FS, "soft" in any way? FS isnt supposed to support the run. That is the SS's job. And Wilson has been soft, which is why Searcy has received more playing time and has been very good against the run.

 

Our run defense is night and day now that we have been keeping Shep and Searcy in, and not running that horrible Nickel with Scott and Barnett as LBs and Wilson as SS.

[1B4IDie]

This is true, but what if both want to test free agency and won't sign during the season? Interesting how Nix is (at least publicly) trying to sign Byrd before Levitre. Mankins was given the franchise tag in 2011 for 10.1 million, and safety Tyvon Branch was given the tag in 2012 for 6.2 million.

 

Unfortunately for Wood this latest injury is most likely going to hamper his ability to command a big dollar/long term contract. But fortunately for the Bills should make it a bit easier to get something done.

When you have a Stalwart Offensive lineman like Levitre that is willing to play any position and has missed very snaps. You pay the man.

I don't think the Pats were thinking Crap we paid too much to protect our QB.

 

There shouln't be any question from any reasonable person that would question whether or not Levitre is a top 5 Guard in the NFL.

He is.

So pay him like one and stop pulling the Buffalo Bills Fan Blue Collar Dollar Store mentality.

We're not trying to "Get a Deal" we're trying to win a Super Bowl.

 

How is Byrd, one of our best tacklers even as a FS, "soft" in any way? FS isnt supposed to support the run. That is the SS's job. And Wilson has been soft, which is why Searcy has received more playing time and has been very good against the run.

 

Our run defense is night and day now that we have been keeping Shep and Searcy in, and not running that horrible Nickel with Scott and Barnett as LBs and Wilson as SS.

Plus Aaron Williams is off the field at Corner.

 

If Aaron Williams comes back he has to be worked in the rotation at FS. He can be depth behind a resigned Byrd. At this point in time he has proven that his is not an NFL quality CB.

Edited December 4, 2012 by Why So Serious?

[Rico]

Poz has to be one of the most overhyped players in the league. The announcers were all about him on Sunday, but except for the pick that Fitz threw right to him, he did nothing all game, just like he did nothing for us for years. Just because the guy has a cool name, looks tough, and makes a few tackles, doesn't mean he's a great NFL linebacker. Good riddance.

 

Byrd, on the other hand is a straight up baller who makes plays all over the field and can win games for you with crazy picks and even some hits once in a while. Get it done!

Agree 100%. Don't miss Pos at all, but Byrd is another story,,, can't blame him if he left though.

[JÂy RÛßeÒ]

"Keeping your own" ain't necessarily a good thing. Poz was soft and Byrd is soft. Albeit, both are above average at their postitions in coverage, but both suck against the run and are not physical.

 

While this may have been true of Byrd in his first 2 years, I think he's improved tremendously in run support the last 2. I remember one play in particular where a back was coming at him in open space. Byrd coiled and sprang out at him in a move that reminded me of a cobra strike, taking the guy's legs out completely. This year I think he's finally put the 2 sides together (I think the int numbers fell off when he concentrated on run support initially).

[Peter]

As someone else posted, Byrd is a football player pure and simple and has a knack for the ball. We need more Byrds on this team not fewer.

 

We need to re-sign this guy. There is no question about that.

[eball]

Tag Byrd, re-sign Levitre, then work out a long term deal with Byrd. Despite what some think Buddy's not stupid -- Byrd is exactly the sort of player he wants to keep here.

[RyanC883]

Nix is good at retaining players. I.e. Jackson, Johnson, Chandler. I think we'll be able to keep both. But Nix should explain to Byrd what he is doing to build a winner. If I'm Byrd, I'm telling Nix either Chanpatrick goes or I go. You pick.

[DrDawkinstein]

Nix is good at retaining players. I.e. Jackson, Johnson, Chandler. I think we'll be able to keep both. But Nix should explain to Byrd what he is doing to build a winner. If I'm Byrd, I'm telling Nix either Chanpatrick goes or I go. You pick.

 

And as GM and the boss, I would say "Your input has been acknowledged, now here is your franchise tag, and I'll build this team as I need to".

[C.Biscuit97]

Nix is good at retaining players. I.e. Jackson, Johnson, Chandler. I think we'll be able to keep both. But Nix should explain to Byrd what he is doing to build a winner. If I'm Byrd, I'm telling Nix either Chanpatrick goes or I go. You pick.

 

Yeah, that's never gonna happen. Bryd really is powerless at this point.

[White Linen]

When you have a Stalwart Offensive lineman like Levitre that is willing to play any position and has missed very snaps. You pay the man.

I don't think the Pats were thinking Crap we paid too much to protect our QB.

 

There shouln't be any question from any reasonable person that would question whether or not Levitre is a top 5 Guard in the NFL.

He is.

So pay him like one and stop pulling the Buffalo Bills Fan Blue Collar Dollar Store mentality.

We're not trying to "Get a Deal" we're trying to win a Super Bowl.

 

 

How you assumed I said any of this from what I wrote is beyond me. My point was that it's interesting he's going after Byrd first. I think he should go after Levitre first, then if we have to tag Byrd its at a much more reasonably priced tag. It's not about "Get a Deal", it's about figuring out how to get them both signed.

Edited December 4, 2012 by Triple Threat

[1B4IDie]

 

 

How you assumed I said any of this from what I wrote is beyond me. My point was that it's interesting he's going after Byrd first. I think he should go after Levitre first, then if we have to tag Byrd its at a much more reasonably priced tag. It's not about "Get a Deal", it's about figuring out how to get them both signed.

I didn't say you said any of that.

 

It doesn't matter if you pay Levitre 9 mil now or after you franchise him as well it doesn't matter if you pay Byrd 6 mil now or when you fracnhise. Its not more or less difficult to swallow.

Its a budget. The contracts are already penciled in now. They are already should have a strategy today. Barring some freak accident the next 4 games aren't really going to change the evaluation of either players resume.

[dave mcbride]

My god, people are ridiculous. Poz had what was by any estimation a good game against the Bills. Jeez. Do you guys even watch defensive line play???

[cantankerous]

1) Poz is the MLB on the 31st ranked NFL defense.

 

2) Byrd is the FS on the 24th ranked NFL Defense.

 

"Keeping your own" ain't necessarily a good thing. Poz was soft and Byrd is soft. Albeit, both are above average at their postitions in coverage, but both suck against the run and are not physical.

 

If Byrd is willing to settle for a 15-20% increase in salary, I'd say keep him, but I'd advise the Bills to pickup up a starting FS (draft or FA). This team needs to get a lot a lot better and more physical at FS. Byrd is not gonna get a lot better. If the standard for safety is dudes like Polomalu, Reed, Landry, where is Byrd in that kind of company? I'll tell ya.... not there... for sure.

 

What an idiot. Why don't you work for a NFL team Trooth? Lol