Wasn't Andy Levitre a Bill

[Captain_Quint]

1 minute ago, joesixpack said:

Oh wonderful!

 

Here's BADOL to tell us all how bright he is.

 

 

And I just affirmed it. ?

 

Quick, someone bring up Shady!

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

Just now, Coach Tuesday said:

 

Thank you - was gonna say - right thread wrong player.  There are still folks here who are fine with letting a HOF left tackle walk because he tried to leverage a few million dollars more out of a cheap owner. But that’s another issue, Bills fans’ resentment of well-paid athletes of a certain ilk..,

 

oooooh i wonder which "ilk" the coach is talking about

 

 

[Coach Tuesday]

20 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

 

Future HOF'er Jason Peters????

 

 

good one

 

Dude your TAKES!  Thousands of mis-posts, like thousands of weathervanes pointing in the exact wrong direction.

2 minutes ago, joesixpack said:

 

oooooh i wonder which "ilk" the coach is talking about

 

 

 

You know, because you’re one of those kinds of fans - just admit it.

Edited September 7, 2018 by Coach Tuesday

[Hapless Bills Fan]

18 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

Future HOF'er Jason Peters????

good one

 

I STG NBC announcers tonight proclaimed this.  Suggested first ballot.

[Mr. WEO]

1 minute ago, Coach Tuesday said:

 

Dude your TAKES!  Thousands of mid-posts, like thousands of weathervanes pointing in the exact wrong direction.

 

You know, because you’re one of those kinds of fans - just admit it.

 

My takes aren't influenced by which way the wind blows, bruv...

1 minute ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

I STG NBC announcers tonight proclaimed this.  Suggested first ballot.

 

 

There you go...

[Captain_Quint]

[BADOLBILZ]

5 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

I'd want to see what scheme we are running first. If we are going to stay more of a zone block scheme I'd defintely bring him back for a couple of years. If they are more of a man blocking team this year then that isn't Levitre's game. 

 

 

We do realize that the Bills ultimately let him go because Littman's directive was to allow Ralph to pocket $30M every year via payroll savings and stack inheritance tax cheese that he ultimately did not need when his franchise sold for hundred of millions more than anticipated.......right?

 

It's hilarious how all the people who defended this organizations stupidity STILL defend it long after we've been freed from cash to the cap.

12 minutes ago, joesixpack said:

Oh wonderful!

 

Here's BADOL to tell us all how bright he is.

 

 

 

 

You laughing tonight............but wait til you see that child support deduction on your check tomorrow B!?

[GunnerBill]

1 minute ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

We do realize that the Bills ultimately let him go because Littman's directive was to allow Ralph to pocket $30M every year via payroll savings and stack inheritance tax cheese that he ultimately did not need when his franchise sold for hundred of millions more than anticipated.......right?

 

It's hilarious how all the people who defended this organizations stupidity STILL defend it long after we've been freed from cash to the cap.

 

I think there were legitimate football reasons to let Levitre go. Whether that is the reason he was actually allowed to leave - I don't know. I still think he got paid stupid money and all his success in the league has been in zone blocking schemes which wasn't what Marrone wanted to run. 

[Happy]

36 minutes ago, Rico said:

If Beane can dump all Whaley’s trash, he can bring back the players that Whaley didn’t want. C’mon Andy!

 

Everything is Whaley's fault with you, isn't it?  You never miss an opportunity to take a dig at him, like beating a dead horse.  Like the coaching had zero input in the player decisions, whether it be Marrone or Rex.  News flash - it's the GMs job to bring in the talent that the coach wants, or get rid of players that do not fit the coaches' scheme.  What did Whaley do to you, boink your woman?  This subject has been beaten to death; Whaley had his issues as a GM, but he was not as bad as you make him out to be.

[BADOLBILZ]

10 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

I think there were legitimate football reasons to let Levitre go. Whether that is the reason he was actually allowed to leave - I don't know. I still think he got paid stupid money and all his success in the league has been in zone blocking schemes which wasn't what Marrone wanted to run. 

 

You overpay in free agency.

 

It's not like paying Star Lotulelei $10M per on spec when he's been playing like a traffic cone for the past couple years...........Levitre was overpaid by $1M-$2M per.......that's the earned free agency premium......and he was a VERY safe bet to not be a bust.   I don't know if he'd even missed a snap and had played some C and LT.

[GunnerBill]

Just now, BADOLBILZ said:

 

You overpay in free agency.

 

It's not like paying Star Lotulelei $10M per on spec when he's been playing like a traffic cone for the past couple years...........Levitre was overpaid by $1M-$2M per.......that's the earned free agency premium......and he was a VERY safe bet to not be a bust.   I don't know if he'd even missed a snap and had played some C and LT.

 

I don't like what they paid Star anymore than I'd have liked overpaying Levitre to play in a scheme he was a questionable fit for. 

[Rico]

6 minutes ago, Happy Gilmore said:

 

Everything is Whaley's fault with you, isn't it?  You never miss an opportunity to take a dig at him, like beating a dead horse.  Like the coaching had zero input in the player decisions, whether it be Marrone or Rex.  News flash - it's the GMs job to bring in the talent that the coach wants, or get rid of players that do not fit the coaches' scheme.  What did Whaley do to you, boink your woman?  This subject has been beaten to death; Whaley had his issues as a GM, but he was not as bad as you make him out to be.

No, it's really all Ralph's fault. Whaley was just one of his stooges, and an easy convenient target.

[Happy]

1 minute ago, Rico said:

No, it's really all Ralph's fault. Whaley was just one of his stooges, and an easy convenient target.

 

During Whaley's tenure, Ralph was largely disconnected from the Bills.  Russ Brandon was the de facto owner.

[BADOLBILZ]

10 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

I don't like what they paid Star anymore than I'd have liked overpaying Levitre to play in a scheme he was a questionable fit for. 

  

 

You know who was a worse fit than the durable and versatile Levitre?

 

Eric Wood.

 

He was nothing short of horrendous in the two years under Marrone.

 

They doubled down on Wood at about the same time so if you think they were in touch with their own scheme fits I'm not so sure about that.

[Gugny]

If I recall correctly, one of the issues was the flaw in the franchise tag system that calls an offensive lineman an offensive lineman, and doesn't differentiate between guards and tackles.

 

In order to tag Levitre, the Bills would have had to pay him premium OT money, when he was a "decent" OG.

 

If I'm misremembering, please correct me.

[Rico]

1 minute ago, Happy Gilmore said:

 

During Whaley's tenure, Ralph was largely disconnected from the Bills.  Russ Brandon was the de facto owner.

Yeah, Russ was a stooge to Ralph for many years before before Whaley joined the team. Whaley was more of a stooge to Russ... but that's only 2 degrees of separation. Whaley couldn't help but be tainted by the stench of failure he was connected to. In retrospect, he should've never left the Steelers. Look at the bright side, I still ultimately blame Ralph.

[Happy]

1 minute ago, Rico said:

Yeah, Russ was a stooge to Ralph for many years before before Whaley joined the team. Whaley was more of a stooge to Russ... but that's only 2 degrees of separation. Whaley couldn't help but be tainted by the stench of failure he was connected to. In retrospect, he should've never left the Steelers. Look at the bright side, I still ultimately blame Ralph.

 

Between Ralph, Russ, and Marrone (then Rex) we had the Three Stooges, only not as funny.

You can't blame Whaley for leaving the Steelers and taking the chance at being an NFL GM.  There are only 32 of those positions, and they come available rarely.  You have to take that chance, like a promotion you're not sure you can do at work.  Stay where you are, be and do the same, or aspire for something better?  

[Gugny]

12 minutes ago, Happy Gilmore said:

 

Between Ralph, Russ, and Marrone (then Rex) we had the Three Stooges, only not as funny.

You can't blame Whaley for leaving the Steelers and taking the chance at being an NFL GM.  There are only 32 of those positions, and they come available rarely.  You have to take that chance, like a promotion you're not sure you can do at work.  Stay where you are, be and do the same, or aspire for something better?  

 

Whaley was a fine GM.  Yes, he held onto EJ too long, but he also built an elite defense and hired an elite DC.

 

Just like John Elway - who has also failed miserably at finding a QB (as many GMs do).

 

Whaley's death blow was the Pegulas hiring Rex Ryan and nullifying everything Whaley did to build a solid D.

 

On a team with better ownership (this guy went from Ralph Wilson's senility to Kim !@#$ing Pegula cherry picking a HC), Doug Whaley would have been an excellent GM.

[atlbillsfan1975]

1 hour ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

Letting him go was the wrong move by management.

 

It was wrong at the time........because they had plenty of money and had invested a second round pick in him and he was good.    If your early picks pan out and you let them walk without a solid replacement you don't understand how to build.    At the time,  that is what the Bills were.    We all know this now......let's not defend the dumb things they did in the past.

 

It turned into a disaster when the season started and Colin Brown had perhaps the single worst season by a Bills starting OL.    He was literally altering the outcome of games and very possibly the single difference between missing the playoffs versus stealing a very up-for-grabs playoff spot.

 

And in the long run it was wrong because he's been very good for a long time and is still going strong.    

 

And fwiw.........future HOF'er Jason Peters is playing tonight as well.......and there were clowns on here who FOR YEARS swore trading him was the right thing to do.   Part of that argument was the Bills were getting younger with the drafting of Eric Wood........but as I said in response to that......Peters will be playing when Wood was out of the league.

Can you predict good things that will happen to the Bills?

[BADOLBILZ]

24 minutes ago, atlbillsfan1975 said:

Can you predict good things that will happen to the Bills?

 

I predicted they'd be competitive last year when most thought they were tanking.

 

That would be a very recent example.

 

But predicting the Bills will be good has been futile in the past 18 years........they've never really had a good team in that string.......though the 2004 team was actually 9-6 going to into the last game.  

 

 

[BADOLBILZ]

2 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Brown only played 4 games didn't he from memory? Then was cut and never played in the league again and Legursky started at LG the rest of the year. I still don't think Levitre was worth what he got at the time and actually asked to play more of a man blocking scheme in Tennessee he sucked. 

 

 

I view handling your own players when they hit free agency like putting the roof on the expensive home you've nearly completed.

 

If you cut bait because the cost of shingles is high and instead throw a tarp over your home after you've done most of the work building it then you risk undermining all your previous work drafting and developing talent to get that far.

 

You don't WANT to pay it.........but can you afford to not pay to finish the job when you've gone that far?

 

[ProcessAccepted]

3 hours ago, billsbackto81 said:

He was a FA and got a boatload of money from the Titans. Wanted to keep him but it was the right move by management. 

 

People who weren't around to remember this stuff need to learn how to Google things like this. There's another thread going on about Peters and cursing Ralph about being cheap. SMH.

[Putin]

4 hours ago, Watkins90 said:

Wasn't he on our team and we just released him?

 

He is the sixth-ranked guard by PFF.

How old are you ? 

[nucci]

7 hours ago, Watkins90 said:

Wasn't he on our team and we just released him?

 

He is the sixth-ranked guard by PFF.

Yes, he was on our team

[Royale with Cheese]

9 hours ago, Watkins90 said:

Wasn't he on our team and we just released him?

 

He is the sixth-ranked guard by PFF.

 

He signed a huge deal with the Titans and busted.  He lost his starting job.

 

https://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/nfl/titans/2015/09/04/titans-trade-andy-levitre-draft-pick/71708002/

[8-8 Forever?]

10 hours ago, JoeF said:

He was for four years.  Left as a Free Agent after the 2012 season.   Married a Buffalo girl.

His agent pulled him out for big big $$ as well.   

[MrEpsYtown]

10 hours ago, ShadyBillsFan said:

You don’t remember the jokes 

 

Levitre gives you wood

 

Dont forget about the Wang. 

[skibum]

 

Levitre was a very good player on a losing team, and there was a hot FA market for lineman at the time. The Bills payroll did not 'officially' have space to accommodate overpayment for a guard, so Levitre left. Perhaps he would have left regardless; one could easily understand why a free agent with a desire to win would wish to part ways with the Bills at that time.

 

Unfortunately, that left us with a very suspect Guard rotation until Richie arrived two years later. Hindsight suggests that an extra million or so would have been a reasonable overpayment for such a steady player as Levitre, but only he knows if that was ever really an option. 

[hemma]

10 hours ago, Rico said:

It’s all good, Whaley had Colin Brown ready to take his place.

 

I remember that game vs the Jets. 

A few bags of sand would have been better.  

 

I think he was released later that week. 

Colon was Brown remains the worst starting OL I have ever seen.

[Bob in STL]

Are we going to have a thread on every ex Bill still in the league ???

 

Levitre, Peters, lets  start a Darby thread next.  

 

When end a team changes coaches every 2 to 3 years, and changes front office every 4 to 5 years this is what happens.  Good players leave.  Either they force the leave (Peters), wait unti free agency and leave (Levitre, Hogan) or get traded (Darby, Darius, etc). 

 

 

[BillsVet]

11 hours ago, Rico said:

Whaley is the one who let him go.

 

Whaley chose (correctly perhaps) not to re-sign Jairus Byrd, which at the time many on this board cited as a reason why they'd re-sign Levitre. As others have pointed out, the Bills back then weren't interested in competing and ultimately let both go for nothing.  Out of the 3 1st/2nd day picks who actually were NFL players from 2009, they kept only Eric Wood.

 

And, 9+ years ago the Bills essentially traded Peters for Eric Wood. As nice a player as the latter was, that trade was a major win for the Eagles and showed Buffalo wasn't interested in keeping their best player.  Peters' replacement in 2009 was initially the ill-suited Langston Walker (later cut) and then Demetrius (Demetress?) Bell.  Sound planning there. 

 

Both of these contract situations were a result of not negotiating early enough and letting both get close to UFA or into a bad contract where the player has leverage. IIRC, OBD had no negotiations with Levitre prior to his walk year in 2012. Peters had contract issues in the 08 and 09 off-seasons, and in the former, the team would only work on a Lee Evans extension.  Apparently they couldn't be bothered to handle two (!) extensions at a time.

[GunnerBill]

8 minutes ago, BillsVet said:

 

Whaley chose (correctly perhaps) not to re-sign Jairus Byrd, which at the time many on this board cited as a reason why they'd re-sign Levitre. As others have pointed out, the Bills back then weren't interested in competing and ultimately let both go for nothing.  Out of the 3 1st/2nd day picks who actually were NFL players from 2009, they kept only Eric Wood.

 

And, 9+ years ago the Bills essentially traded Peters for Eric Wood. As nice a player as the latter was, that trade was a major win for the Eagles and showed Buffalo wasn't interested in keeping their best player.  Peters' replacement in 2009 was initially the ill-suited Langston Walker (later cut) and then Demetrius (Demetress?) Bell.  Sound planning there. 

 

Both of these contract situations were a result of not negotiating early enough and letting both get close to UFA or into a bad contract where the player has leverage. IIRC, OBD had no negotiations with Levitre prior to his walk year in 2012. Peters had contract issues in the 08 and 09 off-seasons, and in the former, the team would only work on a Lee Evans extension.  Apparently they couldn't be bothered to handle two (!) extensions at a time.

 

The replacement plans for both Peters (who I would not have let go) and Levitre (still say on balance I would) were both brutal bordering on negligent. 

[SteveFreeman22]

13 hours ago, Watkins90 said:

Wasn't he on our team and we just released him?

 

He is the sixth-ranked guard by PFF.

Wow, can tell you are a super duper, Bills, NFL fan, ever read anything much ? Or memory fading ? Sucks getting older.

[Jauronimo]

14 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Brown only played 4 games didn't he from memory? Then was cut and never played in the league again and Legursky started at LG the rest of the year. I still don't think Levitre was worth what he got at the time and actually asked to play more of a man blocking scheme in Tennessee he sucked. 

Wasn't Chas Rhinegold in the mix too?

[Jauronimo]

13 hours ago, Happy Gilmore said:

 

Everything is Whaley's fault with you, isn't it?  You never miss an opportunity to take a dig at him, like beating a dead horse.  Like the coaching had zero input in the player decisions, whether it be Marrone or Rex.  News flash - it's the GMs job to bring in the talent that the coach wants, or get rid of players that do not fit the coaches' scheme.  What did Whaley do to you, boink your woman?  This subject has been beaten to death; Whaley had his issues as a GM, but he was not as bad as you make him out to be.

Whaley is the son of Satan and drinks babies' blood.  Beane is a child genius with a heart as pure as fresh snow. 

[GunnerBill]

11 minutes ago, Jauronimo said:

Wasn't Chas Rhinegold in the mix too?

 

They let him leave the same offseason Levitre did. He started another year or two in the league as well. 

[Mark Vader]

14 hours ago, EmotionallyUnstable said:

Sign Levitre, tag Byrd 

I remember this mantra all too well. 

14 hours ago, Augie said:

 

He came a LOOOONG way from the overweight, second thought TE and special teamed days. 

Thanks to the Bills

[psuscott16]

Let's not forget that Andy Levitre accidentally tweeted out a pic of his girl's side boob on Twitter and promptly deleted his account. 

 

Some heavy duty side boob so click accordingly. 

 

http://unretrograding4.rssing.com/chan-3933324/all_p20.html

[Bill from NYC]

14 hours ago, BADOLBILZ said:

  

 

You know who was a worse fit than the durable and versatile Levitre?

 

Eric Wood.

 

He was nothing short of horrendous in the two years under Marrone.

 

They doubled down on Wood at about the same time so if you think they were in touch with their own scheme fits I'm not so sure about that.

The year Levitre left it was said that he had a bad year. If he did, I strongly suspect that it was due to injury.

 

Levitre was an excellent guard. As you might recall, I liked him in college. AL was made for the "new" passing game. He was more of a finesse blocker than a road paver and (imo) was at his best at pass protection. He played left tackle in college and didn't let us down at all on the Bills. I blew my cork when the Bills let him walk and from what I remember he wanted to stay here.

 

And people wonder why I beat to death the Bills lack of regard for blocking! We looked OK last year on the OL (although I do wonder how much of this was because of Tyrod) and now just look at the mess we face yet again.

 

We absolutely have to find blockers in 2019.

[BuffaloSol]

16 hours ago, ColoradoBills said:

 

Actually he is playing the last year of his 6 year contract this year.

He's a FA next year.

Thin OLine FA next year. He married a buffalo girl, maybe a reunion is in store for the right price?