duey Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 The Bills' Nate Clements is one of the best corners in the league. But it's unfathomable to think the fast-improving Bills, who are projected to have $39.7 million in cap space, will let him make it to free agency. -- Philadelphia Daily News http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/scor....mlb/index.html I wonder if he would stay here for slightly less money given the positive progress made by the team this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marauderswr80 Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 Its a different staff then previously......I think Perry Fewell will have a major impact if Clements decides to stay.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BUFFALOTONE Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/scor....mlb/index.htmlI wonder if he would stay here for slightly less money given the positive progress made by the team this year. I dont see that happening. He will want something like 6 yrs. 55-60 mil. with a 12-15 mill. dollar signing bonus. We need a top corner but I got the feeling that is why we drafted so deep in the secondary and the fact that Marv promised not to tag him again. Geez what so wrong with making 7 mill a year. I would have no problem cashing that check every week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozymandius Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 I think that quote just means Philadelphia Daily News is unaware of the promise the Bills made to Nate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marauderswr80 Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 I think that quote just means Philadelphia Daily News is unaware of the promise the Bills made to Nate. I dont think promises go very far in the NFL.......unless its in writting, I dont see any promises that will be held truthfully.... NFL is a business, you do whats best for your business....if tagging Nate to get something for him is needed, Marv & Co. will do it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duey Posted December 29, 2006 Author Share Posted December 29, 2006 I dont think promises go very far in the NFL.......unless its in writting, I dont see any promises that will be held truthfully.... NFL is a business, you do whats best for your business....if tagging Nate to get something for him is needed, Marv & Co. will do it! I don't think the Bills would do that. They gave him their word that they wouldn't tag him, so I don't think they will. I do believe that they will make him a very respectable offer. It's just a matter of whether he's will to accept respectable to stay or if he just wants to go to the highest bidder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyrite Gal Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/scor....mlb/index.html I wonder if he would stay here for slightly less money given the positive progress made by the team this year. This would be particularly true if he has a wife or significant other here who does not want to or cannot move away from her family because of parental illness or another issue. Who knows as generally I do not have a soap opera interest in our players personal lives, but the ironic thing can be that a players' FA decisions can be strongly influenced (if not in some extreme cases driven) by personal relationships and what is good for them. This is not a rule (there is no one size fits all rule despite the protests of us little brained humans that there can only be one "right" explanstion for what ends up being a complex situation with many influencing factors. I do not even know if NC has built familial ties to the area and if so whether this hypothetical partner has anything that urges or forces them to be here in WNY in an increasingly mobile world. However, just as these life demands and issues has resulted in JMac wanting to come to Buffalo to retire, Marvin Lewis not wanting to come here because his wife wanted their kids to be schooled elsewhere or Ruben Brown still making his home here because his kids do not want to shift schools to Chicago, it is amazing how much the judgments we watchers make based on what makes football sense are strongly influenced by issues we cannot see or calculate at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerball Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 I wonder if he would stay here for slightly less money given the positive progress made by the team this year. I just don't see that happening, but you never know. My sense is that Nate will be hit hard and fast as soon as FA opens up. He'll get a huge contract, and I doubt the Bills would even get the opportunity to counter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuckincincy Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 I just don't see that happening, but you never know. My sense is that Nate will be hit hard and fast as soon as FA opens up. He'll get a huge contract, and I doubt the Bills would even get the opportunity to counter. Well, we'll get a 3rd round comp pick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jahnyc Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 He will go to the highest bidder and will not give the Bills a discount on his services. I believe that as a part of the one-year tender that Clements signed for 2006, language was included providing that the Bills would not franchise Clements in 2007 (i.e., it is memorialized in an agreement). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFanForever19 Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 Food for thought: Champ Bailey signed a 7 year deal with Washington worth $63 million dollars with a $18 million dollar bonus. Nate Clements seems to believe that he's the best CB in the NFL, even better than Bailey. Now I think we can all agree that he's got quite an overinflated ego. He's a good to very good CB, but he's no Champ Bailey. Nevertheless, he's said he deserves "Champ Bailey money". That being said, would anyone here really be cool with giving him that much? I wouldn't. If I was Levy, I would go no higher than: 6 Yrs./$42 Million, $14 Million Bonus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obie_wan Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 Well, we'll get a 3rd round comp pick. not likely. The Bills can not hel;p but sign more free agents than they lose (including Clements)- thus the net gain of free agents will result in no compensation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SACUSE Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 Food for thought: Champ Bailey signed a 7 year deal with Washington worth $63 million dollars with a $18 million dollar bonus. Nate Clements seems to believe that he's the best CB in the NFL, even better than Bailey. Now I think we can all agree that he's got quite an overinflated ego. He's a good to very good CB, but he's no Champ Bailey. Nevertheless, he's said he deserves "Champ Bailey money". That being said, would anyone here really be cool with giving him that much? I wouldn't. If I was Levy, I would go no higher than: 6 Yrs./$42 Million, $14 Million Bonus With the increase of cap space for all teams it will be hard to get Nate to agree to 6/42/14. I would say it would take 5/50/14 to get it done. Maybe more if Synder gets involved. 64 for a CB is steep. We will see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koufax Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 We should be aggressive with him starting on Monday, and try to make the best fair offer we can make. If he wants to be #1 we can't compete with Snyder's stupid spending, so we have to deal with the reality that he might not be a value to our team at the price he might command. But I do everything I can to try to sign him at a good price (even if it is a huge number) because I think he has some excellent value to our team. Remember, it only takes one team overspending to make a price unreasonable, and smart teams wave goodbye to players if they cost more than their value. Right now Nate's value is how much better he is than the weaker of Ashton/Terrance. That is certainly a considerable value, but it sure ain't worth A-Rod money. There are going to be different economics this off season than we have expected, and last year's deals will seem much much better. So we can't expect to judge this market based on past deals. We just need Marv and DJ to stay smart and focused, and find the best values that the market presents itself. These aren't always the best players or the players we would want all things being equal, because we are affected by how other teams value or misvalue players. It seems possible that the league might overvalue Nate and make him too expensive for us, and we have to move on. The two comparisons are the Patriots and the Oakland A's in baseball. Make smart evaluations, and don't spend more than a player's value no matter how much you feel the "we HAVE to keep him" stuff. With whatever budget Ralph allows us, figure out the way to get the best football team put together, and sometimes that involves letting the best football player go when value isn't there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDRupp Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 not likely. The Bills can not hel;p but sign more free agents than they lose (including Clements)- thus the net gain of free agents will result in no compensation. The Bills not get a 3rd rounder??!! No way! If we waste signings on scrap and not good players, we will get a 5th or 7th or nothing at all if we sign too much lower level crap. I think Marv is smarter than that but he did leave a 2nd rounder on the table when he turned down Denver's offer for our first rounder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawgg Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 Nate's parents live in Ohio, but he and his fiance are soon to build a house in Houston. His fiance has no desire to remain in WNY... that's not to say he won't, but as we all know, signifiant others can have a major impact on the decisions that we make. I do not even know if NC has built familial ties to the area and if so whether this hypothetical partner has anything that urges or forces them to be here in WNY in an increasingly mobile world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloRebound Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 Baseball is more about plugging in individuals especially pitching, while football is the ultimate team sport. Please Marv and Ralph, capitalize on the momentum built at the end of the year and keep our best players here for a change. I can live with letting Fletcher go as the run defense was the main weakness on this team at the end of the year, but find a way to keep Clements (you already paid him $7m this year), re-sign Kelsay, Gandy, and extend Willis if reasonable money gets it done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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