Someone I actually respect hate's buffalo's FA

[todd]

Pro Football Weekly Interview with Jaworski

 

I respect Ron Jaworski and awful lot. He's really the only analyst who I think calls it straight and ignores the hype. However, he thinks the Bills are the biggest loser in FA. Frankly, I can't disagree. I don't have any problem with the reasons behind why we lost or got rid of the players we did, however I don't see how they are being replaced. We can't do it all in the draft, and we don't have the players on our roster that can immediately step up and get it done. There's no LB on our roster that makes up for our two LB losses. One DT doesn't equal two LB losses, especially in a rotational system.

 

I think the Bills are headed in the right direction, but I was hoping they would make a run for the playoffs this year, and I just don't see it with all the losses without a net gain.

[IDBillzFan]

Gee, NE is the big winner. Who'd have figured?

 

Hey Todd, sweat not. We could make the playoffs this year, but even if we do, exactly how far would you expect us to go?

 

Seriously, expect us to get better and save yourself the heartache.

[R. Rich]

Of course, a lot will depend on what the Bills do between now and the start of training camp. They have a bunch of options w/ the 12th pick and they have the additional 3rd from the McGahee trade plus their other day 1 picks, so they should come out of the first day of the draft w/ a nice group of players. Couple that w/ some shrewd moves on day 2 (let's hope!), and some good scouting of the available free agents later, and the Bills may not look like such losers going into camp.

[ncbillsfan]

I got to say this is disheartening to hear Jaws say this. He usually seems to have our back, but like you said he is as unbiased an analyst as there is in relation to the NFL.

 

I mean for one, everyone else still thinks JP Losman sucks, despite the fact that he had a great 2nd half of the year (not including the Baltimore game). Jaws came out and said that Losman deserved all the same accolades that Vince Young was getting but nobody else (NFL analysts) were saying it.

 

For him to say that our offseason has been dissapointing is certainly noteworthy, but everyone also said our draft last year was terrible.

 

I may be in the minority on this one but I have unwavering faith in Marv Levy. As proven in the 1990s he knows how to build Super Bowl caliber teams. Let's hope in the 2000s he can take it a step further and assemble Super Bowl champions.

[todd]

Well, you can't go anywhere unless you are in it. If we get better, we make the playoffs. If we don't, our lack of talent is why.

 

But hey, there are still possibilities out there in FA, and more possibilities in the draft.

 

Gee, NE is the big winner. Who'd have figured?

 

Hey Todd, sweat not. We could make the playoffs this year, but even if we do, exactly how far would you expect us to go?

 

Seriously, expect us to get better and save yourself the heartache.

[Peter]

So far, he is absolutely correct. The key is "so far." We shall see what happens with the remainder of free agency and the draft. Yet, if you have to evaluate it at this moment of time, we are not as good a football team as we were last season. We have some holes to fill.

 

Let's see what happens.

[Lothar]

Pro Football Weekly Interview with Jaworski

 

I respect Ron Jaworski and awful lot. He's really the only analyst who I think calls it straight and ignores the hype. However, he thinks the Bills are the biggest loser in FA. Frankly, I can't disagree. I don't have any problem with the reasons behind why we lost or got rid of the players we did, however I don't see how they are being replaced. We can't do it all in the draft, and we don't have the players on our roster that can immediately step up and get it done. There's no LB on our roster that makes up for our two LB losses. One DT doesn't equal two LB losses, especially in a rotational system.

 

I think the Bills are headed in the right direction, but I was hoping they would make a run for the playoffs this year, and I just don't see it with all the losses without a net gain.

Todd, I hate to say it but I agree with him as well. If you asked most NFL scouts who were the 10 most talented players we had on our team last year, I'd reckon most people would include Fletcher, Clements in that group. Spikes, if he has recovered to even 80% of his 2004 talent, would probably also be in that group. McGahee, even with his problems, would fit there as well. I don't blame Marv for doing what he's doing - but make no mistake, this is a rebuilding year and we should not expect to be any more than a .500 team.

 

My primary beef with the Bills front office is what we paid Walker and what we paid Kelsay - this resembles the Peerless signing last year - not bad moves per se, just way more than market value for their skill level - and these signings limit what we can pay potential game changers like Evans and (possibly) Losman. What I'm surprised at is the overwhelming number of knowledgeable fans on this board who have a hard time admitting that we will probably be worse before we get better based on our moves this offseason. Who knows, maybe we'll strike lightning in a bottle and Lynch (or Peterson or whoever in this weak RB class) becomes a capable performer instantly - or better yet, Willis or Poz is an impact starter that vastly improves our run D - or Youboty or Hall becomes a solid corner in short order. Overall, I expect our offense to improve a bit if we get Lynch or Turner but I don't see our defense looking better no matter who we draft. I'm a diehard fan but it's hard to deny we've lost an awful lot of leadership and talent over the last couple months.

[Sketch Soland]

"FA Loser"

 

A completely meaningless concept made vogue by 24 hour a day/7 days a week sports media outlets who constantly always have to have something to talk about or make up to talk about.

 

It doesn't take a whiz bang analyst to understand that losing players like Clements, Spikes, and Fletcher is a hump that this team is going to have to get over. I happen to think we do have a plan and that it requires a modicum of patience and that we are proceeding along nicely. But patience and foresight is not required to be a talking head, in fact, these principles are highly discouraged because they caution against making grossly exclamatory comments that cause heads to turn and ratings to rise. Don't expect anyone in the media to call us anything but a loser when we haven't done anything to prove them wrong since the turn of the millenia. This is how they look at things, black and white, no matter how shallow it really is. Even Jaws operates by the punditry code: the lowest common easily regurgitatable soundbite shtick denominator.

[leh-nerd skin-erd]

Pro Football Weekly Interview with Jaworski

 

I respect Ron Jaworski and awful lot. He's really the only analyst who I think calls it straight and ignores the hype. However, he thinks the Bills are the biggest loser in FA. Frankly, I can't disagree. I don't have any problem with the reasons behind why we lost or got rid of the players we did, however I don't see how they are being replaced. We can't do it all in the draft, and we don't have the players on our roster that can immediately step up and get it done. There's no LB on our roster that makes up for our two LB losses. One DT doesn't equal two LB losses, especially in a rotational system.

 

I think the Bills are headed in the right direction, but I was hoping they would make a run for the playoffs this year, and I just don't see it with all the losses without a net gain.

 

 

it's funny, todd, with all the reviews you can find on the decisions made in FA, it all seems to boil down to the same recycled rhetoric. dockery=too much paid for a player his caliber. l. walker=key member of one of the worst offensive lines in history. whittle = journeyman. d. walker = average.

 

On the other side, we lose clements, fletcher, spikes and holcomb (there's another guy who's name i shall never mention again)and get gigged (by some) for losing them all. we got gigged on the draft choices last year, and they did reasonably well.

 

what i know for sure is that the people in Buffalo calling the shots are on record that championship-caliber football starts with the lines. they've CLEARLY made attempts to upgrade the lines, ipso facto they seem to stick to their knitting. i think you can speculate all you want about who the loser's are and who the winner's are, but when it gets right down to it, those are just opinions that mean nothing. if you're 7-9, make changes that people criticize, but finish at 9-7, 10-6, was your free agency a losing proposition? if New England goes 12-4 last year but loses in the first game of the playoffs, does it matter if they "won" or "lost" in free agency?

 

i read an article on yahoo sports that basically stated that belechick is always a winner in free agency. it was an interesting article because that's literally all it said...that he's great. and, he is a great coach. so?

 

i have trust in the system. not blind trust, but trust. it could alll blow up this season, and if so, my trust was ill advised. but give the guys credit...they have a plan and seem to be following it.

[Prognastic]

If its any consolation, most years the Redskins are given the title of FA winner.

 

 

You have lost some significant talent however that I dont think will be replaceable this year. Even if you have a phenominal draft, how many players can you reasonably expect to contribute right away?

[H2o]

The people we lost that were major contributors to our D was Fletcher and Clements. Besides the first defensive play of the season and a meaningless last game, Spikes was a total non-factor. Clements was a good NFL CB. He played well against the pass and the run from the CB spot and that's HARD to find. He did gamble at the wrong time sometimes though. Fletcher was a tackling machine, but they were all tackles for 4 yard gains by the opponent. Look at his TFL stat from last year and you'll see what I'm talking about. I think Ellison played good for a 6th round rookie that was sorta thrown to the wolves. You even heard Spikes say in his ESPN interview that Crowell is going to be a special player for years to come. I think our FA signings this year have earned us a grade of about a C-C+. We definitely improved our O-Line and that bodes well for all aspects of our offense. Our defense has taken a hit, but not in an irreplacable way. We can get starters out of our 4 first day picks to fill the 3 spots of RB, CB, and MLB. People are also forgetting about Youboty in all of this. He's having a full off-season to get ready as well. He could very well step into Nate's old spot and play good. He is almost in the same mold of Clements as to how his game is, atleast from what I remember seeing from him at Ohio St. He's not afraid to step up against the run and was solid in coverage. He's not a typical "Shut Down" CB, but neither was Nate. He just got paid by the 49ers like he is or something. And with teams basically going to a 2 RB system these days, all we need is a solid young RB to split time with A-Train for now that we can mold into a feature guy by giving him a little "OTJT". We'll get a LB with one of our 1st 2 picks of the draft then address the CB and RB spots with the remaining 1st day choices. On the 2nd day, we'll probably get a 2nd LB, maybe a TE, and then the best remaining players that we feel are on the board.

[H2o]

Oh and what about the Giants, Jaguars, Cardinals, and Steelers with their FA periods. I think they easily have done less for their respective teams than we have.

[bartshan-83]

I think it is hardly a stretch to say that the team is in worse shape for the start of 2007 RIGHT NOW, then we were the day the season ended. We lost talent, leadership and production at key areas. I'm as optimistic as anybody I know, but I can't honestly say that it is entirely possible that we take a step back before we go forward.

 

This team is being built for long term success. We have plenty of the blocks in place already. Purging the veterans and malcontents was a necessary move for the longevity of our success. I think this team will take a serious hit next year, and frankly, making the playoffs take a serious push.

 

But just because the team as a whole may be "worse" after free agency, that does not mean we didn't make good moves. I'm looking for a another solid draft and the continued development of our young guns.

[daquix]

Oh and what about the Giants, Jaguars, Cardinals, and Steelers with their FA periods. I think they easily have done less for their respective teams than we have.

 

Not even close. They may have not signed any good/big name players but they didnt let 3 pivotal parts of their team go like we did.

 

I agree with Bart. Marv is building this team for the future, not for the upcoming season.

[H2o]

The Giants got Droughns to replace Barber when they already have Jacobs, the Cardinals lost Leonard Davis, the Steelers let go of their consistently Pro Bowl performing LB, and the Jags have done absolutely nothing but re-sign an injury prone RB and a career 3rd string RB. Atleast we have done something to help our young offense. I agree that we're building for the future, but I still don't see how we've done worse than these other teams. That's just my opnion though.

[Rubes]

I still stand by my assessment that the net result of our FA gains and losses is not as bad as it might superficially appear. While it may be true that we don't currently have two LBs to replace the two we lost, you also have to take into account what we have gained so far if you want an overall assessment.

[leh-nerd skin-erd]

Pro Football Weekly Interview with Jaworski

 

I respect Ron Jaworski and awful lot. He's really the only analyst who I think calls it straight and ignores the hype. However, he thinks the Bills are the biggest loser in FA. Frankly, I can't disagree. I don't have any problem with the reasons behind why we lost or got rid of the players we did, however I don't see how they are being replaced. We can't do it all in the draft, and we don't have the players on our roster that can immediately step up and get it done. There's no LB on our roster that makes up for our two LB losses. One DT doesn't equal two LB losses, especially in a rotational system.

 

I think the Bills are headed in the right direction, but I was hoping they would make a run for the playoffs this year, and I just don't see it with all the losses without a net gain.

 

 

you've stirred the pot here, but i neglected the obvious answer earlier on. just stop respecting rj and be done with it. problem solved.

[Matt in KC]

I'd be intereted in hearing Jaworski's opinion about what team has helped their 3-year outlook the most. Mostly we have let go players who would have been a problem over that span. Clements (high salary, risk), Spikes (performance), McGahee (mentality), Fletcher (risk if he insisted on a 5 year deal, and performance, though I'm not convinced), Holcolm (no upside, possible team chemistry problem).

 

Overall, this year's roster looks like they will start the year worse than the guys from last year. I say that because I think it is unlikely we will sign free agents or draft players who can start at the level of the vets who are leaving. I am excited to see how this team grows and gels over the season, who will step into the leadership void, and how they react to adversity.

 

I'd rather get worse this year and break the cycle of mediocrity than suffer another year of the same-ol' with no real change in sight. I don't think this is "our year," but I am already excited for next year if we can sustain a healthy attitude through the season, learn from our mistakes and grow as a TEAM.

[I 90]

you've stirred the pot here, but i neglected the obvious answer earlier on. just stop respecting rj and be done with it. problem solved.

 

 

 

I wish he were as bombastic and idiotic as some of his colleagues so he could be written off. He's a tough guy not to like. Lucky for us he isn't infallible.

[JimBob2232]

Ask yourself this.

We draft Willis at 12. (Replace Fletcher)

We draft Aaron Ross at 43 (or pick your available Cornerback to replace Clements)

Trade 1 of our two 3rd round picks this year and one of our two 3rd round picks next year to San Diego for Turner (Replaces McGahee)

Draft the best available WR, TE or LB with our remaining 3rd round pick

Walker and Dockery Obviously upgraded on the OL

Walker upgrades the DL (though we now have quantity over quality at the position)

 

Then ask yourself....are we truly better? I'd have to think so....

 

The game is only half over....give it time.