The Dean Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 Bonehead, that's why I asked. I've heard different things. Not to answer for Tim but, there are several different stories in circulation. If one of those stories is true, Polian is lucky he was simply fired and not the subject of a nasty public lawsuit. OTOH, based on another version, it was a petty move by Ralph. I'm going to guess the truth is somewhere in between. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lets_go_bills Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 Tim, I wanna talk about the contract negotiations of another Bill: Fred Jackson. While he doesn't have a lot of wear and tear on him, he is 28, and that is not the greatest age for a running back. I imagine the Bills don't want to pay him like a top RB. As good as he may be, he is second fiddle to Lynch. So my question is this, at this point, what do the Bills want to give him and how much is he seeking? In my unprofessional, non-GM opinion, a 4 year deal for $20 million makes sense to me. Can you offer any insight on this matter? Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steely Dan Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 Niiice ... but I wouldn't know where to begin. You do know that Tim was still in college (and nowhere near Buffalo) when that happened all those years ago, right? Just checking. (sigh) I know dat! I'm sure there's someone at OBD that has heard it before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PromoTheRobot Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 Tim, Do you think the Peters situation will open the door for other Bills players to demand better deals? Peters is under contract but appears to be bending the Bills front office to his will. Now Jackson is crying poor. (Ironically two players who wouldn't even be in the NFL but for the Bills. But that's gratitude for you.) I'm worried if the Bills look like they cave too easily to these players who are still under contract, there will be a line forming to Russ Brandon's door with players who want to cash in. Thoughts? PTR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimGraham Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 Tim, Do you think the Peters situation will open the door for other Bills players to demand better deals? Peters is under contract but appears to be bending the Bills front office to his will. Now Jackson is crying poor. (Ironically two players who wouldn't even be in the NFL but for the Bills. But that's gratitude for you.) I'm worried if the Bills look like they cave too easily to these players who are still under contract, there will be a line forming to Russ Brandon's door with players who want to cash in. Thoughts? PTR Jon Corto wouldn't be in the NFL if it weren't for the Bills either, but that doesn't mean he and Fred Jackson should be in the same tax bracket Also, Jackson isn't under contract. So the Bills wouldn't be caving to him on anything. As for Peters, he's one of only two Bills who went to a Pro Bowl last year. I think the players in the locker room understand where he's coming from in wanting a new contract. I don't think the Bills playing him will set any sort of precedent. Who else on the Bills could justify holding out for a new contract? Nobody. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billybob Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 Hi Tim - a question about how Demetrius Bell's strength and conditioning is going- Bell had some nice athletic qualities but strength issues (10 bench reps) certainly was one reason he was a 7th rounder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly the Dog Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 Jon Corto wouldn't be in the NFL if it weren't for the Bills either, but that doesn't mean he and Fred Jackson should be in the same tax bracket Also, Jackson isn't under contract. So the Bills wouldn't be caving to him on anything. As for Peters, he's one of only two Bills who went to a Pro Bowl last year. I think the players in the locker room understand where he's coming from in wanting a new contract. I don't think the Bills playing him will set any sort of precedent. Who else on the Bills could justify holding out for a new contract? Nobody. Thank you. While Jason Peters may or may not have played worthy enough for a Pro Bowl appearance, it seems people around here think getting selected to the Pro Bowl means nothing and you probably suck if you were selected because it's all political. And yet a simple 30 second look at the Pro Bowl rosters would show that there isn't more than a handful of guys who didn't deserve it. These are 95% of the best players in the league. And while sure, you may have an opinion that player A or Player B should not have been there but Player C and Player D should have, there aren't many. There are young guys, old guys, first timers, long timers, household names and no names. http://www.nfl.com/probowl/story?id=09000d...mp;confirm=true Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimGraham Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 Hi Tim - a question about how Demetrius Bell's strength and conditioning is going- Bell had some nice athletic qualities but strength issues (10 bench reps) certainly was one reason he was a 7th rounder. I'll be honest ... In the conversations I've had with Bills people, his name never has come up. But next time I have the chance, I'll try to find out for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magox Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 Tim, I wanna talk about the contract negotiations of another Bill: Fred Jackson. While he doesn't have a lot of wear and tear on him, he is 28, and that is not the greatest age for a running back. I imagine the Bills don't want to pay him like a top RB. As good as he may be, he is second fiddle to Lynch. So my question is this, at this point, what do the Bills want to give him and how much is he seeking? In my unprofessional, non-GM opinion, a 4 year deal for $20 million makes sense to me. Can you offer any insight on this matter? Thanks in advance. about half that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arkady Renko Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 Tim, A lot of people here argue that Peters was one of the worst left tackles in the league last year. They point to stats showing him as allowing some of the most sacks in the league. Are these statistics bogus or do they just not tell the whole story? Is there any doubt among people you talk to that Peters is one of the best left tackles in the league? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonidas Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 Tim, Back to the Fred Jackson thing, I have a theory on this: The Bills own him this year for $460,000. Now, they can give him bonuses for this year if they want, but that's ultimately irrelevant. By not signing him to a long-term deal, if he has another solid season and another team comes in and signs him and the FO chooses not to match, they get a 1st round pick in 2010, correct? That must be on their mind, no? It seems Jackson has zero leverage on this one. If you said two years ago the Bills would parlay two undrafted FA's into first round draft picks (Peters in '09, Jackson in '10) you'd have to be pretty happy about that. Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dean Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 Tim, Back to the Fred Jackson thing, I have a theory on this: The Bills own him this year for $460,000. Now, they can give him bonuses for this year if they want, but that's ultimately irrelevant. By not signing him to a long-term deal, if he has another solid season and another team comes in and signs him and the FO chooses not to match, they get a 1st round pick in 2010, correct? That must be on their mind, no? It seems Jackson has zero leverage on this one. If you said two years ago the Bills would parlay two undrafted FA's into first round draft picks (Peters in '09, Jackson in '10) you'd have to be pretty happy about that. Thoughts? I think he is an Exclusive Rights FA next year, too...or am I mistaken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori Posted April 17, 2009 Author Share Posted April 17, 2009 I think he is an Exclusive Rights FA next year, too...or am I mistaken. You are, per Mark Gaughan's latest story. RFA after this season: Jackson has only two years tenure in the NFL and is labeled an "exclusive rights free agent." That means the Bills have exclusive negotiating rights to him because of the fact they made a minimum contract offer to him - one year for $460,000 - in late February. Jackson can not negotiate with or sign with any other team. He will play for that minimum offer if he can not reach a longer-term deal. If no longer deal is reached, the Bills would have Jackson's rights again next offseason, when he would be a restricted free agent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonidas Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 So...if he signs the tender this year and signs somewhere else next year, we get a first round pick? Everyone keeps shouting "pay him" and "I hate the FO" but they aren't looking at all the options by doing that. I think/hope the FO does more due diligence than the joe schmoes that post on this board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori Posted April 17, 2009 Author Share Posted April 17, 2009 So...if he signs the tender this year and signs somewhere else next year, we get a first round pick? Everyone keeps shouting "pay him" and "I hate the FO" but they aren't looking at all the options by doing that. I think/hope the FO does more due diligence than the joe schmoes that post on this board. Only if they were to tender him at the first-round level. Think that's right around $2 million this year. Checking ... yup, $2.198 million. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickey Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 Thank you. While Jason Peters may or may not have played worthy enough for a Pro Bowl appearance, it seems people around here think getting selected to the Pro Bowl means nothing and you probably suck if you were selected because it's all political. And yet a simple 30 second look at the Pro Bowl rosters would show that there isn't more than a handful of guys who didn't deserve it. These are 95% of the best players in the league. And while sure, you may have an opinion that player A or Player B should not have been there but Player C and Player D should have, there aren't many. There are young guys, old guys, first timers, long timers, household names and no names. http://www.nfl.com/probowl/story?id=09000d...mp;confirm=true Also, the notion that Peters would not have made it in the nfl had it not been for the Bills is ridiculous. Last year I posted all the scout takes on him prior to that draft and the fact is, he was on everyone's list of top project players/sleepers becuase of his combination of size and athleticism. It was no surprise that he wasn't drafte but also no surprise that was quickly signed as an UDFA. He had his choice of teams to sign with after the draft, he chose Buffalo because he had a good chance of making the roster given our depth chart at the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickey Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 Tim, Apart from personnel changes, what if anything have you heard about the offensive system this year? Is anything different planned or do they think the only problem was not having enough talent on the field? It just seems, to me anyway, that the dismal performance of the offense had more causes than just personnel, problems that dumping Dockery and Fowler and adding T.O. is not going to solve. Last off season we heard a lot of talk about how Turk Schonert was going to go with the same system essentially as Fairchild had put in place but it was going to be a lot more unpredictable and more willing to go downfield. I can recall a number of positive comments from Trent about how it was going to be a good thing that they didn't have to learn a whole new offense. Usually, with offensive performance as bad as we had last year, a team would consider a new OC or at least some radical changes in the offensive scheme. I know that is not as fascinating of topic as how much $ Jason Peters wants but I am desperate for some hope that the offense is going to turn around. But maybe the coaches don't really think there is anything wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bladiebla Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 it seems people around here think getting selected to the Pro Bowl means nothing and you probably suck if you were selected because it's all political. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Probowl#Criticism sums it up nicely.... "The player voting has also been subject to significant criticism. It is not uncommon for the players to pick the same players over and over again; former offensive lineman (and SI.com analyst) Ross Tucker has cited politics, incumbency, and compensation for injury in previous years as primary factors in player's choices among themselves, resulting in players such as Charles Woodson, Ruben Brown, and to a lesser extent Jason Peters repeatedly being selected to the game despite having subpar seasons." 1/3 by fans (basicly a who's most popular or most known vote). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonidas Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 Only if they were to tender him at the first-round level. Think that's right around $2 million this year. Checking ... yup, $2.198 million. Is there any doubt to that though? He's obviously worth that and probably more. I think that's a great strategy personally, but I'd love to hear Tim's opinion on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PromoTheRobot Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 Jon Corto wouldn't be in the NFL if it weren't for the Bills either, but that doesn't mean he and Fred Jackson should be in the same tax bracket Also, Jackson isn't under contract. So the Bills wouldn't be caving to him on anything. As for Peters, he's one of only two Bills who went to a Pro Bowl last year. I think the players in the locker room understand where he's coming from in wanting a new contract. I don't think the Bills playing him will set any sort of precedent. Who else on the Bills could justify holding out for a new contract? Nobody. I respect your opinion since you are closer to the situation than any of us. But I'm skeptical that no one else on the Bills would be tempted to hold out. Maybe no one else is justified, but that doesn't stop anyone from trying. PTR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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