Add MLB and CB to the list of off-season needs....

[OpIv37]

London Fletcher is a FA after this season- consider the following:

-he's on the wrong side of 30
-he's horrible in pass coverage and the Bills' Tampa 2 system requires the MLB to cover the middle of the field in passing situations
-his agent is Drew Rosenhaus

At this point, it seems unlikely that he'll be back, and I don't know if anyone else on our roster is good enough to step up for him. Possibly Ellison, but Ellison has mostly been used as an outside LB.

And onto the cornerback situation.

As most of you know, I've been a big proponent of getting rid of Clements and his salary for a long time. That was partially because I thought McGee was better and would be fine as a #1 CB. But he's shown some SERIOUS weaknesses this year, particularly over the past 3 games. Keep in mind I'm not just *****ing about 1 or 2 plays here- he has been a weak link at CB for most of this season.

I still don't think Clements is worth the money he will command, but now we also have to consider that McGee isn't good enough to cover #1 receivers. So we will either have to find another #1 CB or fork over a fortune to Clements and hose the team's ability to address some of the other flaws.

[PECKERWOOD]

Ive been saying this forever, we need to resign Clements. While, Fletcher may be a FA. Cato June is also a FA, and if we need help at MLB. I would rather give him a big contract over Fletch.

[Marvelous]

I disagree 100%about Fletcher..He's one of the fastest MLB's out there... Why would you knowck him?

Clements isn't getting beat "MOST" iof the time either. McGee & Greer & Thomas are getting their share... We lose Clements and we're screwed. What are the odds we sign a FA #1 CB>? If we do then cool......
-And what does his huge salary have anything to do with it???????? We are waaaay under the cap anyways & it's not our money.. So that's a weak-ass excuse to neg Clements... IMO the CB's are average at best but not mediocre..

[unpaid_bills]

What makes you think any big time FA's want to come to Buffalo? We need to re-sign Clements and Fletch. Clements is not betting pics, but he is not getting burnt either. I am more disappointed in McGee also. maybe take him off the KO returns I dont know what the answer is.

I just dont see them signing a bigtime FA. Maybe an unknown or guy with potential. We need DL, OL help more I feel. We just need the players the Bills are paying millions of $, to just do their job. Funny how things work when you are losing.

[Bling]

I don't get this franchise. Have you guys forgot that this franchise didn't spend any money in the offseason? "Oh but we're like the Pats, and draft all our players.." Well according to your draft, you've draft JP Losman, John McCargo, Mike Williams, Donte Whitner, Lee Evans, who else? All of them were reaches, so far 1 has proved himself. Another is still basically a rookie. Another was cut. Two others are wait to be seen, but clearly overdrafted. On top of that, OLine has been your worst position since ever and when was that fixed?


Then you hire Dick Jauron. A proven retread? Even worse, an 80 year-old man for a GM?


Are you guys really surprised your franchise sucks? I'm not trolling, I'm just showing you guys the facts that we all see outside of Buffalo.

[OpIv37]

I disagree 100%about Fletcher..He's one of the fastest MLB's out there... Why would you knowck him?

Clements isn't getting beat "MOST" iof the time either. McGee & Greer & Thomas are getting their share... We lose Clements and we're screwed. What are the odds we sign a FA #1 CB>? If we do then cool......
-And what does his huge salary have anything to do with it???????? We are waaaay under the cap anyways & it's not our money.. So that's a weak-ass excuse to neg Clements... IMO the CB's are average at best but not mediocre..

there were several plays where Fletch was burned in pass coverage today. If he wants to play MLB in this defensive system, he's going to have to do a hell of a lot better.

We are not WAAAY under the cap. We're in good cap shape. BUT there's a good chance McGahee will hold out, we need a DT, a DE and an LT at LEAST to be competitive, Fletcher and Clements are FA's- that's a hell of a lot to accomplish in one season (and I didn't even mention replacing Villarial, bringing in young LB's or the potential need for a QB).

If we re-sign Clements, it's going to severely limit our ability to do all those other things.

And I don't know what games you've been watching, but Clements has been getting beat consistently since early last season. He played OK today, but some of you are too willing to forget 9-10 crappy games because of one good one.

[OpIv37]

I don't get this franchise. Have you guys forgot that this franchise didn't spend any money in the offseason? "Oh but we're like the Pats, and draft all our players.." Well according to your draft, you've draft JP Losman, John McCargo, Mike Williams, Donte Whitner, Lee Evans, who else? All of them were reaches, so far 1 has proved himself. Another is still basically a rookie. Another was cut. Two others are wait to be seen, but clearly overdrafted. On top of that, OLine has been your worst position since ever and when was that fixed?


Then you hire Dick Jauron. A proven retread? Even worse, an 80 year-old man for a GM?


Are you guys really surprised your franchise sucks? I'm not trolling, I'm just showing you guys the facts that we all see outside of Buffalo.


Tom Donahoe was absolutely horrid with his drafts- no doubt about that. Whitner has been playing well. McCargo's been a disappointment so far and now he's gone for the year, so we have to wait and see on that. I don't know how you can knock Evans- he's the real deal, just our QB and our OL don't allow him to get the ball.

As far as Jauron goes- the advantage he has over our last two coaches is that he has previous NFL HC experience. The disadvantage is his losing record. I wasn't particularly thrilled with his hiring and so far I've been less than impressed.

[Mahdi]

I agree we definitely need to address CB and MLB.

First of all I would like to see Youboty get a shot at playing, he needs some experience for next year. And although we all know that McGee has been shocking over the last couple of games I think its just a slump combined with trying to get a hang of the new D. That being said theres no way we should re-sign Clements. He will be asking for a ton of money and then we will still have the same problems next year. Inability to pass protect and lack of pass rush. And due to that lack of pass rush we will watch our multi-million dollar Clements get burned every game.

What we need to do is invest in a big-time pass rusher either at DE or DT. That added presence will make any CBs we have look a lot better than they are. I believe that if we upgrade our pass rush a little we will see way more plays being made in the secondary and there will be no need for Clements.

As for MLB, I dont think Fletcher is a fit in this defense. He simply does not fill his gaps while defending the run and is not too good in pass D. We need an Urlacher type of LB that can shed blocks and make plays on his own. Dont get me wrong I like Fletch but I think he was way better in a Gregg Williams type of defense where he's protected by a big D line. I think Spikes should move to the middle, if not draft someone.

[PECKERWOOD]

Does John McCargo, remind anybody else of John McClane from Diehard?

[kernowboy]

Looking at the two players I am afraid I have to concur and say we have to let both players loose. They are both Free Agents

For both players they will demand huge contracts which I don't think, even with the increase in the cap, their play warrants.

Starting with Clements. His play has been in decline for more than a season and I am surprised he wasn't traded in the last off season. All I can assume is we demanded too much. For someone playing for his new mega contract, thinking it should be similar in size to Champ Bailey's, the poverty of his play has been astonishing. I even wonder if at still a young age his better days might already be behind him. At present we are paying him $7.2m and I cannot imagine he'll want less than $8m-$10m per year. Sorry but there will be some idiots who will pay that but we don't need to be in the 'stupid' camp as well. I think we drafted Youboty in the realisation he'd be starting next season. I'd just like to get him on earlier than next season. I agree with those who just think McGee is in a slump but we must keep a careful eye on this.

Fletcher-Baker. Great player. On downside of career. 32. Looking for a major last pay day. New agent is Drew Rosenhaus. Again it comes down to intelligent use of the cap. For every extra $ we spend here, it cannot be spent elsewhere. He's already on $4.9m per season. He'll want more. He deserves less. I just don't think we should pay big bucks for him when we might get a younger player who can do a job for us. We have previously started a 4th round pick for most of a season and he did a decent job for us - Brandon Spoon. We might get lucky again. Look at what Ed Hartwell and Larry Foote do as 4th rounders, and we'd save $4m a season. Imagine who we could get for $4m a season?

I think one final point that must be asked is DO THEY WANT TO STAY HERE? Clements will just want to follow an inflated pay cheque, FB will want to go to a contender.

Its bye bye for both

[OpIv37]

The Clements situation is really bothering me because there is no way the Bills can win. There are basically 3 options:

a) re-sign Clements, which means dealing with his mediocre play while also limiting our ability to address this team's other needs because of his cap hit
b) letting Clements leave and signing another FA CB, which will be difficult because FA's don't want to come to Buffalo and will be almost as expensive as Clements
c) going with McGee as the #1 and watch him get lit up by other teams #1 WR every game.

[patmoran2006]

I don't disagree with you on Fletch when it comes to his age and his agent.. But I do disagree about your evaluation of him in pass coverage.. He's one of the faster MLB in the NFL and he's athletic (remember that INT vs Minny, which is more than either of our corners have all year).. He's part of the solution on defense, not the problem.

That being said, I think he's gone after this year. Count him among guys like Adams and Moulds and Milloy last year that DONT want to be here anymore.. THis team is NOT built for vets like him and they are a long way from contending.. So with that and the fact we will NOT overpay for him, he's as good as gone; and dont be surprised if he has a couple big years somewhere else.

As for Clements, its a no brainer. He's 100% gone. A) He doesnt want to be here, anybody can see that.. and B) He's overated. Nobody is talking about it, but it was CLEMENTS who missed that tackle on Dillon that allowed him to score yesterday (2nd TD). He's not worth franchise money, but a team like the Skins or the Jets will greatly overpay for him next year, I guarentee it. We have too many holes to give $7 million plus to one player, especially a "me" player like him who doesnt make interceptions.

We have to start playing Youboty, and we have to hope McGee starts to rebound from the bed he's made for himself. I think IMPROVING the pass rush up the middle next year would make all our DB's look a lot better.