Latest word from TD

[Romes]

http://www.buffalobills.com/news/index.cfm?cont_id=166892

On Mike Peterson

"Mike was here today and we did meet with him. The meeting went well. He has a couple more trips planned and we will be in touch with him. We generally don't get into a lot with players who are on tour and he's currently on tour."

This interesting stuff about Peerless

We had some discussions with Atlanta this weekend. Peerless (Price) was reportedly there. There really wasn't much substance to the talks this weekend.

We've had several calls concerning Peerless, with other teams that are more than anything probably just trying to feel out the situation.

We're not actively trying to move Peerless we want him back. We've said that from the beginning. We tried to get a long-term deal done with him and that didn't work. We are very comfortable if he wants to come back at the franchise figure. We can live with that for a year and we've tried to make that clear to his agent.

If we lose him we will probably go out and get another veteran WR but right now it's a speculation and we're hopeful that we can get him back. We think that there's a chance that could happen and that's what we are pursuing at this time. "

Not only is TD not pursuing a trade but he would be content with having Price back at the franchise price. This could piss some of the people on the board off. Obviously it doesn't mean that Price will be here for sure, but it does show that TD isn't looking to dump him. However, if a good offer comes up, I'd think TD would take it.

On Spikes

We have not made an offer, but we do have some interest in him. We have had some discussions with his agent and we are in the process of trying to set up a visit for him to come in meet our coaches and take a look at our football team.

Right now we are interested in a lot of guys because you're never sure how it's going to play out until this stuff begins. You don't know for example, we had Shawn Barber scheduled for a visit and he signed with Kansas City. That's just part of the game. We'll keep working at it and see how things go.

Good thing, Spikes is coming into town.

About Hollis situation

"We made an offer, his agent didn't like the offer so we'll have to wait and see where that goes.

I don't want to diminish what Mike did for us this year. He had a good year and we would like to find a way to get him back. Mike is one part of the puzzle and we have a lot of issue to deal with. We made him a fair offer and he didn't think it was that fair.

We'll see where it goes. I'm not going to say we don't want him, we want him back but it has to be under the right circumstances.

We're in the market looking for a kicker just like Mike is a free agent looking for a job. We're looking for a kicker and we're not going to sit around and wait until he decides and we expect that Mike is probably looking at some other situations."

TD said the right things. We cannot overpay for a kicker and we have to pursue other kickers if Hollis is pursuing other teams.

He also said that they don't have any other scheduled visits at the time of the interview. He also said that they have been in contact with Sam Adams agent and have some interest in him too.

[ArcticWildMan]

The line on Peerless is total BS. TD will not pay a #2 rcvr 5 mil a season.

It's just TD cranking up the heat on Atlanta.

[RedEyE]

:up: Good Stuff

[kgun12]

On Mike Peterson
quote:
"Mike was here today and we did meet with him. The meeting went well. He has a couple more trips planned and we will be in touch with him. We generally don't get into a lot with players who are on tour and he's currently on tour."

I absolutely love this quote and TD. This man is a cold as Ice. Mike we like ya, but after your little tour and you decide what looks good call me, ok BYBY. Someone said it before, but it worth saying again. I would never want to paly poker with this man.

[Novacane]

Originally posted by ArcticWildMan
The line on Peerless is total BS. TD will not pay a #2 rcvr 5 mil a season.

It's just TD cranking up the heat on Atlanta.


You read my mind AWM! Thats TD just showing his poker face to the falcons. What a bold face liar he is:punk:

[Schobel94]

TD is an incredible GM. He would never come out and say we want to trade Price, or heaven forbid, need to trade him. He's gonna act as if we not only don't mind him here, but WANT him here, and is shifting the want or need over to the Falcons, who then will feel they would have to up the offer. TD is very sly. Same thing with Hollis and Spikes, he knows what he's doing.

[Typ0]

I still think there is a good chance Price will be in a Bills uniform next season.

[BillC]

I was thinking- we probably should have put the transistion tag on him instead.

If we were going to get stuck with him, we could have been stuck at about 20% less.

If someone made him an offer, we could have not matched it and gotten a #1 pick- then turn around and do the same with Takeo Spikes.

In TD we trust........

[Romes]

With a transition tag there is no compensation. That means that if we had a tranisition tag on Price and another team made him an offer we could not match we would get nothing. Just as if we offer Spikes a contract Cincy cannot match we don't owe them anything.

[Shiny Chicken]

Romes is correct.

[Novacane]

Originally posted by Typ0
I still think there is a good chance Price will be in a Bills uniform next season.



You could be right. Chris Mortenson was on Sports Center last night, He said TD is likely to stick with that demand for a #1 pick because Bledsoe is really lobbying to keep Peerless here.


I still think he's gone next season. I will go on record to say if Peerless is here next season I will donate 1 zonebuck to you Typo:)

[TigerJ]

High Roller :lol:

[WG]

Originally posted by kgun12
On Mike Peterson
quote:
"Mike was here today and we did meet with him. The meeting went well. He has a couple more trips planned and we will be in touch with him. We generally don't get into a lot with players who are on tour and he's currently on tour."

I absolutely love this quote and TD. This man is a cold as Ice. Mike we like ya, but after your little tour and you decide what looks good call me, ok BYBY. Someone said it before, but it worth saying again. I would never want to paly poker with this man.

Ya never know 12, everyone may just call his bluff and then who's gonna be on the short end. This is a game going both ways. Bad outcomes can happen just as well as good ones.

Potentially bad things:

We lose Hollis and can't sign a reliable K
No one bites on our "Price for a #1" offer
Price signs the sheet and as a result our efforts to "fix the D" are severely hampered

Potentially good things:

Price draws interest w/o tying up the FAcy process and valuable cap $
We end up w/ a reliable K
We fill our DT, WLB, and DE needs with solid+ players
We move Price before it costs us much


As far as "playing poker" goes, right now everyone is still holding their cards tight to their vest. So we'll see who starts collecting the pot. Until then, a bluff is only as good as how many people fall for it.

[venis2k1]

Its getting to the point where i would be happy if we could move price for a high 2nd round pick, its still more than we would have had if we just let him walk, but maybe i'm just impatient.

[WG]

No, I don't think you're impatient. I think you're one of the more realistic ones. This foregone assumption that we'll get at least a first rounder is totally baseless. As I've said before, if we hadn't grabbed Bledsoe last year for a first rounder, then no one would have. Ie., he, a proven and storied QB went for a 1st rounder and barely. So why this notion that we're easily gonna get a first rounder for Price?

The only teams IMO that may be interested in doing that would be Philly and Atlanta. Both have strong armed QBs who can throw from the scramble and deliver the downfield ball to Price and make full use of his speed. But as of yet I haven't heard a word about Philly being interested and by the sounds of it, it seems like Atlanta is "playing just as good poker" as TD is! Only they may be serious. So TD may be bluffing w/ junk.

I just don't see the interest for Price the way that many do. If he was gonna come cheap, say he still had 3 or 4 years left on his deal and was reasonably priced, then I suppose he may be worth a first rounder. But there's enough risk there in how well he'll play to not justify a huge salary and a first rounder.

And let's get real, which is worth more in today's NFL, a solid QB or a solid WR?

You're right on in your assessment. I still maintain that if we get a first rounder it'll be early when teams are overspending or it won't happen. That's why I keep saying we need to be prepared to remove the tag if we have the ability to sign some name defenders. Ie., the tag shouldn't "get in our way."

[WG]

Oh yeah, Houston would probably like a WR like Price too w/ Carr's arm. But they have cap issues and need OL-men far worse than they need a WR. So that won't happen.

[kgun12]

"Ya never know 12, everyone may just call his bluff and then who's gonna be on the short end. This is a game going both ways. Bad outcomes can happen just as well as good ones."

Wys you are right it could blow up in our face. That's why I was and still am against tagging PP. I have stood that groung from the first time I heard we did it. TOO many things to fix to worry about losing PP and getting nothing.

My point of the quote is TD is stone cold, when I look at what he did last year with FA and the last 2 drafts, I will trust TD's judgement over either your opinion or MINE.

So lets wait and see how things work out, I bet TD wins!

[WG]

Right. I have no problem with the tag as long as it resolves quickly. If it doesn't, I have lots of reservations about it to understate things.

We should have some indications by Friday how much interest there is in Price. We should keep an eye on Darrell Jackson and Boston too. That will tell us a lot also.

As to TD's judgment, we have no idea what his plan is, but I have no trouble questioning signings like Jenkins and Robinson last year, or Posey this year, which I still think will be the weak link on our team. There's nothing to say that an avid fan can't know more about how good a player is than a GM who hasn't necessarily paid any more attention to that player than the fan(s). GMs only have to go by what they're fed by their scouts and others.

Ie., look at how off TD was about Jenkins and Robinson particularly. He apparently wasn't that on either about Rogers or all the notions that they put up about some of our DL guys "stepping up." So unless that was a line for the fans, he was wrong there too.

Not saying he's not a good GM, but what I am saying is that just on the merits of his being a GM doesn't make him any more knowledgeable about how well a particular player will play for us in Buffalo. Posey for example, I think he maxed out last year. The sun was shining right up his butt as the stars and everything were all aligned in his favor. He had a very good D w/ lots of talent, an offense that kept that D on the field enabling them to run up more stats like tackles, sacks, etc. (not a good thing for the team, but inflating the individual stats nonetheless), and he played in a 3-4. Newman did very well in a 3-4 too. Better than Posey as a matter of fact.

So to expect Posey to be much more than average is very unrealistic. IMO TD's off there too. But time will bear that out as well. He's a good GM, this year will tell if he's a great one. If he does well in this draft with our first pick over 10 picks out from last year's second pick, then I'll be impressed.

Remember how good everyone said Butler was too until the cap bill came due. I remember being on a veritable island talking about the enormous contracts we gave to Fina and Brown (and others) when neither were justified. I was told that Butler was a great GM and knew what he was doing. Yet, when all the cap hell came due, everyone else was griping too. It runs in tandem w/ emotions about the team and wanting to have a good team, which is largely understandable. Nevertheless, true outlooks have to be tempered with reality and a degree of objectivity.

[venis2k1]

Wys, i have several of your points to adress:

1. On your comarison to Price/Bledsoe for a first round pick, there was ALOT of questions swirling around Bledsoe at the time. Trading for him was a big gamble(something alot of GMs dont like to do) If we were to test the market for bledsoe right now, i have no doubt that we could get the bears first round pick at #4, failing that the panthers or the cards.

2. Signing Posey was worth it for the "Pun" value alone: "Pocket full of Posey" :) thats never gonna get old.

3.I think the Jenkins signing isnt as bad as you all think, If given the chance to start, i think he would have done a better job than Wire did. I think that Wire won the job because he has TONS of upsideds (age, competitivness, speed, streanth). But I am sure that Jenkins would have won the starting job if last year was our "Super Bowl or Bust" year.

[WG]

On:

1. I fully agree w/ you. That was my point as well. Bledsoe would fetch a first round pick, but no more. Perhaps a 4th too or something less consequential. But WRs are easier to acquire and far more plentiful than QBs. So the chances of securing a first rounder for a WR go down drastically.

3. We were told that Jenkins was what he wasn't. That was my point there. Whether he could have displaced a rookie is not the question. We were told that he was better than what we had and I quite honestly disagree w/ that. I certainly don't think the case was made that he was by any stretch of the imagination. In hindsight, neither the Robinson or Jenkins signings were good ones. $2M tied up last year. That could have been a better DT. Wire wasn't so good that he was a clear rookie of the year choice or anything. The fact that Jenkins couldn't beat out a rookie didn't say very much for him and IMO just ended his starting career.

[kgun12]

Wys I agree with most of your points above, the one I can't agree with is you saying that:
"Not saying he's not a good GM, but what I am saying is that just on the merits of his being a GM doesn't make him any more knowledgeable about how well a particular player will play for us in Buffalo."

I hope your not saying you can pick players as well as TD. We may think we know football, but TD and any other GM in the NFL has forgotten more about football than we will ever know! Hell TD tape Crumrie to see how he worked the sideline. He see more player tpye than we could ever see. NO he isn't going to hint on ever player, but I garuntee his % kicks our % every time.

[venis2k1]

3: i agree with you mostly on this subject, but we had no idea that we were gonna get wire at the time, or what he would have become. I still think that Jenkins was the best available at the time, as for Robinson, i can defend that, i have no idea what TD was thinking on that one.

[kgun12]

Yea but come on both you guys, everyone was waiting for Robinson to be signed last year. After he signed this board went nuts. I would like to see and could probably count on 1 hand if that many the people against Robinson's signing.

[WG]

I disagree. If you or I had the staff he had, then it'd be reversed. What do you think, he goes to NY for the draft by himself? Why do you think the Bills had GREAT drafts during the Butler and Polian years too? Scouts my man. TD knows a lot about the business of football. But he only personally knows about most players what others on his staff and elsewhere tell him.

Where do you think sites like ESPN, CBSSL, and NFL.com get their info? It's all derived from scouts and talent evaluators of varying persuasions all around the NFL. There's no way on earth that a single GM knows even a fraction of all the players in the NFL on such an indepth level that he can immediately and better than every other person who watches football make a single accurate assessment.

Many other people on this board know other players very well too. Some players that I know and have followed have been Darrell Jackson, Dave Moore, Donovan Darius, and several others. That's why I was all excited about Moore coming to Buffalo last year and why I'm fine w/ him starting this year. I also have watched the Skins at times since I live in their market. So I tend to watch their players some too.

If TD were as good as you say, he'd rarely make errors and yet he made a few last year particularly w/ Robinson. We can dismiss players like Farris whom he thought could overcome injury b/c that's too difficult to see. It's pure guesswork for anyone. But Robinson, Jenkins? Come on, if I could see that they would not amount to much, he should have been able to see it.

The Bills scouting staff just doesn't get the credit they deserve. TD does. Get's much of the credit that they deserve. If you don't think he trusts them implicitly, then I've got a bridge to sell you. He's no fool, that's for sure. But TD's greatest merits are running a team, not scouting talent. That's left for those who do it professionally. I highly doubt that when he sits down and talks w/ the players that he's interviewing, that most or even much of the discussion revolves around the particulars of playing. I'm sure it involves the generals about playing certain positions etc. But most of the time is spent discussing contract, schmoozing, talks w/ the agent, and general warming up. If there are detailed performance issues, I'm sure GW and/or other coaches are involved to discuss those. I don't see TD getting into the weeds like that. Or any good GM for that matter. They defer to those who know the "on-field stuff."

[WG]

Interestingly, I could see a guy like LeBeau getting into something like that from a FO perspective if he ever took a role here.

[venis2k1]

I see your point Wys, but when someone like me Pays TD a compliment, we do it to the whole staff(including scouts). Its the same deal with the President of the United States, There are tons of people under him making decisions, He cant be expected to follow every single thing going on in the entire world, but everybody says that Bush is doing a good/bad job, even though most of his desisions are based on what he is told by his advisors, TD makes Decisions Based on what his scouts tell him. But when you boil it down, all success or failure is on TDs head.

[kgun12]

I disagree Wys, the next itme you hear TD on WNSA call and ask a specific question about a player I bet he could answer it 99 out of a 100. J. Butler could, and so call TD. JB use to have a talk show here in Rochester with Bob Mattews on 1180 am. During the off season when people would call in and ask a question on a palyer JB. would give you the school, ht, wt, 40 time, and favorite food. Don't kid yourself, we can hold their jock straps.
I think you might have been the only one who wasn't happy about Eddie, there is NO WAY to know when a player hits the "WALL"

[venis2k1]

And what is the deal with LeBeau, i though GW said we would know his decision within a week when they met.

[kgun12]

TD said that there is no hurry LeBeau isn't fill a vacancy so it doesn't matter when he comes on board if at all.

[venis2k1]

I would have liked if he joined earlier, I would have liked to have him at the Combine.

[WG]

I knew it. All I did was watch a handful of Titans games. So how come I could see it but TD couldn't? Robinson was SO clearly not the player he used to be two years ago in his last year in Tennessee. His play was based on speed and he just didn't have it. TD's assumptions may have been that that'll change. I don't see what it would have. Age obviously caught up w/ the man.

I hear ya venis, but I guess when people say TD, then I take it as TD. I've always felt that the Bills had the best scouting staff and draft prep team in the biz bar none.

But if you mean that the organization is good, then say that. We all said Butler was a genious, not all actually, I thought he was OK, but when he started giving away money as if he were the government, I really was critical. Yet, everyone raved about how great he was.

Then, when he left, "he sucked." Well, which was it?

"He" had some good drafts too. Some great ones in fact. So did he suck, or was he good?

Same w/ TD. How much of the drafts that we've had have been purely or even mostly executed w/ TD's player knowledge as the driving force? IDK, but I'd venture that he was the minority input as to the specific knowledge about players that we hadn't acquired yet.

If he goes up on radio talking about our players, I still would maintain that if it came to the nuts and bolts of on field performance, ie., how say the linemen specifically play their blocks or otherwise defensively, he'd either defer or just throw out a generic answer.

Like I said, last year's performance was largely based on Bledsoe's signing. I know I'm totally in the minority on this one, so there's no need to discuss it, but I still think Bledsoe's deficiencies are gonna be highlighted this season particularly. Nevertheless, discounting whether or not that happens, last year's FAcy/offseason wasn't anything special outside of getting Drew.

Yeah, we got Williams. GREAT pick. But a no brainer for where we were too. Anyone could have made that. If you remember, I was about Williams and Pearson earlier on, anyone but McKinnie.

This year's draft will tell a much different story. If TD can come out of it w/o a first rounder that is, w/ three players who perform to a starting level eventually, I'll be impressed.

We'll see. It's good to get into deeper discussions on this level though. Much is subjective and good to hash out like this to get multiple views out.

Thanks for engaging me, both of ya.

[WG]

Originally posted by venis2k1
I would have liked if he joined earlier, I would have liked to have him at the Combine.

Agreed. That's one capacity in which he would have been useful.

Perhaps LeBeau doesn't feel like he'd be contributing here in a position that "was created for him." Ie., maybe it's a comfort thing.

[venis2k1]

Originally posted by Wys Guy
I know I'm totally in the minority on this one, so there's no need to discuss it, but I still think Bledsoe's deficiencies are gonna be highlighted this season particularly....Thanks for engaging me, both of ya.

dont be so sure about that one i lived in NE too long to be sold on bledsoe in one season, and thank you, but im hitting the sack.

[WG]

I think we better let that one lie. ;)

G'night. I couldn't figure out if you were up or getting ready to hit the sack. I woke up at 2 as my 20 mo. old son isn't feeling good right now.