possible replacements if clements leaves

[more cowbell]

Brian Kelly - Tampa Bay (TB signed Phillip Buchannon and is most likely to cut him due to his large cap figure...has played in the cover 2 for many years)

Nick Harper - Indianapolis (Another player with cover 2 experience who more than likely wont be resigned...im pretty sure hes a FA can anyone confrim?)

David Macklin - Arizona (most likely wont be too expensive, smart veteran who played in the cover 2 in indianapolis)

Charles Tillman - Chicago (once again im pretty sure hes a FA, he was drafted by jauron and has played in the cover 2, a very expereiced young corner)


hey dont rip on me just throwin some names out there

[Mahdi]

I dont think Tillman is FA. But Harper wouldnt be a bad addition.

[OpIv37]

I think Ricky Manning is the FA CB from Chicago- I'd like to have him.

Asante Samuel is out there but he doesn't have Cover 2 experience and probably won't be much cheaper than Clements.

None of those guys are spectacular but they're all better replacements for Clements than anyone currently on our roster. I'd like to see Youboty take his lumps at nickel before we have to put him in a starting role. He's completely unproven at this point.

[Mahdi]

I think Ricky Manning is the FA CB from Chicago- I'd like to have him.

Asante Samuel is out there but he doesn't have Cover 2 experience and probably won't be much cheaper than Clements.

None of those guys are spectacular but they're all better replacements for Clements than anyone currently on our roster. I'd like to see Youboty take his lumps at nickel before we have to put him in a starting role. He's completely unproven at this point.
So is Ricky Manning an FA? im seeing that he is on one site,,,, but not on others...

[ParanoidAndroid]

It appears that he was just signed away from Chicago. I'm not sure of the length of the contract, but I can't imagine it was for only one year given his talent and youth.
I was fooled by the same site that listed him.
Apparently, he's not a very nice person either.
On April 23 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_23), 2006 Ricky Manning, Jr. attacked a man, Soroush Sabzi [1] (http://www.dailybruin.ucla.edu/news/articles.asp?id=37279), in a Denny's restaurant after teasing him for working on a laptop computer.[2] (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2419713) He was charged with assault with a deadly weapon after allegedly fighting a man and eventually pled no contest to felony assault. Manning faced up to four years in prison because of a previous assault charge in 2002, for which he received probation.
According to the police report, Manning and former UCLA teammates, Tyler Ebell and Maurice Jones-Drew (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Jones-Drew) bullied a student sitting at another table. Manning confronted the student with "Are you a f****t?", "You *******ing Jew," and then called him "an ugly *******ing Jew" and a "f****t." The student asked to be left alone and the football players beat him unconscious.

[Carlton Bailey]

It appears that he was just signed away from Chicago. I'm not sure of the length of the contract, but I can't imagine it was for only one year given his talent and youth.
I was fooled by the same site that listed him.
Apparently, he's not a very nice person either.
On April 23 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_23), 2006 Ricky Manning, Jr. attacked a man, Soroush Sabzi [1] (http://www.dailybruin.ucla.edu/news/articles.asp?id=37279), in a Denny's restaurant after teasing him for working on a laptop computer.[2] (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2419713) He was charged with assault with a deadly weapon after allegedly fighting a man and eventually pled no contest to felony assault. Manning faced up to four years in prison because of a previous assault charge in 2002, for which he received probation.
According to the police report, Manning and former UCLA teammates, Tyler Ebell and Maurice Jones-Drew (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Jones-Drew) bullied a student sitting at another table. Manning confronted the student with "Are you a f****t?", "You *******ing Jew," and then called him "an ugly *******ing Jew" and a "f****t." The student asked to be left alone and the football players beat him unconscious.

You beat me to posting this.

No way Marv Levy, a Jewish person, will sign an anti-Semite.

[Saratoga Slim]

I'd like to see Youboty take his lumps at nickel before we have to put him in a starting role. He's completely unproven at this point.

ding ding ding. Youboty may be a great player. But I just can't see naming him as Clements' replacement at this point. He has like 1 game of NFL experience. I've got to think that if he was really showing skills in practice he'd have been dressing for a few more games.

I'm fine with listing him as the nickel back, but very uncomfortable making him an every down cover guy. It'd be different if McGee was leaving and we still had Clements. One very solid corner (Clements) and one unproven one (Youboty) is liveable. But one average CB (McGee) and one unproven one (Youboty) would be scary.

[B-DON]

As long as we dont keep K.Thomas i will be happy which ever way we go. I cant find one reason people on this board think he is even decent. I never even noticed him on the field, ever! Someone please explain why some are high on him

[Mahdi]

As long as we dont keep K.Thomas i will be happy which ever way we go. I cant find one reason people on this board think he is even decent. I never even noticed him on the field, ever! Someone please explain why some are high on him
K. Thomas was actually a very good corner in the slot for us this year and was one of the reasons we had such good pass D. He should be re-signed.

[B-DON]

i honestly dont think our cbs played well at all with the excepyion of clements. thomas never stoodout. i know third corners dont standout every game but i cant think of one play the guy made all year

[Mahdi]

i honestly dont think our cbs played well at all with the excepyion of clements. thomas never stoodout. i know third corners dont standout every game but i cant think of one play the guy made all year
Well thats because he usually had good coverage. So no plays to be made.

[Kerr]

I like Brian Kelly of the bunch. I also think Tory James of the Bengals wouldn't do so bad in the cover 2.

[BILLSROCK1212]

i like all of those guys except Nick Harper

[B-DON]

Well thats because he usually had good coverage. So no plays to be made.

not good enough to get many if any picks. great coverage though.

[texasphinsfan]

I think Ricky Manning is the FA CB from Chicago- I'd like to have him.

Asante Samuel is out there but he doesn't have Cover 2 experience and probably won't be much cheaper than Clements.

None of those guys are spectacular but they're all better replacements for Clements than anyone currently on our roster. I'd like to see Youboty take his lumps at nickel before we have to put him in a starting role. He's completely unproven at this point.

i said this in the other thread, but i'll re-iterate it here.

Samuel will cost more than Clements... he just had a career year and led the league in INTs, plus had those HUGE and visible plays in the playoffs.. IMO he costs more than Clements. so count him out

Manning Jr. is a limited-production guy. he isn't an every-down player... just in nickel situations (or is it dime? correct me if i'm wrong), not to mention he is not as skilled as Clements, worse on run defense, and has a criminal record (tendencies?).

i'd rather have Clements over Manning, and Samuel will cost more..... is my point i'm trying to make here.

[Ickybaluky]

Asante Samuel is out there but he doesn't have Cover 2 experience and probably won't be much cheaper than Clements.

Samuel would be a great fit in a Tampa-2. The Pats play a lot of Cover-2 (they mix their coverages, but they probably play more Cover-2/zone under than anything), as well as Cover-3. Samuel, though not big, tackles well and willingly. He has great short area quickness and anticipation on routes. If there is one thing he lacks, it is straight-line speed. I could consider him a better zone than man defender. He is a very good athlete and would be a great fit in the Bills defense.

He will cost a lot of money since he is coming off a big year and is so young, and there is a pretty good chance the Patriots franchise him if he doesn't sign before the start of free agency.

[camelcowboy]

As long as we dont keep K.Thomas i will be happy which ever way we go. I cant find one reason people on this board think he is even decent. I never even noticed him on the field, ever! Someone please explain why some are high on him

Just the fact he wasn't noticable is a testament that he didn't do a half bad job.

[Tatonka]

i personally think K. Thomas sucks too. maybe sucks is harsh.. but i dont care one bit if he leaves. i didnt really like him.

[patmoran2006]

Samuel would be a great fit in a Tampa-2. The Pats play a lot of Cover-2 (they mix their coverages, but they probably play more Cover-2/zone under than anything), as well as Cover-3. Samuel, though not big, tackles well and willingly. He has great short area quickness and anticipation on routes. If there is one thing he lacks, it is straight-line speed. I could consider him a better zone than man defender. He is a very good athlete and would be a great fit in the Bills defense.

He will cost a lot of money since he is coming off a big year and is so young, and there is a pretty good chance the Patriots franchise him if he doesn't sign before the start of free agency.
I cant see NE not franchising him.

[ShadowHawk7]

I'm likely either Macklin or Harper for Youboty insurance.

[LifetimeBillsFan]

I like Harper and think he might be a realistic choice. Kelly, too--I actually like Kelly a bit better. I'm not big on Macklin, though: isn't he a little on the small side? With McGee on one side, the Bills need to have a corner with decent size opposite him.

I totally agree with texasphinfan about Samuel being too expensive. I'd love to see the Bills get him, but, with all of the interceptions and big plays that he has made, especially this season, I can see him commanding more money than Clements. Also, Samuel reportedly has a tattoo that says "Get Paid"--if so, you have to know that this is not going to be a guy who is going to settle for anything less than the max that he can get.

As far as Youboty is concerned: The Bills drafted the guy as a possible replacement for Clements. While he did slip on draft day, he was physically talented enough to have been highly rated going into the draft. By the start of next season he will have had a full year of practice, a full training camp and 3 games of getting his feet wet in the NFL under his belt--which is more than any rookie that they might draft will have. All he will lack is a full year of experience. A first day draft choice is expected to be able to start within his first couple of years: Youboty has the talent, the only question is whether he is ready mentally and technique-wise to start.

Now, I don't know if Youboty is ready to start--none of us does because we do not see him in meetings or in practice every day the way the coaches do. I'm sure that the Bills coaching staff already has some inkling of whether Youboty is progressing and will continue to progress enough to be ready to take over the starting job from Clements. And, I'm pretty sure that they also have an idea of what they would like to do if they think he is or isn't. As a matter of fact, I think that that is probably one of the main discussions that they are having, have had or will soon have--because Youboty is a key to what the Bills are going to be able to do in free agency as well as in the draft.

Thomas is a key, too, because the Bills were able to put Thomas on the outside in the nickle-package against bigger receivers and move McGee inside against the smaller slot receivers where he was at less of a disadvantage. Re-signing Thomas would give the Bills insurance in case Youboty isn't ready to step up at the beginning of the season, but looks like he will be able to in mid-season or if he does take over the starting job and, then at some point, struggles (as a first year starter might). Having him would also allow the Bills to employ the same switch that they used with McGee in their nickle-package. If the Bills can't re-sign Thomas, they are going to have to sign a free agent to replace him and that could cost more than re-signing him--which would be money they could not use elsewhere.

If the Bills feel that Youboty is ready to start and they can re-sign Thomas, they can opt to sign a cheap vet FA CB for depth, or they can draft a CB in the middle rounds of a draft that is pretty deep at the position to develop as a replacement for Thomas or to even compete with Youboty or McGee in a year. If Youboty isn't ready and the Bills can't sign Thomas, the Bills will either have to pay a lot more for a veteran FA CB who can take over as their # 1 CB--which will greatly limit what they will be able to do at other positions in free agency--or, if there is one still available, they will have to use their first round draft pick on a CB who is more ready to start in the NFL than Youboty (in which case, Youboty replaces Thomas as the nickle CB or Greer moves up to that spot). If they sign a CB to be their # 1 CB, they will still probably have to draft a CB in the middle rounds for depth. If they use their top draft choice on a CB, they will either have to draft another CB later on or sign a cheap free agent. In either event, that will have an impact on what they are able to elsewhere.

It's nice to talk about what free agents the Bills should sign and it would be ideal if Youboty could get a year of experience at the nickle-back before stepping into the starting lineup, but, realistically, the best thing for the Bills would be for Youboty to be ready to step into the starting lineup, despite his lack of substantial experience, and for the Bills to be able to re-sign Thomas. The Bills have already indicated that they want to re-sign Thomas and I think that they will certainly try to do so, but, with him talking about wanting to play closer to his family, I think that it's going to be up to him whether he comes back or not and that will be a personal decision. That decision and Youboty's readiness to step up and start will, IMHO, have a tremendous impact on what the Bills are able to do and will do this off-season. (Personally, I think that they would rather give Youboty a chance to start than use their # 12 pick on a CB or tie up so much money in a vet FA CB that it prevents them from addressing their needs at MLB, DE, the interior offensive line and for a 1-gap DT. At some point, Youboty is going to have to show what he can do, so he might as well start now.)

[jamze132]

I think Ricky Manning is the FA CB from Chicago- I'd like to have him.

Asante Samuel is out there but he doesn't have Cover 2 experience and probably won't be much cheaper than Clements.

None of those guys are spectacular but they're all better replacements for Clements than anyone currently on our roster. I'd like to see Youboty take his lumps at nickel before we have to put him in a starting role. He's completely unproven at this point.
Nate Clements didn't have cover 2 experience before this year either so I don't think it's imperative that we bring in someone with experience with our scheme. I think if someone has enough talent, they can make it in the cover 2 system, especially a CB.

But given two guys are are comparible in their play and stats, I would go with the guy with the cover 2 experience if for no other reason than he already knows the system.

I agree with you completely about Youboty playing in the nickle before he is left by himself on the outside.

[jamze132]

I think that Youboty will be a stud one day and who knows, maybe they will throw him to the wolves this year like Dante and Ko. Maybe he will turn into our Asante. Seriously, who thought Samuels would have success he is having now?

[LifetimeBillsFan]

The Pats threw Samuel and Eugene Wilson into their starting lineup as rookies and Ellis Hobbs, too. Oakland started Asumogha and Fabian Washington a couple of years ago as rookies as well. Youboty will have more experience and practice under his belt than any of those players by the start of next season.

[Billsrock4life]

I was watching Tillman play the other day agaisnt the Saints and hes pretty good, i wouldn't mind having him.

[Kerr]

I was watching Tillman play the other day agaisnt the Saints and hes pretty good, i wouldn't mind having him.

If he in fact is a FA in the offseason, I wouldn't mind him either. In fact, he'd probably be the ideal replacement since he knows the system and is over six feet.