the bills will sign.......

**TigerJ** · 02-06-2007, 11:05 PM

Re: the bills will sign.......

Some of that simply confirms what I expected. I think the Bills have telegraphed their feelings about Fletcher-Baker, so that is not surprising in the least. As for some of the other things in your post, they are a little tougher to swallow. Doesn't really matter. They will do what they will do regardless of what I think.

**Tatonka** · 02-06-2007, 11:50 PM

Re: the bills will sign.......

well, i dont know what to think of that..

they are thinking of trading TKO? but then you list the same LB corps we have now?

If they are going for a WR, i would preferr jarrett over ginn.

and they have clearly stated publicly that they will go after OLine help.. i guess maybe free agency?

i guess we will see if your friend is right.

**Night Train** · 02-07-2007, 02:12 AM

Re: the bills will sign.......

He couldn't tell you tomorrows closing of the Dow also ?

Some friend.

**LifetimeBillsFan** · 02-07-2007, 03:43 AM

Re: the bills will sign.......

Originally posted by cablesabres68

I just talked to one of my friends who works at one bills drive in the internet sales department that the bills are going to match any offer given to nate clements to try to keep him here with in reason of course but he said that they are thinkin along the lines of a 12-15 million dollar signing bonus and a contract worth between 67-75 million over 6 yrs. he also told me that fletcher baker is gone for sure they are not going to even try to sign him. he said they will go after lance briggs if he is not franchised. he also told me that if the do not get clements back they are going to try to go after asante samuel. now to the draft he said they are not even looking at a DT or OL in the first round they are looking to take ted ginn jr. or dwayne jarrett. and the last 2 things we talked about were they are thinking of trading TKO or keeping him and going with Spikes-Crowell-ellison unless they get briggs then it would be Spikes-Crowell-Briggs. and lastly they want mcgahee around for a long time and are trying to sign him to a long term deal. you can believe me or not i really don't care i would tell you how he came across the information but i do not want to get him fired.

Believe it or not, this does not shock me. Even though I have been saying that I think that Okoye or Willis are their most likely first choice for some time now, I have always added that there was a possibility that they might go with a play-making WR, if there was one that they really liked. There is a draft philosophy that advocates going after play-makers--guys who can impact the outcome of a game with one play--early in the draft and then filling in around them with role-players at other positions. It's not far from the BPA approach, but is similarly risky for a team with glaring weaknesses that need to be filled. Still, depending on how the Bills rate the quality of the players that are likely to be available at their positions of need, taking a play-maker and then trying to fill their needs later on with players that they deem to be not that much different than the top players at those positions might be the way that they would choose to go in this draft.

I love Jarrett's size and play-making ability, but know that there have been concerns about his speed. Depending on how he runs at The Combine and on his pro day, he could be a very good choice: I remember seeing this incredible play-making WR a few years ago (when ESPN was first starting out and broadcast a lot of smaller college's games because they didn't have contracts with the big conferences) who didn't have a great time at The Combine and fell past the middle of the draft because he was considered too slow and came from a small school--his name was Jerry Rice.

Ginn, Jr. doesn't have Jarrett's size and isn't a great route-runner, but no one can deny his play-making ability and Fairchild's passing offense doesn't require big WRs (the Ram's top WRs under Fairchild weren't very big at all). The only concern that I would have about Ginn, Jr. is his route-running: you would think that a guy who is a top HS coach's son would be better techically than his peers. But, then, there is his speed and play-making ability.... Ginn, Jr. is so fast and would be such a deep-threat that he could stretch any defense and force opposing teams into choosing whether to double him or Evans and open up things for the Bills' other receivers (just image what a threat Parrish would become with Evans and Ginn, Jr. on the outside in a 3-WR set!).

Matching any offer that Clements gets would make sense and is something that I've been hoping that they might try to do. Even though he is not the play-maker that he thinks he is--or that Samuel seems to be--having a shutdown CB like Clements, who can be assigned to any team's top WR, would give the Bills a lot more flexibility in how they play their coverages than going with more zone coverages because they don't have the CBs to go man-to-man with any regularity. Youboty could then start out next season as the nickleback and move up to the # 2 CB spot when ready: which would allow McGee to move into the slot where his size would not be a liability and his quickness would make him more effective. It's a lot of money to tie up in one player, but would eliminate the secondary as a concern for long enough for them to begin to make a serious playoff run. I'm sure that they have a number in mind in terms of how much they are willing to commit for a top CB. I just wonder if part of their agreement to not use the franchise tag on Clements last year was that he would allow them to match any offer that he got if they wanted to do so. If so, that would certainly make it easier to understand why they agreed to add that provision to his contract last year. As far as replacing Clements is concerned, if you are willing to pay top dollar for a shutdown CB, Samuel is really the only logical alternative. Even though Washington has a lot of money tied up in its players, the Redskins still may make an offer to Clements and there has been word here in the NYC area papers that the Jets are likely to go after a top CB as well. Still, after the season that Samuel had, I would have to think that he would be the top free agent target at the position--which just might make it possible for the Bills to match whatever offer Clements gets.

Obviously the Bills' interest in Briggs makes sense and is something that we have all talked about. If they can get him, at worst, they would have a decent LB corps. At best, they could have a great LB corps. That makes it worth taking a run at him. If they don't get him, if they take care of the CB position in free agency, they can still go after a MLB in Round 2 or 3 of the draft, where there should be some pretty decent LBs still left on the board.

With or without Briggs, Takeo Spikes is really a key for the Bills defense next season. He was a shadow of himself this past season, although he did play much better at the very end of the season. If the Bills feel that he will be all the way back from his injury next season, like Julian Peterson, the Bills will be in good shape: if they get Briggs, they will have a terrific LB corps; if not, Ellison should continue to improve and they can draft a LB to ultimately take over from Spikes in a couple of years. If Spikes isn't going to be able to get back to his pre-injury form, though, it could be a real problem. If the Bills get Briggs, they wouldn't be in bad shape with Briggs-Crowell-Spikes/Ellison, even if Spikes can't play "lights out" again. But, if they don't get Briggs, they would have to bring in another LB with play-making potential either through the draft or free agency who could spell Spikes or take over from him. Only Spikes and the Bills MDs know what Spikes' prognosis is, but I'm sure that the Bills are closely monitoring how he is progressing and have some idea whether it looks like he will be physically able to get back to his pre-injury form or not.

I'm not that worried about MLB--even though I have felt that it's likely that the Bills would draft one--if Spikes is healthy enough to return to his pre-injury, play-making form: because Crowell played MLB in college at Virginia (I remember seeing him have an incredibly great game his last year there at MLB) and, if they get Briggs, Briggs filled in at MLB a couple of seasons ago when Urlacher was hurt and was pretty good. Indeed, the opportunity to play MLB in a Tampa 2--something that Briggs said a couple of years ago, after that season, that he would like to do--may be one of the things that might make the Bills attractive enough to Briggs to make him consider leaving the Bears, where he has said that he loves playing next to Urlacher. What does worry me is if the Bills don't get Briggs and Crowell plays MLB and Spikes does not return to form: if the Bills don't have a young stud LB that they are grooming to step in for Spikes, this could be a disaster--I think Wire can be good as a 4th LB and in some defensive packages, but I'd hate to see him as the Bills' # 3 LB.

The idea that the Bills might not be looking at DT or OL in the first round doesn't bother me at all. As I see it, Branch and Okoye are the only DTs worth taking in the first round and it is starting to look like neither one may still be on the board at # 12. As much as I like him and think he will be a star, with Okoye being so light at the Senior Bowl, the only way he would be an immediate help to the Bills this season would be if they could move McCargo to the 1-gap spot--and I'm not sure that they really want to do that. So, if the Bills can't get or don't go with Okoye or Branch at # 12, I don't see any reason for them to use that pick on any of the other DTs in the draft--none of the rest are worth picking that high and the Bills can always get one of them later in the draft. And, the same applies even more to offensive linemen. With Jason Peters, the Bills don't need a premier LT. The RTs, OTs who would do better being moved to OG, and interior linemen in this draft are not worth drafting at # 12. The Bills can pick up one of the best of those players in Round 2 or 3 and even get a pretty good one early in Day 2.

Finally, as for McGahee: I know that he has ticked off a lot of Bills fans with his lackadaisical running style, unwillingness to participate in OTAs, off-field antics and comments in the press. But, Willis has shown flashes of being a top RB at times and the team may feel that the problem is more with the line than with his running style. As for not showing up at OTAs, Willis is no different from a lot of the Miami players (and now some from Florida and FSU) in the NFL who refuse to work out with their teams because they prefer the workout program at "tha U" (you should read what the NYC area media has to say about Shockey doing this!). But there's nothing that NFL teams can do about this and pretty much have little choice but to live with it if they want to have the talents of Miami players on their team--don't like it, but have to live with it. Everyone knows that Willis isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, so what he says is immaterial and his personal irresponsibility doesn't seem to carry over to his work: he has never been arrested, works out hard and is in shape, and has played hurt. Indeed, comments have appeared in more than one source stating that Willis really endeared himself to his teammates this season by playing hurt. Since we really don't know how badly McGahee was injured, it is possible that he was a lot more hurt than we fans ever thought and that his teammates, knowing that, saw his play in a very different light: it's possible that it really was impacting his play and how hard he could run, etc. and the mere fact that he was playing at all was something more than we thought it was. In which case, it would not surprise me if M.Levy and the Bills had a different take on Willis and his ability to be the premier RB that they need him to be. I don't know. That's the kind of thing that only people working for the team would have any real insight into. But I do know, from having been on the inside of situations like that, that this is the kind of thing that can make how a team perceives a given player very different from the fans perceptions of him. And, who knows, maybe that's what's going on with McGahee. If it is, it would make sense that the Bills might be looking to sign Willis to a long-term extension now while his market value is pretty low.

Now, I don't know how much credibility your friend or what he told you have, but I would not entirely dismiss what he said as garbage because there are enough reasons for the Bills to take the approach that he said that they are taking to make what he has said possible and even credible. I don't know. But, I can very easily see them trying to do what he said they want to do.

**SquishDaFish** · 02-07-2007, 05:28 AM

Re: the bills will sign.......

Skooby is this your secret friend too?

**YardRat** · 02-07-2007, 05:46 AM

Re: the bills will sign.......

Time will tell...that's a helluva lot of money to throw at Nate, IMO.

**Luisito23** · 02-07-2007, 05:51 AM

Re: the bills will sign.......

I hope the Nate rumor is false....We don't need to be throwing out crazy cash like that to someone who is slightly above average....Let's get Samuel in here better!!...

GO BILLS!!!!!!!!

**Jan Reimers** · 02-07-2007, 05:56 AM

Re: the bills will sign.......

I'm really only surprised at the Bills wanting McGahee "around for a long time." I think we can do a lot better at RB.

And while I'm not totally sold on taking a WR in the 1st round, it would be kind of exciting to pair Jarrett or Ginn with Evans.

**RedEyE** · 02-07-2007, 06:09 AM

Re: the bills will sign.......

Briggs and Clements? Is that even a financial posibility?

Your friend wasn't just recently premoted from Team Cook, was he?

**Mitchy moo** · 02-07-2007, 06:36 AM

Re: the bills will sign.......

Originally posted by BillsIN05

Skooby is this your secret friend too?

Man, I am afraid to say friend and information on here. If it changes just one little bit you get drilled to -40000 rep and chastised for an enternity. To answer your question, I have a few people around I know and will keep all the info to myself from now on. (for fear of a -80,000 rep).

**kernowboy** · 02-07-2007, 06:43 AM

Re: the bills will sign.......

After Briggs Superbowl game, exactly why do we want him?

I think we will look to manoevre in the draft, and a decent selection in R2 might be Robert Meacham who has Jarrett's size but more importantly speed.

I still think Marv and Dick won't want to rely on TKO coming all the way back - remember he also suffered hamstring problems - and may look to draft his replacement with a top pick. I also think they will be more interested in a SLB rather than a MLB

The rumour about McGahee is false. With the emphasis on character, unless Willis had a personality transplant it would fly in the face of all public announcements.

I do agree about not going for the DL in R1. I think we might get a stop gap in and look to draft in the top 2 rounds next year where there are 7 or 8 decent DTs.

Likewise we may look to resign Clements but not if the money gets mad. The Management will look at Youboty before expending a high pick here I think

We'll draft Anderson if he falls to us. Otherwise I think we will look to trade down for extra picks

**Carlton Bailey** · 02-07-2007, 06:47 AM

Re: the bills will sign.......

Whatever. I'm tired of people whose "friends" are in the know at OBD. I'll believe all this when it materializes. For now, they're just more baseless rumors.

**BAM** · 02-07-2007, 06:52 AM

Re: the bills will sign.......

I'd be down with all of this. Except maybe the WR. We need line help Marv!

**Mitchy moo** · 02-07-2007, 07:10 AM

Re: the bills will sign.......

Originally posted by RedEyE

Briggs and Clements? Is that even a financial posibility?

Your friend wasn't just recently premoted from Team Cook, was he?

Your right Redeye, he likes to grill as you see:

the bills will sign.......

the bills will sign.......

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment