If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.
All: The new Billszone site with the updated software is scheduled to be turned on Tuesday, May 21, 2024. The company that built it, Dynascale, estimates a FOUR HOUR shut down, from 8pm Pacific, (5pm Eastern) while they get it up and running. Nobody will be able to post in any forum until they are done. Afterwards, you may need to do a web search for the site, as old links will not work, because the site is getting a new IP address. Please be patient. If there are bugs, we will tackle them one at a time. Remember the goal is to be up and running with no glitches by camp. Doing this now assures us of that, because it gives us all summer to get our ducks in a row. Thank you!
how many GMs have ****ed up their rosters worse than the Buffalo Bills by consistently passing over year-by-year linemen in favor of skill positions?
YOu cant win a championship in this league being weak in the trenches, and due mainly to DOnahoe the Bills are awful weak there. It takes at least 3-4 years minimum to build a winning team through the draft, especially when you lack quality big guys, and that's exactly where the Bills are.
So if the Bills want to accelerate their chances of making a Super Bowl run, they need to go out and spend the money on 3 or so big guys (both sides combined) that can come in here from day one and make the units a lot stronger.
I dont think its a far reach that 2-3 more consecutive mediocre non-playoff seasons in Buffalo is going to do drastic things to attendance, which in turn could even drive this team out of Buffalo.
To answer your question, the last team off the top of my head I can remember that basically "bought" (in your words) a Super Bowl was the Ravens about 6 years ago.
how many GMs have ****ed up their rosters worse than the Buffalo Bills by consistently passing over year-by-year linemen in favor of skill positions?
YOu cant win a championship in this league being weak in the trenches, and due mainly to DOnahoe the Bills are awful weak there. It takes at least 3-4 years minimum to build a winning team through the draft, especially when you lack quality big guys, and that's exactly where the Bills are.
So if the Bills want to accelerate their chances of making a Super Bowl run, they need to go out and spend the money on 3 or so big guys (both sides combined) that can come in here from day one and make the units a lot stronger.
On most of this we agree (finally!). As I (and others like EB) have pointed the Bills spent 3 first day picks on the O-line in the past ten years. That is the basis of their problems today.
Where we disagree is on the fix. The O-line was much improved last year and needs some inside work. The Colts guys are quite possibly good enough and will not be overly expensive.
The DL, needs one or two guys. And that can be addressed in the draft and one FA guy.
List the teams in the Free Agency era that have bought a Super Bowl by heavily pursuing high priced FA's from other teams?
How many teams in the free agency era have won Super Bowls based on the draft and players they cultivated?
there is a happy medium between attempting to buy a SB and doing nothing because of some insane "cash to cap" philosophy.
The fact is this team is improving but still has some serious holes. You can wait a year or two or three to fill those holes in the draft and wait for the players you draft to develop, but you will inevitably lose a few players to age, FA and maybe injury over that time span.
Or, you can pick up a few key FA's to fill those holes NOW and try to win some football games.
Even the vaunted Patriots had to pick up some FA's to fill out their roster (Dillon and Colvin come to mind). You can't buy a SB but you can't do it by draft alone either.
And to further answer your question, Tampa Bay won the Super Bowl in 2002 with a roster LARGELY built on FA.
Their QB (Brad Johnson) was a FA as was their top two WR's (Keyshawn Johnson and Joe Jerevicius). Simeon Rice was a key peice to the defense, and he came to Tampa Bay 2 years prior via FA after being drafed orginially by Arizona. Most interestingly (and just like the Bills should be doing) their OL was built PRIMARILY with FA. Jeff Christy and Lomas Brown were FA acquistions. So as you can see this team had a ton of players not drafted by the organization.
As for Baltimore in 2000, they also had a lot of non-draftees that played huge roles in their Super Bowl win. Their starting QB came via FA (Trent Dilfer) as was their best receiver (Shannon Sharpe). Their nasty defense had three big free agent contributors in Sam Adams, Tony Siragusa and Rod Woodson.
So I hope these facts (not opinions) will go a way towards you making yet another excuse that the Bills can only win the Super Bowl by "building" through the draft. For the best teams, it is and should be a balance of both.
INdy and NE have also won Super Bowls during that span, but its a little easier to build around a team when Manning or Brady are your QB. PIttsburgh was also built mainly through the draft, the one could argue the heart and soul of that team (Betis) came via FA.
I think the moves you make should depend on a couple of things
A) What kind of salary cap shape are you in?
B) Where are your biggest weaknesses? If they are with skill positions (RB, WR, Secondary, LB) then usually you can draft guys who are talented enough to come in and make a difference right away (Whitner, Simpson, etc). If the weakness of your team is in the trenches, then if you build mainly by draft your generally waiting a couple of years for the guys to develop into good NFL players.
The Bills biggest weakness is in the trenches, they have plenty of cap room. If Wilson is willing to spend the money in FA, they can get a lot better in one offseason. If they are going to build the trenches mainly through the draft, then odds say you're looking at least 2-3 years.
I've already answered this question ad naseaum about the past five superbowl winners and runner ups and their KEY FA signings and trades that got them there.
Quickly though.
NE-Dillon and Harrison
Indy-McFarland
Chi-Ogunleye, Jones, Muhammad
Phi-T.O.
Bucs-Rice, Brad Johnson, Keenan McCardell, Keyshawn
Raiders-Gannon, Rice
Rams-Warner, Aeneas Williams
Ravens-Dilfer, Woodson, Adams
All of this players were not drafted by their teams, and all contributed heavily to their sucess in their championship wins or losses.
So I hope these facts (not opinions) will go a way towards you making yet another excuse that the Bills can only win the Super Bowl by "building" through the draft. For the best teams, it is and should be a balance of both.
INdy and NE have also won Super Bowls during that span, but its a little easier to build around a team when Manning or Brady are your QB. PIttsburgh was also built mainly through the draft, the one could argue the heart and soul of that team (Betis) came via FA.
You really should stop twisting what I am saying.
My point of this was that the Bills CAN build a good and competitive team by singing a few key FA's (not necessarily the biggest names either) and drafting well.
I've already answered this question ad naseaum about the past five superbowl winners and runner ups and their KEY FA signings and trades that got them there.
Quickly though.
NE-Dillon and Harrison
Indy-McFarland
Chi-Ogunleye, Jones, Muhammad
Phi-T.O.
Bucs-Rice, Brad Johnson, Keenan McCardell, Keyshawn
Raiders-Gannon, Rice
Rams-Warner, Aeneas Williams
Ravens-Dilfer, Woodson, Adams
All of this players were not drafted by their teams, and all contributed heavily to their sucess in their championship wins or losses.
The question was which Super Bowl teams have won primarily by buying several high priced free agents. One FA here and there isn't going nuts in FA which is what most want the Bills to do. If anything, you just backed up what the Bills want to do. Pick up one or two key free agents and then build with what they already have.
Also, I don't consider trades to be part of this discussion.
And another note. Warner was not a big FA acquisition at all. I don't even know how he could be on that list.
Marv never said they were doing nothing this offseason in terms of free agency.
not per se- what he did say is that we are doing something that puts us at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to attracting FA's. Maybe I exaggerated by saying "doing nothing" but it's not an exaggeration at all to say we won't be as effective as we can be.
At the end of the day, its really a simple formula..
If they go out and sign a top guard AND either bring back Gandy or sign another decent guard.. If they sign a QUALITY LB and they do at least one other thing to improve their front four, they could very well contend.
If they think its going to happen (all this) through the draft, you can forget about contending, at least for 2007, which is pretty sad considering its ****ing february.
If Marv signs 1 legit guy. JUST 1. Not a 2nd stringer, not a guy who was a former 1st but sucked for half a decade and nows hes getting a 2nd chance, not a guy who only played 6 games last year but of those 6 he played 3 really well.
1 legit guy. Thats it. Thats all. This offseason will be a successful one. And with 35 million he has more then enough cash to toss around.
We do that and have a decent draft and we are in good shape, or at least headed that way.
Tweet
Comment