Fletcher was on the radio giving praise.

[HHURRICANE]

Fletcher was asked if the Bills new fiscal policy was going to effect him gettin resigned and he said he didn't think so. His quote was that they "still had plenty of money to sign players."

He said that the Bills were a team on the rise and that he would definately like to stay. He said that implementing new schemes on both sides of the ball was the biggest challenge they had in 2006. He also had really good things to say about Jauron.

I have to say that Fletcher sounds a lot better on the radio than alot of our other players.

[tampabay25690]

Re: Fletcher was on the radio giving praise.

Yea he can actually talk.............And he didnt go to the U

[clumping platelets]

Re: Fletcher was on the radio giving praise.

Fletcher didn't go to the "U"

If he wants to stay, then he needs to greatly lower his demands

[Bert102176]

Re: Fletcher was on the radio giving praise.

I would love to have him back but just don't see it happening and if it doesn't then we need to draft willis

[patmoran2006]

Re: Fletcher was on the radio giving praise.

When I covered the Bills the thing I remember about Fletcher more than anything else, is that when Buffalo lost and played like ****, he was one of the very few players who would still come out, talk to the media and answer all questions. .

When guys like Clements, Ruben Brown or Peerless Price would have a big game, then they'd be looking for the camera's and reporters. But when they tanked, like most of the other players they'd be out the back door. Moulds would stick around, to indirectly blame someone else.

Fletcher was and always has been a stand-up guy for this team.. It wouldn't be just his ability on Sundays but his leadership that would leave a great void should he leave.

Im sure i'm in the minority, especially on this homer-dominated board. But I think Fletcher is one of the most underated players in the NFL regardless of position and if its any way economically feasible, they should bring him back. He still has a solid 3-4 years left in him. I'm also one of the few that think with a better front four he'd be even more productive. Fletcher made plenty of big plays last year, more so than any other player on the unit except for maybe Schobel. Not only that, he's the undisputed leader of the defense, you don't replace that with yet ANOTHER rookie starter.

Use the free agency and draft to fill in spots where the team's biggest weaknesses lie (Guard, DE, 2nd WR)... MLB is far from the weakest spot on this team.

Then again, as most homers do, when a Bills player leaves via FA he was overated and we're better without him anyway.

The good teams in the NFL use free agency and the draft to plug up holes.. Last year and apparently this year as well, Buffalo just lets their better players walk and replaces them with cheap FA and rookies.

its a formula to be a good team, in about 3-4 years. I guess seven years of sucking isn't long enough for this team.

[BillsPride12]

Re: Fletcher was on the radio giving praise.

London was always an emotional player, I always knew he was coming to play because he would come out the tunnel foaming at the mouth. One thing nobody can question is his heart

[HHURRICANE]

Re: Fletcher was on the radio giving praise.

I wish him the best. He was somebody who definately gave 100%. I have a hard time giving a "high motor" 32 year old LB big money. I really think he has one more year of value left and that's it. I think he's still overrated and unless he comes back as a value player I'd be inclined to look elsewhere.

However, he came off in his interview as a class act and said some encouraging things about the Bills future and for that I hope he gets a good deal somewhere.

[Billsrock4life]

Re: Fletcher was on the radio giving praise.

When I covered the Bills the thing I remember about Fletcher more than anything else, is that when Buffalo lost and played like ****, he was one of the very few players who would still come out, talk to the media and answer all questions. .

When guys like Clements, Ruben Brown or Peerless Price would have a big game, then they'd be looking for the camera's and reporters. But when they tanked, like most of the other players they'd be out the back door. Moulds would stick around, to indirectly blame someone else.

Fletcher was and always has been a stand-up guy for this team.. It wouldn't be just his ability on Sundays but his leadership that would leave a great void should he leave.

Im sure i'm in the minority, especially on this homer-dominated board. But I think Fletcher is one of the most underated players in the NFL regardless of position and if its any way economically feasible, they should bring him back. He still has a solid 3-4 years left in him. I'm also one of the few that think with a better front four he'd be even more productive. Fletcher made plenty of big plays last year, more so than any other player on the unit except for maybe Schobel. Not only that, he's the undisputed leader of the defense, you don't replace that with yet ANOTHER rookie starter.

Use the free agency and draft to fill in spots where the team's biggest weaknesses lie (Guard, DE, 2nd WR)... MLB is far from the weakest spot on this team.

Then again, as most homers do, when a Bills player leaves via FA he was overated and we're better without him anyway.

The good teams in the NFL use free agency and the draft to plug up holes.. Last year and apparently this year as well, Buffalo just lets their better players walk and replaces them with cheap FA and rookies.

its a formula to be a good team, in about 3-4 years. I guess seven years of sucking isn't long enough for this team.

i agree that hes underrated.............

[jamesiscool]

Re: Fletcher was on the radio giving praise.

okkkkkk so what if flecth signs a one year deal to work as a mentor for whatever MLB we draft (hopefully willis).

But on the other hand he probably wouldn't be too excited to do that cuz he probably wants a longterm deal where he knows he can start. just an idea if he wants to sign for cheap.....

James

[ParanoidAndroid]

Re: Fletcher was on the radio giving praise.

The nature of the business says Fletch is going to hard pressed to find a multi-year deal at his age. What he should be looking for is a good signing bonus and an optioned contract with incentives. I don't think Buffalo is going to offer him much in terms of a signing bonus.

[Don't Panic]

Re: Fletcher was on the radio giving praise.

Come on guys, Marv has essentially come out and said that we need a more pursuit-type MLB. Fletcher is a great guy and a good player, but he doesn't fit the system. That in essence has already sealed his fate.

[X-Era]

Re: Fletcher was on the radio giving praise.

Fletcher was asked if the Bills new fiscal policy was going to effect him gettin resigned and he said he didn't think so. His quote was that they "still had plenty of money to sign players."

He said that the Bills were a team on the rise and that he would definately like to stay. He said that implementing new schemes on both sides of the ball was the biggest challenge they had in 2006. He also had really good things to say about Jauron.

I have to say that Fletcher sounds a lot better on the radio than alot of our other players.

As long as hes not going to ask for big cash, Id say keep him. However, the Bills could use an upgrade to him in the form of a guy that makes stops behind the line, and a guy that tackles and they go down right away.

He may be nice, but we may need to upgrade too.

[LifetimeBillsFan]

Re: Fletcher was on the radio giving praise.

When I covered the Bills the thing I remember about Fletcher more than anything else, is that when Buffalo lost and played like ****, he was one of the very few players who would still come out, talk to the media and answer all questions. .

When guys like Clements, Ruben Brown or Peerless Price would have a big game, then they'd be looking for the camera's and reporters. But when they tanked, like most of the other players they'd be out the back door. Moulds would stick around, to indirectly blame someone else.

Fletcher was and always has been a stand-up guy for this team.. It wouldn't be just his ability on Sundays but his leadership that would leave a great void should he leave....

You are absolutely right about this Pat. In 2005, when the defense was falling apart, Fletcher-Baker and Kelsay were the only two players on the team who consistently stood up and talked about how the players on the team all needed to stop and look themselves in the mirror and take responsibility for their own poor play. Everyone else seemed to just be interested in pointing fingers at someone else.

In addition, Fletcher-Baker also played a critical role in helping with the development of the Bills rookies on defense. He communicated with and worked out with Whitner and Youboty in Ohio when they were not able to come to the OTAs and had to catch up on things. He also organized the defense and made sure that guys were in the right place on the field, etc. during games. And, he, as well as Spikes, was reported to have taken the lead in addressing the team when they were not playing particularly well in an effort to psych them up emotionally at halftime and before some games.

Because of this, I have to agree that the Bills would be losing a lot of leadership if Fletcher-Baker and Kelsay move on: leadership that will be hard to replace.

But, here is where I part company with Pat. IMHO, you do not over-pay to retain aging players on a rebuilding team who do not fit your team's schemes and, therefore, cannot execute them the way that they should be executed. Unfortunately, Fletcher-Baker is not the kind of attacking LB that the Bills' Tampa 2 scheme requires and, for all of his leadership, his inability to play the scheme the way it needs to be played leaves the team with a major weakness on the field. Given his age and salary requirements, retaining Fletcher-Baker for his leadership would leave the Bills with a significant committment to a player who is a liability in terms of making their defensive system work properly. And, IMHO, that is not something that the team can afford to do for very long if it is going to move forward and be more competitive.

Teams lose players and leaders all of the time and have to find ways to replace them. Other younger players have to step up and not just replace them on the field, but in leadership roles on a team. On good teams with solid character, it happens all of the time. In Fletcher-Baker's case, it won't be easy to do, but someone on the Bills will have to do it. At season's end, Crowell was quoted as saying that the Bills coaching staff had talked with him about taking on more responsibility next season and IMHO this is just a part of what they were talking about with him. I believe that he will try to do just that and only time will tell if he is able to assume the leadership role that F-B had on the team.

The only way that I would want the Bills to retain F-B is if they could get him on a modest, one year contract that would allow them to serve as a mentor to Crowell, Ellison and a rookie LB that they drafted in this year's draft. However, while I feel that T.Spikes is less of a team leader than Fletcher-Baker, I would rather retain him for this year to fill that leadership role, simply because Spikes has more potential to recover from his injury and offer the Bills explosiveness at the OLB position than F-B has to develop into an attacking force at MLB in the Bills' defensive scheme.

While it is true that Fletcher-Baker could probably play better if the Bills had a better set of DTs in from of him, the question is how much better and for how long? At age 32, the Bills can hardly expect F-B to improve much over the next couple of years, even with better support: with age slowing him and the fact that he doesn't fit well in the scheme, one could hardly expect otherwise. With the Bills assembling a young core on defense to build a championship run around, F-B's leadership is hardly reason enough for the Bills to pass up the opportunity to replace him with yet another young defensive player by making the kind of contract committment that it would take to retain his services.

Teams draft and develop players so that, at some point, they will be able to step up and fill important roles on the team. Just because a player does not become a star as a rookie that does not mean that he will not ever be able to do that. The Bills have some young players on their team that they are going to ask to step up and fill key roles on the team this next season. That is critical to their plan to build the team through the draft.

As much as Fletcher-Baker contributed to the team as a leader and as a virtual "tackling machine" over the last several years, he is going to be 32 years old, he is a "pursuit-type" LB playing in a defense that requires "attacking" LBs, and his leadership is going to have to be replaced at some point in the near future anyway. So, why not now? The Bills are in the second year of a three year rebuilding project and not yet ready to make a sustained run at a championship (forget about the playoffs or how long it has been since the Bills were in the playoffs--who cares if they make the playoffs and get beat in the first round every other year--the goal should be making the team good enough to make a sustained run at a title and nothing less!). F-B is not going to be the Bills MLB when they are ready to win a Super Bowl, so why not replace him with a player who will be and who can help them make that run? Keeping him for a year for his leadership would be nice, but even that might hold back the development of the players that the Bills will need to have step up in order to make that run.

[The King]

Re: Fletcher was on the radio giving praise.

Its going to take a 3 year deal to keep Fletch in Orchard Park.

[TigerJ]

Re: Fletcher was on the radio giving praise.

The one objection I have with Fletcher is the knock that he makes most of his tackles chasing ball carriers who've gotten downfield rather than attacking the line like the Tampa 2 requires. If he can't overcome that knock the Bills are always going to be struggling with run defense and giving up first downs on third and short.