Who should receive a big raise?

[NC-BILLS44]

http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/story/10028995

Someone is going to make a bundle in this year's free-agency, and here's hoping it's someone like London Fletcher.

[G. Host]

Ignore the attempt to print. Displaying this in this format makes it easier to read and you get entire story on one page.
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Fletcher shouldn't take significantly less from anyone. The guy can play, and, yeah, I know he turns 32 in May and has a body that absorbed nine years of punishment. But look what he did last season. He had 157 tackles. He led all linebackers with four interceptions. He scored twice, one of only seven defensive players with that on his resume. But here's what I like most: He never missed a game. I mention that because he never missed a game in nine NFL seasons.


I like Fletcher. I agree he'd be an asset to a team who needs one more building block but the Bills need more than one and Fletcher is not it. If he is re-signed I will not have a fit calling those who agreee with signing Homers and acting like a moron calling front office stupid but will assume they know more than I do. Heck I was even willing to give Rob Johnson, Willis McGahee and JP Losman a chance even though the Bills IMO gave up too much for them.

[Earthquake Enyart]

157 tackles, zero for a loss, 150 of them after a 7 yard gain or more. No thanks.

[gil]

London is a good player and a good guy, but something needs to change up the middle of our defense, and it looks like the front office in their eternal wisdom believes that change doesn't need to come on the d-line, so London goes.

If we're in mid-season and wishing he was here making tackles 3-10 yds down the field, man will we be in trouble.

[raphael120]

London would be a great fit where the teams only hole is a dependable MLB...we have too many holes to worry about an aging above average MLB

[Jan Reimers]

While I like Fletcher, we're never going to get significantly better against the run with him at MLB. The media experts can quote all the statistics they want.

[Jersey1031]

157 tackles, zero for a loss, 150 of them after a 7 yard gain or more. No thanks.


But that's his role in the Tampa 2 at MLB.

[Jersey1031]

157 tackles, zero for a loss, 150 of them after a 7 yard gain or more. No thanks.




1. The front four must be able to rush the quarterback, because that allows the linebackers freedom. "If you get four men who can rush the passer, you can play Cover Two, Tampa Two, all day," says Jack Ham, Pittsburgh's Hall of Fame outside linebacker. "But you can't play it without a pass rush. It's a zone defense, and there are lots of holes if the quarterback can sit back and wait." The Steelers applied the rush with Joe Greene and L.C. Greenwood, the Buccaneers with Warren Sapp and Simeon Rice; the Bears are doing it with Tommie Harris, Alex Brown and a deep posse of solid defensive linemen. (Here Carroll adds, "Any defense works a lot better when you pressure the quarterback.")

2. The middle linebacker must be able and willing to drop deep into coverage, filling the crossing zone between the safeties and leaving the glamour plays to the outside linebackers or the nickelback. "My primary purpose in that defense," says Urlacher, "is to run back to the huddle and congratulate somebody for making a play while I was running down the field with the tight end."

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/preview/siexclusive/2006/pr/subs/siexclusive/11/21/nfl.two.defense1127/?url=http%253A%252F%252Fpremium.si.cnn.com%252Fpr%252Fsubs2%252Fsiexclusive%252F2006%252Fpr%252Fsubs%252Fsiexclusive%252F11%252F21%252Fnfl.two.defense1127%252F



Yea, so pretty much an inaccurate statement and statistic... Learn your own team's defense before you just throw a player away for doing his job.