Rhodes to visit Buffalo

[Dr. Lecter]

http://www.nfl.com/nflnetwork/story/10033511

Free agent RB Dominic Rhodes is scheduled to visit Buffalo on Tuesday.

[gggbills]

You beat me to it!!!

[camelcowboy]

SWEET!!!!!!!!!!

[Carlton Bailey]

BOOOOYAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!

I'd take a platoon of he and A-Train in a second, or Dom and a rookie. I love you, Marv!

[hammerbillsfan]

:drool2:

[cordog]

It would be nice if the Bills sign him. If we could get A-Train signed to, that would be a pretty good backfield combo.

[Devin]

lol its Dominick Rhodes. I mean I am happy and everything but uhhh it isnt that big a deal.

[hammerbillsfan]

I know, but I get giddy when anyone visits the Bills.

[gggbills]

It would be nice if the Bills sign him. If we could get A-Train signed to, that would be a pretty good backfield combo.

I say we sign him, and if we don't get something good for Willis....keep him too. Now that would be an interesting 1-2 punch

[raphael120]

Dom Rhodes and Mcgahee would be friggin great. not sold on Rhodes and Thomas...2 back ups rotating? theyre both kinda the same player...

[BILLSROCK1212]

if we sign freakin Rhodes Mcgahee is out and we draft an RB for sure and guess where McGahee is going......NJ wit the Giants for there second rounder most likely

[McBFLO]

Dom Rhodes and Mcgahee would be friggin great. not sold on Rhodes and Thomas...2 back ups rotating? theyre both kinda the same player...
They're definitely not the same player. Rhodes is more of a slasher where Thomas is a pound-between-the-tackles runner.

I don't get why everyone wants Thomas back so badly. The guy is slooooow. He does get some of the tough yards, but I'd rather have Rhodes and a rookie or Willis or another back than Thomas. I hope the Bills go with someone other than him. All for bringing in Rhodes though.

[Crisis]

I've always liked Rhodes a lot.

Hope he gets signed.

[Tatonka]

Dom Rhodes and Mcgahee would be friggin great. not sold on Rhodes and Thomas...2 back ups rotating? theyre both kinda the same player...

i agree with this completely.. i am NOT excited about rhodes and atrain at all.. although i should be able to run behind our all the sudden massive 150 million dollar line.

still though.. keeping mcgahee and signing rhodes would make me happy, or doing just what the colts did last season.. signing rhodes and getting a rookie would also be ok to me.

[Tatonka]

They're definitely not the same player. Rhodes is more of a slasher where Thomas is a pound-between-the-tackles runner.

I don't get why everyone wants Thomas back so badly. The guy is slooooow. He does get some of the tough yards, but I'd rather have Rhodes and a rookie or Willis or another back than Thomas. I hope the Bills go with someone other than him. All for bringing in Rhodes though.


i know they are not the same player.. but they are both clearly back ups in my mind.. in that sense, they are the same.

[Ebenezer]

before they were to sign Rhodes they would have to trade WM.

[ZacGriffi~82]

What attracts the Bills to him IMO, is his receiving ability.

[camelcowboy]

before they were to sign Rhodes they would have to trade WM.

Not really, signing Rhodes could be the bills pressing the giants to trade for willis, It gives the bills a big chip to play against willis and any team looking for a running back. I can also see a rhodes signing being a precursor for a wm trade.

[Ebenezer]

Not really, signing Rhodes could be the bills pressing the giants to trade for willis, It gives the bills a big chip to play against willis and any team looking for a running back. I can also see a rhodes signing being a precursor for a wm trade.
or puts them behind the 8-ball as a forced seller...

[camelcowboy]

or puts them behind the 8-ball as a forced seller...

I don't agree, WM has no power if the bills sign rhodes. Willis wants to hold out keep his ass on the bench for the rest of the year. WM needs to play this year and everyone knows it.

[Ebenezer]

I don't agree, WM has no power if the bills sign rhodes. Willis wants to hold out keep his ass on the bench for the rest of the year. WM needs to play this year and everyone knows it.
yes...WM would have no power, no disagreement...but if you have a surplus at a position why would I give you something great in return for extra baggage??

[camelcowboy]

yes...WM would have no power, no disagreement...but if you have a surplus at a position why would I give you something great in return for extra baggage??

Why would a team who needs a back feel they shouldn't have to pay as much because you have a extra back? Two running backs and shad williams could hardly be called a surplus. Rhodes gives the bills more flexibity.

[Tatonka]

eb, do you think that rhoades is a good starter and a 20 plus carry back?

[Ebenezer]

I think he can be the 3rd down back (he has good hands) to A-train - who has shown that he can run for 1000 yards. I don't think Rhodes can be "the guy" to depend on as an every down/starter.

[Philagape]

I'd be content with a backfield of Rhodes and A-train ... IF dumping Willis allows us to make a dramatic upgrade somewhere else

[Bert102176]

I don't thing Rhodes is that great

[Night Train]

Reality check. Up until the SB game, Rhodes hadn't rushed for 100 yards in a game for 5 1/2 years. Plus he just got a DWI last month.

He's not a front line guy and the Bills should still Draft someone or find another vet RB. I wouldn't offer him much, if anything. He may only be A-Trains' replacement.

[YardRat]

I don't think he'll stay very long.

[Jan Reimers]

Rhodes is a nice backup. So is A-Train. The two of them in tandem will not give us a good enough running attack. We still need a feature guy, be it Willis - who I'd still like to see traded - or someone else.

[Earthquake Enyart]

Rhodes would be a nice guy to have around if we draft a RB to share the load.

[The King]

I love this. I think Rhodes is the kind of back we need in Buffalo a down hill runner. He is still young in his career, I would love to see him sign.

[X-Era]

http://www.nfl.com/nflnetwork/story/10033511

Free agent RB Dominic Rhodes is scheduled to visit Buffalo on Tuesday.

How is this a character player?

Furthermore, hes been a backup his whole life. Maybe hes going to replace A-train because we dont think we will be able to sign him.

He can play, I love the way he runs, hes just not a starter.

One thing is for certain, we appear to be addressing run and stop the run. Its just the stop the run part that we arent attacking yet.

[ZacGriffi~82]

Yep, one DUI and he's a douchebag for life.

Have you ever heard one of his interviews? He was on NFL Live after he won the Super Bowl and he was articulate and downright likeable.

Reasons to be excited:
-He's the receiving threat that Willis isn't.
-He can carry the ball 15 times a game.
-He knows what it takes to win a Super Bowl (Who on this roster can say that?)
-Can you imagine a Rhodes + Leonard backfield?

[DMBcrew36]

or puts them behind the 8-ball as a forced seller...

yep... the Bills will lose all leverage in trading McGahee because teams will know the Bills definitely won't keep him now

[DraftBoy]

I love the idea of this guy coming in here. Ive never been a big fan of Atrain and this guy has only had one year where he didnt heavily split the carried and that was in 01 where he ran for 1104 in 10 games started. He can be a good addittion and I think its the end of Atrain in Buffalo. We will likely sign a vet Atrain or Rhodes and draft a rook.

[JoeMama]

I'd prefer we don't sign Dominic Rhodes.

He had 3.4 yards per carry last season.

Plus, he's only 202 lbs.

That's like us going back in time and re-signing Lennox Gordon from our 1999 roster. He was 201 lbs and averaged 3.5 yards per carry.

No thanks.

[TigerJ]

If Rhodes is coming to Buffalo, it is not going to be to replace A-train. Buffalo will not retain McGahee whether he has more talent than A-train or not. It's a character issue. I don't mean the paternity thing. I mean McGahee's unwillingness to learn the friggin playbook. If Buffalo wants to get the best deal it can for McGahee, they might want to get the trade done before they sign McGahee though.

I don't think Rhodes has the talent McGahee does. I would view him as more of a stopgap replacement untill Buffalo can snag a big time running back. It would take the pressure off having to draft a guy in the first couple rounds of the draft to be a marquee type player. The upcoming draft has a lot of depth at running back, but not many future stars IMO. I think the 2008 draft is sick with running back talent, starting with McFadden out of Arkansas who is better than Peterson and Lynch on his worst day.

[DraftBoy]

I'd prefer we don't sign Dominic Rhodes.

He had 3.4 yards per carry last season.

Plus, he's only 202 lbs.

That's like us going back in time and re-signing Lennox Gordon from our 1999 roster. He was 201 lbs and averaged 3.5 yards per carry.

No thanks.

He also split his carries and only had 187 which ranks him last in the NFL for carries amongst 16 game starters. So I dont think its fair to judge him on his 3.4 when he's splitting most of his time with Addai.

he also led all post season running backs in yards with 306 and a 4.9 ypc

[Talk0fNewYork]

Look at his rookie season where he started 10 games (Edge was injured)

Rushing
233 Attempts
1104 Yards
4.7 Average
77 Long
9 TD's

Recieving
34 Receptions
224 Yards
6.6 Average
19 Long

That's more than Mcgahee did in 14 games! And Rhodes was a ROOKIE! This guy can start, there is no doubt in my mind.

[realdealryan]

He's iffy. The 3.4 ypc definitely reflects the first quarter of Colts games. He always started this year, then once the game started flowing, he was pulled out. Then he would occasionally spell Addai. So that could be a misleading stat. Rhodes was effective back when Edgerrin got injured and he was getting all of the carries for most of a year, but that was 5 years ago. So....it's kind of a crapshoot. But maybe this is crapshoot money, too. Wait a week, let him realize he is not going to get Ahman Green money, then sign him. He hits the hole better than Willis, at least.

[Philagape]

Technically, Rhodes was Indy's starter for all of this past season.

[patmoran2006]

I would like this move a lot.. as I think it would give Buffalo good flexibility.

* He's good enough to at least be a platoon back.
* It gives us otherr options with Willis and hopefully won't make Marv pull a trigger on something that doesnt benefit Buffalo.
* He could start this year, and become a backup down the line if we draft a RB early this year or next (if we signed him, I'd almost guarentee it would be next)

This wouldnt be a high profile signing, but I think it would be effective. The only problem i see is that he's probably going to want a bigger contract than Marv would like, based on his post season performance.

[Talk0fNewYork]

I would like this move a lot..

We gotta sign him now!

[Philagape]

It also doesn't hurt that he'll have just won a ring. Nice experience to have.

[patmoran2006]

It also doesn't hurt that he'll have just won a ring. Nice experience to have.
that's a real good point, because this team has little or no players with post-season experience, let alone Super Bowl rings.

To be a winner, you have to have a winner's mentality in the locker room.

[Talk0fNewYork]

a winner's mentality in the locker room.
Good thing we're getting rid of McGahee

[DraftBoy]

Technically, Rhodes was Indy's starter for all of this past season.


But had less carries than Addai overall

[Mr. Miyagi]

Remember Rhodes wants starter money. Not sure if he's worth that.

With that said I'd love to see him and McGahee push each other. That backfield would be even better than Addai and Rhodes in Indy. :drool:

[patmoran2006]

The only pushing for Willis that signing Rhodes will accomplish is pushing him further out the door.

There is NO WAY we have both Rhodes and Willis on this team this year.. Willis is going into a contract year and will start all kinds of **** if we bring an upgrade in.

So in my opinion, signing Rhodes means Willis is gone for SURE

[Mr. Pink]

If Rhodes is signed it means one of two things....

1. Willis surely is being traded
2. A-train isn't coming back

Of course, it could mean both.

[Mr. Miyagi]

I don't want Rhodes as our every down back though. Don't know if he could be that. We gotta keep Willis or at least sign another back to rotate with Rhodes. A-Train would be fine.

[Philagape]

But had less carries than Addai overall

Which is why we shouldn't get hung up on whether he's capable of being a "starter." The committee approach worked OK for the Colts.

[Mr. Miyagi]

What's Jamal Lewis' asking price? I would not mind at all with Lewis and Rhodes rotating our backfield. :drool::drool:

[mybills]

I'll take Rhodes!

I didn't see this mentioned..
He's not injury prone. :D

[DraftBoy]

Which is why we shouldn't get hung up on whether he's capable of being a "starter." The committee approach worked OK for the Colts.

I do think he's more than capable when given the every down reins he ran for over 1100 yards, and avg over 4.0 ypc. Thats a hell of a way to be a starter.

[Mr. Pink]

I'd like to see Rhodes added...McGahee traded for a 3rd...A-Train allowed to re-sign elsewhere and then draft a RB in round 2. Michael Bush would be an excellent addition in that round, provided he's healthy from his injuries.

Rhodes already knows how to split time with a rookie back and wouldn't be upset with splitting carries. It would keep chemistry at a nice level and wouldn't give any distractions.

Like the distractions Mr. Illiterate doing Dirty Magazine interviews provides lol

Addai-Rhodes was a nice 1-2 punch in Indy and I think Rhodes-Bush would work out very nicely here in Buffalo.

[RockStar36]

How do you know that Rhodes didn't mind splitting the carries?

[Mr. Pink]

Did you ever hear anything to the contrary?

And Rhodes besides his rookie campaign has always split carries in his career. He didn't complain about Edge nor Addai publicly. Nor did any info leak out that he complained privately.

[RockStar36]

True, but just because he didn't complain to the media didn't mean he wasn't to pleased with splitting carries. Why wouldn't he just sign with Indy again in that case?

[Mr. Miyagi]

Did you ever hear anything to the contrary?

And Rhodes besides his rookie campaign has always split carries in his career. He didn't complain about Edge nor Addai publicly. Nor did any info leak out that he complained privately.
Actually he did say that he liked being a change-of-pace back.

[ShadowHawk7]

I'm not really excited about this. I'd rather just keep McGahee than trade him and sign Rhodes. Even trading for Turner would be a better option than this.

[realdealryan]

He was very open on Rome about wanting to test the waters to find a place where he can be "the guy".

[GarnOFreak]

you know what no one has mentioned yet? What about Deuce McAllister? Saints are going to want Bush to start getting more carries and be their featured back. Why not see if we can pry him away from them? He's had over a full year to heal and was pretty good last year for them. He was a top 5 back in the past, and if our OL does get better like we hope it will, it would be a perfect match. I think everyone has only been looking at either FA or draft for RBs....keep in mind Marv and Co are probably checking out other teams who have 2 backs of starting ability to see what they would charge in a trade.

[DraftBoy]

I think we should sign him as "the guy" and draft a Day 2 rookie like an Eldra Buckley, or Ramonce Taylor. If he doesnt work out its a very good RB class next year.

[Mr. Miyagi]

you know what no one has mentioned yet? What about Deuce McAllister? Saints are going to want Bush to start getting more carries and be their featured back. Why not see if we can pry him away from them? He's had over a full year to heal and was pretty good last year for them. He was a top 5 back in the past, and if our OL does get better like we hope it will, it would be a perfect match. I think everyone has only been looking at either FA or draft for RBs....keep in mind Marv and Co are probably checking out other teams who have 2 backs of starting ability to see what they would charge in a trade.
Teams are going more to 2 back rotation sets. New Orleans has the perfect combo right now. They won't want to change that.

[bigbub2352]

reagradless if he is signed or not we need to go RB on the first day and get some potential in our backfeild, maybe a UDFA too, plus we need to fill FB as well

[RockStar36]

Did you ever hear anything to the contrary?

And Rhodes besides his rookie campaign has always split carries in his career. He didn't complain about Edge nor Addai publicly. Nor did any info leak out that he complained privately.

Funny you mention it.



Rhodes, who shined in Indianapolis' Super Bowl XLI victory over Chicago with a game-high 113 yards and a touchdown, has already visited with the New York Giants.
Buffalo has a vacancy at running back with veteran Anthony Thomashttp://www.buffalobills.com/images/relatedicon.gif (http://www.buffalobills.com/news/news.jsp?news_id=4651#) an unrestricted free agent. Rhodes did express a desire to be a starting running back at the conclusion of the Super Bowl.

[BAM]

Can't say I blame him for wanting the chance though.

[Billsrock4life]

i've always liked rhodes.......if we can get him 4 a reasonable price then im all fot it, its a win win situation for us, if we trade mcgahee then rhodes can start and thomas can back him up, if we keep mcgahee then we have rhodes as a change of pace back and whenever mcgahee needs a break

[blackonyx89]

GIT R DUN!