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This isn't strictly about Dockery, but here's some interesting tidbits:
I'm posting this, not because I'm trying to bring about something that seems "anti-Bills" (other teams/players are mentioned) but Attner brings up some very good points in the article that makes it worth the read.
::EDIT:: I forgot the link----Big Men/Big Money
Dockery's seven-year, $49 million deal was the most lucrative in Bills history. That must make Jim Kelly and Thurman Thomas feel great. And imagine how the few really good Buffalo players will respond when their contracts come up for renewal.
What we're seeing is the result of too many clubs' having lots of cap room in a market with limited marquee attractions while also facing ever-increasing pressure to do something -- anything -- to show fans they are trying to improve.
It would make more sense to simply pass on overpaying. But if you are running a franchise that languished last season, it's difficult to sit and do nothing. That sends a bad message to your fan base, particularly with each year producing stories of teams vaulting from bad to Super Bowl-worthy -- sometimes with just a few roster additions.
Patient rebuilding? Forget it. NFL clubs understand there now is one overriding reality in the personnel business: The paying customer might show some initial angst over such out-of-proportion contracts, but ultimately, if they result in more wins, all is forgiven. This gives teams free rein to set aside good judgment and chew up with gusto all that extra cap room.
So if you are Marv Levy, who makes the Bills' personnel decisions, you look at an offense that has finished no better than 25th in total yards the past four years and figure if you can strengthen your line, it might give you a chance to move up in those rankings quickly. That lure can lead you to sign the likes of Walker, who was part of the NFL's worst line last year as a Raider. One scout called him "simply awful" at times. Yet Buffalo gave him $10 million in guaranteed money.
It would make more sense to simply pass on overpaying. But if you are running a franchise that languished last season, it's difficult to sit and do nothing. That sends a bad message to your fan base, particularly with each year producing stories of teams vaulting from bad to Super Bowl-worthy -- sometimes with just a few roster additions.
Patient rebuilding? Forget it. NFL clubs understand there now is one overriding reality in the personnel business: The paying customer might show some initial angst over such out-of-proportion contracts, but ultimately, if they result in more wins, all is forgiven. This gives teams free rein to set aside good judgment and chew up with gusto all that extra cap room.
So if you are Marv Levy, who makes the Bills' personnel decisions, you look at an offense that has finished no better than 25th in total yards the past four years and figure if you can strengthen your line, it might give you a chance to move up in those rankings quickly. That lure can lead you to sign the likes of Walker, who was part of the NFL's worst line last year as a Raider. One scout called him "simply awful" at times. Yet Buffalo gave him $10 million in guaranteed money.
::EDIT:: I forgot the link----Big Men/Big Money
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