Carlton Bailey
06-22-2007, 12:30 PM
http://www.realfootball365.com/nfl/articles/2007/06/bills_will_look_bad_if_spikes.html
As each day passes, it appears more and more likely that the <a class="articlelinks" href="http://bills.realfootball365.com/"><acronym title="Buffalo Bills News">Buffalo Bills</acronym> will not come to an agreement with defensive tackle Darwin Walker (http://www.realfootball365.com/nfl/articles/2007/06/bills_will_look_bad_if_spikes.html#), whose holdout has become a national story. The Bills acquired Walker and a late-round draft pick from the <a class="articlelinks" href="http://eagles.realfootball365.com/"><acronym title="Philadelphia Eagles News">Philadelphia Eagles</acronym> in March for linebacker Takeo Spikes (http://www.realfootball365.com/nfl/articles/2007/06/bills_will_look_bad_if_spikes.html#) and Kelly Holcomb. Buffalo had full knowledge upon acquiring Walker that the 29-year-old wanted a new deal, yet the team is still refusing to give him one.
Assuming Walker never plays a down for the Bills (he could be released or sent back to Philadelphia for another low-round choice), it could go down as one of the worst NFL trades in recent memory. Walker, an eighth-year man, isn't going to enter Buffalo on a proverbial white horse and save the team's seemingly terrible run defense, but he would provide a veteran up the middle who can rush the opposing quarterback (http://www.realfootball365.com/nfl/articles/2007/06/bills_will_look_bad_if_spikes.html#) (the ex-Tennessee Volunteer has 27½ career sacks).
Getting Holcomb's somewhat large contract off the books wasn't a bad thing for the Bills, who have three serviceable QBs as it is, but simply giving away Spikes is looking like a terrible decision. The two-time Pro Bowler missed most of 2005 with a torn Achilles, rehabbed for almost a full year after, then returned in time for the Bills' 2006 opener. Spikes was mostly a non-factor for Buffalo in 11 regular-season games, but he came on toward the end of the campaign. In total, the 6-foot-2, 242-pounder made 70 tackles. His best game was the Bills' season-ender, when he tallied a year-best 11 takedowns in a 19-7 loss to Baltimore.
With Spikes gone, the Bills' linebacking corps is expected to consist of rookie Paul Posluszny (http://www.realfootball365.com/nfl/articles/2007/06/bills_will_look_bad_if_spikes.html#) in the middle (though he's behind the little-known John DiGiorgio on the current depth chart) and Angelo Crowell and Keith Ellison on the outside. Assuming Posluszny, a much-hyped second-round pick from Penn State, pans out, he'll be deserving of a starting spot. Crowell, meanwhile, in four pro seasons, has been very good when healthy. The big question mark is Ellison, a second-year man whom Buffalo used a sixth-rounder on in the 2006 draft.
Ellison, 23, was a pleasant surprise as a rookie, making 65 tackles in 14 games, but is he really full-time starting material at this stage in his career? The 6-0, 228-pounder (much smaller than Spikes) is currently penciled in as the Bills' weakside starting LB, where Spikes played for most of his four-year tenure with the team. If he wins the No. 1 job on the right side over main combatant Coy Wire this summer, Ellison will likely be at least slightly better than he was last year. After all, the ex-Oregon State standout now has a better understanding of the Tampa 2 defensive scheme Buffalo runs. However, the odds of him reaching Spikes-like heights this early (or ever, perhaps) seem slim and nil.
It's true Spikes asked the Bills for a trade when the offseason began, but he certainly wouldn't have given less than maximum effort in 2007 if he remained on the roster. And if he's a respectable part of Philadelphia's defense this season, Buffalo will be kicking itself for letting the nine-year veteran go for late-round picks, extra salary-cap room (as if the frugal Bills don't already have enough) and a D-tackle who will probably never see the home locker room at Ralph Wilson Stadium.
There are two ways the 30-year-old Spikes can go at this juncture of his career: He can either follow the path of Seattle's Julian Peterson (http://www.realfootball365.com/nfl/articles/2007/06/bills_will_look_bad_if_spikes.html#), a former Pro Bowl LB who has recovered very well from a past Achilles injury, or free agent LaVar Arrington, a once-fierce 'backer whose '06 Achilles tear and recent motorcycle crash point to early retirement.
If Spikes mimics Peterson, Bills General Manager Marv Levy better prepare himself for even further second-guessing from both media and fans. Put simply, the March trade he orchestrated will go down as an embarrassment.
As each day passes, it appears more and more likely that the <a class="articlelinks" href="http://bills.realfootball365.com/"><acronym title="Buffalo Bills News">Buffalo Bills</acronym> will not come to an agreement with defensive tackle Darwin Walker (http://www.realfootball365.com/nfl/articles/2007/06/bills_will_look_bad_if_spikes.html#), whose holdout has become a national story. The Bills acquired Walker and a late-round draft pick from the <a class="articlelinks" href="http://eagles.realfootball365.com/"><acronym title="Philadelphia Eagles News">Philadelphia Eagles</acronym> in March for linebacker Takeo Spikes (http://www.realfootball365.com/nfl/articles/2007/06/bills_will_look_bad_if_spikes.html#) and Kelly Holcomb. Buffalo had full knowledge upon acquiring Walker that the 29-year-old wanted a new deal, yet the team is still refusing to give him one.
Assuming Walker never plays a down for the Bills (he could be released or sent back to Philadelphia for another low-round choice), it could go down as one of the worst NFL trades in recent memory. Walker, an eighth-year man, isn't going to enter Buffalo on a proverbial white horse and save the team's seemingly terrible run defense, but he would provide a veteran up the middle who can rush the opposing quarterback (http://www.realfootball365.com/nfl/articles/2007/06/bills_will_look_bad_if_spikes.html#) (the ex-Tennessee Volunteer has 27½ career sacks).
Getting Holcomb's somewhat large contract off the books wasn't a bad thing for the Bills, who have three serviceable QBs as it is, but simply giving away Spikes is looking like a terrible decision. The two-time Pro Bowler missed most of 2005 with a torn Achilles, rehabbed for almost a full year after, then returned in time for the Bills' 2006 opener. Spikes was mostly a non-factor for Buffalo in 11 regular-season games, but he came on toward the end of the campaign. In total, the 6-foot-2, 242-pounder made 70 tackles. His best game was the Bills' season-ender, when he tallied a year-best 11 takedowns in a 19-7 loss to Baltimore.
With Spikes gone, the Bills' linebacking corps is expected to consist of rookie Paul Posluszny (http://www.realfootball365.com/nfl/articles/2007/06/bills_will_look_bad_if_spikes.html#) in the middle (though he's behind the little-known John DiGiorgio on the current depth chart) and Angelo Crowell and Keith Ellison on the outside. Assuming Posluszny, a much-hyped second-round pick from Penn State, pans out, he'll be deserving of a starting spot. Crowell, meanwhile, in four pro seasons, has been very good when healthy. The big question mark is Ellison, a second-year man whom Buffalo used a sixth-rounder on in the 2006 draft.
Ellison, 23, was a pleasant surprise as a rookie, making 65 tackles in 14 games, but is he really full-time starting material at this stage in his career? The 6-0, 228-pounder (much smaller than Spikes) is currently penciled in as the Bills' weakside starting LB, where Spikes played for most of his four-year tenure with the team. If he wins the No. 1 job on the right side over main combatant Coy Wire this summer, Ellison will likely be at least slightly better than he was last year. After all, the ex-Oregon State standout now has a better understanding of the Tampa 2 defensive scheme Buffalo runs. However, the odds of him reaching Spikes-like heights this early (or ever, perhaps) seem slim and nil.
It's true Spikes asked the Bills for a trade when the offseason began, but he certainly wouldn't have given less than maximum effort in 2007 if he remained on the roster. And if he's a respectable part of Philadelphia's defense this season, Buffalo will be kicking itself for letting the nine-year veteran go for late-round picks, extra salary-cap room (as if the frugal Bills don't already have enough) and a D-tackle who will probably never see the home locker room at Ralph Wilson Stadium.
There are two ways the 30-year-old Spikes can go at this juncture of his career: He can either follow the path of Seattle's Julian Peterson (http://www.realfootball365.com/nfl/articles/2007/06/bills_will_look_bad_if_spikes.html#), a former Pro Bowl LB who has recovered very well from a past Achilles injury, or free agent LaVar Arrington, a once-fierce 'backer whose '06 Achilles tear and recent motorcycle crash point to early retirement.
If Spikes mimics Peterson, Bills General Manager Marv Levy better prepare himself for even further second-guessing from both media and fans. Put simply, the March trade he orchestrated will go down as an embarrassment.