So what happens next?

[Devin]

I simply cannot wrap my mind around this. Now dont get me wrong I fully realize and to some degree expect that if anyone could screw this up we could.

Kris Jenkins, Shaun Rogers, Marcus Stroud, and Corey Williams. 3 of those 4 are pro-bowl DT's. Not only did we miss out on all 4, the Cleveland friggin Browns nabbed two of them.

If the issue was in fact a matter of 1 to 2 mil per year for Stroud that in itself is pretty asinine. The bigger issue now becomes not only missing out on these DT's but we have actually helped Stroud by not paying him. Hes the top dog now. By effectivley wasting an entire day, and allowing everyone else to blow by us we help set the market for Stroud and whoever signs him.

Yes I realize this is only the first day of FA, but this is a tone setter for every team. Our fall back plan is Spencer Johnson? The problem is now how do you recover? We have 10 draft picks, we have what? Close to 40 mil in space? And we couldnt close out what very likely was a slam dunk.

Now lets face facts, Mitchell was a solid signing, a good fit and I like the addition. That said, hes an above average LB. Nothing more. We have 3 LB's who are your typical run of the mill, blue-collar LB corps. They will rack up the tackles and maybe add in a few sacks/ff here and there. I fully believe we are improved, but we still dont scare anyone.

Part of what I cant get is how we spend 49 mil on a guy thats never been to the pro-bowl in Derrick Dockery (not that it was a bad signing). And yet when we are probably in the best cap/draft shape weve ever been in we cant concede an extra 1-2 mil a season for a proven pro-bowl DT.

And to make matters worse we have the fins and jets tossing round cash left and right, the patriots sitting on the 7th overall and id bet very likely going to persue Lito Shepperd, not to mention im not entirley sure anyone actually believes moss is going anywhere.

And we got Kawika Mitchell, Spencer Johnson and maybe a crack at friggin DJ Hackett. Every year same old thing. Im not flipping out, its the Bills. Im used to it, id just truly like to hear from Jauron or Modrak or whoever is actually running things there at OBD what on earth the logic was here? I mean seriously was this thier grand plan of attack?

Jesus christ just pay the ****ing guy you stingy old morons.

[BillsFever21]

The Bills can't make a decision in one day. It takes longer then that for us. We only have 4 different people to go through.

We don't have one person making the decision. There are too many chiefs and not enough indians in our front office. Unless everybody can agree on the same thing then the decision next has to go to Russ Brandon. Next it has to do with money so then Brandon has to consult with Ralph and make sure they are allowed to spend the money.

By the time the Bills can make a decison on who to go after everyone else is gone. This setup in the front office is a joke. One guy is supposed to be making the decisions while consulting with everyone else. Unless everyone can agree on the same decision then it must go to another person. Not to mention having Ralph Wilson agree to pony up the money.

[Night Train]

Wow. Talk about overreacting.

Now the entire ship is sinking 24 hours into FA, based on Stroud rumors.

[Al13]

maybe he is not as healthy as everybody thinks microfracture surgery is not a small operation

[Luisito23]

I love our team to death, but our owner, and our front office is a complete joke....Every single year we see everyone but Buffalo become major players in FA, every year they break our hearts, and this year we have possibly the most money we ever had to spend and we go the old cheap route once again...Why the F*** did they have to get our hopes up like that?, seems like Ralph loves torturing the 'lil guy...:madcurse:

[Devin]

Wow. Talk about overreacting.

Now the entire ship is sinking 24 hours into FA, based on Stroud rumors.

And every year about this time someone says the above.

The entire ship has been sinking for years, I dont think anyone doubts that. I wasnt complaining about that.

I was complaining that instead of watching that mongoloid Chris Brown interview Marcus Stroud or Williams.....or Rogers.........or Jenkins......and ask how it felt for any of the above to be new members of the Bills, we are going to once again have to settle for....."So Spencer, apart from the fact that no one knows who the hell you are and you will never sniff a pro bowl, how does it feel to be a member of the Bills with a contract you havent earned?"

For a team that NEEDS an impact player at DT to miss out on 4 DT's 3 of which are pro bowlers, and then have another team seal the deal on two of them in half the time.....that sucks.

What sucks more is it happens every year.

[kernowboy]

INJURED !!!!

What we seem to be forgetting is that Marcus Stroud has not played since mid-season due to a serious leg injury, an existing injury which has already caused him to fall foul of the league with medication.

Rogers was fit last season and posted a 39 tackles, 7 sacks total
Jenkins was fit last season and posted a 38/2.5 total and 41/3 before that
Williams was fit last season and posted a 35/7 total and 34/7 before that

Marcus Stroud has not been able to play a full season since 2005. Whilst he may get a medical pass - there is no way of knowing if he'll break down midseason or if he'll be mentally affected by the injury or if he'll take plays off with a big bonus. Why the hell are we talking about paying the same to a guy who's not done the business for 2 seasons?

Giving up draft picks is bad enough, but the greedy SOB asking for more money when he's not been able to prove himself on the field for two years is too much. And there will be plenty of rookies who could be our Barry Cofield come April.

Rosenhaus needs to be told that the Buffalo Bills are NOT in existence to provide a pension/retirement plan for those he represents.

Good on the Bills for standing up to ridiculous demands.

[LifetimeBillsFan]

I can't wrap my mind around this either, Devin.

Not because the Bills didn't end up getting Stroud, but because they didn't recognize when the negotiations were starting to bog down and have a "Plan B" in place that they could follow to either use the other DTs who were still available as leverage or nab one of them.

They "locked in" on Stroud and weren't perceptive or nimble enough, as an organization, to shift their focus and take advantage of the opportunities that presented themselves to them.

Not good.

And, that makes me very concerned about whether they are going to be able to dig themselves out of the mess that they have created and do what they need to do to make the team better while working within the financial limitations that the franchise is working within.

It can be done, but their performance on Friday does not inspire confidence that they are going to be able to do what it is going to take to get it done.

That worries me.

And, right now, I am very disappointed--not so much by the fact that they let Stroud walk, but by how they missed the opportunities that they had to make moves that would have made that immaterial. The team can't be successful IMHO if they keep doing that.

Well, we'll just have to see where they go from here and hope that they can perform better. They still have a chance to go into the draft in pretty good shape, but they are going to have to do a lot better job (and be a lot more nimble and creative) than they did on Friday.

[YardRat]

I agree with LTBF 100%. It isn't nearly as much troublesome that Stroud left without a deal but much moreso that it appears the FO's radar was too focused on very few specific players and unprepared to attempt to upgrade the necessary positions. Plan A fails, and there is no plan B, when we should have been working on several different plans simultaneously.

This is equivilant to Minny botching their first draft pick a few years ago, IMO. You can't narrow your focus to the point where you expect your targets to be a given acquisition and then, when they're not, be stuck with "Oh ****...Now what do we do?"

I didn't even expect, realistically, us to have any kind of play in the market a la Miami, San Fran, or Cleveland (even though we do have the picks and the cap to) but, damn....One decent LB, one back-up DT, and maybe one TE coming in for a visit and that's it?

Not nearly good enough effort, bottom line.

[Historian]

Jesus christ just pay the ****ing guy you stingy old morons.

Tell us how you really feel Dev.

:rofl:

[jmb1099]

I don't think I've been this disappointed with the bills in a long time.
This is what happens when you don't bring in an experienced GM

[kernowboy]

But I think we'll have an awesome draft with 4/5 immediate starters and we'll all forget about Free Agency come the start of May, when we get excited about what these excellent rookies are going to bring us.

With a marginal free agency, the Management focus on any pick counting and I think this will be the same again. I could even see us picking up a Dan Koppen clone in Round 5 who will beat out Fowler, a starting No2 WR and a TE, a pair of DTs having a hell of a fight with Williams for the starting spot and an upgrade over Greer.

Add in the upgrade at LB, and we'll be a much better team - whilst laughing at all the team who overpaid in Free Agency.

[kernowboy]

I don't think I've been this disappointed with the bills in a long time.
This is what happens when you don't bring in an experienced GM

Actually what it means is we've not been suckered into over paying for an injured player whose odious agent has overplayed his hand

Pay top dollar to Jenkins who has been fit for 2 season and played 31/32 games

Pay top dollar to Rogers who played a full season last year with 7 sacks

Pay top dollar to Williams who played fit for two seasons with 7 sacks per year

DO NOT GIVE IN TO RIDICULOUS DEMANDS OF A PLAYER WHO HAS SPENT A LARGE PROPORTION OF THE LAST TWO SEASONS IN THE TREATMENT ROOM

Just because Al Davis is mad giving $50m to Kelly does not mean we should encourage such stupidity.

Giving big money to an injured player who has yet to PROVE he is the player he was, restricts our ability to resign Evans and Crowell, extend Peters etc

Its not cheap, its not tight, its not moronic !!!

Who here, wanting a BMW, would pay full price for a motor, who's engine hasn't run properly for the last 2 years and might not be fixable?

No-one, as we are all intelligent people - so why assume our front office is stupid when faced with a comparable situation?

[alohabillsfan]

I would like to go after D. Robertson of the Jets. He is avail. via a trade and the Jets could use a pick or 2. He is miscast as a NT in a 3-4 but could be the right guy for our 1 tech. thoughts?

[alohabillsfan]

P.S. he counts 11.2M agaist the jets cap...

[Night Train]

I would like to go after D. Robertson of the Jets. He is avail. via a trade and the Jets could use a pick or 2. He is miscast as a NT in a 3-4 but could be the right guy for our 1 tech. thoughts?

I read a report that he has a roster bonus due this week and the Jets may just have to cut him. If so, bring him in.

[YardRat]

Actually what it means is we've not been suckered into over paying for an injured player whose odious agent has overplayed his hand

Pay top dollar to Jenkins who has been fit for 2 season and played 31/32 games

Pay top dollar to Rogers who played a full season last year with 7 sacks

Pay top dollar to Williams who played fit for two seasons with 7 sacks per year

DO NOT GIVE IN TO RIDICULOUS DEMANDS OF A PLAYER WHO HAS SPENT A LARGE PROPORTION OF THE LAST TWO SEASONS IN THE TREATMENT ROOM

Just because Al Davis is mad giving $50m to Kelly does not mean we should encourage such stupidity.

Giving big money to an injured player who has yet to PROVE he is the player he was, restricts our ability to resign Evans and Crowell, extend Peters etc

Its not cheap, its not tight, its not moronic !!!

Who here, wanting a BMW, would pay full price for a motor, who's engine hasn't run properly for the last 2 years and might not be fixable?

No-one, as we are all intelligent people - so why assume our front office is stupid when faced with a comparable situation?

I don't think anybody is specifically critical about the FO not ponying up the money Stroud was demanding (or paying the price the Jags were looking for in the trade) as much as the perception that they focused on one player, and one player only, in their effort to attempt to significantly upgrade the DT position.

Missing on Stroud isn't as much a big deal as missing out on everybody that was available and could have improved the team.

[alohabillsfan]

Lets not blow a gasket, yet... We still have time, lets not just focus on avail FA (remember, Stroud is not a FA) We can still explore other options...
D. Robertson Jets
C. Canty Dallas (RFA)- He is a 6'7" 300lb DE mayber he kicks inside in a 3-4?

Lets let this play out and pray alot!

[mayotm]

I'm not sure what's worse on this site. The people who overreact to the positive rumors or the people who overreact to the negative rumors. I love that some of you are ready to jump off a bridge one day into free agency. Who's stopping you? Go ahead and jump. It's pathetic.

[kernowboy]

Canty was a 4th rounder and Robertson has been miscast since being drafted at No4 in 2003

However as the Jets have just paid big money to Jenkins and with Robertson due to get I think $3.5m as bonus, I think we can afford to play poker and see if he will get cut.

His figures are ok, but no better than Barry Cofield who started 16games as a rookie despite being drafted in Round 4 of the 2006 draft.

[Nighthawk]

The Bumbling Bills do it again. What a joke this team and how little foresight they have with the cutting of Tripplett. They NEED to trade for Stroud...there is NOBODY left on the market who is worth s**t!

[kernowboy]

The Bumbling Bills do it again. What a joke this team and how little foresight they have with the cutting of Tripplett. They NEED to trade for Stroud...there is NOBODY left on the market who is worth s**t!

Bumbling by not overpaying for an injured player who is being greedy and not proven he can be 100% on the field? More of the same please, especially as more players become available as teams try to avoid playing roster bonuses

[mybills]

microfracture surgery is not a small operation
lol

[DraftBoy]

Its all going to depend on the draft, we could realistically land 4-5 new starters. Some people are absolutely going to hate that but you gotta think thats where the FO is looking for right now after missing on Stroud.

[Nighthawk]

Bumbling by not overpaying for an injured player who is being greedy and not proven he can be 100% on the field? More of the same please, especially as more players become available as teams try to avoid playing roster bonuses

You do realize that even on only one leg, he is better than ANY DT on our team? Just checking.

[Mr. Miyagi]

INJURED !!!!

What we seem to be forgetting is that Marcus Stroud has not played since mid-season due to a serious leg injury, an existing injury which has already caused him to fall foul of the league with medication.

Rogers was fit last season and posted a 39 tackles, 7 sacks total
Jenkins was fit last season and posted a 38/2.5 total and 41/3 before that
Williams was fit last season and posted a 35/7 total and 34/7 before that

Marcus Stroud has not been able to play a full season since 2005. Whilst he may get a medical pass - there is no way of knowing if he'll break down midseason or if he'll be mentally affected by the injury or if he'll take plays off with a big bonus. Why the hell are we talking about paying the same to a guy who's not done the business for 2 seasons?

Giving up draft picks is bad enough, but the greedy SOB asking for more money when he's not been able to prove himself on the field for two years is too much. And there will be plenty of rookies who could be our Barry Cofield come April.

Rosenhaus needs to be told that the Buffalo Bills are NOT in existence to provide a pension/retirement plan for those he represents.

Good on the Bills for standing up to ridiculous demands.
If that's the case why didn't we pursue any of the other 3 DTs in the first place? Oh, we just happened to have picked the wrong one? We're just always so damn unlucky aren't we?

CHEAP. That's why.

[mybills]

OMG! It's the end of the world!

[Mr. Miyagi]

No it's not the end of the world, but it's once again apparent why this team hasn't even made the damn playoffs for nearly 10 years.

End of the world, no. The Bills have no intentions to truly improve, yes.

[Devin]

I'm not sure what's worse on this site. The people who overreact to the positive rumors or the people who overreact to the negative rumors. I love that some of you are ready to jump off a bridge one day into free agency. Who's stopping you? Go ahead and jump. It's pathetic.

Or maybe the 3rd category of people who make posts like this after fans call out every mediocre signing the Bills make each season?

Look I love this team no question, and yes I generally hate when posts like this are made. Yesterday was a foul up of monumental proportions at least as far as football and FA are concerned. SO yes im going to comment on it.

If we end up with stroud, I cheerfully retract.

If we end up with Spencer Johnson and Ben Utecht or something equally horrific well we deserve everything we have coming.

You act as though this is an isolated incident. As if this doesnt happen every year.

[Philagape]

Between this and Darwin Walker, it really does look like keystone cops at OBD. Must have taken lessons from Larry Quinn.

[gr8slayer]

Don't worry man. We'll sign a dozen or so STers from now till camp and we'll dominate the ST's again.

[DrGraves]

I simply cannot wrap my mind around this. Now dont get me wrong I fully realize and to some degree expect that if anyone could screw this up we could.

Kris Jenkins, Shaun Rogers, Marcus Stroud, and Corey Williams. 3 of those 4 are pro-bowl DT's. Not only did we miss out on all 4, the Cleveland friggin Browns nabbed two of them.

If the issue was in fact a matter of 1 to 2 mil per year for Stroud that in itself is pretty asinine. The bigger issue now becomes not only missing out on these DT's but we have actually helped Stroud by not paying him. Hes the top dog now. By effectivley wasting an entire day, and allowing everyone else to blow by us we help set the market for Stroud and whoever signs him.

Yes I realize this is only the first day of FA, but this is a tone setter for every team. Our fall back plan is Spencer Johnson? The problem is now how do you recover? We have 10 draft picks, we have what? Close to 40 mil in space? And we couldnt close out what very likely was a slam dunk.

Now lets face facts, Mitchell was a solid signing, a good fit and I like the addition. That said, hes an above average LB. Nothing more. We have 3 LB's who are your typical run of the mill, blue-collar LB corps. They will rack up the tackles and maybe add in a few sacks/ff here and there. I fully believe we are improved, but we still dont scare anyone.

Part of what I cant get is how we spend 49 mil on a guy thats never been to the pro-bowl in Derrick Dockery (not that it was a bad signing). And yet when we are probably in the best cap/draft shape weve ever been in we cant concede an extra 1-2 mil a season for a proven pro-bowl DT.

And to make matters worse we have the fins and jets tossing round cash left and right, the patriots sitting on the 7th overall and id bet very likely going to persue Lito Shepperd, not to mention im not entirley sure anyone actually believes moss is going anywhere.

And we got Kawika Mitchell, Spencer Johnson and maybe a crack at friggin DJ Hackett. Every year same old thing. Im not flipping out, its the Bills. Im used to it, id just truly like to hear from Jauron or Modrak or whoever is actually running things there at OBD what on earth the logic was here? I mean seriously was this thier grand plan of attack?

Jesus christ just pay the ****ing guy you stingy old morons.



amen brother, pay the man.

WAKE UP OBD... its the nfl, good players don't play for free

[Historian]

Don't worry man. We'll sign a dozen or so STers from now till camp and we'll dominate the ST's again.

...and we'll resign Wire, bulk him up to 245, and make him a defensive tackle.

He has a high motor, doncha know!

[kernowboy]

If that's the case why didn't we pursue any of the other 3 DTs in the first place? Oh, we just happened to have picked the wrong one? We're just always so damn unlucky aren't we?

CHEAP. That's why.

Looking at the internatives:

We clearly didn't want to give up a Day1 pick for Williams
Rogers had previously played for Jauron - is there stuff there we don't know of.
Jenkins may have indicated he preferred the Jets option.

We don't know what Stroud was asking. Did Rosenhaus push him out of the market.

We were happy paying $5,5m for an injured player but agreeing to pay $7m with a guaranteed $20m up front for an injured player is a joke

If Stroud was fit like Jenkins and Rogers we may well have been happy to renegotiate

The bottom line - HE IS NOT FIT at the moment and Rosenhaus's greed got the better of him

[Night Train]

And every year about this time someone says the above.



With good reason.