Maybe the Bills are not that convinced about Bryant Johnson

[ghz in pittsburgh]

UPDATE MONDAY 6:21 PM EST

Free agent WR Bryant Johnson wants to sign with the Buffalo Bills but at the moment, it's not a mutual feeling. A team source told Scout.com that there are personnel evaluators with the club that aren't convinced that he's the best fit for the team. Despite that, it's not out of the question that he eventually signs with Buffalo.

Johnson is expected to visit the Washington Redskins and possibly the Chicago Bears later this week. A league source notes the Tennessee

The Bills are in phase II of their plan. Can we guess what's the difference between phase I and II?

My take is that "must haves", the ones they need but won't be available from the draft, should be the guys they target in phase I.

Phase II are guys they'd like to fill but maybe able to get from the draft. It would not be far fetched that they can draft a WR who will be eased into the #2 spot, kind of like Evans when he was drafted.

I felt maybe Bryant Johnson is in that category: the Bills are not all convinced that he's the guy.

If they sign a #2 receiver, you can bet the #1 pick will be a corner. They need a true #1 there.

I'm still bummed that they haven't addressed the center position yet. Yes they addressed the OL last year (and DL this year), but some work left unfinished at the center position.<!--colorc--><!--/colorc--><!--IBF.ATTACHMENT_1303964--><!-- THE POST -->

[raphael120]

If the Bills didnt want him to begin with then why would they bring him in?

It's not that they dont want him, they probably want him but arent willing to pay the price.

[Tatonka]

i dont care if we sign johnson at this point to be honest.

[Mitchy moo]

If the Bills didnt want him to begin with then why would they bring him in?

It's not that they dont want him, they probably want him but arent willing to pay the price.

Like I said, he maybe looking for a big hit.

[don137]

I have not seen enough video of the guys to form an opinion one way or another. I know he should be paid like a #2. I think he may be one of the best options out on the market and I am sure his price has dropped since the opening of free agency.

[ghz in pittsburgh]

That's my understanding of Phase II: you negotiate to protect yourself. For Phase I guys, yu try to get them signed, period.

[Ultra Chimp 1]

It all depends on who the Washington Redskins think is better...DJ Hackett or Bryant Johnson.The good news is theres a good chance of either Hackett, or Johnson finding himself Buffalo. So that's not all bad.

OBD can afford to let Johnson wait. Washington can as well. Thing is though, I havent really heard Hackett visiting with any team. But I do know Ive read Washington wants Hackett or Johnson. The skins need a big WR as bad as we do.

Worst case scenario (I hope) is we end up with Hackett.

Like Ive said before, Hackett is by far a superior wide receiver than Bryant Johnson. When he is healthy, he is a streaky mutherf ucker.

Evans and Hackett would make a far far greater tandem than Johnson and Evans ever would.

I suspect thats why the Bills let him walk. It doesn't answer Hackett has not visited with us or the Skins yet.

I'd be happy with Johnson as long as we still drafted WR in the first (hopefully James Hardy, Limas Sweed or Malcom kelly) I think thats a must move from us regardless if we sign Hackett or Johnson.

If Hackett or Johnson don't pan out, we 'd have covered our asses by selecting a WR in 2008.

[raphael120]

I say we just get Evans signed long term and draft a guy who will probably in the long run be a better #2 than Johnson or Hackett ever will be. But the downside is that WR we draft is not going to make a huge impact from the get go. Johnson or Hackett have a better chance of impacting in Week 1.

[Mski]

I say we just get Evans signed long term and draft a guy who will probably in the long run be a better #2 than Johnson or Hackett ever will be. But the downside is that WR we draft is not going to make a huge impact from the get go. Johnson or Hackett have a better chance of impacting in Week 1.

why can't we do both?

:confused:

[raphael120]

why can't we do both?

:confused:

Well it's a hypothetical....we most likely couldn't do both because of money issues. Which is why I think it's taking so long for us to hear something.

All these other teams are locking up their own guys, we need to do the same with Evans (maybe Crowell) and really see how much we can spend once that is accounted for.

[Mr. Miyagi]

Screw it.

See what Hackett wants for money. If he takes less than Johnson wants, we sign him. Otherwise we just draft Kelly or Sweed in the first, John Carlson in the 3rd, and sign Ben Troupe.

Stop with this back and forth BS.

[kernowboy]

Why are people so up on James 'I beat my girlfriend and infant son' Hardy, Limus 'I have a dodgy wrist requiring a number of surgeries' Sweed or Malcolm 'I'm scared I'm slow so won't run the combine' Kelly?

I'd rather look to draft one of the top 3-4 corners in R1 which is another need and then draft a WR later.

[DraftBoy]

Why are people so up on James 'I beat my girlfriend and infant son' Hardy, Limus 'I have a dodgy wrist requiring a number of surgeries' Sweed or Malcolm 'I'm scared I'm slow so won't run the combine' Kelly?

I'd rather look to draft one of the top 3-4 corners in R1 which is another need and then draft a WR later.

Your Berman needs some work

[Dr. Lecter]

I'd be happy with Johnson as long as we still drafted WR in the first (hopefully James Hardy, Limas Sweed or Malcom kelly) I think thats a must move from us regardless if we sign Hackett or Johnson.

If Hackett or Johnson don't pan out, we 'd have covered our asses by selecting a WR in 2008.

I will disagree here just because WR is so deep this year. If the sign either guy (And I prefer Hackett too, but understand the injury concern), then WR can be selected in the 2nd or 3rd while taking a CB in the 1st.

[Ultra Chimp 1]

A cornerback in round one?

No thanks, I'm sick and tired of drafting secondary guys only to give them away once they get too good. It'd be a waste of a draft pick.

Besides, I liked our secondary last year. They won us some big games in 2007 and prevented us from getting blown out in some.

Like I said, CB is a waste of a round one pick.

[Dr. Lecter]

A cornerback in round one?

No thanks. It'd be a waste of a draft pick.

He would start immediately and shore up a weakness on defense.

Besides, DraftBoy would jump and down and scream like a school girl if the Bills drafted DRC. I would even be happy with Talib.

[Ultra Chimp 1]

He would start immediately and shore up a weakness on defense.

Besides, DraftBoy would jump and down and scream like a school girl if the Bills drafted DRC. I would even be happy with Talib.

We need WR's, regardless if we sign DJ or Johnson. And if we dont go WR we're idiots.

We need to draft positions that score touchdowns.

[gr8slayer]

He would start immediately and shore up a weakness on defense.

Besides, DraftBoy would jump and down and scream like a school girl if the Bills drafted DRC. I would even be happy with Talib.
I'd be jumping with him if we landed DRC.

[gr8slayer]

We need WR's, and if we dont go WR we're idiots.
There's no one available at #11 that is worth that pick. If we trade down that's a different question...

[Dr. Lecter]

We need WR's, regardless if we sign DJ or Johnson. And if we dont go WR we're idiots.

We need to draft positions that score touchdowns.

And we can get that in rounds 2 and 3, because WR is so deep. We also need to stop teams from scoring TDs.

There are currently two NFL caliber CBs on the roster (unless Youboty comes around). Teams need 4 NFL caliber guys at that position so the Bills need to work on it.

[jdbillsfan]

I would like to sign Johnson. Initially, I wasn't so sure, but I just like how he seemed excited about Buffalo, seems like a good guy. He is fast and big. Runs good routes.

I don't want to rely on a rookie for our red zone help.

[Dr. Lecter]

I'd be jumping with him if we landed DRC.

That would be a YouTube classic!

[Ultra Chimp 1]

And we can get that in rounds 2 and 3, because WR is so deep. We also need to stop teams from scoring TDs.

There are currently two NFL caliber CBs on the roster (unless Youboty comes around). Teams need 4 NFL caliber guys at that position so the Bills need to work on it.

Sorry but giving round one money to the cornerback position is a waste, imo. Plus, whats the point? Draft a CB, fail to franchise tag him and then let him walk for free once he peaks?

No thanks. I'm tired of seeing it.

Draft a position that scores touchdowns, wins games and puts bums in the seats.

[gr8slayer]

This argument is just stupid on all fronts.

We've had one of the worst offenses and defenses in the league for the past three years. Both sides of the ball need some serious work, last year in FA we solidified our OL, this year we are solidifying our front seven on defense. Who really cares where we go with the draft? Either way it's going to help us improve on our near last offense or defense.

[TigerJ]

If the Bills didnt want him to begin with then why would they bring him in?

It's not that they dont want him, they probably want him but arent willing to pay the price.

There are a number of persons in the Bills organization that evaluate the talent of prospective free agent acquisitions. It's quite possible they aren't unanimous on Johnson. The guy who makes the final decision (Dick Jauron? Russ Brandon? Tom Modrak?) has to decide who he's going to listen to.

[YardRat]

I don't think Johnson would've been asked to come here to begin with if consensus hadn't already been reached regarding the possibility of him being an upgrade to the team.

#2 WR is a priority in FA, IMO, and if we miss out on Johnson and Hackett that's a major negative. Unless BJ is looking for sick money, he should be signed ASAP. Same for Troupe, BTW.

Even if we do sign a WR, we still should get one in the first two rounds.

I don't care which corner we draft at #11 (if that turns out to be the case)...He isn't going to just leap over Greer and McGee automatically, and will at least be a back-up until mid-season unless injury dictates otherwise. Even if that guy happens to be DRC.

[ghz in pittsburgh]

I don't think Johnson would've been asked to come here to begin with if consensus hadn't already been reached regarding the possibility of him being an upgrade to the team.

#2 WR is a priority in FA, IMO, and if we miss out on Johnson and Hackett that's a major negative. Unless BJ is looking for sick money, he should be signed ASAP. Same for Troupe, BTW.

Even if we do sign a WR, we still should get one in the first two rounds.

I don't care which corner we draft at #11 (if that turns out to be the case)...He isn't going to just leap over Greer and McGee automatically, and will at least be a back-up until mid-season unless injury dictates otherwise. Even if that guy happens to be DRC.

I just feel the opposite: if it is not a consensus, you do want to bring him in for a thorough check; otherwise it is like the Faneca situation that teams only need to hack over the money with the agent.

The Bills are in a not so ideal situation at WR. Evans is #1, but not an ideal #1 (like Moulds) - you cannot throw to him when he's double covered because he's just not phyical enough. So we need serious threat on the opposite side. Reed is not that. Roscoe, ironically, is a homerun threat, but not so in the red zone. The whole thing boils down to red zone production. We have no one at WR, period!

Is Johnson productive in the redzone? That's the question. Wilford is, and I truly believe the Bills would have no problem overpaying Wilford a little if he had made to Buffalo.

So even if we sign Johnson, we still face with the need of drafting a good one. Naturally you debate whether we need to spend a good chunk to sign one that falls into the category of someone similar to what we have.

CB, on the other hand, is a clear cut need: we don't have a #1 corner that has the size and speed to match up one-on-one with an elite WR unless Youbody makes a leap this year. And that person must come from the Draft. Even though that person may sit on the bench most of the time to start the season, you will be surprised to know that just having him available is huge for game planning and coaches.

[blackonyx89]

I heard from a number of NFL sources taht Johnson has a tendency to drop passes. We don't need that on our team.

[Mr. Pink]

But from what I saw on these boards a couple days ago it was a done deal!

How could this be?