Judge: Peters making all the wrong moves

[Romes]

http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/story/10942069

I hope Buffalo Bills tackle Jason Peters paid attention to what happened in St. Louis, because he needs to pull a Steven Jackson and return to his team.

But, hey, don't take it from me, Jason. Take it from your agent. He happens to be the same guy who represents Jackson and who recommended that the Rams running back return to his club.

So Jackson did. Now he has a new contract. Connect the dots.

You'd think that Peters would, especially with the Bills holding to the Rams' policy of not negotiating a new contract until the player returns. But he's still missing.

Once I thought his demands might be a convenient device to skip training camp, which meant I thought he would rejoin the team once it moved back to Orchard Park. Well, it returned for Thursday's practice, and he wasn't there.

Too bad. Because he doesn't hold the cards here; the Bills do. He's under contract. In fact, he's under contract for three seasons.

So if he doesn't report he doesn't get paid. Worse, he gets fined, and last time I checked that was running in excess of $200,000. What's more, the club is investigating the possibility of reclaiming part of his signing bonus, which is another reason for Peters to wake up and smell the coffee.

The Bills are looking into reclaiming his signing bonus.

[Romes]

Re: Judge: Peters making all the wrong moves

Here is another article, this one from the AP. http://www.globesports.com/servlet/s...sFootball/home

This whole thing gets stranger by the day. I'd almost prefer a Bolden type situation, atleast then you know where the player stands.

[Philagape]

Re: Judge: Peters making all the wrong moves

Man this will get even uglier if they touch his bonus. He'll want out.

[Romes]

Re: Judge: Peters making all the wrong moves

Man this will get even uglier if they touch his bonus. He'll want out.

I agree but do you have any other ideas on how they can get him back without re-structuring his deal?

I assume they wouldn't pull back his signing bonus until the season starts.

[Philagape]

Re: Judge: Peters making all the wrong moves

I'm not saying the Bills are wrong to do it; just lamenting how deep this quagmire is getting.

[Romes]

Re: Judge: Peters making all the wrong moves

I'm not saying the Bills are wrong to do it; just lamenting how deep this quagmire is getting.

Yeah, unless someone realizes the error in their ways I don't see a happy ending to this situation.

[Philagape]

Re: Judge: Peters making all the wrong moves

They're both wrong, but each side has done nothing but antagonize the other.

[Romes]

Re: Judge: Peters making all the wrong moves

I'm hoping both sides realize its a business thing and don't take it personally but I'm not sure how likely that is.

[The Spaz]

Re: Judge: Peters making all the wrong moves

They're both wrong, but each side has done nothing but antagonize the other.

From what I have been getting the Bills have tried to make contact with Peters but he is the one not responding.

[camelcowboy]

Re: Judge: Peters making all the wrong moves

They're both wrong, but each side has done nothing but antagonize the other.

bills have done nothing wrong, peters needs to show!

[lordofgun]

Re: Judge: Peters making all the wrong moves

From the article:

The Bills are taking a hard-line approach, demanding that Peters play under his current contract this season before they consider negotiating a new deal.

This is ridiculous if true.

[Romes]

Re: Judge: Peters making all the wrong moves

From the article:



This is ridiculous if true.

That's the primary reason I'm very concerned about this lasting into the season.

[RedEyE]

Re: Judge: Peters making all the wrong moves

If it is a pissing contest (all other reports seem to conflict this) then chalk this up to stubborn, bull headed, egotistical **** on the Bills FO.

However, every other report shows that Buffalo is willing to renegotiate the contract IF Jason just drops the twinkies and the remote and gets back to work.

[Ickybaluky]

Re: Judge: Peters making all the wrong moves

I think Mike Lombardi said it best:

I know the Bills are upset with Jason Peters, but there is a cause and effect of paying big money to outside free agents. You always have to keep in mind how the locker room will react. If you don’t take that into account, the first time something bad happens the locker room is a mess. The signings of Dockery and Walker last year are the reason why this hold out is occurring. I told this exact same thing to Bill Parcells during his last year with Dallas when he lost Flozell Adams due to injuries. Teams cannot recover from losing an offensive left tackle. There are not many great left tackles sitting on the bench in the NFL.

LINK

You can be upset with Peters tactics, but it really just clouds the issue.

The fact is he is underpaid. The signings of Dockery and Walker only underscore that. Peters is the best OL the Bills have, and as a top LT is a key factor in how successful their season will be. Anyone who denies that is burying their head in the sand.

The Bills should be proactive in dealing with issue, because it is an important factor to their fortunes this season. They don't necessarily have to give him a contract right away, they can explore a compromise position. Throw him a couple million this year to keep him happy, with the promise of dealing with a new contract next offseason. That allows both sides to claim victory, since Peters gets a little more money and the Bills get a player back who is key to any success they might have this year.

Sitting on your hands to prove a point is stupid, because the focus should be entirely on giving yourself the best chance to win. Peters at LT does that.

Even if the Bills "win" and they force Peters back to camp, where does that get him? You get an unhappy player who feels he was wronged, which can hurt team chemistry. You make any future negotiations potentially more contentious. In short, you are the Bengals under Mike Brown.

[RedEyE]

Re: Judge: Peters making all the wrong moves

I think Mike Lombardi said it best:



LINK

You can be upset with Peters tactics, but it really just clouds the issue.

The fact is he is underpaid. The signings of Dockery and Walker only underscore that. Peters is the best OL the Bills have, and as a top LT is a key factor in how successful their season will be. Anyone who denies that is burying their head in the sand.

The Bills should be proactive in dealing with issue, because it is an important factor to their fortunes this season. They don't necessarily have to give him a contract right away, they can explore a compromise position. Throw him a couple million this year to keep him happy, with the promise of dealing with a new contract next offseason. That allows both sides to claim victory, since Peters gets a little more money and the Bills get a player back who is key to any success they might have this year.

Sitting on your hands to prove a point is stupid, because the focus should be entirely on giving yourself the best chance to win. Peters at LT does that.

Even if the Bills "win" and they force Peters back to camp, where does that get him? You get an unhappy player who feels he was wronged, which can hurt team chemistry. You make any future negotiations potentially more contentious. In short, you are the Bengals under Mike Brown.

The Bills have attempted getting in touch with him on several occassions but Peters refuses to return calls or contact the team. They've also had limited contact with his agent. What else can the Bills do short of forming a posse and dragging the fat and fast ****er to work? They've thrown in the towle and refuse to discuss the issue any further until Peters reports. They have to focus on the season ahead. Peters is in the wrong here.