Trading Our Good Players

[ChanGailey]

I gotta be honest, with all the talk of trading our current players such as Kyle Williams and Marshawn Lynch, I'm getting highly frustrated.

I understand this is a message board, but I almost wish we could all agree on at least one thing: The more good players you have, the better.

Granted, Lynch may get in trouble again and get suspended. But the fact is, his contract isn't steep, and if he did get suspended, we'd still have Fred. It's not as if he'd be leaving us high and dry. Well, from his standpoint he would be, but we'd be fine either way. But if we trade him, we won't get fair value in return, and what if Fred get's injured?

Kyle Williams may not be the prototype 3-4 player, but the fact remains, he's not that odd of a size to be out there in any formation. The guy can play, and the fact is, he'd be a perfect fit for the nickel and dime packages. What does Vince Wilfork do on 3rd and long? He goes to the sideline while a smaller, quicker pass rusher comes in at DT. Hello, Kyle Williams.

Would we get fair value in a trade for him? Probably not. It'd be in one of those "Steal of the Offseason" articles when some team gets him at great value. Why not we keep him?!?!

The fact is, we're in pretty good shape in that we're not losing many players to free agency or retirement. Kelsay, really to me, is the only true odd man out. The difference between he and Williams is he's never performed. So, we have a guy who's been captain for the past 2-3 years, and he has an unfriendly contract. We won't be able to trade him, he'd have to restructure either way. I say ask him to restructure and put him in at OLB or Nick/Dime DE.

Other than Kelsay, most of our players have pretty easy cap figures. There's not real reason to get rid of them. Keep em around, at least for competition sake.

You add 3-4 vets to compete in Free Agency, guys in the Drayton Florence ballpark, that fit our schemes.

Then you add a full complement of draft picks, and your team is better. One extra 3rd or 4th round pick isn't going to replace Lynch, and certainly not Kyle.

Let's just all agree, although they aren't PERFECT players, Williams and Lynch have been solid, and may even end up better in our new schemes. We know Gailey likes to run the ball, and Fred is 29. How do we gain a think by moving Lynch?!?!??!?!

SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME!!!!!!!

[Syderick]

Re: Trading Our Good Players

Lynch's problems with the law is the main issue. But I do understand what your saying, with everyone talking about trading decent players like Lee Evans and Schobel away.

[Night Train]

Re: Trading Our Good Players

Kyle Williams wouldn't be bad to have on our roster for depth. He's a 5th round pick and costs very little.

Lynch may have burned his own bridge but that's up to the new admin. If they want to clean out the problem children, it's certainly understandable.

[OpIv37]

Re: Trading Our Good Players

Jackson fully outplayed Lynch.

And Kyle Williams is average in a 4-3 and out of place in a 3-4.

I don't understand my fellow Bills fans on this board sometimes. This team consistently underperforms, yet fans defend the players who contribute to this mediocrity.

[DraftBoy]

Re: Trading Our Good Players

I dont think guys like Lynch or Kyle Williams are going to make or break this team, therefor I wouldn't consider them "good players".

[justasportsfan]

Re: Trading Our Good Players

Jackson fully outplayed Lynch..

I can deal with player for player trade for Lynch but not for a low draft pick that may or may not pan out.

And Kyle Williams is average in a 4-3 and out of place in a 3-4..

his peers think he's above average and I agree with them. Probowler, no but better than average.

[Beebe's Kid]

Re: Trading Our Good Players

You have to trade Lynch. He got into trouble and we have Fred Jackson. We do not have any other RB's on the roster, but Freddy is better so you have to trade Lynch.

The constant banging of that drum is asinine. Depth at RB is important to any team, but more so to a team without a franchise QB. Chan is a "run to establish the pass" kind of guy in the past.

His legal problems are an issue, but they are more of an issue to the fans that hold these guys to a very high moral standard. If the new administration is concerned with his legal issues, which they should be, they need to address them.

The fact that he didn't have a good season last year, and the off-field issues are going to leave us in a bid of a bind in moving him. We would have to sell low, and in my eyes we would be farther ahead in keeping him than selling low. Especially if something happens to Freddy. He seemed to run like a man on a mission after he was benched in favor of FJ, but Fewell didn't play him much. If he is a competitor, he is liable to show up to camp about 15lbs lighter and compete for the starting job.

I would think that Nix and Gailey are smarter than to trade him because he has had some issues. I would bet that they are, and despite all of the message board GM's disdain for Lynch, they see more value in keeping him.

[TacklingDummy]

Re: Trading Our Good Players

I dont think guys like Lynch or Kyle Williams are going to make or break this team, therefor I wouldn't consider them "good players".

Good players get more than 400 yards.

[Mahdi]

Re: Trading Our Good Players

The question I have with Kyle Williams is purely value based.

I have always considered KW an adequate starter that could compliment a dominant DT very well. He has a glaring weakness against the run and is just over average as a pass rusher.

Now all that is based on a 4-3. Once you talk about 3-4 his value dips big time. He will become a rotational player that will eventually get beat out by a more suitable FA or draft choice hand picked for the 3-4.

If we could get a 3rd rounder for KW while his value is high I would take that in an instant and add a player on D that suits the scheme.

[TedMock]

Re: Trading Our Good Players

Jackson fully outplayed Lynch.

This is entirely true and very scary. Lynch is by far and away the better talent, but he allowed himself to get in trouble and get out of shape. Jackson flat-out beat him out of his job this year. The problem is trading Lynch away guarantees another need at in already shallow backfield. Lynch may or may not get back to his form of two years ago and it sucks not knowing. As for Jackson - we all love Fred Jackson. He is a true success story. Undrafted, living in the in-laws basement, working a low-paying youth counselor job, etc. The true underdog who made it to the bigs. The problem is that most fans are so enamored with this wonderful story that they don't see that Jackson is not a 1A running back. He is an excellent backup. He does certain things very well, but he misses a lot too. I am not trying to diminish what the guy has done. It's just that realistically he's not a top back. Not that Lynch is right now either. He absolutely is not, but he has a better chance of that based on ability than Jackson does. Lynch has been a problem lately and I am not sold on keeping him here. I just think we'll have to go out and find a horse to take a lot of carries if we can't get Lynch back on track.

[bflojohn]

Re: Trading Our Good Players

Welcome to "rebuild" mode, where you are confronted with some tough calls on players who contributed to a glowing 6-10 record preceded by three 7-9 campaigns. This is the time for the new braintrust to find out who fits, going forward, and weed out the malcontents, slackers, overly injured and washed up players on this roster. If you are NOT ready for the multitude of changes ahead, close your eyes because it's coming like a runaway freight train. The makeover will comennce on or about February 23rd or 24th (possibly sooner), just prior to the combine, because free agency is right on the heels of those dates. Quite a lot to do at One Bills Drive these days!

[OpIv37]

Re: Trading Our Good Players

This is entirely true and very scary. Lynch is by far and away the better talent, but he allowed himself to get in trouble and get out of shape. Jackson flat-out beat him out of his job this year. The problem is trading Lynch away guarantees another need at in already shallow backfield. Lynch may or may not get back to his form of two years ago and it sucks not knowing. As for Jackson - we all love Fred Jackson. He is a true success story. Undrafted, living in the in-laws basement, working a low-paying youth counselor job, etc. The true underdog who made it to the bigs. The problem is that most fans are so enamored with this wonderful story that they don't see that Jackson is not a 1A running back. He is an excellent backup. He does certain things very well, but he misses a lot too. I am not trying to diminish what the guy has done. It's just that realistically he's not a top back. Not that Lynch is right now either. He absolutely is not, but he has a better chance of that based on ability than Jackson does. Lynch has been a problem lately and I am not sold on keeping him here. I just think we'll have to go out and find a horse to take a lot of carries if we can't get Lynch back on track.

The good thing is that RB is one of the easier holes to fill. Should we ship Lynch off for a 6th round draft pick just to dump him? No, but if someone makes the right offer, we should absolutely consider it.

[jamze132]

Re: Trading Our Good Players

When Lynch's head is on straight, the guy really is a beast. If Gaily and Co. can get him straightened out, we can trully have the 2-headed beast in the backfield. When Lynch is playing good and not in trouble, there are only a handful of teams in the NFL who have a better backfield than us. But that is a big ****ing IF.