This is how you keep your good players.....be proactive.

[HAMMER]

Pay attention OBD, keeping core players requires being proactive. Showing a player he means a lot to the organization is smart business, keeping them off the market is smart business. Of course there will be some players that want to test the FA waters, but I bet the vast majority would resign and take the guaranteed money vs risking injury before they get a new deal.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/9136811/anthony-davis-signs-extension-san-francisco-49ers-source-says

[ParanoidAndroid]

Winning helps facilitate that.

[HAMMER]

Sure does.

[better days]

Pay attention OBD, keeping core players requires being proactive. Showing a player he means a lot to the organization is smart business, keeping them off the market is smart business. Of course there will be some players that want to test the FA waters, but I bet the vast majority would resign and take the guaranteed money vs risking injury before they get a new deal.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/9136811/anthony-davis-signs-extension-san-francisco-49ers-source-says

I think the Bills try to do that. Just look at the STUPID contract they gave Fitz as evidence of that. Some guys like Levitre & Flacco prefer to play out their contract & gamble that they will get BIG money after their contract expires.

[Mr. Miyagi]

Pay attention OBD, keeping core players requires being proactive. Showing a player he means a lot to the organization is smart business, keeping them off the market is smart business. Of course there will be some players that want to test the FA waters, but I bet the vast majority would resign and take the guaranteed money vs risking injury before they get a new deal.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/9136811/anthony-davis-signs-extension-san-francisco-49ers-source-says

We DO do that. We just do that with the wrong people. Fitz, Jauron, McKelvin, Josh Reed, reject OLmen, etc.

[justasportsfan]

We DO do that. We just do that with the wrong people. Fitz, Jauron, McKelvin, Josh Reed, reject OLmen, etc.

Kyle Williams, FJ, Eric Moulds, Lee Evans, Aaron Shibel....the list goes on. Until we grab a headcoach who knows what he's doing, it doesn't matter who we sign or who we keep.

[TacklingDummy]

In order to keep your good players, you must first have good players worth keeping.

Most of the players the Bills let walk/get rid of either turnout to be slugs (Evans, Losman, Peters, Edwards, Maybin...etc) somewhere else or the other team overpays for them. Examples...Levitre, Clements, Peters, etc...

[Kenny]

In order to keep your good players, you must first have good players worth keeping.

Most of the players the Bills let walk/get rid of either turnout to be slugs (Evans, Losman, Peters, Edwards, Maybin...etc) somewhere else or the other team overpays for them. Examples...Levitre, Clements, Peters, etc...

Peters is a slug? The guy was arguablly one of the best (if not the best LT) before he got hurt last year.

[Mr. Miyagi]

Peters is a slug? The guy was arguablly one of the best (if not the best LT) before he got hurt last year.
That's the reputation he has, doesn't mean it's true.

[BillsFever21]

We DO do that. We just do that with the wrong people. Fitz, Jauron, McKelvin, Josh Reed, reject OLmen, etc.

Just re-signing players when their contract is up or some average at best players in the last year on their contract isn't the same as re-signing your young draft pick who has proved himself after 3 years when he still has a 2-3 years left on his contract. The Bills rarely ever do that and if they do they are usually with role players when they have one more year left.

You want to identify them good players for the long term and give them an extension while they still have at least 2 years left on their contract. They are usually happy to get the immediate raise and guaranteed money and the team ends up saving money in the long run then waiting until his last season or when he becomes a FA. Also by that time the player is usually around 25 years old so that contract would take them till they are around 30-32 years old which is around the time most players start losing some of their skills.

A perfect example of this would've been if the Bills would've re-signed Byrd and/or Levitre a couple of years ago instead of letting them get to FA. They would've got the deals much cheaper and they could've extended them in years when we were sitting tens of millions of dollars under the salary cap instead of letting it go to waste.

Another perfect example would be the Bills looking into a 5 year contract extension for Spiller right now if they want to keep him around for the long haul. He still has two years left on his rookie contract and a new five year deal would take him up to 30 years old which is right about the time that RB's lose a couple steps and start going downhill. He still hasn't totally broke out because of Gailey and we could get him much cheaper then if we waited until after this season or later.

Them are examples of locking up your good young players that are still under a rookie contract for a couple years. It's not the same thing waiting until they are in the middle of their last season or re-signing bums like McKelvin after their contract is up. Many players want to test FA no matter what but even more if they are already in the last year of their contract. They will take the chance to have a major payday after the season is over. If you catch them when they still have 2+ years left on their contract and offer them a fair extension many of them are more then willing to jump on the guaranteed money right now.

[bf1]

We DO do that. We just do that with the wrong people. Fitz, Jauron, McKelvin, Josh Reed, reject OLmen, etc.

It might be a curse.

[swiper]

Peters is a slug? The guy was arguablly one of the best (if not the best LT) before he got hurt last year.


ROFLMAO. Watch football much? Understand it much?

Dumping that p.o.s. when they did looks smarter than ever now.

[better days]

That's the reputation he has, doesn't mean it's true.


And last year was not the first time he was injured either, Peters is no Levitre when it comes to being an iron man.

[SpikedLemonade]

Kyle Williams, FJ, Eric Moulds, Lee Evans, Aaron Shibel....the list goes on. Until we grab a headcoach who knows what he's doing, it doesn't matter who we sign or who we keep.

Wouldn't a competent experienced NFL GM also be helpful?

[swiper]

Wouldn't a competent experienced NFL owner also be helpful?

Fixed for you. :D

[SpikedLemonade]

It might be a curse.

It may also be only hiring the elderly with no prior NFL GM experience who happen to already be in the room and have the trust of Ralph.

[SpikedLemonade]

Fixed for you. :D

Any day or month now we will all have to put on our fake smiles and say untrue good things about the recently departed.

[better days]

Any day or month now we will all have to put on our fake smiles and say untrue good things about the recently departed.

Well, it could be YEARS from now. There are many people here in Fla over 100 years old. And as far as saying anything good or bad about Ralph, I will reserve judgement on that until I KNOW the fate of the team.

[HAMMER]

Wow, so many people defending our front office......

[SpikedLemonade]

Wow, so many people defending our front office......

They are the one and same people who believe we are going to win more than 6 games this year.

Wait to see how they start crying when we go 2-14.

[BillsFever21]

ROFLMAO. Watch football much? Understand it much?

Dumping that p.o.s. when they did looks smarter than ever now.

He was a top LT when we got rid of him and had some good years afterwards. The past couple seasons he has dealt with injuries so in the end it wasn't worth the 1st round draft pick for the Eagles.

The trade worked out good and we used the draft pick to get Andy Levitre. It's all meaningless now though since we let a good OL walk and now we need to draft another one to take his place. That's how the Bills operate though and is one of the reasons why we can never "build" a team and we keep treading water. We are always using most of our draft picks to replace players at spots we already had filled or to use them on another position that we drafted a bust at two or three years prior to that.

Until this team gets a competent front office nothing will ever change unless Marrone turns into a great coach and can cover up some of their deficiencies. It all starts at the top and as long as Ralph Wilson is in charge he will continue hiring bums that no other team would to run the show. What's worse is he keeps them on long after they have failed.

[TacklingDummy]

ROFLMAO. Watch football much? Understand it much?

Dumping that p.o.s. when they did looks smarter than ever now.


:clap:

[better days]

They are the one and same people who believe we are going to win more than 6 games this year.

Wait to see how they start crying when we go 2-14.

Want to make a little wager (not for money)? I will bet you the Bills win more than two games. In fact I say they will win at least 6 games.

If they win between 3 & 5 it is a draw.

Are you in?

[swiper]

He was a top LT when we got rid of him and had some good years afterwards. The past couple seasons he has dealt with injuries so in the end it wasn't worth the 1st round draft pick for the Eagles.


ROFL. Ok. He's a legend in your mind. That's not reality however. Ask an Eagles fan.

[Buddo]

FWIW, the pick we got for Peters, was used on Eric Wood, not Levitre.

On a different note, hiring guys with previous GM experience, actually doesn't happen that often in the NFL. Good ones stick with the teams they are on, by and large, so the search is for a guy who has shown he is up to the mark in as many areas as possible, without actually having been GM before. Nix would have filled those criteria, better than a lot of other candidates, at the time.

[justasportsfan]

Wouldn't a competent experienced NFL GM also be helpful?

I agree.


it's his job to find a competent HC