View Full Version : A Look Towards the Offseason
EM Bills Fan 80
10-29-2003, 11:47 AM
Alright, I know we still have a halfseason to play, but the way things are looking, people are gonna start looking at FA soon. So I was just wondering what type of FA's are going to be available following the season that the Bills may look at. List them here:
CB - Champ Bailey
CB - Shawn Springs
CB - Charles Woodson
CB - Chris McCallister
DE - Javon Kearse
DT - Warren Sapp
WR - Dennis Northcutt
WR - Terrell Owens
WR - Keyshawn Johnson
Name some others, lets try and get a list started....
ryven
10-29-2003, 01:40 PM
I dont know who will be cut but if we could pick up charles woodson that would be nice but thats only if we don't get winfield back. by the way has anyone heard what going on with his talks?
stuckincincy
10-29-2003, 01:46 PM
Some nice names there but I suspect salary caps would come into play. But it's not too soon to contemplate! :up:
I remember tha days befor FA, when trades were a big part of the fun in the NFL. Alas, all gone.
R. Rich
10-29-2003, 01:52 PM
Originally posted by stuckincincy
I remember tha days befor FA, when trades were a big part of the fun in the NFL. Alas, all gone.
...........and with it, gone are the days when the consortium known as Dallas/San Fransisco/Green Bay would dominate the league and win championships. I, for one, do NOT miss that.
TedMock
10-29-2003, 01:58 PM
I'd love to get Chris McAllister if we lose Winfield. He's an excellent cover guy, fast and has the height to go up with tall WR's. Plus, he's good in run support. Not as good as AW in run support but he can hold his own. He's also a better cover guy. I think Woodson's overrated.
R. Rich
10-29-2003, 02:04 PM
Originally posted by TedMock
I'd love to get Chris McAllister if we lose Winfield. He's an excellent cover guy, fast and has the height to go up with tall WR's. Plus, he's good in run support. Not as good as AW in run support but he can hold his own. He's also a better cover guy. I think Woodson's overrated.
I said this before in another post, but if we have the cap room, and if Winfield wants "Champ Bailey-type money" to stay here, wouldn't it make more sense to just sign Champ Bailey instead? He's the best CB in football. I'm sure it won't happen, but wouldn't that be nice if it did?
stuckincincy
10-29-2003, 02:17 PM
Originally posted by R. Rich
...........and with it, gone are the days when the consortium known as Dallas/San Fransisco/Green Bay would dominate the league and win championships. I, for one, do NOT miss that.
Well yeah, there is that. In some post sometimes in the past, I alluded that without FA and cap we would be watching our XXXXX consecutive NYJ-NYG S-Bowl.
Still, trades were fun. Lamonica for Flores and Powell in the '60's. Keith Lincoln from the Chargers. Paul Seymour to the Steelers for Lofton, and so forth.
Why are we looking at CBs and WRs?
IMO our first five additions should be DE, DT, OG, C and backup(s) for those.
Partially joking, but mostly serious.
What's wrong w/ Moulds, Reed, Shaw, Aiken, and Campbell?
What's wrong with, even if Winfield leaves, which I doubt he will after this year, we still have Milloy, Reese, PP, and Wire at Ss. And Clements, Thomas, McGee, and Sidney? Yeah, we need one, but IMO our bucks would be better diverted to OL and DL.
What DE, DT, G, and C FAs will be available?
If we can sign a very solid DT or DE and G and C, then draft a DE or DT (whichever we don't get via FAcy) then we'll be in great shape next year. If not, it's gonna be the same old, same old while TD's chasing big name WRs, RBs, CBs, Ss, LBs.
Figure at 6-10 or 7-9 we'll be drafting at between 7th and 12th, we'll have a very solid shot at some great linemen. Plus, we should have the overall 45th (or so) pick too.
Who are the top DL and OL men?
TedMock
10-29-2003, 02:20 PM
Champ's outstanding too. I always liked him as well. I admit that I'm a little nervous now after seeing Josh Reed have such a big game against him. I guess 9 out of 10 games that doesn't happen and I know Champ's been playing with some injuries this year. Put your $$ on Dallas this week. Champ's playing hurt, Smoot and the 3rd corner are out and they just signed an undrafted FA to get some time this week against Dallas' very fast WR's. You're right though, for the same $ I'd pay Champ first. Actually, I'd take Champ and McAllister ahead of Winfield. I consider Springs equal and Woodsen way overrated.
We can make due w/ a $1.5 CB and no additions at all at WR, RB, TE, LB, and S. Heck, we stocked the team this past offseason w/ all those positions while almost completely ignoring the lines.
Can't do that again.
Of course on Draft day I'll be waiting for Donahoe to pass up a guy at the #8 overall while explaining to Bills fans that he wasn't worth a #8, only a #12 or something silly like that.
If we draft another slow-type DE in round 2 I'm gonna throw wings all over the restaurant! :D
TedMock
10-29-2003, 02:24 PM
Originally posted by Wys Guy
Why are we looking at CBs and WRs?
IMO our first five additions should be DE, DT, OG, C and backup(s) for those.
Partially joking, but mostly serious.
What's wrong w/ Moulds, Reed, Shaw, Aiken, and Campbell?
What's wrong with, even if Winfield leaves, which I doubt he will after this year, we still have Milloy, Reese, PP, and Wire at Ss. And Clements, Thomas, McGee, and Sidney? Yeah, we need one, but IMO our bucks would be better diverted to OL and DL.
What DE, DT, G, and C FAs will be available?
If we can sign a very solid DT or DE and G and C, then draft a DE or DT (whichever we don't get via FAcy) then we'll be in great shape next year. If not, it's gonna be the same old, same old while TD's chasing big name WRs, RBs, CBs, Ss, LBs.
Figure at 6-10 or 7-9 we'll be drafting at between 7th and 12th, we'll have a very solid shot at some great linemen. Plus, we should have the overall 45th (or so) pick too.
Who are the top DL and OL men?
I agree, we need DL help first. If AW is gone I'd like to sign a big name young corner though. DE's are easily the most pressing need IMO, followed by 2 interior OL. I think Price and Sullivan are versitile enough to play G & T but I don't think we can afford to start both. We need at least 1 guard possibly followed by a center depending on how we shuffle our current line.
Well, they're not playing Sullivan now. So what makes you think they're gonna play him next year? By then, having sat a year, who knows what he'll be like. Might get outta condition and overweight and lose it. Who knows, odd things happen under similar circumstances.
But even if AW left, why does everyone seem to believe that having a decent CB would be more important than generating a pass rush? B/c we all know we're not gonna have the bucks to up grade both lines the way we should, find a QB replacement for Drew, replace (or re-sign) Winfield.
We're gonna have to make our choices. IMO we won't even have enough resources, cap and draft picks, to completely revamp our lines to the extent necessary let alone all that other stuff.
R. Rich
10-29-2003, 02:40 PM
Originally posted by TedMock
I agree, we need DL help first. If AW is gone I'd like to sign a big name young corner though. DE's are easily the most pressing need IMO, followed by 2 interior OL. I think Price and Sullivan are versitile enough to play G & T but I don't think we can afford to start both. We need at least 1 guard possibly followed by a center depending on how we shuffle our current line.
Now you're talkin'!
I've been saying that we need to stock up on linemen with our draft picks and in free agency.
Here's what I'd do:
1. Look to acquire a big time pass rushing RDE in free agency.
2. Look to acquire a standout C in free agency.
3. Use our first pick in the draft on the best DT available, hopefully that will be the best DT overall.
4. Use our second pick on the best OG available in the draft, which could be the best G overall or at least one of the top 5.
5. Use our third pick on either a QB or another G.
Of course, whatever happens from now until draft/free agency time could affect this, but this would be my game plan. We would then address major weaknesses on both lines and be in much better shape.
Miami_Vice
10-29-2003, 02:41 PM
Surtain is better than Bailey, but I wouldnt expect you Bills fans to confess that :)
And to think, we could have had Eric Steinbach instead of McGahee. ES is having a decent season in Cincy.
:shakeno:
R. Rich
10-29-2003, 02:45 PM
Originally posted by Miami_Vice
Surtain is better than Bailey, but I wouldnt expect you Bills fans to confess that :)
I like Surtain's abilities a lot. I just don't think he's better than Bailey. That doesen't mean he's not one of the top CBs, because he is.
The Spaz
10-29-2003, 02:46 PM
Originally posted by Wys Guy
And to think, we could have had Eric Steinbach instead of McGahee. ES is having a decent season in Cincy.
:shakeno:
Hey McGahee could still have a decent season.;)
Billzz
10-29-2003, 06:13 PM
Wys you can't determine that McGahee is a crappy pick for another year. Till then it's in the past and really not worth discussing till he blows his knee to pieces or turns into Barry Sanders.
They picked him assuming there line was decent enough to give Drew time and T-Hen some holes. No one could forecast what a bunch of underachievers they where going to turn out to be.
Originally posted by R. Rich
Now you're talkin'!
I've been saying that we need to stock up on linemen with our draft picks and in free agency.
Here's what I'd do:
1. Look to acquire a big time pass rushing RDE in free agency.
2. Look to acquire a standout C in free agency.
3. Use our first pick in the draft on the best DT available, hopefully that will be the best DT overall.
4. Use our second pick on the best OG available in the draft, which could be the best G overall or at least one of the top 5.
5. Use our third pick on either a QB or another G.
Of course, whatever happens from now until draft/free agency time could affect this, but this would be my game plan. We would then address major weaknesses on both lines and be in much better shape.
I like this plan...!!
Surtain would be too much as well Vice! Love to have him, but just too expensive. If TD spends more big bucks on a DB next season someone will have to "pull a Buddy Ryan" on him too.
Originally posted by The Spaz
Hey McGahee could still have a decent season.;)
Agreed! But he may never even be average too. :idunno:
Originally posted by Billzz
Wys you can't determine that McGahee is a crappy pick for another year. Till then it's in the past and really not worth discussing till he blows his knee to pieces or turns into Barry Sanders.
They picked him assuming there line was decent enough to give Drew time and T-Hen some holes. No one could forecast what a bunch of underachievers they where going to turn out to be.
No, you can't zz. But that still doesn't mean it was a wise use of a first rounder this past season. And by the looks of it, TD may be on the way out too if McGahee doesn't work out. Regardless, he'd better have an extremely solid and practical draft next year too or his goose could be cooked with the fans too.
The fans have trusted TD's "staffing strategy" just as we've trusted GW's tactical strategies. It's starting to appear that both have fallen drastically short of "stellar" to say the least. McGahee going bad would only ice a cake that's already been baked.
hurls
10-30-2003, 01:46 AM
Depending what he wants, and his health, we should make a run at "The Freak". We need a pass rush
Billzz
10-30-2003, 10:23 AM
I see your view point Wys. Yes we could have filled one of our holes in the line with the McGahee pick, but no one really thought the line was going to be so god awful. Well I didn't anyway.
I looked at the pick as a bonus since I was assuming they had a O and D line that was good to go. A possible great running back in a year with a 23rd pick was too good to pass up IMO also. Think of the draft picks and the possibilty to have a feature back for a few years to come.
Only time will tell if the chance he took was dazzling or dumb. Leaning towards dumb right now because of all the other issues we are experiencing.
Well, anyone who saw Adams play last year should have known he wasn't going to be anything special. All I was hoping for was average play there and I don't think we're getting that outta him. My estimation of the DL play was also largely predicated on the notion that perhaps Jones would play, that Irons would "step up", or that Edwards would have improved, which I believe he has, but not enough.
Again, either the injury which had fully healed in time for him to play this season, or an issue that would have forced him to sit this year although w/o any injury issue would have been justified in my mind. But not both for a selection that high. Again, it was a huge risk that we really didn't need to take. That's my point. If we had absolutely no RBs, then fine. But we had so many other pressing needs that that pick was almost frivolous, and certainly unnecessary given the other needs. Even if Adams was going to help us for this year, it should have been plainly obvious that we should have started to look to replace him already.
And we had interior line issues as well which were known. You know I was critical of TD's rhetoric that a second-year 7th round player who'd never seen a down as a starter would fill in at G. You're right that none of us thought that our OL would be gawd awful, but we did know that Brown is mediocre and aging, that Teague was both overpaid and overrated at C, and that Sullivan was still somewhat of an uncertainty in spite of the fact that he played last year.
But most of all, we absolutely knew w/ certainty that we had absolutely no depth at the IOL. I even wrote several articles containing that long before the season got underway. Knowing that we needed some L/T help there, again, drafting McGahee was a luxury risk/pick that we couldn't really afford. It's proving out now.
And the problem w/ linemen is that you rarely, even the first rounders, have them step in in year one and make a huge contribution as they have to go thru the growing pains. Well now, what, looks as if we're gonna have to wait until '05 to have a halfway decent OL and that's only if we spend most of our early picks and FA resources in some way on the OL. I'd flat out cut teague after the '04 season. He's uncuttable next year for cap reasons. Brown, I simply wouldn't renew him when he's up. Pucillo needs to be replaced post haste. I would keep Pucillo for depth as I'm still not sold that he can't be good as a backup tho.
But while everyone screams that Bledsoe can be good w/ the right OL, by the time we have that line, if in fact that statement is correct which you know I cannot disagree more with, then it'll be '06 before "Bledsoe can be good" at this rate based on the OL play. Right!
IMO we had no business taking McGahee. But again, in hindsight, unless he blossoms into a Tomlinson, drafting him wont' have been nearly worth it. That's pretty high hopes. We'll have to wait to see. Also, he's gotta finally shed the stigma that he's injury prone too.
His last three seasons, three knee injuries/surgeries. That should have even the most optimistic Bills fan concerned.
Originally posted by slruh
Depending what he wants, and his health, we should make a run at "The Freak". We need a pass rush
The "freak" really isn't a freak. He totally overachieved in his rookie season and simply hasn't been much better than another dozen or 20 DEs. Heck, Lance Johnstone has as many sacks (one less) and we coulda had him for cheap had he opted for us instead of staying w/ the Vikes. But again, we didn't even inquire.
He'll be overpriced. Probably why we would sign him. LOL
The_Philster
10-30-2003, 03:05 PM
Originally posted by Wys Guy
He'll be overpriced. Probably why we would sign him. LOL
Under Butler, I'd agree. I'm hoping that Donahoe has the common sense to refrain from overspending on free agents too much.
SABURZFAN
10-30-2003, 03:14 PM
let's save it for the offseason.we're 4-4,not 0-8.
stuckincincy
10-30-2003, 04:04 PM
Originally posted by Wys Guy
And to think, we could have had Eric Steinbach instead of McGahee. ES is having a decent season in Cincy.
:shakeno:
My rant:
That's the first acknowlegment about what I've said since I joined this forum in this Sept. I'm one of those that watches the entire draft on espn, both days, and I hopped up 'n down when they passed on Steinback. He's started every game for the B'gals. How long has it been since you've seen a bills guard move upfield and block block block? This guy does it time after time. He pulls like a Steelers or Packers guard from those team's glory days. Plus, while he's still learning pass blocking, he is doing wel in that aspect.. Why the "brain trust", faced with an aging all-in-all good pro like Brown didn't jump on this guy, I'll never understand.
I agree with you 100 percent about #11. I was dubious when they made the trade, but was willing to give the guy the benefit of the doubt. Sadly, any way it's cut, Bledsoe is a statue stuck in a six-second time zone.
I don't know what the cap ramifications are, but I suspect his current market value approximates that of RJ in his last year.
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