Aerial circus has Bills fans wondering

[The_Philster]

by Jerry Sullivan
Wow, did you catch that Green Bay-Indianapolis game Sunday afternoon? At one point, I tried to adjust my TV set because I couldn't believe my eyes. The teams were actually throwing the ball down the field and scoring points.
With four minutes left in the first quarter, the Colts and Packers had already combined for five touchdown passes. Peyton Manning and Brett Favre combined for 751 passing yards, nine TDs, no interceptions and a sack in the Colts' 45-31 win...more

[RedEyE]

That "No-Punt" game is one of my favorite to date. They should play that freaking game on the NFL Network one of these days.

[G. Host]

That "No-Punt" game is one of my favorite to date. They should play that freaking game on the NFL Network one of these days.

I have a copy of it. I won it on bus with a raffle to Jim Kelly Hall of Fame Induction.

[ScottLawrence]

That's the most discouraging thing about the Bills, that in a league where fortunes change so rapidly, they're one team that seems to be standing still.

Ouch....


This team needs a new quarterback to "rapidly" change fortunes?

[Mr. Cynical]

WOW. This article is 10000% right on target. Great find.

But as entertaining as it was to watch, the Colts-Packers shootout had to be excruciating for Bills fans. Seeing what those two offenses can do, you're reminded of what the Bills cannot. They have speed, receiving depth, solid offensive lines. Most of all, they have quarterbacks who make everyone around them better.

You never hear people complaining about the Green Bay and Indy offensive lines. That's because Favre and Manning have total command of the QB position. They make quick decisions. They get the ball off under pressure. Drew Bledsoe suffers badly by comparison. When you see the great QBs, you realize how limited Bledsoe truly is. By almost any measurement - decision-making, mobility, accuracy on touch passes - Bledsoe isn't in the same league with Favre and Manning.

Yet he has been paid like them for years. Truly mind-boggling.

Of course, it would help if Bledsoe had more playmakers to throw to. How come other NFL teams get production from low-round draft picks, while the Bills wait for Josh Reed to mature? Why can't Tom Donahoe find a speedster like Brandon Stokley, a former fourth-round pick who scored three TDs in the playoffs last season and two more this past Sunday?

Ernest Wilford, who caught the winning TD for Jacksonville in the opener, was drafted in the fourth round last April. Ronald Curry, who caught the big TD pass for Oakland in Week Two, is a former seventh-round pick. So was Green Bay's Donald Driver and David Givens of the Pats. So, you can get quality wideouts in the later rounds. Clearly, if you spend the 13th overall pick on a wide receiver, as the Bills did for rookie Lee Evans, you're expecting a major return on your investment. Maybe Evans will break out over the coming weeks and the Bills' offense will start lighting up the scoreboard.

Time will tell but the pressure is definitely on.

That's the most discouraging thing about the Bills, that in a league where fortunes change so rapidly, they're one team that seems to be standing still.

So true and so frustrating.

[THATHURMANATOR]

Sullivan is a annoying. He acts like he knows it all.

[justasportsfan]

"Manning threw five TD passes in the first half. Bledsoe has five first-half touchdowns in his last 17 games."

Yikes!!!

[Ebenezer]

Yet he has been paid like them for years. Truly mind-boggling.

really?

BF has been to 2 SB and has a ring
DB has been to 2 SB and has a ring
PM has yet to go to SB and has no ring

Let's take a look...without bonus money

DB: career base salary through 06: $45.5 mil
1993 1025000.00
1994 1281250.00
1995 522223.00
1996 1500000.00
1997 2600000.00
1998 4500000.00
1999 4095000.00
2000 6340000.00
2001 3400000.00
2002 4900000.00
2003 5400000.00
2004 2250000.00
2005 3300000.00
2006 4350000.00

The Bills have been on the hook for 2002-2004...$12.5 mil + $8 mil in signing bonus...$6 mil a year

BF: career base salary through 06: $41.7 mil (he will end up making more than DB)
1994 1225000.00
1995 2900000.00
1996 3600000.00
1997 1600000.00
1998 3100000.00
1999 4300000.00
2000 450000.00
2001 477000.00
2002 750000.00
2003 4300000.00
2004 5500000.00
2005 6500000.00
2006 7000000.00
2007 11000000.00
2008 12000000.00
2009 13000000.00
2010 14000000.00


PM: career base salary through 06: $27 mil - he will make a hell of alot more than DB)
1998 144000.00
1999 1430000.00
2000 2666000.00
2001 4452000.00
2002 6298000.00
2003 9824000.00
2004 535000.00
2005 665000.00
2006 1000000.00
2007 1000000.00
2008 11500000.00
2009 14000000.00
2010 15800000.00
2011 14000000.00
2012 14000000.00

[Halbert]

I'd love to see Drew behind Indy's line.

[Mr. Cynical]

really?

BF has been to 2 SB and has a ring
DB has been to 2 SB and has a ring
PM has yet to go to SB and has no ring

SBs and rings are not the measure of a QB's worth. *See Rypien, Dilfer. But even using your stats, you are saying DB=BF. Do you really think that?

Let's take a look...without bonus money

DB: career base salary through 06: $45.5 mil
1993 1025000.00
1994 1281250.00
1995 522223.00
1996 1500000.00
1997 2600000.00
1998 4500000.00
1999 4095000.00
2000 6340000.00
2001 3400000.00
2002 4900000.00
2003 5400000.00
2004 2250000.00
2005 3300000.00
2006 4350000.00

The Bills have been on the hook for 2002-2004...$12.5 mil + $8 mil in signing bonus...$6 mil a year

BF: career base salary through 06: $41.7 mil (he will end up making more than DB)
1994 1225000.00
1995 2900000.00
1996 3600000.00
1997 1600000.00
1998 3100000.00
1999 4300000.00
2000 450000.00
2001 477000.00
2002 750000.00
2003 4300000.00
2004 5500000.00
2005 6500000.00
2006 7000000.00
2007 11000000.00
2008 12000000.00
2009 13000000.00
2010 14000000.00

PM: career base salary through 06: $27 mil - he will make a hell of alot more than DB)
1998 144000.00
1999 1430000.00
2000 2666000.00
2001 4452000.00
2002 6298000.00
2003 9824000.00
2004 535000.00
2005 665000.00
2006 1000000.00
2007 1000000.00
2008 11500000.00
2009 14000000.00
2010 15800000.00
2011 14000000.00
2012 14000000.00

We'd also need to know the bonus payouts all they way through to get a more accurate picture. I mean, Drew made a heckuva lot more than $522K in '95.

In addition, you can't add future dollars to the mix....

1. All contracts are backloaded and you know as well as I do players never see the entire amount. Look at Drew's $100M signing with NE as evidence.
2. We have no idea what Drew will make when he is released.
3. We have no idea when Favre will retire, and the likelihood of him playing to '10 is extremely low.

Therefore we can only go by what there is to date as that is the only certainty. So, given your numbers of $45.5 for Drew, $41.7 for Brett and $27 for Peyton (altho you'd have to compare 98 on to be fair), Drew is actually making the most. (although again, we really need to know bonus money) Given the huge difference in performance, that hardly makes sense IMO.