next season - Mark Sanchez

[better days]

I just don't see how Sanchez is any better than Fitz. Well, he's probably marginally better, but not better enough to put us over the edge.

Throw in the $10 million or so in dead cap we'd have to eat if we cut Fitz, plus the cap room we'd have to spend on Sanchez, and it just handcuffs this team. We can't afford to have $15 million or so in cap tied up in the QB position unless it's a true franchise QB.

Oh, and:

Just say No to USC trash.

Aside from that, Sanchez is not a Buffalo type guy. He loves the limelight GQ lifestyle, he would hate being in Buffalo & would be hated by Bills fans as much as he is hated by Jets fans.

[trapezeus]

he might hate it, but he might learn to love it if his football life turns around.

i just think we are in the worst of all situations. not bad enough to blow up and not good enough to totally lock down. and combine that with the fact to get a good qb out of this draft class will take amazing talent evaluation. Which is something we haven't done in the last 12 years. So i don't really see the silver lining in either direction and i don't see the silver lining in what i proposed.

the real answer would be to fire russ brandon and bring billl polian back with a "don't add your moron son as back up plan" clause. I bet the bills could raise ticket prices 30% alone on this move and still start fitz. That is where a fanbase will truly believe without hesitation. If polian comes in and says, "everyone must go, start over." i'll buy it. and if he says, i want to have a 60yr head coach and i'll pick whatever qb out of this draft and make us a winner, i'll believe it.

it's just very frustrating that even bad ideas that we have as fans (evidenced by my original post) is still on par with what our front office has come up with so far.

[Mike]

Matt More would be a FAR FAR better choice. He is an FA at end of season, and a buy low player.

[Mike]

The problem, the real problem, with Matt More is that he will give this HOMER fan base another shot in the arm. He will be good enough, and show enough to make some think that the Bills have found a QB. Of course 3 years later the Fans and the FO will realize what it took the Dolphins realized in 3mo, that he is NOT a Franchise QB and that the Bills just waisted 3years.

Best Option is to DRAFT a QB and take your shot there. QB is by far the most important position, I would completely focus on that. IF a good QB is available draft, and see how he plays. If good, move forward, if not draft another QB.

[BillsFever21]

cassell would be a straight up trade for fitz but with a concussion.

i just don't see a rookie qb doing much better (or much worse than fitz). and frankly the bills offense is in the early stages of being in its prime (in terms of key player ages). Look at the line which played well. look at cj freddie combo (maybe one more year after this), stevie is of age. To get a rookie to maybe sheppard the team into a playoff run, seems harder to me than getting a veteran to potentially juryrig a salvagable effort and spend a lower round pick (possibly on Klien from KS, i know he doesn't have the fundamentals etc, but he's a winner thus far) and get some OLBs in round 1 and 2, you might have a team that can squeak its way into the playoffs and maybe go on a run.

i'm just torn between this team being completely useless and seeing some signs of trying to make it work. and since my overwhelming feeling is that this team isn't long for the buffalo area, i want a playoff appearence sooner than later.

So you would rather stay with average to below average veteran QB's just because a rookie "might" not play as good in his rookie season? That is the most short term vision I have ever heard of.

Every QB is a rookie at some point. It's not like this team is contending even next year. We're a fairly young team that needs a young QB to grow with. Plus many of the rookie QB's over the past few years have had pretty good results early on. This move should've been done over the past couple years and it has already put us two years behind the process.

Just imagine if we would've drafted Andrew Dalton last year? He's not an elite QB but will sure be in the 2nd tier of capable QB's for the future that you can win games with and it only would've cost a 2nd round pick. He would've already had a couple years playing with the guys on the team and would be much better positioned for the future.

Also the last thing I'd be worried about is finding somebody specific to run Gailey's system. If he survives after this season it will be because Ralph doesn't want to eat the last year of his contract or too damn out of it to even care to force the issue. Either way that's not a good sign. At the very least Gailey will be gone after next season.

Gailey isn't here for the long term but we need to find a young QB who can be. It's too bad we wouldn't had started the process a couple years ago but that just shows how inept this team is when they put all their eggs(and 24 million guaranteed dollars) into a journeyman QB as your starter and didn't even have any backup plan. Even if was a later round guy with some talent that may have been able to be groomed.

Even good teams with an already established or elite QB grab QB projects to groom and have reaped the rewards by either trading them later on for 1st or 2nd round draft picks. Teams like the Eagles have made a model out of it with guys like Kevin Kolb and others.

Then teams like the Packers had enough vision into the future to know that they needed a replacement for Farve and ended up with the best one in the league. Even during Favre's prime years they would groom QB's and get draft picks out of it. Just look at some of the QB's that have came out of there in the past 15 years. You're talking Hasselbeck, Brunell and even Kurt Warner was on their roster but he didn't stick and didn't excel until later on but that's just another example.

It never hurts to groom QB prospects especially if you need one. At the very least you can trade them. Many teams are always willing to trade for a younger QB who came out of a good QB grooming regime or showed some success in limited playing time. Even the Patriots received 2 first round picks for Cassell and may even have their QB of the future in Mallett or a trading chip later on.

[trapezeus]

do you think there is an andy dalton in the bunch. last two year you could pick a decent qb even if you were the bills front office. i don't think the bills fo has the talent to find the one or two gems in the draft this year. thats why a stop gap is needed.

i agree with everything else you said. the time to do this was before.

as for gailey being gone, i'm not so sure. last time the bills looked for a HC they were turned down by everyone.

[stuckincincy]

Aside from that, Sanchez is not a Buffalo type guy. He loves the limelight GQ lifestyle, he would hate being in Buffalo & would be hated by Bills fans as much as he is hated by Jets fans.

Yep - Buffalo hatred.

I can't begin to count how many decent players have been drummed out of town by acid attacks from Buffalo fans. Forget that limelight stuff -if a player farts, utters a comment that doesn't stroke the local fans' butt as interpreted by the BUF mindset, he gets savaged.

There are 32 teams. 1,692 roster spots. A limited number of jobs. Somebody will fill 'em - out of desperation or a fat contract.. It's not a small-town thing. It's a fan thing.

BTW, I'm a BUF native. Lived there and saw the 1960 AFL Bills. Left town in 1978, so I have an outside perspective.

[BillsFever21]

do you think there is an andy dalton in the bunch. last two year you could pick a decent qb even if you were the bills front office. i don't think the bills fo has the talent to find the one or two gems in the draft this year. thats why a stop gap is needed.

i agree with everything else you said. the time to do this was before.

as for gailey being gone, i'm not so sure. last time the bills looked for a HC they were turned down by everyone.

It doesn't mean that you just keep a lame career losing coach around because several years ago nobody wanted the job. I'm sure there were many coordinators striving to be a HC that would've taken the job.

So does that mean we just keep Gailey until he decides he doesn't want to coach anymore? If he sucks then you don't keep him around..PERIOD. You go out and try and find that coordinator that might be able to turn into a good HC. Every coach was a coordinator at some point in their career. If you have to then you go out and try to find a college coach who wants to coach in the NFL or even a young successful positional coach that is on the verge of becoming a coordinator. You never stick with a proven loser though. If that's the case then you might as well throw in the towel every year.

Unfortunately our GM and FO is always the cheapest ones available out of the bunch so they're never good at spotting the right talent within the assistant coaching ranks. It doesn't mean that you still don't try when you have a proven dud and just stick with the same old proven loser.

If you were turned down by every girl in the bar that you tried with one weekend does that mean that you just say the hell with it and don't try again? If you were turned down by some bank for a car or house loan does that mean that you don't try again and you just stick with your bicycle and one room apartment? If you applied for tons of jobs and never got a call back does that mean you say the hell with it and never try to find a better job or a job at all until years later? Of course not and it's the same concept as far as HC's go.

[Yasgur's Farm]

I just don't see how Sanchez is any better than Fitz. Well, he's probably marginally better, but not better enough to put us over the edge.

Throw in the $10 million or so in dead cap we'd have to eat if we cut Fitz, plus the cap room we'd have to spend on Sanchez, and it just handcuffs this team. We can't afford to have $15 million or so in cap tied up in the QB position unless it's a true franchise QB.

Oh, and:

Just say No to USC trash.

OP... Here's Fits' contract details.

10/28/2011: Signed a seven-year, $62.195 million contract. The deal contains $24 million guaranteed, including a $10 million signing bonus. An annual $200,000 workout bonus is available throughout the contract's life. 2012: $2.8 million (+ $5 million option bonus due 3/19), 2013: $4.25 million (+ $3 million roster bonus), 2014: $4.35 million (+ $3 million roster bonus), 2015: $7.2 million, 2016: $8.75 million, 2017: $9.45 million, 2018: Free Agent.

The $10M signing bonus is amortized... So that leaves ~$7.1M dead cap due upon release. The 2012 $5M roster bonus may also need to be be rolled in adding another $4.2M dead cap. Bottom line, dead cap's gonna be at least $7.1M and maybe $11.2M. But that's gotta be weighed against the $7.25M due to Fitz in 2013 salary and roster bonus.

But that money's gone as far as Ralph is concerned... It's just a matter of managing the 2013 cap.

For the record... Here're Sanchez's details...

3/9/2012: Signed a five-year, $58.25 million contract. The deal contains $20.5 million guaranteed, including an $8 million signing bonus and all of Sanchez's 2012 and 2013 base salaries. Another $10 million is available through escalators. Sanchez is eligible for annual $500,000 workout bonuses throughout the contract's life. 2012: $3.25 million, 2013: $8.25 million, 2014: $9 million (+ $2 million roster bonus due in late March), 2015: $12.5 million (+ $1 million roster bonus due in late March), 2016: $10.75 million (+ $1 million roster bonus due in late March), 2017: Free Agent.

[Bangarang]

Looks like someone forgot to take their medication this morning.

[DynaPaul]

Dumbest post ever.

[better days]

Matt More would be a FAR FAR better choice. He is an FA at end of season, and a buy low player.

Agreed. I said in another thread, Moore will be a FA next year & I would be happy to see the Bills sign him.

[OpIv37]

OP... Here's Fits' contract details.

The $10M signing bonus is amortized... So that leaves ~$7.1M dead cap due upon release. The 2012 $5M roster bonus may also need to be be rolled in adding another $4.2M dead cap. Bottom line, dead cap's gonna be at least $7.1M and maybe $11.2M. But that's gotta be weighed against the $7.25M due to Fitz in 2013 salary and roster bonus.

But that money's gone as far as Ralph is concerned... It's just a matter of managing the 2013 cap.

For the record... Here're Sanchez's details...

Someone posted a few days ago that we'd have to eat $10MM if Fitz was cut- guess that was wrong and I was a little high. Still, this team has too many holes to fork over another 7 mil in dead cap. That's enough for a top notch LB or above average CB right there.

[feldspar]

If people really are going to have a discussion about the Bills acquiring Mark Sanchez, I might just have to turn in my membership card.

[BertSquirtgum]

Someone posted a few days ago that we'd have to eat $10MM if Fitz was cut- guess that was wrong and I was a little high. Still, this team has too many holes to fork over another 7 mil in dead cap. That's enough for a top notch LB or above average CB right there.

I tried telling you that.

[Yasgur's Farm]

Someone posted a few days ago that we'd have to eat $10MM if Fitz was cut- guess that was wrong and I was a little high. Still, this team has too many holes to fork over another 7 mil in dead cap. That's enough for a top notch LB or above average CB right there.

I don't think you were wrong at all... If anything, the cap hit could be as much as $11+M. But his $7+M for 2013 salary & roster bonus will need to be subtracted from that to get to the real 2013 impact.

Then again... Somebodies got to be QB... And they'll want to get paid a little something for the job.

[Historian]

Dear God.

A February thread in November!

[RedEyE]

I'd rather hold onto Fitz and draft a top tier QB.
No more other team toss off trash.

[Yasgur's Farm]

He said "toss off".

[better days]

Yep - Buffalo hatred.

I can't begin to count how many decent players have been drummed out of town by acid attacks from Buffalo fans. Forget that limelight stuff -if a player farts, utters a comment that doesn't stroke the local fans' butt as interpreted by the BUF mindset, he gets savaged.

There are 32 teams. 1,692 roster spots. A limited number of jobs. Somebody will fill 'em - out of desperation or a fat contract.. It's not a small-town thing. It's a fan thing.

BTW, I'm a BUF native. Lived there and saw the 1960 AFL Bills. Left town in 1978, so I have an outside perspective.

The hatred from Bills fans would be because of Sanchez's play, not because he is a pretty boy that loves the GQ limelight. On the other hand, Sanchez would hate Buffalo because it is not glitz & glamour. And he would hate Cincy or any other small City as much as Buffalo.