***Official 2011 Buffalo Bills Offseason Thread*** (1 Viewer)

[Obie Wan]

I'm seeing more mocks with Peterson to the Bills. I'm not sure how I feel about that. At first I was pretty irritated because obviously the front 7 is more of an issue than the secondary. But after reading up on Peterson more, I could probably live with him. The kid sounds like he very well could be a Champ Bailey/Revis type guy. He has great size, speed, tracks the ball really well, uses his body and athleticism really well and is a stud in the return game. I'd still probably prefer Fairley or Bowers, but Peterson is actually probably the safer pick and could still make a HUGE impact on the defense overall. A shutdown corner can make a d-line look a lot better by giving them more timeto get to the QB.Also, maybe Ponder in the 2nd? If his elbow injury was the reason for his struggles this season and that's a thing of the past, he could be a legit NFL QB. Not a huge arm, but very accurate and smart.After that, I'd like to see pretty much all DL, LB and OL.

A shutdown corner is useless in Buffalo since they play such a soft zone with their CBs 10 yards off the ball.They keep wasting premium picks on man-cover CBs and then play them out of position in soft zonesmight as well waste the pick on a QB

 

[Aaron Rudnicki]

Bills fire Tom Modrak

 

[Area51Inhabitant]

Did the Aaron Maybin pick finally hit the fan?

 

[GroveDiesel]

Bills fire Tom Modrak

IMO, it was only a matter of time after they hired Nix. Modrak is a bum. I don't even remember the last first round pick the Bills made that turned out to be an impact player for them.

 

[Mr. Peterson]

It gets a little hard to be a Buffalo Bills fan sometimes. Right now every team in the AFC East besides the Bills are out there making moves to better their team. Patriots are bringing in Haynesworth, Dolphins are bringing in Reggie Bush and possibly Orton, and the Jets brought back Holmes and are possibly bringing in the top free agent, Nnamdi Asomugha.

Meanwhile, the Bills lose their top FA in Poz, sign Florence to what I think is too expensive of a contract and then the only person we bring in so far is Tyler Thigpen? Really? I know a backup QB is important... But really?

The other 3 teams are doing things to get better so far and we seem to be losing guys and signing nobodys. I know it's early, but we might be in for a long season.

Side note... I will gladly endure one more HORRIBLE season if it means getting Andrew Luck. In my opinion, going through one terrible season for possible 7 good seasons is worth it to me.

 

[GroveDiesel]

The Bills are reportedly pushing hard for Brad Smith who would be a fantastic weapon in a Gailey offense. Even better, they're pushing hard for Kevin Burnett at ILB and Tyson Clabo at RT.

Those would be some huge upgrades (Burnett and Clabo).

Then get some extensions for guys like Stevie Johnson and Kyle Williams and I'd be pretty happy.

 

[Mr. Peterson]

The Bills are reportedly pushing hard for Brad Smith who would be a fantastic weapon in a Gailey offense. Even better, they're pushing hard for Kevin Burnett at ILB and Tyson Clabo at RT. Those would be some huge upgrades (Burnett and Clabo). Then get some extensions for guys like Stevie Johnson and Kyle Williams and I'd be pretty happy.

I'm excited for Brad Smith but I don't really understand the signing. What will he do for us? I know Gailey can be creative, but will he even be our 4th WR (remember, Gailey loves Parish). We have so many return men that one more doesn't make that much sense to me even though Brad Smith is one of the best.And I'll be excited if we can get Clabo. I believe we will highly overpay him but we have to spend that money somehow. But you're right, I would be very excited if we lock up Kyle Williams.

 

[t4strain]

It gets a little hard to be a Buffalo Bills fan sometimes. Right now every team in the AFC East besides the Bills are out there making moves to better their team. Patriots are bringing in Haynesworth, Dolphins are bringing in Reggie Bush and possibly Orton, and the Jets brought back Holmes and are possibly bringing in the top free agent, Nnamdi Asomugha.Meanwhile, the Bills lose their top FA in Poz, sign Florence to what I think is too expensive of a contract and then the only person we bring in so far is Tyler Thigpen? Really? I know a backup QB is important... But really? The other 3 teams are doing things to get better so far and we seem to be losing guys and signing nobodys. I know it's early, but we might be in for a long season. Side note... I will gladly endure one more HORRIBLE season if it means getting Andrew Luck. In my opinion, going through one terrible season for possible 7 good seasons is worth it to me.

I was wondering where we were spending all of the salary cap $$$! I kept seeing the same - AFCE after AFCE team making moves and pretty much crickets from Buffalo. However... I do trust in Nix, so we'll see where he takes us.

 

[GroveDiesel]

The Bills are reportedly pushing hard for Brad Smith who would be a fantastic weapon in a Gailey offense. Even better, they're pushing hard for Kevin Burnett at ILB and Tyson Clabo at RT. Those would be some huge upgrades (Burnett and Clabo). Then get some extensions for guys like Stevie Johnson and Kyle Williams and I'd be pretty happy.

I'm excited for Brad Smith but I don't really understand the signing. What will he do for us? I know Gailey can be creative, but will he even be our 4th WR (remember, Gailey loves Parish). We have so many return men that one more doesn't make that much sense to me even though Brad Smith is one of the best.And I'll be excited if we can get Clabo. I believe we will highly overpay him but we have to spend that money somehow. But you're right, I would be very excited if we lock up Kyle Williams.

Well, now it's starting to suck seeing that Clabo re-signed with the Falcons for a paltry $5M a year. That's a huge whiff by the Bills. As for Brad Smith, the new roster rule increases his value. Since the #3 QB can now be the 46th active spot on gameday, having a guy like Smith take that spot frees up an extra spot at the WR position for one of the other young WRs while still allowing the Bills to use Smith in the spread and pistol formation.

 

[IvanKaramazov]

Meanwhile, the Bills lose their top FA in Poz, sign Florence to what I think is too expensive of a contract

I've been criticizing this organization for years -- who hasn't? -- but let's at least aim for consistency here. If you're going to blast Nix for letting Poz get away, then you can't come back in the next breath and blame them for overpaying a little to keep a solid-but-unspectacular starter. And vice versa.

 

[Mr. Peterson]

Meanwhile, the Bills lose their top FA in Poz, sign Florence to what I think is too expensive of a contract

I've been criticizing this organization for years -- who hasn't? -- but let's at least aim for consistency here. If you're going to blast Nix for letting Poz get away, then you can't come back in the next breath and blame them for overpaying a little to keep a solid-but-unspectacular starter. And vice versa.

You're right. I'm just a little tired of the Bills right now. They really don't do anything to install confidence that we will have a winning season. I love going to games and supporting the Bills, but I can't do it anymore. Sometimes I don't know how the season ticket holders do it. But who knows, there's some good free agents still out there. We still need to bring in an ILB and possibly an OT. I don't think Barnett would be a bad option. Maybe Stewart Bradley could play ILB in a 3-4. And what about Jared Gaither? Is he a free agent or was he restricted? Because I think he could be a Pro Bowl RT.

 

[Mr. Peterson]

Brad Smith - WR - Bills Brad Smith will be listed as a quarterback in Buffalo, with his primary role as the QB in the Wildcat formation."I see him being used in a similar role as I used Kordell Stewart in Pittsburgh," said coach Chan Gailey. "He can play some receiver and quarterback. He gives you a lot of versatility. He can play special teams, cover kicks and return kicks." We can't imagine a scenario where Smith has weekly fantasy value in the slash role. He's closer to Josh Cribbs than Kordell Stewart. Source: WGR 550 Buffalo

I wasn't expecting that...

 

[GroveDiesel]

Well, the Bills have missed out on several LBs and OTs I would have liked (can't believe they didn't get Clabo when he signed pretty cheaply), but now they've added Nick Barnett. He's missed 19 games over the last 3 seasons, so he fits right in with the rest of the defense.

Also of note, the Bills are moving Arthur Moats from OLB to ILB. An interesting move since he was one of their beat pass rushers last year and may be their best outside of s healthy Merriman. His size indicates he's be better inside perhaps, but I'm not sure who will be the pass rusher outside now and if they'll consider sliding him back outside now with the signing of Barnett.

 

[GroveDiesel]

Posted this in the IDP forum, but the Bills spent $42 on Drayton Florence, Nick Barnett and Brad Smith. The Jags spent $42 on just Poz.

IMO, Buffalo did just fine here. Still wish they were able to upgrade at the RT position.

They are still $26M under the cap. Expect some big extensions for guys like Kyle Williams, Steve Johnson and maybe Fitzpatrick depending on how he does part way through the season.

 

[GroveDiesel]

Early reports out of camp seem to indicate that Merriman has looked REALLY good. Hope he can stay healthy!

 

[Obie Wan]

Early reports out of camp seem to indicate that Merriman has looked REALLY good. Hope he can stay healthy!

don't get too excitedhe is working against that stellar Bills OL -which has basically a blocking dummy at RT

 

[Aaron Rudnicki]

I went to camp the other day and thought Merriman looked impressive. Sure it wasn't against any world beaters, but it's just good to see him look healthy and ready to contribute.

Barnett is a great pickup, especially at that price.

Florence is a good guy to keep around, and I don't think they overpaid for him by much.

I'm a little surprised that Whitner hasn't signed anywhere yet. Must not be happy with the offers he's been getting, but I thought he'd be headed back to Ohio for sure.

I don't really get the Brad Smith signing but am curious to see how they plan to use him. Definitely adds some size to the WR group I guess.

Offensive tackles and tight end remain the biggest question marks on this team.