87 replies to this topic

[hooper]

Interesting article
http://espn.go.com/n...ck-andy-levitre

Edited by hooper, 05 March 2013 - 05:59 PM.

[LittleJoeCartwright]

I believe they've already made up their minds.

[Beerball]

Not sure if that man has the wherewithal to be an NFL GM.

[beerme1]

At least we have a plan!

[PromoTheRobot]

I think what Nix means is that he expected Fitz to take the big haircut to free up money for Levitre.  But it looks like Fitz is resisting. So Buddy is in a bind.

PTR

[GG]

PromoTheRobot, on 05 March 2013 - 06:26 PM, said:

So Buddy is in a bind.

PTR

Color me shocked.

[PromoTheRobot]

GG, on 05 March 2013 - 06:37 PM, said:

Color me shocked.

Well it's easy to throw stones now. What would you have done differently?  If your ask me Fitz is being a bit of a prick to the only GM who thought he was worth paying.

PTR

Edited by PromoTheRobot, 06 March 2013 - 01:05 AM.

[mob16151]

I mean theres like zero chance right,the brand new coaching staff is still trying to figure out if Fitz fits the offense there trying to run right? I mean I can't see Marrone doing his due diligence,before telling Nix what he thinks. That would be dumb right. Stupid Bills,stupid Nix,stupid Ralph,stupid winter.

I mean let's cut all the bad players,and sign all the good players. Totally easy amirite?

Edited by mob16151, 05 March 2013 - 06:43 PM.

[Jaysports36]

LittleJoeCartwright, on 05 March 2013 - 06:18 PM, said:

I believe they've already made up their minds.

I agree with this.  I think as far as Fitz goes, they have made up their minds and he will be let go...Andy, I am not sure, he has performed well and letting him go doesnt improve the team, on the other hand I dont think it drastically hurts the team either.

[LittleJoeCartwright]

Jaysports36, on 05 March 2013 - 06:56 PM, said:

I agree with this.  I think as far as Fitz goes, they have made up their minds and he will be let go...Andy, I am not sure, he has performed well and letting him go doesnt improve the team, on the other hand I dont think it drastically hurts the team either.

The price tag for Levitre is the biggest factor.

[Hopeful]

hooper, on 05 March 2013 - 05:53 PM, said:

Interesting article
http://espn.go.com/n...ck-andy-levitre

Help me understand the interest?

To me it looks like James Walker has rehashed information that's been out there for a while.  Nix has refused to answer questions about Fitz and has said before, any talking he'll do with Fitz - article on Buffalobills.com.  It's been out there that Levitre's agent and the Bills have had some discussion and are not aligned on money.  "The Buffalo Bills haven't ruled out the possibility of attempting to re-sign guard Andy Levitre before free agency opens next week." Well duh, why would any team rule out the possibility of signing a FA starter before FA?

The part I don't get is "Buffalo is already handcuffed by salary-cap limitations, especially after committing a one-year, $6.9 million offer to safety Jairus Byrd by placing the franchise tag on him in order to retain his rights."   According to Over the Cap, we still have close to $20 million after franchising Byrd.  We're 11th for cap room.  Teams that are "handcuffed by the cap" would seem to include Panthers, Raiders, Saints, Rams, Redskins, and Cowboys who are all over-committed relative to the cap, and the Steelers and '49ers each with less than $2 million left.

Either Walker has a different version of "handcuffed" than most people or he didn't bother to look this up?

[OldTimer1960]

Beerball, on 05 March 2013 - 06:23 PM, said:

Not sure if that man has the wherewithal to be an NFL GM.

Stop.  Do you really expect them to announce their plans to the press before they have come to fruition?  If they did that, there would be a LOT of folks on here complaining that they were country-bumpkins who couldn't "play the game".    

Just because they told some reporters that they were still evaluating their plans, doesn't mean that they don't have a good idea what they want to do.  Further, it is no surprise that Fitz and his agent have not exactly played along with what the Bills might have proposed.  Before someone queues "They way over-paid Fitz -those morons", they had some indications that they had an adequate starting QB and opted to pay him middling money to lock him up so that they could focus on building talent in other areas (primarily defense).  While the defense didn't perform well as a whole, I think it would be difficult to argue that there isn't MUCH better talent on D than there was 3 years ago.

For those who say Fitz is WAY over-paid: I would argue that he is a bottom-third of the league starting QB.  I suspect that his salary is commensurate.  What is Joe Flacco making now? Something like $20M per season in comparison with Fitz' $7M?

[GG]

PromoTheRobot, on 05 March 2013 - 06:39 PM, said:

Well it's ready to throw stones now. What would you have done differently?  If your ask me Fitz is being a bit of a prick to the only GM who thought he was worth paying.

PTR

I would have been looking at least a year out for contract extensions and packed the extension in a year where there was still cap space, like '12 also knowing that salaries keep escalating and it's best to lock up guys you want to keep ASAP.

Don't know how much Buddy was hamstrung by Detroit pursestrings last year after the big FA spending, but for the last three years he's still sounded and acted like a head scout who's over his head in running the organization.  Fitz definitely has the team in a bind, because by my math Bills owe him $3 million no matter what, and he can easily sign for $3 million as a backup elsewhere, so Bills can't really hard ball him too much.  It's also not in his interest to take one for the team because Nix was upfront & center that Bills will find Fitz's replacement this year.

That's the situation the Bills are in, and Nix certainly didn't help his cause with random commentary that's now biting him in the arse.

And PS to the OP - when linking articles, please don't link AP stories that run on James Walker's space on ESPN. Try to find the clean AP link.  It's a disservice to the Canadian lush who actually did the work and people may think that Walker may have lifted a finger.

[fansince88]

HMMMMM???? What to do???? Well I give up.....Russ, its all yours!

[jahnyc]

Nix's statements seem less positive about Levitre than what he was saying when Poz and Stevie were going into free agency.  If Fitz is willing to forego or defer his upcoming $3 million bonus, I bet there is a better chance that he will be in training camp than Levitre.

Not getting a good vibe that the Bills will be making an effort to re-sign Levitre.

[OldTimer1960]

GG, on 05 March 2013 - 07:15 PM, said:

I would have been looking at least a year out for contract extensions and packed the extension in a year where there was still cap space, like '12 also knowing that salaries keep escalating and it's best to lock up guys you want to keep ASAP.

Don't know how much Buddy was hamstrung by Detroit pursestrings last year after the big FA spending, but for the last three years he's still sounded and acted like a head scout who's over his head in running the organization.  Fitz definitely has the team in a bind, because by my math Bills owe him $3 million no matter what, and he can easily sign for $3 million as a backup elsewhere, so Bills can't really hard ball him too much.  It's also not in his interest to take one for the team because Nix was upfront & center that Bills will find Fitz's replacement this year.

That's the situation the Bills are in, and Nix certainly didn't help his cause with random commentary that's now biting him in the arse.

And PS to the OP - when linking articles, please don't link AP stories that run on James Walker's space on ESPN. Try to find the clean AP link.  It's a disservice to the Canadian lush who actually did the work and people may think that Walker may have lifted a finger.

$3M or $7M this year, either way it isn't in the upper tier of QB pay by a long-shot.  I think that many here are over-board in their criticism of the "HUGE" contract that the Bills signed Fitz to.  Fitz' contract places him on the lower end of pay for starting QBs - about commensurate with his production.  Now, if one wants to quibble that he is still over-paid, I wouldn't argue, but the Bills had a strategy to build the rest of the team (with focus on D) and "live' with Fitz until a better option could be had.  Of course, the D hasn't played to the level expected, but I do think that there is a good level of talent there to be harvested by better coaching.

jahnyc, on 05 March 2013 - 07:34 PM, said:

Nix's statements seem less positive about Levitre than what he was saying when Poz and Stevie were going into free agency.  If Fitz is willing to forego or defer his upcoming $3 million bonus, I bet there is a better chance that he will be in training camp than Levitre.

Not getting a good vibe that the Bills will be making an effort to re-sign Levitre.

While Levitre is a very good player, he is going to command $8+M per year on the open market.  You can't just shell out that kind of jack without considering what else you could buy for a similar of just a bit higher price.  What if they could get 2 decent starting LBs for that same price?  What if they could get a very good starting RT for 25% more?  Would either of those options be better than re-signing Levitre?  

To be clear, I think Levitre has done everything that they've asked at a high level.  He deserves to make a very good buck in FA.  Whether he is the Bills' best option this year is open for debate.

[the skycap]

PromoTheRobot, on 05 March 2013 - 06:39 PM, said:

Well it's ready to throw stones now. What would you have done differently?  If your ask me Fitz is being a bit of a prick to the only GM who thought he was worth paying.

PTR

I was thinking the same thing PTR. you would think after "stealing" money from the Bills Fitz would agree to restructure or take a cut. I say release him and see how much money he can make elsewhere, maybe Arizona.

[Rockinon]

PromoTheRobot, on 05 March 2013 - 06:39 PM, said:

Well it's ready to throw stones now. What would you have done differently?  If your ask me Fitz is being a bit of a prick to the only GM who thought he was worth paying.

PTR

What makes you think Nix even asked for a contract restructure in the first place?

[JR in Pittsburgh]

Beerball, on 05 March 2013 - 06:23 PM, said:

Not sure if that man has the wherewithal to be an NFL GM.

"Any talking, I'll do with him," Nix said.

[Beerball]

Hopeful, on 05 March 2013 - 07:13 PM, said:

Help me understand the interest?

To me it looks like James Walker has rehashed information that's been out there for a while.  Nix has refused to answer questions about Fitz and has said before, any talking he'll do with Fitz - article on Buffalobills.com.  It's been out there that Levitre's agent and the Bills have had some discussion and are not aligned on money.  "The Buffalo Bills haven't ruled out the possibility of attempting to re-sign guard Andy Levitre before free agency opens next week." Well duh, why would any team rule out the possibility of signing a FA starter before FA?

The part I don't get is "Buffalo is already handcuffed by salary-cap limitations, especially after committing a one-year, $6.9 million offer to safety Jairus Byrd by placing the franchise tag on him in order to retain his rights."   According to Over the Cap, we still have close to $20 million after franchising Byrd.  We're 11th for cap room.  Teams that are "handcuffed by the cap" would seem to include Panthers, Raiders, Saints, Rams, Redskins, and Cowboys who are all over-committed relative to the cap, and the Steelers and '49ers each with less than $2 million left.

Either Walker has a different version of "handcuffed" than most people or he didn't bother to look this up?

The piece is by Wawrow.

OldTimer1960, on 05 March 2013 - 07:14 PM, said:

Stop.  Do you really expect them to announce their plans to the press before they have come to fruition?  If they did that, there would be a LOT of folks on here complaining that they were country-bumpkins who couldn't "play the game".  

Please list his major accomplishments to date. That will ease my mind.