Inside The Bills

Fan Friday 3-15

College pro days are in full swing. Pre-draft visits will soon follow, and free agent visits as well. Let’s get to your questions for this week’s edition from AskChris@bills.nfl.net and on Twitter @ChrisBrownBills.

1 - @ChrisBrownBills would Bills take a flyer on Kolb?

Cparkin2009 12:33pm via Twitter for Android

CB: I’d be surprised if Kolb is on Buffalo’s radar. The Bills have been hard at work this week with a full court press on the quarterback prospects in this year’s draft. Landry Jones, Geno Smith and Tyler Wilson all had pro days this week. Though I wouldn’t rule out the Bills kicking the tires on a veteran free agent, it seems to me that the draft is where their focus lies with respect to quarterback right now.

 2 – Hi Chris,

Thanks for keeping us updated all off-season. If the scenario of Geno Smith falling to the Browns at #6 happens, do you think this would finally be the year the Bills trade up to land the best QB prospect? Andy Reid can probably work with Alex Smith and with the Eagles re-signing Vick it looks like they may not draft a QB but the Cardinals will most likely be looking to draft a QB right before us.    

Thanks,
John

CB: I agree that the Cardinals could still draft a QB despite signing veteran free agent Drew Stanton and jettisoning Kevin Kolb. But Arizona needs help in a lot of places after cutting some high-priced vets. Cleveland has addressed some of their most pressing defensive needs early in free agency, so I don’t think ruling them out for adding a quarterback can be assumed. I realize they drafted Brandon Weeden last year, but they have a new coaching staff and new ownership.

Reporters I’ve talked to in Philadelphia also won’t rule out Chip Kelly drafting a QB, though I don’t believe it’ll happen in round one with the fourth overall pick.

As for trading up, Buddy Nix traditionally does not like to move up and down the board. Now he moved up two places last year to grab T.J. Graham in round three, but it’s a whole different ball game in the top 10 and knowing the Bills only have six picks this year, it’s hard for me to see Nix giving up picks to make a move up higher in the top 10.

3 – Chris,
With Mike Pettine being the defensive coordinator now I assume the Bills are going back to a 3-4.  I was wondering what that means for the defensive line?  Will we see Dareus or Williams move to the end again?

CB: Personally I think Marcell Dareus and Kyle Williams are both versatile enough to play end or DT in Pettine’s system. But I’ll let coach Pettine handle this one since he was recently asked about his defense in an appearance on Bills flagship station WGR Sportsradio 550 this week.

“We’re not going to be true 3-4 or 4-3 as far as how we’re doing it,” said Pettine. “We’re going to be multiple in our fronts that we run. It’s a work in progress. We’re going to highlight in our playbook what we do well. So again it’s going to be more roster based.

“We have our base concepts that we’re going to run and those have been put in from a playbook standpoint, but we’re still trying to rebuild it. As a new staff we took what we built over four years in New York and then add the experience of the other coaches on the staff. We’ve basically hit the reset button on everything. I didn’t want to come in and say, ‘This is what we’re running.’ Over time you accumulate a lot of tweaks and adjustments. We wanted to go back to the baseline and say, ‘Here is the way we’re going to teach it and then understand that these are all the variations of it.’”

4 – Chris,

What are the odds that the Bills pass on a quarterback in the early rounds this year? And pick one next year in the early rounds? Are there any prospects in next year’s draft that are better than this year? It seems to me that at least this way we can get the defense squared away and add a receiver or tight end and have everything in place for a QB next year. Thanks . I enjoy your column.

Sam from Tupper Lake , NY
Sent from my iPhone

CB: I think with Ryan Fitzpatrick no longer on the roster it’s pretty much a must that the Bills draft a quarterback somewhere in the first two rounds of the draft. Obviously what falls to them will say a lot in what is ultimately done, but with a thin free agent class at QB and the draft class at QB not tremendously deep the Bills have to land a QB early as I see it.

5 – Chris,

I’m wondering what type of offense the Bills will run given coach Marrone and Hackett’s system at Syracuse. During the season last year Nassib was quoted as saying that their success with the no huddle spread offense was due to the fact that they run to set up the pass. This is an unusual description and quite the opposite of a west coast system. Yet, newly resigned QB Jackson was quoted as saying he’s looking forward to playing in a west coast system. What type of system do you think the Bills will run?  Thanks for your insight. Go Bills!

Joe
Sent from my iPad

CB: I think it’s safe to say the offense will be heavily rooted in West Coast principles, but it will have its fair share of power running. That’s coach Marrone’s influence being a former offensive lineman. He and coach Hackett wanted to take the best elements of a number of different offenses and incorporate them into one system. Essentially their offense is a multiple system with West Coast roots.

Pettine: Lawson an underrated pass rusher

Bills defensive coordinator Mike Pettine has not commented on any of the players he has on his side of the ball on Buffalo’s roster. He and Buffalo’s other coaches have understandably been reluctant to comment on what they think of their personnel, preferring to get on the practice field with them to see them up close before passing any judgment. The case is different however, with free agent acquisitions and after the Bills signed OLB Manny Lawson, Pettine commented.

Appearing on the Howard Simon Show on Bills flagship station WGR Sportsradio 550, Pettine provided his thoughts on just what kind of player they believe they have in Lawson.

“I think he brings a guy that has some explosive ability. He’s a tall, rangy guy, a set the edge type defender,” said Pettine. ”And even though we’re not going to be true 3-4 or 4-3 as far as we’re doing it. In our multiple fronts that we run we do need some bigger edge players. So I do think he certainly fits that bill for us. I think he’s an underrated pass rusher. He didn’t get as much opportunity to do that in Cincinnati as much as he did in San Francisco. But he’s a guy we liked coming out (in the draft) years ago and just admire the way that he plays, the effort, the energy, the passion he plays with from afar. So when the opportunity came up for us to evaluate the outside linebackers in free agency he was at the top of the list.”

Lawson barely rushed the passer in his two years with Cincinnati, but it sounds like that is going to change in Buffalo. Even in his press conference Lawson indicated that after speaking with Pettine briefly that he believes he’ll have the opportunity to get after quarterbacks, much like he did earlier in his career.

Reports: QB Kolb to be cut, Jets interested

According to NFL reports the Cardinals are on the verge of cutting QB Kevin Kolb and a Bills division rival is going to be interested in acquiring him.

Sources: #Cardinals expect to cut QB Kevin Kolb over the next few days. Due a roster bonus of $2M on March 17. He won’t see that, I’m told

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 14, 2013

Before the cut has even happened speculation is brewing that the Jets will be very interested in Kolb’s services. That according to the New York Daily News.

If price is right, he’ll be on Jets… and likely Week 1 starter RT @rapsheet Cardinals expect to cut QB Kevin Kolb over next few days #nyj

— Manish Mehta(@MMehtaNYDN) March 14, 2013

Stevie wouldn’t mind adding Heyward-Bey

Bills WR Stevie Johnson knows his team is in the market to add an outside receiver so they can move him into the slot. Johnson has been checking who is available and wouldn’t mind adding a Raiders receiver that was recently released.

Knowing Darrius Heyward-Bey was released by the Raiders, Johnson doesn’t mind doing recruiting for his team.

“As far as the recruiting goes I want the Bills to be on top,” Johnson told Buffalobills.com. ”Whether it’s this player or that player these guys are elite athletes. You put them on our team then you have an all-star. I’m not saying we’re going to get everybody, but DHB was recently released from the Raiders. Why not? Hey DH come check out Buffalo. Come take a visit or something and hopefully something works out. What I’m saying doesn’t mean the Bills are going to do it. I want to bring the Bills to the playoffs and hopefully a Super Bowl so why not recruit?

Heyward-Bey had 41 receptions for 606 yards and a career-high five touchdowns in 2012.

Wood recruiting Welker?

Bills center Eric Wood is offering to lead New England free agent WR Wes Welker on a tour of Buffalo and the team facilities should he choose to make a free agent visit to Orchard Park.

Wood did so on his Twitter account.

@weswelker let me know if you come on a visit to buffalo.. I’ll show you the ropes

— Eric Wood (@EWood70) March 13, 2013

It’s unclear if a slot receiver is a ‘want’ by Buffalo, knowing they’d ideally like to move Stevie Johnson inside and get a big wideout to line up outside. At the same time landing Welker would also be a huge subtraction from New England and even at age 31 he’s still an elite wideout.

Report: Rinehart to sign with Chargers

A day after losing Andy Levitre in free agency to the Tennessee Titans, it looks like his backup is headed elsewhere too.

The San Diego Union-Tribune is reporting that Bills free agent guard Chad Rinehart is going to sign with the San Diego Chargers.

Ex-Bills guard Chad Rinehart has agreed to one-year deal with Chargers. Arrived in SD last night. Expected to sign today, pending physical.

— Michael Gehlken (@UTgehlken) March 13, 2013

Rinehart going to San Diego makes sense. He’ll be re-united with Bills former offensive line coach Joe D’Alessandris, who now holds the same job with the Chargers under head coach Mike McCoy.

Lawson a sharp tack

There’s not much for fans to use to measure a player’s intelligence outside of the Wonderlic test, but Buffalo’s pro personnel department insists new free agent signee Manny Lawson is a sharp tack when it comes to just about anything.

Lawson’s intelligence however, goes far beyond effectively executing football assignments and anticipating what’s coming from an opposing offense. The linebacker majored in industrial engineering in college at N.C. State. He also scored a 43 out of 50 on the Wonderlic test at the Combine.

Suffice to say the Bills have themselves a high-end athlete with a cognitive skill set to match.

Levitre lands almost $8M per year deal

The original reports of Andy Levitre’s new contract with the Tennessee Titans were inaccurate. He’s actually going to make even more with the Titans.

Original reports had the contract at five years and $39M, but the latest report has the contract lasting six years for $46.8M deal. That according to the Tennessean’s Jim Wyatt.

The deal for Andy Levitre with the #Titans is for 6 years, and worth $46.8 million.

— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) March 12, 2013

The deal averages $7.8M per season.

Bills can split cap hit from Fitz release

The Bills released Ryan Fitzpatrick after 4 pm today to coincide with the start of the new league year. What that does is allow the Bills to make the quarterback a post June 1st designation.

By doing that the Bills have spread Fitzpatrick’s cap hit over 2013 and 2014 instead of absorbing all of it this year.

Jets to pursue free agent QB, WR Gibson

The New York Jets signed veteran QB David Garrard Monday, but they’re apparently not done adding at the position.

According to the New York Daily News they’re going to actively pursue free agent New Orleans QB Chase Daniel. Daniel has been Drew Brees backup the past few years. The Jets are expected to have some measure of competition for his services in what is considered a thin free agent market at quarterback.

The report also says the Jets are also interested in St. Louis free agent WR Brandon Gibson.

Report: Levitre return unlikely

It’s not a surprising report, but with the start of free agency an hour away ESPN is reporting that Bills free agent guard Andy Levitre is a long shot to re-sign with the Bills.

ESPN AFC East blogger James Walker tweeted as much about Levitre’s future.

Bad news for #Bills fans: I’m hearing it’s unlikely Buffalo will retain starting guard Andy Levitre in free agency. #NFLFreeAgency

— James Walker (@JamesWalkerESPN) March 12, 2013

With a handful of NFL clubs desperate for interior line help like Chicago and San Diego there’s enough demand that will likely pay Levitre handsomely.

Report: WR Simpson re-signs with Vikes

A day after the trade of Percy Harvin to Seattle, the Minnesota Vikings made sure they didn’t lose their other playmaker at receiver as they re-signed Jerome Simpson.

That according to ESPN NFL reporter Adam Schefter.

WR Jerome Simpson reached agreement with Vikings on a 1-year deal.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 12, 2013

Simpson was the kind of outside speed receiver that can make plays in a crowd that the Bills plan to look for.

Steelers re-sign G Foster

The Pittsburgh Steelers apparently created enough cap space to get FA guard Ramon Foster re-signed.

According to ESPN NFL reporter Adam Schefter the Steelers re-signed their starting guard. The reported three-year deal will have an impact on the rest of the guard market.

Family part of McKelvin’s decision to re-sign

Leodis McKelvin had his reasons for wanting to re-sign with the Bills. As much as he feels the Bills organization has become his extended family, it was his own family that played a role in his decision to re-up with Buffalo.

“I’ve got my nephews and my brothers up here staying with me (in Buffalo so that was a key situation as for me staying here,” McKelvin told Buffalobills.com. ”My family and the Bills, the guys coming back that are my family. I’ve grown relationships with them and I love them. I just left from Houston where I was at Da’Norris Searcy’s wedding over the weekend. I just enjoy being around them.”

McKelvin will now try to be a leader in Buffalo’s secondary as he’s currently the oldest member of the defensive backfield at age 27. He’ll turn 28 September 1st, right before the start of the regular season.

WR Gibson will not return to Rams

St. Louis impending free agent WR Brandon Gibson will apparently hit the market at 4 pm Tuesday. Both the Rams and Gibson have both given indication that the two will not be getting together on a new contract this offseason.

That according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, which is reporting that Gibson believes he has a better chance to land a number two receiver role somewhere else. The Rams reportedly consider him little more than third or fourth receiver in their offense.

Gibson had 51 catches last season, but St. Louis is interested in making use of their recent draft choices at receiver and give bigger roles to Brian Quick, Austin Pettis and Chris Givens. That’s why it’s not expected that Danny Amendola will be back the Rams next season either.

The Dolphins have reportedly expressed strong interest in Gibson.

Bills WR Stevie Johnson has admitted to recruiting Gibson for the Bills as he and Gibson share the same agent.

Polian: free agents changing systems tricky

ESPN NFL analyst Bill Polian has been through the free agency process that’s about to begin tomorrow afternoon at 4 pm all too often. In describing what an NFL GM is looking for out on the market he also outlines the dangers of projecting how well or how long it might take a new addition to adjust to a new offensive or defensive scheme with their new team.

“In free agency, you’re absolutely looking at the finished product,” he said. ”Those players are not going to get any better than they are now at 26 or 27. They’re at their peak. They’re not going to get better. They are what they are.

“So, in theory, at least, you’re able to say, ‘Okay, I can plug this guy in, and he will perform at a certain level.’ But there is the system issue.

“It’s been my experience that when a player is changing systems, it takes generally a year for him to adapt to his new surroundings to a new system, to new teammates, et cetera. They don’t come in as a general rule and instantly become successes.

“When they’re within the same system, the odds are better that they’ll perform, but there is still, you know you make it a job change. We all know when you make a job change there are issues that you have to deal with.”

Those are issues that Doug Marrone took into account when he assembled his coaching staff. He wanted all of his assistants to already have knowledge of the terminology that would be utilized in their respective offensive and defensive schemes. It makes you wonder the kind of premium Bills GM Buddy Nix and personnel department will put on system familiarity when they put together their list of free agent targets for Tuesday.

Browns talking to LB Ellerbe

According to reports out of Cleveland, the Browns are talking with the agent for Baltimore free agent LB Dannell Ellerbe.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Mary Kay Cabot reported the Browns’ interest in the three-down linebacker that had a solid run of play through the playoffs and Super Bowl.

The #Browns have talked to the agent of #Ravens linebacker Dannell Ellerbe, a league source told the PD.

— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) March 10, 2013

Ellerbe is considered one of the top inside linebacker talents available on the market.

4 teams named as Levitre suitors

With the negotiating window now entering day 2 reports are circulating about the number of teams in pursuit of Bills impending free agent guard Andy Levitre.

According to a report by the Tennessean the Tennessee Titans are in pursuit of Levitre with additional reports suggesting the San Diego Chargers and Chicago Bears have also expressed interest. Indianapolis has been mentioned as a team interested in Levitre’s services too.

Naturally the Bills are also still vying to retain Levitre before he hits the free agent market officially on Tuesday afternoon.

The Chargers interest, which was reported by San Diego Union-Tribune reporter Kevin Acee makes sense for a couple of reasons.

“@utu3: Bolts pursuing Levitre? Would be nice fit next to Fisher.” >So u see them trading up too? They have expressed interest in Levitre.

— UTKevinAcee (@UTKevinAcee) March 10, 2013

Levitre is a native of Santa Cruz, CA and the Chargers also employ Bills former offensive line coach Joe D’Alessandris as their new offensive line coach under new head coach Mike McCoy. D’Alessandris served in the same capacity under former Bills head coach Chan Gailey.

G Lichtensteiger setting market?

The Bills aren’t the only team with a starting guard that’s an impending free agent. The Washington Redskins had one in Cory Lichtensteiger, but he’s reportedly agreed to terms and will re-sign with the club.

According to the Washington Post it’s a five-year deal for Lichtensteiger, who is considered an average guard and not the caliber of Buffalo’s Andy Levitre.

It’s hard to say whether the deal for Lichtensteiger helps to provide a stabilizing market number for guards knowing Levitre is likely to be the highest-paid guard of the bunch this offseason.

How a GM looks at free agency

He’s been through the free agency process a countless number of times. Now an ESPN NFL analyst, six-time NFL Executive of the Year, Bill Polian explains the thought process of an NFL GM when examining the crop of free agent talent and matching it up to his team’s needs and salary cap budget.

“There are three things at play here in free agency,” said Polian. ”The first is the need. Free agency is almost always aimed at a needs situation. So you almost always try to fill a need.

“The second is cost. What is the cost? What is the outlaying cash? What is the outlaying guarantee? In many respects, particularly in this early period that we are about to enter, the marketplace dictates that.

You could sit there, and I often did, and say this player should command only X. And then the market would open up and the player would command X plus Y. And you’d say, ‘Oops, well, that’s not in our bailiwick.’ So we don’t know what the market will bring.

“We know where there are numbers or clumps of players, although the recent franchise use of the franchise tag has reduced that considerably. And this is all tied up with the money, too, are there age and injury concerns? How much of that money are you going to reasonably accrue by signing this player? I believe that the statistics clearly show that there’s (additional) money attached to every free agent signing. There is always some dead money attached to it, and you build that into your budget.

“So the question is how much dead money? Medical and age concerns enter into that. That’s how you view it. And because you’re spending big money, usually and because you’re, again, involved with the reasonable prospect of some dead money at the end, you now come in and say, ‘We have to try to fill this need and at least on teams that I was with, we always had a strata of people.

“If we can’t afford player A, let’s see how much different is player B, and how much different is player C? In the end of the market and in the aftermarket, again, you’re looking to fill needs almost always with reasonably priced players who are not at the same talent level or production level as the top guys.”

It’s interesting that Polian admits to tiering free agents to have less expensive alternatives at the ready to pursue. Polian also talked about how free agency sets up GMs to make mistakes, which is perhaps why Polian while in Indianapolis focused more on re-signing his own than pursuing someone else’s free agents.