Bills Notes: R.I.P. Ringo

by Brian Galliford on Nov 20, 2007 6:50 PM EST in News

Former Buffalo Bills offensive line coach Jim Ringo - one of the league's most dominant centers of all-time, and responsible for the famous 'Electric Company' line that paved the way for O.J. Simpson in the '70s - has passed away at the age of 75. R.I.P., Jim - thanks for the fond memories in Buffalo.

This one's for you, Kurupt - Connor Byrne, a favorite of ours here at Rumblings, has dubbed Aaron Schobel the $50 million mistake. How true that is - I had a problem with Schobel's extension back in August before the ink was dry. Fun stat: for each sack that Schobel has accrued this season, he's earned $8.4 million guaranteed. Lovely - and as Kurupt has alluded to many times, the contracts that he and Chris Kelsay share will hamstring the Bills for quite a while. That's easily the biggest mistake Marv Levy has made as a GM here in Buffalo.

Jim Kelly: the Bills aren't going anywhere. WGR 550 has the quote, and as is usual with Kelly, he's swinging for the fences:

"As fans of the Buffalo Bills, we talk about community. That's one of the reasons I stayed in Buffalo NY, is because of the people. That's why Thurman moved back to the area. My wife is from here, Thurman's wife is from here, Patti. We guarantee you - and I not only mean me, but Steve Tasker who lives here also but Thurman Thomas - he moved back here. We will make sure, we can almost guarantee that the Buffalo Bills will never leave Western New York."

Well done, Jim. Hope you can deliver on that puppy.

Our friend River City Rage from Big Cat Country (whom we will be interviewing later this week) is a little nervous about some injuries on D for his Jags:

I knew that I was feeling too good about the win. I was thinking all sorts of positive things about what it means for the future, etc.

And then I see this.

With Mike Peterson and potentially Rashean Mathis joining Marcus Stroud on the inactive list this week, Jacksonville's defense is not looking nearly as scary as it could have. Of course, if the Bills don't have Marshawn Lynch for this contest, Jack Del Rio himself could play linebacker and stop Anthony Thomas. Get healthy quick, rook...

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Kelsay's extension was shocking

I couldn't believe it when we extended Kelsay, especially for that money. He is a solid player but not worth what he got. I think Marv was hoping for a Kyle Vanden Bosch type of surge. Maybe both of those guys can turn it around, but it doesn't look good. They always seem to be just a step behind.

BTW, I would say that the Peerlees Price signing was Marv's biggest mistake so far.

by RabidBuffalo on Nov 20, 2007 6:59 PM EST 0 recs

Re:

What was shocking about the Kelsay signing was that with Clements and Fletcher free agents, nobody saw the Kelsay re-signing coming. I still prefer his signing to Schobel's - Aaron was 30 when he signed that 7-year extension. If Levy really thought that Schobel would get better after hitting 30, well, I could make any number of age-related jokes here. I like Aaron, but he's just not an elite end.

Price only got $10 million for 4 years. In today's NFL, that's a very meager contract for a guy that, at this point, the team misses. He's not a good receiver, to be sure, but his contract isn't so prohibitive that they can't cut him whenever they so choose.

Create a free account to join in the discussion, Bills fans!

by Brian Galliford on Nov 20, 2007 7:03 PM EST up 0 recs

Linebacker injuries

I'm sure Maurice Jones-Drew can fill in at linebacker for one game. If he can tackle as hard as he can hit...

by Krenn on Nov 20, 2007 7:23 PM EST 0 recs

RE: Poll Question

You need a choice F - "All of the Above"

by Zumone on Nov 20, 2007 7:43 PM EST 0 recs

Free Agents

Im no Marv basher, and I think he has done a great job in the draft. Picked up alot of good people the last couple years, and we have a ton of picks stockpiled for this year.

I have though been pretty disappointed with the free agent moves. Who were our 'big' FA aquisitions in 2006? Larry Triplett, who seemingly materialized only long enough to sign a huge contract before becoming invisible. Craig Nall, who a year later wasnt good enough to be our 53rd player.

Peerless Price, Robert Royal, A Train, eh.

Tutan Reyes, Andre Davis, Matt Bowen, bleh.

I know not all of them signed for real money, and some were just the best stop gap available, but the 2006 FA class certainly hasnt been a source of strength.

For the 2007 FA class, I am also not optimistic. We spent a ton on our O-Line, and yes I know it needs time to jell (Bills O-Line! Jelling since 1998!). It seems Ok so far, not great, and I am very disappointed with how totally ineffective they are in short yardage situations. Our conversion is terrible, and those we do get are more due to Beastmode Lynch then anything I have seen the O-Line do. And this is one of the largest Olines in football.

The other half of 2007, Kelsey and Schobel. I agree with many of the posts on these boards. Kelsey got great money but only plays ok, occasionally good. And Schobel is not only getting old, but he was already signed for most of his remaining productive career. We overpaid, and it was totally unneccessary.

The only bright spot I thought we had was the discipline in not chasing Nate. Of course that was before we were playing Moss 2x a year.

Marv Drafts: A
Marv FAs: F

I wonder if it has something to do with that when Marv was coach it was before Free Agency, and teams were all built through the draft.

by Thronsen on Nov 20, 2007 10:10 PM EST 0 recs

DE's

(still shaking head in disgust)

I still can't believe how STUPID Marv and Co. were for making those deals. The Kelsay deal isn't even that bad in comparison to the totally unnecessary Schobel deal.

IMO, this D is going to remain mediocre or worse as long as we have those two taking up so much money.

The funny part is the front office was the only group who saw these signings as a good move. Nearly all Bills fans moaned and groaned when both were announced. Is the FO really this clueless?

by Kurupt on Nov 21, 2007 12:44 AM EST 0 recs