Thursday Morning "Panda" Watch

by Brian Galliford on Mar 13, 2008 7:32 AM EDT in Buffalo Bills News

Johnson shows off his great hands (Photo Source)

"Panda Watch!" YouTube may have taken our little running joke from Anchorman down, but the damage has been done - free agent wide receiver Bryant Johnson's shiny new official nickname is "Panda". So what's the latest on the Panda? Well, he's still not a member of the Buffalo Bills, which is hardly surprising.

Instead, Panda's agent, Joel Segal, is aggressively pitching his client to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Despite the fact that the Bucs recently signed long-disgruntled wideout Antonio Bryant, the team remains nearly $50 million under the projected 2008 salary cap (most of which they must spend) and still need depth at wide receiver - especially when considering the fact that Joey Galloway is the ageless wonder and the team has been relatively disappointed by the sophomore and junior outings of Michael Clayton (who, apparently, is not a fixer in Tampa). Panda would give the Bucs solid veteran competition for the flighty Bryant (Antonio, not Panda).

The Bucs have a shot at landing either Cardinals playmaker Bryant Johnson or ~~Panthers speedster Drew Carter~~. ~~Jets speedster Justin McCareins~~ also could wind up in Tampa.

"We're going to take the next couple days and go over the offers we have and take it from there," said Joel Segal, the agent for Johnson and Carter, both of whom are considering Tampa Bay as a destination.

Cross-outs added, as Carter signed with the Raiders and McCareins with the Titans yesterday. The market's moved on wideouts, and Panda is pairing with Seattle's D.J. Hackett as the only two viable starting options left to find new homes. The market is closing fast, as well - so the end is near on Panda Watch, right?

You need not worry, Bills fans. I, ~~Galliford~~ Fantana, will continue to work diligently to keep you up-to-date on our bamboo-loving friend. (And if you're sick of him, well, I'll have a much more interesting article up by noon.)

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Very clever

I like the IMDB link, very clever.

If Hackett goes to either Washington, or back to Seattle, and Johnson signs with Tampa, what's left?

Does anybody know of some possible June 1st cuts that could help?

Man do I miss #78

by sireric on Mar 13, 2008 7:41 AM EDT reply actions

Limas... Sweed...

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

by Brian Galliford on Mar 13, 2008 7:52 AM EDT up reply actions

Limas Sweed

Gonna be tough to get him and Harvey.

I noticed that the 2 Michigan State guys Devin Thomas, and Kellen Davis are scheduled to visit Buffalo.

Man do I miss #78

by sireric on Mar 13, 2008 8:00 AM EDT up reply actions

Davis looks good

I'd be happy if we ended picking him as our tight end in the third round. He's a pure receiver and that's what we need at tight end. Royal is a good blocker so I'd like us to go after a better receiving tight end to compliment him.

by jj24 on Mar 13, 2008 9:13 AM EDT up reply actions

Why not offense?

The Bills never seem to take a chance on the offensive side of the ball. We draft daringly on the defensive side (ie: McCargo, Whitner), we overpay our own players on the defensive side (ie: Kelsay, Schobel), we spend money in free agency on the defensive side (ie: Stroud, Mitchel, Tripplet) - Whey won't they do something on the other side? Trade up and draft a Peterson or Roethlisberger, lock up Evans two years before his contract is due, go ahead and take a chance on Troupe, Bryant Johnson, or Crumpler. It has been like this for over 10 years. The last splash on offense besides the draft has been Lofton.

by Buffalonian by the Grace of God on Mar 13, 2008 8:41 AM EDT reply actions

They've tried

They made a big trade for Rob Johnson (giving up a 1st and 4th rounder), they traded up for Losman, They gave up a 1st rounder for Bledsoe, The selection of Willis McGahee. Maybe those aren't the best examples as all those guys didn't seem to work out too well, but to say they never take chances with offensive personnel I don't think is entirely accurate.

Man do I miss #78

by sireric on Mar 13, 2008 8:52 AM EDT up reply actions

Not to mention

that they spent 75 big ones last year addressing the O line. That's not exactly ignoring the offense. Oh yeah, last year, they also drafted a starting QB, and two RBs.

by krytime on Mar 13, 2008 8:58 AM EDT up reply actions

OL can cannonball!

Derrick Dockery, Langston Walker, Melvin Fowler, and Jason Whittle don't score any touchdowns but they're very helpful to our offense. I bet they can make quite the splash with a cannonball, too.:) The Bills are apprehensive to spend money on offensive skill players because they're more risky. Some have injury concerns. Others are asking too much money for what they're worth. Expect the Bills to re-sign Evans. But it will have to be after the draft. It just seems to be the situation that we would rather draft a WR and maybe a tight end than invest in a "maybe" guy and be stuck with him for three years or be forced to cut them and essentially waste money that would better be used elsewhere.

by jj24 on Mar 13, 2008 9:03 AM EDT up reply actions

Not to mention

That is what Donahoe did. Losman, Evans, Parrish, and Mike Williams, were all brought in via the draft. His free agents were more defensive, but older, riskier options that were more expensive.
Defense wins championships and you win games in the trenches. If yu follow that logic we are doing what we have to, and will be adding offensive skill players on top of that. You know, like Edwards, Lynch, and this year's draft picks.

The Bills can win every game

by killascript on Mar 13, 2008 9:15 AM EDT up reply actions

I understand

I understand what you are saying. However when there are obvious opportunities to have a chance to get to a playoff level we just seem to stand stagnant. We can't do the same thing to Edwards we did to Losman. No one to throw to and then we all have to wonder if it's the Coordinator, the other players around him, or the QB himself.

by Buffalonian by the Grace of God on Mar 13, 2008 9:06 AM EDT reply actions

OK

That's what we always say as bills fan's. We always spin things to comfort ourselves. Go sign a tight end who has caught more than 30 passes in a season and an effective WR. In this modern day of free agency you can't depend on the draft to fill major holes and expect to get to the playoff's consistently. That's why we are always chasing, and the power teams always have a chance.

by Buffalonian by the Grace of God on Mar 13, 2008 9:10 AM EDT reply actions

No worries about not signing WR or TE

We don't need to sign these guys as FA's. Look at the Giants! They won without Jeremy Shockey, with a rookie TE. Amani Toomer is good but doesn't scare anyone, so we can draft a player at his caliber. THey also used a RB they drafted at 250th to define their offense. I think sometimes it comes down to quarterback composure and intelligence. That's where Eli improved. JP couldn't read a defense and Trent admits he misses big plays when they're open. Don't make too may excuses for these guys. We need to share the responsibility of non-success(don't wanna say failure) and improve as a team. Not just add players and say we've taken care of things. We know we need a WR and TE on offense but nothing out there is better than what we can draft. And maybe the drafted players will stick around for a while and provide a good atmosphere to the locker room

by jj24 on Mar 13, 2008 9:24 AM EDT up reply actions

What?

It's been 12 years since we've been to the playoffs. This is what I am saying about us Bills fans (me included), we are the most optimistic people in the world. Well this year I am upset, because we are not headed in the right direction, because we don't make the final decisions to make this team a playoff contender. The draft is not the answer, we have proven that year after year after year. How many years are we going to be headed in the right direction. What the bills do is just enough to make it appear we are on our way, to keep our excitement, but in the end we don't close to make it a reality. We are close we need at least another WR and TE, but that's not it guys. We need a Center, Defensive End, Corner, Safety, Fullback. And that's just what we know about right now.

by Buffalonian by the Grace of God on Mar 13, 2008 9:39 AM EDT up reply actions

No worries?

20 offensive TDs in 16 games last season and so far the offense has been addressed by signing two TE's with 0 catches between them last season and you don't want to worry? I agree that Bryant Johnson or Ernest Wilford wouldn't have changed things much, but we could have used such players to at least push out the miserable, dead wood losers like Reed and Royal, who have taking up space in our passing game for the last few seasons. Then we could have looked for homeruns in the draft. Now, we're painted into a corner and WRs and a TE NEED to be addressed early or else we're in for another year of Reed's irrational fear of the endzone and the annual Royal 25:3 catch to fumble ratio...The Giants have a QB who throws for 3500 yards, 25 TD's, and makes the playoffs every year. We have a 3rd round pick, who likes to dump the ball to the outlets and who pleases his coach by throwing for 6 yard completeions on 3rd and 8. I don't think you can compare the two QBs as a source of why our offense will be fine regardless of how we proceed. I think the situation with Josh Reed and Robert Royal playing major roles in our offense is a little more dire than you give it credit for being especially with the question mark that edwards presents.

Nick (Bensalem, PA)

by Nick BensalemPA on Mar 13, 2008 9:51 AM EDT up reply actions

that's what i'm saying

I think the QB's are more to blame than most think. Josh reed is nothing more than a third receiver who works the short to medium game, but he has good hands and at WR that's helpful. Royal is a blocking TE and that's all. But why do you Alge Crumpler was a free agent....because Atlanta wants to give up a good player. No, he's probably not the same player he was. So let's draft a WR in round one, a DT or CB in round two, and a TE in round three, then another CB/TE, then DE, then WR, then a whatever, after that go play some football

by jj24 on Mar 13, 2008 10:00 AM EDT up reply actions

Please enlighten us then

On just how we can get that TE and WR. Really, I'd like to hear you plan.

by krytime on Mar 13, 2008 9:13 AM EDT reply actions

Too late

We are already too late, that's my point. Read the first article on www.twobillsdrive.com, it says it all. What is your plan? The draft? That sounds great!

by Buffalonian by the Grace of God on Mar 13, 2008 9:18 AM EDT reply actions

Evans

Better hope we draft a WR in the first round with your plan. Because if we don't sign Johnson, Evans won't sign an extension and then we will need that first round WR to be our #1. Then we can start looking for a #2 all over again.

by Buffalonian by the Grace of God on Mar 13, 2008 9:20 AM EDT reply actions

What?

by Buffalonian by the Grace of God on Mar 13, 2008 9:40 AM EDT reply actions

Let me get this right

So your mad and you want us all to be mad also. Is that it?

You're right this team does have some roster spots to fill, but it's not like the season starts tomorrow. In the immortal word of Al Bundy "Like the man on the bowl said to the man waiting, give me time baby, give me time."

Man do I miss #78

by sireric on Mar 13, 2008 9:46 AM EDT up reply actions

Al Bundy

You sir, have just won the award for the greatest reference of all time with that Al Bundy quote.

That is the funniest thing I've ever read here. I nearly p!ssed myself.

by krytime on Mar 13, 2008 11:40 PM EDT up reply actions

Al Bundy quote

I aim to please.

Man do I miss #78

by sireric on Mar 14, 2008 7:08 AM EDT up reply actions

sorry

that was supposed to be cb/dt in round 4

by jj24 on Mar 13, 2008 10:01 AM EDT reply actions

Welcome to the site, Buffalonian

Glad you're here to join us.

I'll say to you what I said to myself when I had a freak-out similar to this (much more mild than yours, however) - it's March. Better play-calling can fix this offense to an extent, and the last time I checked, we still have a shot at landing Panda. The draft can help as well.

I know it would be nice to fill every hole this team still has, but Rome was not built in a day.

We can get this offense to competent level by the end of the off-season - and that could net us a playoff berth. We'll go for explosive offense next off-season if Edwards pans out.

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

by Brian Galliford on Mar 13, 2008 10:08 AM EDT reply actions

Offense

Everyone wants the Bills to have a top five offense, but lets face it, just jumping into the mid-twenties next year will be a big improvement. And if this team got 7 wins with the 30th ranked offense and 31st ranked defense, imagine how many more we'll get with a 25th-O and say 20th-D.

Man do I miss #78

by sireric on Mar 13, 2008 10:18 AM EDT up reply actions

response

Thank you for the welcome. Always good to be with fellow fans. But I must say that I agree Rome wasn't built in a day, but they had a good start in 12 years. After calming down a bit as I am a passionate fan, I still think that we fall short on opportunities. Will Bryant Johnson save the team? No. But I think it does several things; It shows guys like Evans that we are going to get you back to the pro bowl, and we are committed to building around you. Secondly it gives Edwards a fighting chance to get better, which we didn't do for Losman. And lastly it is opportunity, Josh Reed is not opportunity. He is same old. I love what we have done so far, but I just don't think the draft is the answer when there are still viable options. I will eat my Mcgahee jersey (paid $300 for), if they will just sign Johnson or Hackett.

by Buffalonian by the Grace of God on Mar 13, 2008 11:37 AM EDT up reply actions

response

Excuse me; in the above I meant to say the draft is not the answer.

by Buffalonian by the Grace of God on Mar 13, 2008 11:38 AM EDT up reply actions

Excellent

Can we get a photo of that if/when it happens? :)

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

by Brian Galliford on Mar 13, 2008 12:01 PM EDT up reply actions

i haven't seen this posted yet, so sorry if it has

per rotoworld: http://rotoworld.com/Content/playerpages/player_main.aspx?sport=NFL&id=2092

Bryant Johnson-WR- Cardinals Mar. 13 - 10:26 am et

The agent for Bryant Johnson says he expects his client to sign with a team shortly.

The agent says Arizona and Chicago are not among three teams that have made his client an offer. The Bucs, Redskins, and Bills may be those clubs.
Source: Arizona Republic
Related: Bills, Bears, Buccaneers, Redskins

John I.

by jri111 on Mar 13, 2008 12:48 PM EDT reply actions