Pay Peters

It's official now, it's a contract dispute between Jason Peters and the Bills. As Paul Peck outlined below, the Bills Pro Bowl left tackle missed today's first mandatory minicamp session.
Although he hasn't made himself available for comment, it's widely believed Peters is looking for a new contract. To be honest, I can't blame him.
A couple of things to keep in mind:
1. Peters signed his current contract (5 years in length) just two years ago, but he was a RIGHT tackle then. Now, he's the team's starting LEFT tackle, acknowledged as the key man on the offensive line. Peters can easily argue that he not only accepted a position switch, but thrived at his new position, and has out performed the contract he signed in 2006.
2. Peters is the only Pro Bowl caliber performer on the offensive line. And he is a legitimate Pro Bowl performer. Remember, Sports Illustrated's Dr. Z named Peters to his All-Pro team in 2006, the season before he went to the Pro Bowl. He is without question the top player on the offensive line, but he's the third highest paid player on the line, behind Dockery and Walker.
3. The Bills re-negotiated Aaron Schobel's contract a few years ago under similar circumstances--he also was two years into a five-year deal. The precedent was set.

Keep in mind, NFL players often get guaranteed money, but their contracts are not guaranteed. The Bills theoretically could release Peters at any time during his five-year deal without recourse. It's the one-way nature of NFL contracts that leads to re-negotiation issues like this one.

Missing the mandatory minicamp is not that big a deal for Peters. I'm confident the Bills and Peters will find some common ground in the six weeks until training camp.

What's your opinion? Should Peters play under his current contract, or has he earned the right to tear it up and start over?

Hasek's Legacy

This time, I believe Dominik Hasek will stay retired, unlike his premature announcements in 1999 and 2002. And now is the proper time, I think, to evaluate Hasek's place in Sabres history.
Hasek had his fans in Buffalo and his detractors. His quirky personality led many to believe that he was uninterested in winning here. But make no mistake about it, Hasek was as competitive a professional athlete as I've ever seen. He wanted to win, he wanted to excel, and he was prepared to put in countless hours to improve his game.
Which is not to say he wasn't a handful. His long simmering feud with Ted Nolan, his battles with the local media, and his sometimes obtuse, inscrutable comments made it difficult for many fans to embrace Hasek. But he deserves his due.
You'd be hard pressed to name a professional athlete in Buffalo sports history who accomplished as much on an individual scale, as Hasek did during his tenure with the Sabres. You know the story--six Vezina trophies; two Hart trophies as NHL MVP; spectacular highlight reel saves; and the knowledge that every time Hasek lined up between the pipes, the Sabres had a chance to win.
He not only is the Sabres greatest goaltender, I'd rank him as the franchise second all-time greatest player. Only Gilbert Perreault ranks higher in my estimation, and mostly because Perreault helped establish the franchise right from the start. I think Perreault and Hasek are on the top tier, ahead of all-time Sabres greats like Rick Martin, Danny Gare, Pat LaFontaine, Jim Schoenfeld, and others.
So get ready to see Hasek's Sabres jersey retired. I think he's earned it.

What are your thoughts on Hasek's place in Sabres history? Do you welcome his addition to the Sabres small roster of retired jersey numbers? The only numbers retired by the team are those of Tim Horon (2), Danny Gare (18), Pat LaFontaine
(16), Rick Martin (7), Gilbert Perreault (11), and Rene Robert (14).
Drop us a line and let us know what you think.

Peters Skips Mandatory Minicamp

Bills Pro Bowl offensive tackle Jason Peters was a no-show on the first day of the team's mandatory minicamp. Head Coach Dick Jauron says Peters will be fined $8, 638, as per NFL rules. He also said he was suprised that Peters did not show.

It is clear that this is a contract-related decision by Peters. He has three years remaining on a contract that pays him $3 million a season. He is currently the third-highest paid Bills offensive lineman, behind Derrick Dockery and Langston Walker.

The going rate for Pro Bowl offensive lineman is $7-8 million a season. I believe the Bills set a precedent last year, when they rewared Aaron Schobel with a new contract after his Pro Bowl season. He also had 3 years remaining on his deal. But Aaron did not skip any mandatory workouts.

I wouldn't be concerned too much with Peters missing these three days. But if the stalemate extends into training camp, it will be a problem. I expect the Bills to meet Peters' wishes and redo his deal.

Should they? Are you mad at Peters for missing this minicamp? What is he worth? Can the Bills win without him? Post your comments.

Man Up Marshawn

Here's the update, it has now been almost 1 1/2 weeks since the hit and run involving Marshawn Lynch's truck. Still holding to his silence, his lawyer tried yesterday to work out a deal with the District Attorney's office. Michael Caffery, Lynch's attorney met with members of the DA's staff for 5 minutes. According to Frank Clark, they wanted a precondition to his disclosing the information. The DA said that deal would not happen.

As this case continues to linger on and Marshawn continues to remain silent, his character starts to come into question. I mean, his truck actually hit a human being... yet he remains silent. I know it's his right, but how about doing the RIGHT thing.

Man Up Marshawn, and tell your side! Stop hiding behind your Bills helmet thinking this will all go away. What if it was someone in your family that was hit by someone else's vehicle? I'm sure you would want answers. If you weren't driving the truck, you know who was. Do the right thing.

Brady Bunch of Bad Reporting

I'm not sure if you're interested, but here's a little Inside the Sportscast issue we dealt with on Saturday night. As we began to prepare the 11pm stories, I saw an Associated Press report about Tom Brady from Patriots minicamp. Heres's what it said:
New England Patriots quarterback Tom
Brady says he is slow and can't jump because of lingering effects of an ankle injury late last season.

Wow. I thought it was pretty important news, that would interest Bills fans. So we put the story in our lineup. About an hour later, I was on nfl.com when I clicked on the Tom Brady story and got a very different take on the condition of Brady's ankle.

New England Patriots' quarterback Tom Brady joked on Saturday about the lingering effects of his ankle injury from late last season.
“The ankle feels great and I’ve been able to do pretty much everything that I normally do," the NFL's Most Valuable Player told Patriots.com following the second day of the three-day mandatory minicamp.

Well it seems the Associated Press story either left out or misinterpreted the fact that Brady was joking about being slow and not able to jump. I not sure how the AP reporter missed that, but later in the night, the AP story was corrected. I chose not to run the story in our 11pm sports because there was no story. Brady is fine, feels good, and the ankle injury is no longer an issue.

I bring this up in case you saw the uncorrected version that ran in many papers and web sites, and thought that the Bills chances of winning the AFC East got better. Sorry. No luck on that.

(Photo of Tom Brady from the Boston Globe)