When it became known that Bills GM Buddy Nix was planning to pursue coveted free agent Mario Williams, the outstanding edge pass rusher picked No.1 overall by Houston in 2006 and easily the top free agent on the market, I filed that information away as being in the same category as when Russ Brandon et al flew to Denver to try to land Mike Shanahan as coach in early 2010. Or when they said they were going after many of the other top free agents over the past few years - you have to tell your fans that you are interested and that you plan to pursue these top players. It's just that the top free agents, for various reasons, have recently tended to favour teams other than the Bills in choosing where to play next. But, as I followed my Twitter feeds as NFL free agency officially began at noon on March 13, it was reported that the Bills had chartered a private jet to pick Williams up in his home state of North Carolina that very minute, fly him to Buffalo and try to sign him before he spoke to any other teams. Then, it was reported that he was on the plane. Then I saw photos of him arriving at OBD and it started to get a bit more interesting after that too, as it was then reported that his fiance was apparently arriving the following day to tour the area and perhaps even look at houses. That did happen the next day and, after the tour (which we learned later included a visit to Jim Kelly's Orchard Park home), the group was back at OBD for further discussions. Then, Mario and his fiance left in the late afternoon and retired to their hotel, promising an answer the next morning. Ok, so that sounded pretty encouraging. But then I started to picture their conversation in their Buffalo hotel room, after a tour of the city, some driving on the Thruway and the 219 and a tour of a few houses listed for sale as well.
"Look, I agree that these people are nice but have we heard anything from the Chargers or the Dolphins? Even the Cardinals need a better pass rush than they have now. Let's see what the other options are", she would be saying, I expected. And, what houses were they looking at and where were they? I was having a hard time believing that either Williams or his fiance would have been impressed enough with the Buffalo area (sorry, have to say it) to accept an offer from the Bills - in first city they visited and from the first team they spoke to - and a team which has not enjoyed much success over the past decade. But, they returned the next morning and were holding a press conference in the afternoon. $16 million a year for 7 years - the highest paid defensive player ever in the NFL. Buddy Nix had followed Williams closely during his SEC scouting days and knew him to be a private, quiet and reserved family man who liked open spaces and being left alone. Williams and his fiance bought a palatial house and acreage in Orchard Park and he can probably live a more low key lifestyle in that setting than he could anywhere else in the league. Good for him. And good for Buddy Nix for landing him and good for Ralph Wilson for paying him. I'm predicting 16 sacks this season for Mario Williams- at a million per.
Today marks the opening of Bills training camp at St. John Fisher College in Pittsford, NY. The late July ritual is all too often a relief from a Blue Jays baseball season gone off the rails - and this year is no exception. I'm hoping to make it down to the camp for an afternoon and if I do, I will post a full review - as I will for pre-season games I'm able to watch. I have tickets for both home pre-season games if anyone wants them.
