Bills must fear that Peters will never learn

By Anthony Bialy  |   Wednesday, March 18, 2009  |  Comments( 80 )

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The Buffalo Bills' Jason Peters doesn’t appreciate a lot of things. The left tackle hasn’t gotten that he needs to practice to stay good. He’s unwilling to realize that he was an embarrassment to the offensive line last season despite his promising reputation. And he’s again plagued by the inability to grasp that signing a deal for a certain dollar amount and length means playing for the agreed-upon amount of cash until the time period expires.

The Bills are reportedly again coping with the preposterous contract demands of a player who’s already under contract, and this looks to be as enjoyable a yearly ritual as a gum scaling performed on the same day as a colonoscopy.

The player who, thanks to Langston Walker, wasn’t even the Bills’ best offensive tackle last season risibly wants to be the highest-paid man at the position in the NFL. Peters allegedly wants a long-term contract containing more money than one given to the Miami Dolphins’ Jake Long, last year’s initial pick. But, aside from the fact that the top player chosen is going to get a better deal than a player like Peters who wasn’t chosen at all, Long lucked out by happening to join the league in 2008. The NFL is one financial arena where the market climbs every year; anyone who wants to exploit that lucrative situation should only sign one-year contracts.

Even better, Peters could make more by playing better; it would help his negotiating situation more than, say, giving up 11.5 sacks in 13 games like he during his impossibly sluggish 2008. Long, credited with giving up only 2.5 sacks as a rookie, would agree.

Peters needs to get that the whole point of a long-term contract is security coming at the tradeoff of a fixed rate. If he wanted the shot to make more currency now, he shouldn’t have voluntarily locked himself into a five-year pact before the 2006 season. Signing for guaranteed money in the past meant that he was also surrendering future opportunities. Peters isn’t allowed to arbitrarily switch from certificates of deposit to day trading.

But Peters will likely ignore those sensible truths and instead continue to disrespect a document he signed. By staying in malcontent mode, he can once more insult the team that molded an unrefined physical freak into a potentially unstoppable blocker. He already stuck it to the Bills last summer by refusing to maintain his form at training camp; failing to comprehend that he won’t get far coasting on raw talent is just another area where Peters remains oblivious.

This franchise has been coping with his unmindful ways for about a year now, and the most tiring fact is that there’s no visible end approaching. Now, the worry is that he would dare to skip offseason workouts for a second consecutive time. If Peters remarkably again decides to let himself go, the Bills should be looking to let him go play elsewhere.

Surely there must be a team willing to trade for a tackle who’s devastatingly amazing when he 1) feels like working and 2) thinks he’s being properly compensated. They just have to find a general manager who remembers Peters’ 2007 performance and not how he’s played, or acted, since.
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CommentsComments: 80  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
scedsall1		09:31 AM
03/18/2009
AB - Good Article. I have to agree. There is a definate trade-off when you are signing a long-term deal. I can see why Peters...
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No.2
JDUBS		09:42 AM
03/18/2009
Was he even drafted or was he signed after the draft? Either way, he should be a little more respectful and greatful to the...
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No.3
Look Out Dio!		09:56 AM
03/18/2009
Bialy - 2 thumbs up on the article today! Much better work & research and I agree with your points on Peters. Please keep up with...
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