Fitz's new contract, Bills stadium renovations and Syracuse in BCS bowl game

For those of you who think $10 million per year is too much to spend on Ryan Fitzpatrick, please consider the contracts of Kansas City’s Matt Cassel ($9.67 mil), Arizona’s Kevin Kolb ($12.4 mil) and Oakland’s Carson Palmer ($11.7 mil).

Fitz definitely is in their league. So if I’m the Bills I would give him a three-year contract in that neighborhood and load it with incentives for team (playoffs) and individual (Pro Bowl invitation) achievements.

The Bills are far enough under the salary cap where they can afford it, and it would free them up to concentrate on procuring pass rushers in upcoming drafts.

I hope this deal gets done soon and I hope Buffalo also rewards running back Fred Jackson with a fair contract extension, too.

It’s not only the right thing to do, but also would send a positive message to their teammates and prospective free agents that the Bills are truly committed to winning.

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Speaking of contract negotiations, you may have seen reports that it could cost in excess of $100 million to renovate Ralph Wilson Stadium, and that Erie County and the Bills are ready to talk about a lease extension. My feeling is that any lease extension and stadium refurbishment funds from county and state taxpayers should be tied to a commitment from Ralph and the NFL that the Bills will stay put for at least 10 years.

I don’t think that’s too much to ask.

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Sports Illustrated is projecting that Syracuse will win the Big East football title and play Atlantic Coast Conference champion Clemson in the Orange Bowl. That’s definitely doable, given the way SU is playing and given the lack of a powerhouse team in the Big East. But it won’t be easy because the Orange men also are eminently capable of losing to remaining opponents Pitt, South Florida and Louisville.

Syracuse is now 17-15 under Coach Doug Marrone and has won 13 of its last 19 games. Contrast that with a 26-57 record in the seven seasons prior to Marrone’s return to his alma mater, and you can understand why people on the Hill are excited about their football program’s revival.