Commentary
Levy sending message to Bills personnel
MATT KRUEGER Sports Reporter
One of the most dangerous titles to have around Western New York is veteran football player. If you take a look at what Buffalo Bills General Manager Marv Levy is doing with the team, the youth movement he has engaged, you'll see a complete purging in the works.

Yes, if you're a holdover from the Tom Donahoe era - you know, the dark times - then your job safety with the Bills is about as sturdy as a cooked-spaghetti bridge.

The clear cutting going on at 1 Bills Drive demonstrates the current administration's goals for building the team back into a NFLpowerhouse.

And the first goal seems to be Levy's plan to eliminate most, if not all, of the players he didn't bring into the organization.

In the past week, we saw the expected exits of linebacker London Fletcher and cornerback Nate Clements, both of whom signed huge free-agent contracts. The Bills made no effort to lure them back, nor should they have. The San Francisco 49ers paid way too much for Clements, who isn't quite the shut-down corner many people say he is. Fletcher is a quality linebacker, but his price tag of $25 million, which he got from the Washington Redskins, was just too much for the Bills to counter.

Of the 58 players on the Bills' current roster, only 26 remain from the 2005 season. Of the 54 players who saw action in 2005, 23 are no longer with the team. And those numbers could change soon, if the expected trades of Willis McGahee and Takeo Spikes go through.

And then there's the upcoming draft, where Levy and head coach Dick Jauron will surely find replacements for certain other players.

McGahee could be a Hall of Fame running back if he played against the New York Jets every week. In his two games against the J-E-T-S last year, he averaged 137.5 yards. In the other 12 games, he turned in ho-hum performances with a 59-yard average. And he says he's one of the best backs in the NFL? Sorry Willis, but you have played your way out of town and not even your super agent, Drew Rosenhaus, can save your job.

Spikes is an entirely different matter. You have to love his work ethic and desire, but injuries have sapped away much of this superman's power. He might regain his bone-crushing tackling ability and once again lead the defense, but that is an expensive risk for Levy to take.

With the recent signings of free agent offensive linemen Derrick Dockery, Langston Walker and Jason Whittle, you can certainly expect more cuts coming in the near future. Dockery started 61 games for the Washington Redskins and is now the top left guard on the depth chart. Walker could take over the right tackle position from Terrence Pennington. Whittle is a veteran and will challenge for the right guard slot. If they all start or slide in as the primary backup, that's three more players who must walk the line.

Some of those holdovers are clearly safe from the Levy plan. Brian Moorman is coming off two consecutive Pro Bowl appearances and is among the elite punters in the league. Kicker Rian Lindell had one of the most consistent feet in the league last year and signed an extension to his contract. But others may not be so safe.