Edwards revisited

[Lori]

Two points.

 

First, the media takes Donte Whitner's word as gospel, despite his questionable play, his big mouth, and failure to live up to expectations. This is the same guy who guaranteed a playoff berth. It's also the same guy who blamed last year's Arizona loss on JP, stating that if Trent had not been injured, the Bills would have still been undefeated. For someone whose play is relatively mediocre (if that), he has an awfully big mouth.

 

Second, the media rarely writes anything about the sub-par performance of the front office over a sustained 5-year span. While, as you rightfully pointed out, Sully has been poking stones at the franchise for years, the rest of the local media seems to focus its attentions squarely on the QB and the Head Coach.

 

That the front office refuses to talk shouldn't preclude one from calling to attention the fact that this is arguably the worst front office in the NFL. The poor drafts, ill-advised free agent acquisitions and awful roster management speak loudly and clearly enough. In other markets, I feel like they would be roasted by the media. In Buffalo, they are seemingly insulated from criticism.

There's a difference between reporting what Whitner said and "taking his word as gospel." Same with ANY quote.

[Dawgg]

There's a difference between reporting what Whitner said and "taking his word as gospel." Same with ANY quote.

Fair.

 

The media never shies to write puff pieces about him, perhaps because he's friendly to the media. But on the flip side, it's radio silence on the clowns that have been running the front office over the years, replete with poor drafts, wasteful free agency signings and poor roster management.

[Delete This Account]

Two points.

 

First, the media takes Donte Whitner's word as gospel, despite his questionable play, his big mouth, and failure to live up to expectations. This is the same guy who guaranteed a playoff berth. It's also the same guy who blamed last year's Arizona loss on JP, stating that if Trent had not been injured, the Bills would have still been undefeated. For someone whose play is relatively mediocre (if that), he has an awfully big mouth.

 

Second, the media rarely writes anything about the sub-par performance of the front office over a sustained 5-year span. While, as you rightfully pointed out, Sully has been poking stones at the franchise for years, the rest of the local media seems to focus its attentions squarely on the QB and the Head Coach.

 

That the front office refuses to talk shouldn't preclude one from calling to attention the fact that this is arguably the worst front office in the NFL. The poor drafts, ill-advised free agent acquisitions and awful roster management speak loudly and clearly enough. In other markets, I feel like they would be roasted by the media. In Buffalo, they are seemingly insulated from criticism.

now wait a minute?

insulated from criticism? uh, when?

how have i missed this mystical love-fest in which every reporter in town has been celebrating this season as something beyond what it has been: an absolute exercise in ineptitude from the get-go. and by the get-go, i mean raising questions in regards to the offense when the first-stringers failed to generate a touchdown this preseason.

have there not been enough stories regarding the turmoil that's taken place. in fact, my piece to open the regular season began with the line of how the Bills have proven they're better at disrupting things on their own than T.O. has, or something to that effect.

 

do you, perhaps, suffer from the condition the guy had in the movie, "Memento," where he couldn't remember things from one day to the next, and you are in need of a daily dose of stories in regards to the Bills problems? if so, there are a few posters on this board i could refer you to.

but clearly, this business of the Bills getting off scott free is pure bunk.

 

as for Whitner, the media didn't take his comments as gospel, but merely reported them. his inference was that Michael Vick is better than what the Bills have at QB now. now, a blind and happy media in which you refer to would have ignored these comments and not even reported them. and now you question why we reported them.

 

there have been times i've noted the front office's poor track record, including their inconsistent draft picks et al. but, in the day-to-day covering this team, that doesn't need to be reflected in every story does it?

 

jw

[TheChimp]

I'll be impressed when this Warwow or someone else in Buffalo "media" breaks the story that Ralph Wilson never gave a rat's ass about Buffalo and this entire "cleaning house" is just his latest clever smokescreen to keep his sheep coming to the trough (ticket booth).

 

Will it be when Holmgren makes his NEXT glaring comment about how he "likes rebuilding projects" and then heads off to Cleveland without even a PEEP out of 1BD that we tried to talk to him?

 

No, seriously, all criticism about our limp-dicked media is 100% earned. No guts, no story.

[Delete This Account]

I'll be impressed when this Warwow or someone else in Buffalo "media" breaks the story that Ralph Wilson never gave a rat's ass about Buffalo and this entire "cleaning house" is just his latest clever smokescreen to keep his sheep coming to the trough (ticket booth).

 

Will it be when Holmgren makes his NEXT glaring comment about how he "likes rebuilding projects" and then heads off to Cleveland without even a PEEP out of 1BD that we tried to talk to him?

 

No, seriously, all criticism about our limp-dicked media is 100% earned. No guts, no story.

right, no "rat's ass" because the team's still here?

wow, how illogical of you.

 

jw

[Rico]

The Bills come out of a bye week and name Edwards the starter. The general consensus is that it's his job to lose and that the second half of the season will determine whether the Bills view Edwards as their QB of the future.

 

One week later, after a bad (but not terrible, not Jamarcus Russell bad) performance, he's benched and the general consensus is that Edwards is not the answer and it's time to move on.

 

Oh, and in the meantime, the coach gets fired and the owner decides to clean house.

 

I mean, WTF?

 

Where there is smoke there's fire. Unfortunately, our local media (TSW contributors aside!) wouldn't notice their own legs burning.

 

There HAS to be more to this story. *Something* must have happened with Edwards, either directly leading up to, during, or right after the Tennessee game. The sequence of events just makes no sense. I've postulated elsewhere that it looked to me like Edwards purposely dogged his last series, possibly out of spite due to something that happened on the sideline. Another theory I have is that Dick wanted to name Fitz the starter coming out of the bye week, but Ralph overruled him, and possibly that back-and-forth precipitated Jauron's exit. But I repeat: something happened. No NFL franchise - not even the inept Bills - completely changes course at the QB position during a single week. Now, I know that Edwards' track record doesn't give any of us confidence that he could be The Man long-term, and I also feel that, in a sense, who cares what happened, let's just move forward now that it's clear a new regime is coming to town.

 

But I hate the idea that there is an interesting story here that we're not privy to. I repeat: something happened. Perhaps a player-revolt. A confrontation between Edwards and AVP. A comment (or even a shrug) that Edwards made to someone in the front office. Something that they saw on film. I don't know the answer, but I'd sure like to know how a team can give up on a 3 year investment after one mediocre performance.

 

Media types, consider this a call to action.

Nice post & a good read as always.

[TheChimp]

right, no "rat's ass" because the team's still here?

wow, how illogical of you.

 

jw

After three tries, I THINK I know what you were getting at there, chief. And FYI, the team was never in danger of going anywhere else. Prove me wrong. Then go do your job and quit wasting your time on message boards. This is what I'm talking about.

 

tc (I'm official now)

[Kiwi Bills fan]

Maybe perhaps, Jaurons firing had something to do with Trent's rather obvious implosion at the end of that game.

It seems to me it was at that point that Jauron started losing control of his "star" players.

[Dawgg]

do you, perhaps, suffer from the condition the guy had in the movie, "Memento," where he couldn't remember things from one day to the next, and you are in need of a daily dose of stories in regards to the Bills problems? if so, there are a few posters on this board i could refer you to.

but clearly, this business of the Bills getting off scott free is pure bunk.

You are really passionate about your work, which is great to see -- so much so, that you'll insult anyone who dares question the job that you and your media brethren are doing. I've seen it in a number of your posts. Perhaps I have a mental problem, as you allege, and suffer from severe memory lapses. I'd counter by saying that you hardly come from an objective point of view with respect to this issue, given that you are living (and writing) it every single day. Having said all that, it's not a black and white issue.

 

now wait a minute?

insulated from criticism? uh, when?

how have i missed this mystical love-fest in which every reporter in town has been celebrating this season as something beyond what it has been: an absolute exercise in ineptitude from the get-go. and by the get-go, i mean raising questions in regards to the offense when the first-stringers failed to generate a touchdown this preseason.

have there not been enough stories regarding the turmoil that's taken place. in fact, my piece to open the regular season began with the line of how the Bills have proven they're better at disrupting things on their own than T.O. has, or something to that effect.

Nobody said that you and your media brethren are showering the team with love and affection. By "insulated from criticism," I was referring specifically to the front office. Yes, you write about the abysmal offense. You write about the questionable decisions the head coach makes. You may even allege that the team is good at generating turmoil. But aside from Jerry Sullivan, I have yet to see a writer truly takes the front office to task. Even Sullivan, over the years, has focused most of his attention on getting coaches fired, be it Wade, Williams, Mularkey and now Jauron. It's always the coach, isn't it?

 

By front office, I refer to John Guy, Jim Overdorf, Marv Levy, Tom Modrak. These gentlemen have not only presided over poor drafts and awful free agent signings over a sustained time period, each and every one of them (aside from Levy who retired) were promoted. In another NFL market, they would be taken to task by the media to a much greater degree. I have lived in numerous major NFL cities and seen the front office taken to task when the performance has been poor. By my own personal judgment, that doesn't seem to happen in Buffalo. Perhaps you can enlighten me as to why I'm wrong and throw more insults my way. But I speak with this caveat: it's based on my personal experience, having lived in 5 different NFL cities.

 

Now, in a previous post, you mentioned that it's difficult to get anyone in the front office to talk. My response to that is simple: their record speaks for itself. Perhaps, as you said, Ralph makes a lot of the big decisions, but make no mistake, some idiot in the front office aside from Ralph decided to give Derrick Dockery a contract, which at the time, was the most lucrative contract in Bills history. Some idiot in the front office decided to trade up for John McCargo, who sniffs the field on emergency situations.

 

there have been times i've noted the front office's poor track record, including their inconsistent draft picks et al. but, in the day-to-day covering this team, that doesn't need to be reflected in every story does it?

Fair point. Perhaps you've eluded to it or noted it. But as I said before, this front office has gotten a relatively free pass when compared to front offices making personnel decisions in other markets. It certainly doesn't (and shouldn't) be covered every day, but I stand by my assertion that relative to other NFL cities, this front office has insulated itself from media criticism.

[Kelly the Dog]

You are really passionate about your work, which is great to see -- so much so, that you'll insult anyone who dares question the job that you and your media brethren are doing. I've seen it in a number of your posts. Perhaps I have a mental problem, as you allege, and suffer from severe memory lapses. I'd counter by saying that you hardly come from an objective point of view with respect to this issue, given that you are living (and writing) it every single day. Having said all that, it's not a black and white issue.

 

 

Nobody said that you and your media brethren are showering the team with love and affection. By "insulated from criticism," I was referring specifically to the front office. Yes, you write about the abysmal offense. You write about the questionable decisions the head coach makes. You may even allege that the team is good at generating turmoil. But aside from Jerry Sullivan, I have yet to see a writer truly takes the front office to task. Even Sullivan, over the years, has focused most of his attention on getting coaches fired, be it Wade, Williams, Mularkey and now Jauron. It's always the coach, isn't it?

 

By front office, I refer to John Guy, Jim Overdorf, Marv Levy, Tom Modrak. These gentlemen have not only presided over poor drafts and awful free agent signings over a sustained time period, each and every one of them (aside from Levy who retired) were promoted. In another NFL market, they would be taken to task by the media to a much greater degree. I have lived in numerous major NFL cities and seen the front office taken to task when the performance has been poor. By my own personal judgment, that doesn't seem to happen in Buffalo. Perhaps you can enlighten me as to why I'm wrong and throw more insults my way. But I speak with this caveat: it's based on my personal experience, having lived in 5 different NFL cities.

 

Now, in a previous post, you mentioned that it's difficult to get anyone in the front office to talk. My response to that is simple: their record speaks for itself. Perhaps, as you said, Ralph makes a lot of the big decisions, but make no mistake, some idiot in the front office aside from Ralph decided to give Derrick Dockery a contract, that at the time, was the most lucrative contract in Bills history. Some idiot in the front office decided to trade up for John McCargo who sniffs the field on emergency situations.

 

 

Fair point. Perhaps you've eluded to it or noted it. But as I said before, this front office has gotten a relatively free pass when compared to front offices making personnel decisions in other markets. It certainly doesn't (and shouldn't) be covered every day, but I stand by my assertion that relative to other NFL cities, this front office has insulated itself from media criticism.

You do know the difference between a reporter and a columnist, yes?

[Coach Tuesday]

Gotta agree w Dawg here. If it was Tony Romo getting benched this week, the local and national media would be all over the how's and whys. Here, nothing.

[Doc]

After three tries, I THINK I know what you were getting at there, chief. And FYI, the team was never in danger of going anywhere else. Prove me wrong. Then go do your job and quit wasting your time on message boards. This is what I'm talking about.

 

Is a reply even necessary?

[Dawgg]

You do know the difference between a reporter and a columnist, yes?

I do. But if you step outside the Buffalo Bills vacuum, you'll realize that EVEN reporters will take a severely underperforming front office to task.

 

Yeah, it's actually true.

[Kelly the Dog]

Gotta agree w Dawg here. If it was Tony Romo getting benched this week, the local and national media would be all over the how's and whys. Here, nothing.

 

Because it's blatantly obvious why he is getting benched. He's played crappy, his coaches and teammates have lost faith in him, his OL in front of him is in shambles, and he's one good hit away from being in permanent goofyville. There isn't any controversy, there isn't anything to report. If he was playing like Tony Romo the last few years and we were winning games and he was suddenly benched, of course there would be reporters all over the story. If TO was benched there would be reporters all over the story, both local and national. But there is no story.

[Doc]

Because it's blatantly obvious why he is getting benched. He's played crappy, his coaches and teammates have lost faith in him, his OL in front of him is in shambles, and he's one good hit away from being in permanent goofyville. There isn't any controversy, there isn't anything to report. If he was playing like Tony Romo the last few years and we were winning games and he was suddenly benched, of course there would be reporters all over the story. If TO was benched there would be reporters all over the story, both local and national. But there is no story.

Precisely. TO did what everyone has been waiting for him to do: blow up on the sidelines. And when he does, PLUS Trent gets benched, PLUS Jauron gets fired, there's hardly a peep about it on BSPN. That should speak volumes.

[iinii]

as you note, the media covering the Bills are stealing the money they are paid.

 

they break no stories

 

have no inside info

 

for spending all of their working hours covering the Bills, they sure do have a glaring lack of contact with anyone in the organization

 

- but the excuse is that all of that "inside" info is "off-the-record"

 

the drivel they write is worse than most posts on this board

every reporter in every market is afraid to tell the truth. they are afraid of upsetting the apple cart that is the N.F.L. and losing access to everyone. they are also afraid to read between the lines when it is obvious even to us "outsiders".

[Magox]

right, no "rat's ass" because the team's still here?

wow, how illogical of you.

 

jw

sensitive are we?

[Guest dog14787]

every reporter in every market is afraid to tell the truth. they are afraid of upsetting the apple cart that is the N.F.L. and losing access to everyone. they are also afraid to read between the lines when it is obvious even to us "outsiders".

 

 

I disagree, I've watched reporters like Tim Graham intentionally rock the boat numerous times regardless of the consequences.

[PushthePile]

How can anyone definatively argue one way or another? What goes on behind closed doors is not always fed to the media. The OP put forth a good piece of speculation and it certainly seems possible. At the same time it is still speculation and not fact.

 

IMO it's a combination of alot of factors already covered. A few players have shown their frustration with TE. I'm willing to bet it's a very watered down version of what is going on in the lockerroom. As sad as it is, Fitz might actually give the team a better chance to win, if ever so slightly. He takes far less sacks and has been equally ineffective moving the chains. A defensive minded interim coach is looking to just get his players to play hard. If they want Fitz and his brand of terrible is a little less damaging, why not?

[iinii]

I'll be impressed when this Warwow or someone else in Buffalo "media" breaks the story that Ralph Wilson never gave a rat's ass about Buffalo and this entire "cleaning house" is just his latest clever smokescreen to keep his sheep coming to the trough (ticket booth).

 

Will it be when Holmgren makes his NEXT glaring comment about how he "likes rebuilding projects" and then heads off to Cleveland without even a PEEP out of 1BD that we tried to talk to him?

 

No, seriously, all criticism about our limp-dicked media is 100% earned. No guts, no story.

I agree and will believe the house cleaning and serious about spending money when i see it. RW has had opportunity to commit and we are who we think we are.