When Bruce Smith was demoted to 2nd Team on The Bills

[Sisyphean Bills]

I really dont get the point of this thread...is this in defense of Maybin who was drafted to play a position he clearly didnt fit?

 

Bruce Smith had Forty-six collegiate sacks which is pretty amazing

Maybin started one year at Penn State and only got that because the player ahead of him on the depth chart got hurt

 

Bruce had more sacks in that one game mentioned in the article then Maybin had his entire rookie year

 

I hated the Maybin pick, it should have been Oher but I do think the Bills switching to a 3-4 will benefit Maybin more then any other player on the team...I actually think he can turn out to be a very good OLB

I'm suspecting they drafted Moats and Batten because they have less confidence in this eventuality [sic] than some fans.

[Sammyboy]

I think the point is in that Bruces first year he wasn't that good. In fact he was fat and unmotivated. Smerlas was calling him out. He knew how good he could be. DL and WR are two positions that usually take some time to excell at. And one thing Bruce did was excell....But not in year one. Therefore I think the point of this article is to say that although we drafted two Dlineman high in the dreaft, don't expect them to be breasts this year. But they will be the foundation for years to come.....Just my opinion........

[Beerball]

I remember Smith tearing through a team's defense and taking down the QB with ONE ARM while being tackled/blocked by the opposing teams defense. Something you don't see today.

In all fairness he is retired.

 

 

It is worth noting that he and Maybin had the same number of sacks last year though. Smith had less penalties and Maybin had more tweets. Really very equal production out of both of them.

[Nanker]

I think the point is in that Bruces first year he wasn't that good. In fact he was fat and unmotivated. Smerlas was calling him out. He knew how good he could be. DL and WR are two positions that usually take some time to excell at. And one thing Bruce did was excell....But not in year one. Therefore I think the point of this article is to say that although we drafted two Dlineman high in the dreaft, don't expect them to be breasts this year. But they will be the foundation for years to come.....Just my opinion........

Winner Winner. Chicken Dinner!

 

First off, it was a cool article about Bruce and one which I had forgotten about, but thought it was interesting when I stumbled back upon it.

 

The point wasn't about Error Maybe. Heaven knows I'm no apologist for him - or any other player that doesn't live up to their potential. It's more about snap judgements. Even the great one didn't burst forth on the scene a fully-formed All Pro. It takes time to develop - but it's ALL UP TO THE INDIVIDUAL.

 

Nix is building his team out of tough guys that aren't afraid to show up and work hard at getting better. It's called motivation and his guys have it in spades. Any slackers still on the team are being issued an Wizard of Oz hour glass. If they don't produce before the grains of sand run out, they'll become crap-throwing monkeys.

[Meathead]

lets not forget either that bruce was a fat selfish douchebag of a slob his rookie season

 

he seemed to really grow up after that season, came to camp in fantastic shape, and was only a selfish douchebag after that

[Thurman#1]

And Bruce didn't waste 75% of his time posting on Twitter.

 

 

 

Yeah, that's the thing about twitter. You twitter two or three times a day and it takes eight or nine hours. Cuts into all the important things you have to do.

 

Sigh. Rolls eyes.

[Thurman#1]

It is worth noting that he and Maybin had the same number of sacks last year though. Smith had less penalties and Maybin had more tweets. Really very equal production out of both of them.

 

 

 

Also worth noting that Maybin and Lawrence Taylor each had the same amount of sacks as rookies. And Taylor had a lot more opportunities, having started sixteen games. Just saying that sometimes the rookie year doesn't mean squat.

[Thurman#1]

I think the point is in that Bruces first year he wasn't that good. In fact he was fat and unmotivated. Smerlas was calling him out. He knew how good he could be. DL and WR are two positions that usually take some time to excell at. And one thing Bruce did was excell....But not in year one. Therefore I think the point of this article is to say that although we drafted two Dlineman high in the dreaft, don't expect them to be breasts this year. But they will be the foundation for years to come.....Just my opinion........

 

 

Actually, that's just not true. Did you read the article? He'd had 2 sacks the game before it was written. 6.5 total. Bruce was damn good right from the get-go. Not nearly as good as he would be ... but you said that in "Bruces first year he wasn't that good." And that is just not true. Bruce was double-teamed all that first year, right from the beginning.

 

Some guys start slow. Some guys fast. If they don't do well, it might just mean a slow start. But if they start fast, it generally means something, and Bruce was good fast. After he had a year in an NFL strength program and more time to absorb the details of his position (not to mention that the Bills started putting good players around him very quickly), he improved but fast.

 

The question about Maybin, and it's a major question, is whether he has the hips to cover against the pass at all. It doesn't look to me like he does. Which would limit how he would be used, which is not a good thing.