How does the Buffalo media whiff so bad on the Bills?

[Delete This Account]

 

I'm glad you responded, but I'm still curious. What do you actually see when you cover the team and does it offer a glimpse into the direction of the team? I know you said you got burned on predictions before. Is it that hard to judge what you see outside of games?

 

PTR

umm, are you asking me to judge this team based on one game? i certainly hope not.

 

as for your question, what is it that you're attempting to accuse me of, because either way i answer, it's going to be the wrong one as far as you're concerned. you've made up your mind that the Bills are going to go 11-5 or something. good for you. i didn't see it and am still not sure i see that. it's possible. hell, anything's possible.

i saw a team that at best could win 7 games. i settled at 5 given the questions at offensive line and receiving, and wondering whether this defense is ready to make the jump from 32nd against the run to say, 20.

 

should i have predicted 16 wins? well, i'd win over a few fans here, but at what stake my credibility.

should i have predicted 2? well, i'd be going along with the national norm, but at what stake my credibility.

 

yours is a loaded question, because if i say i base my assessment from watching practice, etc., then you're going to accuse me of being blind. and if i say i base my assessment of following everyone else, i'll be accused of following the crowd. and if i say i simply pull a number out of the air, well, i'm going to be accused of being incompetent.

 

so you figure out which one works best for you, and have it fulfill whatever whiff it is that i've apparently made.

 

jeebers.

 

and where were all these whiff questions over the previous 11 seasons?

 

jw

[spartacus]

At the risk of starting another conflagration, I really want to know what the Buffalo sports media does when they are supposedly covering the team? Maybe John Wawrow could tell us.

 

I can understand the national media has 31 other teams to cover and the Bills have been such an afterthought that few if any would bother to take a close look at us. But how do reporters, who's job it is to cover camp and practices, talk to players and coaches, etc, be so dead wrong on this team's prospects going into the season? Seriously, if all of you are so "shocked" by what you saw, what the f**k do you do all day?

 

I do have a theory. Things have been so bad with the Bills the last 11 years that most of the press, thinking they are being unbiased, dismiss any good signs out of hand as being a mirage. And with the head gremlin Jerry Sullivan leading the charge, all the other reporters fall in line behind him.

 

This is the only scenario I can imagine because the Bills didn't just expose the KC Chiefs today, they exposed the Buffalo News and WGR for short-changing local sports fans.

 

PTR

 

this is news?

 

Inciteful local media coverage of the Bils has been pretty much non-existent since the Courier Express went under.

 

 

[GG]

 

 

and where were all these whiff questions over the previous 11 seasons?

 

jw

 

Stools #3 & #4 at Cole's

 

[Olaf Fub]

My theory on why the local media seems to get it wrong.

 

1. They are all friends and they talk a lot. It's group think. A couple of them are convinced the team is going to be bad and they all believe it.

 

2. A lot of them seem to need validation from the national media that their opinions are "right". The problem is that most of the national media only pays attention to a hand full of teams. Thay have no idea who is on the Bills roster.

 

3. They're negative people by nature. A lot of the local guys remind me of the annoying dude at work you try to avoid at work because he whines a lot.

 

4. They've taking cheap shots at the team in the past. The team isn't cooperative after that with their request, so they try to get back at the team with more cheap shots. This also makes their job more difficult as they can't get good information on the team. A good columnist or media figure gets insiders to feed them information and opinions. No one is going to deal with you if you are unfair to them. Guys like Felser and Carruci were critical of the team but they didn't sound like WGR callers in their columns.

 

5. Being negative and bad mouthing the team must sell. I can't stand it but based on how a lot of people post on this board and elsewhere; people must really enjoy it.

Edited September 13, 2011 by Olaf Fub

[KnightRider]

FWIW, I doubt Felser expected a win like yesterday, but he does seem to think we are on the upswing.

 

http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/columns/larry-felser/article528686.ece

 

From that last paragraph (on 8/20/11):

When Polian left Buffalo he was succeeded by two of his acolytes, the late John Butler and A.J. Smith. When they left for San Diego, another lengthy eclipse surrounded us. I have a feeling that present GM Buddy Nix and coach Chan Gailey may be eclipse-lifters. It could be that those nine sacks against the Chicago Bears last week were a harbinger of good things to come.

 

I know he retired a long time ago, but I'd say he stil has his finger on the pulse of the Bills.

Edited September 13, 2011 by KnightRider

[Hammered a Lot]

At the risk of starting another conflagration, I really want to know what the Buffalo sports media does when they are supposedly covering the team? Maybe John Wawrow could tell us.

 

I can understand the national media has 31 other teams to cover and the Bills have been such an afterthought that few if any would bother to take a close look at us. But how do reporters, who's job it is to cover camp and practices, talk to players and coaches, etc, be so dead wrong on this team's prospects going into the season? Seriously, if all of you are so "shocked" by what you saw, what the f**k do you do all day?

 

I do have a theory. Things have been so bad with the Bills the last 11 years that most of the press, thinking they are being unbiased, dismiss any good signs out of hand as being a mirage. And with the head gremlin Jerry Sullivan leading the charge, all the other reporters fall in line behind him.

 

This is the only scenario I can imagine because the Bills didn't just expose the KC Chiefs today, they exposed the Buffalo News and WGR for short-changing local sports fans.

 

PTR

First, Ann is on the am dial. Promo next??

[PromoTheRobot]

umm, are you asking me to judge this team based on one game? i certainly hope not.

I'm not.

 

As for your question, what is it that you're attempting to accuse me of,

Did I accuse you specifically of anything?

 

because either way i answer, it's going to be the wrong one as far as you're concerned. you've made up your mind that the Bills are going to go 11-5 or something. good for you.

If you can find a single 11-5 prediction from me I'll buy you all the beer you can hold at Cole's.

 

I didn't see it and am still not sure i see that. it's possible. hell, anything's possible.

i saw a team that at best could win 7 games. i settled at 5 given the questions at offensive line and receiving, and wondering whether this defense is ready to make the jump from 32nd against the run to say, 20.

You have nothing to be defensive about. You did your job and made your prediction based on what you saw.

 

Should i have predicted 16 wins? well, i'd win over a few fans here, but at what stake my credibility.

Should i have predicted 2? well, i'd be going along with the national norm, but at what stake my credibility.

 

If your eyes and gut says 5 wins, then it's 5 wins. At least you have the cred of making your own judgement.

 

Yours is a loaded question, because if I say I base my assessment from watching practice, etc., then you're going to accuse me of being blind. and if i say i base my assessment of following everyone else, i'll be accused of following the crowd. and if i say i simply pull a number out of the air, well, i'm going to be accused of being incompetent.

 

I guess you are getting caught in my net even though I wasn't targeting you. And it's probably my fault for singling out "Bills beat reporters" which you are one when my beef is mostly with the talk hosts and columnists who probably don't put the time into covering the Bills like you do.

 

But I still think its a fair question. Why do national writers like Florio and King say they see improvement and potential while the local media sees endless darkness? Us fans assume the experts on the radio and in print have access we don't so they must know something we can only guess at.

 

So you figure out which one works best for you, and have it fulfill whatever whiff it is that i've apparently made.

 

You are taking this way too personally.

 

Jeebers. And where were all these whiff questions over the previous 11 seasons?

 

jw

I think there has been a slow descent into madness over the last 11 years. I vividly recall Jerry Sullivan heaping praise on the Donahoe hiring and lauding him for picking a franchise tackle in Mike Williams. So Jerry wasn't always a miserable prick.

 

But as the team wallowed it became easier to eviscerate Ralph Wilson and the Bills front office, and the audience ate it up. Like anything generating positive feedback you keep doing it, even after it stops making sense.

 

PTR

Edited September 13, 2011 by PromoTheRobot

[Bob in STL]

At the risk of starting another conflagration, I really want to know what the Buffalo sports media does when they are supposedly covering the team? Maybe John Wawrow could tell us.

 

I can understand the national media has 31 other teams to cover and the Bills have been such an afterthought that few if any would bother to take a close look at us. But how do reporters, who's job it is to cover camp and practices, talk to players and coaches, etc, be so dead wrong on this team's prospects going into the season? Seriously, if all of you are so "shocked" by what you saw, what the f**k do you do all day?

 

I do have a theory. Things have been so bad with the Bills the last 11 years that most of the press, thinking they are being unbiased, dismiss any good signs out of hand as being a mirage. And with the head gremlin Jerry Sullivan leading the charge, all the other reporters fall in line behind him.

 

This is the only scenario I can imagine because the Bills didn't just expose the KC Chiefs today, they exposed the Buffalo News and WGR for short-changing local sports fans.

 

PTR

 

Hold on Promo.

 

I am a diehard fan too but lets keep this game in perspective.

 

1. One game does not make a season.

2. We beat the Chiefs, a marginal playoff team, they are nothing special.

3. Everything from the opening kickoff to the last whistle went our way.

4. We showed little in pre-season and that was by design.

5. We did little to improve the offense and that may catch up to us by week 3 or 4.

 

I agree that the Buffalo News staff is weak but this game surprised a lot of people.

Edited September 13, 2011 by Bob in STL

[Alphadawg7]

At the risk of starting another conflagration, I really want to know what the Buffalo sports media does when they are supposedly covering the team? Maybe John Wawrow could tell us.

 

I can understand the national media has 31 other teams to cover and the Bills have been such an afterthought that few if any would bother to take a close look at us. But how do reporters, who's job it is to cover camp and practices, talk to players and coaches, etc, be so dead wrong on this team's prospects going into the season? Seriously, if all of you are so "shocked" by what you saw, what the f**k do you do all day?

 

I do have a theory. Things have been so bad with the Bills the last 11 years that most of the press, thinking they are being unbiased, dismiss any good signs out of hand as being a mirage. And with the head gremlin Jerry Sullivan leading the charge, all the other reporters fall in line behind him.

 

This is the only scenario I can imagine because the Bills didn't just expose the KC Chiefs today, they exposed the Buffalo News and WGR for short-changing local sports fans.

 

PTR

 

Epic fail at a new thread...honestly, one of the worst and silliest I have seen on here.

[Bob in STL]

oh really. the media hired Greg Williams and Dick Jauron, and somehow had the leverage to suggest the team not re-sign Pat Williams and then draft Aaron Maybin, and trade back into the first round to draft J.P. Losman, and fire Turk Schonert and cut Langston Walker two weeks before the start of the season, and to go with a no-huddle approach, and take a flyer on Willis McGahee when there were so many other needs to address and have Bledsoe drop back to pass inside his own 20 against the Steelers in the 2004 season finale, and continue starting Trent Edwards when it became apparent he had plateaued and had begun regressing, and punt from inside New England's 40, have Travis Henry throw a pass from inside the 5 against Miami only to have it intercepted, ask Leodis McKelvin to fumble a kickoff against the Patriots, blow a 10-point lead in the final minute against the Cowboys ...

 

yes, we are incompetent.

 

jw

 

 

Stop it jw .. I thought I blocked all that bad history out. Don't even mention those Cleveland games.

[Green Lightning]

JW, Promo described a coat and your the one saying that it fits you. You are making it personal and it wasn't intended that way. I've spent 25 years in the media as a reporter, news director and producer. I can say based on my experience that nobody has a thinner skin than do members of the media. We are a defensive lot.

[Kelso_Helmet]

some factors to consider on why the Buffalo WNY media may be skewed (if indeed they are) ...

 

1) Conditioning from covering the team over the past decade. Easy to build bias when you get into a pattern of writing the same type of story (bad personnel decisions, bad coaching, questions at key positions) over and over.

 

2) Collective thinking. Someone alluded to this earlier...media types key in on what other regional reporters are saying and follow suit.

 

3) Over-compensation to not appear to be homers. Reporters want to maintain credibility and nobody will want to go out on a limb and declare a team to be of quality until they're fairly comfortable that it's merited. You don't look nearly as bad for being overly-critical of a team that ends up being a decent squad as you do for declaring the team you regularly cover to be playoff-bound. Calling the Bills a bad team early on is pretty low-risk.

 

4) The same "if it bleeds, it leads" mentality pervasive in all of journalism. Reporters, and the public, gravitate to bad news stories.

[Wayne Fontes]

Promo's knees are worn out from fellating "little league coach" sal, so he's feeling a bit irritable.

[7boogiewoogie]

Honestly, I don't think anyone expected what happened today to happen. Yes, we all hoped, but there is no way you can think that a team that is supposedly "rebuilding" and has a QB who has never started an opening day in his career will come out and blow out a team that many were/are considering to be playoff contenders. Also, for a team that hasn't had much in the tight end position in the past long while to come out and have 2 passing TD's with a TE... That's not something I think anyone was expecting to happen.

 

Go Bills!!!

 

 

You can surmise the Bills coming along if you payed close attention. That's where the Buffalo media fails, there are many variables that determine a teams success and if you paid attention to last year and what we did in terms off upgrading our personnel this year you could see that this team just needed a few changes to make this team viable. For example everybody complained about our O line when really Fitz in comparison to Edwards and Losman wasn't running for his life last year, the O line actually began to hold up for him. He also showed that he had pocket presence and he put up points in a 1st year system while not even starting the season until week 3. Give him a better defense last year and the 7 out of 12 games we lost by 10 or less points goes the other way. Team chemistry and attitude play into the variables in which I'm talking about as well. For the 1st time in a LONG time this team actually began to show an identity. Our media simply gave up on this team right before the miracle. I guess middle of the road reporting doesn't sell so instead of adopting the wait and see approach as they should have before the season started they bashed this team and it's ownership and ultimately it's making them look foolish and complacent. But I will say this it's giving everybody a lot to talk about, gotta love controversy, GO BILLS!!!

 

I agree PTR. I was at 2 training days and saw much of what we saw today. Of course there were bad things (sometmes more than good) but I at least saw some decent progression from a year ago. I saw lots of improvement from positions that were completely overlooked most of the time. I'm by no means saying I foresaw a bomb drop in KC today by the Bills but I can say I saw alot of good things we have done for a few weeks now. We all saw the preseason games where we had decent run D and decent pass rush. We saw a game where Fitz was magic. There was much more to say about THIS team and not the past 10 years teams than has been reported. The fact is Mike Scrote, Balllick, and Sulky don't know anything. They do not write or state thier OWN opinions for themselves. They are just like any national media outlet that forgets Buffalo even has a team, or in WGRs case they are butthurt they aren't even allowed to cover anymore and that's why they don't care. The fact is they don't know what they are doing, they don't have any inside people, they don't care because the Bills are not what's been making them money. It's the ball licking of the Sabres that has made thier paychecks for the last few years and they don't know how react so they just continue to say the same crap they have in the past 10 years. WGR is still bringing things up from when Wade and Donahoe were here. I don't expect them to ever get it. I do expect them to jump on the bandwagon after they win a few games though because that's thier deal. Just ride what people are saying and pretend like they know what everyone is talking about. I expect a routing of the Raiders this week and WGR saying if they beat the Pats they will be on board. If they beat the Pats they will not only be on board, they will be heading up the bandwagon. Saying they knew all along. Calling for home field advantage in playoffs. Making tailgate plans for playoff games. Saying Fitz needs a longterm deal and saying he will be in running for MVP. Saying all the WRs are so good and we never needed Evans. It's a joke we have to deal with these @ssclowns.

 

 

 

AGREED

[Sisyphean Bills]

Okay, now what?

 

 

I still don't fully understand what kind of deep insight you expect journalists to have just by covering a team. What, outside of live action, would have given anyone any deep appreciation of where the team would be at this year? Conversations with players and coaches? More rah-rah stuff that we hear every year about who's ready to step up, which players are more comfortable with the system after a full season, and which players reported to camp injury-free and in the best shape of their lives? Comraderie during the long off-season? Great accuracy and route running during padless practices?

 

As for live action, did you or anyone else see anything special during the abbreviated training camp and four generally dull and lifeless preseason games (except for one half of one game against a depleted Jacksonville team) to provide a genuine shot of optimism and expectation for the big opener? Should journalists necessarily have a better eye for such details that apparently must be beyond the average fan's ability to see?

 

I'm sorry, I really just don't get where the question is coming from.

Perhaps the idea is that if you watch a team practice against itself long enough, you'll know how they match up against other teams that you haven't seen on future game days and cut through all the dynamics of a full NFL season with the focus of a laser beam.

[PromoTheRobot]

Promo's knees are worn out from fellating "little league coach" sal, so he's feeling a bit irritable.

I'm guessing you never listened to Sal.

 

PTR

[Delete This Account]

JW, Promo described a coat and your the one saying that it fits you. You are making it personal and it wasn't intended that way. I've spent 25 years in the media as a reporter, news director and producer. I can say based on my experience that nobody has a thinner skin than do members of the media. We are a defensive lot.

screw you, i/we am/are not!

 

jw

Edited September 13, 2011 by john wawrow

[Delete This Account]

I'm not.

 

 

Did I accuse you specifically of anything?

 

 

If you can find a single 11-5 prediction from me I'll buy you all the beer you can hold at Cole's.

 

 

You have nothing to be defensive about. You did your job and made your prediction based on what you saw.

 

 

 

If your eyes and gut says 5 wins, then it's 5 wins. At least you have the cred of making your own judgement.

 

 

 

I guess you are getting caught in my net even though I wasn't targeting you. And it's probably my fault for singling out "Bills beat reporters" which you are one when my beef is mostly with the talk hosts and columnists who probably don't put the time into covering the Bills like you do.

 

But I still think its a fair question. Why do national writers like Florio and King say they see improvement and potential while the local media sees endless darkness? Us fans assume the experts on the radio and in print have access we don't so they must know something we can only guess at.

 

 

 

You are taking this way too personally.

 

 

I think there has been a slow descent into madness over the last 11 years. I vividly recall Jerry Sullivan heaping praise on the Donahoe hiring and lauding him for picking a franchise tackle in Mike Williams. So Jerry wasn't always a miserable prick.

 

But as the team wallowed it became easier to eviscerate Ralph Wilson and the Bills front office, and the audience ate it up. Like anything generating positive feedback you keep doing it, even after it stops making sense.

 

PTR

when have i eviscerated Mr. Wilson. certainly there's been criticism in the local media in regards to Mr. WIlson's ownership. well, he is the owner, and he'll even acknowledge the last decade of woes can be put on him.

 

and yet, i think there's far more "Ralph is Cheap" talk here on this board than anywhere else that i have read. and much of the comments here are far more irresponsible.

 

i don't know why Florio and King say they see improvement. perhaps they see improvement, though i must say i've only run into Florio once, and that was at the Hall of Fame game. that doesn't mean they're right or wrong. but suddenly their opinion matters more and or less than "the local media?"

uhh, i don't get it.

 

it's pretty convenient to blame, in one general brush, "the local media" when their opinion -- yes, it must be collective, we all met in July and exchanged notes -- doesn't match yours. and it's easy to hail others when their opinions are in line.

good for you.

 

and yet, this thread is launched after one -- one -- game.

 

this would be a far better discussion if we were at week 8 or 9, or 17 perhaps.

 

jw

 

Stop it jw .. I thought I blocked all that bad history out. Don't even mention those Cleveland games.

that's ok, it's all the media's fault anyway.

16-0, you know. so get in line.

 

jw

Edited September 13, 2011 by john wawrow

[Geno Smith's Arm]

I don't think many anticipated the blowout (it's just one win, on opening day, a day filled with blowouts) but I think it was apparent that the team was getting better players, the schedule appears lighter, the coaching staff has accumulated more players to fit their approach/"scheme", they acquired players that would likely greatly upgrade pivotal positions (seemed like EVERYONE at training camp could see that Dareus was going to improve the play of everyone around him), and that they would be better than a 4-12 team.

 

I'm not putting them in the Super Bowl, but so many on this board just TRASHED the team's off-season, and sportswriters actually considered them among the frontrunners in the "Andrew Luck Sweepstakes". They are better than that. National writers that don't pay attention to the Bills (for valid reasons) can be excused, but local guys should have a better feel for the team than say, Jason Cole of Yahoo. The improvements and the conditions around the team were obvious to me, just a guy on the internet.

 

Of course, I may be wrong, and they could suck, but sportswriters are supposed to have INSIGHT into the game and teams they cover, no? Isn't that why you guys go to training camp (or is that all just play by play? "Marcus Easley caught a 10yd pass from Thigpen. Johnny White, ran for 2, tackled by Dareus. It rained Sunday night, and Mike Jasper stayed extra long signing autographs)?

 

Maybe it's just easier to go with the status quo?

I expect writers to go out on a limb, and have a sense for the team/league. Otherwise, why not just say you don't know what to expect from this team?

 

 

 

What do you think NOW, one week in?

 

What do think their record will be, now that you have had the benefit of seeing them (as well as all the other NFL teams) play a full regular season game? (I predicted 10-6, 9-7)

Edited September 13, 2011 by Matthews' Bag