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The obsession with former Bills players...


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...is staggering and pathetic.

 

A friend of mine told me that he wants to see Baltimore and San Fran in the SB so that he can see Whitner and Evans simultaneously tear their ACLs on a tackle. Haven't seen anything so extreme on this board, but the word "hate" does fly quite a bit.

 

Why the hate?

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Oh, I thought this thread was going to be about how we should bring back every player from the SB years to help coach the team.

 

Anyways, there's always people that hate when players leave for "greener pastures". I remember Smerlas going to the 49ers cause he wanted a SB ring. What happens? The next season the Bills make it to the SB. But I don't recall any hate towards Gale Gilbert getting his ring with Green Bay.

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Outside of trent and maybin I always root for former Bills players. In fact im hoping for 49ers/Ravens just because I'd love to see donte and evans play in the big game.

 

I do think people get frustrated seeing players really break out on other teams. I think many feel players don't take buffalo seriously and use their time here to try and get on a far better team. Like they save themselves for a good team by taking it easy here and making sure they don't get hurt. Or it could be for the same reason why you resent the dude who takes out your ex girlfriend. What do I know?

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Outside of trent and maybin I always root for former Bills players. In fact im hoping for 49ers/Ravens just because I'd love to see donte and evans play in the big game.

 

I do think people get frustrated seeing players really break out on other teams. I think many feel players don't take buffalo seriously and use their time here to try and get on a far better team. Like they save themselves for a good team by taking it easy here and making sure they don't get hurt. Or it could be for the same reason why you resent the dude who takes out your ex girlfriend. What do I know?

 

I agree that the inferiority complex has a lot to do with it. Guys like Willis McGahee reinforce it. Others, I think, genuinely like the small town feel. Diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks, right?

 

Stevie Johnson shows a lot of love for Buffalo, but some people have concocted this fantasy where he can't wait to leave.

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Oh, I thought this thread was going to be about how we should bring back every player from the SB years to help coach the team.

 

Anyways, there's always people that hate when players leave for "greener pastures". I remember Smerlas going to the 49ers cause he wanted a SB ring. What happens? The next season the Bills make it to the SB. But I don't recall any hate towards Gale Gilbert getting his ring with Green Bay.

 

Wasn't Smerlas let go after his contract expired?

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...is staggering and pathetic.

 

A friend of mine told me that he wants to see Baltimore and San Fran in the SB so that he can see Whitner and Evans simultaneously tear their ACLs on a tackle. Haven't seen anything so extreme on this board, but the word "hate" does fly quite a bit.

 

Why the hate?

 

I think maybe this applies for your friends who are hoping for serious injury...

 

But what is wrong with following Bills players when they move to other teams? Personally I thought Evans was going to be good for the Ravens and was hoping he would do so. I was rooting for Fewell's defense. True I had a nice chuckle at Whitner's defense this weekend, but the Bills aren't in the playoffs, this is the Bills only link to the post season... For many it's interesting to see how players/coaches do when they join another team.

 

People love to overreact, and call any comment about a former player "obsession". This is a Bills forum, expect people to talk about Bills players past, present, and future (draft, wants ect...), with both positive and negative things to say about them. Especially when they are still playing, and the Bills aren't... It's discussion, that's what forums are for...

Edited by Turbosrrgood
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...is staggering and pathetic.

 

A friend of mine told me that he wants to see Baltimore and San Fran in the SB so that he can see Whitner and Evans simultaneously tear their ACLs on a tackle. Haven't seen anything so extreme on this board, but the word "hate" does fly quite a bit.

 

Why the hate?

There is no excuse for wishing ill on any player.

I think the obsession with ex-Bills stems from the fact that we have a driving need to know how good our FO is with judging talent. easy example - I did not like the decision to not spend more to retain Whitner. But seeing his two mistakes leading to two Saints TDs made me believe that the FO (and Bill in NYC) knows more than me regarding safety talent.

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This site and the BuffaloBills.com site always love to tell us what guys like Whitner, Poz, Maybin, Edwards, Clements, and the other guys that used to play for the Bills are doing now. WHO F-ing cares! We live in a world wide web culture, If i really wanted to know what any of these guys were doing I could look for myself,or turn on the TV. Instead we always seem to have the reports of who is doing what and where and if they are doing well, the peanut gallery is quick to comment how the Bills were dumb not to re-sign them. This chat board is full of experts who monitor the every move of the Bills and Jerry Sullivan editorials. Get a LIFE, I could care less what Whitner,Clements, or Maybin are doing !

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This site and the BuffaloBills.com site always love to tell us what guys like Whitner, Poz, Maybin, Edwards, Clements, and the other guys that used to play for the Bills are doing now. WHO F-ing cares! We live in a world wide web culture, If i really wanted to know what any of these guys were doing I could look for myself,or turn on the TV. Instead we always seem to have the reports of who is doing what and where and if they are doing well, the peanut gallery is quick to comment how the Bills were dumb not to re-sign them. This chat board is full of experts who monitor the every move of the Bills and Jerry Sullivan editorials. Get a LIFE, I could care less what Whitner,Clements, or Maybin are doing !

 

Is someone FORCING you to read those threads? If that's not interesting to you, you can always move on to the next...If you "could care less", why are you reading them in the first place? I don't care for instance about the posts saying "we need a new punter", that doesn't mean they shouldn't be allowed. I just often skip over them.

 

Complaining about posts you don't like, is automatically worse than even the most awful post IMO...

 

Perhaps we should only talk about topics that interest yourself?

Edited by Turbosrrgood
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I think a lot of it is people not knowing much around the league. There are a number of good posters, but I would say your average bills fan has little interest in breaking down the sport as a whole, and instead becomes heavily focused on the names he knows from our roster, and an emotional for/against result ensues instead of what or how. Many of the people that I key in on as having a deep understanding of the game, and not just a passion for buffalo seem to be less filled with the passionate anger, and more interested with the x's and o's of how guys fit roles and the science/art of figuring out what the hell happened the last decade.

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I think a lot of it is people not knowing much around the league. There are a number of good posters, but I would say your average bills fan has little interest in breaking down the sport as a whole, and instead becomes heavily focused on the names he knows from our roster, and an emotional for/against result ensues instead of what or how. Many of the people that I key in on as having a deep understanding of the game, and not just a passion for buffalo seem to be less filled with the passionate anger, and more interested with the x's and o's of how guys fit roles and the science/art of figuring out what the hell happened the last decade.

 

I like your analysis.

 

This thread isn't about the people who like to keep tabs on former Bills and monitor their performance. It's about the guy that starts 15 threads grinding his teeth about Aaron Maybin picking up a few sacks for the Jets, or the guy who delights in seeing Lee Evans injured and struggling in Baltimore. I guess I just don't understand the pettiness toward people we don't even know.

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Oh, I thought this thread was going to be about how we should bring back every player from the SB years to help coach the team.

 

Anyways, there's always people that hate when players leave for "greener pastures". I remember Smerlas going to the 49ers cause he wanted a SB ring. What happens? The next season the Bills make it to the SB. But I don't recall any hate towards Gale Gilbert getting his ring with Green Bay.

 

 

That was pre-Internet. And pre-free-agency. And back when the Bills were good so there was much less bitterness.

 

Wasn't Smerlas let go after his contract expired?

 

 

Yep. He also took a bunch of shots at Marv Levy in his book for doing so.

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...is staggering and pathetic.

 

A friend of mine told me that he wants to see Baltimore and San Fran in the SB so that he can see Whitner and Evans simultaneously tear their ACLs on a tackle. Haven't seen anything so extreme on this board, but the word "hate" does fly quite a bit.

 

Why the hate?

Evans and Whitner are still playing? I've been so busy monitoring all my ex-girlfriends' facebook, twitter and foursquare updates I hadn't noticed.

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Evans and Whitner are still playing? I've been so busy monitoring all my ex-girlfriends' facebook, twitter and foursquare updates I hadn't noticed.

 

This. I think its the jilted ex-bf syndrome. I posted in the Peters thread (one of the many I know) that it seems like some people are acting like these players are their ex-girlfriends who have moved on to date a smarter, better looking, more money making guy while they are left with their right hand (left if you swing that way :blush: ).

 

Not every player that leaves turns into a star (Ko Simpson - wonder what he's worth these days) and some do (Peters).

 

What I want to know is where is the Wang hate? He ruined a good thing with all the d*ck jokes we had going. What a bum that guy is! B-)

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I think it's pretty obvious. No one talks about ex Bills when they are doing nothing (Lynch sucking until this year). However, the second they make a play (Lynch's td run against the Saints), people want to post about it.

 

IMO, some people love to make themselves completely miserable about everything Bills related.

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I think this "hate" rises up from the frustration that many feel at the ineptitude the results of the last 11 years of Bills football reflects. People in Buffalo and WNY especially tie their sense of "well being" to the state of the team. They take it very personally that the Bills have been a football afterthought for the past decade (+). Additionally, the city as a whole tends to get beaten down because of economic decline and climate. As a result many are looking for bright spots to grab hold of. Each time a player does better elsewhere its like taking a snow shovel to the face, for some.

 

With that said, I learned long ago that football is a game and a form of entertainment. Clearly far more enjoyable when your team is on the winning side. It is not life nor death. Many many other things hold more value in life. That is not to deny the pleasure and joy one can gain from entertainment but it needs to be put in perspective.

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You know what my obsession is?

 

Seeing Jabrai Greer, Donte Whitner, and Lee Evans as just three examples of players in BETTER positions now then they were as a Buffalo Bill.

 

Same with Perry Fewell and Kevin Gilbride. And GW. And even Willis McGahee.

 

If you don't think agents, players, and GM's around the NFL see this trend and consider it a negative for Buffalo, even if that player isn't living up to their billing, you are fooling yourself.

 

Perception, in a lot of cases, is reality.

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You know what my obsession is?

 

Seeing Jabrai Greer, Donte Whitner, and Lee Evans as just three examples of players in BETTER positions now then they were as a Buffalo Bill.

 

Same with Perry Fewell and Kevin Gilbride. And GW. And even Willis McGahee.

 

If you don't think agents, players, and GM's around the NFL see this trend and consider it a negative for Buffalo, even if that player isn't living up to their billing, you are fooling yourself.

 

Perception, in a lot of cases, is reality.

Ohhhhh.

 

Wait, how does this reflect negatively on the Bills?

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You know what my obsession is?

 

Seeing Jabrai Greer, Donte Whitner, and Lee Evans as just three examples of players in BETTER positions now then they were as a Buffalo Bill.

 

Same with Perry Fewell and Kevin Gilbride. And GW. And even Willis McGahee.

 

If you don't think agents, players, and GM's around the NFL see this trend and consider it a negative for Buffalo, even if that player isn't living up to their billing, you are fooling yourself.

 

Perception, in a lot of cases, is reality.

 

Funny think is you probably one of the many fans who were ready to run those guys out of town. I love the hindsight. Where was all the love for Killdrive when he left?

 

Personally, I hate whining and hindsight. Greg Williams was a good DC who was a bad HC. Now he is bad in his role as a DC. The Bills offered a lot of money to Greer and he signed elsewhere. Most Bills fans never gave Whitner a chance. I have basically have had as much on an impact on the Ravens as Evans had.

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Funny think is you probably one of the many fans who were ready to run those guys out of town. I love the hindsight. Where was all the love for Killdrive when he left?

 

Personally, I hate whining and hindsight. Greg Williams was a good DC who was a bad HC. Now he is bad in his role as a DC. The Bills offered a lot of money to Greer and he signed elsewhere. Most Bills fans never gave Whitner a chance. I have basically have had as much on an impact on the Ravens as Evans had.

 

 

Yes we were wanting to run Killdrive out of town...what did he do? Win a Super Bowl.

 

GW? Win a Super Bowl...

 

Fewell? NFC Title game and a probable SB appearence...

 

Don't you see the trend here?

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I think it's kindof silly really. In the era of Free Agency, teams lose players every year to FA. Players want to move on or money talks and they listen.

 

I can think of a lot of examples. Drew Brees not being re signed by Chargers. LT, Michael Turner, and Darren Sproyles not being re signed by Chargers. All those high dollar FAs Philly signed weren't signed by someone. Campbell who was doing well before his injury was not re signed by Deadskins. In 2005 the Seahawks were unable to re sign Steve Hutchinson because he was from Minn and wanted to play there. They also couldn't re sign Joe Jurevucius because he wanted to play in Cleveland of all places. Packers did not resign Barnett.

 

Of course the Lynch deal is a little different since we traded him for a 4th round pick after drafting another RB in round 1, but I digress.

 

Bottom line, every team loses players to FA EVERY YEAR.

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I like your analysis.

 

This thread isn't about the people who like to keep tabs on former Bills and monitor their performance. It's about the guy that starts 15 threads grinding his teeth about Aaron Maybin picking up a few sacks for the Jets, or the guy who delights in seeing Lee Evans injured and struggling in Baltimore. I guess I just don't understand the pettiness toward people we don't even know.

 

right - and if you think the situation going on with a guy like donte or lee or winfield, or fletcher, or pat williams is totally unique to this franchise (ie a guy that has blinders allowing him only to see buffalo - instead of being a fan of the league and the game) its going to skew how you look at these players, and what happened.

 

good players walk

bad players make plays on new teams

dumb players tweet dumb things

 

none of this is unique to buffalo, but if you are 172% crazy passionate bills fan, and dont look around the league it does take on that same dynamic as a jilted ex. something that happens to everyone, and if you arent willing to accept the fact that it isnt really all that unique - itll make you act crazy.

 

additionally, similar to a relationship, some people get so intensely associated with teams that it becomes a big part of their identity. an insult or failing of the team becomes insulting to their own person way more than it should.

Edited by NoSaint
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Personlly, I root for ex-Bills to do well around the league...except when they're playing us, of course

And of course Buffalo-hater McGahee and fat lazy Jason Peters are the exceptions to the rule

But I don't recall any hate towards Gale Gilbert getting his ring with Green Bay.

Don Beebe..not Gale Gilbert...Gilbert is the only player in history to have 5 consecutive AFC titles after going with the Chargers in 94

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Actually I figure that those who don't perform or leave football are examples of good management in getting rid of those who aren't going to help. Most recently, at least under Gailey and his predecessor, I am more inclined to watch those we let slip away perform for the teams which got them. These include Peters, Jabari Greer, Jason Peters, Takeo Spikes, London Fletcher, Incognito, Fewell and others. I kind of lost track of the very good dismissals such as Edwards and Maybin. There are others who seem to be contributiing but the jury is out, such as Whitner and Poz. Evans is a funny bird in that he was hurt and doesn't seem to have a role in the Ravens plans but has played well when he was played. I suspect he will be let go by the Ravens.

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...is staggering and pathetic.

 

A friend of mine told me that he wants to see Baltimore and San Fran in the SB so that he can see Whitner and Evans simultaneously tear their ACLs on a tackle. Haven't seen anything so extreme on this board, but the word "hate" does fly quite a bit.

 

Why the hate?

 

It's quite simple. Internet forums are full of opinionated a-holes of which I am one. Unfortunately most, unlike myself, can't ever admit they are wrong when it comes to former Bills, or current ones for that matter, and can't understand that players are people and that football is a business before a sport. When former Bills go on to success elsewhere they whine like little dumped ex-girlfriends and wish them ill.

 

If a player someone ran down for years ends up being a component of a winning team it is proof positive that that player was very likely good enough and should have been retained. It's proof positive that the loud mouth haters were wrong. Their ego can't take it so they take it out on the player.

 

They make up all manor of lame shameful excuses like, "they didn't want to be here", "did you see the tackle or failed interception attempt so and so missed", "has TEAM [blank] won a super bowl with player [blank]. It's really quite pathetic. They will even nit pick and fault find with players that have had indisputable statistical success. They claim "they are a product of the other team's scheme and the talent around them" or "so an so was lazy and didn't want to play for us". NO...YOU WERE WRONG ABOUT THE PLAYER!!!!

 

It's all BS and they should be ashamed. Our biggest problem is getting rid of people that are good enough or great, thereby making a new hole that we use our resources to fill instead of addressing existing weaknesses.

Edited by PDaDdy
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