Jump to content

Tim Graham article on Aaron Maybin


Recommended Posts

  • Replies 142
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Is anyone else having trouble opening articles from the Buffalo News?

I also couldn't open up the article.

 

Regarding Maybin as a player he simply wasn't a good draft selection. This is a case of bad scouting in (at that time) a very mediocre organization.

You can't help but believe that with the new owner the Bills are now a more normally run franchise and a more serious franchise.

 

Marv Levy was the main advocate for hiring as a HC. When he was fired Levy (who left the organization) said on WGR that Jauron should have been kept on. The owner brought in Levy as a somewhat GM. That in itself demonstrated how backward and out-of-touch the organization was with the rest of the league.

 

Ralph Wilson kept the team in Buffalo while he was alive and made arrangements to keep it there after his passing, so it isn't classy to be critical of him in how the franchise was run during his tenure. However, without a doubt under Pegula there is a positive atmosphere that hasn't existed with the franchise since the Bill Polian era.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We still don't know anything about Aaron Maybin. I mean, he only started one game for us. Plus he was misused by Dick Jauron, who made him play subdued and wouldn't let him go full "Mayhem Maybin." More importantly, Jauron isn't even coaching in the NFL anymore. Also, Lawrence Taylor had a bad game once too. Trust me, the kid's got upside, we just need to give him a few more years. I mean after all, he was a first round pick.

Edited by metzelaars_lives
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hmmm....yeah, no wonder.

 

Ralph had his one big drunken spending spree in the 90s but he spent the rest of his career nickel-and-diming this franchise into the joke status it has deserved since then. Soooooo many stories like this...is it even a question anymore? Do we have to bring up his coaching/front office hires? Coincidentally, Maybin came along at the absolute low-point in all of this.

 

There are dozens of guys here who love to sneer sarcastically at you..."heh, Ralph is cheap <_< ," but while we know he (RIP and thanks) had strong philanthropic instincts, his refusal to pay the going rate for talent hurt the franchise badly.

 

I'm not suggesting Maybin deserved more than he got, but how many stories like this do we have to read before it sinks in?

:thumbsup:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We still don't know anything about Aaron Maybin. I mean, he only started one game for us. Plus he was misused by Dick Jauron, who made him play subdued and wouldn't let him go full "Mayhem Maybin." More importantly, Jauron isn't even coaching in the NFL anymore. Also, Lawrence Taylor had a bad game once too.

Dick Jauron was a very good coordinator who wasn't suited to be a HC. He is out of the game now because he is taking care of his very ill wife. He is a very honorable and principled person.

 

http://www.toledoblade.com/David-Shribman/2014/10/21/Football-hero-loved-more-for-who-he-is-than-for-what-he-s-done-1.html

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For many, playing in the NFL is a dream job. Not for Maybin. And while Maybin brings up some good points, you wonder about the psychology of a man who feels being a NFL player is anything akin to being a slave.

 

Every job has its pros and cons. Maybe seems to delve into the cons of being a professional athlete far more than the pros. The dark side of professional sports effects him more deeply than it effects other players.

And yet he's been a huge beneficiary of one of the pros of the being a NFL player - money - and he's used his money well.

 

Really good article by TG.

 

TheLynchTrain wanted more fact-checking by Graham. It's a fair request - some of Maybin's claims stretch credulity. But I don't think Tim's aim was to write a balanced, objective article. I think he was attempting to give a glimpse of Maybin's life through Maybin's eyes. And I think he succeeded.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It was a nice update on a maligned figure, and if nothing else it encouraged the reader to rethink what they 'know' about the man they hated so much from a distance.

 

That said--I'm not a huge fan of TG's choppy writing style, and the piece gives an AWFUL lot of credence to the point of views of (potentially scorned) former players without much of a counter balance. It would have been nice--though I highly doubt they would have agreed to talk about this--to get some context from Eric Wood and Kyle Williams.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Since I couldn't open the link, I put down my iPad and went to the beach. I just came back, still can't open it. Just so I'm clear, Maybin sucked at football, enjoys being an artist and the bills were a dysfunctional organization under the late Mr. Wilson. Have I got that right? May I go back to the beach now?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am glad he is doing well. He certainly is a better artist than NFL football player.

 

A few comments:

 

It is curious that he did not seem to take any responsibility for his career.

 

His comments about the combine being a meat market are correct. Yet, it was that meat market that led to him making millions together with his one year when he racked up sacks against middling competition. You may recall that there were concerns about him being underweight. He - somehow - added weight for the combine, which he was unable to keep on his frame.

 

I remember hearing rumors that the Bills had buyer's remorse almost immediately when he showed up for mini-camp.

 

I also remember rumors that he would not return the Bills' calls when the contract was being negotiated and he was holding out. He basically disappeared.

 

Again, I am happy that he is doing well. He actually is a very talented artist. The problem that he faces in the eyes of Bills' fans is that he had no business being selected in the first round let alone where he was selected in the round.

 

I understand he does not have good things to say about the Bills. I get that. Yet, at the same time, he should be very thankful. Without the Bills' (foolish) decision to pick him where we did, he would not have made millions, would not have been able to retire his parents in SC, and would not have all that money to support his lifestyle.

 

Just my opinion.

Edited by Peter
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Maybin seems like an interesting guy. Also, I wonder how much truth there is to the way the Ralph Wilson bills were run. If this is some of the truth, it's no wonder we haven't made the playoffs in a generation.

 

The truth has been out there for anyone to see for a long time. This franchise was very poorly run for the last decade and a half of Ralph's life.

 

But thankfully it's a new day and a new regime.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

The truth has been out there for anyone to see for a long time. This franchise was very poorly run for the last decade and a half of Ralph's life.

 

But thankfully it's a new day and a new regime.

Yeah, the Modrak - Guy regime was not a good time. There was a serious lack of talent that Nix walked into.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, the Modrak - Guy regime was not a good time. There was a serious lack of talent that Nix walked into.

 

Exactly. It was a trial of patience for Bills fans. Ralph not only gave us a team, he made sure the team stayed in Buffalo. That makes it hard to criticize the guy in hindsight, or at least it gives it the feel of tackiness. I'm grateful for the Bills and them staying in Buffalo... but man the way the team was run from around the turn of the century until the Pegulas tenure began was a carnival of misery. Maybin's stretch being one of the most vivid examples.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

He wasn't effective there either. Not sure if it makes you feel better or worse

 

It was intended to be a little tongue in cheek. However it is true that he couldn't even get on the field for the Bills but he did make plays for the Jets. Which is more than he ever did in Buffalo.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...