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The Emotional Romanticizing Of Ex Buffalo Bills Players Needs to Stop


BuffaloRush

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Lot of extremes here.

As I recall "most" (as defined as the posters on message boards) felt:

-Goodwin was similar to Roscoe Parrish - a fun to watch but one-trick pony who couldn't be relied on to stay healthy. I.E. not losing any sleep over him leaving. Some definitely chastised him for his perceived attention to long jumping over the NFL after he initially claimed he was only interested in football.

-Woods was someone we wanted to keep as a reliable receiver; good hands, great blocking, and rarely hurt. However - he wasn't seen as worth the #1 money some felt he got from the Rams. I don't recall anyone who wanted him gone, or wouldn't rather have kept him, but rationally (or rationalized) the thinking was the money was needed more elsewhere.

-Hogan was probably between the two. More angst because he went to the Patriots, and for a few he was their semi-annual late round chosen one. For most he was another good, but replaceable, receiver.

 

I'd argue that 7-11 and Woods may have received a better contract offer from the current regime if they had still been here (Hogan) or the Watkins situation was better known at the time. Woods wanted to go back home though, so that was probably just not going to happen, especially after the limited use he got here.

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31 minutes ago, APoxOnYou said:

Sal is the only smart / reasonable individual on WGR but people on this site will slight him as he's "paid for".

I listen to Sal all the time.

 

He comes across as pretty unintelligent to be honest.  Used to coach high school football, so he has some technical knowledge of the game that other folks in broadcasting don't, but Sal never has an informed opinion or is tuned into what's happening at OBD.

 

He's utterly replaceable.

 

 

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14 minutes ago, timekills17 said:

Lot of extremes here.

As I recall "most" (as defined as the posters on message boards) felt:

-Goodwin was similar to Roscoe Parrish - a fun to watch but one-trick pony who couldn't be relied on to stay healthy. I.E. not losing any sleep over him leaving. Some definitely chastised him for his perceived attention to long jumping over the NFL after he initially claimed he was only interested in football.

-Woods was someone we wanted to keep as a reliable receiver; good hands, great blocking, and rarely hurt. However - he wasn't seen as worth the #1 money some felt he got from the Rams. I don't recall anyone who wanted him gone, or wouldn't rather have kept him, but rationally (or rationalized) the thinking was the money was needed more elsewhere.

-Hogan was probably between the two. More angst because he went to the Patriots, and for a few he was their semi-annual late round chosen one. For most he was another good, but replaceable, receiver.

 

I'd argue that 7-11 and Woods may have received a better contract offer from the current regime if they had still been here (Hogan) or the Watkins situation was better known at the time. Woods wanted to go back home though, so that was probably just not going to happen, especially after the limited use he got here.

 

Ok so this is pretty much spot on.  I will say that when Woods left there was not this emotional reaction.  People would have liked him to stay but also didn’t think he was worth the deal he got.  

 

I will say that part of the fan base wanted to keep Hogan but he broke his wrist and had some drops late in the year.  Again people didn’t feel he was worth the deal he got.  They did wish that Whaley tendered him at a higher price so we’d get a #2

 

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2 minutes ago, BuffaloRush said:

 

When Bills fans stop romanticizing about the past, I’ll stop using it.  Doesn’t look like it will happen anytime soon 

 

It’s been happening for about 20 years and odds are we have some more in store. 

 

You do you, I guess, but maybe spare us the crusade? Or at least be more creative with it?

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5 minutes ago, BuffaloRush said:

Maybe he was.  But im just saying at the time, Bills fans were indifferent about Woods.

He was our second best WR at the time and got a large deal.  I would've loved to keep him but understood the reality of the situation and that tough decisions had to be made.  Sometimes they work out, sometimes they don't.

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4 minutes ago, Fadingpain said:

I listen to Sal all the time.

 

He comes across as pretty unintelligent to be honest.  Used to coach high school football, so he has some technical knowledge of the game that other folks in broadcasting don't, but Sal never has an informed opinion or is tuned into what's happening at OBD.

 

He's utterly replaceable.

 

 

 

 

How much intelligence does that really take?  You don't exactly need an Enigma machine to decipher what's going on at OBD....

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25 minutes ago, timekills17 said:

 

I'd argue that 7-11 and Woods may have received a better contract offer from the current regime if they had still been here (Hogan) or the Watkins situation was better known at the time. Woods wanted to go back home though, so that was probably just not going to happen, especially after the limited use he got here.

 

McCoach could have re-signed one or both of Woods and Goodwin (not to mention Watkins).

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On 9/10/2018 at 12:09 AM, Dadonkadonk said:

I think most on this board do no romanticize having those players on the team.  I think most on here try to evaluate the decisions that were made at the time and then also see the impact of those decision down the road.  I think those decisions are key to evaluating the performance to the GM, HC, and Pro-personnel team.  

Most on here and our current GM believe the Bills should build through the draft.  Ok fine. Then when you draft players like Watkins, Dareus, Gilmore, etc and then let them walk or trade them it is quite fair to critique the decisions.  

Take Dareus for instance. The draft pick in return is worthless. The run defense is worse. But the full impact of that move will not be known until we see what FA signings occur with the extra cap space.

Gilmore is the starting CB for the best HC in NFL history.  And somehow we should not question the decision to let him walk?  No contract extension?  No franchise tag?  If you are going to credit McD with the 2017 draft then you have to add the Gilmore decision to his decision making body of work.  And then McD and Beane need to own up to a 3rd round comp pick that was wasted by keeping a couple of FA signings on the team that offer little to no value.

In many cases I have agreed with the decisions to let players go. I would not have paid Goodwin the money he got from San Francisco.  But great for him that he is doing great.  I have no issues with that decision.  

The Bills have the worst WR group in the league.  Watkins should still be on this team and he would be the best player on the field.  They didn't even need to extend his deal. They could have just picked up his option and used the tag the following year.  

These are all decisions that have consequences.  I am not romanticizing having Watkins on the team.  I am evaluating the series of decisions that produced the group of WRs on the field.

 

Theres a lot of romantizing going on up in here????????

 

This is the definition of emotional romanticism  

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On 9/9/2018 at 11:34 PM, BuffaloRush said:

The one thing I can’t believe is the the dramatic, over-the-Top, extreme, comically sad, romanticizing Of Bills fans for the past.  Today’s here are some of the legit takes that came from this board:

 

- We never should have fired Doug Whaley

- We never should have traded Sammy Watkins 

- We should have let Tyrod

- We never should have let Fitzpatrick walk 6 years ago

- I wish we kept Chan Gailey, he knew how to run an offense 

- Why did we let Robert Woods walk?

 

Its ridiculous!  These comments are not contradictory to the sentiments of the past, they are contradictory to sentiments from

yeaterday.   Go back to 2012, people complained about Fitz and his “noodle arm” and the INT’s late in the game that sealed the loss.  People applauded the Bills for trading Sammy for a 2nd after he he proved he wasn’t he game breaker that many were hoping for.  And some people applauded the firing of Doug Whaley whose record as GM speaks for itself, though some also defended him as Whaley is the most polarizing figure in Bills history.  

 

And its not just this game.  Any time something goes wrong for the Bills or anytime a former Bills player or coach achieves a moderate amount of success it’s always “oh I wish we still Mike Gilislee” or “why didn’t we resign Chris Hogan,” or “I wish Doug Whaley was still the GM.”  

 

This is my friends of romanticism.  Kind of like the old, overweight 50 year dude who sits in his messy studio apartment on Electric Avenue in Lackawanna and pines to back to the days when he was muscular and handsome and dating his beautiful red-haired old high-school sweetheart.  “Oh I wish I never dumped Lucy to play the field.  She was my one, true love.  I never should have broken up with her.” And in case your wondering, no that 50 year old is not me. 

 

But this emotional romanticism and looking back at the past through rose-colored glasses needs to stop.   It’s as useless and sad as that 50 year-old pining for Lucy (again, not me).  Point is grow up and go Bills!

 

Facts:

  • Marcell Dareus started for the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.
  • Stephon Gilmore started for the NE Patriots in the last SB.  He had an INT for the Pats against the Texans on Sunday.
  • Cordy Glenn is now Cincinnati's starting LT.
  • Nigel Bradham was a starter for the SB Champions Philadelphia Eagles in 2017.
  • Woods caught 56 passes for 781 yards and 5 TDs in 12 games with the LA Rams in 2017.  He caught 3 passes for 37 yards in his first start for the Rams in 2018.
  • Marquise Goodwin caught 56 passes for 962 yards and 2 TDs in 2017 for San Francisco.
  • Sammy Watkins caught 39 passes for 593 yards and 8 TDs for the LA Rams in 2017.  He caught 3 passes for 21 yards in his first start with the 2018 KC Chiefs.
  • Preston Brown is the starting MLB for the Bengals in 2018.
  • Ronald Darby started for SB Champions Philadelphia Eagles in the  2017 Super Bowl.
  •  
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6 hours ago, SoTier said:

 

Facts:

  • Marcell Dareus started for the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.
  • Stephon Gilmore started for the NE Patriots in the last SB.  He had an INT for the Pats against the Texans on Sunday.
  • Cordy Glenn is now Cincinnati's starting LT.
  • Nigel Bradham was a starter for the SB Champions Philadelphia Eagles in 2017.
  • Woods caught 56 passes for 781 yards and 5 TDs in 12 games with the LA Rams in 2017.  He caught 3 passes for 37 yards in his first start for the Rams in 2018.
  • Marquise Goodwin caught 56 passes for 962 yards and 2 TDs in 2017 for San Francisco.
  • Sammy Watkins caught 39 passes for 593 yards and 8 TDs for the LA Rams in 2017.  He caught 3 passes for 21 yards in his first start with the 2018 KC Chiefs.
  • Preston Brown is the starting MLB for the Bengals in 2018.
  • Ronald Darby started for SB Champions Philadelphia Eagles in the  2017 Super Bowl.
  •  

A lot of romanticizing going on here☝️☝️☝️

 

You are either don’t understand my original point or you are choosing to spin your “facts” to support revisionist history.  

 

The whole idea behind this thread was how Bills fans are so dramatic when it comes to former players/coaches, the second they have any success with other teams.  In fact the outrage is so great, it almost seems as though some fans here are in tears when they post emotional responses like your above.  

 

The problem is, at the time when many of these players left there was no outrages.  In most cases, fans were fine with players leaving.  They either weren’t good enough with the Bills (Goodwin, Bradham, Brown) or they weren’t worth the bloated contract they would be given on the open market (Gilmore, Sammy, Dareus).

 

I will admit that there was a lot of outrage when Beane came in and got ride of Sammy. Looking back though, it certainly was the right call considering that his production doesn’t warrant the type of deal he received.  Though @SoTier seems pretty impressed with 3 catches for 21 yards or 39 receptions in 2017 on one of the most prolific passing offenses in the NFL.  

 

My point is....and I’ll put this in bold you can see it clearly.  YOU CANT HAVE IT BOTH WAYS.  You can’t say “don’t let the door hit you on the ass” when the Bills didn’t resign an oft-injured Goodwin or an unspectacular Robert Woods, and then a year later say BEANE NEVER SHOULD HAVE LET THESE GUYS GET AWAY.  It’s revisionist history or romanticizing.  Pretending that players were better on the team than they were in actuality.  The level of intensity of the romanticizing is where I coined the term “Emotional Romanticizing.”  It almost seems like an unhealthy obsession for many fans here including @SoTier

 

This emotional romanticizing needs to stop.  It must stop.  Because it makes our

fan base look foolish.  Support Coach McDermott.  Support GM Beane. And Support QB Peterman or QB Allen.  Either way, support the Bills.  Enough of this emotional romanticizing.  

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5 minutes ago, SoCal Deek said:

I’ll jump in.  Why should it stop? You’re telling me that Watkins, Woods and Hogan aren’t a much better trio than any three you can find on the current roster?  Really? 

 

No that’s a reasonable statement to make.

 

My problem is that when we let Hogan and Woods walk a few years back, there wasn’t this kind of outrage. Fans understood why we did it and were largely ok with it at the time.  In fact, many supported the move. A few years later, they suddenly are all emotional and now they don’t support it.

 

Take Sammy Watkins.  People joked about him being a “decoy” now those same people are pining for him back on our team!?!?  It’s pathetic.

 

My point is, you can’t have it both ways.   It’s looking back in hindsight, and it’s foolish.  People want to use these moves as a strike against Beane, when they themselves probably would have done the same thing.

 

Move the F on

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Rush, the fans don’t know what the plan is. The management should! So...when players are released or traded the fans trust that there’s a plan to replace them with better pieces. What you’re seeing here is frustration that in many cases it looks like they should’ve left good enough alone (and just drafted a QB) As an example, some on here claim Darby wasn’t a ‘fit’ for this scheme. Really? Who’s the better ‘fit’ guy that’s replaced him? 

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