Richie is badly missed!

[JohnC]

Just now, Sky Diver said:

 

What market are you referring to?

The market that didn't respond to him being available. 

[Sky Diver]

3 minutes ago, JohnC said:

The market that didn't respond to him being available. 

 

He had another year on his contract with the Bills so I'm not sure what you are talking about.

 

Does loyalty mean anything to you?

[NoHuddleKelly12]

57 minutes ago, PUNT750 said:

Without Incognito the Bills OL has no push and no nastiness.  Dawkins has regressed without Richie next door and Groy, who replaced Wood last season due to injury, can't even start anymore.  All over about $3.5 mil in yearly cash earnings for a 3 time All-Pro who started all 49 games in that time period for the Bills.  He was a physical & emotional leader. 

No wonder Richie has had some freak-out sessions after his forced retirement!  Crazy for the Bills and him!

 

I really felt like Richie was a feel-good redemption story with the Bills, and loved what he brought everyday. Definitely what the line needed (needs). However, I also think it’s pretty obvious he has a lot of issues that can’t be blamed on the Bills as an organization. Mental instability that I really hope he gets the treatment for that he needs. This may be a bridge too far, but would it shock anyone if at some point down the road some of that is discovered to have come from a lifetime of playing football, that he is one of the unlucky ones?

[Augie]

14 minutes ago, Sky Diver said:

Shady offered to pony up his own money to get Richie back. Would you do that for a crazy person?

 

How is it erratic behavior to fire your agent for not negotiating well for you?

 

That seems like perfectly sensible behavior to me.

 

If he was worth the $$$ he would have a job today. His mental status, sadly, makes his market value ZERO at this point. 

[Sky Diver]

1 minute ago, Augie said:

 

If he was worth the $$$ he would have a job today. His mental status, sadly, makes his market value ZERO at this point. 

 

I'll ask the same question, does loyalty mean anything to you?

[Augie]

1 minute ago, Sky Diver said:

 

I'll ask the same question, does loyalty mean anything to you?

 

I’ll ask you this question in return: what do you think is reasonable loyalty in this situation?  All things considered. 

 

 

He was on our team and under contract, and HE walked away.....hoping (under some delusion) to get a better deal. WE were his best option, and HE walked away. He’s got to focus on mental wellness and the rest matters very little. 

[Sky Diver]

1 minute ago, Augie said:

 

I’ll ask you this question in return: what do you think is reasonable loyalty in this situation?  All things considered. 

 

I think I've made that clear, the Bills shouldn't have cut his salary.

 

Time for you to answer. Does loyalty mean anything to you?

[Jerome007]

1 hour ago, PUNT750 said:

Without Incognito the Bills OL has no push and no nastiness.  Dawkins has regressed without Richie next door and Groy, who replaced Wood last season due to injury, can't even start anymore.  All over about $3.5 mil in yearly cash earnings for a 3 time All-Pro who started all 49 games in that time period for the Bills.  He was a physical & emotional leader. 

No wonder Richie has had some freak-out sessions after his forced retirement!  Crazy for the Bills and him!

 

 

1 hour ago, BillsRdue said:

Who knows what pushed him over the edge, but unfortunately he's way over now. We really, really miss his presence on our line.  

 

I agree. I still don't get why, of all the players on the roster, the Bills had to offer Incognito a paycut while he had basically overdelivered on the football side. Since, he's clearly have become unfit not only for football but for normal life until he is taken care of. 

[Sky Diver]

1 minute ago, Jerome007 said:

 

 

I agree. I still don't get why, of all the players on the roster, the Bills had to offer Incognito a paycut while he had basically overdelivered on the football side. Since, he's clearly have become unfit not only for football but for normal life until he is taken care of. 

 

He over delivered for 3 yrs at a bargain price.

[Augie]

2 minutes ago, Sky Diver said:

 

I think I've made that clear, the Bills shouldn't have cut his salary.

 

Time for you to answer. Does loyalty mean anything to you?

 

You can be very tiresome. Teams cut players salaries all the time. He had the option to decline. But he agreed. Done deal, then he freaked, because he’s not stable. The Bills might have won that, as nobody needs unstable people in the room. Who is lining up to sign the guy? 

 

As for loyalty, I’m 100% loyal to my wife. I am loyal to family as long as they hold up their end. If they don’t hold up their end, they are on their own. Football is a business, and I’m loyal to a point, but never lose sight of the fact that it’s a business. 

 

Throw out loyal, and insert compassion, and I’m all over it! But don’t confuse the two. 

[Matty the Dustmop]

Steriods arent good ....anyone remember what happened to the guy from Shittsburg...Steriods will do it to you in the long run.

[Sky Diver]

8 minutes ago, Augie said:

 

You can be very tiresome. Teams cut players salaries all the time. He had the option to decline. But he agreed. Done deal, then he freaked, because he’s not stable. The Bills might have won that, as nobody needs unstable people in the room. Who is lining up to sign the guy? 

 

As for loyalty, I’m 100% loyal to my wife. I am loyal to family as long as they hold up their end. If they don’t hold up their end, they are on their own. Football is a business, and I’m loyal to a point, but never lose sight of the fact that it’s a business. 

 

Throw out loyal, and insert compassion, and I’m all over it! But don’t confuse the two. 

 

Being loyal to your employees is bad for business? It's better to treat your employees like pieces of meat? That's good for business? It's the type of organization you would like to work for and pour your heart into?

 

I would argue that being disloyal to your employees is really bad for business in the long run.

Edited October 3, 2018 by Sky Diver

[Augie]

1 minute ago, Sky Diver said:

 

Being loyal to your employees is bad for business? It's better to treat your employees like pieces of meat?

 

I disagree.

 

You’re right, we should give everyone a max deal. 

 

I’d try to find the guy help. He needs it. 

 

I’ll just move on now unless you actually provide some substantive, rational argument/thought. That last post was pathetically weak. 

[Sky Diver]

If Allen gets severely injured because of the poor guard play, how wise will the $3.5M in savings on Rochie’s contract look.

 

Plus, you don’t think current players and future free agents didn’t see what the Bills pulled? Don’t whine when we can’t attract top free agents, or we have to overpay to get them to come here.

 

The Bills were penny wise, pound foolish with Richie.

[SinceThe70s]

21 minutes ago, NoHuddleKelly12 said:

I really felt like Richie was a feel-good redemption story with the Bills, and loved what he brought everyday. Definitely what the line needed (needs). However, I also think it’s pretty obvious he has a lot of issues that can’t be blamed on the Bills as an organization. Mental instability that I really hope he gets the treatment for that he needs. This may be a bridge too far, but would it shock anyone if at some point down the road some of that is discovered to have come from a lifetime of playing football, that he is one of the unlucky ones?

 

Mic drop post for me. Couldn't have put it any better.

 

I bought into the feel-good redemption story his second time through Buffalo hook, line and sinker. Wish he and we were still on that path, but something is clearly amiss. I wish him and those close to him all the best. He's made some disturbing headlines since last season ended.

[NoSaint]

16 minutes ago, Sky Diver said:

 

Being loyal to your employees is bad for business? It's better to treat your employees like pieces of meat? That's good for business? It's the type of organization you would like to work for and pour your heart into?

 

I would argue that being disloyal to your employees is really bad for business in the long run.

 

I imagine thats about as asinine a reply as you could have come up with

[Sky Diver]

I think there is a Madden mentality. 

 

Football isn’t a video game, and business is more than just bean counting.

Just now, NoSaint said:

 

I imagine thats about as asinine a reply as you could have come up with

 

It’s asinine to be loyal to your employees and to treat them well? Where did you learn that management strategy?

 

I suppose that you perform your best when you feel you or your co-workers are being mistreated?

[NoSaint]

5 minutes ago, Sky Diver said:

I think there is a Madden mentality. 

 

Football isn’t a video game, and business is more than just bean counting.

 

It’s asinine to be loyal to your employees and to treat them well? Where did you learn that management strategy?

 

I suppose that you perform your best when you feel you or your co-workers are being mistreated?

 

It’s not that loyalty is a bad quality. It’s that I’m pretty sure you bashed one of the most kind hearted and compassionate guys on the board for being cold because he believes in compassion over blind loyalty. You consistently let your desire to argue impede reasonable discussion 

[bigK14094]

Eric Wood was part of the stablizing factors helping Richie stay calm in Buffalo.   that was over this year also......

[JohnC]

52 minutes ago, Sky Diver said:

 

He had another year on his contract with the Bills so I'm not sure what you are talking about.

 

Does loyalty mean anything to you?

What are you talking about. The Bills told him that he had to take a pay cut in order to stay. Excluding whatever bonus he got when he signed it is a year to year contract.He declined to do so. So he decided to retire. The team then allowed him to be cut loose so he could hook up with another team. No team was interested in him. In that same offseason period he got into a rage in a gym where he threw a dumb bell at another client for no reason. He was arrested. In that same offseason the police were called in by the funeral home where his father was at rest because he went into a rage for some delusional reason. You may not be aware of the obvious but he is a very troubled person. 

 

As far as the issue of loyalty---- get real. This is the NFL where player and team loyalty are nearly non-existent. It is a cold=blooded business that a veteran like Incognito is well acquainted with. You are creating a nonexistent reality to support your position that has little to do with what actually happened. You may know a lot about what is happening with the Crimson Tide but with respect to the Incognito situation you are far out of your lane. 

[Sky Diver]

26 minutes ago, NoSaint said:

 

It’s not that loyalty is a bad quality. It’s that I’m pretty sure you bashed one of the most kind hearted and compassionate guys on the board for being cold because he believes in compassion over blind loyalty. You consistently let your desire to argue impede reasonable discussion 

 

What was compassionate about the way the Bills treated Richie and where did you get the impression that I supported blind loyalty? Loyalty is a two way street.

6 minutes ago, JohnC said:

What are you talking about. The Bills told him that he had to take a pay cut in order to stay. Excluding whatever bonus he got when he signed it is a year to year contract.He declined to do so. So he decided to retire. The team then allowed him to be cut loose so he could hook up with another team. No team was interested in him. In that same offseason period he got into a rage in a gym where he threw a dumb bell at another client for no reason. He was arrested. In that same offseason the police were called in by the funeral home where his father was at rest because he went into a rage for some delusional reason. You may not be aware of the obvious but he is a very troubled person. 

 

As far as the issue of loyalty---- get real. This is the NFL where player and team loyalty are nearly non-existent. It is a cold=blooded business that a veteran like Incognito is well acquainted with. You are creating a nonexistent reality to support your position that has little to do with what actually happened. You may know a lot about what is happening with the Crimson Tide but with respect to the Incognito situation you are far out of your lane. 

 

I know exactly what the Bills did and I think it was wrong.

 

Business doesn’t have to be cold blooded. In fact,  being cold blooded is probably bad business. The   Bears certainly don’t appear to be a cold blooded organization.

 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/bearswire.usatoday.com/2018/06/04/chicago-bears-tight-end-zach-miller-contract-injury/amp/

 

Not sure what this discussion has to do with the Crimson Tide. This is the wrong forum to discuss college football.

[GreggTX]

2 hours ago, PUNT750 said:

Without Incognito the Bills OL has no push and no nastiness.  Dawkins has regressed without Richie next door and Groy, who replaced Wood last season due to injury, can't even start anymore.  All over about $3.5 mil in yearly cash earnings for a 3 time All-Pro who started all 49 games in that time period for the Bills.  He was a physical & emotional leader. 

No wonder Richie has had some freak-out sessions after his forced retirement!  Crazy for the Bills and him!

 

 

The truth is that we don't know the whole story, but clearly if this was all about money, Richie would have said so. The OP does not even mention that Richie was already suspended for a racially sensitive incident in Miami and was openly called out for alleged racist remarks last year. How do you even know that the commisioner didn't tell him to retire or be called out for those remarks? You are assuming facts not in evidence. Richie has also been behaving very strangely and no other team will touch him. That doesn't sound like a McBeane manufactured crisis to me. If it were, he'd be playing for another team right now.

Edited October 3, 2018 by GreggTX

[Paulus]

3 hours ago, PUNT750 said:

Without Incognito the Bills OL has no push and no nastiness.  Dawkins has regressed without Richie next door and Groy, who replaced Wood last season due to injury, can't even start anymore.  All over about $3.5 mil in yearly cash earnings for a 3 time All-Pro who started all 49 games in that time period for the Bills.  He was a physical & emotional leader. 

No wonder Richie has had some freak-out sessions after his forced retirement!  Crazy for the Bills and him!

 

But, Star and all the other Carolina cast aways are worth it. 

 

Screwing Richie was a McBeane mistake. And, the fans who make excuses for it are just plain sad.

[K-9]

3 hours ago, 26CornerBlitz said:

One more thing. The next person who inevitably spells Richie as Ritchie gets this. 

 

 

Now, now. No reason to get all bichie.

[Freddie's Dead]

Jesus Henry Christ.  

[PUNT750]

1 hour ago, Paulus said:

But, Star and all the other Carolina cast aways are worth it. 

 

Screwing Richie was a McBeane mistake. And, the fans who make excuses for it are just plain sad.

Thank you for the wise& thoughtful comment.

[Thurman#1]

5 hours ago, PUNT750 said:

Without Incognito the Bills OL has no push and no nastiness.  Dawkins has regressed without Richie next door and Groy, who replaced Wood last season due to injury, can't even start anymore.  All over about $3.5 mil in yearly cash earnings for a 3 time All-Pro who started all 49 games in that time period for the Bills.  He was a physical & emotional leader. 

No wonder Richie has had some freak-out sessions after his forced retirement!  Crazy for the Bills and him!

 

 

 

Wonder!

 

The problem isn't nastiness. It's that Richie was still far better than anyone we had to replace him.

 

But it's not as if the Bills had a choice. The guy has real problems. I wish him the best.

[PUNT750]

2 hours ago, GreggTX said:

 

The truth is that we don't know the whole story, but clearly if this was all about money, Richie would have said so. The OP does not even mention that Richie was already suspended for a racially sensitive incident in Miami and was openly called out for alleged racist remarks last year. How do you even know that the commisioner didn't tell him to retire or be called out for those remarks? You are assuming facts not in evidence. Richie has also been behaving very strangely and no other team will touch him. That doesn't sound like a McBeane manufactured crisis to me. If it were, he'd be playing for another team right now.

You are assuming facts not in evidence   Wow - - look at what you wrote!!!

[Thurman#1]

3 hours ago, Sky Diver said:

 

Being loyal to your employees is bad for business? It's better to treat your employees like pieces of meat? That's good for business? It's the type of organization you would like to work for and pour your heart into?

 

I would argue that being disloyal to your employees is really bad for business in the long run.

 

 

You're right. We should stay loyal to our employees. 

 

Cutting EJ Manuel, for instance, was just wrong. We owed him more loyalty. Eric Wood, too. I mean, sure, he was injured, but we should have factored in his contribution over the years and kept him on the roster and paid him to sit and cheer, just as a gesture. And Mario Williams ... I'm still shocked by the disloyalty we showed by releasing him. Rex Ryan, too. Never should have let him go.

 

Pro sports aren't areas where loyalty has much of a place. When a guy gets old, he's gone. When someone else gets better, the first guy is gone. Does Belichick show a lot of loyalty? Teams owe the fans a lack of loyalty to players. A team's goal should be winning. The players know and accept that, and it's why they don't feel much of a problem about holding out or asking for a new contract.

 

 

5 hours ago, Sky Diver said:

 

Whoever was responsible for that contract screwed up.

 

 

So, you're saying Richie screwed up, then? He signed the contract, so it would be a fair point if it weren't pretty obvious that he has serious issues. It's not a mistake nobody else is on the phone to Richie. 

 

Hope he can fight through these problems.

Edited October 3, 2018 by Thurman#1

[Buffalo Barbarian]

He is missed, but he ain't coming back .

 

Maybe the Teller steps of its addressed in the offseason.

 

 

[CamboBill]

6 hours ago, PUNT750 said:

Without Incognito the Bills OL has no push and no nastiness.  Dawkins has regressed without Richie next door and Groy, who replaced Wood last season due to injury, can't even start anymore.  All over about $3.5 mil in yearly cash earnings for a 3 time All-Pro who started all 49 games in that time period for the Bills.  He was a physical & emotional leader. 

No wonder Richie has had some freak-out sessions after his forced retirement!  Crazy for the Bills and him!

 

 

B b b but --- we needed that 3.5 Million so we could get Corey Coleman for a week or 2

[Sky Diver]

5 hours ago, Thurman#1 said:

 

 

You're right. We should stay loyal to our employees. 

 

Cutting EJ Manuel, for instance, was just wrong. We owed him more loyalty. Eric Wood, too. I mean, sure, he was injured, but we should have factored in his contribution over the years and kept him on the roster and paid him to sit and cheer, just as a gesture. And Mario Williams ... I'm still shocked by the disloyalty we showed by releasing him. Rex Ryan, too. Never should have let him go.

 

Pro sports aren't areas where loyalty has much of a place. When a guy gets old, he's gone. When someone else gets better, the first guy is gone. Does Belichick show a lot of loyalty? Teams owe the fans a lack of loyalty to players. A team's goal should be winning. The players know and accept that, and it's why they don't feel much of a problem about holding out or asking for a new contract.

 

 

 

 

So, you're saying Richie screwed up, then? He signed the contract, so it would be a fair point if it weren't pretty obvious that he has serious issues. It's not a mistake nobody else is on the phone to Richie. 

 

Hope he can fight through these problems.

 

Did EJ play at a Pro-Bowl level for 3 years? I don't understand the comparison.

Edited October 3, 2018 by Sky Diver

[NoSaint]

27 minutes ago, Sky Diver said:

 

Did EJ play at a Pro-Bowl level for 3 years? I don't understand the comparison.

So you are more into extending the life time contract with no pay cuts to Tyrod?

[machine gun kelly]

At his age, he should. Expect to have to take a pay cut, just like Kyle.  He ended up with serious mental health concerns, so maybe the Bills did the right thing.  If he was that great, why hasn’t anyone. Else picked him up.  Granted he did a great job for three years, but this was going to be his last year.

 

we need more than one person.  The whole line sucks.

[Sky Diver]

1 minute ago, machine gun kelly said:

At his age, he should. Expect to have to take a pay cut, just like Kyle.  He ended up with serious mental health concerns, so maybe the Bills did the right thing.  If he was that great, why hasn’t anyone. Else picked him up.  Granted he did a great job for three years, but this was going to be his last year.

 

we need more than one person.  The whole line sucks.

 

He was a bargain for his three years of All-Pro play. It would have been fair and reasonable to reward him by maintaining his salary.

 

$3.5M is chump change. We wasted that on Coleman.

 

Penny wise, pound foolish.

[CaptnCoke11]

We’d probably be 4-0 with him.. ?

[teef]

oh my god.

[Bob in STL]

We haven’t had a new Incognito thread in a week.  

 

Why do some people here refuse to acknowledge the man is very sick and should not be playing?  Just look at his behavior from the Jachsonvillle game and all off season.  

 

CTE is a bad thing.  

[JohnC]

32 minutes ago, Bob in STL said:

We haven’t had a new Incognito thread in a week.  

 

Why do some people here refuse to acknowledge the man is very sick and should not be playing?  Just look at his behavior from the Jachsonvillle game and all off season.  

 

CTE is a bad thing.  

Some people wear blinders and can't see. But due to their hubris they refuse to acknowledge that they can't see. So they make things up and live in their fantasy world arguing how their fantasy world is more real while your world is more fantasy. Not only is their world difficult to understand but what is even more aggravating it is difficult to penetrate. 

[Peter]

Although there is no way to know 100%, I believe that Richie would have been just fine and performing at the same level as last year if McBeane did not initiate a pay cut. While on the team, Richie was a good citizen, teammate, and excellent player (pro bowl).  The structure of the team really helped him.  

 

There was little reason to initiate a pay cut with Richie.  The line (especially Dawkins), our QB, and Shady have suffered as a result of this and other decisions.   It would have been nice to give our rookie QB a better offensive line - especially given how raw he is and how many assets we gave up to get him.  I dare say that Josh and Shady would be much better off with an offensive line that included Cordy and Richie.  

 

Just my two cents.