Vonte Davis story on ESPN...Full scoop on his halftime retirement decision

[HereComesTheReignAgain]

Quitting on your team at halftime can never be rationalized or accepted.  Screw him and the fact that he somehow believes he did the right thing.  All you had to do was remain on the sideline for the rest of the game and you could have retired with dignity.  Instead he will always be looked at as a selfish, whiny, quitter.  We should all inquire about signing up for his stupid spa and after they waste a bunch of time and energy on the applications, just quit and cut off communication before paying. 

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

1 minute ago, Buffaloflash said:

Oh sure I agree,I would have told the coach don't put me in, I not right.Then after the game do what I have to do.

What he did wasn't normal nor logical,and therefor I think something else was going on!

 

Exactly right. There is a professional way to handle things, and this would have been the correct way.

 

The way he handled it was very unprofessional and apparently he still doesn’t realize it. I don’t recall him ever apologizing to anyone for how he handled it, and I didn’t see any apologies in this article. 

[mrags]

I don’t blame or judge anyone for walking out the way he did. When it’s time to go, it’s tome to go. As long as that person understands that they made a promise to their team mates and they broke that promise. They violated a type of thought that they are all in it together and nobody gives up until the game is over. He was being counted on by others and gave up. 

[LeGOATski]

5 minutes ago, Trogdor said:

They still don't. People on this board might think otherwise, but Beane/McD have done nothing to change that image yet. 

I don't agree with that.

 

From a culture and organizational perspective, it sounds like free agent players are impressed with what they see when they visit.

 

They are still trying to change the W-L reputation, that's for sure. First year playoff appearance helped a bit, but it wasn't too impressive. I think this year will help a bunch and they'll look like a team who deserves to be in playoff contention year after year.

[Freddie's Dead]

It sounds like he had a nervous breakdown on the field.  He should have come clean last year when this happened.  Now he'll just forever be a punchline.

[IDBillzFan]

47 minutes ago, Royale with Cheese said:

If you're done, you at least finish the game with the team.  If you can't play, fine.  But at least said goodbye to your teammates.  He couldn't stay for another 90-120 minutes?

 

For me, this is the start and finish of the whole Davis garbage. Football is, far and away from most other sports, a team sport. What he did was the complete opposite of 'team.'

 

He couldn't wait for the game to end?

 

No.

 

Because he's a selfish prick. It's just that simple and the only thing I can figure is someone at ESPN owed him a favor to promote his new wellness company.

 

 

 

Edited September 18, 2019 by IDBillzFan

[LeGOATski]

5 minutes ago, chknwing334 said:

Quitting on your team at halftime can never be rationalized or accepted.  Screw him and the fact that he somehow believes he did the right thing.  All you had to do was remain on the sideline for the rest of the game and you could have retired with dignity.  Instead he will always be looked at as a selfish, whiny, quitter.  We should all inquire about signing up for his stupid spa and after they waste a bunch of time and energy on the applications, just quit and cut off communication before paying. 

He did the right thing for himself, but certainly not the Bills players, organization, or fans. Definitely selfish. He sounds like a selfish guy.

[Trogdor]

Just now, LeGOATski said:

I don't agree with that.

 

From a culture and organizational perspective, it sounds like free agent players are impressed with what they see when they visit.

 

They are still trying to change the W-L reputation, that's for sure. First year playoff appearance helped a bit, but it wasn't too impressive. I think this year will help a bunch and they'll look like a team who deserves to be in playoff contention year after year.

Free agents always sound impressed with every team they visit. Let's see if they can beat decent teams before we say anything is different. The Jets and Giants look to be top 10 pick teams. 

[WhitewalkerInPhilly]

I don't blame him for deciding that he was done. Learning about some of the painkillers he had started, and the realization that he just couldn't hack it is understandable as to his decision to retire without waiting until the end of the season.

 

He should have waited until the end of the game. At the very, very least, he should have told his coaches what he was thinking instead of just leaving, and finding out that he didn't even offer that courtesy really bothers me. I will forever consider that a classless move, but I could have forgiven it. But then, he went on and did a fantasy football ad that season, joking about it. That is unforgivable, especially with the article going on about how financially secure he is. He didn't need the money, he did it because it was easy and one last way to cash in on his reputation in the public eye.

[LeGOATski]

2 minutes ago, Trogdor said:

Free agents always sound impressed with every team they visit.

No, they don't. 

 

I don't think you follow the NFL much, besides the Buffalo Bills.

[ndirish1978]

6 minutes ago, JR in Pittsburgh said:

 

Exactly right. There is a professional way to handle things, and this would have been the correct way.

 

The way he handled it was very unprofessional and apparently he still doesn’t realize it. I don’t recall him ever apologizing to anyone for how he handled it, and I didn’t see any apologies in this article. 

 

Speaks strongly to his lack of character. His explanation is basically "I wanted to leave, so I left." Shows zero accountability for his actions or respect for his teammates. He did what he felt like doing and feels that is a sufficient explanation for his pathetic behavior - shows no emotional maturity.

[formerlyofCtown]

57 minutes ago, BuffaloHokie13 said:

 

Wait, are you saying you're Vontae?

Doesnt sound like he is talking about football.?

[Bray Wyatt]

This article in fact makes me like him less. He was drinking tequila and laughing at his house while the team he just left was still playing and fighting? At the end he still laughs at the Bills, ***** him

[eball]

17 minutes ago, Jauronimo said:

He was also toast. It was time for him to hang em up.  

 

He got burnt in preseason. Healthy scratch week 1. Pretty sure the article omits that he also got burnt once or twice in week 2 when he made it on the field.  Didn't he get replaced for Taron before he walked off the field?

 

Yes, he was toast.  You still don't quit that way, and he knows it.  That ESPN article was just a way for him to promote his new business.  Like I said, "full poop."

[berg1029]

Addition by subtraction.  We may have never gotten a good look at Levi Wallace last year if he had kept playing.

[WideNine]

14 minutes ago, Gavin in Va Beach said:

 

That and when they traded Dareus. That showed that they were not willing to tolerate a player who didn't have his head right and play up to their potential. Still makes me sad though, Dareus has the skills to be a HOF defensive tackle, but he's too much of a chucklehead with no inner hunger to be great.

 

The Dareus thing is actually pretty common and frustrating for coaches. Guys with tons of natural talent are more often than not harder to motivate than guys who have had to work their way up the food chain of competition that were blessed with great athletic genetics. There is a tipping point where if an athlete does not have the discipline and drive to compete they can no longer keep pace with those who do have that work ethic.

 

Dareus was as naturally gifted as they come, but that work ethic and drive to compete and love for the game... not sure that was there at an NFL level. It happens, and I have seen pretty gifted athletes walk away and it was the right move for them to recognize they are missing some key ingredients.

[Jauronimo]

6 minutes ago, eball said:

 

Yes, he was toast.  You still don't quit that way, and he knows it.  That ESPN article was just a way for him to promote his new business.  Like I said, "full poop."

I don't agree with the way he handled it at all.  It was gutless. Just saying even if he was playing for the Pats last year he was still toast.  But he might have found the "courage" to hang on until the end of the season in that hypothetical.

 

 

[H2o]

Dude's a b*tch. Who gives an actual ***k about "his story"? I know I don't. Enjoy your life after football. Everything is good here. ✌️✌️

[Manther]

1 hour ago, BuffaloBillies said:

I started to read it but quit halfway through.

Me too 

[TheBrownBear]

Boohoo.  Vontae can say what he wants but he will forever be a punchline.  He's a quitter in the eyes of the world, and I'm sure in his head and heart too. 

[billsfanmiami(oh)]

Quits at half, then goes home and laughs about it & pours some tequila. What a guy.

[B-Man]

1 hour ago, StHustle said:

An interesting article on exactly how it went down and what led up to that day...

 

https://es.pn/303G7A5
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

.

[DaBillsFanSince1973]

a quitter is a quitter, is a quitter...

[benderbender]

[RU5781]

He blocked me on IG just now after I called him a quitter. ?

[ALF]

How's your pay since leaving the Bills Vontae ?

[thurst44]

1 hour ago, Chris from Rochester said:

That article is really, really, really long. I was looking for something to be mad about and then I remembered how much better our defense was when he retired and stopped

 

That should probably be the ultimate takeaway: if we're going by the standard yards metric, they were the worst defense in the league by a wide margin in the six quarters he was on the team and the best defense in the league by a decent margin in the 58 quarters after he quit. Thanks Vontae.

[Phil The Thrill]

1 hour ago, StHustle said:

An interesting article on exactly how it went down and what led up to that day...

 

https://es.pn/303G7A5
 

 

No sympathy for Vontae is any way.  I’d welcome old Donte Whitner back to the team for Davis.  

 

IMO the article is a valentine for Vontae.  It 

fails to mention is that if you are activated for Week 1, a salary was fully guaranteed.  If he had thoughts about retiring, he (not surprisingly) waited until his $$$ guaranteed.

 

Also his story just doesn’t make sense.  He was pumped to play against San Diego....but suddenly just wanted to quit after 1 tackle?

 

Its real simple about Vontae....he quit.  It’s like a spoiled kid at the playground who walks off the court  playing pickup basketball because his team is losing and he doesn’t want to be associated with “losers.”

 

IMO I think he knew that in camp, he just sucked and didn’t have it anymore.  I think that after a lopsided loss at Baltimore and what appeared to be another landslide loss in San Diego, he just gave up.  He didn’t want to show the world he sucks on a team that he thought was going to suck.  

 

Its a pretty selfish and cowardly thing to do.   #FVONTAE

[CircleTheWagons99]

Garbage Quitter.

[MAJBobby]

Screw Him. Even in his understand me Interview still can’t help taking shots. Quitter 

[Alphadawg7]

First, I think Davis made the right decision to walk away.  If you’re mind isn't right and you play scared then you can get seriously hurt.  It’s an unforgiving game if you lose your drive and focus.  He struggled in the preseason too, so wasn’t a shock that he realized he was done.

 

Second, I think he also made the right decision to take himself out of the game when that moment hit him and became clear.  At that point he is going to be a liability to himself and teammates and shouldn’t be on the field.

 

Third, I think he absolutely made the wrong decision to bail on his teammates and coaches like that ducking out of the stadium.  It’s one thing to pull yourself out the game, but to just sneak out and leave them hanging with no goodbyes, explanations, etc after working together all off season was just a chicken s*** move.  

 

I dont fault him for having the aha moment in a game, no one knows when that will hit.  But he handled it as poorly as one could and turned his back on everyone who was fighting along side him and the coaches that put so much work and time into getting him ready to be a Buffalo Bill.

[Trogdor]

1 hour ago, LeGOATski said:

No, they don't. 

 

I don't think you follow the NFL much, besides the Buffalo Bills

I follow it a ton and players always have nice things to say about organizations they hope will pay them. It's later that we get a different story. What big name free agent is listing Buffalo as a top 2-3 destination? We don't even make some lists without a substantial contract. We're not there yet. Unless your location is great, it takes a track record of success to lure in those big names chasing a ring. Nobody cares if the locker room has some great guys if they get blown out ever 4th game. 

[McBean]

2 hours ago, Royale with Cheese said:

If you're done, you at least finish the game with the team.  If you can't play, fine.  But at least say goodbye to your teammates.  He couldn't stay for another 90-120 minutes?

 

That tells you all you need to know about this clowns character.

[H2o]

39 minutes ago, benderbender said:

[MassHog]

2 hours ago, BuffaloBillies said:

I started to read it but quit halfway through.

same

[zow2]

He wanted to leave, he was done.  But he didn't want anyone to see him leave and have to give an explanation.  Pretty lame all around.  If he had waited until 6pm that evening and announced his retirement,  the players would have lined up to hug him and see him off.  He would have been applauded.  He wouldn't have had to deal with backlash.  What's stupid is that he knew this.  He knew he'd get slammed by everyone, but did it anyway.

Edited September 18, 2019 by zow2

[GoBills808]

Very weird angle to start an ESPN front page article with the notion that someone in his CEO position doesn’t want to be in the spotlight...like bro nobody and I mean absolutely nobody was thinking about you in the slightest until you felt the need to go to ‘set the record straight’ with this interview. 

 

 

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

4 hours ago, Royale with Cheese said:

If you're done, you at least finish the game with the team.  If you can't play, fine.  But at least say goodbye to your teammates.  He couldn't stay for another 90-120 minutes?

Postgame traffic can be a bear.

Edited September 18, 2019 by Ridgewaycynic2013
I did try to type ‘b****’.

[LeGOATski]

22 minutes ago, Trogdor said:

I follow it a ton and players always have nice things to say about organizations they hope will pay them. It's later that we get a different story. What big name free agent is listing Buffalo as a top 2-3 destination? We don't even make some lists without a substantial contract. We're not there yet. Unless your location is great, it takes a track record of success to lure in those big names chasing a ring. Nobody cares if the locker room has some great guys if they get blown out ever 4th game. 

You're talking about the W-L reputation that I already touched on.

 

It's not worth having a discussion with someone who can't follow it.

[TigerJ]

I'm a retired pastor.  Late in my career, I was at a small church that was having financial challenges.  To ease the pressure on them, I took a second church that was very small.  I was three years away from my expected retirement, but I told that second church, "If it works out and you want me, I promise I will serve as your pastor for five years."  I did that because very small churches in my United Methodist Church normally get the leftovers in our appointment system, part time pastors who are gone after a year or two.  This church had been experiencing that for many years.  I figured they deserved a little continuity with a pastor who knew what he was doing.  After three years, I took my pension, and could have moved on to my retirement, but kept my word, staying two more years serving part time.  The last eight months I had to commute 75 miles for every Sunday service, meeting or visit with a member in his/her home, hospital or nursing home.  I figured that if I made a promise, I needed to keep it.  I find it a bit difficult to have sympathy for a guy who quits at halftime.  That said, it's water under the bridge.  I hope Davis feels fulfilled in his life, whatever he's doing.