When did Steve Tasker become such a homer?

[Mister Defense]

On One Bills Live Tasker refuses to give or agree with any criticism whatsover as  to how Ken Dorsey has done as an offensive coordinator. By his reactions, you can often tell that Chris Brown is not on the same page, though he often defers to Tasker overall.  Someone like Maddy Glab seems to imply she has her doubts about Dorsey, expecting to see some big changes this year.

 

I am posting this because of Tasker's comments on OBL Monday 8-21, related to the Bills' offense horrendous performance against Pittsburgh.  I was curious to see if Tasker was going to level any criticism at all on the coaching staff for how un-disciplined and un-prepared the Bills looked. After all, the buck stops at the top.

 

But right on cue, and immediately, he made almost shocking excuses for the Bills performance, letting all off the hook.  He said that the Bills just want to play the Jets in the opener and didn't seem interested in this pre season game at all.  He said that over and over, couldn't get that out fast enough to open the show. But not as a criticism at all, but as a valid excuse.

 

Then he took the next step, and said that this successful veteran team is focused on the winning playoff games, indicating that a game like this had almost no importance to them; so why bother?  But again, he wasn't being critical at all, just offering a lame and strange excuse.

 

Of course in his hyper-homer like analysis he offered even more damning criticism of the Bills.  As without the mindset that all games, all plays, are important, there is no way this Bills team can contend for a championship. In response, Brown said something like this meekly at one point.

 

Tasker is one my favorite players in my decades of being a Bills fan, a vital cog in the best teams I have ever seen play in Buffalo, and smart, with great character. I also appreciated his work as a color commentator, as he was objective,  clear, and didn't overdo it, didn't speak just to hear himself talk (see: Kirk Herbstreet, the opposite).

 

But repeatedly saying the Bills are going to be a "wrecking crew" this year, and not seeing the problems most saw as the season progressed last year, and now in this pre-season, has me losing respect for his opinion. Then, his almost comical response to the Pittsburgh fiasco showed me how far down the rabbit hole he has burrowed.

 

I think that objective, honest analysis is the most helpful, and Tasker's  has become lacking in both respects, in my opinion.

 

[MJS]

Well, he has always been a homer but he knows, from experience, that the results of preseason games are completely meaningless.

 

You seem to really care about this preseason game. Maybe you are the one being ridiculous...

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

2 minutes ago, Mister Defense said:

On One Bills Live Tasker refuses to give or agree with any criticism whatsover as  to how Ken Dorsey has done as an offensive coordinator. By his reactions, you can often tell that Chris Brown is not on the same page, though he often defers to Tasker overall.  Someone like Maddy Glab seems to imply she has her doubts about Dorsey, expecting to see some big changes this year.

 

I am posting this because of Tasker's comments on OBL Monday 8-21, related to the Bills' offense horrendous performance against Pittsburgh.  I was curious to see if Tasker was going to level any criticism at all on the coaching staff for how un-disciplined and un-prepared the Bills looked. After all, the buck stops at the top.

 

But right on cue, and immediately, he made almost shocking excuses for the Bills performance, letting all off the hook.  He said that the Bills just want to play the Jets in the opener and didn't seem interested in this pre season game at all.  He said that over and over, couldn't get that out fast enough to open the show. But not as a criticism at all, but as a valid excuse.

 

Then he took the next step, and said that this successful veteran team is focused on the winning playoff games, indicating that a game like this had almost no importance to them; so why bother?  But again, he wasn't being critical at all, just offering a lame and strange excuse.

 

Of course in his hyper-homer like analysis he offered even more damning criticism of the Bills.  As without the mindset that all games, all plays, are important, there is no way this Bills team can contend for a championship. In response, Brown said something like this meekly at one point.

 

Tasker is one my favorite players in my decades of being a Bills fan, a vital cog in the best teams I have ever seen play in Buffalo, and smart, with great character. I also appreciated his work as a color commentator, as he was objective,  clear, and didn't overdo it, didn't speak just to hear himself talk (see: Kirk Herbstreet, the opposite).

 

But repeatedly saying the Bills are going to be a "wrecking crew" this year, and not seeing the problems most saw as the season progressed last year, and now in this pre-season, has me losing respect for his opinion. Then, his almost comical response to the Pittsburgh fiasco showed me how far down the rabbit hole he has burrowed.

 

I think that objective, honest analysis is the most helpful, and Tasker's  has become lacking in both respects, in my opinion.

 

In my experience employers aren’t seeking objectivity about their performance from employees. 

[julian]

Helpful to who ? The team doesn’t give a rats a** what Chris Brown or Tasker or you or any fan thinks.

 

 It might just be as simple as plenty of people have a hard time criticizing a rookie OC who was 2nd in scoring and 1st on 3rd down conversion.

[Mister Defense]

Just now, MJS said:

Well, he has always been a homer but he knows, from experience, that the results of preseason games are completely meaningless.

 

You seem to really care about this preseason game. Maybe you are the one being ridiculous...

 

Mega penalties and almost no good plays from their starting unit against Pittsburgh's should concern all. 

[Nephilim17]

One Bills Live isn't journalism, it's marketing. Sometimes when they get outsiders like Greg Cosell, these people make very veiled critiques of players (but never the system) but you'll be hard pressed to see Tasker, Brown or Maddy Glab (she was hired just to have a young female presence; she's not very good at dissecting football) say something bad about the team.

[JoPoy88]

1 minute ago, Mister Defense said:

 

Mega penalties and almost no good plays from their starting unit against Pittsburgh's should concern all. 

well, it doesn’t. I’ll adjust my concern when the games start counting.

[2020 Our Year For Sure]

2 minutes ago, MJS said:

Well, he has always been a homer but he knows, from experience, that the results of preseason games are completely meaningless.

 

You seem to really care about this preseason game. Maybe you are the one being ridiculous...

You sure? Even Dawkins said they didn't play up to their standard at times. I venture a guess other players and coaches would agree in a moment of candor.

 

Are you of the belief they should have no standards for themselves at all in these games? If that's the case then it probably hurts more than helps to play starters at all, opening them up to forming bad habits.

[Royale with Cheese]

Many former players aren’t negative like a fan base because they’ve been through it.  They know that the fans don’t know everything that happened or want to understand it.  They know there are good days and bad days.

 

Tasker does say some confusing stuff and things I don’t agree with.  Oh well. Makes me roll my eyes but it doesn’t bother me like some of you.  Not saying this to the OP, just in general.  It seems to bother some fans when radio hosts/commentators/ex-players aren’t as vocally critical as them.  It genuinely makes some of you angry which is very odd to me.

[Matt_In_NH]

He is much more level headed and pragmatic than the typical fan who flys off the handle over every little thing.

[dickleyjones]

to answer your question, likely some time in the early 90s.

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

My unqualified opinion says when CBS cut him free from his television gig.  I could be wrong.  Now it's 'One Bills Live' and the car dealership buying his stogies, but who knows how well off he truly is.

[MJS]

10 minutes ago, 2020 Our Year For Sure said:

You sure? Even Dawkins said they didn't play up to their standard at times. I venture a guess other players and coaches would agree in a moment of candor.

 

Are you of the belief they should have no standards for themselves at all in these games? If that's the case then it probably hurts more than helps to play starters at all, opening them up to forming bad habits.

Preseason games have their place. They are there to get some reps for starters, but mostly for evaluating your players and ironing out kinks. They don't game plan. They are only mildly trying to win the game.

 

If there are problems, you address them and try to use it to get ready for the season.

 

Nothing more. Nothing less. Fans should not make sweeping judgements about the team or even players in the limited reps they get.

Edited August 22, 2023 by MJS

[Matt_In_NH]

7 minutes ago, 2020 Our Year For Sure said:

You sure? Even Dawkins said they didn't play up to their standard at times. I venture a guess other players and coaches would agree in a moment of candor.

 

Are you of the belief they should have no standards for themselves at all in these games? If that's the case then it probably hurts more than helps to play starters at all, opening them up to forming bad habits.

Both can be true at the same time.   The preseason games matter but not for the reasons most fans are thinking.   They are really there to prepare for the season, it is practice.

[Mr. WEO]

When did a PSE employee become a Bills homer?

 

This needs a deeper dive...

[thenorthremembers]

He's been honest when the Bills have been bad.  Despite what many on this board may think, they havent been bad in 3 seasons or so.  

[Blackbeard]

Tasker is one of the better commentators we have.  He has experience obviously.

 

The fact he isn't rattled by the ***** preseason performance should tell you something.  He's been there, done that.

 

 

[SoonerBillsFan]

28 minutes ago, Mister Defense said:

On One Bills Live Tasker refuses to give or agree with any criticism whatsover as  to how Ken Dorsey has done as an offensive coordinator. By his reactions, you can often tell that Chris Brown is not on the same page, though he often defers to Tasker overall.  Someone like Maddy Glab seems to imply she has her doubts about Dorsey, expecting to see some big changes this year.

 

I am posting this because of Tasker's comments on OBL Monday 8-21, related to the Bills' offense horrendous performance against Pittsburgh.  I was curious to see if Tasker was going to level any criticism at all on the coaching staff for how un-disciplined and un-prepared the Bills looked. After all, the buck stops at the top.

 

But right on cue, and immediately, he made almost shocking excuses for the Bills performance, letting all off the hook.  He said that the Bills just want to play the Jets in the opener and didn't seem interested in this pre season game at all.  He said that over and over, couldn't get that out fast enough to open the show. But not as a criticism at all, but as a valid excuse.

 

Then he took the next step, and said that this successful veteran team is focused on the winning playoff games, indicating that a game like this had almost no importance to them; so why bother?  But again, he wasn't being critical at all, just offering a lame and strange excuse.

 

Of course in his hyper-homer like analysis he offered even more damning criticism of the Bills.  As without the mindset that all games, all plays, are important, there is no way this Bills team can contend for a championship. In response, Brown said something like this meekly at one point.

 

Tasker is one my favorite players in my decades of being a Bills fan, a vital cog in the best teams I have ever seen play in Buffalo, and smart, with great character. I also appreciated his work as a color commentator, as he was objective,  clear, and didn't overdo it, didn't speak just to hear himself talk (see: Kirk Herbstreet, the opposite).

 

But repeatedly saying the Bills are going to be a "wrecking crew" this year, and not seeing the problems most saw as the season progressed last year, and now in this pre-season, has me losing respect for his opinion. Then, his almost comical response to the Pittsburgh fiasco showed me how far down the rabbit hole he has burrowed.

 

I think that objective, honest analysis is the most helpful, and Tasker's  has become lacking in both respects, in my opinion.

 

I would say he is looking at it from a former players point of view, vs. two others that never played in the NFL. I would think his perspective is preseason means little esp. If you look at the Bills preseason records when he was playing and we went to 5 AFCCG in 6 years and 4 straight superbowls.  Not saying he is right, I just think thats where his perspective comes from.

[Ethan in Cleveland]

He's always been a homer.

And he is correct. 

Bills starters should not have been in this game. Zero upside. Only injury risk. I'd like to blame McDermott but almost all the coaches make the same bad decision.  

[Maynard]

Tasker is a company man. It’s his source of income these days I’d imagine. 

[Mister Defense]

Just now, Maynard said:

Tasker is a company man. It’s his source of income these days I’d imagine. 

 

Well, if true, that is too bad.  I expect my Bills heroes to be above the fray..

[BillsFan2313]

29 minutes ago, Mister Defense said:

 

Mega penalties and almost no good plays from their starting unit against Pittsburgh's should concern all. 

 

Lol

[corta765]

Tasker is employed by the Bills and ex player. I have found players tend to be less critical then outsiders who never played as they know the preparation and work that goes into everything. Additionally I think he as invested in the Bills winning a title finally as the team itself because if they finally get a ring it kind of closes the door and heals the job they couldn't finish. Tasker is at times a good listen and other times state radio, but I attribute much of that to the fact he was an ex-player and the vast majority of us have never seen .001% of what he has in terms of locker room and the game itself. Also remember Chris Brown has gotten in trouble for being critical a few times past the normal line, so in sense they do play off each other.

 

On the flipside to kind of defend Tasker I have found fans this entire off season from the moment the clock went 0:00 against CIN to be overly harsh, pessimistic, and unwilling to consider some doses of reality that last years team was in fact quite good, the offense while being up and down in the back half was also quite good, and having a teammate nearly die after a world wind of obstacles throughout may finally have just hit the team at the worst possible moment. I do not think anyone on the team coach or player would say the CIN loss was acceptable or make an excuse or deny areas they could improve. Also the Bengals are a very good team, good teams beat good teams believe it or not despite what most fans want to believe. The freak-out over a preseason game vs PIT that means nothing, in a game they didn't game plan for, and more or less just working different personnel through has bordered on the point of comical.

 

I will say this the Dorsey criticism is misguided at him and to me goes to McD. Heading into 2022 they said no excuses even though it was year 1 for Dorsey and virtually no 1st year 1st time OC has made a SB. Then after the season it turned into he will grow from year 1 and be so much better. I buy he will grow, but their basically covering themselves by now saying he was new.

[schoolhouserock]

It is not Tasker’s job to be objective or critical of the team.

 

For any reporter that has a genuine critique of the Bills’ organization at any level, good luck maintaining your access to the best sources.

[FireChans]

Employee says employer is great. Someone call the Hardly Boys to crack this one 

[Low Positive]

Every team has a show like OBL. Do you think that Dave Lapham and Dan Horde say anything negative about the Bengals on Bengals Pep Rally every Friday during the season? They were 100% positive even during the 2-14 2019 season. 

[GunnerBill]

One Bills Live is state sponsored broadcasting.

[I'm Spartacus]

I somewhat agree with the OP on Tasker. Yes...it was a preseason game and didn't mean a lot. But as far as the ridiculous amount of penalties, he said numerous times that the "players" did not come prepared. I was going to call in to challenge him on this. Isn't it the "coaches" job to prepare and motivate the players? Tasker never seems to call out the coaching staff or Beane. Yes, he can be a homer to a fault at times.

[LabattBlue]

After preseason game #1, Tasker explained Kyle Allen’s poor performance as “what QB is going to look good when on the same team as Josh Allen”. 
 

😂😂😂

[Low Positive]

2 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

One Bills Live is state sponsored broadcasting.

Yeah, and every team in North American sports has this. I realize this is different in European soccer/football coverage where everything is negative all the time. But here what's remarkable is if a broadcaster employed by a team is not a homer. Here in Cincinnati, Marty Brenneman had an open love/hate relationship with the Reds for 4 decades. He was the most negative play-by-play guy in MLB for his entire career. It did get annoying to listen to sometimes. Also, how is it that this forum currently has a huge thread memorializing the king of the homers pinned to the top and also a number of threads complaining about Tasker and other Bills homers in the local media? Do hockey homers get a pass? 

[PBF81]

We'll know what the deal is if the next time we see him on TV, he's got a pair of those McD glasses on too.  

 

 

[RyanC883]

30 minutes ago, Ethan in Cleveland said:

He's always been a homer.

And he is correct. 

Bills starters should not have been in this game. Zero upside. Only injury risk. I'd like to blame McDermott but almost all the coaches make the same bad decision.  

 

Agree with not playing starters, but woof, did they look just as lackadaisical and awful as they did in Cincy.  That's bad, and Brown in particular is a cause for concern.  It's like we fixed the IOL and the OTs suddenly became a bigger liability.  OL wack-a-mole.  

 

And wtf is Tasker talking about playoffs for?  Playoffs?  Yeah, those went really well the last 2 years.  

 

So many excuses for not winning by some of these guys.  I could care less about the regular season stats for Dorsey, et. al.  Winning in the playoffs is what matters.  We can't seem to figure that out.  Hopefully this year with the vet additions, particularly on D, and McD taking over with hopefully more aggressive play calling, we can do that.  

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

31 minutes ago, Mister Defense said:

 

Well, if true, that is too bad.  I expect my Bills heroes to be above the fray..

everyone know those people at work that tell it like it is…. They are usually the first names up when it’s RIF time… 

Edited August 22, 2023 by Over 29 years of fanhood

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

1 minute ago, GunnerBill said:

One Bills Live is state sponsored broadcasting.

[ChronicAndKnuckles]

1 hour ago, MJS said:

Well, he has always been a homer but he knows, from experience, that the results of preseason games are completely meaningless.

 

You seem to really care about this preseason game. Maybe you are the one being ridiculous...

Thread should have ended here.

[GunnerBill]

10 minutes ago, FrenchConnection said:

Yeah, and every team in North American sports has this. I realize this is different in European soccer/football coverage where everything is negative all the time. But here what's remarkable is if a broadcaster employed by a team is not a homer. Here in Cincinnati, Marty Brenneman had an open love/hate relationship with the Reds for 4 decades. He was the most negative play-by-play guy in MLB for his entire career. It did get annoying to listen to sometimes. Also, how is it that this forum currently has a huge thread memorializing the king of the homers pinned to the top and also a number of threads complaining about Tasker and other Bills homers in the local media? Do hockey homers get a pass? 

 

Oh we have it to. In my brief first career as a sports journalist I worked as a regular freelancer for the radio network that had exclusive rights to the Manchester United commentaries. I asked Sir Alex Ferguson which of his two (distinctly average, not that I said this) goalkeepers - one being former USMNT legend Tim Howard - he was going to pick for a League Cup Semi-Final vs Blackburn and got sworn at in a presser. I was only covering the presser because their usual Man U correspondent was off sick. You better believe I got an almighty dressing down by the Deputy Station Manager when I got back to the office. I'd done nothing more than ask "who is going to play in goal tomorrow night?"

 

I'm not complaining about Tasker either btw. I'm just wondering why people get exercised about what is said on OBL..... because it is team sponsored homerism. You can't expect it to be objective. 

Edited August 22, 2023 by GunnerBill

[Royale with Cheese]

6 minutes ago, Ridgewaycynic2013 said:

 

"Dion Dawkins isn't fat.  I repeat, Dion Dawkins isn't fat."

[jethro_tull]

He was making excuses for the Bills and said "they didn't want to be there" (playing a meaningless preseason game).

He did like the fact that McD threw out the field glasses though.  

Since it was a meaningless preseason game let's move on already......

[Milanos Milano]

Propaganda is as propaganda does. 

[machine gun kelly]

1 hour ago, Maynard said:

Tasker is a company man. It’s his source of income these days I’d imagine. 

 
Kf some of you guys are expecting objective reporting with a critical eye from employees of the Pegulas, you might want to rethink you’re POV.

 

Herss a question.  If you work for. Fortune 500 company, are you outwardly critical of your employer and their leadership decisions.  That’s a quick drive to “You’re fired”!

 

Well find someone else says the employer.  The guy is probably 60 and needs to work.  I expect the advertisement when I listen to OBL.