Tyler Dunne story on McDermott - 3 parts, 25 interviews, one damning conclusion

[Wayne Arnold]

1 minute ago, Rico said:

You know who else doesn't know? Tyler Dunne.

 

Which is why he needed quotes from 25 former players/coaches.

[Rico]

2 minutes ago, Roundybout said:

 

Look, it's Pegs!

[WotAGuy]

1 minute ago, CaliBills said:

 

what?  

 

bad analogy.  Try again

 

It’s more like your wife asking if you are ok and you say nothing.   She can assume you are upset even if you are not, you just might be focused.  Silence isn't always a negative association when asked a question.

Apparently you aren’t married. 😂😂

[CaliBills]

2 minutes ago, WotAGuy said:

Apparently you aren’t married. 😂😂

 

Wrong again!

 

lol you are shooting 100% on being wrong today  

 

but since you are married as well you must be used to being wrong all the time lol  

Edited December 11, 2023 by CaliBills

[Rico]

2 minutes ago, Wayne Arnold said:

 

Which is why he needed quotes from 25 former players/coaches.

I doubt he knows 25 former players/coaches, but Whaley might've helped him out.

[WotAGuy]

Just now, CaliBills said:

 

Wrong again!

 

lol you are shooting 100% on being wrong today  

You got that right. Every one of my parlays was a goose egg. 🥲

[CaliBills]

1 minute ago, WotAGuy said:

You got that right. Every one of my parlays was a goose egg. 🥲

Damn that has got to hurt.  Well at least the Bills won!!

[WotAGuy]

 

[Buffalo03]

Tyler Dunne: "Do you have McDermott's back?

 

Whole Bills team: "Yea, we do. Always have"

 

Tyler Dunne: "How much did he pay you to say that?

[TheFunPolice]

6 minutes ago, Rico said:

Look, it's Pegs!

 

These posts from the team social media are all anyone needs to know.

 

Dunne exaggerated and overplayed his hand. 

 

The team was and is 100% behind McDermott and he was never going anywhere, regardless of whether a Chiefs WR lined up onsides or not. 

 

 

[Royale with Cheese]

I think my question was answered on how the team will respond to this.  

[YoloinOhio]

3 minutes ago, Buffalo03 said:

Tyler Dunne: "Do you have McDermott's back?

 

Whole Bills team: "Yea, we do. Always have"

 

Tyler Dunne: "How much did he pay you to say that?

* calls Isaiah McKenzie for more dirt*

[hondo in seattle]

6 hours ago, Kincaid Kool-Aid said:

Agree. Sure, it’s a hit piece in that it portrays McD and his leadership/behavior negatively. But bottom line though, if McD didn’t do any of what’s alleged, there’d be nothing to write about and this piece never gets written. As someone else said, you could call Bernstein and Woodward’s expose on watergate a hit piece too, but it doesn’t make it less valid. The whole point of the press is to hold those in power accountable (as objectively absurd as it is to compare the two situations of course!).  

 

This is an interesting point and I respect it.  

 

I don't believe Dunne made anything up.  And I believe that he believes what he wrote.  But I also believe that there are lines that shouldn't be crossed.  I think it's fair game to question personnel and tactical decisions.  But going after character?  I don't like it.  

 

For me, there's a difference between sports and political journalism.  I do expect political journalists to write fair, balanced, and truthful exposés.  The nation depends on Bernsteins and Woodwards for democracy to properly function.

 

Football, on the other hand, is a pastime that will operate just fine without the Tyler Dunne's of the world playing attack dog.  As Micah Hyde said, "I don’t think there’s any good coming out of that."  In any case, while Dunne was truthful in his subjective way, he was not fair and balanced.  

 

Listening to Micah Hyde, Josh Allen, Ed Oliver, Mitch Morse, and others over the past couple days, it's clear they don't agree with Dunne's characterization.  And they're in a position to know the man much better than Dunne.   Dunne should have made a much more strenuous effort to talk to more guys like these who have good things to say about McD to make his article more objective.   One important observation about Bernstein and Woodward is that they were right.  Dunne gets some facts right, but I question his opinions and conclusions.  

 

 

[Kincaid Kool-Aid]

9 minutes ago, hondo in seattle said:

 

This is an interesting point and I respect it.  

 

I don't believe Dunne made anything up.  And I believe that he believes what he wrote.  But I also believe that there are lines that shouldn't be crossed.  I think it's fair game to question personnel and tactical decisions.  But going after character?  I don't like it.  

 

For me, there's a difference between sports and political journalism.  I do expect political journalists to write fair, balanced, and truthful exposés.  The nation depends on Bernsteins and Woodwards for democracy to properly function.

 

Football, on the other hand, is a pastime that will operate just fine without the Tyler Dunne's of the world playing attack dog.  As Micah Hyde said, "I don’t think there’s any good coming out of that."  In any case, while Dunne was truthful in his subjective way, he was not fair and balanced.  

 

Listening to Micah Hyde, Josh Allen, Ed Oliver, Mitch Morse, and others over the past couple days, it's clear they don't agree with Dunne's characterization.  And they're in a position to know the man much better than Dunne.   Dunne should have made a much more strenuous effort to talk to more guys like these who have good things to say about McD to make his article more objective.   One important observation about Bernstein and Woodward is that they were right.  Dunne gets some facts right, but I question his opinions and conclusions.  

 

 

Right back at you sir. Fair points. Like I said, it’s absurd to compare football vs. presidential corruption but I don’t hear anyone refuting the stories, even if players are saying the characterization of McD is slanted. Maybe I’m just over McD, but I also feel like they kind of have to defend him - are they really going to come out and say “yep, he’s an incompetent a*shole” at this point when they’re in the middle of the season abd fighting for a playoff run?

Edited December 11, 2023 by Kincaid Kool-Aid

[Roundybout]

 

[EmotionallyUnstable]

Could you imagine investing so much time and energy into a slander piece all to come off looking like a complete L7 weeny?

 

What a face plant. 

[YoloinOhio]

 

[Warcodered]

2 hours ago, Mikie2times said:

Toney steps back by the length of my Johnson and this thread is 200 Pages.  People assigning short term observations to long term conclusions. If you want a takeaway, we were very aggressive the last drive KC had the ball. It was nice to see. It was even nicer to see us hold on the sending the house on 4th down as KC was waiting for it. We made good calls on that last drive and yes, he deserves credit for that.

Or maybe they actually make this call.

1 hour ago, WotAGuy said:

So why are all the players suddenly so effusive in their praise now, but when the sharks were circling they were silent?

They know they're all getting interviewed after the game, don't think it's weird they wanted to focus on getting a win and then responding it certainly helped reinforce the message.

1 hour ago, YoloinOhio said:

* calls Isaiah McKenzie for more dirt*

"What he paid them, all he gave me was candy."

[WotAGuy]

It just was an odd look for the face of the franchise to decline to comment when all he needed to say was “We support coach”. Hyde spoke up so clearly some players weren’t distracted by saying a few kind words of support. 

[hondo in seattle]

26 minutes ago, Kincaid Kool-Aid said:

Right back at you sir. Fair points. Like I said, it’s absurd to compare football vs. presidential corruption but I don’t hear anyone refuting the stories, even if players are saying the characterization of McD is slanted. Maybe I’m just over McD, but I also feel like they kind of have to defend him - are they really going to come out and say “yep, he’s an incompetent a*shole” at this point when they’re in the middle of the season abd fighting for a playoff run?

 

 

You're right but I think maybe we can probably read between the lines.  Allen's public defense of McD as a coach after the game wasn't particularly strong though he said McD is one of the best humans walking the planet.  Mitch Morse's defense was big - something like, "I'd do anything for that man."  So was Ed Oliver's and his comment that McD was a "great man" and the article was "bullsh*t."  Listening to some of the players call out "We got your back, coach!" when McD was delivering his postgame speech was pretty emotional.  Though I don't know how many were yelling it out or cheering in agreement.  

 

This doesn't mean any of Dunne's facts are wrong.  Nor does it invalidate all of his opinions.  And there might be players and coaches who silently agree with him.   But I'm pretty sure that Micah Hyde, for example, isn't one of them after hearing him speak.   

 

It's like the elephant story I told earlier in this thread.  Dunne is the blind man holding onto the trunk and describing the elephant as long like a snake.  Dunne has a bit of truth but I don't think he has the whole picture.  And I think confirmation bias is at work.  I'm guessing Dunne has a negative view of McD and sought out the people who agreed with him more aggressively than he sought out the people who didn't.  

 

It would be interesting for a more unbiased journalist to interview a bunch of players and coaches and tell the whole story.  I'm sure it wouldn't all be roses.  But I personally doubt if it would stink the way Dunne's story does.