Why does everyone hate Willis so much?!?!?!

[BADOLBILZ]

I think the perception of him not caring is way off base, and the reason he eats up the Jets is not because of the Vilma thing. He isn't the top character guy who I want to be the face of the organization and a role model to my son, but he is a very good player who got misused under Mularkey and this year had his ups and downs behind a bad rush blocking O-Line and dealing with a painful injury that lingers.

 

I think he catches a lot of the blame that O-Line deserves. He played solid the first four games behind an O-Line so bad it had to be dismantled, then he got shut down against a Chicago team that dominated us as a team, not Willis individually. Then he had a not so great game against Detroit before getting 120 all purpose yards against a Pats team that dominated us and knew how to take advantage of our old O-Line's last game leading our struggling O. Those three bad games were in the terrible three game losing streak when the team had very little to be proud of, and I don't think Willis could be expected to just go off for 100 each game while the team around him was playing poorly (not that he played great).

 

Then we hit the bye, beat Green Bay but he got hurt, and he missed two big stat padding games against Indy (bad run D and our gameplan) and Texas. He came back awfully quick for cracked ribs, and ran effectively (5.3 per carry) against the very dominating Jacksonville line. Then he got shut down against SD which has a very good line, lit up the Jets as usual, worked hard against Miami, played a good game against Tennessee, and then got shut down by Baltimore.

 

So running behind our O-Line which was inept the first half of the season, and was only able to run to the left the second half of the season, he had bad games against San Diego and Baltimore, and a not so great game against Chicago. Let's see, a terrible O-Line that can only run one way and features road graders Fowler and Preston, and he didn't come up huge against three teams that will likely all be playing next week when only the top 4 are still alive.

 

So let's not invite the guy to dinner or make him the face of the franchise, but I can't agree with all the talk that he doesn't care, doesn't try, and isn't good. Improve our line, run the heck out of Willis during his contract year, and all of this Willis hating will be laughed at a year from now.

 

If you don't like that he has three baby-mommas (and he might not be able to spell "baby" or "mamma") that's fine, but don't go overboard mis-analyzing his football ability or drive because of it.

 

Nice of you to defend him, but to be a top RB in the NFL, you have to have a desire to be great because it's hard to succeed on a consistent basis. But the great ones do. Willis on the other hand, has flashes. He gets up for certain games, others he doesn't.

 

He's a flaky, 900 yard douchebag in a 1500 yard RB's body. And don't tell me about the horrible OL or the injuries. Travis Henry played behind a bad OL and played with painful injuries as well, and he still got it done better with a lot less talent. I'm not overly into stats, but the fact is Willis last 2 seasons have been junk, and 32 games is a pretty big sampling from a RB's career. This is all to say nothing of his lack of committment to offseason training in Buffalo, which apparently has nothing to do with the holes in his game, like poor blocking, poor recognition with regard to hitting the hole which leads to a lot of unnecessary east/west running, etc..

 

Face it, he's the definition of an underachiever. You may be OK with him, but until he develops a complete game and produces for 16 weeks, it's case closed, he's not good enough. That said, this is the year they will get that 1500 yards out of him, if ever, and there is always that chance that switch will flip on and he will begin to care about his career and legacy.

[Olaf Fub]

I didn't have a problem with him until he stated that they should move the team, "case closed". I pay a lot of money to watch the Bills play every season. I expect a little loyalty for my money. If he can't do that, he should leave and I really hope the Bills trade him this off-season.

 

If I can turn the question around, Why do people love Willis so much? A good RB would elevate a bad O-line. He can't do that. I'm not saying he's a bad player but I think he's proven to be an average NFL RB. 1000 yards is not that big a deal in today's league. The fact that he couldn't break it, despite his number of carries, tells me he can be replaced.

 

Yes, he'd be better with an improved O-line but so would any other RB. He doesn't have enough talent to justify keeping him, esp. since he's a player I plan to boo next year if he comes back as a Bill.

[Pyrite Gal]

I didn't have a problem with him until he stated that they should move the team, "case closed". I pay a lot of money to watch the Bills play every season. I expect a little loyalty for my money. If he can't do that, he should leave and I really hope the Bills trade him this off-season.

 

If I can turn the question around, Why do people love Willis so much? A good RB would elevate a bad O-line. He can't do that. I'm not saying he's a bad player but I think he's proven to be an average NFL RB. 1000 yards is not that big a deal in today's league. The fact that he couldn't break it, despite his number of carries, tells me he can be replaced.

 

Yes, he'd be better with an improved O-line but so would any other RB. He doesn't have enough talent to justify keeping him, esp. since he's a player I plan to boo next year if he comes back as a Bill.

From my read of what he said (which may be inaccurate as I only gave it a fairly quick scan as I do not seem to care what Willis is talking about unlike some who seem to devote a lot of attention and posting to this issue) he did not say move the team. What he seemed to say was that IF the NFL was going to chose a team to play A game (or possibly gameS, but I don't know for sure as I do not seem to care what WM is saying as much as some others)in the non-American market of Canada (just the same as they chose the Fins to play one of their home games in the non-Americans market in Europe to nickels from the Europeans, then it only made sense to him to chose the Bills for such a game as it would likely guarantee a strong crowd of Buffaloanians coming to see the Bills and party like mad in Toronto.

[millbank]

When its all said and done, if next year Willis stays healthy has a good year and the Bills do well his comments will be quickly forgotten or said to be misquotes, or quotes taken out of context from a magazine writer.

Clearly it was a foolish decision by either him or his agent for him to participate in a article in such a magazine, particularly a player wishing to either sign a lucrative contract extension or be signed as free agent by another team when he has option to do so. No team wants public relations problems.

It would be wise of Willis as soon as possible to clarify his comments and apologize for any hurt or misunderstanding they may have caused.

[CFLstyle]

You can draft a RB in the middle rounds who can get you that production. McGahee is a dime a dozen running back. He is useless on passing downs.

 

Plain & simple. Willis McGahee is not anything special as a running back. He hasn't done a thing to deserve a big contract. All of that and he is a world class scumbag.

 

There are also a lot of running backs that you can draft in the middle rounds who can do absolutely nothing. What makes you think we're going to hit that homerun?

[Lurker]

Because message boards need a villain and WM is an easy target. Soap opera for men...

[JohninMinn.]

He doesn't have breakaway speed.

[Oneonta Buffalo Fan]

Because we've seen a guy by the named of Anthony Thomas who played much better than Willis when Willis was injured.

[1billsfan]

From my read of what he said (which may be inaccurate as I only gave it a fairly quick scan as I do not seem to care what Willis is talking about unlike some who seem to devote a lot of attention and posting to this issue) he did not say move the team. What he seemed to say was that IF the NFL was going to chose a team to play A game (or possibly gameS, but I don't know for sure as I do not seem to care what WM is saying as much as some others)in the non-American market of Canada (just the same as they chose the Fins to play one of their home games in the non-Americans market in Europe to nickels from the Europeans, then it only made sense to him to chose the Bills for such a game as it would likely guarantee a strong crowd of Buffaloanians coming to see the Bills and party like mad in Toronto.

 

It's obvious you don't give a you-know-what about the history and tradition of the BUFFALO Bills. Please stop telling those who do how we should have taken Willis' comments. It's become increasingly annoying to say the least. If they move I'll cease being a Bills fan, whether they're called the Bills or the Automatons. Try talking to an over 40 Baltimore Ravens fan for some perspective on this issue.

[cantankerous]

Because we've seen a guy by the named of Anthony Thomas who played much better than Willis when Willis was injured.

 

 

AT averaged 3.5 yards a carry.

 

There is a reason why the Bills coaches started Willis even with cracked ribs instead of Thomas.

[Saint Doug]

He doesn't have breakaway speed.

 

He's not a character guy.

[Marv's Neighbor]

I don't understand it, I mean I don't completely love the guy either but im sick and tired of seeing everyone wanting to trade him. It reminds me of when I am on the Mets message boards and everyone wants to trade Shawn Green. I dont know if that is a very good analogy though. I'll just say this I'm willing to bet you that next year if the Bills add atleast 1-2 decent offensive lineman, that Willis will rush for atleast 1300 yards and 10 TD's, pending that he doesnt get hurt. That's all I have to say about Willis. Any thoughts?

All his illegit kids love him!

[rockpile]

It's not a PORNO, it's art.

So, you read it for it's aesthetic value and journalistic content?

[rockpile]

Nice of you to defend him, but to be a top RB in the NFL, you have to have a desire to be great because it's hard to succeed on a consistent basis. But the great ones do. Willis on the other hand, has flashes. He gets up for certain games, others he doesn't.

 

He's a flaky, 900 yard douchebag in a 1500 yard RB's body. And don't tell me about the horrible OL or the injuries. Travis Henry played behind a bad OL and played with painful injuries as well, and he still got it done better with a lot less talent. I'm not overly into stats, but the fact is Willis last 2 seasons have been junk, and 32 games is a pretty big sampling from a RB's career. This is all to say nothing of his lack of committment to offseason training in Buffalo, which apparently has nothing to do with the holes in his game, like poor blocking, poor recognition with regard to hitting the hole which leads to a lot of unnecessary east/west running, etc..

 

Face it, he's the definition of an underachiever. You may be OK with him, but until he develops a complete game and produces for 16 weeks, it's case closed, he's not good enough. That said, this is the year they will get that 1500 yards out of him, if ever, and there is always that chance that switch will flip on and he will begin to care about his career and legacy.

RB characteristics only, he reminds me of Tinker Bell and Ronnie the Drop. As you said a player with exceptional talent but only average drive.

 

I do not pay much attention to his rag sheet headlines. I would rather he avoid bad press, but I thought he was a punk the first time he opened his mouth, so I am not surprised. I could tolerate it better if he performed on the field like someone worth remembering.

 

There was a time when Eric Moulds was almost cut for his less than stellar performance, combined with bad press. Is there a chance Willis can turn the corner and play football, or one day will he be a trivia question no that one gets?