We were quick to run Henry out of town, now we want to run Willis out

[bluv]

Travis was too slow;couldn't take it the distance, fumbled too much; not a factor in the passing game. Never mind he always rans hard, never let the 1st defender bring him down and wanted to be a Buffalo Bill as he was a lifelong fan! Willis is a game breaker! That was most on this board 4 years ago. Now most of the same are trying to run Willis out just as fast. I say unless we get a 2nd round pick for WM, I say keep him and give him a chance to run behind our supposedly improved O-line and draft a replacement RB either this year or next or sign from a better free agent crop next year. While WM is not the hit the hole and slam it up in there type of back, he can do some damage when he is allowed to get to the edge, especially with his wicked stiff arm. Why be so quick to run him out of town; for Dillion or Chris Brown? I mean we get no major savings by trading him; we just hate to lose him for nothing in free agency next year. So what? If WM has a breakout year next year and he and has agent want big money then we either say look you have earned it and proved your worth or one season doesn't make a career and let him walk. No matter what you think of WM as a person, this team would still be better next year with WM than the RBs mentioned running behind better blocking; if the blocking doesn't improve THEN IT WON'T MATTER WHO RUNS!

[RayFinkle]

Whoah there, I don't think anybody had an issue with Travis until Donahoe had to try a make a sexy pick and drafted McGahee.

[stuckincincy]

Whoah there, I don't think anybody had an issue with Travis until Donahoe had to try a make a sexy pick and drafted McGahee.

 

.

 

[buckeyemike]

I don't remember anyone trying to run Thurman Thomas out of town.

 

Well, except for maybe Jim Kelly during the "Bickering Bills" era...

[1billsfan]

Travis was too slow;couldn't take it the distance, fumbled too much; not a factor in the passing game. Never mind he always rans hard, never let the 1st defender bring him down and wanted to be a Buffalo Bill as he was a lifelong fan! Willis is a game breaker! That was most on this board 4 years ago. Now most of the same are trying to run Willis out just as fast. I say unless we get a 2nd round pick for WM, I say keep him and give him a chance to run behind our supposedly improved O-line and draft a replacement RB either this year or next or sign from a better free agent crop next year. While WM is not the hit the hole and slam it up in there type of back, he can do some damage when he is allowed to get to the edge, especially with his wicked stiff arm. Why be so quick to run him out of town; for Dillion or Chris Brown? I mean we get no major savings by trading him; we just hate to lose him for nothing in free agency next year. So what? If WM has a breakout year next year and he and has agent want big money then we either say look you have earned it and proved your worth or one season doesn't make a career and let him walk. No matter what you think of WM as a person, this team would still be better next year with WM than the RBs mentioned running behind better blocking; if the blocking doesn't improve THEN IT WON'T MATTER WHO RUNS!

 

In the year following his being traded by the Bills, Travis Henry was suspended for 4 games, had 335 yards rushing and 0 touchdowns. One more slip up and he's gone for a full season. The Bills are still in the right for getting rid of him.

 

McGahee hates Buffalo and putting a gun to his head to make him play for Buffalo is not something the Bills or any other NFL team in the same situation wants to do for an entire season. McGahee has always been more hype than substance IMO.

 

Mark my words, you will be happy once all of the cards have been laid on the table, just trust in Marv.

[DrDawkinstein]

Donahoe ran Henry out of town.

 

Marv and Co are running McGahee out of town.

 

WE have nothing to do with either of them.

[Brandon]

Whoah there, I don't think anybody had an issue with Travis until Donahoe had to try a make a sexy pick and drafted McGahee.

 

Yep. Not all of us agreed with selecting McGahee, nor did we all agree with trading Henry. Four years later, it looks like the Bills gave up the 23rd overall pick and a good RB in exchange for an average RB and a 3rd round pick. Great job, Tom Donahoe, as well as to the Bills fans who bought the hype.

[Schulman16]

Everyone is missing the point. We are only looking to trade Willis because we know we arent going to agree on a contract extension and that he will leave next year as a FA. Instead of getting one good year from him (which wouldnt be half bad, since players like him usually are amazing in contract years), the bills want to trade him now and get something for him to address other needs and free up money to address other areas. Willis' performance isnt the primary reason we are getting rid of him--although the RB certainly could use an upgrade after last year.

[Gordio]

Everyone is missing the point. We are only looking to trade Willis because we know we arent going to agree on a contract extension and that he will leave next year as a FA. Instead of getting one good year from him (which wouldnt be half bad, since players like him usually are amazing in contract years), the bills want to trade him now and get something for him to address other needs and free up money to address other areas. Willis' performance isnt the primary reason we are getting rid of him--although the RB certainly could use an upgrade after last year.

 

 

Your missing the point. If you think that is the only reason Marv has his heart set on getting rid of WM your nuts. The guy is an average back. Everybody has got to change their mind set of WM being a top 5 back. He just isnt. The guy did not even break 1,000 yards this year, was stopped constantly on 3 & short & hardly had any tds. If Marv could get a 2nd round pick from him I will take that. Anything less we let WM play out his contract.

 

As far as henry, I blame TD for alot of things, trading henry is not one of them. The guy had serious baggage which none of us knew at the time. I dont even blame td for drafting a rb that year, he just drafted the wrong one. LJ would look really nice in a bills uniform right about now.

[Schulman16]

Your missing the point. If you think that is the only reason Marv has his heart set on getting rid of WM your nuts. The guy is an average back. Everybody has got to change their mind set of WM being a top 5 back. He just isnt. The guy did not even break 1,000 yards this year, was stopped constantly on 3 & short & hardly had any tds. If Marv could get a 2nd round pick from him I will take that. Anything less we let WM play out his contract.

 

As far as henry, I blame TD for alot of things, trading henry is not one of them. The guy had serious baggage which none of us knew at the time. I dont even blame td for drafting a rb that year, he just drafted the wrong one. LJ would look really nice in a bills uniform right about now.

 

I agree with you. Thats kind of partly my point. We are in a position get a relatively high draft pick for a RB who we know is overrated--who we know is going to want more money next year than we are willing to pay, who we know doesn't really want to play in Buffalo. You can't deny that he is a productive RB even with the numbers last year, hes still a top 10 back at least in terms of potential. Why wait until next year to probably not even resign him when we can get something now.

[bluv]

Your missing the point. If you think that is the only reason Marv has his heart set on getting rid of WM your nuts. The guy is an average back. Everybody has got to change their mind set of WM being a top 5 back. He just isnt. The guy did not even break 1,000 yards this year, was stopped constantly on 3 & short & hardly had any tds. If Marv could get a 2nd round pick from him I will take that. Anything less we let WM play out his contract.

 

As far as henry, I blame TD for alot of things, trading henry is not one of them. The guy had serious baggage which none of us knew at the time. I dont even blame td for drafting a rb that year, he just drafted the wrong one. LJ would look really nice in a bills uniform right about now.

You're missing the point. WM is an average RB who ran behind average blocking playing on a subpar offense with QB question marks. I'm not trying to make excuses for WM but the same ones who ran TH out of town, labeled him as a below average RB, pointing out his faults and not given him credit for what he is good at are doing the same to WM and in fact even worse. The Bills are a better team with WM than they would be with RBs they are looking to bring in and just because you or other fans don't either like or respect him his team mates do as he has shown the willingness to play hurt. So unless you get a 2nd round pick or trade/draft an upgrade at RB, the Bills will be worse at RB in 2007. I say give WM a chance to show what he got behind supposedly better blocking if we don't get any return value for while he is not a top RB, he is a top talent who may shine with a better O-line.

 

Some will say that we won't compete next year anyway but you never know in today's NFL. You'd feel bad if the only thing holding this team back was the running game but WM was burning it up for his new team. You'll feel even worse if we sign Chris Brown and he gets hurt (the usual) and Shaud WIlliams is our feature back! And you speak of LJ; he didn't exactly light the league up in his 1st few years either.

[bluv]

I agree with you. Thats kind of partly my point. We are in a position get a relatively high draft pick for a RB who we know is overrated--who we know is going to want more money next year than we are willing to pay, who we know doesn't really want to play in Buffalo. You can't deny that he is a productive RB even with the numbers last year, hes still a top 10 back at least in terms of potential. Why wait until next year to probably not even resign him when we can get something now.

You want to get something but not just take anything! I can see if we owed him a huge bonus. If he plays like the top talent he is supposed to be then the Bills will be a better team in 2007; who cares if he will want more money or if he really wants to remain a Bill? Some people lose sight of the main focus which is to WIN; who cares if we build up his resume and signs a big contract with another team? It happens all the time in sports! No NFL team can keep all 3 star skilled position players (QB,WR,RB) together for more than 3-4 years together in today's NFL. If WM has a big year it will be due more to better blocking and if we draft a replacement who shares the load then we will be prepared in 2008.

[ricojes]

You want to get something but not just take anything! I can see if we owed him a huge bonus. If he plays like the top talent he is supposed to be then the Bills will be a better team in 2007; who cares if he will want more money or if he really wants to remain a Bill? Some people lose sight of the main focus which is to WIN; who cares if we build up his resume and signs a big contract with another team? It happens all the time in sports! No NFL team can keep all 3 star skilled position players (QB,WR,RB) together for more than 3-4 years together in today's NFL. If WM has a big year it will be due more to better blocking and if we draft a replacement who shares the load then we will be prepared in 2008.

Here are the flaws with keeping WM as I see it. His contract is up at the end of this season and he is going to want huge money. Without a contract, Willis will hold out of training camp for sure, do we want the distraction? Is it a big deal if he holds out, from a playing point of view? I really don't know, I think he could miss camp and still perform well in the regular season. Is it a big deal if he holds out, from a team perspective? Most likely, I don't think it creates a cohesive locker room. The goal is to win yes, but realistically this year will not be the year the Bills make a SB run. And when the season is over, there is no way Willis signs with the Bills. Whether they want him or not, he is gone. He would not sign with a team that would not re-negotiate his current contract. So, do the Bills let WM audition for another team this year and then lose him at the end of the season. Or, do they cut their ties with him and get someone else at RB to help the offense mature for this year as well as next season. I believe the second option is more feasible. Now hopefully he gets traded for a second, and we can move on to other topics!!!

[Kelly the Dog]

Here are the flaws with keeping WM as I see it. His contract is up at the end of this season and he is going to want huge money. Without a contract, Willis will hold out of training camp for sure, do we want the distraction? Is it a big deal if he holds out, from a playing point of view? I really don't know, I think he could miss camp and still perform well in the regular season. Is it a big deal if he holds out, from a team perspective? Most likely, I don't think it creates a cohesive locker room. The goal is to win yes, but realistically this year will not be the year the Bills make a SB run. And when the season is over, there is no way Willis signs with the Bills. Whether they want him or not, he is gone. He would not sign with a team that would not re-negotiate his current contract. So, do the Bills let WM audition for another team this year and then lose him at the end of the season. Or, do they cut their ties with him and get someone else at RB to help the offense mature for this year as well as next season. I believe the second option is more feasible. Now hopefully he gets traded for a second, and we can move on to other topics!!!

Your thesis defies logic for me. If Willis wants out of Buffalo so much, why the hell would he hold out for a contract extension which would glue him to Buffalo for another 3-4-5 years?

[Gordio]

I could care less if he trains at the U, has 3 kids, says he wishes the team moves to Toronto, doesnt want to live in blo, etc... My contention is the guy is not that good. If you get a 2nd for him, draft Lynch with your #12 pick & package a deal to get back into the 1st round & hopefully Willis is still there. That is my dream anyways.

[Ray]

Prior to the draft was anyone here clamouring to draft McGahee? I don't recall anyone wanting Travis out of here. McGahee is disinteredted in being here, does not like the city, is disrespectful of the staff and fellow teammates (at least last year) by not showing up to one--not one--of the minicamps. With a new coaching staff, new team and playbook he would just rather have stayed in Florida. What does that say about his committment to the coaches, his teammates and organization? Not much!

[Arkady Renko]

I think the Bills have decided that WM is not a good fit with the direction of the team. It being about money does not make sense because he is cheap this year and even average RBs will be getting significant bank in this inflated market. It is not about getting nothing for him next year, because they could always franchise him.

[bluv]

Your thesis defies logic for me. If Willis wants out of Buffalo so much, why the hell would he hold out for a contract extension which would glue him to Buffalo for another 3-4-5 years?

Exactly! ANd why base all this on speculation of a holdout? What leverage does WM have? It's not like he has came off a great year or two and has been franchised! His only leverage option is to go out and put it all out on th field in 2007. Some say if he has a good year in 2007 we will not be able to sgn him and let him walk and get nothing in return. If he does that then we will be a better team in 2007! Then we need to worry about is he worth signing to a big money contract. I'll just say that I don't want to go into 2007 with subpar RB's when we have a top 10 caliber equivalent TALENT RB on our team who has underachieved on a subpar offense without getting proper compensation in return; I'd rather take my chances with WM and see if he can turn it around if we don't get at least a 2nd rnd pick.

[ricojes]

Your thesis defies logic for me. If Willis wants out of Buffalo so much, why the hell would he hold out for a contract extension which would glue him to Buffalo for another 3-4-5 years?

If you would read more carefully, you would see that I wrote unless WM signs with the Bills he will hold out of training camp. I never said the Willis wanted out, just that he would not sign at the end of next season.

[ricojes]

Exactly! ANd why base all this on speculation of a holdout?

Dude, if WM does not sign and is still a Bill in July, He will hold out!! There is no speculation, that's a fact. That's the way contract negotiation work unfortunately.