Is it time yet for a positive TO report?

[DazedandConfused]

Some discussion below about how ESPN (Mort, Wilcot (sic), Graham) was reporting the unprecedented appearance by TO at a voluntary workout got me thinking.

 

In general, I consider one incident and event, two incidents a potential coincidence, but three similar incidents a possible trend and worthy of discussion.

 

I felt very good about two very positive incidents which already have happened for TO during his short time as a Buffalo Bill (he got recognized in DC for some previous work by him in support of Alzheimer's sufferers, and he appeared here for voluntary organized team activities when it has been his history to skip these events because he can, but he showed up). However, it seemed legit to me to let coverage of these two incidents go rather than drawing some general conclusion as maybe they were just coincidences.

 

However, upon thinking about this, there are tangible examples of idiot pundits drawing false conclusions on this (it was either blog screeds PFT or PFW which launched an article when he skipped the first voluntary practice which provides tangible evidence of false conclusions already being made about TO,

 

In addition, the fact that TO varied his traditional behavior and showed up for this voluntary OTA was noted by the press, but simply noting this just cries out for somebody to do good reporting and ask TO what was it about this situation which made him operate differently than his past practice (does he want to go on record saying he wants to demonstrate to the FO and Bills fans he is a Bill? does he feel a special need or opportunity to build chemistry with Edwards, is he getting older as we all do if we are lucky and feels a need for an organized workout even though historically he always shows up in great shape when the season begins. Hey Graham or somebody with access we normal fans do not have this one screams out for someone to do a little reporting.

 

On the face of it there are several demonstrable facts which generally do not fit into the script the conventional wisdom has adopted that we could use an article or two on in order to bring what may well be reality to light. As there are more than three specific items, to me it may well be a trend that a good reporter would be ahead of the curve to highlight.

 

Specifically:

 

1. The PFT or PFW article which cited TO's failure to attend the first voluntary OTA as a sign of the TO cancer already beginning was simply bad reporting. In order to draw this conclusion, one would have to:

a. Ignore the fact that the OTA happened within 10 days or so of him being signed and he would have had to be just sitting at home playing John Madden to expect he would show up for this voluntary OTA in any case and the conclusion that this was some first sign of him being a me-first cancer was just a stupid conclusion.

b. Lo and behold he not only did not show for the voluntary OTA because he was sitting at home but actually because he was attending a long scheduled event where he got honored for his Alzheimer's work. Simple reporting of calling his agent/office and asking what he was up to instead of attending the Bills voluntary OTA would have revealed this fact without much heavy reporting, but the pundits and observer whom Graham sites at being miffed at TO for not showing up clearly did not even take this elementary reportorial move before they blogged about it. They deserve to be called out on this.

c. Missing this workout was not an "excused" absence for TO because good reporting would have simply pointed out that he did not need an excuse to miss this "voluntary" workout. If pundits are going to call TO out for missing this session then they should also report the fact that these sessions are missable under the CBA. Even if the want to say it would have been a good practice (though not a required practice) for TO to show-up, again this claim demands that some recognition be given to a Bills practice not even being on his schedule before he signed the contract and again that he was not sitting in front of the tube while Steve Jackson and Lee Evans were doing deep knee bends he as getting an award for charitable work.

d. The OTAs were organized workouts and historically TO always shows up in great athletic shape, This was not some OL player who needed to cut down from 360 lbs. to 345 lbs but again the articles which explored this "miss" did not explore the additional fact that in general he has been in great shape without them.

 

2. The amazing thing is that unusual for him he has shown up for a voluntary practice. Why? Good reporting might explore:

 

a. Does he feel some desire to impress the Bills fan and FO that he is in fact a Buffalo Bill

b. Does he feel a need to develop a relationship or chemistry with Edwards/Evans/the team/the city/ whoever.

c. Is he getting older and the organized voluntary activity is good for him when as a youth he worked out on his own and showed and played.

 

Good reporting may well involve more than sitting in front of a computer like me and looking at what others are doing. A good reporter might actually have to arrange and interview (Horrors work) but for right now reporters seem content to follow the old script and us at home readers are left without the service of good information because as best as I can read no one is doing good reporting on this big story.

 

3. If the silly season of the off-season so theoretical football work may simply not get read. However, the draft is this month and already there are good stories out there about the Bills draft needs. However, I have seen few comprehensive reports from the media which attempt to put the TO acquisition in any context of how many WRs we keep, the relationshio between the OL status and getting use out of the 1 year we are guaranteed to have TO, or myriad other issues. Its simply time for some context from Sully, Carucci, Graham or those paid to have time to think and write about this. What are the potential impacts of the TO signing and what impacts does this tangibly or even theoretically have on Bills needs.

 

4. What is the developing backstory on promotion of the Bills produce with TO on board, We already have a planned initial Monday night gig in wk 1 where TO's arrival is part of the story the NFL will promo. We suddenly seen to get featured a ab lot more on ESPN )its not hard to get better than not at all). How does the timeline for having TO fit in with Ralph's age and a timeline for us getting back into the playoffs?

 

Overall, I feel pretty poorly served by the media (ESPN, The Buffalo News and sportschannel WGR prominent among them) which it seems to be me could at least already be offering some in depth articles about this amidst what is still a good chunk of Bills coverage by them.

 

Lets get on the stick Sully, Graham, Mort, Carucci and others and do some good reporting on this.

[The Senator]

Some...

.

.

.

...do some good reporting on this.

fixed

[Mr. WEO]

Here's some more postitive news: early reports out of workouts are that TO's shii8t smells like roses.

 

Report THAT, Mort.

[Flbillsfan#1]

I just saw a TO pc on NFL Network. He said he was running routes with Trent & getting to know the guys. The hosts on NFL Network said he said all the right things, off to a GOOD start.

[Justice]

Some discussion below about how ESPN (Mort, Wilcot (sic), Graham) was reporting the unprecedented appearance by TO at a voluntary workout got me thinking.

 

In general, I consider one incident and event, two incidents a potential coincidence, but three similar incidents a possible trend and worthy of discussion.

 

I felt very good about two very positive incidents which already have happened for TO during his short time as a Buffalo Bill (he got recognized in DC for some previous work by him in support of Alzheimer's sufferers, and he appeared here for voluntary organized team activities when it has been his history to skip these events because he can, but he showed up). However, it seemed legit to me to let coverage of these two incidents go rather than drawing some general conclusion as maybe they were just coincidences.

 

However, upon thinking about this, there are tangible examples of idiot pundits drawing false conclusions on this (it was either blog screeds PFT or PFW which launched an article when he skipped the first voluntary practice which provides tangible evidence of false conclusions already being made about TO,

 

In addition, the fact that TO varied his traditional behavior and showed up for this voluntary OTA was noted by the press, but simply noting this just cries out for somebody to do good reporting and ask TO what was it about this situation which made him operate differently than his past practice (does he want to go on record saying he wants to demonstrate to the FO and Bills fans he is a Bill? does he feel a special need or opportunity to build chemistry with Edwards, is he getting older as we all do if we are lucky and feels a need for an organized workout even though historically he always shows up in great shape when the season begins. Hey Graham or somebody with access we normal fans do not have this one screams out for someone to do a little reporting.

 

On the face of it there are several demonstrable facts which generally do not fit into the script the conventional wisdom has adopted that we could use an article or two on in order to bring what may well be reality to light. As there are more than three specific items, to me it may well be a trend that a good reporter would be ahead of the curve to highlight.

 

Specifically:

 

1. The PFT or PFW article which cited TO's failure to attend the first voluntary OTA as a sign of the TO cancer already beginning was simply bad reporting. In order to draw this conclusion, one would have to:

a. Ignore the fact that the OTA happened within 10 days or so of him being signed and he would have had to be just sitting at home playing John Madden to expect he would show up for this voluntary OTA in any case and the conclusion that this was some first sign of him being a me-first cancer was just a stupid conclusion.

b. Lo and behold he not only did not show for the voluntary OTA because he was sitting at home but actually because he was attending a long scheduled event where he got honored for his Alzheimer's work. Simple reporting of calling his agent/office and asking what he was up to instead of attending the Bills voluntary OTA would have revealed this fact without much heavy reporting, but the pundits and observer whom Graham sites at being miffed at TO for not showing up clearly did not even take this elementary reportorial move before they blogged about it. They deserve to be called out on this.

c. Missing this workout was not an "excused" absence for TO because good reporting would have simply pointed out that he did not need an excuse to miss this "voluntary" workout. If pundits are going to call TO out for missing this session then they should also report the fact that these sessions are missable under the CBA. Even if the want to say it would have been a good practice (though not a required practice) for TO to show-up, again this claim demands that some recognition be given to a Bills practice not even being on his schedule before he signed the contract and again that he was not sitting in front of the tube while Steve Jackson and Lee Evans were doing deep knee bends he as getting an award for charitable work.

d. The OTAs were organized workouts and historically TO always shows up in great athletic shape, This was not some OL player who needed to cut down from 360 lbs. to 345 lbs but again the articles which explored this "miss" did not explore the additional fact that in general he has been in great shape without them.

 

2. The amazing thing is that unusual for him he has shown up for a voluntary practice. Why? Good reporting might explore:

 

a. Does he feel some desire to impress the Bills fan and FO that he is in fact a Buffalo Bill

b. Does he feel a need to develop a relationship or chemistry with Edwards/Evans/the team/the city/ whoever.

c. Is he getting older and the organized voluntary activity is good for him when as a youth he worked out on his own and showed and played.

 

Good reporting may well involve more than sitting in front of a computer like me and looking at what others are doing. A good reporter might actually have to arrange and interview (Horrors work) but for right now reporters seem content to follow the old script and us at home readers are left without the service of good information because as best as I can read no one is doing good reporting on this big story.

 

3. If the silly season of the off-season so theoretical football work may simply not get read. However, the draft is this month and already there are good stories out there about the Bills draft needs. However, I have seen few comprehensive reports from the media which attempt to put the TO acquisition in any context of how many WRs we keep, the relationshio between the OL status and getting use out of the 1 year we are guaranteed to have TO, or myriad other issues. Its simply time for some context from Sully, Carucci, Graham or those paid to have time to think and write about this. What are the potential impacts of the TO signing and what impacts does this tangibly or even theoretically have on Bills needs.

 

4. What is the developing backstory on promotion of the Bills produce with TO on board, We already have a planned initial Monday night gig in wk 1 where TO's arrival is part of the story the NFL will promo. We suddenly seen to get featured a ab lot more on ESPN )its not hard to get better than not at all). How does the timeline for having TO fit in with Ralph's age and a timeline for us getting back into the playoffs?

 

Overall, I feel pretty poorly served by the media (ESPN, The Buffalo News and sportschannel WGR prominent among them) which it seems to be me could at least already be offering some in depth articles about this amidst what is still a good chunk of Bills coverage by them.

 

Lets get on the stick Sully, Graham, Mort, Carucci and others and do some good reporting on this.

 

 

Good post. It's becoming more and more clear that, we as fans, can not take the word of a so called reporter anymore. Even as they reported that TO has indeed showed up to the OTA's ,they had to include the statement made by TO saying that he never shows up to OTA's, just to save themselves from being criticized now that he has shown up. Pathetic.

[billsfreak]

"Good Boy T.O.! You showed up for voluntary minicamp when we really can't expect you to at the measley rate of $6.5 million for one year. Kudos to you, NFL Man of the Year!" There, there is your positive T.O. report.

[DazedandConfused]

"Good Boy T.O.! You showed up for voluntary minicamp when we really can't expect you to at the measley rate of $6.5 million for one year. Kudos to you, NFL Man of the Year!" There, there is your positive T.O. report.

TO Man of the year? I doubt it. But TO Bills cancer of the year? I doubt that also but you could not tell that from the objective reporting of the media.

 

It would not be so sick that they simply reported that as a possibility, but when you do this a reasonable person might also report on the possibility that this might be a good move and the simple fact that if implodes it has no future cap impact on the Bills. The deal also provides zero pressure on us hitting our cap restrictions this year because of the conservative (and this fan would say too conservative).

 

Intelligent or simply adequate reporting on this signing would go a long way to understanding the Bills prospects here. Right now the media looks like a bunch of lemmings simply souting stuff from the old script whether it has something to do with reality or not.

 

My conclusion is that TO is probably an idiot. However, I know the media is composed of a bunch of idiots. If Sully, Mort, Graham or anybody who wants to do some reporting on this issue would simply connect to reality rather than reality TV we would all be helped on this.

[Mr. WEO]

OK here's a simple question for all you (new) TO fans:

 

Did the media give TO a bum rap before he landed in Buffalo---after he was booted off another team, not for poor performance but poor behavior?

 

Another: what was your opinion of him prior to him arriving in Buffalo?--was it different than that of "the press"?

 

Finally: what has he doen thus far, other than put on a Bills jersey, to change his reputation in your estimation?

[Flbillsfan#1]

OK here's a simple question for all you (new) TO fans:

 

Did the media give TO a bum rap before he landed in Buffalo---after he was booted off another team, not for poor performance but poor behavior?

 

Another: what was your opinion of him prior to him arriving in Buffalo?--was it different than that of "the press"?

 

Finally: what has he doen thus far, other than put on a Bills jersey, to change his reputation in your estimation?

I'm not a new TO fan. I have always enjoyed watching him play, & found his outbursts amusing. I can't wait to CHEER for him as a Bill.

[VOR]

OK here's a simple question for all you (new) TO fans:

 

Did the media give TO a bum rap before he landed in Buffalo---after he was booted off another team, not for poor performance but poor behavior?

 

Another: what was your opinion of him prior to him arriving in Buffalo?--was it different than that of "the press"?

 

Finally: what has he doen thus far, other than put on a Bills jersey, to change his reputation in your estimation?

Yes, TO was so poorly behaved, his former Dallas teammates can't think of a single bad thing to say about him. Even Jason Witten, the guy who Ed Werder claimed TO said was drawing up secret plays with Tony Romo.

 

And the guy who made the decision, Jerry Jones, was the mastermind of that brilliant CBA that the owners FUBAR'd just 2 years later, who traded a 1st, 3rd, and 6th for Roy Williams, he of the one 1,000+ yard season in 5, and who kept Wade Phillips as his HC, after the past 2 season.. That should tell you something, but I'm betting it won't.

 

What did I think of TO before he joined the Bills? I thought he was a top-flight WR. His time ran its course in SF, like Moss' did in Minnesota, and he was a bad fit in Philly, just like Moss was in Oakland. Outside of calling Jeff Garcia gay (and really, who hasn't?), I thought that most of his opinions were spot-on, especially calling-out McNabb for being a choker for his 3 INT and puke-laden final drive in the SB, which is what started his demise in Philly (yet when he was on the field, he gave his all, unlike the slacker Moss who would play when he felt like it).

 

And showing-up to voluntary workouts wasn't going to prove to me that he would stop demanding the ball be thrown to him. Or demand that others, coaches included, pick-up their performances. In reality, I hope that DOESN'T change.

[TimGraham]

TO Man of the year? I doubt it. But TO Bills cancer of the year? I doubt that also but you could not tell that from the objective reporting of the media.

 

It would not be so sick that they simply reported that as a possibility, but when you do this a reasonable person might also report on the possibility that this might be a good move and the simple fact that if implodes it has no future cap impact on the Bills. The deal also provides zero pressure on us hitting our cap restrictions this year because of the conservative (and this fan would say too conservative).

 

Intelligent or simply adequate reporting on this signing would go a long way to understanding the Bills prospects here. Right now the media looks like a bunch of lemmings simply souting stuff from the old script whether it has something to do with reality or not.

 

My conclusion is that TO is probably an idiot. However, I know the media is composed of a bunch of idiots. If Sully, Mort, Graham or anybody who wants to do some reporting on this issue would simply connect to reality rather than reality TV we would all be helped on this.

 

Speaking of shooting off your mouth from an old script, how about "The media hates T.O. and reports only the negative stuff!"

 

You're right in saying that a reasonable person might report on the possibility this could turn out to be a good move.

 

Here are a bunch of stories you've obviously missed.

 

Thanks for reading.

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/stor...&id=3976473

 

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/afceast/0-6-37/...ded-target.html

 

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/afceast/0-6-39/...-for-Bills.html

 

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/afceast/0-6-38/...bout-Bills.html

 

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/afceast/0-6-96/...alo-s-risk.html

 

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/afceast/0-6-80/...f-approval.html

 

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/afceast/0-6-42/...eed-Owens-.html

 

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/afceast/0-6-111...t-working-.html

 

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/afceast/0-6-41/...al--Part-1.html

 

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/afceast/0-6-48/...al--Part-2.html

 

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/afceast/0-6-46/...rell-Owens.html

 

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/afceast/0-6-47/...t-problems.html

[PushthePile]

Yes, TO was so poorly behaved, his former Dallas teammates can't think of a single bad thing to say about him. Even Jason Witten, the guy who Ed Werder claimed TO said was drawing up secret plays with Tony Romo.

 

And the guy who made the decision, Jerry Jones, was the mastermind of that brilliant CBA that the owners FUBAR'd just 2 years later, who traded a 1st, 3rd, and 6th for Roy Williams, he of the one 1,000+ yard season in 5, and who kept Wade Phillips as his HC, after the past 2 season.. That should tell you something, but I'm betting it won't.

What did I think of TO before he joined the Bills? I thought he was a top-flight WR. His time ran its course in SF, like Moss' did in Minnesota, and he was a bad fit in Philly, just like Moss was in Oakland. Outside of calling Jeff Garcia gay (and really, who hasn't?), I thought that most of his opinions were spot-on, especially calling-out McNabb for being a choker for his 3 INT and puke-laden final drive in the SB, which is what started his demise in Philly (yet when he was on the field, he gave his all, unlike the slacker Moss who would play when he felt like it).

 

And showing-up to voluntary workouts wasn't going to prove to me that he would stop demanding the ball be thrown to him. Or demand that others, coaches included, pick-up their performances. In reality, I hope that DOESN'T change.

First off, Jerry Jones might be an egotistical jerk, but he doesn't give up on HOF players for no reason. He found it in his heart to forgive Michael Irvin and the other criminals on the team. I also don't think you can link Jerry Jones stance on the CBA, Roy Williams, and Wade Phillips to complete stupidity. Do you hold yourself to a 100 percent standard in decision making? I hope not. You also grossly downplay the reasons why TO has left every team he has been on. We all know you didn't forget, either. The Cowboy's players have showed far more class in the press, than TO has ever shown. Donovan Mcnabb has also proven to be an extremely consistent winner in this league, unlike TO. IMO, you can give a piece of schitt a shower, but you can never get rid of the stink.

 

I still love the move for the Bills, and think it will work. He is in a must behave situation, and that benefits both parties. I can still root for him, without forgetting his past meltdowns. Right? I don't think we need to completely sell out, to be good fans.

[VOR]

First off, Jerry Jones might be an egotistical jerk, but he doesn't give up on HOF players for no reason. He found it in his heart to forgive Michael Irvin and the other criminals on the team. I also don't think you can link Jerry Jones stance on the CBA, Roy Williams, and Wade Phillips to complete stupidity. Do you hold yourself to a 100 percent standard in decision making? I hope not.

Wait, poor decisions on the CBA, Roy Williams, and Wade Phillips can't be held against Jones with respect to his decision on TO? Rubbish. What makes you so sure those were bad moves, yet cutting TO was a good move? Can you foresee the Cowboys' 2009 season? Because that will be the true test, and anything other than Williams at least duplicating (if not surpassing, seeing as what they gave up to get him) TO's average production of the past 3 years and the Cowboys making the playoffs and winning a playoff game, will be a collossal failure.

You also grossly downplay the reasons why TO has left every team he has been on. We all know you didn't forget, either. The Cowboy's players have showed far more class in the press, than TO has ever shown. Donovan Mcnabb has also proven to be an extremely consistent winner in this league, unlike TO. IMO, you can give a piece of schitt a shower, but you can never get rid of the stink.

What? TO hasn't proven to be a winner? The guy makes his teams better and has HOF numbers. That's why I'm happy the Bills got him. While he may not have class (BTW, checkout the interview with TO on 4/9 at BB.com and his response to Aikman's words about him), his production is undeniable. And on the biggest stage, the SB, TO proved to be a great player, despite coming back early from a broken leg, while McNabb threw 3 INT's and was revealed (by TO) to have puked in the huddle on the final drive, because he was nervous and/or exhausted.

 

And I'm not downplaying anything. But it takes 2 to tango. To claim that his former teams were completely in the right and it was all him is simply wrong. Hopefully the Bills don't repeat their mistakes, but he's only in Buffalo for a year, and doesn't cause trouble in his first year with a new team.

 

I still love the move for the Bills, and think it will work. He is in a must behave situation, and that benefits both parties. I can still root for him, without forgetting his past meltdowns. Right? I don't think we need to completely sell out, to be good fans.

I don't think he can afford another meltdown, and if anything, his agent will continually remind him of that. In the past, his meltdowns led to him being released after having pocketed a nice chunk of change in the form of signing bonus. No more.

[PushthePile]

Wait, poor decisions on the CBA, Roy Williams, and Wade Phillips can't be held against Jones with respect to his decision on TO? Rubbish. What makes you so sure those were bad moves, yet cutting TO was a good move? Can you foresee the Cowboys' 2009 season? Because that will be the true test, and anything other than Williams at least duplicating (if not surpassing, seeing as what they gave up to get him) TO's average production of the past 3 years and the Cowboys making the playoffs and winning a playoff game, will be a collossal failure.

 

What? TO hasn't proven to be a winner? The guy makes his teams better and has HOF numbers. That's why I'm happy the Bills got him. While he may not have class (BTW, checkout the interview with TO on 4/9 at BB.com and his response to Aikman's words about him), his production is undeniable. And on the biggest stage, the SB, TO proved to be a great player, despite coming back early from a broken leg, while McNabb threw 3 INT's and was revealed (by TO) to have puked in the huddle on the final drive, because he was nervous and/or exhausted.

 

And I'm not downplaying anything. But it takes 2 to tango. To claim that his former teams were completely in the right and it was all him is simply wrong. Hopefully the Bills don't repeat their mistakes, but he's only in Buffalo for a year, and doesn't cause trouble in his first year with a new team.

 

 

I don't think he can afford another meltdown, and if anything, his agent will continually remind him of that. In the past, his meltdowns led to him being released after having pocketed a nice chunk of change in the form of signing bonus. No more.

Listen VOR, I respect your opinion and think you have alot of great posts on this site. Unfortunately, you are also a total homer for Lynch and Owens. So much of what you bring to the table on these subjects is assumptions and horrible logic. I reacted to your analogy that Jerry Jones is stupid because of the CBA, Roy Williams trade, and Wade Phillips. You then tried to make the point that because Jones is stupid, obviously letting TO go was stupid. Thats the VOR logic, I'm talking about. The same logic that you use when you tell me Lynch didn't know he hit that girl with his car. It's nothing more than a homer, massaging his favorite players. I like both Lynch and Owens but, I'm not going to try and convince the world they don't make mistakes. By the way, Mcnabb has played in more big games than Owens could ever dream of.