Haven Moses Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 I guess I wonder what TG expects TO to say after he is shut out? As far as the tweeting goes, maybe the HGH Harrison stuff is a little out there, but I don't think it's all that bad, and I'm an old school guy. I find his tweets funny for the most part. Yes, I'm a follower. (For those who tweet, follow Thurman Thomas. His are really funny) I don't think we can ask for much better behavior than we've gotten so far from the guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 I respect your opinions very much and almost always agree with them. However, I have to disagree here. To continue with your analogy, TO did buy the ticket, he took the ride (this summer), now he wants off; but they won't let him. Just because you pander to the press on some occasions doesn't mean you're fair game for all intrusions for the rest of your life. It's similar to the real estate agent taking press into his house. Yes, TO invites cameras into his home all the time; but that's at his chosing. The cameras don't get to then come into his home whenever they want. As someone else said, the press' job is to report the newsn ot create it. If TO or any athlete doesn't want to speak, they shouldn't have to. The reporters weren't in his home, or intruding on his privacy. They were at the stadium covering a game, and postgame access to the players is covered in the league's media policy. One Bills player -- ONE -- refused to speak after the New England game. Ditto for Tampa Bay. I think TO's point has been that recently the media is trying to bait him, so as to create a controversy "worth" covering. I agree with him - to a point (I also think there's a bit of irrational paranoia in that sentiment), and I think Tim's article is an example of this. I ALSO think that TO has to take a large share of the responsibility for this dynamic between him and the media on his own shoulders - he's created his own shtick, after all, and lived off the controversy his whole career - and think Tim's article is an example of THIS as well. I also suspect, based on Tim's article and others, that TO does better with a one-on-one sit-down with writers than he does with groups in press conferences. Inviting jw along house-hunting is very different from facing a flock of vulturous reporters post-game who are all looking for the next "Owens is a a destructive primma donna" story. All in all, Tim...I think your article was unfair, but not entirely without merit. TO has certainly made his own bed with regards to how he's been covered through his career...but that does not excuse the confrontational attitude the media occasionally takes with him (which I recall from his Philly and Dallas days as well) in attempting to get a "more dramatic" TO story. Blame all around? I can agree with that, to an extent. Was T.O. unhappy to be standing at that podium, because of some of the over-the-top rants from guys like Bayless and Schlereth? Sure he was, and justifiably so -- and for what it's worth, most of the local writers' opinions I've seen agree with him that the TV guys were just trying to stir the pot. (I should also note here that I have NOT talked to either Tim or John about that, so don't assume I'm including them here. They can certainly speak on that topic themselves, if they choose ... but I gather that Tim's sort of busy over at his blog right now.) On the other hand ... yeah, I'm biased, because I've been on the other side of this equation (albeit at the small-town hack level), but IMO the local guys had every right to be annoyed with Owens when he walked in dragging that hatful of attitude. They weren't the ones taking him to task last week, but judging by his demeanor, he obviously blamed them for it anyway. The "hostile witness" analogy was brought up in the comments on Tim's blog, and it fits -- and faced with that amount of condescension, the level of tension in the room was sure to rise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cåblelady Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 I seen an exchange between the two when T.O. seemed to be openly questioning what was going on and it looked like TE said back, I'm running the plays I'm told to run or something of that nature.(speculation) Also T.O.'s body language and lack of acknowledgment and indifference when TE was relaying the plays to the offense caught my eye, sometimes T.O. wouldn't even look TE's way. All speculation on my part. I did see TO go up and say something to TE after one of the times TE didn't see TO wide open. I was laughing and saying...alright! TO.....tell him to open up his freaking eyes! My season ticket partner saw it, too......so......you are correct that something was said and TO didn't look real pleased. Of course.....it didn't do any good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikedeering Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 All fans can side with T. O on this issue, even fans from san francisco, philly, and Dallas would aggree that all of T.O's troubles have not been self inflictred and in fact the media has been to blame for many of his problems, if not most of them. Tim Grahm lost all respect from me with this article, acting like a child choosing a side during a playground fight. T.O doesnt owe us anything, he needs to keep his mouth shut and "focus on next weeks opponet" and just "go with the plays that are called". I do not expect him to say anything else and doing so would be dumb on his part, the media is just foaming at the mouth for thier next story and unfortuneately for T.O guys like jerry sullivan actually get upset and frustrated when T.O refuses to speak and ultmately throw himself under the bus, This guy honestly can't win, Look at lee evans comments in that article, if that were owens saying it how do you think those comments would be conveyed back to us by the media? These comments by Lee Evans mean nothing said by him but if owens were to say the same exact thing word for word, ESPN is all over and Jerry Sullivan is verbally destroying Owens on WGR and in the Newspapaer. Tim Grahm is a douche Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 Posted FWIW: afceastadmin (9/30/2009 at 2:31 PM) Anything insightful and not combative. T.O. kicked the door open when he walked into the room. The first three questions were innocuous. But his responses and tone got the interview heated. Nobody went in there with an agenda. In fact, the mood among the reporters was sympathetic to Owens and the fans who spent money to watch him perform but were being denied the opportunity by questionable play calling. The coverage reflected that. Again, and for the last time, the above column isn't about Sunday. If I wanted to write about Sunday's news conference, then I would have done so on Sunday ... or Monday. This column is about Owens playing the victim card even though coverage after that news conference was in his favor. >>cdraper23 writes: Honestly, what type of response were you hoping from Owens? Kicked the door open? Hadn't heard that yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloWings Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 All fans can side with T. O on this issue, even fans from san francisco, philly, and Dallas would aggree that all of T.O's troubles have not been self inflictred and in fact the media has been to blame for many of his problems, if not most of them. Tim Grahm lost all respect from me with this article, acting like a child choosing a side during a playground fight. T.O doesnt owe us anything, he needs to keep his mouth shut and "focus on next weeks opponet" and just "go with the plays that are called". I do not expect him to say anything else and doing so would be dumb on his part, the media is just foaming at the mouth for thier next story and unfortuneately for T.O guys like jerry sullivan actually get upset and frustrated when T.O refuses to speak and ultmately throw himself under the bus, This guy honestly can't win, Look at lee evans comments in that article, if that were owens saying it how do you think those comments would be conveyed back to us by the media? These comments by Lee Evans mean nothing said by him but if owens were to say the same exact thing word for word, ESPN is all over and Jerry Sullivan is verbally destroying Owens on WGR and in the Newspapaer. Tim Grahm is a douche Easy there...you're entitled to your opinion, but I think this is going a bit far. Remember, this is a guy who frequents this board and has a good rapport with some of us. I know he's using this board to do his job, but I think it's more than gracious of him to visit. Now that I've sucked up enough, let me weigh in.... I understand Tim's point of view, but I do think this is partly media-driven...though I don't think TO needs to express that unless he is specifically asked. Heck, TO has done WAY better answering the questions and talking to the media so far this year than he has in the past, yet the analysts and media types are looking for anything to show that he's blowing up again and about to divide the locker room. Yes, the offense is anemic and everyone has their theories on it, but if Owens went back to his old ways, I can't imagine what this board would be like. He hasn't said anything that's wrong or anything that (I imagine) any of the other players wouldn't agree with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 Posted FWIW: Kicked the door open? Hadn't heard that yet. Hadn't heard that either. I want to add, too, that people are quick to rush to judgement on Owens being frustrated with the media, and showing it. It's just as likely he was frustrated with his own (or the team's) performance and simply took it out on the first available outlet...being, the media. Personally, I'd rather the team told him "DON'T talk to the media post-game. Take some time to cool down first." The hell with the league's media policy - in fact, a sane policy would recognize that brand management might involve NOT creating tension between rabid media representatives and a primma donna player who wears his emotions on his sleeve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 Posted FWIW: Kicked the door open? Hadn't heard that yet. By the way...it is clear to Tim that most of us who disagree with his article simply disagree with his article, not him? Because I'd hate to see him take this personally and split. Although if he went all b.harami on us, it might be entertaining... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 By the way...it is clear to Tim that most of us who disagree with his article simply disagree with his article, not him? Because I'd hate to see him take this personally and split. Although if he went all b.harami on us, it might be entertaining... I just checked, and he hasn't logged in since last Thursday. Think they were supposed to close on the house right around now; between that and the job, we're probably pretty far down his list of priorities. And honestly, he's getting far worse on his blog. The "douche" comment notwithstanding, I think everybody here has been reasonably civil in their disagreement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pine Barrens Mafia Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 The reporters weren't in his home, or intruding on his privacy. They were at the stadium covering a game, and postgame access to the players is covered in the league's media policy. One Bills player -- ONE -- refused to speak after the New England game. Ditto for Tampa Bay. Oh, the humanity. Those poor, persecuted members of the Buffalo area media. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 Oh, the humanity. Those poor, persecuted members of the Buffalo area media. "Personally, I could care less if TO talks the rest of the year. That's one less headache to deal with. But we all know he can't stay quiet." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bills44 Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 "Personally, I could care less if TO talks the rest of the year. That's one less headache to deal with. But we all know he can't stay quiet." Kind of ironic coming from a Tweeter (sic?).... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 Is there anything stopping a media outlet from running the entire audio/video from a press conference like this? With all the people out there putting their own spin on ever comment, I've reached the point that I don't trust anything I read. I want to hear things myself so I can have my own opinion on the matter instead of having someone's ideas forced upon me. Yeah, I know there are plenty of writers out there who aren't like this, but it's tough to weed out the garbage. If possible, I think it would be a great idea for a site to archive all press conferences and present only that. Hell, it might exist already, but I'm not aware of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloWings Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 Hadn't heard that either. I want to add, too, that people are quick to rush to judgement on Owens being frustrated with the media, and showing it. It's just as likely he was frustrated with his own (or the team's) performance and simply took it out on the first available outlet...being, the media. Personally, I'd rather the team told him "DON'T talk to the media post-game. Take some time to cool down first." The hell with the league's media policy - in fact, a sane policy would recognize that brand management might involve NOT creating tension between rabid media representatives and a primma donna player who wears his emotions on his sleeve. Or any player for that matter. These guys are being peppered by the media right after a loss. Considering the time and effort put into a game, I imagine it has to be very difficult to control your emotions when being asked the same thing over & over again. I'd compare it to being bugged by your friends & acquaintances for hours on end the day after being dumped by your girlfriend/boyfriend. By the time the 34th person asked you about it, you're ready to deck them because you're emotionally drained and probably still traumatized and certainly don't want to talk about it anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloWings Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 "Personally, I could care less if TO talks the rest of the year. That's one less headache to deal with. But we all know he can't stay quiet." Someone oughta shut down that site...I'm more than sick of hearing about people's tweets. If you have to say something, say it in front of a camera. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reddogblitz Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 Sorry Tim, you're dead wrong, and now you're the one who is doing the whining. If you guys want to ask T.O. questions about the game, then ask legit questions. Don't spend the press conference baiting him into tossing Trentative or Jauron or AVP under the bus. That interview session wasn't about questions, it was about prodding the bull in hopes of getting him to charge. It was unprofessional at best, childish at worst. This is an old tried and true media technique. And it works. You'll see. At some point the bull will charge and then they'll have a real story. Same thing happened in Thousand Oaks at Cowboys training camp the year they signed Herschel Walker. Everyday after practice, the media guys would interview Tony Dorsett and say "The Cowboys got Herschel and plan to give him the ball a lot and give it to you less, what do you think about that?" or something to that effect. For days he said that he was team player and was happy to have another good player on the team blah blah blah. Finally after about a week he did blow up and it was a great news story. Played on the 6 and 10 o'clock news for days. If ESPN and NFL channel and such had been around then like today, it would have THE story for days. No different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 Is there anything stopping a media outlet from running the entire audio/video from a press conference like this? With all the people out there putting their own spin on ever comment, I've reached the point that I don't trust anything I read. I want to hear things myself so I can have my own opinion on the matter instead of having someone's ideas forced upon me. Yeah, I know there are plenty of writers out there who aren't like this, but it's tough to weed out the garbage. If possible, I think it would be a great idea for a site to archive all press conferences and present only that. Hell, it might exist already, but I'm not aware of it. I believe those rights are owned by the team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 Kind of ironic coming from a Tweeter (sic?).... The irony is it's coming from a reporter. I'd love it if the reporters didn't ask TO any more questions, but I we all know that will never happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boom Jam Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 That article was written in poor taste. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reddogblitz Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 OK so I read the article. They just lost a tough game. His streak ended. He missed a couple he could/should? have had. He's an intense dude. He hates to lose. The last thing he needs is to pop off in front of the media again. Sounds like he did the right thing. Kept his cool and after he had some time to cool off and think a little, he said what he thought about the situation. You go TO. Looks like Graham get's paid by the word. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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