Phil The Thrill

Eh...maybe but Whaley has an entire season to resign him before he hit FA. If you regard a player highly you usually lock them up before the offseason. I think that the Bills org might not have been as high on Gilmore given his performance in his last two seasons. I don’t disagree but again...back in 2016 there were few people saying he was on a “Hall of Fame track,” when he was getting burned by Chris Hogan. A lot of hindsight in this discussion

Fans usually don’t have love for draft picks that don’t deliver their promise. The Bills traded 2 #1’s for Sammy and he was regarded as a “generational talent.” He flashes at times for sure, but overall you just can’t say that he lived up to the hype. Is it his fault? Not really. Your points about injuries are valid. But you can’t fault fans for voicing disappointing over a player who disappointed

I don’t think you could have watched him in 2015 and 2015 and said “hall of fame.” NO ONE was saying that back then. He was regarded as a good CB who maybe slipped a little. In hindsight it appears that coaching and the system did utilize what he did well. Did Bills fans mis-judge his ability? Maybe, but again he wasn’t playing great. When you see a player touting himself as a top corner getting beat by the likes of Brandon Marshall and Chris Hogan and then yelling at his teammates after, it going to be tough for the fan base to get behind him.

Ha but he did get beat twice a year by Chris Hogan! You didn’t argue that! I was there in person in Week 2 of the 2016 season. Yes, Gilmore Did repeatedly get beat by Brandon Marshall and might have gotten beat by Quincy Enunwa too. I can find the footage if you’d like. Fitzpatrick carved Gilmore and Darby up repeatedly and that was when I think the “overrated” talk ramped up. I’m not doubting that the system didn’t have an effect on his play - but I’m saying he wasn’t as good in 15 or 16 by any metric. That’s when fans started to turn on him. It happened before he signed with NE

Here’s the question - what led to Gilmore leaving? Who decided to let him walk? Was it Whaley? Or a newly hired McDermott? Or was the team in such bad cap space (thanks Whaley) that they knew they couldn’t afford his market value?

Yeah I don’t like that, though players do sometimes warrant it as well. Most are smart about it Well that is what we’re here for. I’m shocked that I actually agree with you!

Not entirely true. Fans were not pleased during those years and the general feeling watching Gilmore get beat by Chris Hogan and Brandon Marshall twice a year was that he was “overrated” in terms of being one of the best CB’s in the NFL. He was regarded as good but not as good as the promise he showed in 2014. Few really cared when he signed the deal he did in NE. The NE factor is definitely a big reason, but I feel fans soured on him a few seasons before.

I know - I guess fans don’t appreciate a “generational talent” who gains whopping 600 yards a season

“A lot of those times he’s right.” I didn’t realize you coached for Rex. Stop scolding Bills fans on a Bills message board.

Get off your high toilet-seat and just let Bills fans have fun. Gilmore doesn’t need you to White Knight for him.

The way that teams undervalue RB’s he might be available in round 4 or 5

Again....I said it’s how he carries himself and how he comes across. Go watch the Bills 2015 and 2016 season where the “lock down” corner is blaming his teammates for getting burned. It’s all perception and he came off poorly. So that’s why the fan base feels the way they do. Though I hope he’s gotten your valentines

Hell no - this isn’t Madden. You have to take into account the human element. The Bills drafted Josh Allen and are publicly and privately telling him that he’s the player they are building the offense around. He’s busting his ass to make it possible. Then you draft another QB high in the draft. That’s going to probably effect his confidence and has to potential to spilt the lockeroom after a bad game. It will never happen. Next year...maybe. Not this year

Ok so now we are rewriting history a bit. In my opinion, he was NOT good enough. His total FG accuracy was at 69% His accuracy from 40-49 was 60% in 1990. His worst season ever. He didn’t have the leg to kick over 50 yards. He was barely over 50% at kicks from 30-39 yards. Bottom line - he was going downhill and had Polian realized this in 1989 instead of 1992, the Bills fortunes could have been different. The only reason that he was “good enough”’is because the K-Gun was on fire scoring so many TD’s that games never came down to a last minute field goal. So he didn’t really matter. Name a time in 1990 or 1991 when the game came down to a last minute FG? I can only think of one time in Oakland in 1991 and Norwood again struggled badly with kicking on grass. Also, if he was “good enough” why did Norwood never get another chance to kick in the NFL after the Bills signed Steve Christie? Kickers are recycled like crazy in the NFL and kick into their 40’s in some cases. But Norwood couldn’t get a preseason roster spot. I am prepared to die on this hill - Norwood went downhill FAST and he was one of the weakspot on the team along with Jeff Wright and whoever was playing CB2.

No but there are many giving him a pass saying “he wasn’t humiliated.” Dude it was pretty bad coverage

It’s how he carries himself and the fact that he rarely ever has any good words about his time in Buffalo. He comes off as very smug in interviews - almost Belichickian Like I said before, after a strong 2014 season he talked a lot about being a top CB but then he plays like trash in 2015 and gets PWNED by the likes of Brandon Marshall and Chris Hogan. It left a lot people thinking he was all talk and overrated. Then there’s New England. He’s probably one of mine least favorite players in the NFL. Though I do recognize that he’s been among the best at his position the past few years. Though I do think he has made the most out of the New England system

True...but that doesn’t explain why he did the SAME thing in NE his first season. I think it’s his attitude

To be fair I thought he was great in Buffalo in 2014. Not quite as good as he’s been in the NE defense, but still a very good corner. The next two seasons were garbage. It was surprising how badly Gilmore was beaten by slightly above average to sub-average WR’s that year. Chris Hogan owned him. So did Brandon Marshall. What annoyed me even worse that our “lock down” corner getting beat but how be blamed his teammates for getting beat. This happened a few times in NE too. Not a Gilmore fan Sorry we all can’t be as cool as @4_kidd_4

I remember reading many analysts on Twitter break down that play - they said Gilmore got toasted. Period.

That play was about as bad as CB can get beat. Funny how so many NE fans said he was supposed to have safety help as an excuse. He just got beat

Meh hardly a pancake block. Looked like Gilmore tripped. As far as I know there was never any issue with these two, other than a strong completion to see who could get out of Buffalo first

There’s no evidence of this happening It had nothing to do with Reich. Norwood fell off very quickly after an All Pro 1988 season. He was Significantly worse in 1989, unreliable in 1990, and below average in 1991. It wasn’t bad luck - Norwood was just not a good kicker and not good kicking on grass.

I don’t get it

People say that a lot here but I love the “looking back” threads especially from the great Super Bowl teams. These threads are a lot of fun. You can only read so many mock draft projections

No I completely disagree. In most cases players and coaches aren’t that petty